&' «o' ,^» ^or 00-* • \.^" ^'>^'-^-< /.'j^%% .**\c:^/v o°^.ia^^% ., V*^-**/ V^^\** "-^*^-'>... f * AT <« 'J*<=»' iHiiil.;,..:..!, v- COLUMBUS: OB, THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. BY GEORGE CUBITT BOSTON: D. LOTHROP & COMPANY, 32 Franklin Street. i88i. ^ Copyright, i88i, By D. Lothrop & Company. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FAOB ■^ Genoa, the Birthplace of Columbus . . Frontispiece i Medal — Columbus Title -^Columbus ii -i Lisbon 27 ^ Salamanca 51 ^ The Caravel of Columbus 69 {Facsimile of a Wood-engraving of 1493, from a Design by Cohtmbus himself.) ^ The Caravels of Columbus 105 Sighting the New World 115 V Americus Vespucius 123 •^ Hispaniola 133 "^Barcelona . . 157 ^ Arms of Columbus 165 Cadiz 177 ^ Native House 193 ^ Ruins of Columbus* House, St. Domingo . . . 203 Coffin of Lead discovered in the Cathedral at St. Domingo 217 " Tomb of Columbus at Havana 221 1 Inscription on a Silver Plate found in the Coffin 224 7 CONTENTS PAOB CHAPTER I. — Birth and Early Life of Columbus . . 13 CHAPTER II. — Early Manhood 26 CHAPTER III. — Belief that Land existed in the West . 36 CHAPTER IV. — Events relative to Discovery ... 44 CHAPTER v. — First Arrival of Columbus in Spain . . 56 CHAPTER VL — Ferdinand and Isabella . . . .65 CHAPTER VII. — Columbus seeks Spanish Assistance . 78 CHAPTER VIII. — Preparations for the Expedition . . 93 CHAPTER IX. — Events of the First Voyage . . .105 CHAPTER X, — First Landing of Columbus in the New World 119 CHAPTER XL — Discovery of Cuba and Hispaniola .128 CHAPTER XII. — Reception in Spain . . . .155 CHAPTER XIIL — Character and Work of Columbus .166 CHAPTER XIV. — The Third Voyage . . . .194 CHAPTER XV. — The Fourth Voyage . . . .211 C0LUM1V3. COLUMBUS CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS. FOR ages, to the more civilized nations of Europe, the greater portion of the world was unknown. All beyond the limits of the Roman empire was what the very imperfect maps then possessed stated it to be, terra incognita. Northern Europe was considered as barbarous, and its higher boundary-coast was little under- stood. Of eastern Asia it was only known that there were regions to the north and east. The Mediterranean shores of Africa, from Palestine to the "Pillars of Hercules," were of course 13 14 COLUMBUS. known, and a small portion of the coasts washed by the Atlairtic; but nothing beyond. How far Asia stretched to the east, and what lay between it and the west of Europe, except the unpassed Atlantic, was as unknown, as if it existed not. While navigation was confined to the coasts, and mariners dared not venture out of sight of land, such ignorance was sure to continue. The discovery of the " mariner's compass " in- troduced a new era. This most important instru- ment had long been known to that singular people, the Chinese ; and it is generally believed that Marco Polo, w^ho returned from his eastern travels, about A. d. 1260, brought the account of it into Europe. Its European origin, however, is involved in obscurity. About the middle of the fifteenth century, a comparatively correct idea of the form of Africa appears to have been ac- quired by the Portuguese, probably by means of the trading Moors. Some years subsequently the Portuguese, — then a mercantile and enter- prising people, not having been brought down BIRTH AND EAKLY LIFE. 15 by the lethargy occasioned by priestly domination and long years of ignorance, — were desirous of sharing the trade of India Avith Alexandria and the East. Expeditions were accordingly fitted out for the circumnavigation of Africa. A strong impulse had been given to the public mind by the patriotic zeal of Prince Henry, son of John I. and Philippa of Lancaster, sister of Henry IV. of England. He had accompanied his father into Africa, on an expedition against the Moors, and had received much information concerning countries to the south, then altogether unknoAvn in Europe. The Canary Islands liad again been discovered, and voyages were occasionally made to them, and from them to the opposite shores of Morocco ; so that the coast, from the Straits to Cape Bojador, was tolerably known. Lea\dng the court, lie took up his residence near Cape St. Vincent, in full view of the ocean; and there, with men eminent in science, he pursued his geographical studies, and formed plans of dis- covery. 16 COLUMBUS. It occurred to him, that if Africa could be circumnavigated, a sea-road to India would be opened, and at least a share of its lucrative trade be diverted from the Venetians to his own country. He communicated to others a portion of his own enthusiasm ; and many who had hitherto believed that the navigation of the torrid zone was impracticable, and who dreaded the idea of sailing beyond Cape Bojador, began, not only to think it possible to extend their voyages with safety, but earnestly to desire to do so. Expeditions, therefore, were fitted out. The im- provements already effected in nautical science were brought into practical navigation. Cape Bojador was doubled. The coast was explored as far as Cape de Verde, the Azores were dis- covered, and Prince Henry, already anticipating the results of the spirit he had thus roused into action, obtained, according to the custom of the age, a papal bull, by which Portugal was in- vested with the sovereignty of whatever lands BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 17 might be discovered in tlie Atlantic, as far as India. This enterprising prince, who was so far beyond his own age, died in November, 1472 ; and though the impulse he had communicated was diminished by his death, still much of it remained in opera- tion. Africa had been explored on its coast as far as the twenty-second degree of south latitude. In 1487, Bartholomew Diaz returned from a voy- age in which he had been enabled to discover three hundred leagues more of coast, and reach the Great Cape, which he had doubled in a storm, though without knowing it. He named it Caho Tormentoso, or the " Stormy Cape." It was not until about ten years afterwards, when passed by Vasco de Gama, on his voyage to India, that it received its new and permanent appellation, — that of the " Cape of Good Hope." Between the crowns of Portugal and Castile there were frequent disputes, arising from con- flicting views relative to navigation. Maritime questions regularly engaged the attention of the 18 COLUMBUS. Spaniards, and one of the bigli officers of state bore the title of "Admiral of Castile." Por- tugal was the more enterprising of the two, — perhaps because the more united. Spain, as yet, was many rather than one ; and the contests between the various sovereigns of the several states prevented all unity of action as to without. Portugal was connecting itself with Africa and India, while Spain was moving slowly and un- consciously to the oneness which it had to attain before discovery could fix new gems in her crown. And at length, in 1479, when the " war of the succession " was ended, and Ferdinand of Arragon and Isabella of Castile reigned unitedly over all Spain, — except the small kingdom of Granada in the south-west, to which the once triumphant Spanish Arabs were now restricted, — an agree- ment with Portugal seemed to shut up the only door through which it was so long believed mari- time enterprise could pass. Portugal renounced all claim to the throne of Castile, and it was, on the other hand, agreed that the Spaniards, retain- BIETH AND EAKLY LIl^E. 19 ing the Canaries, should renounce to the Portu- guese all rights of commerce and discovery on the western coast of Africa, and to the south- ward. Only the western Atlantic, therefore, was left to them, and no Spaniard then dreamed of sailing beyond its far horizon. Here, therefore, the progress of Spanish discovery paused. Nor was the idea of its revival, especially in the only practicable direction, ever presented to the country, till a foreigner, poor, long-neglected, and despised, — Christopher Columbus, — not only suggested the idea, but implored to be enabled to carry it into effect. " Christopher Columbus," one of the most cele- brated names in the history of mankind, was an Italian. He was born at Genoa, about the year 1435. His parents were poor, but reputable. His father was a wool-comber. He had two brothers, Bartholomew and (as the Italian name Giacomo is in Spanish) Diego, with one sister. Chris- topher was the oldest child. His parents were attentive to his education in 20 COLUMBUS. youth. Together with reading, writing, and arith- metic, he made some proficiency in drawing. His mind, however, was most strongly inclined to geography, and he very early manifested a de- cided predilection for a seafaring life. In sub- sequent years, he was accustomed devoutly to refer this to a Divine impulse, awakening desires and directing to studies, preparatory to the work which at length he was the instrument of ac- complishing. His father, perceiving his inclina- tions, sought, so far as his abilities allowed, to give him an education suited to his disposition. He was sent to the University of Pavia, and was taught geometry, geography, astronomy, and navigation. He also became familiar with Lat- in. But he could only remain a short time at Pavia, and much of the knowledge which after- wards he evidently possessed was the result of his own diligent improvement of whatever leisure he might, at different periods, be able to com- mand. He stands among those who furnish valuable lessons to the young, as well as an en- BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 21 couraging example. Through subsequent neglect the rudiments which he had thoroughly acquired would have passed away with his youth, and been of no service. He went to school, but on leaving became his own teacher and an assid- uous scholar. He was thus the better prepared, through the vigor which exercise gave to his mind, to make the best use of the information he had received. His character, too, through his enlightened and sound judgment, became decided and firm. He acquired energy, and understood the right way in which it was to be employed. But for such early labors he had never been the discoverer of the " New World." And his merit was the greater, because this improvement of the rudiments of knowledge was prosecuted in the midst of the toilsome activities of the profession on which he had resolved to enter, and in which he won such solid and abiding renown. He was only fourteen when he left the university and commenced his nautical career. Of this portion of his history few particulars have 22 COLUMBUS. been recorded. It is said that he first embarked with a bold and hardy captain bearing the same family name, and ^vho was distinguished for his bravery. The sea, even in the enclosed Mediter- ranean, had not the safety which navigators now experience. Piracy was so common as almost to be regarded as lawful : those, therefore, who were engaged in pursuits peaceful in their real charac- ter, were obliged always to be prepared to defend themselves against those hostile attacks, which were so frequent as to furnish subjects of regular expectation. The Mohammedans, especially, were both powerful and enterprising. Discipline and courage were therefore almost as necessary in trading-vessels as in ships purposely equipped for war. It Avas a rugged school in which Columbus, when scarcely emerged from boyhood, had to learn the duties of a seaman ; but he profited greatly from the experience thus afforded. His first recorded voyage was in a naval expe- dition fitted out, in 1459, by the Duke of Cala- bria, for the purpose of attacking the kingdom of BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 23 Naples. Genoa contributed both ships and money, and many private adventurers were engaged. Old Columbo was among them, and had the command of a squadron. Columbus sailed with him. The services of the expedition occupied four years. In the course of it Columbus is believed to have distinguished himself, though the particulars have not been transmitted to later times. This is in- ferred from his appointment, later, to a separate command.' He was sent to the port of Tunis, to cut out a galley which had anchored there ; and he performed this duty with great resolution and complete success. Of several years of his life, after this expedi- tion, there are left only very general accounts. He was chiefly employed in the Mediterranean, then the great water-field both of commerce and naval warfare. One anecdote has been narrated by his son Fernando. He was sailing with a-, nephew of his old captain, himself a furious cor- sair, so noted for his bold deeds that the Moham- medan mothers of northern Africa used to en- 24 COLUMBUS. deavor to terrify their children, when unruly, by employing his name. On one occasion he laid wait for four richly-laden Venetian galleys return- ing from Flanders, lie fell in with them on tJie coast of Portugal, between Cape St. Vincent and Lisbon. The attack and defence were conducted with bravery and vigor, and many lives were lost. The ships grappled with each other, and the sailors fought man to man. The vessel in which Columbus had sailed was engaged with a very large Venetian one. The combustible mis- siles that were employed set the galley on fire. The vessels had been lashed together for the com- bat; and, as they could not be separated, both Avere soon wrapped in flames. The crew threw themselves into the water, and swam for their lives, though the shore was several miles distant. Columbus, who was among them, saw an oar floating near him, probably one of the large ones employed by the galley-rowers : he seized it, and by resting upon it increased his own buoyancy ; and as he was an able swimmer, he stood before BIKTH AJS^D EARLY LIFE. 25 long, though almost exhausted, upon dry land. Recovering from his fatigue, he proceeded to Lis- bon, where he safely arrived. Some of his histo- rians supposed that this was his first visit to the Portuguese capital; but more accurate research by later writers has cast doubt on the statement. Washington Irving, on the whole, concludes that his going to Lisbon at first "was not the fortuitous result of desperate adventure, but proceeded from a spirit of liberal curiosity; and in the pursuit of honorable fortune," at a place which, at that time, afforded " ample attractions for a person of his in- clinations and pursuits." CHAPTER 11. EAELY :MANH00D. IT was about the year 1470 that Columbus ar- rived in Portugal, being then about thirty-five years of age. Washington Irving, who had thor- oughly studied the minute descriptions of him given by his contemporaries, and combined the scattered notices into what appears to be a natural and harmonious result, thus presents it : *• He was tall, well-formed, and muscular, and of an ele- vated and dignified demeanor. His visage was long, and neither full nor meagre ; his complexion fair and freckled, and inclined to ruddy ; his nose aquiline ; his cheek-bones were rather high ; his eyes light gray, and apt to enkindle ; his whole couuteuanee had an air of authority. His hair, 26 EAKLY MANHOOD. 29 in his youthful days, was of a liglit color, but care and trouble soon turned it to gray, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. He was moderate and simple in diet and apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging and affable with strangers, and of an amiableness and suavity in domestic life that strongly attached his household to his person. His temper was naturally irritable ; but he subdued it by the magnanimity of his spirit, comporting himself with a courteous and gentle gravity, and never indulging in any intemperance of language. Throughout his life he was noted for a strict attention to the offices of religion ; nor did his piety consist in mere forms, but partook of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with which his whole character was strongly tinctured." While residing at Lisbon, he became acquainted with the family of Bartolomeo Moilis de Pales- trello, an Italian cavalier, who had died a short time previously. Palestrello was one of those dis- tinguished navigators whom Prince Henry de- lighted to call around him and to employ. He 30 COLUMBUS. had, under his auspices, colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo, about forty miles to the north-east of Madeira. He had left a daugh- ter, Dona Felipa, to whom Columbus became at- tached, and whom he soon afterwards married. That Felipa de Palestrello, though a lady of rank, had no fortune, would seem to indicate that the union was entirely one of affection. At all events, his connection with the family of the deceased navigator was in perfect agree- ment witli all his own habits of thought and feel- ing, and contributed powerfully to lead him on- ward in the path he had chosen for himself. On his marriage, he became an inmate of the house in which his wife had hitherto resided with her mother. The widow perceived the strong interest which he took in nautical affairs, and in their family conversations related to him all that she knew of the voyages and expeditions of her hus- band. She likewise put into his hands the papers which had been left her ; and thus Columbus was enabled to collect the valuable and stirring infer- EARLY MANHOOD. 31 mation which he would find in the charts, journals, and other manuscripts of Palestrello. To us who know the subsequent history of the great naviga- tor, these domestic colloquies assume a very inter- esting character. The life of Columbus had hitherto been rough as well as active, and we see him with pleasure at repose in the bosom of a family every way adapted to his tastes and principles. He had anchored, after a boisterous voyage, in a pleasant harbor, but with the evident purpose of refitting his ves- sel, and preparing again to put to sea. He pur- sued his studies, he drew maps and charts for the purpose of contributing to the support of his family, and sailed once or twice to the coast of Guinea. The famil}^ removed, also, for a period to Porto Santo, where Palestrello had been gover- nor, and where his wife liad inherited some small property. It was in tliis island that his son, Diego, was born. In this almost barren spot, chiefly composed of basalt rock, the highest emi- nence being not more than five hundred feet, 82 COLUMBUS. there would not be the confusion which so easily distracts the attention in a sea-port metropolis. Is it too much to suppose that here, ascending to the summit of the rocky hill behind the town, lie would gaze on the vast expanse of ocean spreading westward, and ruminate on what might possibly be beyond the waves that rolled before him? In 1474, the scheme of voyaging to India by sailing directly westward appears to have been fully formed in his mind ; but it must previously have often occupied his active and anxious thoughts. A sister of his wife was married to another of Prince Henry's navigators, Pedro Coreo, who also had at one time been governor of Porto Santo. With him, we may be well assured, conversations would frequently be held on sub- jects which, not only were generally exciting in society at large, but which moved his own mind with such especial force. Already enough was known to fan the flame which was now enkindled. Imagination invested India with wealth and mag- EARLY MANHOOD. 33 nificence, and with all the wonders of an un- known region ; and who could tell what other regions, not less wealth}^, not less wonderful, awaited the discoveries of science, skill, and cour- age? The dream of Plato, respecting the island Atalantis, far away in the Western Ocean, had been revived ; and, especially among sailors, ru- mors were afloat, often far more exciting than real. With none of these would Columbus be unacquainted ; and even his well-balanced mind could not fail to be moved by them. But he was too thoughtful to be governed by what was only rumor ; he was only stimulated by it to more extensive research and more diligent study. The grand object was the discovery of such a route to India as might be safe to navigators and profitable to commerce; and by all but himself the direction in which this route was sought was by the circumnavigation of Africa : he conceived the idea, which ultimately produced the uncon- querable resolution to work it out in practice, of turning from the difficult and dangerous coasting- 34 COLUMBUS. voyage around a continent only partially known, and directing his daring course to tlie west, seek- ing to cross the ocean only known by the waves which dashed upon its eastern shores. We cannot dismiss the idea that Columbus, at Porto Santo, formed his great resolution. Stand- ing on its highest ground, and looking eastward, he would know that before him, from north to south, vast continents stretched, teeming with in- habitants. Carrying his thoughts still onward, the existence of the Indian regions was a well- known fact, and of India the eastern limits were unknown ; no geographer had drawn, from certain knowledge, the farthest sea-board line. Turning to the west, where nothing but the ever-rolling waves met his view, and sea and sky seemed to meet on the distant horizon, would he not ask himself. How near does farthest India approach that line ? He knew it to be the limit of Euro- pean knowledge ; but he also knew that it was no barrier to them who would boldly hold on their course to the far west; and why might not he EAKLY MANHOOD. 35 thus arrive with greater speed and safety, at the far east ? Such, at all events, was the great idea on which his mind was brooding, when, after two or three years, Ave find him again at Lisbon. CHAPTER III. BELIEF THAT LAND EXISTED IX THE TTEST. COMING events oast their sbado^ys before." Seldom does any great occiUTenee break on the unprepared minds of men A^-itll astounding abruptness. Unformed opinions begin to assume shape, and rumors multiply and thicken, till ex- pectation stands on tiptoe and looks for a some- thiui^ anticipated, but unknown. Long before the sho>yers come down, the invisible vapor lias been ascending, the atmosphere, surcharged, becomes hazy; -Nvhile clouds small as the human hand begin to appear, and, by-and-by. unite to cover the heavens Avith blackness, and there is the sound as of abundance of rain. Even among the ancients there had been vague 36 BELIEF THAT LAND EXISTED IN THE \VEST. 37 suppositions of land far away over tlio western ocean. And when the true form of the earth liad been ascertained, the geographers liad endeavored to collect all that could be gathered from both fact and rumor to complete the map of the globe. Columbus had studied both the theories of the ancients and the systems of modern geographers. Of the three hundred and sixty degrees of the earth's equatorial circumference, he reckoned that two hundred and twenty-hye (iiftecu hours) had been known even to the early geographers, and that fifteen nu^re, in all two hundred and forty, had been added by the discovery of the Azores and Cape de Verde Islands. From these, east- ward, two-thirds of the circumference were known. One-third, from the farthest known westward point to that, by joining which the circle would be completed, remained yet to be explored. Pie thought that the unknown parts of Asia might ex- tend farther to the east, and thus considerably curtail the distance over which it was necessary to pass. The Arabian geographers reckoned the 38 COLUMBUS. degree to be much smaller than was usually thought by others ; and the opinion appears to have been embraced by Columbus. The real dis- tance therefore, would be, comparatively, not so very great, and land might be discovered lying much nearer to Europe than was commonly imag- ined. There was nothing, in the estimation of Columbus, which might not be accomplished by science and skill united to vigilance and courage. Such seem to have been his opinions in 1474. He communicated them in a letter addressed to a friendly correspondent at Florence, Paolo Tos- canelli, a learned and inquiring Italian cosmog- rapher. Toscanelli, in reply, afforded him all the information he could give, chiefly derived from the narrative of Marco Polo, a Venetian, who, in the preceding century had travelled into the re- motest parts of Asia, ascertaining much, and, by magnifying the distance actually travelled, — which in the countries and times of slow travel- ling, might very easily, and with no bad intention, be done, — conjecturing more. Beyond the ex- BELIEF THAT LAND EXISTED IN THE WEST. 39 tremity of the Asiatic continent he described cer- tain islands still farther to the eastward abounding in marvels and wealth. Toscanelli encouraged Columbus in his purpose of seeking India by sail- ing to the west ; and calculated that, from Lisbon to these Oriental islands, the distance could not be more than four thousand miles; a sixth, in- stead of a third of the earth's circumference. Nor did the adventurous but cautious and in- quiring navigator neglect to gather all the facts and rumors within his reach, extracting from them whatever information they might supply. He conversed with veteran navigators and with those inhabitants of the recently discovered islands to the west whom he chanced to meet. He heard of nothing adverse to his conjectures; and much that in several ways confirmed them. An inhabi- tant of Madeira told him that he had once sailed a hundred leagues to the west, and had seen there islands in the distance. Another told him that once in a voyage to Ireland, he had seen land to the westward. These were, indeed, groundless 40 COLUMBrS. minors ; but there Trere facts 'wliieh strengthened the suppositions to which thev gave rise. A pilot in the service of the King of Portugal told him that at the distance of four hundred and fifty leagues from Cape St. Vincent, he had found float- ing in the water, a piece of carved wood, in the shaping of which it was plain that iron had not been emploved. His brother-in-law, Pedro Correo, also told liim that a similar piece of wood had di'ifted from the same quarter on the shore of Porto Santo. He had also heard from the King of Portugal that reeds of an immense size had been washed on the same island, evidently from the west. Wosrerlv AWnds had brousfht floatinsr to the Azores large pine-trees, such as were not to be foiuid in those islands. But perhaps the most remarkable circumstance was, as stated to him bv some of the inhabitants, that on the island of Flores, one of the most wes- terly of the Azores, the bodies of two men differ- ent from any known race, had been cast by the waves. Everything seemed to tell of vegetation BELIEF THAT LAND EXISTED IX THE AVEST. 41 and inhabitants and, thoreforo, land in the far west. By investigation and study, thoreforo, as complete as cironmstanoos alUnvod, his theory be- eanio llxod. And ah^ng whh it was mixed a stronir religions feelinir. The nnknown inhabit- ants of those nndisoovered regions were men, hnnian beings like himself, owing their existence to the same Creator : bnt not, like himself, in- structed in Ilis knowledge and fear. His worship and service. Little Avas known of the countries of the east; but that little presented the people, A^ath the exception of one nation that was re- ported to be Christian, as altogether devoted to idolatry. Among the studios of Columbus, the ancient prophecies of Holy AVrit wore in some degree, at least, included : and these spoke of the ends of the earth as being brought to see the sal- vation of God. He desired not loss the extension of his own faith than the enlargement of geograph- ical knowledge and the improvement of science. His Avere not the wild schemes of the daring and reckless adventurer. They resulted fi'om wide 42 COLUMBUS. examination and profound thought, which, sanc- tified by religion, animated him with a noble enthusiasm, self-possession, and dignitj^ Although of humble station, he stood upright even in the presence of crowned heads. Loftier conceptions and designs were never cherished by mortal man. And they were his own. His calculations were based on facts attainable by all ; but he alone had the patient industry to collect and arrange them, the capacity and poAver to embrace their vast re- sults. The conditions he proposed when his plans were formed and he was ready to enter upon his stupen- dous task, disclosed the strength of his mind. He was to take his place among the highest of Euro- pean subjects, winning for himself the patent of a nobility, in the splendor of which, that of ances- try would pale, as the moon is dimmed by the brightness of the fully-risen sun. The supremacy of the sovereign who would enable him to accom- plish his stupendous task he would readily ac- knowledge ; but as viceroy of the lands he dis- BELIEF THAT LAND EXISTED IN THE WEST. 43 covered, only to the monarch to whose dominions he brought such marvellous annexations would he be the subject. If ever man toiled to the summit of human greatness by a path marked out from the first by himself, tliat man was Christopher Columbus. CHAPTER IV, EVENTS RELATIVE TO DISCOVERY. THE enthusiasm of Columbus was as enlight- ened as it was grand. The sublimity of his conceptions as to the future, produced no negli- gence as to subordinate and present duties. Con- templating at least the commencement of the final exploration of the world, he attended with dili- gence to the concerns of his family. We have seen that he employed his geographical knowledge in the construction of maps and charts, which he sold to provide means for his domestic expendi- ture ; and, limited as these means were, it is de- lightful to see them so employed as to exhibit the future discoverer of the New World as the dutiful son and the affectionate brother. He contributed 44 EVENTS RELATIVE TO DISCOVERY. 45 to the support of his aged father at Genoa, and to the education of his younger brothers. He sought employment as a navigator ; and, not only sailed more than once to the coast of Guinea, but voyaged into the northern seas, visiting Iceland, probably the '^ Ultima Thule " of the ancients ; the difference between its actual position and that which they assigned to it, being easily explained by the scantiness and obscurity of their geograph- ical knowledge. All the while the great idea was brooding in his mind, acquiring form in his imagi- nation, and taking faster hold on his judgment ; but its progress towards action was slow. From without he had no encouragement; for anything he knew, his was the only mind in which dwelt so noble a thought. Nor was this by any means the smallest obstacle which he had to surmount. He was a poor man and could not command a vessel in which to sail on his own account, in directions known to all. How was he to be enabled to fit out several, for such an expedition as that which he contemplated? Less than the patronage of 46 coLUMBrs, soTereign power would not suffice for the expense of the preparations, and for giviiig him the influ- ence necessarr to persuade a sufficient number of able and experienced seamen to accompaiiT him in so hazardous, and, in some respects, so alarming an undertaking. An ordinary mind would long before have banislied the conception, or only ad- verted to it in the day-dreamings of an indolent leisure. Xot such a mind was his. He believed the idea to be practicable, he cherished the hope of finding it to be so, and resolved to seek and aT\-ait the opportunity of proving that it was so, to the whole world. But he waited not in idleness. He was gradually forming his plans. When they were matured and ready for execution, the Provi- dence under whose secret movements he had been inwardly acting, prepared the way for liim to com- mence the proceedings from which such vast re- sults have already issued, and are still continuing to issue. In l-iSl, John II.. gi*and-nephew of Prince Henrv ascended the PortUiruese thi\>ne. The EVENTS RELATIVE TO DISCOVERY. 47 cause of discovery had long been languishing, though along the coasts of Africa there was a slow advancement. lUit with the accession of elolm came a revival of enterprise. The age was more active. Printing had been discovered, books had begun to issue from the press, and the com- munication from mind to mind of whatever knowl- edge mieht be acquired was thns made more cer- tain, rapid, and extensive. Knowledge became common property : all who possessed, or thought thcv possessed any, felt that they could impart it easily, and the many were invited io receive their share. The general stagnancy of the human intel- lect had passed away never to return; and igno- rance, by becoming avoidable, had become crimi- nal. A passion for foreign research, similar to that which had governed his uncle, influenced .John. India was no longer a country beyond European reach ; and the accounts received from it, true, exaggerated, or fabulous, in a mind like that of John, aroused curiosity and stimulated research. EiU'iiestly desirous of opening India 48 coLUMBrs. more fiillv to Portuguese exploration he sum- moned around liim men of science^ especially those who were eminent in geography ; and sought from them the means of greater certainty in navi- gation. One result of their investigations was the ap- plication of the astrolabe — the instrument by which the altitudes and anq-ular distances of the heavenly bodies, visible, particularly during the night, on the concave hemisphere, were measured — to the purposes of the voyager. This has since been reduced to the modern quadrant ; but its most important advantages were from the fii^st se- ciu'ed. The navio^ator was enabled, thouo-h in the beginning somewhat roughly, to measure his pro- gress through the pathless ocean, by observing the apparent alterations of altitude, distance, and position among planets and stars. This, together with the compass, made it safe to voyage out of sight of liitherto limiting landmarks. The com- pass exhibited the direction in which the vessel was sailing, while the astrolabe enabled the hardy EVENTS EELATIYE TO DISCOYEBY. 49 mariner to sail by the sky-marks presented by the lofty heavens above him. The hazard which had thus been the greatest obstacle in tlie way of Columbus seemed now to be removed ; and knowing the wishes of the Por- tuguese sovereign he resolved to apply to him. And never was there a more connnanding proof of tlie validity of the moral axiom that ^» honesty is the best of policy," than Avas exhibited by the re- salt of the application of Columbus to the king of Portugal. A piece of real trickery prevented him from placing in his crown a jewel richer than any which adorned it. The proposal was referred by the monarch to three of the most learned of his councillors ; one of them a bishop, and his confessor. By them it was represented as vision- ary ; but it was too much in accordance with the feelings of John to be easily renounced. He therefore convoked a larger assembly, and de- manded a full discussion of the question. The opinion of Cazadilla, the bishop, prevailed here, as it had done before, and the king was advised to 50 COLUMBUS. dismiss Columbus. Cazaclilla, however, saw that John was not satisfied ; and craftily suggested a plan by which some trial might be given to the proposal of Columbus, without committing the dignity of the crown to that which might be no better than an idle dream. As if to assist them in their deliberations, they procured from Columbus so much information as was sufficient for their purpose. Holding him in suspense as to their ultimate decision, orders were sent to the Cape de Verde Islands for a small vessel to pursue for some distance the intended route of the skilled and courageous navigator. The vessel left the islands and sailed to the westward for several days. The weather then became stormy, and the wild rolling and tossing of the mighty billows, lashed by the winds into fury, every hour in- creasinor, so terrified both master and crew, that they retraced their way, and rejoiced to find them- selves in safety at the place they had not long be- fore left. They then proceeded to Lisbon, and what with their fears, and what with their desire liiiiM^^^^^^^ EVENTS RELATIVE TO DISCOVERT. 53 to excuse themselves, and prove that they had done right in desisting from their onward course, they so magnified the perils to which they said they had been exposed, that Cazadilla proceeded in triumph to the king with this decisive confir- mation of his former opinion. But this conduct could not be concealed from Columbus. Firmly believing the correctness of his opinions, he was indignant that such an ineffi- cient method of demonstrating their impractica- bility had been employed. He became still more indignant when he learned that the method in- volved an attempt to cheat him out of the honor and benefits which, if attainable, properly be- longed to himself. Besides, his circumstances had become painfully embarrassing. His private studies had interfered with his plans for obtain- ing a livelihood ; his wife was dead, leaving him a widower, with his son Diego, then a mere child. Portugal had now no hold on him ; and not even some disposition said to be manifested on the part of John to renew the negotiation 64 COLUMBUS. could induce him to continue there. Taking Die- go with him, toward the close of 1484, he departed from PortugaL Thus its unwise monarch lost for ever the opportunity of securing the object of his strongest desires, — an object, unlike most of those on which human desires are generally fixed, proving eventually to be far more splendid in its realization than in its first conception. This portion of the history of Columbus may well be closed by tracing — it is all that can be done — the little more than traditionary recol- lections which are apparent in the cloud that hangs over the following year. It is said that from Lisbon he proceeded to Genoa, Avhere he re- newed his applications, and, being unsuccessful, thence to Venice, wiiere he was also disappointed ; and from like causes in both instances. Both republics were in a declining and critical state, and had not the spirit, nor the ability, to comply with the proposals that were made to them. At Genoa, his father was still living ; and for him, in his extreme age, he made such provision as his EVENTS EELATIVE TO DISCOVERY. 55 circumstances allowed. About the same time, he is believed to have sent his brother Bartolomeo to England, to endeavor to engage Henry VII., then renowned throughout Europe for his opulence and prudence ; but wlio seems to have been too prudent to hazard the expense where the gain was not certain. The great man of his age then disappears altogether from view, and is seen again when emerging from the darkness of the cloud that overshadowed him. •CHAPTER V. FIEST AEEITAL OF COLTJ]MBrS IN SPAIN. THE soutliern boundary of Portugal is a coast-line, extending about two degrees to the eastward of Cape St. Vincent. The coast then inclines to the South-east, towards the Straits of Gibraltar ; Cadiz being distant about sixty miles, on what, in the maps, is the obtuse angle thus formed. Twenty or twenty-five miles from the Portuguese boundary, there is a small sea- port, Palos de Moguer, in Andalusia, inhabited, at the time to which we now refer, chiefly by a fish- ing, and so far a maritime population. A short distance from Palos, on a solitary height overlook- ing the sea-coast, there stood (and still stands) an ancient Franciscan convent, dedicated to Santa 56 FIKST ARRIVAL IX SPAIN. 57 Maria do Rabida. In those days and countries, the distribution of alms at the gate of convents was a reguhxr practice. Wliether tliis vas tlio best way of supplying the vants of the poor, ac- cording to the principles of a correct political economy, is a question with which we have hero nothing to do. It might be an erroneous pro- ceeding, and connected with errors in religious doctrine, but it was designed to be an expression of Christian compassion. If, sometimes, the idle and dishonest shared in the bounty Avhich was neither provided nor intended for them, so that sloth and a dependent mendicancy Avere encoiu-- aged, still, on the other hand, many of the honest poor received needed assistance, and the blessings of many that were ready to perish came upon these distributors, whose meaning Avas good, whether the practice Avas Avise or not. One day, toAA'ards the latter end of the year 1485, a stranger, evidently a foreigner, meanly clad, but of superior manners; on foot, accompan- ied by a young boy, applied at the gate of the 58 COLUMBUS. convent for alms to assist him on his journey. It was Christopher Columbus with his son Diego, so reduced as to be obliged to seek eleemosynary aid. He was on his way to Huelvos, to seek there a brother of his deceased wife. His circumstances were now at the lowest ebb ; but from this mo- ment the tide turned, though for some time the advance of the waters seemed imperceptible. While receiving from the porter the humble re- freshment of a little bread and water, the guardian of the convent. Friar Juan Perez de Marchena, happened to pass by, and, struck with the appear- ance of the stranger, entered into conversation with him. The friar was an intelligent man, and had addicted himself to geograjDhical and nautical studies. In the course of the conversation, Co- lumbus stated his convictions, as well as the plans he had formed in his own mind. So impressed was he with the grandeur of the views which were opened before him, that he invited the friendless, and now almost hopeless stranger to become his guest. He likewise sent for one of his scientific FIRST ARRIVAL IN SPAIN. 59 friends, Garria Fernandez, a physician of Palos, to join in the conversations in which he abeady felt so deep an interest. It would be a noble picture, which should rep- resent these three persons sitting together in one of the rooms of the convent : Columbus, with the earnestness of one who believed himself, and with the seriousness of one who saw inwardly a pros- pect before him of such extent and magnificence, yet with that mixture of despondency which so many disappointments, together with his own in- creasing years, could not but have produced ; yet seizing on the present unexpected opportunity, which might be liis last, of impressing his own convictions on the minds of others. His new friends listening with attention, with admiration, and gradually perceiving that the project, splen- did as it was, and beyond the limits of present experience, Avas yet capable of realization, they were both convinced, and became, from that mo- ment, his humble but indefatigable coadjutors. The three might almost be termed the first com- 60 COLITMBUS. mittee for the discovery of lands beyond the western Atlantic. They were not content with theory. They inquired into fact. They called before them the hardy veterans of the fishing-port, from whom they learned various circumstances ; an explanation of which seemed to require the existence of inhabited countries to the west. Soon the committee added an important member to its numbers. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, residing at Palos, the head of a family of rich and enter- prising navigators, and one of the most intelligent sea-captains of the day. After listening to the details of the plan of Columbus, he became so thoroughly his disciple, that he not only offered to share in the expenses of the undertaking, but in the undertaking itself. And very important was the issue of their nu- merous conversations. The friar earnestly recom- mended Columbus to repair to the court of the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, and to lay his plans before them. Without their pat- ronage ancj aid it was felt that a voyage, promis- FIKST AKRIYAL IN SPAIN. 61 ing such noble issues, but in many respects so mysterious and so perilous, could not be under- taken. Pinzon engaged to furnish money for the journey to court;/ and the friar, promising to take care of young Diego during the absence of his father, and to attend to his education, offered him a letter of recommendation to a friend of his own, Fernando de Talavera, prior of the convent of Prado, and confessor to the queen. Through his influence, which the letter earnestly besought, it was thought that access to the royal personages might be secured. On what apparently trifling circumstances do great events sometimes depend ! Occurrences seemingly so casual, tliat, in describing them, the customary phrase, happened^ is almost naturally employed, eventually prove to be the first steps in a progress which strikes nations with astonish- ment, and gives a new direction to the history of the world. He who had never seen the rising- sun, could he, from the most equivocal diminution of darkness in the earliest dawn, anticipate the 62 COLUMBUS. full brightness of day ? He who had never seen the spreading oak, nor reflected on the powers of germination in the seed, could he from the iirst visible acorn-shoots anticipate the full-grown tree, trunk, branches, and leaves ? It is not for us to condemn the day of small and feeble things. The Creator and Lord of all does not despise them. The gradual development of small beginnings into vast results is a leading characteristic of the administration of the Almiohtv, who hath set His throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all. A poor and friendless traveller, with his young child, applies at a convent-gate for a little bread and water; and while partaking of this simple meal, one of the superiors of the es- tablishment thus kindly aiding the wayfarers happens to come by, liajjpens to be struck with the appearance of the mendicant, happens to enter into conversation with him ! And he, concerning whose conduct all these "happens"' liave to be said, likewise happened to be the man wliose pre- vious studies had prepared him for the conversa- FIRST ARRIVAL IN SPAIN. 63 tion, JiapppMed to be tlic man whose recommen- dation to an influential friend was to be the means of securing the attention of royalty ! Ceaseless is the reign of God, and " all things serve His sovereign will." His "never-failing providence ordereth all things in heaven and earth." Fitting is it, therefore, tliat we trust in Him and do good, even though He permit us for a time to walk in darkness and have no light. Every encouragement have we that our unbeliev- ing hearts can require to " cast all our care upon God, who careth for us." " Commit thou all thy griefs And ways into Uis hands, To His sure truth and tender care, Who heaven and earth commands. Who points the clouds their course, Whom winds and seas ohey. He shall direct thy wandering feet, He shall prepare thy way. Leave to His sovereign sway To choose and to command ; So shalt thou, wondering, own His way, How wise, how strong His hand. 64 COLUMBUS. Far, far above thy thought His counsel shall appear, When fully He the work hath Trrought That caused thy needless fear!" Hope had once more Tisited the mind of Columbus ; and, cheered by the kindness of his new friends, as well as encouraged by their sup- port, in the spring of 1486 he left the hospitable convent of Palos to solicit the monarchs of Spain to add a new world to their dominions. CHAPTER VI. FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. FERDINAND and Isabella were now fully engaged in their plans for removing from Spain the last vestiges of the Mohammedan dom- ination. And while they relaxed in neither effort nor preparation, they were buoyant in the prospect of rapidly approaching and final success. They had not long before fixed their court at Cordova, that they might be nearer to Granada, the conquest of which they now believed to be certain. King and Queen of Castile and Ara- gon, if Granada were conquered, for the first time since the days of Roderic the Goth, all Spain would be the undivided heritage of their succes- sor. Ferdinand was, in many respects, much 66 COLUMBUS. like Henry VII. Prudent to craftiness, ever- mindful of his own interests, and easily accessible when these were likel}' to be promoted ; atten- tive to business, and bigoted in religion, — his character in its several aspects, has been abl}', and with great brevity, given b}^ Washington Irving ; " He was called the wise and prudent in Spain ; in Italy, the pious ; in France and Eng- land, the ambitious and the perfidious." The character of Isabella was different. She was beautiful and dignified in her person and manners, pious, richly endowed in mind, and regarded her husband with strong affection. In his general policy she agreed with him ; but her views were more lofty, and her desire was stronger for the improvement and well-being of her subjects. Her prudence was without craft, and her ambition unselfish. Literature and the arts she patronized ; and, as she was able, wil- lingly employed her power for the promotion of knowledge. Few female sovereigns have ever exhibited a character of more complete loveliness, FEEDINAND AND ISABELLA. 67 or left for the recording pen of history more decided proofs of a desire, wise, strong, and unfailing, for the welfare of her subjects, than the royal Isabella of Castile. The good she did was from herself, springing from her genuine benevolence. The mischief resulting from some of her proceedings was occasioned either by the mistakes of the age, or by the sad errors of her creed. The period of the appearance of Columbus at the court of Ferdinand and IsabeHa was not favorable to his immediate success. The city was all alive with the bustle of military prepar- ation. Spain was on the tiptoe of expectation ; and the prospect of early success made every Spaniard anxious to comply with the wishes of the sovereigns, and to hasten to join their stan- dard. Cordova resembled a splendid camp. One subject engrossed all classes. All were wait- ing for the opening of the campaign which was, it was hoped, to free tlie Spanish soil from the footsteps of the infidel invaders. The war was 68 COLUMBUS. a species of crusade, and even ecclesiastics be- lieved it to be their duty to engage in it. Tala- vera was one of the clerical advisors of the queen, and was so occupied with these public duties that he had no leisure to attend to the applica- tions of Columbus, or conld give them only that superficial regard in which they would seem alto- gether visionary. Foreign discovery was, indeed, an exciting subject ; but such was the character of the discoveries proposed by Columbus, that they required the close examination of principles, and attention to recondite arguments. Ferdinand himself headed the forces he had collected ; and Isabella was not only deeply interested in all his movements, but during a part of the time she was present in the camp. Colum- bus, therefore, was still called to the exercise of patience. It was one of the qualities of his great mind that he knew how to persevere and wait, where all might be ruined by undue haste. He saw that the proper opportunity had not yet arrived ; and, therefore, during the summer and THE CARAVEL OF COLUMBUS. (Facsimile of a "Wood Engraving of 1493, on a design by Columbus himself.) FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 71 autumn of 1486 lie remained at Cordova, doing what he could^ as to do what he would was not jet in his power. His few wants he endeavored to supply by making maps and charts. Now that he thought himself to be on the eve of success, it pleased Providence that he should be severely tried by discouraging circumstances. He was a stranger, and he was poor. For both reasons he found it difficult to gain access to those whom he wished to number among his converts. Few had the knowledge necessary to understand the principles on which his scheme was based. Among such a society as Cordova saw gathered within its walls, there would be many who would be likely to turn into ridicule the plans of one whom they would be only too ready to regard as a wandering adventurer. Nor was he even permitted to remain unknown. He obtained the reputation with some of being a dreaming enthusiast, and with others of being a madman ; the very children laughed at him as he passed along the streets. Severer moral dis- 72 COLUJMBUS. cipline scarcely ever man passed through ; but lie was strong in personal conviction, and lived in the serenity of an entire self-possession. He exemplified, even in reference to his human con- fidence, the operations of a loftier faith; he believed, and he did not make haste. He would have been more than man had he not felt the shafts of ridicule ; but he was unmoved by them. Hitherto his reputation had been unshaded ; but one circumstance occurred at Cordova, to say the least, questionable in its character. A mutual attachment was formed between himself and Doua Beatriz Enriquez, a lady of a noble family in the city. The attachment had not the sanction of a formal and public marriage ; but the doctrines of the ecclesiastical canonists allowed of binding contracts of marriage, and marriages private and irregular, but still valid. Whether the engagement had this inferior con- firmation is not known ; but he himself always treated Fernando, his son by this lady, in the FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 73 same way that he treated Diego, his son by his former wife. The perseverance of Columbus at length obtained its reward. Such was the power of his address, that when once he could obtain an attentive hearer, he seldom failed to secure a convert. His patient perseverance itself began to outlive ridicule, and to win success. Grad- ually an impression was made which slowly spread, that perhaps, after all, he was in the right. He might be called a visionary by those who knew him not ; but those who had inter- course with him could not but acknowledge that his views were rational. The spreading of the light had commenced, and its progress was noAv rapid. The controller of the finances of Cas- tile, Alonzo de Quintanilla, listened to him, became a warm advocate of his plans, and re- ceived him as his guest. He was allowed to lay his plans before Antonio Giraldini, the papal nuncio ; and he, together with his brother, Alexander Giraldini, preceptor to the younger 74 COLTJISIBTTS. children of the king and queen, became liis con- Yerts. He T\'as by them enabled to take Avhat, visibly, was the most important step of all. They introduced him io the Archbishop of Toledo, Grand Cardinal of Spain, Pedro Gonzalez de ^Mendoza, who, from his iniluence \\'ith Fer- dinand and Isabella, was sometimes called '' the thml King of Spain." He was a man of a strong and cnltivated intellect, penetrating and active. lie listened to the plans of Columbns, examined the arguments by which they were supported, and, yielding to conviction, saw at once that, if they were indeed well-founded, their importance was incalculable. lie felt that an opportunity of. acquiring unheard-of renown, if not wealth and enqnre, Avas brought within the reach of his sovereigns, and that it ought not to be rejected. At length, therefore, Columbns obtained what he had so anxiously sought, a promise, on Avliich he knew he could rely, of an audience with the royal personages svlio governed Spain. He be- lieved that in this he was able to offer them what FEEDINAND AND ISABELLA. 76 was of greater value than the present object of tfjeir most ardent desires. What was a small tract of laud in southern Spain to the Indies, a new and shorter route to whicli lie promised to slir)W theuj, and to those as yet undiscovered courjtries in the parts of the world unknowu to Europeans, on which he might, if permitted, plant the Spaijish standard? Deep, if not some- what superstitious, v/as the reverence with which sovereigns were, in those times, and especially in that country regarded ; but Columbus had so long meditated on the discovery of a new world, and the completion of the, as yet, imperfect map of the globe, that his own mind seemed to have dilated to the measure of his vast conceptions. Feeling the true greatness of human nature, he felt that he could stand erect before kings, and present them the worthiest homage they can receive ; not the servile adulation of the courtier and the slave, but the dignified respect of the free rnan. He was admitted to the audience, in which all his anxieties were for his cause, none 76 COLUMBUS. for himself. In after days, speaking of this event, he said that he felt assistance from above, as an instrument for the accomplishment of the designs of Providence. By the interview Ferdinand was deeply impressed. lie snthciently under- stood human nature to perceive that no enthu- siastic adventurer stood in his presence. He saw, also, that the arguments adduced by Columbus were more than plausible ; that they had the strongest appearance of truth. And the idea of their possible truth being once admitted, his Avas precisely the mind to perceive its inestimable value. What were the discoveries which had shed such lustre on the crown of Portugal to those which might now be secured for Spain ? But Ferdinand was cautious. He gave ordei*s to Fernando de Talavera — to whom Columbus had at first been recommended, but from whom he only learned, and had yet to learn still more painfully, the vanity of human expectations — to assemble the learned geographers and astronomers of the kinq-dom. Before these Columbus was to PETlDrNANI) AND ISAMIOIJ.A. 77 repeat liis slatoiiicnts Jiiid reasonings, and tlie}^, having caret'iilly examined tlie wliole case, were to present their report ui)i)]i it. As lie was not to appear before ignorant and llii)panl eoni'- tiers but belon; grave and learned men, inter- ested, in the glories of S(;ienee, as wrM as in the honor of the sovereigns and thc^r hingdom, Avluit was he to aid,i(Mpaic; i'rom their y(\[)()vl bnt sni)|)()i't and encouragement? Alas! again was lie to experience disappointment; again was his h)yalty to Ids own solemn eonvietions of truth i-o be ])ut to a test, whi(;li, as contrasted with the almost sanguine hopes lie had thouglit himself justifKid in cherishing, would be felt by Inm as the severest of all. .^ CHAPTER VII. COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. THE council of inquiry into the theory and proposals of Columbus was appointed to be held at Salamanca, at that time considered as the principal seat of learning in Spain. The board was composed of some of the most learned men in the kingdom, civil and ecclesiastical. But the low state of science will be remembered, and its dependence rather on artificial reasonings than on the laws of truth, as ascertained by patient in- quiry into fact. Hypothetical theories had not yet been dethroned by the "New Organ" of philosophising to which, in a subsequent age, attention was directed by Bacon. Partisanship in science was then as powerful and violent as now it is in politics. If Columbus was disappointed in the result of their deliberations, the account of 78 COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 79 it will now occasion no surprise. Few came to the 'conference without prepossessions ; many were strongly influenced by prejudice. Columbus stood alone in the comprehensiveness of his views. Of his judges, perhaps all were narrow-minded, most of them bigoted. Talavera, too, by whom they had been convened, had at an earlier period neglected Columbus, and justified his neglect by the unqualified condemnation of the theory sub- mitted to him ; and many others felt their pride rebuked, that an obscure mariner should pretend to know what their penetration had not discovered. But Columbus knew too little of this to be dis- mayed by it; or, if it were suspected, he felt strong in the truth of his cause. But he soon perceived the intrenchments which he must carry before he won the day. He was met by questions and objections which demon- strated that among his hearers there was no reigning love of truth for its own sake. Some actually denied the possibility of any inhabitants at the antipodes, as men could not live with their 80 COLUMBUS. heads downwards ! Some said that the plan was impracticable, because too much time would be required to sail such a distance as they supposed to exist ; and others, that the heat of the torrid zone rendered it uninhabitable. Religion, too, was introduced. All men, it was said, were descended from Adam, and therefore to suppose inhabitants where Adam's children could never have travelled was to contradict the Bible ! All the arguments were of this nature. They partly arose, indeed, from imperfect information, and this was excusable ; but they were urged with an obstinacy totally inconsistent with allegiance to truth. The theory of Columbus did not originate in speculative hypotheses. It was theory in the legitimate sense of the term. Established prin- ciples were adduced, facts were collected, and the theory was the result of an induction more practically correct than any of the instances laid down even by Bacon, in connection with his " Novum Organum." Had the principle of Bacon been as unsound as some of his illustrative in- COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 81 stances, — as his " Inquiry into the Nature of Heat," — the inductive philosophy would never have removed science from the rule of the Aristo- telian logic. The fault of these learned men consisted in their selfish obstinacy. With admirable patience, Columbus submitted to all their interrogatories, listened to all their objections ; answered the first, and refuted the last. His reply to their arguments from Scripture was triumphant. He laid by his maps and charts, and descanted on the texts which promised such a glorious extension to the Church. He spoke, with the zeal of an enlightened mis- sionary, of the ends of the earth being commanded to look unto God, that they might be saved, and of the Divine name being great from the rising to the setting sun. His imagination glowed with the predicted prosperity of Zion, — predictions, the accomplishment of which such objections as he had heard would completely prevent, were they always to be adopted. Some of his hearers were convinced, and among them a learned professor of 82 COLUMBUS. theology at Salamanca, Diego de Deza, wlio after- wards became Archbishop of Seville. By his means some other learned men were gained ; but the bulk were immovable. The board held sev- eral consultations among themselves, but came to no decision. At length, early in the spring of 1487, Talavera left Salamanca to join the court, and the council broke up, leaving the almost worn-out mariner in a state of the most painful suspense. And in this state he had to spend several years. He followed from time to time, the movements of the court, and was occasionally flattered with hopes of success. He still constructed maps and charts for his subsistence, though he was be- friended by Diego de Deza, and was also some- times a guest with Alonzo de Quintanilla. He was permitted, also, to attend the royal suite, and small sums were more than once granted for the purpose of defraying his expenses. He was be- come better known and by many he was much respected; so that his circumstances were very COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 83 different from those in which he stood as a men- dicant at the gate of the convent of Palos. At length, in 1491, he pressed for a decisive reply ; but the aspect of affairs was unfavorable. The war was not yet concluded, though the sovereigns were preparing for what proved to be the final campaign. The council were now ordered to meet, and give their ultimate report. They did so ; and Talavera, in their name, condemned the scheme as impracticable, and one unworthy the attention of the sovereigns, considering the weak- ness of the grounds on which it was professedly supported. In communicating this result, how- ever, Ferdinand and Isabella informed Columbus that they did not finally reject his offer ; but that, though the expenses of the war forbade them to engage for the present in any new enterprises, at its conclusion they would have leisure to re- consider the subject. He now gave up all hope of obtaining royal patronage, and left the court. Thus closed the year 1491, and with it, for that time, his dependence on the sovereigns of Spain. 84 COLFMErS. But Tvliither was he to go ? His coiiTictions had gathered strength by inTestigation. More firmly than ever did he beliere in the existence of un- discovered regions ; and more resolved than ever w^as he to be, if possible, their discoverer. He therefore looked round for pitronage. He had favorable information from England and from France, and the King of Portugal had requested him to return. But he had now domestic ties again in Sp\in, and he directed his attention to some of the nobles of the country. The Duke of Medina-Sidonia listened to him, but thought his ^-iews weiv too splendid to be true. With the Duke of Medina-Celi he Avas for a time more suc- cessful. So strongly was he impressed with the representations that were made to him, that he at length consented to employ a pi^rtion of his gi*eat wealth, together with three or four vessels tluit lie had ready for sea in Port St. ^lary. situated on one of his estates. Befoi*e he had finally deeidetl, howovor, he remembered that tlie p^tn^nage he was about to accord had been refused by the COLIMIUS 8KF.KS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 85 court. I'oaring- io c\c\ic tho n>val joalousy, ho Avitlulro\v his partially-givou consent, ami a*;ain was Columbus disappointed. Ho now ivsolvod \\\)on ipiitiiuL;' Spain, and ro]>airin«;- io Paris. For this purpose he returned to the eonverit at Tales, to remove his son Oie^'o, wliom he intended to take to Cordova, leavin^^- him there ^^ith his other son, of eoiu'se under the eare of Dofiii Beatriz Eiiriquez, a oireumstanee that justitles the hope — a very natural one to all who understand the ean- onieal law on the subjeet of marriage — that tho conueetion was not an illegal one. As the law then Avas, a marriage might be formally irregular in the judgment of the ehureh, whieh yet was so far valid in the judgment of law, as that it would have absolutely prevented every other engage- nuMit, on the ground ol* pre-eontraet. although the issue would not be regarded as legitimate. Columbus returned to Palos aj^parently with fewer hopes of sueeess than those \\\i\\ whieh he had left it for Cordova, in the spring of 14S(> ; and alreadv had the vear 140-, the most memorable in Ob COLUMBUS. the histor}" of his own life, and ever memorable in the history of the world, opened upon him. No more faithful friend had he than the friar, Juan Perez de Marchena, who had at first noticed him at his meal of bread and water, the provision of Christian charity. Six years had elapsed. Co- lumbus had submitted his plans to royalty, and had argued them with the learned. All seemed to be in vain. He had returned whence he set out, for the purpose of making his final arrange- ments, and offering to another country the glories and advantages which Spain appeared to have rejected. The patriotism of the good friar was alarmed. To him, the plans of Columbus had be- come an incontrovertible fact, and he could not bear to tliink that his own country should lose the whole of what he deemed to be the certain glory and advantage. He persuaded Columbus to delay 3'et a little longer, while he himself would make a final effort. Isabella he knew, as he had been her confessor ; and he believed that if the subject were laid before her, fully and seriously, it would COl.rMlU'v^ SF.F.KS SPANISH ASSIST AXCK. ST receivo hor approbation. Wo wroto to hor, tlioiv- fon\ oarnostly implorino- hor to jHM'init Columlnis to detail his projocts in l\or own prosonoo, oallino; hor attention, not only to the additional honor that wonld result from adding- e^mntries not yet diseovered to the empire of Spain, now for the lirst time, by the eonqnest of the Moors, restored, after ages o( divided rnle, io its original integrity ; but likewise to that whieh wotdd rest \ipon the C^hnreh, by its extension among mnltitndes of pagans. Sebastian Kodriguez, a pilot, residing i!\ the neighborhood, was chosen to be the bearor of this letter io the qneen. So taitht'nlly did he aeqnit himself, that in fonrteen days he reinrned with an oixier for the good friar to repair immediately to the conn, and represent to her the ease, while Columbns himself was to eontinne at the eonvent till fnrther intelligenee was reeeived. For the honor of Sjxtin, the tiile o( atYairs had not tnrned too soon. Rartolomeo Columbus had sailed for England, to lay his brother's pro- 88 COLUMBUS. jects before Henry VII. ; but fell in with pirates on his passage, who robbed him of all that he pos- sessed, so that he arrived in England in a state of complete povert}", and for some time lived in ob- scurity, earning a scanty livelihood, as Christo- pher had done, by constructing maps and charts for the use of navigators. In 1489 he presented a map of the world to the king ; and, though he had to pass through a long ordeal of contempt and neglect, ultimately so ingratiated himself with the calculating monarch, that he was commissioned to invite his brother to repair to London. But Henry was too late. Columbus had sailed before the tardy message arrived in Spain. The Friar Marchena, on receiving the queen's letter from Santa Fe, lost no time in obeying it. He soon obtained admission to Isabella, and stated the views of Columbus with such earnestness, that she at once ordered his attendance, that slie might judge of his plans after hearing them more particularly described by his own lips. And, with provident generosity, she directed that a COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 89 sum of money should be sent to him to defray his necessary expenses. He arrived at the city camp (for such was Santa Fe) in time to witness the close of Moorish dominion in Spain in the sur- render of Granada. From the Alhambra, Boab- dil el Chico, the last of tiie Mohammedan mon- archs, mournfully proceeded to deliver up the keys of the city to Ferdinand and his consort, now the rulers of entire Spain. Never had such a triumph been known in the kingdom. From the monarchs to their lowest subject, the wdiole mul- titude was moved by the enthusiasm of patriot- ism and religion. And Columbus was present. It is said that he alone appeared to be unmoved by the general impulse. And no wonder. So long had he contemplated the idea of the discov- ery of a new world, that it had become, as it were, a portion of his own being. Before his imagina- tion, prospects arose, magnificent even when most vague ; and a mind like his could not have dwelt so much on it without those occasional exercises of the fancy which would disperse the clouds, or 90 COLUlSIBTrS. fill them with the gorgeous hues of sunset. And to the man who had such illimitable scenes before him, what would be one single city, with what- ever splendid associations it might be connected ? The heart of Columbus was not there. In the midst of that brilliant throng, he was alone ; with one grand conception he had become familiar, and no one shared it with him. It was as though all his thoughts were embodied in words which none understood but himself, so that none could hold communion with him. All Spain was rejoicing in the acquisition of a small slip of territory in her own borders ; he was persuaded that he could open the way to unknown empires beyond what hitherto had proved the impassable ocean. The visionary stood alone, his whole soul pervaded by the conviction that his visions were glorious real- ities. Granada was conquered. The affair of Colum- bus was laid officially before the monarchs. Per- sons were appointed to negotiate with him. But new difficulties arose. Columbus proposed two COLUMBUS SEEKS SPANISH ASSISTANCE. 91 principal conditions: that he should be admiral of the seas, and viceroy of the countries he should discover; and that he should have one-tenth of all gains. He offered to defray an eighth part of the expense, provided, also, that he should have additionally, a like share of the profits. The first stipulation seems to have been necessary both for his honor and power. Nearly the same privileges had been granted by the court of Lisbon to the discoverers of the islands which had been added to their crown ; and there was already an officer in Spain, with the title of Admiral of Castile, the office itself being above a century old. Columbus requested letters-patent in similar form, confer- ring the same title and office as to the seas and countries which he might discover. And surely one tenth of the gain, leaving nine-tenths for the sovereign, whose would be all the real empire likewise, was not too munificent a reward. But his old opponent, Ferdinand de Talavera, now Archbishop of the new Spanish city of Granada, was the principal person in the commission, and 92 COLUJSIBUS. his terms were finally pronounced inadmissable. He refused to make the least concession. His plans with him were certainties ; and, therefore, renouncing all further hope from Spain, he again resolved to leave the countrj^, and made imme- diate preparations for departure from the court. He had three friends, however, who now fully entered into his plans. Tliis final rejection filled them with grief, and they resolved again to appeal to Isabella in person. The hospitable friar of Rabida was one; the other two, Alonzo de Quintanilla, and Luis de St. Angel, the last a skilful financier, and Queen Isabella's comptroller. They told her that the loss on failure would be comparatively trifling ; the gain of success incal- culable. They appealed to her religious feelings and sense of honor. She was so moved that she declared slie would undertake the enterprise for her own crown of Castile, and would, if necessary, pledge her royal jewels for the expenses. She made the decision, and became the patroness of the discovery of the new world. CHAPTER VIII. PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. IN the meantime, the preparations of Columbus were completed, and he had already left Granada on his way to Cordova, intending to proceed thence to France, where he resolved to renew his offers. He had crossed the vega of Granada, and was two leagues from the city, when he was overtaken by the courier, who had been sent to request his return. For a short time he paused. No wonder that he hesitated. He might also have seen, in this relentless opposition, reluctantly yielding to the noble spirit of Isabella, the seeds whence bitter fruit might ultimately grow. Still, so dear was the object, and so uncertain success elsewhere, that, after brief but natural hesitation, and confiding in the pledged word of the Queen, he consented to re- trace his steps. 93 94 COLUMBUS. Isabella, having once resolved, entered into the scheme with an ardent zeal which might have been expected from a nature like hers, allowing itself steadily and fully to look into a subject so truly magnificent as that now placed before her. It related to the discovery of a new world, and the extension of the Christian faith ; and now that, at length, she understood what this Genoese navigator proposed, and perceived the probable foundation on wiiich his plans rested, she saw how much more likely was success than failure ; and how bright and imperishable the glory which success would' give to the joint reign of herself and husband. As soon, therefore, as Columbus had returned to Santa Fe, he was called to her presence, and required to himself state all his opinions and wishes, — for this time, after so many tantalizing delays, before a willing auditor. The warmth of Isabella was strongly contrasted with the calculating craftiness of Ferdinand ; but in her well regulated mind, warmth was real power. She had resolved that the requisite funds should be supplied from her own revenues of PEEPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 95 Castile. At the same time, in this instance, as in every other during her reign, she was careful that in public, and in all official proceedings, the King of Arragon should be associated with her. All was to be done in the name of " P^erdinand and Isabella;" and now that his queen had undertaken to defray the expense, and had even taken upon herself the real responsibility of the whole, the sagacious monarch no longer objected to an enterprise, in the failure of which he would incur neither disgrace nor loss, but from whose success he was sure to derive both honor and profit. Columbus had now to negotiate with officers who had been directed to draw up the agreements between himself and the sovereigns; and, as Isabella was anxious that no time should be lost, but that the voyage should commence before the period of delay was past, and the heart of the bold veteran already beat high in the sure prospect of the resolution of his doubts. He believed that that resolution would be the triumphant confirmation of all his anticipations. 96 COLUMBUS. With a reluctance on the part of the agents of Ferdinand, wliich would have justified in Colum- bus the fear that when he had to look for the ful- filment of the promises made to him vexatious, difficulties would be dishonorably interposed, the documents which he required were at length signed.* By this instrument it was agreed: — 1. Columbus and his heirs to be the King's admirals iu all the parts discovered by him " dur- ing his natural life," " witli all the pre-eminences and prerogatives which belong to the said office, in the same manner as possessed by Don Alfonso *In the Middle Ages the Spaniards, to distinguish them- A selves from the Moors and Jews, *^. A "S* then so numerous in Spain, placed ^\ /(\ *y . before their names the initialo of a ^ .^r-Dr-KiC. / passage of Scripture or of their • patron saint. Chroferens signifies Christopher; the letters X, M, Y, appear to stand for Christus, Maria, Josephus (Joseph or Jesus). The S at the top may be the initial of Sancta (Maria). The S, A, S in the second line are more difficult to explain, possibly for Salve, Ave, Sanctus. They make seven letters, seven being generally considered a sacred number. PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 97 Enriquez, High Admiral of Castile ; " 2. To be " Viceroy and Governor-general over all the said islands, continents, &c., with the power of nam- ing " for each separate government, three persons, one of whom the king was to select and appoint; 3. To have the tenth part of the profits remaining after all expenses had been paid, the other nine being for the sovereigns ; 4. To be judge in the courts necessary for inquiring into questions respecting merchandise, &c. ; and 5, To be per- mitted to contribute an eighth share of the ex- penses of equipment, and to take an eighth share of the gain. — »' Granted, in the town of Santa Fe, in the plain of Granada, the seventeenth day of April, in the year of the nativity of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. — I the King. — I the Qtjeen." Preparations had now to be made for the expe- dition itself. Palos, with which and its neighbor- hood Columbus was so connected, was bound, by some charter or law, to serve the crown with two 98 COLUMBUS. armed caravels, for three months in the year. Ferdinand, with his nsual thrift, fixed on these as his share, and ordered them to be got ready with- ont loss of time. The third vessel was equipped by Columbus, through the assistance of his friends, at his own expense. While he remained at court, Isabella afforded him a striking and very encouraging mark of her favor. His son Diego was appointed page to Prince Juan, the heir apparent. This was an honor which had hitherto only been granted to the sons of persons of high rank; but the queen had a kind heart, and knew how gratified the father would be in leaving his son under such patronage ; her judgment, usually correct and far-seeing, may likewise have had something to do with this appointment ; as she would reflect, that should the enterprising parent prove successful, according to the terms of the agreement, himself and heirs would be called to high office and rank, and that by this position at court, young Diego would be, in fact, undergoing PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 99 a training which subsequently would be found to have been necessary for him. On the 12th of May, all being finished that had to be done at court, Columbus left it, directing his steps now towards the harbor from which he hoped soon to sail, for the discovery of the second half of the world. He was fifty-six years of age ; and for nearly twenty, his mind had been fixed on one object. If he were past the vigor of life as to age, yet his constitution was sound, and had never been injured by excess. Powerful in frame, he was likewise mature in judgment, conscious of superiority, exercising command almost as a right ; dignified, and yet affable ; so self-possessed that by no event was he to be surprised, and so self-controlled that he was always well able to govern others. At Palos, however, he found that if obstruc- tions were removed out of the way, the way itself was rough, presenting a friction which, though it could not prevent, greatly impeded all his move- ments. While an expedition to traverse un- 100 COLUMBUS. known seas was only a scheme in the mind of an individual, and a few friends whom he had per- suaded that it was a good one, all was quiet. Everybody could calmly look at that which interfered with nobody. In a small seaport it would furnish a novel topic for both reasonable discourse and idle gossip. But all this quietness had to be disturbed. When Columbus arrived at the convent, his good friend the prior received him with exultation. Their object Avas gained. Preparations for the speedy commencement of the actual voj'age had to be made. It would not be easy to conceive the feelings with wliich Colum- bus and the prior would grasp each other's hand. Six years before, the first, with his youthful son, the companion of his homeless wanderings had stood at the convent gate, a mendicant, for the refreshment of bread and water ; and the second had been struck by his appearance, and by con- versation with him had learned his plans. The six years liad been replete with anxiety and disappointment. But they are gone, and their PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 101 cares! The youth is high in office at court. The father is about to begin one of the most momentous undertakings ever conceived by man. We may be sure, that as soon as mutual con- gratulations had been exchanged, work would commence. And so it was. The friends pro- cured a notary, proceeded to Palos, called the authorities and inhabitants to assemble in the parish church of St. George, and there publicly read the royal order for the equipment of the caravels, and their employment on the discovery- voyage as soon as all was ready. The people were astonished; and to astonishment fear, and even terror, soon succeeded. Of persons actually engaged in such a voyage they had never heard. Every conceivable danger that ignorance and superstition could suggest was imagined. Alarm spread from family to family, from heart to heart, and increased by communication. Palos was a nursery of seamen. Many a bold youth was there, many a hardy and experienced veteran. But youth and veteran alike shrank from the 102 COLUMBUS. perilous enterprise. Orders came from the sover- eigns to impress into the service the number of seamen required ; but these could not be carried into effect. Commotions and tumults ensued ; and Columbus, just when he thought that all was gained, stood for a time in doubt whether he would not be obliged, after all, to desist. Who would undertake a voyage, from which, it was said, neither vessels nor seamen w^ould return? Just at this time, the wealthy navigator whom Columbus, some years before, had succeeded in convincing; boldly came forward, and, together with his brother, Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon, not only declared their approval of the voyage, but offered themselves to accompany it with two of their own vessels. Their example was effectual ; the vessels were soon manned and the process of storing them rapidly proceeded. The greatest difficulties w^ere connected with the third vessel which had been pressed into the service. The repairs needed w^ere so imperfectly performed that they had to be done over again. The work- PREPABATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION. 103 men absconded, and scarcely could their place be supplied. To the very last moment had Colum- bus to combat with difficulties, and surmount obstructions. But he was invincible. With mingled firmness and patience he went onwards till the long desired moment arrived in which he could say, " All is ready I " This was in the beginning of August. And what was the *' fleet" provided for this great expedition ? Three vessels, only one of which was completely decked ! The other two were little more than the river and coasting barks of our own time. These caravels, as they were termed, were built high at the prow and stern, with forecastles and cabins for the crew ; but the centres were not decked. The decked vessel was called the Santa Maria, and carried Columbus and the admiral's flag. One of the caravels, the Pinta, was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon ; and the other, the Nina, by his brother, Vincente Yafiez. Francisco Martin Pinzon, another brother, sailed with Alonzo as his mate. 104 COLUJUBUS. Garcia Fernandez, the physician of Palos, sailed with Vincente. They had also three able pilots on board, whose names deserve a record : Saiicho Ruiz, Pedro Alonzo Nino, and BartholomeAv Roldan. The total number of persons was one hundred and twenty. Unhappily, as the moment of departure ap- proached, the gloom of the whole community increased. Perhaps this was not unnatural. It could not be expected that Columbus, so far in advance of the age, would be able to bring others to share in his own views and feelings. The relatives and friends of all parties concerned, expressed their persuasion that the separation would be a final one ; and the grief they indulged spread from them to the crews. The last act of Columbus was in accordance with general custom. ToAvards the conclusion of the day before that on which the voyage was to commence, he and all his companions attended mass, confessing themselves, and receiving abso- lution according to the discipline of the Church of Rome. This was August 2d, 1492. CHAPTER IX. E EVENTS OF THE FIE ST VOYAGE. ARLY in the morning of the 3d of August, 14:92, almost all the inhabitants of a small seaport on the south- west coast of Spain, were gathered to- gether to see three vessels, containing one hundred and ^.'^-s: twenty persons, for the most part belong- ing to Palos and its neighborhood, sail out of the harbor. On THE CARAVELS OF COLUMBUS, shorc, tlierc Were few who were not filled with grief, being persuaded 105 106 COLUMBUS. that their relatives and friends who were on board would return no more. By the lamenta- tions of those who were left the minds of those who were leaving were painfully affected ; their spirits were depressed, their fears excited, and could they have abandoned the voyage they would have done so. There was, however, one man who, though not unaffected by what he saw, was unmoved. The hour had arrived which he had long desired, long sought. He did all that he could to communicate something of his own feeling to those whom he regarded as his compan- ions in the prosecution of a glorious work. As the vessels slowly moved along, while the crews were looking shorewards, and repeating their signs of farewell to their friends, Columbus was looking oceanwards, his thoughts travelling in swift flight far beyond the horizon-line where sea and sky seemed to meet ; and exulting already in the anticipation of the new shores which he hoped, ere long, to behold, and from which he trusted to return in triumph, spreading EVENTS OF TFIE FIRST VOYAGE. 107 joy where now was so much sorrow. The vessels were first steered to the southwest. It was his intention to proceed to the Canary Islands, and thence take his real departure, on his voyage of discovery. Only on the third day after leaving port his troubles began. A signal was made from the Pinta^ that her rudder was broken, and had become unserviceable. It was feared that this was no accident; but that her disaffected owners had purposely occasioned it, that the disabled vessel might have to return. Even the crews of the other vessels (for those were days of superstition, and sailors are never less super- stitious than landsmen) regarded the event as an omen of misfortune, a sign of bad luck ; and it required all the energy of the admiral to induce them to proceed. They soon reached the Canaries ; and for two or three weeks Columbus cruised among the islands in search of a vessel which he might take instead of the Pinta. To add to his vexations, he heard that three Portu- guese vessels had been seen hovering to the 108 COLUMBUS. westward. He feared that these had been de- spatched for the purpose of intercepting his little fleet, and putting a stop to his voyage. Finding no other yessel, the Pinta was re- paired, and all the vessels well-stored and fitted for the voyage, which was now really to begin. Among the Canaries, the sailors scarcely felt themselves separated from home. He was anx- ious, therefore, that the prow of his vessel should be furrowing the ocean beyond. He endeavored to put to sea on the 6th of September ; but for three days a tedious calm kept them close by land. In the night of tlie 8th, the wind freshened a little ; and at sunrise he saw behind him, some twenty miles distant, the most westerly of the Canaries, the small island of Ferro. The sea was clear all around him, to his great joy ; for he dreaded, most of all, the appearance of the Port- uguese vessels. As the day advanced, the wind increased, and continued fair ; so that the land astern — how many wishful eyes would on that 9th day of September be regarding it ! — grad- EVENTS OF THE FIKST VOYAGE. 109 ually diminished and faded, till night finally hid it from view. On the morning of the 10th of September, land was no longer in sight. The voyage was begnn I But this Avhich so gladdened the noble heart of the admiral, aifected the sailors st) much, that many of them even shed tears. What they had left they knew ; but where were they going ? what would they lind ? It was the great object of Columbus to keep them occupied, and to ani- mate them by the prospects which were present to his own vision. Still, though he had no dis- trust, there were moments when he felt that his views were not absolutely certain. Cheer- ful to others, the inner man could not but be serious, even to solemnity, if not occasionally anxious. But all this Avas his own secret. With powerful self-control, he commanded his very features, and for some days onward and onward went the ships, impelled by the favoring breeze ; leaving the old world behind, hastening to behold the new. 110 COLITMBUS. It is somewhat singular tliat the lino on which he sailed Avas one whieli postponed diseoverv. Had he sailed from the Azores instead of the Canaries, and hehl on dne west, several days before lie saw one of the sn\all ]>ahamas, he would have entered the nohk^ Chesapeake, on that great contiuent whieli bears the name of one not truly its discoverer. Had his course, even from the Canaries, been steered a few points to the south, he would have seen the Antilles, Avhich he passed to the northward out of sight but few days before he actually made land. But in his circumstances, he thought it best to keep imiforndy to the west. By splendid descriptions appealing to their imagination, by splendid promises appealing to their desire for riches, and sometimes by reasoning with them on the facts and principles of the case, he sought to keep his men in good humor. Thus far he was right, for he himself fully believed all that he said. One deception, however, he prac- tised, which, because it was a deception, was unworthy of his courage. He kept the reckoning EVENTS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE. Ill of the fleet himself; and while one paper, for his own use, marked the true rate of sailing, a second, for his little public, exhibited a much slower advance. He did not wish his crew to know how far they had sailed. And troubles soon began. Before they had left Ferro a week, they passed a large mast float- ing on the water, looking like part of a wreck. This, too, the sailors considered as ominous. But, in a few days, for a short time even his own mind was troubled. lie observed, for the first time, the variation of the needle, — its deflection from the true north point, as indicated by tlie polar star. The pilots, also, soon perceived it, and for a time the alarm was great and general. It was apprehended that they were approaching a part of the world where they would no louger fijid the same natural laws in operation. He was obliged to explain the matter as well as he could ; and his high reputation as an astronomer stood him in good stead. Before long, the little fleet had entered the " trade wind," which there blows 112 COLUMBUS. steadily from east to west. The sea was smooth, the weather serene, and they were wafted rapidly along, for many days not shifting a sail. Signs of land, too, as Columbus lioped they wonk»l prove, began to appear. Patches of herbs and weeds were seen drifting from the west, some of them appearing quite fresh ; and on one of them was a live crab. New kinds of birds were seen ; some of them evidently land-birds. Every eye now was directed westward. A pension of thirty crowns had been promised to the person first discovering land. Columbus frequently sounded, with a two-hundred-foot line ; but no bottom had yet been found. But, though thus occasionally inspirited, the sailors began to fear that they were advancing so far, that return would be impracticable. Tlie wind hlew from the east: liow were they to sail towards the east, back again ? Then, again, were they clieered by the morning visits of little sing- ing-birds, which left them at night, coming from the west, and returning in the same direction. EVENTS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE. 113 Still, as they went onward, onward, onward, and nothing but sea and sky, their hearts again failed them. One day there was a dead calm, and they feared they had entered a region where the winds had ceased to blow. Their minds were in such a state that every trifle affected them. Their mur- murs increased, and at length, began to assume the form of resistance to the admiral's authoritj^ He himself had reckoned, that at a distance of seven hundred and fifty leagues they would find land. They had sailed thus far, but no land had been seen. On the 7th of October, many land-birds came to them from the southwest; and appearances in that direction were such that he consented to turn his vessel's head from the line which hitherto it had traced. Had he not done so land might have been found a day or two later ; but it would have been the continent, where it is now called Florida. But his crews were almost in a state of mutiny. Three days they continued in this direction ; and when the sun went down, on the 10th of October, 114 COLUMBUS. no land appeared on the horizon. It was with the utmost difficulty, by threats and persuasions, by mingled authority and kindness, that he in- duced them to continue their course till another day should enlighten the scene. On that day, October 11th, in its earlier portion, there were evident indications of a land near them. A fish, known to dwell in water among rocks, passed them; a hrancJi, ivith berries on it, teas seen floating; also a reed, a piece of board — wood evidently cut; and, soon after, a carved stick. Xot only was land near but land on which was man. What a day would that be for every one on board, but most of all for the '^ admiral I '' Curiosity there would be in all ; in him the curiosity of science. But the sun Avent down, and still no land! Murmurs, however, had subsided ; they were in the vicinity of land, and the question was, " Who shall see it first ? " And this would be, not from natural curiosity alone, but from the hope of the pension of thirty crowns. EVENTS OF THE FIRST VOYAGE. 117 Vespers ha^a ft>m some by swimming, fei others in vessels formed \^! from the trunk of a single \y{ tree, hollowed out, which they called canoes, and which were some of them, capable of containing forty or fifty persons. It was soon found that here, at all events, the dreams which many had entertained, and from which Columbus himself had not been free, — that regions of great wealth would be reached, by the discovery of which riches might speedily be secured, — were not likely 124 COLUMBUS. ' to be realized. Columbus had thought of reach- ing the eastern extremit}- of the old continent of Asia, where a civilized and "\\ealth3' people, as in India, would be found; but the simple islanders of the Western Indies (as the new discoveries, collectively, were soon named) were altogether different from the Hindoos or Chinese. And, eventually, most melancholy was the result. Many of the companions of Columbus in his first Yovao'e, and still more in those which he subsequently made, were animated b}' the eager and ignorant cupidity of the day. They were men who wanted to '' make haste to be rich.'' Unacquainted with the true prineiples of com- merce, and too impatient in their desires for wealth to be, according to the old fable, con- tented with the golden egg daily, they Avanted to be rich at once ; not by the cultivation of the land, by the establishment of new markets for home manufactures, the introduction of new articles of commerce into their native country, and from Spain into Europe generally. FIBST LANDING OF COLUMBUS. IZb but by the immediate possession of the more costly articles, especially of the precious metals. All these expectations were disappointed, until Mexico was discovered and conquered, some years afterwards, by Hernando Cortes ; and, sub- sequently, Peru by Francisco Pizarro. The results soon were fcital to the inhabitants. Dis- appointed in their expectations of immediate wealth, the Spaniards, though unable to gratify their avarice, could indulge their indolence, and the natives were soon compelled to become their servants. The consequence was, that, worn out by a toil for which their previous habits had unfitted them, and which their few wants did not require, — as, indeed, the nature of the climate did not allow it, — they gradually melted away, so that their diminished and diminishing numbers became insufficient for the cultivation of the land. Then a remedy, worse if possible, than the dis- ease, was employed. A hardier race was judged to be necessary ; and before the aborigines had disappeared, — which was the case in no long 126 COLUMBUS. space of time, — the importation of negroes from Africa laid the foundation of the guilt}^ systems of the African shive-trade, and West Indian and American slavery. West Indian slavery, at a period, still within the memory of many now living. Great Britain put down ; and the country which glories that under its govern- ment all men are free and equal has later wrought out and solved forever the problem of human slaver}^ in the western world. That country set the example of liberty to all nation's by declaring that all her subjects should enjoy personal freedom, and equality before the law, as their inalienable and sacred birth-right. The Spaniards soon discovered that their new friends had very little to offer them. In return for the trinkets that were given them, they had only some balls of cotton yarn, and parrots which they had tamed. They wore, however, small ornaments of gold in their noses ; and when asked whence these came, they pointed to the south, and intimated that the people there were warlike, FIRST LANDING OF COLUJVIBUS. 127 and that from the north-west, also, they were sometimes invaded, and the captives taken away as slaves. Columbus thought this must be the Asia of his imaginings, and resolving to pursue his discoveries, found no difficulty in per- suading his men to concur in liis resolution. After brief repose, therefore, he left the island, directing his course towards the south, and taking with him several of the inhabitants, that they might learn Spanish, and be their interpreters in other places. CHAPTER XI. DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. IN some sense it might be said that the vo3^age of discovery was now finished ; hencefor- ward it was to be one of exploration. For some time it was most delightful : every object was new the toils and apprehensions of the outward voyage were over, and pleasing certainty had dis- placed alarming doubt. Novelty, always most gratifying in its first stages, was the more so to the Spaniards, not only from its contrast with the dark and distressing past, nor even from the pleasantness of the objects which it exhibited ; but from the character which all those objects sus- tained, as not only being seen for the first time by them, but for the first time by any Europeans. It is scarcely possible to conceive of a temper 128 DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 129 more prepared for delight than that of the crews of Columbus for the first few days after the grand discovery had been made by them. The long- agitated problem was solved, and solved by them- selves. Every bosom would swell at the thoughts of returning home, and telling to their anxious, if not despairing, friends the wonderful tale of their success. Each sailor would feel that at home, in his own circle, he would be a hero. He would be able to speak to them, not merely of lands which he had seen and they had not, — and this is still one of the greatest pleasures of the returned traveller, — but of lands of which he had not heard till he saw them, nor they till he told them. None could feel this in as high a degree as Columbus himself, but it would be felt by all ; and as nothing adverse had as yet occurred, all would be disposed to be pleased. For several days they sailed from island to island ; but even while sailing, and looking out for land with expectation no longer mingled with anxiety, the sea over which they were passing 130 COLUMBUS. was continually affording gratification. The weather was serene, the sky bright, the ocean smooth, for they had seen it hitherto in only one of its tropical aspects. No hurricane had been witnessed by them, driving everything before its power, and raising the gentle heaving of the water into mountainous waves. Below the glassy surface new kinds of fish, many of them beautiful and splendid in their hues, were continually sporting. The island landscapes, likewise, pre- sented every variety of loveliness. The verdant plains, the wooded hills, the dense foliage of the forests, in which, too, were many species of trees heretofore unknown, and which Columbus con- jectured might prove of great value in Spain, both for dyeing and medicine, all contributed to recompense and recruit the weary and exhausted, voj^agers ; and, perhaps, never men enjoyed a larger quantity of the purest physical pleasure than did Columbus and his sailors for the remainder of the October that had commenced DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 131 SO fearfully, but had so soon afforded sueh happy auspiees. As they proceeded slowly towards the soutli, and island after island met their view, at each tlie in(]^uiry was, Whether g'old or spices were found there ? The answer was always the same ; but the farther south they sailed, the more definite became the reports eoneerning" a large eouidry to be found in that direction. At length, on (lie 28tli of October, tliey came in sight of Cuba. This noble island, though very narrow, scarcely ever a hundred and fifty miles from sea to sea, and sometimes much U;ss, extends, in a diagonal direction, from north-west, where its liigliest lati- tude is 23°, to south-east, wliere it is not (|uite 20% not less than eight hundred miles. Columbus made tlie land on tlie north side, about a third of the distance from its lowest extremity, towards its higher one. He was deeply impressed with the magnificent views of the plains, and valleys, and lofty mountains of the island. He sailed along the coast slowly toAvards the north, and 132 COLUMBUS. began at length to believe he had reached conti- nental Asia. At one place, hearing of a great prince in the interior, he thought the}^ Avere talking of Cub lay- Khan, of Tartary, and sent a deputation to him with presents from the Spanish sovereigns. One who was sent was a converted Jew, who was acquainted with Hebrew and the Chaldaic and Arabic tongues. They penetrated about twelve leagues into the island, and then came to a village with fifty houses, and about a thousand inhabi- tants ; but nothing was there to indicate what these ambassadors sought. The learned languages were of no avail, and their Indian interpreter had to be employed. They were received with great kindness; but they saw no marks either of an advanced state of society or of the possession of wealth. The population was thin, and the land very partially and rudely cultivated. On their return, however, they were much struck by what they observed to be a common practice. Certain dried leaves of a herb were !( l|||||ll! iiliSi na DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 135 rolled up so as to form a tight roll rather larger than a finger. One end of this was lit, and the other put into the mouth, that the smoke might first be drawn up, and then puffed out. This was not very far from what is uoav the chief city of the island, Havannah. To these little rolls the natives gave the name of "tobacco," a name which has since been transferred to the weed itself from the leaves of which the inhabitants made the rolls ; and this was evidently their primitive manner of using it. , Columbus was satified that such a people as he sought was not to be found in Cuba. He, how- ever, kept coasting till, had he proceeded much farther, he would have arrived at the most westerly point of the island, now Cape St. Anto- nio, whence across to Yucatan, on the opposite shores of Mexico, is not much above a hundred miles. But he here heard that not far from the eastern point of Cuba was a large island, where, though the people were very warlike (some said they had only one eye), they had plenty of gold. 136 COLUMBUS. Columbus now resolved to coast back to the south-east, though uncertain whether Cuba was island or continent. Soon after he turned back, however, a most untoward event occurred. The Pinta, com- manded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, was the best sailor ; and being considerably ahead, Columbus made signals for him to shorten sail, to which the captain paid no attention. These were repeated during the night by lights at the mast-head ; but in the morning the vessel was no longer to be seen. It afterwards appeared that Pinzon had heard of this land to the eastward, where gold abound- ed, and that he and his crew had resolved to sail directly for it, and secure its advantages for themselves. Columbus deeply felt the desertion, but continued his own coasting course, and at length arrived at the eastern end of the island, around which he sailed for a little distance. But one day, taking a rather wider offing than usual, he perceived high mountains in the horizon to DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 137 the south-east. He immediately made sail in that direction ; and soon arrived at the island long called Hispaniola, now generally known under the names of St. Domingo and Hayti, one of the most beautiful and magnificent islands in the world. It was on the evening of the 6th of December that he entered a harbor at the western end of the island, to which he gave the name of St. Nicholas. The inhabitants, however, had fled from their dwellings, and it was not till he had sailed farther along the coast, and made several ineffectual attempts, that he was at length suc- cessful in meeting some of them. But here, as elsewhere, he found the same general state of society, the same general circumstances of the people. One well acquainted with the true prin- ciples of social wealth would have seen abundant means of securing it ; but of wealth, according to the ideas then attached to it, no other traces were found than in the golden ornaments which some possessed, though of the source whence originally procured they could give no certain account. Of 138 coLcrjMBUS. its value they had no particular notion, readily exchanging their ornaments for trifling European trinkets. Their hospitality could only furnish fish, fruits, and cassava-bread ; but it was exer- cised with the most unsuspecting freedom. With one chief or cacique^ on the coast he became acquainted, and received a message from another, Guacanagari by name, whose power was acknowledged by all that part of the island, inviting him to visit a place on the coast, a little farther to the eastward, where he resided. The party who were sent to this cliieftain brought back so favorable an account that Columbus resolved to accept his invitation. Early in the morning of the 24th of December he sailed for this purpose, and a little before midnight had arrived within a couple of leagues of the place he had to visit. The weather was fine and the sea calm, so that the admiral, whose careful attention scarcely ever ceased, thought he might take the repose which he felt that he needed. Giving strict orders for watchfulness, he retu'ed to his DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 139 cabin. But the appearances of safety were too seductive to those whom he left on deck, and who had neither his responsibility nor his thoughtful- ness. Thinking that all was right, one by one those who ought to have watched fell fast asleep. The steersman, too, against the rule which for- bade such a proceeding at any time, gave the helm in charge to a boy, whom he told to keep awake for a time while he rested himself; and thus, above and below, all were sleepers, save the boy at the helm, who understood nothing of the management of the vessel, even could he have observed its course. Unknown to any one, the ship was now under the influence of a smooth but powerful current ; and before long struck violently on a sand-bank. Columbus felt the shock, and hastened on deck, where he witnessed the negligence consequent on his own brief retirement for necessary repose. He stood there and witnessed the deck empty and the vessel aground. The sailing-master almost immediately followed him, but he ought 140 COLUMBUS. not to have left his post ; and the crew came up in the confusion of suddenly awakened men. They were required to carr}^ an anchor astern, to assist in getting off the vessel; but when they were in the boat, instead of promptl}' obeyiug orders, they rowed off to the caravel commanded by Vincent Pinzon, then at some little distance, thus giving time for the vessel to be more deeply embedded in the sand. Pinzon Avas happily alive to the threatening danger, and sharply reproving the men in the boat for their cowardice in merely thinking of their own safety, and leaving their companions, for what the}' knew or cared, to perish, he refused to allow them to come on board, and not only ordered them back, but, directing his own boat to be at once manned, he hastened to the assistance of Columbus. And it was time. The vessel liad been driven farther upon the bank, and the keel was so fixed in the sand, that the cutting away the mast pro- duced no benefit. The seams began to open, and the waves, calm, as happily the sea was, beat on DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 141 her with sufficient force to throw lier over on one side. Had the weather been stormy all must have been lost. As it was, Columbus and most of his crew had to leave the vessel, and take refuge for the remainder of the night on board the caravel, anxiously waiting for morning, when they hoped for assistance from the shore, to deliver them from the terrible consequences resulting from heedlessness. No one had intended to do any harm. The weather was fine ; all was right. " Surely we may just have an hour's sleep, when we will return to our posts with redoubled diligence." Thus the crew most likely reasoned, if such abandonment of the soul to present feeling is to be called reasoning ; and thus reasoning, no one meaning to do harm, the vessel was wrecked, and had Providence permitted the wind to freshen, and the waves to rise, vessel and crew might have been lost. The commander of the other caravel well knew his duty, and not only at once ordered the men who had rowed to his vessel to return, but with a 142 COLIDTVIBUS. party of his own crew followed them, to render aid to his companions in this perilous exigency. But nothing could be done till morning came, and then messengers were sent to give informa- tion to the friendly cacique. Assistance was promptly rendered, and everything was removed from the wreck to the shore. Nothing was pilfered; and every accommodation that native kindness could afford was given, in a manner the most affectionate. The cacique collected a number of his people, by whom a variety of their games were performed. Columbus, also, caused his men to go through the European military manoeuvres. The Indians were most of all impressed by the firing of a cannon, loaded with a ball, the effect of which upon the trees against which it was directed they witnessed with equal surprise and terror. They called the Spaniards " sons of heaven," who had come to their protection armed with thunder and lightning. They soon saw the value attached by their visitors to gold, which themselves regarded DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANTOLA. 143 chiefly as an ornament. Very willingly did they part with it in exchange for triiUng European articles ; and Columbus was informed that among some of the mountains of the island it was found in considerable quantities. lie could not rid himself of his notions respecting Cipango (Japan), and began now to think that this was the island. Some of the men, too, perceiving the easy life which the natives led, and contrasting the beauty of the place and the present fnieness of the weather with the hardships which they antici- pated on their voyage, began to indulge the wish of remaining Avliere they Avere. This at length was mentioned to Columbus, who, meditating on it, formed the desi^'u of thus lavino; the founda- tion of a colony. The wreck of the vessel would furnish materials for the construction of a fort- ress ; and during his absence, the men who remained might acquire the native language, explore the island, and collect gold. Such were his plans ; and had they whom he left been ani- mated by his spirit, the results might have been 144 COLUMBUS. equally beneficial to themselves, their new acquaintances, and their country. When will men learn that such is the established order of human affairs, in the administration of a Provi- dence always supreme, that where the rules of rectitude are abandoned, whatever present grati- fication may be obtained, solid and permanent prosperit}^ cannot possibly be secured? While engaged in preparing both for his own return, and the establishment of the infant colony, Columbus heard that another vessel had anchored at the eastern end of the island. Knowing that his own ships alone had penetrated thus far across the ocean, he at once concluded that it was the Finta^ and immediately dispatched a canoe with an earnest request that Pinzon would lose no time in rejoining him. The canoe returned unsuccess- ful ; and Columbus was now oppressed by anxiety respecting his own circumstances. The remain- ing caravel was scarcely seaworthy, and a long voyage over a stormy ocean was before him. The wreck of this one vessel, he felt, would amount DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 145 to the failure of the whole voyage. Who should then convey information to Spain, of the discover- ies he had effected? And who, when nothing was ever heard of the first voyagers, would ven- ture to undertake a similar enterprise ? But his mind was not constituted to yield to difficulties Avhen an important object was before him. His uniform plan was to prepare to encounter them Avisely, and, by thus encountering, to surmount them. The first thing to be accomplished was the erection of the fortress ; and this, by the constant labor of the men, assisted by the friendly Indians, was completed in less than a fortnight. From the number who wished, to remain, he selected tliirty-nine in whom he thought he could place most confidence, and appointed the officers who should command in his absence. He gave them rules for their conduct both to each other and to the natives ; rules which, had they been observed with a fidelity corresponding to the wisdom with which they were framed, would have prevented 146 coLOiBrs. the first records of European colonization in the West Indies, in St. Domingo especially, from beins: inscribed in characters of blood, and the natives would not have seen, in the lirst Chris- tians whose character they were called to con- template, the exemplifications of sensuality, rapine, and tyranny. As soon as the fortress was completed, tlie remaining caravel ^^"as got ready for the home- ward voyage, and on the 4th of January, 1493, Columbus left La Xa^-idad, and directed his adventiu-ous prow toward Spain. On the 6th. before tliey were clear of the coast, a sailor from the mast-head gave the information that he saw a sail at a distance, approacliing them \^ith a favorable wind. This proved to be the long- missing Finta. When Pinzon came on board, he attributed the separation of the vessels to stress of weather : and Columbus wishing to avoid all altercation, appeared to believe him. It was afterwards, however, ascertained that Pinzon had piu'posely taken the dii'ection that he did ; DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 147 that lie had been for some time at the eastern part of Hispaniola, and had collected a considera- ble quantity of gold, half of which he had retained for himself, and divided the remainder among his crew to purchase their secrecy. He had like- wise carried off four Indian men and two girls, to be sold for slaves in Spain. Columbus sailed to the place where Pinzon had so long been, and though with great opposition from him, ordered the Indians to be restored. He then sailed into a large bay, still farther east, where he found the natives very savage and ferocious. For the first time, hostilities broke out, and in the skirmish several Indians were slain. On the following day, however, the cacique and his people, conscious, perhaps, of the hnmeasurable superiority which their fire-arms gave to the wliites, were as peaceable as though nothing had occurred of a contrary nature, and received with thankfulness the presents which were made to them. The name of this cacique of '' Ciquay " was Mayonabex : he subsequently 148 COLUMBUS. was found acting, in very trying circumstances, with much courage and magnanimity. On leaving this bay, four young Indians were taken along with them, as guides to the islands where the warlike Caribs were reported to dwell, still farther to the east. The men, however, began to be impatient for their return ; and, as the wind was favorable, he resolved now to prosecute his . voyage directl}^ for home, and leave the task of proceeding with his discoveries for his next visit. They sailed eastward, meeting with variable Aveather, till the 12th of February, when they had made such progress that they began to rejoice in the hope of soon seeing land. On that day, how- ever, a violent storm came on, in the course of which the Pinta was agaiu separated from them. For some time they were in imminent dauger of perishing, and numerous vows of penances and pilgrimages were made to be performed should they be permitted to escape from the fury of winds and waves. The mind of the intrepid admiral was especially exercised. If, as he feared, DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 149 the Pint a was lost, the whole account of his discoveries would remain in his own ship, now scarcely seaAvorthy. That the memory of his expedition should perish was more distressing to him even than the thoughts of his children, orphans as they then would be. To guard as far as possible against this, he wrote an account of his discoveries on parchment, placed it in the midst of a cake of wax, and fastening the whole in a cask, so constructed as to be water-tight, he cast it into the sea. After the third day, happily, the storm abated, and on the 15th of February they came in sight of St. Mary's, the southern island of the Azores, belonging to the King of Portugal. The wind, however, was so baffling that it was two or three days before they could anchor. There fresh trials awaited them. The Portuguese monarch, jealous of the undertaking which he had at first refused to patronize, had issued orders to the governers of the different settlements, if Colum- bus, returning, should call at any of them, to 150 COLUMBUS. seize and detain him. Several attempts were here made with this object, but they proved unsuccess- ful ; and on February 24th he was permitted to depart for Spain. He soon experienced a renewal of the tempestuous weather, and was for several days in greater danger than ever. Land was at length seen ; and though it was near the mouth of the Tagus, and he had reason to doubt of the reception he should meet in Portugal, such was the shattered state of his vessel that no choice was left him ; and in the afternoon of March 4th he anchored in the river, bringing to Europe the momentous intelligence of the discovery of a new quarter of the globe. Columbus lost no time in sending a messenger to the king and queen of Spain. At Lisbon all was astonishment. He was invited to the court, where those who had opposed his project, wlien first presented there, were filled with envy at his success. By the king, however, he was received generously, though he now deeply regretted his former conduct, and refused to listen to proposals DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 151 made for the detention, and even the assassina- tion, of the bold and skilful navigator, who had himself realized the predictions which so many had scoffed. He was permitted to seat himself in the royal presence. The most eager attention was paid to the account he gave of his voyage and its results ; and orders were given that whatever he needed to recruit his sailors and repair his vessel should be furnished free of cost. He was escorted back to his ship by a numerous train, calling on his way at a monastery where the queen was with the ladies of her court, to whom likewise he recited his wonderful adventures. At length, all being ready for sea, he left the Tagus on the 13th of March, sailing southward along a well-known coast ; and in two days, on the 15th, seven months and a half after having quitted it on the greatest enterprise of modern times, he entered the harbor of Palos. And who can tell the feelings with which he would sail into the place near which he had experienced so much anxiety ? Who can tell the feelings with which 152 COLUMBUS. the vessel would be seen by the inhabitants? From the midst of them the crew had been taken. The departure of the little fleet had been wit- nessed with almost hopeless despondency. Few expected to behold their friends again, — scarcely any to witness their return in the full triumph of success. Who can doubt that Avhen the shij) was recognized, the tidings would be even rapturously communicated? From house to house the cry would be, ' Columbus is come back ! " It was soon known that he had discovered new countries, some of the productions and inhabitants of which were on board. All business for that day came to an en.d. The bells rang merrily; and, happily, what soon might have been cause of mourning was removed. Of three vessels that had sailed onl}^ one had entered the port; but almost before there was time to inquire whether mourning for the lost was to be mingled with joy for the found, — before night set in, and the time for fireside reflection came, — the Pinta entered the harbor, and anchored by the side of her com- DISCOVERY OF CUBA AND HISPANIOLA. 153 rade. They had been driven by stress of weather into the Bay of Biscay, and had put into the port of Bayonne, whence Pinzon had written to court, informing the monarchs of the discoveries that had been made, and requesting permission to state what had occurred personally. He then sailed for Palos, hoping that he would arrive there first ; but he was disappointed. He landed privately, an exception to the general joy ; a melancholy, and a most instructive example of the evil of yielding to temptation, and departing from the track of duty. He was one of the first who had been con- vinced of the soundness of the arguments of Columbus ; had stood by him, along with the prior of the convent of Rabida, when he was almost friendless ; and when it had been re- solved to undertake the voyage, he had not only employed all his influence in its favor, but embarked his property in the enterprise, and courageously resolved personally to share all its dangers. Unhappily, Avhen its main object had 154 COLUMBUS. been secured, whether prompted by envy or by avarice, he allowed himself to be subdued by the desire of appropriating its honors to himself, and departed from his associates ; both hoping to acquire more wealth and to be the first to an- nounce success. Even after rejoining Columbus, before they left the new world behind them, the jealousy remained rankling in his bosom. It is a melancholy fact, and one that is substan- tiated by all researches into the moral nature of man, that a merely human repentance, is seldom powerful enough to induce one who has done wrong, to thoroughly forgive those whom he has attempted to injure. The doer of wrong is often far more resentful than he is who suffers it. Pinzon soon received letters forbidding his appearance at court, and censuring his desertion of his superior officer. To physical weakness, mental suffering was now added, and their united influence brought him in a few days to his tomb. CHAPTER XII. RECEPTION IN SPAIN. THE first act of Columbus on landing at Palos, was what might have been antici- pated. He had returned in safety from a difficult and dangerous voyage. He had achieved a dis- covery, whose importance far exceeded even his powers of estimation. Deejjly impressed by the goodness of God, both in preserving him, and making him the instrument of bringing such information before the world, he and his men, as soon as he landed, walked in procession to the church. Going and returning, his progress was almost like an ancient triumph. The joyous shout of the people filled the air as this procession of mariners, with the hero of discovery at their head, passed along the crowded streets. What an 155 156 COLUMBIJS. instance of the value of persevering toil, in obedi- ence to well-studied conviction ! Six years pre- viously, he had landed at that very place with his youthful son, an obscure individual, so destitute that he was glad to receive the kindly-bestowed alms of the convent near which he had to pass ; his only wealth, the conviction of which he never lost hold, the existence of a new world beyond the stormy Atlantic. Through difficulties and discouragements, and finally through dangers, to this conviction he was faithful. He persevered, succeeded, and obtained his recompense. Ferdinand and Isabella were then holding their court at Barcelona ; and as soon as they received the news of the return of Columbus, they sent for him to give the account of his proceedings. Barcelona is almost at the northern extremity of the eastern coast of Spain, as Palos is almost at the southern extremit}^ of its western coast. Co- lumbus would have to traverse Spain by nearly its longest diagonal. Three hundred and fifty years ago travelling was much less expeditious ^g E -fip ^^lii l||||ll.r|f:nN-'.;lll.:llli ^^^ ^^^^ i III j^Hfekql 1 ill In' Iji 1 sli llllillll RECEPTION IN SPAIN. 159 than at the present day. He had to take with hmi, to exhibit to his royal master and mistress, both the natives of the Western Indies and the specimens of the various productions of the islands which he had brought home. His progress was, therefore, unavoidably slow. *' He took with him on his journey," says Mr. Prescott, " specimens of the multifarious products of the newly-discovered region." He was accom- panied by several of the native islanders, arrayed in their simple barbaric costume, decorated with collars, bracelets, and other ornaments of gold, rudely fashioned. He exhibited also considerable quantities of the same metal in dust or in crude masses, numerous vegetable exotics possessed of aromatic or medicinal virtue, and several kinds of quadrupeds unknown in Europe, and birds whose varieties of gaudy plumage gave a brilliant effect to the pageant. The admiral's progress through the country was everywhere impeded by the mul- titudes thronging forth to gaze at the extraordi- nary spectacle and the more extraordinary man, 160 COLUMBUS. who, in the emphatic language of that term which has now lost its force from its familiarity, first revealed the existence of a " new world." "As he passed tln-ough the busy, populous city of Seville, every window, balcony, and house-to}), Avliich could afford a glimpse of him was crowded with spectators." The multitude was increased by those from a distance on either side the line of road, who travelled to the point where they might be able to see the astonishing exhibition. This triumphant progress occupied nearly a month. " It was the middle of April " (we again quote from Mr. Prescott) " before Columbus reached Barcelona. The nobility and cavaliers in attend- ance on the court, together with the authorities of the city, came to the gates to receive him, and escorted him to the royal presence. Ferdinaiid and Isabella were seated, with their son Prince John, under a superb canopy of state, awaiting his arrival. On his approach they rose from their seats, and, extending their hands to him to salute, caused him to be seated before them. These EECEPTION IN SPAIN. 161 were unprecedented marks of condescension to a person of Columbus's rank, in the haughty and ceremonious court of Castile. It was, indeed, the proudest moment in the life of Columbus. He had fully established the truth of his loiig-con- tested theory, in the face of argument, sophistry, sneer, scepticism and contempt. He had achieved this, not by chance, but by calculation, supported through the most adverse circumstances by con- summate conduct. The honors paid him, which had hitherto been reserved only for rank, or for- tune, or military success purchased by the blood and tears of thousands, were, in his case, a homage to intellectual power, successfully exerted in behalf of the noblest interests of humanity. " After a brief interval, the sovereigns re- quested from Columbus a recital of his adven- tures. His manner was sedate and dignified, but warmed by the glow of natural enthusiasm. He enumerated the several islands which he had visited, expatiated on the temperate character of the climate and the capacity of the soil for every 162 COLUMBUS. variety of agricultural production, appealing to the samples imported by him as evidence of their natural fruitfulness. He dwelt more at large on the precious metals to be found in these islands ; which he inferred, less from the specimens actually obtained than from the uniform testimony of the natives to their abundance in the unexplored regions of the interior. Lastly, he pointed out the wide scope afforded to Christian zeal in the illumination of a race of men, whose minds, far from being wedded to any system of idolatry were prepared, by their extreme simplicity, for the re- ception of pure and uncorrupted doctrine. This last consideration touched Isabella's heart most sensibly ; and the whole audience, kindled with various emotions by the speaker's eloquence, filled up the perspective with the gorgeous coloring of their own fancies, as ambition, or avarice, or devotional feeling, predominated in their bosoms. When Columbus ceased, the king and queen, to- gether with all present, prostrated themselves on their knees in grateful thanksgivings, while the EECEPTIOISr IN SPAIK. 163 solemn strains of the Te Deum were poured forth by the choir of the royal chapel as in commemo- ration of some glorious victory." * Nor was this all. Another paragraph from Mr. Prescott's work will serve to complete the descrip- tion of this, the highest point in the history of this great and celebrated man. " Columbus, dur- ing his residence at Barcelona, continued to receive from the Spanish sovereigns the most honorable distinctions which royal bounty could confer. When Ferdinand rode abroad, he v/as accompanied by the admiral at his side. The courtiers, in emulation of their master, made fre- quent entertainments, at which he was treated with the punctilious deference paid to a noble of the highest class. But the attentions most grate- ful to his lofty spirit were the preparations of the Spanish court for prosecuting his discoveries on a scale commensurate Avith their importance. A board was established for the direction of Indian * Prescott's History of the Reign of Ferdinaitd and Isabella the Catholic, of Spain, vol. ii. pp. 148 — 151. 164 COLUMBUS. affairs, consisting of a superintendent and two subordinate functionaries. The first of these officers was Juan de Fonseca, Archdeacon of Se- ville, an active, ambitious prelate, subsequently raised to high episcopal preferment. His shrewd- ness and capacity for business enabled him to maintain the control of the Indian department during the whole of the present reign. An office for the transaction of business was instituted at Seville, and a custom-house placed under its direc- tion at Cadiz. This was the origin of the impor- tant establishment of the Casa de la Contrata- cion de las Indias, or India House." As to heraldic honors, Columbus Avas permitted to quarter the ro3^al arms with his own, which con- sisted of a group of golden islands amid azure billows. To these were afterwards added five anchors, with the celebrated motto, well known as being carved on his sepulchre. He received besides the substantial gratuity of a thousand doublas of gold from the royal treasury, and the BECEPTION IN SPAIN. 165 ARMS OF COLUMBUS. premium of ten thousand maravedises, promised to the person who first described land.* *The motto, afterwards inscribed on the costly monument erected over his remains in the cathedral at Seville, by King Ferdinand, was a pretty homely Spanish rhyme, easily imitated in English rhyme of the same character. "A Castilla y a Leon I '* Castile and Aaragon ncno have a new Nuevo mundodio Colon." I World, which Columbus gave" CHAPTER XIII. CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. TliE remaining portion of the life of Colum- bus may be given with far more brevity than the former two portions allowed. His early history, the gradual formation of the grand idea of discovery beyond the hitherto unpassed Atlan- tic, and his persevering efforts to procure the means of its realization, constitute the first part ; remarkable as exhibiting the workings of a mind at once thoughtfully calculating and ardent, searching long and thoroughly before deciding, but deciding once for all, maintaining the decision with firmness, and willing to venture life and everything on the experiment. Not less remarkable is the second part, which contains the performance of the experiment itself. 166 CHARACTEE AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 167 Never were apparently opposite qualities shown in combination more complete, decisive, or exem- plary. Bold, to the very appearance of rashness ; the boldness was the product of entire conviction, as the conviction was the effect of long and care- ful research. Ardent even to enthusiasm, the ardency was the fire of slow-collected thought, whose massive solidity was not easily nor quickly enkindled ; but which, once enkindled, burnt with a vehemence which no obstacle could resist, and with a steadiness which no delay could quench. Along with this ardor there was a patient intrepidity which no danger could terrify, and which knew equally how to advance and how to wait. In few men have the elements of greatness of character existed in such happy proportion ; each contributing to the strength of the whole, and all in harmony with each other. The third and concluding part of the life of Columbus is evidently a portion of the grand epic ; suggesting lessons not less deserving of study than those by which it was preceded; but the 168 COLUMBUS. events which it includes do not demand the same minuteness of attention. It was in a new charac- ter that he undertook his second voyage. Before, he opened the way by which subsequent laborers had to proceed. But on his return from his first voyage, the work of original discovery was com- pleted. Had he paused here, his character as a discoverer would have stood as high as it now does. The problem was solved. Others might follow out the work of its practical application. Now, having forced the entry, he returned, not that others might pass through the door which he had found and opened, but that he himself might in this respect also be the leader of his followers. To him was the double honor allotted, first, of being the discoverer of the New World, and, sec- ondly, of being the first of a long list of enter- prising travellers who have labored at the task of particular description. This part of his history will be found to belong rather to the man — to his history in his more fully developed character — than in his more largely prosecuted works. CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 169 The opinion entertained by Columbus, that Cuba was the end of the Asiatic continent, was likewise generally adopted. Disputes might there- fore arise on the subject with the crown of Portu- gal, to which all discoveries to the east had been confirmed by a papal bull. Ferdinand now solici- ted a similar authority for those made by his officers. The reigning pontiff was Alexander VI., a man eminent for vice, but crafty and able. In his application Ferdinand had been careful to in- sinuate that he should maintain his rights by force, if they were not otherwise confirmed. A bull was therefore issued, dated May 2nd, 1493.* An ideal line was drawn from pole to pole, a hundred leagues west of the Azores ; and to all countries discovered westward of this line the pope granted the same rights as were possessed by the Portu- *In consequence of subsequent disputes between the two crowns, another bull was issued June 4th, 1494, removing the dividing line to three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape de Yerde Islands. A singular consequence of this altera- tion was, that Brazil became the property of Portugal. 170 COLTJMBrS. guese in regard to those which lay to its east- ward. The pretended successor of the apostle who said, " Silver and gold have I none," thus claimed the right of partitioning the world be- tween contending sovereigns! Thus, however, confirmed, as he believed, in the legitimate posses- sion of his claims, Ferdinand lost no time in causing a second expedition to be fitted out. Twelve ecclesiastics were likewise to accompany it, to promote among the Indians the work of con- version to the Roman faith. And as now there was no suspicion of anything chimerical in the undertaking, the preparations were more on a scale corresponding to its admitted importance and magnitude. The excitement occasioned by the recital of Columbus brought him many adventurers, re- questing to be permitted to accompan}^ him. Some were influenced by avarice, some by the love of romantic enterprise. Among the cavaliers was one of the name of Alonso de Ojeda, a young man of good family, and expert in all that was CHAEACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 171 then considered necessary for a brave and accom- plished cavalier. During the preparation, disputes several times arose between Columbus and the persons employed to superintend it. This was particularly the case with Juan de Fonseca, an able but malignant and vindictive ecclesiastic. Columbus had to appeal to Ferdinand, who de- cided in his favor, and even repremanded Fonseca. But in this victory were the seeds of future ill. Fonseca became the bitter enemy of Columbus ; and from his position at the head of Indian affairs, which he maintained for thirty years, he had many opportunities of gratifying his rancorous temper; and in after times Columbus was made repeatedly to feel this, and at length to drink to the very dregs the cup of degradation. If the departure from Palos on the first voyage was gloomy, the second, from Cadiz, was alto- gether of a different character. There were three large ships of heavy burden, and fourteen caravels. The number of men permitted to sail was one thousand ; but some were permitted to go without 172 COLUMBUS. pay, and others, so great was the enthusiasm, em- barked by stealth, so that on the whole Columbus was accompanied by fifteen hundred persons. Crowds thronged all the way to the shore, and he put off with the acclamations of the joyous multitude. He first sailed direct to the Canaries, where he took on board live stock, plants, and seeds for Hispaniola. Departing for his main voyage, October 13th, he lost sight of Ferro (north latitude about 27 1-2^), and steered nearly a south-westerly course, which brought him to land much earlier, as the Antilles lie about in 60^ west longitude, ranging from 20^ to 10^ north latitude. At day-break, November 2, twenty-eight days sooner than on his former voyage, he came to an island, to which, having been first seen on the Sunday, he gave the name of Dominica. Guadaloupe was next discovered, a little to the north ; and here the Spaniards first saw the pine- apple. Traces of cannibalism were likewise per- ceived. Others of the Caribbean islands were CHAEACTEB, AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 173 discovered. At one of them, where the inhab- itants were very ferocious, the Spaniards had an encounter Avith them, in which the women fought as desperately as the men. One of the Spaniards died a few days after, from a wound by a poisoned arrow. Keeping to the westward, the large island of Porto Rico was discovered, from the western extremity of which, to the eastern cape of St. Domingo Avas a plain sail of about sixty miles. He arrived there November 22nd. Touching one day on the coast, on their way to La Navidad, two or three bodies were found on the shore, in a state of decay, but with evident marks of violence. One of them at least was a European. This event produced the utmost anx- iety for the colony, to which they now hastened, and arriving there on the 27th of November, had their worst fears realized. After much in- quiry, it was found that the Spaniards had quarrelled among themselves, and instead of either industriously prosecuting the designs of Columbus, or keeping good order, many spent 174 COLUMBUS. their time indolently among the Indians. A neighboring cacique, a Carib, by name Caonabo, formed the design of surprising them. He did so most effectually. He came by night on the fortress, in which were only ten men ; the rest were in the village, where they were living in sensual, lawless security. The Spaniards in the fort all lost their lives. The friendly Indians were defeated, and many of the whites massa- cred, and the settlement was completely broken up. Neither gold nor any other valuable articles had been collected, and the conquerors had carried off the property of the white men as their booty. Columbus, however deeply he felt the occur- rence, lost no time in seeking to remedy it. He chose a better place, by a harbor ten leagues to the eastward, in a strong position, for his projected colony, where he laid the foundation of a town. And now began his troubles. They who accompanied him had expected to live an easy life, and to collect gold almost at their CHARACTER AND WOEK OF COLUMBUS 175 will. When they were called to labor in the construction of the buildings, and found out that gold was only to be collected gradually, and with care, they became dissatisfied and turbu- lent. Columbus saw that the prospect before him was full of difficulties. He had also prom- ised to send some of the vessels back to Spain, with the gold and other articles, which he ex- pected to find ready. Nothing was provided. An expedition into the interior was planned, under the command of Don Alonso de Ojeda. On reaching the mountains, they saw that the gold was contained in the sands of the rivers flowing down from them. They brought home all they could find. Ojeda picked up a mass of rude gold weighing nine ounces. Columbus sent seven caravels back to Spain, as well loaded as his circumstances allowed, and detailed the his- tory of the disasters which had occurred. But in the colony the seeds of anger and sedition were rapidly growing. A conspiracy was formed, headed by the comptroller, to take advantage 176 COLUMBUS. of an illness of Columbus (brought on by anx- iety and fatigue, and which, for some time, cod- fined him to his bed), to seize on the ships in the harbor, and return to Spain. It was discov- ered before it broke out. The leader was sent home to Spain for trial ; and others were pujushed though not as they deserved. And now another difficulty became apparent. Columbus was a foreigner, with no friends in Spain but those procured by his merits. The con- spirators were Spaniards ; with whom even the better-disposed sympathized as their felloAV-coun- trymen; and at home their connections were numerous, — of some of them, powerful. Hoping that activity would calm the disturbed spirits of his people, lie projected a powerful expedition into the interior, which he commenced on tlic 12th of jNIarch, leaving his brother Diego to com- mand at Isabella (the name of the new city) during his absence. They penetrated into the region where gold was most plentiful, and in one place he began to build a fortress, naming it ' 'hi ■I I f i V|'^■• :' ! nil life . //'iPll I CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 179 St. Thomas. The inhabitants were found to be like those hitherto met ; and having acquired all the information in his power, he returned, with the gold and other articles gathered in the prog- ress, to Isabella. Alarming intelligence soon ar- rived from Fort St. Thomas. The Indians had become unfriendly, and an attack from Caonabo was anticipated. To render this still more dis- tressing, maladies, arising from change of climate and diet, had broken out among the colonists, augmenting the prevalent dissatisfaction. He made what arrangements he could for the safety of the people, established a junta of gov- ernment under his brother Diego, and leaving two of his largest vessels in the harbor, on the 29th of April sailed for further discoveries in Cuba. He resolved to coast along its south side, hoping to arrive at the dominions of the Grand Khan, an illusion which, in one form or another, influ- enced him to the last. After having pursued this course some days, and still being pointed to the south for the golden country, on the 2ik1 of May 180 COLUMBUS. he steered in that direction, and soon came in sight of Jamaica. He found the inhabitants both more ingenious and warUke than those of Cuba and Hayti ; but after coasting to its western end, finding no more of the great object of his quest than usual, he returned to Cuba, and slowly pro- ceeded westward, but still only perceiving the same general objects. His crews became, at length dissatisfied ; and though they Avould soon have arrived at the western extremity, insisted so strongly on returning that he was obliged to com- ply. Again touching at Jamaica, August 20th he made the western end of Hayti, sailed along the southern coast of the island, and had resolved to complete the discovery of the Caribbean islands, when, worn out by the fatigues and anxieties he had experienced since his arrival, his health en- tirely gave way; he sank into a death-like leth- argy and in a state of insensibility was conveyed to Isabella. After recovering his recollection, he rejoiced to see his brother Bartolomeo, who, after his CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 181 journey to England, had been captured by a cor- sair on his return, and did not reach Spain till after his brother had left on his second voyage. As he was an able navigator, the sovereigns in- trusted him with the command of three vessels with supplies for the new settlements; and he had arrived at Isabella just before Columbus was brought there dangerously ill. He was the more thankful for this arrival of one in whose fidelity and talents he could repose implicit confidence, because, in his absence, avarice, licentiousness, indolence, and pride, had done their work, and the whole island was a scene of violence and dis- cord. The cacique, Caonabo, had taken advan- tage of the Spanish dissensions, and by craft and bravery the savage warrior-chief had sought the destruction of the new comers. The vigi- lance, courage, and activity of Don Alonzo de Ojeda, however, combined with European disci- pline, and the possession of firearms, rendered his attacks abortive; but hostilities were un- ceasing, and the affairs of the colony in the 182 COLUMBUS. most critical condition. Dissatisfaction, too, was extensive. Labor and fighting were not the objects for which the majority liad left Spain ; and, in tlie bitterness of disappointment, they considered themselves as injured by Columbus. His great object, however, was the defeat of the hostile Indians. By a bold stratagem, con- ceived and executed by Ojeda, he obtained pos- session of the person of his most dangerous foe, Caonabo, who was imprisoned, though otherwise treated well. His brother raised a force for his rescue, but was defeated by Ojeda. Soon after, Columbus sent some vessels to Spain, with re- ports of his progress, and everything valuable he had been able to collect; and knowing that among those who had returned were two of his chief enemies, — Friar Buyl, and a Catalonian officer, Margarite, to whom the command of the fortress of St. Thomas had first been entrusted, but who had been removed for misbehavior, — he sent his brother Diego to explain the real state of things, and to defend his authority and character. CHAEACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 183 111 March, 1495, Columbus learned that several caciques had united their forces, and were pre- paring to attack the Spaniards. He resolved to anticipate their schemes ; and, on the 27th of March, formed all the men who were available for the purpose, into a company. This amounted only to two hundred infantry and twenty horse. With this little army he marched to meet the foe ; taking along with him twenty blood-hounds, that animal being already introduced into West Indian service. In a few days by rapid marches, they came to the vega^ or plain, where a vast number of Indians were collected. The plain was nearly surrounded by forests, from the shelter of which the attack was made ; at first with fire-arms ; and then, when the Indians were thrown into confusion, they were charged by Ojeda, and in a short time the rout was total. Columbus, on his return, assumed the govern- ment of the whole island, whose inhabitants, according to the notions of the day, had been given as subjects to the Spanish crown. A regu- 1^4 COLUMBUS. lar tribute was imposed of gold and cotton, and the natives felt that their thraldom was complete. The enemies of Columbus were now busily seeking to undermine his reputation in Spain. Saying nothing of the seditions which had called for punishment, nor of the idleness and profligacy which had sometimes rendered enforced labor the only preservation from ruin, ihej gave the worst form and the darkest coloring to all the acts of his government, and even supplied matters of well-grounded charge. Those, too, who had remained behind, and who had expected to be rich at once and to indulge themselves in slothful sensuality sent their reports to their friends in various parts of the country. And now appeared one of the consequences of the mistaken notions of Columbus as to the geo- graphy of those western countries. He believed that his voyage would take him to the civilized and wealthy regions of Asiatic India ; and when countries and people so different were discovered, scarcely any were far-sighted enough to perceive CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 185 the real benefits that would ultimately accrue. Disappointed in their dreams of immediate wealth, they fell into the opposite extreme, of undervaluing the spleadid discoveries which had actually been made ; and not only of derogating from the merit of the great man by whose know- ledge and ability they had been achieved, but of regarding him as positively criminal. Fonseca, too, was always ready to give credit to these charges, and, as far as he could, to enforce them at court. Ferdinand, as well as his enlightened consort, appears to have seen through them ; but he was crafty and politic, and especially desirous to gain as much as he could at as little expense as was possible, and to allow Columbus to possess no power that might at a subsequent period become dangerous to the supreme authority of the crown. He did not, therefore, promptly repel the unjust accusations, as did the more noble-minded and generous Isabella, who never allowed her favor towards him to be shadowed. It was at length resolved to send out one Juan 186 COLUMBUS. Aguado to inquire into the circumstances of the colony. He appears to have been a weak and vain man ; and when he arrived in Hispaniola, it was soon known that he was ready to receive all complaints against Columbus. The consequences may be at once anticipated. Every disappointed man is ready to blame any one rather than him- self; and every evil-doer regards the magistrate as a tyrant. Aguado soon had abundant materials for his report, and prepared to return to Spain with them. Columbus, also, awake to the true position of affairs, resolved to return at the same time. All was ready for their departure, when one of those tremendous storms common in tropi- cal climes, — called by the natives wraeanes, hence ''hurricanes," — and of greater force than usual, swept over the island. Of the vessels read}^ to sail, three sank while at anchor, and all on board perished ; the others were driven on shore, some being total wrecks. While new preparations were making for the voyage which had thus beeu delayed, most im- CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 187 portant intelligence was received. Hitherto, the gold found had been obtained from the sand of the mountain torrents, but no places had been discovered where the veins of the precious metal might be wrought. A young man had fled with a young Indian woman (she was afterwards bap- tized, and married to him), and resided on the opposite side of the island, near the present city of St. Domingo. Hoping to retain him, and know- ing how much the Spaniards valued gold, she took him to several places in the mountains, where gold-veins were to be seen in the rocks. In the midst of so much that is dark and even disgust- ing in the behavior of the bulk of the Spaniards, it is pleasing to have one instance to record of virtue and nobleness of mind. The young man had been in the service of Bartolomeo Columbus, and, knowing the importance of the information he could afford, he believed that he should obtain pardon for his desertion, and therefore returned to state what he had learned. He was equally faithful to his Indian bride and to his country. 188 COLUMBUS. Columbus lost no lime in having these incip- ient mines examined, and rejoiced that the oppor- tunity of carrying such intelligence to Spain had been afforded him. The voyage was long and disastrous. The winds were tempestuous and con- trary. The vessel was crowded; and some of the most factious having resolved to return, and others being compelled to do so by the failure of their health. The usual sufferings of a stormy and protracted passage were aggravated by an alarm- ing scarcity of provisions. Some who were on board wished Columbus to kill, for food, some of the Indians he was taking with him ; and it re- quired all his authority and firmness to prevent the execution of their horrid proposal. The voyage was at length concluded ; and on the 11th of June, 1496, the vessel anchored in the bay of Cadiz. It was as though everything now conspired against Columbus. From that port he had sailed with a splendid equipment, and fifteen hundred enthusiastic followers, amid the plaudits and shouts CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 189 of a multitude of spectators. One shattered vessel returned, with a sickly and half-famished crew, and passengers in the same condition. Their garments were tattered, their countenances sunken and care-worn, and their complexion so sallow, that the angry and biting jest became common, that ''they had brought home more gold in their faces than in their pockets." Columbus himself, who had put off from that very shore a splendidly arrayed cavalier, in glittering armor, came on shore, in pursuance of some vow, in the habit of a Franciscan friar, his beard long and untrimmed, and girt round the waist with the cord of the order. He hastened, however, to the court at Burgos, carrying with him a number of golden ornaments and several Indians. He was received with favor, and even kindness; but he soon perceived that the national enthusiasm had died away, that his enemies were numerous and powerful, ready to exaggerate his mistakes into faults, his faults into high crimes. But for the 190 COLUMBUS. resolution of the sovereigns, he must have sunk under the weight thus fallen upon him. The discovery of the gold mines at Hayti was a favorable circumstance ; and, perhaps, chiefl}^ induced the sovereigns to comply with his re- quest, that two vessels should be despatched with supplies for the colony, and six put under his own command for a third voyage of discovery. But he had to experience many vexatious delays. He felt the enmity of Fonseca at every step. The Spanish exchequer was inadequate to the j)ressing demands then made on it through the foreign rela- tions of the country. It had been hoped that, not only would these new Indies repay the expenses connected with their discovery, but materially, and at once, improve the finances of the state. Instead of this, there was a present and heavy expenditure, far exceeding the actual returns. Few saw that the returns, though slow, were ultimately certain. Fewer still perceived, or were willing to acknowl- edge, the reason they were not greater. Agri- culture had been neglected, for those greedy CHARA.CTEE AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 191 for gold would not condescend to labor. The Indians had been so treated, that even the little cultivation of the ground to which they were accustomed had been resolutely omitted, as they hoped, at the hazard of starving themselves, to starve out their invaders. The more able and faithful Spaniards had to be employed in conflicts which the wanton and intolerable outrages the others had provoked; conflicts so devastating, that the natives were almost exterminated. In four years from the first arrival of the Euro- peans, several hundred thousands had bean made their victims. Famine, at one time, was only avoided by a law of compulsory labor, and a diminished allowance of food. Hence the poverty of the settlement, and the torrent of complaints of the settlers. "These unpalatable regulations," Mr. Prescott has observed, with a keen sense of justice " soon bred general discontent. The high-mettled hidalgos, especially, complained loudly of the indignity of such mechanical drudgery, while Father Buyl and his brethren 192 COLUMBUS. were equally outraged by the diminution of their regular rations." The fleet was not ready for Columbus till the beginning of 1498; and Avhen the vessels were equipped, great difficulty was found in manning them. The tide of popular feeling had set in against the expedition. At length he suggested the unhappy expedient, the bitter fruit of which he himself soon felt, of commuting the punish- ment of convicts to transportation to the West Indies. The evils which already so oppressed him arose from the bad character of so many of the settlers ; and this measure tended powerfully to strengthen the mischief. At length, all things being ready, he sailed from St. Lucar on May 80th, 1498. But, just before he embarked, a painful incident occurred, in which the well-disciplined, strongly governed mind of the man was for once, unhappily over- come. The enmity of Fonseca was so well known that even his menial agents were encour- aged to be insolent. One of them, Ximeno de CHARACTER AND WORK OF COLUMBUS. 193 Breviesca, a converted Moor or Jew, whose tongue was unbridled, so provoked Columbus by his au- dacity, that he struck him down and spurned him. He had to pause now for his own justification. This act was declared to be a proof of his vindic- tive temper and harshness in government. He en- treated the sovereigns not to allow it to injure him in their opinion, "but to remember, when anything should be said to his disparagement, that he was * absent, envied, and a stranger.' " * ♦Washington Irving's Life of Columbus. KATIVE HOUSE. CHAPTER XIY. THE THIRD VOYAGlfi. THE third voj^age of this great man was now commenced. From the Madeira Islands he despatched three of his vessels to Hispaniola witli supplies ; with the remaining three he prosecuted his own voyage, sailing first for the Cape de Verde Islands, and thence south-west till he arrived in the latitude of 5° north. Here the weather became calm, and intensely hot. Ulti- mately, he availed himself of a light breeze, and sailed more northerly. On the 31st of July, three mountains were seen from the mast-head. Sailing towards them, he came to an island, to which, because these three mountains at the base were united, he gave the name which it still retains, Trinidad. Sailing along its south side, he saw 194 . THE THIRD VOYAGE* 195 land stretching away for twenty leagues. Sup- posing it to be another island, he called it La Isla Santa. It was part of the coast of the great South American continent, near the mouths of the Orinoco, which he then, though not aware of it, beheld for the first thne. Trinidad seems almost as though broken off from the continent. Its northern coast runs on as though it were a continuation of the coast of the mainland. Just opposite its western corner, the mainland sends out a long, projecting, narrow neck, as though to meet it, which it almost does. Southward, it recedes again to the west, forming a gulf, bounded by the mainland on the west, and Trinidad on the east. On the north and south the island and continent project towards each oilier: the spaces between them are the only entrances from the sea. One of the outlets of the Orinoco flows into it. This is the Gulf of Paria. Columbus spent a little time here. He was- surprised at the lessened saltness of the water. 196 COLUISIBUS. He little thought that the group of numerous islands -s^ ere formed by the different outlets of a mighty river, or that when he went on shore he then stood on the terra Jirma of a vast continent. From the natives he procured a number of pearls, many of them of fine size and quality. The fishery for pearls was a gratifying discovery to him ; and the various phenomena he witnessed so strongly excited his curiosity, that he much wished to remain lonjjer for further investio-ation. But his sea-stores were almost exhausted, and he was suffering severely from the gout. Oji the 14th of August he left the gulf bv its northern entrance, and sailed direct for Hispaniola, where he arrived wearied, and, through a complaint in his eyes, almost blind. He was most affection- ately welcomed by the adelantado, or lieutenant- governor, his brother Bartolomeo, whom he had invested with that command on his departure. Columbus found the affairs of the colony in a deplorable state. Faction had produced the most destrtictive dissensions. Conspiracies had been THE THIRD VOYAGE. 197 formed, which required force to put them down ; and great outrages had been committed on the Indians. These were so exasperated, that when the}' beheld the weakness occasioned by these quarrels and disturbances, they refused to pay the accustomed tribute. A traitor by the name of Roldan induced a number of Spaniards to accom- pany him to a part of the island where he said they might establish themselves, and live easy and happy lives. By happiness he meant sensuality. He instigated the Indians to war, and the ade- lantado and his troops were almost wearied out with the incessant toil thus occasioned. Never was the Cliristian name more fearfull}' disgraced, and never was the moral character of the Divine administration more clearly visible. The natural operations of wickedness, not onl}^ extinguished what might have been a rich and noble prosperit}- ; as advantageous to the natives as to the settlers, but lit up a flame of mischief ultimately destruc- tive of the very last Indian, and withered the European settlements in their whole progress, till 198 COLUMBUS. a dreadful revenge, almost in our own day, drove out the last white man, and left Hayti the pos- session of the imported negroes. When Columbus arrived, Roldan and his party were living in another part of the island. The caravels sent by Columbus from Cape de Yerde Islands had put in there, and, as the captains were ignorant of the real state of the island, the rebel was received on board, and soon persuaded the half-pardoned convicts to join him. His strength was so great, that Columbus, though superior, felt it necessary to temporize, lest in the weakness of civil war, the Indians should destroy both. But though an apparent accommodation was affected, the cause of Columbus was deeply injured in Spain. Roldan wrote home, and laid all the blame on the brothers. Columbus simply narrated the affair ; but the tales of his enemies found believers, and added to the prejudices against him which had already operated power- fully. In such cases, the worse side, unless dealt with by justice in its powers, will always gain the THE THIRD VOYAGE. 199 ascendancy. For such men as this Roldan, not to be punished was a victory. For some time matters continued in this pain- ful condition. But at home, the power of his enemies increased. At every opportnnit}^ he sent true accounts of the actual state of things ; but Fonseca was always ready to receive accusations, and was supported by the friends of the abandoned wretches who were thus building up in wickedness Spanish colonization in the New World. He was one, and at a distance, and spoke only by his let- ters. His enemies at liome and abroad were numerous. The settlers op2:>osed to him were men not likely to regard truth, and their friends in Spain only sought matter of accusation. By numbers and perseverance they, at length, so far prevailed, that Ferdinand had not courage to continue his resistance. His craftiness would likewise induce him to think that Columbus had already done as much service as was to be ex- pected from him, and that his Avithdrawment would at all events bring peace. He yielded, 200 COLUMBUS. therefore, to the solicitations of the adversaries of Columbus, who were careful to present their requests in the most equitable guise, and conceal their unconquerable animosity under the appear- ances of a strict justice. They only wished for inquiry ; from which Columbus, if innocent, as he represented himself, would come forth, not only with safety, but with honor. They thus procured the appointment of a judge, invested with full poAvers, and therefore superior to the admiral him- self.. Had a proper person been appointed, the bold Genoese, whose gifts w^ere so far in advance of his age, would have been spared the cutting degradation to which he was subjected, and Fer- dinand the blackest ingratitude of which he could have been guilty. It was right that the matter should have been brought to decision. But had Ferdinand desired, not simply to be freed from the trouble of hearing accusations, designed by constant repetition to supply the lack of truth and honesty, but to procure a decision which should establish the truth,- he ought to have taken the THE THIED VOYAGE. 201 utmost care to send out one from whom, so far as expectation may be founded on man, he might satisfactorily expect a decision according to jus- tice. Awful is the responsibility of those who possess power, be it in a higher or lower degree. An obligation rests on them to be just. Mistaken they may be, for they are men ; but no allowance is to be made for mistakes where every precaution has not been taken to avoid them. The person appointed as Ferdinand's delegate, — and for whose acts, Ferdinand himself was responsible, — was Don Francisco de Bobadilla. He was an officer in the royal household, and commander of the religious and military order of Calatrava. He was said to be a very religious man. Among the evil-doers in Hispaniola who had ruined the colony, and were now seeking revenge on Columbus because he opposed their indolence, licentiousness, avarice, and haughtiness, perhaps there was scarcely one who would not, at the appointed hour, recite the regular prayers. Fonseca likewise was called a religious man. But 202 COLUMBUS. the religion of mere externalism is no security for moral uprightness. With far greater truth, it is said that he was passionate and amhitious; and also, that, though in exalted rank, his circum- stances were needy. Don Francisco arrived at St. Domingo on the 23rd of August, 1500. Columbus had just put down a daring rebellion, and had felt himself obliged, by its character, to cause some of the leaders to be executed. Their bodies, suspended on a gibbet near the harbor, were se<^n by Boba- dilla as he entered, and he immediately accepted this as a proof of the admiral's cruelty. He had been invested with the power of governor, in case of the proved delinquency of Columbus ; but the day after he landed without inquiry, except from the admiral's foes, who had already gained his favor, and without having even seen Columbus, he caused his patent as governor to be proclaimed, and assumed the supreme authority. He took up his abode in the house of Columbus, who was then absent, seized on all his papers, and disposed of THE THEED VOYAGE. 205 all his property as if already confiscated to the crown. The remainder may be anticipated. The officer who could act thus was not likely to observe any further forms of justice, nor to exercise his power with mercy. He arrested Don Diego without stating any reason, put him in irons, and confined him on board a vessel in the harbor. As soon as Columbus arrived, he ordered him also to be arrested, conducted to the fort as a j^i'isoner, and likewise to be put in irons. Columbus submitted patiently to all; but when the fetters were brought, the recollection of his services, as well as his unbroken dignity in misfortune, made every one unwilling to put them on; and the hero of adversity stood waiting to be manacled, till one of his own servants came forward to rivet the chains. Two fine pictures might be furnished by an artist capable of expressing on canvas the thought as shown in the countenance. The first should be Columbus on the prow of his vessel, looking to- wards the land, in the first glow of the morning 206 COLUMBUS. after tlie night in which land had been discovered. The second should be Columbus standing in the prison of the fortress, siuTounded by those who had conducted him there, holding the fetters that they shrank from fastening on him : while, in per- fect contrast with the nobility of the prisoner, would be seen the reptile meanness of the servant coming forward to bind liim. Not even the dignified submission of Columbus could affect the soul of Bobadilla, who, judging of others by liimself, seemed to have believed that his prisoner was awed by the dignit}^ of his su- perior. Don Bartolomeo, arriving soon after, experienced the same treatment. Vice had now obtained the victory. They whose conduct had occasioned the distresses of the colony revelled in their triumph. Bobadilla soon collected sufficient matter of accusation, and Columbus, still in chains, was ordered to be taken to Spain. He went to the ship once more amidst shouts ; but they were the shouts of a miscreant rabble, who took a brutal joy in heaping insults on his venera- THE THIRD VOYAGE. 20T ble head; and sent curses after him from the ishmd he had so recently added to the civilized world.* The officer who had to convey him to Spain, Alonzo de Yillejo, was in the employ of Fonseca, — a significant circumstance. He was a man, however, of honorable feeling, and sought to render the voyage as little irksome to him as possible. He Avould have removed the irons ; but to this Columbus Avould not consent. "I was directed by my sovereigns to submit to Bobadilla in their name. By their authority he has put on me these chains, and I will wear them till they are by the same authority removed. I shall then preserve them as relics and memorials of the re- ward of my services.'' He afterwards hung tliem up in his cabinet, and his dying request was that they miglit be buried with him. When Columbus arrived in Cadiz, and was taken on shore in chains, a generous burst of in- dignation arose on every side, which soon spread tliroughout Spain. Not knowing how far his ♦"Washinstou Irving's Life of Columbus. 208 COLUMBUS. treatment was due to the orders of the sovereigns, he did not write to them, but to a lady of high rank, who had been nurse to Prince Juan. To her he full}^ explained the whole case, justifyinr his conduct so clearly, and in such moving lan- guage, that when the letter was read to Isabella, her sympathy and indignation were strongly ex- cited. The king, too, soon saw that his ofi&cers had not only gone too far for justice, but too far even for the public opinion of that day. Orders were sent off, without waiting for the despatches of Bobadilla, to release the prisoner ; a large sum of money was sent to him, and he was directed to repair forthwith to the court. His reception there was as favorable as ever. When the queen saw him approach, still dignified, but mournful, and now evidently worn with both care and age, slio burst into tears, and Columbus was subdued. The contumel}^ of the upstarts of Hispaniola, liis lofty mind had sustained; but to see the weeping- sympathy of his sovereign, was more than he could bear. He knelt before her, and wept aloud. The THE THIRD VOYAGE. 209 sovereigns encouraged him by kind expressions and he eloquently vindicated himself. Ferdinand saw through the whole ; but he was now resolved to be governed by his usual policy. Columbus should be honored and rewarded, but not restored to his former official condition. The king began now to be aware of the true magnificence and value of the almost boundless field of discovery to which Columbus had led the way ; and he was unwilling to allow him to realize the honors and wealth for which he had originally stipulated. He endeavored to prevail on this faithful servant to exchange the reward previously agreed upon, for possessions and rank in Spain. He felt that Columbus was ho longer necessary ; and the viceroyadty of the Spanish Indies already appeared to be an office to which some, even among the, higher rank of courtiers, might aspire. And this point was soon decided. Not only the conduct of Bobadilla to Columbus, but his subse- quent conduct to the natives, demanded his recall. His own avarice suggested that this might be the 210 COLUMBUS. case ; and he both acted accordingly himself, and exhorted his menial supporters to do the same. To collect gold by any means was their only object; and to effect this, the natives were op- pressed, and the colony governed, worse than ever. Don Nicolas de Ovando was appointed to supersede him. He was very different from his predecessor, but to the Indians he was a cruel op- pressor; and his conduct to Columbus was most ungenerous. His powers were ample, and govern- ment extensive ; and with a brilliant retinue, and thirty vessels, carrying two thousand five hun- dred persons, he left Spain for the new world on February 13th, 1502. Columbus remained at home, a solicitor for jus- tice. At one time, he conceived a project for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. At length, the arrival of Vasco de Gama from India, and the wealth which seemed pouring into Portugal, in- duced him to request that he might undertake a fourth voyage, in which he still hoped to arrive at Asia by sailing to the west. CHAPTER XV. THE FOURTH VOYAGE. AT last he obtained permission; and having completed the necessary preparations, on the 9th of May, 1502, he sailed from Cadiz, though with only four vessels; the largest of seventy, the smallest of fifty, tons burden. His crew consisted of one hundred and fifty men. His object was to discover a strait by which he might pass into undiscovered seas, and complete the circumnavigation of the globe. He was for- bidden to touch at Hispaniola ; and his own plan was to follow the coast from the Gulf of Paria till he should arrive at the expected opening. He reached Martinico on the 15th of June. The leaky condition of his own vessel, and her unfit- ness to struggle with stormy weather, obliged him 211 212 COLUMBUS. to sail to Santo Domingo, hoping to exchange his vessel there for a better. Ovando refused to alloAV him even to land. A fleet was at that time ready to sail for the mother country. On board were several mutineers, whom Ovando was send- ing home for trial. Bobadilla was returning, liav- ing succeeded in amassing immense riches. He had one large mass of pure gold, which he in- tended as a present to purchase security. Other adventurers had likewise taken on board large quantities of gold. One vessel, said to be the weakest in the fleet, carried about four thousand pieces of gold, the property of Columbus, which his agent was remitting. Tliough repelled from the shores he had discovered, Columbus was not like his vindictive foes. His knowledge led him to anticipate the approach of a hurricane; and he sent a message, stating his fears, and pray- ing that the departure of the fleet, the wealthiest that had yet sailed for Spain, might be delayed. He himself took refuge in a place of as great security as he could find, some distance to the THE EOUETH VOYAGE. 213 westward. In a day or two a tremendous hurri- cane came on, and nothing but the precautions he had taken saved his little fleet from total destruction. In the mean time, Ovando, so far from attend- ing to the warning thus kindly given, had has- tened the sailing of the Spanish fleet, and Boba- dilla, with his ill-gotten riches, rejoiced to find himself on his Avay home. Scarcely were they well out to sea, when the storm came down in fury, and the sailors were utterly powerless. Of the eighteen ships, only three or four escaped ; and these were obliged to return to St. Domingo. The richest vessels foundered, and among them that which carried Bobadilla and his wealth; as also did one on board which were two hundred thousand castellanos of gold, one-half of which was the property of the crown. It is remarkable that the vessel containing the property of Columbus sustained the least injury, and that it was the only one that returned safe to Spain. It is not for man to speak as an oracle 214 COLUMBUS. on such events. Our Saviour, in the case of the Galileans slain by Pilate, and those on whom the tower in Siloam fell, has forbidden all such rash decisions concerning the administration of the providential government of God. But, on the other hand, it is not to be forgotten that " there is a God that judgeth in the earth;" and that there are occurrences in which " the Lord is known by the judgments which He executeth." When such wonderful coincidences are seen, the Christian will bow with aAve in adoration of the righteousness of the Lord God omnipotent, who reigneth King forever. Columbus now pursued his voyage. He first arrived on the south coast of Cuba, and thence steering nearly to the south-west, he reached the mainland where Truxillo now stands, in the Gulf of Honduras. The inhabitants here told him of a country well cultivated, rich, and populous, to the north-west. Never was he so near his great object as now. Had he listened to them, the dis- covery of Mexico might not have been left for THE FOURTH VOYAGE. 215 Cortes. He was now on the northern coast of the Isthmus of Panama. Only once, and that not yet, was he within a less distance of the mighty Pacific. But he was prepossessed by the belief of a strait; and for its discovery kept sailing along the coast, to the east and south. The weather became very stormy, and himself seriously ill, so that for some time he made little progress. The natives, at the different places at which he landed, he found more warlike. Various rumors induced him several times to send out exploring parties ; and lie had sometimes severe contests with the Indians, in which several of the Spaniards lost their lives. It is singular that he paid no attention to the rumors which would have led him to Mexico. Much gold, however, was collected ; and in the end of April, 1503, he arrived at the south-eastern extremity of the isthmus, at its narrowest part, little thinking that by ascending the mountains in the interior, the wide Pacific would have been seen rolling beneath him. Here, however, his 216 COLUMBUS. crews refused to continue the voyage. The ships were shattered, the men worn out with toil, and on the first of May, leaving the mainland forever, he steered northward, and arrived at Cuba, where their vessels were found no longer seaworthy. Diego Mendez, one of the most intrepid and faithful of his officers, volunteered to endeavor to reach St. Domingo in a canoe with a few Indians. Columbus was left for many weeks, during which his men mutinied, and some escaped; the re- mainder were so feeble, that the Indians began to grow negligent in supplying them with provisions. It was then that Columbus employed his astro- nomical knowledge to good effect, b}^ predicting an eclipse of the moon, so terrifying the Indians, that they hastened to bring food in abundance. Eight months thus elapsed. The messengers of Columbus had great difficulty in persuading Ovando to send a vessel for Columbus and what remained of the crew. It is to be feared that this bad man washed him to perish in his abandon- ment. At length, after many excuses, even at St. THE FOURTH VOYAGE. 219 Domingo, indignation began to murmur at such black and shameless ingratitude, and Ovando was obliged to yield. A vessel was despatched, and arrived at the wrecked and useless vessel whicli for nearly a year had been the dwelling of tho discoverer of America; and on the 13th of August, 1504, he arrived at St. Domingo, where Ovando received him with much apparent cour- tesy, but allowed him to exercise none of tlie powers granted to him by his original agreement with the sovereigns. At length, subdued in spirit by the ungrateful treatment he received, on the 12th of September he finally left the regions he had opened to Europe, and, on the 7th of November he landed at St. Lucar; thus concluding his last and most disastrous, but yet not least important voyage. Columbus, aged and infirm, might now have expected honorable repose ; but his last days were filled with little more than afflictions and trials. The property in his possession had been expended during his last residence at St. Domingo and in 220 COLUMBUS. securing his return. Immense sums, indeed, were due to liim ; but all the delays and obstacles that the Indian Board, over which his old enemy Fonseca still presided, could throw in his wa}', were employed to harass him. To crown all, when he arrived in Spain, his munificent and changeless friend, the queen, was on her death- bed, and in three weeks from his landing she died. Well did he know the difference between the selfish Ferdinand and the noble Isabella. By the cold-hearted monarch all his applica-' tions were treated with indifference. He was referred to the officers of government, and per- sonal enmity found ample means for seeming delay and real neglect, in official forms ; and thus he who had opened to Spain the road to the wealth of the New AVorld, was left to languish in unrequited poverty. He employed various per- sons in unsuccessful missions to the court ; and among the singular events of the history of this great man, not the least singular is, that one of the persons thus employed, and of whom he TOMB OF COLUMBUS AT HAVANA. THE POUBTH VOYAGE. 223 speaks in one of his letters as a " worthy but unfortunate man, who had not profited as much as he deserved by his undertakings, and wlio had always been disposed to render him service," was no other than the man from whose Christian name the regions discovered by Columbus have received their permanent denomination, Amerigo Vespucci. All his efforts were vain. In a brief interval of recovered strength he visited Ferdinand, who received him courteously, and paid him with smiles and good words. In making his will, in which his son Diego was declared his heir, he bequeathed little more than large and most right- eous claims, admitted but never paid to himself, and only in part and by compromise, to his heirs. His continued illness gradually undermined his iron constitution ; and before long he was laid on the bed of death. He paid to the last ceremonies prescribed by the church the most exact atten- tion. He died, aged seventy, at Valladolid, May 224 COLUMBUS. 20th, 1506. The last words he was heard to utter were one of the accustomed sentences, " Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." t* -■ , ,11, w. '// ^ aura, «■ ■ ■! Ill t-iwi"»iii III iBiii ui— iMU—^^ra^^'""''""'"*^'^"''*''''''**^ iNSCBIPTIOiN- ON A SILYEE, PLATE FOUND IN THE COFFIN. He was first interred at Valladolid, and, six years later, his remains were removed to Seville, and deposited in the cathedral there, where Fer- dinand had no objection to erect a stately monu- THE FOURTH VOYAGE. 225 ment to his memory. From this place, in 1536, they were removed to St. Domingo, where they remained till 1795, when, on the cession of His- paniola to the French, the Spaniards resolved that they should be transported to Cuba. The tomb was opened on the 20th of December, and the fragments of a leaden coffin, with hones and dust, were found, put into a coffin of gilded lead, and, after a religious service the next day, taken to the shore in an imposing military and ecclesiastical procession. A similar procession was formed at Havana, to receive the coffin and convey it to the cathedral, where it was deposited on the right side of the high altar. THE EKD. 0- av^ ^ v*^-^\y ■0^ > - * "fit. ♦ ^^, -% '<>„.';■' ."AvggyA-o '♦^^♦^ .'^U^*, "^^c"^* .'I^ -o»e,- V\' ,0 "i* ,G^' "^ ''?.f«' A .^■^ .*^ o 'H.A' . ^OV^ DlSGOVEBEl^ m 9 9 •»♦ •»* ^■V2>is«fti