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diff --git a/old/8col210.txt b/old/8col210.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3bda4df --- /dev/null +++ b/old/8col210.txt @@ -0,0 +1,19773 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Voyages of Christopher +Columbus (Vol. II), by Washington Irving +#11 in our series by Washington Irving + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Vol. II) + +Author: Washington Irving + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8519] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on July 25, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS VOL. II *** + + + + +Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + +[Note: Footnotes have been renumbered and moved to the end of the text.] + + + +The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus + +by + +Washington Irving. + + + Venient annis +Sæcula seris, quibus Oceanus +Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens +Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos +Detegat Orbes, nec sit terris +Ultima Thule. + + Seneca: _Medea_. + + +Author's Revised Edition. + +Vol. II. + +1892 + + + + +Contents of Volume II. + + + +Book XI. + + + I. Administration of the Adelantado.--Expedition to the Province of + Xaragua + II. Establishment of a Chain of Military Posts.--Insurrection of + Guarionex, the Cacique of the Vega +III. The Adelantado Repairs to Xaragua to receive Tribute + IV. Conspiracy of Roldan + V. The Adelantado repairs to the Vega in relief of Fort Conception. + --His Interview with Roldan + VI. Second Insurrection of Guarionex, and his Flight to the Mountains + of Ciguay +VII. Campaign of the Adelantado in the Mountains of Ciguay + + + +Book XII. + + + I. Confusion in the Island.--Proceedings of the Rebels at Xaragua + II. Negotiation of the Admiral with the Rebels.--Departure of Ships + for Spain +III. Arrangement with the Rebels + IV. Another Mutiny of the Rebels; and Second Arrangement with them + V. Grants made to Roldan and his Followers.--Departure of several of + the Rebels for Spain + VI. Arrival of Ojeda with a Squadron at the Western part of the Island. + --Roldan sent to meet him +VII. Manoeuvres of Roldan and Ojeda + + + +Book XIII. + + + I. Representations at Court against Columbus.--Bobadilla empowered to + examine into his Conduct + II. Arrival of Bobadilla at San Domingo.--His violent Assumption of + the Command +III. Columbus summoned to appear before Bobadilla + IV. Columbus and his Brothers arrested and sent to Spain in Chains + + + +Book XIV. + + + I. Sensation in Spain on the Arrival of Columbus in Irons.--His + Appearance at Court + II. Contemporary Voyages of Discovery +III. Nicholas de Ovando appointed to supersede Bobadilla + IV. Proposition of Columbus relative to the Recovery of the Holy + Sepulchre + V. Preparations of Columbus for a Fourth Voyage of Discovery + + + +Book XV. + + + I. Departure of Columbus on his Fourth Voyage.--Refused Admission to + the Harbor of San Domingo--Exposed to a violent Tempest + II. Voyage along the Coast of Honduras + III. Voyage along the Mosquito Coast, and Transactions at Cariari + IV. Voyage along Costa Rica.--Speculations concerning the Isthmus at + Veragua + V. Discovery of Puerto Bello and El Retrete.--Columbus abandons the + search after the Strait + VI. Return to Veragua.--The Adelantado explores the Country. + VII. Commencement of a Settlement on the river Belen.--Conspiracy of the + Natives.--Expedition of the Adelantado to surprise Quibian. +VIII. Disasters of the Settlement. + IX. Distress of the Admiral on board of his Ship.--Ultimate Relief of + the Settlement. + X. Departure from the Coast of Veragua.--arrival at Jamaica.--Stranding + of the Ships. + + + +Book XVI. + + + I. Arrangement of Diego Mendez with the Caciques for Supplies of + Provisions.--Sent to San Domingo by Columbus in quest of Relief. + II. Mutiny of Porras. +III. Scarcity of Provisions.--Stratagem of Columbus to obtain Supplies + from the Natives. + IV. Mission of Diego de Escobar to the Admiral. + V. Voyage of Diego Mendez and Bartholomew Fiesco in a Canoe to + Hispaniola. + VI. Overtures of Columbus to the Mutineers.--Battle of the Adelantado + with Porras and his Followers. + + + +Book XVII. + + + I. Administration of Ovando in Hispaniola.--Oppression of the Natives. + II. Massacre at Xaragua.--Fate of Anacaona. +III. War with the Natives of Higuey. + IV. Close of the War with Higuey.--Fate of Cotabanama. + + + +Book XVIII. + + + I. Departure of Columbus for San Domingo.--His Return to Spain. + II. Illness of Columbus at Seville.--Application to the Crown for a + Restitution of his Honors.--Death of Isabella. +III. Columbus arrives at Court.--Fruitless Application to the King for + Redress. + IV. Death of Columbus. + V. Observations on the Character of Columbus. + + +Appendix + +Index + + + + + +The Life and Voyages of Columbus + + + + + +Book XI. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Administration of the Adelantado.--Expedition to the Province of Xaragua. + +[1498.] + + + +Columbus had anticipated repose from his toils on arriving at Hispaniola, +but a new scene of trouble and anxiety opened upon him, destined to impede +the prosecution of his enterprises, and to affect all his future fortunes. +To explain this, it is necessary to relate the occurrences of the island +during his long detention in Spain. + +When he sailed for Europe in March, 1496, his brother, Don Bartholomew, +who remained as Adelantado, took the earliest measures to execute his +directions with respect to the mines recently discovered by Miguel Diaz on +the south side of the island. Leaving Don Diego Columbus in command at +Isabella, he repaired with a large force to the neighborhood of the mines, +and, choosing a favorable situation in a place most abounding in ore, +built a fortress, to which he gave the name of San Christoval. The +workmen, however, finding grains of gold among the earth and stone +employed in its construction, gave it the name of the Golden +Tower. [1] + +The Adelantado remained here three months, superintending the building of +the fortress, and making the necessary preparations for working the mines +and purifying the ore. The progress of the work, however, was greatly +impeded by scarcity of provisions, having frequently to detach a part of +the men about the country in quest of supplies. The former hospitality of +the island was at an end. The Indians no longer gave their provisions +freely; they had learnt from the white men to profit by the necessities of +the stranger, and to exact a price for bread. Their scanty stores, also, +were soon exhausted, for their frugal habits, and their natural indolence +and improvidence, seldom permitted them to have more provisions on hand +than was requisite for present support. [2] The Adelantado found it +difficult, therefore, to maintain so large a force in the neighborhood, +until they should have time to cultivate the earth, and raise live-stock, +or should receive supplies from Spain. Leaving ten men to guard the +fortress, with a dog to assist them in catching utias, he marched with the +rest of his men, about four hundred in number, to Fort Conception, in the +abundant country of the Vega. He passed the whole month of June collecting +the quarterly tribute, being supplied with food by Guarionex and his +subordinate caciques. In the following month (July, 1496) the three +caravels commanded by Niño arrived from Spain, bringing a reinforcement +of men, and, what was still more needed, a supply of provisions. The +latter was quickly distributed among the hungry colonists, but +unfortunately a great part had been injured during the voyage. This was a +serious misfortune in a community where the least scarcity produced murmur +and sedition. + +By these ships the Adelantado received letters from his brother, directing +him to found a town and sea-port at the mouth of the Ozema, near to the +new mines. He requested him, also, to send prisoners to Spain such of the +caciques and their subjects as had been concerned in the death of any of +the colonists; that being considered as sufficient ground, by many of the +ablest jurists and theologians of Spain, for selling them as slaves. On +the return of the caravels, the Adelantado dispatched three hundred Indian +prisoners, and three caciques. These formed the ill-starred cargoes about +which Niño had made such absurd vaunting, as though the ships were laden +with treasure; and which had caused such mortification, disappointment, +and delay to Columbus. + +Having obtained by this arrival a supply of provisions, the Adelantado +returned to the fortress of San Christoval, and thence proceeded to the +Ozema, to choose a site for the proposed seaport. After a careful +examination, he chose the eastern bank of a natural haven at the mouth of +the river. It was easy of access, of sufficient depth, and good anchorage. +The river ran through a beautiful and fertile country; its waters were +pure and salubrious, and well stocked with fish; its banks were covered +with trees bearing the fine fruits of the island, so that in sailing +along, the fruits and flowers might be plucked with the hand from the +branches which overhung the stream. [3] This delightful vicinity was the +dwelling-place of the female cacique who had conceived an affection for +the young Spaniard Miguel Diaz, and had induced him to entice his +countrymen to that part of the island. The promise she had given of a +friendly reception on the part of her tribe was faithfully performed. + +On a commanding bank of the harbor, Don Bartholomew erected a fortress, +which at first was called Isabella, but afterwards San Domingo, and was +the origin of the city which still bears that name. The Adelantado was of +an active and indefatigable spirit. No sooner was the fortress completed, +than he left in it a garrison of twenty men, and with the rest of his +forces set out to visit the dominions of Behechio, one of the principal +chieftains of the island. This cacique, as has already been mentioned, +reigned over Xaragua, a province comprising almost the whole coast at the +west end of the island, including Cape Tiburon, and extending along the +south side as far as Point Aguida, or the small island of Beata. It was +one of the most populous and fertile districts, with a delightful climate; +and its inhabitants were softer and more graceful in their manners than +the rest of the islanders. Being so remote from all the fortresses, the +cacique, although he had taken a part in the combination of the +chieftains, had hitherto remained free from the incursions and exactions +of the white men. + +With this cacique resided Anacaona, widow of the late formidable Caonabo. +She was sister to Behechio, and had taken refuge with her brother after +the capture of her husband. She was one of the most beautiful females of +the island; her name in the Indian language signified "The Golden Flower." +She possessed a genius superior to the generality of her race, and was +said to excel in composing those little legendary ballads, or areytos, +which the natives chanted as they performed their national dances. All the +Spanish writers agree in describing her as possessing a natural dignity +and grace hardly to be credited in her ignorant and savage condition. +Notwithstanding the ruin with which her husband had been overwhelmed by +the hostility of the white men, she appears to have entertained no +vindictive feeling towards them, knowing that he had provoked their +vengeance by his own voluntary warfare. She regarded the Spaniards with +admiration as almost superhuman beings, and her intelligent mind perceived +the futility and impolicy of any attempt to resist their superiority in +arts and arms. Having great influence over her brother Behechio, she +counseled him to take warning by the fate of her husband, and to +conciliate the friendship of the Spaniards; and it is supposed that a +knowledge of the friendly sentiments and powerful influence of this +princess in a great measure prompted the Adelantado to his present +expedition. [4] + +In passing through those parts of the island which had hitherto been +unvisited by Europeans, the Adelantado adopted the same imposing measures +which the admiral had used on a former occasion; he put his cavalry in the +advance, and entered all the Indian towns in martial array, with standards +displayed, and the sound of drum and trumpet. + +After proceeding about thirty leagues, he came to the river Neyva, which, +issuing from the mountains of Cibao, divides the southern side of the +island. Crossing this stream, he dispatched two parties of ten men each +along the sea-coast in search of brazil-wood. They found great quantities, +and felled many trees, which they stored in the Indian cabins, until they +could be taken away by sea. + +Inclining with his main force to the right, the Adelantado met, not far +from the river, the cacique Behechio, with a great army of his subjects, +armed with bows and arrows and lances. If he had come forth with the +intention of opposing the inroad into his forest domains, he was probably +daunted by the formidable appearance of the Spaniards. Laying aside his +weapons, he advanced and accosted the Adelantado very amicably, professing +that he was thus in arms for the purpose of subjecting certain villages +along the river, and inquiring, at the same time, the object of this +incursion of the Spaniards. The Adelantado assured him that he came on a +peaceful visit to pass a little time in friendly intercourse at Xaragua. +He succeeded so well in allaying the apprehensions of the cacique, that +the latter dismissed his army, and sent swift messengers to order +preparations for the suitable reception of so distinguished a guest. As +the Spaniards advanced into the territories of the chieftain, and passed +through the districts of his inferior caciques, the latter brought forth +cassava bread, hemp, cotton, and various other productions of the land. At +length they drew near to the residence of Behechio, which was a large town +situated in a beautiful part of the country near the coast, at the bottom +of that deep bay called at present the Bight of Leogan. + +The Spaniards had heard many accounts of the soft and delightful region of +Xaragua, in one part of which Indian traditions placed their Elysian +fields. They had heard much, also, of the beauty and urbanity of the +inhabitants: the mode of their reception was calculated to confirm their +favorable prepossessions. As they approached the place, thirty females of +the cacique's household came forth to meet them, singing their areytos, or +traditionary ballads, and dancing and waving palm branches. The married +females wore aprons of embroidered cotton, reaching half way to the knee; +the young women were entirely naked, with merely a fillet round the +forehead, their hair falling upon their shoulders. They were beautifully +proportioned; their skin smooth and delicate, and their complexion of a +clear agreeable brown. According to old Peter Martyr, the Spaniards, when +they beheld them issuing forth from their green woods, almost imagined +they beheld the fabled dryads, or native nymphs and fairies of the +fountains, sung by the ancient poets. [5] When they came before Don +Bartholomew, they knelt and gracefully presented him the green branches. +After these came the female cacique Anacaona, reclining on a kind of light +litter borne by six Indians. Like the other females, she had no other +covering than an apron of various-colored cotton. She wore round her head +a fragrant garland of red and white flowers, and wreaths of the same round +her neck and arms. She received the Adelantado and his followers with that +natural grace and courtesy for which she was celebrated; manifesting no +hostility towards them for the fate her husband had experienced at their +hands. + +The Adelantado and his officers were conducted to the house of Behechio, +where a banquet was served up of utias, a great variety of sea and river +fish, with roots and fruits of excellent quality. Here first the Spaniards +conquered their repugnance to the guana, the favorite delicacy of the +Indians, but which the former had regarded with disgust, as a species of +serpent. The Adelantado, willing to accustom himself to the usages of the +country, was the first to taste this animal, being kindly pressed thereto +by Anacaona. His followers imitated his example; they found it to be +highly palatable and delicate; and from that time forward, the guana was +held in repute among Spanish epicures. [6] + +The banquet being over, Don Bartholomew with six of his principal +cavaliers were lodged in the dwelling of Behechio; the rest were +distributed in the houses of the inferior caciques, where they slept in +hammocks of matted cotton, the usual beds of the natives. + +For two days they remained with the hospitable Behechio, entertained with +various Indian games and festivities, among which the most remarkable was +the representation of a battle. Two squadrons of naked Indians, armed with +bows and arrows, sallied suddenly into the public square and began to +skirmish in a manner similar to the Moorish play of canes, or tilting +reeds. By degrees they became excited, and fought with such earnestness, +that four were slain, and many wounded, which seemed to increase the +interest and pleasure of the spectators. The contest would have continued +longer, and might have been still more bloody, had not the Adelantado and +the other cavaliers interfered and begged that the game might cease. [7] + +When the festivities were over, and familiar intercourse had promoted +mutual confidence, the Adelantado addressed the cacique and Anacaona on +the real object of his visit. He informed him that his brother, the +admiral, had been sent to this island by the sovereigns of Castile, who +were great and mighty potentates, with many kingdoms under their sway. +That the admiral had returned to apprise his sovereigns how many tributary +caciques there were in the island, leaving him in command, and that he had +come to receive Behechio under the protection of these mighty sovereigns, +and to arrange a tribute to be paid by him, in such manner as should be +most convenient and satisfactory to himself. [8] + +The cacique was greatly embarrassed by this demand, knowing the sufferings +inflicted on the other parts of the island by the avidity of the Spaniards +for gold. He replied that he had been apprised that gold was the great +object for which the white men had come to their island, and that a +tribute was paid in it by some of his fellow-caciques; but that in no part +of his territories was gold to be found; and his subjects hardly knew what +it was. To this the Adelantado replied with great adroitness, that nothing +was farther from the intention or wish of his sovereigns than to require a +tribute in things not produced in his dominions, but that it might be paid +in cotton, hemp, and cassava bread, with which the surrounding country +appeared to abound. The countenance of the cacique brightened at this +intimation; he promised cheerful compliance, and instantly sent orders to +all his subordinate caciques to sow abundance of cotton for the first +payment of the stipulated tribute. Having made all the requisite +arrangements, the Adelantado took a most friendly leave of Behechio and +his sister, and set out for Isabella. + +Thus, by amicable and sagacious management, one of the most extensive +provinces of the island was brought into cheerful subjection, and had not +the wise policy of the Adelantado been defeated by the excesses of +worthless and turbulent men, a large revenue might have been collected, +without any recourse to violence or oppression. In all instances, these +simple people appear to have been extremely tractable, and meekly and even +cheerfully to have resigned their rights to the white men, when treated +with gentleness and humanity. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Establishment of a Chain of Military Posts.--Insurrection of Guarionex, +the Cacique of the Vega. + +[1496.] + + + +On arriving at Isabella, Don Bartholomew found it, as usual, a scene of +misery and repining. Many had died during his absence; most were ill. +Those who were healthy complained of the scarcity of food, and those who +were ill, of the want of medicines. The provisions distributed among them, +from the supply brought out a few months before by Pedro Alonzo Niño, had +been consumed. Partly from sickness, and partly from a repugnance to +labor, they had neglected to cultivate the surrounding country, and the +Indians, on whom they chiefly depended, outraged by their oppressions, had +abandoned the vicinity, and fled to the mountains; choosing rather to +subsist on roots and herbs, in their rugged retreats, than remain in the +luxuriant plains, subject to the wrongs and cruelties of the white men. +The history of this island presents continual pictures of the miseries, +the actual want and poverty, produced by the grasping avidity of gold. It +had rendered the Spaniards heedless of all the less obvious, but more +certain and salubrious, sources of wealth. All labor seemed lost that was +to produce profit by a circuitous process. Instead of cultivating the +luxuriant soil around them, and deriving real treasures from its surface, +they wasted their time in seeking for mines and golden streams, and were +starving in the midst of fertility. + +No sooner were the provisions exhausted which had been brought out by +Niño, than the colonists began to break forth in their accustomed murmurs. +They represented themselves as neglected by Columbus, who, amidst the +blandishments and delights of a court, thought little of their sufferings. +They considered themselves equally forgotten by government; while, having +no vessel in the harbor, they were destitute of all means of sending home +intelligence of their disastrous situation, and imploring relief. + +To remove this last cause of discontent, and furnish some object for their +hopes and thoughts to rally round, the Adelantado ordered that two +caravels should be built at Isabella, for the use of the island. To +relieve the settlement, also, from all useless and repining individuals, +during this time of scarcity, he distributed such as were too ill to +labor, or to bear arms, into the interior, where they would have the +benefit of a better climate, and more abundant supply of Indian +provisions. He at the same time completed and garrisoned the chain of +military posts established by his brother in the preceding year, +consisting of five fortified houses, each surrounded by its dependent +hamlet. The first of these was about nine leagues from Isabella, and was +called la Esperanza. Six leagues beyond was Santa Catalina. Four leagues +and a half further was Magdalena, where the first town of Santiago was +afterwards founded; and five leagues further Fort Conception--which was +fortified with great care, being in the vast and populous Vega, and within +half a league from the residence of its cacique, Guarionex. [9] Having +thus relieved Isabella of all its useless population, and left none but +such as were too ill to be removed, or were required for the service and +protection of the place, and the construction of the caravels, the +Adelantado returned, with a large body of the most effective men, to the +fortress of San Domingo. + +The military posts, thus established, succeeded for a time in overawing +the natives; but fresh hostilities were soon manifested, excited by a +different cause from the preceding. Among the missionaries who had +accompanied Friar Boyle to the island, were two of far greater zeal than +their superior. When he returned to Spain, they remained, earnestly bent +upon the fulfillment of their mission. One was called Roman Pane, a poor +hermit, as he styled himself, of the order of St. Geronimo; the other was +Juan Borgoñon, a Franciscan. They resided for some time among the Indians +of the Vega, strenuously endeavoring to make converts, and had succeeded +with one family, of sixteen persons, the chief of which, on being +baptized, took the name of Juan Mateo. The conversion of the cacique +Guarionex, however, was their main object. The extent of his possessions +made his conversion of great importance to the interests of the colony, +and was considered by the zealous fathers a means of bringing his numerous +subjects under the dominion of the church. For some time he lent a willing +ear; he learnt the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, and the Creed, and made +his whole family repeat them daily. The other caciques of the Vega and of +the provinces of Cibao, however, scoffed at him for meanly conforming to +the laws and customs of strangers, usurpers of his domains, and oppressors +of his nation. The friars complained that, in consequence of these evil +communications, their convert suddenly relapsed into infidelity; but +another and more grievous cause is assigned for his recantation. His +favorite wife was seduced or treated with outrage by a Spaniard of +authority; and the cacique renounced all faith in a religion which, as he +supposed, admitted of such atrocities. Losing all hope of effecting his +conversion, the missionaries removed to the territories of another +cacique, taking with them Juan Mateo, their Indian convert. Before their +departure, they erected a small chapel, and furnished it with an altar, +crucifix, and images, for the use of the family of Mateo. + +Scarcely had they departed, when several Indians entered the chapel, broke +the images in pieces, trampled them under foot, and buried them in a +neighboring field. This, it was said, was done by order of Guarionex, in +contempt of the religion from which he had apostatized. A complaint of +this enormity was carried to the Adelantado, who ordered a suit to be +immediately instituted, and those who were found culpable, to be punished +according to law. It was a period of great rigor in ecclesiastical law, +especially among the Spaniards. In Spain, all heresies in religion, all +recantations from the faith, and all acts of sacrilege, either by Moor or +Jew, were punished with fire and fagot. Such was the fate of the poor +ignorant Indians, convicted of this outrage on the church. It is +questionable whether Guarionex had any hand in this offence, and it is +probable that the whole affair was exaggerated. A proof of the credit due +to the evidence brought forward may be judged by one of the facts recorded +by Roman Pane, "the poor hermit." The field in which the holy images were +buried, was planted, he says, with certain roots shaped like a turnip, or +radish, several of which coming up in the neighborhood of the images, were +found to have grown most miraculously in the form of a cross. [10] + +The cruel punishment inflicted on these Indians, instead of daunting their +countrymen, filled them with horror and indignation. Unaccustomed to such +stern rule and vindictive justice, and having no clear ideas nor powerful +sentiments with respect to religion of any kind, they could not comprehend +the nature nor extent of the crime committed. Even Guarionex, a man +naturally moderate and pacific, was highly incensed with the assumption of +power within his territories, and the inhuman death inflicted on his +subjects. The other caciques perceived his irritation, and endeavored to +induce him to unite in a sudden insurrection, that by one vigorous and +general effort they might break the yoke of their oppressors. Guarionex +wavered for some time. He knew the martial skill and prowess of the +Spaniards; he stood in awe of their cavalry, and he had before him the +disastrous fate of Caonabo; but he was rendered bold by despair, and he +beheld in the domination of these strangers the assured ruin of his race. +The early writers speak of a tradition current among the inhabitants of +the island, respecting this Guarionex. He was of an ancient line of +hereditary caciques. His father, in times long preceding the discovery, +having fasted for five days, according to their superstitious observances, +applied to his zemi, or household deity, for information of things to +come. He received for answer, that within a few years there should come to +the island a nation covered with clothing, which should destroy all their +customs and ceremonies, and slay their children or reduce them to painful +servitude. [11] The tradition was probably invented by the Butios, or +priests, after the Spaniards had begun to exercise their severities. +Whether their prediction had an effect in disposing the mind of Guarionex +to hostilities is uncertain. Some have asserted that he was compelled to +take up arms by his subjects, who threatened, in case of his refusal, to +choose some other chieftain; others have alleged the outrage committed +upon his favorite wife, as the principal cause of his irritation. [12] It +was probably these things combined, which at length induced him to enter +into the conspiracy. A secret consultation was held among the caciques, +wherein it was concerted, that on the day of payment of their quarterly +tribute, when a great number could assemble without causing suspicion, +they should suddenly rise upon the Spaniards and massacre them. [13] + +By some means the garrison at Fort Conception received intimation of this +conspiracy. Being but a handful of men, and surrounded by hostile tribes, +they wrote a letter to the Adelantado, at San Domingo, imploring immediate +aid. As this letter might be taken from their Indian messenger, the +natives having discovered that these letters had a wonderful power of +communicating intelligence, and fancying they could talk, it was inclosed +in a reed, to be used as a staff. The messenger was, in fact, intercepted; +but, affecting to be dumb and lame, and intimating by signs that he was +returning home, was permitted to limp forward on his journey. When out of +sight he resumed his speed, and bore the letter safely and expeditiously +to San Domingo. [14] + +The Adelantado, with his characteristic promptness and activity, set out +immediately with a body of troops for the fortress; and though his men +were much enfeebled by scanty fare, hard service, and long marches, +hurried them rapidly forward. Never did aid arrive more opportunely. The +Indians were assembled on the plain, to the amount of many thousands, +armed after their manner, and waiting for the appointed time to strike the +blow. After consulting with the commander of the fortress and his +officers, the Adelantado concerted a mode of proceeding. Ascertaining the +places in which the various caciques had distributed their forces, he +appointed an officer with a body of men to each cacique, with orders, at +an appointed hour of the night, to rush into the villages, surprise them +asleep and unarmed, bind the caciques, and bring them off prisoners. As +Guarionex was the most important personage, and his capture would probably +be attended with most difficulty and danger, the Adelantado took the +charge of it upon himself, at the head of one hundred men. + +This stratagem, founded upon a knowledge of the attachment of the Indians +to their chieftains, and calculated to spare a great effusion of blood, +was completely successful. The villages, having no walls nor other +defences, were quietly entered at midnight; and the Spaniards, rushing +suddenly into the houses where the caciques were quartered, seized and +bound them, to the number of fourteen, and hurried them off to the +fortress, before any effort could be made for their defence or rescue. The +Indians, struck with terror, made no resistance, nor any show of +hostility; surrounding the fortress in great multitudes, but without +weapons, they filled the air with doleful howlings and lamentations, +imploring the release of their chieftains. The Adelantado completed his +enterprise with the spirit, sagacity, and moderation with which he had +hitherto conducted it. He obtained information of the causes of this +conspiracy, and the individuals most culpable. Two caciques, the principal +movers of the insurrection, and who had most wrought upon the easy nature +of Guarionex, were put to death. As to that unfortunate cacique, the +Adelantado, considering the deep wrongs he had suffered, and the slowness +with which he had been provoked to revenge, magnanimously pardoned him; +nay, according to Las Casas, he proceeded with stern justice against the +Spaniard whose outrage on his wife had sunk so deeply in his heart. He +extended his lenity also to the remaining chieftains of the conspiracy; +promising great favors and rewards, if they should continue firm in their +loyalty; but terrible punishments should they again be found in rebellion. +The heart of Guarionex was subdued by this unexpected clemency. He made a +speech to his people, setting forth the irresistible might and valor of +the Spaniards; their great lenity to offenders, and their generosity to +such as were faithful; and he earnestly exhorted them henceforth to +cultivate their friendship. The Indians listened to him with attention; +his praises of the white men were confirmed by their treatment of himself; +when he had concluded, they took him up on their shoulders, bore him to +his habitation with songs and shouts of joy, and for some time the +tranquillity of the Vega was restored. [15] + + + + +Chapter III. + +The Adelantado Repairs to Xaragua to Receive Tribute. + +[1497.] + + + +With all his energy and discretion, the Adelantado found it difficult to +manage the proud and turbulent spirit of the colonists. They could ill +brook the sway of a foreigner, who, when they were restive, curbed them +with an iron hand. Don Bartholomew had not the same legitimate authority +in their eyes as his brother. The admiral was the discoverer of the +country, and the authorized representative of the sovereigns; yet even him +they with difficulty brought themselves to obey. The Adelantado, on the +contrary, was regarded by many as a mere intruder, assuming high command +without authority from the crown, and shouldering himself into power on +the merits and services of his brother. They spoke with impatience and +indignation, also, of the long absence of the admiral, and his fancied +inattention to their wants; little aware of the incessant anxieties he was +suffering on their account, during his detention in Spain. The sagacious +measure of the Adelantado in building the caravels for some time diverted +their attention. They watched their progress with solicitude, looking upon +them as a means either of obtaining relief, or of abandoning the island. +Aware that repining and discontented men should never be left in idleness, +Don Bartholomew kept them continually in movement; and indeed a state of +constant activity was congenial to his own vigorous spirit. About this +time messengers arrived from Behechio, cacique of Xaragua, informing him +that he had large quantities of cotton, and other articles, in which his +tribute was to be paid, ready for delivery. The Adelantado immediately set +forth with a numerous train, to revisit this fruitful and happy region. He +was again received with songs and dances, and all the national +demonstrations of respect and amity by Behechio and his sister Anacaona. +The latter appeared to be highly popular among the natives, and to have +almost as much sway in Xaragua as her brother. Her natural ease, and the +graceful dignity of her manners, more and more won the admiration of the +Spaniards. + +The Adelantado found thirty-two inferior caciques assembled in the house +of Behechio, awaiting his arrival with their respective tributes. The +cotton they had brought was enough to fill one of their houses. Having +delivered this, they gratuitously offered the Adelantado as much cassava +bread as he desired. The offer was most acceptable in the present +necessitous state of the colony; and Don Bartholomew sent to Isabella for +one of the caravels, which was nearly finished, to be dispatched as soon +as possible to Xaragua, to be freighted with bread and cotton. + +In the meantime, the natives brought from all quarters large supplies of +provisions, and entertained their guests with continual festivity and +banqueting. The early Spanish writers, whose imaginations, heated by the +accounts of the voyagers, could not form an idea of the simplicity of +savage life, especially in these newly-discovered countries, which were +supposed to border upon Asia, often speak in terms of oriental +magnificence of the entertainments of the natives, the palaces of the +caciques, and the lords and ladies of their courts, as if they were +describing the abodes of Asiatic potentates. The accounts given of +Xaragua, however, have a different character; and give a picture of savage +life, in its perfection of idle and ignorant enjoyment. The troubles which +distracted the other parts of devoted Hayti had not reached the +inhabitants of this pleasant region. Living among beautiful and fruitful +groves, on the borders of a sea apparently for ever tranquil and unvexed +by storms; having few wants, and those readily supplied, they appeared +emancipated from the common lot of labor, and to pass their lives in one +uninterrupted holiday. When the Spaniards regarded the fertility and +sweetness of this country, the gentleness of its people, and the beauty of +its women, they pronounced it a perfect paradise. + +At length the caravel arrived which was to be freighted with the articles +of tribute. It anchored about six miles from the residence of Behechio, +and Anacaona proposed to her brother that they should go together to +behold what she called the great canoe of the white men. On their way to +the coast, the Adelantado was lodged one night in a village, in a house +where Anacaona treasured up those articles which she esteemed most rare +and precious. They consisted of various manufactures of cotton, +ingeniously wrought; of vessels of clay, moulded into different forms; of +chairs, tables, and like articles of furniture, formed of ebony and other +kinds of wood, and carved with various devices,--all evincing great skill +and ingenuity, in a people who had no iron tools to work with. Such were +the simple treasures of this Indian princess, of which she made numerous +presents to her guest. + +Nothing could exceed the wonder and delight of this intelligent woman, +when she first beheld the ship. Her brother, who treated her with a +fraternal fondness and respectful attention worthy of civilized life, had +prepared two canoes, gayly painted and decorated; one to convey her and +her attendants, and the other for himself and his chieftains. Anacaona, +however, preferred to embark, with her attendants, in the ship's boat with +the Adelantado. As they approached the caravel, a salute was fired. At the +report of the cannon, and the sight of the smoke, Anacaona, overcome with +dismay, fell into the arms of the Adelantado, and her attendants would +have leaped overboard, but the laughter and the cheerful words of Don +Bartholomew speedily reassured them. As they drew nearer to the vessel, +several instruments of martial music struck up, with which they were +greatly delighted. Their admiration increased on entering on board. +Accustomed only to their simple and slight canoes, every thing here +appeared wonderfully vast and complicated. But when the anchor was +weighed, the sails were spread, and, aided by a gentle breeze, they beheld +this vast mass, moving apparently by its own volition, veering from side +to side, and playing like a huge monster in the deep, the brother and +sister remained gazing at each other in mute astonishment. [16] +Nothing seems to have filled the mind of the most stoical savage with more +wonder than that sublime and beautiful triumph of genius, a ship under +sail. + +Having freighted and dispatched the caravel, the Adelantado made many +presents to Behechio, his sister, and their attendants, and took leave of +them, to return by land with his troops to Isabella. Anacaona showed great +affliction at their parting, entreating him to remain some time longer +with them, and appearing fearful that they had failed in their humble +attempt to please him. She even offered to follow him to the settlement, +nor would she be consoled until he had promised to return again to +Xaragua. [17] + +We cannot but remark the ability shown by the Adelantado in the course of +his transient government of the island. Wonderfully alert and active, he +made repeated marches of great extent, from one remote province to +another, and was always at the post of danger at the critical moment. By +skillful management, with a handful of men, he defeated a formidable +insurrection without any effusion of blood. He conciliated the most +inveterate enemies among the natives by great moderation, while he +deterred all wanton hostilities by the infliction of signal punishments. +He had made firm friends of the most important chieftains, brought their +dominions under cheerful tribute, opened new sources of supplies for the +colony, and procured relief from its immediate wants. Had his judicious +measures been seconded by those under his command, the whole country would +have been a scene of tranquil prosperity, and would have produced great +revenues to the crown, without cruelty to the natives; but, like his +brother the admiral, his good intentions and judicious arrangements were +constantly thwarted by the vile passions and perverse conduct of others. +While he was absent from Isabella, new mischiefs had been fomented there, +which were soon to throw the whole island into confusion. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Conspiracy of Roldan. + +[1497.] + + + +The prime mover of the present mischief was one Francisco Roldan, a man +under the deepest obligations to the admiral. Raised by him from poverty +and obscurity, he had been employed at first in menial capacities; but, +showing strong natural talents, and great assiduity, he had been made +ordinary alcalde, equivalent to justice of the peace. The able manner in +which he acquitted himself in this situation, and the persuasion of his +great fidelity and gratitude, induced Columbus, on departing for Spain, to +appoint him alcalde mayor, or chief judge of the island. It is true he was +an uneducated man, but, as there were as yet no intricacies of law in the +colony, the office required little else than shrewd good sense and upright +principles for its discharge. [18] + +Roldan was one of those base spirits which grow venomous in the sunshine +of prosperity. His benefactor had returned to Spain apparently under a +cloud of disgrace; a long interval had elapsed without tidings from him; +he considered him a fallen man, and began to devise how he might profit by +his downfall. He was intrusted with an office inferior only to that of the +Adelantado; the brothers of Columbus were highly unpopular; he imagined it +possible to ruin them, both with the colonists and with the government at +home, and by dextrous cunning and bustling activity to work his way into +the command of the colony. The vigorous and somewhat austere character of +the Adelantado for some time kept him in awe; but when he was absent from +the settlement, Roldan was able to carry on his machinations with +confidence. Don Diego, who then commanded at Isabella, was an upright and +worthy man, but deficient in energy. Roldan felt himself his superior in +talent and spirit, and his self-conceit was wounded at being inferior to +him in authority. He soon made a party among the daring and dissolute of +the community, and secretly loosened the ties of order and good +government, by listening to and encouraging the discontents of the common +people, and directing them against the character and conduct of Columbus +and his brothers. He had heretofore been employed as superintendent of +various public works; this brought him into familiar communication with +workmen, sailors, and others of the lower order. His originally vulgar +character enabled him to adapt himself to their intellects and manners, +while his present station gave him consequence in their eyes. Finding them +full of murmurs about hard treatment, severe toil, and the long absence of +the admiral, he affected to be moved by their distresses. He threw out +suggestions that the admiral might never return, being disgraced and +ruined in consequence of the representations of Aguado. He sympathized +with the hard treatment they experienced from the Adelantado and his +brother Don Diego, who, being foreigners, could take no interest in their +welfare, nor feel a proper respect for the pride of a Spaniard; but who +used them merely as slaves, to build houses and fortresses for them, or to +swell their state and secure their power, as they marched about the island +enriching themselves with the spoils of the caciques. By these suggestions +he exasperated their feelings to such a height, that they had at one time +formed a conspiracy to take away the life of the Adelantado, as the only +means of delivering themselves from an odious tyrant. The time and place +for the perpetration of the act were concerted. The Adelantado had +condemned to death a Spaniard of the name of Berahona, a friend of Roldan, +and of several of the conspirators. What was his offence is not positively +stated, but from a passage in Las Casas [19] there is reason to believe +that he was the very Spaniard who had violated the favorite wife of +Guarionex, the cacique of the Vega. The Adelantado would be present at the +execution. It was arranged, therefore, that when the populace had +assembled, a tumult should be made as if by accident, and in the confusion +of the moment, Don Bartholomew should be dispatched with a poniard. +Fortunately for the Adelantado, he pardoned the criminal, the assemblage +did not take place, and the plan of the conspirators was disconcerted. +[20] + +When Don Bartholomew was absent collecting the tribute in Xaragua, Roldan +thought it was a favorable time to bring affairs to a crisis. He had +sounded the feelings of the colonists, and ascertained that there was a +large party disposed for open sedition. His plan was to create a popular +tumult, to interpose in his official character of alcalde mayor, to throw +the blame upon the oppression and injustice of Don Diego and his brother, +and, while he usurped the reins of authority, to appear as if actuated +only by zeal for the peace and prosperity of the island, and the interests +of the sovereigns. + +A pretext soon presented itself for the proposed tumult. When the caravel +returned from Xaragua laden with the Indian tributes, and the cargo was +discharged, Don Diego had the vessel drawn up on the land, to protect it +from accidents, or from any sinister designs of the disaffected colonists. +Roldan immediately pointed this circumstance out to his partisans. He +secretly inveighed against the hardship of having this vessel drawn on +shore, instead of being left afloat for the benefit of the colony, or sent +to Spain to make known their distresses. He hinted that the true reason +was the fear of the Adelantado and his brother, lest accounts should be +carried to Spain of their misconduct, and he affirmed that they wished to +remain undisturbed masters of the island, and keep the Spaniards there as +subjects, or rather as slaves. The people took fire at these suggestions. +They had long looked forward to the completion of the caravels as their +only chance for relief; they now insisted that the vessel should be +launched and sent to Spain for supplies. Don Diego endeavored to convince +them of the folly of their demand, the vessel not being rigged and +equipped for such a voyage; but the more he attempted to pacify them, the +more unreasonable and turbulent they became. Roldan, also, became more +bold and explicit in his instigations. He advised them to launch and take +possession of the caravel, as the only mode of regaining their +independence. They might then throw off the tyranny of these upstart +strangers, enemies in their hearts to Spaniards, and might lead a life of +ease and pleasure; sharing equally all that they might gain by barter in +the island, employing the Indians as slaves to work for them, and enjoying +unrestrained indulgence with respect to the Indian women. [21] + +Don Diego received information of what was fermenting among the people, +yet feared to come to an open rupture with Roldan in the present mutinous +state of the colony. He suddenly detached him, therefore, with forty men, +to the Vega, under pretext of overawing certain of the natives who had +refused to pay their tribute, and had shown a disposition to revolt. +Roldan made use of this opportunity to strengthen his faction. He made +friends and partisans among the discontented caciques, secretly justifying +them in their resistance to the imposition of tribute, and promising them +redress. He secured the devotion of his own soldiers by great acts of +indulgence, disarming and dismissing such as refused full participation in +his plans, and returned with his little band to Isabella, where he felt +secure of a strong party among the common people. + +The Adelantado had by this time returned from Xaragua; but Roldan, feeling +himself at the head of a strong faction, and arrogating to himself great +authority from his official station, now openly demanded that the caravel +should be launched, or permission given to himself and his followers to +launch it. The Adelantado peremptorily refused, observing that neither he +nor his companions were mariners, nor was the caravel furnished and +equipped for sea, and that neither the safety of the vessel, nor of the +people, should be endangered by their attempt to navigate her. + +Roldan perceived that his motives were suspected, and felt that the +Adelantado was too formidable an adversary to contend with in any open +sedition at Isabella. He determined, therefore, to carry his plans into +operation in some more favorable part of the island, always trusting to +excuse any open rebellion against the authority of Don Bartholomew, by +representing it as a patriotic opposition to his tyranny over Spaniards. +He had seventy well-armed and determined men under his command, and he +trusted, on erecting his standard, to be joined by all the disaffected +throughout the island. He set off suddenly, therefore, for the Vega, +intending to surprise the fortress of Conception, and by getting command +of that post and the rich country adjacent, to set the Adelantado at +defiance. + +He stopped, on his way, at various Indian villages in which the Spaniards +were distributed, endeavoring to enlist the latter in his party, by +holding out promises of great gain and free living. He attempted also to +seduce the natives from their allegiance, by promising them freedom from +all tribute. Those caciques with whom he had maintained a previous +understanding, received him with open arms; particularly one who had taken +the name of Diego Marque, whose village he made his headquarters, being +about two leagues from Fort Conception. He was disappointed in his hopes +of surprising the fortress. Its commander, Miguel Ballester, was an old +and staunch soldier, both resolute and wary. He drew himself into his +stronghold on the approach of Roldan, and closed his gates. His garrison +was small, but the fortification, situated on the side of a hill, with a +river running at its foot, was proof against any assault. Roldan had still +some hopes that Ballester might be disaffected to government, and might be +gradually brought into his plans, or that the garrison would be disposed +to desert, tempted by the licentious life which he permitted among his +followers. In the neighborhood was the town inhabited by Guarionex. Here +were quartered thirty soldiers, under the command of Captain Garcia de +Barrantes. Roldan repaired thither with his armed force, hoping to enlist +Barrantes and his party; but the captain shut himself up with his men in a +fortified house, refusing to permit them to hold any communication with +Roldan. The latter threatened to set fire to the house; but after a little +consideration, contented himself with seizing their store of provisions, +and then marched towards Fort Conception, which was not quite half a +league distant. [22] + + + + +Chapter V. + +The Adelantado Repairs to the Vega in Relief of Fort Conception.--His +Interview with Roldan. + +[1497.] + + + +The Adelantado had received intelligence of the flagitious proceedings of +Roldan, yet hesitated for a time to set out in pursuit of him. He had lost +all confidence in the loyalty of the people around him, and knew not how +far the conspiracy extended, nor on whom he could rely. Diego de Escobar, +alcayde of the fortress of La Madalena, together with Adrian de Moxica and +Pedro de Valdivieso, all principal men, were in league with Roldan. He +feared that the commander of Fort Conception might likewise be in the +plot, and the whole island in arms against him. He was reassured, however, +by tidings from Miguel Ballester. That loyal veteran wrote to him pressing +letters for succor; representing the weakness of his garrison, and the +increasing forces of the rebels. + +Don Bartholomew hastened to his assistance with his accustomed promptness, +and threw himself with a reinforcement into the fortress. Being ignorant +of the force of the rebels, and doubtful of the loyalty of his own +followers, he determined to adopt mild measures. Understanding that Roldan +was quartered at a village but half a league distant, he sent a message to +him, remonstrating on the flagrant irregularity of his conduct, the injury +it was calculated to produce in the island, and the certain ruin it must +bring upon himself, and summoning him to appear at the fortress, pledging +his word for his personal safety. Roldan repaired accordingly to Fort +Conception, where the Adelantado held a parley with him from a window, +demanding the reason of his appearing in arms, in opposition to royal +authority. Roldan replied boldly, that he was in the service of his +sovereigns, defending their subjects from the oppression of men who sought +their destruction. The Adelantado ordered him to surrender his staff of +office, as alcalde mayor, and to submit peaceably to superior authority. +Roldan refused to resign his office, or to put himself in the power of Don +Bartholomew, whom he charged with seeking his life. He refused also to +submit to any trial, unless commanded by the king. Pretending, however, to +make no resistance to the peaceable exercise of authority, he offered to +go with his followers, and reside at any place the Adelantado might +appoint. The latter immediately designated the village of the cacique +Diego Colon, the same native of the Lucayos Islands who had been baptized +in Spain, and had since married a daughter of Guarionex. Roldan objected, +pretending there were not sufficient provisions to be had there for the +subsistence of his men, and departed, declaring that he would seek a more +eligible residence elsewhere. [23] + +He now proposed to his followers to take possession of the remote province +of Xaragua. The Spaniards who had returned thence gave enticing accounts +of the life they had led there; of the fertility of the soil, the +sweetness of the climate, the hospitality and gentleness of the people, +their feasts, dances, and various amusements, and, above all, the beauty +of the women; for they had been captivated by the naked charms of the +dancing nymphs of Xaragua. In this delightful region, emancipated from the +iron rule of the Adelantado, and relieved from the necessity of irksome +labor, they might lead a life of perfect freedom and indulgence, and have +a world of beauty at their command. In short, Roldan drew a picture of +loose sensual enjoyment, such as he knew to be irresistible with men of +idle and dissolute habits. His followers acceded with joy to his +proposition. Some preparations, however, were necessary to carry it into +effect. Taking advantage of the absence of the Adelantado, he suddenly +marched with his band to Isabella, and entering it in a manner by +surprise, endeavored to launch the caravel, with which they might sail to +Xaragua. Don Diego Columbus, hearing the tumult, issued forth with several +cavaliers; but such was the force of the mutineers, and their menacing +conduct, that he was obliged to withdraw, with his adherents, into the +fortress. Roldan held several parleys with him, and offered to submit to +his command, provided he would set himself up in opposition to his brother +the Adelantado. His proposition was treated with scorn. The fortress was +too strong to be assailed with success; he found it impossible to launch +the caravel, and feared the Adelantado might return, and he be inclosed +between two forces. He proceeded, therefore, in all haste to make +provisions for the proposed expedition to Xaragua. Still pretending to act +in his official capacity, and to do every thing from loyal motives, for +the protection and support of the oppressed subjects of the crown, he +broke open the royal warehouse, with shouts of "Long live the king!" +supplied his followers with arms, ammunition, clothing, and whatever they +desired from the public stores; proceeded to the inclosure where the +cattle and other European animals were kept to breed, took such as he +thought necessary for his intended establishment, and permitted his +followers to kill such of the remainder as they might want for present +supply. Having committed this wasteful ravage, he marched in triumph out +of Isabella. [24] Reflecting, however, on the prompt and vigorous +character of the Adelantado, he felt that his situation would be but +little secure with such an active enemy behind him; who, on extricating +himself from present perplexities, would not fail to pursue him to his +proposed paradise of Xaragua. He determined, therefore, to march again to +the Vega, and endeavor either to get possession of the person of the +Adelantado, or to strike some blow, in his present crippled state, that +should disable him from offering further molestation. Returning, +therefore, to the vicinity of Fort Conception, he endeavored in every way, +by the means of subtle emissaries, to seduce the garrison to desertion, or +to excite it to revolt. + +The Adelantado dared not take the field with his forces, having no +confidence in their fidelity. He knew that they listened wistfully to the +emissaries of Roldan, and contrasted the meagre fare and stern discipline +of the garrison with the abundant cheer and easy misrule that prevailed +among the rebels. To counteract these seductions, he relaxed from his +usual strictness, treating his men with great indulgence, and promising +them large rewards. By these means he was enabled to maintain some degree +of loyalty amongst his forces, his service having the advantage over that +of Roldan, of being on the side of government and law. + +Finding his attempts to corrupt the garrison unsuccessful, and fearing +some sudden sally from the vigorous Adelantado, Roldan drew off to a +distance, and sought by insidious means to strengthen his own power, and +weaken that of the government. He asserted equal right to manage the +affairs of the island with the Adelantado, and pretended to have separated +from him on account of his being passionate and vindictive in the exercise +of his authority. He represented him as the tyrant of the Spaniards, the +oppressor of the Indians. For himself, he assumed the character of a +redresser of grievances and champion of the injured. He pretended to feel +a patriotic indignation at the affronts heaped upon Spaniards by a family +of obscure and arrogant foreigners; and professed to free the natives from +tributes wrung from them by these rapacious men for their own enrichment, +and contrary to the beneficent intentions of the Spanish monarchs. He +connected himself closely with the Carib cacique Manicaotex, brother of +the late Caonabo, whose son and nephew were in his possession as hostages +for payment of tributes. This warlike chieftain he conciliated by presents +and caresses, bestowing on him the appellation of brother. [25] The +unhappy natives, deceived by his professions, and overjoyed at the idea of +having a protector in arms for their defence, submitted cheerfully to a +thousand impositions, supplying his followers with provisions in +abundance, and bringing to Roldan all the gold they could collect; +voluntarily yielding him heavier tributes than those from which he +pretended to free them. + +The affairs of the island were now in a lamentable situation. The Indians, +perceiving the dissensions among the white men, and encouraged by the +protection of Roldan, began to throw off all allegiance to the government. +The caciques at a distance ceased to send in their tributes, and those who +were in the vicinity were excused by the Adelantado, that by indulgence he +might retain their friendship in this time of danger. Roldan's faction +daily gained strength; they ranged insolently and at large in the open +country, and were supported by the misguided natives; while the Spaniards +who remained loyal, fearing conspiracies among the natives, had to keep +under shelter of the fort, or in the strong houses which they had erected +in the villages. The commanders were obliged to palliate all kinds of +slights and indignities, both from their soldiers and from the Indians, +fearful of driving them to sedition by any severity. The clothing and +munitions of all kinds, either for maintenance or defence, were rapidly +wasting away, and the want of all supplies or tidings from Spain was +sinking the spirits of the well-affected into despondency. The Adelantado +was shut up in Fort Conception, in daily expectation of being openly +besieged by Roldan, and was secretly informed that means were taken to +destroy him, should he issue from the walls of the fortress. [26] + +Such was the desperate state to which the colony was reduced, in +consequence of the long detention of Columbus in Spain, and the +impediments thrown in the way of all his measures for the benefit of the +island by the delays of cabinets and the chicanery of Fonseca and his +satellites. At this critical juncture, when faction reigned triumphant, +and the colony was on the brink of ruin, tidings were brought to the Vega +that Pedro Fernandez Coronal had arrived at the port of San Domingo, with +two ships, bringing supplies of all kinds, and a strong reinforcement of +troops. [27] + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Second Insurrection of Guarionex, and His Flight to the Mountains of +Ciguay. + +[1498.] + + + +The arrival of Coronal, which took place on the third of February, was the +salvation of the colony. The reinforcements of troops, and of supplies of +all kinds, strengthened the hands of Don Bartholomew. The royal +confirmation of his title and authority as Adelantado at once dispelled +all doubts as to the legitimacy of his power; and the tidings that the +admiral was in high favor at court, and would soon arrive with a powerful +squadron, struck consternation into those who had entered into the +rebellion on the presumption of his having fallen into disgrace. + +The Adelantado no longer remained mewed up in his fortress, but set out +immediately for San Domingo with a part of his troops, although a much +superior rebel force was at the village of the cacique Guarionex, at a +very short distance. Roldan followed slowly and gloomily with his party, +anxious to ascertain the truth of these tidings, to make partisans, if +possible, among those who had newly arrived, and to take advantage of +every circumstance that might befriend his rash and hazardous projects. +The Adelantado left strong guards on the passes of the roads to prevent +his near approach to San Domingo, but Roldan paused within a few leagues +of the place. + +When the Adelantado found himself secure in San Domingo with this +augmentation of force, and the prospect of a still greater reinforcement +at hand, his magnanimity prevailed over his indignation, and he sought by +gentle means to allay the popular seditions, that the island might be +restored to tranquillity before his brother's arrival. He considered that +the colonists had suffered greatly from the want of supplies; that their +discontents had been heightened by the severities he bad been compelled to +inflict; and that many had been led to rebellion by doubts of the +legitimacy of his authority. While, therefore, he proclaimed the royal act +sanctioning his title and powers, he promised amnesty for all past +offences, on condition of immediate return to allegiance. Hearing that +Roldan was within five leagues of San Domingo with his band, he sent Pedro +Fernandez Coronal, who had been appointed by the sovereigns alguazil mayor +of the island, to exhort him to obedience, promising him oblivion of the +past. He trusted that the representations of a discreet and honorable man +like Coronal, who had been witness of the favor in which his brother stood +in Spain, would convince the rebels of the hopelessness of their course. + +Roldan, however, conscious of his guilt, and doubtful of the clemency of +Don Bartholomew, feared to venture within his power; he determined, also, +to prevent his followers from communicating with Coronal, lest they should +be seduced from him by the promise of pardon. When that emissary, +therefore, approached the encampment of the rebels, he was opposed in a +narrow pass by a body of archers, with their cross-bows levelled. "Halt +there! traitor!" cried Roldan, "had you arrived eight days later, we +should all have been united as one man." [28] + +In vain Coronal endeavored by fair reasoning and earnest entreaty to win +this perverse and turbulent man from his career. Roldan answered with +hardihood and defiance, professing to oppose only the tyranny and misrule +of the Adelantado, but to be ready to submit to the admiral on his +arrival. He, and several of his principal confederates, wrote letters to +the same effect to their friends in San Domingo, urging them to plead +their cause with the admiral when he should arrive, and to assure him of +their disposition to acknowledge his authority. + +When Coronal returned with accounts of Roldan's contumacy, the Adelantado +proclaimed him and his followers traitors. That shrewd rebel, however, did +not suffer his men to remain within either the seduction of promise or the +terror of menace; he immediately set out on his march for his promised +land of Xaragua, trusting to impair every honest principle and virtuous +tie of his misguided followers by a life of indolence and libertinage. + +In the meantime the mischievous effects of his intrigues among the +caciques became more and more apparent. No sooner had the Adelantado left +Fort Conception, than a conspiracy was formed among the natives to +surprise it. Guarionex was at the head of this conspiracy, moved by the +instigations of Roldan, who had promised him protection and assistance, +and led on by the forlorn hope, in this distracted state of the Spanish +forces, of relieving his paternal domains from the intolerable domination +of usurping strangers. Holding secret communications with his tributary +caciques, it was concerted that they should all rise simultaneously and +massacre the soldiery, quartered in small parties in their villages; while +he, with a chosen force, should surprise the fortress of Conception. The +night of the full moon was fixed upon for the insurrection. + +One of the principal caciques, however, not being a correct observer of +the heavenly bodies, took up arms before the appointed night, and was +repulsed by the soldiers quartered in his village. The alarm was given, +and the Spaniards were all put on the alert. The cacique fled to Guarionex +for protection, but the chieftain, enraged at his fatal blunder, put him +to death upon the spot. + +No sooner did the Adelantado hear of this fresh conspiracy, than he put +himself on the march for the Vega with a strong body of men. Guarionex did +not await his coming. He saw that every attempt was fruitless to shake off +these strangers, who had settled like a curse upon his territories. He had +found their very friendship withering and destructive, and he now dreaded +their vengeance. Abandoning, therefore, his rightful domain, the once +happy Vega, he fled with his family and a small band of faithful followers +to the mountains of Ciguay. This is a lofty chain, extending along the +north side of the island, between the Vega and the sea. The inhabitants +were the most robust and hardy tribe of the island, and far more +formidable than the mild inhabitants of the plains. It was a part of this +tribe which displayed hostility to the Spaniards in the course of the +first voyage of Columbus, and in a skirmish with them in the Gulf of +Semana the first drop of native blood had been shed in the New World. The +reader may remember the frank and confiding conduct of these people the +day after the skirmish, and the intrepid faith with which their cacique +trusted himself on board of the caravel of the admiral, and in the power +of the Spaniards. It was to this same cacique, named Mayobanex, that the +fugitive chieftain of the Vega now applied for refuge. He came to his +residence at an Indian town near Cape Cabron, about forty leagues east of +Isabella, and implored shelter for his wife and children, and his handful +of loyal followers. The noble-minded cacique of the mountains received him +with open arms. He not only gave an asylum to his family, but engaged to +stand by him in his distress, to defend his cause, and share his desperate +fortunes. [29]Men in civilized life learn magnanimity from precept, +but their most generous actions are often rivaled by the deeds of +untutored savages, who act only from natural impulse. + + + + +Chapter VII. + +Campaign of the Adelantado in the Mountains of Ciguay. + +[1498.] + + + +Aided by his mountain ally, and by bands of hardy Ciguayans, Guarionex +made several descents into the plain, cutting off straggling parties of +the Spaniards, laying waste the villages of the natives which continued in +allegiance to them, and destroying the fruits of the earth. The Adelantado +put a speedy stop to these molestations; but he determined to root out so +formidable an adversary from the neighborhood. Shrinking from no danger +nor fatigue, and leaving nothing to be done by others which he could do +himself, he set forth in the spring with a band of ninety men, a few +cavalry, and a body of Indians, to penetrate the Ciguay mountains. + +After passing a steep defile, rendered almost impracticable for troops by +rugged rocks and exuberant vegetation, he descended into a beautiful +valley or plain, extending along the coast, and embraced by arms of the +mountains which approached the sea. His advance into the country was +watched by the keen eyes of Indian scouts who lurked among rocks and +thickets. As the Spaniards were seeking the ford of a river at the +entrance of the plain, two of these spies darted from among the bushes on +its bank. One flung himself headlong into the water, and swimming across +the mouth of the river escaped; the other being taken, gave information +that six thousand Indians lay in ambush on the opposite shore, waiting to +attack them as they crossed. + +The Adelantado advanced with caution, and finding a shallow place, entered +the river with his troops. They were scarcely midway in the stream when +the savages, hideously painted, and looking more like fiends than men, +burst from their concealment. The forest rang with their yells and +howlings. They discharged a shower of arrows and lances, by which, +notwithstanding the protection of their targets, many of the Spaniards +were wounded. The Adelantado, however, forced his way across the river, +and the Indians took to flight. Some were killed, but their swiftness of +foot, their knowledge of the forest, and their dexterity in winding +through the most tangled thickets, enabled the greater number to elude the +pursuit of the Spaniards, who were encumbered with armor, targets, +crossbows, and lances. + +By the advice of one of his Indian guides, the Adelantado pressed forward +along the valley to reach the residence of Mayobanex, at Cabron. In the +way he had several skirmishes with the natives, who would suddenly rush +forth with furious war-cries from ambuscades among the bushes, discharge +their weapons, and take refuge again in the fastnesses of their rocks and +forests, inaccessible to the Spaniards. + +Having taken several prisoners, the Adelantado sent one accompanied by an +Indian of a friendly tribe, as a messenger to Mayobanex, demanding the +surrender of Guarionex; promising friendship and protection in case of +compliance, but threatening, in case of refusal, to lay waste his +territory with fire and sword. The cacique listened attentively to the +messenger: "Tell the Spaniards," said he in reply, "that they are bad men, +cruel and tyrannical; usurpers of the territories of others, and shedders +of innocent blood. I desire not the friendship of such men; Guarionex is a +good man, he is my friend, he is my guest, he has fled to me for refuge, I +have promised to protect him, and I will keep my word." + +This magnanimous reply, or rather defiance, convinced the Adelantado that +nothing was to be gained by friendly overtures. When severity was +required, he could be a stern soldier. He immediately ordered the village +in which he had been quartered, and several others in the neighborhood, to +be set on fire. He then sent further messengers to Mayobanex, warning him +that, unless he delivered up the fugitive cacique, his whole dominions +should be laid waste in like manner; and he would see nothing in every +direction but the smoke and flames of burning villages. Alarmed at this +impending destruction, the Ciguayans surrounded their chieftain with +clamorous lamentations, cursing the day that Guarionex had taken refuge +among them, and urging that he should be given up for the salvation of the +country. The generous cacique was inflexible. He reminded them of the many +virtues of Guarionex, and the sacred claims he had on their hospitality, +and declared he would abide all evils, rather than it should ever be said +Mayobanex had betrayed his guest. + +The people retired with sorrowful hearts, and the chieftain, summoning +Guarionex into his presence, again pledged his word to protect him, though +it should cost him his dominions. He sent no reply to the Adelantado, and +lest further messages might tempt the fidelity of his subjects, he placed +men in ambush, with orders to slay any messenger who might approach. They +had not lain in wait long, before they beheld two men advancing through +the forest, one of whom was a captive Ciguayan, and the other an Indian +ally of the Spaniards. They were both instantly slain. The Adelantado was +following at no great distance, with only ten foot-soldiers and four +horsemen. When he found his messengers lying dead in the forest path, +transfixed with arrows, he was greatly exasperated, and resolved to deal +rigorously with this obstinate tribe. He advanced, therefore, with all his +force to Cabron, where Mayobanex and his army were quartered. At his +approach the inferior caciques and their adherents fled, overcome by +terror of the Spaniards. Finding himself thus deserted, Mayobanex took +refuge with his family in a secret part of the mountains. Several of the +Ciguayans sought for Guarionex, to kill him or deliver him up as a +propitiatory offering, but he fled to the heights, where he wandered about +alone, in the most savage and desolate places. + +The density of the forests and the ruggedness of the mountains rendered +this expedition excessively painful and laborious, and protracted it far +beyond the time that the Adelantado had contemplated. His men suffered, +not merely from fatigue, but hunger. The natives had all fled to the +mountains; their villages remained empty and desolate; all the provisions +of the Spaniards consisted of cassava bread, and such roots and herbs as +their Indian allies could gather for them, with now and then a few utias +taken with the assistance of their dogs. They slept almost always on the +ground, in the open air, under the trees, exposed to the heavy dew which +falls in this climate. For three months they were thus ranging the +mountains, until almost worn out with toil and hard fare. Many of them had +farms in the neighborhood of Fort Conception, which required their +attention; they, therefore, entreated permission, since the Indians were +terrified and dispersed, to return to their abodes in the Vega. + +The Adelantado granted many of them passports and an allowance out of the +scanty stock of bread which remained. Retaining only thirty men, he +resolved with these to search every den and cavern of the mountains until +he should find the two caciques. It was difficult, however, to trace them +in such a wilderness. There was no one to give a clue to their retreat, +for the whole country was abandoned. There were the habitations of men, +but not a human being to be seen; or if, by chance, they caught some +wretched Indian stealing forth from the mountains in quest of food, he +always professed utter ignorance of the hiding-place of the caciques. + +It happened one day, however, that several Spaniards, while hunting utias, +captured two of the followers of Mayobanex, who were on their way to a +distant village in search of bread. They were taken to the Adelantado, who +compelled them to betray the place of concealment of their chieftain, and +to act as guides. Twelve Spaniards volunteered to go in quest of him. +Stripping themselves naked, staining and painting their bodies so as to +look like Indians, and covering their swords with palm-leaves, they were +conducted by the guides to the retreat of the unfortunate Mayobanex. They +came secretly upon him, and found him surrounded by his wife and children +and a few of his household, totally unsuspicious of danger. Drawing their +swords, the Spaniards rushed upon them, and made them all prisoners. When +they were brought to the Adelantado, he gave up all further search after +Guarionex, and returned to Fort Conception. + +Among the prisoners thus taken was the sister of Mayobanex. She was the +wife of another cacique of the mountains, whose territories had never yet +been visited by the Spaniards; and she was reputed to be one of the most +beautiful women of the island. Tenderly attached to her brother, she had +abandoned the security of her own dominions, and had followed him among +rocks and precipices, participating in all his hardships, and comforting +him with a woman's sympathy and kindness. When her husband heard of her +captivity, he hastened to the Adelantado and offered to submit himself and +all his possessions to his sway, if his wife might be restored to him. The +Adelantado accepted his offer of allegiance, and released his wife and +several of his subjects who had been captured. The cacique, faithful to +his word, became a firm and valuable ally of the Spaniards, cultivating +large tracts of land, and supplying them with great quantities of bread +and other provisions. + +Kindness appears never to have been lost upon the people of this island. +When this act of clemency reached the Ciguayans, they came in multitudes +to the fortress, bringing presents of various kinds, promising allegiance, +and imploring the release of Mayobanex and his family. The Adelantado +granted their prayers in part, releasing the wife and household of the +cacique, but still detaining him prisoner to insure the fidelity of his +subjects. + +In the meantime the unfortunate Guarionex, who had been hiding in the +wildest parts of the mountains, was driven by hunger to venture down +occasionally into the plain in quest of food. The Ciguayans looking upon +him as the cause of their misfortunes, and perhaps hoping by his sacrifice +to procure the release of their chieftain, betrayed his haunts to the +Adelantado. A party was dispatched to secure him. They lay in wait in the +path by which he usually returned to the mountains. As the unhappy +cacique, after one of his famished excursions, was returning to his den +among the cliffs, he was surprised by the lurking Spaniards, and brought +in chains to Fort Conception. After his repeated insurrections, and the +extraordinary zeal and perseverance displayed in his pursuit, Guarionex +expected nothing less than death from the vengeance of the Adelantado. Don +Bartholomew, however, though stern in his policy, was neither vindictive +nor cruel in his nature. He considered the tranquillity of the Vega +sufficiently secured by the captivity of the cacique; and ordered him to +be detained a prisoner and hostage in the fortress. The Indian hostilities +in this important part of the island being thus brought to a conclusion, +and precautions taken to prevent their recurrence, Don Bartholomew +returned to the city of San Domingo, where, shortly after his arrival, he +had the happiness of receiving his brother, the admiral, after nearly two +years and six months' absence. [30] + +Such was the active, intrepid, and sagacious, but turbulent and disastrous +administration of the Adelantado, in which we find evidences of the great +capacity, the mental and bodily vigor of this self-formed and almost +self-taught man. He united, in a singular degree, the sailor, the soldier, +and the legislator. Like his brother, the admiral, his mind and manners +rose immediately to the level of his situation, showing no arrogance nor +ostentation, and exercising the sway of sudden and extraordinary power +with the sobriety and moderation of one who had been born to rule. He has +been accused of severity in his government, but no instance appears of a +cruel or wanton abuse of authority. If he was stern towards the factious +Spaniards, he was just; the disasters of his administration were not +produced by his own rigor, but by the perverse passions of others, which +called for its exercise; and the admiral, who had more suavity of manner +and benevolence of heart, was not more fortunate in conciliating the good +will, and insuring the obedience of the colonists. The merits of Don +Bartholomew do not appear to have been sufficiently appreciated by the +world. His portrait has been suffered to remain too much in the shade; it +is worthy of being brought into the light, as a companion to that of his +illustrious brother. Less amiable and engaging, perhaps, in its +lineaments, and less characterized by magnanimity, its traits are +nevertheless bold, generous, and heroic, and stamped with iron firmness. + + + + + +Book XII. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Confusion in the Island.--Proceedings of the Rebels at Xaragua. + +[August 30, 1498.] + + + +Columbus arrived at San Domingo, wearied by a long and arduous voyage, and +worn down by infirmities; both mind and body craved repose, but from the +time he first entered into public life, he had been doomed never again to +taste the sweets of tranquillity. The island of Hispaniola, the favorite +child as it were of his hopes, was destined to involve him in perpetual +troubles, to fetter his fortunes, impede his enterprises, and imbitter the +conclusion of his life. What a scene of poverty and suffering had this +opulent and lovely island been rendered by the bad passions of a few +despicable men! The wars with the natives and the seditions among the +colonists had put a stop to the labors of the mines, and all hopes of +wealth were at an end. The horrors of famine had succeeded to those of +war. The cultivation of the earth had been generally neglected; several of +the provinces had been desolated during the late troubles; a great part of +the Indians had fled to the mountains, and those who remained had lost all +heart to labor, seeing the produce of their toils liable to be wrested +from them by ruthless strangers. It is true, the Vega was once more +tranquil, but it was a desolate tranquillity. That beautiful region, which +the Spaniards but four years before had found so populous and happy, +seeming to inclose in its luxuriant bosom all the sweets of nature, and to +exclude all the cares and sorrows of the world, was now a scene of +wretchedness and repining. Many of those Indian towns, where the Spaniards +had been detained by genial hospitality, and almost worshiped as +beneficent deities, were now silent and deserted. Some of their late +inhabitants were lurking among rocks and caverns; some were reduced to +slavery; many had perished with hunger, and many had fallen by the sword. +It seems almost incredible, that so small a number of men, restrained too +by well-meaning governors, could in so short a space of time have produced +such wide-spreading miseries. But the principles of evil have a fatal +activity. With every exertion, the best of men can do but a moderate +amount of good; but it seems in the power of the most contemptible +individual to do incalculable mischief. + +The evil passions of the white men, which had inflicted such calamities +upon this innocent people, had insured likewise a merited return of +suffering to themselves. In no part was this more truly exemplified than +among the inhabitants of Isabella, the most idle, factious, and dissolute +of the island. The public works were unfinished; the gardens and fields +they had begun to cultivate lay neglected: they had driven the natives +from their vicinity by extortion and cruelty, and had rendered the country +around them a solitary wilderness. Too idle to labor, and destitute of any +resources with which to occupy their indolence, they quarrelled among +themselves, mutinied against their rulers, and wasted their time in +alternate riot and despondency. Many of the soldiery quartered about the +island had suffered from ill health during the late troubles, being shut +up in Indian villages where they could take no exercise, and obliged to +subsist on food to which they could not accustom themselves. Those +actively employed had been worn down by hard service, long marches, and +scanty food. Many of them were broken in constitution, and many had +perished by disease. There was a universal desire to leave the island, and +escape from miseries created by themselves. Yet this was the favored and +fruitful land to which the eyes of philosophers and poets in Europe were +fondly turned, as realizing the pictures of the golden age. So true it is, +that the fairest Elysium fancy ever devised would be turned into a +purgatory by the passions of bad men! + +One of the first measures of Columbus on his arrival was to issue a +proclamation approving of all the measures of the Adelantado, and +denouncing Roldan and his associates. That turbulent man had taken +possession of Xaragua, and been kindly received by the natives. He had +permitted his followers to lead an idle and licentious life among its +beautiful scenes, making the surrounding country and its inhabitants +subservient to their pleasures and their passions. An event happened +previous to their knowledge of the arrival of Columbus, which threw +supplies into their hands, and strengthened their power. As they were one +day loitering on the sea-shore, they beheld three caravels at a distance, +the sight of which, in this unfrequented part of the ocean, filled them +with wonder and alarm. The ships approached the land, and came to anchor. +The rebels apprehended at first they were vessels dispatched in pursuit of +them. Roldan, however, who was sagacious as he was bold, surmised them to +be ships which had wandered from their course, and been borne to the +westward by the currents, and that they must be ignorant of the recent +occurrences of the island. Enjoining secrecy on his men, he went on board, +pretending to be stationed in that neighborhood for the purpose of keeping +the natives in obedience, and collecting tribute. His conjectures as to +the vessels were correct. They were, in fact, the three caravels detached +by Columbus from his squadron at the Canary Islands, to bring supplies to +the colonies. The captains, ignorant of the strength of the currents, +which set through the Caribbean Sea, had been carried west far beyond +their reckoning, until they had wandered to the coast of Xaragua. + +Roldan kept his secret closely for three days. Being considered a man in +important trust and authority, the captains did not hesitate to grant all +his requests for supplies. He procured swords, lances, cross-bows, and +various military stores; while his men, dispersed through the three +vessels, were busy among the crews, secretly making partisans, +representing the hard life of the colonists at San Domingo, and the ease +and revelry in which they passed their time at Xaragua. Many of the crews +had been shipped in compliance with the admiral's ill-judged proposition, +to commute criminal punishments into transportation to the colony. They +were vagabonds, the refuse of Spanish towns, and culprits from Spanish +dungeons; the very men, therefore, to be wrought upon by such +representations, and they promised to desert on the first opportunity and +join the rebels. + +It was not until the third day, that Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, the most +intelligent of the three captains, discovered the real character of the +guests he had admitted so freely on board of his vessels. It was then too +late; the mischief was effected. He and his fellow captains had many +earnest conversations with Roldan, endeavoring to persuade him from his +dangerous opposition to the regular authority. The certainty that Columbus +was actually on his way to the island, with additional forces, and +augmented authority, had operated strongly on his mind. He had, as has +already been intimated, prepared his friends at San Domingo to plead his +cause with the admiral, assuring him that he had only acted in opposition +to the injustice and oppression of the Adelantado, but was ready to submit +to Columbus on his arrival. Carvajal perceived that the resolution of +Roldan and of several of his principal confederates was shaken, and +flattered himself, that, if he were to remain some little time among the +rebels, he might succeed in drawing them back to their duty. Contrary winds +rendered it impossible for the ships to work up against the currents to +San Domingo. It was arranged among the captains, therefore, that a large +number of the people on board, artificers and others most important to the +service of the colony, should proceed to the settlement by land. They were +to be conducted by Juan Antonio Colombo, captain of one of the caravels, a +relative of the admiral, and zealously devoted to his interests. Arana was +to proceed with the ships, when the wind would permit, and Carvajal +volunteered to remain on shore, to endeavor to bring the rebels to their +allegiance. + +On the following morning, Juan Antonio Colombo landed with forty men well +armed with cross-bows, swords, and lances, but was astonished to find +himself suddenly deserted by all his party excepting eight. The deserters +went off to the rebels, who received with exultation this important +reinforcement of kindred spirits. Juan Antonio endeavored in vain by +remonstrances and threats to bring them back to their duty. They were most +of them convicted culprits, accustomed to detest order, and to set law at +defiance. It was equally in vain that he appealed to Roldan, and reminded +him of his professions of loyalty to the government. The latter replied +that he had no means of enforcing obedience; his was a mere "Monastery of +Observation," where every one was at liberty to adopt the habit of the +order. Such was the first of a long train of evils, which sprang from this +most ill-judged expedient of peopling a colony with criminals, and thus +mingling vice and villany with the fountain-head of its population. + +Juan Antonio, grieved and disconcerted, returned on board with the few who +remained faithful. Fearing further desertions, the two captains +immediately put to sea, leaving Carvajal on shore, to prosecute his +attempt at reforming the rebels. It was not without great difficulty and +delay that the vessels reached San Domingo; the ship of Carvajal having +struck on a sand-bank, and sustained great injury. By the time of their +arrival, the greater part of the provisions with which they had been +freighted was either exhausted or damaged. Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal +arrived shortly afterwards by land, having been escorted to within six +leagues of the place by several of the insurgents, to protect him from the +Indians. He failed in his attempt to persuade the band to immediate +submission; but Roldan had promised that the moment he heard of the +arrival of Columbus, he would repair to the neighborhood of San Domingo, +to be at hand to state his grievances, and the reasons of his past +conduct, and to enter into a negotiation for the adjustment of all +differences. Carvajal brought a letter from him to the admiral to the same +purport; and expressed a confident opinion, from all that he observed of +the rebels, that they might easily be brought back to their allegiance by +an assurance of amnesty. [31] + + + + +Chapter II. + +Negotiation of the Admiral with the Rebels.--Departure of Ships for Spain. + +[1498.] + + + +Notwithstanding the favorable representations of Carvajal, Columbus was +greatly troubled by the late event at Xaragua. He saw that the insolence +of the rebels, and their confidence in their strength, must be greatly +increased by the accession of such a large number of well-armed and +desperate confederates. The proposition of Roldan to approach to the +neighborhood of San Domingo, startled him. He doubted the sincerity of his +professions, and apprehended great evils and dangers from so artful, +daring, and turbulent a leader, with a rash and devoted crew at his +command. The example of this lawless horde, roving at large about the +island, and living in loose revel and open profligacy, could not but have +a dangerous effect upon the colonists newly arrived; and when they were +close at hand, to carry on secret intrigues, and to hold out a camp of +refuge to all malcontents, the loyalty of the whole colony might be sapped +and undermined. + +Some measures were immediately necessary to fortify the fidelity of the +people against such seductions. He was aware of a vehement desire among +many to return to Spain; and of an assertion industriously propagated by +the seditious, that he and his brothers wished to detain the colonists on +the island through motives of self-interest. On the 12th of September, +therefore, he issued a proclamation, offering free passage and provisions +for the voyage to all who wished to return to Spain, in five vessels +nearly ready to put to sea. He hoped by this means to relieve the colony +from the idle and disaffected; to weaken the party of Roldan, and to +retain none about him but such as were sound-hearted and well-disposed. + +He wrote at the same time to Miguel Ballester, the staunch and well-tried +veteran who commanded the fortress of Conception, advising him to be upon +his guard, as the rebels were coining into his neighborhood. He empowered +him also to have an interview with Roldan; to offer him pardon and +oblivion of the past, on condition of his immediate return to duty; and to +invite him to repair to San Domingo to have an interview with the admiral, +under a solemn, and, if required, a written assurance from the latter, of +personal safety. Columbus was sincere in his intentions. He was of a +benevolent and placable disposition, and singularly free from all +vindictive feelings towards the many worthless and wicked men who heaped +sorrow on his head. + +Ballester had scarcely received this letter, when the rebels began to +arrive at the village of Bonao. This was situated in a beautiful valley, +or Vega, bearing the same name, about ten leagues from Fort Conception, +and about twenty from San Domingo, in a well-peopled and abundant country. +Here Pedro Riquelme, one of the ringleaders of the sedition, had large +possessions, and his residence became the headquarters of the rebels. +Adrian de Moxica, a man of turbulent and mischievous character, brought +his detachment of dissolute ruffians to this place of rendezvous. Roldan +and others of the conspirators drew together there by different routes. + +No sooner did the veteran Miguel Ballester hear of the arrival of Roldan, +than he set forth to meet him. Ballester was a venerable man, gray-headed, +and of a soldier-like demeanor. Loyal, frank, and virtuous, of a serious +disposition, and great simplicity of heart, he was well chosen as a +mediator with rash and profligate men; being calculated to calm their +passions by his sobriety; to disarm their petulance by his age; to win +their confidence by his artless probity; and to awe their licentiousness +by his spotless virtue. [32] + +Ballester found Roldan in company with Pedro Riquelme, Pedro de Gamez, and +Adrian de Moxica, three of his principal confederates. Flushed with a +confidence of his present strength, Roldan treated the proffered pardon +with contempt, declaring that he did not come there to treat of peace, but +to demand the release of certain Indians captured unjustifiably, and about +to be shipped to Spain as slaves, notwithstanding that he, in his capacity +of alcalde mayor, had pledged his word for their protection. He declared +that, until these Indians were given up, he would listen to no terms of +compact; throwing out an insolent intimation at the same time, that he +held the admiral and his fortunes in his hand, to make and mar them as he +pleased. + +The Indians he alluded to were certain subjects of Guarionex, who had been +incited by Roldan to resist the exaction of tribute, and who, under the +sanction of his supposed authority, had engaged in the insurrections of +the Vega. Roldan knew that the enslavement of the Indians was an unpopular +feature in the government of the island, especially with the queen; and +the artful character of this man is evinced in his giving his opposition +to Columbus the appearance of a vindication of the rights of the suffering +islanders. Other demands were made of a highly insolent nature, and the +rebels declared that, in all further negotiations, they would treat with +no other intermediate agent than Carvajal, having had proofs of his +fairness and impartiality in the course of their late communications with +him at Xaragua. + +This arrogant reply to his proffer of pardon was totally different from +what the admiral had been led to expect, and placed him in an embarrassing +situation. He seemed surrounded by treachery and falsehood. He knew that +Roldan had friends and secret partisans even among those who professed to +remain faithful; and he knew not how far the ramifications of the +conspiracy might extend. A circumstance soon occurred to show the justice +of his apprehensions. He ordered the men of San Domingo to appear under +arms, that he might ascertain the force with which he could take the field +in case of necessity. A report was, immediately circulated that they were +to be led to Bonao, against the rebels. Not above seventy men appeared +under arms, and of these not forty were to be relied upon. One affected to +be lame, another ill; some had relations, and others had friends among the +followers of Roldan: almost all were disaffected to the service. +[33] + +Columbus saw that a resort to arms would betray his own weakness and the +power of the rebels, and completely prostrate the dignity and authority of +government. It was necessary to temporize, therefore, however humiliating +such conduct might be deemed. He had detained the five ships for eighteen +days in port, hoping in some way to have put an end to this rebellion, so +as to send home favorable accounts of the island to the sovereigns. The +provisions of the ships, however, were wasting. The Indian prisoners on +board were suffering and perishing; several of them threw themselves +overboard, or were suffocated with heat in the holds of the vessels. He +was anxious, also, that as many of the discontented colonists as possible +should make sail for Spain before any commotion should take place. + +On the 18th of October, therefore, the ships put to sea. [34] Columbus +wrote to the sovereigns an account of the rebellion, and of his proffered +pardon being refused. As Roldan pretended that it was a mere quarrel +between him and the Adelantado, of which the admiral was not an impartial +judge, the latter entreated that Roldan might be summoned to Spain, where +the sovereigns might be his judges; or that an investigation might take +place in presence of Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, who was friendly to +Roldan, and of Miguel Ballester, as witness on the part of the Adelantado. +He attributed, in a great measure, the troubles of this island to his own +long detention in Spain, and the delays thrown in his way by those +appointed to assist him, who had retarded the departure of the ships with +supplies, until the colony had been reduced to the greatest scarcity. +Hence had arisen discontent, murmuring, and finally rebellion. He +entreated the sovereigns, in the most pressing manner, that the affairs of +the colony might not be neglected, and those at Seville, who had charge of +its concerns, might be instructed at least not to devise impediments +instead of assistance. He alluded to his chastisement of the contemptible +Ximeno Breviesca, the insolent minion of Fonseca, and entreated that +neither that nor any other circumstance might be allowed to prejudice him +in the royal favor, through the misrepresentations of designing men. He +assured them that the natural resources of the island required nothing but +good management to supply all the wants of the colonists; but that the +latter were indolent and profligate. He proposed to send home, by every +ship, as in the present instance, a number of the discontented and +worthless, to be replaced by sober and industrious men. He begged also +that ecclesiastics might be sent out for the instruction and conversion of +the Indians; and, what was equally necessary, for the reformation of the +dissolute Spaniards. He required also a man learned in the law, to +officiate as judge over the island, together with several officers of the +royal revenue. Nothing could surpass the soundness and policy of these +suggestions; but unfortunately one clause marred the moral beauty of this +excellent letter. He requested that for two years longer the Spaniards +might be permitted to employ the Indians as slaves; only making use of +such, however, as were captured in wars and insurrections. Columbus had +the usage of the age in excuse for this suggestion; but it is at variance +with his usual benignity of feeling, and his paternal conduct towards +these unfortunate people. + +At the same time he wrote another letter, giving an account of his recent +voyage, accompanied by a chart, and by specimens of the gold, and +particularly of the pearls found in the Gulf of Paria. He called especial +attention to the latter as being the first specimens of pearls found in +the New World. It was in this letter that he described the newly-discovered +continent in such enthusiastic terms, as the most favored part of the east, +the source of inexhaustible treasures, the supposed seat of the terrestrial +Paradise; and he promised to prosecute the discovery of its glorious realms +with the three remaining ships, as soon as the affairs of the island should +permit. + +By this opportunity, Roldan and his friends likewise sent letters to +Spain, endeavoring to justify their rebellion by charging Columbus and his +brothers with oppression and injustice, and painting their whole conduct +in the blackest colors. It would naturally be supposed that the +representations of such men would have little weight in the balance +against the tried merits and exalted services of Columbus: but they had +numerous friends and relatives in Spain; they had the popular prejudice on +their side, and there were designing persons in the confidence of the +sovereigns ready to advocate their cause. Columbus, to use his own simple +but affecting words was "absent, envied, and a stranger." [35] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Negotiations and Arrangements with the Rebels. + +[1498.] + + + +The ships being dispatched, Columbus resumed his negotiation with the +rebels; determined at any sacrifice to put an end to a sedition which +distracted the island and interrupted all his plans of discovery. His +three remaining ships lay idle in the harbor, though a region of +apparently boundless wealth was to be explored. He had intended to send +his brother on the discovery, but the active and military spirit of the +Adelantado rendered his presence indispensable, in case the rebels should +come to violence. Such were the difficulties encountered at every step of +his generous and magnanimous enterprises; impeded at one time by the +insidious intrigues of crafty men in place, and checked at another by the +insolent turbulence of a handful of ruffians. + +In his consultations with the most important persons about him, Columbus +found that much of the popular discontent was attributed to the strict +rule of his brother, who was accused of dealing out justice with a +rigorous hand. Las Casas, however, who saw the whole of the testimony +collected from various sources with respect to the conduct of the +Adelantado, acquits him of all charges of the kind, and affirms that, with +respect to Roldan in particular, he had exerted great forbearance. Be this +as it may, Columbus now, by the advice of his counselors, resolved to try +the alternative of extreme lenity. He wrote a letter to Roldan, dated the +20th of October, couched in the most conciliating terms, calling to mind +past kindnesses, and expressing deep concern for the feud existing between +him and the Adelantado. He entreated him, for the common good, and for the +sake of his own reputation, which stood well with the sovereigns, not to +persist in his present insubordination, and repeated the assurance, that +he and his companions might come to him, under the faith of his word for +the inviolability of their persons. + +There was a difficulty as to who should be the bearer of this letter. The +rebels had declared that they would receive no one as mediator but Alonzo +Sanchez de Carvajal. Strong doubts, however, existed in the minds of those +about Columbus as to the integrity of that officer. They observed that he +had suffered Roldan to remain two days on board of his caravel at Xaragua; +had furnished him with weapons and stores; had neglected to detain him on +board, when he knew him to be a rebel; had not exerted himself to retake +the deserters; had been escorted on his way to San Domingo by the rebels, +and had sent refreshments to them at Bonao. It was alleged, moreover, that +he had given himself out as a colleague of Columbus, appointed by +government to have a watch and control over his conduct. It was suggested, +that, in advising the rebels to approach San Domingo, he had intended, in +case the admiral did not arrive, to unite his pretended authority as +colleague, to that of Roldan, as chief judge, and to seize upon the reins +of government. Finally, the desire of the rebels to have him sent to them +as an agent, was cited as proof that he was to join them as a leader, and +that the standard of rebellion was to be hoisted at Bonao. [36] These +circumstances, for some time, perplexed Columbus: but he reflected that +Carvajal, as far as he had observed his conduct, had behaved like a man of +integrity; most of the circumstances alleged against him admitted of a +construction in his favor; the rest were mere rumors, and he had +unfortunately experienced, in his own case, how easily the fairest +actions, and the fairest characters, may be falsified by rumor. He +discarded, therefore, all suspicion, and determined to confide implicitly +in Carvajal; nor had he ever any reason to repent of his confidence. + +The admiral had scarcely dispatched this letter, when he received one from +the leaders of the rebels, written several days previously. In this they +not merely vindicated themselves from the charge of rebellion, but claimed +great merit, as having dissuaded their followers from a resolution to kill +the Adelantado, in revenge of his oppressions, prevailing upon them to +await patiently for redress from the admiral. A month had elapsed since +his arrival, during which they had waited anxiously for his orders, but he +had manifested nothing but irritation against them. Considerations of +honor and safety, therefore, obliged them to withdraw from his service, +and they accordingly demanded their discharge. This letter was dated from +Bonao, the 17th of October, and signed by Francisco Roldan, Adrian de +Moxica, Pedro de Gamez, and Diego de Escobar. [37] + +In the meantime, Carvajal arrived at Bonao, accompanied by Miguel +Ballester. They found the rebels full of arrogance and presumption. The +conciliating letter of the admiral, however, enforced by the earnest +persuasions of Carvajal, and the admonitions of the veteran Ballester, had +a favorable effect on several of the leaders, who had more intellect than +their brutal followers. Roldan, Gamez, Escobar, and two or three others, +actually mounted their horses to repair to the admiral, but were detained +by the clamorous opposition of their men; too infatuated with their idle, +licentious mode of life, to relish the idea of a return to labor and +discipline. These insisted that it was a matter which concerned them all; +whatever arrangement was to be made, therefore, should be made in public, +in writing, and subject to their approbation or dissent. A day or two +elapsed before this clamor could be appeased. Roldan then wrote to the +admiral, that his followers objected to his coming, unless a written +assurance, or passport, were sent, protecting the persons of himself and +such as should accompany him. Miguel Ballester wrote, at the same time, to +the admiral, urging him to agree to whatever terms the rebels might +demand. He represented their forces as continually augmenting, the +soldiers of his garrison daily deserting to them; unless, therefore, some +compromise were speedily effected, and the rebels shipped off to Spain, he +feared that not merely the authority, but even the person of the admiral +would be in danger; for though the Hidalgos and the officers and servants +immediately about him would, doubtless, die in his service, the common +people were but little to be depended upon. [38] + +Columbus felt the increasing urgency of the case, and sent the required +passport. Roldan came to San Domingo; but, from his conduct, it appeared +as if his object was to make partisans, and gain deserters, rather than to +effect a reconciliation. He had several conversations with the admiral, +and several letters passed between them. He made many complaints, and +numerous demands; Columbus made large concessions, but some of the +pretensions were too arrogant to be admitted. [39] Nothing definite was +arranged. Roldan departed under the pretext of conferring with his people, +promising to send his terms in writing. The admiral sent his Mayordomo, +Diego de Salamanca, to treat in his behalf. [40] + +On the 6th of November, Roldan wrote a letter from Bonao, containing his +terms, and requesting that a reply might be sent to him to Conception, as +scarcity of provisions obliged him to leave Bonao. He added that he should +wait for a reply until the following Monday (the 11th). There was an +insolent menace implied in this note, accompanied as it was by insolent +demands. The admiral found it impossible to comply with the latter; but to +manifest his lenient disposition, and to take from the rebels all plea of +rigor, he had a proclamation affixed for thirty days at the gate of the +fortress, promising full indulgence and complete oblivion of the past to +Roldan and his followers, on condition of their presenting themselves +before him and returning to their allegiance to the crown within a month; +together with free conveyance for all such as wished to return to Spain; +but threatening to execute rigorous justice upon those who should not +appear within the limited time. A copy of this paper he sent to Roldan by +Carvajal, with a letter, stating the impossibility of compliance with his +terms, but offering to agree to any compact drawn up with the approbation +of Carvajal and Salamanca. + +When Carvajal arrived, he found the veteran Ballester actually besieged in +his fortress of Conception by Roldan, under pretext of claiming, in his +official character of alcalde mayor, a culprit who had taken refuge there +from justice. He had cut off the supply of water from the fort, by way of +distressing it into a surrender. When Carvajal posted up the proclamation +of the admiral on the gate of the fortress, the rebels scoffed at the +proffered amnesty, saying that, in a little while, they would oblige the +admiral to ask the same at their hands. The earnest intercessions of +Carvajal, however, brought the leaders at length to reflection, and +through his mediation articles of capitulation were drawn up. By these it +was agreed that Roldan and his followers should embark for Spain from the +port of Xaragua in two ships, to be fitted out and victualed within fifty +days. That they should each receive from the admiral a certificate of good +conduct, and an order for the amount of their pay, up to the actual date. +That slaves should be given to them, as had been given to others, in +consideration of services performed; and as several of their company had +wives, natives of the island, who were pregnant, or had lately been +delivered, they might take them with them, if willing to go, in place of +the slaves. That satisfaction should be made for property of some of the +company which had been sequestrated, and for live-stock which had belonged +to Francisco Roldan. There were other conditions, providing for the +security of their persons: and it was stipulated that, if no reply were +received to these terms within eight days, the whole should be void. +[41] + +This agreement was signed by Roldan and his companions at Fort Conception +on the 16th of November, and by the admiral at San Domingo on the 21st. At +the same time, he proclaimed a further act of grace, permitting such as +chose to remain in the island either to come to San Domingo, and enter +into the royal service, or to hold lands in any part of the island. They +preferred, however, to follow the fortunes of Roldan, who departed with +his band for Xaragua, to await the arrival of the ships, accompanied by +Miguel Ballester, sent by the admiral to superintend the preparations for +their embarkation. + +Columbus was deeply grieved to have his projected enterprise to Terra +Firma impeded by such contemptible obstacles, and the ships which should +have borne his brother to explore that newly-found continent devoted to +the use of this turbulent and worthless rabble. He consoled himself, +however, with the reflection, that all the mischief which had so long been +lurking in the island, would thus be at once shipped off, and thenceforth +every thing restored to order and tranquillity. He ordered every exertion +to be made, therefore, to get the ships in readiness to be sent round to +Xaragua; but the scarcity of sea-stores, and the difficulty of completing +the arrangements for such a voyage in the disordered state of the colony, +delayed their departure far beyond the stipulated time. Feeling that he +had been compelled to a kind of deception towards the sovereigns, in the +certificate of good conduct given to Roldan and his followers, he wrote a +letter to them, stating the circumstances under which that certificate had +been in a manner wrung from him to save the island from utter confusion +and ruin. He represented the real character and conduct of those men; how +they had rebelled against his authority; prevented the Indians from paying +tribute; pillaged the island; possessed themselves of large quantities of +gold, and carried off the daughters of several of the caciques. He +advised, therefore, that they should be seized, and their slaves and +treasure taken from them, until their conduct could be properly +investigated. This letter he intrusted to a confidential person, who was +to go in one of the ships. [42] + +The rebels having left the neighborhood, and the affairs of San Domingo +being in a state of security, Columbus put his brother Don Diego in +temporary command, and departed with the Adelantado on a tour of several +months to visit the various stations, and restore the island to order. + +The two caravels destined for the use of the rebels sailed from San +Domingo for Xaragua about the end of February; but, encountering a violent +storm, were obliged to put into one of the harbors of the island, where +they were detained until the end of March. One was so disabled as to be +compelled to return to San Domingo. Another vessel was dispatched to +supply its place, in which the indefatigable Carvajal set sail, to +expedite the embarkation of the rebels. He was eleven days in making the +voyage, and found the other caravel at Xaragua. + +The followers of Roldan had in the meantime changed their minds, and now +refused to embark; as usual, they threw all the blame on Columbus, +affirming that he had purposely delayed the ships far beyond the +stipulated time; that he had sent them in a state not sea-worthy, and +short of provisions, with many other charges, artfully founded on +circumstances over which they knew he could have no control. Carvajal made +a formal protest before a notary who had accompanied him, and finding that +the ships were suffering great injury from the teredo or worm, and their +provisions failing, he sent them back to San Domingo, and set out on his +return by land. Roldan accompanied him a little distance on horseback, +evidently disturbed in mind. He feared to return to Spain, yet was shrewd +enough to know the insecurity of his present situation at the head of a +band of dissolute men, acting in defiance of authority. What tie had he +upon their fidelity stronger than the sacred obligations which they had +violated? After riding thoughtfully for some distance, he paused, and +requested some private conversation with Carvajal before they parted. They +alighted under the shade of a tree. Here Roldan made further professions +of the loyalty of his intentions, and finally declared, that if the +admiral would once more send him a written security for his person, with +the guarantee also of the principal persons about him, he would come to +treat with him, and trusted that the whole matter would be arranged on +terms satisfactory to both parties. This offer, however, he added, must be +kept secret from his followers. + +Carvajal, overjoyed at this prospect of a final arrangement, lost no time +in conveying the proposition of Roldan to the admiral. The latter +immediately forwarded the required passport or security, sealed with the +royal seal, accompanied by a letter written in amicable terms, exhorting +his quiet obedience to the authority of the sovereigns. Several of the +principal persons also, who were with the admiral, wrote, at his request, +a letter of security to Roldan, pledging themselves for the safety of +himself and his followers during the negotiation; provided they did +nothing hostile to the royal authority or its representative. + +While Columbus was thus, with unwearied assiduity and loyal zeal, +endeavoring to bring the island back to its obedience, he received a reply +from Spain, to the earnest representations made by him, in the preceding +autumn, of the distracted state of the colony and the outrages of these +lawless men, and his prayers for royal countenance and support. The letter +was written by his invidious enemy, the Bishop Fonseca, superintendent of +Indian affairs. It acknowledged the receipt of his statement of the +alleged insurrection of Roldan, but observed that this matter must be +suffered to remain in suspense, as the sovereigns would investigate and +remedy it presently. [43] + +This cold reply had a disheartening effect upon Columbus. He saw that his +complaints had little weight with the government; he feared that his +enemies were prejudicing him with the sovereigns; and he anticipated +redoubled insolence on the part of the rebels, when they should discover +how little influence he possessed in Spain. Full of zeal, however, for the +success of his undertaking, and of fidelity to the interests of the +sovereigns, he resolved to spare no personal sacrifice of comfort or +dignity in appeasing the troubles of the island. Eager to expedite the +negotiation with Roldan, therefore, he sailed in the latter part of August +with two caravels to the port of Azua, west of San Domingo, and much +nearer to Xaragua. He was accompanied by several of the most important +personages of the colony. Roldan repaired thither likewise, with the +turbulent Adrian de Moxica, and a number of his band. The concessions +already obtained had increased his presumption; and he had, doubtless, +received intelligence of the cold manner in which the complaints of the +admiral had been received in Spain. He conducted himself more like a +conqueror, exacting triumphant terms, than a delinquent seeking to procure +pardon by atonement. He came on board of the caravel, and with his usual +effrontery, propounded the preliminaries upon which he and his companions +were disposed to negotiate. + +First, that he should be permitted to send several of his company, to the +number of fifteen, to Spain, in the vessels which were at San Domingo. +Secondly, that those who remained should have lands granted them, in place +of royal pay. Thirdly, that it should be proclaimed, that every thing +charged against him and his party had been grounded upon false testimony, +and the machinations of person disaffected to the royal service. Fourthly, +that he should be reinstated in his office of alcalde mayor, or chief +judge. [44] + +These were hard and insolent conditions to commence with, but they were +granted. Roldan then went on shore, and communicated them to his +companions. At the end of the two days the insurgents sent their +capitulations, drawn up in form, and couched in arrogant language, +including all the stipulations granted at Fort Conception, with those +recently demanded by Roldan, and concluding with one, more insolent than +all the rest, namely, that if the admiral should fail in the fulfillment +of any of these articles, they should have a right to assemble together, +and compel his performance of them by force, or by any other means they +might think proper. [45] The conspirators thus sought not merely +exculpation of the past, but a pretext for future rebellion. + +The mind grows wearied and impatient with recording, and the heart of the +generous reader must burn with indignation at perusing, this protracted +and ineffectual struggle of a man of the exalted merits and matchless +services of Columbus, in the toils of such miscreants. Surrounded by doubt +and danger; a foreigner among a jealous people; an unpopular commander in +a mutinous island; distrusted and slighted by the government he was +seeking to serve; and creating suspicion by his very services; he knew not +where to look for faithful advice, efficient aid, or candid judgment. The +very ground on which he stood seemed giving way under him, for he was told +of seditious symptoms among his own people. Seeing the impunity with which +the rebels rioted in the possession of one of the finest parts of the +island, they began to talk among themselves of following their example, of +abandoning the standard of the admiral, and seizing upon the province of +Higuey, at the eastern extremity of the island, which was said to contain +valuable mines of gold. + +Thus critically situated, disregarding every consideration of personal +pride and dignity, and determined, at any individual sacrifice, to secure +the interests of an ungrateful sovereign, Columbus forced himself to sign +this most humiliating capitulation. He trusted that afterwards, when he +could gain quiet access to the royal ear, he should be able to convince +the king and queen that it had been compulsory, and forced from him by the +extraordinary difficulties in which he had been placed, and the imminent +perils of the colony. Before signing it, however, he inserted a +stipulation, that the commands of the sovereigns, of himself, and of the +justices appointed by him, should be punctually obeyed. [46] + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Grants Made to Roldan and His Followers.--Departure of Several of the +Rebels for Spain. + +[1499.] + + + +When Roldan resumed his office of alcalde mayor, or chief judge, he +displayed all the arrogance to be expected from one who had intruded +himself into power by profligate means. At the city of San Domingo, he was +always surrounded by his faction; communed only with the dissolute and +disaffected; and, having all the turbulent and desperate men of the +community at his beck, was enabled to intimidate the quiet and loyal by +his frowns. He bore an impudent front against the authority even of +Columbus himself, discharging from office one Rodrigo Perez, a lieutenant +of the admiral, declaring that none but such as he appointed should bear a +staff of office in the island. [47] Columbus had a difficult and painful +task in bearing with the insolence of this man, and of the shameless +rabble which had returned, under his auspices, to the settlements. He +tacitly permitted many abuses; endeavoring by mildness and indulgence to +allay the jealousies and prejudices awakened against him, and by various +concessions to lure the factious to the performance of their duty. To such +of the colonists generally as preferred to remain in the island, he +offered a choice of either royal pay or portions of lands, with a number +of Indians, some free, others as slaves, to assist in the cultivation. The +latter was generally preferred; and grants were made out, in which he +endeavored, as much as possible, to combine the benefit of the individual +with the interests of the colony. + +Roldan presented a memorial signed by upwards of one hundred of his late +followers, demanding grants of lands and licenses to settle, and choosing +Xaragua for their place of abode. The admiral feared to trust such a +numerous body of factious partisans in so remote a province; he contrived, +therefore, to distribute them in various parts of the island; some at +Bonao, where their settlement gave origin to the town of that name; others +on the bank of the Rio Verde, or Green River, in the Vega; others about +six leagues thence, at St. Jago. He assigned to them liberal portions of +land, and numerous Indian slaves, taken in the wars. He made an +arrangement, also, by which the caciques in their vicinity, instead of +paying tribute, should furnish parties of their subjects, free Indians, to +assist the colonists in the cultivation of their lands: a kind of feudal +service, which was the origin of the repartimientos, or distributions of +free Indians among the colonists, afterwards generally adopted, and +shamefully abused, throughout the Spanish colonies: a source of +intolerable hardships and oppressions to the unhappy natives, and which +greatly contributed to exterminate them from the island of Hispaniola.[48] +Columbus considered the island in the light of a conquered country, and +arrogated to himself all the rights of a conqueror, in the name of the +sovereigns for whom he fought. Of course all his companions in the +enterprise were entitled to take part in the acquired territory, and to +establish themselves there as feudal lords, reducing the natives to the +condition of villains or vassals. [49] This was an arrangement widely +different from his original intention of treating the natives with +kindness, as peaceful subjects of the crown. But all his plans had been +subverted, and his present measures forced upon him by the exigency of +the times, and the violence of lawless men. He appointed a captain with +an armed band, as a kind of police, with orders to range the provinces; +oblige the Indians to pay their tributes; watch over the conduct of the +colonists; and check the least appearance of mutiny or insurrection. [50] + +Having sought and obtained such ample provisions for his followers, Roldan +was not more modest in making demands for himself. He claimed certain +lands in the vicinity of Isabella, as having belonged to him before his +rebellion; also a royal farm, called La Esperanza, situated on the Vega, +and devoted to the rearing of poultry. These the admiral granted him, with +permission to employ, in the cultivation of the farm, the subjects of the +cacique whose ears had been cut off by Alonzo de Ojeda in his first +military expedition into the Vega. Roldan received also grants of land in +Xaragua, and a variety of live-stock from the cattle and other animals +belonging to the crown. These grants were made to him provisionally, until +the pleasure of the sovereigns should be known; [51] for Columbus yet +trusted, that when they should understand the manner in which these +concessions had been extorted from him, the ringleaders of the rebels +would not merely be stripped of their ill-gotten possessions, but receive +well-merited punishment. + +Roldan, having now enriched himself beyond his hopes, requested permission +of Columbus to visit his lands. This was granted with great reluctance. He +immediately departed for the Vega, and stopping at Bonao, his late +headquarters, made Pedro Riquelme, one of his most active confederates, +alcalde, or judge of the place, with the power of arresting all +delinquents, and sending them prisoners to the fortress of Conception, +where he reserved to himself the right of sentencing them. This was an +assumption of powers not vested in his office, and gave great offence to +Columbus. Other circumstances created apprehensions of further troubles +from the late insurgents. Pedro Riquelme, under pretext of erecting +farming buildings for his cattle, began to construct a strong edifice on a +hill, capable of being converted into a formidable fortress. This, it was +whispered, was done in concert with Roldan, by way of securing a +stronghold in case of need. Being in the neighborhood of the Vega, where +so many of their late partisans were settled, it would form a dangerous +rallying place for any new sedition. The designs of Riquelme were +suspected and his proceedings opposed by Pedro de Arana, a loyal and +honorable man, who was on the spot. Representations were made by both +parties to the admiral, who prohibited Riquelme from proceeding with the +construction of his edifice. [52] + +Columbus had prepared to return, with his brother Don Bartholomew, to +Spain, where he felt that his presence was of the utmost importance to +place the late events of the island in a proper light; having found that +his letters of explanation were liable to be counteracted by the +misrepresentations of malevolent enemies. The island, however, was still +in a feverish state. He was not well assured of the fidelity of the late +rebels, though so dearly purchased; there was a rumor of a threatened +descent into the Vega, by the mountain tribes of Ciguay, to attempt the +rescue of their captive cacique Mayobanex, still detained a prisoner in +the fortress of Conception. Tidings were brought about the same time from +the western parts of the island, that four strange ships had arrived at +the coast, under suspicious appearances. These circumstances obliged him +to postpone his departure, and held him involved in the affairs of this +favorite but fatal island. + +The two caravels were dispatched for Spain in the beginning of October, +taking such of the colonists as chose to return, and among them a number +of Roldan's partisans. Some of these took with them slaves, others carried +away the daughters of caciques whom they had beguiled from their families +and homes. At these iniquities, no less than at many others which equally +grieved his spirit, the admiral was obliged to connive. He was conscious, +at the same time, that he was sending home a reinforcement of enemies and +false witnesses, to defame his character and traduce his conduct, but he +had no alternative. To counteract, as much as possible, their +misrepresentations, he sent by the same caravel the loyal and upright +veteran Miguel Ballester, together with Garcia de Barrantés, empowered to +attend to his affairs at court, and furnished with the dispositions taken +relative to the conduct of Roldan and his accomplices. + +In his letters to the sovereigns, he entreated them to inquire into the +truth of the late transactions. He stated his opinion that his +capitulations with the rebels were null and void, for various reasons, +viz.--they had been extorted from him by violence, and at sea, where he +did not exercise the office of viceroy--there had been two trials relative +to the insurrection, and the insurgents having been condemned as traitors, +it was not in the power of the admiral to absolve them from their +criminality--the capitulations treated of matters touching the royal +revenue, over which he had no control, without the intervention of the +proper officers;--lastly, Francisco Roldan and his companions, on leaving +Spain, had taken an oath to be faithful to the sovereigns, and to the +admiral in their name, which oath they had violated. For these and similar +reasons, some just, others rather sophistical, he urged the sovereigns not +to consider themselves bound to ratify the compulsory terms ceded to these +profligate men, but to inquire into their offences, and treat them +accordingly. [53] + +He repeated the request made in a former letter, that a learned judge +might be sent out to administer the laws in the island, since he himself +had been charged with rigor, although conscious of having always observed +a guarded clemency. He requested also that discreet persons should be sent +out to form a council, and others for certain fiscal employments, +entreating, however, that their powers should be so limited and defined, +as not to interfere with his dignity and privileges. He bore strongly on +this point; as his prerogatives on former occasions had been grievously +invaded. It appeared to him, he said, that princes ought to show much +confidence in their governors; for without the royal favor to give them +strength and consequence, every thing went to ruin under their command; a +sound maxim, forced from the admiral by his recent experience, in which +much of his own perplexities, and the triumph of the rebels, had been +caused by the distrust of the crown, and its inattention to his +remonstrances. + +Finding age and infirmity creeping upon him, and his health much impaired +by his last voyage, he began to think of his son Diego, as an active +coadjutor; who, being destined as his successor, might gain experience +under his eye, for the future discharge of his high duties. Diego, though +still serving as a page at the court, was grown to man's estate, and +capable of entering into the important concerns of life. Columbus +entreated, therefore, that he might be sent out to assist him, as he felt +himself infirm in health and broken in constitution, and less capable of +exertion than formerly. [54] + + + + +Chapter V. + +Arrival of Ojeda with a Squadron at the Western Part of the Island.--Roldan +Sent to Meet Him. + +[1499.] + + + +Among the causes which induced Columbus to postpone his departure for +Spain, has been mentioned the arrival of four ships at the western part of +the island. These had anchored on the 5th of September in a harbor a +little below Jacquemel, apparently with the design of cutting dye-woods, +which abound in that neighborhood, and of carrying off the natives for +slaves. Further reports informed him that they were commanded by Alonzo de +Ojeda, the same hot-headed and bold-hearted cavalier who had distinguished +himself on various occasions in the previous voyages of discovery, and +particularly in the capture of the cacique Caonabo. Knowing the daring and +adventurous spirit of this man, Columbus felt much disturbed at his +visiting the island in this clandestine manner, on what appeared to be +little better than a freebooting expedition. To call him to account, and +oppose his aggressions, required an agent of spirit and address. No one +seemed better fitted for the purpose than Roldan. He was as daring as +Ojeda, and of a more crafty character. An expedition of the kind would +occupy the attention of himself and his partisans, and divert them from +any schemes of mischief. The large concessions recently made to them +would, he trusted, secure their present fidelity, rendering it more +profitable for them to be loyal than rebellious. + +Roldan readily undertook the enterprise. He had nothing further to gain by +sedition, and was anxious to secure his ill-gotten possessions and atone +for past offences by public services. He was vain as well as active, and +took a pride in acquitting himself well in an expedition which called for +both courage and shrewdness. Departing from San Domingo with two caravels, +he arrived on the 29th of September within two leagues of the harbor where +the ships of Ojeda were anchored. Here he landed with five-and-twenty +resolute followers, well armed, and accustomed to range the forests. He +sent five scouts to reconnoitre. They brought word that Ojeda was several +leagues distant from his ships, with only fifteen men, employed in making +cassava bread in an Indian village. Roldan threw himself between them and +the ships, thinking to take them by surprise. They were apprised, however, +of his approach by the Indians, with whom the very name of Roldan inspired +terror, from his late excesses in Xaragua. Ojeda saw his danger; he +supposed Roldan had been sent in pursuit of him, and he found himself cut +off from his ships. With his usual intrepidity he immediately presented +himself before Roldan, attended merely by half a dozen followers. The +latter craftily began by conversing on general topics. He then inquired +into his motives for landing on the island, particularly on that remote +and lonely part, without first reporting his arrival to the admiral. Ojeda +replied, that he had been on a voyage of discovery, and had put in there +in distress, to repair his ships and procure provisions. Roldan then +demanded, in the name of the government, a sight of the license under +which he sailed. Ojeda, who knew the resolute character of the man he had +to deal with, restrained his natural impetuosity, and replied that his +papers were on board of his ship. He declared his intention, on departing +thence, to go to San Domingo, and pay his homage to the admiral, having +many things to tell him which were for his private ear alone. He intimated +to Roldan that the admiral was in complete disgrace at court; that there +was a talk of taking from him his command, and that the queen, his +patroness, was ill beyond all hopes of recovery. This intimation, it is +presumed, was referred to by Roldan in his dispatches to the admiral, +wherein he mentioned that certain things had been communicated to him by +Ojeda, which he did not think it safe to confide to a letter. + +Roldan now repaired to the ships. He found several persons on board with +whom he was acquainted, and who had already been in Hispaniola. They +confirmed the truth of what Ojeda had said, and showed a license signed by +the Bishop of Fonseca, as superintendent of the affairs of the Indias, +authorizing him to sail on a voyage of discovery. [55] + +It appeared, from the report of Ojeda and his followers, that the glowing +accounts sent home by Columbus of his late discoveries on the coast of +Paria, his magnificent speculations with respect to the riches of the +newly-found country, and the specimen of pearls transmitted to the +sovereigns, had inflamed the cupidity of various adventurers. Ojeda +happened to be at that time in Spain. He was a favorite of the Bishop of +Fonseca, and obtained a sight of the letter written by the admiral to the +sovereigns, and the charts and maps of his route by which it was +accompanied. Ojeda knew Columbus to be embarrassed by the seditions of +Hispaniola; he found, by his conversations with Fonseca and other of the +admiral's enemies, that strong doubts and jealousies existed in the mind +of the king with respect to his conduct, and that his approaching downfall +was confidently predicted. The idea of taking advantage of these +circumstances struck Ojeda, and, by a private enterprise, he hoped to be +the first in gathering the wealth of these newly-discovered regions. He +communicated his project to his patron, Fonseca. The latter was but too +ready for any tiling that might defeat the plans and obscure the glory of +Columbus; and it may be added that he always showed himself more disposed +to patronize mercenary adventurers than upright and high-minded men. He +granted Ojeda every facility; furnishing him with copies of the papers and +charts of Columbus, by which to direct himself in his course, and a letter +of license signed with his own name, though not with that of the +sovereigns. In this, it was stipulated that he should not touch at any +land belonging to the King of Portugal, nor any that had been discovered +by Columbus prior to 1495. The last provision shows the perfidious +artifice of Fonseca, as it left Paria and the Pearl Islands free to the +visits of Ojeda, they having been discovered by Columbus subsequent to the +designated year. The ships were to be fitted out at the charges of the +adventurers, and a certain proportion of the products of the voyage were +to be rendered to the crown. + +Under this license Ojeda fitted out four ships at Seville, assisted by +many eager and wealthy speculators. Among the number was the celebrated +Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine merchant, well acquainted with geography +and navigation. The principal pilot of the expedition was Juan de la Cosa, +a mariner of great repute, a disciple of the admiral, whom he had +accompanied in his first voyage of discovery, and in that along the +southern coast of Cuba, and round the island of Jamaica. There were +several also of the mariners, and Bartholomew Roldan, a distinguished +pilot, who had been with Columbus in his voyage to Paria. [56] Such was +the expedition which, by a singular train of circumstances, eventually +gave the name of this Florentine merchant, Amerigo Vespucci, to the whole +of the New World. + +This expedition had sailed in May, 1499. The adventurers had arrived on +the southern continent, and ranged along its coast, from two hundred +leagues east of the Oronoco, to the Gulf of Paria. Guided by the charts of +Columbus, they had passed through this gulf, and through the Boca del +Dragon, and had kept along westward to Cape de la Vela, visiting the +island of Margarita and the adjacent continent, and discovering the Gulf +of Venezuela. They had subsequently touched at the Caribbee Islands, where +they had fought with the fierce natives, and made many captives, with the +intention of selling them in the slave-markets of Spain. Thence, being in +need of supplies, they had sailed to Hispaniola, having performed the most +extensive voyage hitherto made along the shores of the New World. +[57] + +Having collected all the information that he could obtain concerning these +voyagers, their adventures and designs, and trusting to the declaration of +Ojeda, that he should proceed forthwith to present himself to the admiral, +Roldan returned to San Domingo to render a report of his mission. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Manoevres of Roldan and Ojeda. + +[1500.] + + + +When intelligence was brought to Columbus of the nature of the expedition +of Ojeda, and the license under which he sailed, he considered himself +deeply aggrieved, it being a direct infraction of his most important +prerogatives, and sanctioned by authority which ought to have held them +sacred. He awaited patiently, however, the promised visit of Alonzo de +Ojeda to obtain fuller explanations. Nothing was further from the +intention of that roving commander than to keep such promise: he had made +it merely to elude the vigilance of Roldan. As soon as he had refitted his +vessels and obtained a supply of provisions, he sailed round to the coast +of Xaragua, where he arrived in February. Here he was well received by the +Spaniards resident in that province, who supplied all his wants. Among +them were many of the late comrades of Roldan; loose, random characters, +impatient of order and restraint, and burning with animosity against the +admiral, for having again brought them under the wholesome authority of +the laws. + +Knowing the rash and fearless character of Ojeda, and finding that there +were jealousies between him and the admiral, they hailed him as a new +leader, come to redress their fancied grievances, in place of Roldan, whom +they considered as having deserted them. They made clamorous complaints to +Ojeda of the injustice of the admiral, whom they charged with withholding +from them the arrears of their pay. + +Ojeda was a hot-headed man, with somewhat of a vaunting spirit, and +immediately set himself up for a redresser of grievances. It is said also +that he gave himself out as authorized by government, in conjunction with +Carvajal, to act as counselors, or rather supervisors of the admiral; and +that one of the first measures they were to take, was to enforce the +payment of all salaries due to the servants of the crown. [58] It is +questionable, however, whether Ojeda made any pretension of the kind, +which could so readily be disproved, and would have tended to disgrace +him with the government. It is probable that he was encouraged in his +intermeddling, chiefly by his knowledge of the tottering state of the +admiral's favor at court, and of his own security in the powerful +protection of Fonseca. He may have imbibed also the opinion, diligently +fostered by those with whom he had chiefly communicated in Spain, just +before his departure, that these people had been driven to extremities by +the oppression of the admiral and his brothers. Some feeling of +generosity, therefore, may have mingled with his usual love of action and +enterprise, when he proposed to redress all their wrongs, put himself at +their head, march at once to San Domingo, and oblige the admiral to pay +them on the spot, or expel him from the island. + +The proposition of Ojeda was received with acclamations of transport by +some of the rebels; others made objections. Quarrels arose: a ruffianly +scene of violence and brawl ensued, in which several were killed and +wounded on both sides; but the party for the expedition to San Domingo +remained triumphant. + +Fortunately for the peace and safety of the admiral, Roldan arrived in the +neighborhood, just at this critical juncture, attended by a crew of +resolute fellows. He had been dispatched by Columbus to watch the +movements of Ojeda, on hearing of his arrival on the coast of Xaragua. +Apprised of the violent scenes which were taking place, Roldan, when on +the way, sent to his old confederate Diego de Escobar, to follow him with +all the trusty force he could collect. They reached Xaragua within a day +of each other. An instance of the bad faith usual between bad men was now +evinced. The former partisans of Roldan, finding him earnest in his +intention of serving the government, and that there was no hope of +engaging him in their new sedition, sought to waylay and destroy him on +his march, but his vigilance and celerity prevented them. [59] + +Ojeda, when he heard of the approach of Roldan and Escobar, retired on +board of his ships. Though of a daring spirit, he had no inclination, in +the present instance, to come to blows, where there was a certainty of +desperate fighting, and no gain; and where he must raise his arm against +government. Roldan now issued such remonstrances as had often been +ineffectually addressed to himself. He wrote to Ojeda, reasoning with him +on his conduct, and the confusion he was producing in the island, and +inviting him on shore to an amicable arrangement of all alleged +grievances. Ojeda, knowing the crafty, violent character of Roldan, +disregarded his repeated messages, and refused to venture within his +power. He even seized one of his messengers, Diego de Truxillo, and +landing suddenly at Xaragua, carried off another of his followers, named +Toribio de Lenares; both of whom he detained in irons, on board of his +vessel, as hostages for a certain Juan Pintor, a one-armed sailor, who had +deserted, threatening to hang them if the deserter was not given up. +[60] + +Various manoeuvres took place between these two well-matched opponents; +each wary of the address and prowess of the other. Ojeda made sail, and +stood twelve leagues to the northward, to the province of Cahay, one of +the most beautiful and fertile parts of the country, and inhabited by a +kind and gentle people. Here he landed with forty men, seizing upon +whatever he could find of the provisions of the natives. Roldan and +Escobar followed along shore, and were soon at his heels. Roldan then +dispatched Escobar in a light canoe, paddled swiftly by Indians, who, +approaching within hail of the ship, informed Ojeda that, since he would +not trust himself on shore, Roldan would come and confer with him on +board, if he would send a boat for him. + +Ojeda now thought himself secure of his enemy; he immediately dispatched a +boat within a short distance of the shore, where the crew lay on their +oars, requiring Roldan to come to them. "How many may accompany me?" +demanded the latter. "Only five or six," was the reply. Upon this Diego de +Escobar and four others waded to the boat. The crew refused to admit more. +Roldan then ordered one man to carry him to the barge, and another to walk +by his side, and assist him. By this stratagem, his party was eight +strong. The instant he entered the boat, he ordered the oarsmen to row to +shore. On their refusing, he and his companions attacked them sword in +hand, wounded several, and made all prisoners, excepting an Indian archer, +who, plunging under the water, escaped by swimming. + +This was an important triumph for Roldan. Ojeda, anxious for the recovery +of his boat, which was indispensable for the service of the ship, now made +overtures of peace. He approached the shore in his remaining boat, of +small size, taking with him his principal pilot, an arquebusier, and four +oarsmen. Roldan entered the boat he had just captured, with seven rowers +and fifteen fighting men, causing fifteen others to be ready on shore to +embark in a large canoe, in case of need. A characteristic interview took +place between these doughty antagonists, each keeping warily on his guard. +Their conference was carried on at a distance. Ojeda justified his hostile +movements by alleging that Roldan had come with an armed force to seize +him. This the latter positively denied, promising him the most amicable +reception from the admiral, in case he would repair to San Domingo. An +arrangement was at length effected; the boat was restored, and mutual +restitution of the men took place, with the exception of Juan Pintor, the +one-armed deserter, who had absconded; and on the following day, Ojeda, +according to agreement, set sail to leave the island, threatening however +to return at a future time with more ships and men. [61] + +Roldan waited in the neighborhood, doubting the truth of his departure. In +the course of a few days, word was brought that Ojeda had landed on a +distant part of the coast. He immediately pursued him with eighty men in +canoes, sending scouts by land. Before he arrived at the place, Ojeda had +again made sail, and Roldan saw and heard no more of him. Las Casas +asserts, however, that Ojeda departed either to some remote district of +Hispaniola, or to the island of Porto Rico, where he made up what he +called his _Cavalgada_, or drove of slaves; carrying off numbers of +the unhappy natives, whom he sold in the slave-market of Cadiz. [62] + + + + +Chapter VII. + +Conspiracy of Guevara and Moxica. + +[1500.] + + + +When men have been accustomed to act falsely, they take great merit to +themselves for an exertion of common honesty. The followers of Roldan were +loud in trumpeting forth their unwonted loyalty, and the great services +they had rendered to government in driving Ojeda from the island. Like all +reformed knaves, they expected that their good conduct would be amply +rewarded. Looking upon their leader as having every thing in his gift, and +being well pleased with the delightful province of Cahay, they requested +him to share the land among them, that they might settle there. Roldan +would have had no hesitation in granting their request, had it been made +during his freebooting career; but he was now anxious to establish a +character for adherence to the laws. He declined, therefore, acceding to +their wishes, until sanctioned by the admiral. Knowing, however, that he +had fostered a spirit among these men which it was dangerous to +contradict, and that their rapacity, by long indulgence, did not admit of +delay, he shared among them certain lands of his own, in the territory of +his ancient host Behechio, cacique of Xaragua. He then wrote to the +admiral for permission to return to San Domingo, and received a letter in +reply, giving him many thanks and commendations for the diligence and +address which he had manifested, but requesting him to remain for a time +in Xaragua, lest Ojeda should be yet hovering about the coast, and +disposed to make another descent in that province. + +The troubles of the island were not yet at an end, but were destined again +to break forth, and from somewhat of a romantic cause. There arrived about +this time, at Xaragua, a young cavalier of noble family, named Don +Hernando de Guevara. He possessed an agreeable person and winning manners, +but was headstrong in his passions and dissolute in his principles. He was +cousin to Adrian de Moxica, one of the most active ringleaders in the late +rebellion of Roldan, and had conducted himself with such licentiousness at +San Domingo, that Columbus had banished him from the island. There being +no other opportunity of embarking, he had been sent to Xaragua, to return +to Spain in one of the ships of Ojeda, but arrived after their departure. +Roldan received him favorably, on account of his old comrade, Adrian de +Moxica, and permitted him to choose some place of residence until further +orders concerning him should arrive from the admiral. He chose the +province of Cahay, at the place where Roldan had captured the boat of +Ojeda. It was a delightful part of that beautiful coast; but the reason +why Guevara chose it, was the vicinity to Xaragua. While at the latter +place, in consequence of the indulgence of Roldan, he was favorably +received at the house of Anacaona, the widow of Caonabo, and sister of the +cacique Behechio. That remarkable woman still retained her partiality to +the Spaniards, notwithstanding the disgraceful scenes which had passed +before her eyes; and the native dignity of her character had commanded the +respect even of the dissolute rabble which infested her province. By her +late husband, the cacique Caonabo, she had a daughter named Higuenamota, +just grown up, and greatly admired for her beauty. Guevara being often in +company with her, a mutual attachment ensued. It was to be near her that +he chose Cahay as a residence, at a place where his cousin Adrian de +Moxica kept a number of dogs and hawks, to be employed in the chase. +Guevara delayed his departure. Roldan discovered the reason, and warned +him to desist from his pretensions and leave the province. Las Casas +intimates that Roldan was himself attached to the young Indian beauty, and +jealous of her preference of his rival. Anacaona, the mother, pleased with +the gallant appearance and ingratiating manners of the youthful cavalier, +favored his attachment; especially as he sought her daughter in marriage. +Notwithstanding the orders of Roldan, Guevara still lingered in Xaragua, +in the house of Anacaona; and sending for a priest, desired him to baptize +his intended bride. + +Hearing of this, Roldan sent for Guevara, and rebuked him sharply for +remaining at Xaragua, and attempting to deceive a person of the importance +of Anacaona, by ensnaring the affections of her daughter. Guevara avowed +the strength of his passion, and his correct intentions, and entreated +permission to remain. Roldan was inflexible. He alleged that some evil +construction might be put on his conduct by the admiral; but it is +probable his true motive was a desire to send away a rival, who interfered +with his own amorous designs. Guevara obeyed; but had scarce been three +days at Cahay, when, unable to remain longer absent from the object of his +passion, he returned to Xaragua, accompanied by four or five friends, and +concealed himself in the dwelling of Anacaona. Roldan, who was at that +time confined by a malady in his eyes, being apprised of his return, sent +orders for him to depart instantly to Cahay. The young cavalier assumed a +tone of defiance. He warned Roldan not to make foes when he had such great +need of friends; for, to his certain knowledge, the admiral intended to +behead him. Upon this, Roldan commanded him to quit that part of the +island, and repair to San Domingo, to present himself before the admiral. +The thoughts of being banished entirely from the vicinity of his Indian +beauty checked the vehemence of the youth. He changed his tone of haughty +defiance into one of humble supplication; and Roldan, appeased by this +submission, permitted him to remain for the present in the neighborhood. + +Roldan had instilled willfulness and violence into the hearts of his late +followers, and now was doomed to experience the effects. Guevara, incensed +at his opposition to his passion, meditated revenge. He soon made a party +among the old comrades of Roldan, who detested, as a magistrate, the man +they had idolized as a leader. It was concerted to rise suddenly upon him, +and either to kill him or put out his eyes. Roldan was apprised of the +plot, and proceeded with his usual promptness. Guevara was seized in the +dwelling of Anacaona, in the presence of his intended bride; seven of his +accomplices were likewise arrested. Roldan immediately sent an account of +the affair to the admiral, professing, at present, to do nothing without +his authority, and declaring himself not competent to judge impartially in +the case. Columbus, who was at that time at Fort Conception, in the Vega, +ordered the prisoner to be conducted to the fortress of San Domingo. + +The vigorous measures of Roldan against his old comrades produced +commotions in the island. When Adrian de Moxica heard that his cousin +Guevara was a prisoner, and that, too, by command of his former +confederate, he was highly exasperated, and resolved on vengeance. +Hastening to Bonao, the old haunt of rebellion, he obtained the +co-operation of Pedro Riquelme, the recently-appointed alcalde. They went +round among their late companions in rebellion, who had received lands and +settled in various parts of the Vega, working upon their ready passions, +and enlisting their feelings in the cause of an old comrade. These men +seem to have had an irresistible propensity to sedition. Guevara was a +favorite with them all; the charms of the Indian beauty had probably their +influence; and the conduct of Roldan was pronounced a tyrannical +interference, to prevent a marriage agreeable to all parties, and +beneficial to the colony. There is no being so odious to his former +associates as a reformed robber, or a rebel, enlisted in the service of +justice. The old scenes of faction were renewed; the weapons which had +scarce been hung up from the recent rebellions were again snatched down +from the walls, and rash preparations were made for action. Moxica soon +saw a body of daring and reckless men ready, with horse and weapon, to +follow him on any desperate enterprise. Blinded by the impunity which had +attended their former outrages, he now threatened acts of greater +atrocity, meditating not merely the rescue of his cousin, but the death of +Roldan and the admiral. + +Columbus was at Fort Conception, with an inconsiderable force, when this +dangerous plot was concerted in his very neighborhood. Not dreaming of any +further hostilities from men on whom he had lavished favors, he would +doubtless have fallen into their power, had not intelligence been brought +him of the plot by a deserter from the conspirators. He saw at a glance +the perils by which he was surrounded, and the storm about to burst upon +the island. It was no longer a time for lenient measures; he determined to +strike a blow which should crush the very head of rebellion. + +Taking with him but six or seven trusty servants, and three esquires, all +well armed, he set out in the night for the place where the ringleaders +were quartered. Confiding probably in the secrecy of their plot, and the +late passiveness of the admiral, they appear to have been perfectly +unguarded. Columbus came upon them by surprise, seized Moxica and several +of his principal confederates, and bore them off to Fort Conception. The +moment was critical; the Vega was ripe for a revolt; he had the fomenter +of the conspiracy in his power, and an example was called for, that should +strike terror into the factious. He ordered Moxica to be hanged on the top +of the fortress. The latter entreated to be allowed to confess himself +previous to execution. A priest was summoned. The miserable Moxica, who +had been so arrogant in rebellion, lost all courage at the near approach +of death. He delayed to confess, beginning and pausing, and re-commencing, +and again hesitating, as if he hoped, by whiling away time, to give a +chance for rescue. Instead of confessing his own sins, he accused others +of criminality, who were known to be innocent; until Columbus, incensed at +this falsehood and treachery, and losing all patience, in his mingled +indignation and scorn, ordered the dastard wretch to be swung off from the +battlements. [63] + +This sudden act of severity was promptly followed up. Several of the +accomplices of Moxica were condemned to death and thrown in irons to await +their fate. Before the conspirators had time to recover from their +astonishment, Pedro Riquelme was taken, with several of his compeers, in +his ruffian den at Bonao, and conveyed to the fortress of San Domingo; +where was also confined the original mover of this second rebellion, +Hernando de Guevara, the lover of the young Indian princess. These +unexpected acts of rigor, proceeding from a quarter which had been long so +lenient, had the desired effect. The conspirators fled for the most part +to Xaragua, their old and favorite retreat. They were not suffered to +congregate there again, and concert new seditions. The Adelantado, +seconded by Roldan, pursued them with his characteristic rapidity of +movement and vigor of arm. It has been said that he carried a priest with +him, in order that, as he arrested delinquents, they might be confessed +and hanged upon the spot; but the more probable account is that he +transmitted them prisoners to San Domingo. He had seventeen of them at one +time confined in one common dungeon, awaiting their trial, while he +continued in indefatigable pursuit of the remainder. [64] + +These were prompt and severe measures; but when we consider how long +Columbus had borne with these men; how much he had ceded and sacrificed to +them; how he had been interrupted in all his great undertakings, and the +welfare of the colony destroyed by their contemptible and seditious +brawls; how they had abused his lenity, defied his authority, and at +length attempted his life,-we cannot wonder that he should at last let +fall the sword of justice, which he had hitherto held suspended. + +The power of faction was now completely subdued; and the good effects of +the various measures taken by Columbus, since his last arrival, for the +benefit of the island, began to appear. The Indians, seeing the inefficacy +of resistance, submitted to the yoke. Many gave signs of civilization, +having, in some instances, adopted clothing and embraced Christianity. +Assisted by their labors, the Spaniards now cultivated their lands +diligently, and there was every appearance of settled and regular +prosperity. + +Columbus considered all this happy change as brought about by the especial +intervention of heaven. In a letter to Doña Juana de la Torre, a lady of +distinction, aya or nurse of Prince Juan, he gives an instance of those +visionary fancies to which he was subject in times of illness and anxiety. +In the preceding winter, he says, about the festival of Christmas, when +menaced by Indian war and domestic rebellion, when distrustful of those +around him and apprehensive of disgrace at court, he sank for a time into +complete despondency. In this hour of gloom, when abandoned to despair, he +heard in the night a voice addressing him in words of comfort, "Oh man of +little faith! why art thou cast down? Fear nothing, I will provide for +thee. The seven years of the term of gold are not expired; in that, and in +all other things, I will take care of thee." + +The seven years term of gold here mentioned, alludes to a vow made by +Columbus on discovering the New World, and recorded by him in a letter to +the sovereigns, that within seven years he would furnish, from the profits +of his discoveries, fifty thousand foot and five thousand horse, for the +deliverance of the holy sepulchre, and an additional force of like amount, +within five years afterwards. + +The comforting assurance given him by the voice was corroborated, he says, +that very day, by intelligence received of the discovery of a large tract +of country rich in mines. [65] This imaginary promise of +divine aid thus mysteriously given, appeared to him at present in still +greater progress of fulfillment. The troubles and dangers of the island +had been succeeded by tranquillity. He now anticipated the prosperous +prosecution of his favorite enterprise, so long interrupted,--the +exploring of the regions of Paria, and the establishment of a fishery in +the Gulf of Pearls. How illusive were his hopes! At this moment events +were maturing which were to overwhelm him with distress, strip him of his +honors, and render him comparatively a wreck for the remainder of his +days! + + + + + +Book XIII. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Representations at Court Against Columbus.--Bobadilla Empowered to Examine +into His Conduct. + +[1500.] + + + +While Columbus was involved in a series of difficulties in the factious +island of Hispaniola, his enemies were but too successful in undermining +his reputation in the court of Spain. The report brought by Ojeda of his +anticipated disgrace was not entirely unfounded; the event was considered +near at hand, and every perfidious exertion was made to accelerate it. +Every vessel from the New World came freighted with complaints, +representing Columbus and his brothers as new men, unaccustomed to +command, inflated by their sudden rise from obscurity; arrogant and +insulting towards men of birth and lofty spirit; oppressive of the common +people, and cruel in their treatment of the natives. The insidious and +illiberal insinuation was continually urged, that they were foreigners, +who could have no interest in the glory of Spain, or the prosperity of +Spaniards; and contemptible as this plea may seem, it had a powerful +effect. Columbus was even accused of a design to cast off all allegiance +to Spain, and either make himself sovereign of the countries he had +discovered, or yield them into the hands of some other power: a slander +which, however extravagant, was calculated to startle the jealous mind of +Ferdinand. + +It is true, that by every ship Columbus likewise sent home statements, +written with the frankness and energy of truth, setting forth the real +cause and nature of the distractions of the island, and pointing out and +imploring remedies, which, if properly applied, might have been +efficacious. His letters, however, arriving at distant intervals, made but +single and transient impressions on the royal mind, which were speedily +effaced by the influence of daily and active misrepresentation. His +enemies at court, having continual access to the sovereigns, were enabled +to place every thing urged against him in the strongest point of view, +while they secretly neutralized the force of his vindications. They used a +plausible logic to prove either bad management or bad faith on his part. +There was an incessant drain upon the mother country for the support of +the colony. Was this compatible with the extravagant pictures he had drawn +of the wealth of the island, and its golden mountains, in which he had +pretended to find the Ophir of ancient days, the source of all the riches +of Solomon? They inferred that he had either deceived the sovereigns by +designing exaggerations, or grossly wronged them by malpractices, or was +totally incapable of the duties of government. + +The disappointment of Ferdinand, in finding his newly-discovered +possessions a source of expense instead of profit, was known to press +sorely on his mind. The wars, dictated by his ambition, had straitened his +resources, and involved him in perplexities. He had looked with confidence +to the New World for relief, and for ample means to pursue his triumphs; +and grew impatient at the repeated demands which it occasioned on his +scanty treasury. For the purpose of irritating his feelings and +heightening his resentment, every disappointed and repining man who +returned from the colony was encouraged, by the hostile faction, to put in +claims for pay withheld by Columbus, or losses sustained in his service. +This was especially the case with the disorderly ruffians shipped off to +free the island from sedition. Finding their way to the court of Granada, +they followed the king when he rode out, filling the air with their +complaints, and clamoring for their pay. At one time, about fifty of these +vagabonds found their way into the inner court of the Alhambra, under the +royal apartments; holding up bunches of grapes, as the meagre diet left +them by their poverty, and railing aloud at the deceits of Columbus, and +the cruel neglect of government. The two sons of Columbus, who were pages +to the queen, happening to pass by, they followed them with imprecations, +exclaiming, "There go the sons of the admiral, the whelps of him who +discovered the land of vanity and delusion, the grave of Spanish +hidalgos." [66] + +The incessant repetition of falsehood will gradually wear its way into the +most candid mind. Isabella herself began to entertain doubts respecting +the conduct of Columbus. Where there was such universal and incessant +complaint, it seemed reasonable to conclude that there must exist some +fault. If Columbus and his brothers were upright, they might be +injudicious; and, in government, mischief is oftener produced through +error of judgment, than iniquity of design. The letters written by +Columbus himself presented a lamentable picture of the confusion of the +island. Might not this arise from the weakness and incapacity of the +rulers? Even granting that the prevalent abuses arose in a great measure +from the enmity of the people to the admiral and his brothers, and their +prejudices against them as foreigners, was it safe to intrust so important +and distant a command to persons so unpopular with the community? + +These considerations had much weight in the candid mind of Isabella, but +they were all-powerful with the cautious and jealous Ferdinand. He had +never regarded Columbus with real cordiality; and ever since he had +ascertained the importance of his discoveries, had regretted the extensive +powers vested in his hands. The excessive clamors which had arisen during +the brief administration of the Adelantado, and the breaking out of the +faction of Roldan, at length determined the king to send out some person +of consequence and ability, to investigate the affairs of the colony, and, +if necessary for its safety, to take upon himself the command. This +important and critical measure it appears had been decided upon, and the +papers and powers actually drawn out, in the spring of 1499. It was not +carried into effect, however, until the following year. Various reasons +have been assigned for this delay. The important services rendered by +Columbus in the discovery of Paria and the Pearl Islands may have had some +effect on the royal mind. The necessity of fitting out an armament just at +that moment, to co-operate with the Venetians against the Turks; the +menacing movements of the new king of France, Louis XII; the rebellion of +the Moors of the Alpuxarra mountains in the lately-conquered kingdom of +Granada; all these have been alleged as reasons for postponing a measure +which called for much consideration, and might have important effects upon +the newly-discovered possessions. [67] The most probable reason, however, +was the strong disinclination of Isabella to take so harsh a step against +a man for whom she entertained such ardent gratitude and high admiration. + +At length the arrival of the ships with the late followers of Roldan, +according to their capitulation, brought matters to a crisis. It is true +that Ballester and Barrantes came in these ships, to place the affairs of +the island in a proper light; but they brought out a host of witnesses in +favor of Roldan, and letters written by himself and his confederates, +attributing all their late conduct to the tyranny of Columbus and his +brothers. Unfortunately, the testimony of the rebels had the greatest +weight with Ferdinand; and there was a circumstance in the case which +suspended for a time the friendship of Isabella, hitherto the greatest +dependence of Columbus. + +Having a maternal interest in the welfare of the natives, the queen had +been repeatedly offended by what appeared to her pertinacity on the part +of Columbus, in continuing to make slaves of those taken in warfare, in +contradiction to her known wishes. The same ships which brought home the +companions of Roldan, brought likewise a great number of slaves. Some, +Columbus had been obliged to grant to these men by the articles of +capitulation; others they had brought away clandestinely. Among them were +several daughters of caciques, seduced away from their families and their +native island by these profligates. Some of these were in a state of +pregnancy, others had new-born infants. The gifts and transfers of these +unhappy beings were all ascribed to the will of Columbus, and represented +to Isabella in the darkest colors. Her sensibility as a woman, and her +dignity as a queen, were instantly in arms. "What power," exclaimed she +indignantly, "has the admiral to give away my vassals?" [68] Determined, +by one decided and peremptory act, to show her abhorrence of these +outrages upon humanity, she ordered all the Indians to be restored to +their country and friends. Nay more, her measure was retrospective. She +commanded that those formerly sent to Spain by the admiral should be +sought out, and sent back to Hispaniola. Unfortunately for Columbus, at +this very juncture, in one of his letters, he advised the continuance of +Indian slavery for some time longer, as a measure important for the +welfare of the colony. This contributed to heighten the indignation of +Isabella, and induced her no longer to oppose the sending out of a +commission to investigate his conduct, and, if necessary, to supersede +him in command. + +Ferdinand was exceedingly embarrassed in appointing this commission, +between his sense of what was due to the character and services of +Columbus, and his anxiety to retract with delicacy the powers vested in +him. A pretext at length was furnished by the recent request of the +admiral that a person of talents and probity, learned in the law, might be +sent out to act as chief judge; and that an impartial umpire might be +appointed, to decide in the affair between himself and Roldan. Ferdinand +proposed to consult his wishes, but to unite those two officers in one; +and as the person he appointed would have to decide in matters touching +the highest functions of the admiral and his brothers, he was empowered, +should he find them culpable, to supersede them in the government; a +singular mode of insuring partiality! + +The person chosen for this momentous and delicate office was Don Francisco +de Bobadilla, an officer of the royal household, and a commander of the +military and religious order of Calatrava. Oviedo pronounces him a very +honest and religious man; [69] but he is represented by others, and his +actions corroborate the description, as needy, passionate, and ambitious; +three powerful objections to his exercising the rights of judicature in a +case requiring the utmost patience, candor, and circumspection, and where +the judge was to derive wealth and power from the conviction of one of the +parties. + +The authority vested in Bobadilla is defined in letters from the +sovereigns still extant, and which deserve to be noticed chronologically; +for the royal intentions appear to have varied with times and +circumstances. The first was dated on the 21st of March, 1499, and +mentions the complaint of the admiral, that an alcalde, and certain other +persons, had risen in rebellion against him. "Wherefore," adds the latter, +"we order you to inform yourself of the truth of the foregoing; to +ascertain who and what persons they were who rose against the said admiral +and our magistracy, and for what cause; and what robberies and other +injuries they have committed; and furthermore, to extend your inquiries to +all other matters relating to the premises; and the information obtained, +and the truth known, whomsoever you find culpable, _arrest their +persons, and sequestrate their effects;_ and thus taken, proceed +against them and the absent, both civilly and criminally, and impose and +inflict such fines and punishments as you may think fit." To carry this +into effect, Bobadilla was authorized, in case of necessity, to call in +the assistance of the admiral, and of all other persons in authority. + +The powers here given are manifestly directed merely against the rebels, +and in consequence of the complaints of Columbus. Another letter, dated on +the 21st of May, two months subsequently, is of quite different purport. +It makes no mention of Columbus, but is addressed to the various +functionaries and men of property of the islands and Terra Firma, +informing them of the appointment of Bobadilla to the government, with +full civil and criminal jurisdiction. Among the powers specified, is the +following;--"It is our will, that if the said commander, Francisco de +Bobadilla, should think it necessary for our service, and the purposes of +justice, that any cavaliers, or other persons who are at present in those +islands, or may arrive there, should leave them, and not return and reside +in them, and that they should come and present themselves before us, he +may command it in our name, and oblige them to depart; and whomsoever he +thus commands, we hereby order, that immediately, without waiting to +inquire or consult us, or to receive from us any other letter or command, +and without interposing appeal or supplication, they obey whatever he +shall say and order, under the penalties which he shall impose on our +part," &c. &c. + +Another letter, dated likewise on the 21st of May, in which Columbus is +styled simply, "admiral of the ocean sea," orders him and his brothers to +surrender the fortress, ships, houses, arms, ammunition, cattle, and all +other royal property, into the hands of Bobadilla, as governor, under +penalty of incurring the punishments to which those subject themselves who +refuse to surrender fortresses and other trusts, when commanded by their +sovereigns. + +A fourth letter, dated on the 26th of May, and addressed to Columbus, +simply by the title of admiral, is a mere letter of credence, ordering him +to give faith and obedience to whatever Bobadilla should impart. + +The second and third of these letters were evidently provisional, and only +to be produced, if, on examination, there should appear such delinquency +on the part of Columbus and his brothers as to warrant their being +divested of command. + +This heavy blow, as has been shown, remained suspended for a year; yet, +that it was whispered about, and triumphantly anticipated by the enemies +of Columbus, is evident from the assertions of Ojeda, who sailed from +Spain about the time of the signature of those letters, and had intimate +communications with Bishop Fonseca, who was considered instrumental in +producing this measure. The very license granted by the bishop to Ojeda to +sail on a voyage of discovery in contravention of the prerogatives of the +admiral, has the air of being given on a presumption of his speedy +downfall; and the same presumption, as has already been observed, must +have encouraged Ojeda in his turbulent conduct at Xaragua. + +At length the long-projected measure was carried into effect. Bobadilla +set sail for San Domingo about the middle of July, 1500, with two +caravels, in which were twenty-five men, enlisted for a year, to serve as +a kind of guard. There were six friars likewise, who had charge of a +number of Indians sent back to their country. Besides the letters patent, +Bobadilla was authorized, by royal order, to ascertain and discharge all +arrears of pay due to persons in the service of the crown; and to oblige +the admiral to pay what was due on his part, "so that those people might +receive what was owing to them, and there might be no more complaints." In +addition to all these powers, Bobadilla was furnished with many blank +letters signed by the sovereigns, to be filled up by him in such manner, +and directed to such persons, as he might think advisable, in relation to +the mission with which he was intrusted. [70] + + + + +Chapter II. + +Arrival of Bobadilla at San Domingo--His Violent Assumption of the Command. + +[1500.] + + + +Columbus was still at Fort Conception, regulating the affairs of the +Vega, after the catastrophe of the sedition of Moxica; his brother, the +Adelantado, accompanied by Roldan, was pursuing and arresting the fugitive +rebels in Xaragua; and Don Diego Columbus remained in temporary command at +San Domingo. Faction had worn itself out; the insurgents had brought down +ruin upon themselves; and the island appeared delivered from the +domination of violent and lawless men. + +Such was the state of public affairs, when, on the morning of the 23d of +August, two caravels were descried off the harbor of San Domingo, about a +league at sea. They were standing off and on, waiting until the sea +breeze, which generally prevails about ten o'clock, should carry them into +port. Don Diego Columbus supposed them to be ships sent from Spain with +supplies, and hoped to find on board his nephew Diego, whom the admiral +had requested might be sent out to assist him in his various concerns. A +canoe was immediately dispatched to obtain information; which, approaching +the caravels, inquired what news they brought, and whether Diego, the son +of the admiral, was on board. Bobadilla himself replied from the principal +vessel, announcing himself as a commissioner sent out to investigate the +late rebellion. The master of the caravel then inquired about the news of +the island, and was informed of the recent transactions. Seven of the +rebels, he was told, had been hanged that week, and five more were in the +fortress of San Domingo, condemned to suffer the same fate. Among these +were Pedro Riquelme and Fernando de Guevara, the young cavalier whose +passion for the daughter of Anacaona had been the original cause of the +rebellion. Further, conversation passed, in the course of which Bobadilla +ascertained that the admiral and the Adelantado were absent, and Don Diego +Columbus in command. + +When the canoe returned to the city, with the news that a commissioner had +arrived to make inquisition into the late troubles, there was a great stir +and agitation throughout the community. Knots of whisperers gathered at +every corner; those who were conscious of malpractices were filled with +consternation; while those who had grievances, real or imaginary, to +complain of, especially those whose pay was in arrear, appeared with joyful +countenances. [71] + +As the vessels entered the river, Bobadilla beheld on either bank a gibbet +with the body of a Spaniard hanging on it, apparently but lately executed. +He considered these as conclusive proofs of the alleged cruelty of +Columbus. Many boats came off to the ship, every one being anxious to pay +early court to this public censor. Bobadilla remained on board all day, in +the course of which he collected much of the rumors of the place; and as +those who sought to secure his favor were those who had most to fear from +his investigations, it is evident that the nature of the rumors must +generally have been unfavorable to Columbus. In fact, before Bobadilla +landed, if not before he arrived, the culpability of the admiral was +decided in his mind. + +The next morning he landed with all his followers, and went to the church +to attend mass, where he found Don Diego Columbus, Rodrigo Perez, the +lieutenant of the admiral, and other persons of note. Mass being ended, +and those persons, with a multitude of the populace, being assembled at +the door of the church, Bobadilla ordered his letters patent to be read, +authorizing him to investigate the rebellion, seize the persons, and +sequestrate the property of delinquents, and proceed against them with the +utmost rigor of the law; commanding also the admiral, and all others in +authority, to assist him in the discharge of his duties. The letter being +read, he demanded of Don Diego and the alcaldes, to surrender to him the +persons of Fernando Guevara, Pedro Riquelme, and the other prisoners, with +the depositions taken concerning them; and ordered that the parties by +whom they were accused, and those by whose command they had been taken, +should appear before him. + +Don Diego replied, that the proceedings had emanated from the orders of +the admiral, who held superior powers to any Bobadilla could possess, and +without whose authority he could do nothing. He requested, at the same +time, a copy of the letter patent, that he might send it to his brother, +to whom alone the matter appertained. This Bobadilla refused, observing +that, if Don Diego had power to do nothing, it was useless to give him a +copy. He added, that since the office and authority he had proclaimed +appeared to have no weight, he would try what power and consequence there +was in the name of governor; and would show them that he had command, not +merely over them, but over the admiral himself. + +The little community remained in breathless suspense, awaiting the +portentous movements of Bobadilla. The next morning he appeared at mass, +resolved on assuming those powers which were only to have been produced +after full investigation, and ample proof of the mal-conduct of Columbus. +When mass was over, and the eager populace had gathered round the door of +the church, Bobadilla, in presence of Don Diego and Rodrigo Perez, ordered +his other royal patent to be read, investing him with the government of +the islands, and of Terra Firma. + +The patent being read, Bobadilla took the customary oath, and then claimed +the obedience of Don Diego, Rodrigo Perez, and all present, to this royal +instrument; on the authority of which he again demanded the prisoners +confined in the fortress. In reply, they professed the utmost deference to +the letter of the sovereigns, but again observed that they held the +prisoners in obedience to the admiral, to whom the sovereigns had granted +letters of a higher nature. + +The self-importance of Bobadilla was incensed at this non-compliance, +especially as he saw it had some effect upon the populace, who appeared to +doubt his authority. He now produced the third mandate of the crown, +ordering Columbus and his brothers to deliver up all fortresses, ships, +and other royal property. To win the public completely to his side, he +read also the additional mandate issued on the 30th of May, of the same +year, ordering him to pay the arrears of wages due to all persons in the +royal service, and to compel the admiral to pay the arrears of those to +whom he was accountable. + +This last document was received with shouts by the multitude, many having +long arrears due to them in consequence of the poverty of the treasury. +Flushed with his growing importance, Bobadilla again demanded the +prisoners; threatening, if refused, to take them by force. Meeting with +the same reply, he repaired to the fortress to execute his threats. This +post was commanded by Miguel Diaz, the same Arragonian cavalier who had +once taken refuge among the Indians on the banks of the Ozema, won the +affections of the female cacique Catalina, received from her information +of the neighboring gold mines, and induced his countrymen to remove to +those parts. + +When Bobadilla came before the fortress, he found the gates closed, and +the alcayde, Miguel Diaz, upon the battlements. He ordered his letters +patent to be read with a loud voice, the signatures and seals to be held +up to view, and then demanded the surrender of the prisoners. Diaz +requested a copy of the letters; but this Bobadilla refused, alleging that +there was no time for delay, the prisoners being under sentence of death, +and liable at any moment to be executed. He threatened, at the same time, +that if they were not given up, he would proceed to extremities, and Diaz +should be answerable for the consequences. The wary alcayde again required +time to reply, and a copy of the letters; saying that he held the fortress +for the king, by the command of the admiral, his lord, who had gained +these territories and islands, and that when the latter arrived, he should +obey his orders. [72] + +The whole spirit of Bobadilla was roused within him at the refusal of the +alcayde. Assembling all the people he had brought from Spain, together +with the sailors of the ships, and the rabble of the place, he exhorted +them to aid him in getting possession of the prisoners, but to harm no one +unless in case of resistance. The mob shouted assent, for Bobadilla was +already the idol of the multitude. About the hour of vespers he set out, +at the head of this motley army, to storm a fortress destitute of a +garrison, and formidable only in name, being calculated to withstand only +a naked and slightly-armed people. The accounts of this transaction have +something in them bordering on the ludicrous, and give it the air of +absurd rhodomontade. Bobadilla assailed the portal with great impetuosity, +the frail bolts and locks of which gave way at the first shock, and +allowed him easy admission. In the meantime, however, his zealous +myrmidons applied ladders to the walls, as if about to carry the place by +assault, and to experience a desperate defence. The alcayde, Miguel Diaz, +and Don Diego de Alvarado, alone appeared on the battlements; they had +drawn swords, but offered no resistance. Bobadilla entered the fortress in +triumph, and without molestation. The prisoners were found in a chamber in +irons. He ordered that they should be brought up to him to the top of the +fortress, where, having put a few questions to them, as a matter of form, +he gave them in charge to an alguazil named Juan de Espinosa. [73] + +Such was the arrogant and precipitate entrance into office of Francisco de +Bobadilla. He had reversed the order of his written instructions; having +seized upon the government before he had investigated the conduct of +Columbus. He continued his career in the same spirit; acting as if the +case had been prejudged in Spain, and he had been sent out merely to +degrade the admiral from his employments, not to ascertain the manner in +which he had fulfilled them. He took up his residence in the house of +Columbus, seized upon his arms, gold, plate, jewels, horses, together with +his letters, and various manuscripts, both public and private, even to his +most secret papers. He gave no account of the property thus seized; and +which he no doubt considered already confiscated to the crown, excepting +that he paid out of it the wages of those to whom the admiral was in +arrears. [74] To increase his favor with the people, he proclaimed, on the +second day of his assumption of power, a general license for the term of +twenty years, to seek for gold, paying merely one eleventh to government, +instead of a third as heretofore. At the same time, he spoke in the most +disrespectful and unqualified terms of Columbus, saying that he was +empowered to send him home in chains, and that neither he nor any of his +lineage would ever again be permitted to govern in the island. [75] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Columbus Summoned to Appear before Bobadilla. + +[1500.] + + + +When the tidings reached Columbus at Fort Conception of the high-handed +proceedings of Bobadilla, he considered them the unauthorized acts of some +rash adventurer like Ojeda. Since government had apparently thrown open +the door to private enterprise, he might expect to have his path +continually crossed, and his jurisdiction infringed by bold intermeddlers, +feigning or fancying themselves authorized to interfere in the affairs of +the colony. Since the departure of Ojeda another squadron had touched upon +the coast, and produced a transient alarm, being an expedition under one +of the Pinzons, licensed by the sovereigns to make discoveries. There had +also been a rumor of another squadron hovering about the island, which +proved, however, to be unfounded. [76] + +The conduct of Bobadilla bore all the appearance of a lawless usurpation +of some intruder of the kind. He had possessed himself forcibly of the +fortress, and consequently of the town. He had issued extravagant licenses +injurious to the government, and apparently intended only to make +partisans among the people; and had threatened to throw Columbus himself +in irons. That this man could really be sanctioned by government, in such +intemperate measures, was repugnant to belief. The admiral's consciousness +of his own services, the repeated assurances he had received of high +consideration on the part of the sovereigns, and the perpetual +prerogatives granted to him under their hand and seal, with all the +solemnity that a compact could possess, all forbade him to consider the +transactions at San Domingo otherwise than as outrages on his authority by +some daring or misguided individual. + +To be nearer to San Domingo, and obtain more correct information, he +proceeded to Bonao, which was now beginning to assume the appearance of a +settlement, several Spaniards having erected houses there, and cultivated +the adjacent country. He had scarcely reached the place, when an alcalde, +bearing a staff of office, arrived there from San Domingo, proclaiming the +appointment of Bobadilla to the government, and bearing copies of his +letters patent. There was no especial letter or message sent to the +admiral, nor were any of the common forms of courtesy and ceremony +observed in superseding him in the command; all the proceedings of +Bobadilla towards him were abrupt and insulting. + +Columbus was exceedingly embarrassed how to act. It was evident that +Bobadilla was intrusted with extensive powers by the sovereigns, but that +they could have exercised such a sudden, unmerited, and apparently +capricious act of severity, as that of divesting him of all his commands, +he could not believe. He endeavored to persuade himself that Bobadilla was +some person sent out to exercise the functions of chief judge, according +to the request he had written home to the sovereigns, and that they had +intrusted him likewise with provisional powers to make an inquest into the +late troubles of the island. All beyond these powers he tried to believe +were mere assumptions and exaggerations of authority, as in the case of +Aguado. At all events, he was determined to act upon such presumption, and +to endeavor to gain time. If the monarchs had really taken any harsh +measures with respect to him, it must have been in consequence of +misrepresentations. The least delay might give them an opportunity of +ascertaining their error, and making the necessary amends. + +He wrote to Bobadilla, therefore, in guarded terms, welcoming him to the +island; cautioning him against precipitate measures, especially in +granting licenses to collect gold; informing him that he was on the point +of going to Spain, and in a little time would leave him in command, with +every thing fully and clearly explained. He wrote at the same time to the +like purport to certain monks who had come out with Bobadilla, though he +observes that these letters were only written to gain time. [77] He +received no replies: but while an insulting silence was observed towards +him, Bobadilla filled up several of the blank letters, of which he had a +number signed by the sovereigns, and sent them to Roldan, and other of the +admiral's enemies, the very men whom he had been sent out to judge. These +letters were full of civilities and promises of favor. [78] + +To prevent any mischief which might arise from the licenses and +indulgences so prodigally granted by Bobadilla, Columbus published by word +and letter, that the powers assumed by him could not be valid, nor his +licenses availing, as he himself held superior powers granted to him in +perpetuity by the crown, which could no more be superseded in this +instance, than they had been in that of Aguado. + +For some time Columbus remained in this anxious and perplexed state of +mind, uncertain what line of conduct to pursue in so singular and +unlooked-for a conjuncture. He was soon brought to a decision. Francisco +Velasquez, deputy treasurer, and Juan de Trasierra, a Franciscan friar, +arrived at Bonao, and delivered to him the royal letter of credence, +signed by the sovereigns on the 26th of May, 1499, commanding him to give +implicit faith and obedience to Bobadilla; and they delivered, at the same +time, a summons from the latter to appear immediately before him. + +This laconic letter from the sovereigns struck at once at the root of all +his dignity and power. He no longer made hesitation or demur, but, +complying with the peremptory summons of Bobadilla, departed, almost alone +and unattended, for San Domingo. [79] + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Columbus and His Brothers Arrested and Sent to Spain in Chains. + +[1500.] + + + +The tidings that a new governor had arrived, and that Columbus was in +disgrace, and to be sent home in chains, circulated rapidly through the +Vega, and the colonists hastened from all parts to San Domingo to make +interest with Bobadilla. It was soon perceived that there was no surer way +than that of vilifying his predecessor. Bobadilla felt that he had taken a +rash step in seizing upon the government, and that his own safety required +the conviction of Columbus. He listened eagerly, therefore, to all +accusations, public or private; and welcome was he who could bring any +charge, however extravagant, against the admiral and his brothers. + +Hearing that the admiral was on his way to the city, he made a bustle of +preparation, and armed the troops, affecting to believe a rumor that +Columbus had called upon the caciques of the Vega to aid him with their +subjects in a resistance to the commands of government. No grounds appear +for this absurd report, which was probably invented to give a coloring of +precaution to subsequent measures of violence and insult. The admiral's +brother, Don Diego, was seized, thrown in irons, and confined on board of +a caravel, without any reason being assigned for his imprisonment. + +In the meantime Columbus pursued his journey to San Domingo, traveling in +a lonely manner, without guards or retinue. Most of his people were with +the Adelantado, and he had declined being attended by the remainder. He +had heard of the rumors of the hostile intentions of Bobadilla; and +although he knew that violence was threatened to his person, he came in +this unpretending manner, to manifest his pacific feelings, and to remove +all suspicion. [80] + +No sooner did Bobadilla hear of his arrival, than he gave orders to put +him in irons, and confine him in the fortress. This outrage to a person of +such dignified and venerable appearance, and such eminent merit, seemed, +for the time, to shock even his enemies. When the irons were brought, +every one present shrank from the task of putting them on him, either from +a sentiment of compassion at so great a reverse of fortune, or out of +habitual reverence for his person. To fill the measure of ingratitude +meted out to him, it was one of his own domestics, "a graceless and +shameless cook," says Las Casas, "who, with unwashed front, riveted the +fetters with as much readiness and alacrity, as though he were serving him +with choice and savory viands. I knew the fellow," adds the venerable +historian, "and I think his name was Espinosa." [81] + +Columbus conducted himself with characteristic magnanimity under the +injuries heaped upon him. There is a noble scorn which swells and supports +the heart, and silences the tongue of the truly great, when enduring the +insults of the unworthy. Columbus could not stoop to deprecate the +arrogance of a weak and violent man like Bobadilla. He looked beyond this +shallow agent, and all his petty tyranny, to the sovereigns who had +employed him. Their injustice or ingratitude alone could wound his spirit; +and he felt assured that when the truth came to be known, they would blush +to find how greatly they had wronged him. With this proud assurance, he +bore all present indignities in silence. + +Bobadilla, although he had the admiral and Don Diego in his power, and had +secured the venal populace, felt anxious and ill at ease. The Adelantado, +with an armed force under his command, was still in the distant province +of Xaragua, in pursuit of the rebels. Knowing his soldier-like and +determined spirit, he feared he might take some violent measure when he +should hear of the ignominious treatment and imprisonment of his brothers. +He doubted whether any order from himself would have any effect, except to +exasperate the stern Don Bartholomew. He sent a demand, therefore, to +Columbus, to write to his brother, requesting him to repair peaceably to +San Domingo, and forbidding him to execute the persons he held in +confinement: Columbus readily complied. He exhorted his brother to submit +quietly to the authority of his sovereigns, and to endure all present +wrongs and indignities, under the confidence that when they arrived at +Castile, every thing would be explained and redressed. [82] + +On receiving this letter, Don Bartholomew immediately complied. +Relinquishing his command, he hastened peacefully to San Domingo, and on +arriving experienced the same treatment with his brothers, being put in +irons and confined on board of a caravel. They were kept separate from +each other, and no communication permitted between them. Bobadilla did not +see them himself, nor did he allow others to visit them; but kept them in +ignorance of the cause of their imprisonment, the crimes with which they +were charged, and the process that was going on against them. [83] + +It has been questioned whether Bobadilla really had authority for the +arrest and imprisonment of the admiral and his brothers; [84] +and whether such violence and indignity was in any case contemplated by +the sovereigns. He may have fancied himself empowered by the clause in the +letter of instructions, dated March 21st, 1499, in which, speaking of the +rebellion of Roldan, "he is authorized to _seize the persons and +sequestrate the property_ of those who appeared to be culpable, and +then to proceed against them and against the absent, with the highest +civil and criminal penalties." This evidently had reference to the persons +of Roldan and his followers, who were then in arms, and against whom +Columbus had sent home complaints; and this, by a violent construction, +Bobadilla seems to have wrested into an authority for seizing the person +of the admiral himself. In fact, in the whole course of his proceedings, +he reversed and confounded the order of his instructions. His first step +should have been to proceed against the rebels; this he made the last. His +last step should have been, in case of ample evidence against the admiral, +to have superseded him in office; and this he made the first, without +waiting for evidence. Having predetermined, from the very outset, that +Columbus was in the wrong, by the same rule he had to presume that all the +opposite parties were in the right. It became indispensable to his own +justification to inculpate the admiral and his brothers; and the rebels he +had been sent to judge became, by this, singular perversion of rule, +necessary and cherished evidences, to criminate those against whom they +had rebelled. + +The intentions of the crown, however, are not to be vindicated at the +expense of its miserable agent. If proper respect had been felt for the +rights and dignities of Columbus, Bobadilla would never have been +intrusted with powers so extensive, undefined, and discretionary; nor +would he have dared to proceed to such lengths, with such rudeness and +precipitation, had he not felt assured that it would not be displeasing to +the jealous-minded Ferdinand. + +The old scenes of the time of Aguado were now renewed with tenfold +virulence, and the old charges revived, with others still more +extravagant. From the early and never-to-be-forgotten outrage upon +Castilian pride, of compelling hidalgos, in time of emergency, to labor in +the construction of works necessary to the public safety, down to the +recent charge of levying war against the government, there was not a +hardship, abuse, nor sedition in the island, that was not imputed to the +misdeeds of Columbus and his brothers. Besides the usual accusations of +inflicting oppressive labor, unnecessary tasks, painful restrictions, +short allowances of food, and cruel punishments upon the Spaniards, and +waging unjust wars against the natives, they were now charged with +preventing the conversion of the latter, that they might send them slaves +to Spain, and profit by their sale. This last charge, so contrary to the +pious feelings of the admiral, was founded on his having objected to the +baptism of certain Indians of mature age, until they could be instructed +in the doctrines of Christianity; justly considering it an abuse of that +holy sacrament to administer it thus blindly. [85] + +Columbus was charged, also, with having secreted pearls, and other +precious articles, collected in his voyage along the coast of Paria, and +with keeping the sovereigns in ignorance of the nature of his discoveries +there, in order to exact new privileges from them; yet it was notorious +that he had sent home specimens of the pearls, and journals and charts of +his voyage, by which others had been enabled to pursue his track. + +Even the late tumults, now that the rebels were admitted as evidence, were +all turned into matters of accusation. They were represented as spirited +and loyal resistances to tyranny exercised upon the colonists and the +natives. The well-merited punishments inflicted upon certain of the +ring-leaders were cited as proofs of a cruel and revengeful disposition, +and a secret hatred of Spaniards. Bobadilla believed, or affected to +believe, all these charges. He had, in a manner, made the rebels his +confederates in the ruin of Columbus. It was become a common cause with +them. He could no longer, therefore, conduct himself towards them as a +judge. Guevara, Riquelme, and their fellow-convicts, were discharged +almost without the form of a trial, and it is even said were received +into favor and countenance. Roldan, from the very first, had been +treated with confidence by Bobadilla, and honored with his +correspondence. All the others, whose conduct had rendered them liable +to justice, received either a special acquittal or a general pardon. It +was enough to have been opposed in any way to Columbus, to obtain full +justification in the eyes of Bobadilla. + +The latter had now collected a weight of testimony, and produced a crowd +of witnesses, sufficient, as he conceived, to insure the condemnation of +the prisoners, and his own continuance in command. He determined, +therefore, to send the admiral and his brothers home in chains, in the +vessels ready for sea, transmitting at the same time the inquest taken in +their case, and writing private letters, enforcing the charges made +against them, and advising that Columbus should on no account be restored +to the command, which he had so shamefully abused. + +San Domingo now swarmed with miscreants just delivered from the dungeon +and the gibbet. It was a perfect jubilee of triumphant villany and dastard +malice. Every base spirit, which had been awed into obsequiousness by +Columbus and his brothers when in power, now started up to revenge itself +upon them when in chains. The most injurious slanders were loudly +proclaimed in the streets; insulting pasquinades and inflammatory libels +were posted up at every corner; and horns were blown in the neighborhood +of their prisons, to taunt them with the exultings of the rabble. [86] +When these rejoicings of his enemies reached him in his dungeon, and +Columbus reflected on the inconsiderate violence already exhibited by +Bobadilla, he knew not how far his rashness and confidence might carry +him, and began to entertain apprehensions for his life. + +The vessels being ready to make sail, Alonzo de Villejo was appointed to +take charge of the prisoners, and carry them to Spain. This officer had +been brought up by an uncle of Fonseca, was in the employ of that bishop, +and had come out with Bobadilla. The latter instructed him, on arriving at +Cadiz, to deliver his prisoners into the hands of Fonseca, or of his +uncle, thinking thereby to give the malignant prelate a triumphant +gratification. This circumstance gave weight with many to a report that +Bobadilla was secretly instigated and encouraged in his violent measures +by Fonseca, and was promised his protection and influence at court, in +case of any complaints of his conduct. [87] + +Villejo undertook the office assigned him, but he discharged it in a more +generous manner than was intended. "This Alonzo de Villejo," says the +worthy Las Casas, "was a hidalgo of honorable character, and my particular +friend." He certainly showed himself superior to the low malignity of his +patrons. When he arrived with a guard to conduct the admiral from the +prison to the ship, he found him in chains in a state of silent +despondency. So violently had he been treated, and so savage were the +passions let loose against him, that he feared he should be sacrificed +without an opportunity of being heard, and his name go down sullied and +dishonored to posterity. When he beheld the officer enter with the guard, +he thought it was to conduct him to the scaffold. "Villejo," said he, +mournfully, "whither are you taking me?" "To the ship, your Excellency, to +embark," replied the other. "To embark!" repeated the admiral, earnestly; +"Villejo! do you speak the truth?" "By the life of your Excellency," +replied the honest officer, "it is true!" With these words the admiral was +comforted, and felt as one restored from death to life. Nothing can be +more touching and expressive than this little colloquy, recorded by the +venerable Las Casas, who doubtless had it from the lips of his friend +Villejo. + +The caravels set sail early in October, bearing off Columbus shackled like +the vilest of culprits, amidst the scoffs and shouts of a miscreant +rabble, who took a brutal joy in heaping insults on his venerable head, +and sent curses after him from the shores of the island he had so recently +added to the civilized world. Fortunately the voyage was favorable, and of +but moderate duration, and was rendered less disagreeable by the conduct +of those to whom he was given in custody. The worthy Villejo, though in +the service of Fonseca, felt deeply moved at the treatment of Columbus. +The master of the caravel, Andreas Martin, was equally grieved: they both +treated the admiral with profound respect and assiduous attention. They +would have taken off his irons, but to this he would not consent. "No," +said he proudly, "their majesties commanded me by letter to submit to +whatever Bobadilla should order in their name; by their authority he has +put upon me these chains; I will wear them until they shall order them to +be taken off, and I will preserve them afterwards as relics and memorials +of the reward of my services." [88] + +"He did so," adds his son Fernando; "I saw them always hanging in his +cabinet, and he requested that when he died they might be buried with +him." [89] + + + + + +Book XIV. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Sensation in Spain on the Arrival of Columbus in Irons.--His Appearance at +Court. + +[1500.] + + + +The arrival of Columbus at Cadiz, a prisoner and in chains, produced +almost as great a sensation as his triumphant return from his first +voyage. It was one of those striking and obvious facts, which speak to the +feelings of the multitude, and preclude the necessity of reflection. No +one stopped to inquire into the case. It was sufficient to be told that +Columbus was brought home in irons from the world he had discovered. There +was a general burst of indignation in Cadiz, and in the powerful and +opulent Seville, which was echoed throughout all Spain. If the ruin of +Columbus had been the intention of his enemies, they had defeated their +object by their own violence. One of those reactions took place, so +frequent in the public mind, when persecution is pushed to an unguarded +length. Those of the populace who had recently been loud in their clamor +against Columbus, were now as loud in their reprobation of his treatment, +and a strong sympathy was expressed, against which it would have been +odious for the government to contend. + +The tidings of his arrival, and of the ignominious manner in which he had +been brought, reached the court at Granada, and filled the halls of the +Alhambra with murmurs of astonishment. Columbus, full of his wrongs, but +ignorant how far they had been authorized by the sovereigns, had forborne +to write to them. In the course of his voyage, however, he had penned a +long letter to Doña Juana de la Torre, the aya of Prince Juan, a lady high +in favor with Queen Isabella. This letter, on his arrival at Cadiz, +Andreas Martin, the captain of the caravel, permitted him to send off +privately by express. It arrived, therefore, before the protocol of the +proceedings instituted by Bobadilla, and from this document the sovereigns +derived their first intimation of his treatment. [90] It contained a +statement of the late transactions of the island, and of the wrongs he had +suffered, written with his usual artlessness and energy. To specify the +contents would be but to recapitulate circumstances already recorded. Some +expressions, however, which burst from him in the warmth of his feelings, +are worthy of being noted. "The slanders of worthless men," says he, "have +done me more injury than all my services have profited me." Speaking of +the misrepresentations to which he was subjected, he observes: "Such is +the evil name which I have acquired, that if I were to build hospitals and +churches, they would be called dens of robbers." After relating in +indignant terms the conduct of Bobadilla, in seeking testimony respecting +his administration from the very men who had rebelled against him, and +throwing himself and his brothers in irons, without letting them know the +offences with which they were charged, "I have been much aggrieved," he +adds, "in that a person should be sent out to investigate my conduct, who +knew that if the evidence which he could send home should appear to be of +a serious nature, he would remain in the government." He complains that, +in forming an opinion of his administration, allowances had not been made +for the extraordinary difficulties with which he had to contend, and the +wild state of the country over which he had to rule. "I was judged," he +observes, "as a governor who had been sent to take charge of a +well-regulated city, under the dominion of well-established laws, where +there was no danger of every thing running to disorder and ruin; but I +ought to be judged as a captain, sent to subdue a numerous and hostile +people, of manners and religion opposite to ours, living not in regular +towns, but in forests and mountains. It ought to be considered that I have +brought all these under subjection to their majesties, giving them +dominion over another world, by which Spain, heretofore poor, has suddenly +become rich. Whatever errors I may have fallen into, they were not with an +evil intention; and I believe their majesties will credit what I say. I +have known them to be merciful to those who have willfully done them +disservice; I am convinced that they will have still more indulgence for +me, who have erred innocently, or by compulsion, as they will hereafter be +more fully informed; and I trust they will consider my great services, the +advantages of which are every day more and more apparent." + +When this letter was read to the noble-minded Isabella, and she found how +grossly Columbus had been wronged and the royal authority abused, her +heart was filled with mingled sympathy and indignation. The tidings were +confirmed by a letter from the alcalde or corregidor of Cadiz, into whose +hands Columbus and his brothers had been delivered, until the pleasure of +the sovereigns should be known; [91] and by another letter from Alonzo de +Villejo, expressed in terms accordant with his humane and honorable +conduct towards his illustrious prisoner. + +However Ferdinand might have secretly felt disposed against Columbus, the +momentary tide of public feeling was not to be resisted. He joined with +his generous queen in her reprobation of the treatment of the admiral, and +both sovereigns hastened to give evidence to the world, that his +imprisonment had been without their authority, and contrary to their +wishes. Without waiting to receive any documents that might arrive from +Bobadilla, they sent orders to Cadiz that the prisoners should be +instantly set at liberty, and treated with all distinction. They wrote a +letter to Columbus, couched in terms of gratitude and affection, +expressing their grief at all that he had suffered, and inviting him to +court. They ordered, at the same time, that two thousand ducats should be +advanced to defray his expenses. [92] + +The loyal heart of Columbus was again cheered by this declaration of his +sovereigns. He felt conscious of his integrity, and anticipated an +immediate restitution of all his rights and dignities. He appeared at +court in Granada on the 17th of December, not as a man ruined and +disgraced, but richly dressed, and attended by an honorable retinue. He +was received by the sovereigns with unqualified favor and distinction. +When the queen beheld this venerable man approach, and thought on all he +had deserved and all he had suffered, she was moved to tears. Columbus had +borne up firmly against the rude conflicts of the world,-he had endured +with lofty scorn the injuries and insults of ignoble men; but he possessed +strong and quick sensibility. When he found himself thus kindly received +by his sovereigns, and beheld tears in the benign eyes of Isabella, his +long-suppressed feelings burst forth: he threw himself on his knees, and +for some time could not utter a word for the violence of his tears and +sobbings. [93] + +Ferdinand and Isabella raised him from the ground, and endeavored to +encourage him by the most gracious expressions. As soon as he regained +self-possession, he entered into an eloquent and high-minded vindication +of his loyalty, and the zeal he had ever felt for the glory and advantage +of the Spanish crown, declaring that if at any time he had erred, it had +been through inexperience in government, and the extraordinary +difficulties by which he had been surrounded. + +There needed no vindication on his part. The intemperance of his enemies +had been his best advocate. He stood in presence of his sovereigns a +deeply-injured man, and it remained for them to vindicate themselves to +the world from the charge of ingratitude towards their most deserving +subject. They expressed their indignation at the proceedings of Bobadilla, +which they disavowed, as contrary to their instructions, and declared that +he should be immediately dismissed from his command. + +In fact, no public notice was taken of the charges sent home by Bobadilla, +nor of the letters written in support of them. The sovereigns took every +occasion to treat Columbus with favor and distinction, assuring him that +his grievances should be redressed, his property restored, and he +reinstated in all his privileges and dignities. + +It was on the latter point that Columbus was chiefly solicitous. Mercenary +considerations had scarcely any weight in his mind. Glory had been the +great object of his ambition, and he felt that, as long as he remained +suspended from his employments, a tacit censure rested on his name. He +expected, therefore, that the moment the sovereigns should be satisfied of +the rectitude of his conduct, they would be eager to make him amends; that +a restitution of his viceroyalty would immediately take place, and he +should return in triumph to San Domingo. Here, however, he was doomed to +experience a disappointment which threw a gloom over the remainder of his +days. To account for this flagrant want of justice and gratitude in the +crown, it is expedient to notice a variety of events which had materially +affected the interests of Columbus in the eyes of the politic Ferdinand. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Contemporary Voyages of Discovery. + + + +The general license granted by the Spanish sovereigns in 1495, to +undertake voyages of discovery, had given rise to various expeditions by +enterprising individuals, chiefly persons who had sailed with Columbus in +his first voyages. The government, unable to fit out many armaments +itself, was pleased to have its territories thus extended, free of cost, +and its treasury at the same time benefited by the share of the proceeds +of these voyages, reserved as a kind of duty to the crown. These +expeditions had chiefly taken place while Columbus was in partial disgrace +with the sovereigns. His own charts and journal served as guides to the +adventurers; and his magnificent accounts of Paria and the adjacent coasts +had chiefly excited their cupidity. + +Beside the expedition of Ojeda, already noticed, in the course of which he +touched at Xaragua, one had been undertaken at the same time by Pedro +Alonzo Niño, native of Moguer, an able pilot, who had been with Columbus +in the voyages to Cuba and Paria. Having obtained a license, he interested +a rich merchant of Seville in the undertaking, who fitted out a caravel of +fifty tons burden, under condition that his brother Christoval Guevra +should have the command. They sailed from the bar of Saltes, a few days +after Ojeda had sailed from Cadiz, in the spring of 1499, and arriving on +the coast of Terra Firma, to the south of Paria, ran along it for some +distance, passed through the Gulf, and thence went one hundred and thirty +leagues along the shore of the present republic of Columbia, visiting what +was afterwards called the Pearl Coast. They landed in various places; +disposed of their European trifles to immense profit, and returned with a +large store of gold and pearls; having made, in their diminutive bark, one +of the most extensive and lucrative voyages yet accomplished. + +About the same time, the Pinzons, that family of bold and opulent +navigators, fitted out an armament of four caravels at Palos, manned in a +great measure by their own relations and friends. Several experienced +pilots embarked in it who had been with Columbus to Paria, and it was +commanded by Vicente Yañez Pinzon, who had been captain of a caravel in +the squadron of the admiral on his first voyage. + +Pinzon was a hardy and experienced seaman, and did not, like the others, +follow closely in the track of Columbus. Sailing in December, 1499, he +passed the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, standing southwest until he lost +sight of the polar star. Here he encountered a terrible storm, and was +exceedingly perplexed and confounded by the new aspect of the heavens. +Nothing was yet known of the southern hemisphere, nor of the beautiful +constellation of the cross, which in those regions has since supplied to +mariners the place of the north star. The voyagers had expected to find at +the south pole a star correspondent to that of the north. They were +dismayed at beholding no guide of the kind, and thought there must be some +prominent swelling of the earth, which hid the pole from their view. +[94] + +Pinzon continued on, however, with great intrepidity. On the 26th of +January, 1500, he saw, at a distance, a great headland, which he called +Cape Santa Maria de la Consolacion, but which has since been named Cape +St. Augustine. He landed and took possession of the country in the name of +their catholic majesties; being a part of the territories since called the +Brazils. Standing thence westward, he discovered the Maragnon, since +called the River of the Amazons; traversed the Gulf of Paria, and +continued across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, until he found +himself among the Bahamas, where he lost two of his vessels on the rocks, +near the island of Jumeto. He returned to Palos in September, having added +to his former glory that of being the first European who had crossed the +equinoctial line in the western ocean, and of having discovered the famous +kingdom of Brazil, from its commencement at the River Maragnon to its most +eastern point. As a reward for his achievements, power was granted to him +to colonize and govern the lands which he had discovered, and which +extended southward from a little beyond the River of Maragnon to Cape St. +Augustine. [95] + +The little port of Palos, which had been so slow in furnishing the first +squadron for Columbus, was now continually agitated by the passion for +discovery. Shortly after the sailing of Pinzon, another expedition was +fitted out there, by Diego Lepe, a native of the place, and manned by his +adventurous townsmen. He sailed in the same direction with Pinzon; but +discovered more of the southern continent than any other voyager of the +day, or for twelve years afterwards. He doubled Cape St. Augustine, and +ascertained that the coast beyond ran to the southwest. He landed and +performed the usual ceremonies of taking possession in the name of the +Spanish sovereigns, and in one place carved their names on a magnificent +tree, of such enormous magnitude, that seventeen men with their hands +joined could not embrace the trunk. What enhanced the merit of his +discoveries was, that he had never sailed with Columbus. He had with him, +however, several skillful pilots, who had accompanied the admiral in his +voyage. [96] + +Another expedition of two vessels sailed from Cadiz, in October, 1500, +under the command of Rodrigo Bastides of Seville. He explored the coast of +Terra Firma, passing Cape de la Vela, the western limits of the previous +discoveries on the main-land, continuing on to a port since called The +Retreat, where afterwards was founded the seaport of Nombre de Dios. His +vessels being nearly destroyed by the teredo, or worm which abounds in +those seas, he had great difficulty in reaching Xaragua in Hispaniola, +where he lost his two caravels, and proceeded with his crew by land to San +Domingo. Here he was seized and imprisoned by Bobadilla, under pretext +that he had treated for gold with the natives of Xaragua. [97] + +Such was the swarm of Spanish expeditions immediately resulting from the +enterprises of Columbus; but others were also undertaken by foreign +nations. In the year 1497, Sebastian Cabot, son of a Venetian merchant +resident in Bristol, sailing in the service of Henry VII of England, +navigated to the northern seas of the New World. Adopting the idea of +Columbus, he sailed in quest of the shores of Cathay, and hoped to find a +northwest passage to India. In this voyage he discovered Newfoundland, +coasted Labrador to the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude, and then +returning, ran down southwest to the Floridas, when, his provisions +beginning to fail, he returned to England. [98] But vague and scanty +accounts of this voyage exist, which was important as including the first +discovery of the northern continent of the New World. + +The discoveries of rival nations, however, which most excited the +attention and jealousy of the Spanish crown, were those of the Portuguese. +Vasco de Gama, a man of rank and consummate talent and intrepidity, had, +at length, accomplished the great design of the late Prince Henry of +Portugal, and by doubling the Cape of Good Hope, in the year 1497, had +opened the long-sought-for route to India. + +Immediately after Gama's return, a fleet of thirteen sail was fitted out +to visit the magnificent countries of which he brought accounts. This +expedition sailed on the 9th of March, 1500, for Calicut, under the +command of Pedro Alvarez de Cabral. Having passed the Cape de Verde +Islands, he sought to avoid the calms prevalent on the coast of Guinea, by +stretching far to the west. Suddenly, on the 25th of April, he came in +sight of land unknown to any one in his squadron; for, as yet, they had +not heard of the discoveries of Pinzon and Lepe. He at first supposed it +to be some great island; but after coasting it for some time, he became +persuaded that it must be part of a continent. Having ranged along it +somewhat beyond the fifteenth degree of southern latitude, he landed at a +harbor which he called Porto Securo, and taking possession of the country +for the crown of Portugal, dispatched a ship to Lisbon with the important +tidings. [99] In this way did the Brazils come into the possession of +Portugal, being to the eastward of the conventional line settled with +Spain as the boundaries of their respective territories. Dr. Robertson, +in recording this voyage of Cabral, concludes with one of his just and +elegant remarks. + +"Columbus's discovery of the New World was," he observes, "the effort of +an active genius, guided by experience, and acting upon a regular plan, +executed with no less courage than perseverance. But from this adventure +of the Portuguese, it appears that chance might have accomplished that +great design, which it is now the pride of human reason to have formed and +perfected. If the sagacity of Columbus had not conducted mankind to +America, Cabral, by a fortunate accident, might have led them, a few years +later, to the knowledge of that extensive continent." [100] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Nicholas de Ovando Appointed to Supersede Bobadilla. + +[1501.] + + + +The numerous discoveries briefly noticed in the preceding chapter had +produced a powerful effect upon the mind of Ferdinand. His ambition, his +avarice, and his jealousy were equally inflamed. He beheld boundless +regions, teeming with all kinds of riches, daily opening before the +enterprises of his subjects; but he beheld at the same time other nations +launching forth into competition, emulous for a share of the golden world +which he was eager to monopolize. The expeditions of the English, and the +accidental discovery of the Brazils by the Portuguese, caused him much +uneasiness. To secure his possession of the continent, he determined to +establish local governments or commands, in the most important places, all +to be subject to a general government, established at San Domingo, which +was to be the metropolis. + +With these considerations, the government, heretofore granted to Columbus, +had risen vastly in importance; and while the restitution of it was the +more desirable in his eyes, it became more and more a matter of repugnance +to the selfish and jealous monarch. He had long repented having vested +such great powers and prerogatives in any subject, particularly in a +foreigner. At the time of granting them, he had no anticipation of such +boundless countries to be placed under his command. He appeared almost to +consider himself outwitted by Columbus in the arrangement; and every +succeeding discovery, instead of increasing his grateful sense of the +obligation, only made him repine the more at the growing magnitude of the +reward. At length, however, the affair of Bobadilla had effected a +temporary exclusion of Columbus from his--high office, and that without +any odium to the crown, and the wary monarch, secretly determined that the +door thus closed between him and his dignities should never again be +opened. + +Perhaps Ferdinand may really have entertained doubts as to the innocence +of Columbus, with respect to the various charges made against him. He may +have doubted also the sincerity of his loyalty, being a stranger, when he +should find himself strong in his command, at a great distance from the +parent country, with immense and opulent regions under his control. +Columbus, himself, in his letters, alludes to reports circulated by his +enemies, that he intended either to set up an independent sovereignty, or +to deliver his discoveries into the hands of other potentates; and he +appears to fear that these slanders might have made some impression on the +mind of Ferdinand. But there was one other consideration which had no less +force with the monarch in withholding this great act of justice--Columbus +was no longer indispensable to him. He had made his great discovery; he +had struck out the route to the New World, and now any one could follow +it. A number of able navigators had sprung up under his auspices, and +acquired experience in his voyages. They were daily besieging the throne +with offers to fit out expeditions at their own cost, and to yield a share +of the profits to the crown. Why should he, therefore, confer princely +dignities and prerogatives for that which men were daily offering to +perform gratuitously? + +Such, from his after conduct, appears to have been the jealous and selfish +policy which actuated Ferdinand in forbearing to reinstate Columbus in +those dignities and privileges so solemnly granted to him by treaty, and +which it was acknowledged he had never forfeited by misconduct. + +This deprivation, however, was declared to be but temporary; and plausible +reasons were given for the delay in his reappointment. It was observed +that the elements of those violent factions, recently in arms against him, +yet existed in the island; his immediate return might produce fresh +exasperation; his personal safety might be endangered, and the island +again thrown into confusion. Though Bobadilla, therefore, was to be +immediately dismissed from command, it was deemed advisable to send out +some officer of talent and discretion to supersede him, who might +dispassionately investigate the recent disorders, remedy the abuses which +had arisen, and expel all dissolute and factious persons from the colony. +He should hold the government for two years, by which time it was trusted +that all angry passions would be allayed, and turbulent individuals +removed: Columbus might then resume the command with comfort to himself +and advantage to the crown. With these reasons, and the promise which +accompanied them, Columbus was obliged to content himself. There can be no +doubt that they were sincere on the part of Isabella, and that it was her +intention to reinstate him in the full enjoyment of his rights and +dignities, after his apparently necessary suspension. Ferdinand, however, +by his subsequent conduct, has forfeited all claim to any favorable +opinion of the kind. + +The person chosen to supersede Bobadilla was Don Nicholas de Ovando, +commander of Lares, of the order of Alcantara. He is described as of the +middle size, fair complexioned, with a red beard, and a modest look, yet a +tone of authority. He was fluent in speech, and gracious and courteous in +his manners. A man of great prudence, says Las Casas, and capable of +governing many people, but not of governing the Indians, on whom he +inflicted incalculable injuries. He possessed great veneration for +justice, was an enemy to avarice, sober in his mode of living, and of such +humility, that when he rose afterwards to be grand commander of the order +of Alcantara, he would never allow himself to be addressed by the title of +respect attached to it. [101] Such is the picture drawn of him by +historians; but his conduct in several important instances is in direct +contradiction to it. He appears to have been plausible and subtle, as well +as fluent and courteous; his humility concealed a great love of command, +and in his transactions with Columbus he was certainly both ungenerous and +unjust. + +The various arrangements to be made, according to the new plan of colonial +government, delayed for some time the departure of Ovando. In the +meantime, every arrival brought intelligence of the disastrous state of +the island, under the mal-administration of Bobadilla. He had commenced +his career by an opposite policy to that of Columbus. Imagining that +rigorous rule had been the rock on which his predecessors had split, he +sought to conciliate the public by all kinds of indulgence. Having at the +very outset relaxed the reins of justice and morality, he lost all command +over the community; and such disorder and licentiousness ensued, that +many, even of the opponents of Columbus, looked back with regret upon the +strict but wholesome rule of himself and the Adelantado. + +Bobadilla was not so much a bad as an imprudent and a weak man. He had not +considered the dangerous excesses to which his policy would lead. Rash in +grasping authority, he was feeble and temporizing in the exercise of it: +he could not look beyond the present exigency. One dangerous indulgence +granted to the colonists called for another; each was ceded in its turn, +and thus he went on from error to error,--showing that in government there +is as much danger to be apprehended from a weak as from a bad man. + +He had sold the farms and estates of the crown at low prices, observing +that it was not the wish of the monarchs to enrich themselves by them, but +that they should redound to the profit of their subjects. He granted +universal permission to work the mines, exacting only an eleventh of the +produce for the crown. To prevent any diminution in the revenue, it became +necessary, of course, to increase the quantity of gold collected. He +obliged the caciques, therefore, to furnish each Spaniard with Indians, to +assist him both in the labors of the field and of the mine. To carry this +into more complete effect, he made an enumeration of the natives of the +island, reduced them into classes, and distributed them, according to his +favor or caprice, among the colonists. The latter, at his suggestion, +associated themselves in partnerships of two persons each, who were to +assist one another with their respective capitals and Indians, one +superintending the labors of the field, and the other the search for gold. +The only injunction of Bobadilla was, to produce large quantities of ore. +He had one saying continually in his mouth, which shows the pernicious and +temporizing principle upon which he acted: "Make the most of your time," +he would say, "there is no knowing how long it will last," alluding to the +possibility of his being speedily recalled. The colonists acted up to his +advice, and so hard did they drive the poor natives, that the eleventh +yielded more revenue to the crown than had ever been produced by the third +under the government of Columbus. In the meantime, the unhappy natives +suffered under all kinds of cruelties from their inhuman taskmasters. +Little used to labor, feeble of constitution, and accustomed in their +beautiful and luxuriant island to a life of ease and freedom, they sank +under the toils imposed upon them, and the severities by which they were +enforced. Las Casas gives an indignant picture of the capricious tyranny +exercised over the Indians by worthless Spaniards, many of whom had been +transported convicts from the dungeons of Castile. These wretches, who in +their own countries had been the vilest among the vile, here assumed the +tone of grand cavaliers. They insisted upon being attended by trains of +servants. They took the daughters and female relations of caciques for +their domestics, or rather for their concubines, nor did they limit +themselves in number. When they traveled, instead of using the horses and +mules with which they were provided, they obliged the natives to transport +them upon their shoulders in litters, or hammocks, with others attending +to hold umbrellas of palm-leaves over their heads to keep off the sun, and +fans of feathers to cool them; and Las Casas affirms that he has seen the +backs and shoulders of the unfortunate Indians who bore these litters raw +and bleeding from the task. When these arrogant upstarts arrived at an +Indian village, they consumed and lavished away the provisions of the +inhabitants, seizing upon whatever pleased their caprice, and obliging the +cacique and his subjects to dance before them for their amusement. Their +very pleasures were attended with cruelty. They never addressed the +natives but in the most degrading terms, and on the least offence, or the +least freak of ill-humor, inflicted blows and lashes, and even death +itself. [102] + +Such is but a faint picture of the evils which sprang up under the feeble +rule of Bobadilla; and are sorrowfully described by Las Casas, from actual +observation, as he visited the island just at the close of his +administration. Bobadilla had trusted to the immense amount of gold, wrung +from the miseries of the natives, to atone for all errors, and secure +favor with the sovereigns; but he had totally mistaken his course. The +abuses of his government soon reached the royal ear, and above all, the +wrongs of the natives reached the benevolent heart of Isabella. Nothing +was more calculated to arouse her indignation, and she urged the speedy +departure of Ovando, to put a stop to these enormities. + +In conformity to the plan already mentioned, the government of Ovando +extended over the islands and Terra Firma, of which Hispaniola was to be +the metropolis. He was to enter upon the exercise of his powers +immediately upon his arrival, by procuration, sending home Bobadilla by +the return of the fleet. He was instructed to inquire diligently into the +late abuses, punishing the delinquents without favor or partiality, and +removing all worthless persons from the island. He was to revoke +immediately the license granted by Bobadilla for the general search after +gold, it having been given without royal authority. He was to require, for +the crown, a third of what was already collected, and one half of all that +should be collected in future. He was empowered to build towns, granting +them the privileges enjoyed by municipal corporations of Spain, and +obliging the Spaniards, and particularly the soldiers, to reside in them, +instead of scattering themselves over the island. Among many sage +provisions, there were others injurious and illiberal, characteristic of +an age when the principles of commerce were but little understood; but +which were continued by Spain long after the rest of the world had +discarded them as the errors of dark and unenlightened times. The crown +monopolized the trade of the colonies. No one could carry merchandises +there on his own account. A royal factor was appointed, through whom alone +were to be obtained supplies of European articles. The crown reserved to +itself not only exclusive property in the mines, but in precious stones, +and like objects of extraordinary value, and also in dyewoods. No +strangers, and above all, no Moors nor Jews, were permitted to establish +themselves in the island, nor to go upon voyages of discovery. Such were +some of the restrictions upon trade which Spain imposed upon her colonies, +and which were followed up by others equally illiberal. Her commercial +policy has been the scoff of modern times; but may not the present +restrictions on trade, imposed by the most intelligent nations, be equally +the wonder and the jest of future ages? + +Isabella was particularly careful in providing for the kind treatment of +the Indians. Ovando was ordered to assemble the caciques, and declare to +them, that the sovereigns took them and their people under their especial +protection. They were merely to pay tribute like other subjects of the +crown, and it was to be collected with the utmost mildness and gentleness. +Great pains were to be taken in their religious instruction; for which +purpose twelve Franciscan friars were sent out, with a prelate named +Antonio de Espinal, a venerable and pious man. This was the first formal +introduction of the Franciscan order into the New World. [103] + +All these precautions with respect to the natives were defeated by one +unwary provision. It was permitted that the Indians might be compelled to +work in the mines, and in other employments; but this was limited to the +royal service. They were to be engaged as hired laborers, and punctually +paid. This provision led to great abuses and oppressions, and was +ultimately as fatal to the natives as could have been the most absolute +slavery. + +But, with that inconsistency frequent in human conduct, while the +sovereigns were making regulations for the relief of the Indians, they +encouraged a gross invasion of the rights and welfare of another race of +human beings. Among their various decrees on this occasion, we find the +first trace of negro slavery in the New World. It was permitted to carry +to the colony negro slaves born among Christians; [104] that is to say, +slaves born in Seville and other parts of Spain, the children and +descendants of natives brought from the Atlantic coast of Africa, where +such traffic had for some time been carried on by the Spaniards and +Portuguese. There are signal events in the course of history, which +sometimes bear the appearance of temporal judgments. It is a fact worthy +of observation, that Hispaniola, the place where this flagrant sin against +nature and humanity was first introduced into the New World, has been the +first to exhibit an awful retribution. + +Amidst the various concerns which claimed the attention of the sovereigns, +the interests of Columbus were not forgotten. Ovando was ordered to +examine into all his accounts, without undertaking to pay them off. He was +to ascertain the damages he had sustained by his imprisonment, the +interruption of his privileges, and the confiscation of his effects. All +the property confiscated by Bobadilla was to be restored; or if it had +been sold, to be made good. If it had been employed in the royal service, +Columbus was to be indemnified out of the treasury; if Bobadilla had +appropriated it to his own use, he was to account for it out of his +private purse. Equal care was to be taken to indemnify the brothers of the +admiral for the losses they had wrongfully suffered by their arrest. + +Columbus was likewise to receive the arrears of his revenues; and the same +were to be punctually paid to him in future. He was permitted to have a +factor resident in the island, to be present at the melting and marking of +the gold, to collect his dues, and in short to attend to all his affairs. +To this office he appointed Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal; and the sovereigns +commanded that his agent should be treated with great respect. + +The fleet appointed to convey Ovando to his government was the largest +that had yet sailed to the New World. It consisted of thirty sail, five of +them from ninety to one hundred and fifty tons burden, twenty-four +caravels from thirty to ninety, and one bark of twenty-five tons. [105] +The number of souls embarked in this fleet was about twenty-five hundred; +many of them persons of rank and distinction, with their families. + +That Ovando might appear with dignity in his new office, he was allowed to +use silks, brocades, precious stones, and other articles of sumptuous +attire, prohibited at that time in Spain, in consequence of the ruinous +ostentation of the nobility. He was permitted to have seventy-two +esquires, as his body-guard, ten of whom were horsemen. With this +expedition sailed Don Alonzo Maldonado, appointed as alguazil mayor, or +chief justice, in place of Roldan, who was to be sent to Spain. There were +artisans of various kinds: to these were added a physician, surgeon, and +apothecary; and seventy-three married men [106] with their families, all +of respectable character, destined to be distributed in four towns, and to +enjoy peculiar privileges, that they might form the basis of a sound and +useful population. They were to displace an equal number of the idle and +dissolute who were to be sent from the island: this excellent measure had +been especially urged and entreated by Columbus. There was also +live-stock, artillery, arms, munitions of all kinds; every thing, in +short, that was required for the supply of the island. + +Such was the style in which Ovando, a favorite of Ferdinand, and a native +subject of rank, was fitted out to enter upon the government withheld from +Columbus. The fleet put to sea on the thirteenth of February, 1502. In the +early part of the voyage it was encountered by a terrible storm; one of +the ships foundered, with one hundred and twenty passengers; the others +were obliged to throw overboard every thing on deck, and were completely +scattered. The shores of Spain were strewed with articles from the fleet, +and a rumor spread that all the ships had perished. When this reached the +sovereigns, they were so overcome with grief that they shut themselves up +for eight days, and admitted no one to their presence. The rumor proved to +be incorrect: but one ship was lost. The others assembled again at the +island of Gomera in the Canaries, and, pursuing their voyage, arrived at +San Domingo on the 15th of April. [107] + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Proposition of Columbus Relative to the Recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. + +[1500-1501.] + + + +Columbus remained in the city of Granada upwards of nine months, +endeavoring to extricate his affairs from the confusion into which they +had been thrown by the rash conduct of Bobadilla, and soliciting the +restoration of his offices and dignities. During this time he constantly +experienced the smiles and attentions of the sovereigns, and promises were +repeatedly made him that he should ultimately be reinstated in all his +honors. He had long since, however, ascertained the great interval that +may exist between promise and performance in a court. Had he been of a +morbid and repining spirit, he had ample food for misanthropy. He beheld +the career of glory which he had opened, thronged by favored adventurers; +he witnessed preparations making to convey with unusual pomp a successor +to that government from which he had been so wrongfully and rudely +ejected; in the meanwhile his own career was interrupted, and as far as +public employ is a gauge of royal favor, he remained apparently in +disgrace. + +His sanguine temperament was not long to be depressed; if checked in one +direction it broke forth in another. His visionary imagination was an +internal light, which, in the darkest times, repelled all outward gloom, +and filled his mind with splendid images and glorious speculations. In +this time of evil, his vow to furnish, within seven years from the time of +his discovery, fifty thousand foot-soldiers, and five thousand horse, for +the recovery of the holy sepulchre, recurred to his memory with peculiar +force. The time had elapsed, but the vow remained unfulfilled, and the +means to perform it had failed him. The New World, with all its treasures, +had as yet produced expense instead of profit; and so far from being in a +situation to set armies on foot by his own contributions, he found himself +without property, without power, and without employ. + +Destitute of the means of accomplishing his pious intentions, he +considered it his duty to incite the sovereigns to the enterprise; and he +felt emboldened to do so, from having originally proposed it as the great +object to which the profits of his discoveries should be dedicated. He set +to work, therefore, with his accustomed zeal, to prepare arguments for the +purpose. During the intervals of business, he sought into the prophecies +of the holy Scriptures, the writings of the fathers, and all kinds of +sacred and speculative sources, for mystic portents and revelations which +might be construed to bear upon the discovery of the New World, the +conversion of the Gentiles, and the recovery of the holy sepulchre: three +great events which he supposed to be predestined to succeed each other. +These passages, with the assistance of a Carthusian friar, he arranged in +order, illustrated by poetry, and collected into a manuscript volume, to +be delivered to the sovereigns. He prepared, at the same time, a long +letter, written with his usual fervor of spirit and simplicity of heart. +It is one of those singular compositions which lay open the visionary part +of his character, and show the mystic and speculative reading with which +he was accustomed to nurture his solemn and soaring imagination. + +In this letter he urged the sovereigns to set on foot a crusade for the +deliverance of Jerusalem from the power of the unbelievers. He entreated +them not to reject his present advice as extravagant and impracticable, +nor to heed the discredit that might be cast upon it by others; reminding +them that his great scheme of discovery had originally been treated with +similar contempt. He avowed in the fullest manner his persuasion, that, +from his earliest infancy, he had been chosen by Heaven for the +accomplishment of those two great designs, the discovery of the New World, +and the rescue of the holy sepulchre. For this purpose, in his tender +years, he had been guided by a divine impulse to embrace the profession of +the sea, a mode of life, he observes, which produces an inclination to +inquire into the mysteries of nature; and he had been gifted with a +curious spirit, to read all kinds of chronicles, geographical treatises, +and works of philosophy. In meditating upon these, his understanding had +been opened by the Deity, "as with a palpable hand," so as to discover the +navigation to the Indies, and he had been inflamed with ardor to undertake +the enterprise. "Animated as by a heavenly fire," he adds, "I came to your +highnesses: all who heard of my enterprise mocked at it; all the sciences +I had acquired profited me nothing; seven years did I pass in your royal +court, disputing the case with persons of great authority and learned in +all the arts, and in the end they decided that all was vain. In your +highnesses alone remained faith and constancy. Who will doubt that this +light was from the holy Scriptures, illumining you as well as myself with +rays of marvelous brightness?" + +These ideas, so repeatedly, and solemnly, and artlessly expressed, by a +man of the fervent piety of Columbus, show how truly his discovery arose +from the working of his own mind, and not from information furnished by +others. He considered it a divine intimation, a light from Heaven, and the +fulfillment of what had been fortold by our Saviour and the prophets. +Still he regarded it but as a minor event, preparatory to the great +enterprise, the recovery of the holy sepulchre. He pronounced it a miracle +effected by Heaven, to animate himself and others to that holy +undertaking; and he assured the sovereigns that, if they had faith in his +present as in his former proposition, they would assuredly be rewarded +with equally triumphant success. He conjured them not to heed the sneers +of such as might scoff at him as one unlearned, as an ignorant mariner, a +worldly man; reminding them that the Holy Spirit works not merely in the +learned, but also in the ignorant; nay, that it reveals things to come, +not merely by rational beings, but by prodigies in animals, and by mystic +signs in the air and in the heavens. + +The enterprise here suggested by Columbus, however idle and extravagant it +may appear in the present day, was in unison with the temper of the times, +and of the court to which it was proposed. The vein of mystic erudition by +which it was enforced, likewise, was suited to an age when the reveries of +the cloister still controlled the operations of the cabinet and the camp. +The spirit of the crusades had not yet passed away. In the cause of the +church, and at the instigation of its dignitaries, every cavalier was +ready to draw his sword; and religion mingled a glowing and devoted +enthusiasm with the ordinary excitement of warfare. Ferdinand was a +religious bigot; and the devotion of Isabella went as near to bigotry as +her liberal mind and magnanimous spirit would permit. Both the sovereigns +were under the influence of ecclesiastical politicians, constantly guiding +their enterprises in a direction to redound to the temporal power and +glory of the church. The recent conquest of Granada had been considered a +European crusade, and had gained to the sovereigns the epithet of +Catholic. It was natural to think of extending their sacred victories +still further, and retaliating upon the infidels their domination of Spain +and their long triumphs over the cross. In fact, the Duke of Medina +Sidonia had made a recent inroad into Barbary, in the course of which he +had taken the city of Melilla, and his expedition had been pronounced a +renewal of the holy wars against the infidels in Africa. [108] + +There was nothing, therefore, in the proposition of Columbus that could be +regarded as preposterous, considering the period and circumstances in +which it was made, though it strongly illustrates his own enthusiastic and +visionary character. It must be recollected that it was meditated in the +courts of the Alhambra, among the splendid remains of Moorish grandeur, +where, but a few years before, he had beheld the standard of the faith +elevated in triumph above the symbols of infidelity. It appears to have +been the offspring of one of those moods of high excitement, when, as has +been observed, his soul was elevated by the contemplation of his great and +glorious office; when he considered himself under divine inspiration, +imparting the will of Heaven, and fulfilling the high and holy purposes +for which he had been predestined. [109] + + + + +Chapter V. + +Preparations of Columbus for a Fourth Voyage of Discovery. + +[1501-1502.] + + + +The speculation relative to the recovery of the holy sepulchre held but a +temporary sway over the mind of Columbus. His thoughts soon returned, with +renewed ardor, to their wonted channel. He became impatient of inaction, +and soon conceived a leading object for another enterprise of discovery. +The achievement of Vasco de Gama, of the long-attempted navigation to +India by the Cape of Good Hope, was one of the signal events of the day. +Pedro Alvarez Cabral, following in his track, had made a most successful +voyage, and returned with his vessels laden with the precious commodities +of the East. The riches of Calicut were now the theme of every tongue, and +the splendid trade now opened in diamonds and precious stones from the +mines of Hindostan; in pearls, gold, silver, amber, ivory, and porcelain; +in silken stuffs, costly woods, gums, aromatics, and spices of all kinds. +The discoveries of the savage regions of the New World, as yet, brought +little revenue to Spain; but this route, suddenly opened to the luxurious +countries of the East, was pouring immediate wealth into Portugal. + +Columbus was roused to emulation by these accounts. He now conceived the +idea of a voyage, in which, with his usual enthusiasm, he hoped to surpass +not merely the discovery of Vasco de Gama, but even those of his own +previous expeditions. According to his own observations in his voyage to +Paria, and the reports of other navigators, who had pursued the same route +to a greater distance, it appeared that the coast of Terra Firma stretched +far to the west. The southern coast of Cuba, which he considered a part of +the Asiatic continent, stretched onwards towards the same point. The +currents of the Caribbean sea must pass between those lands. He was +persuaded, therefore, that there must be a strait existing somewhere +thereabout, opening into the Indian sea. The situation in which he placed +his conjectural strait, was somewhere about what at present is called the +Isthmus of Darien. [110] Could he but discover such a passage, and thus +link the New world he had discovered with the opulent oriental regions of +the old, he felt that he should make a magnificent close to his labors, +and consummate this great object of his existence. + +When he unfolded his plan to the sovereigns, it was listened to with great +attention. Certain of the royal council, it is said, endeavored to throw +difficulties in the way; observing that the various exigencies of the +times, and the low state of the royal treasury, rendered any new +expedition highly inexpedient. They intimated also that Columbus ought not +to be employed, until his good conduct in Hispaniola was satisfactorily +established by letters from Ovando. These narrow-minded suggestions failed +in their aim: Isabella had implicit confidence in the integrity of +Columbus. As to the expense, she felt that while furnishing so powerful a +fleet and splendid retinue to Ovando, to take possession of his +government, it would be ungenerous and ungrateful to refuse a few ships to +the discoverer of the New World, to enable him to prosecute his +illustrious enterprises. As to Ferdinand, his cupidity was roused at the +idea of being soon put in possession of a more direct and safe route to +those countries with which the crown of Portugal was opening so lucrative +a trade. The project also would occupy the admiral for a considerable +time, and, while it diverted him from claims of an inconvenient nature, +would employ his talents in a way most beneficial to the crown. However +the king might doubt his abilities as a legislator, he had the highest +opinion of his skill and judgment as a navigator. If such a strait as the +one supposed were really in existence, Columbus vas, of all men in the +world, the one to discover it. His proposition, therefore, was promptly +acceded to; he was authorized to fit out an armament immediately; and +repaired to Seville in the autumn of 1501, to make the necessary +preparations. + +Though this substantial enterprise diverted his attention from his +romantic expedition for the recovery of the holy sepulchre, it still +continued to haunt his mind. He left his manuscript collection of +researches among the prophecies in the hands of a devout friar of the name +of Gaspar Gorricio, who assisted to complete it. In February, also, he +wrote a letter to Pope Alexander VII, in which he apologizes, on account +of indispensable occupations, for not having repaired to Rome, according +to his original intention, to give an account of his grand discoveries. +After briefly relating them, he adds that his enterprises had been +undertaken with intent of dedicating the gains to the recovery of the holy +sepulchre. He mentions his vow to furnish, within seven years, fifty +thousand foot and five thousand horse for the purpose, and another of like +force within five succeeding years. This pious intention, he laments, had +been impeded by the arts of the devil, and he feared, without divine aid, +would be entirely frustrated, as the government which had been granted to +him in perpetuity had been taken from him. He informs his Holiness of his +being about to embark on another voyage, and promises solemnly, on his +return, to repair to Rome without delay, to relate everything by word of +mouth, as well as to present him with an account of his voyages, which he +had kept from the commencement to the present time, in the style of the +Commentaries of Caesar. [111] + +It was about this time, also, that he sent his letter on the subject of +the sepulchre to the sovereigns, together with the collection of +prophecies. [112] We have no account of the manner in which the +proposition was received. Ferdinand, with all his bigotry, was a shrewd +and worldly prince. Instead of a chivalrous crusade against Jerusalem, +he preferred making a pacific arrangement with the Grand Soldan of Egypt, +who had menaced the destruction of the sacred edifice. He dispatched, +therefore, the learned Peter Martyr, so distinguished for his historical +writings, as ambassador to the Soldan, by whom all ancient grievances +between the two powers were satisfactorily adjusted, and arrangements +made for the conservation of the holy sepulchre, and the protection of +all Christian pilgrims resorting to it. + +In the meantime Columbus went on with the preparations for his +contemplated voyage, though but slowly, owing, as Charlevoix intimates, to +the artifices and delays of Fonseca and his agents. He craved permission +to touch at the island of Hispaniola for supplies on his outward voyage. +This, however, the sovereigns forbade, knowing that he had many enemies in +the island, and that the place would be in great agitation from the +arrival of Ovando, and the removal of Bobadilla. They consented, however, +that he should touch there briefly on his return, by which time they hoped +the island would be restored to tranquillity. He was permitted to take +with him, in this expedition, his brother the Adelantado, and his son +Fernando, then in his fourteenth year; also two or three persons learned +in Arabic, to serve as interpreters, in case he should arrive at the +dominions of the Grand Khan, or of any other Eastern prince where that +language might be spoken, or partially known. In reply to letters relative +to the ultimate restoration of his rights, and to matters concerning his +family, the sovereigns wrote him a letter, dated March 14, 1502, from +Valencia de Torre, in which they again solemnly assured him that their +capitulations with him should be fulfilled to the letter, and the +dignities therein ceded enjoyed by him, and his children after him; and if +it should be necessary to confirm them anew, they would do so, and secure +them to his son. Beside which, they expressed their disposition to bestow +further honors and rewards upon himself, his brothers, and his children. +They entreated him, therefore, to depart in peace and confidence, and to +leave all his concerns in Spain to the management of his son Diego. +[113] + +This was the last letter that Columbus received from the sovereigns, and +the assurances it contained were as ample and absolute as he could desire. +Recent circumstances, however, had apparently rendered him dubious of the +future. During the time that he passed in Seville, previous to his +departure, he took measures to secure his fame, and preserve the claims of +his family, by placing them under the guardianship of his native country. +He had copies of all the letters, grants, and privileges from the +sovereigns, appointing him admiral, viceroy, and governor of the Indies, +copied and authenticated before the alcaldes of Seville. Two sets of these +were transcribed, together with his letter to the nurse of Prince Juan, +containing a circumstantial and eloquent vindication of his rights; and +two letters to the Bank of St. George, at Genoa, assigning to it the tenth +of his revenues, to be employed in diminishing the duties on corn and +other provisions;--a truly benevolent and patriotic donation, intended for +the relief of the poor of his native city. These two sets of documents he +sent by different individuals to his friend, Doctor Nicolo Oderigo, +formerly ambassador from Genoa to the court of Spain, requesting him to +preserve them in some safe deposit, and to apprise his son Diego of the +same. His dissatisfaction at the conduct of the Spanish court may have +been the cause of this precautionary measure, that an appeal to the world, +or to posterity, might be in the power of his descendants, in case he +should perish in the course of his voyage. [114] + + + + + +Book XV. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Departure of Columbus on His Fourth Voyage.--Refused Admission to the +Harbor of San Domingo.--Exposed to a Violent Tempest. + +[1502.] + + + +Age was rapidly making its advances upon Columbus when he undertook his +fourth and last voyage of discovery. He had already numbered sixty-six +years, and they were years filled with care and trouble, in which age +outstrips the march of time. His constitution, originally vigorous in the +extreme, had been impaired by hardships and exposures in every clime, and +silently preyed upon by the sufferings of the mind. His frame, once +powerful and commanding, and retaining a semblance of strength and majesty +even in its decay, was yet crazed by infirmities and subject to paroxysms +of excruciating pain. His intellectual forces alone retained their wonted +health and energy, prompting him, at a period of life when most men seek +repose, to sally forth with youthful ardor, on the most toilsome and +adventurous of expeditions. + +His squadron for the present voyage consisted of four caravels, the +smallest of fifty tons burden, the largest not exceeding seventy, and the +crews amounting in all to one hundred and fifty men. With this little +armament and these slender barks did the venerable discoverer undertake +the search after a strait, which, if found, must conduct him into the most +remote seas, and lead to a complete circumnavigation of the globe. + +In this arduous voyage, however, he had a faithful counselor, and an +intrepid and vigorous coadjutor, in his brother Don Bartholomew, while his +younger son Fernando cheered him with his affectionate sympathy. He had +learnt to appreciate such comforts, from being too often an isolated +stranger, surrounded by false friends and perfidious enemies. + +The squadron sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, and passed over to +Ercilla, on the coast of Morocco, where it anchored on the 13th. +Understanding that the Portuguese garrison was closely besieged in the +fortress by the Moors, and exposed to great peril, Columbus was ordered to +touch there, and render all the assistance in his power. Before his +arrival the siege had been raised, but the governor lay ill, having been +wounded in an assault. Columbus sent his brother, the Adelantado, his son +Fernando, and the captains of the caravels on shore, to wait upon the +governor, with expressions of friendship and civility, and offers of the +services of his squadron. Their visit and message gave high satisfaction, +and several cavaliers were sent to wait upon the admiral in return, some +of whom were relatives of his deceased wife, Doña Felippa Muñoz. After +this exchange of civilities, the admiral made sail on the same day, and +continued his voyage. [115] On the 25th of May, he arrived at the Grand +Canary, and remained at that and the adjacent islands for a few days, +taking in wood and water. On the evening of the 25th, he took his +departure for the New World. The trade winds were so favorable, that the +little squadron swept gently on its course, without shifting a sail, and +arrived on the 15th of June at one of the Caribbee Islands, called by the +natives Mantinino. [116] After stopping here for three days, to take in +wood and water, and allow the seamen time to wash their clothes, the +squadron passed to the west of the island, and sailed to Dominica, about +ten leagues distant. [117] Columbus continued hence along the inside of +the Antilles, to Santa Cruz, then along the south side of Porto Rico, and +steered for San Domingo. This was contrary to the original plan of the +admiral, who had intended to steer to Jamaica, [118] and thence to take a +departure for the continent, and explore its coasts in search of the +supposed strait. It was contrary to the orders of the sovereigns also, +prohibiting him on his outward voyage to touch at Hispaniola. His excuse +was, that his principal vessel sailed extremely ill, could not carry any +canvas, and continually embarrassed and delayed the rest of the +squadron. [119] He wished, therefore, to exchange it for one of the +fleet which had recently conveyed Ovando to his government, or to +purchase some other vessel at San Domingo; and he was persuaded that he +would not be blamed for departing from his orders, in a case of such +importance to the safety and success of his expedition. + +It is necessary to state the situation of the island at this moment. +Ovando had reached San Domingo on the 15th of April. He had been received +with the accustomed ceremony on the shore, by Bobadilla, accompanied by +the principal inhabitants of the town. He was escorted to the fortress, +where his commission was read in form, in presence of all the authorities. +The usual oaths were taken, and ceremonials observed; and the new governor +was hailed with great demonstrations of obedience and satisfaction. Ovando +entered upon the duties of his office with coolness and prudence; and +treated Bobadilla with a courtesy totally opposite to the rudeness with +which the latter had superseded Columbus. The emptiness of mere official +rank, when unsustained by merit, was shown in the case of Bobadilla. The +moment his authority was at an end, all his importance vanished. He found +himself a solitary and neglected man, deserted by those whom he had most +favored, and he experienced the worthlessness of the popularity gained by +courting the prejudices and passions of the multitude. Still there is no +record of any suit having been instituted against him; and Las Casas, who +was on the spot, declares that he never heard any harsh thing spoken of +him by the colonists. [120] + +The conduct of Roldan and his accomplices, however, underwent a strict +investigation, and many were arrested to be sent to Spain for trial. They +appeared undismayed, trusting to the influence of their friends in Spain +to protect them, and many relying on the well-known disposition of the +Bishop of Fonseca to favor all who had been opposed to Columbus. + +The fleet which had brought out Ovando was now ready for sea; and was to +take out a number of the principal delinquents, and many of the idlers and +profligates of the island. Bobadilla was to embark in the principal ship, +on board of which he put an immense amount of gold, the revenue collected +for the crown during his government, and which he confidently expected +would atone for all his faults. There was one solid mass of virgin gold on +board of this ship, which is famous in the old Spanish chronicles. It had +been found by a female Indian in a brook, on the estate of Francisco de +Garay and Miguel Diaz, and had been taken by Bobadilla to send to the +king, making the owners a suitable compensation. It was said to weigh +three thousand six hundred castellanos. [121] + +Large quantities of gold were likewise shipped in the fleet, by the +followers of Roldan, and other adventurers; the wealth gained by the +sufferings of the unhappy natives. Among the various persons who were to +sail in the principal ship, was the unfortunate Guarionex, the once +powerful cacique of the Vega. He had been confined in Fort Conception, +ever since his capture after the war of Higuey, and was now to be sent a +captive in chains to Spain. In one of the ships, Alonzo Sanchez de +Carvajal, the agent of Columbus, had put four thousand pieces of gold, to +be remitted to him; being part of his property, either recently collected, +or recovered from the hands of Bobadilla. [122] + +The preparations were all made, and the fleet was ready to put to sea, +when, on the 29th of June, the squadron of Columbus arrived at the mouth +of the river. He immediately sent Pedro de Terreros, captain of one of the +caravels, on shore, to wait on Ovando, and explain to him that the purpose +of his coming was to procure a vessel in exchange for one of his caravels, +which was extremely defective. He requested permission also to shelter his +squadron in the harbor; as he apprehended, from various indications, an +approaching storm. This request was refused by Ovando. Las Casas thinks it +probable that he had instructions from the sovereigns not to admit +Columbus, and that he was further swayed by prudent considerations, as San +Domingo was at that moment crowded with the most virulent enemies of the +admiral, many of them in a high state of exasperation, from recent +proceedings which had taken place against them. [123] + +When the ungracious refusal of Ovando was brought to Columbus, and he +found all shelter denied him, he sought at least to avert the danger of +the fleet, which was about to sail. He sent back the officer therefore to +the governor, entreating him not to permit the fleet to put to sea for +several days; assuring him that there were indubitable signs of an +impending tempest. This second request was equally fruitless with the +first. The weather, to an inexperienced eye, was fair and tranquil; the +pilots and seamen were impatient to depart. They scoffed at the prediction +of the admiral, ridiculing him as a false prophet, and they persuaded +Ovando not to detain the fleet on so unsubstantial a pretext. + +It was hard treatment of Columbus, thus to be denied the relief which the +state of his ships required, and to be excluded in time of distress from +the very harbor he had discovered. He retired from the river full of grief +and indignation. His crew murmured loudly at being shut out from a port of +their own nation, where even strangers, tinder similar circumstances, +would be admitted. They repined at having embarked with a commander liable +to such treatment; and anticipated nothing but evil from a voyage, in +which they were exposed to the dangers of the sea, and repulsed from the +protection of the land. + +Being confident, from his observations of those natural phenomena in which +he was deeply skilled, that the anticipated storm could not be distant, +and expecting it from the land side, Columbus kept his feeble squadron +close to the shore, and sought for secure anchorage in some wild bay or +river of the island. + +In the meantime, the fleet of Bobadilla set sail from San Domingo, and +stood out confidently to sea. Within two days, the predictions of Columbus +were verified. One of those tremendous hurricanes, which sometimes sweep +those latitudes, had gradually gathered up. The baleful appearance of the +heavens, the wild look of the ocean, the rising murmur of the winds, all +gave notice of its approach. The fleet had scarcely reached the eastern +point of Hispaniola, when the tempest burst over it with awful fury, +involving every thing in wreck and ruin. The ship on board of which were +Bobadilla, Roldan, and a number of the most inveterate enemies of +Columbus, was swallowed up with all its crew, and with the celebrated mass +of gold, and the principal part of the ill-gotten treasure, gained by the +miseries of the Indians. Many of the ships were entirely lost, some +returned to San Domingo, in shattered condition, and only one was enabled +to continue her voyage to Spain. That one, according to Fernando Columbus, +was the weakest of the fleet, and had on board the four thousand pieces of +gold, the property of the admiral. + +During the early part of this storm, the little squadron of Columbus +remained tolerably well sheltered by the land. On the second day the +tempest increased in violence, and the night coming on with unusual +darkness, the ships lost sight of each other and were separated. The +admiral still kept close to the shore, and sustained no damage. The +others, fearful of the land in such a dark and boisterous night, ran out +for sea-room, and encountered the whole fury of the elements. For several +days they were driven about at the mercy of wind and wave, fearful each +moment of shipwreck, and giving up each other as lost. The Adelantado, who +commanded the ship already mentioned as being scarcely seaworthy, ran the +most imminent hazard, and nothing but his consummate seamanship enabled +him to keep her afloat. At length, after various vicissitudes, they all +arrived safe at Port Hermoso, to the west of San Domingo. The Adelantado +had lost his long boat; and all the vessels, with the exception of that of +the admiral, had sustained more or less injury. + +When Columbus learnt the signal destruction that had overwhelmed his +enemies, almost before his eyes, he was deeply impressed with awe, and +considered his own preservation as little less than miraculous. Both his +son Fernando, and the venerable historian Las Casas, looked upon the event +as one of those awful judgments, which seem at times to deal forth +temporal retribution. They notice the circumstance, that while the enemies +of the admiral were swallowed up by the raging sea, the only ship of the +fleet which was enabled to pursue her voyage, and reach her port of +destination, was the frail bark freighted with the property of Columbus. +The evil, however, in this, as in most circumstances, overwhelmed the +innocent as well as the guilty. In the ship with Bobadilla and Roldan +perished the captive Guarionex, the unfortunate cacique of the Vega. +[124] + + + + +Chapter II. + +Voyage along the Coast of Honduras. + +[1502.] + + + +For several days Columbus remained in Port Hermosa to repair his vessels, +and permit his crews to repose and refresh themselves after the late +tempest. He had scarcely left this harbor, when he was obliged to take +shelter from another storm in Jacquemel, or, as it was called by the +Spaniards, Port Brazil. Hence he sailed on the 14th of July, steering for +Terra Firma. The weather falling perfectly calm, he was borne away by the +currents until he found himself in the vicinity of some little islands +near Jamaica, [125] destitute of springs, but where the seamen obtained a +supply of water by digging holes in the sand on the beach. + +The calm continuing, he was swept away to the group of small islands, or +keys, on the southern coast of Cuba, to which, in 1494, he had given the +name of The Gardens. He had scarcely touched there, however, when the wind +sprang up from a favorable quarter, and he was enabled to make sail on his +destined course. He now stood to the southwest, and after a few days +discovered, on the 30th of July, a small but elevated island, agreeable to +the eye from the variety of trees with which it was covered. Among these +was a great number of lofty pines, from which circumstance Columbus named +it Isla de Pinos. It has always, however, retained its Indian name of +Guanaja, [126] which has been extended to a number of smaller islands +surrounding it. This group is within a few leagues of the coast of +Honduras, to the east of the great bay or gulf of that name. + +The Adelantado, with two launches full of people, landed on the principal +island, which was extremely verdant and fertile. The inhabitants resembled +those of other islands, excepting that their foreheads were narrower. +While the Adelantado was on shore, he beheld a great canoe arriving, as +from a distant and important voyage. He was struck with its magnitude and +contents. It was eight feet wide, and as long as a galley, though formed +of the trunk of a single tree. In the centre was a kind of awning or cabin +of palm-leaves, after the manner of those in the gondolas of Venice, and +sufficiently close to exclude both sun and rain. Under this sat a cacique +with his wives and children. Twenty-five Indians rowed the canoe, and it +was filled with all kinds of articles of the manufacture and natural +production of the adjacent countries. It is supposed that this bark had +come from the province of Yucatan, which is about forty leagues distant +from this island. + +The Indians in the canoe appeared to have no fear of the Spaniards, and +readily went alongside of the admiral's caravel. Columbus was overjoyed at +thus having brought to him at once, without trouble or danger, a +collection of specimens of all the important articles of this part of the +New World. He examined, with great curiosity and interest, the contents of +the canoe. Among various utensils and weapons similar to those already +found among the natives, he perceived others of a much superior kind. +There were hatchets for cutting wood, formed not of stone but copper; +wooden swords, with channels on each side of the blade, in which sharp +flints were firmly fixed by cords made of the intestines of fishes; being +the same kind of weapon afterwards found among the Mexicans. There were +copper bells and other articles of the same metal, together with a rude +kind of crucible in which to melt it; various vessels and utensils neatly +formed of clay, of marble, and of hard wood; sheets and mantles of cotton, +worked and dyed with various colors; great quantities of cacao, a fruit as +yet unknown to the Spaniards, but which, as they soon found, the natives +held in great estimation, using it both as food and money. There was a +beverage also extracted from maize or Indian corn, resembling beer. Their +provisions consisted of bread made of maize, and roots of various kinds, +similar to those of Hispaniola. From among these articles, Columbus +collected such as were important to send as specimens to Spain, giving the +natives European trinkets in exchange, with which they were highly +satisfied. They appeared to manifest neither astonishment nor alarm when +on board of the vessels, and surrounded by people who must have been so +strange and wonderful to them. The women wore mantles, with which they +wrapped themselves, like the female Moors of Granada, and the men had +cloths of cotton round their loins. Both sexes appeared more particular +about these coverings, and to have a quicker sense of personal modesty +than any Indians Columbus had yet discovered. + +These circumstances, together with the superiority of their implements and +manufactures, were held by the admiral as indications that he was +approaching more civilized nations. He endeavored to gain particular +information from these Indians about the surrounding countries; but as +they spoke a different language from that of his interpreters, he could +understand them but imperfectly. They informed him that they had just +arrived from a country, rich, cultivated, and industrious, situated to the +west. They endeavored to impress him with an idea of the wealth and +magnificence of the regions, and the people in that quarter, and urged him +to steer in that direction. Well would it have been for Columbus had he +followed their advice. Within a day or two he would have arrived at +Yucatan; the discovery of Mexico and the other opulent countries of New +Spain would have necessarily followed; the Southern Ocean would have been +disclosed to him, and a succession of splendid discoveries would have shed +fresh glory on his declining age, instead of its sinking amidst gloom, +neglect, and disappointment. + +The admiral's whole mind, however, was at present intent upon discovering +the strait. As the countries described by the Indians lay to the west, he +supposed that he could easily visit them at some future time, by running +with the trade-winds along the coast of Cuba, which he imagined must +continue on, so as to join them. At present he was determined to seek the +main-land, the mountains of which were visible to the south, and +apparently not many leagues distant:[127] by keeping along it steadfastly +to the east, he must at length arrive to where he supposed it to be +severed from the coast of Paria by an intervening strait; and passing +through this, he should soon make his way to the Spice Islands and the +richest parts of India. [128] + +He was encouraged the more to persist in his eastern course by information +from the Indians, that there were many places in that direction which +abounded with gold. Much of the information which he gathered among these +people was derived from an old man more intelligent than the rest, who +appeared to be an ancient navigator of these seas. Columbus retained him +to serve as a guide along the coast, and dismissed his companions with +many presents. + +Leaving the island of Guanaja, he stood southwardly for the main-land, and +after sailing a few leagues, discovered a cape, to which he gave the name +of Caxinas, from its being covered with fruit trees, so called by the +natives. It is at present known as Cape Honduras. Here, on Sunday the 14th +of August, the Adelantado landed with the captains of the caravels and +many of the seamen, to attend mass, which was performed under the trees on +the sea-shore, according to the pious custom of the admiral, whenever +circumstances would permit. On the 17th, the Adelantado again landed at a +river about fifteen miles from the point, on the bank of which he +displayed the banners of Castile, taking possession of the country in the +name of their Catholic Majesties; from which circumstances he named this +the River of Possession. [129] + +At this place they found upwards of a hundred Indians assembled, laden +with bread and maize, fish and fowl, vegetables, and fruits of various +kinds. These they laid down as presents before the Adelantado and his +party, and drew back to a distance without speaking a word. The Adelantado +distributed among them various trinkets, with which they were well +pleased, and appeared the next day in the same place, in greater numbers, +with still more abundant supplies of provisions. + +The natives of this neighborhood, and for a considerable distance +eastward, had higher foreheads than those of the islands. They were of +different languages, and varied from each other in their decorations. Some +were entirely naked; and their bodies were marked by means of fire with +the figures of various animals. Some wore coverings about the loins; +others short cotton jerkins without sleeves: some wore tresses of hair in +front. The chieftains had caps of white or colored cotton. When arrayed +for any festival, they painted their faces black, or with stripes of +various colors, or with circles round the eyes. The old Indian guide +assured the admiral that many of them were cannibals. In one part of the +coast the natives had their ears bored, and hideously distended; which +caused the Spaniards to call that region _la Costa de la Oreja_, or +"the Coast of the Ear." [130] + +From the River of Possession, Columbus proceeded along what is at present +called the coast of Honduras, beating against contrary winds, and +struggling with currents which swept from the east like the constant +stream of a river. He often lost in one tack what he had laboriously +gained in two, frequently making but two leagues in a day, and never more +than five. At night he anchored under the land, through fear of proceeding +along an unknown coast in the dark, but was often forced out to sea by the +violence of the currents.[131] In all this time he experienced the same +kind of weather that had prevailed on the coast of Hispaniola, and had +attended him more or less for upwards of sixty days. There was, he says, +almost an incessant tempest of the heavens, with heavy rains, and such +thunder and lightning, that it seemed as if the end of the world was at +hand. Those who know any thing of the drenching rains and rending thunder +of the tropics, will not think his description of the storms exaggerated. +His vessels were strained so that their seams opened; the sails and +rigging were rent, and the provisions were damaged by the rain and by the +leakage. The sailors were exhausted with labor, and harassed with terror. +They many times confessed their sins to each other, and prepared for +death. "I have seen many tempests," says Columbus, "but none so violent +or of such long duration." He alludes to the whole series of storms for +upwards of two months, since he had been refused shelter at San Domingo. +During a great part of this time, he had suffered extremely from the +gout, aggravated by his watchfulness and anxiety. His illness did not +prevent his attending to his duties; he had a small cabin or chamber +constructed on the stern, whence, even when confined to his bed, he +could keep a look-out and regulate the sailing of the ships. Many times +he was so ill that he thought his end approaching. His anxious mind was +distressed about his brother the Adelantado, whom he had persuaded +against his will to come on this expedition, and who was in the worst +vessel of the squadron. He lamented also having brought with him his +son Fernando, exposing him at so tender an age to such perils and + hardships, although the youth bore them with the courage and fortitude +of a veteran. Often, too, his thoughts reverted to his son Diego, and +the cares and perplexities into which his death might plunge him.[132] +At length, after struggling for upwards of forty days since leaving +the Cape of Honduras, to make a distance of about seventy leagues, they +arrived on the 14th of September at a cape where the coast making an +angle, turned directly south, so as to give them an easy wind and free +navigation. Doubling the point, they swept off with flowing sails and +hearts filled with joy; and the admiral, to commemorate this sudden +relief from toil and peril, gave to the Cape the name of _Gracias a +Dios_, or Thanks to God.[133] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Voyage along the Mosquito Coast, and Transactions at Cariari. + +[1503.] + + + +After doubling Cape Gracias a Dios, Columbus sailed directly south, along +what is at present called the Mosquito shore. The land was of varied +character, sometimes rugged, with craggy promontories and points +stretching into the sea, at other places verdant and fertile, and watered +by abundant streams. In the rivers grew immense reeds, sometimes of the +thickness of a man's thigh: they abounded with fish and tortoises, and +alligators basked on the banks. At one place Columbus passed a cluster of +twelve small islands, on which grew a fruit resembling the lemon, on which +account he called them the Limonares. [134] + +After sailing about sixty-two leagues along this coast, being greatly in +want of wood and water, the squadron anchored on the 16th of September, +near a copious river, up which the boats were sent to procure the +requisite supplies. As they were returning to their ships, a sudden +swelling of the sea, rushing in and encountering the rapid current of the +river, caused a violent commotion, in which one of the boats was swallowed +up, and all on board perished. This melancholy event had a gloomy effect +upon the crews, already dispirited and care-worn from the hardships they +had endured, and Columbus, sharing their dejection, gave the stream the +sinister name of _El rio del Desastre_, or the River of Disaster. +[135] + +Leaving this unlucky neighborhood, they continued for several days along +the coast, until, finding both his ships and his people nearly disabled by +the buffetings of the tempests, Columbus, on the 25th of September, cast +anchor between a small island and the main-land, in what appeared a +commodious and delightful situation. The island was covered with groves of +palm-trees, cocoanut-trees, bananas, and a delicate and fragrant fruit, +which the admiral continually mistook for the mirabolane of the East +Indies. The fruits and flowers and odoriferous shrubs of the island sent +forth grateful perfumes, so that Columbus gave it the name of La Huerta, +or the Garden. It was called by the natives Quiribiri. Immediately +opposite, at a short league's distance, was an Indian village, named +Cariari, situated on the bank of a beautiful river. The country around was +fresh and verdant, finely diversified by noble hills and forests, with +trees of such height, that Las Casas says they appeared to reach the +skies. + +When the inhabitants beheld the ships, they gathered together on the +coast, armed with bows and arrows, war-clubs, and lances, and prepared to +defend their shores. The Spaniards, however, made no attempt to land +during that or the succeeding day, but remained quietly on board repairing +the ships, airing and drying the damaged provisions, or reposing from the +fatigues of the voyage. When the savages perceived that these wonderful +beings, who had arrived in this strange manner on their coast, were +perfectly pacific, and made no movement to molest them, their hostility +ceased, and curiosity predominated. They made various pacific signals, +waving their mantles like banners, and inviting the Spaniards to land. +Growing still more bold, they swam to the ships, bringing off mantles and +tunics of cotton, and ornaments of the inferior sort of gold called +guanin, which they wore about their necks. These they offered to the +Spaniards. The admiral, however, forbade all traffic, making them +presents, but taking nothing in exchange, wishing to impress them with a +favorable idea of the liberality and disinterestedness of the white men. +The pride of the savages was touched at the refusal of their proffered +gifts, and this supposed contempt for their manufactures and productions. +They endeavored to retaliate, by pretending like indifference. On +returning to shore, they tied together all the European articles which had +been given them, without retaining the least trifle, and left them lying +on the strand, where the Spaniards found them on a subsequent day. + +Finding the strangers still declined to come on shore, the natives tried +in every way to gain their confidence, and dispel the distrust which their +hostile demonstrations might have caused. A boat approaching the shore +cautiously one day, in quest of some safe place to procure water, an +ancient Indian, of venerable demeanor, issued from among the trees, +bearing a white banner on the end of a staff, and leading two girls, one +about fourteen years of age, the other about eight, having jewels of +guanin about their necks. These he brought to the boat and delivered to +the Spaniards, making signs that they were to be detained as hostages +while the strangers should be on shore. Upon this the Spaniards sallied +forth with confidence and filled their water-casks, the Indians remaining +at a distance, and observing the strictest care, neither by word nor +movement to cause any new distrust. When the boats were about to return to +the ships, the old Indian made signs that the young girls should be taken +on board, nor would he admit of any denial. On entering the ships the +girls showed no signs of grief nor alarm, though surrounded by what to +them must have been uncouth and formidable beings. Columbus was careful +that the confidence thus placed in him should not be abused. After +feasting the young females, and ordering them to be clothed and adorned +with various ornaments, he sent them on shore. The night, however, had +fallen, and the coast was deserted. They had to return to the ship, where +they remained all night under the careful protection of the admiral. The +next morning he restored them to their friends. The old Indian received +them with joy, and manifested a grateful sense of the kind treatment they +had experienced. In the evening, however, when the boats went on shore, +the young girls appeared, accompanied by a multitude of their friends, and +returned all the presents they had received, nor could they be prevailed +upon to retain any of them, although they must have been precious in their +eyes; so greatly was the pride of these savages piqued at having their +gifts refused. + +On the following day, as the Adelantado approached the shore, two of the +principal inhabitants, entering the water, took him out of the boat in +their arms, and carrying him to land, seated him with great ceremony on a +grassy bank. Don Bartholomew endeavored to collect information from them +respecting the country, and ordered the notary of the squadron to write +down their replies. The latter immediately prepared pen, ink, and paper, +and proceeded to write; but no sooner did the Indians behold this strange +and mysterious process, than, mistaking it for some necromantic spell, +intended to be wrought upon them, they fled with terror. After some time +they returned, cautiously scattering a fragrant powder in the air, and +burning some of it in such a direction that the smoke should be borne +towards the Spaniards by the wind. This was apparently intended to +counteract any baleful spell, for they regarded the strangers as beings of +a mysterious and supernatural order. + +The sailors looked upon these counter-charms of the Indians with equal +distrust, and apprehended something of magic; nay, Fernando Columbus, who +was present, and records the scene, appears to doubt whether these Indiana +were not versed in sorcery, and thus led to suspect it in others. +[136] + +Indeed, not to conceal a foible, which was more characteristic of the +superstition of the age than of the man, Columbus himself entertained an +idea of the kind, and assures the sovereigns, in his letter from Jamaica, +that the people of Cariari and its vicinity are great enchanters, and he +intimates, that the two Indian girls who had visited his ship had magic +powder concealed about their persons. He adds, that the sailors attributed +all the delays and hardships experienced on that coast to their being +under the influence of some evil spell, worked by the witchcraft of the +natives, and that they still remained in that belief. [137] + +[138] + +For several days the squadron remained at this place, during which time +the ships were examined and repaired, and the crews enjoyed repose and the +recreation of the land. The Adelantado, with a band of armed men, made +excursions on shore to collect information. There was no pure gold to be +met with here, all their ornaments were of guanin; but the natives assured +the Adelantado, that, in proceeding along the coast, the ships would soon +arrive at a country where gold was in great abundance. + +In examining one of the villages, the Adelantado found, in a large house, +several sepulchres. One contained a human body embalmed; in another, there +were two bodies wrapped in cotton, and so preserved as to be free from any +disagreeable odor. They were adorned with the ornaments most precious to +them when living; and the sepulchres were decorated with rude carvings and +paintings representing various animals, and, sometimes, what appeared to +be intended for portraits of the deceased. [139] Throughout most of the +savage tribes, there appears to have been great veneration for the dead, +and an anxiety to preserve their remains undisturbed. + +When about to sail, Columbus seized seven of the people, two of whom, +apparently the most intelligent, he selected to serve as guides; the rest +he suffered to depart. His late guide he had dismissed with presents at +Cape Gracias a Dios. The inhabitants of Cariari manifested unusual +sensibility at this seizure of their countrymen. They thronged the shore, +and sent off four of their principal men with presents to the ships, +imploring the release of the prisoners. + +The admiral assured them that he only took their companions as guides, for +a short distance along the coast, and would restore them soon in safety to +their homes. He ordered various presents to be given to the ambassadors; +but neither his promises nor gifts could soothe the grief and apprehension +of the natives at beholding their friends carried away by beings of whom +they had such mysterious apprehensions. [140] + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Voyage along Costa Rica.--Speculations Concerning the Isthmus at Veragua. + +[1502.] + + + +On the 5th of October, the squadron departed from Cariari, and sailed +along what is at present called Costa Rica (or the Rich Coast), from the +gold and silver mines found in after years among its mountains. After +sailing about twenty-two leagues, the ships anchored in a great bay, about +six leagues in length and three in breadth, full of islands, with channels +opening between them, so as to present three or four entrances. It was +called by the natives Caribaro, [141] and had been pointed out by the +natives of Cariari as plentiful in gold. + +The islands were beautifully verdant, covered with groves, and sent forth +the fragrance of fruits and flowers. The channels between them were so +deep and free from rocks that the ships sailed along them, as if in canals +in the streets of a city, the spars and rigging brushing the overhanging +branches of the trees. After anchoring, the boats landed on one of the +islands, where they found twenty canoes. The people were on shore among +the trees. Being encouraged by the Indians of Cariari, who accompanied the +Spaniards, they soon advanced with confidence. Here, for the first time on +this coast, the Spaniards met with specimens of pure gold; the natives +wearing large plates of it suspended round their necks by cotton cords; +they had ornaments likewise of guanin, rudely shaped like eagles. One of +them exchanged a plate of gold, equal in value to ten ducats, for three +hawks'-bells. [142] + +On the following day, the boats proceeded to the mainland at the bottom of +the bay. The country around was high and rough, and the villages were +generally perched on the heights. They met with ten canoes of Indians, +their heads decorated with garlands of flowers, and coronets formed of the +claws of beasts and the quills of birds;[143] most of them had plates of +gold about their necks, but refused to part with them. The Spaniards +brought two of them to the admiral to serve as guides. One had a plate of +pure gold worth fourteen ducats, another an eagle worth twenty-two ducats. +Seeing the great value which the strangers set upon this metal, they +assured them it was to be had in abundance within the distance of two +days' journey; and mentioned various places along the coast, whence it +was procured, particularly Veragua, which was about twenty-five leagues +distant. [144] + +The cupidity of the Spaniards was greatly excited, and they would gladly +have remained to barter, but the admiral discouraged all disposition of +the kind. He barely sought to collect specimens and information of the +riches of the country, and then pressed forward in quest of the great +object of his enterprise, the imaginary strait. + +Sailing on the 17th of October, from this bay, or rather gulf, he began to +coast this region of reputed wealth, since called the coast of Veragua; +and after sailing about twelve leagues, arrived at a large river, which +his son Fernando calls the Guaig. Here, on the boats being sent to land, +about two hundred Indians appeared on the shore, armed with clubs, lances, +and swords of palm-wood. The forests echoed with the sound of wooden +drums, and the blasts of conch shells, their usual war signals. They +rushed into the sea up to their waists, brandishing their weapons, and +splashing the water at the Spaniards in token of defiance; but were soon +pacified by gentle signs, and the intervention of the interpreters; and +willingly bartered away their ornaments, giving seventeen plates of gold, +worth one hundred and fifty ducats, for a few toys and trifles. + +When the Spaniards returned the next day to renew their traffic, they +found the Indians relapsed into hostility, sounding their drums and +shells, and rushing forward to attack the boats. An arrow from a +cross-bow, which wounded one of them in the arm, checked their fury, and +on the discharge of a cannon, they fled with terror. Four of the Spaniards +sprang on shore, pursuing and calling after them. They threw down their +weapons, and came, awe-struck, and gentle as lambs, bringing three plates +of gold, and meekly and thankfully receiving whatever was given in +exchange. + +Continuing along the coast, the admiral anchored in the mouth of another +river, called the Catiba. Here likewise the sound of drums and conchs from +among the forests gave notice that the warriors were assembling. A canoe +soon came off with two Indians, who, after exchanging a few words with the +interpreters, entered the admiral's ship with fearless confidence; and +being satisfied of the friendly intentions of the strangers, returned to +their cacique with a favorable report. The boats landed, and the Spaniards +were kindly received by the cacique. He was naked like his subjects, nor +distinguished in any way from them, except by the great deference with +which he was treated, and by a trifling attention paid to his personal +comfort, being protected from a shower of rain by an immense leaf of a +tree. He had a large plate of gold, which he readily gave in exchange, and +permitted his people to do the same. Nineteen plates of pure gold were +procured at this place. Here, for the first time in the New World, the +Spaniards met with signs of solid architecture; finding a great mass of +stucco, formed of stone and lime, a piece of which was retained by the +admiral as a specimen, [145] considering it an indication of his approach +to countries where the arts were in a higher state of cultivation. + +He had intended to visit other rivers along this coast, but the wind +coming on to blow freshly, he ran before it, passing in sight of five +towns, where his interpreters assured him he might procure great +quantities of gold. One they pointed out as Veragua, which has since given +its name to the whole province. Here, they said, were the richest mines, +and here most of the plates of gold were fabricated. On the following day, +they arrived opposite a village called Cubiga, and here Columbus was +informed that the country of gold terminated. [146] He resolved not to +return to explore it, considering it as discovered, and its mines secured +to the crown, and being anxious to arrive at the supposed strait, which +he flattered himself could be at no great distance. + +In fact, during his whole voyage along the coast, he had been under the +influence of one of his frequent delusions. From the Indians met with at +the island of Guanaja, just arrived from Yucatan, he had received accounts +of some great, and, as far as he could understand, civilized nation in the +interior. This intimation had been corroborated, as he imagined, by the +various tribes with which he had since communicated. In a subsequent +letter to the sovereigns, he informs them that all the Indians of this +coast concurred in extolling the magnificence of the country of Ciguare, +situated at ten days' journey, by land, to the west. The people of that +region wore crowns, and bracelets, and anklets of gold, and garments +embroidered with it. They used it for all their domestic purposes, even to +the ornamenting and embossing of their seats and tables. On being shown +coral, the Indians declared that the women of Ciguare wore bands of it +about their heads and necks. Pepper and other spices being shown them, +were equally said to abound there. They described it as a country of +commerce, with great fairs and sea-ports, in which ships arrived armed +with cannon. The people were warlike also, armed like the Spaniards with +swords, bucklers, cuirasses, and cross-bows, and they were mounted on +horses. Above all, Columbus understood from them that the sea continued +round to Ciguare, and that ten days beyond it was the Ganges. + +These may have been vague and wandering rumors concerning the distant +kingdoms of Mexico and Peru, and many of the details may have been filled +up by the imagination of Columbus. They made, however, a strong impression +on his mind. He supposed that Ciguare must be some province belonging to +the Grand Khan, or some other Eastern potentate, and as the sea reached +it, he concluded it was on the opposite side of a peninsula: bearing the +same position with respect to Veragua that Fontarabia does with Tortosa in +Spain, or Pisa with Venice in Italy. By proceeding farther eastward, +therefore, he must soon arrive at a strait, like that of Gibraltar, +through which he could pass into another sea, and visit this country of +Ciguare, and, of course, arrive at the banks of the Ganges. He accounted +for the circumstance of his having arrived so near to that river, by the +idea which he had long entertained, that geographers were mistaken as to +the circumference of the globe; that it was smaller than was generally +imagined, and that a degree of the equinoctial line was but fifty-six +miles and two-thirds. [147] + +With these ideas Columbus determined to press forward, leaving the rich +country of Veragua unexplored. Nothing could evince more clearly his +generous ambition, than hurrying in this brief manner along a coast where +wealth was to be gathered at every step, for the purpose of seeking a +strait which, however it might produce vast benefit to mankind, could +yield little else to himself than the glory of the discovery. + + + + +Chapter V. + +Discovery of Puerto Bello and El Retrete.--Columbus Abandons the Search +after the Strait. + +[1502.] + + + +On the 2d of November, the squadron anchored in a spacious and commodious +harbor, where the vessels could approach close to the shore without +danger. It was surrounded by an elevated country; open and cultivated, +with houses within bow-shot of each other, surrounded by fruit-trees, +groves of palms, and fields producing maize, vegetables, and the delicious +pine-apple, so that the whole neighborhood had the mingled appearance of +orchard and garden. Columbus was so pleased with the excellence of the +harbor, and the sweetness of the surrounding country, that he gave it the +name of Puerto Bello. [148] It is one of the few places along this coast +which retain the appellation given by the illustrious discoverer. It is to +be regretted that they have so generally been discontinued, as they were +so often records of his feelings, and of circumstances attending the +discovery. + +For seven days they were detained in this port by heavy rain and stormy +weather. The natives repaired from all quarters in canoes, bringing fruits +and vegetables and balls of cotton, but there was no longer gold offered +in traffic. The cacique, and seven of his principal chieftains, had small +plates of gold hanging in their noses, but the rest of the natives appear +to have been destitute of all ornaments of the kind. They were generally +naked and painted red; the cacique alone was painted black. [149] + +Sailing hence on the 9th of November, they proceeded eight leagues to the +eastward, to the point since known as Nombre de Dios; but being driven +back for some distance, they anchored in a harbor in the vicinity of three +small islands. These, with the adjacent country of the main-land, were +cultivated with fields of Indian corn, and various fruits and vegetables, +whence Columbus called the harbor Puerto de Bastimentos, or Port of +Provisions. Here they remained until the 23d, endeavoring to repair their +vessels, which leaked excessively. They were pierced in all parts by the +teredo or worm which abounds in the tropical seas. It is of the size of a +man's finger, and bores through the stoutest planks and timbers, so as +soon to destroy any vessel that is not well coppered. After leaving this +port, they touched at another called Guiga, where above three hundred of +the natives appeared on the shore, some with provisions, and some with +golden ornaments, which they offered in barter. Without making any stay, +however, the admiral urged his way forward; but rough and adverse winds +again obliged him to take shelter in a small port, with a narrow entrance, +not above twenty paces wide, beset on each side with reefs of rocks, the +sharp points of which rose above the surface. Within, there was not room +for more than five or six ships; yet the port was so deep, that they had +no good anchorage, unless they approached near enough to the land for a +man to leap on shore. + +From the smallness of the harbor, Columbus gave it the name of _El +Retrete_, or The Cabinet. He had been betrayed into this inconvenient +and dangerous port by the misrepresentations of the seamen sent to examine +it, who were always eager to come to anchor, and have communication with +the shore. [150] + +The adjacent country was level and verdant, covered with herbage, but with +few trees. The port was infested with alligators, which basked in the +sunshine on the beach, filling the air with a powerful and musky odor. +They were timorous, and fled on being attacked, but the Indians affirmed +that if they found a man sleeping on shore they would seize and drag him +into the water. These alligators Columbus pronounced to be the same as the +crocodiles of the Nile. For nine days the squadron was detained in this +port, by tempestuous weather. The natives of this place were tall, well +proportioned, and graceful; of gentle and friendly manners, and brought +whatever they possessed to exchange for European trinkets. + +As long as the admiral had control over the actions of his people, the +Indians were treated with justice and kindness, and every thing went on +amicably. The vicinity of the ships to land, however, enabled the seamen +to get on shore in the night without license. The natives received them in +their dwellings with their accustomed hospitality; but the rough +adventurers, instigated by avarice and lust, soon committed excesses that +roused their generous hosts to revenge. Every night there were brawls and +fights on shore, and blood was shed on both sides. The number of the +Indians daily augmented by arrivals from the interior. They became more +powerful and daring as they became more exasperated; and seeing that the +vessels lay close to the shore, approached in a great multitude to attack +them. + +The admiral thought at first to disperse them by discharging cannon +without ball, but they were not intimidated by the sound, regarding it as +a kind of harmless thunder. They replied to it by yells and howlings, +beating their lances and clubs against the trees and bushes in furious +menace. The situation of the ships so close to the shore exposed them to +assaults, and made the hostility of the natives unusually formidable. +Columbus ordered a shot or two, therefore, to be discharged among them. +When they saw the havoc made, they fled in terror, and offered no further +hostility. [151] + +The continuance of stormy winds from the east and the northeast, in +addition to the constant opposition of the currents, disheartened the +companions of Columbus, and they began to murmur against any further +prosecution of the voyage. The seamen thought that some hostile spell was +operating, and the commanders remonstrated against attempting to force +their way in spite of the elements, with ships crazed and worm-eaten, and +continually in need of repair. Few of his companions could sympathize with +Columbus in his zeal for mere discovery. They were actuated by more +gainful motives, and looked back with regret on the rich coast they had +left behind, to go in search of an imaginary strait. It is probable that +Columbus himself began to doubt the object of his enterprise. If he knew +the details of the recent voyage of Bastides, he must have been aware that +he had arrived from an opposite quarter to about the place where that +navigator's exploring voyage from the east had terminated; consequently +that there was but little probability of the existence of the strait he +had imagined. [152] + +At all events, he determined to relinquish the further prosecution of his +voyage eastward for the present, and to return to the coast of Veragua, to +search for those mines of which he had heard so much, and seen so many +indications. Should they prove equal to his hopes, he would have +wherewithal to return to Spain in triumph, and silence the reproaches of +his enemies, even though he should fail in the leading object of his +expedition. + +Here, then, ended the lofty anticipations which had elevated Columbus +above all mercenary interests; which had made him regardless of hardships +and perils, and given an heroic character to the early part of this +voyage. It is true, he had been in pursuit of a mere chimera, but it was +the chimera of a splendid imagination, and a penetrating judgment. If he +was disappointed in his expectation of finding a strait through the +Isthmus of Darien, it was because nature herself had been disappointed, +for she appears to have attempted to make one, but to have attempted it in +vain. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Return to Veragua.--The Adelantado Explores the Country. + +[1502.] + + + +On the 5th of December, Columbus sailed from El Retrete, and relinquishing +his course to the east, returned westward, in search of the gold mines of +Veragua. On the same evening he anchored in Puerto Bello, about ten +leagues distant; whence departing on the succeeding day, the wind suddenly +veered to the west, and began to blow directly adverse to the new course +he had adopted. For three months he had been longing in vain for such a +wind, and now it came merely to contradict him. Here was a temptation to +resume his route to the east, but he did not dare trust to the continuance +of the wind, which, in these parts, appeared but seldom to blow from that +quarter. He resolved, therefore, to keep on in the present direction, +trusting that the breeze would soon change again to the eastward. + +In a little while the wind began to blow with dreadful violence, and to +shift about in such manner as to baffle all seamanship. Unable to reach +Veragua, the ships were obliged to put back to Puerto Bello, and when they +would have entered that harbor, a sudden veering of the gale drove them +from the land. For nine days they were blown and tossed about, at the +mercy of a furious tempest, in an unknown sea, and often exposed to the +awful perils of a lee-shore. It is wonderful that such open vessels, so +crazed and decayed, could outlive such a commotion of the elements. +Nowhere is a storm so awful as between the tropics. The sea, according to +the description of Columbus, boiled at times like a caldron; at other +times it ran in mountain waves, covered with foam. At night the raging +billows resembled great surges of flame, owing to those luminous particles +which cover the surface of the water in these seas, and throughout the +whole course of the Gulf Stream. For a day and night the heavens glowed as +a furnace with the incessant flashes of lightning; while the loud claps of +thunder were often mistaken by the affrighted mariners for signal guns of +distress from their foundering companions. During the whole time, says +Columbus, it poured down from the skies, not rain, but as it were a second +deluge. The seamen were almost drowned in their open vessels. Haggard with +toil and affright, some gave themselves over for lost; they confessed +their sins to each other according to the rites of the Catholic religion, +and prepared themselves for death; many, in their desperation, called upon +death as a welcome relief from such overwhelming horrors. In the midst of +this wild tumult of the elements, they beheld a new object of alarm. The +ocean in one place became strangely agitated. The water was whirled up +into a kind of pyramid or cone, while a livid cloud, tapering to a point, +bent down to meet it. Joining together, they formed a vast column, which +rapidly approached the ships, spinning along the surface of the deep, and +drawing up the waters with a rushing sound. The affrighted mariners, when +they beheld this water-spout advancing towards them, despaired of all +human means to avert it, and began to repeat passages from St. John the +evangelist. The water-spout passed close by the ships without injuring +them, and the trembling mariners attributed their escape to the miraculous +efficacy of their quotations from the Scriptures. [153] + +In this same night, they lost sight of one of the caravels, and for three +dark and stormy days gave it up for lost. At length, to their great +relief, it rejoined the squadron, having lost its boat, and been obliged +to cut its cable, in an attempt to anchor on a boisterous coast, and +having since been driven to and fro by the storm. For one or two days, +there was an interval of calm, and the tempest-tossed mariners had time to +breathe. They looked upon this tranquillity, however, as deceitful, and, +in their gloomy mood, beheld every thing with a doubtful and foreboding +eye. Great numbers of sharks, so abundant and ravenous in these latitudes, +were seen about the ships. This was construed into an evil omen; for among +the superstitions of the seas, it is believed that these voracious fish +can smell dead bodies at a distance; that they have a kind of presentiment +of their prey; and keep about vessels which have sick persons on board, or +which are in danger of being wrecked. Several of these fish they caught, +using large hooks fastened to chains, and sometimes baited merely with a +piece of colored cloth. From the maw of one they took out a living +tortoise; from that of another the head of a shark, recently thrown from +one of the ships; such is the indiscriminate voracity of these terrors of +the ocean. Notwithstanding their superstitious fancies, the seamen were +glad to use a part of these sharks for food, being very short of +provisions. The length of the voyage had consumed the greater part of +their sea-stores; the heat and humidity of the climate, and the leakage of +the ships, had damaged the remainder, and their biscuit was so filled with +worms, that, notwithstanding their hunger, they were obliged to eat it in +the dark, lest their stomachs should revolt at its appearance. [154] + +At length, on the 17th, they were enabled to enter a port resembling a +great canal, where they enjoyed three days of repose. The natives of this +vicinity built their cabins in trees, on stakes or poles laid from one +branch to another. The Spaniards supposed this to be through the fear of +wild beasts, or of surprisals from neighboring tribes; the different +nations of these coasts being extremely hostile to one another. It may +have been a precaution against inundations caused by floods from the +mountains. After leaving this port, they were driven backwards and +forwards, by the changeable and tempestuous winds, until the day after +Christmas; when they sheltered themselves in another port, where they +remained until the 3d of January, 1503, repairing one of the caravels, and +procuring wood, water, and a supply of maize or Indian corn. These +measures being completed, they again put to sea, and on the day of +Epiphany, to their great joy, anchored at the mouth of a river called by +the natives Yebra, within a league or two of the river Veragua, and in the +country said to be so rich in mines. To this river, from arriving at it on +the day of Epiphany, Columbus gave the name of Belen or Bethlehem. + +For nearly a month he had endeavored to accomplish the voyage from Puerto +Bello to Veragua, a distance of about thirty leagues; and had encountered +so many troubles and adversities, from changeable winds and currents, and +boisterous tempests, that he gave this intermediate line of sea-board the +name of _La Costa de los Contrastes_, or The Coast of Contradictions. +[155] + +Columbus immediately ordered the mouths of the Belen, and of its +neighboring river of Veragua, to be sounded. The latter proved too shallow +to admit his vessels, but the Belen was somewhat deeper, and it was +thought they might enter it with safety. Seeing a village on the banks of +the Belen, the admiral sent the boats on shore to procure information. On +their approach, the inhabitants issued forth with weapons in hand to +oppose their landing, but were readily pacified. They seemed unwilling to +give any intelligence about the gold mines; but, on being importuned, +declared that they lay in the vicinity of the river of Veragua. To that +river the boats were dispatched on the following day. They met with the +reception so frequent along this coast, where many of the tribes were +fierce and warlike, and are supposed to have been of Carib origin. As the +boats entered the river, the natives sallied forth in their canoes, and +others assembled in menacing style on the shores. The Spaniards, however, +had brought with them an Indian of that coast, who put an end to this show +of hostility by assuring his countrymen that the strangers came only to +traffic with them. + +The various accounts of the riches of these parts appeared to be +confirmed by what the Spaniards saw and heard among these people. They +procured in exchange for the veriest trifles twenty plates of gold, with +several pipes of the same metal, and crude masses of ore. The Indians +informed them that the mines lay among distant mountains; and that when +they went in quest of it they were obliged to practice rigorous fasting +and continence. [156] + +The favorable report brought by the boats determined the admiral to remain +in the neighborhood. The river Belen having the greatest depth, two of the +caravels entered it on the 9th of January, and the two others on the +following day at high tide, which on that coast does not rise above half a +fathom. [157] The natives came to them in the most friendly manner, +bringing great quantities of fish, with which that river abounded. They +brought also golden ornaments to traffic; but continued to affirm that +Veragua was the place whence the ore was procured. + +The Adelantado, with his usual activity and enterprise, set off on the +third day, with the boats well armed, to ascend the Veragua about a league +and a half, to the residence of Quibian, the principal cacique. The +chieftain, hearing of his intention, met him near the entrance of the +river, attended by his subjects, in several canoes. He was tall, of +powerful frame, and warlike demeanor: the interview was extremely +amicable. The cacique presented the Adelantado with the golden ornaments +which he wore, and received as magnificent presents a few European +trinkets. They parted mutually well pleased. On the following day Quibian +visited the ships, where he was hospitably entertained by the admiral. +They could only communicate by signs, and as the chieftain was of a +taciturn and cautious character, the interview was not of long duration. +Columbus made him several presents; the followers of the cacique exchanged +many jewels of gold for the usual trifles, and Quibian returned, without +much ceremony, to his home. + +On the 24th of January, there was a sudden swelling of the river. The +waters came rushing from the interior like a vast torrent; the ships were +forced from their anchors, tossed from side to side, and driven against +each other; the foremast of the admiral's vessel was carried away, and the +whole squadron was in imminent danger of shipwreck. While exposed to this +peril in the river, they were prevented from running out to sea by a +violent storm, and by the breakers which beat upon the bar. This sudden +rising of the river, Columbus attributed to some heavy fall of rain among +a range of distant mountains, to which he had given the name of the +mountains of San Christoval. The highest of these rose to a peak far above +the clouds. [158] + +The weather continued extremely boisterous for several days. At length, on +the 6th of February, the sea being tolerably calm, the Adelantado, +attended by sixty-eight men well armed, proceeded in the boats to explore +the Veragua, and seek its reputed mines. When he ascended the river and +drew near to the village of Quibian, situated on the side of a hill, the +cacique came down to the bank to meet him, with a great train of his +subjects, unarmed, and making signs of peace. Quibian was naked, and +painted after the fashion of the country. One of his attendants drew a +great stone out of the river, and washed and rubbed it carefully, upon +which the chieftain seated himself as upon a throne. [159] He received the +Adelantado with great courtesy; for the lofty, vigorous, and iron form of +the latter, and his look of resolution and command, were calculated to +inspire awe and respect in an Indian warrior. The cacique, however, was +wary and politic. His jealousy was awakened by the intrusion of these +strangers into his territories; but he saw the futility of any open +attempt to resist them. He acceded to the wishes of the Adelantado, +therefore, to visit the interior of his dominions, and furnished him with +three guides to conduct him to the mines. + +Leaving a number of his men to guard the boats, the Adelantado departed on +foot with the remainder. After penetrating into the interior about four +leagues and a half, they slept for the first night on the banks of a +river, which seemed to water the whole country with its windings, as they +had crossed it upwards of forty times. On the second day, they proceeded a +league and a half farther, and arrived among thick forests, where their +guides informed them the mines were situated. In fact, the whole soil +appeared to be impregnated with gold. They gathered it from among the +roots of the trees, which were of an immense height, and magnificent +foliage. In the space of two hours each man had collected a little +quantity of gold, gathered from the surface of the earth. Hence the guides +took the Adelantado to the summit of a high hill, and showing him an +extent of country as far as the eye could reach, assured him that the +whole of it, to the distance of twenty days' journey westward, abounded in +gold, naming to him several of the principal places. [160] The Adelantado +gazed with enraptured eye over a vast wilderness of continued forest, where +only here and there a bright column of smoke from amidst the trees gave +sign of some savage hamlet, or solitary wigwam, and the wild unappropriated +aspect of this golden country delighted him more than if he had beheld it +covered with towns and cities, and adorned with all the graces of +cultivation. He returned with his party, in high spirits, to the ships, and +rejoiced the admiral with the favorable report of his expedition. It was +soon discovered, however, that the politic Quibian had deceived them. His +guides, by his instructions, had taken the Spaniards to the mines of a +neighboring cacique with whom he was at war, hoping to divert them into the +territories of his enemy. The real mines of Veragua, it was said, were +nearer and much more wealthy. + +The indefatigable Adelantado set forth again on the 16th of February, with +an armed band of fifty-nine men, marching along the coast westward, a boat +with fourteen men keeping pace with him. In this excursion he explored an +extensive tract of country, and visited the dominions of various caciques, +by whom he was hospitably entertained. He met continually with proofs of +abundance of gold; the natives generally wearing great plates of it +suspended round their necks by cotton cords. There were tracts of land, +also, cultivated with Indian corn,--one of which continued for the extent +of six leagues; and the country abounded with excellent fruits. He again +heard of a nation in the interior, advanced in arts and arms, wearing +clothing, and being armed like the Spaniards. Either these were vague and +exaggerated rumors concerning the great empire of Peru, or the Adelantado +had misunderstood the signs of his informants. He returned, after an +absence of several days, with a great quantity of gold, and with animating +accounts of the country. He had found no port, however, equal to the river +of Belen, and was convinced that gold was nowhere to be met with in such +abundance as in the district of Veragua [161]. + + + + +Chapter VII. + +Commencement of a Settlement on the River Belen.--Conspiracy of the +Natives.--Expedition of the Adelantado to Surprise Quiban. + +[1503.] + + + +The reports brought to Columbus, from every side, of the wealth of the +neighborhood; the golden tract of twenty days' journey in extent, shown to +his brother from the mountain; the rumors of a rich and civilized country +at no great distance, all convinced him that he had reached one of the +most favored parts of the Asiatic continent. Again his ardent mind kindled +up with glowing anticipations. He fancied himself arrived at a +fountain-head of riches, at one of the sources of the unbounded wealth of +King Solomon. Josephus, in his work on the antiquities of the Jews, had +expressed an opinion, that the gold for the building of the temple of +Jerusalem had been procured from the mines of the Aurea Chersonesus. +Columbus supposed the mines of Veragua to be the same. They lay, as he +observed, "within the same distance from the pole and from the line;" and +if the information which he fancied he had received from the Indians was +to be depended on, they were situated about the same distance from the +Ganges [162]. + +Here, then, it appeared to him, was a place at which to found a colony, +and establish a mart that should become the emporium of a vast tract of +mines. Within the two first days after his arrival in the country, as he +wrote to the sovereigns, he had seen more signs of gold than in Hispaniola +during four years. That island, so long the object of his pride and hopes, +had been taken from him, and was a scene of confusion; the pearl coast of +Paria was ravaged by mere adventurers; all his plans concerning both had +been defeated; but here was a far more wealthy region than either, and one +calculated to console him for all his wrongs and deprivations. + +On consulting with his brother, therefore, he resolved immediately to +commence an establishment here, for the purpose of securing the possession +of the country, and exploring and working the mines. The Adelantado agreed +to remain with the greater part of the people, while the admiral should +return to Spain for reinforcements and supplies. The greatest dispatch was +employed in carrying this plan into immediate operation. Eighty men were +selected to remain. They were separated into parties of about ten each, +and commenced building houses on a small eminence, situated on the bank of +a creek, about a bow-shot within the mouth of the river Belen. The houses +were of wood, thatched with the leaves of palm-trees. One larger than the +rest was to serve as a magazine, to receive their ammunition, artillery, +and a part of their provisions. The principal part was stored, for greater +security, on board of one of the caravels, which was to be left for the +use of the colony. It was true they had but a scanty supply of European +stores remaining, consisting chiefly of biscuit, cheese, pulse, wine, oil, +and vinegar; but the country produced bananas, plantains, pine-apples, +cocoanuts, and other fruit. There was also maize in abundance, together +with various roots, such as were found in Hispaniola. The rivers and +sea-coast abounded with fish. The natives, too, made beverages of various +kinds. One from the juice of the pine-apple, having a vinous flavor; +another from maize, resembling beer; and another from the fruit of a +species of palm-tree. [163] There appeared to be no danger, therefore, +of suffering from famine. Columbus took pains to conciliate the good-will +of the Indians, that they might supply the wants of the colony during his +absence, and he made many presents to Quibian, by way of reconciling him +to this intrusion into his territories. [164] + +The necessary arrangements being made for the colony, and a number of the +houses being roofed, and sufficiently finished for occupation, the admiral +prepared for his departure, when an unlooked-for obstacle presented +itself. The heavy rains which had so long distressed him during this +expedition had recently ceased. The torrents from the mountains were over; +and the river which had once put him to such peril by its sudden swelling, +had now become so shallow that there was not above half a fathom water on +the bar. Though his vessels were small, it was impossible to draw them +over the sands, which choked the mouth of the river, for there was a swell +rolling and tumbling upon them, enough to dash his worm-eaten barks to +pieces. He was obliged, therefore, to wait with patience, and pray for the +return of those rains which he had lately deplored. + +In the meantime, Quibian beheld, with secret jealousy and indignation, +these strangers erecting habitations, and manifesting an intention of +establishing themselves in his territories. He was of a bold and warlike +spirit, and had a great force of warriors at his command; and being +ignorant of the vast superiority of the Europeans in the art of war, +thought it easy, by a well-concerted artifice, to overwhelm and destroy +them. He sent messengers round, and ordered all his fighting-men to +assemble at his residence on the river Veragua, under pretext of making +war upon a neighboring province. Numbers of the warriors, in repairing to +his headquarters, passed by the harbor. No suspicions of their real design +were entertained by Columbus or his officers; but their movements +attracted the attention of the chief notary, Diego Mendez, a man of a +shrewd and prying character, and zealously devoted to the admiral. +Doubting some treachery, he communicated his surmises to Columbus, and +offered to coast along in an armed boat to the river Veragua, and +reconnoitre the Indian camp. His offer was accepted, and he sallied from +the river accordingly, but had scarcely advanced a league, when he +descried a large force of Indians on the shore. Landing alone, and +ordering that the boat should be kept afloat, he entered among them. There +were about a thousand armed and supplied with provisions, as if for an +expedition. He offered to accompany them with his armed boat; his offer +was declined with evident signs of impatience. Returning to his boat, he +kept watch upon them all night, until, seeing they were vigilantly +observed, they returned to Veragua. + +Mendez hastened back to the admiral, and gave it as his opinion that the +Indians had been on their way to surprise the Spaniards. The admiral was +loth to believe in such treachery, and was desirous of obtaining clearer +information, before he took any step that might interrupt the apparently +good understanding that existed with the natives. Mendez now undertook, +with a single companion, to penetrate by land to the headquarters of +Quibian, and endeavor to ascertain his intentions. Accompanied by one +Rodrigo de Escobar, he proceeded on foot along the seaboard, to avoid the +tangled forests, and arriving at the mouth of the Veragua, found two +canoes with Indians, whom he prevailed on, by presents, to convey him and +his companion to the village of the cacique. It was on the bank of the +river; the houses were detached and interspersed among trees. There was a +bustle of warlike preparation in the place, and the arrival of the two +Spaniards evidently excited surprise and uneasiness. The residence of the +cacique was larger than the others, and situated on a hill which rose from +the water's edge. Quibian was confined to the house by indisposition, +having been wounded in the leg by an arrow. Mendez gave himself out as a +surgeon come to cure the wound: with great difficulty and by force of +presents he obtained permission to proceed. On the crest of the hill and +in front of the cacique's dwelling, was a broad, level, open place, round +which, on posts, were the heads of three hundred enemies slain in battle. +Undismayed by this dismal array, Mendez and his companion crossed the +place towards the den of this grim warrior. A number of women and children +about the door fled into the house with piercing cries. A young and +powerful Indian, son of the cacique, sallied forth in a violent rage, and +struck Mendez a blow which made him recoil several paces. The latter +pacified him by presents and assurances that he came to cure his father's +wound, in proof of which he produced a box of ointment. It was impossible, +however, to gain access to the cacique, and Mendez returned with all haste +to the harbor to report to the admiral what he had seen and learnt. It was +evident there was a dangerous plot impending over the Spaniards, and as +far as Mendez could learn from the Indians who had taken him up the river +in their canoe, the body of a thousand warriors which he had seen on his +previous reconnoitring expedition, had actually been on a hostile +enterprise against the harbor, but had given it up on finding themselves +observed. + +This information was confirmed by an Indian of the neighborhood, who had +become attached to the Spaniards and acted as interpreter. He revealed to +the admiral the designs of his countrymen, which he had overheard. Quibian +intended to surprise the harbor at night with a great force, burn the +ships and houses, and make a general massacre. Thus forewarned, Columbus +immediately set a double watch upon the harbor. The military spirit of the +Adelantado suggested a bolder expedient. The hostile plan of Quibian was +doubtless delayed by his wound, and in the meantime he would maintain the +semblance of friendship. The Adelantado determined to march at once to his +residence, capture him, his family, and principal warriors, send them +prisoners to Spain, and take possession of his village. + +With the Adelantado, to conceive a plan was to carry it into immediate +execution, and, in fact, the impending danger admitted of no delay. Taking +with him seventy-four men, well armed, among whom was Diego Mendez, and +being accompanied by the Indian interpreter who had revealed the plot, he +set off on the 30th of March, in boats, to the mouth of the Veragua, +ascended it rapidly, and before the Indians could have notice of his +movements, landed at the foot of the hill on which the house of Quibian +was situated. + +Lest the cacique should take alarm and fly at the sight of a large force, +he ascended the hill, accompanied by only five men, among whom was Diego +Mendez; ordering the rest to come on, with great caution and secrecy, two +at a time, and at a distance from each other. On the discharge of an +arquebuse, they were to surround the dwelling and suffer no one to escape. + +As the Adelantado drew near to the house, Quibian came forth, and seating +himself in the portal, desired the Adelantado to approach singly. Don +Bartholomew now ordered Diego Mendez and his four companions to remain at +a little distance, and when they should see him take the cacique by the +arm, to rush immediately to his assistance. He then advanced with his +Indian interpreter, through whom a short conversation took place, relative +to the surrounding country. The Adelantado then adverted to the wound of +the cacique, and pretending to examine it, took him by the arm. At the +concerted signal four of the Spaniards rushed forward, the fifth +discharged the arquebuse. The cacique attempted to get loose, but was +firmly held in the iron grasp of the Adelantado. Being both men of great +muscular power, a violent struggle ensued. Don Bartholomew, however, +maintained the mastery, and Diego Mendez and his companions coming to his +assistance, Quibian was bound hand and foot. At the report of the +arquebuse, the main body of the Spaniards surrounded the house, and seized +most of those who were within, consisting of fifty persons, old and young. +Among these were the wives and children of Quibian, and several of his +principal subjects. No one was wounded, for there was no resistance, and +the Adelantado never permitted wanton bloodshed. When the poor savages saw +their prince a captive, they filled the air with lamentations; imploring +his release, and offering for his ransom a great treasure, which they said +lay concealed in a neighboring forest. + +The Adelantado was deaf to their supplications and their offers. Quibian +was too dangerous a foe to be set at liberty; as a prisoner, he would be a +hostage for the security of the settlement. Anxious to secure his prize, +he determined to send the cacique and the other prisoners on board of the +boats, while he remained on shore with a part of his men to pursue the +Indians who had escaped. Juan Sanchez, the principal pilot of the +squadron, a powerful and spirited man, volunteered to take charge of the +captives. On committing the chieftain to his care, the Adelantado warned +him to be on his guard against any attempt at rescue or escape. The sturdy +pilot replied that if the cacique got out of his hands, he would give them +leave to pluck out his beard, hair by hair; with this vaunt he departed, +bearing off Quibian bound hand and foot. On arriving at the boat, he +secured him by a strong cord to one of the benches. It was a dark night. +As the boat proceeded down the river, the cacique complained piteously of +the painfulness of his bonds. The rough heart of the pilot was touched +with compassion, and he loosened the cord by which Quibian was tied to the +bench, keeping the end of it in his hand. The wily Indian watched his +opportunity, and when Sanchez was looking another way, plunged into the +water and disappeared. So sudden and violent was his plunge, that the +pilot had to let go the cord, lest he should be drawn in after him. The +darkness of the night, and the bustle which took place, in preventing the +escape of the other prisoners, rendered it impossible to pursue the +cacique, or even to ascertain his fate. Juan Sanchez hastened to the ships +with the residue of the captives, deeply mortified at being thus outwitted +by a savage. + +The Adelantado remained all night on shore. The following morning, when he +beheld the wild, broken, and mountainous nature of the country, and the +scattered situation of the habitations, perched on different heights, he +gave up the search after the Indians, and returned to the ships with the +spoils of the cacique's mansion. These consisted of bracelets, anklets, +and massive plates of gold, such as were worn round the neck, together +with two golden coronets. The whole amounted to the value of three hundred +ducats. [165] One fifth of the booty was set apart for the +crown. The residue was shared among those concerned in the enterprise. To +the Adelantado one of the coronets was assigned, as a trophy of his +exploit. [166] + + + + +Chapter VIII. + +Disasters of the Settlement. + +[1503.] + + + +It was hoped by Columbus that the vigorous measure of the Adelantado would +strike terror into the Indians of the neighborhood, and prevent any +further designs upon the settlement. Quibian had probably perished. If he +survived, he must be disheartened by the captivity of his family, and +several of his principal subjects, and fearful of their being made +responsible for any act of violence on his part. The heavy rains, +therefore, which fall so frequently among the mountains of this isthmus, +having again swelled the river, Columbus made his final arrangements for +the management of the colony, and having given much wholesome counsel to +the Spaniards who were to remain, and taken an affectionate leave of his +brother, got under weigh with three of the caravels, leaving the fourth +for the use of the settlement. As the water was still shallow at the bar, +the ships were lightened of a great part of their cargoes, and towed out +by the boats in calm weather, grounding repeatedly. When fairly released +from the river, and their cargoes re-shipped, they anchored within a +league of the shore, to await a favorable wind. It was the intention of +the admiral to touch at Hispaniola, on his way to Spain, and send thence +supplies and reinforcements. The wind continuing adverse, he sent a boat +on shore on the 6th of April, under the command of Diego Tristan, captain +of one of the caravels, to procure wood and water, and make some +communications to the Adelantado. The expedition of this boat proved fatal +to its crew, but was providential to the settlement. + +The cacique Quibian had not perished as some had supposed. Though both +hands and feet were bound, yet in the water he was as in his natural +element. Plunging to the bottom, he swam below the surface until +sufficiently distant to be out of view in the darkness of the night, and +then emerging made his way to shore. The desolation of his home, and the +capture of his wives and children, filled him with anguish; but when he +saw the vessels in which they were confined leaving the river, and bearing +them off, he was transported with fury and despair. Determined on a signal +vengeance, he assembled a great number of his warriors, and came secretly +upon the settlement. The thick woods by which it was surrounded enabled +the Indians to approach unseen within ten paces. The Spaniards, thinking +the enemy completely discomfited and dispersed, were perfectly off their +guard. Some had strayed to the sea-shore, to take a farewell look at the +ships; some were on board of the caravel in the river; others were +scattered about the houses: on a sudden, the Indians rushed from their +concealment with yells and howlings, launched their javelins through the +roofs of palm-leaves, hurled them in at the windows, or thrust them +through the crevices of the logs which composed the walls. As the houses +were small, several of the inhabitants were wounded. On the first alarm, +the Adelantado seized a lance, and sallied forth with seven or eight of +his men. He was joined by Diego Mendez and several of his companions, and +they drove the enemy into the forest, killing and wounding several of +them. The Indians kept up a brisk fire of darts and arrows from among the +trees, and made furious sallies with their war-clubs; but there was no +withstanding the keen edge of the Spanish weapons, and a fierce blood-hound +being let loose upon them, completed their terror. They fled howling +through the forest, leaving a number dead on the field, having killed one +Spaniard, and wounded eight. Among the latter was the Adelantado, who +received a slight thrust of a javelin in the breast. + +Diego Tristan arrived in his boat during the contest, but feared to +approach the land, lest the Spaniards should rush on board in such numbers +as to sink him. When the Indians had been put to flight, he proceeded up +the river in quest of fresh water, disregarding the warnings of those on +shore, that he might be cut off by the enemy in their canoes. + +The river was deep and narrow, shut in by high banks, and overhanging +trees. The forests on each side were thick and impenetrable; so that there +was no landing-place, excepting here and there where a footpath wound down +to some fishing-ground, or some place where the natives kept their canoes. + +The boat had ascended about a league above the village, to a part of the +river where it was completely overshadowed by lofty banks and spreading +trees. Suddenly, yells and war-whoops and blasts of conch shells rose on +every side. Light canoes darted forth in every direction from dark +hollows, and overhanging thickets, each dextrously managed by a single +savage, while others stood up brandishing and hurling their lances. +Missiles were launched also from the banks of the river, and the branches +of the trees. There were eight sailors in the boat, and three soldiers. +Galled and wounded by darts and arrows, confounded by the yells and blasts +of conchs, and the assaults which thickened from every side, they lost all +presence of mind, neglected to use either oars or fire-arms, and only +sought to shelter themselves with their bucklers. Diego Tristan had +received several wounds; but still displayed great intrepidity, and was +endeavoring to animate his men, when a javelin pierced his right eye; and +struck him dead. The canoes now closed upon the boat, and a general +massacre ensued. But one Spaniard escaped, Juan de Noya, a cooper of +Seville. Having fallen overboard in the midst of the action, he dived to +the bottom, swam under water, gained the bank of the river unperceived, +and made his way down to the settlement, bringing tidings of the massacre +of his captain and comrades. + +The Spaniards were completely dismayed, were few in number, several of +them were wounded, and they were in the midst of tribes of exasperated +savages, far more fierce and warlike than those to whom they had been +accustomed. The admiral, being ignorant of their misfortunes, would sail +away without yielding them assistance, and they would be left to sink +beneath the overwhelming force of barbarous foes, or to perish with hunger +on this inhospitable coast. In their despair they determined to take the +caravel which had been left with them, and abandon the place altogether. +The Adelantado remonstrated with them in vain; nothing would content them +but to put to sea immediately. Here a new alarm awaited them. The torrents +having subsided, the river was again shallow, and it was impossible for +the caravel to pass over the bar. They now took the boat of the caravel, +to bear tidings of their danger to the admiral, and implore him not to +abandon them; but the wind was boisterous, a high sea was rolling, and a +heavy surf, tumbling and breaking at the mouth of the river, prevented the +boat from getting out. Horrors increased upon them. The mangled bodies of +Diego Tristan and his men came floating down the stream, and drifting +about the harbor, with flights of crows, and other carrion birds, feeding +on them, and hovering, and screaming, and fighting about their prey. The +forlorn Spaniards contemplated this scene with shuddering; it appeared +ominous of their own fate. + +In the meantime the Indians, elated by their triumph over the crew of the +boat, renewed their hostilities. Whoops and yells answered each other from +various parts of the neighborhood. The dismal sound of conchs and +war-drums in the deep bosom of the woods showed that the number of the +enemy was continually augmenting. They would rush forth occasionally upon +straggling parties of Spaniards, and make partial attacks upon the houses. +It was considered no longer safe to remain in the settlement, the close +forest which surrounded it being a covert for the approaches of the enemy. +The Adelantado chose, therefore, an open place on the shore at some +distance from the wood. Here he caused a kind of bulwark to be made of the +boat of the caravel, and of chests, casks, and similar articles. Two +places were left open as embrasures, in which were placed a couple of +falconets, or small pieces of artillery, in such a manner as to command +the neighborhood. In this little fortress the Spaniards shut themselves +up; its walls were sufficient to screen them from the darts and arrows of +the Indians, but mostly they depended upon their firearms, the sound of +which struck dismay into the savages, especially when they saw the effect +of the balls, splintering and rending the trees around them, and carrying +havoc to such a distance. The Indians were thus kept in check for the +present, and deterred from venturing from the forest; but the Spaniards, +exhausted by constant watching and incessant alarms, anticipated all kinds +of evil when their ammunition should be exhausted, or they should be +driven forth by hunger to seek for food. [167] + + + + +Chapter IX. + +Distress of the Admiral on Board of His Ship.--Ultimate Relief of the +Settlement. + +[1503.] + + + +While the Adelantado and his men were exposed to such imminent peril on +shore, great anxiety prevailed on board of the ships. Day after day +elapsed without the return of Diego Tristan and his party, and it was +feared some disaster had befallen them. Columbus would have sent on shore +to make inquiries; but there was only one boat remaining for the service +of the squadron, and he dared not risk it in the rough sea and heavy surf. +A dismal circumstance occurred to increase the gloom and uneasiness of the +crews. On hoard of one of the caravels were confined the family and +household of the cacique Quibian. It was the intention of Columbus to +carry them to Spain, trusting that as long as they remained in the power +of the Spaniards, their tribe would be deterred from further hostilities. +They were shut up at night in the forecastle of the caravel, the hatchway +of which was secured by a strong chain and padlock. As several of the crew +slept upon the hatch, and it was so high as to be considered out of reach +of the prisoners, they neglected to fasten the chain. The Indians +discovered their negligence. Collecting a quantity of stones from the +ballast of the vessel, they made a great heap directly under the hatchway. +Several of the most powerful warriors mounted upon the top, and, bending +their backs, by a sudden and simultaneous effort forced up the hatch, +flinging the seamen who slept upon it to the opposite side of the ship. In +an instant the greater part of the Indians sprang forth, plunged into the +sea, and swam for shore. Several, however, were prevented from sallying +forth; others were seized on the deck, and forced back into the +forecastle; the hatchway was carefully chained down, and a guard was set +for the rest of the night. In the morning, when the Spaniards went to +examine the captives, they were all found dead. Some had hanged themselves +with the ends of ropes, their knees touching the floor; others had +strangled themselves by straining the cords tight with their feet. Such +was the fierce, unconquerable spirit of these people, and their horror of +the white men. [168] + +The escape of the prisoners occasioned great anxiety to the admiral, +fearing they would stimulate their countrymen to some violent act of +vengeance; and he trembled for the safety of his brother. Still this +painful mystery reigned over the land. The boat of Diego Tristan did not +return, and the raging surf prevented all communication. At length, one +Pedro Ledesma, a pilot of Seville, a man of about forty-five years of age, +and of great strength of body and mind, offered, if the boat would take +him to the edge of the surf, to swim to shore, and bring off news. He had +been piqued by the achievement of the Indian captives, in swimming to land +at a league's distance, in defiance of sea and surf. "Surely," he said, +"if they dare venture so much to procure their individual liberties, I +ought to brave at least a part of the danger, to save the lives of so many +companions." His offer was gladly accepted by the admiral, and was boldly +accomplished. The boat approached with him as near to the surf as safety +would permit, where it was to await his return. Here, stripping himself, +he plunged into the sea, and after buffeting for some time with the +breakers, sometimes rising upon their surges, sometimes buried beneath +them and dashed upon the sand, he succeeded in reaching the shore. + +He found his countrymen shut up in their forlorn fortress, beleaguered by +savage foes, and learnt the tragical fate of Diego Tristan and his +companions. Many of the Spaniards, in their horror and despair, had thrown +off all subordination, refused to assist in any measure that had in view a +continuance in this place, and thought of nothing but escape. When they +beheld Ledesma, a messenger from the ships, they surrounded him with +frantic eagerness, urging him to implore the admiral to take them on +board, and not abandon them on a coast where their destruction was +inevitable. They were preparing canoes to take them to the ships, when the +weather should moderate, the boat of the caravel being too small; and +swore that, if the admiral refused to take them on board, they would +embark in the caravel, as soon as it could be extricated from the river, +and abandon themselves to the mercy of the seas, rather than remain upon +that fatal coast. + +Having heard all that his forlorn countrymen had to say, and communicated +with the Adelantado and his officers, Ledesma set out on his perilous +return. He again braved the surf and the breakers, reached the boat which +was waiting for him, and was conveyed back to the ships. The disastrous +tidings from the land filled the heart of the admiral with grief and +alarm. To leave his brother on shore would be to expose him to the mutiny +of his own men, and the ferocity of the savages. He could spare no +reinforcement from his ships, the crews being so much weakened by the loss +of Tristan and his companions. Rather than the settlement should be broken +up, he would gladly have joined the Adelantado with all his people; but in +such case how could intelligence be conveyed to the sovereigns of this +important discovery, and how could supplies be obtained from Spain? There +appeared no alternative, therefore, but to embark all the people, abandon +the settlement for the present, and return at some future day, with a +force competent to take secure possession of the country. [169] The state +of the weather rendered the practicability even of this plan doubtful. The +wind continued high, the sea rough, and no boat could pass between the +squadron and the land. The situation of the ships was itself a matter of +extreme solicitude. Feebly manned, crazed by storms, and ready to fall to +pieces from the ravages of the teredo, they were anchored on a lee shore, +with a boisterous wind and sea, in a climate subject to tempests, and +where the least augmentation of the weather might drive them among the +breakers. Every hour increased the anxiety of Columbus for his brother, +his people, and his ships, and each hour appeared to render the impending +dangers more imminent. Days of constant perturbation, and nights of +sleepless anxiety, preyed upon a constitution broken by age, by maladies, +and hardships, and produced a fever of the mind, in which he was visited +by one of those mental hallucinations deemed by him mysterious and +supernatural. In a letter to the sovereigns he gives a solemn account of +a kind of vision by which he was comforted in a dismal night, when full +of despondency and tossing on a couch of pain:---- + +"Wearied and sighing," says he, "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 marvelously throughout the earth, and thou wert +obeyed in many lands, and didst acquire honorable fame among Christians. +Of the gates of the Ocean Sea, shut up with such mighty chains, he +delivered 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 a shepherd, he made a king in Judea? 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 an hundred years +when he begat Isaac; and was Sarah youthful? Thou urgest despondingly for +succor. Answer! who hath afflicted thee so much, and so many times?--God, +or the world? The privileges and promises which God hath made thee he hath +never broken; neither hath he said, after having received thy services, +that his meaning was different, and to be understood in a different sense. +He performs to the very letter. He fulfills 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 all 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 spake to me, +finished by saying, 'Fear not! Confide! All these tribulations are written +in marble, and not without cause.'" + +Such is the singular statement which Columbus gave to the sovereigns of +his supposed vision. It has been suggested that this was a mere ingenious +fiction, adroitly devised by him to convey a lesson to his prince; but +such an idea is inconsistent with his character. He was too deeply imbued +with awe of the Deity, and with reverence for his sovereign, to make use +of such an artifice. The words here spoken to him by the supposed voice, +are truths which dwelt upon his mind, and grieved his spirit during his +waking hours. It is natural that they should recur vividly and coherently +in his feverish dreams; and in recalling and relating a dream one is +unconsciously apt to give it a little coherency. Besides, Columbus had a +solemn belief that he was a peculiar instrument in the hands of +Providence, which, together with a deep tinge of superstition, common to +the age, made him prone to mistake every striking dream for a revelation. +He is not to be measured by the same standard with ordinary men in +ordinary circumstances. It is difficult for the mind to realize his +situation, and to conceive the exaltations of spirit to which he must have +been subjected. The artless manner in which, in his letter to the +sovereigns, he mingles up the rhapsodies and dreams of his imagination, +with simple facts, and sound practical observations, pouring them forth +with a kind of scriptural solemnity and poetry of language, is one of the +most striking illustrations of a character richly compounded of +extraordinary and apparently contradictory elements. + +Immediately after this supposed vision, and after a duration of nine days, +the boisterous weather subsided, the sea became calm, and the +communication with the land was restored. It was found impossible to +extricate the remaining caravel from the river; but every exertion was +made to bring off the people, and the property, before there should be a +return of bad weather. In this, the exertions of the zealous Diego Mendez +were eminently efficient. He had been for some days preparing for such an +emergency. Cutting up the sails of the caravel, he made great sacks to +receive the biscuit. He lashed two Indian canoes together with spars, so +that they could not be overturned by the waves, and made a platform on +them capable of sustaining a great burden. This kind of raft was laden +repeatedly with the stores, arms, and ammunition, which had been left on +shore, and with the furniture of the caravel, which was entirely +dismantled. When well freighted, it was towed by the boat to the ships. In +this way, by constant and sleepless exertions, in the space of two days, +almost every thing of value was transported on board the squadron, and +little else left than the hull of the caravel, stranded, decayed, and +rotting in the river. Diego Mendez superintended the whole embarkation +with unwearied watchfulness and activity. He, and five companions, were +the last to leave the shore, remaining all night at their perilous post, +and embarking in the morning with the last cargo of effects. + +Nothing could equal the transports of the Spaniards, when they found +themselves once more on board of the ships, and saw a space of ocean +between them and those forests which had lately seemed destined to be +their graves. The joy of their comrades seemed little inferior to their +own; and the perils and hardships which yet surrounded them, were +forgotten for a time in mutual congratulations. The admiral was so much +impressed with a sense of the high services rendered by Diego Mendez, +throughout the late time of danger and disaster, that he gave him the +command of the caravel, vacant by the death of the unfortunate Diego +Tristan. [170] + + + + +Chapter X. + +Departure from the Coast of Veragua.--Arrival at Jamaica.--Stranding of +the Ships. + +[1503.] + + + +The wind at length becoming favorable, Columbus set sail, towards the end +of April, from the disastrous coast of Veragua. The wretched condition of +the ships, the enfeebled state of the crews, and the scarcity of +provisions, determined him to make the best of his way to Hispaniola, +where he might refit his vessels and procure the necessary supplies for +the voyage to Europe. To the surprise of his pilot and crews, however, on +making sail, he stood again along the coast to the eastward, instead of +steering north, which they considered the direct route to Hispaniola. They +fancied that he intended to proceed immediately for Spain, and murmured +loudly at the madness of attempting so long a voyage, with ships destitute +of stores and consumed by the worms. Columbus and his brother, however, +had studied the navigation of those seas with a more observant and +experienced eye. They considered it advisable to gain a considerable +distance to the east, before standing across for Hispaniola, to avoid +being swept away, far below their destined port, by the strong currents +setting constantly to the west. [171] The admiral, however, did not impart +his reasons to the pilots, being anxious to keep the knowledge of his +routes as much to himself as possible, seeing that there were so many +adventurers crowding into the field, and ready to follow on his track. He +even took from the mariners their charts, [172] and boasts, in a letter to +the sovereigns, that none of his pilots would be able to retrace the route +to and from Veragua, nor to describe where it was situated. + +Disregarding the murmurs of his men, therefore, he continued along the +coast eastward as far as Puerto Bello. Here he was obliged to leave one of +the caravels, being so pierced by worms, that it was impossible to keep +her afloat. All the crews were now crowded into two caravels, and these +were little better than mere wrecks. The utmost exertions were necessary +to keep them free from water; while the incessant labor of the pumps bore +hard on men enfeebled by scanty diet, and dejected by various hardships. +Continuing onward, they passed Port Retrete, and a number of islands to +which the admiral gave the name of Las Barbas, now termed the Mulatas, a +little beyond Point Blas. Here he supposed that he had arrived at the +province of Mangi in the territories of the Grand Khan, described by Marco +Polo as adjoining to Cathay. [173] He continued on about ten leagues +farther, until he approached the entrance of what is at present called +the Gulf of Darien. Here he had a consultation with his captains and +pilots, who remonstrated at his persisting in this struggle against +contrary winds and currents, representing the lamentable plight of the +ships, and the infirm state of the crews. [174] Bidding farewell, +therefore, to the main-land, he stood northward on the 1st of May, in +quest of Hispaniola. As the wind was easterly, with a strong current +setting to the west, he kept as near the wind as possible. So little did +his pilots know of their situation, that they supposed themselves to the +east of the Caribbee Islands, whereas the admiral feared that, with all +his exertions, he should fall to the westward of Hispaniola. [175] His +apprehensions proved to be well founded; for, on the 10th of the month, +he came in sight of two small low islands to the northwest of + Hispaniola, to which, from the great quantities of tortoises seen about +them, he gave the name of the Tortugas; they are now known as the Caymans. +Passing wide of these, and continuing directly north, he found himself, on +the 30th of May, among the cluster of islands on the south side of Cuba, +to which he had formerly given the name of the Queen's Gardens; having +been carried between eight and nine degrees west of his destined port. +Here he cast anchor near one of the Keys, about ten leagues from the main +island. His crews were suffering excessively through scanty provisions and +great fatigue; nothing was left of the sea-stores but a little biscuit, +oil, and vinegar; and they were obliged to labor incessantly at the pumps, +to keep the vessels afloat. They had scarcely anchored at these islands, +when there came on, at midnight, a sudden tempest, of such violence, that, +according to the strong expression of Columbus, it seemed as if the world +would dissolve. [176] They lost three of their anchors almost immediately, +and the caravel Bermuda was driven with such violence upon the ship of +the admiral, that the bow of the one, and the stern of the other, were +greatly shattered. The sea running high, and the wind being boisterous, +the vessels chafed and injured each other dreadfully, and it was with +great difficulty that they were separated. One anchor only remained to +the admiral's ship, and this saved him from being driven upon the rocks; +but at daylight the cable was found nearly worn asunder. Had the darkness +continued an hour longer, he could scarcely have escaped shipwreck. [177] + +At the end of six days, the weather having moderated, he resumed his +course, standing eastward for Hispaniola: "his people," as he says, +"dismayed and down-hearted; almost all his anchors lost, and his vessels +bored as full of holes as a honeycomb." After struggling against contrary +winds and the usual currents from the east, he reached Cape Cruz, and +anchored at a village in the province of Macaca, [178] where he had +touched in 1494, in his voyage along the southern coast of Cuba. Here he +was detained by head winds for several days, during which he was supplied +with cassava bread by the natives. Making sail again, he endeavored to +beat up to Hispaniola; but every effort was in vain. The winds and +currents continued adverse; the leaks continually gained upon his +vessels, though the pumps were kept incessantly going, and the seamen +even baled the water out with buckets and kettles. The admiral now stood, +in despair, for the island of Jamaica, to seek some secure port; for +there was imminent danger of foundering at sea. On the eve of St. John, +the 23d of June, they put into Puerto Bueno, now called Dry Harbor, but +met with none of the natives from whom they could obtain provisions, nor +was there any fresh water to be had in the neighborhood. Suffering from +hunger and thirst, they sailed eastward, on the following day, to another +harbor, to which the admiral on his first visit to the island had given +the name of Port Santa Gloria. + +Here, at last, Columbus had to give up his long and arduous struggle +against the unremitting persecution of the elements. His ships, reduced to +mere wrecks, could no longer keep the sea, and were ready to sink even in +port. He ordered them, therefore, to be run aground, within a bow-shot of +the shore, and fastened together, side by side. They soon filled with +water to the decks. Thatched cabins were then erected at the prow and +stern for the accommodation of the crews, and the wreck was placed in the +best possible state of defence. Thus castled in the sea, he trusted to be +able to repel any sudden attack of the natives, and at the same time to +keep his men from roving about the neighborhood and indulging in their +usual excesses. No one was allowed to go on shore without especial +license, and the utmost precaution was taken to prevent any offence being +given to the Indians. Any exasperation of them might be fatal to the +Spaniards in their present forlorn situation. A firebrand thrown into +their wooden fortress might wrap it in flames, and leave them defenceless +amidst hostile thousands. + + + + + +Book XVI. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Arrangement of Diego Mendez with the Caciques for Supplies of Provisions. +--Sent to San Domingo by Columbus in Quest of Relief. + +[1503.] + + + +The island of Jamaica was extremely populous and fertile; and the harbor +soon swarmed with Indians, who brought provisions to barter with the +Spaniards. To prevent any disputes in purchasing or sharing these +supplies, two persons were appointed to superintend all bargains, and the +provisions thus obtained were divided every evening among the people. This +arrangement had a happy effect in promoting a peaceful intercourse. The +stores thus furnished, however, coming from a limited neighborhood of +improvident beings, were not sufficient for the necessities of the +Spaniards, and were so irregular as often to leave them in pinching want. +They feared, too, that the neighborhood might soon be exhausted, in which +case they should be reduced to famine. In this emergency, Diego Mendez +stepped forward with his accustomed zeal, and volunteered to set off, with +three men, on a foraging expedition about the island. His offer being +gladly accepted by the admiral, he departed with his comrades well armed. +He was every where treated with the utmost kindness by the natives. They +took him to their houses, set meat and drink before him and his +companions, and performed all the rites of savage hospitality. Mendez made +an arrangement with the cacique of a numerous tribe, that his subjects +should hunt and fish, and make cassava bread, and bring a quantity of +provisions every day to the harbor. They were to receive, in exchange, +knives, combs, beads, fishhooks, hawks'-bells, and other articles, from a +Spaniard, who was to reside among them for that purpose. The agreement +being made, Mendez dispatched one of his comrades to apprise the admiral. +He then pursued his journey three leagues farther, when he made a similar +arrangement, and dispatched another of his companions to the admiral. +Proceeding onward, about thirteen leagues from the ships, he arrived at +the residence of another cacique, called Huarco, where he was generously +entertained. The cacique ordered his subjects to bring a large quantity of +provisions, for which Mendez paid him on the spot, and made arrangements +for a like supply at stated intervals. He dispatched his third companion +with this supply to the admiral, requesting, as usual, that an agent might +be sent to receive and pay for the regular deliveries of provisions. + +Mendez was now left alone, but he was fond of any enterprise that gave +individual distinction. He requested of the cacique two Indians to +accompany him to the end of the island; one to carry his provisions, and +the other to bear the hammac, or cotton net in which he slept. These being +granted, he pushed resolutely forward along the coast, until he reached +the eastern extremity of Jamaica. Here he found a powerful cacique of the +name of Ameyro. Mendez had buoyant spirits, great address, and an +ingratiating manner with the savages. He and the cacique became great +friends, exchanged names, which is a kind of token of brotherhood, and +Mendez engaged him to furnish provisions to the ships. He then bought an +excellent canoe of the cacique, for which he gave a splendid brass basin, +a short frock or cassock, and one of the two shirts which formed his stock +of linen. The cacique furnished him with six Indians to navigate his bark, +and they parted mutually well pleased. Diego Mendez coasted his way back, +touching at the various places where he had made his arrangements. He +found the Spanish agents already arrived at them, loaded his canoe with +provisions, and returned in triumph to the harbor, where he was received +with acclamations by his comrades, and with open arms by the admiral. The +provisions he brought were a most seasonable supply, for the Spaniards +were absolutely fasting; and thenceforward Indians arrived daily, well +laden, from the marts which he had established. [179] + +The immediate wants of his people being thus provided for, Columbus +revolved in his anxious mind the means of getting from this island. His +ships were beyond the possibility of repair, and there was no hope of any +chance sail arriving to his relief, on the shores of a savage island, in +an unfrequented sea. The most likely measure appeared to be, to send +notice of his situation to Ovando, the governor at San Domingo, entreating +him to dispatch a vessel to his relief. But how was this message to be +conveyed? The distance between Jamaica and Hispaniola was forty leagues, +across a gulf swept by contrary currents; there were no means of +transporting a messenger, except in the light canoes of the savages; and +who would undertake so hazardous a voyage in a frail bark of the kind? +Suddenly the idea of Diego Mendez, and the canoe he had recently +purchased, presented itself to the mind of Columbus. He knew the ardor and +intrepidity of Mendez, and his love of distinction by any hazardous +exploit. Taking him aside, therefore, he addressed him in a manner +calculated both to stimulate his zeal, and flatter his self-love. Mendez +himself gives an artless account of this interesting conversation, which +is full of character. + +"Diego Mendez, my son," said the venerable admiral, "none of those whom I +have here understand the great peril in which we are placed, excepting you +and myself. We are few in number, and these savage Indians are many, and +of fickle and irritable natures. On the least provocation they may throw +firebrands from the shore, and consume us in our straw-thatched cabins. +The arrangement which you have made with them for provisions, and which at +present they fulfill so cheerfully, to-morrow they may break in their +caprice, and may refuse to bring us any thing; nor have we the means to +compel them by force, but are entirely at their pleasure. I have thought +of a remedy, if it meets with your views. In this canoe, which you have +purchased, some one may pass over to Hispaniola, and procure a ship, by +which we may all be delivered from this great peril into which we have +fallen. Tell me your opinion on the matter." + +"To this," says Diego Mendez, "I replied: 'Señor, the danger in which we +are placed, I well know, is far greater than is easily conceived. As to +passing from this island to Hispaniola, in so small a vessel as a canoe, I +hold it not merely difficult, but impossible; since it is necessary to +traverse a gulf of forty leagues, and between islands where the sea is +extremely impetuous, and seldom in repose. I know not who there is would +adventure upon so extreme a peril.'" + +Columbus made no reply, but from his looks and the nature of his silence, +Mendez plainly perceived himself to be the person whom the admiral had in +view; "Whereupon," continues he, "I added: 'Señor, I have many times put +my life in peril of death to save you and all those who are here, and God +has hitherto preserved me in a miraculous manner. There are, nevertheless, +murmurers, who say that your Excellency intrusts to me all affairs wherein +honor is to be gained, while there are others in your company who would +execute them as well as I do. Therefore I beg that you would summon all +the people, and propose this enterprise to them, to see if among them +there is any one who will undertake it, which I doubt. If all decline it, +I will then come forward and risk my life in your service, as I many times +have done.'" [180] + +The admiral gladly humored the wishes of the worthy Mendez, for never was +simple egotism accompanied by more generous and devoted loyalty. On the +following morning, the crew was assembled, and the proposition publicly +made. Every one drew back at the thoughts of it, pronouncing it the height +of rashness. Upon this, Diego Mendez stepped forward. "Señor," said he, "I +have but one life to lose, yet I am willing to venture it for your service +and for the good of all here present, and I trust in the protection of +God, which I have experienced on so many other occasions." + +Columbus embraced this zealous follower, who immediately set about +preparing for his expedition. Drawing his canoe on shore, he put on a +false keel, nailed weather-boards along the bow and stern, to prevent the +sea from breaking over it; payed it with a coat of tar; furnished it with +a mast and sail; and put in provisions for himself, a Spanish comrade, and +six Indians. + +In the meantime, Columbus wrote letters to Ovando, requesting that a ship +might be immediately sent to bring him and his men to Hispaniola. He wrote +a letter likewise to the sovereigns; for, after fulfilling his mission at +San Domingo, Diego Mendez was to proceed to Spain on the admiral's +affairs. In the letter to the sovereigns, Columbus depicted his deplorable +situation, and entreated that a vessel might be dispatched to Hispaniola, +to convey himself and his crew to Spain. He gave a comprehensive account +of his voyage, most particulars of which have already been incorporated in +this history, and he insisted greatly on the importance of the discovery +of Veragua. He gave it as his opinion, that here were the mines of the +Aurea Chersonesus, whence Solomon had derived such wealth for the building +of the Temple. He entreated that this golden coast might not, like other +places which he had discovered, be abandoned to adventurers, or placed +under the government of men who felt no interest in the cause. "This is +not a child," he adds, "to be abandoned to a step-mother. I never think of +Hispaniola and Paria without weeping. Their case is desperate and past +cure; I hope their example may cause this region to be treated in a +different manner." His imagination becomes heated. He magnifies the +supposed importance of Veragua, as transcending all his former +discoveries; and he alludes to his favorite project for the deliverance of +the Holy Sepulchre: "Jerusalem," he says, "and Mount Sion, are to be +rebuilt by the hand of a Christian. Who is he to be? God, by the mouth of +the Prophet, in the fourteenth Psalm, declares it. The abbot Joachim +[181] says that he is to come out of Spain." His thoughts then revert to +the ancient story of the Grand Khan, who had requested that sages might +be sent to instruct him in the Christian faith. Columbus, thinking that +he had been in the very vicinity of Cathay, exclaims with sudden zeal, +"Who will offer himself for this task? If our Lord permit me to return to +Spain, I engage to take him there, God helping, in safety." + +Nothing is more characteristic of Columbus than his earnest, artless, at +times eloquent, and at times almost incoherent letters. What an instance +of soaring enthusiasm and irrepressible enterprise is here exhibited! At +the time that he was indulging in these visions, and proposing new and +romantic enterprises, he was broken down by age and infirmities, racked by +pain, confined to his bed, and shut up in a wreck on the coast of a remote +and savage island. No stronger picture can be given of his situation, than +that which shortly follows this transient glow of excitement; when, with +one of his sudden transitions of thought, he awakens, as it were, to his +actual condition. + +"Hitherto," says he, "I have wept for others; but now, have pity upon me, +heaven, and weep for me, O earth! In niy temporal concerns, without a +farthing to offer for a mass; cast away here in the Indies; surrounded by +cruel and hostile savages; isolated, infirm, expecting each day will be my +last: in spiritual concerns, separated from the holy sacraments of the +church, so that my soul, if parted here from my body, must be for ever +lost! Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice! I came not on +this voyage to gain honor or estate, that is most certain, for all hope of +the kind was already dead within me. I came to serve your majesties with a +sound intention and an honest zeal, and I speak no falsehood. 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." + +The dispatches being ready, and the preparations of the canoe completed, +Diego Mendez embarked, with his Spanish comrade and his six Indians, and +departed along the coast to the eastward. The voyage was toilsome and +perilous. They had to make their way against strong currents. Once they +were taken by roving canoes of Indians, but made their escape, and at +length arrived at the end of the island; a distance of thirty-four leagues +from the harbor. Here they remained, waiting for calm weather to venture +upon the broad gulf, when they were suddenly surrounded and taken +prisoners by a number of hostile Indians, who carried them off a distance +of three leagues, where they determined to kill them. Some dispute arose +about the division of the spoils taken from the Spaniards, whereupon the +savages agreed to settle it by a game of chance. While they were thus +engaged, Diego Mendez escaped, found his way to his canoe, embarked in it, +and returned alone to the harbor after fifteen days' absence. What became +of his companions he does not mention, being seldom apt to speak of any +person but himself. This account is taken from the narrative inserted in +his last will and testament. + +Columbus, though grieved at the failure of his message, was rejoiced at +the escape of the faithful Mendez. The latter, nothing daunted by the +perils and hardships he had undergone, offered to depart immediately on a +second attempt, provided he could have persons to accompany him to the end +of the island, and protect him from the natives. This the Adelantado +offered to undertake, with a large party well armed. Bartholomew Fiesco, a +Genoese, who had been captain of one of the caravels, was associated with +Mendez in this second expedition. He was a man of great worth, strongly +attached to the admiral, and much esteemed by him. Each had a large canoe +under his command, in which were six Spaniards and ten Indians--the latter +were to serve as oarsmen. The canoes were to keep in company. On reaching +Hispaniola, Fiesco was to return immediately to Jamaica, to relieve the +anxiety of the admiral and his crew, by tidings of the safe arrival of +their messenger. In the meantime, Diego Mendez was to proceed to San +Domingo, deliver his letter to Ovando, procure and dispatch a ship, and +then depart for Spain with a letter to the sovereigns. + +All arrangements being made, the Indians placed in the canoes their frugal +provision of cassava bread, and each his calabash of water. The Spaniards, +beside their bread, had a supply of the flesh of utias, and each his sword +and target. In this way they launched forth upon their long and perilous +voyage, followed by the prayers of their countrymen. + +The Adelantado, with his armed band, kept pace with them along the coast. +There was no attempt of the natives to molest them, and they arrived in +safety at the end of the island. Here they remained three days before the +sea was sufficiently calm for them to venture forth in their feeble barks. +At length, the weather being quite serene, they bade farewell to their +comrades, and committed themselves to the broad sea. The Adelantado +remained watching them, until they became mere specks on the ocean, and +the evening hid them from his view. The next day he set out on his return +to the harbor, stopping at various villages on the way, and endeavoring to +confirm the good-will of the natives. [182] + + + + +Chapter II. + +Mutiny of Porras. + +[1503.] + + + +It might have been thought that the adverse fortune which had so long +persecuted Columbus was now exhausted. The envy which had once sickened at +his glory and prosperity could scarcely have devised for him a more +forlorn heritage in the world he had discovered. The tenant of a wreck on +a savage coast, in an untraversed ocean, at the mercy of barbarous hordes, +who, in a moment, from precarious friends, might be transformed into +ferocious enemies; afflicted, too, by excruciating maladies which confined +him to his bed, and by the pains and infirmities which hardship and +anxiety had heaped upon his advancing age. But he had not yet exhausted +his cup of bitterness. He had yet to experience an evil worse than storm, +or shipwreck, or bodily anguish, or the violence of savage hordes,--the +perfidy of those in whom he confided. + +Mendez and Fiesco had not long departed when the Spaniards in the wreck +began to grow sickly, partly from the toils and exposures of the recent +voyage, partly from being crowded in narrow quarters in a moist and sultry +climate, and partly from want of their accustomed food, for they could not +habituate themselves to the vegetable diet of the Indians. Their maladies +were rendered more insupportable by mental suffering, by that suspense +which frets the spirit, and that hope deferred which corrodes the heart. +Accustomed to a life of bustle and variety, they had now nothing to do but +loiter about the dreary hulk, look out upon the sea, watch for the canoe +of Fiesco, wonder at its protracted absence, and doubt its return. A long +time elapsed, much more than sufficient for the voyage, but nothing was +seen or heard of the canoe. Fears were entertained that their messenger +had perished. If so, how long were they to remain here, vainly looking for +relief which was never to arrive? Some sank into deep despondency, others +became peevish and impatient. Murmurs broke forth, and, as usual with men +in distress, murmurs of the most unreasonable kind. Instead of +sympathizing with their aged and infirm commander, who was involved in the +same calamity, who in suffering transcended them all, and yet who was +incessantly studious of their welfare, they began to rail against him as +the cause of all their misfortunes. + +The factious feeling of an unreasonable multitude would be of little +importance if left to itself, and might end in idle clamor; it is the +industry of one or two evil spirits which generally directs it to an +object, and makes it mischievous. Among the officers of Columbus were two +brothers, Francisco and Diego de Porras. They were related to the royal +treasurer Morales, who had married their sister, and had made interest +with the admiral to give them some employment in the expedition. +[183] To gratify the treasurer, he had appointed Francisco de Porras +captain of one of the caravels, and had obtained for his brother Diego +the situation of notary and accountant-general of the squadron. He had +treated them, as he declares, with the kindness of relatives, though +both proved incompetent to their situations. They were vain and insolent +men, and, like many others whom Columbus had benefited, requited his +kindness with black ingratitude. [184] + +These men, finding the common people in a highly impatient and +discontented state, wrought upon them with seditious insinuations, +assuring them that all hope of relief through the agency of Mendez was +idle; it being a mere delusion of the admiral to keep them quiet, and +render them subservient to his purposes. He had no desire nor intention to +return to Spain; and in fact was banished thence. Hispaniola was equally +closed to him, as had been proved by the exclusion of his ships from its +harbor in a time of peril. To him, at present, all places were alike, and +he was content to remain in Jamaica until his friends could make interest +at court, and procure his recall from banishment. As to Mendez and Fiesco, +they had been sent to Spain by Columbus on his own private affairs, not to +procure a ship for the relief of his followers. If this were not the case, +why did not the ships arrive, or why did not Fiesco return, as had been +promised? Or if the canoes had really been sent for succor, the long time +that had elapsed without tidings of them, gave reason to believe they had +perished by the way. In such case, their only alternative would be, to +take the canoes of the Indians and endeavor to reach Hispaniola. There was +no hope, however, of persuading the admiral to such an undertaking; he was +too old, and too helpless from the gout, to expose himself to the +hardships of such a voyage. What then? were they to be sacrificed to his +interests or his infirmities?--to give up their only chance for escape, +and linger and perish with him in this desolate wreck? If they succeeded +in reaching Hispaniola, they would be the better received for having left +the admiral behind. Ovando was secretly hostile to him, fearing that he +would regain the government of the island; on their arrival in Spain, the +bishop Fonseca, from his enmity to Columbus, would be sure to take their +part; the brothers Porras had powerful friends and relatives at court, to +counteract any representations that might be made by the admiral; and they +cited the case of Roldan's rebellion, to show that the prejudices of the +public, and of men in power, would always be against him. Nay, they +insinuated that the sovereigns, who, on that occasion, had deprived him of +part of his dignities and privileges, would rejoice at a pretext for +stripping him of the remainder. [185] + +Columbus was aware that the minds of his people were imbittered against +him. He had repeatedly been treated with insolent impatience, and +reproached with being the cause of their disasters. Accustomed, however, +to the unreasonableness of men in adversity, and exercised, by many +trials, in the mastery of his passions, he bore with their petulance, +soothed their irritation, and endeavored to cheer their spirits by the +hopes of speedy succor. A little while longer, and he trusted that Fiesco +would arrive with good tidings, when the certainty of relief would put an +end to all these clamors. The mischief, however, was deeper than he +apprehended: a complete mutiny had been organized. + +On the 2d of January, 1504, he was in his small cabin, on the stern of his +vessel, being confined to his bed by the gout, which had now rendered him +a complete cripple. While ruminating on his disastrous situation, +Francisco de Porras suddenly entered. His abrupt and agitated manner +betrayed the evil nature of his visit. He had the flurried impudence of a +man about to perpetrate an open crime. Breaking forth into bitter +complaints, at their being kept, week after week, and month after month, +to perish piecemeal in that desolate place, he accused the admiral of +having no intention to return to Spain. Columbus suspected something +sinister from this unusual arrogance; he maintained, however, his +calmness, and, raising himself in his bed, endeavored to reason with +Porras. He pointed out the impossibility of departing until those who had +gone to Hispaniola should send them vessels. He represented how much more +urgent must be his desire to depart, since he had not merely his own +safety to provide for, but was accountable to God and his sovereigns for +the welfare of all who had been committed to his charge. He reminded +Porras that he had always consulted with them all, as to the measures to +be taken for the common safety, and that what he had done, had been with +the general approbation; still, if any other measure appeared advisable, +he recommended that they should assemble together, and consult upon it, +and adopt whatever course appeared most judicious. + +The measures of Porras and his comrades, however, were already concerted, +and when men are determined on mutiny, they are deaf to reason. He bluntly +replied, that there was no time for further consultations. "Embark +immediately or remain in God's name, were the only alternatives." "For my +part," said he, turning his back upon the admiral, and elevating his voice +so that it resounded all over the vessel, "I am for Castile! those who +choose may follow me!" shouts arose immediately from all sides, "I will +follow you! and I! and I!" Numbers of the crew sprang upon the most +conspicuous parts of the ship, brandishing weapons, and uttering mingled +threats and cries of rebellion. Some called upon Porras for orders what to +do; others shouted "To Castile! to Castile!" while, amidst the general +uproar, the voices of some desperadoes were heard menacing the life of the +admiral. + +Columbus, hearing the tumult, leaped from his bed, ill and infirm as he +was, and tottered out of the cabin, stumbling and falling in the exertion, +hoping by his presence to pacify the mutineers. Three or four of his +faithful adherents, however, fearing some violence might he offered him, +threw themselves between him and the throng, and taking him in their arms, +compelled him to return to his cabin. + +The Adelantado likewise sallied forth, but in a different mood. He planted +himself, with lance in hand, in a situation to take the whole brunt of the +assault. It was with the greatest difficulty that several of the loyal +part of the crew could appease his fury, and prevail upon him to +relinquish his weapon, and retire to the cabin of his brother. They now +entreated Porras and his companions to depart peaceably, since no one +sought to oppose them. No advantage could be gained by violence; but +should they cause the death of the admiral, they would draw upon +themselves the severest punishment from the sovereigns. [186] + +These representations moderated the turbulence of the mutineers, and they +now proceeded to carry their plans into execution. Taking ten canoes which +the admiral had purchased of the Indians, they embarked in them with as +much exultation as if certain of immediately landing on the shores of +Spain. Others, who had not been concerned in the mutiny, seeing so large a +force departing, and fearing to remain behind, when so reduced in number, +hastily collected their effects, and entered likewise into the canoes. It +this way forty-eight abandoned the admiral. Many of those who remained +were only detained by sickness, for, had they been well, most of them +would have accompanied the deserters. [187] The few who remained faithful +to the admiral, and the sick, who crawled forth from their cabins, saw the +departure of the mutineers with tears and lamentations, giving themselves +up for lost. Notwithstanding his malady, Columbus left his bed, mingling +among those who were loyal, and visiting those who were ill, endeavoring +in every way to cheer and comfort them. He entreated them to put their +trust in God, who would yet relieve them; and he promised, on his return +to Spain, to throw himself at the feet of the queen, represent their +loyalty and constancy, and obtain for them rewards that should compensate +for all their sufferings. [188] + +In the meantime, Francisco de Porras and his followers, in their squadron +of canoes, coasted the island to the eastward, following the route taken +by Mendez and Fiesco. Wherever they landed, they committed outrages upon +the Indians, robbing them of their provisions, and of whatever they +coveted of their effects. They endeavored to make their own crimes redound +to the prejudice of Columbus, pretending to act under his authority, and +affirming that he would pay for every thing they took. If he refused, they +told the natives to kill him. They represented him as an implacable foe to +the Indians; as one who had tyrannized over other islands, causing the +misery and death of the natives, and who only sought to gain a sway here +for the purpose of inflicting like calamities. + +Having reached the eastern extremity of the island, they waited until the +weather should be perfectly calm, before they ventured to cross the gulf. +Being unskilled in the management of canoes, they procured several Indians +to accompany them. The sea being at length quite smooth, they set forth +upon their voyage. Scarcely had they proceeded four leagues from land when +a contrary wind arose, and the waves began to swell. They turned +immediately for shore. The canoes, from their light structure, and being +nearly round and without keels, were easily overturned, and required to be +carefully balanced. They were now deeply freighted by men unaccustomed to +them, and as the sea rose, they frequently let in the water. The Spaniards +were alarmed, and endeavored to lighten them, by throwing overboard every +thing that could be spared; retaining only their arms, and a part of their +provisions. The danger augmented with the wind. They now compelled the +Indians to leap into the sea, excepting such as were absolutely necessary +to navigate the canoes. If they hesitated, they drove them overboard with +the edge of the sword. The Indians were skillful swimmers, but the +distance to land was too great for their strength. They kept about the +canoes, therefore, taking hold of them occasionally to rest themselves and +recover breath. As their weight disturbed the balance of the canoes, and +endangered their overturning, the Spaniards cut off their hands, and +stabbed them with their swords. Some died by the weapons of these cruel +men, others were exhausted and sank beneath the waves; thus eighteen +perished miserably, and none survived but such as had been retained to +manage the canoes. + +When the Spaniards got back to land, different opinions arose as to what +course they should next pursue. Some were for crossing to Cuba, for which +island the wind was favorable. It was thought they might easily cross +thence to the end of Hispaniola. Others advised that they should return +and make their peace with the admiral, or take from him what remained of +arms and stores, having thrown almost every thing overboard during their +late danger. Others counseled another attempt to cross over to Hispaniola, +as soon as the sea should become tranquil. + +This last advice was adopted. They remained for a month at an Indian +village near the eastern point of the island, living on the substance of +the natives, and treating them in the most arbitrary and capricious +manner. When at length the weather became serene, they made a second +attempt, but were again driven back by adverse winds. Losing all patience, +therefore, and despairing of the enterprise, they abandoned their canoes, +and returned westward; wandering from village to village, a dissolute and +lawless gang, supporting themselves by fair means or foul, according as +they met with kindness or hostility, and passing like a pestilence through +the island. [189] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Scarcity of Provisions.--Strategem of Columbus to Obtain Supplies from the +Natives. + +[1504.] + + + +While Porras and his crew were raging about with that desperate and +joyless licentiousness which attends the abandonment of principle, +Columbus presented the opposite picture of a man true to others and to +himself, and supported, amidst hardships and difficulties, by conscious +rectitude. Deserted by the healthful and vigorous portion of his garrison, +he exerted himself to soothe and encourage the infirm and desponding +remnant which remained. Regardless of his own painful maladies, he was +only attentive to relieve their sufferings. The few who were fit for +service were required to mount guard on the wreck, or attend upon the +sick; there were none to forage for provisions. The scrupulous good faith +and amicable conduct maintained by Columbus towards the natives had now +their effect. Considerable supplies of provisions were brought by them +from time to time, which he purchased at a reasonable rate. The most +palatable and nourishing of these, together with the small stock of +European biscuit that remained, he ordered to be appropriated to the +sustenance of the infirm. Knowing how much the body is affected by the +operations of the mind, he endeavored to rouse the spirits, and animate +the hopes, of the drooping sufferers. Concealing his own anxiety, he +maintained a serene and even cheerful countenance, encouraging his men by +kind words, and holding forth confident anticipations of speedy relief. By +his friendly and careful treatment, he soon recruited both the health and +spirits of his people, and brought them into a condition to contribute to +the common safety. Judicious regulations, calmly but firmly enforced, +maintained every thing in order. The men became sensible of the advantages +of wholesome discipline, and perceived that the restraints imposed upon +them by their commander were for their own good, and ultimately productive +of their own comfort. + +Columbus had thus succeeded in guarding against internal ills, when +alarming evils began to menace from without. The Indians, unused to lay up +any stock of provisions, and unwilling to subject themselves to extra +labor, found it difficult to furnish the quantity of food daily required +for so many hungry men. The European trinkets, once so precious, lost +their value, in proportion as they became common. The importance of the +admiral had been greatly diminished by the desertion of so many of his +followers; and the malignant instigations of the rebels had awakened +jealousy and enmity in several of the villages which had been accustomed +to furnish provisions. + +By degrees, therefore, the supplies fell off. The arrangements for the +daily delivery of certain quantities, made by Diego Mendez, were +irregularly attended to, and at length ceased entirely. The Indians no +longer thronged to the harbor with provisions, and often refused them when +applied for. The Spaniards were obliged to forage about the neighborhood +for their daily food; but found more and more difficulty in procuring it; +thus, in addition to their other causes for despondency, they began to +entertain horrible apprehensions of famine. + +The admiral heard their melancholy forebodings, and beheld the growing +evil, but was at a loss for a remedy. To resort to force was an +alternative full of danger, and of but temporary efficacy. It would +require all those who were well enough to bear arms to sally forth, while +he and the rest of the infirm would be left defenceless on board of the +wreck, exposed to the vengeance of the natives. + +In the meantime, the scarcity daily increased. The Indians perceived the +wants of the white men, and had learnt from them the art of making +bargains. They asked ten times the former quantity of European articles +for any amount of provisions, and brought their supplies in scanty +quantities, to enhance the eagerness of the hungry Spaniards. At length, +even this relief ceased, and there was an absolute distress for food. The +jealousy of the natives had been universally roused by Porras and his +followers, and they withheld all provisions, in hopes either of starving +the admiral and his people, or of driving them from the island. In this +extremity, a fortunate idea presented itself to Columbus. From his +knowledge of astronomy, he ascertained that, within three days, there +would be a total eclipse of the moon in the early part of the night. He +sent, therefore, an Indian of Hispaniola, who served as his interpreter, +to summon the principal caciques to a grand conference, appointing for it +the day of the eclipse. When all were assembled, he told them by his +interpreter, that he and his followers were worshipers of a Deity who +dwelt in the skies; who favored such as did well, but punished all +transgressors. That, as they must all have noticed, he had protected Diego +Mendez and his companions in their voyage, because they went in obedience +to the orders of their commander; but had visited Porras and his +companions with all kinds of afflictions, in consequence of their +rebellion. This great Deity, he added, was incensed against the Indians +who refused to furnish his faithful worshipers with provisions, and +intended to chastise them with famine and pestilence. Lest they should +disbelieve this warning, a signal would be given that night. They would +behold the moon change its color, and gradually lose its light; a token of +the fearful punishment which awaited them. + +Many of the Indians were alarmed at the prediction, others treated it with +derision,--all, however, awaited with solicitude the coming of the night. +When they beheld a dark shadow stealing over the moon, they began to +tremble; with the progress of the eclipse their fears increased, and when +they saw a mysterious darkness covering the whole face of nature, there +were no bounds to their terror. Seizing upon whatever provisions were at +hand, they hurried to the ships, threw themselves at the feet of Columbus, +and implored him to intercede, with his God to withhold the threatened +calamities, assuring him they would thenceforth bring him whatever he +required. Columbus shut himself up in his cabin, as if to commune with the +Deity, and remained there during the increase of the eclipse, the forests +and shores all the while resounding with the bowlings and supplications of +the savages. When the eclipse was about to diminish, he came forth and +informed the natives that his God had deigned to pardon them, on condition +of their fulfilling their promises; in sign of which he would withdraw the +darkness from the moon. + +When the Indians saw that planet restored to its brightness, and rolling +in all its beauty through the firmament, they overwhelmed the admiral with +thanks for his intercession, and repaired to their homes, joyful at having +escaped such great disasters. Regarding Columbus with awe and reverence, +as a man in the peculiar favor and confidence of the Deity, since he knew +upon earth what was passing in the heavens, they hastened to propitiate +him with gifts; supplies again arrived daily at the harbor, and from that +time forward, there was no want of provisions. [190] + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Mission of Diego de Escobar to the Admiral. + +[1504.] + + + +Eight months had now elapsed since the departure of Mendez and Fiesco, +without any tidings of their fate. For a long time the Spaniards had kept +a wistful look-out upon the ocean, flattering themselves that every Indian +canoe, gliding at a distance, might be the harbinger of deliverance. The +hopes of the most sanguine were now fast sinking into despondency. What +thousand perils awaited such frail barks, and so weak a party, on an +expedition of the kind! Either the canoes had been swallowed up by +boisterous waves and adverse currents, or their crews had perished among +the rugged mountains and savage tribes of Hispaniola. To increase their +despondency, they were informed that a vessel had been seen, bottom +upwards, drifting with the currents along the coasts of Jamaica. This +might be the vessel sent to their relief; and if so, all their hopes were +shipwrecked with it. This rumor, it is affirmed, was invented and +circulated in the island by the rebels, that it might reach the ears of +those who remained faithful to the admiral, and reduce them to despair. +[191] It no doubt had its effect. Losing all hope of aid from a distance, +and considering themselves abandoned and forgotten by the world, many +grew wild and desperate in their plans. Another conspiracy was formed by +one Bernardo, an apothecary of Valencia, with two confederates, Alonzo +de Zamora and Pedro de Villatoro. They designed to seize upon the +remaining canoes, and seek their way to Hispaniola. [192] + +The mutiny was on the very point of breaking out, when one evening, +towards dusk, a sail was seen standing towards the harbor. The transports +of the poor Spaniards may be more easily conceived than described. The +vessel was of small size; it kept out to sea, but sent its boat to visit +the ships. Every eye was eagerly bent to hail the countenances of +Christians and deliverers. As the boat approached, they descried in it +Diego de Escobar, a man who had been one of the most active confederates +of Roldan in his rebellion, who had been condemned to death under the +administration of Columbus, and pardoned by his successor Bobadilla. There +was bad omen in such a messenger. + +Coming alongside of the ships, Escobar put a letter on board from Ovando, +governor of Hispaniola, together with a barrel of wine and a side of +bacon, sent as presents to the admiral. He then drew off, and talked with +Columbus from a distance. He told him that he was sent by the governor to +express his great concern at his misfortunes, and his regret at not having +in port a vessel of sufficient size to bring off himself and his people, +but that he would send one as soon as possible. Escobar gave the admiral +assurances likewise, that his concerns in Hispaniola had been faithfully +attended to. He requested him, if he had any letter to write to the +governor in reply, to give it to him as soon as possible, as he wished to +return immediately. + +There was something extremely singular in this mission, but there was no +time for comments; Escobar was urgent to depart. Columbus hastened, +therefore, to write a reply to Ovando, depicting the dangers and +distresses of his situation, increased as they were by the rebellion of +Porras, but expressing his reliance on his promise to send him relief, +confiding in which he should remain patiently on board of his wreck. He +recommended Diego Mendez and Bartholomew Fiesco to his favor, assuring him +that they were not sent to San Domingo with any artful design, but simply +to represent his perilous situation, and to apply for succor. When +Escobar received this letter, he returned immediately on board of his +vessel, which made all sail, and soon disappeared in the gathering gloom +of the night. + +If the Spaniards had hailed the arrival of this vessel with transport, its +sudden departure and the mysterious conduct of Escobar inspired no less +wonder and consternation. He had kept aloof from all communication with +them, as if he felt no interest in their welfare, or sympathy in their +misfortunes. Columbus saw the gloom that had gathered in their +countenances, and feared the consequences. He eagerly sought, therefore, +to dispel their suspicions, professing himself satisfied with the +communications received from Ovando, and assuring them that vessels would +soon arrive to take them all away. In confidence of this, he said, he had +declined to depart with Escobar, because his vessel was too small to take +the whole, preferring to remain with them and share their lot, and had +dispatched the caravel in such haste that no time might be lost in +expediting the necessary ships. These assurances, and the certainty that +their situation was known in San Domingo, cheered the hearts of the +people. Their hopes again revived, and the conspiracy, which had been on +the point of breaking forth, was completely disconcerted. + +In secret, however, Columbus was exceedingly indignant at the conduct of +Ovando. He had left him for many months in a state of the utmost danger, +and most distressing uncertainty, exposed to the hostilities of the +natives, the seditions of his men, and the suggestions of his own despair. +He had, at length, sent a mere tantalizing message, by a man known to be +one of his bitterest enemies, with a present of food, which, from its +scantiness, seemed intended to mock their necessities. + +Columbus believed that Ovando had purposely neglected him, hoping that he +might perish on the island, being apprehensive that, should he return in +safety, he would be reinstated in the government of Hispaniola; and he +considered Escobar merely as a spy sent to ascertain the state of himself +and his crew, and whether they were yet in existence. Las Casas, who was +then at San Domingo, expresses similar suspicions. He says that Escobar +was chosen because Ovando was certain that, from ancient enmity, he would +have no sympathy for the admiral. That he was ordered not to go on board +of the vessels, nor to land, neither was he to hold conversation with any +of the crew, nor to receive any letters, except those of the admiral. In a +word, that he was a mere scout to collect information. [193] + +Others have ascribed the long neglect of Ovando to extreme caution. There +was a rumor prevalent that Columbus, irritated at the suspension of his +dignities by the court of Spain, intended to transfer his newly-discovered +countries into the hands of his native republic Genoa, or of some other +power. Such rumors had long been current, and to their recent circulation +Columbus himself alludes in his letter sent to the sovereigns by Diego +Mendez. The most plausible apology given, is, that Ovando was absent for +several months in the interior, occupied in wars with the natives, and +that there were no ships at San Domingo of sufficient burden to take +Columbus and his crew to Spain. He may have feared that, should they come +to reside for any length of time on the island, either the admiral would +interfere in public affairs, or endeavor to make a party in his favor; or +that, in consequence of the number of his old enemies still resident +there, former scenes of faction and turbulence might be revived. +[194] In the meantime the situation of Columbus in Jamaica, while it +disposed of him quietly until vessels should arrive from Spain, could +not, he may have thought, be hazardous. He had sufficient force and arms +for defence, and he had made amicable arrangements with the natives for +the supply of provisions, as Diego Mendez, who had made those +arrangements, had no doubt informed him. Such may have been the +reasoning by which Ovando, under the real influence of his interest, may +have reconciled his conscience to a measure which excited the strong +reprobation of his contemporaries, and has continued to draw upon him +the suspicions of mankind. + + + + +Chapter V. + +Voyage of Diego Mendez and Bartholomew Fiesco in a Canoe to Hispaniola. + +[1504.] + + + +It is proper to give here some account of the mission of Diego Mendez and +Bartholomew Fiesco, and of the circumstances which prevented the latter +from returning to Jamaica. Having taken leave of the Adelantado at the +east end of the island, they continued all day in a direct course, +animating the Indians who navigated their canoes, and who frequently +paused at their labor. There was no wind, the sky was without a cloud, and +the sea perfectly calm; the heat was intolerable, and the rays of the sun, +reflected from the surface of the ocean, seemed to scorch their very eyes. +The Indians, exhausted by heat and toil, would often leap into the water +to cool and refresh themselves, and, after remaining there a short time, +would return with new vigor to their labors. At the going down of the sun +they lost sight of land. During the night the Indians took turns, one half +to row while the others slept. The Spaniards, in like manner, divided +their forces: while one half took repose, the others kept guard with their +weapons in hand, ready to defend themselves in case of any perfidy on the +part of their savage companions. + +Watching and toiling in this way through the night, they were exceedingly +fatigued at the return of day. Nothing was to be seen but sea and sky. +Their frail canoes, heaving up and down with the swelling and sinking of +the ocean, seemed scarcely capable of sustaining the broad undulations of +a calm; how would they be able to live amid waves and surges, should the +wind arise? The commanders did all they could to keep up the flagging +spirits of the men. Sometimes they permitted them a respite; at other +times they took the paddles and shared their toils. But labor and fatigue +were soon forgotten in a new source of suffering. During the preceding +sultry day and night, the Indians, parched and fatigued, had drunk up all +the water. They now began to experience the torments of thirst. In +proportion as the day advanced, their thirst increased; the calm, which +favored the navigation of the canoes, rendered this misery the more +intense. There was not a breeze to fan the air, nor counteract the ardent +rays of a tropical sun. Their sufferings were irritated by the prospect +around them--nothing but water, while they were perishing with thirst. At +mid-day their strength failed them, and they could work no longer. +Fortunately, at this time the commanders of the canoes found, or pretended +to find, two small kegs of water, which they had perhaps secretly reserved +for such an extremity. Administering the precious contents from time to +time, in sparing mouthfuls, to their companions, and particularly to the +laboring Indians, they enabled them to resume their toils. They cheered +them with the hopes of soon arriving at a small island called Navasa, +which lay directly in their way, and was only eight leagues from +Hispaniola. Here they would be able to procure water, and might take +repose. + +For the rest of the day they continued faintly and wearily laboring +forward, and keeping an anxious look-out for the island. The day passed +away, the sun went down, yet there was no sign of land, not even a cloud +on the horizon that might deceive them into a hope. According to their +calculations, they had certainly come the distance from Jamaica at which +Navasa lay. They began to fear that they had deviated from their course. +If so, they should miss the island entirely, and perish with thirst before +they could reach Hispaniola. + +The night closed upon them without any sight of the island. They now +despaired of touching at it, for it was so small and low that, even if +they were to pass near, they would scarcely be able to perceive it in the +dark. One of the Indians sank and died, under the accumulated sufferings +of labor, heat, and raging thirst. His body was thrown into the sea. +Others lay panting and gasping at the bottom of the canoes. Their +companions, troubled in spirit, and exhausted in strength, feebly +continued their toils. Sometimes they endeavored to cool their parched +palates by taking sea-water in their mouths, but its briny acrimony rather +increased their thirst. Now and then, but very sparingly, they were +allowed a drop of water from the kegs; but this was only in cases of the +utmost extremity, and principally to those who were employed in rowing. +The night had far advanced, but those whose turn it was to take repose +were unable to sleep, from the intensity of their thirst; or if they +slept, it was but to be tantalized with dreams of cool fountains and +running brooks, and to awaken in redoubled torment. The last drop of water +had been dealt out to the Indian rowers, but it only served to irritate +their sufferings. They scarce could move their paddles; one after another +gave up, and it seemed impossible they should live to reach Hispaniola. + +The commanders, by admirable management, had hitherto kept up this weary +struggle with suffering and despair: they now, too, began to despond. +Diego Mendez sat watching the horizon, which was gradually lighting up +with those faint rays which precede the rising of the moon. As that planet +rose, he perceived it to emerge from behind some dark mass elevated above +the level of the ocean. He immediately gave the animating cry of "land!" +His almost expiring companions were roused by it to new life. It proved to +be the island of Navasa, but so small, and low, and distant, that had it +not been thus revealed by the rising of the moon, they would never have +discovered it. The error in their reckoning with respect to the island had +arisen from miscalculating the rate of sailing of the canoes, and from not +making sufficient allowance for the fatigue of the rowers and the +opposition of the current. + +New vigor was now diffused throughout the crews. They exerted themselves +with feverish impatience; by the dawn of day they reached the land, and, +springing on shore, returned thanks to God for such signal deliverance. +The island was a mere mass of rocks half a league in circuit. There was +neither tree, nor shrub, nor herbage, nor stream, nor fountain. Hurrying +about, however, with anxious search, they found to their joy abundance of +rain-water in the hollows of the rocks. Eagerly scooping it up with their +calabashes, they quenched their burning thirst by immoderate draughts. In +vain the more prudent warned the others of their danger. The Spaniards +were in some degree restrained; but the poor Indians, whose toils had +increased the fever of their thirst, gave way to a kind of frantic +indulgence. Several died upon the spot, and others fell dangerously ill. +[195] + +Having allayed their thirst, they now looked about in search of food. A +few shell-fish were found along the shore, and Diego Mendez, striking a +light, and gathering drift-wood, they were enabled to boil them, and to +make a delicious banquet. All day they remained reposing in the shade of +the rocks, refreshing themselves after their intolerable sufferings, and +gazing upon Hispaniola, whose mountains rose above the horizon, at eight +leagues distance. + +In the cool of the evening they once more embarked, invigorated by repose, +and arrived safely at Cape Tiburon on the following day, the fourth since +their departure from Jamaica. Here they landed on the banks of a beautiful +river, where they were kindly received and treated by the natives. Such +are the particulars, collected from different sources, of this adventurous +and interesting voyage, on the precarious success of which depended the +deliverance of Columbus and his crews. [196] The voyagers remained for two +days among the hospitable natives on the banks of the river to refresh +themselves. Fiesco would have returned to Jamaica, according to promise, +to give assurance to the Admiral and his companions of the safe arrival of +their messenger; but both Spaniards and Indians had suffered so much +during the voyage, that nothing could induce them to encounter the perils +of a return in the canoes. + +Parting with his companions, Diego Mendez took six Indians of the island, +and set off resolutely to coast in his canoe one hundred and thirty +leagues to San Domingo. After proceeding for eighty leagues, with infinite +toil, always against the currents, and subject to perils from the native +tribes, he was informed that the governor had departed for Xaragua, fifty +leagues distant. Still undaunted by fatigues and difficulties, he +abandoned his canoe, and proceeded alone and on foot through forests and +over mountains, until he arrived at Xaragua, achieving one of the most +perilous expeditions ever undertaken by a devoted follower for the safety +of his commander. + +Ovando received him with great kindness, expressing the utmost concern at +the unfortunate situation of Columbus. He made many promises of sending +immediate relief, but suffered day after day, week after week, and even +month after month to elapse, without carrying his promises into effect. He +was at that time completely engrossed by wars with the natives, and had a +ready plea that there were no ships of sufficient burden at San Domingo. +Had he felt a proper zeal, however, for the safety of a man like Columbus, +it would have been easy, within eight months, to have devised some means, +if not of delivering him from his situation, at least of conveying to him +ample reinforcements and supplies. + +The faithful Mendez remained for seven months in Xaragua, detained there +under various pretexts by Ovando, who was unwilling that he should proceed +to San Domingo; partly, as is intimated, from his having some jealousy of +his being employed in secret agency for the admiral, and partly from a +desire to throw impediments in the way of his obtaining the required +relief. At length, by daily importunity, he obtained permission to go to +San Domingo, and await the arrival of certain ships which were expected, +of which he proposed to purchase one on account of the admiral. He +immediately set out on foot a distance of seventy leagues, part of his +toilsome journey lying through forests and among mountains infested by +hostile and exasperated Indians. It was after his departure that Ovando +dispatched the caravel commanded by the pardoned rebel Escobar, on that +singular and equivocal visit, which, in the eyes of Columbus, had the air +of a mere scouting expedition to spy into the camp of an enemy. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Overtures of Columbus to the Mutineers.--Battle of the Adelantado with +Porras and His Followers. + +[1503.] + + + +When Columbus had soothed the disappointment of his men at the brief and +unsatisfactory visit and sudden departure of Escobar he endeavored to turn +the event to some advantage with the rebels. He knew them to be +disheartened by the inevitable miseries attending a lawless and dissolute +life; that many longed to return to the safe and quiet path of duty; and +that the most malignant, seeing how he had foiled all their intrigues +among the natives to produce a famine, began to fear his ultimate triumph +and consequent vengeance. A favorable opportunity, he thought, now +presented to take advantage of these feelings, and by gentle means to +bring them back to their allegiance. He sent two of his people, therefore, +who were most intimate with the rebels, to inform them of the recent +arrival of Escobar with letters from the Governor of Hispaniola, promising +him a speedy deliverance from the island. He now offered a free pardon, +kind treatment, and a passage with him in the expected ships, on condition +of their immediate return to obedience. To convince them of the arrival of +the vessel, he sent them a part of the bacon which had been brought by +Escobar. + +On the approach of these ambassadors, Francisco de Porras came forth to +meet them, accompanied solely by a few of the ringleaders of his party. He +imagined that there might be some propositions from the admiral, and he +was fearful of their being heard by the mass of his people, who, in their +dissatisfied and repentant mood, would be likely to desert him on the +least prospect of pardon. Having listened to the tidings and overtures +brought by the messengers, he and his confidential confederates consulted +for some time together. Perfidious in their own nature, thev suspected the +sincerity of the admiral; and conscious of the extent of their offences, +doubted his having the magnanimity to pardon them. Determined, therefore, +not to confide in his proffered amnesty, they replied to the messengers, +that they had no wish to return to the ships, but preferred living at +large about the island. They offered to engage, however, to conduct +themselves peaceably and amicably, on receiving a solemn promise from the +admiral, that should two vessels arrive, they should have one to depart +in: should but one arrive, that half of it should be granted to them; and +that, moreover, the admiral should share with them the stores and articles +of Indian traffic remaining in the ships, having lost all that they had, +in the sea. These demands were pronounced extravagant and inadmissible, +upon which they replied insolently that, if they were not peaceably +conceded, they would take them by force; and with this menace they +dismissed the ambassadors. [197] + +This conference was not conducted so privately, but that the rest of the +rebels learnt the purport of the mission; and the offer of pardon and +deliverance occasioned great tumult and agitation. Porras, fearful of +their desertion, assured them that these offers of the admiral were all +deceitful; that he was naturally cruel and vindictive, and only sought to +get them into his power to wreak on them his vengeance. He exhorted them +to persist in their opposition to his tyranny; reminding them, that those +who had formerly done so in Hispaniola, had eventually triumphed, and sent +him home in irons; he assured them that they might do the same; and again +made vaunting promises of protection in Spain, through the influence of +his relatives. But the boldest of his assertions was with respect to the +caravel of Escobar. It shows the ignorance of the age, and the +superstitious awe which the common people entertained with respect to +Columbus and his astronomical knowledge. Porras assured them that no real +caravel had arrived, but a mere phantasm conjured up by the admiral, who +was deeply versed in necromancy. In proof of this, he adverted to its +arriving in the dusk of the evening; its holding communication 'with no +one but the admiral, and its sudden disappearance in the night. Had it +been a real caravel, the crew would have sought to talk with their +countrymen; the admiral, his son and brother, would have eagerly embarked +on board, and it would at any rate have remained a little while in port, +and not have vanished so suddenly and mysteriously. [198] + +By these, and similar delusions, Porras succeeded in working upon the +feelings and credulity of his followers. Fearful, however, that they might +yield to after reflection, and to further offers from the admiral, he +determined to involve them in some act of violence which would commit them +beyond all hopes of forgiveness. He marched them, therefore, to an Indian +village called Maima, [199] about a quarter of a league from the ships, +intending to plunder the stores remaining on board the wreck, and to take +the admiral prisoner. [200] + +Columbus had notice of the designs of the rebels, and of their approach. +Being confined by his infirmities, he sent his brother to endeavor with +mild words to persuade them from their purpose, and win them to obedience; +but with sufficient force to resist any violence. The Adelantado, who was +a man rather of deeds than of words, took with him fifty followers, men of +tried resolution, and ready to fight in any cause. They were well armed +and full of courage, though many were pale and debilitated from recent +sickness, and from long confinement to the ships. Arriving on the side of +a hill, within a bow-shot of the village, the Adelantado discovered the +rebels, and dispatched the same two messengers to treat with them, who had +already carried them the offer of pardon. Porras and his fellow-leaders, +however, would not permit them to approach. They confided in the +superiority of their numbers, and in their men being, for the most part, +hardy sailors, rendered robust and vigorous by the roving life they had +been leading in the forests and the open air. They knew that many of those +who were with the Adelantado were men brought up in a softer mode of life. +They pointed to their pale countenances, and persuaded their followers +that they were mere household men, fair-weather troops, who could never +stand before them. They did not reflect that, with such men, pride and +lofty spirit often more than supply the place of bodily force, and they +forgot that their adversaries had the incalculable advantage of justice +and law upon their side. Deluded by their words, their followers were +excited to a transient glow of courage, and, brandishing their weapons, +refused to listen to the messengers. + +Six of the stoutest rebels made a league to stand by one another and +attack the Adelantado; for, he being killed, the rest would be easily +defeated. The main body formed themselves into a squadron, drawing their +swords and shaking their lances. They did not wait to be assailed, but, +uttering shouts and menaces, rushed upon the enemy. They were so well +received, however, that at the first shock four or five were killed, most +of them the confederates who had leagued to attack the Adelantado. The +latter, with his own hand, killed Juan Sanchez, the same powerful mariner +who had carried off the cacique Quibian; and Juan Barber also, who had +first drawn a sword against the admiral in this rebellion. The Adelantado +with his usual vigor and courage was dealing his blows about him in the +thickest of the affray, where several lay killed and wounded, when he was +assailed by Francisco de Porras. The rebel with a blow of his sword cleft +the buckler of Don Bartholomew, and wounded the hand which grasped it. The +sword remained wedged in the shield, and before Porras could withdraw it, +the Adelantado closed upon him, grappled him, and, being assisted by +others, after a severe struggle, took him prisoner. [201] + +When the rebels beheld their leader a captive, their transient courage was +at an end, and they fled in confusion. The Adelantado would have pursued +them, but was persuaded to let them escape with the punishment they had +received; especially as it was necessary to guard against the possibility +of an attack from the Indians. + +The latter had taken arms and drawn up in battle array, gazing with +astonishment at this fight between white men, but without taking part on +either side. When the battle was over, they approached the field, gazing +upon the dead bodies of the beings they had once fancied immortal. They +were curious in examining the wounds made by the Christian weapons. Among +the wounded insurgents was Pedro Ledesma, the same pilot who so bravely +swam ashore at Veragua, to procure tidings of the colony. He was a man of +prodigious muscular force and a hoarse deep voice. As the Indians, who +thought him dead, were inspecting the wounds with which he was literally +covered, he suddenly uttered an ejaculation in his tremendous voice, at +the sound of which the savages fled in dismay. This man, having fallen +into a cleft or ravine, was not discovered by the white men until the +dawning of the following day, having remained all that time without a drop +of water. The number and severity of the wounds he is said to have +received would seem incredible, but they are mentioned by Fernando +Columbus, who was an eye-witness, and by Las Casas, who had the account +from Ledesma himself. For want of proper remedies, his wounds were treated +in the roughest manner, yet, through the aid of a vigorous constitution, +he completely recovered. Las Casas conversed with him several years +afterwards at Seville, when he obtained from him various particulars +concerning this voyage of Columbus. Some few days after this conversation, +however, he heard that Ledesma had fallen under the knife of an assassin. +[202] + +The Adelantado returned in triumph to the ships, where he was received by +the admiral in the most affectionate manner; thanking him as his +deliverer. He brought Porras and several of his followers prisoners. Of +his own party only two had been wounded; himself in the hand, and the +admiral's steward, who had received an apparently slight wound with a +lance, equal to one of the most insignificant of those with which Ledesma +was covered; yet, in spite of careful treatment, he died. + +On the next day, the 20th of May, the fugitives sent a petition to the +admiral, signed with all their names, in which, says Las Casas, they +confessed all their misdeeds, and cruelties, and evil intentions, +supplicating the admiral to have pity on them and pardon them for their +rebellion, for which God had already punished them. They offered to return +to their obedience and to serve him faithfully in future, making an oath +to that effect upon a cross and a missal, accompanied by an imprecation +worthy of being recorded: "They hoped, should they break their oath, that +no priest nor other Christian might ever confess them; that repentance +might be of no avail; that they might be deprived of the holy sacraments +of the church; that at their death they might receive no benefit from +bulls nor indulgences; that their bodies might be cast out into the fields +like those of heretics and renegadoes, instead of being buried in holy +ground; and that they might not receive absolution from the pope, nor from +cardinals, nor archbishops, nor bishops, nor any other Christian priests." +[203] Such were the awful imprecations by which these men endeavored to +add validity to an oath. The worthlessness of a man's word may always be +known by the extravagant means he uses to enforce it. + +The admiral saw, by the abject nature of this petition, how completely the +spirit of these misguided men was broken; with his wonted magnanimity, he +readily granted their prayer, and pardoned their offences; but on one +condition, that their ringleader, Francisco Porras, should remain a +prisoner. + +As it was difficult to maintain so many persons on board of the ships, and +as quarrels might take place between persons who had so recently been at +blows, Columbus put the late followers of Porras under the command of a +discreet and faithful man; and giving in his charge a quantity of European +articles for the purpose of purchasing food of the natives, directed him +to forage about the island until the expected vessels should arrive. + +At length, after a long year of alternate hope and despondency, the doubts +of the Spaniards were joyfully dispelled by the sight of two vessels +standing into the harbor. One proved to be a ship hired and well +victualed, at the expense of the admiral, by the faithful and +indefatigable Diego Mendez; the other had been subsequently fitted out by +Ovando, and put under the command of Diego de Salcedo, the admiral's agent +employed to collect his rents in San Domingo. + +The long neglect of Ovando to attend to the relief of Columbus had, it +seems, roused the public indignation, insomuch that animadversions had +been made upon his conduct even in the pulpits. This is affirmed by Las +Casas, who was at San Domingo at the time. If the governor had really +entertained hopes that, during the delay of relief, Columbus might perish +in the island, the report brought back by Escobar must have completely +disappointed him. No time was to be lost if he wished to claim any merit +in his deliverance, or to avoid the disgrace of having totally neglected +him. He exerted himself, therefore, at the eleventh hour, and dispatched a +caravel at the same time with the ship sent by Diego Mendez. The latter, +having faithfully discharged this part of his mission, and seen the ships +depart, proceeded to Spain on the further concerns of the admiral. [204] + + + + + +Book XVII. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Administration of Ovando in Hispaniola.--Oppression of the Natives. + +[1503.] + + + +Before relating the return of Columbus to Hispaniola, it is proper to +notice some of the principal occurrences which took place in that island +under the government of Ovando. A great crowd of adventurers of various +ranks had thronged his fleet--eager speculators, credulous dreamers, and +broken-down gentlemen of desperate fortunes; all expecting to enrich +themselves suddenly in an island where gold was to be picked up from the +surface of the soil, or gathered from the mountain-brooks. They had +scarcely landed, says Las Casas, who accompanied the expedition, when they +all hurried off to the mines, about eight leagues distant. The roads +swarmed like ant-hills, with adventurers of all classes. Every one had his +knapsack stored with biscuit or flour, and his mining implements on his +shoulders. Those hidalgos, or gentlemen, who had no servants to carry +their burdens, bore them on their own backs, and lucky was he who had a +horse for the journey; he would be able to bring back the greater load of +treasure. They all set out in high spirits, eager who should first reach +the golden land; thinking they had but to arrive at the mines, and collect +riches; "for they fancied," says Las Casas, "that gold was to be gathered +as easily and readily as fruit from the trees." When they arrived, +however, they discovered, to their dismay, that it was necessary to dig +painfully into the bowels of the earth--a labor to which most of them had +never been accustomed; that it required experience and sagacity to detect +the veins of ore; that, in fact, the whole process of mining was +exceedingly toilsome, demanded vast patience and much experience, and, +after all, was full of uncertainty. They digged eagerly for a time, but +found no ore. They grew hungry, threw by their implements, sat down to +eat, and then returned to work. It was all in vain. "Their labor," says +Las Casas, "gave them a keen appetite and quick digestion, but no gold." +They soon consumed their provisions, exhausted their patience, cursed +their infatuation, and in eight days set off drearily on their return +along the roads they had lately trod so exultingly. They arrived at San +Domingo without an ounce of gold, half-famished, downcast, and despairing. +[205] Such is too often the case of those who ignorantly engage in +mining--of all speculations the most brilliant, promising, and fallacious. + +Poverty soon fell upon these misguided men. They exhausted the little +property brought from Spain. Many suffered extremely from hunger, and were +obliged to exchange even their apparel for bread. Some formed connections +with the old settlers of the island; but the greater part were like men +lost and bewildered, and just awakened from a dream. The miseries of the +mind, as usual, heightened the sufferings of the body. Some wasted away +and died broken-hearted; others were hurried off by raging fevers, so that +there soon perished upwards of a thousand men. + +Ovando was reputed a man of great prudence and sagacity, and he certainly +took several judicious measures for the regulation of the island, and the +relief of the colonists. He made arrangements for distributing the married +persons and the families which had come out in his fleet, in four towns in +the interior, granting them important privileges. He revived the drooping +zeal for mining, by reducing the royal share of the product from one-half +to a third, and shortly after to a fifth; but he empowered the Spaniards +to avail themselves, in the most oppressive manner, of the labor of the +unhappy natives in working the mines. The charge of treating the natives +with severity had been one of those chiefly urged against Columbus. It is +proper, therefore, to notice, in this respect, the conduct of his +successor, a man chosen for his prudence, and his supposed capacity to +govern. + +It will be recollected, that when Columbus was in a manner compelled to +assign lands to the rebellious followers of Francisco Roldan, in 1499, he +had made an arrangement that the caciques in their vicinity should, in +lieu of tribute, furnish a number of their subjects to assist them in +cultivating their estates. This, as has been observed, was the +commencement of the disastrous system of repartimientos, or distributions +of Indians. When Bobadilla administered the government, he constrained the +caciques to furnish a certain number of Indians to each Spaniard, for the +purpose of working the mines; where they were employed like beasts of +burden. He made an enumeration of the natives, to prevent evasion; reduced +them into classes, and distributed them among the Spanish inhabitants. The +enormous oppressions which ensued have been noticed. They roused the +indignation of Isabella; and when Ovando was sent out to supersede +Bobadilla, in 1502, the natives were pronounced free; they immediately +refused to labor in the mines. + +Ovando represented to the Spanish sovereigns, in 1503, that ruinous +consequences resulted to the colony from this entire liberty granted to +the Indians. He stated that the tribute could not be collected, for the +Indians were lazy and improvident; that they could only be kept from vices +and irregularities by occupation; that they now kept aloof from the +Spaniards, and from all instruction in the Christian faith. + +The last representation had an influence with Isabella, and drew a letter +from the sovereigns to Ovando, in 1503, in which he was ordered to spare +no pains to attach the natives to the Spanish nation and the Catholic +religion. To make them labor moderately, if absolutely essential to their +own good; but to temper authority with persuasion and kindness. To pay +them regularly and fairly for their labor, and to have them instructed in +religion on certain days. + +Ovando availed himself of the powers given him by this letter, to their +fullest extent. He assigned to each Castilian a certain number of Indians, +according to the quality of the applicant, the nature of the application, +or his own pleasure. It was arranged in the form of an order on a cacique +for a certain number of Indians, who were to be paid by their employer, +and instructed in the Catholic faith. The pay was so small as to be little +better than nominal; the instruction was little more than the mere +ceremony of baptism; and the term of labor was at first six months, and +then eight months in the year. Under cover of this hired labor, intended +for the good both of their bodies and their souls, more intolerable toil +was exacted from them, and more horrible cruelties were inflicted, than in +the worst days of Bobadilla. They were separated often the distance of +several days' journey from their wives and children, and doomed to +intolerable labor of all kinds, extorted by the cruel infliction of the +lash. For food they had the cassava bread, an unsubstantial support for +men obliged to labor; sometimes a scanty portion of pork was distributed +among a great number of them, scarce a mouthful to each. When the +Spaniards who superintended the mines were at their repast, says Las +Casas, the famished Indians scrambled under the table, like dogs, for any +bone thrown to them. After they had gnawed and sucked it, they pounded it +between stones and mixed it with their cassava bread, that nothing of so +precious a morsel might be lost. As to those who labored in the fields, +they never tasted either flesh or fish; a little cassava bread and a few +roots were their support. While the Spaniards thus withheld the +nourishment necessary to sustain their health and strength, they exacted a +degree of labor sufficient to break down the most vigorous man. If the +Indians fled from this incessant toil and barbarous coercion, and took +refuge in the mountains, they were hunted out like wild beasts, scourged +in the most inhuman manner, and laden with chains to prevent a second +escape. Many perished long before their term of labor had expired. Those +who survived their term of six or eight months, were permitted to return +to their homes, until the next term commenced. But their homes were often +forty, sixty, and eighty leagues distant. They had nothing to sustain them +through the journey but a few roots or agi peppers, or a little cassava +bread. Worn down by long toil and cruel hardships, which their feeble +constitutions were incapable of sustaining, many had not strength to +perform the journey, but sank down and died by the way; some by the side +of a brook, others under the shade of a tree, where they had crawled for +shelter from the sun. "I have found many dead in the road," says Las +Casas, "others gasping under the trees, and others in the pangs of death, +faintly crying, Hunger! hunger!" [206] Those who reached their homes most +commonly found them desolate. During the eight months they had been +absent, their wives and children had either perished or wandered away; +the fields on which they depended for food were overrun with weeds, and +nothing was left them but to lie down, exhausted and despairing, and die +at the threshold of their habitations. [207] + +It is impossible to pursue any further the picture drawn by the venerable +Las Casas, not of what he had heard, but of what he had seen; nature and +humanity revolt at the details. Suffice it to say that, so intolerable +were the toils and sufferings inflicted upon this weak and unoffending +race, that they sank under them, dissolving, as it were, from the face of +the earth. Many killed themselves in despair, and even mothers overcame +the powerful instinct of nature, and destroyed the infants at their +breasts, to spare them a life of wretchedness. Twelve years had not +elapsed since the discovery of the island, and several hundred thousand of +its native inhabitants had perished, miserable victims to the grasping +avarice of the white men. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Massacre at Xaragua.--Fate of Anacaona. + +[1503.] + + + +The sufferings of the natives under the civil policy of Ovando have been +briefly shown; it remains to give a concise view of the military +operations of this commander, so lauded by certain of the early historians +for his prudence. By this notice a portion of the eventful history of this +island will be recounted which is connected with the fortunes of Columbus, +and which comprises the thorough subjugation, and, it may also be said, +extermination of the native inhabitants. And first, we must treat of the +disasters of the beautiful province of Xaragua, the seat of hospitality, +the refuge of the suffering Spaniards; and of the fate of the female +cacique, Anacaona, once the pride of the island, and the generous friend +of white men. + +Behechio, the ancient cacique of this province, being dead, Anacaona, his +sister, had succeeded to the government. The marked partiality which she +once manifested for the Spaniards had been greatly weakened by the general +misery they had produced in her country; and by the brutal profligacy +exhibited in her immediate dominions by the followers of Roldan. The +unhappy story of the loves of her beautiful daughter Higuenamota, with the +young Spaniard Hernando de Guevara, had also caused her great affliction; +and, finally, the various and enduring hardships inflicted on her once +happy subjects by the grinding systems of labor enforced by Bobadilla and +Ovando, had at length, it is said, converted her friendship into absolute +detestation. + +This disgust was kept alive and aggravated by the Spaniards who lived in +her immediate neighborhood, and had obtained grants of land there; a +remnant of the rebel faction of Roldan, who retained the gross +licentiousness and open profligacy in which they had been indulged under +the loose misrule of that commander, and who made themselves odious to the +inferior caciques, by exacting services tyrannically and capriciously +under the baneful system of repartimientos. + +The Indians of this province were uniformly represented as a more +intelligent, polite, and generous-spirited race than any others of the +islands. They were the more prone to feel and resent the overbearing +treatment to which they were subjected. Quarrels sometimes took place +between the caciques and their oppressors. These were immediately reported +to the governor as dangerous mutinies; and a resistance to any capricious +and extortionate exaction was magnified into a rebellious resistance to +the authority of government. Complaints of this kind were continually +pouring in upon Ovando, until he was persuaded by some alarmist, or some +designing mischief-maker, that there was a deep-laid conspiracy among the +Indians of this province to rise upon the Spaniards. + +Ovando immediately set out for Xaragua at the head of three hundred +foot-soldiers, armed with swords, arquebuses, and cross-bows, and seventy +horsemen, with cuirasses, bucklers, and lances. He pretended that he was +going on a mere visit of friendship to Anacaona, and to make arrangements +about the payment of tribute. + +When Anacaona heard of the intended visit, she summoned all her tributary +caciques, and principal subjects, to assemble at her chief town, that they +might receive the commander of the Spaniards with becoming homage and +distinction. As Ovando, at the head of his little army, approached, she +went forth to meet him, according to the custom of her nation, attended by +a great train of her most distinguished subjects, male and female; who, as +has been before observed, were noted for superior grace and beauty. They +received the Spaniards with their popular areytos, their national songs; +the young women waving palm branches and dancing before them, in the way +that had so much charmed the followers of the Adelantado, on his first +visit to the province. + +Anacaona treated the governor with that natural graciousness and dignity +for which she was celebrated. She gave him the largest house in the place +for his residence, and his people were quartered in the houses adjoining. +For several days the Spaniards were entertained with all the natural +luxuries that the province aiforded. National songs and dances and games +were performed for their amusement, and there was every outward +demonstration of the same hospitality, the same amity, that Anacaona had +uniformly shown to white men. + +Notwithstanding all this kindness, and notwithstanding her uniform +integrity of conduct, and open generosity of character, Ovando was +persuaded that Anacaoua was secretly meditating a massacre of himself and +his followers. Historians tell us nothing of the grounds for such a +belief. It was too probably produced by the misrepresentations of the +unprincipled adventurers who infested the province. Ovando should have +paused and reflected before he acted upon it. He should have considered +the improbability of such an attempt by naked Indians against so large a +force of steel-clad troops, armed with European weapons: and he should +have reflected upon the general character and conduct of Anacaona. At any +rate, the example set repeatedly by Columbus and his brother the +Adelantado, should have convinced him that it was a sufficient safeguard +against the machinations of the natives, to seize upon their caciques and +detain them as hostages. The policy of Ovando, however, was of a more rash +and sanguinary nature; he acted upon suspicion as upon conviction. He +determined to anticipate the alleged plot by a counter-artifice, and to +overwhelm this defenceless people in an indiscriminate and bloody +vengeance. + +As the Indians had entertained their guests with various national games, +Ovando invited them in return to witness certain games of his country. +Among these was a tilting match or joust with reeds; a chivalrous game +which the Spaniards had learnt from the Moors of Granada. The Spanish +cavalry, in those days, were as remarkable for the skillful management, as +for the ostentatious caparison of their horses. Among the troops brought +out from Spain by Ovando, one horseman had disciplined his horse to prance +and curvet in time to the music of a viol. [208] The joust was appointed +to take place of a Sunday after dinner, in the public square, before the +house where Ovando was quartered. The cavalry and foot-soldiers had their +secret instructions. The former were to parade, not merely with reeds or +blunted tilting lances, but with weapons of a more deadly character. The +foot-soldiers were to come apparently as mere spectators, but likewise +armed and ready for action at a concerted signal. + +At the appointed time the square was crowded with the Indians, waiting to +see this military spectacle. The caciques were assembled in the house of +Ovando, which looked upon the square. None were armed; an unreserved +confidence prevailed among them, totally incompatible with the dark +treachery of which they were accused. To prevent all suspicion, and take +off all appearance of sinister design, Ovando, after dinner, was playing +at quoits with some of his principal officers, when the cavalry having +arrived in the square, the caciques begged the governor to order the joust +to commence. [209] Anacaona, and her beautiful daughter Higuenamota, with +several of her female attendants, were present and joined in the request. + +Ovando left his game and came forward to a conspicuous place. When he saw +that every thing was disposed according to his orders, he gave the fatal +signal. Some say it was by taking hold of a piece of gold which was +suspended about his neck; [210] others by laying his hand on the cross of +Alcantara, which was embroidered on his habit. [211] A trumpet was +immediately sounded. The house in which Anacaona and all the principal +caciques were assembled was surrounded by soldiery, commanded by Diego +Velasquez and Rodrigo Mexiatrillo, and no one was permitted to escape. +They entered, and seizing upon the caciques, bound them to the posts which +supported the roof. Anacaona was led forth a prisoner. The unhappy +caciques were then put to horrible tortures, until some of them, in the +extremity of anguish, were made to accuse their queen and themselves of +the plot with which they were charged. When this cruel mockery of +judicial form had been executed, instead of preserving them for +after-examination, fire was set to the house, and all the caciques +perished miserably in the flames. + +While these barbarities were practised upon the chieftains, a horrible +massacre took place among the populace. At the signal of Ovando, the +horsemen rushed into the midst of the naked and defenceless throng, +trampling them under the hoofs of their steeds, cutting them down with +their swords, and transfixing them with their spears. No mercy was shown +to age or sex; it was a savage and indiscriminate butchery. Now and then a +Spanish horseman, either through an emotion of pity, or an impulse of +avarice, caught up a child, to bear it off in safety; but it was +barbarously pierced by the lances of his companions. Humanity turns with +horror from such atrocities, and would fain discredit them; but they are +circumstantially and still more minutely recorded by the venerable bishop +Las Casas, who was resident in the island at the time, and conversant with +the principal actors in this tragedy. He may have colored the picture +strongly, in his usual indignation when the wrongs of the Indians are in +question; yet, from all concurring accounts, and from many precise facts +which speak for themselves, the scene must have been most sanguinary and +atrocious. Oviedo, who is loud in extolling the justice, and devotion, and +charity, and meekness of Ovando, and his kind treatment of the Indians; +and who visited the province of Xaragua a few years afterwards, records +several of the preceding circumstances; especially the cold-blooded game +of quoits played by the governor on the verge of such a horrible scene, +and the burning of the caciques, to the number, he says, of more than +forty. Diego Mendez, who was at Xaragua at the time, and doubtless present +on such an important occasion, says incidentally, in his last will and +testament, that there were eighty-four caciques either burnt or hanged. +[212] Las Casas says, that there were eighty who entered the house with +Anacaona. The slaughter of the multitude must have been great; and this +was inflicted on an unarmed and unresisting throng. Several who escaped +from the massacre fled in their canoes to an island about eight leagues +distant, called Guanabo. They were pursued and taken, and condemned to +slavery. + +As to the princess Anacaona, she was carried in chains to San Domingo. The +mockery of a trial was given her, in which she was found guilty on the +confessions wrung by tortures from her subjects, and on the testimony of +their butchers; and she was ignominiously hanged in the presence of the +people whom she had so long and so signally befriended. [213] Oviedo has +sought to throw a stigma on the character of this unfortunate princess, +accusing her of great licentiousness; but he was prone to criminate the +character of the native princes, who fell victims to the ingratitude and +injustice of his countrymen. Contemporary writers of greater authority +have concurred in representing Anacaona as remarkable for her native +propriety and dignity. She was adored by her subjects, so as to hold a +kind of dominion over them even during the lifetime of her brother; she +is said to have been skilled in composing the areytos, or legendary +ballads of her nation, and may have conduced much towards producing that +superior degree of refinement remarked among her people. Her grace and +beauty had made her renowned throughout the island, and had excited the +admiration both of the savage and the Spaniard. Her magnanimous spirit +was evinced in her amicable treatment of the white men, although her +husband, the brave Caonabo, had perished a prisoner in their hands; and +defenceless parties of them had been repeatedly in her power, and lived +at large in her dominions. After having, for several years, neglected +all safe opportunities of vengeance, she fell a victim to the absurd +charge of having conspired against an armed body of nearly four hundred +men, seventy of them horsemen; a force sufficient to have subjugated +large armies of naked Indians. + +After the massacre of Xaragua, the destruction of its inhabitants still +continued. The favorite nephew of Anacaona, the cacique Guaora, who had +fled to the mountains, was hunted like a wild beast, until he was taken, +and likewise hanged. For six months the Spaniards continued ravaging the +country with horse and foot, under pretext of quelling insurrections; for, +wherever the affrighted natives took refuge in their despair, herding in +dismal caverns and in the fastnesses of the mountains, they were +represented as assembling in arms to make a head of rebellion. Having at +length hunted them out of their retreats, destroyed many, and reduced the +survivors to the most deplorable misery and abject submission, the whole +of that part of the island was considered as restored to good order; and +in commemoration of this great triumph, Ovando founded a town near to the +lake, which he called Santa Maria de la Verdadera Paz (St. Mary of the +True Peace). [214] + +Such is the tragical history of the delightful region of Xaragua, and of +its amiable and hospitable people. A place which the Europeans, by their +own account, found a perfect paradise, but which, by their vile passions, +they filled with horror and desolation. + + + + +Chapter III. + +War with the Natives of Higuey. + +[1504.] + + + +The subjugation of four of the Indian sovereignties of Hispaniola, and the +disastrous fate of their caciques, have been already related. Under the +administration of Ovando, was also accomplished the downfall of Higuey, +the last of those independent districts; a fertile province which +comprised the eastern extremity of the island. + +The people of Higuey were of a more warlike spirit than those of the other +provinces, having learned the effectual use of their weapons, from +frequent contests with their Carib invaders. They were governed by a +cacique named Cotabanama. Las Casas describes this chieftain from actual +observation, and draws the picture of a native hero. He was, he says, the +strongest of his tribe, and more perfectly formed than one man in a +thousand of any nation whatever. He was taller in stature than the tallest +of his countrymen, a yard in breadth from shoulder to shoulder, and the +rest of his body in admirable proportion. His aspect was not handsome, but +grave and courageous. His bow was not easily bent by a common man; his +arrows were three-pronged, tipped with the bones of fishes, and his +weapons appeared to be intended for a giant. In a word, he was so nobly +proportioned, as to be the admiration even of the Spaniards. + +While Cloumbus was engaged in his fourth voyage, and shortly after the +accession of Ovando to office, there was an insurrection of this cacique +and his people. A shallop, with eight Spaniards, was surprised at the +small island of Saona, adjacent to Higuey, and all the crew slaughtered. +This was in revenge for the death of a cacique, torn to pieces by a dog +wantonly set upon him by a Spaniard, and for which the natives had in vain +sued for redress. + +Ovando immediately dispatched Juan de Esquibel, a courageous officer, at +the head of four hundred men, to quell the insurrection, and punish the +massacre. Cotabanama assembled his warriors, and prepared for vigorous +resistance. Distrustful of the mercy of the Spaniards, the chieftain +rejected all overtures of peace, and the war was prosecuted with some +advantage to the natives. The Indians had now overcome their superstitious +awe of the white men as supernatural beings, and though they could ill +withstand the superiority of European arms, they manifested a courage and +dexterity that rendered them enemies not to be despised. Las Casas and +other historians relate a bold and romantic encounter between a single +Indian and two mounted cavaliers named Valtenebro and Portevedra, in which +the Indian, though pierced through the body by the lances and swords of +both his assailants, retained his fierceness, and continued the combat, +until he fell dead in the possession of all their weapons. [215] This +gallant action, says Las Casas, was public and notorious. + +The Indians were soon defeated and driven to their mountain retreats. The +Spaniards pursued them into their recesses, discovered their wives and +children, wreaked on them the most indiscriminate slaughter, and committed +their chieftains to the flames. An aged female cacique of great +distinction, named Higuanama, being taken prisoner, was hanged. + +A detachment was sent in a caravel to the island of Saona, to take +particular vengeance for the destruction of the shallop and its crew. The +natives made a desperate defence and fled. The island was mountainous, and +full of caverns, in which the Indians vainly sought for refuge. Six or +seven hundred were imprisoned in a dwelling, and all put to the sword or +poniarded. Those of the inhabitants who were spared were carried off as +slaves; and the island was left desolate and deserted. + +The natives of Higuey were driven to despair, seeing that there was no +escape for them even in the bowels of the earth: [216] they sued for +peace, which was granted them, and protection promised on condition of +their cultivating a large tract of land, and paying a great quantity of +bread in tribute. The peace being concluded, Cotabanama visited the +Spanish camp, where his gigantic proportions and martial demeanor made +him an object of curiosity and admiration. He was received with great +distinction by Esquibel, and they exchanged names; an Indian league of +fraternity and perpetual friendship. The natives thenceforward called the +cacique Juan de Esquibel, and the Spanish commander Cotabanama. Esquibel +then built a wooden fortress in an Indian village near the sea, and left +in it nine men, with a captain named Martin de Villaman. After this, the +troops dispersed, every man returning home, with his proportion of slaves +gained in this expedition. + +The pacification was not of long continuance, About the time that succors +were sent to Columbus, to rescue him from the wrecks of his vessels at +Jamaica, a new revolt broke out in Higuey, in consequence of the +oppressions of the Spaniards, and a violation of the treaty made by +Esquibel. Martin de Villaman demanded that the natives should not only +raise the grain stipulated for by the treaty, but convey it to San +Domingo, and he treated them with the greatest severity on their refusal. +He connived also at the licentious conduct of his men towards the Indian +women; the Spaniards often taking from the natives their daughters and +sisters, and even their wives. [217] The Indians, roused at last to fury, +rose on their tyrants, slaughtered them, and burnt their wooden fortress +to the ground. Only one of the Spaniards escaped, and bore the tidings +of this catastrophe to the city of San Domingo. + +Ovando gave immediate orders to carry fire and sword into the province of +Higuey. The Spanish troops mustered from various quarters on the confines +of that province, when Juan de Esquibel took the command, and had a great +number of Indians with him as allies. The towns of Higuey were generally +built among the mountains. Those mountains rose in terraces, from ten to +fifteeen leagues in length and breadth; rough and rocky, interspersed with +glens of a red soil, remarkably fertile, where they raised their cassava +bread. The ascent from terrace to terrace was about fifty feet; steep and +precipitous, formed of the living rock, and resembling a wall wrought with +tools into rough diamond points. Each village had four wide streets, a +stone's throw in length, forming a cross, the trees being cleared away +from them, and from a public square in the centre. + +When the Spanish troops arrived on the frontiers, alarm-fires along the +mountains and columns of smoke spread the intelligence by night and day. +The old men, the women, and children, were sent off to the forests and +caverns, and the warriors prepared for battle. The Castilians paused in +one of the plains clear of forests, where their horses could be of use. +They made prisoners of several of the natives, and tried to learn from +them the plans and forces of the enemy. They applied tortures for the +purpose, but in vain, so devoted was the loyalty of these people to their +caciques. The Spaniards penetrated into the interior. They found the +warriors of several towns assembled in one, and drawn up in the streets +with their bows and arrows, but perfectly naked, and without defensive +armor. They uttered tremendous yells, and discharged a shower of arrows; +but from such a distance, that they fell short of their foe. The Spaniards +replied with their cross-bows, and with two or three arquebuses, for at +this time they had but few firearms. When the Indians saw several of their +comrades fall dead, they took to flight, rarely waiting for the attack +with swords: some of the wounded, in whose bodies the arrows from the +cross-bows had penetrated to the very feather, drew them out with their +hands, broke them with their teeth, and hurling them at the Spaniards with +impotent fury, fell dead upon the spot. + +The whole force of the Indians was routed and dispersed, each family, or +band of neighbors, fled in its own direction, and concealed itself in the +fastness of the mountains. The Spaniards pursued them, but found the chase +difficult amidst the close forests, and the broken and stony heights. They +took several prisoners as guides, and inflicted incredible torments on +them, to compel them to betray their countrymen. They drove them before +them, secured by cords fastened round their necks; and some of them, as +they passed along the brinks of precipices, suddenly threw themselves +headlong down, in hopes of dragging after them the Spaniards. When at +length the pursuers came upon the unhappy Indians in their concealments, +they spared neither age nor sex; even pregnant women, and mothers with +infants in their arms, fell beneath their merciless swords. The +cold-blooded acts of cruelty which followed this first slaughter would be +shocking to relate. + +Hence Esquibel marched to attack the town where Cotabanama resided, and +where that cacique had collected a great force to resist him. He proceeded +direct for the place along the sea-coast, and came to where two roads led +up the mountain to the town. One of the roads was open and inviting; the +branches of the trees being lopped, and all the underwood cleared away. +Here the Indians had stationed an ambuscade to take the Spaniards in the +rear. The other road was almost closed up by trees and bushes cut down and +thrown across each other. Esquibel was wary and distrustful; he suspected +the stratagem, and chose the encumbered road. The town was about a league +and a half from the sea. The Spaniards made their way with great +difficulty for the first half league. The rest of the road was free from +all embarrassment, which confirmed their suspicion of a stratagem. They +now advanced with great rapidity, and, having arrived near the village, +suddenly turned into the other road, took the party in ambush by surprise, +and made great havoc among them with their cross-bows. + +The warriors now sallied from their concealment, others rushed out of the +houses into the streets, and discharged flights of arrows, but from such a +distance as generally to fall harmless. They then approached nearer, and +hurled stones with their hands, being unacquainted with the use of slings. +Instead of being dismayed at seeing their companions fall, it rather +increased their fury. An irregular battle, probably little else than wild +skirmishing and bush-fighting, was kept up from two o'clock in the +afternoon until night. Las Casas was present on the occasion, and, from +his account, the Indians must have shown instances of great personal +bravery, though the inferiority of their weapons, and the want of all +defensive armor, rendered their valor totally ineffectual. As the evening +shut in, their hostilities gradually ceased, and they disappeared in the +profound gloom and close thickets of the surrounding forest. A deep +silence succeeded to their yells and war-whoops, and throughout the night +the Spaniards remained in undisturbed possession of the village. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Close of the War with Higuey.--Fate of Cotabanama. + +[1504.] + + + +On the morning after the battle, not an Indian was to be seen. Finding +that even their great chief, Cotabanama, was incapable of vying with the +prowess of the white men, they had given up the contest in despair, and +fled to the mountains. The Spaniards, separating into small parties, +hunted them with the utmost diligence; their object was to seize the +caciques, and, above all, Cotabanama. They explored all the glens and +concealed paths leading into the wild recesses where the fugitives had +taken refuge. The Indians were cautious and stealthy in their mode of +retreating, treading in each other's foot-prints, so that twenty would +make no more track than one, and stepping so lightly as scarce to disturb +the herbage; yet there were Spaniards so skilled in hunting Indians, that +they could trace them even by the turn of a withered leaf, and among the +confused tracks of a thousand animals. + +They could scent afar off, also, the smoke of the fires which the Indians +made whenever they halted, and thus they would come upon them in their +most secret haunts. Sometimes they would hunt down a straggling Indian, +and compel him, by torments, to betray the hiding-place of his companions, +binding him and driving him before them as a guide. Wherever they +discovered one of these places of refuge, filled with the aged and the +infirm, with feeble women and helpless children, they massacred them +without mercy. They wished to inspire terror throughout the land, and to +frighten the whole tribe into submission. They cut off the hands of those +whom they took roving at large, and sent them, as they said, to deliver +them as letters to their friends, demanding their surrender. Numberless +were those, says Las Casas, whose hands were amputated in this manner, and +many of them sank down and died by the way, through anguish and loss of +blood. + +The conquerors delighted in exercising strange and ingenious cruelties. +They mingled horrible levity with their blood-thirstiness. They erected +gibbets long and low, so that the feet of the sufferers might reach the +ground, and their death be lingering. They hanged thirteen together, in +reverence, says the indignant Las Casas, of our blessed Saviour and the +twelve apostles. While their victims were suspended, and still living, +they hacked them with their swords, to prove the strength of their arms +and the edge of their weapons. They wrapped them in dry straw, and setting +fire to it, terminated their existence by the fiercest agony. + +These are horrible details, yet a veil is drawn over others still more +detestable. They are related circumstantially by Las Casas, who was an +eye-witness. He was young at the time, but records them in his advanced +years. "All these things," says the venerable Bishop, "and others +revolting to human nature, did my own eyes behold; and now I almost fear +to repeat them, scarce believing myself, or whether I have not dreamt +them." [218] + +These details would have been withheld from the present work as +disgraceful to human nature, and from an unwillingness to advance any +thing which might convey a stigma upon a brave and generous nation. But it +would be a departure from historical veracity, having the documents before +my eyes, to pass silently over transactions so atrocious, and vouched for +by witnesses beyond all suspicion of falsehood. Such occurrences show the +extremity to which human cruelty may extend, when stimulated by avidity of +gain; by a thirst of vengeance; or even by a perverted zeal in the holy +cause of religion. Every nation has in turn furnished proofs of this +disgraceful truth. As in the present instance, they are commonly the +crimes of individuals rather than of the nation. Yet it behooves +governments to keep a vigilant eye upon those to whom they delegate power +in remote and helpless colonies. It is the imperious duty of the historian +to place these matters upon record, that they may serve as warning beacons +to future generations. + +Juan de Esquibel found that, with all his severities, it would be +impossible to subjugate the tribe of Higuey, as long as the cacique +Cotabanama was at large. That chieftain had retired to the little island +of Saona, about two leagues from the coast of Higuey, in the centre of +which, amidst a labyrinth of rocks and forests, he had taken shelter with +his wife and children in a vast cavern. + +A caravel, recently arrived from the city of San Domingo with supplies for +the camp, was employed by Esquibel to entrap the cacique. He knew that the +latter kept a vigilant look-out, stationing scouts upon the lofty rocks of +his island to watch the movements of the caravel. Esquibel departed by +night, therefore, in the vessel, with fifty followers, and keeping under +the deep shadows cast by the land, arrived at Saona unperceived, at the +dawn of morning. Here he anchored close in with the shore, hid by its +cliffs and forests, and landed forty men, before the spies of Cotabanama +had taken their station. Two of these were surprised and brought to +Esquibel, who, having learnt from them that the cacique was at hand, +poniarded one of the spies, and bound the other, making him serve as +guide. + +A number of Spaniards ran in advance, each anxious to signalize himself by +the capture of the cacique. They came to two roads, and the whole party +pursued that to the right, excepting one Juan Lopez, a powerful man, +skillful in Indian warfare. He proceeded in a footpath to the left, +winding among little hills, so thickly wooded that it was impossible to +see any one at the distance of half a bow-shot. Suddenly, in a narrow +pass, overshadowed by rocks and trees, he encountered twelve Indian +warriors, armed with bows and arrows, and following each other in single +file according to their custom. The Indians were confounded at the sight +of Lopez, imagining that there must be a party of soldiers behind him. +They might readily have transfixed him with their arrows, but they had +lost all presence of mind. He demanded their chieftain. They replied that +he was behind, and, opening to let him pass, Lopez beheld the cacique in +the rear. At sight of the Spaniard, Cotabanama bent his gigantic bow, and +was on the point of launching one of his three-pronged arrows, but Lopez +rushed upon him and wounded him with his sword. The other Indians, struck +with panic, had already fled. Cotabanama, dismayed at the keenness of the +sword, cried out that he was Juan de Esquibel, claiming respect as having +exchanged names with the Spanish commander. Lopez seized him with one hand +by the hair, and with the other aimed a thrust at his body; but the +cacique struck down the sword with his hand, and, grappling with his +antagonist, threw him with his back upon the rocks. As they were both men +of great power, the struggle was long and violent. The sword was beneath +them, but Cotabanama, seizing the Spaniard by the throat with his mighty +hand, attempted to strangle him. The sound of the contest brought the +other Spaniards to the spot. They found their companion writhing and +gasping, and almost dead, in the gripe of the gigantic Indian. They seized +the cacique, bound him, and carried him captive to a deserted Indian +village in the vicinity. They found the way to his secret cave, but his +wife and children, having received notice of his capture by the fugitive +Indians, had taken refuge in another part of the island. In the cavern was +found the chain with which a number of Indian captives had been bound, who +had risen upon and slain three Spaniards who had them in charge, and had +made their escape to this island. There were also the swords of the same +Spaniards, which they had brought off as trophies to their cacique. The +chain was now employed to manacle Cotabanama. + +The Spaniards prepared to execute the chieftain on the spot, in the centre +of the deserted village. For this purpose a pyre was built of logs of wood +laid crossways, in form of a gridiron, on which he was to be slowly +broiled to death. On further consultation, however, they were induced to +forego the pleasure of this horrible sacrifice. Perhaps they thought the +cacique too important a personage to be executed thus obscurely. Granting +him, therefore, a transient reprieve, they conveyed him to the caravel, +and sent him, bound with heavy chains, to San Domingo. Ovando saw him in +his power, and incapable of doing further harm; but he had not the +magnanimity to forgive a fallen enemy, whose only crime was the defence of +his native soil and lawful territority. He ordered him to be publicly +hanged like a common culprit. [219] In this ignominious manner was the +cacique Cotabanama executed, the last of the five sovereign princes of +Hayti. His death was followed by the complete subjugation of his people, +and sealed the last struggle of the natives against their oppressors. The +island was almost unpeopled of its original inhabitants, and meek and +mournful submission and mute despair settled upon the scanty remnant that +survived. + +Such was the ruthless system which had been pursued, during the absence of +the admiral, by the commander Ovando; this man of boasted prudence and +moderation, who was sent to reform the abuses of the island, and above +all, to redress the wrongs of the natives. The system of Columbus may have +borne hard upon the Indians, born and brought up in untasked freedom, but +it was never cruel nor sanguinary. He inflicted no wanton massacres nor +vindictive punishments; his desire was to cherish and civilize the +Indians, and to render them useful subjects; not to oppress, and +persecute, and destroy them. When he beheld the desolation that had swept +them from the land during his suspension from authority, he could not +restrain the strong expression of his feelings. In a letter written to the +king after his return to Spain, he thus expresses himself on the subject: +"The Indians of Hispaniola were and are the riches of the island; for it +is they who cultivate and make the bread and the provisions for the +Christians; who dig the gold from the mines, and perform all the offices +and labors both of men and beasts. I am informed that, since I left this +island, six parts out of seven of the natives are dead; all through ill +treatment and inhumanity; some by the sword, others by blows and cruel +usage, others through hunger. The greater part have perished in the +mountains and glens, whither they had fled, from not being able to support +the labor imposed upon them." For his own part, he added, although he had +sent many Indians to Spain to be sold, it was always with a view to their +being instructed in the Christian faith, and in civilized arts and usages, +and afterwards sent back to their island to assist in civilizing their +countrymen. [220] + +The brief view that has been given of the policy of Ovando, on certain +points on which Columbus was censured, may enable the reader to judge more +correctly of the conduct of the latter. It is not to be measured by the +standard of right and wrong established in the present more enlightened +age. We must consider him in connection with the era in which he lived. By +comparing his measures with those men of his own times praised for their +virtues and abilities, placed in precisely his own situation, and placed +there expressly to correct his faults, we shall be the better able to +judge how virtuously and wisely, under the peculiar circumstances of the +case, he may be considered to have governed. + + + + + +Book XVIII. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Departure of Columbus for San Domingo.--His Return to Spain. + + + +The arrival at Jamaica of the two vessels under the command of Salcedo had +caused a joyful reverse in the situation of Columbus. He hastened to leave +the wreck in which he had been so long immured, and hoisting his flag on +board of one of the ships, felt as if the career of enterprise and glory +were once more open to him. The late partisans of Porras, when they heard +of the arrival of the ships, came wistful and abject to the harbor, +doubting how far they might trust to the magnanimity of a man whom they +had so greatly injured, and who had now an opportunity of vengeance. The +generous mind, however, never harbors revenge in the hour of returning +prosperity; but feels noble satisfaction in sharing its happiness even +with its enemies. Columbus forgot, in his present felicity, all that he +had suffered from these men; he ceased to consider them enemies, now that +they had lost the power to injure; and he not only fulfilled all that he +had promised them, by taking them on board the ships, but relieved their +necessities from his own purse, until their return to Spain; and +afterwards took unwearied pains to recommend them to the bounty of the +sovereigns. Francisco Porras alone continued a prisoner, to be tried by +the tribunals of his country. + +Oviedo assures us that the Indians wept when they beheld the departure of +the Spaniards; still considering them as beings from the skies. From the +admiral, it is true, they had experienced nothing but just and gentle +treatment, and continual benefits; and the idea of his immediate influence +with the Deity, manifested on the memorable occasion of the eclipse, may +have made them consider him as more than human, and his presence as +propitious to their island; but it is not easy to believe that a lawless +gang like that of Porras, could have been ranging for months among their +villages, without giving cause for the greatest joy at their departure. + +On the 28th of June the vessels set sail for San Domingo. The adverse +winds and currents which had opposed Columbus throughout this ill-starred +expedition, still continued to harass him. After a weary struggle of +several weeks, he reached, on the 3d of August, the little island of +Beata, on the coast of Hispaniola. Between this place and San Domingo the +currents are so violent, that vessels are often detained months, waiting +for sufficient wind to enable them to stem the stream. Hence Columbus +dispatched a letter by land to Ovando, to inform him of his approach, and +to remove certain absurd suspicions of his views, which he had learnt from +Salcedo were still entertained by the governor; who feared his arrival in +the island might produce factions and disturbances. In this letter he +expresses, with his usual warmth and simplicity, the joy he felt at his, +deliverance, which was so great, he says, that, since the arrival of Diego +de Salcedo with succor, he had scarcely been able to sleep. The letter had +barely time to precede the writer, for, a favorable wind springing up, the +vessels again made sail, and, on the 13th of August, anchored in the +harbor of San Domingo. + +If it is the lot of prosperity to awaken envy and excite detraction, it is +certainly the lot of misfortune to atone for a multitude of faults. San +Domingo had been the very hot-bed of sedition against Columbus in the day +of his power; he had been hurried from it in ignominious chains, amidst +the shouts and taunts of the triumphant rabble; he had been excluded from +its harbor, when, as commander of a squadron, he craved shelter from an +impending tempest; but now that he arrived in its waters, a broken-down +and shipwrecked man, all past hostility was overpowered by the popular +sense of his late disasters. There was a momentary burst of enthusiasm in +his favor; what had been denied to his merits was granted to his +misfortunes; and even the envious, appeased by his present reverses, +seemed to forgive him for having once been so triumphant. + +The governor and principal inhabitants came forth to meet him, and +received him with signal distinction. He was lodged as a guest in the +house of Ovando, who treated him with the utmost courtesy and attention. +The governor was a shrewd and discreet man, and much of a courtier; but +there were causes of jealousy and distrust between him and Columbus too +deep to permit of cordial intercourse. The admiral and his son Fernando +always pronounced the civility of Ovando overstrained and hypocritical; +intended to obliterate the remembrance of past neglect, and to conceal +lurking enmity. While he professed the utmost friendship and sympathy for +the admiral, he set at liberty the traitor Porras, who was still a +prisoner, to be taken to Spain for trial. He also talked of punishing +those of the admiral's people who had taken arms in his defence, and in +the affray at Jamaica had killed several of the mutineers. These +circumstances were loudly complained of by Columbus; but, in fact, they +rose out of a question of jurisdiction between him and the governor. Their +powers were so undefined as to clash with each other, and they were both +disposed to be extremely punctilious. Ovando assumed a right to take +cognizance of all transactions at Jamaica; as happening within the limits +of his government, which included all the islands and Terra Firma. +Columbus, on the other hand, asserted the absolute command, and the +jurisdiction both civil and criminal given to him by the sovereigns, over +all persons who sailed in his expedition, from the time of departure until +their return to Spain. To prove this, he produced his letter of +instructions. The governor heard him with great courtesy and a smiling +countenance; but observed, that the letter of instructions gave him no +authority within the bounds of his government. [221] He relinquished the +idea, however, of investigating the conduct of the followers of Columbus, +and sent Porras to Spain, to be examined by the board which had charge of +the affairs of the Indies. + +The sojourn of Columbus at San Domingo was but little calculated to yield +him satisfaction. He was grieved at the desolation of the island by the +oppressive treatment of the natives, and the horrible massacre which had +been perpetrated by Ovando and his agents. He had fondly hoped, at one +time, to render the natives civilized, industrious, and tributary subjects +to the crown, and to derive from their well-regulated labor a great and +steady revenue. How different had been the event! The five great tribes +which peopled the mountains and the valleys at the time of the discovery, +and rendered, by their mingled towns and villages and tracts of +cultivation, the rich levels of the Vegas so many "painted gardens," had +almost all passed away, and the native princes had perished chiefly by +violent or ignominious deaths. Columbus regarded the affairs of the island +with a different eye from Ovando. He had a paternal feeling for its +prosperity, and his fortunes were implicated in its judicious management. +He complained, in subsequent letters to the sovereigns, that all the +public affairs were ill conducted; that the ore collected lay unguarded in +large quantities in houses slightly built and thatched, inviting +depredation; that Ovando was unpopular, the people were dissolute, and the +property of the crown and the security of the island in continual risk +from mutiny and sedition. [222] While he saw all this, he had no power to +interfere, and any observation or remonstrance on his part was ill +received by the governor. + +He found his own immediate concerns in great confusion. His rents and dues +were either uncollected, or he could not obtain a clear account and a full +liquidation of them. Whatever he could collect was appropriated to the +fitting out of the vessels which were to convey himself and his crews to +Spain. He accuses Ovando, in his subsequent letters, of having neglected, +if not sacrificed, his interests during his long absence, and of having +impeded those who were appointed to attend to his concerns. That he had +some grounds for these complaints would appear from two letters still +extant, [223] written by Queen Isabella to Ovando, on the 27th of +November, 1503, in which she informs him of the complaint of Alonzo +Sanchez de Carvajal, that he was impeded in collecting the rents of the +admiral; and expressly commands Ovando to observe the capitulations +granted to Columbus; to respect his agents, and to facilitate, instead +of obstructing, his concerns. These letters, while they imply ungenerous +conduct on the part of the governor towards his illustrious predecessor, +evince likewise the personal interest taken by Isabella in the affairs of +Columbus, during his absence. She had, in fact, signified her displeasure +at his being excluded from the port of San Domingo, when he applied there +for succor for his squadron, and for shelter from a storm; and had +censured Ovando for not taking his advice and detaining the fleet of +Bobadilla, by which it would have escaped its disastrous fate. [224] And +here it may be observed, that the sanguinary acts of Ovando towards the +natives, in particular the massacre at Xaragua, and the execution of the +unfortunate Anacaona, awakened equal horror and indignation in Isabella; +she was languishing on her death-bed when she received the intelligence, +and with her dying breath she exacted a promise from King Ferdinand that +Ovando should immediately be recalled from his government. The promise +was tardily and reluctantly fulfilled, after an interval of about four +years, and not until induced by other circumstances; for Ovando +contrived to propitiate the monarch, by forcing a revenue from the +island. + +The continual misunderstandings between the admiral and the governor, +though always qualified on the part of the latter with great complaisance, +induced Columbus to hasten as much as possible his departure from the +island. The ship in which he had returned from Jamaica was repaired and +fitted out, and put under the command of the Adelantado; another vessel +was freighted, in which Columbus embarked with his son and his domestics. +The greater part of his late crews remained at San Domingo; as they were +in great poverty, he relieved their necessities from his own purse, and +advanced the funds necessary for the voyage home of those who chose to +return. Many thus relieved by his generosity had been among the most +violent of the rebels. + +On the 12th of September, he set sail; but had scarcely left the harbor +when, in a sudden squall, the mast of his ship was carried away. He +immediately went with his family on board of the vessel commanded by the +Adelantado, and, sending back the damaged ship to port, continued on his +course. Throughout the voyage he experienced the most tempestuous weather. +In one storm the mainmast was sprung in four places. He was confined to +his bed at the time by the gout; by his advice, however, and the activity +of the Adelantado, the damage was skillfully repaired; the mast was +shortened; the weak parts were fortified by wood taken from the castles or +cabins which the vessels in those days carried on the prow and stern; and +the whole was well secured by cords. They were still more damaged in a +succeeding tempest; in which the ship sprung her foremast. In this +crippled state they had to traverse seven hundred leagues of a stormy +ocean. Fortune continued to persecute Columbus to the end of this, his +last and most disastrous expedition. For several weeks he was +tempest-tossed--suffering at the same time the most excruciating pains +from his malady--until, on the seventh day of November, his crazy and +shattered bark anchored in the harbor of San Lucar. Hence he had himself +conveyed to Seville, where he hoped to enjoy repose of mind and body, and +to recruit his health after such a long series of fatigues, anxieties, +and hardships. [225] + + + + +Chapter II. + +Illness of Columbus at Seville.--Application to the Crown for a +Restitution of His Honors.--Death of Isabella. + +[1504.] + + + +Broken by age and infirmities, and worn down by the toils and hardships of +his recent expedition, Columbus had looked forward to Seville as to a +haven of rest, where he might repose awhile from his troubles. Care and +sorrow, however, followed him by sea and land. In varying the scene he but +varied the nature of his distress. "Wearisome days and nights" were +appointed to him for the remainder of his life; and the very margin of his +grave was destined to be strewed with thorns. + +On arriving at Seville, he found all his affairs in confusion. Ever since +he had been sent home in chains from San Domingo, when his house and +effects had been taken possession of by Bobadilla, his rents and dues had +never been properly collected; and such as had been gathered had been +retained in the hands of the governor Ovando. "I have much vexation from +the governor," says he, in a letter to his son Diego. [226] "All tell me +that I have there eleven or twelve thousand castellanos; and I have not +received a quarto. ... I know well, that, since my departure, he must have +received upwards of five thousand castellanos." He entreated that a letter +might be written by the king, commanding the payment of these arrears +without delay; for his agents would not venture even to speak to Ovando on +the subject, unless empowered by a letter from the sovereign. + +Columbus was not of a mercenary spirit; but his rank and situation +required large expenditure. The world thought him in the possession of +sources of inexhaustible wealth; but, as yet, those sources had furnished +him but precarious and scanty streams. His last voyage had exhausted his +finances, and involved him in perplexities. All that he had been able to +collect of the money due to him in Hispaniola, to the amount of twelve +hundred castellanos, had been expended in bringing home many of his late +crew, who were in distress; and for the greater part of the sum the crown +remained his debtor. While struggling to obtain his mere pecuniary dues, +he was absolutely suffering a degree of penury. He repeatedly urges the +necessity of economy to his son Diego, until he can obtain a restitution +of his property, and the payment of his arrears. "I receive nothing of the +revenue due to me," says he, in one letter; "I live by borrowing." "Little +have I profited," he adds, in another, "by twenty years of service, with +such toils and perils; since, at present, I do not own a roof in Spain. If +I desire to eat or sleep, I have no resort but an inn; and, for the most +times, have not wherewithal to pay my bill." + +Yet in the midst of these personal distresses, he was more solicitous for +the payment of his seamen than of himself. He wrote strongly and +repeatedly to the sovereigns, entreating the discharge of their arrears, +and urged his son Diego, who was at court, to exert himself in their +behalf. "They are poor," said he, "and it is now nearly three years since +they left their homes. They have endured infinite toils and perils, and +they bring invaluable tidings, for which their majesties ought to give +thanks to God and rejoice." Notwithstanding his generous solicitude for +these men, he knew several of them to have been his enemies; nay, that +some of them were at this very time disposed to do him harm rather than +good; such was the magnanimity of his spirit and his forgiving +disposition. + +The same zeal, also, for the interests of his sovereigns, which had ever +actuated his loyal mind, mingled with his other causes of solicitude. He +represented in his letter to the king, the mismanagement of the royal +rents in Hispaniola, under the administration of Ovando. Immense +quantities of ore lay unprotected in slightly-built houses, and liable to +depredations. It required a person of vigor, and one who had an individual +interest in the property of the island, to restore its affairs to order, +and draw from it the immense revenues which it was capable of yielding; +and Columbus plainly intimated that he was the proper person. + +In fact, as to himself, it was not so much pecuniary indemnification that +he sought, as the restoration of his offices and dignities. He regarded +them as the trophies of his illustrious achievements; he had received the +royal promise that he should be reinstated in them; and he felt that as +long as they were withheld, a tacit censure rested upon his name. Had he +not been proudly impatient on this subject, he would have belied the +loftiest part of his character; for he who can be indifferent to the +wreath of triumph, is deficient in the noble ambition which incites to +glorious deeds. + +The unsatisfactory replies received to his letters disquieted his mind. He +knew that he had active enemies at court ready to turn all things to his +disadvantage, and felt the importance of being there in person to defeat +their machinations: but his infirmities detained him at Seville. He made +an attempt to set forth on the journey, but the severity of the winter and +the virulence of his malady obliged him to relinquish it in despair. All +that he could do was to reiterate his letters to the sovereigns, and to +entreat the intervention of his few but faithful friends. He feared the +disastrous occurrences of the last voyage might be represented to his +prejudice. The great object of the expedition, the discovery of a strait +opening from the Caribbean to a southern sea, had failed. The secondary +object, the acquisition of gold, had not been completed. He had discovered +the gold mines of Veragua, it is true; but he had brought home no +treasure; because, as he said, in one of his letters, "I would not rob nor +outrage the country; since reason requires that it should be settled, and +then the gold may be procured without violence." + +He was especially apprehensive that the violent scenes in the island of +Jamaica might, by the perversity of his enemies, and the effrontery of the +delinquents, be wrested into matters of accusation against him, as had +been the case with the rebellion of Roldan. Porras, the ringleader of the +late faction, had been sent home by Ovando, to appear before the board of +the Indies; but without any written process, setting forth the offences +charged against him. While at Jamaica, Columbus had ordered an inquest of +the affair to be taken; but the notary of the squadron who took it, and +the papers which he drew up, were on board of the ship in which the +admiral had sailed from Hispaniola, but which had put back dismasted. No +cognizance of the case, therefore, was taken by the council of the Indies; +and Porras went at large, armed with the power and the disposition to do +mischief. Being related to Morales, the royal treasurer, he had access to +people in place, and an opportunity of enlisting their opinions and +prejudices on his side. Columbus wrote to Morales, inclosing a copy of the +petition which the rebels had sent to him when in Jamaica, in which they +acknowledged their culpability, and implored his forgiveness; and he +entreated the treasurer not to be swayed by the representations of his +relative, nor to pronounce an opinion unfavorable to him, until he had an +opportunity of being heard. + +The faithful and indefatigable Diego Mendez was at this time at the court, +as well as Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, and an active friend of Columbus +named Geronimo. They could bear the most important testimony as to his +conduct, and he wrote to his son Diego to call upon them for their good +offices. "I trust," said he, "that the truth and diligence of Diego Mendez +will be of as much avail as the lies of Porras." Nothing can surpass the +affecting earnestness and simplicity of the general declaration of +loyalty, contained in one of his letters. "I have served their majesties," +says he, "with as much zeal and diligence as if it had been to gain +Paradise; and if I have failed in any thing, it has been because my +knowledge and powers went no further." + +While reading these touching appeals, we can scarcely realize the fact, +that the dejected individual thus wearily and vainly applying for +unquestionable rights, and pleading almost like a culprit, in cases +wherein he had been flagrantly injured, was the same who but a few years +previously had been received at this very court with almost regal honors, +and idolized as a national benefactor; that this, in a word, was Columbus, +the discoverer of the New World; broken in health, and impoverished in his +old days by his very discoveries. + +At length the caravel bringing the official proceedings relative to the +brothers Porras arrived at the Algarves, in Portugal, and Columbus looked +forward with hope that all matters would soon be placed in a proper light. +His anxiety to get to court became every day more intense. A litter was +provided to convey him thither, and was actually at the door, but the +inclemency of the weather and his increasing infirmities obliged him again +to abandon the journey. His resource of letter-writing began to fail him: +he could only write at night, for in the daytime the severity of his +malady deprived him of the use of his hands. The tidings from the court +were every day more and more adverse to his hopes; the intrigues of his +enemies were prevailing; the cold-hearted Ferdinand treated all his +applications with indifference; the generous Isabella lay dangerously ill. +On her justice and magnanimity he still relied for the full restoration of +his rights, and the redress of all his grievances. "May it please the Holy +Trinity," says he, "to restore our sovereign queen to health; for by her +will every thing be adjusted which is now in confusion." Alas! while +writing that letter, his noble benefactress was a corpse! + +The health of Isabella had long been undermined by the shocks of repeated +domestic calamities. The death of her only son, the prince Juan; of her +beloved daughter and bosom friend, the princess Isabella; and of her +grandson and prospective heir, the prince Miguel, had been three cruel +wounds to a heart full of the tenderest sensibility. To these was added +the constant grief caused by the evident infirmity of intellect of her +daughter Juana, and the domestic unhappiness of that princess with her +husband, the archduke Philip. The desolation which walks through palaces +admits not the familiar sympathies and sweet consolations which alleviate +the sorrows of common life. Isabella pined in state, amidst the obsequious +homages of a court, surrounded by the trophies of a glorious and +successful reign, and placed at the summit of earthly grandeur. A deep and +incurable melancholy settled upon her, which undermined her constitution, +and gave a fatal acuteness to her bodily maladies. After four months of +illness, she died on the 2eth of November, 1504, at Medina del Campo, in +the fifty-fourth year of her age; but long before her eyes closed upon the +world, her heart had closed on all its pomps and vanities. "Let my body," +said she in her will, "be interred in the monastery of San Francisco, +which is in the Alhambra of the city of Granada, in a low sepulchre, +without any monument except a plain stone, with the inscription cut on it. +But I desire and command, that if the king, my lord, should choose a +sepulchre in any church or monastery in any other part or place of these +my kingdoms, my body be transported thither, and buried beside the body of +his highness; so that the union we have enjoyed while living, and which, +through the mercy of God, we hope our souls will experience in heaven, may +be represented by our bodies in the earth." [227] + +Such was one of several passages in the will of this admirable woman, +which bespoke the chastened humility of her heart; and in which, as has +been well observed, the affections of conjugal love were delicately +entwined with piety, and with the most tender melancholy. [228] She +was one of the purest spirits that ever ruled over the destinies of a +nation. Had she been spared, her benignant vigilance would have prevented +many a scene of horror in the colonization of the New World, and might +have softened the lot of its native inhabitants. As it is, her fair name +will ever shine with celestial radiance in the dawning of its history. + +The news of the death of Isabella reached Columbus when he was writing a +letter to his son Diego. He notices it in a postscript or memorandum, +written in the haste and brevity of the moment, but in beautifully +touching and mournful terms. "A memorial," he writes, "for thee, my dear +son Diego, of what is at present to be done. The principal thing is to +commend affectionately, and with great devotion, the soul of the queen our +sovereign to God. Her life was always catholic and holy, and prompt to all +things in his holy service: for this reason we may rest assured that she +is received into his glory, and beyond the cares of this rough and weary +world. The next thing is to watch and labor in all matters for the service +of our sovereign the king, and to endeavor to alleviate his grief. His +majesty is the head of Christendom. Remember the proverb which says, when +the head suffers all the members suffer. Therefore all good Christians +should pray for his health and long life; and we, who are in his employ, +ought more than others to do this with all study and diligence." +[229] + +It is impossible to read this mournful letter without being moved by the +simply eloquent yet artless language in which Columbus expresses his +tenderness for the memory of his benefactress, his weariness under the +gathering cares and ills of life, and his persevering and enduring loyalty +towards the sovereign who was so ungratefully neglecting him. It is in +these unstudied and confidential letters that we read the heart of +Columbus. + + + + +Chapter III. + +Columbus Arrives at Court.--Fruitless Application to the King for Redress. + +[1505.] + + + +The death of Isabella was a fatal blow to the fortunes of Columbus. While +she lived, he had every thing to anticipate from her high sense of +justice, her regard for her royal word, her gratitude for his services, +and her admiration of his character. With her illness, however, his +interests had languished, and when she died, he was left to the justice +and generosity of Ferdinand! + +During the remainder of the winter and a part of the spring, he continued +at Seville, detained by painful illness, and endeavoring to obtain redress +from the government by ineffectual letters. His brother the Adelantado, +who supported him with his accustomed fondness and devotion through all +his trials, proceeded to court to attend to his interests, taking with him +the admiral's younger son Fernando, then aged about seventeen. The latter, +the affectionate father repeatedly represents to his son Diego as a man in +understanding and conduct, though but a stripling in years; and inculcates +the strongest fraternal attachment, alluding to his own brethren with one +of those simply eloquent and affecting expressions which stamp his heart +upon his letters. "To thy brother conduct thyself as the elder brother +should unto the younger. Thou hast no other, and I praise God that this is +such a one as thou dost need. Ten brothers would not be too many for thee. +Never have I found a better friend to right or left, than my brothers." + +Among the persons whom Columbus employed at this time in his missions to +the court, was Amerigo Vespucci. He describes him as a worthy but +unfortunate man, who had not profited as much as he deserved by his +undertakings, and who had always been disposed to render him service. His +object in employing him appears to have been to prove the value of his +last voyage, and that he had been in the most opulent parts of the New +World; Vespucci having since touched upon the same coast, in a voyage with +Alonzo de Ojeda. + +One circumstance occured at this time which shed a gleam of hope and +consolation over his gloomy prospects. Diego de Deza, who had been for +some time bishop of Palencia, was expected at court. This was the same +worthy friar who had aided him to advocate his theory before the board of +learned men at Salamanca, and had assisted him with his purse when making +his proposals to the Spanish court. He had just been promoted and made +archbishop of Seville, but had not yet been installed in office. Columbus +directs his son Diego to intrust his interests to this worthy prelate. +"Two things," says he, "require particular attention. Ascertain whether +the queen, who is now with God, has said any thing concerning me in her +testament, and stimulate the bishop of Palencia, he who was the cause that +their highnesses obtained possession of the Indies, who induced me to +remain in Castile when I was on the road to leave it." [230] In another +letter he says, "If the bishop of Palencia has arrived, or should arrive, +tell him how much I have been gratified by his prosperity, and that if I +come, I shall lodge with his grace, even though he should not invite me, +for we must return to our ancient fraternal affection." + +The incessant applications of Columbus, both by letter and by the +intervention of friends, appear to have been listened to with cool +indifference. No compliance was yielded to his requests, and no deference +was paid to his opinions, on various points concerning which he interested +himself. New instructions were sent out to Ovando, but not a word of their +purport was mentioned to the admiral. It was proposed to send out three +bishops, and he entreated in vain to be heard previous to their election. +In short, he was not in any way consulted in the affairs of the New World. +He felt deeply this neglect, and became every day more impatient of his +absence from court. To enable himself to perform the journey with more +ease, he applied for permission to use a mule, a royal ordinance having +prohibited the employment of those animals under the saddle, in +consequence of their universal use having occasioned a decline in the +breed of horses. A royal permission was accordingly granted to Columbus, +in consideration that his age and infirmities incapacitated him from +riding on horse-back; but it was a considerable time before the state of +his health would permit him to avail himself of that privilege. + +The foregoing particulars, gleaned from letters of Columbus recently +discovered, show the real state of his affairs, and the mental and bodily +affliction sustained by him during his winter's residence at Seville, on +his return from his last disastrous voyage. He has generally been +represented as reposing there from his toils and troubles. Never was +honorable repose more merited, more desired, and less enjoyed. + +It was not until the month of May that he was able, in company with his +brother the Adelantado, to accomplish his journey to court, at that time +held at Segovia. He, who but a few years before had entered the city of +Barcelona in triumph, attended by the nobility and chivalry of Spain, and +hailed with rapture by the multitude, now arrived within the gates of +Segovia, a wayworn, melancholy, and neglected man; oppressed more by +sorrow than even by his years and infirmities. When he presented himself +at court, he met with none of that distinguished attention, that cordial +kindness, that cherishing sympathy, which his unparalleled services and +his recent sufferings had merited. [231] + +The selfish Ferdinand had lost sight of his past services, in what +appeared to him the inconvenience of his present demands. He received him +with many professions of kindness: but with those cold ineffectual smiles, +which pass like wintry sunshine over the countenance, and convey no warmth +to the heart. + +The admiral now gave a particular account of his late voyage; describing +the great tract of Terra Firma, which he had explored, and the riches of +the province of Veragua. He related also the disasters sustained in the +island of Jamaica; the insurrection of the Porras and their band; and all +the other griefs and troubles of this unfortunate expedition. He had but a +cold-hearted auditor in the king; and the benignant Isabella was no more +at hand to soothe him with a smile of kindness, or a tear of sympathy. "I +know not," gays the venerable Las Casas, "what could cause this dislike +and this want of princely countenance in the king, towards one who had +rendered him such pre-eminent benefits; unless it was that his mind was +swayed by the false testimonies which had been brought against the +admiral; of which I have been enabled to learn something from persons much +in favor with the sovereign." [232] + +After a few days had elapsed, Columbus urged his suit in form; reminding +the king of all that he had done, and all that had been promised him under +the royal word and seal, and supplicating that the restitutions and +indemnifications which had been so frequently solicited, might be awarded +to him; offering in return to serve his majesty devotedly for the short +time he had yet to live; and trusting, from what he felt within him, and +from what he thought he knew with certainty, to render services which +should surpass all that he had yet performed a hundred-fold. The king, in +reply, acknowledged the greatness of his merits, and the importance of his +services, but observed, that, for the more satisfactory adjustment of his +claims, it would be advisable to refer all points in dispute to the +decision of some discreet and able person. The admiral immediately +proposed as arbiter his friend the archbishop of Seville, Don Diego de +Deza, one of the most able and upright men about the court, devotedly +loyal, high in the confidence of the king, and one who had always taken +great interest in the affairs of the New World. The king consented to the +arbitration, but artfully extended it to questions which he knew would +never be put at issue by Columbus; among these was his claim to the +restoration of his office of viceroy. To this Columbus objected with +becoming spirit, as compromising a right which was too clearly defined and +solemnly established to be put for a moment in dispute. It was the +question of rents and revenues alone, he observed, which he was willing to +submit to the decision of a learned man, not that of the government of the +Indies. As the monarch persisted, however, in embracing both questions in +the arbitration, the proposed measure was never carried into effect. + +It was, in fact, on the subject of his dignities alone that Columbus was +tenacious; all other matters he considered of minor importance. In a +conversation with the king he absolutely disavowed all wish of entering +into any suit or pleading as to his pecuniary dues; on the contrary, he +offered to put all his privileges and writings into the hands of his +sovereign, and to receive out of the dues arising from them, whatever his +majesty might think proper to award. All that he claimed without +qualification or reserve, were his official dignities, assured to him +under the royal seal with all the solemnity of a treaty. He entreated, at +all events, that these matters might speedily be decided, so that he might +be released from a state of miserable suspense, and enabled to retire to +some quiet corner, in search of that tranquillity and repose necessary to +his fatigues and his infirmities. + +To this frank appeal to his justice and generosity, Ferdinand replied with +many courteous expressions, and with those general evasive promises, which +beguile the ear of the court applicant, but convey no comfort to his +heart. "As far as actions went," observes Las Casas, "the king not merely +showed him no signs of favor, but, on the contrary, discountenanced him as +much as possible; yet he was never wanting in complimentary expressions." + +Many months were passed by Columbus in unavailing solicitation, during +which he continued to receive outward demonstrations of respect from the +king, and due attention from cardinal Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, and +other principal personages; but he had learned to appreciate and distrust +the hollow civilities of a court. His claims were referred to a tribunal, +called "The council of the discharges of the conscience of the deceased +queen, and of the king." This is a kind of tribunal, commonly known by the +name of the Junta de Descargos, composed of persons nominated by the +sovereign, to superintend the accomplishment of the last will of his +predecessor, and the discharge of his debts. Two consultations were held +by this body, but nothing was determined. The wishes of the king were too +well known to be thwarted. "It was believed," says Las Casas, "that if the +king could have done so with a safe conscience, and without detriment to +his fame, he would have respected few or none of the privileges which he +and the queen had conceded to the admiral, and which had been so justly +merited." [Footonte: Las Caaas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 37.] + +Columbus still flattered himself that, his claims being of such +importance, and touching a question of sovereignty, the adjustment of them +might be only postponed by the king until he could consult with his +daughter Juana, who had succeeded to her mother as queen of Castile, and +who, was daily expected from Flanders, with her husband, king Philip. He +endeavored, therefore, to bear his delays with patience; but he had no +longer the physical strength and glorious anticipations which once +sustained him through his long application at this court. Life itself was +drawing to a close. + +He was once more confined to his bed by a tormenting attack of the gout, +aggravated by the sorrows and disappointments which preyed upon his heart. +From this couch of anguish he addressed one more appeal to the justice of +the king. He no longer petitioned for himself: it was for his son Diego. +Nor did he dwell upon his pecuniary dues; it was the honorable trophies of +his services which he wished to secure and perpetuate in his family. He +entreated that his son Diego might be appointed, in his place, to the +government of which he had been so wrongfully deprived. "This," he said, +"is a matter which concerns my honor; as to all the rest, do as your +majesty may think proper; give or withhold, as may be most for your +interest, and I shall be content. I believe the anxiety caused by the +delay of this affair is the principal cause of my ill health." A petition +to the same purpose was presented at the same time by his son Diego, +offering to take with him such persons for counselors as the king should +appoint, and to be guided by their advice. + +These petitions were treated by Ferdinand with his usual professions and +evasions. "The more applications were made to him," observes Las Casas, +"the more favorably did he reply; but still he delayed, hoping, by +exhausting their patience, to induce them to wave their privileges, and +accept in place thereof titles and estates in Castile." Columbus rejected +all propositions of the kind with indignation, as calculated to compromise +those titles which were the trophies of his achievements. He saw, however, +that all further hope of redress from Ferdinand was vain. From the bed to +which he was confined, he addressed a letter to his constant friend Diego +de Deza, expressive of his despair. "It appears that his majesty does not +think fit to fulfill that which he, with the queen, who is now in glory, +promised me by word and seal. For me to contend for the contrary, would be +to contend with the wind. I have done all that I could do. I leave the +rest to God, whom I have ever found propitious to me in my necessities." +[233] + +The cold and calculating Ferdinand beheld this illustrious man sinking +under infirmity of body, heightened by that deferred hope which "maketh +the heart sick." A little more delay, a little more disappointment, and a +little longer infliction of ingratitude, and this loyal and generous heart +would cease to beat: he should then be delivered from the just claims of a +well-tried servant, who, in ceasing to be useful, was considered by him to +have become importunate. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Death of Columbus. + + + +In the midst of illness and despondency, when both life and hope were +expiring in the bosom of Columbus, a new gleam was awakened and blazed up +for the moment with characteristic fervor. He heard with joy of the +landing of king Philip and queen Juana, who had just arrived from Flanders +to take possession of their throne of Castile. In the daughter of Isabella +he trusted once more to find a patroness and a friend. King Ferdinand and +all the court repaired to Laredo to receive the youthful sovereigns. +Columbus would gladly have done the same, but he was confined to his bed +by a severe return of his malady; neither in his painful and helpless +situation could he dispense with the aid and ministry of his son Diego. +His brother, the Adelantado, therefore, his main dependence in all +emergencies, was sent to represent him, and to present his homage and +congratulations. Columbus wrote by him to the new king and queen, +expressing his grief at being prevented by illness from coming in person +to manifest his devotion, but begging to be considered among the most +faithful of their subjects. He expressed a hope that he should receive at +their hands the restitution of his honors and estates, and assured them, +that, though cruelly tortured at present by disease, he would yet be able +to render them services, the like of which had never been witnessed. + +Such was the last sally of his sanguine and unconquerable spirit; which, +disregarding age and infirmities, and all past sorrows and +disappointments, spoke from his dying bed with all the confidence of +youthful hope; and talked of still greater enterprises, as if he had a +long and vigorous life before him. The Adelantado took leave of his +brother, whom he was never to behold again, and set out on his mission to +the new sovereigns. He experienced the most gracious reception. The claims +of the admiral were treated with great attention by the young king and +queen, and flattering hopes were given of a speedy and prosperous +termination to his suit. + +In the meantime the cares and troubles of Columbus were drawing to a +close. The momentary fire which had reanimated him was soon quenched by +accumulating infirmities. Immediately after the departure of the +Adelantado, his illness increased in violence. His last voyage had +shattered beyond repair a frame already worn and wasted by a life of +hardship; and continual anxieties robbed him of that sweet repose so +necessary to recruit the weariness and debility of age. The cold +ingratitude of his sovereign chilled his heart. The continued suspension +of his honors, and the enmity and defamation experienced at every turn, +seemed to throw a shadow over that glory which had been the great object +of his ambition. This shadow, it is true, could be but of transient +duration; but it is difficult for the most illustrious man to look beyond +the present cloud which may obscure his fame, and anticipate its permanent +lustre in the admiration of posterity. + +Being admonished by failing strength and increasing sufferings that his +end was approaching, he prepared to leave his affairs in order for the +benefit of his successors. + +It is said that on the 4th of May he wrote an informal testamentary +codicil on the blank page of a little breviary, given him by Pope +Alexander VI. In this he bequeathed that book to the republic of Genoa, +which he also appointed successor to his privileges and dignities, on the +extinction of his male line. He directed likewise the erection of an +hospital in that city with the produce of his possessions in Italy. The +authenticity of this document is questioned, and has become a point of +warm contest among commentators. It is not, however, of much importance. +The paper is such as might readily have been written by a person like +Columbus in the paroxysm of disease, when he imagined his end suddenly +approaching, and shows the affection with which his thoughts were bent on +his native city. It is termed among commentators a military codicil, +because testamentary dispositions of this kind are executed by the soldier +at the point of death, without the usual formalities required by the civil +law. About two weeks afterwards, on the eve of his death, he executed a +final and regularly authenticated codicil, in which he bequeathed his +dignities and estates with better judgment. + +In these last and awful moments, when the soul has but a brief space in +which to make up its accounts between heaven and earth, all dissimulation +is at an end, and we read unequivocal evidences of character. The last +codicil of Columbus, made at the very verge of the grave, is stamped with +his ruling passion and his benignant virtues. He repeats and enforces +several clauses of his original testament, constituting his sou Diego his +universal heir. The entailed inheritance, or mayorazgo, in case he died +without male issue, was to go to his brother Don Fernando, and from him, +in like case, to pass to his uncle Don Bartholomew, descending always to +the nearest male heir; in failure of which it was to pass to the female +nearest in lineage to the admiral. He enjoined upon whoever should inherit +his estate never to alienate or diminish it, but to endeavor by all means +to augment its prosperity and importance. He likewise enjoined upon his +heirs to be prompt and devoted at all times, with person and estate, to +serve their sovereign and promote the Christian faith. He ordered that Don +Diego should devote one tenth of the revenues which might arise from his +estate, when it came to be productive, to the relief of indigent relatives +and of other persons in necessity; that, out of the remainder, he should +yield certain yearly proportions to his brother Don Fernando, and his +uncles Don Bartholomew and Don Diego; and that the part allotted to Don +Fernando should be settled upon him and his male heirs in an entailed and +unalienable inheritance. Having thus provided for the maintenance and +perpetuity of his family and dignities, he ordered that Don Diego, when +his estates should be sufficiently productive, should erect a chapel in +the island of Hispaniola, which God had given to him so marvelously, at +the town of Conception, in the Vega, where masses should be daily +performed for the repose of the souls of himself, his father, his mother, +his wife, and of all who died in the faith. Another clause recommends to +the care of Don Diego, Beatrix Enriquez, the mother of his natural son +Fernando. His connection with her had never been sanctioned by matrimony, +and either this circumstance, or some neglect of her, seems to have +awakened deep compunction in his dying moments. He orders Don Diego to +provide for her respectable maintenance; "and let this be done," he adds, +"for the discharge of my conscience, for it weighs heavy on my soul." +[234] Finally, he noted with his own hand several minute sums, to be paid +to persons at different and distant places, without their being told +whence they received them. These appear to have been trivial debts of +conscience, or rewards for petty services received in times long past. +Among them is one of half a mark of silver to a poor Jew, who lived at +the gate of the Jewry, in the city of Lisbon. These minute provisions +evince the scrupulous attention to justice in all his dealings, and that +love of punctuality in the fulfillment of duties, for which he was +remarked. In the same spirit, he gave much advice to his son Diego, as +to the conduct of his affairs, enjoining upon him to take every month an +account with his own hand of the expenses of his household, and to sign +it with his name; for a want of regularity in this, he observed, lost +both property and servants, and turned the last into enemies. His dying +bequests were made in presence of a few faithful followers and servants, +and among them we find the name of Bartholomeo Fiesco, who had +accompanied Diego Mendez in the perilous voyage in a canoe from Jamaica +to Hispaniola. + +Having thus scrupulously attended to all the claims of affection, loyalty, +and justice upon earth, Columbus turned his thoughts to heaven; and having +received the holy sacrament, and performed all the pious offices of a +devout Christian, he expired with great resignation, on the day of +ascension, the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years of age. +[235] His last words were, "_In manus tuas Domine, commendo spiritum +meum:_" Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. [236] + +His body was deposited in the convent of St. Francisco, and his obsequies +were celebrated with funereal pomp at Valladolid, in the parochial church +of Santa Maria de la Antigua. His remains were transported afterwards, in +1513, to the Carthusian monastery of Las Cuevas of Seville, to the chapel +of St. Ann or of Santo Christo, in which chapel were likewise deposited +those of his son Don Diego, who died in the village of Montalban, on the +23d of February, 1526. In the year 1536 the bodies of Columbus and his son +Diego were removed to Hispaniola, and interred in the principal chapel of +the cathedral of the city of San Domingo; but even here they did not rest +in quiet, having since been again disinterred and conveyed to the Havanna, +in the island of Cuba. + +We are told that Ferdinand, after the death of Columbus, showed a sense of +his merits by ordering a monument to be erected to his memory, on which +was inscribed the motto already cited, which had formerly been granted to +him by the sovereigns: A Castilla y a Leon nuevo mundo dio Colon (_To +Castile and Leon Columbus gave a new world_). However great an honor a +monument may be for a subject to receive, it is certainly but a cheap +reward for a sovereign to bestow. As to the motto inscribed upon it, it +remains engraved in the memory of mankind, more indelibly than in brass or +marble; a record of the great debt of gratitude due to the discoverer, +which the monarch had so faithlessly neglected to discharge. + +Attempts have been made in recent days, by loyal Spanish writers, to +vindicate the conduct of Ferdinand towards Columbus. They were doubtless +well intended, but they have been futile, nor is their failure to be +regretted. To screen such injustice in so eminent a character from the +reprobation of mankind, is to deprive history of one of its most important +uses. Let the ingratitude of Ferdinand stand recorded in its full extent, +and endure throughout all time. The dark shadow which it casts upon his +brilliant renown, will be a lesson to all rulers, teaching thein what is +important to their own fame in their treatment of illustrious men. + + + + +Chapter V. + +Observations on the Character of Columbus. + + + +In narrating the story of Columbus, it has been the endeavor of the author +to place him in a clear and familiar point of view; for this purpose he +has rejected no circumstance, however trivial, which appeared to evolve +some point of character; and he has sought all kinds of collateral facts +which might throw light upon his views and motives. With this view also he +has detailed many facts hitherto passed over in silence, or vaguely +noticed by historians, probably because they might be deemed instances of +error or misconduct on the part of Columbus; but he who paints a great man +merely in great and heroic traits, though he may produce a fine picture, +will never present a faithful portrait. Great men are compounds of great +and little qualities. Indeed, much of their greatness arises from their +mastery over the imperfections of their nature, and, their noblest actions +are sometimes struck forth by the collision of their merits and their +defects. + +In Columbus was singularly combined the practical and the poetical. His +mind had grasped all kinds of knowledge, whether procured by study or +observation, which bore upon his theories; impatient of the scanty aliment +of the day, "his impetuous ardor," as has well been observed, "threw him +into the study of the fathers of the church; the Arabian Jews, and the +ancient geographers;" while his daring but irregular genius, bursting from +the limits of imperfect science, bore him to conclusions far beyond the +intellectual vision of his contemporaries. If some of his conclusions were +erroneous, they were at least ingenious and splendid; and their error +resulted from the clouds which still hung over his peculiar path of +enterprise. His own discoveries enlightened the ignorance of the age; +guided conjecture to certainty, and dispelled that very darkness with +which he had been obliged to struggle. + +In the progress of his discoveries he has been remarked for the extreme +sagacity and the admirable justness with which he seized upon the +phenomena of the exterior world. The variations, for instance, of +terrestrial magnetism, the direction of currents, the groupings of marine +plants, fixing one of the grand climacteric divisions of the ocean, the +temperatures changing not solely with the distance to the equator, but +also with the difference of meridians: these and similar phenomena, as +they broke upon him, were discerned with wonderful quickness of +perception, and made to contribute important principles to the stock of +general knowledge. This lucidity of spirit, this quick convertibility of +facts to principles, distinguish him from the dawn to the close of his +sublime enterprise, insomuch that, with all the sallying ardor of his +imagination, his ultimate success has been admirably characterized as a +"conquest of reflection." [237] + +It has been said that mercenary views mingled with the ambition of +Columbus, and that his stipulations with the Spanish court were selfish +and avaricious. The charge is inconsiderate and unjust. He aimed at +dignity and wealth in the same lofty spirit in which he sought renown; +they were to be part and parcel of his achievement, and palpable evidence +of its success; they were to arise from the territories he should +discover, and be commensurate in importance. No condition could be more +just. He asked nothing of the sovereigns but a command of the countries he +hoped to give them, and a share of the profits to support the dignity of +his command. If there should be no country discovered, his stipulated +viceroyalty would be of no avail; and if no revenues should be produced, +his labor and peril would produce no gain. If his command and revenues +ultimately proved magnificent, it was from the magnificence of the regions +he had attached to the Castilian crown. What monarch would not rejoice to +gain empire on such conditions? But he did not risk merely a loss of +labor, and a disappointment of ambition, in the enterprise;--on his +motives being questioned, he voluntarily undertook, and, with the +assistance of his coadjutors, actually defrayed, one-eighth of the whole +charge of the first expedition. + +It was, in fact, this rare union already noticed, of the practical man of +business with the poetical projector, which enabled him to carry his grand +enterprises into effect through so many difficulties; but the pecuniary +calculations and cares, which gave feasibility to his schemes, were never +suffered to chill the glowing aspirations of his soul. The gains that +promised to arise from his discoveries, he intended to appropriate in the +same princely and pious spirit in which they were demanded. He +contemplated works and achievements of benevolence and religion; vast +contributions for the relief of the poor of his native city; the +foundation of churches, where masses should be said for the souls of the +departed; and armies for the recovery of the holy sepulchre in Palestine. +Thus his ambition was truly noble and lofty; instinct with high thought +and prone to generous deed. + +In the discharge of his office he maintained the state and ceremonial of a +viceroy, and was tenacious of his rank and privileges; not from a mere +vulgar love of titles, but because he prized them as testimonials and +trophies of his achievements: these he jealously cherished as his great +rewards. In his repeated applications to the king, he insisted merely on +the restitution of his dignities. As to his pecuniary dues and all +questions relative to mere revenue, he offered to leave them to +arbitration or even to the absolute disposition of the monarch; but not so +his official dignities; "these things," said he nobly, "affect my honor." +In his testament, he enjoined on his son Diego, and whoever after him +should inherit his estates, whatever dignities and titles might afterwards +be granted by the king, always to sign himself simply "the admiral," by +way of perpetuating in the family its real source of greatness. + +His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views, and the +magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of scouring the newly-found countries, +like a grasping adventurer eager only for immediate gain, as was too +generally the case with contemporary discoverers, he sought to ascertain +their soil and productions, their rivers and harbors: he was desirous of +colonizing and cultivating them; of conciliating and civilizing the +natives; of building cities; introducing the useful arts; subjecting every +thing to the control of law, order, and religion; and thus of founding +regular and prosperous empires. In this glorious plan he was constantly +defeated by the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to command; +with whom all law was tyranny, and all order restraint. They interrupted +all useful works by their seditions; provoked the peaceful Indians to +hostility; and after they had thus drawn down misery and warfare upon +their own heads, and overwhelmed Columbus with the ruins of the edifice he +was building, they charged him with being the cause of the confusion. + +Well would it have been for Spain had those who followed in the track of +Columbus possessed his sound policy and liberal views. The New World, in +such cases, would have been settled by pacific colonists, and civilized by +enlightened legislators; instead of being overrun by desperate +adventurers, and desolated by avaricious conquerors. + +Columbus was a man of quick sensibility, liable to great excitement, to +sudden and strong impressions, and powerful impulses. He was naturally +irritable and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet +the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the benevolence and +generosity of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through +all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his +dignity, and braved in the exercise of his command; though foiled in his +plans, and endangered in his person by the seditions of turbulent and +worthless men, and that too at times when suffering under anxiety of mind +and anguish of body sufficient to exasperate the most patient, yet he +restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, by the strong powers of his +mind, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate: +nor should we fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, +how ready to forgive and forget, on the least signs of repentance and +atonement. He has been extolled for his skill in controlling others; but +far greater praise is due to him for his firmness in governing himself. + +His natural benignity made him accessible to all kinds of pleasurable +sensations from external objects. In his letters and journals, instead of +detailing circumstances with the technical precision of a mere navigator, +he notices the beauties of nature with the enthusiasm of a poet or a +painter. As he coasts the shores of the New World, the reader participates +in the enjoyment with which he describes, in his imperfect but picturesque +Spanish, the varied objects around him; the blandness of the temperature, +the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air, "full of dew and +sweetness," the verdure of the forests, the magnificence of the trees, the +grandeur of the mountains, and the limpidity and freshness of the running +streams. New delight springs up for him in every scene. He extols each new +discovery as more beautiful than the last, and each as the most beautiful +in the world; until, with his simple earnestness, he tells the sovereigns, +that, having spoken so highly of the preceding islands, he fears that they +will not credit him, when he declares that the one he is actually +describing surpasses them all in excellence. + +In the same ardent and unstudied way he expresses his emotions on various +occasions, readily affected by impulses of joy or grief, of pleasure or +indignation. When surrounded and overwhelmed by the ingratitude and +violence of worthless men, he often, in the retirement of his cabin, gave +way to bursts of sorrow, and relieved his overladen heart by sighs and +groans. When he returned in chains to Spain, and came into the presence +of Isabella, instead of continuing the lofty pride with which he had +hitherto sustained his injuries, he was touched with grief and tenderness +at her sympathy, and burst forth into sobs and tears. + +He was devoutly pious; religion mingled with the whole course of his +thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied +writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he celebrated it by solemn +thanks to God. The voice of prayer and melody of praise rose from his +ships when they first beheld the New World, and his first action on +landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth and return thanksgivings. +Every evening, the _Salve Regina_, and other vesper hymns, were +chanted by his crew and masses were performed in the beautiful groves +bordering the wild shores of this heathen land. All his great enterprises +were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the +communion previous to embarkation. He was a firm believer in the efficacy +of vows and penances and pilgrimages, and resorted to them in times of +difficulty and danger. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul +diffused a sober dignity and benign composure over his whole demeanor. His +language was pure and guarded, and free from all imprecations, oaths, and +other irreverent expressions. + +It cannot be denied, however, that his piety was mingled with +superstition, and darkened by the bigotry of the age. He evidently +concurred in the opinion, that all nations which did not acknowledge the +Christian faith were destitute of natural rights; that the sternest +measures might be used for their conversion, and the severest punishments +inflicted upon their obstinacy in unbelief. In this spirit of bigotry he +considered himself justified in making captives of the Indians, and +transporting them to Spain to have them taught the doctrines of +Christianity, and in selling them for slaves if they pretended to resist +his invasions. In so doing he sinned against the natural goodness of his +character, and against the feelings which he had originally entertained +and expressed towards this gentle hospitable people; but he was goaded on +by the mercenary impatience of the crown, and by the sneers of his enemies +at the unprofitable result of his enterprises. It is but justice to his +character to observe, that the enslavement of the Indians thus taken in +battle was at first openly countenanced by the crown, and that, when the +question of right came to be discussed at the entreaty of the queen, +several of the most distinguished jurists and theologians advocated the +practice; so that the question was finally settled in favor of the Indians +solely by the humanity of Isabella. As the venerable bishop Las Casas +observes, where the most learned men have doubted, it is not surprising +that an unlearned mariner should err. + +These remarks, in palliation of the conduct of Columbus, are required by +candor. It is proper to show him in connection with the age in which he +lived, lest the errors of the times should be considered as his individual +faults. It is not the intention of the author, however, to justify +Columbus on a point where it is inexcusable to err. Let it remain a blot +on his illustrious name, and let others derive a lesson from it. + +We have already hinted at a peculiar trait in his rich and varied +character; that ardent and enthusiastic imagination which threw a +magnificence over his whole course of thought. Herrera intimates that he +had a talent for poetry, and some slight traces of it are on record in the +book of prophecies which he presented to the Catholic sovereigns. But his +poetical temperament is discernible throughout all his writings and in all +his actions. It spread a golden and glorious world around him, and tinged +every thing with its own gorgeous colors. It betrayed him into visionary +speculations, which subjected him to the sneers and cavilings of men of +cooler and safer but more groveling minds. Such were the conjectures +formed on the coast of Paria about the form of the earth, and the +situation of the terrestrial paradise; about the mines of Ophir in +Hispaniola, and the Aurea Chersonesus in Veragua; and such was the heroic +scheme of a crusade for the recovery of the holy sepulchre. It mingled +with his religion, and filled his mind with solemn and visionary +meditations on mystic passages of the Scriptures, and the shadowy portents +of the prophecies. It exalted his office in his eyes, and made him +conceive himself an agent sent forth upon a sublime and awful mission, +subject to impulses and supernatural intimations from the Deity; such as +the voice which he imagined spoke to him in comfort amidst the troubles of +Hispaniola, and in the silence of the night on the disastrous coast of +Veragua. + +He was decidedly a visionary, but a visionary of an uncommon and +successful kind. The manner in which his ardent, imaginative, and +mercurial nature was controlled by a powerful judgment, and directed by an +acute sagacity, is the most extraordinary feature in his character. Thus +governed, his imagination, instead of exhausting itself in idle flights, +lent aid to his judgment, and enabled him to form conclusions at which +common minds could never have arrived, nay, which they could not perceive +when pointed out. + +To his intellectual vision it was given to read the signs of the times, +and to trace, in the conjectures and reveries of past ages, the +indications of an unknown world; as soothsayers were said to read +predictions in the stars, and to foretell events from the visions of the +night. "His soul," observes a Spanish writer, "was superior to the age in +which he lived. For him was reserved the great enterprise of traversing +that sea which had given rise to so many fables, and of deciphering the +mystery of his time." [238] + +With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell +short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his +discovery. Until his last breath he entertained the idea that he had +merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had +discovered some of the wild regions of the East. He supposed Hispaniola to +be the ancient Ophir which had been visited by the ships of Solomon, and +that Cuba and Terra Firma were but remote parts of Asia. What visions of +glory would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had +indeed discovered a new continent, equal to the whole of the old world in +magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto +known by civilized man! And how would his magnanimous spirit have been +consoled, amidst the afflictions of age and the cares of penury, the +neglect of a fickle public, and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could +he have anticipated the splendid empires which were to spread over the +beautiful world he had discovered; and the nations, and tongues, and +languages which were to fill its lands with his renown, and revere and +bless his name to the latest posterity! + + + + + +Appendix: + +Containing Illustrations and Documents. + + + + +No. I. + +Transportation of the Remains of Columbus from St. Domingo to the Havana. + + + +At the termination of a war between France and Spain, in 1795, all the +Spanish possessions in the island of Hispaniola were ceded to France, by +the 9th article of the treaty of peace. To assist in the accomplishment of +this cession, a Spanish squadron was dispatched to the island at the +appointed time, commanded by Don Gabriel de Aristizabal, lieutenant-general +of the royal armada. On the 11th December, 1795, that commander wrote to +the field-marshal and governor, Don Joaquin Garcia, resident at St. +Domingo, that, being informed that the remains of the celebrated admiral +Don Christopher Columbus lay in the cathedral of that city, he felt it +incumbent on him as a Spaniard, and as commander-in-chief of his majesty's +squadron of operations, to solicit the translation of the ashes of that +hero to the island of Cuba, which had likewise been discovered by him, and +where he had first planted the standard of the cross. He expressed a desire +that this should be done officially, and with great care and formality, +that it might not remain in the power of any one, by a careless +transportation of these honored remains, to lose a relic, connected with +an event which formed the most glorious epoch of Spanish history, and that +it might be manifested to all nations, that Spaniards, notwithstanding the +lapse of ages, never ceased to pay all honors to the remains of that +"worthy and adventurous general of the seas;" nor abandoned them, when the +various public bodies, representing the Spanish dominion, emigrated from +the island. As he had not time, without great inconvenience, to consult +the sovereign on this subject, he had recourse to the governor, as royal +vice-patron of the island, hoping that his solicitation might be granted, +and the remains of the admiral exhumed and conveyed to the island of Cuba, +in the ship San Lorenzo. + +The generous wishes of this high-minded Spaniard met with warm concurrence +on the part of the governor. He informed him in reply, that the duke of +Veraguas, lineal successor of Columbus, had manifested the same +solicitude, and had sent directions that the necessary measures should be +taken at his expense; and had at the same time expressed a wish that the +bones of the Adelantado, Don Bartholomew Columbus, should likewise be +exhumed; transmitting inscriptions to be put upon the sepulchres of both. +He added, that although the king had given no orders on the subject, yet +the proposition being so accordant with the grateful feelings of the +Spanish nation, and meeting with the concurrence of all the authorities of +the island, he was ready on his part to carry it into execution. The +commandant-general Aristizabal then made a similar communication to the +archbishop of Cuba, Don Fernando Portillo y Torres, whose metropolis was +then the city of St. Domingo, hoping to receive his countenance and aid in +this pious undertaking. The reply of the archbishop was couched in terms +of high courtesy towards the gallant commander, and deep reverence for the +memory of Columbus, and expressed a zeal in rendering this tribute of +gratitude and respect to the remains of one who had done so much for the +glory of the nation. + +The persons empowered to act for the duke of Veraguas, the venerable dean +and chapter of the cathedral, and all the other persons and authorities to +whom Don Gabriel de Aristizabal made similar communications, manifested +the same eagerness to assist in the performance of this solemn and +affecting rite. + +The worthy commander Aristizabal, having taken all these preparatory steps +with great form and punctilio, so as that the ceremony should be performed +in a public and striking manner, suitable to the fame of Columbus, the +whole was carried into eflect with becoming pomp and solemnity. + +On the 20th December, 1795, the most distinguished persons of the place, +the dignitaries of the church, and civil and military officers, assembled +in the metropolitan cathedral. In the presence of this august assemblage, +a small vault was opened above the chancel, in the principal wall on the +right side of the high altar. Within were found the fragments of a leaden +coffin, a number of bones, and a quantity of mould, evidently the remains +of a human body. These were carefully collected and put into a case of +gilded lead, about half an ell in length and breadth, and a third in +height, secured by an iron lock, the key of which was delivered to the +archbishop. The case was inclosed in a coffin covered with black velvet, +and ornamented with lace and fringe of gold. The whole was then placed in +a temporary tomb or mansoleum. + +On the following day, there was another grand convocation at the +cathedral, when the vigils and masses for the dead were solemnly chanted +by the archbishop, accompanied by the commandant-general of the armada, +the Dominican and Franciscan friars, and the friars of the order of Mercy, +together with the rest of the distinguished assemblage. After this a +funeral sermon was preached, by the archbishop. + +On the same day, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the coffin was +transported to the ship with the utmost state and ceremony, with a civil, +religious, add military procession, banners wrapped in mourning, chants +and responses, and discharges of artillery. The most distinguished persons +of the several orders took turn to support the coffin. The key was taken +with great formality from the hands of the archbishop by the governor, and +given into the hands of the commander of the armada, to be delivered by +him to the governor of the Havana, to be held in deposit until the +pleasure of the king should be known. The coffin was received on board of +a brigantine called the Discoverer, which, with all the other shipping, +displayed mourning signals, and saluted the remains with the honors paid +to an admiral. + +From the port of St. Domingo the coffin was conveyed to the bay of Ocoa +and there transferred to the ship San Lorenzo. It was accompanied by a +portrait of Columbus, sent from Spain by the duke of Veraguas, to be +suspended close by the place where the remains of his illustrious ancestor +should be deposited. + +The ship immediately made sail and arrived at Havana in Cuba, on the 15th +of January, 1796. Here the same deep feeling of reverence to the memory of +the discoverer was evinced. The principal authorities repaired on board of +the ship, accompanied by the superior naval and military officers. Every +thing was conducted with the same circumstantial and solemn ceremonial. +The remains were removed with great reverence, and placed in a felucca, in +which they were conveyed to land in the midst of a procession of three +columns of feluccas and boats in the royal service, all properly +decorated, containing distinguished military and ministerial officers. Two +feluccas followed, in one of which was a marine guard of honor, with +mourning banners and muffled drums; and in the other were the +commandant-general, the principal minister of marine, and the military +staff. In passing the vessels of war in the harbor, they all paid the +honors due to an admiral and captain-general of the navy. On arriving at +the mole, the remains were met by the governor of the island, accompanied +by the generals and the military staff. The coffin was then conveyed +between files of soldiery which lined the streets to the obelisk, in the +place of arms, where it was received in a hearse prepared for the purpose. +Here the remains were formally delivered to the governor and +captain-general of the island, the key given up to him, the coffin opened +and examined, and the safe transportation of its contents authenticated. +This ceremony being concluded, it was conveyed in grand procession and +with the utmost pomp to the cathedral. Masses and the solemn ceremonies +of the dead were performed by the bishop, and the mortal remains of +Columbus deposited with great reverence in the wall on the right side of +the grand altar. "All these honors and ceremonies," says the document, +from whence this notice is digested, [239] "were attended by the +ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries, the public bodies and all the +nobility and gentry of Havana, in proof of the high estimation and +respectful remembrance in which they held the hero who had discovered the +New World, and had been the first to plant the standard of the cross on +that island." + +This is the last occasion that the Spanish nation has had to testify its +feelings towards the memory of Columbus, and it is with deep satisfaction +that the author of this work has been able to cite at large a ceremonial +so solemn, affecting, and noble in its details, and so honorable to the +national character. + +When we read of the remains of Columbus, thus conveyed from the port of +St. Domingo, after an interval of nearly three hundred years, as sacred +national relics, with civic and military pomp, and high religious +ceremonial; the most dignified and illustrious men striving who most +should pay them reverence; we cannot but reflect that it was from this +very port lie was carried off loaded with ignominious chains, blasted +apparently in fame and fortune, and followed by the revilings of the +rabble. Such honors, it is true, are nothing to the dead, nor can they +atone to the heart, now dust and ashes, for all the wrongs and sorrows it +may have suffered; but they speak volumes of comfort to the illustrious, +yet slandered and persecuted living, encouraging them bravely to bear with +present injuries, by showing them how true merit outlives all calumny, and +receives its glorious reward in the admiration of after ages. + + + + +No. II. + +Notice of the Descendants of Columbus. + + + +On the death of Columbus his son Diego succeeded to his rights, as +viceroy and governor of the New World, according to the express +capitulations between the sovereigns and his father. He appears by the +general consent of historians to have been a man of great integrity, of +respectable talents, and of a frank and generous nature. Herrera speaks +repeatedly of the gentleness and urbanity of his manners, and pronounces +him of a noble disposition and without deceit. This absence of all guile +frequently laid him open to the stratagems of crafty men, grown old in +deception, who rendered his life a continued series of embarrassments; but +the probity of his character, with the irresistible power of truth, bore +him through difficulties in which more politic and subtle men would have +been entangled and completely lost. + +Immediately after the death of the admiral, Don Diego came forward as +lineal successor, and urged the restitution of the family offices and +privileges, which had been suspended during the latter years of his +father's life. If the cold and wary Ferdinand, however, could forget his +obligations of gratitude and justice to Columbus, he had less difficulty +in turning a deaf ear to the solicitations of his son. For two years Don +Diego pressed his suit with fruitless diligence. He felt the apparent +distrust of the monarch the more sensibly, from having been brought up +under his eye, as a page in the royal household, where his character ought +to be well known and appreciated. At length, on the return of Ferdinand +from Naples in 1508, he put to him a direct question, with the frankness +attributed to his character. He demanded "why his majesty would not grant +to him as a favor, that which was his right, and why he hesitated to +confide in the fidelity of one who had been reared in his house." +Ferdinand replied that he could fully confide in him, but could not repose +so great a trust at a venture in his children and successors. To this Don +Diego rejoined, that it was contrary to all justice and reason to make him +suffer for the sins of his children who might never be born. [240] + +Still, though he had reason and justice on his side, the young admiral +found it impossible to bring the wary monarch to a compliance. Finding all +appeal to all his ideas of equity or sentiments of generosity in vain, he +solicited permission to pursue his claim in the ordinary course of law. +The king could not refuse so reasonable a request, and Don Diego commenced +a process against king Ferdinand before the council of the Indies, founded +on the repeated capitulations between the crown and his father, and +embracing all the dignities and immunities ceded by them. + +One ground of opposition to these claims was, that if the capitulation, +made by the sovereigns in 1492, had granted a perpetual viceroyalty to the +admiral and his heirs, such grant could not stand; being contrary to the +interest of the state, and to an express law promulgated in Toledo in +1480; wherein it was ordained that no office, involving the administration +of justice, should be given in perpetuity; that therefore, the viceroyalty +granted to the admiral could only have been for his life; and that even +during that term it had justly been taken from him for his misconduct. +That such concessions were contrary to the inherent prerogatives of the +crown, of which the government could not divest itself. To this Don Diego +replied, that as to the validity of the capitulation, it was a binding +contract, and none of its privileges ought to be restricted. That as by +royal schedules dated in Villa Franca, June 2d, 1506, and Almazan, Aug. +28, 1507, it had been ordered that he, Don Diego, should receive the +tenths, so equally ought the other privileges to be accorded to him. As to +the allegation that his lather had been deprived of his viceroyalty for +his demerits, it was contrary to all truth. It had been audacity on the +part of Bobadilla to send him a prisoner to Spain in 1500, and contrary to +the will and command of the sovereigns, as was proved by their letter, +dated from Valencia de la Torre in 1502, in which they expressed grief at +his arrest, and assured him that it should be redressed, and his +privileges guarded entire to himself and his children. [241] + +This memorable suit was commenced in 1508, and continued for several +years. In the course of it the claims of Don Diego were disputed, +likewise, on the plea that his father was not the original discoverer of +Terra Firma, but only subsequently of certain portions of it. This, +however, was completely controverted by overwhelming testimony. The claims +of Don Diego were minutely discussed and rigidly examined; and the +unanimous decision of the council of the Indies in his favor, while it +reflected honor on the justice and independence of that body, silenced +many petty cavilers at the fair fame of Columbus. [242] Notwithstanding +this decision, the wily monarch wanted neither means nor pretexts to delay +the ceding of such vast powers, so repugnant to his cautious policy. The +young admiral was finally indebted for his success in this suit to +previous success attained in a suit of a different nature. He had become +enamored of Doña Maria de Toledo, daughter of Fernando de Toledo, grand +commander of Leon, and niece to Don Fadrique de Toledo, the celebrated +duke of Alva, chief favorite of the king. This was aspiring to a high +connection. The father and uncle of the lady were the most powerful +grandees of the proud kingdom of Spain, and cousins german to Ferdinand. +The glory, however, which Columbus had left behind, rested upon his +children, and the claims of Don Diego, recently confirmed by the council, +involved dignities and wealth sufficient to raise him to a level with the +loftiest alliance. He found no difficulty in obtaining the hand of the +lady, and thus was the foreign family of Columbus ingrafted on one of the +proudest races of Spain. The natural consequences followed. Diego had +secured that magical power called "connections;" and the favor of + Ferdinand, which had been so long withheld from him, as the son of +Columbus, shone upon him, though coldly, as the nephew of the duke of +Alva. The father and uncle of his bride succeeded, though with great +difficulty, in conquering the repugnance of the monarch, and after all he +but granted in part the justice they required. He ceded to Don Diego +merely the dignities and powers enjoyed by Nicholas de Ovando, who was +recalled; and he cautiously withheld the title of viceroy. + +The recall of Ovando was not merely a measure to make room for Don Diego; +it was the tardy performance of a promise made to Isabella on her +death-bed. The expiring queen had demanded it as a punishment for the +massacre of her poor Indian subjects at Xaragua, and the cruel and +ignominious execution of the female cacique Anacaona. Thus retribution was +continually going its rounds in the checkered destinies of this island, +which has ever presented a little epitome of human history; its errors and +crimes, and consequent disasters. + +In complying with the request of the queen, however, Ferdinand was +favorable towards Ovando. He did not feel the same generous sympathies +with his late consort, and, however Ovando had sinned against humanity in +his treatment of the Indians, he had been a vigilant officer, and his very +oppressions had in general proved profitable to the crown. Ferdinand +directed that the fleet which took out the new governor should return +under the command of Ovando, and that he should retain undisturbed +enjoyment of any property or Indian slaves that might be found in his +possession. Some have represented Ovando as a man far from mercenary; that +the wealth wrung from the miseries of the natives was for his sovereign, +not for himself; and it is intimated that one secret cause of his disgrace +was his having made an enemy of the all-powerful and unforgiving Fonseca. +[243] + +The new admiral embarked at St. Lucar, June 9, 1509, with his wife, his +brother Don Fernando, who was now grown to man's estate, and had been well +educated, and his two uncles, Don Bartholomew and Don Diego. They were +accompanied by a numerous retinue of cavaliers, with their wives, and of +young ladies of rank and family, more distinguished, it is hinted, for +high blood than large fortune, and who were sent out to find wealthy +husbands in the New World. [244] + +Though the king had not granted Don Diego the dignity of viceroy, the +title was generally given to him by courtesy, and his wife was universally +addressed by that of vice-queen. + +Don Diego commenced his rule with a degree of splendor hitherto unknown in +the colony. The vice-queen, who was a lady of great desert, surrounded by +the noble cavaliers and the young ladies of family who had come in her +retinue, established a sort of court, which threw a degree of lustre over +the half savage island. The young ladies were soon married to the +wealthiest colonists, and contributed greatly to soften those rude manners +which had grown up in a state of society hitherto destitute of the +salutary restraint and pleasing decorum produced by female influence. + +Don Diego had considered his appointment in the light of a vice-royalty, +but the king soon took measures which showed that he admitted of no such +pretension. Without any reference to Don Diego, he divided the coast of +Darien into two great provinces, separated by an imaginary line running +through the Gulf of Uraba, appointing Alonzo de Ojeda governor of the +eastern province, which he called New Andalusia, and Diego de Nicuessa +governor of the western province, which included the rich coast of +Veragua, and which he called Castilla del Oro, or Golden Castile. Had the +monarch been swayed by principles of justice and gratitude, the settlement +of this coast would have been given to the Adelantado, Don Bartholomew +Columbus, who had assisted in the discovery of the country, and, together +with his brother the admiral, had suffered so greatly in the enterprise. +Even his superior abilities for the task should have pointed him out to +the policy of the monarch; but the cautious and [245] calculating +Ferdinand knew the lofty spirit of the Adelantado, and that he would be +disposed to demand high and dignified terms. He passed him by, therefore, +and preferred more eager and accommodating adventurers. + +Don Diego was greatly aggrieved at this measure, thus adopted without his +participation or knowledge. He justly considered it an infringement of the +capitulations granted and repeatedly confirmed to his father and his +heirs. He had further vexations and difficulties with respect to the +government of the island of St. Juan, or Porto Rico, which was conquered +and settled about this time; but after a variety of cross purposes, the +officers whom he appointed were ultimately recognized by the crown. + +Like his father, he had to contend with malignant factions in his +government; for the enemies of the father transferred their enmity to the +son. There was one Miguel Pasamonte, the king's treasurer, who became his +avowed enemy, under the support and chiefly at the instigation of the +bishop Fonseca, who continued to the son the implacable hostility which he +had manifested to the father. A variety of trivial circumstances +contributed to embroil him with some of the petty officers of the colony, +and there was a remnant of the followers of Bohian who arrayed themselves +against him. [246] + +Two factions soon arose in the island; one of the admiral, the other of +the treasurer Pasamonte. The latter affected to call themselves the party +of the king. They gave all possible molestation to Don Diego, and sent +home the most virulent and absurd misrepresentations of his conduct. Among +others, they represented a large house with many windows which he was +building, as intended for a fortress, and asserted that he had a design to +make himself sovereign of the island. King Ferdinand, who was now +advancing in years, had devolved the affairs of the Indies in a great +measure on Fonseca,[247] who had superintended them from the +first, and he was greatly guided by the advice of that prelate, which was +not likely to be favorable to the descendants of Columbus. The complaints +from the colonies were so artfully enforced, therefore, that he +established in 1510 a sovereign court at St. Domingo, called the royal +audience, to which an appeal might be made from all sentences of the +admiral, even in cases reserved hitherto exclusively for the crown. Don +Diego considered this a suspicious and injurious measure intended to +demolish his authority. + +Frank, open, and unsuspicious, the young admiral was not formed for a +contest with the crafty politicians arrayed against him, who were ready +and adroit in seizing upon his slightest errors, and magnifying them into +crimes. Difficulties were multiplied in his path which it was out of his +power to overcome. He had entered upon office full of magnanimous +intentions; determined to put an end to oppression, and correct all +abuses; all good men therefore had rejoiced at his appointment; but he +soon found that he had overrated his strength, and undervalued the +difficulties awaiting him. He calculated from his own good heart, but he +had no idea of the wicked hearts of others. He was opposed to the +repartimientos of Indians, that source of all kinds of inhumanity; but he +found all the men of wealth in the colony, and most of the important +persons of the court, interested in maintaining them. He perceived that +the attempt to abolish them would be dangerous, and the result +questionable: at the same time this abuse was a source of immense profit +to himself. Self-interest, therefore, combined with other considerations, +and what at first appeared difficult, seemed presently impracticable. The +repartimientos continued in the state in which he found them, excepting +that he removed such of the superintendents as had been cruel and +oppressive, and substituted men of his own appointment, who probably +proved equally worthless. His friends were disappointed, his enemies +encouraged; a hue and cry was raised against him by the friends of those +he had displaced; and it was even said that if Ovando had not died about +this time, he would have been sent out to supplant Don Diego. + +The subjugation and settlement of the island of Cuba in 1510, was a +fortunate event in the administration of the present admiral. He +congratulated king Ferdinand on having acquired the largest and most +beautiful island in the world without losing a single man. The +intelligence was highly acceptable to the king; but it was accompanied by +a great number of complaints against the admiral. Little affection as +Ferdinand felt for Don Diego, he was still aware that most of these +representations were false, and had their origin in the jealousy and envy +of his enemies. He judged it expedient, however, in 1512, to send out Don +Bartholomew Columbus with minute instructions to his nephew the admiral. + +Don Bartholomew still retained the office of Adelantado of the Indies; +although Ferdinand, through selfish motives, detained him in Spain, while +he employed inferior men in voyages of discovery. He now added to his +appointments the property and government of the little island of Mona +during life, and assigned him a repartimiento of two hundred Indians, with +the superintendence of the mines which might be discovered in Cuba; an +office which proved very lucrative. [248] + +Among the instructions given by the king to Don Diego, he directed that, +in consequence of the representations of the Dominican friars, the labor +of the natives should be reduced to one-third; that negro slaves should be +procured from Guinea as a relief to the Indians; [249] and that Carib +slaves should be branded on the leg, to prevent other Indians from being +confounded with them and subjected to harsh treatment. [250] + +The two governors, Ojeda and Nicuessa, whom the king had appointed to +colonize and command at the Isthmus of Darien, in Terra Firma, having +failed in their undertaking, the sovereign, in 1514, wrote to Hispaniola, +permitting the Adelantado, Don Bartholomew, if so inclined, to take charge +of settling the coast of Veragua, and to govern that country under the +admiral Don Diego, conformably to his privileges. Had the king consulted +his own interest, and the deference due to the talents and services of the +Adelantado, this measure would have been taken at an earlier date. It was +now too late: illness prevented Don Bartholomew from executing the +enterprise; and his active and toilsome life was drawing to a close. + +Many calumnies having been sent home to Spain by Pasamonte and other +enemies of Don Diego, and various measures being taken by government, +which he conceived derogatory to his dignity, and injurious to his +privileges, he requested and obtained permission to repair to court, that +he might explain and vindicate his conduct. He departed, accordingly, on +April 9th, 1515, leaving the Adelantado with the vice-queen, Dofia Maria. +He was received with great honor by the king; and he merited such a +reception. He had succeeded in every enterprise he had undertaken or +directed. The pearl fishery had been successfully established on the coast +of Cubagua; the islands of Cuba and of Jamaica had been subjected and +brought under cultivation without bloodshed; his conduct as governor had +been upright; and he had only excited the representations made against +him, by endeavoring to lessen the oppression of the natives. The king +ordered that all processes against him in the court of appeal and +elsewhere, for damages done to individuals in regulating the +repartimientos, should be discontinued, and the cases sent to himself for +consideration. But with all these favors, as the admiral claimed a share +of the profits of the provinces of Castilla del Oro, saying that it was +discovered by his father, as the names of its places, such as Nombre de +Dios, Porto Bello, and el Retrete, plainly proved, the king ordered that +interrogatories should be made among the mariners who had sailed with +Christopher Columbus, in the hope of proving that he had not discovered +the coast of Darien nor the Gulf of Uraba. "Thus," adds Herrera, "Don +Diego was always involved in litigations with the fiscal, so that he might +truly say that he was heir to the troubles of his father." [251] + +Not long after the departure of Don Diego from St. Domingo, his uncle, Don +Bartholomew, ended his active and laborious life. No particulars are given +of his death, nor is there mention made of his age, which must have been +advanced. King Ferdinand is said to have expressed great concern at the +event, for he had a high opinion of the character and talents of the +Adelantado: "a man," says Herrera, "of not less worth than his brother the +admiral, and who, if he had been employed, would have given great proofs +of it; for he was an excellent seaman, valiant and of great heart." +[252] Charlevoix attributes the inaction in which Don Bartholomew had been +suffered to remain for several years, to the jealousy and parsimony of the +king. He found the house already too powerful, and the Adelantado, had he +discovered Mexico, was a man to make as good conditions as had been made +by the admiral his brother. [253] It was said, observed Herrera, that the +king rather preferred to employ him in his European affairs, though it +could only have been to divert him from other objects. On his death the +king resumed to himself the island of Mona, which he had given to him for +life, and transferred his repartimiento of two hundred Indians to the +vice-queen Doña Maria. + +While the admiral Don Diego was pressing for an audience in his +vindication at court, King Ferdinand died on the 23d January, 1516. His +grandson and successor, Prince Charles, afterwards the emperor Charles V., +was in Flanders. The government rested for a time with Cardinal Ximenes, +who would not undertake to decide on the representations and claims of the +admiral. It was not until 1520 that he obtained from the emperor Charles +V. a recognition of his innocence of all the charges against him. The +emperor, finding that what Pasamonte and his party had written were +notorious calumnies, ordered Don Diego to resume his charge, although the +process with the fiscal was still pending, and that Pasamonte should be +written to, requesting him to forget all past passions and differences and +to enter into amicable relations with Don Diego. Among other acts of +indemnification he acknowledged his right to exercise his office of +viceroy and governor in the island of Hispaniola, and in all parts +discovered by his father. [254] His authority was, however, much +diminished by new regulations, and a supervisor appointed over him with +the right to give information to the council against him, but with no +other powers. Don Diego sailed in the beginning of September, 1520, and +on his arrival at St. Domingo, finding that several of the governors, +presuming on his long absence, had arrogated to themselves independence, +and had abused their powers, he immediately sent persons to supersede +them, and demanded an account of their administration. This made him a +host of active and powerful enemies both in the colonies and in Spain. + +Considerable changes had taken place in the island of Hispaniola, during +the absence of the admiral. The mines had fallen into neglect, the +cultivation of the sugar-cane having been found a more certain source of +wealth. It became a by-word in Spain that the magnificent palaces erected +by Charles V. at Madrid and Toledo were built of the sugar of Hispaniola. +Slaves had been imported in great numbers from Africa, being found more +serviceable in the culture of the cane than the feeble Indians. The +treatment of the poor negroes was cruel in the extreme; and they seem to +have had no advocates even among the humane. The slavery of the Indians +had been founded on the right of the strong; but it was thought that the +negroes, from their color, were born to slavery; and that from being +bought and sold in their own country, it was their natural condition. +Though a patient and enduring race, the barbarities inflated on them at +length roused them to revenge, and on the 27th December, 1522, there was +the first African revolt in Hispaniola. It began in a sugar plantation of +the admiral Don Diego, where about twenty slaves, joined by an equal +number from a neighboring plantation, got possession of arms, rose on +their superintendents, massacred them, and sallied forth upon the country. +It was their intention to pillage certain plantations, to kill the whites, +reinforce themselves by freeing their countrymen, and either to possess +themselves of the town of Agua, or to escape to the mountains. + +Don Diego set out from St. Domingo in search of the rebels, followed by +several of the principal inhabitants. On the second day he stopped on the +banks of the river Nizao to rest his party and suffer reinforcements to +overtake him. Here one Melchor de Castro, who accompanied the admiral, +learnt that the negroes had ravaged his plantation, sacked his house, +killed one of his men, and carried off his Indian slaves. Without asking +leave of the admiral, he departed in the night with two companions, +visited his plantation, found all in confusion, and, pursuing the negroes, +sent to the admiral for aid. Eight horsemen were hastily dispatched to his +assistance, armed with bucklers and lances, and having six of the infantry +mounted behind them. De Castro had three horsemen beside this +reinforcement, and at the head of this little band overtook the negroes at +break of day. The insurgents put themselves in battle array, armed with +stones and Indian spears, and uttering loud shouts and outcries. The +Spanish horsemen braced their bucklers, couched their lances, and charged +them at full speed. The negroes were soon routed, and fled to the rocks, +leaving six dead and several wounded. De Castro also was wounded in the +arm. The admiral coming up, assisted in the pursuit of the fugitives. As +fast as they were taken they were hanged on the nearest trees, and +remained suspended as spectacles of terror to their countrymen. This +prompt severity checked all further attempts at revolt among the African +slaves. [255] + +In the meantime the various enemies whom Don Diego had created, both in +the colonies and in Spain, were actively and successfully employed. His +old antagonist, the treasurer Pasnmonte, had charged him with usurping +almost all the powers of the royal audience, and with having given to the +royal declaration, re-establishing him in his office of viceroy, an extent +never intended by the sovereign. These representations had weight at +court, and in 1523 Don Diego received a most severe letter from the +council of the Indies, charging him with the various abuses and excesses +alleged against him, and commanding him, on pain of forfeiting all his +privileges and titles, to revoke the innovations he had made, and restore +things to their former state. To prevent any plea of ignorance of this +mandate, the royal audience was enjoined to promulgate it and to call upon +all persons to conform to it, and to see that it was properly obeyed. The +admiral received also a letter from the council, informing him that Jus +presence was necessary in Spain, to give information of the foregoing +matters, and advice relative to the reformation of various abuses, and to +the treatment and preservation of the Indians; he was requested, +therefore, to repair to court without waiting for further orders. +[256] + +Don Diego understood this to be a peremptory recall, and obeyed +accordingly. On his arrival in Spain, he immediately presented himself +before the court at Victoria, with the frank and fearless spirit of an +upright man, and pleaded his cause so well, that the sovereign and council +acknowledged his innocence on all the points of accusation. He convinced +them, moreover, of the exactitude with which he had discharged his duties; +of his zeal for the public good, and the glory of the crown; and that all +the representations against him rose from the jealousy and enmity of +Pasaraonte and other royal oflicers in the colonies, who were impatient of +any superior authority in the island to restrain them. + +Having completely established his innocence, and exposed the calumnies of +his enemies, Don Diego trusted that he would soon obtain justice as to all +his claims. As these, however, involved a participation in the profits of +vast and richly productive provinces, he experienced the delays and +difficulties usual with such demands, for it is only when justice costs +nothing that it is readily rendered. His earnest solicitations at length +obtained an order from the emperor, that a commission should be formed, +composed of the grand chancellor, the friar Loyasa, confessor to the +emperor, and president of the royal council of the Indies, and a number of +other distinguished personages. They were to inquire into the various +points in dispute between the admiral and the fiscal, and into the +proceedings which had taken place in the council of the Indies, with the +power of determining what justice required in the case. The affair, +however, was protracted to such a length, and accompanied by so many +toils, vexations, and disappointments, that the unfortunate Diego, like +his father, died in the pursuit. For two years he had followed the court +from city to city, during its migrations from Victoria to Burgos, +Valladolid, Madrid, and Toledo. In the winter of 1525, the emperor set out +from Toledo for Seville. The admiral undertook to follow him, though his +constitution was broken by fatigue and vexation, and he was wasting under +the attack of a slow fever. Oviedo, the historian, saw him at Toledo two +days before his departure, and joined with his friends in endeavoring to +dissuade him from a journey in such a state of health, and at such a +season. Their persuasions were in vain. Don Diego was not aware of the +extent of his malady: he told them that he should repair to Seville by the +church of our Lady of Guadaloupe, to offer up his devotions at that +shrine; and he trusted, through the intercession of the mother of God, +soon to be restored to health. [257] He accordingly left Toledo in a +litter on the 21st of February, 1526, having previously confessed and +taken the communion, and arrived the same day at Montalvan, distant about +six leagues. There his illness increased to such a degree that he saw his +end approaching. He employed the following day in arranging the affairs +of his conscience, and expired on February 23d, being little more than +fifty years of age, his premature death having been hastened by the +griefs and troubles he had experienced. "He was worn out," says Herrera, +"by following up his claims, and defending himself from the calumnies of +his competitors, who, with many stratagems and devices, sought to obscure +the glory of the father and the virtue of the son." [258] + +We have seen how the discovery of the New World rendered the residue of +the life of Columbus a tissue of wrongs, hardships, and afflictions, and +how the jealousy and enmity he had awakened were inherited by his son. It +remains to show briefly in what degree the anticipations of perpetuity, +wealth, and honor to his family were fulfilled. + +When Don Diego Columbus died, his wife and family were at St. Domingo. He +left two sons, Luis and Christopher, and three daughters, Maria, who +afterwards married Don Sancho de Cardono; Juana, who married Don Luis de +Cneva; and Isabella, who married Don George of Portugal, count of Gelves. +He had also a natural son named Christopher. [259] + +After the death of Don Diego, his noble-spirited vice queen, left with a +number of young children, endeavored to assert and maintain the rights of +the family. Understanding that, according to the privileges accorded to +Christopher Columbus, they had a just claim to the vice-royalty of the +province of Veragua, as having been discovered by him, she demanded a +license from the royal audience of Hispaniola, to recruit men and fit out +an armada to colonize that country. This the audience refused, and sent +information of the demand to the emperor. He replied, that the vice-queen +should be kept in suspense until the justice of her claim could be +ascertained; as, although he had at various times given commissions to +different persons to examine the doubts and objections which had been +opposed by the fiscal, no decision had ever been made.[260] The +enterprise thus contemplated by the vice-queen was never carried into +effect. + +Shortly afterwards she sailed for Spain, to protect the claim of her +eldest son, Don Luis, then six years of age. Charles V. was absent, but +she was most graciously received by the empress. The title of admiral of +the Indies was immediately conferred on her son, Don Luis, and the emperor +augmented his revenues, and conferred other favors on the family. Charles +V., however, could never be prevailed on to give Don Luis the title of +viceroy, although that dignity had been decreed to his father, a few years +previous to his death, as an hereditary right.[261] + +In 1538, the young admiral, Don Luis, then about eighteen years of age, +was at court, having instituted proceedings before the proper tribunals, +for the recovery of the viceroyalty. Two years afterwards the suit was +settled by arbitration, his uncle Don Fernando, and Cardinal Loyasa, +president of the council of the Indies, being umpires. By a compromise Don +Luis was declared captain-general of Hispaniola, but with such limitations +that it was little better than a bare title. Don Luis sailed for +Hispaniola, but did not remain there long. He found his dignities and +privileges mere sources of vexation, and finally entered into a +compromise, which relieved himself and gratified the emperor. He gave up +all pretensions to the viceroyalty of the New World, receiving in its +stead the titles of Duke of Veragua and Marquis of Jamaica. [262] He +commuted also the claim to the tenth of the produce of the Indies for a +pension of one thousand doubloons of gold.[263] + +Don Luis did not long enjoy the substitution of a certain, though +moderate, revenue for a magnificent but unproductive claim. He died +shortly afterwards, leaving no other male issue than an illegitimate son, +named Christopher. He left two daughters by his wife, Doña Maria de +Mosquera, one named Phillippa, and the other Maria, which last became a +nun in the convent of St. Quirce, at Valladolid. + +Don Luis, having no legitimate son, was succeeded by his nephew Diego, son +to his brother Christopher. A litigation took place between this young +heir and his cousin Phillippa, daughter of the late Don Luis. The convent +of St. Quirce also put in a claim, on behalf of its inmate, Doña Maria, +who had taken the veil. Christopher, natural son to Don Luis, likewise +became a prosecutor in the suit, but was set aside on account of his +illegitimacy. Don Diego and his cousin Phillippa soon thought it better to +join claims and persons in wedlock, than to pursue a tedious contest. They +were married, and their union was happy, though not fruitful. Diego died +without issue in 1578, and with him the legitimate male line of Columbus +became extinct. + +One of the most important lawsuits that the world has ever witnessed now +arose for the estates and dignities descended from the great discoverer. +Don Diego had two sisters, Francisca and Maria, the former of whom, and +the children of the latter, advanced their several claims. To these +parties was added Bernard Colombo of Cogoleto, who claimed as lineal +descendant from Bartholomew Columbus, the Adelantado, brother to the +discoverer. He was, however, pronounced ineligible, as the Adelantado had +no acknowledged, and certainly no legitimate, offspring. + +Baldassar, or Balthazar, Colombo, of the house of Cuccaro and Conzano, in +the dukedom of Montferrat, in Piedmont, was an active and persevering +claimant. He came from Italy into Spain, where he devoted himself for many +years to the prosecution of this suit. He produced a genealogical tree of +his family, in which was contained one Domenico Colombo, lord of Cuccaro, +whom he maintained to be the identical father of Christopher Columbus, the +admiral. He proved that this Domenico was living at the requisite era, and +produced many witnesses who had heard that the navigator was born in the +castle of Cuccaro; whence, it was added, he and his two brothers had +eloped at an early age, and had never returned. [264] A monk is also +mentioned among the witnesses, who made oath that Christopher and his +brothers were born in that castle of Cuccaro. This testimony was +afterwards withdrawn by the prosecutor; as it was found that the monk's +recollection must have extended back considerably upward of a century. +[265] The claim of Balthazar was negatived. His proofs that Christopher +Columbus was a native of Cuccaro were rejected, as only hearsay, or +traditionary evidence. His ancestor Domenico, it appeared from his own +showing, died in 1456; whereas it was established that Domenico, the +father of the admiral, was living upwards of thirty years after that +date. + +The cause was finally decided by the council of the Indies, on the 2d +December, 1608. The male line was declared to be extinct. Don Nuño or +Nugno Gelves de Portugallo was put in possession, and became duke of +Veragua. He was grandson to Isabella, third daughter of Don Diego (son of +the discoverer) by his vice-queen, Doña Maria de Toledo. The descendants +of the two elder sisters of Isabella had a prior claim, but their lines +became extinct previous to this decision of the suit. The Isabella just +named had married Don George of Portugal, count of Gelves. "Thus," says +Charlevoix, "the dignities and wealth of Columbus passed into a branch of +the Portuguese house of Braganza, established in Spain, of which the heirs +are entitled _De Portugallo, Colon, Duke de Veragua, Marques de la +Jamaica, y Almirante de las Indias_." [Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming., +tom. i. lib. vi. p. 447.] + +The suit of Balthazar Colombo of Cuccaro was rejected under three +different forms, by the council of the Indies; and his application for an +allowance of support, under the legacy of Columbus, in favor of poor +relations, was also refused; although the other parties had assented to +the demand. [266] He died in Spain, where he had resided many years in +prosecution of this suit. His son returned to Italy, persisting in the +validity of his claim: he said that it was in vain to seek justice in +Spain; they were too much interested to keep those dignities and estates +among themselves; but he gave out that he had received twelve thousand +doubloons of gold in compromise from the other parties. Spotorno, under +sanction of Ignazio de Giovanni, a learned canon, treats this assertion +as a bravado, to cover his defeat, being contradicted by his evident +poverty. [267] The family of Cuccaro, however, still maintain their +right, and express great veneration for the memory of their illustrious +ancestor, the admiral; and travelers occasionally visit their old castle +in Piedmont with great reverence, as the birthplace of the discoverer of +the New World. + + + + +No. III. + +Fernando Columbus. + + + +Fernando Columbus (or Colon, as he is called in Spain), the natural son +and historian of the admiral, was born in Cordova. There is an uncertainty +about the exact time of his birth. According to his epitaph, it must have +been on the 28th September, 1488; but according to his original papers +preserved in the library of the cathedral of Seville, and which were +examined by Don Diego Ortiz de Zuñiga, historian of that city, it would +appear to have been on the 29th of August, 1487. His mother, Doña Beatrix +Enriquez, was of a respectable family, but was never married to the +admiral, as has been stated by some of his biographers. + +Early in 1494, Fernando was carried to court, together with his elder +brother Diego, by his uncle Don Bartholomew, to enter the royal household +in quality of page to the prince Don Juan, son and heir to Ferdinand and +Isabella. He and his brother remained in this situation until the death of +the prince; when they were taken by Queen Isabella as pages into her own +service. Their education, of course, was well attended to, and Fernando in +after-life gave proofs of being a learned man. + +In the year 1502, at the tender age of thirteen or fourteen years, +Fernando accompanied his father in his fourth voyage of discovery, and +encountered all its singular and varied hardships with a fortitude that is +mentioned with praise and admiration by the admiral. + +After the death of his father, it would appear that Fernando made two +voyages to the New World. He accompanied the emperor Charles V. also, to +Italy, Flanders, and Germany; and according to Zuffiga (Anales de Seville +de 1539, No. 3), traveled over all Europe and a part of Africa and Asia. +Possessing talents, judgment, and industry, these opportunities were not +lost upon him, and he acquired much information in geography, navigation, +and natural history. Being of a studious habit, and fond of books, he +formed a select, yet copious, library, of more than twenty thousand +volumes, in print and in manuscript. With the sanction of the emperor +Charles V., he undertook to establish an academy and college of +mathematics at Seville; and for this purpose commenced the construction of +a sumptuous edifice, without the walls of the city, facing the +Guadalquiver, in the place where the monastery of San Laureano is now +situated. His constitution, however, had been broken by the sufferings he +had experienced in his travels and voyages, and a premature death +prevented the completion of his plan of the academy, and broke off other +useful labors. He died in Seville on the 12th of July, 1539, at the age, +according to his epitaph, of fifty years, nine months, and fourteen days. +He left no issue, and was never married. His body was interred, according +to his request, in the cathedral of Seville. He bequeathed his valuable +library to the same establishment. + +Don Fernando devoted himself much to letters. According to the inscription +on his tomb, he composed a work in four books, or volumes, the title of +which is defaced on the monument, and the work itself is lost. This is +much to be regretted, as, according to Zuñiga, the fragments of the +inscription specify it to have contained, among a variety of matter, +historical, moral, and geographical notices of the countries he had +visited, but especially of the New World, and of the voyages and +discoveries of his father. + +His most important and permanent work, however, was a history of the +admiral, composed in Spanish. It was translated into Italian by Alonzo de +Ulloa, and from this Italian translation have proceeded the editions which +have since appeared in various languages. It is singular that the work +only exists in Spanish, in the form of a retranslation from that of Ulloa, +and full of errors in the orthography of proper names, and in dates and +distances. + +Don Fernando was an eye-witness of some of the facts which he relates, +particularly of the fourth voyage, wherein he accompanied his father. He +had also the papers and charts of his father, and recent documents of all +kinds to extract from, as well as familiar acquaintance with the principal +personages who were concerned in the events which he records. He was a man +of probity and discernment, and writes more dispassionately than could be +expected, when treating of matters which affected the honor, the +interests, and happiness of his father. It is to be regretted, however, +that he should have suffered the whole of his father's life, previous to +his discoveries (a period of about fifty-six years), to remain in +obscurity. He appears to have wished to cast a cloud over it, and only to +have presented his father to the reader after he had rendered himself +illustrious by his actions, and his history had become in a manner +identified with the history of the world. His work, however, is an +invaluable document, entitled to great faith, and is the corner-stone of +the history of the American Continent. + +[Illustration: Galley, from the tomb of Fernando Columbus, at Seville.] + + + + +No. IV. + +Age of Columbus. + + + +As the date I have assigned for the birth of Columbus makes him about ten +years older than he is generally represented, at the time of his +discoveries, it is proper to state precisely my authority. In the valuable +manuscript chronicle of the reign of the Catholic sovereigns, written by +Andres Bernaldes, the curate of Los Palacios, there is a long tract on the +subject of the discoveries of Columbus: it concludes with these words: +_Murió en Valladolid, el año de 1506, en el mes de Mayo, in senectute +bona, de edad 70 años, poco mas ó menos_. (He died in Valladolid in the +year 1506, in the month of May, in a good old age, being seventy years +old, a little more or less.) The curate of Los Palacios was a +contemporary, and an intimate friend of Columbus, who was occasionally a +guest in his house; no one was more competent, therefore, to form a +correct idea of his age. It is singular, that, while the biographers of +Columbus have been seeking to establish the epoch of his birth by various +calculations and conjectures, this direct testimony of honest Andres +Bernaldes has entirely escaped their notice, though some of them had his +manuscript in their hands. It was first observed by my accurate friend Don +Antonio Uguina in the course of his exact investigations, and has been +pointed out and ably supported by Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, in +the introduction to his valuable collection of voyages. + +Various circumstances in the life of Columbus will be found to corroborate +the statement of the curate; such, for example, as the increasing +infirmities with which he struggled during his voyages, and which at last +rendered him a cripple and confined him to his bed. The allusion to his +advanced age in one of his letters to the sovereigns, wherein he relates +the consolation he had received from a secret voice in the night season: +_Tu vejez no impedira a toda cosa grande. Abraham pasaba cien años +cuando engendro a Isaac, &c_. (Thy old age shall be no impediment to +any great undertaking. Abraham was above a hundred years old, when he +begat Isaac, &c.) The permission granted him by the king the year previous +to his death to travel on a mule, instead of a horse, on account of his +_age_ and infirmities; and the assertion of Oviedo that at the time +of his death he was quite old. (_era ya viejo._) + +This fact of the advanced age of Columbus throws quite a new coloring over +his character and history. How much more extraordinary is the ardent +enthusiasm which sustained him through his long career of solicitation, +and the noble pride with which he refused to descend from his dignified +demands, and to bargain about his proposition, though life was rapidly +wasting in delays. How much more extraordinary is the hardihood with which +he undertook repeated voyages into unknown seas, amidst all kinds of +perils and hardships; the fortitude with which he bore up against an +accumulation of mental and bodily afflictions, enough to have disheartened +and destroyed the most youthful and robust, and the irrepressible buoyancy +of spirit with which to the last he still rose from under the ruined +concerns and disappointed hopes and blasted projects of one enterprise, to +launch into another, still more difficult and perilous. + +We have been accustomed to admire all these things in Columbus when we +considered him in the full vigor of his life; how much more are they +entitled to our wonder as the achievements of a man whom the weight of +years and infirmities was pressing into the grave. + + + + +No. V. + +Lineage of Columbus. + + + +The ancestry of Christopher Columbus has formed a point of zealous +controversy, which is not yet satisfactorily settled. Several honorable +families, possessing domains in Placentia, Montferrat, and the different +parts of the Genoese territories, claim him as belonging to their houses; +and to these has recently been added the noble family of Colombo in +Modena. [Spotorno, Hist. Mem., p. 5.] The natural desire to prove +consanguinity with a man of distinguished renown has excited this rivalry; +but it has been heightened, in particular instances, by the hope of +succeeding to titles and situations of wealth and honor, when his male +line of descendants became extinct. The investigation is involved in +particular obscurity, as even his immediate relatives appear to have been +in ignorance on the subject. + +Fernando Columbus, in his biography of the admiral, after a pompous +prelude, in which he attempts to throw a vague and cloudy magnificence +about the origin of his father, notices slightly the attempts of some to +obscure his fame, by making him a native of various small and +insignificant villages; and dwells with more complacency upon others who +make him a native of places in which there were persons of much honor of +the name, and many sepulchral monuments with arms and epitaphs of the +Colombos. He relates his having himself gone to the castle of Cucureo, to +visit two brothers of the family of Colombo, who were rich and noble, the +youngest of whom was above one hundred years of age, and who he had heard +were relatives of his father; but they could give him no information upon +the subject; whereupon he breaks forth into his professed contempt for +these adventitious claims, declaring, that he thinks it better to content +himself with dating from the glory of the admiral, than to go about +inquiring whether his father "were a merchant, or one who kept his hawks;" +[268] since, adds he, of persons of similar pursuits, there are thousands +who die every day, whose memory, even among their own neighbors and +relatives, perishes immediately, without its being possible afterwards +to ascertain even whether they existed. + +After this, and a few more expressions of similar disdain for these empty +distinctions, he indulges in vehement abuse of Agostino Guistiniani, whom +he calls a false historian, an inconsiderate, partial, or malignant +compatriot, for having, in his psalter, traduced his father, by saying, +that in his youth he had been employed in mechanical occupations. + +As, after all this discussion, Fernando leaves the question of his +father's parentage in all its original obscurity, yet appears irritably +sensitive to any derogatory suggestions of others, his whole evidence +tends to the conviction that he really knew nothing to boast of in his +ancestry. + +Of the nobility and antiquity of the Colombo family, of which the admiral +probably was a remote descendant, we have some account in Herrera, "We +learn," he says, "that the emperor Otto the Second, in 940, confirmed to +the counts Pietro, Giovanni, and Alexandro Colombo, brothers, the +feudatory possessions which they held within the jurisdiction of the +cities of Ayqui, Savona, Aste, Montferrato, Turin, Viceli, Parma, Cremona, +and Bergamo, and all others which they held in Italy. It appears that the +Colombos of Cuccaro, Cucureo, and Placentia, were the same, and that the +emperor in the same year, 940, made donation to the said three brothers of +the castles of Cuccaro, Conzano, Rosignano, and others, and of the fourth +part of Bistanio, which appertained to the empire." [269] + +One of the boldest attempts of those biographers, bent on ennobling +Columbus, has been to make him son of the Lord of Cuccaro, a burgh of +Montferrat, in Piedmont, and to prove that he was born in his father's +castle at that place; whence he and his brothers eloped at an early age, +and never returned. This was asserted in the course of a process brought +by a certain Baldasser, or Balthazar, Colombo, resident in Genoa, but +originally of Cuccaro, claiming the title and estates, on the death of +Diego Colon, duke of Veragua, in 1578, the great-grandson, and last +legitimate male descendant of the admiral. The council of the Indies +decided against this claim to relationship. Some account of the lawsuit +will be found in another part of the work. + +This romantic story, like all others of the nobility of his parentage, is +at utter variance with the subsequent events of his life, his long +struggles with indigence and obscurity, and the difficulties he endured +from the want of family connections. How can it be believed, says Bossi, +that this same man, who, in his most cruel adversities was incessantly +taunted by his enemies with the obscurity of his birth, should not reply +to this reproach, by declaring his origin, if he were really descended +from the Lords of Cuccaro, Conzano, and Rosignano? a circumstance which +would have obtained him the highest credit with the Spanish nobility. +[270] + +The different families of Colombo which lay claim to the great navigator, +seem to be various branches of one tree, and there is little doubt of his +appertaining remotely to the same respectable stock. + +It appears evident, however, that Columbus sprang immediately from a line +of humble but industrious citizens, which had existed in Genoa, even from +the time of Giacomo Colombo the wool-carder, in 1311, mentioned by +Spotorno; nor is this in any wise incompatible with the intimation of +Fernando Columbus, that the family had been reduced from high estate to +great poverty, by the wars of Lombardy. The feuds of Italy, in those ages, +had broken down and scattered many of the noblest families; and while some +branches remained in the lordly heritage of castles and domains, others +were confounded with the humblest population of the cities, + + + +No. VI. + +Birthplace of Columbus. + + + +There has been much controversy about the birthplace of Columbus. The +greatness of his renown has induced various places to lay claim to him as +a native, and from motives of laudable pride, for nothing reflects greater +lustre upon a city than to have given birth to distinguished men. The +original and long established opinion was in favor of Genoa; but such +strenuous claims were asserted by the states of Placentia, and in +particular of Piedmont, that the Academy of Sciences and Letters of Genoa +was induced, in 1812, to nominate three of its members, Signors Serra, +Carrega, and Piaggio, commissioners to examine into these pretensions. + +The claims of Placentia had been first advanced in 1662, by Pietro Maria +Campi, in the ecclesiastical history of that place, who maintained that +Columbus was a native of the village of Pradello, in that vicinity. It +appeared probable, on investigation, that Bertolino Colombo, +great-grandfather to the admiral, had owned a small property in Pradello, +the rent of which had been received by Domenico Colombo of Genoa, and +after his death by his sons Christopher and Bartholomew. Admitting this +assertion to be correct, there was no proof that either the admiral, his +father, or grandfather, had ever resided on that estate. The very +circumstances of the case indicated, on the contrary, that their home was +in Genoa. + +The claim of Piedmont was maintained with more plausibility. It was shown +that a Domenico Colombo was lord of the castle of Cuccaro in Montferrat, +at the time of the birth of Christopher Columbus, who, it was asserted, +was his son, and born in his castle. Balthazar Colombo, a descendant of +this person, instituted a lawsuit before the council of the Indies for the +inheritance of the admiral, when his male line became extinct. The council +of the Indies decided against him, as is shown in an account of that +process given among the illustrations of this history. It was proved that +Domenico Colombo, father of the admiral, was resident in Genoa both before +and many years after the death of this lord of Cuccaro, who bore the same +name. + +The three commissioners appointed by the Academy of Sciences and Letters +of Genoa to examine into these pretensions, after a long and diligent +investigation, gave a voluminous and circumstantial report in favor of +Genoa. An ample digest of their inquest may be found in the History of +Columbus by Signer Bossi, who, in an able dissertation on the question, +confirms their opinion. It may be added, in farther corroboration, that +Peter Martyr and Bartholomew Las Casas, who were contemporaries and +acquaintances of Columbus, and Juan de Barros, the Portuguese historian, +all make Columbus a native of the Genoese territories. + +There has been a question fruitful of discussion among the Genoese +themselves, whether Columbus was born in the city of Genoa, or in some +other part of the territory. Finale, and Oneglia, and Savona, towns on the +Ligurian coast to the west, Boggiasco, Cogoleto, and several other towns +and villages, claim him as their own. His family possessed a small +property at a village or hamlet between Quinto and Nervi, called Terra +Rossa; in Latin, Terra Kubra; which has induced some writers to assign his +birth to one of those places. Bossi says that there is still a tower +between Quinto and Nervi which bears the title of Torre dei Colombi. +[271] Bartholomew Columbus, brother to the admiral, styled himself of +Terra Rubra, in a Latin inscription on a map which he presented to Henry +VII of England, and Fernando Columbus states, in his history of the +admiral, that he was accustomed to subscribe himself in the same manner +before he attained to his dignities. + +Cogoleto at one time bore away the palm. The families there claim the +discoverer and preserve a portrait of him. One or both of the two admirals +named Colombo, with whom he sailed, are stated to have come from that +place, and to have been confounded with him so as to have given support to +this idea. [272] + +Savona, a city in the Genoese territories, has claimed the same honor, and +this claim has recently been very strongly brought forward. Signer +Giovanni Battista Belloro, an advocate of Savona, has strenuously +maintained this claim in an ingenious disputation, dated May 12th, 1826, +in form of a letter to the Baron du Zach, editor of a valuable +astronomical and geographical journal, published monthly at Genoa. +[273] + +Signor Belloro claims it as an admitted fact, that Domenico Colombo was +for many years a resident and citizen of Savona, in which place one +Christopher Columbus is shown to have signed a document in 1472. + +He states that a public square in that city bore the name of Platea +Columbi, toward the end of the 14th century; that the Ligurian government +gave the name of Jurisdizione di Colombi to that district of the republic, +under the persuasion that the great navigator was a native of Savona; and +that Columbus gave the name of Saona to a little island adjacent to +Hispaniola, among his earliest discoveries. + +He quotes many Savonese writers, principally poets, and various historians +and poets of other countries, and thus establishes the point that Columbus +was held to be a native of Savona by persons of respectable authority. He +lays particular stress on the testimony of the Magnifico Francisco +Spinola, as related by the learned prelate Felippo Alberto Pollero, +stating that he had seen the sepulchre of Christopher Columbus in the +cathedral at Seville, and that the epitaph states him expressly to be a +native of Savona: "Hic jacet Christophorus Columbus Savonensis." +[274] + +The prooft advanced by Signor Belloro show his zeal for the honor of his +native city, but do not authenticate the fact he undertakes to establish. +He shows clearly that many respectable writers believed Columbus to be a +native of Savona; but a far greater number can be adduced, and many of +them contemporary with the admiral, some of them his intimate friends, +others his fellow-citizens, who state him to have been born in the city of +Genoa. Among the Savonese writers, Giulio Salinorio, who investigated the +subject, comes expressly to the same conclusion: "_Geneva cittá +nobilissima era la patria de Colombo_." + +Signor Belloro appears to be correct in stating that Domenico, the father +of the admiral, was several years resident in Savona. But it appears from +his own dissertation, that the Christopher who witnessed the testament in +1472, styled himself of Genoa: "_Christophorus Columbus lancrius de +Janua._" This incident is stated by other writers, who presume this +Christopher to have been the navigator on a visit to his father, in the +interval of his early voyages. In as far as the circumstance bears on the +point, it supports the idea that he was born at Genoa. + +The epitaph on which Signor Belloro places his principal reliance, +entirely fails. Christopher Columbus was not interred in the cathedral of +Seville, nor was any monument erected to him in that edifice. The tomb to +which the learned prelate Felippo Alberto Pollero alludes, may have been +that of Fernando Columbus, son of the admiral, who, as has been already +observed, was buried in the cathedral of Seville, to which he bequeathed +his noble library. The place of his sepulture is designated by a broad +slab of white marble, inserted in the pavement, with an inscription, +partly in Spanish, partly in Latin, recording the merits of Fernando, and +the achievements of his father. On either side of the epitaph is engraved +an ancient Spanish Galley. The inscription quoted by Signor Belloro may +have been erroneously written from memory by the Magnifico Francisco +Spinola, under the mistaken idea that he had beheld the sepulchre of the +great discoverer. As Fernando was born at Cordova, the term Savouensis +must have been another error of memory in the Magnifico; no such word is +to be found in the inscription. + +This question of birthplace has also been investigated with considerable +minuteness, and a decision given in favor of Genoa, by D. Gio Battista +Spotorno, of the royal university in that city, in his historical memoir +of Columbus. He shows that the family of the Columbi had long been +resident in Genoa. By'an extract from the notarial register, it appeared +that one Giacomo Colombo, a woolcarder, resided without the gate of St. +Andria, in the year 1311. An agreement, also published by the academy of +Genoa, proved, that in 1489, Domenico Colombo possessed a house and shop, +and a garden with a well, in the street of St. Andrew's gate, anciently +without the walls, presumed to have been the same residence with that of +Giacomo Colombo. He rented also another house from the monks of St. +Stephen, in the Via Mulcento, leading from the street of St. Andrew to the +Strada Giulia. [275] + +Signor Bossi states, that documents lately found in the archives of the +monastery of St. Stephen, present the name of Domenico Colombo several +times, from 1456 to 1459, and designate him as son of Giovanni Colombo, +husband of Susanna Fontanarossa, and father of Christopher, Bartholomew, +and Giacomo [276] (or Diego). He states also that the receipts of the +canons show that the last payment of rent was made by Domenico Colombo for +his dwelling in 1489. He surmises that the admiral was born in the +before-mentioned house belonging to those monks, in Via Mulcento, and that +he was baptized in the church of St. Stephen. He adds that an ancient +manuscript was submitted to the commissioners of the Genoese academy, in +the margin of which the notary had stated that the name of Christopher +was on the register of the parish as having been baptized in that church. +[277] + +Andres Bernaldez, the curate of los Palacios, who was an intimate friend +of Columbus, says that he was of Genoa. [278] Agostino Giustiniani, a +contemporary of Columbus, likewise asserts it in his Polyglot Psalter, +published in Genoa, in 1516. Antonio de Herrera, an author of great +accuracy, who, though not a contemporary, had access to the best +documents, asserts decidedly that he was born in the city of Genoa. + +To these names may be added that of Alexander Geraldini, brother to the +nuncio, and instructor to the children of Ferdinand and Isadella, a most +intimate friend of Columbus. [279] Also Antonio Gallo, [280] Bartolomeo +Senarega, [281] and Uberto Foglieta, [282] all contemporaries with the +admiral, and natives of Genoa, together with an anonymous writer, who +published an account of his voyage of discovery at Venice in 1509. [283] +It is unnecessary to mention historians of later date agreeing in the +same fact, as they must have derived their information from some of these +authorities. + +The question in regard to the birthplace of Columbus has been treated thus +minutely, because it has been, and still continues to be, a point of warm +controversy. It may be considered, however, as conclusively decided by the +highest authority, the evidence of Columbus himself. In a testament +executed in 1498, which has been admitted in evidence before the Spanish +tribunals in certain lawsuits among his descendants, he twice declares +that he was a native of the city of Genoa: "_Siendo yo nacido en +Genova._" ("I being born in Genoa.") And again, he repeats the +assertion, as a reason for enjoining certain conditions on his heirs, +which manifest the interest he takes in his native place. "I command the +said Diego, my son, or the person who inherits the said mayorazgo (or +entailed estate), that he maintain always in the city of Genoa a person of +our lineage, who shall have a house and a wife there, and to furnish him +with an income on which he can live decently, as a person connected with +onr family, and hold footing and root in that city as a native of it, so +that he may have aid and favor in that city in case of need, _for from +thence I came and there was born_." [284] + +In another part of his testament he expresses himself with a filial +fondness in respect to Genoa. "I command the said Don Diego, or whoever +shall possess the said mayorazgo, that he labor and strive always for the +honor, and welfare, and increase of the city of Genoa, and employ all his +abilities and means in defending and augmenting the welfare and honor of +her republic, in all matters which are not contrary to the service of the +church of God, and the state of the king and queen our sovereigns, and +their successors." + +An informal codicil, executed by Columbus at Valladolid, May 4th, 1506, +sixteen days before his death, was discovered about 1785, in the Corsini +library at Rome. It is termed a military codicil, from being made in the +manner which the civil law allows to the soldier who executes such an +instrument on the eve of battle, or in expectation of death. It was +written on the blank page of a little breviary presented to Columbus by +Pope Alexander VII. Columbus leaves the book "to his beloved country, the +Republic of Genoa." + +He directs the erection of a hospital in that city for the poor, with +provision for its support, and he declares that republic his successor in +the admiralty of the Indies, in the event of his male line becoming +extinct. + +The authenticity of this paper has been questioned. It has been said, that +there was no probability of Columbus having resort to a usage with which +he was, most likely, unacquainted. The objections are not cogent. Columbus +was accustomed to the peculiarities of a military life, and he repeatedly +wrote letters, in critical moments, as a precaution against some fatal +occurrence that seemed to impend. The present codicil, from its date, must +have been written a few days previous to his death, perhaps at a moment +when he imagined himself at extremity. This may account for any difference +in the handwriting, especially as he was, at times, so affected by the +gout in his hands as not to be able to write except at night. Particular +stress has been laid on the signature; but it does not appear that he was +uniform in regard to that, and it is a point to which any one who +attempted a forgery would be attentive. It does not appear, likewise, that +any advantage could have been obtained by forging the paper, or that any +such was attempted. + +In 1502, when Columbus was about to depart on his fourth and last voyage, +he wrote to his friend, Doctor Nicolo Oderigo, formerly ambassador from +Genoa to Spain, and forwarded to him copies of all his grants and +commissions from the Spanish sovereigns, authenticated before the alcaldes +of Seville. He, at the same time, wrote to the bank of San Giorgio, at +Genoa, assigning a tenth of his revenues to be paid to that city, in +diminution of the duties on corn, wine, and other provisions. + +Why should Colnmbus feel this strong interest in Genoa, had he been born +in any of the other Italian states which have laid claim to him? He was +under no obligation to Genoa. He had resided there but a brief portion of +his early life; and his proposition for discovery, according to some +writers, had been scornfully rejected by that republic. There is nothing +to warrant so strong an interest in Genoa, but the filial tie which links +the heart of a man to his native place, however he may be separated from +it by time or distance, and however little he may be indebted to it for +favors. + +Again, had Columbus been born in any of the towns and villages of the +Genoese coast which have claimed him for a native, why should he have made +these bequests in favor of the _city_ of Genoa, and not of his native +town or village? + +These bequests were evidently dictated by a mingled sentiment of pride and +affection, which would be without all object if not directed to his native +place. He was at this time elevated above all petty pride on the subject. +His renown was so brilliant, that it would have shed a lustre on any +hamlet, however obscure: and the strong love of country here manifested +would never have felt satisfied until it had singled out the spot, and +nestled down, in the very cradle of his infancy. These appear to be +powerful reasons, drawn from natural feeling, for deciding in favor of +Genoa. + + + + +No. VII. + +The Colombos. + + + +During the early part of the life of Columbus, there were two other +navigators, bearing the same name, of some rank and celebrity, with whom +he occasionally sailed; their names occurring vaguely from time to time, +during the obscure part of his career, have caused much perplexity to some +of his biographers, who have supposed that they designated the discoverer. +Fernando Columbus affirms them to have been family connections,[285] and +his father says, in one of his letters, "I am not the first admiral of our +family." + +These two were uncle and nephew; the latter being termed by historians +Colombo the younger, (by the Spanish historians Colombo el mozo.) They +were in the Genoese service, but are mentioned, occasionally, in old +chronicles, as French commanders, because Genoa, during a great part of +their time, was under the protection, or rather the sovereignty, of +France, and her ships and captains, being engaged in the expeditions of +that power, were identified with the French marine. + +Mention is made of the elder Colombo in Zurita's Annals of Arragon, (L. +xix. p. 261,) in the war between Spain and Portugal, on the subject of the +claim of the Princess Juana to the crown of Castile. In 1476, the king of +Portugal determined to go to the Mediterranean coast of France, to incite +his ally, Louis XI, to prosecute the war in the province of Guipuzcoa. + +The king left Toro, says Zurita, on the 13th June, and went by the river +to the city of Porto, in order to await the armada of the king of France, +the captain of which was Colon, (Colombo,) who was to navigate by the +straits of Gibraltar to pass to Marseilles. + +After some delays Colombo arrived in the latter part of July with the +French armada at Bermeo, on the coast of Biscay, where he encountered a +violent storm, lost his principal ship, and ran to the coast of Galicia, +with an intention of attacking Kibaldo, and lost a great many of his men. +Thence he went to Lisbon to receive the king of Portugal, who embarked in +the fleet in August, with a number of his noblemen, and took two thousand +two hundred foot soldiers, and four hundred and seventy horse, to +strengthen the Portuguese garrisons along the Barbary coast. There were in +the squadron twelve ships and five caravels. After touching at Ceuta the +fleet proceeded to Colibre, where the king disembarked in the middle of +September, the weather not permitting them to proceed to Marseilles. +(Zurita, L. xix. Ch. 51.) + +This Colombo is evidently the naval commander of whom the following +mention is made by Jaques George de Chaufepie, in his supplement to Bayle, +(vol. 2, p. 126 of letter C.) + +"I do not know what dependence," says Chaufepie, "is to be placed on a +fact reported in the _Ducatiana_, (Part 1, p. 143,) that Columbus was +in 1474 captain of several ships for Louis XI, and that, as the Spaniards +had made at that time an irruption into Roussillon, he thought that, for +reprisal, and without contravening the peace between the two crowns, he +could run down Spanish vessels. He attacked, therefore, and took two +galleys of that nation, freighted on the account of various individuals. +On complaints of this action being made to king Ferdinand, he wrote on the +subject to Louis XI; his letter is dated the 9th December, 1474. Ferdinand +terms Christopher Columbus a subject of Louis; it was because, as is +known, Columbus was a Genoese, and Louis was sovereign of Genoa; although +that city and Savona were held of him in fief by the duke of Milan." + +It is highly probable that it was the squadron of this same Colombo of +whom the circumstance is related by Bossi, and after him by Spotorno on +the authority of a letter found in the archives of Milan, and written in +1476 by two illustrious Milanese gentlemen, on their return from +Jerusalem. The letter states that in the previous year 1475, as the +Venetian fleet was stationed off Cyprus to guard the island, a Genoese +squadron, commanded by one Colombo, sailed by them with an air of +defiance, shouting "Viva San Giorgia!" As the republics were then at +peace, they were permitted to pass unmolested. + +Bossi supposes that the Colombo here mentioned was Christopher Columbus +the discoverer; but it appears rather to have been the old Genoese admiral +of that name, who according to Zurita was about that time cruising in the +Mediterranean; and who, in all probability, was the hero of both the +preceding occurrences. + +The nephew of this Colombo, called by the Spaniards Colombo el mozo, +commanded a few years afterwards a squadron in the French service, as will +appear in a subsequent illustration, and Columbus may at various times +have held an inferior command under both uncle and nephew, and been +present on the above cited occasions. + + + + +No. VIII. + +Expedition of John of Anjou. + + + +About the time that Columbus attained his twenty-fourth year, his native +city was in a state of great alarm and peril from the threatened invasion +of Alphonso V of Aragon, king of Naples. Finding itself too weak to +contend singly with such a foe, and having in vain looked for assistance +from Italy, it placed itself under the protection of Charles the VIIth of +France. That monarch sent to its assistance John of Anjou, son of René or +Renato, king of Naples, who had been dispossessed of his crown by +Alphonso. John of Anjou, otherwise called the duke of Calabria, [286] +immediately took upon himself the command of the place, repaired its +fortifications, and defended the entrance of the harbor with strong +chains. In the meantime, Alplionso had prepared a large land force, and +assembled an armament of twenty ships and ten galleys at Ancona, on the +frontiers of Genoa. The situation of the latter was considered eminently +perilous, when Alphonso suddenly fell ill of a calenture and died; leaving +the kingdoms of Anjou and Sicily to his brother John, and the kingdom of +Naples to his son Ferdinand. + +The death of Alphonso, and the subsequent division of his dominions, while +they relieved the fears of the Genoese, gave rise to new hopes on the part +of the house of Anjou; and the duke John, encouraged by emissaries from +various powerful partisans among the Neapolitan nobility, determined to +make a bold attempt upon Naples for the recovery of the crown. The Genoese +entered into his cause with spirit, furnishing him with ships, galleys, +and money. His father, René or Renato, fitted out twelve galleys for the +expedition in the harbor of Marseilles, and sent him assurance of an +abundant supply of money, and of the assistance of the king of France. The +brilliant nature of the enterprise attracted the attention of the daring +and restless spirits of the times. The chivalrous nobleman, the soldier of +fortune, the hardy corsair, the bold adventurer, or the military partisan, +enlisted under the banners of the duke of Calabria. It is stated by +historians, that Columbus served in the armament from Genoa, in a squadron +commanded by one of the Colombos, his relations. + +The expedition sailed in October, 1459, and arrived at Sessa, between the +mouths of the Garigliano and the Volturno. The news of its arrival was the +signal of universal revolt; the factious barons, and their vassals, +hastened to join the standard of Anjou, and the duke soon saw the finest +provinces of the Neapolitan dominions at his command, and with his army +and squadron menaced the city of Naples itself. + +In the history of this expedition we meet with one hazardous action of the +fleet in which Columbus had embarked. + +The army of John of Anjou, being closely invested by a superior force, was +in a perilous predicament at the mouth of the Sarno. In this conjuncture, +the captain of the armada landed with his men, and scoured the +neighborhood, hoping to awaken in the populace their former enthusiasm for +the banner of Anjou; and perhaps to take Naples by surprise. A chosen +company of Neapolitan infantry was sent against them. The troops from the +fleet having little of the discipline of regular soldiery, and much of the +freebooting disposition of maritime rovers, had scattered themselves about +the country, intent chiefly upon spoil. They were attacked by the infantry +and put to rout, with the loss of many killed and wounded. Endeavoring to +make their way back to the ships, they found the passes seized and blocked +up by the people of Sorento, who assailed them with dreadful havoc. Their +flight now became desperate and headlong; many threw themselves from rocks +and precipices into the sea, and but a small portion regained the ships. + +The contest of John of Anjou for the crown of Naples lasted four years. +For a time fortune favored him, and the prize seemed almost within his +grasp, but reverses succeeded: he was defeated at various points; the +factious nobles, one by one, deserted him, and returned to their +allegiance to Alfonso, and the duke was finally compelled to retire to the +island of Ischia. Here he remained for some time, guarded by eight +galleys, which likewise harassed the bay of Naples. [287] In this +squadron, which loyally adhered to him until he ultimately abandoned this +unfortunate enterprise, Columbus is stated to have served. + + + + +No. IX. + +Capture of the Venetian Galleys, by Colombo the Younger. + + + +As the account of the sea-fight by which Fernando Columbus asserts that +his father was first thrown upon the shores of Portugal, has been adopted +by various respectable historians, it is proper to give particular reasons +for discrediting it. + +Fernando expressly says, that it was in an action mentioned by Marco +Antonio Sabelico, in the eighth book of his tenth Decade; that the +squadron in which Columbus served was commanded by a famous corsair, +called Columbus the younger, (Colombo el mozo,) and that an embassy was +sent from Venice to thank the king of Portugal for the succor he afforded +to the Venetian captains and crews. All this is certainly recorded in +Sabellicus, but the battle took place in 1485, after Columbus had +_left_ Portugal. Zurita, in his annals of Aragon, under the date of +1685, mentions this same action. He says, "At this time four Venetian +galleys sailed from the island of Cadiz and took the route for Flanders; +they were laden with merchandise from the Levant, especially from the +island of Sicily, and, passing by Cape St. Vincent, they were attacked by +a French corsair, son of captain Colon, (Colombo,) who had seven vessels +in his armada; and the galleys were captured the twenty-first of August." +[288] + +A much fuller account is given in the life of king John II of Portugal, by +Garcia de Resende, who likewise records it as happening in 1485. He says +the Venetian galleys were taken and robbed by the French, and the captains +and crews, wounded, plundered, and maltreated, were turned on shore at +Cascoes. Here they were succored by Doña Maria de Meneses, countess of +Monsanto. + +When king John II heard of the circumstance, being much grieved that such +an event should have happened on his coast, and being disposed to show his +friendship for the republic of Venice, he ordered that the Venetian +captains should be furnished with rich raiment of silks and costly cloths, +and provided with horses and mules, that they might make their appearance +before him in a style befitting themselves and their country. He received +them with great kindness and distinction, expressing himself with princely +courtesy, both as to themselves and the republic of Venice; and having +heard their account of the battle, and of their destitute situation, he +assisted them with a large sum of money to ransom their galleys from the +French cruisers. The latter took all the merchandises on board of their +ships, but king John prohibited any of the spoil from being purchased +within his dominions. Having thus generously relieved and assisted the +captains, and administered to the necessities of their crews, he enabled +them all to return in their own galleys to Venice. + +The dignitaries of the republic were so highly sensible of this +munificence, on the part of king John, that they sent a stately embassy to +that monarch, with rich presents and warm expressions of gratitude. +Geronimo Donate was charged with this mission, a man eminent for learning +and eloquence; he was honorably received and entertained by king John, and +dismissed with royal presents, among which were jenets, and mules with +sumptuous trappings and caparisons, and many negro slaves richly clad. +[289] + +The following is the account of this action as given by Sabellicus, in his +history of Venice: [290] + +Erano andate quatro Galee delle quali Bartolommeo Minio era capitano. +Queste navigando per l'Iberico mare, Colombo il piu giovane, nipote di +quel Colombo famoso corsale, fecesi incontro a' Veniziani di notte, +appresso il sacro Promontorio, che chiamasi ora capo di san Vincenzo, con +sette navi guernite da combattere. Egli quantunque nel primo incontro +avesse seco disposto d'opprimere le navi Veniziane, si ritenne però del +combattere sin al giorno: tuttavia per esser alia battaglia più acconcio +così le seguia, che le prode del corsale toccavano le poppe de Veniziani. +Venuto il giorno incontanente i Barbari diedero 1' assalto. Sostennero i +Veniziani allora 1' empito del nemico, per numero di navi e di combattenti +superiore, e durò il conflitto atroce per molte ore. Rare fiate fu +combattuto contro simili nemici con tanta uccisione, perchè a pena si +costuina d'attaccarsi contro di loro, se non per occasione. Affermano +alcuni, che vi furono presenti, esser morte deile ciurme Veniziane da +trecento uomini. Altri dicono che fu meno: morì in quella zuffa Lorenzo +Michele capitano d'una galera e Giovanni Delfino, d'altro capitano +fratello. Era durata la zuffa dal fare del giorno fin' ad ore venti, e +erano le genti Veneziane mal Initiate. Era gia la nave Delfina in potere +de' nemici quando le altre ad una ad una si renderono. Narrano alcuni, che +furono di quel aspro conflitto participi, aver numerato nelle loro navi da +prode a poppe ottanta valorosi uomini estinti, i quali dal nemico veduti +lo mossero a gemere e dire con sdegno, che cosi avevano voluto, i +Veniziani. I corpi morti furono gettati nel mare, e i feriti posti nel +lido. Quei che rimasero vivi seguirono con le navi il capitano vittorioso +sin' a Lisbona e ivi furono tutti licenziati.... Quivi furono i Veniziaui +benignamente ricevuti dal Re, gli infermi furono medicati, gli altri +ebbero abiti e denari secondo la loro condizione.... Oltre cio vietd in +tutto il Regno, che alcuno non comprasse della preda Veniziana, portata +dai corsali. La nuova dell' avuta rovina non poco afflisse la città, erano +perduti in quella mercatanzia da ducento mila ducati; ma il danno +particolare degldi nomini uccisi diede maggior afflizione. _Marc. Ant. +Sabelico, Hist, Venet., decad. iv. lib. iii._ + + + + +No. X. + +Amerigo Vespucci. + + + +Among the earliest and most intelligent of the voyagers who followed the +track of Columbus, was Amerigo Vespucci. He has been considered by many as +the first discoverer of the southern continent, and by a singular caprice +of fortune, his name has been given to the whole of the New World. It has +been strenuously insisted, however, that he had no claim to the title of a +discoverer; that he merely sailed in a subordinate capacity in a squadron +commanded by others; that the account of his first voyage is a +fabrication; and that he did not visit the main-land until after it had +been discovered and coasted by Columbus. As this question has been made a +matter of warm and voluminous controversy, it is proper to take a summary +view of it in the present work. + +Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, March 9th, 1451, of a noble, but +not at that time a wealthy, family; his father's name was Anastatio; his +mother's was Elizabetta Mini. He was the third of their sons, and received +an excellent education under his uncle, Georgio Antonio Vespucci, a +learned friar of the fraternity of San Marco, who was instructor to +several illustrious personages of that period. + +Amerigo Vespucci visited Spain, and took up his residence in Seville, to +attend to some commercial transactions on account of the family of the +Medici of Florence, and to repair, by his ingenuity, the losses and +misfortunes of an unskillful brother. [291] + +The date of his arrival in Spain is uncertain, but from comparing dates +and circumstances mentioned in his letters, he must have been at Seville +when Columbus returned from his first voyage. + +Padre Stanislaus Canovai, Professor of Mathematics at Florence, who has +published the life and voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, says that he was +commissioned by king Ferdinand, and sent with Columbus in his second +voyage in 1493. He states this on the authority of a passage in the +Cosmography of Sebastian Munster, published at Basle in 1550;[292] but +Munster mentions Vespucci as having accompanied Columbus in his first +voyage; the reference of Canovai is therefore incorrect; and the +suggestion of Munster is disproved by the letters of Vespucci, in which he +states his having been stimulated by the accounts brought of the +newly-discovered regions. He never mentions such a voyage in any of his +letters; which he most probably would have done, or rather would have +made it the subject of a copious letter, had he actually performed it. + +The first notice of a positive form which we have of Vespucci, as resident +in Spain, is early in 1496. He appears, from documents in the royal +archives at Seville, to have acted as agent or factor for the house of +Juanoto Berardi, a rich Florentine merchant, resident in Seville; who had +contracted to furnish the Spanish sovereigns with three several armaments, +of four vessels each, for the service of the newly-discovered countries. +He may have been one of the principals in this affair, which was +transacted in the name of this established house. Berardi died in +December, 1495, and in the following January we find Amerigo Vespucci +attending to the concerns of the expeditions, and settling with the +masters of the ships for their pay and maintenance, according to the +agreements made between them and the late Juanoto Berardi. On the 12th +January, 1496, he received on this account 10,000 maravedis from Bernardo +Pinelo, the royal treasurer. He went on preparing all things for the +dispatch of four caravels to sail under the same contract between the +sovereigns and the house of Berardi, and sent them to sea on the 3d +February, 1496; but on the 8th they met with a storm and were wrecked; the +crews were saved with the loss of only three men. [293] While thus +employed, Amerigo Vespucci, of course, had occasional opportunity of +conversing with Columbus, with whom, according to the expression of the +admiral himself, in one of his letters to his son Diego, he appears to +have been always on friendly terms. From these conversations, and from his +agency in these expeditions, he soon became excited to visit the +newly-discovered countries, and to participate in enterprises, which were +the theme of every tongue. Having made himself well acquainted with +geographical and nautical science, he prepared to launch into the career +of discovery. It was not very long before he carried this design into +execution. + +In 1498, Columbus, in his third voyage, discovered the coast of Paria, on +Terra Firma; which he at that time imagined to be a great island, but that +a vast continent lay immediately adjacent. He sent to Spain specimens of +pearls found on this coast, and gave the most sanguine accounts of the +supposed riches of the country. + +In 1499, an expedition of four vessels, under command of Alonzo de Ojeda, +was fitted out from Spain, and sailed for Paria, guided by charts and +letters sent to the government by Columbus. These were communicated to +Ojeda, by his patron, the bishop Fonseca, who had the superintendence of +India affairs, and who furnished him also with a warrant to undertake the +voyage. + +It is presumed that Vespucci aided in fitting, out the armament, and +sailed in a vessel belonging to the house of Berardi, and in this way was +enabled to take a share in the gains and losses of the expedition; for +Isabella, as queen of Castile, had rigorously forbidden all strangers to +trade with her transatlantic possessions, not even excepting the natives +of the kingdom of Aragon. + +This squadron visited Paria and several hundred miles of the coast, which +they ascertained to be Terra Firma. They returned in June, 1500; and on +the 18th of July, in that year, Amerigo Vespucci wrote an account of his +voyage to Lorenzo de Pier Francisco de Medici of Florence, which remained +concealed in manuscript, until brought to light and published by Bandini +in 1745. + +In his account of this voyage, and in every other narrative of his +different expeditions, Vespucci never mentions any other person concerned +in the enterprise. He gives the time of his sailing, and states that he +went with two caravels, which were probably his share of the expedition, +or rather vessels sent by the house of Berardi. He gives an interesting +narrative of the voyage, and of the various transactions with the natives, +which corresponds, in many substantial points, with the accounts furnished +by Ojeda and his mariners of their voyage, in a lawsuit hereafter +mentioned. + +In May, 1501, Vespucci, having suddenly left Spain, sailed in the service +of Emanuel, king of Portugal; in the course of which expedition he visited +the coast of Brazil. He gives an account of this voyage in a second letter +to Lorenzo de Pier Francisco de Medici, which also remained in manuscript +until published by Bartolozzi in 1789. [294] + +No record nor notice of any such voyage undertaken by Amerigo Vespucci, at +the command of Emanuel, is to be found in the archives of the Torre do +Tombo, the general archives of Portugal, which have been repeatedly and +diligently searched for the purpose. It is singular also that his name is +not to be found in any of the Portuguese historians, who in general were +very particular in naming all navigators who held any important station +among them, or rendered any distinguished services. That Vespucci did sail +along the coasts, however, is not questioned. His nephew, after his death, +in the course of evidence on some points in dispute, gave the correct +latitude of Cape St. Augustine, which he said he had extracted from his +uncle's journal. + +In 1504, Vespucci wrote a third letter to the same Lorenzo de Medici, +containing a more extended account of the voyage just alluded to in the +service of Portugal. This was the first of his narratives that appeared +in print. It appears to have been published in Latin, at Strasburgh, as +early as 1505, under the title "Americus Vesputius de Orbe Antarctica per +Regem Portugalliæ pridem inventa." [295] + +An edition of this letter was printed in Vicenza in 1507, in an anonymous +collection of voyages edited by Francanzio di Monte Alboddo, an +inhabitant of Vicenza. It was re-printed in Italian in 1508, at Milan, +and also in Latin, in a book entitled "Itinerarium Portugalensium." In +making the present illustration, the Milan edition in Italian [296] has +been consulted, and also a Latin translation of it by Simon Grinæus, in +his Novus Orbis, published at Basle in 1532. It relates entirely the +first voyage of Vespucci from Lisbon to the Brazils in 1501. + +It is from this voyage to the Brazils that Amerigo Vespucci was first +considered the discoverer of Terra Firma; and his name was at first +applied to these southern regions, though afterwards extended to the +whole continent. The merits of his voyage were, however, greatly +exaggerated. The Brazils had been previously discovered, and formally +taken possession of for Spain in 1500, by Vincente Yañez Pinzon; and +also in the same year, by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, on the part of Portugal; +circumstances unknown, however, by Vespucci and his associates. The +country remained in possession of Portugal, in conformity to the line +of demarcation agreed on between the two nations. + +Vespucci made a second voyage in the service of Portugal. He says that +he commanded a caravel in a squadron of six vessels destined for the +discovery of Malacca, which they had heard to be the great depot and +magazine of all the trade between the Ganges and the Indian sea. Such +an expedition did sail about this time, under the command of Gonzalo +Coelho. The squadron sailed, according to Vespucci, on the 10th of May, +1503. It stopped at the Cape de Verd islands for refreshments, and +afterwards sailed by the coast of Sierra Leone, but was prevented from +landing by contrary winds and a turbulent sea. Standing to the +southwest, they ran three hundred leagues until they were three degrees +to the southward of the equinoctial line, where they discovered an +uninhabited island, about two leagues in length and one in breadth. +Here, on the 10th of August, by mismanagement, the commander of the +squadron ran his vessel on a rock and lost her. While the other vessels +were assisting to save the crew and property from the wreck, Amerigo +Vespucci was dispatched in his caravel to search for a safe harbor in +the island. He departed in his vessel without his long-boat, and with +less than half of his crew, the rest having gone in the boat to the +assistance of the wreck. Vespucci found a harbor, but waited in vain +for several days for the arrival of the ships. Standing out to sea, he +met with a solitary vessel, and learnt that the ship of the commander +had sunk, and the rest had proceeded onwards. In company with this +vessel he stood for the Brazils, according to the command of the king, +in case that any vessel should be parted from the fleet. Arriving on +the coast, he discovered the famous bay of All Saints, where he +remained upwards of two months, in hopes of being joined by the rest +of the fleet. He at length ran 260 leagues farther south, where he +remained five months building a fort and taking in cargo of +Brazil-wood. Then, leaving in the fortress a garrison of 24 men with +arms and ammunition, he set sail for Lisbon, where he arrived in June, +1504. [297] The commander of the squadron and the other four ships were +never heard of afterwards. + +Vespucci does not appear to have received the reward from the king of +Portugal that his services merited, for we find him at Seville early in +1505, on his way to the Spanish court, in quest of employment: and he +was bearer of a letter from Columbus to his son Diego, dated February 5, +which, while it speaks warmly of him as a friend, intimates his having +been unfortunate. The following is the letter: + +My Dear Son,--Diego Mendez departed hence on Monday, the third of this +month. After his departure I conversed with Amerigo Vespucci, the bearer +of this, who goes there (to court) summoned on affairs of navigation. +Fortune has been adverse to him as to many others. His labors have not +profited him as much as they reasonably should have done. He goes on my +account, and with much desire to do something that may result to my +advantage, if within his power. I cannot ascertain here in what I can +employ him, that will be serviceable to me, for I do not know what may +be there required. He goes with the determination to do all that is +possible for me; see in what he may be of advantage, and co-operate +with him, that he may say and do every thing, and put his plans in +operation; and let all be done secretly, that he may not be suspected. +I have said every thing to him that I can say touching the business, +and have informed him of the pay I have received, and what is due, &c. +[298] + +About this time Amerigo Vespucci received letters of naturalization from +king Ferdinand, and shortly afterwards he and Vincente Yafiez Pinzon were +named captains of an armada about to be sent out in the spice trade and to +make discoveries. There is a royal order, dated Toro, 11th April, 1507, +for 12,000 maravedis for an outfit for "Americo de Vespuche, resident of +Seville." Preparations were made for this voyage, and vessels procured and +fitted out, but it was eventually abandoned. There are memoranda existing +concerning it, dated in 1506, 1507, and 1508, from which it appears that +Amerigo Vespucci remained at Seville, attending to the fluctuating +concerns of this squadron, until the destination of the vessels was +changed, their equipments were sold, and the accounts settled. During this +time he had a salary of 30,000 maravedis. On the 22d of March, 1508, he +received the appointment of principal pilot, with a salary of 70,000 +maravedis. His chief duties were to prepare charts, examine pilots, +superintend the fitting out of expeditions, and prescribe the route that +vessels were to pursue in their voyages to the New World. He appears to +have remained at Seville, and to have retained this office until his +death, on the 22d of February, 1512. His widow, Maria Corezo, enjoyed a +pension of 10,000 maravedis. After his death, his nephew, Juan Vespucci, +was nominated pilot, with a salary of 20,000 maravedis, commencing on the +22d of May, 1512. Peter Martyr speaks with high commendation of this young +man. "Young Vesputius is one to whom Americus Vesputius his uncle left the +exact knowledge of the mariner's faculties, as it were by inheritance, +after his death; for he was a very expert master in the knowledge of his +carde, his compasse and the elevation of the pole starre by the +quadrant.... Vesputius is my very familiar friend, and a wittie young man, +in whose company I take great pleasure, and therefore use him oftentymes +for my guest. He hath also made many voyages into these coasts, and +diligently noted such things as he hath seen." [299] + +Vespucci, the nephew, continued in this situation during the lifetime of +Fonseca, who had been the patron of his uncle and his family. He was +divested of his pay and his employ by a letter of the council, dated the +18th of March, 1525, shortly after the death of the bishop. No further +notice of Vespucci is to be found in the archives of the Indies. + +Such is a brief view of the career of Amerigo Vespucci; it remains to +notice the points of controversy. Shortly after his return from his last +expedition to the Brazils, he wrote a letter dated Lisbon, 4th September, +1504, containing a summary account of all his voyages. This letter is of +special importance to the matters under investigatiod, as it is the only +one known that relates to the disputed voyage, which would establish him +as the discoverer of Terra Firma. It is presumed to have been written in +Latin, and was addressed to René, duke of Lorraine, who assumed the title +of king of Sicily and Jerusalem. + +The earliest known edition of this letter was published in Latin, in 1507, +at St. Diez in Lorraine. A copy of it has been found in the library of the +Vatican (No. 9688) by the abbe Cancellieri. In preparing the present +illustration, a reprint of this letter in Latin has been consulted, +inserted in the Novus Orbis of Grinæus, published at Bath in 1532. The +letter contains a spirited narrative of four voyages which he asserts to +have made to the New World. In the prologue he excuses the liberty of +addressing king René by calling to his recollection the ancient intimacy +of their youth, when studying the rudiments of science together, under the +paternal uncle of the voyager; and adds that if the present narrative +should not altogether please his Majesty, he must plead to him as Pliny +said to Mæcenas, that he used formerly to be amused with his triflings. + +In the prologue to this letter, he informs king René that affairs of +commerce had brought him to Spain, where he had experienced the various +changes of fortune attendant on such transactions, and was induced to +abandon that pursuit and direct his labors to objects of a more elevated +and stable nature. He therefore purposed to contemplate various parts of +the world, and to behold the marvels which it contains. To this object +both time and place were favorable; for king Ferdinand was then preparing +four vessels for the discovery of new lands in the west, and appointed him +among the number of those who went in the expedition. "We departed," he +adds, "from the port of Cadiz, May 20, 1497, taking our course on the +great gulf of ocean; in which voyage we employed eighteen months, +discovering many lands and innumerable islands, chiefly inhabited, of +which our ancestors make no mention." + +A duplicate of this letter appears to have been sent at the same time +(written, it is said, in Italian) to Piere Soderini, afterwards +Gonfalonier of Florence, which was some years subsequently published in +Italy, not earlier than 1510, and entitled "Lettera de Amerigo Vespucci +delle Isole nuovamente trovate in quatro suoi viaggi." We have consulted +the edition of this letter in Italian, inserted in the publication of +Padre Stanislaus Canovai, already referred to. + +It has been suggested by an Italian writer, that this letter was written +by Vespucci to Soderini only, and the address altered to king René through +the flattery or mistake of the Lorraine editor, without perceiving how +unsuitable the reference to former intimacy, intended for Soderini, was, +when applied to a sovereign. The person making this remark can hardly have +read the prologue to the Latin edition, in which the title of "your +majesty" is frequently repeated, and the term "illustrious king" employed. +It was first published also in Lorraine, the domains of René, and the +publisher would not probably have presumed to take such a liberty with his +sovereign's name. It becomes a question, whether Vespucci addressed the +same letter to king René and to Piere Soderini, both of them having been +educated with him, or whether he sent a copy of this letter to Soderini, +which subsequently found its way into print. The address to Soderini may +have been substituted, through mistake, by the Italian publisher. Neither +of the publications could have been made under the supervision of +Vespucci. + +The voyage specified in this letter as having taken place in 1497, is the +great point in controversy. It is strenuously asserted that no such voyage +took place; and that the first expedition of Vespucci to the coast of +Paria was in the enterprise commanded by Ojeda, in 1499. The books of the +armadas existing in the archives of the Indies at Seville, have been +diligently examined, but no record of such voyage has been found, nor any +official documents relating to it. Those most experienced in Spanish +colonial regulations insist that no command like that pretended by +Vespucci could have been given to a stranger, till he had first received +letters of naturalization from the sovereigns for the kingdom of Castile, +and he did not obtain such till 1505, when they were granted to him as +preparatory to giving him the command in conjunction with Pinzon. + +His account of a voyage made by him in 1497, therefore, is alleged to be a +fabrication for the purpose of claiming the discovery of Paria; or rather +it is affirmed that he has divided the voyage which he actually made with +Ojeda, in 1499, into two; taking a number of incidents from his real +voyage, altering them a little, and enlarging them with descriptions of +the countries and people, so as to make a plausible narrative, which he +gives as a distinct voyage; and antedating his departure to 1497, so as to +make himself appear the first discoverer of Paria. + +In support of this charge various coincidences have been pointed out +between his voyage said to have taken place in 1497, and that described in +his first letter to Lorenzo de Medici in 1499. These coincidences are with +respect to places visited, transactions and battles with the natives, and +the number of Indians carried to Spain and sold as slaves. + +But the credibility of this voyage has been put to a stronger test. About +1508 a suit was instituted against the crown of Spain by Don Diego, son +and heir of Columbus, for the government of certain parts of Terra Firma, +and for a share in the revenue arising from them, conformably to the +capitulations made between the sovereigns and his father. It was the +object of the crown to disprove the discovery of the coast of Paria and +the pearl islands by Columbus; as it was maintained, that unless he had +discovered them, the claim of his heir with respect to them would be of no +validity. + +In the course of this suit, a particular examination of witnesses took +place in 1512-13 in the fiscal court. Alonzo de Ojeda, and nearly a +hundred other persons, were interrogated on oath; that voyager having been +the first to visit the coast of Paria after Columbus had left it, and that +within a very few months. The interrogatories of these witnesses, and +their replies, are still extant, in the archives of the Indies at Seville, +in a packet of papers entitled "Papers belonging to the admiral Don Luis +Colon, about the conservation of his privileges, from ann. 1515 to 1564." +The author of the present work has two several copies of these +interrogatories lying before him. One made by the late historian Muñoz, +and the other made in 1826, and signed by Don Jose de la Higuera y Lara, +keeper of the general archives of the Indies in Seville. In the course of +this testimony, the fact that Amerigo Vespucci accompanied Ojeda in this +voyage of 1499, appears manifest, first from the deposition of Ojeda +himself. The following are the words of the record: "In this voyage which +this said witness made, he took with him Juan de la Cosa and Morego +Vespuche [Amerigo Vespucci] and other pilots." [300] Secondly, from the +coincidence of many parts of the narrative of Vespucci with events in +this voyage of Ojeda. Among these coincidences, one is particularly +striking. Vespucci, in his letter to Lorenzo de Medici, and also in that +to René or Soderini, says, that his ships, after leaving the coast of +Terra Firma, stopped at Hispaniola, where they remained about two months +and a half, procuring provisions, during which time, he adds, "we had +many perils and troubles with the very Christians who were in that +island with Columbus, and I believe through envy." [301] + +Now it is well known that Ojeda passed some time on the western end of the +island victualing his ships; and that serious dissensions took place +between him and the Spaniards in those parts, and the party sent by +Columbus under Roldan to keep a watch upon his movements. If then +Vespucci, as is stated upon oath, really accompanied Ojeda in this voyage, +the inference appears almost irresistible, that he had not made the +previous voyage of 1497, for the fact would have been well known to Ojeda; +he would have considered Vespucci as the original discoverer, and would +have had no motive for depriving him of the merit of it, to give it to +Columbus, with whom Ojeda was not upon friendly terms. + +Ojeda, however, expressly declares that the coast had been discovered by +Columbus. On being asked how he knew the fact, he replied, because he saw +the chart of the country discovered, which Columbus sent at the time to +the king and queen, and that he came off immediately on a voyage of +discovery, and found what was therein set down as discovered by the +admiral was correct. [302] + +Another witness, Bernaldo de Haro, states that he had been with the +admiral, and had written (or rather copied) a letter for the admiral to +the king and queen, designating, in an accompanying sea-chart, the courses +and steerings and winds by which he had arrived at Paria; and that this +witness had heard that from this chart others had been made, and that +Pedro Alonzo Niño and Ojeda, and others, who had since, visited these +countries, had been guided by the same. [303] + +Francisco de Molares, one of the best and most credible of all the pilots, +testified that he saw a sea-chart which Columbus had made of the coast of +Paria, _and he believed that all governed themselves by it_. +[304] + +Numerous witnesses in this process testify to the fact that Paria was +first discovered by Columbus. Las Casas, who has been at the pains of +counting them, says that the fact was established by twenty-five +eye-witnesses and sixty ear-witnesses. Many of them testify also that the +coast south of Paria, and that extending west of the island of Margarita, +away to Venezuela, which Vespucci states to have been discovered by +himself, in 1497, was now first discovered by Ojeda, and had never before +been visited either by the admiral "or any other Christian whatever." + +Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal says that all the voyages of discovery which +were made to the Terra Firma, were made by persons who had sailed with the +admiral, or been benefited by his instructions and directions, following +the course he had laid down;[305] and the same is testified by many other +pilots and mariners of reputation and experience. + +It would be a singular circumstance, if none of these witnesses, many of +whom must have sailed in the same squadron with Vespucci along this coast +in 1499, should have known that he had discovered and explored it two +years previously. If that had really been the case, what motive could he +have for concealing the fact? and why, if they knew it, should they not +proclaim it? Vespucci states his voyage in 1497 to have been made with +four caravels; that they returned in October, 1498, and that he sailed +again with two caravels in May, 1499, (the date of Ojeda's departure.) +Many of the mariners would therefore have been present in both voyages. +Why, too, should Ojeda and the other pilots guide themselves by the charts +of Columbus, when they had a man on board so learned in nautical science, +and who, from his own recent observations, was practically acquainted with +the coast? Not a word, however, is mentioned of the voyage and discovery +of Vespucci by any of the pilots, though every other voyage and discovery +is cited; nor does there even a seaman appear who has accompanied him in +his asserted voyage. + +Another strong circumstance against the reality of this voyage is, that it +was not brought forward in this trial to defeat the claims of the heirs of +Columbus. Vespucci states the voyage to have been undertaken with the +knowledge and countenance of king Ferdinand; it must, therefore, have been +avowed and notorious. Vespucci was living at Seville in 1508, at the time +of the commencement of this suit, and, for four years afterward, a +salaried servant of the crown. Many of the pilots and mariners must have +been at hand, who sailed with him in his pretended enterprise. If this +voyage had once been proved, it would completely have settled the +question, as far as concerned the coast of Paria, in favor of the crown. +Yet no testimony appears ever to have been taken from Vespucci while +living; and when the interrogatories were made in the fiscal court in +1512-13, not one of his seamen is brought up to give evidence. A voyage so +important in its nature, and so essential to the question in dispute, is +not even alluded to, while useless pains are taken to wrest evidence from +the voyage of Ojeda, undertaken at a subsequent period. + +It is a circumstance worthy of notice, that Vespucci commences his first +letter to Lorenzo de Medici in 1500, within a month after his return from +the voyage he had actually made to Paria, and apologizes for his long +silence, by saying that nothing had occurred worthy of mention, ("e gran +tempo che non ho scritto à vostra magnifizensa, e non lo ha causato altra +cosa ne nessuna salvo non mi essere occorso cosa degna di memoria,") and +proceeds eagerly to tell him the wonders he had witnessed in the +expedition from which he had but just returned. It would be a singular +forgetfulness to say that nothing had occurred of importance, if he had +made a previous voyage of eighteen months in 1497-8 to this +newly-discovered world; and it would be almost equally strange that he +should not make the slightest allusion to it in this letter. + +It has been the endeavor of the author to examine this question +dispassionately; and after considering the statements and arguments +advanced on either side, he cannot resist a conviction, that the voyage +stated to have been made in 1497 did not take place, and that Vespucci has +no title to the first discovery of the coast of Paria. + +The question is extremely perplexing from the difficulty of assigning +sufficient motives for so gross a deception. When Vespucci wrote his +letters there was no doubt entertained but that Columbus had discovered +the main-land in his first voyage; Cuba being always considered the +extremity of Asia, until circumnavigated in 1508. Vespucci may have +supposed Brazil, Paria, and the rest of that coast, part of a distinct +continent, and have been anxious to arrogate to himself the fame of its +discovery. It has been asserted, that, on his return from his voyage to +the Brazils, he prepared a maritime chart, in which he gave his name to +that part of the mainland; but this assertion does not appear to be well +substantiated. It would rather seem that his name was given to that part +of the continent by others, as a tribute paid to his supposed merit, in +consequence of having read his own account of his voyages. [306] + +It is singular that Fernando, the son of Columbus, in his biography of his +father, should bring no charge against Vespucci of endeavoring to supplant +the admiral in this discovery. Herrera has been cited as the first to +bring the accusation, in his history of the Indies, first published in +1601, and has been much criticized in consequence, by the advocates of +Vespucci, as making the charge on his mere assertion. But, in fact, +Herrera did but copy what he found written by Las Casas, who had the +proceedings of the fiscal court lying before him, and was moved to +indignation against Vespucci, by what he considered proofs of great +imposture. + +It has been suggested that Vespucci was instigated to this deception at +the time when he was seeking employment in the colonial service of Spain; +and that he did it to conciliate the bishop Fonseca, who was desirous of +any thing that might injure the interests of Columbus. In corroboration of +this opinion, the patronage is cited which was ever shown by Fonseca to +Vespucci and his family. This is not, however, a satisfactory reason, +since it does not appear that the bishop ever made any use of the +fabrication. Perhaps some other means might be found of accounting for +this spurious narration, without implicating the veracity of Vespucci. It +may have been the blunder of some editor, or the interpolation of some +book-maker, eager, as in the case of Trivigiani with the manuscripts of +Peter Martyr, to gather together disjointed materials, and fabricate a +work to gratify the prevalent passion of the day. + +In the various editions of the letters of Vespucci, the grossest +variations and inconsistencies in dates will be found, evidently the +errors of hasty and careless publishers. Several of these have been +corrected by the modern authors who have inserted these letters in their +works. [307] The same disregard to exactness which led to these blunders, +may have produced the interpolation of this voyage, garbled out of the +letters of Vespucci and the accounts of other voyagers. This is merely +suggested as a possible mode of accounting for what appears so decidedly +to be a fabrication, yet which we are loath to attribute to a man of the +good sense, the character, and the reputed merit of Vespucci. + +After all, this is a question more of curiosity than of real moment, +although it is one of those perplexing points about which grave men will +continue to write weary volumes, until the subject acquires a fictitious +importance from the mountain of controversy heaped upon it. It has become +a question of local pride with the literati of Florence; and they emulate +each other with patriotic zeal, to vindicate the fame of their +distinguished countryman. This zeal is laudable when kept within proper +limits; but it is to be regretted that some of them have so far been +heated by controversy as to become irascible against the very memory of +Columbus, and to seek to disparage his general fame, as if the ruin of it +would add any thing to the reputation of Vespucci. This is discreditable +to their discernment and their liberality; it injures their cause, and +shocks the feelings of mankind, who will not willingly see a name like +that of Columbus lightly or petulantly assailed in the course of these +literary contests. It is a name consecrated in history, and is no longer +the property of a city, or a state, or a nation, but of the whole world. + +Neither should those who have a proper sense of the merit of Columbus put +any part of his great renown at issue upon this minor dispute. Whether or +not he was the discoverer of Paria, was a question of interest to his +heirs, as a share of the government and revenues of that country depended +upon it; but it is of no importance to his fame. In fact, the European who +first reached the mainland of the New World was most probably Sebastian +Cabot, a native of Venice, sailing in the employ of England. In 1497 he +coasted its shores from Labrador to Florida; yet the English have never +set up any pretensions on his account. + +The glory of Columbus does not depend upon the parts of the country he +visited or the extent of coast along which he sailed; it embraces the +discovery of the whole western world. With respect to him, Vespucci is as +Yañez Pinzon, Bastides, Ojeda, Cabot, and the crowd of secondary +discoverers, who followed in his track, and explored the realms to which +he had led the way. When Columbus first touched a shore of the New World, +even though a frontier island, he had achieved his enterprises; he had +accomplished all that was necessary to his fame: the great problem of the +ocean was solved; the world which lay beyond its western waters was +discovered. + + + + +No. XI. + +Martin Alonzo Pinzon. + + + +In the course of the trial in the fiscal court, between Don Diego and the +crown, an attempt was made to depreciate the merit of Columbus, and to +ascribe the success of the great enterprise of discovery to the +intelligence and spirit of Martin Alonzo Pinzon. It was the interest of +the crown to do so, to justify itself in withholding from the heirs of +Columbus the extent of his stipulated reward. The examinations of +witnesses in this trial were made at various times and places, and upon a +set of interrogatories formally drawn up by order of the fiscal. They took +place upwards of twenty years after the first voyage of Columbus, and the +witnesses testified from recollection. + +In reply to one of the interrogatories, Arias Perez Pinzon, son of Martin +Alonzo, declared, that, being once in Rome with his father on commercial +affairs, before the time of the discovery, they had frequent conversations +with a person learned in cosmography who was in the service of Pope +Innocent VIII, and that being in the library of the pope, this person +showed them many manuscripts, from one of which his father gathered +intimation of these new lands; for there was a passage by an historian as +old as the time of Solomon, which said, "Navigate the Mediterranean Sea to +the end of Spain and thence towards the setting sun, in a direction +between north and south, until ninety-five degrees of longitude, and you +will find the land of Cipango, fertile and abundant, and equal in +greatness to Africa and Europe." A copy of this writing, he added, his +father brought from Rome with an intention of going in search of that +land, and frequently expressed such determination; and that, when Columbus +came to Palos with his project of discovery, Martin Alonzo Pinzon showed +him the manuscript, and ultimately gave it to him just before they sailed. + +It is extremely probable that this manuscript, of which Arias Perez gives +so vague an account from recollection, but which he appears to think the +main thing that prompted Columbus to his undertaking, was no other than +the work of Marco Polo, which, at that time, existed in manuscript in most +of the Italian libraries. Martin Alonzo was evidently acquainted with the +work of the Venetian, and it would appear, from various circumstances, +that Columbus had a copy of it with him in his voyages, which may have +been the manuscript above mentioned. Columbus had long before, however, +had a knowledge of the work, if not by actual inspection, at least through +his correspondence with Toscanelli in 1474, and had derived from it all +the light it was capable of furnishing, before he ever came to Palos. It +is questionable, also, whether the visit of Martin Alonzo to Rome, was not +after his mind had been heated by conversations with Columbus in the +convent of La Rabida. The testimony of Arias Perez is so worded as to +leave it in doubt whether the visit was not in the very year prior to the +discovery: "fue el dicho su padre á Roma aquel dicho año antes que fuese a +descubrir." Arias Perez always mentions the manuscript as having been +imparted to Columbus, after he had come to Palos with an intention of +proceeding on the discovery. + +Certain witnesses who were examined on behalf of the crown, and to whom +specific interrogatories were put, asserted, as has already been mentioned +in a note to this work, that had it not been for Martin Alonzo Pinzon and +his brothers, Columbus would have turned back for Spain, after having run +seven or eight hundred leagues; being disheartened at not finding land, +and dismayed by the mutiny and menaces of his crew. This is stated by two +or three as from personal knowledge, and by others from hearsay. It is +said especially to have occurred on the 6th of October. On this day, +according to the journal of Columbus, he had some conversation with Martin +Alonzo, who was anxious that they should stand more to the southwest. The +admiral refused to do so, and it is very probable that some angry words +may have passed between them. Various disputes appear to have taken place +between Columbus and his colleagues respecting their route, previous to +the discovery of land; in one or two instances he acceded to their wishes, +and altered his course, but in general he was inflexible in standing to +the west. The Pinzons also, in all probability, exerted their influence in +quelling the murmurs of their townsmen and encouraging them to proceed, +when ready to rebel against Columbus. These circumstances may have become +mixed up in the vague recollections of the seamen who gave the foregoing +extravagant testimony, and who were evidently disposed to exalt the merits +of the Pinzons at the expense of Columbus. They were in some measure +prompted also in their replies by the written interrogatories put by order +of the fiscal, which specified the conversations said to have passed +between Columbus and the Pizons, and notwithstanding these guides, they +differed widely in their statements, and ran into many absurdities. In a +manuscript record in possession of the Pinzon family, I have even read the +assertion of an old seaman, that Columbus, in his eagerness to compel the +Pinzons to turn back to Spain, _fired upon_ _their ships_, but, +they continuing on, he was obliged to follow, and within two days +afterwards discovered the island of Hispaniola. + +It is evident the old sailor, if he really spoke conscientiously, mingled +in his cloudy remembrance the disputes in the early part of the voyage +about altering their course to the southwest, and the desertion of Martin +Alonzo, subsequent to the discovery of the Lucayos and Cuba, when after +parting company with the admiral, he made the island of Hispaniola. + +The witness most to be depended upon as to these points of inquiry is the +physician of Palos, Garcia Fernandez, a man of education, who sailed with +Martin Alonzo Pinzon as steward of his ship, and of course was present at +all the conversations which passed between the commanders. He testifies +that Martin Alonzo urged Columbus to stand more to the southwest, and that +the admiral at length complied, but, finding no land in that direction, +they turned again to the west; a statement which completely coincides +with the journal of Columbus. He adds that the admiral continually +comforted and animated Martin Alonzo, and all others in his company. +(Siempre los consolaba el dicho Almirante esforzandolos al dicho Martin +Alonzo e â todos los que en su compania iban.) When the physician was +specifically questioned as to the conversations pretended to have passed +between the commanders, in which Columbus expressed a desire to turn back +to Spain, he referred to the preceding statement, as the only answer he +had to make to these interrogatories. + +The extravagant testimony before mentioned appears never to have had any +weight with the fiscal; and the accurate historian Muñoz, who extracted +all these points of evidence from the papers of the lawsuit, has not +deemed them worthy of mention in his work. As these matters, however, +remain on record in the archives of the Indies, and in the archives of the +Pinzon family, in both of which I have had a full opportunity of +inspecting them, I have thought it advisable to make these few +observations on the subject; lest, in the rage for research, they might +hereafter be drawn forth as a new discovery, on the strength of which to +impugn the merits of Columbus. + + + + +No. XII. + +Rumor of the Pilot Said to Have Died in the House of Columbus. + + + +Among the various attempts to injure Columbus by those who were envious of +his fame, was one intended to destroy all his merit as an original +discoverer. It was said that he had received information of the existence +of land in the western parts of the ocean from a tempest-tossed pilot, who +had been driven there by violent easterly winds, and who on his return to +Europe, had died in the house of Columbus, leaving in his possession the +chart and journal of his voyage, by which he was guided to his discovery. + +This story was first noticed by Oviedo, a contemporary of Columbus, in his +history of the Indies, published in 1535. He mentions it as a rumor +circulating among the vulgar, without foundation in truth. + +Fernando Lopez de Gomara first brought it forward against Columbus. In his +history of the Indies, published in 1552, he repeats the rumor in the +vaguest terms, manifestly from Oviedo, but without the contradiction given +to it by that author. He says that the name and country of the pilot were +unknown, some terming him an Andalusian, sailing between the Canaries and +Madeira, others a Biscayan, trading to England and France; and others a +Portuguese, voyaging between Lisbon and Mina, on the coast of Guinea. He +expresses equal uncertainty whether the pilot brought the caravel to +Portugal, to Madeira, or to one of the Azores. The only point on which the +circulators of the rumor agreed was, that he died in the house of +Columbus. Gomara adds that by this event Columbus was led to undertake his +voyage to the new countries. [308] + +The other early historians who mention Columbus and his voyages, and were +his contemporaries, viz. Sabellicus, Peter Martyr, Giustiniani, Bernaldez, +commonly called the curate of los Palacios, Las Casas, Fernando, the son +of the admiral, and the anonymous author of a voyage of Columbus, +translated from the Italian into Latin by Madrignano, [309] are all silent +in regard to this report. + +Benzoni, whose history of the New World was published in 1565, repeats the +story from Gomara, with whom he was contemporary; but decidedly expresses +his opinion, that Gomara had mingled up much falsehood with some truth, +for the purpose of detracting from the fame of Columbus, through jealousy +that any one but a Spaniard should enjoy the honor of the discovery. +[310] + +Acosta notices the circumstance slightly in his Natural and Moral History +of the Indies, published in 1591, and takes it evidently from Gomara. +[311] + +Mariana, in his history of Spain, published in 1592, also mentions it, but +expresses a doubt of its truth, and derives his information manifestly +from Gomara. [312] + +Herrera, who published his history of the Indies in 1601, takes no notice +of the story. In not noticing it, he may be considered as rejecting it; +for he is distinguished for his minuteness, and was well acquainted with +Gomara's history, which he expressly contradicts on a point of +considerable interest. [313] + +Garcilasso de la Vega, a native of Cusco in Peru, revived the tale with +very minute particulars, in his Commentaries of the Incas, published in +1609. He tells it smoothly and circumstantially; fixes the date of the +occurrence 1484, "one year more or less;" states the name of the +unfortunate pilot, Alonzo Sanchez de Huelva; the destination of his +vessel, from the Canaries to Madeira; and the unknown land to which they +were driven, the island of Hispaniola. The pilot, he says, landed, took an +altitude, and wrote an account of all he saw, and all that had occurred in +the voyage. He then took in wood and water, and set out to seek his way +home. He succeeded in returning, but the voyage was long and tempestuous, +and twelve died of hunger and fatigue, out of seventeen, the original +number of the crew. The five survivors arrived at Tercera, where they were +hospitably entertained by Columbus, but all died in his house in +consequence of the hardships they had sustained; the pilot was the last +that died, leaving his host heir to his papers. Columbus kept them +profoundly secret, and by pursuing the route therein prescribed, obtained +the credit of discovering the New World. [314] + +Such are the material points of the circumstantial relation furnished by +Garcilasso de la Vega, one hundred and twenty years after the event. In +regard to authority, he recollects to have heard the story when he was a +child, as a subject of conversation between his father and the neighbors, +and he refers to the histories of the Indies, by Acosta and Gomara, for +confirmation. As the conversations to which he listened must have taken +place sixty or seventy years after the date of the report, there had been +sufficient time for the vague rumors to become arranged into a regular +narrative, and thus we have not only the name, country, and destination of +the pilot, but also the name of the unknown land to which his vessel was +driven. + +This account, given by Garcilasso de la Vega, has been adopted by many old +historians, who have felt a confidence in the peremptory manner in which +he relates it, and in the authorities to whom he refers. [315] +These have been echoed by others of more recent date; and thus a weighty +charge of fraud and imposture has been accumulated against Columbus, +apparently supported by a crowd of respectable accusers. The whole charge +is to be traced to Gomara, who loosely repeated a vague rumor, without +noticing the pointed contradiction given to it seventeen years before, by +Oviedo, an ear-witness, from whose book he appears to have actually +gathered the report. + +It is to be remarked that Goinara bears the character, among historians, +of inaccuracy, and of great credulity in adopting unfounded stories. +[316] + +It is unnecessary to give further refutation to this charge, especially as +it is clear that Columbus communicated his idea of discovery to Paulo +Toscanelli of Florence, in 1474, ten years previous to the date assigned +by Garcilasso de la Vega for this occurrence. + + + + +No. XIII. + +Martin Behem. + + + +This able geographer was born in Nuremburg, in Germany, about the +commencement of the year 1430. His ancestors were from the circle of +Pilsner, in Bohemia, hence he is called by some writers Martin of Bohemia, +and the resemblance of his own name to that of the country of his +ancestors frequently occasions a confusion in the appellation. + +It has been said by some that he studied under Philip Bervalde the elder, +and by others under John Muller, otherwise called Regiomontanus, though De +Murr, who has made diligent inquiry into his history, discredits both +assertions. According to a correspondence between Behem and his uncle +discovered of late years by De Murr, it appears that the early part of his +life was devoted to commerce. Some have given him the credit of +discovering the island of Fayal, but this is an error, arising probably +from the circumstance that Job de Huertar, father-in-law of Behem, +colonized that island in 1466. + +He is supposed to have arrived at Portugal in 1481, while Alphonso V was +still on the throne; it is certain that shortly afterwards he was in high +repute for his science in the court of Lisbon, insomuch that he was one of +the council appointed by king John II to improve the art of navigation, +and by some he has received the whole credit of the memorable service +rendered to commerce by that council, in the introduction of the astrolabe +into nautical use. + +In 1484 king John sent an expedition under Diego Cam, as Barros calls him, +Cano according to others, to prosecute discoveries along the coast of +Africa. In this expedition Behem sailed as cosmographer. They crossed the +equinoctial line, discovered the coast of Congo, advanced to twenty-two +degrees forty-five minutes of south latitude, [317] and erected two +columns, on which were engraved the arms of Portugal, in the mouth of the +river Zagra, in Africa, which thence, for some time, took the name of the +River of Columns. [318] + +For the services rendered on this and on previous occasions, it is said +that Behem was knighted by king John in 1485, though no mention is made of +such a circumstance in any of the contemporary historians. The principal +proof of his having received this mark of distinction, is his having given +himself the title on his own globe of _Eques Lusitanus_. + +In 1486 he married at Fayal the daughter of Job de Huerter, and is +supposed to have remained there for some few years, where he had a son +named Martin, born in 1489. During his residence at Lisbon and Fayal, it +is probable the acquaintance took place between him and Columbus, to which +Herrera and others allude; and the admiral may have heard from him some of +the rumors circulating in the islands, of indications of western lands +floating to their shores. + +In 1491 he returned to Nuremburg to see his family, and while there, in +1492, he finished a terrestrial globe, considered a masterpiece in those +days, which he had undertaken at the request of the principal magistrates +of his native city. + +In 1493 he returned to Portugal, and from thence proceeded to Fayal. + +In 1494 king John II, who had a high opinion of him, sent him to Flanders +to his natural son prince George, the intended heir of his crown. In the +course of his voyage Behem was captured and carried to England, where he +remained for three months detained by illness. Having recovered, he again +put to sea, but was captured by a corsair and carried to France. Having +ransomed himself, he proceeded to Antwerp and Bruges, but returned almost +immediately to Portugal. Nothing more is known of him for several years, +during which time it is supposed he remained with his family in Fayal, too +old to make further voyages. In 1506 he went from Fayal to Lisbon, where +he died. + +The assertion that Behem had discovered the western world previous to +Columbus, in the course of the voyage with Cam, was founded on a +misinterpretation of a passage interpolated in the chronicle of Hartmann +Schedel, a contemporary writer. This passage mentions, that when the +voyagers were in the Southern Ocean not far from the coast, and had passed +the line, they came into another hemisphere, where, when they looked +towards the east, their shadows fell towards the south, on their right +hand; that here they discovered a new world, unknown until then, and which +for many years had never been sought except by the Genoese, and by them +unsuccessfully. + +"Hii duo, bono deorum auspicio, mare meridionale sulcantes, a littore non +longe evagantes, superato circulo equinoctiali, in alterum orbem excepti +stint. Ubi ipsis stantibus orientem versus, umbra ad meridiem et dextram +projiciebatur. Aperuêre igitur sua industria, alium orbem hactenus nobis +incognitum et multis annis, a nullis quam Januensibus, licet frustra +temptatum." + +These lines are part of a passage which it is said is interpolated by a +different hand, in the original manuscript of the chronicle of Schedel. De +Murr assures us that they are not to be found in the German translation of +the book by George Alt, which was finished the 5th October, 1493. But even +if they were, they relate merely to the discovery which Diego Cam made of +the southern hemisphere, previously unknown, and of the coast of Africa +beyond the equator, all which appeared like a new world, and as such was +talked of at the time. + +The Genoese alluded to, who had made an unsuccessful attempt were Antonio +de Nolle with Bartholomeo his brother, and Raphael de Nolle his nephew. +Antonio was of a noble family, and, for some disgust, left his country and +went to Lisbon with his before-mentioned relatives in two caravels; +sailing whence in the employ of Portugal, they discovered the island of +St. Jago, &c. [319] + +This interpolated passage of Schedel was likewise inserted into the work +De Europa sub Frederico III of Æneas Silvius, afterwards Pope Pius II, +who died in 1464, long before the voyage in question. The +misinterpretation of the passage first gave rise to the incorrect +assertion that Behem had discovered the New World prior to Columbus; as if +it were possible such a circumstance could have happened without Behem's +laying claim to the glory of the discovery, and without the world +immediately resounding with so important an event. This error had been +adopted by various authors without due examination, some of whom had +likewise taken from Magellan the credit of having discovered the strait +which goes by his name, and had given it to Behem. The error was too +palpable to be generally prevalent, but was suddenly revived in the year +1786 by a French gentleman of highly respectable character of the name of +Otto, then resident in New York, who addressed a letter to Dr. Franklin, +to be submitted to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, in which he +undertook to establish the title of Behem to the discovery of the New +World. His memoir was published in the Transactions of the American +Philosophical Society, vol. ii., for 1786, article No. 35, and has been +copied into the journals of most of the nations of Europe. + +The authorities cited by M. Otto in support of his assertion are generally +fallacious, and for the most part given without particular specification. +His assertion has been diligently and satisfactorily refuted by Don +Christoval Cladera. [320] + +The grand proof of M. Otto is a globe which Behem made during his +residence in Nuremburg, in 1492, the very year that Columbus set out on +his first voyage of discovery. This globe, according to M. Otto, is still +preserved in the library of Nuremburg, and on it are painted all the +discoveries of Behem, which are so situated that they can be no other than +the coast of Brazil and the straits of Magellan. This authority staggered +many, and, if supported, would demolish the claims of Columbus. + +Unluckily for M. Otto, in his description of the globe, he depended on the +inspection of a correspondent. The globe in the library of Nuremburg was +made in 1520, by John Schoener, professor of mathematics, [321] long after +the discoveries and death of Columbus and Behem. The real globe of Behem, +made in 1492, does not contain any of the islands or shores of the New +World, and thus proves that he was totally unacquainted with them. A copy, +or planisphere, of Behem's globe is given by Cladera in his +investigations. + + + + +No. XIV. + +Voyages of the Scandinavians. + + + +Many elaborate dissertations have been written to prove that discoveries +were made by the Scandinavians on the northern coast of America long +before the era of Columbus; but the subject appears still to be wrapped in +much doubt and obscurity. + +It has been asserted that the Norwegians, as early as the ninth century, +discovered a great tract of land to the west of Iceland, which they called +Grand Iceland; but this has been pronounced a fabulous tradition. The most +plausible account is one given by Snorro Sturleson, in his Saga or +Chronicle of King Olaus. According to this writer, one Biorn of Iceland, +sailing to Greenland in search of his father, from whom he had been +separated by a storm, was driven by tempestuous weather far to the +southwest, until he came in sight of a low country, covered with wood, +with an island in its vicinity. The weather becoming favorable, he turned +to the northeast without landing, and arrived safe at Greenland. His +account of the country he had beheld, it is said, excited the enterprise +of Leif, son of Eric Rauda (or Redhead), the first settler of Greenland. A +vessel was fitted out, and Leif and Biorn departed alone in quest of this +unknown land. They found a rocky and sterile island, to which they gave +the name of Helleland; also a low sandy country covered with wood, to +which they gave the name of Markland; and, two days afterwards, they +observed a continuance of the coast, with an island to the north of it. +This last they described as fertile, well wooded, producing agreeable +fruits, and particularly grapes, a fruit with which they were +unacquainted. On being informed by one of their companions, a German, of +its qualities and name, they called the country, from it, Vinland. They +ascended a river, well stored with fish, particularly salmon, and came to +a lake from which the river took its origin, where they passed the winter. +The climate appeared to them mild and pleasant; being accustomed to the +rigorous climates of the north. On the shortest day, the sun was eight +hours above the horizon. Hence it has been concluded that the country was +about the 49th degree of north latitude, and was either Newfoundland, or +some part of the coast of North America, about the Gulf of St. +Lawrence. [322] It is added that the relatives of Leif made several +voyages to Vinland; that they traded with the natives for furs; and that, +in 1121, a bishop named Eric went from Greenland to Vinland to convert +the inhabitants to Christianity. From this time, says Forster, we know +nothing of Vinland, and there is every appearance that the tribe which +still exists in the interior of Newfoundland, and which is so different +from the other savages of North America, both in their appearance and +mode of living, and always in a state of warfare with the Esquimaux of +the northern coast, are descendants of the ancient Normans. + +The author of the present work has not had the means of tracing this story +to its original sources. He gives it on the authority of M. Malte-Brun, +and Mr. Forster. The latter extracts it from the Saga or Chronicle of +Snorro, who was born in 1179, and wrote in 1215; so that his account was +formed long after the event is said to have taken place. Forster says, +"The facts which we report have been collected from a great number of +Icelandic manuscripts, and transmitted to us by Torfreus in his two works +entitled Veleris Groenlandiae Descriptio, Hafnia, 1706, and Historia +Winlandiae Antiquae, Hafnia, 1705." Forster appears to have no doubt of +the authenticity of the facts. As far as the author of the present work +has had experience in tracing these stories of early discoveries of +portions of the New World, he has generally found them very confident +deductions drawn from very vague and questionable facts. Learned men are +too prone to give substance to mere shadows, when they assist some +reconceived theory. Most of these accounts, when divested of the erudite +comments of their editors, have proved little better than the traditionary +fables, noticed in another part of this work, respecting the imaginary +islands of St. Borondon, and of the Seven Cities. + +There is no great improbability, however, that such enterprising and +roving voyagers as the Scandinavians, may have wandered to the northern +shores of America, about the coast of Labrador, or the shores of +Newfoundland; and if the Icelandic manuscripts said to be of the +thirteenth century can be relied upon as genuine, free from modern +interpolation, and correctly quoted, they would appear to prove the fact. +But granting the truth of the alleged discoveries, they led to no more +result than would the interchange of communication between the natives of +Greenland and the Esquimaux. The knowledge of them appears not to have +extended beyond their own nation, and to have been soon neglected and +forgotten by themselves. + +Another pretension to an early discovery of the American continent has +been set up, founded on an alleged map and narrative of two brothers of +the name of Zeno, of Venice; but it seems more invalid than those just +mentioned. The following is the substance of this claim. + +Nicolo Zeno, a noble Venetian, is said to have made a voyage to the north +in 1380, in a vessel fitted out at his own cost, intending to visit +England and Flanders; but meeting with a terrible tempest, was driven for +many days he knew not whither, until he was cast away upon Friseland, an +island much in dispute among geographers, but supposed to be the +archipelago of the Ferroe islands. The shipwrecked voyagers were assailed +by the natives; but rescued by Zichmni, a prince of the islands, lying on +the south side of Friseland, and duke of another district lying over +against Scotland. Zeno entered into the service of this prince, and aided +him in conquering Friseland, and other northern islands. He was soon +joined by his brother Antonio Zeno, who remained fourteen years in those +countries. + +During his residence in Friseland, Antonio Zeno wrote to his brother +Carlo, in Venice, giving an account of a report brought by a certain +fisherman, about a land to the westward. According to the tale of this +mariner, he had been one of a party who sailed from Friseland about +twenty-six years before, in four fishing-boats. Being overtaken by a +mighty tempest, they were driven about the sea for many days, until the +boat containing himself and six companions was cast upon an island called +Estotiland, about one thousand miles from Friseland. They were taken by +the inhabitants, and carried to a fair and populous city, where the king +sent for many interpreters to converse with them, but none that they could +understand, until a man was found who had likewise been cast away upon the +coast, and who spoke Latin. They remained several days upon the island, +which was rich and fruitful, abounding with all kinds of metals, and +especially gold. [323] There was a high mountain in the centre, from which +flowed four rivers which watered the whole country. The inhabitants were +intelligent and acquainted with the mechanical arts of Europe. They +cultivated grain, made beer, and lived in houses built of stone. There +were Latin books in the king's library, though the inhabitants had no +knowledge of that language. They had many cities and castles, and carried +on a trade with Greenland for pitch, sulphur, and peltry. Though much +given to navigation, they were ignorant of the use of the compass, and +finding the Friselanders acquainted with it, held them in great esteem; +and the king sent them with twelve barks to visit a country to the south, +called Drogeo. They had nearly perished in a storm, but were cast away +upon the coast of Drogeo. They found the people to be cannibals, and were +on the point of being killed and devoured, but were spared on account of +their great skill in fishing. + +The fisherman described this Drogeo as being a country of vast extent, or +rather a new world; that the inhabitants were naked and barbarous; but +that far to the southwest there was a more civilized region, and temperate +climate, where the inhabitants had a knowledge of gold and silver, lived +in cities, erected splendid temples to idols, and sacrificed human victims +to them, which they afterwards devoured. + +After the fisherman had resided many years on this continent, during which +time he had passed from the service of one chieftain to another, and +traversed various parts of it, certain boats of Estotiland arrived on the +coast of Drogeo. The fisherman went on board of them, acted as +interpreter, and followed the trade between the main-land and Estotiland +for some time, until he became very rich: then he fitted out a bark of his +own, and with the assistance of some of the people of the island, made his +way back, across the thousand intervening miles of ocean, and arrived safe +at Friseland. The account he gave of these countries, determined Zichmni, +the prince of Friseland, to send an expedition thither, and Antonio Zeno +was to command it. Just before sailing, the fisherman, who was to have +acted as guide, died; but certain mariners, who had accompanied him from +Estotiland, were taken in his place. The expedition sailed under command +of Zichmni; the Venetian, Zeno, merely accompanied it. It was +unsuccessful. After having discovered an island called Icaria, where they +met with a rough reception from the inhabitants, and were obliged to +withdraw, the ships were driven by a storm to Greenland. No record remains +of any further prosecution of the enterprise. + +The countries mentioned in the account of Zeno, were laid down on a map +originally engraved on wood. The island of Estotiland has been supposed by +M. Malte-Brun to be Newfoundland; its partially civilized inhabitants the +descendants of the Scandinavian colonists of Vinland; and the Latin books +in the king's library to be the remains of the library of the Greenland +bishop, who emigrated thither in 1121. Drogeo, according to the same +conjecture, was Nova Scotia and New England. The civilized people to the +southwest, who sacrificed human victims in rich temples, he surmises to +have been the Mexicans, or some ancient nation of Florida or Louisiana. + +The premises do not appear to warrant this deduction. The whole story +abounds with improbabilities; not the least of which is the civilization +prevalent among the inhabitants; their houses of stone, their European +arts, the library of their king; no traces of which were to be found on +their subsequent discovery. Not to mention the information about Mexico +penetrating through the numerous savage tribes of a vast continent. It is +proper to observe that this account was not published until 1558, long +after the discovery of Mexico. It was given to the world by Francisco +Marcolini, a descendant of the Zeni, from the fragments of letters said to +have been written by Antonio Zeno to Carlo his brother. "It grieves me," +says the editor, "that the book, and divers other writings concerning +these matters, are miserably lost; for being but a child when they came to +my hands, and not knowing what they were, I tore them and rent them in +pieces, which now I cannot call to remembrance but to my exceeding great +grief." [324] + +This garbled statement by Marcolini derived considerable authority by +being introduced by Abraham Ortelius, an able geographer, in his Theatrum +Orbis; but the whole story has been condemned by able commentators as a +gross fabrication. Mr. Forster resents this, as an instance of obstinate +incredulity, saying that it is impossible to doubt the existence of the +country of which Carlo, Nicolo and Antonio Zeno talk; as original acts in +the archives of Venice prove that the chevalier undertook a voyage to the +north; that his brother Antonio followed him; that Antonio traced a map, +which he brought back and hung up in his house, where it remained subject +to public examination, until the time of Marcolini, as an incontestable +proof of the truth of what he advanced. Granting all this, it merely +proves that Antonio and his brother were at Friseland and Greenland. Their +letters never assert that Zeno made the voyage to Estotiland. The fleet +was carried by a tempest to Greenland, after which we hear no more of him; +and his account of Estotiland and Drogeo rests simply on the tale of the +fisherman, after whose descriptions his map must have been conjecturally +projected. The whole story resembles much the fables circulated shortly +after the discovery of Columbus, to arrogate to other nations and +individuals the credit of the achievement. + +M. Malte-Brun intimates that the alleged discovery of Vinland may have +been known to Columbus when he made a voyage in the North Sea in +1477,[325] and that the map of Zeno, being in the national library at +London, in a Danish work, at the time when Bartholomew Columbus was in +that city, employed in making maps, he may have known something of it, +and have communicated it to his brother. [326] Had M. Malte-Brun examined +the history of Columbus with his usual accuracy, he would have perceived, +that, in his correspondence with Paulo Toscanelli in 1474, he had +expressed his intention of seeking India by a route directly to the west. +His voyage to the north did not take place until three years afterwards. +As to the residence of Bartholomew in London, it was not until after +Columbus had made his propositions of discovery to Portugal, if not to the +courts of other powers. Granting, therefore, that he had subsequently +heard the dubious stories of Vinland, and of the fisherman's adventures, +as related by Zeno, or at least by Marcolini, they evidently could not +have influenced him in his great enterprise. His route had no reference to +them, but was a direct western course, not toward Vinland, and Estotiland, +and Drogeo, but in search of Cipango, and Cathay, and the other countries +described by Marco Polo, as lying at the extremity of India. + + + + +No. XV. + +Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients. + + + +The knowledge of the ancients with respect to the Atlantic coast of Africa +is considered by modern investigators much less extensive than had been +imagined; and it is doubted whether they had any practical authority for +the belief that Africa was circumnavigable. The alleged voyage of Endoxns +of Cyzicus, from the Red Sea to Gibraltar, though recorded by Pliny, +Pomponius Mela, and others, is given entirely on the assertion of +Cornelius Nepos, who does not tell from whence he derived his information. +Posidonius (cited by Strabo) gives an entirely different account of this +voyage, and rejects it with contempt. [327] + +The famous voyage of Hanno, the Carthaginian, is supposed to have taken +place about a thousand years before the Christian era. The Periplus +Hannonis remains, a brief and obscure record of this expedition, and a +subject of great comment and controversy. By some it has been pronounced a +fictitious work, fabricated among the Greeks, but its authenticity has +been ably vindicated. It appears to be satisfactorily proved, however, +that the voyage of this navigator has been greatly exaggerated, and that +he never circumnavigated the extreme end of Africa. Mons. de Bougainville +[328] traces his route to a promontory which he named the West Horn, +supposed to be Cape Palmas, about five or six degrees north of the +equinoctial line, whence he proceeded to another promontory, under the +same parallel, which he called the South Horn, supposed to be Cape de Tres +Puntas. Mons. Gosselin, however, in his Researches into the Geography of +the Ancients (Tome 1, p. 162, etc.), after a rigid examination of the +Periplus of Hanno, determines that he had not sailed farther south than +Cape Non. Pliny, who makes Hanno range the whole coast of Africa, from +the straits to the confines of Arabia, had never seen his Periplus, but +took his idea from the works of Xenophon of Lampsaco. The Greeks +surcharged the narration of the voyager with all kinds of fables, and on +their unfaithful copies Strabo founded many of his assertions. According +to M. Gosselin, the itineraries of Hanno, of Scylax, Polybius, Statius, +Sebosus, and Juba; the recitals of Plato, of Aristotle, of Pliny, of +Plutarch, and the tables of Ptolemy, all bring us to the same results, +and, notwithstanding their apparent contradictions, fix the limit of +southern navigation about the neighborhood of Cape Non, or Cape Bojador. + +The opinion that Africa was a peninsula, which existed among the Persians, +the Egyptians, and perhaps the Greeks, several centuries prior to the +Christian era, was not, in his opinion, founded upon any known facts; but +merely on conjecture, from considering the immensity and unity of the +ocean; or perhaps on more ancient traditions; or on ideas produced by the +Carthaginian discoveries, beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, and those of +the Egyptians beyond the Gulf of Arabia. He thinks that there was a very +remote period when geography was much more perfect than in the time of the +Phenicians and the Greeks, whose knowledge was but confused traces of what +had previously been better known. + +The opinion that the Indian Sea joined the ocean was admitted among the +Greeks, and in the school of Alexandria, until the time of Hipparchus. It +seemed authorized by the direction which the coast of Africa took after +Cape Aromata, always tending westward, as far as it had been explored by +navigators. + +It was supposed that the western coast of Africa rounded off to meet the +eastern, and that the whole was bounded by the ocean, much to the +northward of the equator. Such was the opinion of Crates, who lived in the +time of Alexander; of Aratus, of Cleanthes, of Cleomedes, of Strabo, of +Pomponius Mela, of Macrobius, and many others. + +Hipparchus proposed a different system, and led the world into an error, +which for a long time retarded the maritime communication of Europe and +India. He supposed that the seas were separated into distinct basins, and +that the eastern shores of Africa made a circuit round the Indian Sea, so +as to join those of Asia beyond the mouth of the Ganges. Subsequent +discoveries, instead of refuting this error, only placed the junction of +the continents at a greater distance. Marinus of Tyre, and Ptolemy, +adopted this opinion in their works, and illustrated it in their maps, +which for centuries controlled the general belief of mankind, and +perpetuated the idea that Africa extended onward to the south pole, and +that it was impossible to arrive by sea at the coasts of India. Still +there were geographers who leaned to the more ancient idea of a +communication between the Indian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It had its +advocates in Spain, and was maintained by Pomponius Mela and by Isidore of +Seville. It was believed also by some of the learned in Italy, in the +thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries; and thus was kept alive +until it was acted upon so vigorously by Prince Henry of Portugal, and at +length triumphantly demonstrated by Vasco de Gama, in his circumnavigation +of the Cape of Good Hope. + + + + +No. XVI. + +Of the Ships of Columbus. + + + +In remarking on the smallness of the vessels with which Columbus made his +first voyage, Dr. Bobertson observes, that, "in the fifteenth century, the +bulk and construction of vessels were accommodated to the short and easy +voyages along the coast, which they were accustomed to perform." We have +many proofs, however, that even anterior to the fifteenth century, there +were large ships employed by the Spaniards, as well as by other nations. +In an edict published in Barcelona, in 1354, by Pedro IV, enforcing +various regulations for the security of commerce, mention is made of +Catalonian merchant ships of two and three decks and from 8000 to 12,000 +quintals burden. + +In 1419, Alonzo of Aragon hired several merchant ships to transport +artillery, horses, etc., from Barcelona to Italy, among which were two, +each carrying one hundred and twenty horses, which it is computed would +require a vessel of at least 600 tons. + +In 1463, mention is made of a Venetian ship of 700 tons which arrived at +Barcelona from England, laden with wheat. + +In 1497, a Castilian vessel arrived there being of 12,000 quintals burden. +These arrivals, incidentally mentioned among others of similar size, as +happening at one port, show that large ships were in use in those days. +[329] Indeed, at the time of fitting out the second expedition of +Columbus, there were prepared in the port of Bermeo, a Caracca of 1250 +tons, and four ships, of from 150 to 450 tons burden. Their destination, +however, was altered, and they were sent to convoy Muley Boabdil, the last +Moorish king of Granada, from the coast of his conquered territory to +Africa. [330] + +It was not for want of large vessels in the Spanish ports, therefore, that +those of Columbus were of so small a size. He considered them best adapted +to voyages of discovery, as they required but little depth of water, and +therefore could more easily and safely coast unknown shores, and explore +bays and rivers. He had some purposely constructed of a very small size +for this service; such was the caravel, which in his third voyage he +dispatched to look out for an opening to the sea at the upper part of the +Gulf of Paria, when the water grew too shallow for his vessel of one +hundred tons burden. + +The most singular circumstance with respect to the ships of Columbus is +that they should be open vessels; for it seems difficult to believe that a +voyage of such extent and peril should be attempted in barks of so frail a +construction. This, however, is expressly mentioned by Peter Martyr, in +his Decades written at the time; and mention is made occasionally, in the +memoirs relative to the voyages written by Columbus and his son, of +certain of his vessels being without decks. He sometimes speaks of the +same vessel as a ship, and a caravel. There has been some discussion of +late as to the precise meaning of the term caravel. The Chevalier Bossi, +in his dissertations on Columbus, observes, that in the Mediterranean, +caravel designates the largest class of ships of war among the Mussulmans, +and that in Portugal, it means a small vessel of from 120 to 140 tons +burden; but Columbus sometimes applies it to a vessel of forty tons. + +Du Cange, in his glossary, considers it a word of Italian origin. Bossi +thinks it either Turkish or Arabic, and probably introduced into the +European languages by the Moors. Mr. Edward Everett, in a note to his +Plymouth oration, considers that the true origin of the word is given in +"Ferrarii Origines Linguæ Italicæ," as follows: "Caravela, navigii +minoris genus. Lat. Carabus: Grsece Karabron." + +That the word caravel was intended to signify a vessel of a small size is +evident from a naval classification made by king Alonzo in the middle of +the thirteenth century. In the first class he enumerates Naos, or large +ships which go only with sails, some of which have two masts, and others +but one. In the second class smaller vessels, as Carracas, Fustas, +Ballenares, Pinazas, Carabelas, &c. In the third class vessels with sails +and oars, as Galleys, Galeots, Tardantes, and Saetias. [331] + +Bossi gives a copy of a letter written by Columbus to Don Raphael Xansis, +treasurer of the king of Spain; an edition of whicli exists in the public +library at Milan. With this letter he gives several woodcuts of sketches +made with a pen, which accompanied this letter, and which he supposes to +have been from the hand of Columbus. In these are represented vessels +which are probably caravels. They have high bows and sterns, with castles +on the latter. They have short masts with large square sails. One of them, +besides sails, has benches of oars, and is probably intended to represent +a galley. They are all evidently vessels of small size, and light +construction. + +In a work called "Kecherches sur le Commerce," published in Amsterdam, +1779, is a plate representing a vessel of the latter part of the fifteenth +century. It is taken from a picture in the church of St. Giovanni e Paolo +in Venice. The vessel bears much resemblance to those said to have been +sketched by Columbus; it has two masts, one of which is extremely small +with a latine sail. The mainmast has a large square sail. The vessel has a +high poop and prow, is decked at each end, and is open in the centre. + +It appears to be the fact, therefore, that most of the vessels with which +Columbus undertook his long and perilous voyages, were of this light and +frail construction; and little superior to the small craft which ply on +rivers and along coasts in modern days. + + + + +No. XVII. + +Route of Columbus in His First Voyage. + + + +[332] + +It has hitherto been supposed that one of the Bahama Islands, at present +bearing the name of San Salvador, and which is also known as Cat Island, +was the first point where Columbus came in contact with the New World. +Navarrete, however, in his introduction to the "Collection of Spanish +Voyages and Discoveries," recently published at Madrid, has endeavored to +show that it must have been Turk's Island, one of the same group, situated +about 100 leagues (of 20 to the degree) S.E. of San Salvador. Great care +has been taken to examine candidly the opinion of Navarrete, comparing it +with the journal of Columbus, as published in the above-mentioned work, +and with the personal observations of the writer of this article, who has +been much among these islands. + +Columbus describes Guanahani, on which he landed, and to which he gave the +name of San Salvador, as being a beautiful island, and very large; as +being level, and covered with forests, many of the trees of which bore +fruit; as having abundance of fresh water, and a large lake in the centre; +that it was inhabited by a numerous population; that he proceeded for a +considerable distance in his boats along the shore, which trended to the +N.N.E., and as he passed, was visited by the inhabitants of several +villages. Turk's Island does not answer to this description. + +Turk's Island is a low key composed of sand and rocks, and lying north and +south, less than two leagues in extent. It is utterly destitute of wood, +and has not a single tree of native growth. It has no fresh water, the +inhabitants depending entirely on cisterns and casks in which they +preserve the rain; neither has it any lake, but several salt ponds, which +furnish the sole production of the island. Turk's Island cannot be +approached on the east or northeast side, in consequence of the reef that +surrounds it. It has no harbor, but has an open road on the west side, +which vessels at anchor there have to leave and put to sea whenever the +wind comes from any other quarter than that of the usual trade breeze of +N.E. which blows over the island; for the shore is so bold that there is +no anchorage except close to it; and when the wind ceases to blow from the +laud, vessels remaining at their anchors would be swung against the rocks, +or forced high upon the shore, by the terrible surf that then prevails. +The unfrequented road of the Hawk's Nest, at the south end of the island, +is even more dangerous. This island, which is not susceptible of the +slightest cultivation, furnishes a scanty subsistence to a few sheep and +horses. The inhabitants draw all their consumption from abroad, with the +exception of fish and turtle, which are taken in abundance, and supply the +principal food of the slaves employed in the salt-works. The whole wealth +of the island consists in the produce of the salt-ponds, and in the +salvage and plunder of the many wrecks which take place in the +neighborhood. Turk's Island, therefore, would never be inhabited in a +savage state of society, where commerce does not exist, and where men are +obliged to draw their subsistence from the spot which they people. + +Again: when about to leave Guanahani, Columbus was at a loss to choose +which to visit of a great number of islands in sight. Now there is no land +visible from Turk's Island, excepting the two salt keys which lie south of +it, and with it form the group known as Turk's Islands. The journal of +Columbus does not tell us what course he steered in going from Guanahani +to Concepcion, but he states, that it was five leagues distant from the +former, and that the current was against him in sailing to it: whereas the +distance from Turk's Island to the Gran Caico, supposed by Navarrete to be +the Concepcion of Columbus, is nearly double, and the current sets +constantly to the W.N.W. among these islands, which would be favorable +in going from Turk's Island to the Caicos. + +From Concepcion Columbus went next to an island which he saw nine leagues +off in a westerly direction, to which he gave the name of Fernaudina. This +Navarrete takes to be Little Inagua, distant no less than twenty-two +leagues from Gran Caico. Besides, in going to Little Inagua, it would be +necessary to pass quite close to three islands, each larger than Turk's +Island, none of which are mentioned in the journal. Columbus describes +Fernandina as stretching twenty-eight leagues S.E. and N. W.: whereas +Little Inagua has its greatest length of four leagues in a S. W. +direction. In a word, the description of Fernandina has nothing in common +with Little Inagua. From Fernandina Columbus sailed S.E. to Isabella, +which Navarrete takes to be Great Inagua: whereas this latter bears S. W. +from Little Inagua, a course differing 90° from the one followed by +Columbus. Again: Columbus, on the 20th of November, takes occasion to say +that Guanahani was distant eight leagues from Isabella: whereas Turk's +Island is thirty-five leagues from Great Inagua. + +Leaving Isabella, Columbus stood W. S. W. for the island of Cuba, and fell +in with the Islas Arenas. This course drawn from Great Inagua, would meet +the coast of Cuba about Port Nipe; whereas Navarrete supposes that +Columbus next fell in with the keys south of the Jumentos, and which bear +W.N.W. from Inagua: a course differing 45° from the one steered by the +ships. After sailing for some time in the neighborhood of Cuba, Columbus +finds himself, on the 14th of November, in the sea of Nuestra Señora, +surrounded by so many islands that it was impossible to count them: +whereas, on the same day, Navarrete places him off Cape Moa, where there +is but one small island, and more than fifty leagues distant from any +group that can possibly answer the description. + +Columbus informs us that San Salvador was distant from Port Principe +forty-five leagues: whereas Turk's Island is distant from the point, +supposed by Navarrete to be the same, eighty leagues. + +On taking leave of Cuba, Columbus remarks that he had followed its coast +for an extent of 120 leagues. Deducting twenty leagues for his having +followed its windings, there still remain 100. Now, Navarrete only +supposes him to have coasted this island an extent of seventy leagues. + +Such are the most important difficulties which the theory of Navarrete +offers, and which appear insurmountable. Let us now take up the route of +Columbus as recorded in his journal, and, with the best charts before us, +examine how it agrees with the popular and traditional opinion, that he +first landed on the island of San Salvador. + +We learn from the journal of Columbus that, on the 11th of October, 1492, +he continued steering W. S. W. until sunset, when he returned to his old +course of west, the vessels running at the rate of three leagues an hour. +At ten o'clock he and several of his crew saw a light, which seemed like a +torch carried about on land. He continued running on four hours longer, +and had made a distance of twelve leagues farther west, when at two in the +morning land was discovered ahead, distant two leagues. The twelve leagues +which, they ran since ten o'clock, with the two leagues distance from the +land, form a total corresponding essentially with the distance and +situation of Waiting's Island from San Salvador; and it is thence +presumed, that the light seen at that hour was on Watling's Island, which +they were then passing. Had the light been seen on land ahead, and they +had kept running on four hours, at the rate of three leagues an hour, they +must have run high and dry on shore. As the admiral himself received the +royal reward for having seen this light, as the first discovery of land, +Watling's Island is believed to be the point for which this premium was +granted. + +On making land, the vessels were hove to until daylight of the same 12th +of October; they then anchored off an island of great beauty, covered with +forests, and extremely populous. + +It was called Guanahani by the natives, but Columbus gave it the name of +San Salvador. Exploring its coast, where it ran to the N.N.E. he found a +harbor capable of sheltering any number of ships. This description +corresponds minutely with the S.E. part of the island known as San +Salvador, or Cat Island, which lies east and west, bending at its eastern +extremity to the N.N.E., and has the same verdant and fertile +appearance. The vessels had probably drifted into this bay at the S.E. +side of San Salvador, on the morning of the 12th, while lying to for +daylight; nor did Columbus, while remaining at the island, or when sailing +from it, open the land so as to discover that what he had taken for its +whole length was but a bend at one end of it, and that the main body of +the island lay behind, stretching far to the N. W. From Guanahani, +Columbus saw so many other islands that he was at a loss which next to +visit. The Indians signified that they were innumerable, and mentioned the +names of above a hundred. He determined to go to the largest in sight, +which appeared to be about five leagues distant; some of the others were +nearer, and some further off. The island thus selected, it is presumed, +was the present island of Concepcion; and that the others were that +singular belt of small islands, known as La Cadena (or the chain), +stretching past the island of San Salvador in a S.E. and N. W. direction: +the nearest of the group being nearer than Concepcion, while the rest are +more distant. + +Leaving San Salvador in the afternoon of the 14th for the island thus +selected, the ships lay by during the night, and did not reach it until +late in the following day, being retarded by adverse currents. Columbus +gave this island the name of Santa Maria de la Coucepcion: he does not +mention either its bearings from San Salvador, or the course which he +steered in going to it. We know that in all this neighborhood the current +sets strongly and constantly to the W.N.W.; and since Columbus had the +current against him, he must have been sailing in an opposite direction, +or to the E.S.E. Besides, when near Conception, Columbus sees another +island to the westward, the largest he had yet seen; but he tells us that +he anchored off Concepcion, and did not stand for this larger island, +because he could not have sailed to the west. Hence it is rendered certain +that Columbus did not sail westward in going from San Salvador to +Conception; for, from the opposition of the wind, as there could be no +other cause, he could not sail towards that quarter. Now, on reference to +the chart, we find the island at present known as Coucepcion situated E. +S.E. from San Salvador, and at a corresponding distance of five leagues. + +Leaving Concepcion on the 16th October, Columbus steered for a very large +island seen to the westward nine leagues off, and which extended itself +twenty-eight leagues in a S.E. and N. W. direction. He was becalmed the +whole day, and did not reach the island until the following morning, 17th +October. He named it Fernandina. At noon he made sail again, with a view +to run round it, and reach another island called Samoet; but the wind +being at S.E. by S., the course he wished to steer, the natives signified +that it would be easier to sail round this island by running to the N. W. +with a fair wind. He therefore bore up to the N. W., and having run two +leagues, found a marvelous port, with a narrow entrance, or rather with +two entrances, for there was an island which shut it in completely, +forming a noble basin within. Sailing out of this harbor by the opposite +entrance at the N. W., he discovered that part of the island which runs +east and west. The natives signified to him that this island was smaller +than Samoet, and that it would be better to return towards the latter. It +had now become calm, but shortly after there sprung up a breeze from W. N. +W., which was ahead for the course they had been steering; so they bore up +and stood to the E.S.E. in order to get an offing; for the weather +threatened a storm, which however dissipated itself in rain. The next day, +being the 18th October, they anchored opposite the extremity of +Fernandina. + +The whole of this description answers most accurately to the island of +Exuma, which lies south from San Salvador, and S. W. by S. from +Concepcion. The only inconsistency is, that Columbus states that +Fernandina bore nearly west from Concepcion, and was twenty-eight leagues +in extent. This mistake must have proceeded from his having taken the long +chain of keys called La Cadena for part of the same Exuma; which +continuous appearance they naturally assume when seen from Concepcion, for +they run in the same S.E. and N. W. direction. Their bearings, when seen +from the same point, are likewise westerly as well as southwesterly. As a +proof that such was the case, it may be observed, that, after having +approached these islands, instead of the extent of Fernandina being +increased to his eye, he now remarks that it was twenty leagues long, +whereas before it was estimated by him at twenty-eight; he now discovers +that instead of one island there were many, and alters his course +southerly to reach the one that was most conspicuous. + +The identity of the island here described with Exuma is irresistibly +forced upon the mind. The distance from Concepcion, the remarkable port +with an island in front of it, and farther on its coast turning off to the +westward, are all so accurately delineated, that it would seem as though +the chart had been drawn from the description of Columbus. + +On the 19th October, the ships left Fernandina, steering S.E. with the +wind at north. Sailing three hours on this course, they discovered Samoet +to the east, and steered for it, arriving at its north point before noon. +Here they found a little island surrounded by rocks, with another reef of +rocks lying between it and Samoet. To Samoet Columbus gave the name of +Isabella, and to the point of it opposite the little island, that of Cabo +del Isleo; the cape at the S. W. point of Samoet Columbus called Cabo de +Laguna, and off this last his ships were brought to anchor. The little +island lay in the direction from Fernandina to Isabella, east and west. +The coast from the small island lay westerly twelve leagues to a cape, +which Columbus called Fermosa from its beauty; this he believed to be an +island apart from Samoet or Isabella, with another one between them. +Leaving Cabo Laguna, where he remained until the 20th October, Columbus +steered to the N.E. towards Cabo del Isleo, but meeting with shoals +inside the small island, he did not come to anchor until the day +following. Near this extremity of Isabella they found a lake, from which +the ships were supplied with water. + +This island of Isabella, or Samoet, agrees so accurately in its +description with Isla Larga, which lies east of Exuma, that it is only +necessary to read it with the chart unfolded to become convinced of the +identity. + +Having resolved to visit the island which the natives called Cuba, and +described as bearing W. S. W. from Isabella, Columbus left Cabo del Isleo +at midnight, the commencement of the 24th October, and shaped his course +accordingly to the W. S. W. The wind continued light, with rain, until +noon, when it freshened up, and in the evening Cape Verde, the S. W. point +of Fernandina, bore N. W. distant seven leagues. As the night became +tempestuous, he lay to until morning, drifting according to the reckoning +two leagues. + +On the morning of the 25th he made sail again to W.S.W., until nine +o'clock, when he had run five leagues; he then steered west until three, +when he had run eleven leagues, at which hour land was discovered, +consisting of seven or eight keys lying north and south, and distant five +leagues from the ships. Here he anchored the next day, south of these +islands, which he called Islas de Arena; they were low, and five or six +leagues in extent. + +The distances run by Columbus, added to the departure taken from +Fernandina and the distance from these islands of Arena at the time of +discovering, give a sum of thirty leagues. This sum of thirty leagues is +about three less than the distance from the S.W. point of Fernandina or +Exuma, whence Columbus took his departure, to the group of Mucaras, which +lie east of Cayo Lobo on the grand bank of Bahama, and which correspond to +the description of Columbus. If it were necessary to account for the +difference of three leagues in a reckoning, where so much is given on +conjecture, it would readily occur to a seaman, that an allowance of two +leagues for drift, during a long night of blowy weather, is but a small +one. The course from Exuma to the Mucaras is about S.W. by W. The course +followed by Columbus differs a little from this, but as it was his +intention, on setting sail from Isabella, to steer W.S.W., and since he +afterwards altered it to west, we may conclude that he did so in +consequence of having been run out of his course to the southward, while +lying to the night previous. + +Oct. 27.--At sunrise Columbus set sail from the isles Arenas or Mucaras, +for an island called Cuba, steering S.S.W. At dark, having made seventeen +leagues on that course, he saw the land, and hove his ships to until +morning. On the 28th he made sail again at S.S.W., and entered a beautiful +river with a fine harbor, which he named San Salvador. The journal in this +part does not describe the localities with the minuteness with which every +thing has hitherto been noted; the text also is in several places obscure. + +This port of San Salvador we take to be the one now known as Caravelas +Grandes, situated eight leagues west of Nuevitas del Principe. Its +bearings and distance from the Mucaras coincide exactly with those run by +Columbus; and its description agrees, as far as can be ascertained by +charts, with the port which he visited. + +Oct. 29.--Leaving this port, Columbus stood to the west, and having sailed +six leagues, he came to a point of the island running N.W., which we take +to be the Punta Gorda; and, ten leagues farther, another stretching +easterly, which will be Punta Curiana. One league farther he discovered a +small river, and beyond this another very large one, to which he gave the +name of Rio de Mares. This river emptied into a fine basin resembling a +lake, and having a bold entrance: it had for landmarks two round mountains +at the S. W., and to the W.N.W. a bold promontory, suitable for a +fortification, which projected far into the sea. This we take to be the +fine harbor and river situated west of Point Curiana; its distance +corresponds with that run by Columbus from Caravelas Grandes, which we +have supposed identical with Port San Salvador. Leaving Rio de Mares the +30th of October, Columbus stood to the N. W. for fifteen leagues, when he +saw a cape, to which he gave the name of Cabode Palmas. This, we believe, +is the one which forms the eastern entrance to Laguna de Moron. Beyond +this cape was a river, distant, according to the natives, four days' +journey from the town of Cuba; Columbus determined therefore to make for +it. + +Having lain to all night, he reached the river on the 31st of October, but +found that it was too shallow to admit his ships. This is supposed to be +what is now known as Laguna de Moron. Beyond this was a cape surrounded by +shoals, and another projected still farther out. Between these two capes +was a bay capable of receiving small vessels. The identity here of the +description with the coast near Laguna de Moron seems very clear. The cape +east of Laguna de Moron coincides with Cape Palmas, the Laguna de Moron +with the shoal river described by Columbus; and in the western point of +entrance, with the island of Cabrion opposite it, we recognize the two +projecting capes he speaks of, with what appeared to be a bay between +them. This all is a remarkable combination, difficult to be found any +where but in the same spot which Columbus visited and described. Further, +the coast from the port of San Salvador had run west to Rio de Mares, a +distance of seventeen leagues, and from Rio de Mares it had extended N. W. +fifteen leagues to Cabo de Palmos; all of which agrees fully with what has +been here supposed. The wind having shifted to north, which was contrary +to the course they had been steering, the vessels bore up and returned to +Rio de Mares. + +On the 12th of November the ships sailed out of Rio de Mares to go in +quest of Babeque, an island believed to abound in gold, and to lie E. by +S. from that port. Having sailed eight leagues with a fair wind, they came +to a river, in which may be recognized the one which lies just west of +Punta Gorda. Four leagues farther they saw another, which they called Rio +del Sol. It appeared very large, but they did not stop to examine it, as +the wind was fair to advance. This we take to be the river now known as +Sabana. Columbus was now retracing his steps, and had made twelve leagues +from Riode Mares, but in going west from Port San Salvador to Rio de +Mares, he had run seventeen leagues. San Salvador, therefore, remains five +leagues east of Rio del Sol; and, accordingly, on reference to the chart, +we find Caravelas Grandes situated a corresponding distance from Sabana. + +Having run six leagues from Rio del Sol, which makes in all eighteen +leagues from Rio de Mares, Columbus came to a cape which he called Cabo de +Cuba, probably from supposing it to be the extremity of that island. This +corresponds precisely in distance from Punta Curiana with the lesser +island of Guajava, situated near Cuba, and between which and the greater +Guajava Columbus must have passed in running in for Port San Salvador. +Either he did not notice it, from his attention being engrossed by the +magnificent island before him, or, as is also possible, his vessels may +have been drifted through the passage, which is two leagues wide, while +lying to the night previous to their arrival at Port San Salvador. + +On the 13th of November, having hove to all night, in the morning the +ships passed a point two leagues in extent, and then entered into a gulf +that made into the S.S.W., and which Columbus thought separated Cuba from +Bohio. At the bottom of the gulf was a large basin between two mountains. +He could not determine whether or not this was an arm of the sea; for not +finding shelter from the north wind, he put to sea again. Hence it would +appear that Columbus must have partly sailed round the smaller Guajava, +which he took to be the extremity of Cuba, without being aware that a few +hours' sail would have taken him, by this channel, to Port San Salvador, +his first discovery in Cuba, and so back to the same Rio del Sol which he +had passed the day previous. Of the two mountains seen on both sides of +this entrance, the principal one corresponds with the peak called Alto de +Juan Daune which lies seven leagues west of Punta de Maternillos. The wind +continuing north, he stood east fourteen leagues from Cape Cuba, which we +have supposed the lesser island of Guajava. It is here rendered sure that +the point of little Guajava was believed by him to be the extremity of +Cuba; for he speaks of the land mentioned as lying to leeward of the +above-mentioned gulf as being the island of Bohio, and says that he +discovered twenty leagues of it running E.S.E. and W.N.W. + +On the 14th November, having lain to all night with a N.E. wind, he +determined to seek a port, and, if he found none, to return to those which +he had left in the island of Cuba; for it will be remembered that all east +of little Guajava he supposed to be Bohio. He steered E. by S. therefore +six leagues, and then stood in for the land. Here he saw many ports and +islands; but as it blew fresh, with a heavy sea, he dared not enter, but +ran the coast down N.W. by W. for a distance of eighteen leagues, where he +saw a clear entrance and a port, in which he stood S.S.W. and afterwards +S.E., the navigation being all clear and open. Here Columbus beheld so +many islands that it was impossible to count them. They were very lofty, +and covered with trees. Columbus called the neighboring sea Mar de Nuestra +Señora, and to the harbor near the entrance to these islands he gave the +name of Puerto del Principe. This harbor he says he did not enter until +the Sunday following, which was four days after. This part of the text of +Columbus's journal is confused, and there are also anticipations, as if it +had been written subsequently, or mixed together in copying. It appears +evident, that while lying to the night previous, with the wind at N.E., +the ships had drifted to the N.W., and been carried by the powerful +current of the Bahama channel far in the same direction. When they bore +up, therefore, to return to the ports which they had left in the island of +Cuba, they fell in to leeward of them, and now first discovered the +numerous group of islands of which Cayo Romano is the principal. The +current of this channel is of itself sufficient to have carried the +vessels to the westward a distance of 20 leagues, which is what they had +run easterly since leaving Cape Cuba, or Guajava, for it had acted upon +them during a period of thirty hours. There can be no doubt as to the +identity of these keys with those about Cayo Romano; for they are the only +ones in the neighborhood of Cuba that are not of a low and swampy nature, +but large and lofty. They inclose a free, open navigation, and abundance +of fine harbors, in late years the resort of pirates, who found security +and concealment for themselves and their prizes in the recesses of these +lofty keys. From the description of Columbus, the vessels must have +entered between the islands of Baril and Pacedon, and, sailing along Cayo +Romano on a S.E. course, have reached in another day their old cruising +ground in the neighborhood of lesser Guajava. Not only Columbus does not +tell us here of his having changed his anchorage amongst these keys, but +his journal does not even mention his having anchored at all, until the +return from the ineffectual search after Babeque. It is clear, from what +has been said, that it was not in Port Principe that the vessels anchored +on this occasion; but it could not have been very distant, since Columbus +went from the ships in his boats on the 18th November, to place a cross at +its entrance. He had probably seen the entrance from without, when sailing +east from Guajava on the 13th of November. The identity of this port with +the one now known as Neuvitas el Principe seems certain, from the +description of its entrance, Columbus, it appears, did not visit its +interior. + +On the 19th November the ships sailed again, in quest of Babeque. At +sunset Port Principe bore S. S. W. distant seven leagues, and, having +sailed all night at N.E. by N. and until ten o'clock of the next day +(20th November), they had run a distance of fifteen leagues on that +course. The wind blowing from E.S.E., which was the direction in which +Babeqne was supposed to lie, and the weather being foul, Columbus +determined to return to Port Principe, which was then distant twenty-five +leagues. He did not wish to go to Isabella, distant only twelve leagues, +lest the Indians whom he had brought from San Salvador, which lay eight +leagues from Isabella, should make their escape. Thus, in sailing N.E. by +N. from near Port Principe, Columbus had approached within a short +distance of Isabella. That island was then, according to his calculations, +thirty-seven leagues from Port Principe; and San Salvador was forty-five +leagues from the same point. The first differs but eight leagues from the +truth, the latter nine; or from the actual distance of Neuvitas el +Principe from Isla Larga and San Salvador. Again, let us now call to mind +the course made by Columbus in going from Isabella to Cuba; it was first +W. S. W., then west, and afterwards S. S. W. Having consideration for the +different distances run on each, these yield a medium course not +materially different from S. W. Sailing then S. W. from Isabella, Columbus +had reached Port San Salvador, on the coast of Cuba. Making afterwards a +course of N.E. by N. from off Port Principe, he was going in the +direction of Isabella. Hence we deduce that Port San Salvador, on the +coast of Cuba, lay west of Port Principe, and the whole combination is +thus bound together and established. The two islands seen by Columbus at +ten o'clock of the same 20th November, must have been some of the keys +which lie west of the Jumentos. Running back towards Port Principe, +Columbus made it at dark, but found that he had been carried to the +westward by the currents. This furnishes a sufficient proof of the +strength of the current in the Bahama channel; for it will be remembered +that he ran over to Cuba with a fair wind. After contending for four days, +until the 24th November, with light winds against the force of these +currents, he arrived at length opposite the level island whence he had set +out the week before when going to Babeque. + +We are thus accidentally informed that the point from which Columbus +started in search of Babeque was the same bland of Guajava the lesser, +which lies west of Neuvitas el Principe. Farther: at first he dared not +enter into the opening between the two mountains, for it seemed as though +the sea broke upon them; but having sent the boat ahead, the vessels +followed in at S. W. and then W. into a fine harbor. The level island lay +north of it, and with another island formed a secure basin capable of +sheltering all the navy of Spain. This level island resolves itself then +into our late Cape Cuba, which we have supposed to be little Guajava, and +the entrance east of it becom'es identical with the gulf above mentioned +which lay between two mountains, one of which we have supposed the Alto de +Juan Daune, and which gulf appeared to divide Cuba from Bohio. Our course +now becomes a plain one. On the 26th of November, Columbus sailed from +Santa Catalina (the name given by him to the port last described) at +sunrise, and stood for the cape at the S.E. which he called Cabo de Pico. +In this it is easy to recognize the high peak already spoken of as the +Alto de Juan Daune. Arrived off this, he saw another cape, distant fifteen +leagues, and still farther another five leagues beyond it, which he called +Cabo de Campana. The first must be that now known as Point Padre, the +second Point Mulas: their distances from Alto de Juan Daune are +underrated; but it requires no little experience to estimate correctly the +distances of the bold headlands of Cuba, as seen through the pure +atmosphere that surrounds the island. + +Having passed Point Mulas in the night, on the 27th Columbus looked into +the deep bay that lies S.E. of it, and seeing the bold projecting +headland that makes out between Port Hipe and Port Banes, with those deep +bays on each side of it, he supposed it to be an arm of the sea dividing +one land from another with an island between them. + +Having landed at Taco for a short time, Columbus arrived in the evening of +the 27th at Baracoa, to which he gave the name of Puerto Santo. From Cabo +del Pico to Puerto Santo, a distance of sixty leagues, he had passed no +fewer than nine good ports and five rivers to Cape Campana, and thence to +Puerto Santo eight more rivers, each with a good port; all of which may be +found on the chart between Alto de Juan Daune and Baracoa. By keeping near +the coast he had been assisted to the S.E. by the eddy current of the +Bahama channel. Sailing from Puerto Santo or Baracoa on the 4th of +December, he reached the extremity of Cuba the following day, and striking +off upon a wind to the S.E. in search of Babeque, which lay to the N.E., +he came in sight of Bohio, to which he gave the name of Hispaniola. + +On taking leave of Cuba, Columbus tells us that he had coasted it a +distance of 120 leagues. Allowing twenty leagues of this distance for his +having followed the undulations of the coast, the remaining 100 measured +from Point Maysi fall exactly upon Cabrion Key, which we have supposed the +western boundary of his discoveries. + +The astronomical observations of Columbus form no objection to what has +been here advanced; for he tells us that the instrument which he made use +of to measure the meridian altitudes of the heavenly bodies was out of +order and not to be depended upon. He places his first discovery, +Guanahani, in the latitude of Ferro, which is about 27° 30' north. San +Salvador we find in 24° 30', and Turk's Island in 21° 30': both are very +wide of the truth, but it is certainly easier to conceive an error of +three than one of six degrees. + +Laying aside geographical demonstration, let us now examine how historical +records agree with the opinion here supported, that the island of San +Salvador was the first point where Columbus came in contact with the New +World. Herrera, who is considered the most faithful and authentic of +Spanish historians, wrote his History of the Indies towards the year 1600. +In describing the voyage of Juan Ponce de Leon, made to Florida in 1512, +he makes the following remarks: [333] "Leaving Agnada in Porto Rico, they +steered to the N. W. by N., and in five days arrived at an island called +El Viejo, in latitude 22° 30' north. The next day they arrived at a small +island of the Lucayos, called Caycos. On the eighth day they anchored at +another island called Yaguna in 24°, on the eighth day out from Porto +Kico. Thence they passed to the island of Mannega, in 24° 30', and on the +eleventh day they reached Guanahani, which is in 25° 40' north. This +island of Guanahani was the first discovered by Columbus on his first +voyage, and which he called San Salvador." This is the substance of the +remarks of Herrera, and is entirely conclusive as to the location of San +Salvador. The latitudes, it is true, are all placed higher than we now +know them to be; that of San Salvador being such as to correspond with +no other land than that now known as the Berry Islands, which are seventy +leagues distant from the nearest coast of Cuba: whereas Columbus tells us +that San Salvador was only forty-five leagues from Port Principe. But in +those infant days of navigation, the instruments for measuring the +altitudes of the heavenly bodies, and the tables of declinations for +deducing the latitude, must have been so imperfect as to place the most +scientific navigator of the time below the most mechanical one of the +present. + +The second island arrived at by Ponce de Leon, in his northwestern course, +was one of the Caycos; the first one, then, called El Viejo, must have +been Turk's Island, which lies S.E. of the Caycos. The third island they +came to was probably Mariguana; the fourth, Crooked Island; and the fifth, +Isla Larga. Lastly they came to Guanahani, the San Salvador of Columbus. +If this be supposed identical with Turk's Island, where do we find the +succession of islands touched at by Ponce de Leon on his way from Porto +Rico to San Salvador? [334] No stress has been laid, in these +remarks, on the identity of name which has been preserved to San Salvador, +Concepcion, and Port Principe, with those given by Columbus, though +traditional usage is of vast weight in such matters. Geographical proof, +of a conclusive kind it is thought, has been advanced, to enable the world +to remain in its old hereditary belief that the present island of San +Salvador is the spot where Columbus first set foot upon the New World. +Established opinions of the kind should not be lightly molested. It is a +good old rule, that ought to be kept in mind in curious research as well +as territorial dealings, "Do not disturb the ancient landmarks." + +_Note to the Revised Edition of 1848_.--The Paron de Humboldt, in his +"Examen critique de l'histoire de la geographie du nouveau continent," +published in 1837, speaks repeatedly in high terms of the ability +displayed in the above examination of the route of Columbus, and argues at +great length and quite conclusively in support of the opinion contained in +it. Above all, he produces a document hitherto unknown, and the great +importance of which had been discovered by M. Valeknaer and himself in +1832. This is a map made in 1500 by that able mariner Juan de la Cosa, who +accompanied Columbus in his second voyage and sailed with other of the +discoverers. In this map, of which the Baron de Humboldt gives an +engraving, the islands as laid down agree completely with the bearings and +distances given in the journal of Columbus, and establishes the identity +of San Salvador, or Cat Island, and Guanahani. + +"I feel happy," says M. de Humboldt, "to be enabled to destroy the +incertitudes (which rested on this subject) by a document as ancient as it +is unknown; a document which confirms irrevocably the arguments which Mr. +Washington Irving has given in his work against the hypotheses of the +Turk's Island." In the present revised edition the author feels at liberty +to give the merit of the very masterly paper on the route of Columbus, +where it is justly due. It was furnished him at Madrid by the late +commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, of the United States navy, whose +modesty shrunk from affixing his name to an article so calculated to do +him credit, and which has since challenged the high eulogiums of men of +nautical science. + + + + +No. XVIII. + +Principles upon which the Sums Mentioned in This Work Have Been Reduced +into Modern Currency. + + + +In the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the mark of silver, which was +equal to 8 ounces or to 50 castellanos, was divided into 65 reals, and +each real into 34 maravedis; so that there were 2210 maravedis in the mark +of silver. Among other silver coins there was the real of 8, which +consisting of 8 reals, was, within a small fraction, the eighth part of a +mark of silver, or one ounce. Of the gold coins then in circulation the +castellano or _dobla de la vanda_ was worth 490 maravedis, and the +ducado 383 maravedis. + +If the value of the maravedi had remained unchanged in Spain down to the +present day, it would be easy to reduce a sum of the time of Ferdinand and +Isabella into a correspondent sum of current money; but by the successive +depreciations of the coin of Vellon, or mixed metals, issued since that +period, the _real_ and maravedi of Vellon, which had replaced the +ancient currency, were reduced, towards the year 1700, to about a third of +the old _real_ and maravedi, now known as the _real_ and maravedi +of silver. As, however, the ancient piece of 8 reals was equal +approximately to the ounce of silver, and the duro, or dollar of the +present day, is likewise equal to an ounce, they may be considered +identical. Indeed, in Spanish America, the dollar, instead of being +divided into 20 reals, as in Spain, is divided into only 8 parts called +reals, which evidently represent the real of the time of Ferdinand and +Isabella, as the dollar does the real of 8. But the ounce of silver was +anciently worth 276-1/4 maravedis; the dollar, therefore, is likewise +equal to 276 1/4 maravedis. By converting then the sums mentioned in this +work into maravedis, they have been afterwards reduced into dollars by +dividing by 276 1/4. + +There is still, however, another calculation to be made, before we can +arrive at the actual value of any sum of gold and silver mentioned in +former times. It is necessary to notice the variation which has taken +place in the value of the metals themselves. In Europe, previous to the +discovery of the New World, an ounce of gold commanded an amount of food +or labor which would cost three ounces at the present day; hence an ounce +of gold was then estimated at three times its present value. At the same +time an ounce of silver commanded an amount which at present costs 4 +ounces of silver. It appears from this, that the value of gold and silver +varied with respect to each other, as well as with respect to all other +commodities. This is owing to there having been much more silver brought +from the New World, with respect to the quantity previously in +circulation, than there has been of gold. In the 15th century one ounce of +gold was equal to about 12 of silver; and now, in the year 1827, it is +exchanged against 16. + +Hence giving an idea of the relative value of the sums mentioned in this +work, it has been found necessary to multiply them by three when in gold, +and by four when expressed in silver. [335] + +It is expedient to add that the dollar is reckoned in this work at 100 +cents of the United States of North America, and four shillings and +sixpence of England. + + + + +No. XIX. + +Prester John: + + + +Said to be derived from the Persian _Prestegani_ or +_Perestigani_, which signifies apostolique; or _Preschtak-Geham_, +angel of the world. It is the name of a potent Christian monarch of +shadowy renown, whose dominions were placed by writers of the middle ages +sometimes in the remote parts of Asia and sometimes in Africa, and of +whom such contradictory accounts were given by the travelers of those days +that the very existence either of him or his kingdom carne to he +considered doubtful. It now appears to be admitted, that there really +was such a potentate in a remote part of Asia. He was of the Nestorian +Christians, a sect spread throughout Asia, and taking its name and origin +from Nestorius, a Christian patriarch of Constantinople. + +The first vague reports of a Christian potentate in the interior of Asia, +or, as it was then called, India, were brought to Europe by the Crusaders, +who it is supposed gathered them from the Syrian merchants who traded to +the very confines of China. + +In subsequent ages, when the Portuguese in their travels and voyages +discovered a Christian king among the Abyssinians, called Baleel-Gian, +they confounded him with the potentate already spoken of. Nor was the +blunder extraordinary, since the original Prester John was said to reign +over a remote part of India; and the ancients included in that name +Ethiopia and all the regions of Africa and Asia bordering on the Red Sea +and on the commercial route from Egypt to India. + +Of the Prester John of India we have reports furnished by William +Ruysbrook, commonly called Rubruquis, a Franciscan friar sent by Louis IX, +about the middle of the thirteenth century, to convert the Grand Khan. +According to him, Prester John was originally a Nestorian priest, who on +the death of the sovereign made himself king of the Naymans, all Nestorian +Christians. Carpini, a Franciscan friar, sent by pope Innocent in 1245 to +convert the Mongols of Persia, says, that Ocoday, one of the sons of +Ghengis Khan of Tartary, marched with an army against the Christians of +Grand India. The king of that country, who was called Prester John, came +to their succor. Having had figures of men made of bronze, he had them +fastened on the saddles of horses, and put fire within, with a man behind +with a bellows. When they came to battle these horses were put in the +advance, and the men who were seated behind the figures threw something +into the fire, and blowing with their bellows, made such a smoke that the +Tartars were quite covered with it. They then fell on them, dispatched +many with their arrows, and put the rest to flight. + +Marco Polo (1271) places Prester John near the great wall of China, to the +north of Chan-si, in Teudich, a populous region full of cities and +castles. + +Mandeville (1332) makes Prester sovereign of upper India (Asia), with four +thousand islands tributary to him. + +When John II, of Portugal, was pushing his discoveries along the African +coast, he was informed that 350 leagues to the east of the kingdom of +Benin, in the profound depths of Africa, there was a puissant monarch, +called Ogave, who had spiritual and temporal jurisdiction over all the +surrounding kings. + +An African prince assured him, also, that to the east of Timbuctoo there +was a sovereign who professed a religion similar to that of the +Christians, and was king of a Mosaic people. + +King John now supposed he had found traces of the real Prester John, with +whom he was eager to form an alliance religious as well as commercial. In +1487 he sent envoys by land in quest of him. One was a gentleman of his +household, Pedro de Covilham; the other, Alphonso de Paiva. They went by +Naples to Rhodes, thence to Cairo, thence to Aden on the Arabian Gulf +above the mouth of the Red Sea. + +Here they separated with an agreement to rendezvous at Cairo. Alphonso de +Paiva sailed direct for Ethiopia; Pedro de Covilham for the Indies. The +latter passed to Calicut and Goa, where he embarked for Sofala on the +eastern coast of Africa, thence returned to Aden, and made his way back to +Cairo. Here he learned that his coadjutor, Alphonso de Paiva, had died in +that city. He found two Portuguese Jews waiting for him with fresh orders +from king John not to give up his researches after Prester John until he +found him. One of the Jews he sent back with a journal and verbal accounts +of his travels. With the other he set off again for Aden; thence to Ormuz, +at the entrance of the Gulf of Persia, where all the rich merchandise of +the East was brought to be transported thence by Syria and Egypt into +Europe. + +Having taken note of every thing here, he embarked on the Red Sea, and +arrived at the court of an Abyssinian prince named Escander, (the Arabic +version of Alexander,) whom he considered the real Prester John. The +prince received him graciously, and manifested a disposition to favor the +object of his embassy, but died suddenly, and his successor Naut refused +to let Covilham depart, but kept him for many years about his person, as +his prime councilor, lavishing on him wealth and honors. After all, this +was not the real Prester John; who, as has been observed, was an Asiatic +potentate. + + + + +No. XX. + +Marco Polo. + +[336] + + + +The travels of Marco Polo, or Paolo, furnish a key to many parts of the +voyages and speculations of Columbus, which without it would hardly be +comprehensible. + +Marco Polo was a native of Venice, who, in the thirteenth century, made a +journey into the remote, and, at that time, unknown regions of the East, +and filled all Christendom with curiosity by his account of the countries +he had visited. He was preceded in his travels by his father Nicholas and +his uncle Maffeo Polo. These two brothers were of an illustrious family in +Venice, and embarked, about the year 1255, on a commercial voyage to the +East. Having traversed the Mediterranean and through the Bosphorus, they +stopped for a short time at Constantinople, which city had recently been +wrested from the Greeks by the joint arms of France and Venice. Here they +disposed of their Italian merchandise, and, having purchased a stock of +jewelry, departed on an adventurous expedition to trade with the western +Tartars, who, having overrun many parts of Asia and Europe, were settling +and forming cities in the vicinity of the Wolga. After traversing the +Euxine to Soldaia, (at present Sudak,) a port in the Crimea, they +continued on, by land and water, until they reached the military court, or +rather camp, of a Tartar prince, named Barkah, a descendant of Ghengis +Khan, into whose hands they confided all their merchandise. The barbaric +chieftain, while he was dazzled by their precious commodities, was +flattered by the entire confidence in his justice manifested by these +strangers. He repaid them with princely munificence, and loaded them with +favors during a year that they remained at his court. A war breaking out +between their patron and his cousin Hulagu, chief of the eastern Tartars, +and Barkah being defeated, the Polos were embarrassed how to extricate +themselves from the country and return home in safety. The road to +Constantinople being cut off by the enemy, they took a circuitous route, +round the head of the Caspian Sea, and through the deserts of Transoxiana, +until they arrived in the city of Bokhara, where they resided for three +years. + +While here there arrived a Tartar nobleman who was on an embassy from the +victorious Hulagu to his brother the Grand Khan. The ambassador became +aquainted with the Venetians, and finding them to be versed in the Tartar +tongue and possessed of curious and valuable knowledge, he prevailed upon +them to accompany him to the court of the emperor, situated, as they +supposed, at the very extremity of the East. + +After a march of several months, being delayed by snow-storms and +inundations, they arrived at the court of Cublai, otherwise called the +Great Khan, which signifies King of Kings, being the sovereign potentate +of the Tartars. This magnificent prince received them with great +distinction; he made inquiries about the countries and princes of the +West, their civil and military government, and the manners and customs of +the Latin nation. Above all, he was curious on the subject of the +Christian religion. He was so much struck by their replies, that after +holding a council with the chief persons of his kingdom, he entreated the +two brothers to go on his part as ambassadors to the pope, to entreat him +to send a hundred learned men well instructed in the Christian faith, to +impart a knowledge of it to the sages of his empire. He also entreated +them to bring him a little oil from the lamp of our Saviour, in Jerusalem, +which he concluded must have marvelous virtues. It has been supposed, and +with great reason, that under this covert of religion, the shrewd Tartar +sovereign veiled motives of a political nature. The influence of the pope +in promoting the crusades had caused his power to be known and respected +throughout the East; it was of some moment, therefore, to conciliate his +good-will. Cublai Khan had no bigotry nor devotion to any particular +faith, and probably hoped, by adopting Christianity, to make it a common +cause between himself and the warlike princes of Christendom, against his +and their inveterate enemies, the soldan of Egypt and the Saracens. + +Having written letters to the pope in the Tartar language, he delivered +them to the Polos, and appointed one of the principal noblemen of his +court to accompany them in their mission. On their taking leave he +furnished them with a tablet of gold on which was engraved the royal arms; +this was to serve as a passport, at sight of which the governors of the +various provinces were to entertain them, to furnish them with escorts +through dangerous places, and render them all other necessary services at +the expense of the Great Khan. + +They had scarce proceeded twenty miles, when the nobleman who accompanied +them fell ill, and they were obliged to leave him, and continue on their +route. Their golden passport procured them every attention and facility +throughout the dominions of the Great Khan. They arrived safely at Acre, +in April, 1269. Here they received news of the recent death of Pope +Clement IV, at which they were, much grieved, fearing it would cause delay +in their mission. There was at that time in Acre a legate of the holy +chair, Tebaldo di Vesconti, of Placentia, to whom they gave an account of +their embassy. He heard them with great attention and interest, and +advised them to await the election of a new pope, which must soon take +place, before they proceeded to Rome on their mission. They determined in +the interim to make a visit to their families, and accordingly departed +for Negropont, and thence to Venice, where great changes had taken place +in their domestic concerns, during their long absence. The wife of +Nicholas, whom he had left pregnant, had died, in giving birth to a son, +who had been named Marco. + +As the contested election for the new pontiff remained pending for two +years, they were uneasy, lest the emperor of Tartary should grow impatient +at so long a postponement of the conversion of himself and his people; +they determined, therefore, not to wait the election of a pope, but to +proceed to Acre, and get such dispatches and such ghostly ministry for the +Grand Khan, as the legate could furnish. On the second journey, Nicholas +Polo took with him his son Marco, who afterwards wrote an account of these +travels. + +They were again received with great favor by the legate Tebaldo, who, +anxious for the success of their mission, furnished them with letters to +the Grand Khan, in which the doctrines of the Christian faith were fully +expounded. With these, and with a supply of the holy oil from the +sepulchre, they once more set out in September, 1271, for the remote parts +of Tartary. They had not long departed, when missives arrived from Rome, +informing the legate of his own election to the holy chair. He took the +name of Gregory X, and decreed that in future, on the death of a pope, the +cardinals should be shut up in conclave until they elected a successor; a +wise regulation, which has since continued, enforcing a prompt decision, +and preventing intrigue. + +Immediately on receiving intelligence of his election, he dispatched a +courier to the king of Armenia, requesting that the two Venetians might be +sent back to him, if they had not departed. They joyfully returned, and +were furnished with new letters to the Khan. Two eloquent friars, also, +Nicholas Vincenti and Gilbert de Tripoli, were sent with them, with powers +to ordain priests and bishops and to grant absolution. They had presents +of crystal vases, and other costly articles, to deliver to the Grand Khan; +and thus well provided, they once more set forth on their journey. +[337] + +Arriving in Armenia, they ran great risk of their lives from the war which +was raging, the soldan of Babylon having invaded the country. They took +refuge for some time with the superior of a monastery. Here the two +reverend fathers, losing all courage to prosecute so perilous an +enterprise, determined to remain, and the Venetians continued their +journey. They were a long time on the way, and exposed to great hardships +and sufferings from floods and snow-storms, it being the winter season. At +length they reached a town in the dominions of the Khan. That potentate +sent officers to meet them at forty days' distance from the court, and to +provide quarters for them during their journey. [338] He received them +with great kindness, was highly gratified with the result of their +mission and with the letters of the pope, and having received from them +some oil from the lamp of the holy sepulchre, he had it locked up, and +guarded it as a precious treasure. + +The three Venetians, father, brother and son, were treated with such +distinction by the Khan, that the courtiers were filled with jealousy. +Marco soon, however, made himself popular, and was particularly esteemed +by the emperor. He acquired the four principal languages of the country, +and was of such remarkable capacity, that, notwithstanding his youth, the +Khan employed him in missions and services of importance, in various parts +of his dominions, some to the distance of even six months' journey. On +these expeditions he was industrious in gathering all kinds of information +respecting that vast empire; and from notes and minutes made for the +satisfaction of the Grand Khan, he afterwards composed the history of his +travels. + +After about seventeen years' residence in the Tartar court the Venetians +felt a longing to return to their native country. Their patron was +advanced in age and could not survive much longer, and after his death, +their return might be difficult, if not impossible. They applied to the +Grand Khan for permission to depart, but for a time met with a refusal, +accompanied by friendly upbraidings. At length a singular train of events +operated in their favor; an embassy arrived from a Mogul Tartar prince, +who ruled in Persia, and who was grand-nephew to the emperor. The object +was to entreat, as a spouse, a princess of the imperial lineage. A +granddaughter of Cublai Klian, seventeen years of age, and of great beauty +and accomplishments, was granted to the prayer of the prince, and departed +for Persia with the ambassadors, and with a splendid retinue, but after +traveling for some months, was obliged to return on account of the +distracted state of the country. + +The ambassadors despaired of conveying the beautiful bride to the arms of +her expecting bridegroom, when Marco Polo returned from a voyage to +certain of the Indian islands. His representations of the safety of a +voyage in those seas, and his private instigations, induced the +ambassadors to urge the Grand Khan for permission to convey the princess +by sea to the gulf of Persia, and that the Christians might accompany +them, as being best experienced in maritime affairs. Cublai Khan consented +with great reluctance, and a splendid fleet was fitted out and victualed +for two years, consisting of fourteen ships of four masts, some of which +had crews of two hundred and fifty men. + +On parting with the Venetians the munificent Khan gave them rich presents +of jewels, and made them promise to return to him after they had visited +their families. He authorized them to act as his ambassadors to the +principal courts of Europe, and, as on a former occasion, furnished them +with tablets of gold, to serve, not merely as passports, but as orders +upon all commanders in his territories for accommodations and supplies. + +They set sail therefore in the fleet with the oriental princess and her +attendants and the Persian ambassadors. The ships swept along the coast of +Cochin China, stopped for three months at a port of the island of Sumatra +near ihe western entrance of the straits of Malacca, waiting for the +change of the monsoon to pass the bay of Bengal. Traversing this vast +expanse, they touched at the island of Ceylon and then crossed the strait +to the southern part of the great peninsula of India. Thence sailing up +the Pirate coast, as it is called, the fleet entered the Persian gulf and +arrived at the famous port of Olmuz, where it is presumed the voyage +terminated, after eighteen months spent in traversing the Indian seas. + +Unfortunately for the royal bride who was the object of this splendid +naval expedition, the bridegroom, the Mogul king, had died some time +before her arrival, leaving a son named Ghazan, during whose minority the +government was administered by his uncle Kai-Khatu. According to the +directions of the regent, the princess was delivered to the youthful +prince, son of her intended spouse. He was at that time at the head of an +army on the borders of Persia. He was of a diminutive stature, but of a +great soul, and, on afterwards ascending the throne, acquired renown for +his talents and virtues. What became of the Eastern bride, who had +traveled so far in quest of a husband, is not known; but every thing +favorable is to be inferred from the character of Ghazan. + +The Polos remained some time in the court of the regent, and then +departed, with fresh tablets of gold given by that prince, to carry them +in safety and honor through his dominions. As they had to traverse many +countries where the traveler is exposed to extreme peril, they appeared on +their journeys as Tartars of low condition, having converted all their +wealth into precious stones and sewn them up in the folds and linings of +their coarse garments. They had a long, difficult, and perilous journey to +Trebizond, whence they proceeded to Constantinople, thence to Negropont, +and, finally, to Venice, where they arrived in 1295, in good health, and +literally laden with riches. Having heard during their journey of the +death of their old benefactor Cublai Khan, they considered their +diplomatic functions at an end, and also that they were absolved from +their promise to return to his dominions. + +Ramusio, in his preface to the narrative of Marco Polo, gives a variety of +particulars concerning their arrival, which he compares to that of +Ulysses. When they arrived at Venice, they were known by nobody. So many +years had elapsed since their departure, without any tidings of them, that +they were either forgotten or considered dead. Besides, their foreign +garb, the influence of southern suns, and the similitude which men acquire +to those among whom they reside for any length of time, had given them the +look of Tartars rather than Italians. + +They repaired to their own house, which was a noble palace, situated in +the street of St. Giovanni Chrisostomo, and was afterwards known by the +name of la Corte de la Milione. They found several of their relatives +still inhabiting it; but they were slow in recollecting the travelers, not +knowing of their wealth, and probably considering them, from their coarse +and foreign attire, poor adventurers returned to be a charge upon their +families. The Polos, however, took an effectual mode of quickening the +memories of their friends, and insuring themselves a loving reception. +They invited them all to a grand banquet. When their guests arrived, they +received them richly dressed in garments of crimson satin of oriental +fashion. When water had been served for the washing of hands, and the +company were summoned to table, the travelers, who had retired, appeared +again in still richer robes of crimson damask. The first dresses were cut +up and distributed among the servants, being of such length that they +swept the ground, which, says Ramusio, was the mode in those days, with +dresses worn within doors. After the first course, they again retired and +came in dressed in crimson velvet; the damask dresses being likewise given +to the domestics, and the same was done at the end of the feast with their +velvet robes, when they appeared in the Venetian dress of the day. The +guests were lost in astonishment, and could not comprehend the meaning of +this masquerade. Having dismissed all the attendants, Marco Polo brought +forth the coarse Tartar dresses in which they had arrived. Slashing them +in several places with a knife, and ripping open the seams and lining, +there tumbled forth rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and other +precious stones, until the whole table glittered with inestimable wealth, +acquired from the munificence of the Grand Khan, and conveyed in this +portable form through the perils of their long journey. + +The company, observes Ramusio, were out of their wits with amazement, and +now clearly perceived what they had at first doubted, that these in very +truth were those honored and valiant gentlemen the Polos, and, +accordingly, paid them great respect and reverence. + +The account of this curious feast is given by Ramusio, on traditional +authority, having heard it many times related by the illustrious Gasparo +Malipiero, a very ancient gentleman, and a senator, of unquestionable +veracity, who had it from his father, who had it from his grandfather, and +so on up to the fountain-head. + +When the fame of this banquet and of the wealth of the travelers came to +be divulged throughout Venice, all the city, noble and simple, crowded to +do honor to the extraordinary merit of the Polos. Maffeo, who was the +eldest, was admitted to the dignity of the magistracy. The youth of the +city came every day to visit and converse with Marco Polo, who was +extremely amiable and communicative. They were insatiable in their +inquiries about Cathay and the Grand Khan, which he answered with great +courtesy, giving details with which they were vastly delighted, and, as he +always spoke of the wealth of the Grand Khan in round numbers, they gave +him the name of Messer Marco Milioni. + +Some months after their return, Lampa Doria, commander of the Genoese +navy, appeared in the vicinity of the island of Curzola with seventy +galleys. Andrea Dandolo, the Venetian admiral, was sent against him. Marco +Polo commanded a galley of the fleet. His usual good fortune deserted him. +Advancing the first in the line with his galley, and not being properly +seconded, he was taken prisoner, thrown in irons, and carried to Genoa. +Here he was detained for a long time in prison, and all offers of ransom +rejected. His imprisonment gave great uneasiness to his father and uncle, +fearing that he might never return. Seeing themselves in this unhappy +state, with so much treasure and no heirs, they consulted together. They +were both very old men; but Nicolo, observes Ramusio, was of a galliard +complexion; it was determined he should take a wife. He did so; and, to +the wonder of his friends, in four years had three children. + +In the meanwhile, the fame of Marco Polo's travels had circulated in +Genoa. His prison was daily crowded with nobility, and he was supplied +with every thing that could cheer him in his confinement. A Genoese +gentleman, who visited him every day, at length prevailed upon him to +write an account of what he had seen. He had his papers and journals sent +to him from Venice, and, with the assistance of his friend, or, as some +will have it, his fellow-prisoner, produced the work which afterwards made +such noise throughout the world. + +The merit of Marco Polo at length procured him his liberty. He returned to +Venice, where he found his father with a house full of children. He took +it in good part, followed the old man's example, married, and had two +daughters, Moretta and Fantina. The date of the death of Marco Polo is +unknown; he is supposed to have been, at the time, about seventy years of +age. On his death-bed he is said to have been exhorted by his friends to +retract what he had published, or, at least, to disavow those parts +commonly regarded as fictions. He replied indignantly that so far from +having exaggerated, he had not told one half of the extraordinary things +of which he had been an eye-witness. + +Marco Polo died without male issue. Of the three sons of his father by the +second marriage, one only had children, viz. five sons and one daughter. +The sons died without leaving issue; the daughter inherited all her +father's wealth, and married into the noble and distinguished house of +Trevesino. Thus the male line of the Polos ceased in 1417, and the family +name was extinguished. + +Such are the principal particulars known of Marco Polo; a man whose +travels for a long time made a great noise in Europe, and will be found to +have had a great effect on modern discovery. His splendid account of the +extent, wealth, and population of the Tartar territories filled every one +with admiration. The possibility of bringing all those regions under the +dominion of the church, and rendering the Grand Khan an obedient vassal to +the holy chair, was for a long time a favorite topic among the +enthusiastic missionaries of Christendom, and there were many +saints-errant who undertook to effect the conversion of this magnificent +infidel. + +Even at the distance of two centuries, when the enterprises for the +discovery of the new route to India had set all the warm heads of Europe +madding about these remote regions of the East, the conversion of the +Grand Khan became again a popular theme; and it was too speculative and +romantic an enterprise not to catch the vivid imagination of Columbus. In +all his voyages, he will be found continually to be seeking after the +territories of the Grand Khan, and even after his last expedition, when +nearly worn out by age, hardships, and infirmities, he offered, in a +letter to the Spanish monarchs, written from a bed of sickness, to conduct +any missionary to the territories of the Tartar emperor, who would +undertake his conversion. + + + + +No. XXI. + +The Work of Marco Polo. + + + +The work of Marco Polo is stated by some to have been originally written +in Latin, [339] though the most probable opinion is that it was written in +the Venetian dialect of the Italian. Copies of it in manuscript were +multiplied and rapidly circulated; translations were made into various +languages, until the invention of printing enabled it to be widely +diffused throughout Europe. In the course of these translations and +successive editions, the original text, according to Purchas, has been +much vitiated, and it is probable many extravagances in numbers and +measurements with which Marco Polo is charged may be the errors of +translators and printers. + +When the work first appeared, it was considered by some as made up of +fictions and extravagances, and Vossius assures us that even after the +death of Marco Polo he continued to be a subject of ridicule among the +light and unthinking, insomuch that he was frequently personated at +masquerades by some wit or droll, who, in his feigned character, related +all kinds of extravagant fables and adventures. His work, however, excited +great attention among thinking men, containing evidently a fund of +information concerning vast and splendid countries, before unknown to the +European world. Vossius assures us that it was at one time highly esteemed +by the learned. Francis Pepin, author of the Brandenburgh version, styles +Polo a man commendable for his piety, prudence, and fidelity. Athanasius +Kircher, in his account of China, says that none of the ancients have +described the kingdoms of the remote East with more exactness. Various +other learned men of past times have borne testimony to his character, and +most of the substantial parts of his work have been authenticated by +subsequent travelers. The most able and ample vindication of Marco Polo, +however, is to be found in the English translation of his work, with +copious notes and commentaries, by William Marsden, F. R. S. He has +diligently discriminated between what Marco Polo relates from his own +observation, and what he relates as gathered from others; he points out +the errors that have arisen from misinterpretations, omissions, or +interpretations of translators, and he claims all proper allowance for the +superstitious coloring of parts of the narrative from the belief, +prevalent among the most wise and learned of his day, in miracles and +magic. After perusing the work of Mr. Marsden, the character of Marco Polo +rises in the estimation of the reader. It is evident that his narration, +as far as related from his own observations, is correct, and that he had +really traversed a great part of Tartary and China, and navigated in the +Indian seas. Some of the countries and many of the islands, however, are +evidently described from accounts given by others, and in these accounts +are generally found the fables which have excited incredulity and +ridicule. As he composed his work after his return home, partly from +memory and partly from memorandums, he was liable to confuse what he had +heard with what he had seen, and thus to give undue weight to many fables +and exaggerations which he had received from others. + +Much had been said of a map brought from Cathay by Marco Polo, which was +conserved in the convent of San Michale de Murano in the vicinity of +Venice, and in which the Cape of Good Hope and the island of Madagascar +were indicated; countries which the Portuguese claim the merit of having +discovered two centuries afterwards. It has been suggested also that +Columbus had visited the convent and examined this map, whence he derived +some of his ideas concerning the coast of India. According to Ramusio, +however, who had been at the convent, and was well acquainted with the +prior, the map preserved there was one copied by a friar from the original +one of Marco Polo, and many alterations and additions had since been made +by other hands, so that for a long time it lost all credit with judicious +people, until on comparing it with the work of Marco Polo it was found in +the main to agree with his descriptions. [340] The Cape of Good Hope was +doubtless among the additions made subsequent to the discoveries of the +Portuguese. [341] Columbus makes no mention of this map, which he most +probably would have done had he seen it. He seems to have been entirely +guided by the one furnished by Paulo Toscanelli, and which was apparently +projected after the original map, or after the descriptions of Marco +Polo, and the maps of Ptolemy. + +When the attention of the world was turned towards the remote parts of +Asia in the 15th century, and the Portuguese were making their attempts to +circumnavigate Africa, the narration of Marco Polo again rose to notice. +This, with the travels of Nicolo le Comte, the Venetian, and of Hieronimo +da San Stefano, a Genoese, are said to have been the principal lights by +which the Portuguese guided themselves in their voyages. [342] + +Above all, the influence which the work of Marco Polo had over the mind of +Columbus, gives it particular interest and importance. It was evidently an +oracular work with him. He frequently quotes it, and on his voyages, +supposing himself to be on the Asiatic coast, he is continually +endeavoring to discover the islands and main-lands described in it, and to +find the famous Cipango. + +It is proper, therefore, to specify some of those places, and the manner +in which they are described by a Venetian traveler, that the reader may +more fully understand the anticipations which were haunting the mind of +Columbus in his voyages among the West Indian islands, and along the coast +of Terra Firma. + +The winter residence of the Great Khan, according to Marco Polo, was in +the city of Cambalu, or Kanbalu, (since ascertained to be Pekin,) in the +province of Cathay. This city, he says, was twenty-four miles square, and +admirably built. It was impossible, according to Marco Polo, to describe +the vast amount and variety of merchandise and manufactures brought there; +it would seem they were enough to furnish the universe. "Here are to be +seen in wonderful abundance the precious stones, the pearls, the silks, +and the diverse perfumes of the East; scarce a day passes that there does +not arrive nearly a thousand cars laden with silk, of which they make +admirable stuffs in this city." + +The palace of the Great Khan is magnificently built, and four miles in +circuit. It is rather a group of palaces. In the interior it is +resplendent with gold and silver; and in it are guarded the precious vases +and jewels of the sovereign. All the appointments of the Khan for war, for +the chase, for various festivities, are described in gorgeous terms. But +though Marco Polo is magnificent in his description of the provinces of +Cathay, and its imperial city of Cambalu, he outdoes himself when he comes +to describe the province of Mangi. This province is supposed to be the +southern part of China. It contains, he says, twelve hundred cities. The +capital, Quinsai (supposed to be the city of Hang-cheu), was twenty-five +miles from the sea, but communicated by a river with a port situated on +the seacoast, and had great trade with India. + +The name Quinsai, according to Marco Polo, signifies the city of heaven; +he says he has been in it and examined it diligently, and affirms it to be +the largest in the world; and so undoubtedly it is if the measurement of +the traveler is to be taken literally, for he declares that it is one +hundred miles in circuit. This seeming exaggeration has been explained by +supposing him to mean Chinese miles or _li,_ which are to the Italian +miles in the proportion of three to eight; and Mr. Marsden observes that +the walls even of the modern city, the limits of which have been +considerably contracted, are estimated by travelers at sixty _li_. +The ancient city has evidently been of immense extent, and as Marco Polo +could not be supposed to have measured the walls himself, he has probably +taken the loose and incorrect estimates of the inhabitants. He describes +it also as built upon little islands like Venice, and has twelve thousand +stone bridges, [343] the arches of which are so high that the largest +vessels can pass under them without lowering their masts. It has, he +affirms, three thousand baths, and six hundred thousand families, +including domestics. It abounds with magnificent houses, and has a lake +thirty miles in circuit within its walls, on the banks of which are +superb palaces of people of rank. [344] The inhabitants of Qninsai are +very voluptuous, and indulge in all kinds of luxuries and delights, +particularly the women, who are extremely beautiful. There are many +merchants and artisans, but the masters do not work, they employ servants +to do all their labor. The province of Mangi was conquered by the Great +Khan, who divided it into nine kingdoms, appointing to each a tributary +king. He drew from it an immense revenue, for the country abounded in +gold, silver, silks, sugar, spices, and perfumes. + + +Zipangu, Zifangri, or Cipango. + +Fifteen hundred miles from the shores of Mangi, according to Marco Polo, +lay the great island of Zipangu, by some written Zipangri, and by Columbus +Cipango. [345] Marco Polo describes it as abounding in gold, +which, however, the king seldom permits to be transported out of the +island.--The king has a magnificent palace covered with plates of gold, as +in other countries the palaces are covered with sheets of lead or copper. +The halls and chambers are likewise covered with gold, the windows adorned +with it, sometimes in plates of the thickness of two fingers. The island +also produces vast quantities of the largest and finest pearls, together +with a variety of precious stones; so that, in fact, it abounds in riches. +The Great Khan made several attempts to conquer this island, but in vain; +which is not to be wondered at, if it be true what Marco Polo relates, +that the inhabitants had certain stones of a charmed virtue inserted +between the skin and the flesh of their right arms, which, through the +power of diabolical enchantments, rendered them invulnerable. This island +was an object of diligent search to Columbus. + +About the island of Zipangu or Cipango, and between it and the coast of +Mangi, the sea, according to Marco Polo, is studded with small islands to +the number of seven thousand four hundred and forty, of which the greater +part are inhabited. There is not one which does not produce odoriferous +trees and perfumes in abundance Columbus thought himself at one time in +the midst of these islands. + +These are the principal places described by Marco Polo, which occur in the +letters and journals of Columbus. The island of Cipango was the first land +he expected to make, and he intended to visit afterwards the province of +Mangi, and to seek the Great Khan in his city of Cambalu, in the province +of Cathay. Unless the reader can bear in mind these sumptuous descriptions +of Marco Polo, of countries teeming with wealth, and cities where the very +domes and palaces flamed with gold, he will have but a faint idea of the +splendid anticipations which filled the imagination of Columbus when he +discovered, as he supposed, the extremity of Asia. It was his confident +expectation of soon arriving at these countries, and realizing the +accounts of the Venetian, that induced him to hold forth those promises of +immediate wealth to the sovereigns, which caused so much disappointment, +and brought upon him the frequent reproach of exciting false hopes and +indulging in willful exaggeration. + + + + +No. XXII. + +Sir John Mandeville. + + + +Next to Marco Polo, the travels of Sir John Mandeville, and his account +of the territories of the Great Khan along the coast of Asia, seem to have +been treasured up in the mind of Columbus. + +Mandeville was born in the city of St. Albans. He was devoted to study +from his earliest childhood, and, after finishing his general education, +applied himself to medicine. Having a great desire to see the remotest +parts of the earth, then known, that is to say, Asia and Africa, and above +all, to visit the Holy Land, he left England in 1332, and passing through +France embarked at Marseilles. According to his own account, he visited +Turkey, Armenia, Egypt, Upper and Lower Lybia, Syria, Persia, Chaldea, +Ethiopia, Tartary, Amazonia, and the Indies, residing in their principal +cities. But most he says he delighted in the Holy Land, where he remained +for a long time, examining it with the greatest minuteness, and +endeavoring to follow all the traces of our Saviour. After an absence of +thirty-four years he returned to England, but found himself forgotten and +unknown by the greater part of his countrymen, and a stranger in his +native place. He wrote a history of his travels in three languages, +English, French, and Latin, for he was master of many tongues. He +addressed his work to Edward III. His wanderings do not seem to have made +him either pleased with the world at large, or contented with his home. He +railed at the age, saying that there was no more virtue extant; that the +church was ruined; error prevalent among the clergy; simony upon the +throne; and, in a word, that the devil reigned triumphant. He soon +returned to the continent, and died at Liege in 1372. He was buried in the +abbey of the Gulielmites, in the suburbs of that city, where Ortelius, in +his Itinerarium Belgiæ, says that he saw his monument, on which was the +effigy, in stone, of a man with a forked beard and his hands raised +towards his head (probably folded as in prayer, according to the manner of +old tombs) and a lion at his feet. There was an inscription stating his +name, quality, and calling, (viz. professor of medicine,) that he was very +pious, very learned, and very charitable to the poor, and that after +having traveled over the whole world he had died at Liege. The people of +the convent showed also his spurs, and the housings of the horses which he +had ridden in his travels. + +The descriptions given by Mandeville of the Grand Khan, of the province of +Cathay, and the city of Cambalu, are no less splendid than those of Marco +Polo. The royal palace was more than two leagues in circumference. The +grand hall had twenty-four columns of copper and gold. There were more +than three hundred thousand men occupied and living in and about the +palace, of which more than one hundred thousand were employed in taking +care of ten thousand elephants and of a vast variety of other animals, +birds of prey, falcons, parrots, and paroquets. On days of festivals there +were even twice the number of men employed. The title of this potentate in +his letters was "Khan, the son of God, exalted possessor of all the earth, +master of those who are masters of others." On his seal was engraved, "God +reigns in heaven, Khan upon earth." + +Mandeville has become proverbial for indulging in a traveler's +exaggerations; yet his accounts of the countries which he visited have +been found far more veracious than had been imagined. His descriptions of +Cathay, and the wealthy province of Mangi, agreeing with those of Marco +Polo, had great authority with Columbus. + + + + +No. XXIII. + +The Zones. + + + +The zones were imaginary bands or circles in the heavens producing an +effect of climate on corresponding belts on the globe of the earth. The +polar circles and the tropics mark these divisions. + +The central region, lying beneath the track of the sun, was termed the +torrid zone; the two regions between the tropics and the polar circles +were termed the temperate zones, and the remaining parts, between the +porlar circles and the poles, the frigid zones. + +The frozen regions near the poles were considered uninhabitable and +unnavigable on account of the extreme cold. The burning zone, or rather +the central part of it, immediately about the equator, was considered +uninhabitable, unproductive, and impassable in consequence of the +excessive heat. The temperate zones, lying between them, were supposed to +be fertile and salubrious, and suited to the purposes of life. + +The globe was divided into two hemispheres by the equator, an imaginary +line encircling it at equal distance from the poles. The whole of the +world known to the ancients was contained in the temperate zone of the +northern hemisphere. + +It was imagined that if there should be inhabitants in the temperate zone +of the southern hemisphere, there could still be no communication with +them on account of the burning zone which intervened. + +Parmenides, according to Strabo, was the inventor of this theory of the +five zones, but he made the torrid zone extend on each side of the equator +beyond the tropics. Aristotle supported this doctrine of the zones. In his +time nothing was known of the extreme northern parts of Europe and Asia, +nor of interior Ethiopia and the southern part of Africa, extending beyond +the tropic of Capricorn to the Cape of Good Hope. Aristotle believed that +there was habitable earth in the southern hemisphere, but that it was for +ever divided from the part of the world already known, by the impassable +zone of scorching heat at the equator. [346] + +Pliny supported the opinion of Aristotle concerning the burning zones. +"The temperature of the central region of the earth," he observes, "where +the sun runs his course, is burnt up as with fire. The temperate zones +which lie on either side can have no communication with each other in +consequence of the fervent heat of this region." [347] + +Strabo, (lib. xi.,) in mentioning this theory, gives it likewise his +support; and others of the ancient philosophers, as well as the poets, +might be cited to show the general prevalence of the belief. + +It must be observed that, at the time when Columbus defended his +proposition before the learned board at Salamanca, the ancient theory of +the burning zone had not yet been totally disproved by modern discovery. +The Portuguese, it is true, had penetrated within the tropics; but, though +the whole of the space between the tropic of Cancer and that of Capricorn, +in common parlance, was termed the torrid zone, the uninhabitable and +impassable part, strictly speaking, according to the doctrine of the +ancients, only extended a limited number of degrees on each side of the +equator; forming about a third, or, at most, the half of the zone. The +proofs which Columbus endeavored to draw therefore from the voyages made +to St. George la Mina, were not conclusive with those who were bigoted to +the ancient theory, and who placed this scorching region still farther +southward, and immediately about the equator. + + + + +No. XXIV. + +Of the Atlantis of Plato. + + + +The island Atalantis is mentioned by Plato in his dialogue of Timæus. +Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, is supposed to have traveled into Egypt. He +is in an ancient city on the Delta, the fertile island formed by the Nile, +and is holding converse with certain learned priests on the antiquities of +remote ages, when one of them gives him a description of the island of +Atalantis, and of its destruction, which he describes as having taken +place before the conflagration of the world by Phæton. + +This island, he was told, had been situated on the Western Ocean, opposite +to the Straits of Gibraltar. There was an easy passage from it to other +islands, which lay adjacent to a large continent, exceeding in size all +Europe and Asia. Neptune settled in this island, from whose son Atlas its +name was derived, and he divided it among his ten sons. His descendants +reigned here in regular succession for many ages. They made irruptions +into Europe and Africa, subduing all Libya as far as Egypt, and Europe to +Asia Minor. They were resisted, however, by the Athenians, and driven back +to their Atlantic territories. Shortly after this there was a tremendous +earthquake, and an overflowing of the sea, which continued for a day and a +night. In the course of this the vast island of Atalantis, and all its +splendid cities and warlike nations, were swallowed up, and sunk to the +bottom of the sea, which, spreading its waters over the chasm, formed the +Atlantic Ocean. For a long time, however, the sea was not navigable, on +account of rocks and shelves, of mud and slime, and of the ruins of that +drowned country. + +Many, in modern times, have considered this a mere fable; others suppose +that Plato, while in Egypt, had received some vague accounts of the Canary +Islands, and, on his return to Greece, finding those islands so entirely +unknown to his countrymen, had made them the seat of his political and +moral speculations. Some, however, have been disposed to give greater +weight to this story of Plato. They imagine that such an island may really +have existed filling up a great part of the Atlantic, and that the +continent beyond it was America, which, in such case, was not unknown to +the ancients. Kircher supposes it to have been an island extending from +the Canaries to the Azores; that it was really ingulfed in one of the +convulsions of the globe, and that those small islands are mere shattered +fragments of it. + +As a farther proof that the New World was not unknown to the ancients, +many have cited the singular passage in the Medea of Seneca, which is +wonderfully apposite, and shows, at least, how nearly the warm imagination +of a poet may approach to prophecy. The predictions of the ancient oracles +were rarely so unequivocal. + + Venient annis + Sæcula seris, quilms Oceanus + Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens + Patent tellus, Typhisque novos + Detegat orbes, nee sit terris + Ultima Thule. + +Gosselin in his able research into the voyages of the ancients, supposes +the Atalantis of Plato to have been nothing more nor less than one of the +nearest of the Canaries, viz. Fortaventura or Lancerote. + + + + +No. XXV. + +The Imaginary Island of St. Brandan. + + + +One of the most singular geographical illusions on record is that which +for a long while haunted the imaginations of the inhabitants of the +Canaries. They fancied they beheld a mountainous island about ninety +leagues in length, lying far to the westward. It was only seen at +intervals, but in perfectly clear and serene weather. To some it seemed +one hundred leagues distant, to others forty, to others only fifteen or +eighteen. [348]On attempting to reach it, however, it somehow or other +eluded the search, and was nowhere to be found. Still there were so many +eye-witnesses of credibility who concurred in testifying to their having +seen it, and the testimony of the inhabitants of different islands agreed +so well as to its form and position, that its existence was generally +believed, and geographers inserted it in their maps. It is laid down on +the globe of Martin Behem, projected in 1492, as delineated by M. De Murr, +and it will be found in most of the maps of the time of Columbus, placed +commonly about two hundred leagues west of the Canaries. During the time +that Columbus was making his proposition to the court of Portugal, an +inhabitant of the Canaries applied to king John II for a vessel to go in +search of this island. In the archives of the Torre do Tombo [349] also, +there is a record of a contract made by the crown of Portugal with +Fernando de Ulmo, cavalier of the royal household, and captain of the +island of Tercera, wherein he undertakes to go at his own expense, in +quest of an island or islands, or Terra Firma, supposed to be the island +of the Seven Cities, on condition of having jurisdiction over the same +for himself and his heirs, allowing one tenth of the revenues to the king. +This Ulmo, finding the expedition above his capacity, associated one Juan +Alfonso del Estreito in the enterprise. They were bound to be ready to +sail with two caravels in the month of March, 1487. [350] The fate of +their enterprise is unknown. + +The name of St. Brandan, or Borondon, given to this imaginary island from +time immemorial, is said to be derived from a Scotch abbot, who flourished +in the sixth century, and who is called sometimes by the foregoing +appellations, sometimes St. Blandano, or St. Blandanus. In the Martyrology +of the order of St. Augustine, he is said to have been the patriarch of +three thousand monks. About the middle of the sixth century, he +accompanied his disciple, St. Maclovio, or St. Malo, in search of certain +islands possessing the delights of paradise, which they were told existed +in the midst of the ocean, and were inhabited by infidels. These most +adventurous saints-errant wandered for a long time upon the ocean, and at +length landed upon an island called Ima. Here St. Malo found the body of a +giant lying in a sepulchre. He resuscitated him, and had much interesting +conversation with him, the giant informing him that the inhabitants of +that island had some notions of the Trinity, and, moreover, giving him a +gratifying account of the torments which Jews and Pagans suffered in the +infernal regions. Finding the giant so docile and reasonable, St. Malo +expounded to him the doctrines of the Christian religion, converted him, +and baptized him by the name of Mildum. The giant, however, either through +weariness of life, or eagerness to enjoy the benefits of his conversion, +begged permission, at the end of fifteen days, to die again, which was +granted him. + +According to another account, the giant told them he knew of an island in +the ocean, defended by walls of burnished gold, so resplendent that they +shone like crystal, but to which there was no entrance. At their request, +he undertook to guide them to it, and taking the cable of their ship, +threw himself into the sea. He had not proceeded far, however, when a +tempest rose, and obliged them all to return, and shortly after the giant +died. [351] A third legend makes the saint pray to heaven on Easter day, +that they may be permitted to find land where they may celebrate the +offices of religion with becoming state. An island immediately appears, +on which they land, perform a solemn mass, and the sacrament of the +Eucharist; after which re-embarking and making sail, they behold to their +astonishment the supposed island suddenly plunge to the bottom of the sea, +being nothing else than a monstrous whale. [352] When the rumor circulated +of an island seen from the Canaries, which always eluded the search, the +legends of St. Brandan were revived, and applied to this unapproachable +land. We are told, also, that there was an ancient Latin manuscript in the +archives of the cathedral church of the Grand Canary, in which the +adventures of these saints were recorded. Through carelessness, however, +this manuscript has disappeared. [353] Some have maintained that this +island was known to the ancients, and was the same mentioned by Ptolemy +among the Fortunate or Canary islands, by the names of Aprositus, [354] or +the Inaccessible; and which, according to friar Diego Philipo, in his book +on the Incarnation of Christ, shows that it possessed the same quality in +ancient times of deluding the eye and being unattainable to the feet of +mortals. [355] But whatever belief the ancients may have had on this +subject, it is certain that it took a strong hold on the faith of the +moderns during the prevalent rage for discovery; nor did it lack abundant +testimonials. Don Joseph de Viera y Clavijo says, there never was a more +difficult paradox nor problem in the science of geography; since, to +affirm the existence of this island, is to trample upon sound criticism, +judgment, and reason; and to deny it, one must abandon tradition and +experience, and suppose that many persons of credit had not the proper +use of their senses. [356] + +The belief in this island has continued long since the time of Columbus. +It was repeatedly seen, and by various persons at a time, always in the +same place and of the same form. In 1526 an expedition set off for the +Canaries in quest of it, commanded by Fernando de Troya and Fernando +Alvarez. They cruised in the wonted direction, but in vain, and their +failure ought to have undeceived the public. "The phantasm of the island, +however," says Viera, "had such a secret enchantment for all who beheld +it, that the public preferred doubting the good conduct of the explorers, +than their own senses." In 1570 the appearances were so repeated and +clear, that there was a universal fever of curiosity awakened among the +people of the Canaries, and it was determined to send forth another +expedition. + +That they might not appear to act upon light grounds, an exact +investigation was previously made of all the persons of talent and +credibility who had seen these apparitions of land, or who had other +proofs of its existence. + +Alonzo de Espinosa, governor of the island of Ferro, accordingly made a +report, in which more than one hundred witnesses, several of them persons +of the highest respectability, deposed that they had beheld the unknown +island about forty leagues to the northwest of Ferro; that they had +contemplated it with calmness and certainty, and had seen the sun set +behind one of its points. + +Testimonials of still greater force came from the islands of Palma and +Teneriffe. There were certain Portuguese who affirmed, that, being driven +about by a tempest, they had come upon the island of St. Borondon. Pedro +Vello, who was the pilot of the vessel, affirmed, that having anchored in +a bay, he landed with several of the crew. They drank fresh water in a +brook, and beheld in the sand the print of footsteps, double the size of +those of an ordinary man, and the distance between them was in proportion. +They found a cross nailed to a neighboring tree; near to which were three +stones placed in form of a triangle, with signs of fire having been made +among them, probably to cook shell-fish. Having seen much cattle and sheep +grazing in the neighborhood, two of their party armed with lances went +into the woods in pursuit of them. The night was approaching, the heavens +began to lower, and a harsh wind arose. The people on board the ship cried +out that she was dragging her anchor, whereupon Vello entered the boat and +hurried on board. In an instant they lost sight of land; being as it were +swept away in the hurricane. When the storm had passed away, and the sea +and sky were again serene, they searched in vain for the island; not a +trace of it was to be seen, and they had to pursue their voyage, lamenting +the loss of their two companions who had been abandoned in the wood. +[357] + +A learned licentiate, Pedro Ortiz de Funez, inquisitor of the Grand +Canary, while on a visit at Teneriffe, summoned several persons before +him, who testified having seen the island. Among them was one Marcos +Verde, a man well known in those parts. He stated that in returning from +Barbary and arriving in the neighborhood of the Canaries, he beheld land, +which, according to his maps and calculations, could not be any of the +known islands. He concluded it to be the far-famed St. Borondon. Overjoyed +at having discovered this land of mystery, he coasted along its spell-bound +shores, until he anchored in a beautiful harbor formed by the mouth of a +mountain ravine. Here he landed with several of his crew. It was now, +he said, the hour of the Ave Maria, or of vespers. The sun being set, the +shadows began to spread over the land. The voyagers having separated, +wandered about in different directions, until out of hearing of each +other's shouts. Those on board, seeing the night approaching, made signal +to summon back the wanderers to the ship. They re-embarked, intending to +resume their investigations on the following day. Scarcely were they on +board, however, when a whirlwind came rushing down the ravine, with such +violence as to drag the vessel from her anchor, and hurry her out to sea; +and they never saw any thing more of this hidden and inhospitable island. + +Another testimony remains on record in manuscript of one Abreu Galindo; +but whether taken at this time does not appear. It was that of a French +adventurer, who, many years before, making a voyage among the Canaries, +was overtaken by a violent storm which carried away his masts. At length +the furious winds drove him to the shores of an unknown island covered +with stately trees. Here he landed with part of his crew, and choosing a +tree proper for a mast, cut it down, and began to shape it for his +purpose. The guardian power of the island, however, resented as usual this +invasion of his forbidden shores. The heavens assumed a dark and +threatening aspect; the night was approaching, and the mariners, fearing +some impending evil, abandoned their labor and returned on board. They +were borne away as usual from the coast, and the next day arrived at the +island of Palma. [358] + +The mass of testimony collected by official authority in 1750 seemed so +satisfactory, that another expedition was fitted out in the same year in +the island of Palma. It was commanded by Fernando de Villabolos, regidor +of the island; but was equally fruitless with the preceding. St. Borondon +seemed disposed only to tantalize the world with distant and serene +glimpses of his ideal paradise; or to reveal it amidst storms to +tempest-tossed mariners, but to hide it completely from the view of all +who diligently sought it. Still the people of Palma adhered to their +favorite chimera. Thirty-four years afterwards, in 1605, they sent another +ship on the quest, commanded by Gaspar Perez de Acosta, an accomplished +pilot, accompanied by the padre Lorenzo Pinedo, a holy Franciscan friar, +skilled in natural science. St. Borondon, however, refused to reveal his +island to either monk or mariner. After cruising about in every direction, +sounding, observing the skies, the clouds, the winds, every thing that +could furnish indications, they returned without having seen any thing to +authorize a hope. + +Upwards of a century now elapsed without any new attempt to seek this +fairy island. Every now and then, it is true, the public mind was agitated +by fresh reports of its having been seen. Lemons and other fruits, and the +green branches of trees which floated to the shores of Gomera and Ferro, +were pronounced to be from the enchanted groves of St. Borondon. At +length, in 1721, the public infatuation again rose to such a height that a +fourth expedition was sent, commanded by Don Caspar Dominguez, a man of +probity and talent. As this was an expedition of solemn and mysterious +import, he had two holy friars as apostolical chaplains. They made sail +from the island of Teneriffe towards the end of October, leaving the +populace in an indescribable state of anxious curiosity mingled with +superstition. The ship, however, returned from its cruise as unsuccessful +as all its predecessors. + +We have no account of any expedition being since undertaken, though the +island still continued to be a subject of speculation, and occasionally to +reveal its shadowy mountains to the eyes of favored individuals. In a +letter written from the island of Gomera, 1759, by a Franciscan monk, to +one of his friends, he relates having seen it from the village of Alaxero +at six in the morning of the third of May. It appeared to consist of two +lofty mountains, with a deep valley between; and on contemplating it with +a telescope, the valley or ravine appeared to be filled with trees. He +summoned the curate Antonio Joseph Manrique, and upwards of forty other +persons, all of whom beheld it plainly. [359] + +Nor is this island delineated merely in ancient maps of the time of +Columbus. It is laid down as one of the Canary islands in a French map +published in 1704; and Mons. Gautier, in a geographical chart, annexed to +his Observations on Natural History, published in 1755, places it five +degrees to the west of the island of Ferro, in the 29th deg. of N. +latitude. [360] + +Such are the principal facts existing relative to the island of St. +Brandan: Its reality was for a long time a matter of firm belief. It was +in vain that repeated voyages and investigations proved its nonexistence; +the public, after trying all kinds of sophistry, took refuge in the +supernatural, to defend their favorite chimera. They maintained that it +was rendered inaccessible to mortals by Divine Providence, or by +diabolical magic. Most inclined to the former. All kinds of extravagant +fancies were indulged concerning it; [361] some confounded it with the +fabled island of the Seven Cities situated somewhere in the bosom of the +ocean, where in old times seven bishops and their followers had taken +refuge from the Moors. Some of the Portuguese imagined it to be the abode +of their lost king Sebastian. The Spaniards pretended that Roderick, the +last of their Gothic kings, had fled thither from the Moors after the +disastrous battle of the Guadalete. Others suggested that it might be the +seat of the terrestrial paradise, the place where Enoch and Elijah +remained in a state of blessedness until the final day; and that it was +made at times apparent to the eyes, but invisible to the search of +mortals. Poetry, it is said, has owed to this popular belief one of its +beautiful fictions, and the garden of Armida, where Rinaldo was detained +enchanted, and which Tasso places in one of the Canary islands, has been +identified with the imaginary St. Borondon. [362] + +The learned father Feyjoo [363] has given a philosophical solution to +this geographical problem. He attributes all these appearances, which +have been so numerous and so well authenticated as not to admit of doubt, +to certain atmospherical deceptions, like that of the Fata Morgana, seen +at times, in the straits of Messina, where the city of Reggio and its +surrounding country is reflected in the air above the neighboring sea: a +phenomenon which has likewise been witnessed in front of the city of +Marseilles. As to the tales of the mariners who had landed on these +forbidden shores, and been hurried thence in whirlwinds and tempests, he +considers them as mere fabrications. + +As the populace, however, reluctantly give up any thing that partakes of +the marvelous and mysterious, and as the same atmospherical phenomena, +which first gave birth to the illusion, may still continue, it is not +improbable that a belief in the island of St. Brandan may still exist +among the ignorant and credulous of the Canaries, and that they at times +behold its fairy mountains rising above the distant horizon of the +Atlantic. + + + + +No. XXVI. + +The Island of the Seven Cities. + + + +One of the popular traditions concerning the ocean, which were current +during the time of Columbus, was that of the Island of the Seven Cities. +It was recorded in an ancient legend, that at the time of the conquest of +Spain and Portugal by the Moors, when the inhabitants fled in every +direction to escape from slavery, seven bishops, followed by a great +number of their people, took shipping and abandoned themselves to their +fate, on the high seas. After tossing about for some time, they landed on +an unknown island in the midst of the ocean. Here the bishops burnt the +ships, to prevent the desertion of their followers, and founded seven +cities. Various pilots of Portugal, it was said, had reached that island +at different times, but had never returned to give any information +concerning it, having been detained, according to subsequent accounts, by +the successors of the bishops to prevent pursuit. At length, according to +common report, at the time that prince Henry of Portugal was prosecuting +his discoveries, several seafaring men presented themselves one day before +him, and stated that they had just returned from a voyage, in the course +of which they had landed upon this island. The inhabitants, they said, +spoke their language, and carried them immediately to church, to ascertain +whether they were Catholics, and were rejoiced at finding them of the true +faith. They then made earnest inquiries, to know whether the Moors still +retained possession of Spain and Portugal. While part of the crew were at +church, the rest gathered sand on the shore for the use of the kitchen, +and found to their surprise that one-third of it was gold. The islanders +were anxious that the crew should remain with them a few days, until the +return of their governor, who was absent; but the mariners, afraid of +being detained, embarked and made sail. Such was the story they told to +prince Henry, hoping to receive reward for their intelligence. The prince +expressed displeasure at their hasty departure from the island, and +ordered them to return and procure further information; but the men, +apprehensive, no doubt, of having the falsehood of their tale discovered, +made their escape, and nothing more was heard of them. [364] + +This story had much currency. The Island of the Seven Cities was +identified with the island mentioned by Aristotle as having been +discovered by the Carthaginians, and was put down in the early maps about +the time of Columbus, under the name of Antilla. + +At the time of the discovery of New Spain, reports were brought to +Hispaniola of the civilization of the country; that the people wore +clothing; that their houses and temples were solid, spacious, and often +magnificent; and that crosses were occasionally found among them. Juan de +Grivalja, being dispatched to explore the coast of Yucatan, reported that +in sailing along it he beheld, with great wonder, stately and beautiful +edifices of lime and stone, and many high towers that shone at a distance. +[365] For a time the old tradition of the Seven Cities was revived, and +many thought that they were to be found in the same part of New Spain. + + + + +No. XXVII. + +Discovery of the Island of Madeira. + + + +The discovery of Madeira by Macham rests principally upon the authority of +Francisco Alcaforado, an esquire of prince Henry of Portugal, who composed +an account of it for that prince. It does not appear to have obtained much +faith among Portuguese historians. No mention is made of it in Barros; he +attributes the first discovery of the island to Juan Gonzalez and Tristram +Vaz, who he said descried it from Porto Santo, resembling a cloud on the +horizon. [366] + +The abbé Provost, however, in his general history of voyages, vol. 6, +seems inclined to give credit to the account of Alcaforado. "It was +composed," he observes, "at a time when the attention of the public would +have exposed the least falsities; and no one was more capable than +Alcaforado of giving an exact detail of this event, since he was of the +number of those who assisted at the second discovery." The narrative, as +originally written, was overcharged with ornaments and digressions. It was +translated into French and published in Paris, in 1671. The French +translator had retrenched the ornaments, but scrupulously retained the +facts. The story, however, is cherished in the island of Madeira, where a +painting in illustration of it is still to be seen. The following is the +purport of the French translation: I have not been able to procure the +original of Alcaforado. + +During the reign of Edward the Third of England, a young man of great +courage and talent, named Robert Macham, fell in love with a young lady of +rare beauty, of the name of Anne Dorset. She was his superior in birth, +and of a proud and aristocratic family; but the merit of Macham gained him +the preference over all his rivals. The family of the young lady, to +prevent her making an inferior alliance, obtained an order from the king +to have Macham arrested and confined, until by arbitrary means they +married his mistress to a man of quality. As soon as the nuptials were +celebrated, the nobleman conducted his beautiful and afflicted bride to +his seat near Bristol. Macham was now restored to liberty. Indignant at +the wrongs he had suffered, and certain of the affections of his mistress, +he prevailed upon several friends to assist him in a project for the +gratification of his love and his revenge. They followed hard on the +traces of the new-married couple to Bristol. One of the friends obtained +an introduction into the family of the nobleman in quality of a groom. He +found the young bride full of tender recollections of her lover, and of +dislike to the husband thus forced upon her. Through the means of this +friend, Macham had several communications with her, and concerted means +for their escape to France, where they might enjoy their mutual love +unmolested. + +When all things were prepared, the young lady rode out one day accompanied +only by the fictitious groom, under pretence of taking the air. No sooner +were they out of sight of the house, than they galloped to an appointed +place on the shore of the channel, where a boat awaited them. They were +conveyed on board a vessel which lay with anchor a-trip, and sails +unfurled, ready to put to sea. Here the lovers were once more united. +Fearful of pursuit, the ship immediately weighed anchor; they made their +way rapidly along the coast of Cornwall, and Macham anticipated the +triumph of soon landing with his beautiful prize on the shores of gay and +gallant France. Unfortunately an adverse and stormy wind arose in the +night; at daybreak they found themselves out of sight of land. The +mariners were ignorant and inexperienced; they knew nothing of the +compass, and it was a time when men were unaccustomed to traverse the high +seas. For thirteen days the lovers were driven about on a tempestuous +ocean, at the mercy of wind and wave. The fugitive bride was filled with +terror and remorse, and looked upon this uproar of the elements as the +anger of heaven directed against her. All the efforts of her lover could +not remove from her mind a dismal presage of some approaching catastrophe. + +At length the tempest subsided. On the fourteenth day, at dawn, the +mariners perceived what appeared to be a tuft of wood rising out of the +sea. They joyfully steered for it, supposing it to be an island. They were +not mistaken. As they drew near, the rising sun shone upon noble forests, +the trees of which were of a kind unknown to them. Flights of birds also +came hovering about the ship, and perched upon the yards and rigging +without any signs of fear. The boat was sent on shore to reconnoitre, and +soon returned with such accounts of the beauty of the country, that Macham +determined to take his drooping companion to the land, in hopes her health +and spirits might be restored by refreshment and repose. They were +accompanied on shore by the faithful friends who had assisted in their +flight. The mariners remained on board to guard, the ship. + +The country was indeed delightful. The forests were stately and +magnificent; there were trees laden with excellent fruits, others with +aromatic flowers; the waters were cool and limpid, the sky was serene, and +there was a balmy sweetness in the air. The animals they met with showed +no signs of alarm or ferocity, from which they concluded that the island +was uninhabited. On penetrating a little distance they found a sheltered +meadow, the green bosom of which was bordered by laurels and refreshed by +a mountain brook which ran sparkling over pebbles. In the centre was a +majestic tree, the wide branches of which afforded shade from the rays of +the sun. Here Macham had bowers constructed and determined to pass a few +days, hoping that the sweetness of the country, and the serene +tranquillity of this delightful solitude, would recruit the drooping +health and spirits of his companion. Three days, however, had scarcely +passed, when a violent storm arose from the northeast, and raged all night +over the island. On the succeeding morning Macham repaired to the sea-side, +but nothing of his ship was to be seen, and he concluded that it had +foundered in the tempest. + +Consternation fell upon the little band, thus left in an uninhabited +island in the midst of the ocean. The blow fell most severely on the timid +and repentant bride. She reproached herself with being the cause of all +their misfortunes, and, from the first, had been haunted by dismal +forebodings. She now considered them about to be accomplished, and her +horror was so great as to deprive her of speech; she expired in three days +without uttering a word. + +Machnm was struck with despair at beholding the tragical end of this +tender and beautiful being. He upbraided himself, in the transports of his +grief, with tearing her from home, her country, and her friends, to perish +upon a savage coast. All the efforts of his companions to console him were +in vain. He died within five days, broken-hearted; begging, as a last +request, that his body might be interred beside that of his mistress, at +the foot of a rustic altar which they had erected under the great tree. +They set up a large wooden cross on the spot, on which was placed an +inscription written by Macham himself, relating in a few words his piteous +adventure, and praying any Christians who might arrive there, to build a +chapel in the place dedicated to Jesus the Saviour. + +After the death of their commander, his followers consulted about means to +escape from the island. The ship's boat remained on the shore. They +repaired it and put it in a state to bear a voyage, and then made sail, +intending to return to England. Ignorant of their situation, and carried +about by the winds, they were cast upon the coast of Morocco, where, their +boat being shattered upon the rocks, they were captured by the Moors and +thrown into prison. Here they understood that their ship had shared the +same fate, having been driven from her anchorage in the tempest, and +carried to the same inhospitable coast, where all her crew were made +prisoners. + +The prisons of Morocco were in those days filled with captives of all +nations, taken by their cruisers. Here the English prisoners met with an +experienced pilot, a Spaniard of Seville, named Juan de Morales. He +listened to their story with great interest; inquired into the situation +and description of the island they had discovered; and, subsequently, on +his redemption from prison, communicated the circumstances, it is said, to +prince Henry of Portugal. + +There is a difficulty in the above narrative of Alcaforado in reconciling +dates. The voyage is said to have taken place during the reign of Edward +III, which commenced in 1327 and ended in 1378. Morales, to whom the +English communicated their voyage, is said to have been in the service of +the Portuguese, in the second discovery of Madeira, in 1418 and 1420. Even +if the voyage and imprisonment had taken place in the last year of king +Edward's reign, this leaves a space of forty years. + +Hacluyt gives an account of the same voyage, taken from Antonio Galvano. +He varies in certain particulars. It happened, he says, in the year 1344, +in the time of Peter IV of Aragon. Macham cast anchor in a bay since +called, after him, Machio. + +The lady being ill, he took her on shore, accompanied by some of his +friends, and the ships sailed without them. After the death of the lady, +Macham made a canoe out of a tree, and ventured to sea in it with his +companions. They were cast upon the coast of Africa, where the Moors, +considering it a kind of miracle, carried him to the king of their +country, who sent him to the king of Castile. In consequence of the +traditional accounts remaining of this voyage, Henry II of Castile sent +people, in 1395, to re-discover the island. + + + + +No. XXVIII. + +Las Casas. + + + +Bartholomew Las Casas, bishop of Chiapa, so often cited in all histories +of the New World, was born at Seville, in 1474, and was of French +extraction. The family name was Casaus. The first of the name who appeared +in Spain, served under the standard of Ferdinand III, surnamed the saint, +in his wars with the Moors of Andalusia. He was at the taking of Seville +from the Moors, when he was rewarded by the king, and received permission +to establish himself there. His descendants enjoyed the prerogatives of +nobility, and suppressed the letter u in their name, to accommodate it to +the Spanish tongue. + +Antonio, the father of Bartholomew, went to Hispaniola with Columbus in +1493, and returned rich to Seville in 1498. [367] It has been stated by +one of the biographers of Bartholomew Las Casas, that he accompanied +Columbus in his third voyage in 1498, and returned with him in 1500. [368] +This, however, is incorrect. He was, during that time, completing his +education at Salamanca, where he was instructed in Latin, dialectics, +logic, metaphysics, ethics, and physics, after the supposed method and +system of Aristotle. While at the university, he had, as a servant, an +Indian slave, given him by his father, who had received him from Columbus. +When Isabella, in her transport of virtuous indignation, ordered the +Indian slaves to be sent back to their country, this one was taken from +Las Casas. The young man was aroused by the circumstance, and, on +considering the nature of the case, became inflamed with a zeal in favor +of the unhappy Indians, which never cooled throughout a long and active +life. It was excited to tenfold fervor, when, at about the age of +twenty-eight years, he accompanied the commander Ovando to Hispaniola in +1502, and was an eye-witness to many of the cruel scenes which took place +under his administration. The whole of his future life, a space exceeding +sixty years, was devoted to vindicating the cause, and endeavoring to +meliorate the sufferings of the natives. As a missionary, he traversed the +wilderness of the New World in various directions, seeking to convert and +civilize them; as a protector and champion, he made several voyages to +Spain, vindicated their wrongs before courts and monarchs, wrote volumes +in their behalf, and exhibited a zeal, and constancy, and intrepidity +worthy of an apostle. He died at the advanced age of ninety-two years, and +was buried at Madrid, in the church of the Dominican convent of Atocha, of +which fraternity he was a member. + +Attempts have been made to decry the consistency and question the real +philanthropy of Las Casas, in consequence of one of the expedients to +which he resorted to relieve the Indians from the cruel bondage imposed +upon them. This occurred in 1517, when he arrived in Spain, on one of his +missions, to obtain measures in their favor from the government. On his +arrival in Spain, he found cardinal Ximenes, who had been left regent on +the death of King Ferdinand, too ill to attend to his affairs. He +repaired, therefore, to Valladolid, where he awaited the coming of the new +monarch Charles, archduke of Austria, afterwards the emperor Charles V. He +had strong opponents to encounter in various persons high in authority, +who, holding estates and repartimientos in the colonies, were interested +in the slavery of the Indians. Among these, and not the least animated, +was the bishop Fonseca, president of the council of the Indies. + +At length the youthful sovereign arrived, accompanied by various Flemings +of his court, particularly his grand chancellor, doctor Juan de Selvagio, +a learned and upright man, whom he consulted on all affairs of +administration and justice. Las Casas soon became intimate with the +chancellor, and stood high in his esteem; but so much opposition arose on +every side that he found his various propositions for the relief of the +natives but little attended to. In his doubt and anxiety he had now +recourse to an expedient which he considered as justified by the +circumstances of the case. [369] The chancellor Selvagio and other +Flemings who had accompanied the youthful sovereign had obtained from him, +before quitting Flanders, licenses to import slaves from Africa to the +colonies; a measure which had recently in 1516 been prohibited by a decree +of cardinal Ximenes while acting as regent. The chancellor, who was a +humane man, reconciled it to his conscience by a popular opinion that one +negro could perform, without detriment to his health, the labor of several +Indians, and that therefore it was a great saving of human suffering. So +easy is it for interest to wrap itself up in plausible argument! He might, +moreover, have thought the welfare of the Africans but little affected by +the change. They were accustomed to slavery in their own country, and they +were said to thrive in the New World. "The Africans," observes Herrera, +"prospered so much in the island of Hispaniola, that it was the opinion +unless a negro should happen to be hanged, he would never die; for as yet +none had been known to perish from infirmity. Like oranges, they found +their proper soil in Hispaniola, and it seemed ever more natural to them +than their native Guinea." [370] + +Las Casas, finding all other means ineffectual, endeavored to turn these +interested views of the grand chancellor to the benefit of the Indians. He +proposed that the Spaniards, resident in the colonies, might be permitted +to procure negroes for the labor of the farms and the mines, and other +severe toils, which were above the strength and destructive of the lives +of the natives. [371] He evidently considered the poor Africans as little +better than mere animals; and he acted like others, on an arithmetical +calculation of diminishing human misery, by substituting one strong man +for three or four of feebler nature. He, moreover, esteemed the Indians +as a nobler and more intellectual race of beings, and their preservation +and welfare of higher importance to the general interests of humanity. + +It is this expedient of Las Casas which has drawn down severe censure upon +his memory. He has been charged with gross inconsistency, and even with +having originated this inhuman traffic in the New World. This last is a +grievous charge; but historical facts and dates remove the original sin +from his door, and prove that the practice existed in the colonies, and +was authorized by royal decree, long before he took a part in the +question. + +Las Casas did not go to the New World until 1502. By a royal ordinance +passed in 1501, negro slaves were permitted to be taken there, provided +they had been born among Christians. [372] By a letter written by Ovando, +dated 1503, it appears that there were numbers in the island of +Hispaniola at that time, and he entreats that none more might be +permitted to be brought. + +In 1506 the Spanish government forbade the introduction of negro slaves +from the Levant, or those brought up with the Moors; and stipulated that +none should be taken to the colonies but those from Seville, who had been +instructed in the Christian faith, that they might contribute to the +conversion of the Indians. [373] In 1510, king Ferdinand, being informed +of the physical weakness of the Indians, ordered fifty Africans to be +sent from Seville to labor in the mines. [374] In 1511, he ordered that +a great number should be procured from Guinea, and transported to +Hispaniola, understanding that one negro could perform the work of four +Indians. [375] In 1512 and '13 he signed further orders relative to the +same subject. In 1516, Charles V granted licenses to the Flemings to +import negroes to the colonies. It was not until the year 1517, that Las +Casas gave his sanction of the traffic. It already existed, and he +countenanced it solely with a view to having the hardy Africans +substituted for the feeble Indians. It was advocated at the same time, +and for the same reasons, by the Jeronimite friars, who were missionaries +in the colonies. The motives of Las Casas were purely benevolent, though +founded on erroneous notions of justice. He thought to permit evil that +good might spring out of it; to choose between two existing abuses, and +to eradicate the greater by resorting to the lesser. His reasoning, +however fallacious it may be, was considered satisfactory and humane by +some of the most learned and benevolent men of the age, among whom was +the cardinal Adrian, afterwards elevated to the papal chair, and +characterized by gentleness and humanity. The traffic was permitted; +inquiries were made as to the number of slaves required, which was +limited to four thousand, and the Flemings obtained a monopoly of the +trade, which they afterwards farmed out to the Genoese. + +Dr. Eobertson, in noticing this affair, draws a contrast between the +conduct of the cardinal Ximenes and that of Las Casas, strongly to the +disadvantage of the latter. "The cardinal," he observes, "when solicited +to encourage this commerce, peremptorily rejected the proposition, because +he perceived the iniquity of reducing one race of men to slavery, when he +was consulting about the means of restoring liberty to another; but Las +Casas, from the inconsistency natural to men who hurry with headlong +impetuosity towards a favorite point, was incapable of making this +distinction. In the warmth of his zeal to save the Americans from the +yoke, he pronounced it to be lawful and expedient to impose one still +heavier on the Africans." [376] This distribution of praise and censure is +not perfectly correct. Las Casas had no idea that he was imposing a +heavier, nor so heavy, a yoke upon the Africans. The latter were +considered more capable of labor, and less impatient of slavery. While the +Indians sunk under their tasks, and perished by thousands in Hispaniola, +the negroes, on the contrary, thrived there. Herrera, to whom Dr. +Robertson refers as his authority, assigns a different motive, and one of +mere finance, for the measures of cardinal Ximenes. He says that he +ordered that no one should take negroes to the Indies, because, as the +natives were decreasing, and it was known that one negro did more work +than four of them, there would probably be a great demand for African +slaves, and a tribute might be imposed upon the trade, from which would +result profit to the royal treasury. [377] This measure was presently +after carried into effect, though subsequent to the death of the +cardinal, and licenses were granted by the sovereign for pecuniary +considerations. Flechier, in his life of Ximenes, assigns another but a +mere political motive for this prohibition. The cardinal, he says, +objected to the importation of negroes into the colonies, as he feared +they would corrupt the natives, and by confederacies with them render +them formidable to government. De Marsolier, another biographer of Ximenes, +gives equally politic reasons for this prohibition. He cites a letter +written by the cardinal on the subject, in which he observed that he knew +the nature of the negroes; they were a people capable, it was true, of +great fatigue, but extremely prolific and enterprising; and that if they +had time to multiply in America, they would infallibly revolt, and impose +on the Spaniards the same chains which they had compelled them to wear. +[378] These facts, while they take from the measure of the cardinal that +credit for exclusive philanthropy which has been bestowed upon it, +manifest the clear foresight of that able politician; whose predictions +with respect to negro revolt have been so strikingly fulfilled in the +island of Hispaniola. + +Cardinal Ximenes, in fact, though a wise and upright statesman, was not +troubled with scruples of conscience on these questions of natural right; +nor did he possess more toleration than his contemporaries towards savage +and infidel nations. He was grand inquisitor of Spain, and was very +efficient during the latter years of Ferdinand in making slaves of the +refractory Moors of Granada. He authorized, by express instructions, +expeditions to seize and enslave the Indians of the Caribbee islands, whom +he termed only suited to labor, enemies of the Christians, and cannibals. +Nor will it be considered a proof of gentle or tolerant policy, that he +introduced the tribunal of the inquisition into the New World. These +circumstances are cited not to cast reproach upon the character of +cardinal Ximenes, but to show how incorrectly he has been extolled at the +expense of Las Casas. Both of them must be judged in connection with the +customs and opinions of the age in which they lived. + +Las Casas was the author of many works, but few of which have been +printed. The most important is a general history of the Indies, from the +discovery to the year 1520, in three volumes. It exists only in +manuscript, but is the fountain from which Herrera, and most of the other +historians of the New World, have drawn large supplies. The work, though +prolix, is valuable, as the author was an eye-witness of many of the +facts, had others from persons who were concerned in the transactions +recorded, and possessed copious documents. It displays great erudition, +though somewhat crudely and diffusely introduced. His history was +commenced in 1527, at fifty-three years of age, and was finished in 1559, +when eighty-five. As many things are set down from memory, there is +occasional inaccuracy, but the whole bears the stamp of sincerity and +truth. The author of the present work, having had access to this valuable +manuscript, has made great use of it, drawing forth many curious facts +hitherto neglected; but he has endeavored to consult it with caution and +discrimination, collating it with other authorities, and omitting whatever +appeared to be dictated by prejudice or over-heated zeal. + +Las Casas has been accused of high coloring and extravagant declamation in +those passages which relate to the barbarities practised on the natives; +nor is the charge entirely without foundation. The same zeal in the cause +of the Indians is expressed in his writings that shone forth in his +actions, always pure, often vehement, and occasionally unseasonable. +Still, however, where he errs it is on a generous and righteous side. If +one-tenth part of what he says he "witnessed with his own eyes" be true, +and his veracity is above all doubt, he would have been wanting in the +natural feelings of humanity had he not expressed himself in terms of +indignation and abhorrence. + +In the course of his work, when Las Casas mentions the original papers +lying before him, from which he drew many of his facts, it makes one +lament that they should be lost to the world. Besides the journals and +letters of Columbus, he says he had numbers of the letters of the +Adelantado, Don Bartholomew, who wrote better than his brother, and whose +writings must have been full of energy. Above all, he had the map formed +from study and conjecture, by which Columbus sailed on his first voyage. +What a precious document would this be for the world! These writings may +still exist, neglected and forgotten among the rubbish of some convent in +Spain. Little hope can be entertained of discovering them in the present +state of degeneracy of the cloister. The monks of Atocha, in a recent +conversation with one of the royal princes, betrayed an ignorance that +this illustrious man was buried in their convent, nor can any of the +fraternity point out his place of sepulture to the stranger. [379] + +The publication of this work of Las Casas has not been permitted in Spain, +where every book must have the sanction of a censor before it is committed +to the press. The horrible picture it exhibits of the cruelties inflicted +on the Indians, would, it was imagined, excite an odium against their +conquerors. Las Casas himself seems to have doubted the expediency of +publishing it; for in 1560 he made a note with his own hand, which is +preserved in the two first volumes of the original, mentioning that he +left them in confidence to the college of the order of Predicators of St. +Gregorio, in Valladolid, begging of its prelates that no secular person, +nor even the collegians, should be permitted to read his history for the +space of forty years; and that after that term it might be printed if +consistent with the good of the Indies and of Spain. [380] + +For the foregoing reason the work has been cautiously used by Spanish +historians, passing over in silence, or with brief notice, many passages +of disgraceful import. This feeling is natural, if not commendable; for +the world is not prompt to discriminate between individuals and the nation +of whom they are but a part. The laws and regulations for the government +of the newly-discovered countries, and the decisions of the council of the +Indies on all contested points, though tinctured in some degree with the +bigotry of the age, were distinguished for wisdom, justice, and humanity, +and do honor to the Spanish nation. It was only in the abuse of them by +individuals to whom the execution of the laws was intrusted, that these +atrocities were committed. It should be remembered, also, that the same +nation which gave birth to the sanguinary and rapacious adventurers who +perpetrated these cruelties, gave birth likewise to the early +missionaries, like Las Casas, who followed the sanguinary course of +discovery, binding up the wounds inflicted by their countrymen; men who in +a truly evangelical spirit braved all kinds of perils and hardships, and +even death itself, not through a prospect of temporal gain or glory, but +through a desire to meliorate the condition and save the souls of +barbarous and suffering nations. The dauntless enterprises and fearful +peregrinations of many of these virtuous men, if properly appreciated, +would be found to vie in romantic daring with the heroic achievements of +chivalry, with motives of a purer and far more exalted nature. + + + + +No. XXIX. + +Peter Martyr. + + + +Peter Martir, or Martyr, of whose writings much use has been made in this +history, was born at Anghierra, in the territory of Milan, in Italy, on +the second of February, 1455. He is commonly termed Peter Martyr of +_Angleria_, from the Latin name of his native place. He is one of the +earliest historians that treat of Columbus, and was his contemporary and +intimate acquaintance. Being at Rome in 1487, and having acquired a +distinguished reputation for learning, he was invited by the Spanish +ambassador, the count de Tendilla, to accompany him to Spain. He willingly +accepted the invitation, and was presented to the sovereigns at Saragossa. +Isabella, amidst the cares of the war with Granada, was anxious for the +intellectual advancement of her kingdom, and wished to employ Martyr to +instruct the young nobility of the royal household. With her peculiar +delicacy, however, she first made her confessor, Hernando de Talavera, +inquire of Martyr in what capacity he desired to serve her. Contrary to +her expectation, Martyr replied, "in the profession of arms." The queen +complied, and he followed her in her campaigns, as one of her household +and military suite, but without distinguishing himself, and perhaps +without having any particular employ in a capacity so foreign to his +talents. After the surrender of Granada, when the war was ended, the +queen, through the medium of the grand cardinal of Spain, prevailed upon +him to undertake the instruction of the young nobles of her court. + +Martyr was acquainted with Columbus while making his application to the +sovereigns, and was present at his triumphant reception by Ferdinand and +Isabella in Barcelona, on his return from his first voyage. He was +continually in the royal camp during the war with the Moors, of which his +letters contain many interesting particulars. He was sent ambassador +extraordinary by Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1501, to Venice, and thence to +the grand soldan of Egypt. The soldan, in 1490 or 1491, had sent an +embassy to the Spanish sovereigns, threatening that, unless they desisted +from the war against Granada, he would put all the Christians in Egypt and +Syria to death, overturn all their temples, and destroy the holy sepulchre +at Jerusalem. Ferdinand and Isabella pressed the war with tenfold energy, +and brought it to a triumphant conclusion in the next campaign, while the +soldan was still carrying on a similar negotiation with the pope. They +afterwards sent Peter Martyr ambassador to the soldan to explain and +justify their measure. Martyr discharged the duties of his embassy with +great ability; obtained permission from the soldan to repair the holy +places at Jerusalem, and an abolition of various extortions to which +Christian pilgrims had been subjected. While on this embassy, he wrote his +work Do Legatione Babylonica, which includes a history of Egypt in those +times. + +On his return to Spain, he was rewarded with places and pensions, and in +1524 was appointed a minister of the council of the Indies. His principal +work is an account of the discoveries of the New World, in eight decades, +each containing ten chapters. They are styled Decades of the New World, or +Decades of the Ocean, and, like all his other works, were originally +written in Latin, though since translated into various languages. He had +familiar access to letters, papers, journals, and narratives of the early +discoverers, and was personally acquainted with many of them, gathering +particulars from their conversation. In writiug his Decades, he took great +pains to obtain information from Columbus himself, and from others, his +companions. + +In one of his epistles, (No. 153, January, 1494, to Pomponius Lætus,) he +mentions having just received a letter from Columbus, by which it appears +he was in correspondence with him. Las Casas says that great credit is to +be given to him in regard to those voyages of Columbus, although his +Decades contain some inaccuracies relative to subsequent events in the +Indies. Muñoz allows him great credit, as an author contemporary with his +subject, grave, well cultivated, instructed in the facts of which he +treats, and of entire probity. He observes, however, that his writings +being composed on the spur or excitement of the moment, often related +circumstances which subsequently proved to be erroneous; that they were +written without method or care, often confusing dates and events, so that +they must be read with some caution. + +Martyr was in the daily habit of writing letters to distinguished persons, +relating the passing occurrences of the busy court and age in which he +lived. In several of these Columbus is mentioned, and also some of the +chief events of his voyages, as promulgated at the very moment of his +return. These letters not being generally known or circulated, or +frequently cited, it may be satisfactory to the reader to have a few of +the main passages which relate to Columbus. They have a striking effect in +carrying us back to the very time of the discoveries. + +In one of his epistles, dated Barcelona, Mny 1st, 1493, and addressed to +C. Borromeo, he says: "Within these few days a certain Christopher +Columbus has arrived from the western antipodes; a man of Liguria, whom my +sovereigns reluctantly intrusted with three ships, to seek that region, +for they thought that what he said was fabulous. He has returned and +brought specimens of many precious things, but particularly gold, which +those countries naturally produce." [381] + +In another letter, dated likewise from Barcelona, in September following, +he gives a more particular account. It is addressed to count Tendilla, +governor of Granada, and also to Hernando Talavera, archbishop of that +diocese, and the same to whom the propositions of Columbus had been +referred by the Spanish sovereigns. "Arouse your attention, ancient +sages," says Peter Martyr in his epistle; "listen to a new discovery. You +remember Columbus the Ligurian, appointed in the camp by our sovereigns to +search for a new hemisphere of land at the western antipodes. You ought to +recollect, for you had some agency in the transaction; nor would the +enterprise, as I think, have been undertaken, without your counsel. He has +returned in safety, and relates the wonders he has discovered. He exhibits +gold as proofs of the mines in those regions; Gossampine cotton, also, and +aromatics, and pepper more pnngent than that from Caucasus. All these +things, together with scarlet dye-woods, the earth produces spontaneously. +Pursuing the western sun from Gades five thousand miles, of each a +thousand paces, as he relates, he fell in with sundry islands, and took +possession of one of them, of greater circuit, he asserts, than the whole +of Spain. Here he found a race of men living contented, in a state of +nature, subsisting on fruits and vegetables, and bread formed from +roots.... These people have kings, some greater than others, and they war +occasionally among themselves, with bows and arrows, or lances sharpened +and hardened in the fire. The desire of command prevails among them, +though they are naked. They have wives also. What they worship except the +divinity of heaven, is not ascertained." [382] + +In another letter, dated likewise in September, 1403, and addressed to the +cardinal and vice-chancellor Ascanius Sforza, he says: + +"So great is my desire to give you satisfaction, illustrious prince, that +I consider it a gratifying occurrence in the great fluctuations of events, +when any thing takes place among us, in which you may take an interest. +The wonders of this terrestrial globe, round which the sun makes a circuit +in the space of four and twenty hours, have, until our time, as you are +well aware, been known only in regard to one hemisphere, merely from the +Golden Chersonesus to our Spanish Gades. The rest has been given up as +unknown by cosmographers, and if any mention of it has been made, it has +been slight and dubious. But now, O blessed enterprise! under the auspices +of our sovereigns, what has hitherto lain hidden since the first origin of +things, has at length begun to be developed. The thing has thus occurred-- +attend, illustrious prince! A certain Christopher Columbus, a Ligurian, +dispatched to those regions with three vessels by my sovereigns, pursuing +the western sun above five thousand miles from Gades, achieved his way to +the antipodes. Three and thirty successive days they navigated with naught +but sky and water. At length from the mast-head of the largest vessel, in +which Columbus himself sailed, those on the look-out proclaimed the sight +of land. He coasted along six islands, one of them, as all his followers +declare, beguiled perchance by the novelty of the scene, is larger than +Spain." + +Martyr proceeds to give the usual account of the productions of the +islands, and the manners and customs of the natives, particularly the wars +which occurred among them; "as if _meum_ and _tuum_ had been +introduced among them as among us, and expensive luxuries, and the desire +of accumulating wealth; for what, you will think, can be the wants of +naked men?" "What farther may succeed," he adds, "I will hereafter +signify. Farewell." [383] + +In another letter, dated Valladolid, February 1, 1494, to Hernando de +Talavera, archbishop of Granada, he observes, "The king and queen, on the +return of Columbus to Barcelona, from his honorable enterprise, appointed +him admiral of the ocean sea, and caused him, on account of his +illustrious deeds, to be seated in their presence, an honor and a favor, +as you know, the highest with our sovereigns. They have dispatched him +again to those regions, furnished with a fleet of eighteen ships. There is +prospect of great discoveries at the western antarctic antipodes." +[384] + +In a subsequent letter to Pomponius Lætus, dated from Alcala de Henares, +December 9th, 1494, he gives the first news of the success of this +expedition. + +"Spain," says he, "is spreading her wings, augmenting her empire, and +extending her name and glory to the antipodes.... Of eighteen vessels +dispatched by my sovereigns with the admiral Columbus, in his second +voyage to the western hemisphere, twelve have returned and have brought +Gossampine cotton, huge trees of dye-wood, and many other articles held +with us as precious, the natural productions of that hitherto hidden +world; and besides all other things, no small quantity of gold. O +wonderful, Pomponius! Upon the surface of that earth are found rude masses +of native gold, of a weight that one is afraid to mention. Some weigh two +hundred and fifty ounces, and they hope to discover others of a much +larger size, from what the naked natives intimate, when they extol their +gold to our people. Nor are the Lestrigonians nor Polyphemi, who feed on +human flesh, any longer doubtful. Attend--but beware! lest they rise in +horror before thee! When he proceeded from the Fortunate islands, now +termed the Canaries, to Hispaniola, the island on which he first set foot, +turning his prow a little toward the south, he arrived at innumerable +islands of savage men, whom they call cannibals, or Caribbees; and these, +though naked, are courageous warriors. They fight skillfully with bows and +clubs, and have boats hollowed from a single tree, yet very capacious, in +which they make fierce descents on neighboring islands, inhabited by +milder people. They attack their villages, from which they carry off the +men and devour them," &c. [385] + +Another letter to Pomponius Lætus, on the same subject, has been cited at +large in the body of this work. It is true these extracts give nothing +that has not been stated more at large in the Decades of the same author, +but they are curious, as the very first announcements of the discoveries +of Columbus, and as showing the first stamp of these extraordinary events +upon the mind of one of the most learned and liberal men of the age. + +A collection of the letters of Peter Martyr was published in 1530, under +the title of Opus Epistolarum, Petri Martyris Anglerii; it is divided into +thirty-eight books, each containing the letters of one year. The same +objections have been made to his letters as to his Decades, but they bear +the same stamp of candor, probity, and great information. They possess +peculiar value from being written at the moment, before the facts they +record were distorted or discolored by prejudice or misrepresentation. His +works abound in interesting particulars not to be found in any +contemporary historian. They are rich in thought, but still richer in +fact, and are full of urbanity, and of the liberal feeling of a scholar +who has mingled with the world. He is a fountain from which others draw, +and from which, with a little precaution, they may draw securely. He died +in Valladolid, in 1526. + + + + +No. XXX. + +Oviedo. + + + +Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, commonly known as Oviedo, was born +in Madrid in 1478, and died in Valladolid in 1557, aged seventy-nine +years. He was of a noble Austrian family, and in his boyhood (in 1490) was +appointed one of the pages to prince Juan, heir-apparent of Spain, the +only son of Ferdinand and Isabella. He was in this situation at the time +of the seige and surrender of Granada, was consequently at court at the +time that Columbus made his agreement with the Catholic sovereigns, and +was in the same capacity at Barcelona, and witnessed the triumphant +entrance of the discoverer, attended by a number of the natives of the +newly-found countries. + +In 1513, he was sent out to the New World by Ferdinand, to superintend the +gold foundries. For many years he served there in various offices of trust +and dignity, both under Ferdinand and his grandson and successor, Charles +V. In 1535, he was made alcayde of the fortress of St. Domingo in +Hispaniola, and afterwards was appointed histomgrapher of the Indies. At +the time of his death, he had served the crown upwards of forty years, +thirty-four of which were passed in the colonies, and he had crossed the +ocean eight times, as he mentions in various parts of his writings. He +wrote several works; the most important is a chronicle of the Indies in +fifty books, divided into three parts. The first part, containing nineteen +books, was printed at Seville in 1535, and reprinted in 1547 at Salamanca, +augmented by a twentieth book containing shipwrecks. The remainder of the +work exists in manuscript. The printing of it was commenced at Valladolid +in 1557, but was discontinued in consequence of his death. It is one of +the unpublished treasures of Spanish colonial history. + +He was an indefatigable writer, laborious in collecting and recording +facts, and composed a multitude of volumes which are scattered through the +Spanish libraries. His writings are full of events which happened under +his own eye, or were communicated to him by eyewitnesses; but he was +deficient in judgment and discrimination. He took his facts without +caution, and often from sources unworthy of credit. In his account of the +first voyage of Columbus, he falls into several egregious errors, in +consequence of taking the verbal information of a pilot named Hernan Perez +Matteo, who was in the interest of the Pinzons, and adverse to the +admiral. His work is not much to be depended upon in matters relative to +Columbus. When he treats of a more advanced period of the New World, from +his own actual observation, he is much more satisfactory, though he is +accused of listening too readily to popular fables and misrepresentations. +His account of the natural productions of the New World, and of the +customs of its inhabitants, is full of curious particulars; and the best +narratives of some of the minor voyages which succeeded those of Columbus +are to be found in the unpublished part of his work. + + + + +No. XXXI. + +Cura de Los Palacios. + + + +Andres Bernaldes, or Bernal, generally known by the title of the curate of +_Los Palacios_, from having been curate of the town of Los Palacios +from about 1488 to 1513, was born in the town of Fuentes, and was for some +time chaplain to Diego Dora, archbishop of Seville, one of the greatest +friends to the application of Columbus Bernaldes was well acquainted with +the admiral, who was occasionally his guest, and in 1496, left many of his +manuscripts and journals with him, which the curate made use of in a +history of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, in which he introduced an +account of the voyages of Columbus. In his narrative of the admiral's +coasting along the southern side of Cuba, the curate is more minute and +accurate than any other historian. His work exists only in manuscript, but +is well known to historians, who have made frequent use of it. Nothing can +be more simple and artless than the account which the honest curate gives +of his being first moved to undertake his chronicle. "I who wrote these +chapters of memoirs," he says, "being for twelve years in the habit of +reading a register of my deceased grandfather, who was notary public of +the town of Fuentes, where I was born, I found therein several chapters +recording certain events and achievements which had taken place in his +time; and my grandmother his widow, who was very old, hearing me read +them, said to me, 'And thou, my son, since thou art not slothful in +writing, why dost thou not write, in this manner, the good things which +are happening at present in thy own day, that those who come hereafter may +know them, and marvelling at what they read, may render thanks to God?' + +"From that time," continues he, "I proposed to do so, and as I considered +the matter, I said often to myself,' if God gives me life and health, I +will continue to write until I behold the kingdom of Granada gained by the +Christians;' and I always entertained a hope of seeing it, and did see it: +great thanks and praises be given to our Saviour Jesus Christ! And because +it was impossible to write a complete and connected account of all things +that happened in Spain, during the matrimonial union of the king Don +Ferdinand, and the queen Doña Isabella, I wrote only about certain of the +most striking and remarkable events, of which I had correct information, +and of those which I saw or which were public and notorious to all men." +[386] + +The work of the worthy curate, as may be inferred from the foregoing +statement, is deficient in regularity of plan; the style is artless and +often inelegant, but it abounds in facts not to be met with elsewhere, +often given in a very graphical manner, and strongly characteristic of the +times. As he was contemporary with the events and familiar with many of +the persons of his history, and as he was a man of probity and void of all +pretension, his manuscript is a document of high authenticity. He was much +respected in the limited sphere in which he moved, "yet," says one of his +admirers, who wrote a short preface to his chronicle, "he had no other +reward than that of the curacy of Los Palacios, and the place of chaplain +to the archbishop Don Diego Deza." + +In the possession of O. Rich, Esq., of Madrid, is a very curious +manuscript chronicle of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, already +quoted in this work, made up from this history of the curate of Los +Palacios, and from various other historians of the times, by some +contemporary writer. In his account of the voyage of Columbus, he differs +in some trivial particulars from the regular copy of the manuscript of the +curate. These variations have been carefully examined by the author of +this work, and wherever they appear to be for the better, have been +adopted. + + + + +No. XXXII. + +"Navigatione del Re de Castiglia delle Isole e Paese Nuovamente +Ritrovate." + +"Naviagatio Chrisophori Colombi." + + + +The above are the titles, in Italian and in Latin, of the earliest +narratives of the first and second voyages of Columbus that appeared in +print. It was anonymous; and there are some curious particulars in regard +to it. It was originally written in Italian by Montalbodo Fracanzo, or +Fracanzano, or by Francapano de Montabaldo, (for writers differ in regard +to the name,) and was published in Vicenza, in 1507, in a collection of +voyages, entitled "Mondo Novo, e Paese Nuovamente Ritrovate." The +collection was republished at Milan, in 1508, both in Italian, and in a +Latin translation made by Archangelo Madrignano, under the title of +"Itinerarium Portugallensium;" this title being given, because the work +related chiefly to the voyages of Luigi Cadamosto, a Venetian in the +service of Portugal. + +The collection was afterwards augmented by Simon Grinæns with other +travels, and printed in Latin at Basle, in 1533, [387] by Hervagio, +entitled "Novus Orbis Regionum," &c. The edition of Basle, 1555, and the +Italian edition of Milan, in 1508, have been consulted in the course of +this work. + +Peter Martyr (Decad. 2, Cap. 7,) alludes to this publication, under the +first Latin title of the book, "Itinerarium Portugallensium," and accuses +the author, whom by mistake he terms Cadamosto, of having stolen the +materials of his book from the three first chapters of his first Decade of +the Ocean, of which, he says, he granted copies in manuscript to several +persons, and in particular to certain Venetian ambassadors. Martyr's +Decades were not published until 1516, excepting the first three, which +were published in 1511, at Seville. + +This narrative of the voyages of Columbus is referred to by Gio. Batista +Spotorno, in his historical memoir of Columbus, as having been written by +a companion of Columbus. + +It is manifest, from a perusal of the narrative, that though the author +may have helped himself freely from the manuscript of Martyr, he must have +had other sources of information. His description of the person of +Columbus as a man tall of stature and large of frame, of a ruddy +complexion and oblong visage, is not copied from Martyr, nor from any +other writer. No historian had, indeed, preceded him, except Sabellicus, +in 1504; and the portrait agrees with that subsequently given of Columbus +in the biography written by his son. + +It is probable that this narrative, which appeared only a year after the +death of Columbus, was a piece of literary job-work, written, for the +collection of voyages published at Vicenza; and that the materials were +taken from oral communication, from the account given by Sabellicus, and +particularly from the manuscript copy of Martyr's first decade. + + + + +No. XXXIII. + +Antonio de Herrera. + + + +Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas, one of the authors most frequently cited +in this work, was born in 1565, of Roderick Tordesillas, and Agnes de +Herrera, his wife. He received an excellent education, and entered into +the employ of Vespasian Gonzago, brother to the duke of Mantua, who was +viceroy of Naples for Philip the Second of Spain. He was for some time +secretary to this statesman, and intrusted with all his secrets. He was +afterwards grand historiographer of the Indies to Philip II, who added to +that title a large pension. He wrote various books, but the most +celebrated is a General History of the Indies, or American Colonies, in +four volumes, containing eight decades. When he undertook this work, all +the public archives were thrown open to him, and he had access to +documents of all kinds. He has been charged with great precipitation in +the production of his two first volumes, and with negligence in not making +sufficient use of the indisputable sources of information thus placed +within his reach. The fact was, that he met with historical tracts lying +in manuscript, which embraced a great part of the first discoveries, and +he contented himself with stating events as he found them therein +recorded. It is certain that a great part of his work is little more than +a transcript of the manuscript history of the Indies by Las Casas, +sometimes reducing and improving the language when tumid; omitting the +impassioned sallies of the zealous father, when the wrongs of the Indians +were in question; and suppressing various circumstances degrading to the +character of the Spanish discoverers. The author of the present work has, +therefore, frequently put aside the history of Herrera, and consulted the +source of his information, the manuscript history of Las Casas. + +Munoz observes, that "in general Herrera did little more than join +together morsels and extracts, taken from various parts, in the way that a +writer arranges chronologically the materials from which he intends to +compose a history;" he adds, that "had not Herrera been a learned and +judicious man, the precipitation with which he put together these +materials would have led to innumerable errors." The remark is just; yet +it is to be considered, that to select and arrange such materials +judiciously, and treat them learnedly, was no trifling merit in the +historian. + +Herrera has been accused also of flattering his nation; exalting the deeds +of his countrymen, and softening and concealing their excesses. There is +nothing very serious in this accusation. To illustrate the glory of his +nation is one of the noblest offices of the historian; and it is difficult +to speak too highly of the extraordinary enterprises and splendid actions +of the Spaniards in those days. In softening their excesses he fell into +an amiable and pardonable error, if it were indeed an error for a Spanish +writer to endeavor to sink them in oblivion. + +Vossius passes a high eulogium on Herrera. "No one," he says, "has +described with greater industry and fidelity the magnitude and boundaries +of provinces, the tracts of sea, positions of capes and islands, of ports +and harbors, the windings of rivers and dimensions of lakes; the situation +and peculiarities of regions, with the appearance of the heavens, and the +designation of places suitable for the establishment of cities." He has +been called among the Spaniards the prince of the historians of America, +and it is added that none have risen since his time capable of disputing +with him that title. Much of this praise will appear exaggerated by such +as examine the manuscript histories from which he transferred chapters +and entire books, with very little alteration, to his volumes; and a great +part of the eulogiums passed on him for his work on the Indies, will be +found really due to Las Casas, who has too long been eclipsed by his +copyist. Still Herrera has left voluminous proofs of industrious research, +extensive information, and great literary talent. His works bear the mark +of candor, integrity, and a sincere desire to record the truth. + +He died in 1625, at sixty years of age, after having obtained from Philip +IV the promise of the first charge of secretary of state that should +become vacant. + + + + +No. XXXIV. + +Bishop Fonseca. + + + +The singular malevolence displayed by bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca +towards Columbus and his family, and which was one of the secret and +principal causes of their misfortunes, has been frequently noticed in the +course of this work. It originated, as has been shown, in some dispute +between the admiral and Fonseca at Seville in 1493, on account of the +delay in fitting out the armament for the second voyage, and in regard to +the number of domestics to form the household of the admiral. Fonseca +received a letter from the sovereigns, tacitly reproving him, and ordering +him to show all possible attention to the wishes of Columbus, and to see +that he was treated with honor and deference. Fonseca never forgot this +affront, and, what with him was the same thing, never forgave it. His +spirit appears to have been of that unhealthy kind which has none of the +balm of forgiveness; and in which a wound, once made, for ever rankles. +The hostility thus produced continued with increasing virulence throughout +the life of Columbus, and at his death was transferred to his son and +successor. This persevering animosity has been illustrated in the course +of this work by facts and observations, cited from authors, some of them +contemporary with Fonseca, but who were apparently restrained by motives +of prudence from giving full vent to the indignation which they evidently +felt. Even at the present day, a Spanish historian would be cautious of +expressing his feelings freely on the subject, lest they should prejudice +his work in the eyes of the ecclesiastical censors of the press. In this +way, bishop Fonseca has in a great measure escaped the general odium his +conduct merited. + +This prelate had the chief superintendence of Spanish colonial affairs, +both under Ferdinand and Isabella and the emperor Charles V. He was an +active and intrepid, but selfish, overbearing, and perfidious man. His +administration bears no marks of enlarged and liberal policy; but is full +of traits of arrogance and meanness. He opposed the benevolent attempts of +Las Casas to ameliorate the condition of the Indians, and to obtain the +abolition of repartimientos; treating him with personal haughtiness and +asperity. [388] The reason assigned is that Fonseca was enriching himself +by those very abuses, retaining large numbers of the miserable Indians in +slavery, to work on his possessions in the colonies. + +To show that his character has not been judged with undue severity, it is +expedient to point out his invidious and persecuting conduct towards +Hernando Cortez. The bishop, while ready to foster rambling adventurers +who came forward under his patronage, had never the head or the heart to +appreciate the merits of illustrious commanders like Columbus and Cortez. + +At a time when disputes arose between Cortez and Diego Velazquez, governor +of Cuba, and the latter sought to arrest the conqueror of Mexico in the +midst of his brilliant career, Fonseca, with entire disregard of the +merits of the case, took a decided part in favor of Velazquez. Personal +interest was at the bottom of this favor; for a marriage was negotiating +between Velazquez and a sister of the bishop. [389] Complaints and +misrepresentations had been sent to Spain by Velazquez of the conduct of +Cortez, who was represented as a lawless and unprincipled adventurer, +attempting to usurp absolute authority in New Spain. The true services of +Cortez had already excited admiration at court, but such was the influence +of Fonseca, that, as in the case of Columbus, he succeeded in prejudicing +the mind of the sovereign against one of the most meritorious of his +subjects. One Christoval de Tapia, a man destitute of talent or character, +but whose greatest recommendation was his having been in the employ of +the bishop, [390] was invested with powers similar to those once given to +Bobadilla to the prejudice of Columbus. He was to inquire into the conduct +of Cortez, and in case he thought fit, to seize him, sequestrate his +property, and supersede him in command. Not content with the regular +official letters furnished to Tapia, the bishop, shortly after his +departure, sent out Juan Bono de Quexo with blank letters signed by his +own hand, and with others directed to various persons, charging them to +admit Tapia for governor, and assuring them that the king considered the +conduct of Cortez as disloyal. Nothing but the sagacity and firmness of +Cortez prevented this measure from completely interrupting, if not +defeating, his enterprises; and he afterwards declared, that he had +experienced more trouble and difficulty from the menaces and affronts of +the ministers of the king than it cost him to conquer Mexico. [391] + +When the dispute between Cortez and Velazquez came to be decided upon in +Spain, in 1522, the father of Cortez, and those who had come from New +Spain as his procurators, obtained permission from cardinal Adrian, at +that time governor of the realm, to prosecute a public accusation of the +bishop. A regular investigation took place before the council of the +Indies of their allegations against its president. They charged him with +having publicly declared Cortez a traitor and a rebel: with having +intercepted and suppressed his letters addressed to the king, keeping his +majesty in ignorance of their contents and of the important services he +had performed, while he diligently forwarded all letters calculated to +promote the interest of Velazquez: with having prevented the +representations of Cortez from being heard in the council of the Indies, +declaring that they should never be heard there while he lived: with +having interdicted the forwarding of arms, merchandise, and reinforcements +to New Spain: and with having issued orders to the office of the India +House at Seville to arrest the procurators of Cortez and all persons +arriving from him, and to seize and detain all gold that they should +bring. These and various other charges of similar nature were +dispassionately investigated. Enough were substantiated to convict Fonseca +of the most partial, oppressive, and perfidious conduct, and the cardinal +consequently forbade him to interfere in the cause between Cortez and +Velazquez, and revoked all the orders which the bishop had issued, in the +matter, to the India House of Seville. Indeed, Salazar, a Spanish +historian, says that Fonseca was totally divested of his authority as +president of the council, and of all control of the affiairs of New Spain, +and adds that he was so mortified at the blow, that it brought on a fit of +illness, which well nigh cost him his life. [392] + +The suit between Cortez and Velazquez was referred to a special tribunal, +composed of the grand chancellor and other persons of note, and was +decided in 1522. The influence and intrigues of Fonseca being no longer of +avail, a triumphant verdict was given in favor of Cortez, which was +afterwards confirmed by the emperor Charles V, and additional honors +awarded him. This was another blow to the malignant Fonseca, who retained +his enmity against Cortez until his last moment, rendered still more +rancorous by mortification and disappointment. + +A charge against Fonseca, of a still darker nature than any of the +preceding, may be found lurking in the pages of Herrera, though so obscure +as to have escaped the notice of succeeding historians. He points to the +bishop as the instigator of a desperate and perfidious man, who conspired +against the life of Hernando Cortez. This was one Antonio de Villafana, +who fomented a conspiracy to assassinate Cortez, and elect Francisco +Verdujo, brother-in-law of Velazquez, in his place. While the conspirators +were waiting for an opportunity to poniard Cortez, one of them relenting, +apprised him of his danger. Villafana was arrested. He attempted to +swallow a paper containing a list of the conspirators, but being seized by +the throat, a part of it was forced from his mouth containing fourteen +names of persons of importance, Villafafia confessed his guilt, but +tortures could not make him inculpate the persons whose names were on the +list, who he declared were ignorant of the plot. He was hanged by order of +Cortez. [393] + +In the investigation of the disputes between Cortez and Velazquez, this +execution of Villafana was magnified into a cruel and wanton act of power; +and in their eagerness to criminate Cortez the witnesses on the part of +Alvarez declared that Villafana had been instigated to what he had done by +letters from bishop Fonseca! (Que se movió a lo que hizo con cartas del +obispo de Burgos. [394]) It is not probable that Fonseca had recommended +assassination, but it shows the character of his agents, and what must +have been the malignant nature of his instructions, when these men thought +that such an act would accomplish his wishes. + +Fonseca died at Burgos, on the 4th of November, 1524, and was interred at +Coca. + + + + +No. XXXV. + +Of the Situation of the Terrestrial Paradise. + + + +The speculations of Columbus on the situation of the terrestrial +paradise, extravagant as they may appear, were such as have occupied many +grave and learned men. A slight notice of their opinions on this curious +subject may be acceptable to the general reader, and may take from the +apparent wildness of the ideas expressed by Columbus. + +The abode of our first parents was anciently the subject of anxious +inquiry; and indeed mankind have always been prone to picture some place +of perfect felicity, where the imagination, disappointed in the coarse +realities of life, might revel in an Elysium of its own creation. It is an +idea not confined to our religion, but is found in the rude creeds of the +most savage nations, and it prevailed generally among the ancients. The +speculations concerning the situation of the garden of Eden resemble those +of the Greeks concerning the garden of the Hesperides; that region of +delight, which they for ever placed at the most remote verge of the known +world; which their poets embellished with all the charms of fiction; after +which they were continually longing, and which they could never find. At +one time it was in the Grand Oasis of Arabia. The exhausted travelers, +after traversing the parched and sultry desert, hailed this verdant spot +with rapture; they refreshed themselves under its shady bowers, and beside +its cooling streams, as the crew of a tempest-tost vessel repose on the +shores of some green island in the deep; and from its being thus isolated +in the midst of an ocean of sand, they gave it the name of the Island of +the Blessed. As geographical knowledge increased, the situation of the +Hesperian gardens was continually removed to a greater distance. It was +transferred to the borders of the great Syrtis, in the neighborhood of +Mount Atlas. Here, after traversing the frightful deserts of Barca, the +traveler found himself in a fair and fertile country, watered by rivulets +and gushing fountains. The oranges and citrons transported hence to +Greece, where they were as yet unknown, delighted the Athenians by their +golden beauty and delicious flavor, and they thought that none but the +garden of the Hesperides could produce such glorious fruits. In this way +the happy region of the ancients was transported from place to place, +still in the remote and obscure extremity of the world, until it was +fabled to exist in the Canaries, thence called the Fortunate or the +Hesperian islands. Here it remained, because discovery advanced no +farther, and because these islands were so distant, and so little known, +as to allow full latitude to the fictions of the poet. [395] + +In like manner the situation of the terrestrial paradise, or garden of +Eden, was long a subject of earnest inquiry and curious disputation, and +occupied the laborious attention of the most learned theologians. Some +placed it in Palestine or the Holy Land; others in Mesopotamia, in that +rich and beautiful tract of country embraced by the wanderings of the +Tigris and the Euphrates; others in Armenia, in a valley surrounded by +precipitous and inaccessible mountains, and imagined that Enoch and Elijah +were transported thither, out of the sight of mortals, to live in a state +of terrestrial bliss until the second coming of our Saviour. There were +others who gave it situations widely remote, such as in the Trapoban of +the ancients, at present known as the island of Ceylon; or in the island +of Sumatra; or in the Fortunate or Canary islands; or in one of the +islands of Sunda; or in some favored spot under the equinoctial line. + +Great difficulty was encountered by these speculators to reconcile the +allotted place with the description given in Genesis of the garden of +Eden; particularly of the great fountain which watered it, and which +afterwards divided itself into four rivers, the Pison or Phison, the +Gihon, the Euphrates, and the Hiddekel. Those who were in favor of the +Holy Land supposed that the Jordan was the great river which afterwards +divided itself into the Phison, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates, but that the +sands have choked up the ancient beds by which these streams were +supplied; that originally the Phison traversed Arabia Deserta and Arabia +Felix, whence it pursued its course to the gulf of Persia; that the Gihon +bathed northern or stony Arabia and fell into the Arabian Gulf or the Red +Sea; that the Euphrates and the Tigris passed by Eden to Assyria and +Chaldea, whence they discharged themselves into the Persian Gulf. + +By most of the early commentators the river Gihon is supposed to be the +Nile. The source of this river was unknown, but was evidently far distant +from the spots whence the Tigris and the Euphrates arose. This difficulty, +however, was ingeniously overcome by giving it a subterranean course of +some hundreds of leagues from the common fountain, until it issued forth +to daylight in Abyssinia. [396] In like manner, subterranean courses were +given to the Tigris and the Euphrates, passing under the Bed Sea, until +they sprang forth in Armenia, as if just issuing from one common source. +So also those who placed the terrestrial paradise in islands, supposed +that the rivers which issued from it, and formed those heretofore named, +either traversed the surface of the sea, as fresh water, by its greater +lightness, may float above the salt; or that they flowed through deep +veins and channels of the earth, as the fountain of Arethusa was said to +sink into the ground in Greece, and rise in the island of Sicily, while +the river Alpheus pursuing it, but with less perseverance, rose somewhat +short of it in the sea. + +Some contended that the deluge had destroyed the garden of Eden, and +altered the whole face of the earth; so that the rivers had changed their +beds, and had taken different directions from those mentioned in Genesis; +others, however, amongst whom was St. Augustine, in his commentary upon +the book of Genesis, maintained that the terrestrial paradise still +existed, with its original beauty and delights, but that it was +inaccessible to mortals, being on the summit of a mountain of stupendous +height, reaching into the third region of the air, and approaching the +moon; being thus protected by its elevation from the ravages of the +deluge. + +By some this mountain was placed under the equinoctial line; or under that +band of the heavens metaphorically called by the ancients "the table of +the sun," [397] comprising the space between the tropics of Cancer and +Capricorn, beyond which the sun never passed in his annual course. Here +would reign a uniformity of nights and days and seasons, and the elevation +of the mountain would raise it above the heats and storms of the lower +regions. Others transported the garden beyond the equinoctial line and +placed it in the southern hemisphere; supposing that the torrid zone might +be the flaming sword appointed to defend its entrance against mortals. +They had a fanciful train of argument to support their theory. They +observed that the terrestrial paradise must be in the noblest and happiest +part of the globe; that part must be under the noblest part of the +heavens; as the merits of a place do not so much depend upon the virtues +of the earth, as upon the happy influences of the stars and the favorable +and benign aspect of the heavens. Now, according to philosophers, the +world was divided into two hemispheres. The southern they considered the +head, and the northern the feet, or under part; the right hand the east, +whence commenced the movement of the primum mobile, and the left the west, +towards which it moved. This supposed, they observed that as it was +manifest that the head of all things, natural and artificial, is always +the best and noblest part, governing the other parts of the body, so the +south, being the head of the earth, ought to be superior and nobler than +either east, or west, or north; and in accordance with this, they cited +the opinion of various philosophers among the ancients, and more +especially that of Ptolemy, that the stars of the southern hemisphere were +larger, more resplendent, more perfect, and of course of greater virtue +and efficacy, than those of the northern: an error universally prevalent +until disproved by modern discovery. Hence they concluded that in this +southern hemisphere, in this head of the earth, under this purer and +brighter sky, and these more potent and benignant stars, was placed the +terrestrial paradise. + +Various ideas were entertained as to the magnitude of this blissful +region. As Adam and all his progeny were to have lived there, had he not +sinned, and as there would have been no such thing as death to thin the +number of mankind, it was inferred that the terrestrial paradise must be +of great extent to contain them. Some gave it a size equal to Europe or +Africa; others gave it the whole southern hemisphere. St. Augustine +supposed that as mankind multiplied, numbers would be translated without +death to heaven; the parents, perhaps, when their children had arrived at +mature age; or portions of the human race at the end of certain periods, +and when the population of the terrestrial paradise had attained a certain +amount. [398] Others supposed that mankind, remaining in a state of +primitive innocence, would not have required so much space as at present. +Having no need of rearing animals for subsistence, no land would have +been required for pasturage; and the earth not being cursed with +sterility, there would have been no need of extensive tracts of country +to permit of fallow land and the alternation of crops required in +husbandry. The spontaneous and never-failing fruits of the garden would +have been abundant for the simple wants of man. Still, that the human +race might not be crowded, but might have ample space for recreation and +enjoyment, and the charms of variety and change, some allowed at least a +hundred leagues of circumference to the garden. + +St. Basilius, in his eloquent discourse on paradise, [399] expatiates with +rapture on the joys of this sacred abode, elevated to the third region of +the air, and under the happiest skies. There a pure and never-failing +pleasure is furnished to every sense. The eye delights in the admirable +clearness of the atmosphere, in the verdure and beauty of the trees, and +the never-withering bloom of the flowers. The ear is regaled with the +singing of the birds, the smell with the aromatic odors of the land. In +like manner the other senses have each their peculiar enjoyments. There +the vicissitudes of the seasons are unknown and the climate unites the +fruitfulness of summer, the joyful abundance of autumn, and the sweet +freshness and quietude of spring. There the earth is always green, the +flowers are ever blooming, the waters limpid and delicate, not rushing in +rude and turbid torrents, but swelling up in crystal fountains, and +winding in peaceful and silver streams. There no harsh and boisterous +winds are permitted to shake and disturb the air, and ravage the beauty of +the groves; there prevails no melancholy, nor darksome weather, no +drowning rain, nor pelting hail; no forked lightning, nor rending and +resounding thunder; no wintry pinching cold, nor withering and panting +summer heat; nor any thing else that can give pain or sorrow or annoyance; +but all is bland and gentle and serene; a perpetual youth and joy reigns +throughout all nature, and nothing decays and dies. + +The same idea is given by St. Ambrosius, in his book on Paradise, [400] an +author likewise consulted and cited by Columbus. He wrote in the fourth +century, and his touching eloquence, and graceful yet vigorous style, +insured great popularity to his writings. Many of these opinions are cited +by Glanville. usually called Bartholomeus Anglicus, in his work De +Proprietatibus Rerum; a work with which Columbus was evidently acquainted. +It was a species of encyclopedia of the general knowledge current at the +time, and was likely to recommend itself to a curious and inquiring +voyager. This author cites an assertion as made by St. Basilius and St. +Ambrosius, that the water of the fountain which proceeds from the garden +of Eden falls into a great lake with such a tremendous noise that the +inhabitants of the neighborhood are born deaf; and that from this lake +proceed the four chief rivers mentioned in Genesis. [401] + +This passage, however, is not to be found in the Hexameron of either +Basilius or Ambrositis, from which it is quoted; neither is it in the +oration on Paradise by the former, nor in the letter on the same subject +written by Ambrosius to Ainbrosins Sabinus. It must be a misquotation by +Glanville. Columbus, however, appears to have been struck with it, and Las +Casas is of opinion that he derived thence his idea that the vast body of +fresh water which filled the gulf of La Ballena or Paria, flowed from the +fountain of Paradise, though from a remote distance; and that in this +gulf, which he supposed in the extreme part of Asia, originated the Nile, +the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Ganges, which might be conducted under +the land and sea by subterranean channels, to the places where they spring +forth on the earth and assume their proper names. + +I forbear to enter into various other of the voluminous speculations which +have been formed relative to the terrestrial paradise, and perhaps it may +be thought that I have already said too much on so fanciful a subject; but +to illustrate clearly the character of Columbus, it is necessary to +elucidate those veins of thought passing through his mind while +considering the singular phenomena of the unknown regions he was +exploring, and which are often but slightly and vaguely developed in his +journals and letters. These speculations, likewise, like those concerning +fancied islands in the ocean, carry us back to the time, and make us feel +the mystery and conjectural charm which reigned over the greatest part of +the world, and have since been completely dispelled by modern discovery. +Enough has been cited to show, that, in his observations concerning the +terrestrial paradise, Columbus was not indulging in any fanciful and +presumptuous chimeras, the offspring of a heated and disordered brain. +However visionary his conjectures may seem, they were all grounded on +written opinions held little less than oracular in his day; and they will +be found on examination to be far exceeded by the speculations and +theories of sages held illustrious for their wisdom and erudition in the +school and cloister. + + + + +No. XXXVI. + +Will of Columbus. + + + +In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, who inspired me with the idea, and +afterwards made it perfectly clear to me, that I could navigate and go to +the Indies from Spain, by traversing the ocean westwardly; which I +communicated to the king, Don Ferdinand, and to the queen Doña Isabella, +our sovereigns; and they were pleased to furnish me the necessary +equipment of men and ships, and to make me their admiral over the said +ocean, in all parts lying to the west of an imaginary line, drawn from +pole to pole, a hundred leagues west of the Cape de Verd and Azore +islands; also appointing me their viceroy and governor over all continents +and islands that I might discover beyond the said line westwardly; with +the right of being succeeded in the said offices by my eldest son and his +heirs for ever; and a grant of the tenth part of all things found in the +said jurisdiction; and of all rents and revenues arising from it; and the +eighth of all the lands and every thing else, together with the salary +corresponding to my rank of admiral, viceroy, and governor, and all other +emoluments accruing thereto, as is more fully expressed in the title and +agreement sanctioned by their highnesses. + +And it pleased the Lord Almighty, that in the year one thousand four +hundred and ninety-two, I should discover the continent of the Indies and +many islands, among them Hispaniola, which the Indians called Ayte, and +the Monicongos, Cipango. I then returned to Castile to their highnesses, +who approved of my undertaking a second enterprise for farther discoveries +and settlements; and the Lord gave me victory over the island of +Hispaniola, which extends six hundred leagues, and I conquered it and made +it tributary; and I discovered many islands inhabited by cannibals, and +seven hundred to the west of Hispaniola, among which is Jamaica, which we +call Santiago; and three hundred and thirty-three leagues of continent +from south to west, besides a hundred and seven to the north, which I +discovered in my first voyage, together with many islands, as may more +clearly be seen by my letters, memorials, and maritime charts. And as we +hope in God that before long a good and great revenue will be derived from +the above islands and continent, of which, for the reasons aforesaid, +belong to me the tenth and the eighth, with the salaries and emoluments +specified above; and considering that we are mortal, and that it is proper +for every one to settle his affairs, and to leave declared to his heirs +and successors the property he possesses or may have a right to: Wherefore +I have concluded to create an entailed estate (mayorazgo) out of the said +eighth of the lands, places, and revenues, in the manner which I now +proceed to state. + +In the first place, I am to be succeeded by Don Diego, my son, who in case +of death without children is to be succeeded by my other son Ferdinand; +and should God dispose of him also without leaving children, and without +my having any other son, then my brother Don Bartholomew is to succeed; +and after him his eldest son; and if God should dispose of him without +heirs, he shall be succeeded by his sons from one to another for ever; or, +in the failure of a son, to be succeeded by Don Ferdinand, after the same +manner, from son to son successively; or in their place by my brothers +Bartholomew and Diego. And should it please the Lord that the estate, +after having continued for some time in the line of any of the above +successors, should stand in need of an immediate and lawful male heir, the +succession shall then devolve to the nearest relation, being a man of +legitimate birth, and bearing the name of Columbus derived from his father +and his ancestors. This entailed estate shall in nowise be inherited by a +woman, except in case that no male is to be found, either in this or any +other quarter of the world, of my real lineage, whose name, as well as +that of his ancestors, shall have always been Columbus. In such an event +(which may God forefend), then the female of legitimate birth, most nearly +related to the preceding possessor of the estate, shall succeed to it; and +this is to be under the conditions herein stipulated at foot, which must +be understood to extend as well to Don Diego, my son, as to the aforesaid +and their heirs, every one of them, to be fulfilled by them; and failing +to do so, they are to be deprived of the succession, for not having +complied with what shall herein be expressed; and the estate to pass to +the person most nearly related to the one who held the right: and the +person thus succeeding shall in like manner forfeit the estate, should he +also fail to comply with said conditions; and another person, the nearest +of my lineage, shall succeed, provided he abide by them, so that they may +be observed for ever in the form prescribed. This forfeiture is not to be +incurred for trifling matters, originating in lawsuits, but in important +cases, when the glory of God, or my own, or that of my family, may be +concerned, which supposes a perfect fulfillment of all the things hereby +ordained; all which I recommend to the courts of justice. And I supplicate +his Holiness, who now is, and those that may succeed in the holy church, +that if it should happen that this my will and testament has need of his +holy order and command for its fulfillment, that such order be issued in +virtue of obedience, and under penalty of excommunication, and that it +shall not be in any wise disfigured. And I also pray the king and queen, +our sovereigns, and their eldest-born, Prince Don Juan, our lord, and +their successors, for the sake of the services I have done them, and +because it is just, that it may please them not to permit this my will and +constitution of my entailed estate to be any way altered, but to leave it +in the form and manner which I have ordained, for ever, for the greater +glory of the Almighty, and that it may be the root and basis of my +lineage, and a memento of the services I have rendered their highnesses; +that, being born in Genoa, I came over to serve them in Castile, and +discovered to the west of Terra Firma, the Indies and islands before +mentioned. I accordingly pray their highnesses to order that this my +privilege and testament be held valid, avid be executed summarily and +without any opposition or demur, according to the letter. I also pray the +grandees of the realm and the lords of the council, and all others having +administration of justice, to be pleased not to suffer this my will and +testament to be of no avail, but to cause it to be fulfilled as by me +ordained; it being just that a noble, who has served the king and queen, +and the kingdom, should be respected in the disposition of his estate by +will, testament, institution of entail, or inheritance, and that the same +be not infringed either in whole or in part. + +In the first place, my son Don Diego, and all my successors and +descendants, as well as ihy brothers Bartholomew and Diego, shall bear my +arms, such as I shall leave them after my days, without inserting any +thing else in them; and they shall he their seal to seal withal. Don Diego +my son, or any other who may inherit this estate, on coming into +possession of the inheritance, shall sign with the signature which I now +make vise of, which is an X with an S over it, and an M with a Roman A +over it, and over that an S, and then a Greek Y, with an S over it, with +its lines and points as is my custom, as may be seen by my signatures, of +which there are many, and it will be seen by the present one. + +He shall only write "the Admiral," whatever other titles the king may have +conferred on him. This is to be understood as respects his signature, but +not the enumeration of his titles, which he can make at full length if +agreeable, only the signature is to be "the Admiral." + +The said Don Diego, or any other inheritor of this estate, shall possess +my offices of admiral of the ocean, which is to the west of an imaginary +line, which his highness ordered to be drawn, running from pole to pole a +hundred leagues beyond the Azores, and as many more beyond the Cape de +Verd islands, over all which I was made, by their order, their admiral of +the sea, with all the preeminences held by Don Henrique in the admiralty +of Castile, and they made me their governor and viceroy perpetually and +for ever, over all the islands and main-land discovered, or to be +discovered, for myself and heirs, as is more fully shown by my treaty and +privilege as above mentioned. + +Item: The said Don Diego, or any other inheritor of this estate, shall +distribute the revenue which it may please our Lord to grant him, in the +following manner, under the above penalty: + +First--Of the whole income of this estate, now and at all times, and of +whatever may be had or collected from it, he shall give the fourth part +annually to my brother Don Bartholomew Columbus, Adelantado of the Indies; +and this is to continue till he shall have acquired an income of a million +of maravadises, for his support, and for the services he has rendered and +will continue to render to this entailed estate; which million he is to +receive, as stated, every year, if the said fourth amount to so much, and +that he have nothing elae; but if he possess a part or the whole of that +amount in rents, that thenceforth he shall not enjoy the said million, nor +any part of it, except that he shall have in the said fourth part unto the +said quantity of a million, if it should amount to so much; and as much as +he shall have of revenue beside this fourth part, whatever sum of +maravadises of known rent from property, or perpetual offices, the said +quantity of rent or revenue from property or offices shall be discounted; +and from the said million shall be reserved whatever marriage portion he +may receive with any female he may espouse; so that whatever he may +receive in marriage with his wife, no deduction shall be made on that +account from said million, but only for whatever he may acquire, or may +have, over and above his wife's dowry, and when it shall please God that +he or his heirs and descendants shall derive from their property and +offices a revenue of a million arising from rents, neither he nor his +heirs shall enjoy any longer any thing from the said fourth part of the +entailed estate, which shall remain with Don Diego, or whoever may inherit +it. Item: From the revenues of the said estate, or from any other fourth +part of it, (should its amount be adequate to it,) shall be paid every +year to my son Ferdinand two millions, till such time as his revenue shall +amount to two millions, in the same form and manner as in the case of +Bartholomew, who, as well as his heirs, are to have the million or the +part that may be wanting. + +Item: The said Don Diego or Don Bartholomew shall make, out of the said +estate, for my brother Diego, such provision as may enable him to live +decently, as he is my brother, to whom I assign no particular sum, as he +has attached himself to the church, and that will he given him which is +right: and this to be given him in a mass, and before any thing shall +have' been received by Ferdinand my son, or Bartholomew my brother, or +their heirs, and also according to the amount of the income of the estate. +And in case of discord, the case is to be referred to two of our +relations, or other men of honor; and should they disagree among +themselves, they will choose a third person as arbitrator, being virtuous +and not distrusted by either party. + +Item: All this revenue which I bequeath to Bartholomew, to Ferdinand, and +to Diego, shall be delivered to and received by them as prescribed under +the obligation of being faithful and loyal to Diego my son, or his heirs, +they as well as their children: and should it appear that they, or any of +them, had proceeded against him in any thing touching his honor, or the +prosperity of the family, or of the estate, either in word or deed, +whereby might come a scandal and debasement to my family, and a detriment +to my estate; in that ease, nothing farther shall be given to them or him, +from that time forward, inasmuch as they are always to be faithful to +Diego and to his successors. + +Item: As it was my intention, when I first instituted this entailed +estate, to dispose, or that my son Diego should dispose for me, of the +tenth part of the income in favor of necessitous persona, as a tithe, and +in commemoration of the Almighty and Eternal God; and persisting still in +this opinion, and hoping that his High Majesty will assist me and those +who may inherit it, in this or the New World, I have resolved that the +said tithe shall be paid in the manner following: + +First--It is to be understood that the fourth part of the revenue of the +estate which I have ordained and directed to be given to Don Bartholomew, +till he have an income of one million, includes the tenth of the whole +revenue of the estate; and that as in proportion as the income of my +brother Don Bartholomew shall increase, as it has to be discounted from +the revenue of the fourth part of the entailed estate, that the said +revenue shall be calculated, to know how much the tenth part amounts to; +and the part which exceeds what is necessary to make up the million for +Don Bartholomew shall be received by such of my family as may most stand +in need of it, discounting it from said tenth, if their income do not +amount to fifty thousand maravadises; and should any of these come to have +an income to this amount, such a part shall be awarded them as two +persons, chosen for the purpose, may determine along with Don Diego, or +his heirs. Thus, it is to be understood that the million which I leave to +Don Bartholomew comprehends the tenth of the whole revenue of the estate; +which revenue is to be distributed among my nearest and most needy +relations in the manner I have directed; and when Don Bartholomew have an +income of one million, and that nothing more shall be due to him on +account of said fourth part, then Don Diego my sou, or the person who may +be in possession of the estate, along with the two other persons which I +shall herein point out, shall inspect the accounts, and so direct, that +the tenth of the revenue shall still continue to be paid to the most +necessitous members of my family that may be found in this or any other +quarter of the world, who shall be diligently sought out; and they are to +be paid out of the fourth part from which Don Bartholomew is to derive his +million; which sums are to be taken into account, and deducted from the +said tenth, which, should it amount to more, the overplus, as it arises +from the fourth part, shall be given to the most necessitous persons as +aforesaid; and should it not be sufficient, that Don Bartholomew shall +have it until his own estate goes on increasing, leaving the said million +in part or in the whole. + +Item: The said Don Diego my son, or whoever may be the inheritor, shall +appoint two persons of conscience and authority, and most nearly related +to the family, who are to examine the revenue and its amount carefully, +and to cause the said tenth to be paid out of the fourth from which Don +Bartholomew is to receive his million, to the most necessitated members of +my family that may be found here or elsewhere, whom they shall look for +diligently upon their consciences; and as it might happen that said Don +Diego, or others after him, for reasons which may concern their own +welfare, or the credit and support of the estate, may be unwilling to make +known the full amount of the income; nevertheless, I charge him, on his +conscience, to pay the sum aforesaid; and I charge them, on their souls +and consciences, not to denounce or make it known, except with the consent +of Don Diego, or the person that may succeed him; but let the above tithe +be paid in the manner I have directed. + +Item: In order to avoid all disputes in the choice of the two nearest +relations who are to act with Don Diego or his heirs, I hereby elect Don +Bartholomew my brother for one, and Don Fernando my son for the other; and +when these two shall enter upon the business, they shall choose two other +persons among the most trusty, and most nearly related, and these again +shall elect two others when it shall be question of commencing the +examination; and thus it shall be managed with diligence from one to the +other, as well in this as in the other of government, for the service and +glory of God, and the benefit of the said entailed estate. + +Item: I also enjoin Diego, or any one that may inherit the estate, to have +and maintain in the city of Genoa one person of our lineage, to reside +there with his wife, and appoint him a sufficient revenue to enable him to +live decently, as a person closely connected with the family, of which he +is to be the root and basis in that city; from winch great good may accrue +to him, inasmuch as i was born there, and came from thence. + +Item: The said Don Diego, or whoever shall inherit the estate, must remit +in bills, or in any other way, all such sums as he may be able to save out +of the revenue of the estate, and direct purchases to be made in his name, +or that of his heirs, in a stock in the Bank of St. George, which gives an +interest of six per cent, and in secure money; and this shall be devoted +to the purpose I am about to explain. + +Item: As it becomes every man of property to serve God, either personally +or by means of his wealth, and as all moneys deposited with St. George are +quite safe, and Genoa is a noble cily, and powerful by sea, and as at the +time that I undertook to set out upon the discovery of the Indies, it was +with the intention of supplicating the king and queen, our lords, that +whatever moneys should be derived from the said Indies, should be invested +in the conquest of Jerusalem; and as I did so supplicate them; if they do +this, it will be well; if not, at all events, the said Diego, or such +person as may succeed him in this trust, to collect together all the money +he can, and accompany the king our lord, should he go to the conquest of +Jerusalem, or else go there himself with all the force he can command; and +in pursuing this intention, it will please the Lord to assist towards the +accomplishment of the plan; and should he not be able to effect the +conquest of the whole, no doubt he will achieve it in part. Let him +therefore collect and make a fund of all his wealth in St. George of +Genoa, and let it multiply there till such time as it may appear to him +that something of consequence may be effected as respects the project on +Jerusalem; for I believe that when their highnesses shall see that this is +contemplated, they will wish to realize it themselves, or will afford him, +as their servant and vassal, the means of doing it for them. + +Item: I charge my son Diego and my descendants, especially whoever may +inherit this estate, which consists, as aforesaid, of the tenth of +whatsoever may be had or found in the Indies, and the eighth part of the +lands and rents, all which, together with my rights and emoluments as +admiral, viceroy, and governor, amount to more than twenty-five per cent.; +I say, that I require of him to employ all this revenue, as well as his +person and all the means in his power, in well and faithfully serving and +supporting their highnesses, or their successors, even to the loss of life +and property; since it was their highnesses, next to God, who first gave +me the means of getting and achieving this property, although, it is true, +I came over to these realms to invite them to the enterprise, and that a +long time elapsed before any provision was made for carrying it into +execution; which, however, is not surprising, as this was an undertaking +of which all the world was ignorant, and no one had any faith in it; +wherefore I am by so much the more indebted to them, as well as because +they have since also much favored and promoted me. + +Item: I also require of Diego, or whomsoever may be in possession of the +estate, that in the case of any schism taking place in the church of God, +or that any person of whatever class or condition should attempt to +despoil it of its property and honors, they hasten to offer at the feet of +his holiness, that is, if they are not heretics (which God forbid!), their +persons, power, and wealth, for the purpose of suppressing such schism, +and preventing any spoliation of the honor and property of the church. + +Item: I command the said Diego, or whoever may possess the said estate, to +labor and strive for the honor, welfare, and aggrandizement of the city of +Genoa, and to make use of all his power and means in defending and +enhancing the good and credit of that republic, in all things not contrary +to the service of the church of God, or the high dignity of our king and +queen, our lords, and their successors. + +Item: The said Diego, or whoever may possess or succeed to the estate, out +of the fourth part of the whole revenue, from which, as aforesaid, is to +be taken the tenth, when Don Bartholomew or his heirs shall have saved the +two millions, or part of them, and when the time shall come of making a +distribution among our relations, shall apply and invest the said tenth in +providing marriages for such daughters of our lineage as may require it, +and in doing all the good in their power. + +Item: When a suitable time shall arrive, he shall order a church to be +built in the island of Hispaniola, and in the most convenient spot, to be +called Santa Maria de la Concepcion; to which is to be annexed an +hospital, upon the best possible plan, like those of Italy and Castile, +and a chapel erected to say mass in for the good of my soul, and those of +my ancestors and successors, with great devotion, since no doubt it will +please the Lord to give us a sufficient revenue for this and the +aforementioned purposes. + +Item: I also order Diego my son, or whomsoever may inherit after him, to +spare no pains in having and maintaining in the island of Hispaniola, four +good professors of theology, to the end and aim of their studying and +laboring to convert to our holy faith the inhabitants of the Indies; and +in proportion as, by God's will, the revenue of the estate shall increase, +in the same degree shall the number of teachers and devout increase, who +are to strive to make Christians of the natives; in attaining which no +expense should be thought too great. And in commemoration of all that I +hereby ordain, and of the foregoing, a monument of marble shall be erected +in the said church of la Concepcion, in the most conspicuous place, to +serve as a record of what I here enjoin on the said Diego, as well as to +other persons who may look upon it; which marble shall contain an +inscription to the same effect. + +Item: I also require of Diego my son, and whomsover may succeed him in the +estate, that every time, and as often as he confesses, he first show this +obligation, or a copy of it, to the confessor, praying him to read it +through, that he may be enabled to inquire respecting its fulfillment; +from which will redound great good and happiness to his soul. + + S. + S. A. S. + X. M. Y. + EL ALMIRANTE. + + + + +No. XXXVII. + +Signature of Columbus. + + + +As every thing respecting Columbus is full of interest, his signature has +been a matter of some discussion. It partook of the pedantic and bigoted +character of the age, and perhaps of the peculiar character of the man, +who, considering himself mysteriously elected and set apart from among men +for certain great purposes, adopted a correspondent formality and +solemnity in all his concerns. His signature was as follows: + + S. + S. A. S. + X. M. Y. + EL ALMIRANTE. + +The first half of the signature, XPO, (for CHRISTO,) is in Greek letters; +the second, FERENS, is in Latin. Such was the usage of those days; and +even at present both Greek and Roman letters are used in signatures and +inscriptions in Spain. + +The ciphers or initials above the signature are supposed to represent a +pious ejaculation. To read them one must begin with the lower letters, and +connect them with those above. Signor Gio. Batista Spotorno conjectures +them to mean either Xristus (Christus) Sancta Maria Yosephus, or, Salve +me, Xristus, Maria, Yosephus. The Korth American Review, for April, 1827, +suggests the substitution of Jesus for Josephus, but the suggestion of +Spotorno is most probably correct, as a common Spanish ejaculation is +"Jesus Maria y José." + +It was an ancient usage in Spain, and it has not entirely gone by, to +accompany the signature with some words of religious purport. One object +of this practice was to show the writer to be a Christian. This was of +some importance in a country in which Jews and Mahometans were proscribed +and persecuted. + +Don Fernando, son to Columbus, says that his father, when he took his pen +in hand, usually commenced by writing "Jesus cum Maria sit nobis in via;" +and the book which the admiral prepared and sent to the sovereigns, +containing the prophecies which he considered as referring to his +discoveries, and to the rescue of the holy sepulchre, begins with the same +words. This practice is akin to that of placing the initials of pious +words above his signature, and gives great probability to the mode in +which they have been deciphered. + + + + +No. XXXVIII. + +A Visit to Palos. + + + +[The following narrative was actually commenced, by the author of this +work, as a letter to a friend, but unexpectedly swelled to its present +size. He has been induced to insert it here from the idea, that many will +feel the same curiosity to know something of the present state of Falos +and its inhabitants that led him to make the journey.] + +Seville, 1828. + +Since I last wrote to you, I have made what I may term an American +pilgrimage, to visit the little port of Palos in Andalusia, where Columbus +fitted out his ships, and whence he sailed for the discovery of the New +World. Need I tell you how deeply interesting and gratifying it has been +to me? I had long meditated this excursion, as a kind of pious, and, if I +may so say, filial duty of an American, and my intention was quickened +when I learnt that many of the edifices, mentioned in the History of +Columbus, still remained in nearly the same state in which they existed at +the time of his sojourn at Palos, and that the descendants of the intrepid +Pinzons, who aided him with ships and money, and sailed with him in the +great voyage of discovery, still flourished in the neighborhood. + +The very evening before my departure from Seville on the excursion, I +heard that there was a young gentleman of the Pinzon family studying law +in the city. I got introduced to him, and found him of most prepossessing +appearance and manners. He gave me a letter of introduction to his father, +Don Juan Fernandez Pinzon, resident of Moguer, and the present head of the +family. + +As it was in the middle of August, and the weather intensely hot, I hired +a calesa for the journey. This is a two-wheeled carriage, resembling a +cabriolet, but of the most primitive and rude construction; the harness is +profusely ornamented with brass, and the horse's hend decorated with tufts +and tassels and dangling bobs of scarlet and yellow worsted. I had for +calasero, a tall, long-legged Andalusian, in short jacket, little +round-crowned hat, breeches decorated with buttons from the hip to the +knees, and a pair of russet leather bottinas or spatterdashes. He was an +active fellow, though uncommonly taciturn for an Andalusian, and strode +along beside his horse, rousing him occasionally to greater speed by a +loud malediction or a hearty thwack of his cudgel. + +In this style, I set off late in the day to avoid the noontide heat, and, +after ascending the lofty range of hills which borders the great valley of +the Guadalquiver, and having a rough ride among their heights, I descended +about twilight into one of those vast, silent, melancholy plains, frequent +in Spain, where I beheld no other signs of life than a roaming flock of +bustards, and a distant herd of cattle, guarded by a solitary herdsman, +who, with a long pike planted in the earth, stood motionless in the midst +of the dreary landscape, resembling an Arab of the desert. The night had +somewhat advanced when we stopped to repose for a few hours at a solitary +venta or inn, if it might so be called, being nothing more than a vast +low-roofed stable, divided into several compartments for the reception of +the troops of mules and arrieros (or carriers) who carry on the internal +trade of Spain. Accommodation for the traveler there was none--not even +for a traveler so easily accommodated as myself. The landlord had no food +to give me, and as to a bed, he had none but a horse-cloth, on which his +only child, a boy of eight years old, lay naked on the earthen floor. +Indeed the heat of the weather and the fumes from the stables made the +interior of the hovel insupportable; so I was fain to bivouac, on my +cloak, on the pavement, at the door of the venta, where, on waking, after +two or three hours of sound sleep, I found a contrabandista (or smuggler) +snoring beside me, with his blunderbuss on his arm. + +I resumed my journey before break of day, and had made several leagues by +ten o'clock, when we stopped to breakfast, and to pass the sultry hours of +mid-day in a large village; whence we departed about four o'clock, and +after passing through the same kind of solitary country, arrived just +after sunset at Moguer. This little city (for at present it is a city) is +situated about a league from Palos, of which place it has gradually +absorbed all the respectable inhabitants, and, among the number, the whole +family of the Pinzons. + +So remote is this little place from the stir and bustle of travel, and so +destitute of the show and vainglory of this world, that my calesa, as it +rattled and jingled along the narrow and ill-paved streets, caused a great +sensation; the children shouted and scampered along by its side, admiring +its splendid trappings of brass and worsted, and gazing with reverence at +the important stranger who came in so gorgeous an equipage. + +I drove up to the principal posada, the landlord of which was at the door. +He was one of the very civilest men in the world, and disposed to do every +thing in his power to make me comfortable; there was only one difficulty, +he had neither bed nor bed-room in his house. In fact it was a mere venta +for muleteers, who are accustomed to sleep on the ground, with their +mule-cloths for beds and pack-saddles for pillows. It was a hard case, but +there was no better posada in the place. Few people travel for pleasure or +curiosity in these out-of-the-way parts of Spain, and those of any note +are generally received into private houses. I had traveled sufficiently in +Spain to find out that a bed, after all, is not an article of +indispensable necessity, and was about to bespeak some quiet corner where +I might spread my cloak, when fortunately the landlord's wife came forth. +She could not have a more obliging disposition than her husband, but then +--God bless the women!--they always know how to carry their good wishes +into effect. In a little while a small room, about ten feet square, which +had formed a thoroughfare between the stables and a kind of shop or +bar-room, was cleared of a variety of lumber, and I was assured that a +bed should be put up there for me. From the consultations I saw my +hostess holding with some of her neighbor gossips, I fancied the bed was +to be a kind of piecemeal contribution among them for the credit of the +house. + +As soon as I could change my dress, I commenced the historical researches +which were the object of my journey, and inquired for the abode of Don +Juan Fernandez Pinzon. My obliging landlord himself volunteered to conduct +me thither, and I set off full of animation at the thoughts of meeting +with the lineal representative of one of the coadjutors of Columbus. + +A short walk brought us to the house, which was most respectable in its +appearance, indicating easy, if not affluent, circumstances. The door, as +is customary in Spanish villages during summer, stood wide open. We +entered with the usual salutation or rather summons, "Ave Maria!" A trim +Andalusian handmaid answered to the call, and, on our inquiring for the +master of the house, led the way across a little patio or court, in the +centre of the edifice, cooled by a fountain surrounded by shrubs and +flowers, to a back court or terrace, likewise set out with flowers, where +Don Juan Fernandez was seated with his family, enjoying the serene evening +in the open air. I was much pleased with his appearance. He was a +venerable old gentleman, tall, and somewhat thin, with fair complexion and +gray hair. He received me with great urbanity, and on reading the letter +from his son, appeared struck with surprise to find I had come quite to +Moguer, merely to visit the scene of the embarkation of Columbus; and +still more so on my telling him, that one of my leading objects of +curiosity was his own family connection; for it would seem that the worthy +cavalier had troubled his head but little about the enterprises of his +ancestors. + +I now took my seat in the domestic circle, and soon felt myself quite at +home, for there is generally a frankness in the hospitality of Spaniards, +that soon puts a stranger at his ease beneath their roof. The wife of Don +Juan Fernandez was extremely amiable and affable, possessing much of that +natural aptness for which the Spanish women are remarkable. In the course +of conversation with them I learnt, that Don Juan Fernandez, who is +seventy-two years of age, is the eldest of five brothers, all of whom are +married, have numerous offspring, and live in Moguer and its vicinity, in +nearly the same condition and rank of life as at the time of the +discovery. This agreed with what I had previously heard, respecting the +families of the discoverers. Of Columbus no lineal and direct descendant +exists; his was an exotic stock which never took deep and lasting root in +the country; but the race of the Pinzons continues to thrive and multiply +in its native soil. + +While I was yet conversing, a gentleman entered, who was introduced to me +as Don Luis Fernandez Pinzon, the youngest of the brothers. He appeared +between fifty and sixty years of age, somewhat robust, with fair +complexion, gray hair, and a frank and manly deportment. He is the only +one of the present generation that has followed the ancient profession of +the family; having served with great applause as an officer of the royal +navy, from which he retired, on his marriage, about twenty-two years +since. He is the one, also, who takes the greatest interest and pride in +the historical honors of his house, carefully preserving all the legends +and documents of the achievements and distinctions of his family, a +manuscript volume of which he lent to me for my inspection. + +Don Juan now expressed a wish that, during my residence in Moguer, I would +make his house my home. I endeavored to excuse myself, alleging, that the +good people at the posada had been at such extraordinary trouble in +preparing quarters for me, that I did not like to disappoint them. The +worthy old gentleman undertook to arrange all this, and, while supper was +preparing, we walked together to the posada. I found that my obliging host +and hostess had indeed exerted themselves to an uncommon degree. An old +rickety table had been spread out in a corner of the little room as a +bedstead, on top of which was propped up a grand _cama de luxo_, or +state bed, which appeared to be the admiration of the house. I could not, +for the soul of me, appear to undervalue what the poor people had prepared +with such hearty good-will, and considered such a triumph of art and +luxury; so I again entreated Don Juan to dispense with my sleeping at his +house, promising most faithfully to make my meals there whilst I should +stay at Moguer, and as the old gentleman understood my motives for +declining his invitation, and felt a good-humored sympathy in them, we +readily arranged the matter. I returned therefore with Don Juan to his +house and supped with his family. During the repast a plan was agreed upon +for my visit to Palos, and to the convent La Kabida, in which Don Juan +volunteered to accompany me and be my guide, and the following day was +allotted to the expedition. We were to breakfast at a hacienda, or +country-seat, which he possessed in the vicinity of Palos, in the midst of +his vineyards, and were to dine there on our return from the convent. +These arrangements being made, we parted for the night; I returned to the +posada highly gratified with my visit, and slept soundly in the +extraordinary bed which, I may almost say, had been invented for my +accommodation. + +On the following morning, bright and early, Don Juan Fernandez and myself +set off in the caleea for Palos. I felt apprehensive at first that the +kind-hearted old gentleman, in his anxiety to oblige, had left his bed at +too early an hour, and was exposing himself to fatigues unsuited to his +age. He laughed at the idea, and assured me that he was an early riser, +and accustomed to all kinds of exercise on horse and foot, being a keen +sportsman, and frequently passing days together among the mountains on +shooting expeditions, taking with him servants, horses, and provisions, +and living in a tent. He appeared, in fact, to be of an active habit, and +to possess a youthful vivacity of spirit. His cheerful disposition +rendered our morning drive extremely agreeable; his urbanity was shown to +every one whom we met on the road; even the common peasant was saluted by +him with the appellation of _caballero_, a mark of respect ever +gratifying to the poor but proud Spaniard, when yielded by a superior. + +As the tide was out, we drove along the flat grounds bordering the Tinto. +The river was on our right, while on our left was a range of hills, +jutting out into promontories, one beyond the other, and covered with +vineyards and fig trees. The weather was serene, the air soft and balmy, +and the landscape of that gentle kind calculated to put one in a quiet and +happy humor. We passed close by the skirts of Palos, and drove to the +hacienda, which is situated some little distance from the village, between +it and the river. The house is a low stone building well whitewashed, and +of great length; one end being fitted up as a summer residence, with +saloons, bed-rooms, and a domestic chapel; and the other as a bodega or +magazine for the reception of the wine produced on the estate. + +The house stands on a hill, amidst vineyards, which are supposed to cover +a part of the site of the ancient town of Palos, now shrunk to a miserable +village. Beyond these vineyards, on the crest of a distant hill, are seen +the white walls of the convent of La Babida rising above a dark wood of +pine trees. + +Below the hacienda flows the river Tinto, on which Columbus embarked. It +is divided by a low tongue of land, or rather the sand-bar of Saltes, from +the river Odiel, with which it soon mingles its waters, and flows on to +the ocean. Beside this sand-bar, where the channel of the river runs deep, +the squadron of Columbus was anchored, and thence he made sail on the +morning of his departure. + +The soft breeze that was blowing scarcely ruffled the surface of this +beautiful river; two or three picturesque barks, called mystics, with long +latine sails, were gliding down it. A little aid of the imagination might +suffice to picture them as the light caravels of Columbus, sallying forth +on their eventful expedition, while the distant bells of the town of +Hnelva, which were ringing melodiously, might be supposed as cheering the +voyagers with a farewell peal. + +I cannot express to you what were my feelings on treading the shore which +had once been animated with the bustle of departure, and whose sands had +been printed by the last footstep of Columbus. The solemn and sublime +nature of the event that had followed, together with the fate and fortunes +of those concerned in it, filled the mind with vague yet melancholy ideas. +It was like viewing the silent and empty stage of some great drama when +all the actors had departed. The very aspect of the landscape, so +tranquilly beautiful, had an effect upon me; and as I paced the deserted +shores by the side of a descendant of one of the discoverers, I felt my +heart swelling witfi emotions and my eyes filling with tears. + +What surprised me was, to find no semblance of a sea-port; there was +neither wharf nor landing-place--nothing but a naked river bank, with the +hulk of a ferry-boat, which I was told carried passengers to Huelva, lying +high and dry on the sands, deserted by the tide. Palos, though it has +doubtless dwindled away from its former size, can never have been +important as to extent and population. If it possessed warehouses on the +beach, they have disappeared. It is at present a mere village of the +poorest kind, and lies nearly a quarter of a mile from the river, in a +hollow among hills. It contains a few hundred inhabitants, who subsist +principally by laboring in the fields and vineyards. Its race of merchants +and mariners is extinct. There are no vessels belonging to the place, nor +any show of traffic, excepting at the season of fruit and wine, when a few +mystics and other light barks anchor in the river to collect the produce +of the neighborhood. The people are totally ignorant, and it is probable +that the greater part of them scarce know even the name of America. Such +is the place whence sallied forth the enterprise for the discovery of the +western world! + +We were now summoned to breakfast in a little saloon of the hacienda. The +table was covered with natural luxuries produced upon the spot--fine +purple and muscatel grapes from the adjacent vineyard, delicious melons +from the garden, and generous wines made on the estate. The repast was +heightened by the genial manners of my hospitable host, who appeared to +possess the most enviable cheerfulness of spirit and simplicity of heart. + +After breakfast we set off in the calesa to visit the convent of La +Rabida, about half a league distant The road, for a part of the way, lay +through the vineyards, and was deep and sandy. The calasero had been at +his wit's end to conceive what motive a stranger like myself, apparently +traveling for mere amusement, could have in coming so far to see so +miserable a place as Palos, which he set down as one of the very poorest +places in the whole world; but this additional toil and struggle through +deep sand to visit the old convent of La Rabida completed his confusion-- +"Hombre!" exclaimed he, "es una ruina! no hay mas que dos frailes!"-- +"Zounds! why it's a ruin! there are only two friars there!" Don Juan +laughed, and told him that I had come all the way from Seville precisely +to see that old ruin and those two friars. The calasero made the +Spaniard's last reply when he is perplexed--he shrugged his shoulders and +crossed himself. After ascending a hill and passing through the skirts of +a straggling pine wood, we arrived in front of the convent. It stands in a +bleak and solitary situation, on the brow of a rocky height or promontory, +overlooking to the west a wide range of sea and land, bounded by the +frontier mountains of Portugal, about eight leagues distant. The convent +is shut out from a view of the vineyard of Palos by the gloomy forest of +pines already mentioned, which cover the promontory to the east, and +darken the whole landscape in that direction. + +There is nothing remarkable in the architecture of the convent; part of it +is Gothic, but the edifice, having been frequently repaired, and being +whitewashed, according to a universal custom in Andalusia, inherited from +the Moors, has not that venerable aspect which might be expected from its +antiquity. + +We alighted at the gate where Columbus, when a poor pedestrian, a stranger +in the land, asked bread and water for his child! As long as the convent +stands, this must be a spot calculated to awaken the most thrilling +interest. The gate remains apparently in nearly the same state as at the +time of his visit, but there is no longer a porter at hand to administer +to the wants of the wayfarer. The door stood wide open, and admitted us +into a small court-yard. Thence we passed through a Gothic portal into the +chapel, without seeing a human being. We then traversed two interior +cloisters, equally vacant and silent, and bearing a look of neglect and +dilapidation. From an open window we had a peep at what had once been a +garden, but that had also gone to ruin; the walls were broken and thrown +down; a few shrubs, and a scattered fig tree or two, were all the traces +of cultivation that remained. We passed through the long dormitories, but +the cells were shut up and abandoned; we saw no living thing except a +solitary cat stealing across a distant corridor, which fled in a panic at +the unusual sight of strangers. At length, after patrolling nearly the +whole of the empty building to the echo of our own footsteps, we came to +where the door of a cell, being partly open, gave us the sight of a monk +within, seated at a table writing. He rose, and received us with much +civility, and conducted us to the superior, who was reading in an adjacent +cell. They were both rather young men, and, together with a novitiate and +a lay-brother, who officiated as cook, formed the whole community of the +convent. + +Don Juan Fernandez communicated to them the object of my visit, and my +desire also to inspect the archives of the convent, to find if there was +any record of the sojourn of Columbus. They informed us that the archives +had been entirely destroyed by the French. The younger monk, however, who +had perused them, had a vague recollection of various particulars +concerning the transactions of Columbus at Palos, his visit to the +convent, and the sailing of his expedition. From all that he cited, +however, it appeared to me that all the information on the subject +contained in the archives had been extracted from Herrera and other +well-known authors. The monk was talkative and eloquent, and soon diverged +from the subject of Columbus, to one which he considered of infinitely +greater importance--the miraculous image of the Virgin possessed by their +convent, and known by the name of "Our Lady of La Rabida." He gave us a +history of the wonderful way in which the image had been found buried in +the earth, where it had lain hidden for ages, since the time of the +conquest of Spain by the Moors; the disputes between the convent and +different places in the neighborhood for the possession of it; the +marvelous protection it extended to the adjacent country, especially in +preventing all madness, either in man or dog, for this malady was +anciently so prevalent in this place as to gain it the appellation of La +Rabia, by which it was originally called; a name which, thanks to the +beneficent influence of the Virgin, it no longer merited nor retained. +Such are the legends and relics with which every convent in Spain is +enriched, which are zealously cried up by the monks, and devoutly +credited by the populace. + +Twice a year, on the festival of our Lady of La Rabida and on that of the +patron saint of the order, the solitude and silence of the convent are +interrupted by the intrusion of a swarming multitude, composed of the +inhabitants of Moguer, of Huelva, and the neighboring plains and +mountains. The open esplanade in front of the edifice resembles a fair, +the adjacent forest teems with the motley throng, and the image of our +Lady of La Rabida is borne forth in triumphant procession. + +While the friar was thus dilating upon the merits and renown of the image, +I amused myself with those day-dreams, or conjurings of the imagination, +to which I am a little given. As the internal arrangements of convents are +apt to be the same from age to age, I pictured to myself this chamber as +the same inhabited by the guardian, Juan Perez de Marchena, at the time of +the visit of Columbus. Why might not the old and ponderous table before me +be the very one on which he displayed his conjectural maps, and expounded +his theory of a western route to India? It required but another stretch of +the imagination to assemble the little conclave around the table; Juan +Perez the friar, Garci Fernandez the physician, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon +the bold navigator, all listening with rapt attention to Columbus, or to +the tale of some old seaman of Palos, about islands seen in the western +parts of the ocean. + +The friars, as far as their poor means and scanty knowledge extended, were +disposed to do every thing to promote the object of my visit. They showed +us all parts of the convent, which, however, has little to boast of, +excepting the historical associations connected with it. The library was +reduced to a few volumes, chiefly on ecclesiastical subjects, piled +promiscuously in the corner of a vaulted chamber, and covered with dust. +The chamber itself was curious, being the most ancient part of the +edifice, and supposed to have formed part of a temple in the time of the +Romans. + +We ascended to the roof of the convent to enjoy the extensive prospect it +commands. Immediately below the promontory on which it is situated, runs a +narrow but tolerably deep river, called the Domingo Rubio, which empties +itself into the Tinto. It is the opinion of Don Luis Fernandez Pinzon, +that the ships of Columbus were careened and fitted out in this river, as +it affords better shelter than the Tinto, and its shores are not so +shallow. A lonely bark of a fisherman was lying in this stream, and not +far off, on a sandy point, were the ruins of an ancient watchtower. From +the roof of the convent, all the windings of the Odiel and the Tinto were +to be seen, and their junction into the main stream, by which Columbus +sallied forth to sea. In fact the convent serves as a landmark, being, +from its lofty and solitary situation, visible for a considerable distance +to vessels coming on the coast. On the opposite side I looked down upon +the lonely road, through the wood of pine trees, by which the zealous +guardian of the convent, Fray Juan Perez, departed at midnight on his +mule, when he sought the camp of Ferdinand and Isabella in the Vega of +Granada, to plead the project of Columbus before the queen. + +Having finished our inspection of the convent, we prepared to depart, and +were accompanied to the outward portal by the two friars. Our calasero +brought his rattling and rickety vehicle for us to mount; at sight of +which one of the monks exclaimed, with a smile, "Santa Maria! only to +think! A calesa before the gate of the convent of La Rabida!" And, indeed, +so solitary and remote is this ancient edifice, and so simple is the mode +of living of the people in this by-corner of Spain, that the appearance of +even a sorry calesa might well cause astonishment. It is only singular +that in such a by-corner the scheme of Columbus should have found +intelligent listeners and coadjutors, after it had been discarded, almost +with scoffing and contempt, from learned universities and splendid courts. + +On our way back to the hacienda, we met Don Rafael, a younger son of Don +Juan Fernandez, a fine young man, about twenty-one years of age, and who, +his father informed me, was at present studying French and mathematics. He +was well mounted on a spirited gray horse, and dressed in the Andalusian +style, with the little round hat and jacket. He sat his horse gracefully, +and managed him well. I was pleased with the frank and easy terms on which +Don Juan appeared to live with his children. This I was inclined to think +his favorite son, as I understood he was the only one that partook of the +old gentleman's fondness for the chase, and that accompanied him in his +hunting excursions. + +A dinner had been prepared for us at the hacienda, by the wife of the +capitaz, or overseer, who, with her husband, seemed to be well pleased +with this visit from Don Juan, and to be confident of receiving a pleasant +answer from the good-humored old gentleman whenever they addressed him. +The dinner was served up about two o'clock, and was a most agreeable meal. +The fruits and wines were from the estate, and were excellent; the rest of +the provisions were from Moguer, for the adjacent village of Palos is too +poor to furnish any thing. A gentle breeze from the sea played through the +hall, and tempered the summer heat. Indeed I do not know when I have seen +a more enviable spot than this country retreat of the Pinzons. Its +situation on a breezy hill, at no great distance from the sea, and in a +southern climate, produces a happy temperature, neither hot in summer nor +cold in winter. It commands a beautiful prospect, and is surrounded by +natural luxuries. The country abounds with game, the adjacent river +affords abundant sport in fishing, both by day and night, and delightful +excursions for those fond of sailing. During the busy seasons of rural +life, and especially at the joyous period of vintage, the family pass some +time here, accompanied by numerous guests, at which times, Don Juan +assured me, there was no lack of amusements, both by land and water. + +When we had dined, and taken the siesta, or afternoon nap, according to +the Spanish custom in summer time, we set out on our return to Moguer, +visiting the village of Palos in the way. Don Gabriel had been sent in +advance to procure the keys of the village church, and to apprise the +curate of our wish to inspect the archives. The village consists +principally of two streets of low whitewashed houses. Many of the +inhabitants have very dark complexions, betraying a mixture of African +blood. + +On entering the village, we repaired to the lowly mansion of the curate. I +had hoped to find him some such personage as the curate in Don Quixote, +possessed of shrewdness and information in his limited sphere, and that I +might gain some anecdotes from him concerning the parish, its worthies, +its antiquities, and its historical events. Perhaps I might have done so +at any other time, but, unfortunately, the curate was something of a +sportsman, and had heard of some game among the neighboring hills. We met +him just sallying forth from his house, and, I must confess, his +appearance was picturesque. He was a short, broad, sturdy little man, and +had doffed his cassock and broad clerical beaver, for a short jacket and a +little round Andalusian hat; he had his gun in hand, and was on the point +of mounting a donkey which had been led forth by an ancient withered +handmaid. Fearful of being detained from his foray, he accosted my +companion the moment he came in sight. "God preserve you, Señor Don Juan! +I have received your message, and have but one answer to make. The +archives have all been destroyed. We have no trace of any thing you seek +for--nothing--nothing. Don Rafael has the keys of the church. You can +examine it at your leisure--Adios, caballero!" With these words the +galliard little curate mounted his donkey, thumped his ribs with the butt +end of his gun, and trotted off to the hills. + +In our way to the church we passed by the ruins of what had once been a +fair and spacious dwelling, greatly superior to the other houses of the +village. This, Don Juan informed me, was an old family possession, but +since they had removed from Palos it had fallen to decay for want of a +tenant. It was probably the family residence of Martin Alonzo or Vicente +Yafiez Pinzon, in the time of Columbus. + +We now arrived at the Church of St. George, in the porch of which Columbus +first proclaimed to the inhabitants of Palos the order of the sovereigns, +that they should furnish him with ships for his great voyage of discovery. +This edifice has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid +mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It +stands outside of the village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a +little valley toward the river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to +have been a mosque in former times; just above it, on the crest of the +hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle. + +I paused in the porch, and endeavored to recall the interesting scene that +had taken place there, when Columbus, accompanied by the zealous friar +Juan Perez, caused the public notary to read the royal order in presence +of the astonished alcaldes, regidors, and alguazils; but it is difficult +to conceive the consternation that must have been struck into so remote a +little community, by this sudden apparition of an entire stranger among +them, bearing a command that they should put their persons and ships at +his disposal, and sail with him away into the unknown wilderness of the +ocean. + +The interior of the church has nothing remarkable, excepting a wooden +image of St. George vanquishing the Dragon, which is erected over the high +altar, and is the admiration of the good people of Palos, who bear it +about the streets in grand procession on the anniversary of the saint. +This group existed in the time of Columbus, and now flourishes in +renovated youth and splendor, having been newly painted and gilded, and +the countenance of the saint rendered peculiarly blooming and lustrous. + +Having finished the examination of the church, we resumed our seats in the +calesa and returned to Moguer. One thing only remained to fulfill the +object of my pilgrimage. This was to visit the chapel of the Convent of +Santa Clara. When Columbus was in danger of being lost in a tempest on his +way home from his great voyage of discovery, he made a vow, that, should +he be spared, he would watch and pray one whole night in this chapel; a +vow which he doubtless fulfilled immediately after his arrival. + +My kind and attentive friend, Don Juan, conducted me to the convent. It is +the wealthiest in Moguer, and belongs to a sisterhood of Franciscan nuns. +The chapel is large, and ornamented with some degree of richness, +particularly the part about the high altar, which, is embellished by +magnificent monuments of the brave family of the Puerto Carreros, the +ancient lords of Moguer, and renowned in Moorish warfare. The alabaster +effigies of distinguished warriors of that house, and of their wives and +sisters, lie side by side, with folded hands, on tombs immediately before +the altar, while others recline in deep niches on either side. The night +had closed in by the time I entered the church, which made the scene more +impressive. A few votive lamps shed a dim light about the interior; their +beams were feebly reflected by the gilded work of the high altar, and the +frames of the surrounding paintings, and rested upon the marble figures of +the warriors and dames lying in the monumental repose of ages. The solemn +pile must have presented much the same appearance when the pious +discoverer performed his vigil, kneeling before this very altar, and +praying and watching throughout the night, and pouring forth heartfelt +praises for having been spared to accomplish his sublime discovery. + +I had now completed the main purpose of my journey, having visited the +various places connected with the story of Columbus. It was highly +gratifying to find some of them so little changed though so great a space +of time had intervened; but in this quiet nook of Spain, so far removed +from the main thoroughfares, the lapse of time produces but few violent +revolutions. Nothing, however, had surprised and gratified me more than +the contiuued stability of the Pinzon family. On the morning after my +excursion to Palos, chance gave me an opportunity of seeing something of +the interior of most of their households. Having a curiosity to visit the +remains of a Moorish castle, once the citadel of Moguer, Don Fernandez +undertook to show me a tower which served as a magazine of wine to one of +the Pinzon family. In seeking for the key we were sent from house to house +of nearly the whole connection. All appeared to be living in that golden +mean equally removed from the wants and superfluities of life, and all to +be happily interwoven by kind and cordial habits of intimacy. We found the +females of the family generally seated in the patios, or central courts of +their dwellings, beneath the shade of awnings and among shrubs and +flowers. Here the Andalusian ladies are accustomed to pass their mornings +at work, surrounded by their handmaids, in the primitive, or rather +oriental style. In the porches of some of the houses I observed the +coat-of-arms granted to the family by Charles V, hung up like a picture in +a frame. Over the door of Don Luis, the naval officer, it was carved on an +escutcheon of stone, and colored. I had gathered many particulars of the +family also from conversation with Don Juan, and from the family legend +lent me by Don Luis. From all that I could learn, it would appear that the +lapse of nearly three centuries and a half has made but little change in +the condition of the Pinzons. From generation to generation they have +retained the same fair standing and reputable name throughout the +neighborhood, filling offices of public trust and dignity, and possessing +great influence over their fellow-citizens by their good sense and good +conduct. How rare is it to see such an instance of stability of fortune in +this fluctuating world, and how truly honorable is this hereditary +respectability, which has been secured by no titles nor entails, but +perpetuated merely by the innate worth of the race! I declare to you that +the most illustrious descents of mere titled rank could never command the +sincere respect and cordial regard with which I contemplated this stanch +and enduring family, which for three centuries and a half has stood merely +upon its virtues. + +As I was to set off on my return to Seville before two o'clock, I partook +of a farewell repast at the house of Don Juan, between twelve and one, and +then took leave of his household with sincere regret. The good old +gentleman, with the courtesy, or rather the cordiality, of a true +Spaniard, accompanied me to the posada, to see me off. I had dispensed but +little money in the posada--thanks to the hospitality of the Pinzons--yet +the Spanish pride of my host and hostess seemed pleased that I had +preferred their humble chamber, and the scanty bed they had provided me, +to the spacious mansion of Don Juan; and when I expressed my thanks for +their kindness and attention, and regaled mine host with a few choice +segars, the heart of the poor man was overcome. He seized me by both hands +and gave me a parting benediction, and then ran after the calasero, to +enjoin him to take particular care of me during my journey. + +Taking a hearty leave of my excellent friend Don Juan, who had been +unremitting in his attentions to me to the last moment, I now set off on +my wayfaring, gratified to the utmost with my visit, and full of kind and +grateful feelings towards Moguer and its hospitable inhabitants. + + + + +Index. + + + +A. + + +Acuna, Don Alonzo de, summons Columbus to give an account of himself, on +his return from the New World. + +Address of an Indian of Cuba to Columbus. + +Adelantado, title of, given to Christopher Columbus, confirmed by the +king. + +Adrian de Moxica. + +Admiral, the, a title granted to Columbus and his descendants. + +Africa, essay on the navigation of, by the ancients. + +Aguado, Juan, recommended to the Spanish Government by Columbus; appointed +commissioner to inquire into the conduct of Columbus; arrives at Isabella; +his insolent behavior; his interview with Columbus: the Caciques having +preferred complaints against Columbus, he determines on returning to +Spain. + +Alexander VI., pope, character of; famous bulls of, relative to the New +World; letter of Columbus to. + +Aliaco, Pedro, work of, referred to, note. + +Alligators, found in great numbers at Puerto Bello. + +All Saints, discovery of the bay of. + +Alonzo, Don, heir-apparent of Portugal, his marriage with the princess +Isabella. + +Alpha and Omega, the extreme point of Cuba. + +Alva, duke of, Don Diego Columbus marries his daughter; he assists in +obtaining justice for his son-in-law. + +Alvaro, Don, de Portugal, attack upon, in the royal tent. + +Amazons, an island of supposed; warlike women of the Caribbee islands. +Amazons, river of, discovered by Vicente Pinzon. + +Amber, specimens of, among the mountains of Cibao. + +Anacaona, wife to Caonabo, retires with her brother Behechio, after the +great battle of the Vega; composes legendary ballads; her admiration of +the Spaniards; counsels her brother to conciliate the friendship of the +Spaniards; her reception of the Adelantado; her wonder and delight at +seeing a Spanish ship; her grief at the departure of the Adelantado; her +conduct in respect to her daughter and Guevara; her admiration of the +Spaniards turned into detestation; receives a visit from Ovando; is +seized; carried in chains to St. Domingo; and ignominiously hanged; her +fine character. + +Anana, or the pine-apple, first met with. + +Angel, Luis de St., his remonstrance with the queen relative to the +project of Columbus; succeeds. + +Antigua, island of, discovered. + +Antilles, the, discovered; taken possession of. + +Apparitions, ideas of the Haytiens in respect to. + +Appendix, containing illustrations and documents. + +Arana, Diego de, left in charge of Hispaniola, during the first absence of +Columbus, history of the disaster which occurred to him after the +departure of Columbus. + +Arano, Pedro de, commander of one of Columbus's ships on his third voyage. + +Areytos, or ballads, of the Haytiens. + +Aristizabal, Don Gabriel de, solicits the removal of the remains of +Columbus. + +Arriaga, Luis de, is shut up within the walls of Magdalena. + +Astrolabe, the, applied to navigation. + +Atalantis, Plato's observations on. + +Audience, royal, court of, established. + +Augustine, St., his arguments against the existence of Antipodes. + +Augustine, St., Cape of, discovered by Pinzon. + +Aurea Cheraonesus, the place whence Solomon is supposed to have had gold. + +Azores, the, when discovered; arrival at by Columbus on his return from +his first voyage. + + + +B. + + +Babeque, a supposed island, Columbus goes in search of. + +Bahama Islands, discovery of; cruise among the. + +Ballads of the Haytiens. + +Ballester, Miguel, his conduct during the conspiracy of Roldan; receives a +letter from Columbus; his character; interview with Roman; second +interview: sends advice to the admiral; is besieged in the fortress of +Conception; sails for Spain. + +Barbas, Las, islands of, discovered. + +Barrantes, Garcia de, sails for Spain. + +Barros, Joam de, his account of Columbus's proposition to John II. king of +Portugal. + +Basil, St., his description of Paradise. + +Bastides, Rodrigo, of Seville, explores the coast of Terra Firma. + +Baza, surrender of. + +Beata, Cape, sailors of Columbus climb the rock of. + +Behem, Martin, his planisphere; an account of; the assertion relative to +his having discovered the western world previous to Columbus considered. + +Behechio assists Caonabo, and kills one of the wives of Guacanagari; the +only Cacique who does not sue for peace; receives a visit from Bartholomew +Columbus; his reception of him; consents to pay tribute; invites the +Adelantado to come and receive it; his astonishment at visiting a Spanish +ship. + +Bolen, river of, discovered; abounds in fish; Columbus commences a +settlement on its banks. + +Bell of Isabella, the superstitious ideas of the Haytiens in respect to +it. + +Belvis, Pablo, sent to Hayti in the place of Fermin Cedo. + +Berahoma, condemned to death for having violated the wife of the Cacique +of the Vega; is pardoned. + +Bernaldez, Andres, a short account of his life and writings. + +Bernardo of Valentia, his conspiracy at Jamaica. + +Bloodhounds, first use of in the New World; employed by Columbus in his +wars with the Haytiens. + +Bobadilla, Don Francisco de, charged with a commission to Hispaniola to +inquire into the conduct of Columbus; his character; instructions with +which he is charged; sails; arrives at St. Domingo; his judgment formed +before he leaves his ship; assumes power on landing; storms the fortress +of St. Domingo; assumes the government before he investigates the conduct +of Columbus; seizes his arms, gold, secret papers, etc.; summons Columbus +to appear before him; his baseness in collecting evidence; puts Don Diego +in chains; also Columbus; his fears in respect to the Adelantado; puts him +in irons; his mal-administration; a saying of his; superseded in his +government by Ovando; sails for Spain and is lost, with all his crew, in a +violent hurricane. + +Boca del Sierpe. + +Borgonon, Juan, labors to convert the Haytiens. + +Boyle, Bernardo, friar, appointed apostolical vicar for the New World; his +advice to Columbus in respect to Guacanagari; confirms the accounts sent +home by Columbus; consecrates the first church at Isabella; his character +and conduct; his hatred of Columbus; encourages the misconduct of +Margarite; forms the plan of seizing Bartholomew Columbus's ships and +returning to Spain; sees sail; his accusations of Columbus at the court of +Madrid. + +Brandan, St., imaginary island of. + +Brazils, the, discovered by Vicente Pinzon; a part discovered and taken +possession of for the Portuguese crown by Cabral. + +Breviesca, Ximeno de, a worthless hireling; his conduct and punishment. + +Bucklers, used by the natives of Trinidad. Bull of Partition issued by +Pope Martin V.; relative to the New World, issued by Pope Alexander VI.. + +---- of Demarcation. + +Burgos, the court held at. + +Butios, the priests of the Haytiens. + +Butterflies, clouds of, seen on the southern coast of Cuba. + + + +C. + + +Cabot, Sebastian, discovers Labrador, supposed to be the first that +visited the main-land of the New World. + +Cabral, Pedro Alvarez de, discovers part of the Brazils, and takes +possession of it in the name of the king of Portugal. Cabron, Cape, or +Capo del Enamorado. + +Cacao, first known to the Spaniards. + +Caciques, seizure of fourteen, in the night, by Bartholomew Columbus and +his officers. + +Canaries, an optical delusion seen by the people of the; arrival of +Columbus at, in his first voyage. + +Canoes, capable of containing 150 persons, seen at Puerto Santo; large +size of those at Jamaica. + +Caonabo, character and conduct of; takes the fortress at La Navidad; and +massacres the Spaniards; assembles his warriors; Columbus leaves +directions with Margarite to surprise; besieges Ojeda; gives up the siege +and retires; forms a plan of exterminating the Spaniards; invades the +territories of Guacanagari; character of; is visited by Ojeda, with a +design to entrap him; agrees to wait upon Columbus, and sets forward; is +taken by stratagem; is chained; his conduct when in the presence of +Columbus; embarks for Spain; a Guadaloupe woman falls in love with him; +dies on the voyage. + +Carocol, Island of. + +Cariari, transactions at. + +Caribbee Islands, discovered. + +Caribs, character of the; origin of; cruelty to. + +Caravajal, Don Garcia Lopez de, his embassy to Portugal. + +Carvajal, Alonzo de, commander of one of Columbus's ships, on his third +voyage; arrives at Hispaniola; volunteers to endeavor to bring the rebels +of Xavagua to obedience; his ship strikes on a sand-bank; arrives at St. +Domingo by land; suspicions entertained against him; takes a letter from +the admiral to Roldan; takes propositions from Roldan to the admiral; +another interview with Boldan; appointed factor to Columbus; his evidence +relative to the discovery of the coast of Paria by Columbus. + +Carracks, description of. + +Casas, Las, his character of Don Diego Columbus; his observations +relative to Hayti; his account of two Spaniards; his picture of the +consequences of the administration of Ovando; his account of a combat +between one Indian and two mounted cavaliers; is present at a battle in +Higuey; his remark on the cold reception of Columbus by the king; his +remark in respect to the injustice of Ferdinand; an account of; his zeal +in behalf of the slaves; his dubious expedient to lessen the quantum of +human misery; character of his General History of the Indies. + +Castaneda, Juan de, his disgraceful reception of Columbus on his return +from the New World; cause of his conduct. + +Catalina, a Carib, her admiration of Guacanagari; proposes to her +captive companions an attempt to regain their liberty; escapes by +swimming. + +Catalina, a female Cacique, falls in love with Miguel Diaz; imparts to +him a knowledge of the gold mines of Hayna. + +Cathay, accounts of Marco Polo in respect to; of Sir John Mandeville. + +Catherine, St., discovery of. + +Cavern, near Cape Francois, description of. + +Caymans, islands of. + +Cedo, Fermin, his opinion in respect to the gold found in Hispaniola; +Belvis sent in Ms place. + +Ceuta, the bishop of, his arguments against the proposition of Columbus; +proposes to the council to keep Columbus in suspense, and in the mean time +to send a ship in the route proposed; this advice acted upon; and fails. + +Chanca, Dr., confirms the accounts sent home by Columbus. + +Charles VIII., king of France, his kindness to Bartholomew Columbus. + +Charles V. succeeds his grandfather, Ferdinand; recognizes the innocence +of Don Diego Columbus; acknowledges the right of Don Diego to exercise the +office of viceroy; his orders in respect to the claims of Don Diego's +widow; his ordinances relative to the slave trade. + +Charlevoix, his description of the sea of the Antilles, Chaufepic, Jacques +George, a passage from, in respect to the Coloinbos. + +Chvistoval, St., fortress of, erected by Bartholomew Columbus; +mountains of. + +Cibao, Columbus's expedition to the mountains of; meaning of the word +Cibao; Luxan's description of the mountains of. + +Ciguayens, a warlike Indian tribe, account of. + +Cintra, rock of, arrival at, by Columbus, on his return from the New +World. + +Cipango (or Japan), Marco Polo's account of. + +Cities, island of the seven. + +Cladera, Don Christoval, his refutation of a letter written by M. Otto, to +Dr. Franklin. + +Colon, Diego, acts as interpreter; his speech to the natives of Cuba; +marries the daughter of the Cacique Guarionex. + +Colombo, the old Genoese admiral, conveys the king of Portugal to the +Mediterranean coast of France. + +Colombo, the younger (nephew of the old admiral), a famous corsair. + +----, Balthazar, of Cuccaro, loses his cause in respect to the heirship of +Columbus. + +----, Juan, commander of one of Columbus's ships on his third voyage. + +Colombos, the navigators, an account of; capture of the Venetian galleys. + +Columbus, Bartholomew, accompanies Bartholomew Diaz along the coast of +Africa; an account of his proceedings; arrives at Valladolid; sent to +assist his brother with three ships; character of; is invested by +Columbus with the title and authority of Adelantado; attends his brother +in his expedition against the Indians of the Vega; goes to the mines of +Ilayna; is invested with the command on the return of Columbus to Spain; +takes Porras prisoner; sails to meet his brother; account of his +administration during the absence of Columbus; sends 300 Indians to Spain +to be sold as slaves; erects the fortress of San Domingo; pays a visit to +Behechio; his reception; demands a tribute; establishes a chain of +military posts; causes several Indians who had broken some Christian +images, etc., to be burnt; marches against the Caciques, who had formed a +conspiracy against the Spaniards; causes them to be seized; pardons most +of them; again visits Behechio to receive the tribute of cotton; his skill +in government; a conspiracy formed against him by Roldan; narrowly escapes +assassination; repairs to the Vega in relief of Fort Conception; his +interview with Roldan; is shut up in Fort Conception; relieved by the +arrival of Coronal; publishes an amnesty to all who return to their duty; +marches against Guarionex, who has rebelled; his campaign in the mountains +of Ciguay; releases the wife of one of the Caciques whom he had taken with +Mayobanex; favorable consequences of this; his vigorous proceedings +against the rebels engaged in the conspiracy of Guevara and Moxica; is put +in irons by Bobadilla; accompanies Columbus on his fourth voyage; waits on +the governor of Ercilla; takes possession of Cape Honduras in the name of +the sovereigns of Castile; lands at Cariari; forms a plan to seize +Quibian; does so, with his wives and children; Quibian escapes; and +attacks in return; is finally compelled to remove the settlement to +another place; is in great danger; compelled to embark with his brother +and all his men; sets sail from St. Domingo for Spain with his brother; +proceeds to court to urge the justice of the king; accompanies his brother +to court; goes to represent his brother on the arrival of the new king +and queen of Castile; is sent out to St. Domingo by Ferdinand to admonish +his nephew, Don Diego; is presented with the property and government of +Mona for life, etc.; dies at St. Domingo; his character. + +Columbus, Christopher, account of his birth, parentage, and education; +early life of; his first voyage; engages in the service of Reinier, king +of Naples; alters the point of the compass of his ship to deceive his +discontented crew; engaged in the Mediterranean and the Levant; said to be +appointed captain of several Genoese ships in the service of Louis XI.; +his gallant conduct when sailing with Colombo the younger; goes to Lisbon, +where he takes up his residence; picture of his person; early character; +becomes enamored of Doña Felipa Monis de Palestrello, whom he marries; +becomes possessed of his father-in-law's charts, journals, etc.; removes +to the island of Porto Santo; becomes acquainted with Pedro Correo, a +navigator of note; is animated with a wish to make discoveries; grounds on +which he founds his belief of the existence of undiscovered countries in +the West; correspondence of Columbus with Paulo Toscanelli: makes a voyage +to the north of Europe; the astrolabe having been applied to navigation, +Columbus proposes a voyage of discovery to John II. king of Portugal; this +proposition is referred to a junto charged with all matters relating to +maritime discovery; who regard the project as visionary; the king then +refers it to his council; by whom it is condemned; a ship is secretly sent +in the direction proposed, but returns: Columbus's indignation; loses his +wife; quits Portugal; goes to Genoa and proposes his project to the +government; it is rejected; supposed by some to have carried his plan to +Venice; visits his father; arrives in Spain, and requests a little bread +and water at a convent of Franciscan friars; the prior detains him as a +guest; and invites Garcia Fernandez to meet him; gives him letters of +introduction to Fernando de Talavera, queen Isabella's confessor; sets out +for Cordova; arrives there; finds it impossible to obtain a hearing; the +queen's confessor regards his plan as impossible; maintains himself by +designing maps and charts; is received into the house of Alonzo de +Quintanilla; introduced to the archbishop of Toledo; who gives him an +attentive hearing; becomes his friend and procures him an audience of the +king; who desires the prior of Prado to assemble astronomers, etc. to hold +conference with him; Columbus appears before the assembly at Salamanca; +arguments against his theory; his reply; the subject experiences +procrastination and neglect; is compelled to follow the movements of the +court; his plan recommended by the marchioness of Moya; receives an +invitation to return to Portugal from John II.; receives a favorable +letter from Henry VII. of England; distinguishes himself in the campaign +of 1489, and is impressed deeply with the arrival and message of two +friars from the soldan of Egypt relative to the Holy Land; determines to +devote the profits arising from his intended discovery to the purpose of +rescuing the holy sepulchre from the hands of the infidels; council of +learned men again convened; who pronounce the scheme vain and impossible; +receives a message from the sovereigns; has an audience of the sovereigns: +leaves Seville in disgust; forms a connection with Beatrix Enriquez; +applies to the duke of Medina Sidonia, who rejects his plan; applies to +the duke of Medina Celi, who is prevented from acceding to his plan from a +fear of the court; returns to the convent of La Rabida; Alonzo Pinzon +offers to pay his expenses in a renewed application to the court; returns +at the desire of the queen; witnesses the surrender of Granada to the +Spanish arms; negotiation with persons appointed by the sovereigns; his +propositions are considered extravagant; are pronounced inadmissible; +lower terms are offered him, which he rejects; the negotiation broken off; +quits Santa Fé; Luis de St. Angel reasons with the queen; who at last +consents; a messenger dispatched to recall Columbus; he returns to Santa +Fé; arrangement with the Spanish sovereigns; his son appointed page to +prince Juan; he returns to La Rabida; preparations at the Port of Palos, +and apprehensions there relative to the expedition; not a vessel can be +procured; they are at last furnished; Columbus hoists his flag; sails; +prologue to his voyage; an account of the map he had prepared previous to +sailing; difficulties begin to arise; arrives at the Canaries; comes in +sight of Mount Teneriffe; arrives at Gomera; the news which reached him +there; alarm of his sailors on losing all sight of land; begins to keep +two reckonings; falls in with part of a mast; notices a variation of the +needle; his opinion relative to that phenomenon; they are visited by two +birds; terrors of the seamen; sees large patches of weeds; his situation +becomes more critical; part of his crew determine, should he refuse to +return, to throw him into the sea; false appearance of land; his crew +become exceedingly clamorous; the assertion that he capitulated with them +disproved; his address to the crew; sees a light; land discovered; the +reward for land adjudged to him; lands on the island of St. Salvador; +which he takes possession of in the name of the Castilian sovereigns; the +surprise of the natives: gold first discovered; reconnoitres the island; +takes seven of the inhabitants to teach them Spanish that they might +become interpreters; discovers Santa Maria de la Conception; discovers +Exuma; discovers Isabella; hears of two islands called Cuba and Bohio: +sails in search of the former; discovers it; takes formal possession; +sends two Spaniards up the country; coasts along the shore; return of the +Spaniards with their report; goes in search of the supposed island of +Babeque; discovers an archipelago, to which he gives the name of the +King's Garden; desertion of Alonzo Pinzon; discovers St. Catherine, in +which he finds stones veined with gold; specimen of his style in +description; reaches what be supposes to be the eastern extremity of Asia; +discovers Hispaniola; its transcendent appearance; enters a harbor, to +which he gives the name of St. Nicholas; a female brought to him who wore +an ornament of gold in her nose; coasts along the shores; is visited by a +Cacique; receives a message from Guacanagari; his ship strikes upon a +sand-bank in the night; some of his crew desert in a boat; the ship +becomes a wreck, and he takes refuge on board a caravel; receives +assistance from Guacanagari; transactions with the natives; is invited to +the residence of Guacanagari; his affectionate reception of him; his +people desire to have permission to remain in the island; he forms the +plan of a colony and the design of constructing a fortress; and of +returning to Spain for reinforcements; entertained in the most hospitable +manner by Guacanagari; who procures for him a great quantity of gold +previous to his departure; his address to the people; gives a feast to the +chieftains; sails; coasts towards the eastern end of Hispaniola: meets +with Pinzon; Pinzon's apology; account of the Ciguayens; the first native +blood shed by the whites; account of the return voyage; encounters violent +storms; the crew draw lots who shall perform pilgrimages; two lots fall to +the admiral; vows made; commits an account of his voyage in a barrel to +the sea; land discovered; which proves to be the Azores; transactions at +St. Mary's; receives supplies and a message from the governor; attempted +performance of the vow made during the storm; the seamen taken prisoners +by the rabble, headed by the governor; the governor's disgraceful conduct; +seamen liberated; cause of the governor's conduct; violent gales; lots for +pilgrimages again cast; arrives off Cintra, in Portugal; writes to the +sovereigns and the king of Portugal; is summoned by a Portuguese admiral +to give an account of himself; effect of his return at Lisbon; receives an +invitation from the king of Portugal; interview with the king; jealousy of +the king excited; a proposition to the king by some of his courtiers to +assassinate Columbus and take advantage of his discoveries; rejected by +the king; disgraceful plot of the king to rob Spain of the newly- +discovered possessions; his interview with the queen of Portugal; enters +the harbor of Palos; account of his reception there; arrival of Pinzon; +receives an invitation from the sovereigns at Barcelona; his reception on +the road; is received in a magnificent manner by the courtiers; and the +sovereigns; his vow in respect to the holy sepulchre; the manner in which +his discoveries were received throughout Europe; a coat of arms given him; +the manner in which he receives the honors paid to him; preparations for a +second voyage; agreement made with the sovereigns; powers with which he is +invested; takes leave of the sovereigns at Barcelona; arrives at Seville; +prepares for the voyage; ideas of Columbus and the people relative to the +New World; insolence of Juan de Soria; conduct of Fonseca: departure on +his second voyage; anchors at Gornera; gives sealed instructions to the +commander of each vessel; sees a swallow; encounters a storm; sees the +lights of St. Elmo; discovers the Caribbee Islands; takes possession of +them; discovers Guadaloupe; transactions there; cruises among the +Caribbees; arrives at Hispaniola; at the gulf of Samana; anchors at Monte +Christi; arrives at La Navidad; is visited by a cousin of the Cacique; +learns a disaster which had occurred at the fortress; visits Guacanagari: +abandons La Navidad: founds the city of Isabella at Monte Christi; falls +sick; sends Alonzo de Ojeda to explore the interior of the island; +dispatches twelve ships to Spain; requests fresh supplies; recommends +Pedro Margarite and Juan Aguado to the patronage of the government; +recommends a curious plan in respect to an exchange of Caribs for live +stock; recommendation of Columbus in respect to the Caribs; his conduct in +respect to Diaz's mutiny; consequences; sets out on an expedition to the +mountains of Cibao; erects a fortress of wood among the mountains; returns +to Isabella; receives unpleasant intelligence from Pedro Margarite; +sickness in the colony; puts his people on short allowance, Sol; offends +the Hidalgos, by making them share the common labors of the colony; +distributes his forces in the interior; gives the command of them to Pedro +Margarite; his instructions to that officer; instructs Margarite to +surprise and secure Caonabo; his conduct in respect to Haytien thieves; +sails for Cuba; visits La Navidad; arrives at St. Nicholas; lands at +Guantanamo; anchors at St. Jago; sails in search of Bubeque; discovers +Jamaica; received in a hostile manner: takes possession of the island; +amicable intercourse with the natives; returns to Cuba; lands at Cabo de +la Cruz; encounters a storm; becomes engaged in a most difficult +navigation; discovers an archipelago, to which he gives the name of the +Queen's Gardens; hears of a province called Mangon, which greatly excites +his attention; coasts along the southern side of Cuba; encounters a +dangerous navigation in A white pea; sends parties to explore the interior +of the country; deceives himself in respect to what he wishes; fancies he +has arrived on that part of Asia which is beyond the boundaries of the Old +World, laid down by Ptolemy; anticipates returning to Spain by the Aurea +Chersonesus, Taprobana, the Straits of Babelmandel, and the Red Sea, or +the Coast of Africa; returns along the southern coast of Cuba, in the +assurance that Cuba was the extremity of the Asiatic continent; discovers +the island of Evangelista; his ship runs aground; sails along the province +of Ornofay: erects crosses in conspicuous situations to denote his +discoveries; is addressed by an Indian; takes an Indian with him: his ship +leaks; reaches Santa Cruz; coasts along the south side of Jamaica; his +ship visited by a Cacique and his whole family; who offer to accompany him +to Spain to do homage to the king and queen; he evades this offer; coasts +along the south side of Hispaniola; makes an error in reckoning; arrives +at Mona; is suddenly deprived of all his faculties; arrives at Isabella; +is joined by his brother Bartholomew; invests him with the title and +authority of Adelantado; is visited by Guacanagari, who informs him of a +league formed against him by the Haytien Caciques; his measures to restore +the quiet of the island; wins over Guarionex, and prevails upon him to +give his daughter in, marriage to Diego Colon; builds Fort, Conception in +the territories of Guarionex; Caonabo is delivered into his hands by +Ojeda; he puts him in chains; his interview with him; his anxiety relieved +by the arrival of Antonio de Torres; sends home specimens of gold, plants, +etc., and five hundred Indian prisoners to be sold as slaves; undertakes +an expedition against the Indians of the Vega; a battle ensues; the +Indians defeated; makes a military tour through various parts of the +island, and reduces is to obedience; imposes a tribute; refuses the offer +of Guarionex to cultivate grain, instead of paying in gold; erects forts; +the natives having destroyed the crops, are hunted and compelled to return +to their labors; account of the intrigues against Columbus in the court of +Spain; charges brought against him; his popularity declines in +consequence; measures taken in Spain; Aguado arrives at Isabella to +collect information relative to the state of the colony; his dignified +conduct at his first interview with Aguado; the Caciques prefer complaints +against him: he resolves on returning to Spain; a violent hurricane occurs +previous to his departure, which sinks six caravels; pleased with the +discovery of the gold mines of Hayna; orders a fort to be erected; invests +his brother with the command; fails for Spain; arrives at Guadaloupe; his +politic conduct there; leaves Guadaloupe: a famine on board the ships; his +magnanimous conduct; arrives in Spain.; his representation of things; +writes instructions for ibe conduct of Bartholomew; invited to court; +favorably received; proposes a third voyage of discovery; the king +promises him ships; delays and their causes; refuses the title of duke or +marquess, and a grant of lands in Hispaniola; terms on winch he was to +sail: honors bestowed upon him; his respect and love for Genoa; makes his +will; odium thrown upon his enterprises; plan to which he was compelled to +resort to procure men for his third voyage; in consequence of delays, he +almost resolves to give up all further enterprise; chastises a minion of +Fonseca; consequences of this chastisement; sets sail; his opinion in +respect to a continent in the Southern Ocean; arrives at Gomera; retakes a +Spanish ship; is seized with a fit of the gout; arrives among the Cape de +Verde Islands: sees the island Bel Fuego; arrives under the line; the heat +becomes intolerable, and he alters his course; discovers Trinidad; +discovers Terra Firma; steers along the coast of Trinidad; difficulty in +respect to a rapid current; enters the Gulf of Paria; suffers from a +complaint in the eyes; discovers the islands of Margarita and Cubagua; +exchanges plates, etc., for pearls; his complaint in the eyes increases; +arrives at Hispaniola; his brother soils to meet him; his constitution +seems to give way; his speculations relative to the coast of Paria; polar +star augmentation; doubts the received theory of the earth; accounts for +variation of the needle; difference of climate, etc.; arrives at San +Domingo; state of his health, on arriving at Hispaniola; state of the +colony; negotiates with the rebels; offers free passage to all who desire +to return to Spain; offers a pardon to Roldan, which is received with +contempt; writes to Spain an account of the rebellion, etc., and requires +a judge and some missionaries to be sent out: writes a conciliating letter +to Roldan; interviews with Roldan; issues a proclamation of pardon; +receives proposals, which he accedes to; goes on a tour to visit the +various stations; receives a cold letter from the sovereigns, written by +Fonseca; the former arrangement with Roldan not having been carried into +effect, enters into a second; grants lands to Roldan's followers; +considers Hispaniola in the light of a conquered country; reduces the +natives to the condition of villains or vassals: grants lands to Roldan; +determines on returning to Spain; but is prevented by circumstances; +writes to the sovereigns, entreating them to inquire into the truth of the +late transactions; requests that his son, Diego, might be sent out to him; +sends Roldan to Alonzo de Ojeda, who has arrived on the western coast on a +voyage of discovery; his indignation at the breach of prerogative implied +by this voyage; hears of a conspiracy entered into against him by Guevara +and Moxica; seizes Moxica; and orders him to be flung headlong from the +battlements of Fort Conception; vigorous proceedings against the rebels; +beneficial consequences; visionary fancy at night; representations at +court against him; his sons insulted at Granada; the queen is offended at +his pertinacity in making slaves of those taken in warfare; and consents +to the sending out a commission to investigate his conduct; Bobadilla is +sent out; and arrives at St. Domingo; his judgment formed before he leaves +his ship; he seizes upon the government before he investigates the conduct +of Columbus; Columbus is summoned to appear before Bobadilla; goes to St. +Domingo without guards or retinue, and is put in irons and confined in the +fortress; his magnanimity; charges against him; jubilee of miscreants on +his degradation; his colloquy with Villejo, previous to their sailing; +sails; arrives at Cadiz; sensation in Spain on his arrival in irons; sends +a letter to Doña Juana de la Torre, with an account of his treatment; +indignation of the sovereigns at reading this account; is invited to +court; his gracious reception there; his emotion; is promised a full +restitution of his privileges and dignities; disappointed in receiving +them; causes; his interests ordered to be respected in Hispaniola by +Ovando; remembers his vow to furnish an army wherewith to recover the Holy +Sepulchre; endeavors to incite the sovereigns to the enterprise; forms a +plan for a fourth voyage, which is to eclipse all former ones; writes to +Pope Alexander VII.; manuscript copy of, note; takes measures to secure +his fame by placing it under the guardianship of his native country; sails +from Cadiz; arrives at Ercilla; at the Grand Canary; at St. Domingo; +requests permission to shelter in the harbor, as he apprehends a storm; +his request refused; a violent hurricane soon after sweeps the sea, in +which he and his property are preserved, and several of his bitterest +enemies overwhelmed; encounters another storm; discovers Guanaga; a +Cacique eomes on board his ship with a multitude of articles, the produce +of the country; selects some to send them to Spain; is within two days' +sail of Yucatan; natives different from any he had yet seen; voyages along +the coast of Honduras; encounters violent storms of thunder and lightning; +voyage along the Mosquito shore; passes a cluster of islands, to which he +gives the name of Limonares; comes to an island, to which he gives the +name of La Huerta, or the Garden; transactions at Cariari; voyage along +Costa Rica; speculations concerning the isthmus of Veragua; discovery of +Puerto Bello; discovery of El Retrete; disorders of his men at this port, +and the consequences; relinquishes the further prosecution of his voyage +eastward; returns to Puerto Bello; encounters a furious tempest; is near +being drowned by a water-spout; returns to Veragua; regards gold as one of +the mystic treasures, note; is nearly being wrecked in port; gives his +name to the mountains of Veragua; sends his brother to explore the +country; which appears to be impregnated with gold; believes that he has +reached one of the most favored ports of the Asiatic continent; commences +a settlement on the river Belen; determines on returning to Spain for +reinforcements; is stopped by discovering a conspiracy of the natives; +sends his brother to surprise Quibian; who is seized; and afterwards +escapes; disasters at the settlement stop his sailing; some of his +prisoners escape, and others destroy themselves; his anxiety produces +delirium; is comforted by a vision; the settlement is abandoned, and the +Spaniards embark for Spain; departure from the coast of Veragua; sails for +Hispaniola; arrives at Puerto Bello: at the entrance of the Gulf of +Darien; at the Queen's Gardens; encounters another violent tempest; +arrives at Cape Cruz; at Jamaica; runs his ships on shore; arranges with +the natives for supplies of provisions; his conversation with Diego Mendez +to induce him to go in a canoe to St. Domingo; Mendez offers to go; +Columbus writes to Ovando for a ship to take him and his crew to +Hispaniola; writes to the sovereigns; Mendez embarks; the Porras engage in +a mutiny; the mutiny becomes general; is confined by the gout; rushes out +to quell the mutiny, but is borne back to the cabin by the few who remain +faithful; the mutineers embark on board ten Indian canoes; provisions +become exceedingly scarce; employs a stratagem to obtain supplies from the +natives; another conspiracy is formed; arrival of Diego de Escobar from +Hispaniola on a mission from the governor, promising that a ship shall +soon be sent to his relief; overtures of the admiral to the mutineers; not +accepted; they send a petition for pardon; it is granted; two ships arrive +from Hispaniola; departure of Columbus; arrives at Beata; anchors in the +harbor of St. Domingo; is enthusiastically received by the people; is +grieved at the desolation he sees everywhere around him; finds that his +interests had been disregarded; sets sail for Spain; encounters several +tempests; anchors in the barbor of St. Luear; finds all his affairs in +confusion; is compelled to live by borrowing; writes to King Ferdinand; +but, receiving unsatisfactory replies, would have set out for Seville, but +is prevented by his infirmities: death of Queen Isabella; is left to the +justice of Ferdinand; employs Vespucci; goes with his brother to court, +then held at Segovia; is received in a very cold manner; Don Diego de Deza +is appointed arbitrator between the king and the admiral; his claims are +referred to the Junta de Descargos; is confined with a violent attack of +the gout; petitions the king that his son Diego may be appointed, in his +place, to the government of which lie bad been so long deprived; his +petition remains unattended to; writes to the new king and queen of +Castile; who promise a speedy and prosperous termination to his suit; his +last illness; writes a testamentary codicil on the blank page of a little +breviary; writes a final codicil; receives the sacrament; dies; his +burial; his remains removed to Hispaniola, disinterred and conveyed to the +Havana; epitaph; observations on his character; his remains removed with +great ceremony to Cuba; reflections thereon; historical account of his +descendants; an important lawsuit relative to the beirship (in the female +line) to the family titles and property; decided in favor of Don Nuno +Golves do Portugallo; an account of his lineage; an account of his +birthplace; an account of the ships he used; an examination of his route +in the first voyage; the effect of the travels of Marco Polo on his mind; +his belief in the imaginary island of St. Brandan; an account of the +earliest narratives of his first and second voyages; his ideas relative to +the situation of the terrestrial paradise; his will; his signature. + +Columbus, Don Diego, character of; intrusted with the command of the ships +during the expedition of Columbus to the mountains of Cibao; made +president of the junta; reproves Pedro Margarito for his irregularities; +the Hidalgos form a faction against him during the absence of his brother; +returns to Isabella; a conspiracy formed against him by Roldan; left in +command at St. Domingo, during the tour of Columbus; his conduct on the +arrival of Bobadilla; seized by order of Bobadilla, thrown in irons, and +confined on board of a caravel. + +----, Don Diego (son to Christopher), appointed page to Queen Isabella: +embarks with his father on his second expedition; left in charge of his +father's interests in Spain; his ingratitude to Mendez, and falsification +of his promise; his character; succeeds to the rights of his father, as +viceroy and governor of the New World; urges the king to give him those +rights; commences a process against the king before the council of the +Indies; the defence set up: the suit lasts several years; becomes enamored +of Doña Maria Toledo; a decision, in respect to part of his claim, raises +him to great wealth; marries Doña Maria, niece to the Duke of Aiva; +through this connection he obtains the dignities and powers enjoyed by +Nicolas de Ovando; embarks for Hispaniola; keeps up great state; becomes +embroiled with some of his father's enemies; the court of royal audience +established as a check upon him; opposes the repartimientos; his virtues +make him unpopular, subjugates and settles the island of Cuba without the +loss of a single man; sails for Spain to vindicate his conduct; is well +received; the death of Ferdinand; obtains a recognition of his innocence +of all charges against him from Charles V.: and has his right acknowledged +to exercise the office of viceroy and governor in all places discovered by +his father; sails for St. Domingo, where he arrives; difficulties he has +to encounter; African slaves having been introduced and most cruelly used, +they revolt; are subdued; is accused of usurping too much power; receives +in consequence a severe letter from the council of the Indies; and is +desired to repair to court to vindicate himself; sails, lands, and appears +before the court at Victoria; clears himself; prosecutes his claims, +follows the court from city to city; is attacked by a slow fever; dies; +his family. + +Columbus, Fernando (son to Christopher), accompanies his father on his +fourth voyage; his father's encomium on him; embarks for Hispaniola with +Don Diego; an account of him; writes a history of his father. + +----, Don Luis (son to Don Diego), prosecutes the claims of his father and +grandfather; compromises all claims for two titles and a pension; dies. + +Commerce, despotic influence of the Spanish crown in respect to. + +Compass, the, brought into more general use. + +Conception, Santa Maria de la, discovery of. + +---- Fort, erected by Columbus; present state of, note. + +Contradictions, the coast of. + +Convicts who had accompanied Columbus, conduct of, in Hispaniola. + +Copper hatchets seen among the Indians of Guanaca. + +Coral found in Veragua. + +Cormorants, large nights of, seen on the south coast of Cuba. + +Coronel, Pedro Fernandez, sails for Hayti with two ships; arrives at St. +Domingo with supplies; is sent to persuade Roldan to return to his duty. + +Correo, Pedro, a navigator of note, with whom Columbus becomes acquainted. + +Cortez, Hernando, conduct of Fonseca to. + +Costa Rica, Columbus sails along the. + +Cotabanama, Cacique of Higuey; massacres eight Spaniards; Ovando marches +against him; sues for peace; visits the Spanish camp; another war ensues; +cruelty to his tribe; takes shelter with his wife and children in a large +cavern; his rencounter with Juan Lopez; is overpowered and chained; sent +to St. Domingo and hanged. + +Cotton, where first seen in the Western hemisphere; seen in large +quantities in Cuba; tribute of. + +Cranes, flocks of large, seen in Cuba. + +Creation, ideas in respect to the, entertained by the Haytiens. + +Crocodiles found at El Betrete similar to those of the Nile. + +Crosses erected by Columbus to denote his discoveries. Crusade to +recover the holy sepulchre proposed by Columbus. + +Cruz, Cabo de la, so named by Columbus. + +Cuba, island of, Columbus bears of; sails in quest of it; discovery of; +description of its appearance: hurricanes seldom known in; belief of the +inhabitants in a future state; Columbus revisits the consts of; natives +of; Columbus coasts along the southern side; natives; subjugated and +settled by Don Diego Columbus; the remains of Columbus removed to. +Cubagua, Isle of, discovery of; natives; pearl fisheries on the coast of, +established. Cubiga, a village in Veragua where the country of gold was +supposed to terminate. + +Cucumbers first seen in Hayti. + +Currency, principles on which the sums mentioned in this work have been +reduced to modern currency. + + + +D. + + +Dances of the Haytiens. + +Darien, Gulf of. + +Dead and dying, manner of treating the, by the Haytiens. + +Delphin, island of. + +Deluge, universal, ideas entertained by the Haytiens in respect to. +323. + +Deza, Diego de, character of; coincides with Columbus at the council of +Salamanca; assists him with his purse; made archbishop of Seville; is +chosen arbitrator between the king and Columbus. + +Diaz, Bartholomew, account of his discoveries. + +----, Miguel, his romantic history; discovers the gold mines of Hayna; +commands the fortress of St. Domingo at the time Bobadilla arrives; his +conduct on being desired to give up his prisoners. + +----, de Pisa, mutiny of; confined on board one of the ships. + +Disaster, river of. + +Discovery, progress of, under prince Henry of Portugal. + +Dogs, dumb, found at Santa Marta. + +Domingo, San, foundation of the city of. + +Dominica, island of, discovered. + +Doves, stock, presented to Columbus by the natives of Cuba. + +Drogeo, a vast country, fabled to have been discovered by some fishermen +of Friseland. + +Drum, a species of, used by the Haytiens. + +Dying, manner of treating the. + + + +E. + + +Ear, coast of the. + +Eden, garden of, speculation of Columbus in respect to. + +Egg, anecdote of the. + +Egypt, soldan of, his message to Ferdinand. + +Elmo, St., electrical lights seen by Columbus. + +Enchanters, the natives of Cariari taken to be. + +Enriqueis, Beatrix, her connnection with Columbus; Columbus's legacy to, +ii. + +Escobar, Diego de, arrives at Jamaica on a mission to Columbus from the +governor of Hispaniola; returns to his ship immediately. + +----, Rodrigo de, chief notary to Columbus's first expedition. + +Escobedo, Rodrigo de, his conduct after the departure of Columbus; death +of. + +Espinal, Antonio de, the first prelate sent to the New World. + +Esquibel, Juan de, employed against the natives of Higuey; his atrocious +conduct to his prisoners; causes the natives to be hunted like wild beasts. + +Estotiland, a supposed island on the coast of North America, said to have +been discovered by some fishermen of Friseland. + +Eudoxus, remarks on his voyage. Evangelista, island of, discovered by +Columbus. + +Exuma, discovery of; named Fernandina by Columbus. + + + +F. + + +Farol, Cape, at Jamaica. + +Ferdinand, king of Aragon and Castile, character of; engagements of, on +the arrival of Columbus at Cordova; lays siege to the city of Loxa; grants +an audience to Columbus; desires the prior of Prado to assemble men of +science to consider his plan; attempt to assassinate him; takes Malaga; +forms an alliance with Henry VII. of England; one of the rival kings of +Granada surrenders his pretensions; receives a message from the soldan of +Egypt; his message to Columbus on learning the unfavorable decision of the +council; refers his plan to persons of confidence; his reluctance to the +plan after the queen has consented; his joy on learning the success of +Columbus; his reception of him; prepares a second expedition; his +negotiations with John II. in respect to the new discoveries; listens to +the charges against Columbus; his conduct; his reception of Columbus on +his second return; lays the foundation of the power of Charles V.; +promises Columbus to furnish him with ships for a third voyage; +disappointed that his newly-discovered possessions have not become a +source of profit; assaulted by the clamors of ruffians who had returned +from Hispaniola; his ingratitude to Columbus becomes evident; listens to +the rebels who had been permitted to return to Spain: sends out a +commission to inquire into the conduct of Columbus; reprobates the conduct +pursued against Columbus, and invites him to court; promises to restore +him to all his rights and privileges; his jealousy awakened at the +discoveries of the English and Portuguese. 131; his ingratitude to +Columbus; listens to the project of Columbus for a fourth voyage; his +ingratitude more evinced on the return of Columbus from his last voyage; +erects a monument over Columbus; his conduct to Don Diego Columbus's son; +consents that Don Diego should commence a process against him before the +council of the Indies; the defence set up; separates the Isthmus of Darien +into two great provinces; death. + +Fernandez, Garcia, physician of Palos, his account of Columbus at the gate +of the convent on his first arrival in Spain; testimony of, relative to +Pinzon. + +Ferrer, Jayme, an eminent lapidary, substance of his letter to Columbus, +note. + +Festival, religious, of a Haytien Cacique, description of. + +Fiesco, Bartholomew, embarks with Mendez from Jamaica to Hispaniola; +attends the last moments of Columbus. + +Fish, curious. + +Fishing, curious method of. + +Fonseca, Juan Rodriguez de, appointed superintendent of Indian affairs; +his character; his difference with Columbus; impedes the affairs of +Columbus; writes a cold letter to Columbus, by order of the sovereigns; +shows Columbus's letter to Alonzo de Ojeda; his baseness fully displayed; +supposed to have instigated the violent measures of Bobadilla; throws +impediments in the way of Columbus's fourth voyage; supposed to have been +the cause of Ovando's disgrace; by order of Ferdinand, establishes a +court, called the Royal Audience; becomes interested in continuing the +slave trade; his opposition to Las Casas; an account of; character of; his +conduct to Cortez; accused of having fomented a conspiracy to assassinate +Cortez. + +Fountain of pure water in the sea, note. + +Franciscans, the order first introduced into the New World. + +Fuego, del, island of, seen by Columbus. + + + +G. + + +Galleys, Venetian, capture of, by Colombo the younger. + +Gama, Vasquez de, doubles the Cape of Good Hope, and opens a new road for +the trade of the East. + +Garcia de Barrantee, his conduct during the conspiracy of Boldan. + +Gardens, the, coast so called. + +---- King's islands. + +---- Queen's, islands of. + +---- the Hesperian, observations in respect to. + +Gato, Paulo, a species of monkey. + +Genoa, Columbus shows great respect to. + +Gentlemen, the pass of, a road so called. + +Geraldini, Alexandria and Antonio, warmly enter into the views of +Columbus; they introduce him to the archbishop of Toledo. + +Gold (Western), discovered first in St. Salvador; specimens of virgin ore +found in the interior of Hispaniola; particles found in the streams; and +pieces. + +----, tribute of. + +---- mine discovered in Hayti; a solid mass of, which weighed 3600 +castellanos: superstitious notions in respect to, note: gathered from the +roots of the trees in Veragua. + +Golden river, arrival at, in second voyage. + +Gods of the Haytiens. + +Goinarn, Fernando Lopez de, examination of his chargo relative to a +pilot's having died in the house of Columbus. + +Gorvalan explores part of the interior of Hispaniola; returns to Spain + +Gourds introduced into Hayti. + +Gracias a Dios, cape of. + +Granada, discovery of. + +Grape-vines, very luxuriant, found in Cuba. + +Greenland, assertions relative to its discovery by the Scandinavians. +379. + +Granada, surrender of. + +Guadaloupe, island of, discovered; houses, furniture, etc. of the natives; +supposed to be cannibals; description of the island; Columbus revisits it; +women of. + +Guacanagari, Cacique of Hispaniola, sends a message to Columbus, receives +the Spaniards with great courtesy; sheds tears on learning the shipwreck +of Columbus; his assistance; and kindness; invites Columbus to his +residence; manners of; hospitality; procures a great quantity of gold for +the Admiral previous to his departure for Spain; sends his cousin to greet +Columbus on his second arrival; his suspicious conduct during the disaster +at La Navidad; visits Columbus's ships; admires a captive Carib woman; his +flight into the interior; his mysterious conduct continued; refuses to +partake in the plan formed by Caonabo, of exterminating the Spaniards; +incurs the hostility of his fellow Caciques; visits Columbus during his +sickness, and informs him of a league formed against him: assists Columbus +in his expedition against the Indians of the Vega: is present at a battle; +incurs the hatred of all the Caciques; is nevertheless compelled to pay +tribute; takes refuge in the mountains and dies in misery; his character. + +Guana, regarded with disgust by the Spaniards; they conquer their +prejudice. + +Guanaja, discovery of. + +Guaora, Cacique, hunted like a wild beast, and afterwards hanged. + +Guarionex, Cacique of the royal Vega; visits Columbus, and is prevailed on +to give his daughter to Diego Colon, the interpreter; permits Columbus to +build a fortress; character of; submits to the domination of the +Spaniards; compelled to pay tribute; offers to cultivate grain; refused; +learns the Pater-noster, Ave-Maria, etc.: relapses, and the cause of it; +becomes incensed at several Indians being burnt for destroying some +images; takes arms; conspires to assassinate the Spaniards; is seized; is +pardoned; enters into a conspiracy with Roldan against the Adelantado; +puts a Cacique to death; flies to the mountains of Ciguay; is compelled to +retire into the most desolate places; is seized and taken in chains to +Fort Conception; lost in a hurricane. + +Guatiguana, a Cacique of Hayti, puts ten Spaniards to death, and sets fire +to a house. + +Guevara, Don Hernando de, falls in love with Higuamota; is seized in the +dwelling of Anacaona; and sent to San Domingo. + +Gulf stream. + +Gutierrez, Pedro, his conduct after the departure of Columbus; death of. + + + +H. + + +Hamacs, used by the natives of Exuma. + +Hanno, remarks on the Periplus of. + +Haro, Bernaldo de, his evidence relative to the discovery of the coast of +Paria by Columbus. + +Hatchets of iron, said to be found at Guadaloupe. + +Hawk's bells, delight of the Haytiens on wearing. + +Hayna, mines of, discovered. + +Henry, prince of Portugal, progress of discovery under; account of; +considers Africa to be circumnavigable; conceives the idea of turning the +trade of the East; establishes a naval college at Sagres; death. + +Henry VII. of England, writes a favorable letter to Columbus. + +Herbs, European, introduced in Hispaniola. + +Herrera, Antonio de, a short account of his life and writings; Vossius's +eulogium on. + +Herrera, Don Lepo de, his mission to the court of Lisbon. + +Hayti (see Hispaniola), discovery of. + +Haytiens, description of their manners, customs, religion, etc.; their +character; defeated in the battle of the Vega; subjugated; a tribute +imposed upon them; their despair; they enter into an association to +destroy the crops; the evils fall upon themselves. + +Hidalgos, compelled at Hayti to share the common labors of the settlement; +character of the; form a faction against Diego Columbus, during the +absence of his brother. + +Higuamota, daughter of Caonabo, falls in love with Don Hernando de +Guevara. + +Higuanama, a female Cacique, hanged by order of Ovando. + +Higuey, domain of: character of its inhabitants; Ovando's war with the +natives; martial character of the people; multitudes of them destroyed; +sue for peace; again revolt; and slaughter their tyrants; +situation of their towns; are defeated and compelled to conceal themselves +in the fastnesses; are hunted like wild beasts. + +Hipparchus, error of, in respect of Africa, and India. Hispaniola, +discovery of; cause of its being so called; description of the +inhabitants; of the country; transactions with the natives; form of +government; alarm created by a discharge of cannon; general description +of; domains into which it was divided; made the metropolis of the New +World: thought to have been the ancient Ophir; an account of the numbers +of the natives who perished, victims to the avarice of the whites; ceded +to the French. 317. Honduras, cape of, discovered by Columbus.; +inhabitants. + +Honey and wax found at Guadaloupe. + +Horses, fear of the Haytiens of; terror inspired by them at the battle of +the Vega; a remarkable one which moved in curvets to the music of a viol. + +Huelva, Alonzo Sanchez de, the pilot, fabled to have died in the house of +Columbus. + +Huerta, La, delightful island of, H. 167; inhabitauts of. + +Humboldt, his account of the present condition of the southern side of +Cuba; account of the route of Columbus, note. + +Hurricanes, seldom known in Cuba; a violent one in Hayti; reflections of +the Haytiens previous to it. + + + +I. + + +Iceland, Columbus supposed to have visited; assertions relative to its +discovery by the Scandinavians. + +Impressment resorted to on Columbus's third voyage. + +Indians, six taken from the New World; arrival of in Spain; are baptized; +an Indian, of Jamaica, desires Columbus to take him to Spain. + +Iron, a pan of, seen at Guadaloupe. + +Isabella, discovery of the island of. + +----, princess, marriage of, with the heir-apparent of Portugal. + +----, queen of Aragon and Castile, character of; engagements of, on the +arrival of Columbus in Spain: repairs to the seat of war in Granada; +thence to Gallicia and Salamanca; an attempt to assassinate her; Columbus +recommended to her by the marchioness of Moya; her ability in military +affairs; receives a letter from the prior of La Rabida; invites Columbus +to court; Luis de St. Angel reasons with her; signifies her assent; +declares her resolution to pawn her jewels to defray the expenses; her +enthusiasm in the cause; her motives; her joy at learning the success of +Columbus; her reception of him; her zeal for the welfare of the Indians; +her anxiety in respect to the conversion of the Haytiens; humanely +prevents the Haytien slaves from being sold to slavery; orders them to be +sent back to Hayti; enters into the views of Columbus in respect to a +third voyage; her humane directions; death of her son, Prince Juan; makes +Columbus's two sons her pages; begins to doubt the conduct of Columbus; +offended at his pertinacity in making slaves of the Indians taken in war; +orders all those sent to Spain to be restored to their country and +friends; consents to the sending out a commission to investigate his +conduct; filled with sympathy and indignation on reading Columbus's letter +to Doña de la Torre; invites him to court; is moved to tears at beholding +him; her concern for the welfare of the Indians; listens with complacency +to the proposition of Columbus for a fourth voyage; receives the news of +the sanguinary acts of Ovando with horror and indignation; exacts a +promise from the king that he shall be superseded in the government; +causes of the melancholy under which she labored; her death; and character. + + + +J. + + +Jamaica discovered by Columbus; the natives receive Columbus in a hostile +manner; Columbus takes possession of it; amicable intercourse with the +natives; their character; their canoes; subjugated by Don Diego. + +----, Cacique of, visits Columbus, and oifers to go and do homage to the +king and queen of Spain; this offer evaded by Columbus. + +Japan (Cipango), Marco Polo's account of it. + +Jasper, specimens found among the mountains of Cibao. + +Jerez, Rodrigo de, sent up the island of Cuba by Columbus; account of his +journey. + +Jews not allowed to establish themselves in the colonies, or undertake +voyages of discovery. + +John of Anjou, an account of his expedition against Naples. + +---- II. king of Portugal, the passion for maritime discovery revives +under; sends missions in quest of Prester John; receives a proposition of +a voyage of discovery from Columbus; refers it to a junto and his council, +who report it to be visionary; consents to use an unwarrantable stratagem; +desires to renew the negotiation with Columbus; who refuses and quits +Portugal; invites Columbus to Portugal, and promises protection; invites +Columbus on his return from the New World; his jealousy excited; his +armament; his negotiations with Ferdinand in respect to the new +discoveries; his idea in respect to a continent in the southern ocean. + +Josephus, his opinion relative to the gold used in the temple of +Jerusalem. + +Juan, prince, his nuptials; his death. + +Juana, queen of Castile, arrival of; promises a prosperous termination to +the suit of Columbus. + +Junta de Descargos, the claims of Columbus referred to the. + + + +K. + + +Kings, Moorish, of Granada, one of them surrenders hie pretensions to +Ferdinand; the other surrenders Granada. + +Kircher, Athanasius, his opinion relative to the travels of Marco Polo. + + + +L. + + +Labrador, discovered by Sebastian Cabot. + +Lactantius, passage quoted from, to prove the impossibility of their being +antipodes. + +Lapis lazuli, specimens found among the mountains of Cibao. + +Ledesma, Pedro, his gallant conduct; involves himself in Porra's mutiny, +and receives a multitude of wounds; is assassinated. + +Lepe, Diego de, discovers more of the southern continent than any voyager +of his day. Lineage of Christopher Columbus, an account of. + +Lombards, the extent of their trade. + +Lopez, Juan, his rencontre with Cotabanaina. + +Lots for Pilgrimages, drawing of. + +Luxan, Juan de, hie excursion among the mountains of Cibao. + + + +M. + + +Macham, his discovery of Madeira; an account of his adventures. + +Madeira, an account of the discovery of the island of. + +Magellan, electrical lights seen during his voyage on the masts of ships. + +Maguana, domain of, an account of. + +Mahogany, canoes made of. + +Maize, cultivated in Ilayti. + +Maladies of the Spaniards in Hayti,330. + +Malaga, eiege and capture of. + +Maldonado, Don Alonzo, appointed Alguazil-mayor in the place of Roldan, in +Hispaniola. + +Maldonado, Melchor, visits Guacanagari; proceeds along the coast. + +Malte-Brun, his conjecture relative to Columbus considered. + +Man, origin of, according to the Haytiens. + +Manicaotex, succeeds Caonabo; commands in a battle; is conquered and sues +for peace; compelled to pay half a calabash of gold every three months; +assembly of the Caciques at his house to prefer complaints against +Columbus. + +Mandeville, Sir John, a short account of his travels; held in great +authority by Columbus. + +Mangon, a province of Cuba. + +Map, Paulo Toscanelli's, used by Columbus on hia first voyage. + +Maps, a great improvement made in. + +Marble, masses of, found among the mountains of Cibao. + +Marcolini, his account of Estotiland and Drogeo. + +Margarita, island of, discovery of. + +of Austria, her nuptials with prince Juan. + +Margnrite, Pedro, recommended to a command by Columbus; made commander of +the fortress of St. Thomas; sends an account of the conduct of his colony, +etc.; is invested with the command of the forces; disregards his +instructions; his misconduct during the absence of Columbus; is censured +by Diego Columbus; forms a plan of returning to Spain; sets sail; his +accusations of Columbus at Madrid. + +Marque, Diego, missed at Guadaloupe; his return; is placed under arrest. + +Maria, Santa, discovery of. + +Marien, domain, account of. + +Martin V., Pope, concedes to the crown of Portugal all the lands it might +discover from Cape Bajador to the Indies. + +Marta, Santa, discovery of. + +Martin, San, island of, discovered. + +Martyr, Peter, his account of Cuba; his description of the natives of +Hispaniola; sent to the soldan of Egypt to make arrangements for the +conservation of the holy sepulchre: short account of his life and +writings; passages from his letters relative to Columbus; his character of +Amerigo Vespucci. + +Marigalante, island of, discovery of. + +Mateo, Juan, a Haytien converted to Christianity. + +Mauro, constructs a celebrated map, note. + +Mayobanex, Cacique of the Cignayens; Guarionex flies to him for refuge; +his answer to the Adelantado, when desired to give up Guarionex; is +deserted in his need; compelled to fly; is seized with his wife and +children. + +Medina Celi, duke of, entertains Columbus; application of Columbus to; +writes to the queen. + +----, Sidonia, duke of, application of Columbus to; plan rejected. + +Melons introduced into Hayti. + +Mendez, Diego, his bold conduct at Veragua; his reward; his meritorious +conduct at Jamaica; his conversation with Columbus; undertakes to go in a +canoe to St. Domingo; departs with one Spaniard and six Indians; narrowly +escapes being murdered by the Indians of the coast and returns; account of +his voyage; sails for Spain; his subsequent history, note. Mendoza, Pedro +Gonzalez de. See Toledo, Archbishop of. Meneses, Don Pedro de, his answer +to the bishop of Ceuta in respect to the propriety of maritime +discoveries. + +Mermaids, three supposed, seen by Columbus. + +Mexiatrillo, Rodrigo, commands the soldiery at the massacre of Xaragua. +ii. 264. + +Misa, Rio de la, so called from mass performed on its banks. + +Monis de Palestrello, Doña Felipa, her marriage with Columbus. + +Monte Christi, description of; Columbus founds the city of Isabella. + +Montserrat, discovery of. + +Moors, war against the. + +----, none permitted to establish themselves in the colonies or go on +voyages of discovery. + +Morales, Francisco, his evidence relative to the discovery of the coast of +Paria by Columbus. + +Mother-of-pearl found on the coast of Paria. + +Moxica, Adrian de, conspiracy of; meditates the death of the Admiral and +Roldan; is seized; and flung headlong froin the battlements of Fort +Conception. + +Moya, marchioness of, becomes a friend to Columbus; and recommends his +suit to the queen; also. + +Mulatas, islands of, discovered. + +Mules, the employment of, under the saddle, prohibited in Spain. + +Music of the Haytiens. + +Musicians sent to Hayti to enliven the spirits of the colony. + + + +N. + + +Names, exchanging, an Indian league of fraternity. + +Navarrete, his opinion relative to the island first discovered by +Columbus. + +Navasa, island of; fountain near. + +Navidad, La, or the Nativity, construction of the fortress of; disasters +at the fortress; abandoned by Columbus. + +Needle, variation of the, first noticed; inclines a whole point; +Columbus's speculation in respect to. + +Negroes of Africa introduced into Hispaniola; their first revolt. + +Negotiations, diplomatic, between the courts of Spain and Portugal, with +respect to the new discoveries. + +Newfoundland, assertions relative to the discovery of, by the +Scandinavians. + +Nicholas, St., harbor of. + +Nicuesa, Diego de, appointed governor of Golden Castile. + +Niño, Pedro Alonzo, sails for Hayti; arrives at Cadiz from Hispaniola, +with a number of Indian prisoners. + +Noya, Juan de, his escape by diving. + + + +O. + + +Ocean, line of demarkation of the, between Spain and Portugal. + +Oderigo, documents in the possession of the family of, relative to +Columbus. + +Ojeda, Don Alonzo de, goes in search of Diego Marque, at Guadaloupe; his +expedition to explore the interior of Iliwpaniola; sallies from Isabella; +character of; his conduct in respect to some Haytien thieves; character +of; is besieged by Caonabo; anecdote of; undertakes to seize Caonabo, and +deliver him alive into the hands of Columbus; visits him; offers him the +bell of Isabella; his stratagem to take him off; conquers in an engagement +with a brother of Caonabo; his conduct at the battle of the Vega; arrives +at the western part of Hispaniola on a voyage of discovery; cause of his +voyage; his manoeuvres with Roldan; leaves the inland with a threat; +returns to Spain with a drove of slaves; appointed governor of New +Andalusia; fails in his undertaking to colonize that country; his evidence +relative to the discovery of the coast of Paria by Columbus. + +Oro, Rio del, or Santiago, discovered. + +Otto, Mons., remarks on his letter to Dr. Franklin relative to Martin +Behem. + +Ovando, Don Nicholas de, chosen to supersede Bobadilla; character of; +great privileges granted to; his fleet; allowed to wear silk, precious +stones, etc.; sails; reaches St. Domingo and assumes the government; +refuses to let Columbus take shelter; his mysterious conduct to Columbus +in his distress as Jamaica; an account of his administration and +oppression; sufferings of the natives under the civil policy of; view of +the military operations of: visits Anneaona: takes it into his head that +she intends to massacre him and all his attendants; seizes Anacaona and +burns all the Caciques: massacres the populace; and causes Anacaona to be +ignominiously hanged; his further atrocious conduct, to the unfortunate +Indians; founds Santa Maria in commemoration of his atrocities. 267; wages +war against the natives of Higuey; causes many of them to be slaughtered +and their chieftains to be burnt; hangs a female Cacique of distinction; +causes 600 Indians of Saona to be imprisoned in one dwelling and put to +the sword; receives Columbus on his arrival at St. Domingo with a +hypocritical politeness. + +Oviedo, Gonzalo Fernandez de, a short account of his life and writings. + +Oysters, in the Gulf of Paria, round the roots of the Mangrove trees. + +Ozema, river of, and the country through which it flows. + + + +P. + + +Palos, the port whence Columbus sailed on his first expedition; present +state of; visit to. + +Palms, Cape of, discovered. + +Pane, Roman, labors to convert the Haytiens. + +Paradise, observations on the situation of the terrestrial; of the +Haytiens. + +Paria., Gulf of, Columbus's voyage through the; description of the coast +of; manners of the natives; current of the sea. + +Parrots, first seen in the western hemisphere; large flights of, seen; +found on the coast of Paria. + +Partition, papal bull of; line of, removed. + +Pasamonte, Miguel, becomes an enemy to Don Diego Columbus. + +Pearls, the Gulf of. + +---- of Cubagua. Pepper, Agi. + +Perez, Alonzo, discovers land in Columbus's third voyage. + +----, Pray Juan, prior of the convent of La Raibida, entertains Columbus +on his first entry into Spain; gives him letters of introduction to the +queen's confessor, and educates his son; reception of Columbus; writes to +Queen Isabella; invited to court; pleads the cause of Columbus; receives a +visit from Columbus after his success. + +Philip, king of Castile, listens to the request of Columbus, and promises +a prosperous termination to his suit. + +Pigeons, wood, vast numbers seen on the south side of Cuba. + +Pilgrimages, lots for, drawing of. + +Pilot, observations on the rumor of a pilot having died in the house of +Columbus. + +Pine-apple first met with. + +Pines, island of, discovered by Columbus. + +Pinos, Isla de, discovery of. + +Pinta, desertion of. + +Pinzons, family of, they enable Columbus to offer to bear one-eighth of +the charge of the expedition, and to add a third ship to the armament. +100; their activity and interest in the voyage; furnish Columbus with +money to defray the eighth share of the expense; account of their family, +note. Pinzon, Martin Alonzo, offers to bear the expenses of Columbus in a +renewed application to the court; his opinion relative to the nearness of +land; begins to lose confidence in the course they are pursuing; crediting +the accounts of the Indians in respect to a very rich island, deserts and +goes in search of it; Columbus meets him; his apology: account of his +proceedings; his duplicity becomes more evident: his arrival at Palos; +effect of his treacherous conduct; his death; reflections on; observations +relative to the supposed idea of Columbus owing to him the success of his +great enterprise: his character. + +----, Vicente Yanes, obtains a license for voyages of discovery; sails on +a voyage of discovery; discovers the Brazils; discovers the river of +Amazons; is allowed, as a reward, to colonize and govern the lands which +he had discovered. + +Planisphere of Martin Behein. Pliny, his notice of electrical lights on +the masts of ships. + +Poetry of the Haytiens. + +Polo, Nicholas and Matteo, an account of their travels into the east; +their first journey; return: their second journey: their return; invite +their relatives to a splendid banquet. + +----, Marco, influence of his travels upon the mind of Columbus; ii. 406; +short account of his travels; his return; commands a galley at the battle +of Cuzzola: is taken prisoner and sent in chains to Genoa; writes an +account of his travels; is liberated and returns to Venice; an account of +his work. + +Porras, Francisco de, engages in a mutiny at Jamaica; they embark with +most of Columbus's erew in ten Indian canoes; are driven back; and with +their companions rove about the island; refuses an offer of pardon; +attacks the Admiral and Adelantado; taken prisoner: is set at liberty by +Ovando; and sent to Spain to be examined by the Indian board. 284. + +Porto Rico, or Boriquen, discovery of. + +Portugal and Spain, diplomatic negotiations between the courts of, with +respect to the new discoveries. + +Potato in Hayti. + +Prado, prior of. See Talavera. + +Prester John, an imaginary Christian king; account of. + +Priests of the Haytiens. + +Ptolemy, difficulty at the council of Salamanaca to reconcile the theory +of Columbus with that of. + +Puerto de Bastimento, harbor of. + +---- Bello, discovery of, by Columbus. + +---- Santo, Columbus's description of. + + + +Q. + + +Queen's Gardens, Columlms's arrival at, in his third voyage; archipelago +of, discovered. + +Question, the territorial, how settled. + +Quibian, Cacique of Veragua, interview with Bartholomew Columbus: second +interview; determines on preventing the Spaniards from obtaining a +settlement in his territories; conspires to burn their houses and murder +them; is seized by the Adelantado with his wives and children; escapes in +a very extraordinary manner 199; attacks the Spaniards and is defeated. + +Quinsai, Marco Polo's account of. + +Quintanilla, Alonzo de, receives Columbus into his house. + + + +R. + + +Rabida, La, convent of, Columbus is entertained at, on his first arrival +in Spain; present state. + +Reeds, river of. + +----, immense, seen on the Mosquito coast. + +Reinier, king of Naples, Columbus engages in his service. + +Religion of the natives of Hayti. + +Repartimientos, origin of: opposition of Don Diego Columbus to the. + +Rewards and punishments, ideas of the Haytiens in respect to. + +Rio Verde, or the green river. + +Riquelme, Pedro, makes his house the headquarters of the rebels at +Hispaniola; made Alcalde by Roldan: joins in a conspiracy with Adrian de +Moxica; is taken. + +Road, the first constructed by Europeans in the New World. + +Rodriguez, Sebastian, takes a letter from the prior Perez to the queen. +91. + +Roldan, Francisco, history and character of: an account of his conspiracy; +takes possession of Xaragua; his conduct in respect to the ships sent +forward by Columbus: promises to repair to St. Domingo on the arrival of +Columbus; his interview with Ballester; rejects an offer of pardon; +demands his discharge; his interview with Carvajal, etc.; determines on +going to the admiral; correspondence with the admiral; sends propositions +by Carvajal; which are accepted; circumstances prevent their being acted +upon; makes a second arrangement with the admiral; is permitted to resume +his office of Alcalde-mayor; receives a grant of lands; visits his lands; +assumes new authority; is sent to meet Alonzo de Ojeda; his manoeuvres +with him; his rivalship with Guevara; seizes him in the dwelling of +Anacaona; treated with confidence by Bobadilla; his conduct investigated +by Ovando; sails for Spain, and is lost in a violent hurricane. + +Roman, Friar, his account of the natives of Hispauiola. + + + +S. + + +Sabellicus, his account of the capture of the Venetian galleys. + +Salamanca, the learned assemble at, to consider the proposition of +Columbus; pronounce the plan to be vain and impossible. + +Salcedo, Diego de, arrives at Jamaica with succors from Ovando. + +Salvador, St., discovery of; awe and surprise of the natives on first +beholding the ships of Columbus; description of them; gold first +discovered in this island. + +Samana, Gulf of, discovered. + +San Rafael, discovery of. + +Sanchez, Juan, takes charge of Quibian. ii. 196; who escapes; killed in +battle by the Adelantado. + +Sande, Don Ruy do, his mission to the Spanish court. + +Santa Marta, island of, discovered. + +Santa, La Isla, discovery of. + +Santa Cruz, island of, discovery of. + +Santa Gloria, (St. Ann's Bay), discovered by Columbus. + +Santiago. See Jamaica; letter of Heneken, note. + +----, river of, discovered. + +Saometa, discovery of. + +Saona, island of, discovered; difference of longitude between, and Cadiz + +Scandinavians, an essay relative to the voyages of. + +Schedel, remarks on an interpolation in his chronicle. + +Seneca, his notice of electrical lights on the masts of ships. + +Serafin Point. + +Sharks, a multitude of, seen on the coast of Veragua; curious method of +taking them; superstition concerning. + +Ships, observation relative to the size of those employed by Columbus. + +Slaves, five hundred are sent to Spain; three hundred sent by Bartholomew +Columbus; arrival in Spain; Queen Isabella interests herself in their +favor; orders them to be sent back to Hayti; negroes first introduced to +the New World; revolt of; Hispaniola the first island to exhibit an awful +retribution; regulations in respect to. + +Solomon, the gold used in the temple of. + +Soria, Juan de, his insolence to Columbus. + +Soul, ideas of the Haytiens in respect to the; the after-state of, +believed by the natives of Cuba. + +Spain and Portugal, diplomatic negotiations between the courts of, with +respect to the new discoveries. + +Spotorno, Gio, publishes documents relative to Columbus, note. + +Sugar-cane introduced into Hayti. + +Superstition of St. Elmo lights. + +Swallow, a, encircles the ships of Columbus. + + + +T. + + +Talavera, Fernando de, prior of Prado and confessor to Queen Isabella. +85; esteems Columbus's plan impossible; he is desired by the king to +assemble men of science to consider the matter; reports to the king that +the council had pronounced the plan vain and impossible; takes a message +from the king;' disgusted at the high terms insisted on by Columbus. + +Teneriffe, fears of the crew at beholding Mount. + +Territory, question of, how settled. + +Thomas, St., fortress of, erected; see note; conduct of the colonists +there; attacks of. + +Tobacco, first seen in the island of Cuba. + +Tobago, discovery of. + +Toledo, archbishop of, his character; gives Columbus an attentive hearing; +and procures him an audience of the king. + +Toledo, Doña Maria de, Don Diego Columbus becomes enamored of: their +marriage; and embarkation for Hispaniola; is left as vice-queen at St. +Domingo on the sailing of Don Diego for Spain; becomes a widow. + +Torre, Doña Juana de la, receives a letter from Columbus with an account +of his treatment. + +Torres, Antonio de, dispatched from Hispaniola, with twelve ships, to +Spain; arrives at Cadiz; dismissed from office. + +----, Luis de, sent up the island of Cuba by Columbus; an account of his +journey. + +Tortoises, sea covered with, on the southern coast of Cuba; curious method +of taking; a living one taken out of the maw of a shark. + +Tortugas, beautiful island of, discovery of. + +Toscanelli, Paulo, his correspondence with Columbus. + +Trade of the colonies monopolized by the crown of Spain; the Spanish +system the scoff of modern times. + +Trasierra, Juan de. + +Triana, Rodrigo de, first sees the land of the western world; account of. + +Tribute imposed upon the Haytiens. + +Trinidad, island of, discovered; description of its appearance; curious +account of the natives. + +Tristan, Diego; is killed. + +Tudela, Benjamin, travels of. + +Turk's island, observations relative to. + + + +U. + + +Ursula, Santa, island of, discovered. + + + +V. + + +Vassals, natives of Hispaniola reduced to the condition of. + +Vega, Garcilasso de la, his tale relative to a pilot having died in the +house of Columbus. + +----, river; called by the natives Yagui. + +----, Real, the royal plain. + +Velasco, Francisco. + +Velasquez, Diego, commands the soldiery at the massacre of Xaragua. + +Veragua, coast of, discovery of; warlike spirit of the inhabitants; soil +appears to be impregnated with gold; Golden Castile. + +Voraguas, duke of, consents to have the remains of Columbus removed to +Cuba. + +----, the heirship to Columbus decided in his favor. + +Verde, Cape de, discovery of. + +Vespucci, Amerigo, first notice of his expedition; employed by Columbus at +court; an account of; a summary view of his claim to the title of a +discoverer; the voyage whence his name was given to the American +continent; Columbus's letter to his son relative to the merit and +misfortunes of; Peter Martyr's character of: his letter to René, duke of +Lorraine; observations relative to the points in controversy; author's +conclusion, that the voyage asserted to have been made by Amerigo Vespucci +never took place. + +Vessel, stern-post of a, found in one of the houses at Guadaloupe. + +Villains, natives of Hispaniola reduced to the condition of. + +Villego, Alonzo de, appointed to carry Columbus to Spain; character of; +his colloquy with Columbus previous to their sailing. + +Vines introduced into Hayti. + +Vinland, a supposed discovery. + +Virgins, the eleven thousand, islands of, discovered. + +Vows made in a storm by Columbus and his crew; attempt at fulfilment. + + + +W. + + +Waterspout, a remarkable, seen on the coast of Veragua. + +Wax, cake of, presented to the sovereigns by Columbus. + +Wheat, introduced into Hayti. + +Wolves, sea, several killed on the coast of Hispaniola. + +Woman, account of a very strong, of Guadaloupe; taken to Columbus's ship; +falls in love with Caonabo, and refuses to return on shore. + +Women, origin of, according to the Haytiens. + +Writing, fear of the Indians of Cariari at seeing the Spaniards write. + + + +X. + + +Xagua, gulf of. + +Xaragua, domain of, an account of; description of its inhabitants; Roldan +takes possession of; massacre at. + + +Xerif al Edrizi, his description of the Atlantic. + +Ximenes, cardinal; prohibits licenses to import slaves from Africa to the +colonies. + + + +Y. + + +Yanique, river of. + + + +Z. + + +Zemes, inferior deities of the Haytiens. + +Zipangu (Japan), Marco Polo's account of. + +Zones, the, observations relative to. + + + + + +Footnotes + + + +[1]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. iv. + +[2]: Ibid., lib. v. + +[3]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. v. + +[4]: Charlevoix, Hist. St. Domingo, lib. ii. p. 147. Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, +lib. vi. § 6. + +[5]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. v. + +[6]: "These serpentes are lyke unto crocodiles, saving in bygness; they +call them guanas. Unto that day none of owre men durste adventure to taste +of them, by reason of theyre horrible deformitie and lothsomnes. Yet the +Adelantado being entysed by the pleasantnes of the king's sister, +Anacaona, determined to taste the serpentes. But when he felte the flesh +thereof to be so delycate to his tongue, he fel to amayne without al +feare. The which thyng his companions perceiving, were not behynde hym in +greedynesse: insomuche that they had now none other talke than of the +sweetnesse of these serpentes, which, they affirm to be of more pleasant +taste, than eyther our phesantes or partriches." Peter Martyr, decad. i. +book v. Eden's Eng. Trans. + +[7]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., tom. i. cap. 113. + +[8]: Ibid, lib. i. cap. 114. + +[9]: P. Martyr, decad. i. lib. v. Of the residence of Guarionex, which must +have been a considerable town, not the least vestige can be discovered at +present. Vol. II.--2. + +[10]: Escritura de Fr. Roman, Hist. del Almirante. + +[11]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. ix. + +[12]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 121. + +[13]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 65. Peter Martyr, decad. vi. lib. +v. + +[14]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 7. + +[15]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. v. Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. +iii. cap. 6. + +[16]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. v. Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 6. + +[17]: Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 9. + +[18]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 1. + +[19]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 118. + +[20]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 73. + +[21]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 73. + +[22]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 7. Hist, del Almirante, cap. 74. + +_Extract of a letter from T. S. Heneken, Esq.,_ 1847.--Fort +Conception is situated at the foot of a hill now called Santo Cerro. It is +constructed of bricks, and is almost as entire at the present day as when +just finished. It stands in the gloom of an exuberant forest which has +invaded the scene of former bustle and activity; a spot once considered of +great importance and surrounded by swarms of intelligent beings. + +What has become of the countless multitudes this fortress was intended to +awe? Not a trace of them remains excepting in the records of history. The +silence of the tomb prevails where their habitations responded to their +songs and dances. A few indigent Spaniards, living in miserable hovels, +scattered widely apart in the bosom of the forest, are now the sole +occupants of this once fruitful and beautiful region. + +A Spanish town gradually grew up round the fortress; the ruins of which +extend to a considerable distance. It was destroyed by an earthquake, at +nine o'clock of the morning of Saturday, 20th April, 1564, during the +celebration of mass. Part of the massive walls of a handsome church still +remain, as well as those of a very large convent or hospital, supposed to +have been constructed in pursuance of the testamentary dispositions of +Columbus. The inhabitants who survived the catastrophe retired to a small +chapel, on the banks of a river, about a league distant, where the new +town of La Vega was afterwards built. + +[23]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 7. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 74. + +[24]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 74. Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 7. + +[25]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 118. + +[26]: Ibid., cap. 119. + +[27]: Las Casas. Herrera. Hist. del Almirante. + +[28]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 8. + +[29]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., cap. 121, MS. Peter Martyr, decad. i. cap. 5. + +[30]: The particulars of this chapter are chiefly from P. Martyr, decad. i. +lib. vi.; the manuscript history of Las Casas, lib. i. cap. 121; and +Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 8, 9. + +[31]: Las Casas, lib. i. cap. 149,150. Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. +12. Hist, del Almirante, cap. 77. + +[32]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 153. + +[33]: Hist, del Almirante, cap. 78. + +[34]: In one of these ships sailed the father of the venerable historian +Las Casas, from whom he derived many of the facts of his history. Las +Casas, lib. i. cap. 153. + +[35]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 157. + +[36]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 78. + +[37]: Ibid., cap. 79. Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap 13. + +[38]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 153. + +[39]: Ibid., cap. 158. + +[40]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 79. + +[41]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 80. + +[42]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[43]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[44]: Herrera, decad. I. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[45]: Idem. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 38. + +[46]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[47]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iii cap. 16. + +[48]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[49]: Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, lib. vi. § 50. + +[50]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 84. + +[51]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[52]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 83, +84. + +[53]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[54]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iii. cap. 16. + +[55]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 3. + +[56]: Las Casas. + +[57]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 4. Muñoz, Hist. N. +Mundo, part in MS. unpublished. + +[58]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 84. + +[59]: Hist. del Almirante, ubi sup. + +[60]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 169, MS. + +[61]: Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Prince Juan. + +[62]: Las Casas, lib. i. cap. 169. + +[63]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 5. + +[64]: Lag Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 170, MS. Herrera, decad. i. lib. +iv. cap. 7. + +[65]: Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Prince Juan. Hist, del Almirante, +cap. 84. + +[66]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 85. + +[67]: Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, part unpublished. + +[68]: Las Casas, lib. i. + +[69]: Oviedo, Cronica, lib. iii. cap. 6. + +[70]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 7. + +[71]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib i. cap. 169. Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. +i. lib. iv. cap. 8. + +[72]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 179. + +[73]: Las Casas, ubi sup. Herrera, ubi sup. + +[74]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 85. Las Casas. Herrera, ubi sup. + +[75]: Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Prince Juan. + +[76]: Ibid. + +[77]: Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Prince Juan. + +[78]: Idem. Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. + +[79]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 9. Letter to the nurse of Prince +Juan. + +[80]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 180. + +[81]: Idem, lib. i. cap. 180. + +[82]: Peter Martyr mentions a vulgar rumor of the day, that the admiral, +not knowing what might happen, wrote a letter in cipher to the Adelantado, +urging him to come with arms in his hands to prevent any violence that +might be contrived against him; that the Adelantado advanced, in effect, +with his armed force, but having the imprudence to proceed some distance +ahead of it, was surprised by the governor, before his men could come to +his succor, and that the letter in cipher had been sent to Spain. This +must have been one of the groundless rumors of the day, circulated to +prejudice the public mind. Nothing of the kind appears among the charges +in the inquest made by Bobadilla, and which was seen, and extracts made +from it, by Las Casas, for his history. It is, in fact, in total +contradiction to the statements of Las Casas, Herrera, and Fernando +Columbus. + +[83]: Charlevoix, in his History of San Domingo (lib. iii. p. 199), states +that the suit against Columbus was conducted in writing; that written +charges were sent to him, to which he replied in the same way. This is +contrary to the statements of Las Casas, Herrera, and Fernando Columbus. +The admiral himself, in his letter to the nurse of Prince Juan, after +relating the manner in which he and his brothers had been thrown into +irons, and confined separately, without being visited by Bobadilla, or +permitted to see any other persons, expressly adds, "I make oath that I do +not know for what I am imprisoned." Again, in a letter written some time +afterwards from Jamaica, he says, "I was taken and thrown with two of my +brothers in a ship, loaded with irons, with little clothing and much +ill-treatment, without being summoned or convicted by justice." + +[84]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 10. Oviedo, Cronica. lib. iii. cap. +6. + +[85]: Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, part unpublished. + +[86]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 86. + +[87]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 180, MS. + +[88]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 180, MS. + +[89]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 86. + +[90]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 182. + +[91]: Oviedo, Cronica, lib. iii. cap. 6. + +[92]: Las Casas, lib. i. cap. 182. Two thousand ducats, or two thousand +eight hundred and forty-six dollars, equivalent to eight thousand five +hundred and thirty-eight dollars of the present day. + +[93]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 10. + +[94]: Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. ix. + +[95]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 12. Muñoz, Hist. N. Mundo, part +unpublished. + +[96]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 2. Muñoz, part unpublished. + +[97]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 2 Muñoz, part unpublished. + +[98]: Hakluyt's Collection of Voyages, vol. iii. p. 7. Vol. II.-9 + +[99]: Lafiteau, Conquetes des Portugais, lib. ii. + +[100]: Robertson, Hist. America, book ii. + +[101]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 3. + +[102]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 1, MS. + +[103]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind. lib. ii. cap. 3, MS. + +[104]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. iv. cap. 12. + +[105]: Muñoz, part inedit. Las Casas says the fleet consisted of thirty-two +sail. He states from memory, however; Muñoz from documents. + +[106]: Muñoz, H. N. Mundo, part inedit. + +[107]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 3, MS. + +[108]: Garibay, Hist. España, lib. xix. cap. 6. Among the collections +existing in the library of the late Prince Sebastian, there is a folio +which, among other things, contains a paper or letter, in which is a +calculation of the probable expenses of an army of twenty thousand men, +for the conquest of the Holy Land. It is dated in 1509 or 1510, and the +handwriting appears to be of the same time. + +[109]: Columbus was not singular in his belief; it was entertained by many +of his zealous and learned admirers. The erudite lapidary, Jayme Ferrer, +in the letter written to Columbus in 1495, at the command of the +sovereigns, observes: "I see in this a great mystery: the divine and +infallible Providence sent the great St. Thomas from the west into the +east, to manifest in India our holy and Catholic faith; and you, Señor, he +sent in an opposite direction, from the east into the west, until you have +arrived in the Orient, into the extreme part of Upper India, that the +people may hear that which their ancestors neglected of the preaching of +St. Thomas. Thus shall be accomplished what was written, _in omnem +terram exibit sonus eorum_." ... And again, "The office which you hold, +Señor, places you in the light of an apostle and ambassador of God, sent +by his divine judgment, to make known his holy name in unknown +lands."--Letra de Mossen, Jayme Ferrer, Navarrete, Coleccion, tom. ii. +decad. 68. See also the opinion expressed by Agostino Giustiniani, his +contemporary, in his Polyglot Psalter. + +[110]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 4. Las Casas specifics the vicinity of +Nombre de Dios as the place. + +[111]: Navarrete, Colec. Viag., tom. ii. p. 145. + +[112]: A manuscript volume containing a copy of this letter and of the +collection of prophecies is in the Columbian Library, in the Cathedral of +Seville, where the author of this work has seen and examined it since +publishing the first edition. The title and some of the early pages of the +work are in the handwriting of Fernando Columbus; the main body of the +work is by a strange hand, probably by the Friar Gaspar Gorricio, or some +brother of his Convent. There are trifling marginal notes or corrections, +and one or two trivial additions in the handwriting of Columbus, +especially a passage added after his return from his fourth voyage, and +shortly before his death, alluding to an eclipse of the moon which took +place during his sojourn in the island of Jamaica. The handwriting of this +last passage, like most of the manuscript of Columbus which the author has +seen, is small and delicate, but wants the firmness and distinctness of +his earlier writing, his hand having doubtless become unsteady by age and +infirmity. + +This document is extremely curious as containing all the passages of +Scripture and of the works of the fathers which had so powerful an +influence on the enthusiastic mind of Columbus, and were construed by him +into mysterious prophecies and revelations. The volume is in good +preservation, excepting that a few pages have been cut out. The writing, +though of the beginning of the fifteenth century, is very distinct and +legible. The library-mark of the book is Estante Z. Tab. 138, No. 25. + +[113]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 4. + +[114]: These documents lay unknown in the Oderigo family until 1670, when +Lorenzo Oderigo presented them to the government of Genoa, and they were +deposited in the archives. In the disturbances and revolutions of after +times, one of these copies was taken to Paris, and the other disappeared. +In 1816 the latter was discovered in the library of the deceased Count +Michel Angelo Cambiaso, a senator of Genoa. It was procured by the king of +Sardinia, then sovereign of Genoa, and given up by him to the city of +Genoa in 1821. A custodia, or monument, was erected in that city for its +preservation, consisting of a marble column supporting an urn, surmounted +by a bust of Columbus. The documents were deposited in the urn. These +papers have been published, together with an historical memoir of +Columbus, by D. Gio. Battista Spotorno, Professor of Eloquence, etc. in +the University of Genoa. + +[115]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 88. + +[116]: Señor Navarrete supposes this island to be the same at present +called Santa Lucia. From the distance between it and Dominica, as stated +by Fernando Columbus, it was more probably the present Martinica. + +[117]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 88. + +[118]: Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. Journal of Porras, Navarrete, tom. +i. + +[119]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 88. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 5. + +[120]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 3. + +[121]: Las Casas, cap. 5. + +[122]: Las Casas, cap. 5. + +[123]: Las Casas ubi sup. + +[124]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 5. Hist. del Almirante, cap. +88. + +[125]: Supposed to be the Morant Keys. + +[126]: Called in some of the English maps Bonacca. + +[127]: Journal of Porras, Navarrete, tom. i. + +[128]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 20. Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. + +[129]: Journal of Porras, Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[130]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 21. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 90. + +[131]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 80. + +[132]: Letter from Jamaica. Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[133]: Las Casas, lib ii. cap. 21. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 91. + +[134]: P. Martyr, decad. iii. lib. iv. These may have been the lime, a +small and extremely acid species of the lemon. + +[135]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 21. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 91. Journal +of Porras. + +[136]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 91. + +[137]: Letter from Jamaica. + +[138]: Note.--We find instances of the same kind of superstition in the +work of Marco Polo, and as Columbus considered himself in the vicinity of +the countries described by that traveler, he may have been influenced in +this respect by his narrations. Speaking of the island of Soccotera +(Socotra), Marco Polo observes: "The inhabitants deal more in sorcery and +witchcraft than any other people, although forbidden by their archbishop, +who excommunicates and anathematizes them for the sin. Of this, however, +they make little account, and if any vessel belong to a pirate should +injure one of theirs, they do not fail to lay him under a spell, so that +he cannot proceed on his cruise until he has made satisfaction for the +damage; and even although he should have a fair and leading wind, they +have the power of causing it to change, and thereby obliging him, in spite +of himself, to return to the island. They can, in like manner, cause the +sea to become calm, and at their will can raise tempests, occasion +ship-wrecks, and produce many other extraordinary effects that need not be +particularized."--Marco Polo, Book iii. cap. 35, Eng. translation by W. +Marsden. + +[139]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 21. Hist. del Almirante cap. 91. + +[140]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 21. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 91. Letter of +Columbus from Jamaica. + +[141]: In some English maps this bay is called Almirante, or Carnabaco Bay. +The channel by which Columbus entered is still called Boca del Almirante, +or the mouth of the Admiral. + +[142]: Journal of Porras, Navarrete, tom. i. + +[143]: P. Martyr, decad. iii. lib. v. + +[144]: Columbus' Letter from Jamaica. + +[145]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 92. + +[146]: Idem. + +[147]: Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. Vol. +II.--12. + +[148]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 23. Hist. del Almirante. + +[149]: Peter Martyr, decad. iii. lib. iv. + +[150]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 23. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 92. + +[151]: Las Casas. lib. ii. cap. 23. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 92. + +[152]: It appears doubtful whether Columbus was acquainted with the exact +particulars of that voyage, as they could scarcely have reached Spain +previously to his sailing. Bastides had been seized in Hispaniola by +Bobadilla, and was on board of that very fleet which was wrecked at the +time that Columbus arrived off San Domingo. He escaped the fate that +attended most of his companions, and returned to Spain, where he was +rewarded by the sovereigns for his enterprise. Though some of his seamen +had reached Spain previous to the sailing of Columbus, and had given a +general idea of the voyage, it is doubtful whether he had transmitted his +papers and charts. Porras, in his journal of the voyage of Columbus, +states that they arrived at the place where the discoveries of Bastides +terminated; but this information he may have obtained subsequently at San +Domingo. + +[153]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 24. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 90. + +[154]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 94. + +[155]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 94. + +[156]: A superstitious notion with respect to gold appears to have been +very prevalent among the natives. The Indians of Hispaniola observed the +same privations when they sought for it, abstaining from food and from +sexual intercourse. Columbus, who seemed to look upon gold as one of the +sacred and mystic treasures of the earth, wished to encourage similar +observances among the Spaniards; exhorting them to purify themselves for +the research of the mines by fasting, prayer, and chastity. It is scarcely +necessary to add, that his advice was but little attended to by his +rapacious and sensual followers. + +[157]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 95. + +[158]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 25. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 95. + +[159]: Peter Martyr, decad. iii. lib. iv. + +[160]: Letter of the Admiral from Jamaica. + +[161]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 25. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 95. + +[162]: Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. + +[163]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 96. + +[164]: Letter from Jamaica. + +[165]: Equivalent to one thousand two hundred and eighty-one dollars at the +present day. + +[166]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 98. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 27. Many of +the particulars of this chapter are from a short narrative given by Diego +Mendez, and inserted in his last will and testament. It is written in a +strain of simple egotism, as he represents himself as the principal and +almost the sole actor in every affair. The facts, however, have all the +air of veracity, and being given on such a solemn occasion, the document +is entitled to high credit. He will be found to distinguish himself on +another hazardous and important occasion in the course of this +history.--Vide Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[167]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 98. Las Casas, lib. ii. Letter of Columbus +from Jamaica. Relation of Diego Mendez, Navarrete, tom. i. Journal of +Porras, Navarrete, tom. i. + +[168]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 99. + +[169]: Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. + +[170]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 99, 100. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 29. +Relacion por Diego Mendez. Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. Journal of +Porras, Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[171]: Hist. del Almirante. Letter from Jamaica. + +[172]: Journal of Porras, Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[173]: Letter from Jamaica. + +[174]: Testimony of Pedro de Ledesma. Pleito de los Colones. + +[175]: Letter from Jamaica. + +[176]: Idem. + +[177]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 100. Letter of Columbus from Jamaica. + +[178]: Hist. del Almirante. Journal of Porras. + +[179]: Relacion por Diego Mendez. Navarrete, torn. i. + +[180]: Relacion por Diego Mendez. Navarrete, Colec, torn. i. + +[181]: Joachim, native of the burgh of Celico, near Cozenza, traveled in +the Holy Land. Returning to Calabria, he took the habit of the Cistercians +in the monastery of Corazzo, of which he became prior and abbot, and +afterwards rose to higher monastic importance. He died in 1202, having +attained 72 years of age, leaving a great number of works; among the most +known are commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apocalypse. There are +also prophecies by him, "which," (says the Dictionnaire Historique,) +"during his life, made him to be admired by fools, and despised by men of +sense; at present the latter sentiment prevails. He was either very weak +or very presumptuous, to flatter himself that he had the keys of things of +which God reserves the knowledge to himself."--Dict. Hist., tom. 5, Caen, +1785. + +[182]: Hist, del Almirante, cap. 101. + +[183]: Hist, del Almirante, cap. 102. + +[184]: Letter of Columbus to his son Diego. Navarrete, Colec. Vol. II.-15 + +[185]: Hist, del Almirante, cap. 102. + +[186]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 32. Hist, del Almirante, cap. +102. + +[187]: Hist, del Almirante, cap. 102. + +[188]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 32. + +[189]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 102. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 32. + +[190]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 103. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. +33. + +[191]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 104. + +[192]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 33. + +[193]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 33. Hist. del Almirante cap. +103. + +[194]: Las Casas, ubi sup. Hist. del Almirante, ubi sup. + +[195]: Not far from the Island of Navasa there gushes up in the sea a pure +fountain of fresh water that sweetens the surface for some distance: this +circumstance was of course unknown to the Spaniards at the time. (Oviedo, +Cronica, lib. vi. cap. 12.) + +[196]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 105. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 31. +Testament of Diego Mendez. Navarrete, tom. i. + +[197]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 35. Hist. del Almirante, cap. 106. + +[198]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 106. Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 35. + +[199]: At present Mammee Bay. + +[200]: Hist. del Almirante, ubi sup. + +[201]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 107. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib ii. cap. +35. + +[202]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 35. + +[203]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 32. + +[204]: Some brief notice of the further fortunes of Diego Mendez may be +interesting to the reader. When King Ferdinand heard of his faithful +services, says Oviedo, he bestowed rewards upon Mendez, and permitted him +to bear a canoe in his coat of arms, as a memento of his loyalty. He +continued devotedly attached to the admiral, serving him zealously after +his return to Spain, and during his last illness. Columbus retained the +most grateful and affectionate sense of his fidelity. On his death-bed he +promised Mendez that, in reward for his services, he should be appointed +principal Alguazil of the island of Hispaniola; an engagement which the +admiral's son, Don Diego, who was present, cheerfully undertook to +perform. A few years afterwards, when the latter succeeded to the office +of his father, Mendez reminded him of the promise, but Don Diego informed +him that he had given the office to his uncle Don Bartholomew; he assured +him, however, that he should receive something equivalent. Mendez shrewdly +replied, that the equivalent had better be given to Don Bartholomew, and +the office to himself, according to agreement. The promise, however, +remained unperformed, and Diego Mendez unrewarded. He was afterwards +engaged on voyages of discovery in vessels of his own, but met with many +vicissitudes, and appears to have died in impoverished circumstances. His +last will, from which these particulars are principally gathered, was +dated in Valladolid, the 19th of June, 1536, by which it is evident he +must have been in the prime of life at the time of his voyage with the +admiral. In this will he requested that the reward which had been promised +to him should be paid to his children, by making his eldest son principal +Alguazil for life of the city of San Domingo, and his other son lieutenant +to the admiral for the same city. It does not appear whether this request +was complied with under the successors of Don Diego. + +In another clause of his will, he desired that a large stone should be +placed upon his sepulchre, on which should be engraved, "Here lies the +honorable Cavalier Diego Mendez, who served greatly the royal crown of +Spain, in the conquest of the Indies, with the admiral Don Christopher +Columbus, of glorious memory, who made the discovery; and afterwards by +himself, with ships at his own cost. He died, &c., &c. Bestow in charity a +Paternoster, and an Ave Maria." + +He ordered that in the midst of this stone there should be carved an +Indian canoe, as given him by the king for armorial bearings in memorial +of his voyage from Jamaica to Hispaniola, and above it should be engraved +in large letters the word "CANOA." He enjoined upon his heirs to be loyal +to the admiral (Don Diego Columbus), and his lady, and gave them much +ghostly counsel, mingled with pious benedictions. As an heirloom in his +family, he bequeathed his library, consisting of a few volumes, which +accompanied him in his wanderings; viz. "The Art of Holy Dying, by +Erasmus; A sermon of the same author, in Spanish; The Lingua, and the +Colloquies of the same; The History of Josephus; The Moral Philosophy of +Aristotle; The Book of the Holy Land; A Book called the Contemplation of +the Passion of our Savior; A Tract on the Vengeance of the Death of +Agamemnon, and several other short treatises." This curious and +characteristic testament is in the archives of the Duke of Veragua in +Madrid. + +[205]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 6. + +[206]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 14, MS. + +[207]: Idem, ubi sup. + +[208]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 9. + +[209]: Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, lib. iii. cap. 12. + +[210]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 9. + +[211]: Charlevoix, Hist. San Domingo, lib. xxiv. p. 235. + +[212]: Relacion hecha por Don Diego Mendez. Navarrete, Col., tom. i. p. +314. + +[213]: Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, lib. iii. cap. 12. Las Casas, Hist. +Ind., lib. ii. cap. 9. + +[214]: Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, lib. iii. cap. 12. + +[215]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 8. + +[216]: Las Casas, ubi. sup. + +[217]: Las Casas, ubi. sup. + +[218]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 17, MS. + +[219]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 18. + +[220]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 36. + +[221]: Letter of Columbus to his son Diego, Seville, Nov. 21, 1504. +Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[222]: Letter of Columbus to his son Diego, dated Seville, 3d Dec., 1504. +Navarrete, tom. i. p. 341. + +[223]: Navarrete, Colec., tom. ii. decad. 151, 152. + +[224]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. v. cap. 12. + +[225]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 108. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. +cap. 36. + +[226]: Let. Seville, 13 Dec., 1504. Navarrete, v. i. p. 343. + +[227]: The dying command of Isabella has been obeyed. The author of this +work has seen her tomb in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Granada, in +which her remains are interred with those of Ferdinand. Their effigies, +sculptured in white marble, lie side by side on a magnificent sepulchre. +The altar of the chapel is adorned with bas reliefs representing the +conquest and surrender of Granada. + +[228]: Elogio de la Reina Catolica por D. Diego Clemencin. Illustration 19. + +[229]: Letter to his son Diego, Dec. 3,1504. + +[230]: Letter of December 21,1504. Navarrete, torn. i. p. 346. + +[231]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 37. Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. +i. lib. vi. cap. 13. + +[232]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind, lib. ii. cap. 37, MS. + +[233]: Navarrete, Colec., tom. i. + +[234]: Diego, the son of the admiral, notes in his own testament this +bequest of his father, and says, that he was charged by him to pay Beatrix +Enriquez 10,000 maravedis a year, which for some time he had faithfully +performed; but as he believes that for three or four years previous to her +death he had neglected to do so, he orders that the deficiency shall be +ascertained and paid to her heirs. Memorial ajustado sobre la propriedad +del mayorazgo que foudo D. Christ. Colon, § 245. + +[235]: Cura de los Palacios, cap. 121. + +[236]: Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 38. Hist, del Almirante, cap. +108. + +[237]: D. Humboldt. Examen Critique. + +[238]: Cladera, Investigaciones historias, p. 43. + +[239]: Navarrete, Colec., tom. ii. p. 365. + +[240]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. ii. lib. vii. cap. 4. + +[241]: Extracts from the minutes of the process taken by the historian +Muñoz, MS. + +[242]: Further mention will be found of this lawsuit in the article +relative to Amerigo Vespucci. + +[243]: Charlevoix, ut supra, v. i. p. 272, id. 274. + +[244]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 49, MS. + +[245]: Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 49, MS. + +[246]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. vii. cap, 12. + +[247]: Idem. + +[248]: Charlevoix, Hist. St. Domingo, p. 321. + +[249]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad i. lib. ix. cap. 5. + +[250]: Idem. + +[251]: Herrera, decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 7. + +[252]: Idem, decad. 1. lib. x. cap. 16. + +[253]: Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming., lib. v. + +[254]: Herrera, decad. ii. lib. ix. cap. 7. + +[255]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 9. + +[256]: Idem, decad. iii. lib. v. cap. 4. + +[257]: Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming., lib. Ti. + +[258]: Herrera, decad. Hi. lib. Tut. cap. 15. + +[259]: Memorial ajustado sobre el estado de Veragua. + +Charlevoix mentions another son called Diego, and calls one of the +daughters Phillipine. Spotorno says that the daughter Maria took the veil; +confounding her with a niece. These are trivial errors, merely noticed to +avoid the imputation of inaccuracy. The account of the descendants of +Columbus here given, accords with a genealogical tree of the family, +produced before the council of the Indies, in a great lawsuit for the +estates. + +[260]: Herrern, decad. iv. lib. ii. cap. 6. + +[261]: Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming., lib. vi. p. 443. + +[262]: Idem, tom. i. lib. vi. p. 446. + +[263]: Spotorno, Hist. Colom., p. 123. + +[264]: Bossi, Hist. Colom. Dissert., p. 67. + +[265]: Idem, Dissert. on the Country of Columbus, p. 03. + +[266]: Bossi, Dissertation on the Country of Columbus. + +[267]: Spotorno, p. 127. + +[268]: Literally, in the original, _Cazador de Volateria_, a Falconer. +Hawking was in those days an amusement of the highest classes; and to keep +hawks was almost a sign of nobility. + +[269]: Herrera, decad. i. lib. i. cap. 7. + +[270]: Dissertation, &c. + +[271]: Bossi. French Translation, Paris, 1824, p. 09. + +[272]: Idem. + +[273]: Correspondence Astronom. Geograph. &c. de Baron du Zach, vol. 14, +cabier 6, lettera 29. 1826. + +[274]: Felippo Alberto Pollero, Epicherema, cioe breve discorso per difess +di sua persona e carrattere. Torino, per Gio Battista Zappata. MCDXCVI. +(read 1696) in 40. pag. 47. + +[275]: Spotorno, Eng. trans., pp. xi, xii. + +[276]: Bossi, French trans., p. 76. + +[277]: Idem, p. 88. + +[278]: Cura de los Palacios, MS., cap. 118. + +[279]: Alex. Geraldini, Itin. ad. Reg. sub. Aquinor. + +[280]: Antonio Gallo, Anales of Genoa, Muratori, tom. 23. + +[281]: Senarega, Muratori, tom. 24. + +[282]: Foglieta, Elog. Clar. Ligur. + +[283]: Grineus, Nov. Orb. + +[284]: "Item. Mando el dicho Don Diego mi hijo, á la persona que heredare +el dicho mayorazgo, que tenga y sostenga siempre en la ciudad de Genova +una persona de nuestro linage que tenga alli casa é muger, é le ordene +renta con que pueda vivir honestamente, como persona tan llegada á nuestro +linage, y haga pie y raiz en la dicha ciudad como natural della, porque +podrá baber de la dicha ciudad ayuda e favor en las cosas del menester +suyo, _pues que della sali y en ella naci_." + +[285]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 1. + +[286]: Duke of Calabria was a title of the heir apparent to the crown of +Naples. + +[287]: Colenuccio, Hist. Nap., lib. vii. cap. 17. + +[288]: Zurita, Anales de Aragon, lib. xx. cap. 64. + +[289]: Obras de Gareta de Resende, cap. 58, Avora, 1554. + +[290]: Marco Antonio Coccio, better known under the name of Sabellicus, a +cognomen which he adopted on being crowned poet in the pedantic academy of +Pomponius Lætus. He was a contemporary of Columbus, and makes brief +mention of his discoveries in the eighth book of the tenth Ennead of his +universal history. By some writers he is called the Livy of his time; +others accuse him of being full of misrepresentations in favor of Venice. +The older Scaliger charges him with venality, and with being swayed by +Venetian gold. + +[291]: Bandini vita d'Amerigo Vespucci. + +[292]: Cosm. Munst., p. 1108. + +[293]: These particulars are from manuscript memoranda, extracted from the +royal archives, by the late accurate historian Muñoz. + +[294]: Bartolozzi, Recherche Historico. Firenze, 1789. + +[295]: Panzer, tom. vi. p. 33, apud Esame Critico, p. 88, Antazione 1. + +[296]: This rare book, in the possession of O. Rich, Esq., is believed to +be the oldest printed collection of voyages extant. It has not the pages +numbered; the sheets are merely marked with a letter of the alphabet at +the foot of each eighth page--It contains the earliest account of the +voyages of Columbus, from his first departure until his arrival at Cadiz +in chains. The letter of Vespucci to Lorenzo de Medici occupies the fifth +book of this little volume. It is stated to have been originally written +in Spanish, and translated into Italian by a person of the name of +Jocondo. An earlier edition is stated to have been printed in Venice by +Alberto Vercellese, in 1504. The author is said to have been Angelo +Trivigiani, secretary to the Venetian ambassador in Spain. This Trivigiani +appears to have collected many of the particulars of the voyages of +Columbus from the manuscript decades of Peter Martyr, who erroneously lays +the charge of the plagiarism to Aloysius Cadamosto, whose voyages are +inserted in the same collection. The book was entitled, "_Libretto di +tutta la navigazione del Re de Espagna, delle Isole e terreni nuovamente +trovati._" + +[297]: Letter of Vespucci to Soderini or Renato--Edit. of Canovai. + +[298]: Navarrete, Colec. Viag., tom. i. p. 351. + +[299]: Peter Martyr, decad. iii. lib. v. Eden's English trans. + +[300]: En este viage que este dicho testigo hizo trujo consigo a Juan de la +Cosa, piloto, e Morego Vespuche, e otros pilotos. + +[301]: Per la necessitá del mantenimento fummo all' Isola d'Antiglia +(Hispaniola) che é questa che descoperse Cristoval Colombo piú anni fa, +dove facemmo molto mantenimento, e stemmo due mesi e 17 giorni; dove +passammo moti pericoli e travagli con li medesimi christiani que in questa +isola stavanno col Colombo (credo per invidia). Letter of Vespucci.--Edit. +of Canovai. + +[302]: Preguntado como lo sabe; dijo--que lo sabe porque vió este testigo +la figura que el dicho Almirante al dicho tiempo embió á Castilla al Rey e +Reyna, nuestros Señores, de lo que habia descubierto, y porque este +testigo luego vino á descubrir y halló que era verdad lo que dicho tiene +que el dicho Almirante descubrió MS. Process of D. Diego Colon, Pregunta +2. + +[303]: Este testigo escrivió úna carta que el Almirante escriviera al Rey a +Reyna N. N. S. S. haciendo les saber las perlas e cosas que habia hallado, +y le embió señalado con la dieba carta, en una carta de marear, los rumbos +y víentos por donde habia llegado á la Paria, e que este testigo oyó decir +como pr. aquella carte se habían hecho otras e por ellas habian venido +Pedro Alonzo Merino (Niño) e Ojeda e otros que despues han ido á aquellas +partes. Process of D. Diego Colon, Pregunta 9. + +[304]: Idem, Pregunta 10. + +[305]: Que en todos los viages qne algunos hicieron descubriendo en la +dicha tierra, ivan personas que ovieron navegado con el dicho Almirante, y +a ellos mostró muchas cosas de marear, y ellos por imitacion é industria +del dicho Almirante las aprendian y aprendieron, e seguendo ag°. que el +dicho Almirante les habia mostrado, hicieron los viages que desenbrieron +en la Tierra Firma. Process, Pregunta 10. + +[306]: The first suggestion of the name appears to have been in the Latin +work already cited, published in St. Diez, in Lorraine, in 1507, in which +was inserted the letter of Vespucci to king René. The author, after +speaking of the other three parts of the world, Asia, Africa, and Europe, +recommends that the fourth ehall be called Amerigo, or America, after +Vespucci, whom he imagined its discoverer. + +_Note to the Revised Edition, 1848._--Humboldt, in his Examen +Critique, published in Paris, in 1837, says: "I have been so happy as to +discover, very recently, the name and the literary relations of the +mysterious personage who (in 1507) was the first to propose the name of +America to designate the new continent, and who concealed himself under +the Grecianized name of Hylacomylas." He then, by a long and ingenious +investigation, shows that the real name of this personage was Martin +Waldseemüller, of Fribourg, an eminent cosmographer, patronized by René, +duke of Lorraine; who no doubt put in his hands the letter received by him +from Amerigo Vespucci. The geographical works of Waldseemüller, under the +assumed name of Hylacomylas, had a wide circulation, went through repeated +editions, and propagated the use of the name America throughout the world. +There is no reason to suppose that this application of the name was in any +wise suggested by Amerigo Vespucci. It appears to have been entirely +gratuitous on the part of Waldseemüller. + +[307]: An instance of these errors may be cited in the edition of the +letter of Amerigo Vespucci to king René, inserted by Grinæus in his Novus +Orbis, in 1532. In this Vespucci is made to state that he sailed from +Cadiz May 20, MCCCCXCVII. (1497,) that he was eighteen months absent, and +returned to Cadiz October 15, MCCCCXCIX. (1499,) which would constitute an +absence of 29 months. He states his departure from Cadiz, on his second +voyage, Sunday, May 11th, MCCCCLXXXIX. (1489,) which would have made his +second voyage precede his first by eight years. If we substitute 1499 for +1489, the departure on his second voyage would still precede his return +from his first by five months. Canovai, in his edition, has altered the +date of the first return to 1498, to limit the voyage to eighteen months. + +[308]: Gomara, Hist. Ind., cap. 14. + +[309]: Navigatio Christophori Columbi, Madrignano Interprete. It is +contained in a collection of voyages called Novus Orbis Regionum, edition +of 1555, but was originally published in Italian as written by Montalbodo +Francanzano (or Francapano de Montaldo), in a collection of voyages +entitled Nuovo Mundo, in Vicenza, 1507. + +[310]: Girolamo Benzoni, Hist, del Nuevo Mundo, lib. i. fo. 12. In Venetia, +1572. + +[311]: Padre Joseph de Acosta, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 19. + +[312]: Juan de Mariana, Hist. Espana, lib. xxvi. cap. 3. + +[313]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. ii. lib. iii. cap. 1. + +[314]: Commentarios de los Incas, Lib. i. cap. 3. + +[315]: Names of historians who either adopted this story in detail, or the +charge against Columbus, drawn from it. + + Bernardo Aldrete, Antiguedad de España, lib. iv. cap. 17, p. 567. + Roderigo Caro, Antiguedad, lib. iii. cap. 76. + Juan de Solorzano, Ind. Jure, tom. i. lib. i. cap. 5. + Fernando Pizarro, Varones Ilust. del Nuevo Mundo, cap. 2. + Agostino Torniel, Annal. Sacr., tom. i. ann. Mund., 1931, No. 48. + Pet. Damarez or De Mariz, Dial. iv. de Var. Hist., cap. 4. + Gregorio Garcia, Orig. de los Indies, lib. i. cap. 4, 1. + Juan de Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. xviii. cap. 1. + John Baptiste Riccioli, Geograf. Reform., lib. iii. + +To this list of old authors may be added many others of more recent date. + +[316]: "Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Presbitero, Sevillano, escribio con +elegante estilo acerca de las cosas de las Indies, pero dexandose llevar +de falsas narraciones." Hijos de Sevilla, Numero ii. p. 42, Let. F. The +same is stated in Bibliotheca Hispaña Nova, lib. i. p. 437. "El Francisco +Lopez de Gomara escrivio tantos borrones é cosas que no son verdaderas, de +que ha hecho mucho daño a muchos escritores e coronistas, que despues del +Gomara han escrito en las cosas de la Nueva España ... es porque les ha +hecho errar el Gomara." Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Hist. de la Conquest de +la Nueva España, Fin de cap. 13. + +"Tenía Gomara doctrina y estilo ... per empleose en ordinar sin +discernimiento lo que halló escrito por sus antecesores, y dió credito á +petrañas no solo falsas sino inverisimiles." Juan Bautista Muñoz, Hist. N. +Mundo, Prologo, p 18. + +[317]: Vasconcelos, lib. 4. + +[318]: Murr, Notice sur M. Behaim. + +[319]: Barros, decad. i. lib. ii. cap. 1. Lisbon, 1552. + +[320]: Investigations Historicas, Madrid, 1794. + +[321]: Cladera, Investig. Hist., p. 115. + +[322]: Forster's Northern Voyages, book ii. chap. 2. + +[323]: This account is taken from Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 123. The passage +about gold and other metals is not to be found in the original Italian of +Ramusio, (tom. ii. p. 23,) and is probably an interpolation. + +[324]: Hakluyt, Collect., vol. iii. p. 127. + +[325]: Malte-Brun, Hist, de Geog., tom. i. lib. xvii. + +[326]: Idem, Geog. Unirerselle, tom. xiv. Note sur la decouverte de +l'Amerique. + +[327]: Gosselin, Recherches sur la Geographic des Anciens, tom. i. p. 162, +&c. + +[328]: Memoirs de l'Acad. des Inscript., tom. xxvi. + +[329]: Capmany, Questiones Criticas, Quest. 6. + +[330]: Archives de Ind. en Sevilla. + +[331]: Capmany, Queat. Crit. + +[332]: The author of this work is indebted for this able examination of the +route of Columbus to an officer of the navy of the United States, whose +name he regrets the not being at liberty to mention. He has been greatly +benefited, in various parts of this history, by nautical information from +the same intelligent source. + +[333]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. ix. cap. 10. + +[334]: In the first chapter of Herrera's description of the Indies, +appended to his history, is another scale of the Bahama islands, which +corroborates the above. It begins at the opposite end, at the N. W., and +runs down to the S.E. It is thought unnecessary to cite it particularly. + +[335]: See Caballero Pesos y Medidas. J. B. Say. Economic Politique. + +[336]: In preparing the first edition of this work for the press the author +had not the benefit of the English translation of Marco Polo, published a +few years since, with admirable commentaries, by William Marsden, F. R. S. +He availed himself, principally, of an Italian version in the Venetian +edition of Ramusio (1606), the French translation by Bergeron, and an old +and very incorrect Spanish translation. Having since procured the work of +Mr. Marsden, he has made considerable alterations in these notices of +Marco Polo. + +[337]: Ramusio, tom. iii. + +[338]: Bergeron, by blunder in the translation from the original Latin, has +stated that the Khan sent 40,000 men to escort them. This has drawn the +ire of the critics upon Marco Polo, who have cited it as one of his +monstrous exaggerations. + +[339]: Hist. des Voyages, tom, xxvii. lib. iv. cap. 3. Paris, 1549. + +[340]: Ramusio, vol. ii. p. 17. + +[341]: Mr. Marsden, who has inspected a splendid fac-simile of this map +preserved in the British Museum, objects even to the fundamental part of +it: "where," he observes, "situations are given to places that seem quite +inconsistent with the descriptions in the travels, and cannot be +attributed to their author, although inserted on the supposed authority of +his writings." Marsden's M. Polo, Introd., p. xlii. + +[342]: Hist, des Voyages, torn. xl. lib. xi. ch, 4. + +[343]: Another blunder in translation has drawn upon Marco Polo the +indignation of George Hornius, who (in his Origin of America, IV. 3) +exclaims, "Who can believe all that, he says of the city of Quinsai? as, +for example, that it has stone bridges twelve thousand miles high!" &c. It +is probable that many of the exaggerations in the accounts of Marco Polo +are in fact the errors of his translators. + +Mandeville, speaking of this same city, which he calls Causai, says it is +built on the sea like Venice, and has twelve hundred bridges. + +[344]: Sir George Staunton mentions this lake as being a beautiful sheet of +water, about three or four miles in diameter; its margin ornamented with +houses and gardens of Mandarines, together with temples, monasteries for +the priests of Fo, and an imperial palace. + +[345]: Supposed to be those islands collectively called Japan. They are +named by the Chinese Ge-pen; the terminating syllable _go_, added by +Marco Polo, is supposed to be the Chinese word _kue_, signifying +kingdom, which is commonly annexed to the names of foreign countries. As +the distance of the nearest part of the southern island from the coast of +China near Ning-po is not more than five hundred Italian miles, Mr. +Marsden supposes Marco Polo, in stating it to be 1500, means Chinese miles +or li, which are in the proportion of somewhat more than one-third of the +former. + +[346]: Aristot., 2 Met. cap. 5. + +[347]: Pliny, lib. i. cap. 61. + +[348]: Feyjoo, Theatre Critico, tom. iv. d. 10, § 29. + +[349]: Lib. iv. de la Chancelaria del Key Dn. Juan II, fol. 101. + +[350]: Torre do Tombo. Lib. das Ylhas, f. 119. + +[351]: Fr. Gregorio Garcia, Origen de los Indios, lib. i. cap. 9. + +[352]: Sigeberto, Epist. ad Tietmar. Abbat. + +[353]: Nuñez de la l'ena. Conquist de la Gran Canaria. + +[354]: Ptolemy, lib. iv. tom. iv. + +[355]: Fr. D. Philipo, lib. viii. fol. 25. + +[356]: Hist. Isl. Can., lib. i. cap. 28. + +[357]: Nuñez de la Pena, lib. i. cap. 1. Viera, Hist Isl. Can., tom. i. +cap. 28. + +[358]: Nuñez, Conquista le Gran Canaria. Viera, Hist. &c. + +[359]: Viera, Hist. Isl. Can., tom. i. cap. 28. + +[360]: Idem. + +[361]: Viera, Hist. Isl. Can., tom. i. cap. 28. + +[362]: Viera, ubi sup. + +[363]: Theatro Critico, tom. iv. d. x. + +[364]: Hist. del Almirante, cap. 10. + +[365]: Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. iv. cap. 4. Origen de los Indios +por Fr. Gregorio Garcia, lib. iv. cap. 20. + +[366]: Barros, Asia, decad. i. lib. i. cap. 3. + +[367]: Navarrete, Colec. Viag., tom. i. Introd. p. lxx. + +[368]: T. A. Llorente, Oeuvres de Las Casas, p. xi. Paris, 1822. + +[369]: Herrera clearly states this as an expedient adopted when others +failed. "Bartolomé de las Casas, viendo que sus conceptos hallaban en +todas partes dificultad, i que las opiniones que tenla, por mucha +familiaridad que havia seguido i gran credito con el gran Canciller, no +podian haber efecto, _se volvio a otros expedientes, &c_."--Decad. +ii. lib. ii. cap. 2. + +[370]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. ii. cap. 4. + +[371]: Idem, decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 20. + +[372]: Idem, decad. ii. lib. iii. cap. 8. + +[373]: 1 Herrera, d. i. lib. vi. cap. 20. + +[374]: Idem, d. i. lib. viii. cap. 9. + +[375]: Idem, d. i. lib. ix. cap. 5. + +[376]: Robertson, Hist. America, p. 3. + +[377]: Porque como iban faltando los Indios i se conocia que un negro +trabajaba, mas que quatro, por lo qual habia gran dem anda de ellos, +parccia que se podia poner algun tributo en la saca, de que resultaria +provecho á la Rl. Hacienda. Herrera, decad. ii. lib. ii. cap. 8. + +[378]: De Marsolier, Hist. du Ministere Cardinal Ximenes, lib. vi. +Toulouse, 1694. + +[379]: In this notice the author has occasionally availed himself of the +interesting memoir of Mon. J. A. Idorente, prefixed to his collection of +the works of Las Casas, collating it with the history of Herrera, from +which its facts are principally derived. + +[380]: Navarrete, Colec. de Viag., tom. i. p. lxxv. + +[381]: Opus Epist. P. Martyris Anglerii, Epist. 131. + +[382]: Opus Epist. P. Martyris Anglerii, Epist. 134. + +[383]: Opus Epist. P. Martyrin Anglerii, Epist. 135. + +[384]: Idem, Epist. 141. + +[385]: Idem, Epist. 147. + +[386]: Cura de los Palacios, cap. 7. + +[387]: Bibliotheca Pinello. + +[388]: Herrera, decad ii. lib. ii. cap. 3. + +[389]: Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3. + +[390]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. i. cap. 15. + +[391]: Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3. + +[392]: Salazar, Conq. de Mexico, lib. i. cap. 2. + +[393]: Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. iii. lib. i. cap. 1. + +[394]: Idem, decad. iii. lib. iv. cap. 3. + +[395]: Gosselin, Recherches sur la Geog. des Anciens, tom. i. + +[396]: Feyjoo, Theatro Critico, lib. vii. § 2. + +[397]: Herodot., lib. iii. Virg. Georg. i. Pomp. Mela, lib. iii. cap. 10. + +[398]: St. August., lib. ix. cap. 6. Sup. Genesis. + +[399]: St. Basíllíus was called the great. His works were read and admired +by all the world, even by Pagans. They are written in an elevated and +majestic style, with great splendor of idea, and vast erudition. + +[400]: St. Ambros., Opera. Edit. Coignard. Parisiis, MDCXC. + +[401]: Paradisus autem in Oriente, in altissimo monte, de cujus cacumine +cadentes aquos, maximum faciunt lacum, que in suo casu tantum faciunt +strepitum et fragorem, quod ornnes incolæ, juxta prædictum lacum nascuntur +surdi, ex immoderato sonitu seu fragore sensum auditus in parvulis +corrumpente. _Ul dicit Basilius in Hexameron, similiter et Ambros._ +Ex illo lacu, velut ex uno fonte, procedunt ilia flumina quatuor, Phison, +qui et Ganges, Gyon, qui et Nilus dicitur, et Tigris ac Euphrates. Bart. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Voyages of Christopher +Columbus (Vol. II), by Washington Irving + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS VOL. 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