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CMMIBTOFMEM  COLUMIBUS:, 


THE     LIFE 


'^li.i'^ 


CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


FliO.V  AUTUESTIC  SPASlSri  AXD    ITALIAN  DOCU^fEyTS. 


COMPILED     FROM    THE    KKENCH    OF 


ROSELLY    De    LORGUES, 


\o.'" 


By    J.    J.     BARRY,     M.  D. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED    BY    PATRICK    DONAHOE. 

NEW  YOIIK:   CATHOLIC  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY. 
BALTIMORE:  JOHN  MURPHY  &  CO. 
1S7O. 


L 


Entered  according-  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S69,  by 

PATRICK    DONAHOE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Regan  &  Leadbeater,  Stereotypers, 
No.  55  (Water  Street,  Boston. 


DEDICATION, 


To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Marquis  of  Bute: 

My  Lord  Marquis, — 

As  a  tribute  to  vour  recent  conversion  to  the  Catholic 
faith,  I  take  the  liberty  of  dedicating  to  you  this  version 
of  the  Life  of  one  of  your  co-religionists,  than  whom  )-ou 
cannot,  for  your  future  imitation,  find  a  more  perfect 
model,  short  of  the  acknowledged  Saints  of  the  Church  ; 
for  Columbus  is  a  model  for  all  Christian  men,  and 
particularly  for  those  in  high  stations. 

And  the  fact  that  lie  has  not  long  since  been  enrolled 
among  the  canonized  Saints  shows  how  extremely  exact- 
ing (if  I  may  use  the  expression)  Rome  is  on  the  subjects 
of  heroic  piety  and  virtue,  and  even  miracles,  previously 
to  conferring  tliat  ineffable  honor. 

With    sentiments    of  the    highest    consideration,    I  \\-a\c 
the  unspeakable  honor  and  happiness  to  be,  my  Lord, 
One  of  your  fellow-Catholics, 

J-  J-  «• 
(iii) 


PREFACE. 


I 


'THHE  work  now  offered  to  the  public  is  a  kind 
of  compilation  from  the  larger  work  of  M. 
DE  LoRGUES,  entitled  "  Christopher  Columbus. — 
The  History  of  his  Life  and  his  Voyages,  etc."* 
But  it  may  be  proper  to  state  here  that  having 
met  with  a  few  inaccuracies,  typographical  or 
otherwise,  in  the  original,  I  have  taken  occasion 
to  correct  them  in  this  work.  Again,  I  found  a 
few  lacunœ,  which  I  considered  it  proper  to  fill 
up  from  my  own  researches.  Further,  in  some 
cases,  where  I  considered  M.  De  Lorgnes  did 
not  use  the  happiest  terms  to  express  certain 
ideas,  I  have  resorted  to  ones  that  appeared   to 

*  Christophe  Colomb.  —  Histoire  de  sa    Vie  et  de  ses 
Voyages  diaprés  des  Documents  authentiqiccs  tires  d'Es- 
pagne et  d'Italie,  par  Roselly  de  Lorgues,  in  3  vols.    Paris, 
Dédier  et  0%  1S64. 

(V) 


vi  PREFACE. 

me  more  appropriate.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, and  remembering  that  in  many  cases  I 
had  to  condense  the  matter  of  some  pages  into 
almost  as  many  hnes,  this  work  could  not  be 
expected  to  be  a  translation,  strictly  so  called, 
though  in  truth  the  far  greater  part  of  it  is  such. 

In  order  to  economize  the  space  at  my  dis- 
posal, I  have  been  obliged  to  omit  several  of 
the  authorities  quoted  by  the  author.  For  the 
same  reason,  I  have  only  glanced  at  the  occur- 
rences in  Hispaniola  over  w^hich  Columbus 
could  have  had  no  control. 

M.  de  Lorgues'  History  contains  the  details 
and  events  of  the  Voyages  of  Columbus,  as 
well  as  those  of  his  Life;  but  the  object  of  the 
present  work  being  to  reproduce  his  Life,  the 
Voyages,  with  the  exception  of  the  first,  and 
the  return  one,  have  been  much  curtailed,  save 
so  far  as  they  have  a  bearing  on  his  personal 
acts  and  character.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
the  word  Voyages  has  been  omitted  in  the  title 
of  the  book.  The  plan  I  have  followed  has 
enabled  me  to  reproduce,  as  far  as  it  could  be 
done  from  De    Lorgues'   History,  what  I    may 


PREFACE.  vii 

call  a  full  length,  and,  I  trust,  a  life-like  portrait 
of  the  immortal  Discoverer  of  America,  who, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  ere  long  be  solemnly 
enrolled  on  the  glorious  catalogue  oï  the  canon- 
ized Saints. 

For  obvious  reasons  I  have  added  the  initial 
of  my  surname  to  some  notes  I  have  appended. 

It  may  further  be  proper  to  state  that  the 
Table  of  Contents  in  this  volume  will  be  found 
much  more  ample  than  the  one  in  the  original 
work. 

J-  J-  B. 


CONTENTS. 


Dedication. 
Preface. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Errors  inevitable  until  the  present  time  in  regard  to  the  person, 
the  civil  status,  and  the  character  of  Columbus.  —  Sympa- 
thies of  the  Holy  See.  —  Prejudices  caused  bj  Protestant 
writers.  —  Exposure  of  the  calumny  in  regard  to  Columbus 
and  his  wife  Dona  Beatrix  Enriquez.  —  A  new  history  of 
this  hero  of  Catholicity  needed 


BOOK    I. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Time  and  place  of  the  birth  of  Columbus.  —  Status  of  his 
family.  —  His  childhood  and  education.  —  His  first  services 
on  sea.  —  His  accidental  landing  in  Portugal         ...      47 

CHAPTER    II. 

Stay  of  Columbus  in  Lisbon.  —  His  marriage  with  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  navigator.  —  His  voyages  to  the  Canaries,  the 
Azores  and  the  African  coasts.  —  His  propositions  of  dis- 
covery to  Genoa,  to  Venice,  to  Portugal.  —  Offers  of  the 
King.  —  His  noble  refusal.  —  His  return  to  Italy. — His 
departure  for  Spain 59 

CHAPTER    III. 

Influence  of  Isabella  on  the  destinies  of  Spain  ....      82 

(ix) 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Arrival  of  Columbus  at  the  Franciscan  convent  of  La  Rabida. 

—  The  friendship  between  the  Father  Superior  and  him.  — 

He  sets  out  for  the  Court 84 

CHAPTER    V. 

Sojourn  of  Columbus  in  Cordova.  —  He  marries  Beatrix  Enri- 
quez.  —  The  support  of  the  clergy  procures  for  him  an  audi- 
ence with  the  Sovereigns.  —  His  useless  solicitations.  — 
The  conferences  at  Salamanca.  —  He  serves  at  the  seige  of 
Baza.  —  The  Superior  of  La  Rabida  again  comes  to  aid  him      92 

CHAPTER    VL 

The  War  in  Granada.  —  Surrender  of  the  City.  —  The  project 
of  Columbus  discussed.  —  Deception.  —  Columbus  starts 
for  France  ;  the  Queen  recalls  him,  and  orders  prepara- 
tions to  be  made  for  his  voyage.  —  The  equipment.  —  The 
Father  Superior  again  assists  him.  —  Departure  of  Colum- 
bus with  three  ships 114 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Events  of  the  voyage.  —  Fears  of  the  sailors.  — New  aspects  of 
the  ocean. — Variation  of  the  mariner's  compass. — A  con- 
spiracy and  a  revolt.  —  Firmness  of  Columbus.  —  His  pre- 
diction of  the  Discovery 138 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  island  of  San  Salvador. — The  archipelago  of  the  Lu- 
caya  or  Bahama  islands.  —  Searchings  for  gold. — The 
island  of  Cuba.  —  Discovery  of  Hispaniola.  —  Hospitality 
of  King  Guacanagari. — First  settlement  of  Europeans  in 
the  Antilles 158 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Departure  of  Columbus  for  Europe.  —  Navigation  distressing. 

—  Danger,  and  vows  during  a  tempest.  —  Arrival  at  the 
Azores.  —  Perfidy  of  the  Portuguese  Governor. — A  new 
tempest.  —  Forced  landing  in  Portugal  .    '    .        •        .    20i 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Honors  rendered  to  Columbus  by  the  people  and  the  Court.  — 
The  Council  of  State  proposes  to  assassinate  him.  —  The 
King  honors  and  protects  him.  —  The  Queen  desires  to  see 
him 212 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Arrival  of  Columbus  at  Palos.  —  His  reunion  with  the  Father 
Superior  of  La  Rabida  ;  his  stay  at  the  convent.  —  His 
departure  for  the  Court.  —  His  triumphal  reception  at  Bar- 
celona. —  Action  of  the  Holy  See  in  relation  to  Columbus. 
—  The  story  of  the  egg 217 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Preparations  for  the  second  expedition.  —  The  first  bureau  of 
the  colonies.  —  The  Father  Superior  of  La  Rabida  embarks 
with  Columbus 251 


BOOK    II. 

CHAPTER    I. 

His  departure.  —  His  arrival  at  the  Canaries.  —  He  determines 
to  consecrate  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  the  first  lands  he  will 
discover,  and  directs  his  course  to  the  Caribbees.  —  The 
second  of  December  he  announces  that  land  will  be  discov- 
ered the  next  day,  which  becomes  a  fact.  —  Diego  Marquez 
wanders  in  the  land  of  the  cannibals.  — Dominica,  Guada- 
loupe,  Montscrrat,  Antigua,  Santa  Cruz,  St.  Ursula,  and 
the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins 259 

CHAPTER     II. 

Ruin  of  the  garrison  left  at  Hayti.  —  Guacanagari  suspected. 

—  Founding  of  the  City  of  Isabella.  —  Unknown  diseases     26S 

CHAPTER    III. 

Europeans  disappointed  in  their  hopes.  —  Fraud  of  the  pur- 
veyors of  the  marine.  —  Conspiracy  against  Columbus.  — 
Revolt.  —  Enmity  of  the  Vicar-apostolic  towards  Columbus    279 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Voyage  to  Cuba.  — Discovery  of  Jamaica.  — The  Queen's  Gar- 
dens. —  Periodical  Storms.  —  He  desires  to  crush  the 
power  of  the  Caribs.  —  Columbus  falls  into  a  lethargy. — 
Bull  of  Partition. — Treaty  of  Tordesillas. -:- Wonderful 
firmness  of  Pope  Alexander  VI 289 

CHAPTER    V. 

Columbus  meets  his  brother  Bartholomew.  —  Prompt  i-ecovery 
of  the  Admiral.  —  He  receives  the  fii-st  letter  that"  is  sent 
from  Europe.  —  Supplies  received.  —  Excesses  committed 
in  his  absence;  odious  conduct  of  Pedro  Margarit  and  of 
Father  Boil.  —  General  conspiracy  of  the  caciques.  —  Fidel- 
it}-  of  Guacanagari,  through  regard  for  Columbus.  —  Cause 
of  the  sterility  of  the  missions.  —  Father  Boil  and  Father 
Boyl 308 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Columbus  tries  to  break  the  league  of  the  caciques.  —  Caon- 
abo  is  captured.  —  Combat  of  two  hundred  and  twenty 
Spaniards  against  ten  thousand  natives.  —  The  famine 
plot 322 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Complaints  made  to  the  Court  against  Columbus  and  his 
brothers.  —  Don  Diego  Columbus  comes  to  Spain.  —  Chi- 
canery of  the  Board  of  Marine.  —  The  bureaucratic  bishop, 
Don  Juan  de  Fonseca.  —  Diego  Columbus  returns  to  His- 
paniola.  —  Ingratitude  of  Aguado.  —  First  hurricane    .        .    328 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Gold  mines  discovered.  —  Departure  of  Columbus  for  Spain 
with  the  sick  and  Indians.  —  Romantic  devotedness  of  a 
cannibal  princess  for  Caonabo.  —  To  save  provisions  the 
crew  want  to  cast  the  Indians  into  the  sea,  but  they  are 
protected  by  the  Admiral.  —  He  predicts  the  very  day  when 
they  will  reach  land 337 


CONTENTS.  xîii 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Columbus  wears  publicly  the  habit  of  the  Franciscans.  —  He 
goes  to  Court.  —  At  the  sight  of  him  the  Qiieen  forgets  all 
the  accusations  brought  against  him.  —  Measures  taken  in 
favor  of  the  colonies.  —  Columbus  refuses  a  principality. 
—  He  establishes  a  Majorat,  or  Mayorazgo.  —  Outrages 
received  when  entering  on  his  third  voyage  ....     345 


BOOK    III. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Columbus  takes  a  new  route  for  his  third  voyage.  —  Dead 
calms  of  the  torrid  zone.  —  The  heat  spoils  the  provisions, 
etc.  —  Excessive  thirst  makes  him  change  his  course. — 
Island  of  Trinidad  descried.  —  Discovery  of  the  new  con- 
tinent. —  The  Orinoco.  —  The  Gulf  of  Paria.  —  Happy 
escape  from  dangers.  —  Departs  for  Hispaniola    .         .        .     365 

CHAPTER    II. 

His  speculations  in  relation  to  the  places  he  had  visited.  —  His 
discovery  of  the  Equatorial  Swelling.  —  His  ideas  about  the 
terrestrial  Paradise.  —  His  discovery  of  the  great  Equato- 
rial Current.  —  Great  scientific  conquests  result  from  this 
voyage.  —  Arrives  at  the  Island  of  Beata,  where  his  brother 
Bartholomew  comes  to  meet  him 376 

CHAPTER    III. 

Events  that  occurred  in  Hispanipla  during  the  Admiral's 
absence.  —  He  forbids  bad  Christians  from  working  in  the 
mines. — Discontent  of  the  Castillans. — The  Adelantado 
goes  to  Xaragua.  —  Revolts 3S2 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Proclamation  of  the  Viceroy.  —  Permission  given  the  malcon- 
tents to  return  to  Spain.  —  Promises  of  pardon. — Defection 
of  the  troops.  —  He  cannot  resort  to  force.  —  Humiliations 
he  has  to  endure.  —  Carvajal  brings  Roldan  to  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  Viceroy 3^8 


xîv  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  chiefs  of  the  rebels  cannot  control  them. — Arrival  of 
Ojeda,  who  comes  to  patronize  the  rebels.  —  Simultaneous 
revolt  of  the  natives.  —  Columbus,  abandoned,  and  on  the 
point  of  flying  to  sea  from  his  enemies,  is  miraculously  aided. 

—  Voluntary  submission  of  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels.  —  Order 

is  reestablished  and  prosperity  commences   ....     396 

CHAPTER    VI. 

The  enemies  of  Columbus  in  Seville.  —  Secret  hostility  of  Fer- 
dinand.—  A  commissary  is   appointed.  —  Bobadilla   is   in- 
vested with  extraordinary  powers.  — Indians  sold  as  slaves. 

—  Isabella  annuls  the  sales,  and  orders  the  Indians  to  be 
restored  to  liberty    . 406 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Arrival  of  Bobadilla  at  San  Domingo.  —  He  besieges  the  for- 
tress, and  sets  the  prisoners  at  liberty.  —  He  seizes  on  the 
papers  and  effects  of  the  Admiral,  who  was  then  absent.  — 
He  imprisons  Columbus  and  his  two  brothers.  —  He  sends 
them,  in  chains,  to  Spain 408 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Queen  grieved  at  the  indignity  offered  to  Columbus.  —  His 
arrival  at  Court.  —  Ovando  appointed  to  supersede  Boba- 
dilla.—  Columbus  occupies  himself  with  the  deliverance  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre.  —  He  composes  religious  poems,  and 
a  compilation  from  the  Scriptures,  entitled  "Book  of  the 
Prophecies"     .         .         .       ^ 418 

CHAPTER    IX. 

The  real  motives  of  Columbus  for  undertaking  the  fourth  voy- 
age.—  Before  his  departure  he  indicates,  in  an  unfinished 
chart  to  the  Qvieen,  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  —  Don  Bar- 
tholomew accompanies  him  through  affection  alone.  — 
Columbus  writes  to  the  Holy  Father,  and  informs  him  of 
his  project  to  deliver  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  —  His  precau- 
tions against  the  enmity  of  Ferdinand 434 


CONTENTS.  XV 


BOOK     IV. 

CHAPTER    I. 
Columbus   departs  with  four  ships.  —  He  succors  the  Portu- 
guese fortress  of  Arcilla,  besieged   by  the  Moors. — The 
Governor  of  Hispaniola  opposes  his  entrance  into  the  port. 

—  Columbus  predicts  a  violent  tempest,  and  begs  the  Gov- 
ernor to  delay  the  fleet  that  was  about  to  sail  for  Spain. — 
His  prediction  is  sneered  at,  but  the  tempest  comes  and  the 
fleet  perishes. — Judgment  of  God  visible.  —  Columbus, 
with  his  ships,  preserved 441 

CHAPTER    II. 
Columbus  discovers  terra  fir  ma  near  Cape  Caxinas. —  Atmo- 
spheric contrarieties.  —  Sufferings   of  the  crews.  —  A  dis- 
aster.—  The   Island   of  Quiribi.  —  Search   for   a   strait   at 
Chagres.  —  The  Isthmus  of  Panama 458 

CHAPTER  III. 
Columbus  has  a  terrible  struggle  with  the  elements.  —  Glob- 
ular lightnings.  —  A  frightful  water-spout.  —  Columbus, 
almost  dying,  is  roused  by  the  cries  of  the  sailors;  he 
invokes  his  Divine  Master,  and  conjures  the  water-spout.  — 
He  forms  a  settlement  on  the  Rio  Belen. — The  Indian 
Chief  prepares  to  destroy  the  Spaniards. — The  Adelantado 
captures  the  Chief  in  the  midst  of  his  people        .         .         .     464 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  natives  attack  the  Spanish  camp.  —  The  crew  of  a  long- 
boat is  massacred.  — The  Admiral  cannot  go  to  their  relief 
on  account  of  the  extreme  roughness  of  the  sea.  —  His 
extreme  sadness.  —  He  has  a  miraculous  vision.  —  Depart- 
ure for  Hispaniola,  and  forced  landing  at  Queen's  Gardens. 

—  Arrival  in  Jamaica,  where  the  vessels  are  stranded  in  the 
Bay  of  Santa  Gloria 475 

CHAPTER    V. 

Columbus  writes  a  letter  to  the  Sovereigns,  which  he  cannot 
send  but  by  a  miracle.  —  Diego  Mondez  undertakes  to  be 
the  bearer.  — Mendez  is  mars-ellously  aided  by  Providence, 
and  finally  arrives  in  Hispaniola  in  a  canoe.  —  This  voyage 
a  truly  miraculous  one.  —  Revolt  of  the  brothers  Porras 
against  the  Admiral 486 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  insurgents,  in  imitation  of  Diego  Mendez,  want  to  pass 
to  Hispaniola.  —  Three  times  they  make  tlie  attempt,  and 
as  often  they  are  repelled  by  the  sea.  —  They  plunder  the 
habitations  of  the  Indians,  and  try  to  excite  them  against 
the  Admiral.  —  The  Indians  determined  to  starve  out  the 
strangers. — Anxiety  of  Columbus.  —  He  addresses  himself 
to  God,  who  inspires  him  with  the  idea  of  utilizing  the 
approaching  eclipse  of  the  moon 497 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  rebels  attack  the  Admiral.  —  They  are  defeated  by  the 
Adelantado,  who  makes  their  chief  a  prisoner.  —  Columbus 
receives  some  aid,  and  returns  to  Hispaniola.  —  He  departs 
for  Spain.  —  Successive  tempests.  —  Providentially  aided, 
he  arrives  at  San  Lucar •    .     507 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Columbus  sojourns  in  Seville.  —  Sickness  and  death  of  Isa- 
bella.—  Unspeakable  grief  of  Columbus  at  her  death. — 
His  sickness,  poverty,  and  moral  sufferings.  —  From  his 
bed  he  counteracts  an  intrigue  of  Fonseca  in  Rome.  — 
Fruitless  reclamations  of  Columbus  before  Ferdinand. — 
He  nobly  rejects  an  offer  made  him  by  the  King  .         .        .     514 

CHAPTER    IX. 
His  disease  becomes  worse. —  He  sees  his  end  is  approaching. 

—  He  deposits  his  will  in  the  hands  of  the  notary  of  the 
Court.  —  Errors  of  historians  and  biographers  in  regard 
to  the  date  of  this  will,  and  of  the  order  relative  to  Dona 
Beatrix  Enriquez.  —  He  receives  the  last  sacraments.  —  His 
last  Words.  —  He  dies  on  Ascension-Day.  —  Posthumous 
Voyages  of  Columbus 532 

CHAPTER    X. 

The  private  life  of  Columbus.  —  His  public  life   a  model  for 

administrators.  —  Providential   character   of    Columbus. — 

His  Christian  mission   and  relations  with  the  Church.  — 

His  Spiritual  Affinities. — The  Legend  of  St.  Christopher. 

—  His  affinities  with  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  and  the 
apostles.  —  Similitude  of  Moses  and  Columbus.  —  Of  the 
sanctity  of  Columbus.  —  Testimonies  of  the  Most  High  in 
favor  of  His  servant.  —  Public  miracles  of  a  cross  that  was 
erected  by  Columbus 547 

Addendum 619 


INTRODUCTION. 


Errors  inevitable  until  the  present  time  in  regard  to  the  Person,  the 
Civil  Status,  and  the  Character  of  Columbus.  —  Sympathies  of 
the  Holy  See.  —  Prejudices  caused  by  Protestant  Writers. —  Expo- 
sure of  the  Calumny  in  regard  to  Columbus  and  his  Wife,  Dona 
Beatrix  Enriquez.  —  A  new  History  of  this  Hero  of  Catholicity 
needed. 


SECTION  I. 

ON  Ascension  Day,  the  twentieth  of  ISIay,  1506,  in  an 
inn  at  Valladolid,  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies,  the  great 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  Don  Christopher  Columbus,  as- 
sisted by  some  Franciscan  priests,  and  surrounded  by  his  two 
sons  and  seven  officers  of  his  household,  rendered  his  soul 
back  to  God. 

The  death  of  the  man  who  had  doubled  the  known  span 
of  the  earth  appeared  to  leave  no  void,  to  cause  no  sadness. 
In  the  city  it  did  not  seem  to  be  an  event,  much  less  a  loss, 
for  Spain,  where  it  occasioned  neither  noise  nor  sensation  ; 
and  it  remained  completely  ignored  abroad.  At  that  mo- 
ment public  attention  was  engrossed  by  the  arrival  of 
Princess  Jane,  daughter  of  Isabella  the  Catholic,  coming, 
accompanied  by  her  consort,  the  Archduke  Philip  of  Aus- 
tria, to  take  possession  of  the  Kingdom  of  Castile,  which 
had  become  her  heritage.  All  the  grandees  had  set  out  to 
meet  the  august  sovereigns,  having  learned  their  landing  at 
Corunna,  after  the  perilous  incidents  of  a  passage  inter- 
rupted by  a  kind  of  shi^jwrcck  on  the  coast  of  England. 
The   enthusiasm  was   general.      The   devoted   brother   ot 

(0 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

Christopher  Cohxmbus,  Don  Bartholomew,  was  obliged,  in 
tlie  interest  of  his  nephews,  to  quit  the  sick-bed  of  the 
patient,  to  go  in  his  name  to  compliment  the  new  sovereigns. 

The  conjugal  contestations  that  frequently  arose  between 
the  young  sovereigns,  the  misunderstanding  that  was  said 
to  separate  the  Catholic  King  from  his  son-in-law,  the  dis- 
sensions in  the  palace,  the  parties  that  were  formed  there, 
the  disquietude  about  the  future  which  these  conflicts  had 
prepared,  —  preoccupying  all  minds,  —  caused  the  fate  of 
Columbus  to  be  lost  sight  of.  Moreover,  it  was  a  long  time 
known  that  the  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  had  fallen  under  the 
displeasure  of  the  King,  and  had  therefore  retired  from  the 
Court.  Isolation  had  surrounded  him  before  his  last  hour, 
and  his  death  remained  unnoticed.  The  man  who  had 
bestowed  on  Spain  one-half  of  this  globe  obtained  neither 
honors,  nor  a  funeral  oration,  nor  a  monument,  nor  an 
epitaph  !  ' 

Such  was  the  indifference  of  the  public  in  regard  to  Colum- 
bus, that  a  Lombardian  literary  character,  Peter  Martyr 
d'Anghierra,  —  who  had  formerly  boasted  of  his  familiarity 
with  the  great  man,  and  who  had  removed  to  Spain,  hojDing, 
as  he  said,  his  name  would  be  transmitted  to  posterity  if  he 
should  write  the  first  events  of  the  Discovery,  —  did  not 
deign  to  mention  that  death.  And  even  the  Chronicle  of 
Valladolid,  which  from  the  year  1333  had  minutely  regis- 
tered every  event  of  local  interest,  —  the  building  of 
churches,  of  schools,  births  and  marriages  of  note,  fires, 
criminal  executions,  installations  of  bishops,  nominations 
of  aldermen,  —  did  not  think  that  this  death  merited  being 
registered  in  its  annals.  It  was  because  that  already,  as 
regarded  Columbus,  the  silence  of  forgetfulness  preceded 
that  of  the  tomb.  Nobody  was  interested  about  his  death. 
His  glorious  but  unheeded  remains  were  joiously  deposited 
by  his  only  friends,  the  Franciscans,  in  their  convent  at 
Valladolid. 

Nevertheless,  at  the  end  of  seven  years,  Ferdinand  having 
altered  his  mind,  and  wishing  to  leave  to  history  an  example 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

• 

of  his  royal  gratitude,  remembered  the  man  who  had  so 
magnificently  enhirged  the  grandeur  of  Spain.  He  ordered 
that  obsequies  for  the  deceased  should  be  celebrated  con- 
formably to  his  rank  of  High  Admiral.  His  coffin  was 
exhumed  from  the  convent  of  St.  Francis,  and  transported 
to  the  cathedral  of  Seville,  where,  at  the  expense  of  the 
sovereign,  a  solemn  service  was  performed  ;  after  which 
the  body  was  deposited  in  the  vaults  of  the  convent  of  Las 
Cuevas,  in  the  newly-constructed  chapel  of  Christ.  On  the 
mortuarj'-stone  was  engraved,  in  two  verses,  the  legend  of 
his  arms  ;  and  then  all  was  said  and  done. 

Columbus,  providentially  come  from  Italy  to  Spain,  was 
there  considered  a  foreigner,  notvvithstanding  his  letters  of 
naturalization.  He  did  not  leave  there,  in  dying,  any  pow- 
erful alliance  who  could  espouse  the  interests  of  his  glory 
and  of  his  posterity.  During  nine  years,  the  route  boldly 
opened  by  his  genius  across  the  "  Gloomy  Ocean,"  until  then 
dreaded  and  believed  impassable,  was  ploaghed  by  able  and 
lucky  adventurers.  Numerous  discoveries  had  succeeded 
to  his.  The  easy  successes  of  the  present  caused  men  to 
forget  the  toilsome  labors  of  the  past,  better  known  by  its 
wonders  than  by  its  riches.  New  stars  arose  in  the  horizon 
of  fame.  The  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  East, 
and  the  navigation  of  the  Castilians  in  the  West  Indies, 
brought  to  notice  unknown  names.  Since  Vasco  de  Gama 
had  doubled  the  Cape  of  Tempests,  discovered  Mozambique, 
Melinda,  Guzarat,  and  established  settlements  at  Cochin 
and  at  Cana^or,  in  another  direction,  under  the  flag  of  Cas- 
tile, Vincent  YaSes  Pinzon  had  crossed  the  equinoctial  line. 
Whilst  the  submission  of  Madagascar  and  of  Soccotora, 
the  discovery  of  Sumatra  and  of  ]SIalacca,  and  the  conquest 
of  Goa  spread  afar  the  glory  of  the  Portuguese  arms,  a  new 
ardor  animated  the  ports  of  Spain,  and  hastened  the 
attempts  of  establishing  colonies  on  the  new  continent,  on 
the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  of  Darien,  at  Porto  Bello  ;  and  led  to 
the  discovery  of  Florida  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  soon  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  the   intrepid  Vasco 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

Nuùez  de  Balboa.  In  the  midst  of  these  triumphs  who 
could  have  thought  of  Columbus? 

During  two  consecutive  years  his  oldest  son  had  in  vain 
solicited  from  King  Ferdinand  the  investiture  of  the  posts 
and  dignities  of  his  father,  conformably  to  the  text  of  the 
conventions  signed  the  seventeenth  of  April,  1497,  in  the 
plain  of  Granada,  ratified  the  tvventj'-third  of  April,  1497? 
and  confirmed  at  Valencia  by  letter  royal  the  fourteenth  of 
March,  1502.  All  that  he  could  at  last  obtain  of  the  jealous 
monarch  was  the  authorization  to  establish  his  rights 
according  to  law.  But  in  this  process,  which  he  instituted 
against  the  Crown  of  Castile,  Don  Diego  Columbus  encoun- 
tered as  defendant  the  public  minister,  called  the  Fiscal 
Attorney,  The  latter,  in  the  interest  of  the  Crown,  opened 
inquiries  to  which  all  the  enemies  of  Columbus,  —  the 
ungrateful,  the  envious,  and  the  officers  who  were  rebel- 
lious to  his  authority,  —  were  invited  to  depose  against  his 
glory.  The  Fiscal  Attorney  opposed  to  the  claims  of  Diego, 
that  his  father  had  never  rendered  to  Castile  any  eminent 
service,  and  that  he  was  not  the  true  author  of  the  Discov- 
eries. He  was  accused  of  having  despoiled  of  his  plan,  his 
charts,  his  observations,  an  unknown  pilot,  who  might  have 
died  at  his  house  when  he  lived  in  the  Portuguese  island  of 
Porto-Santo  ;  and  of  having,  by  means  of  this  almost 
sacrilegious  spoliation,  executed  his  enterprise.  It  was, 
moreover,  asserted,  that  if  he  had  discovered  some  islands, 
he  was  not  the  first  who  had  landed  on  Terra  Fir77za,  — 
the  new  continent.  Thus  were  repi'oduced,  sustained,  and 
renewed  all  the  old  calumnies  which,  during  his  life,  envy 
had  sown  in  his  path  as  a  consequence  of  his  triumph. 

While  these  inquiries  were  being  prosecuted,  a  Floren- 
tine, Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  man  of  letters  and  a  mathemati- 
cian, came  to  be  nominated  president  of  the  commission  for 
inquiry  into  naval  aftairs.  At  first,  being  first  clerk  in  the 
important  house  of  the  maritime  expedition  which  his 
countryman,  Juanato  Berardi,  had  founded  in  Seville,  and 
therefore  in  assiduous  relations  with  Columbus,  he  imbibed, 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

I 
from  his  conversations  with  him,  a  liking  for  cosmography 
and  for  distant  wonders.  Amerigo  quitted  the  counter  for 
the  astroh\be  and  the  sextant,  and  made  several  voyages  ; 
after  which  he  became  pilot-major.  At  a  later  period,  he 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  hydrographie  council.  In 
his  youth,  his  uncle,  George  Anthony  Vespucci,  a  learned 
religious  of  St.  Mark,  charged  with  the  education  of  sev- 
eral children  of  illustrious  blood,  had  associated  him  in 
their  studies.  His  style  of  writing  being  graceful  and  dif- 
fuse, Amerigo,  after  his  studies,  continued  to  correspond 
with  several  of  his  old  fellow-students,  who  attained  high 
positions  in  Europe.  The  description  of  the  voyages  he 
made  to  these  new  countries,  addressed  by  him  to  the  Duke 
René  de  Lorraine,  to  Lorenzo  de  Pier  Francesco  de  Medicis, 
and  to  the  gonfalonier  of  Florence,  Pietro  Soderini,  was 
echoed  aloud.  In  one  of  his  "  Four  Narrations,"  some  vague 
and  ambiguous  expressions  he  used,  led  to  the  belief  that  he 
was  the  first  who  had  seen  terra  Jirina.  He  seems  to  have 
given  to  these  new  countries  the  name  of  the  New  World. 
Nevertheless,  nobody  hitherto  had  bestowed  a  name  on 
the  continent  discovered  by  Columbus.  The  Discovery 
having  been  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Cross,  and  for 
the  triumph  of  the  Cross,  this  new  land  was  indicated  on 
charts  by  the  sign  and  name  of  the  Cross.  The  continent 
was  at  first  called  "  Land  of  the  Holy  Cross,  or  Nevo 
World.''  The  celebrated  edition  made  in  Rome  of  the 
Geography  of  Ptolemy.,  by  Marc,  de  Benevent  and  Jean 
Cotta  de  Vérone,  in  160S,  reproduced  Ruysch's  ISIap  of 
the  World,  in  which  the  new  continent  was  designated 
by  these  words  :  "  Terra  Sanxt^  Crucis,  sive  JMundus 
N^ovus"*  But  during  this  time,  the  Narration  of  Amerigo 
Vespucci,  already  published  at  Vicenza,  was,  the  pre- 
ceding year,  republished  at  ]Milan  ;   and,  without  desiring 

*The  edition  of  Ptolemy-,  printed  in  Venice,  in  1511,  by  Jacobus 
Pentius  de  Leucho,  with  charts  graven  on  wood,  designated  also  the 
new  continent  by  these  words  in  red  capitals  :  "  Terra  San'CT.e 
Crucis." 

I* 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

it,  France  came  to  take  away  forever  from  Columbus  the 
honor  of  having  his  name  bestowed  on  the  New  World 
of  which  he  was  the  discoverer. 

A  Lorrainese  geographer,  living  in  Saint-Die,  had  pub- 
lished, under  the  fictitious  name  of  "  Martinus  HyLacom- 
ilus,"  a  work  on  cosmography,  followed  by  the  "  Four 
Narrations  of  Voyages"  by  Amerigo  Vespucci.*  This 
publication,  which  was  entitled,  "  An  Introduction  to 
Cosmography,"  edited  at  Saint-Die,  printed  at  first  in  that 
city  in  1507,  and  republished  at  Strasburg  in  1509,  was. 
dedicated  to  the  Emperor  Maximilian.  The  author,  Martin 
Waldsemiiller,  does  not  mention  Christopher  Columbus's 
name  once  in  it,  and  appears  to  have  had  no  knowledge  even 
of  his  existence.  He  loudly  attributed  the  discovery  of  the 
new  continent  to  the  genius  of  Amerigo,  whose  name  he 
Latinized  Aniericus.  In  his  admiration  for  the  sagacity 
of  Americus,  the  cosmographer  of  Saint-Die  declared  he 
did  not  see  what  right  there  was  in  not  giving  to  the 
New  World  the  name  of  Americus,  who  discovered  it,  and 
calling  it  America.,  since  usage  has  rendered  feminine  the 
names  of  Europe  and  of  Asia.f  The  high  reputation  of 
tliis  work  facilitated  the  adoption  of  the  name  proposed 
by  Waldsemiiller.  It  can  be  seen  in  the  edition  of  Jean 
Gruniger,  in  1509,  that  the  first  copy  of  the  "Narrations  of 
the  Four  Voyages  "  by  Vespucci,  first  written  in  Spanish, 
tlien  translated  into  Portuguese,  was  rendered  into  Italian, 
from  which  it  was  tra;islated  into  French.  Soon  after- 
wards, from  French  it  was  repi^oduced  in  Latin,  which 
caused  it  to  become  European.  This  great  notoriety  pre- 
pared the  acquiescence  of  the  public  in  the  unjust  name 
which  was  proposed  by  the  geographer  of  Saint-Die. 

We    are,    alas  !    obliged    to   acknowledge    that    it   was 

*  Cosmographia  Introductio,  etc.,  1507  and  1509. 

t"Non  video  cur  quis  vetet  ab  Americo  inventore  sagacis  ingenii 
viro  Amerigem  quasi  Americi  terram,  sive  Americajn  ducendam, 
cum  et  Europa  et  Asia  a  mulieribus  sua  sortita  sint  nomina."  — 
Cosmographia  Introduction  cap.  ix. 


INTRODUCTION.  h 

é 

France  that  first  inscribed  the  name  of  America  (^Amér- 
ique) on  its  geographical  charts.  The  oldest  charts  printed 
at  Lyons  bear  the  name  of  Ajii'crlqiie.^  as  designating  the 
New  World.  Such  was  the  chart  of  1533,  engraven  on 
wood,  which  was  joined  to  the  edition  of  Ptolemy  in  the 
shops  of  Melchoir  and  Gaspard  Frechsel.*  Such,  also,  was 
the  one  published  in  1541,  by  Hugues  de  Portes. 

The  Protestant  presses  of  Germany  were  not  slow, 
through  envy,  in  giving  currency  to  this  usurpation.  The 
apostate  monk,  Sebastian  Munster,  author  of  "  The  Intro- 
troduction  to  a  Table  of  Cosmography,"  spread  the  name 
of  A?nerica  by  the  press  of  Basle.  In  another  direction, 
Joachim  Vadianus,  in  his  "  Universal  Cosmography," 
printed  at  Zurich,  in  1548,  propagated  the  name  "America." 
Florence  welcomed  with  ardor  a  name  that  flattered  its 
patriotism  ;  and  Italy  became  the  dupe  of  these  ridiculously 
vain  assumptions.  After  having  first  been-  inserted  in  a 
work  of  Cosmography,  then  graven  on  planispheres,  the 
name  America  is  found,  the  first  time,  in  1570,  engraved 
on  a  globe  in  relief.  This  globe,  of  a  metallic  compo- 
sition, richly  embossed  in  gold  and  silver,  was  the  work 
of  a  Milanese,  —  Francesco  Basso. 

At  that  time  the  name  "  America  "  was  accepted  without 
dissent.  For  a  long  period  Columbus  was  not  remem- 
bered. His  posterit}',  who  could  have  revived  his  name, 
were  already  extinct  in  tlie  male  line.  In  forming  his 
"Collection  of  Voyages,"  in  1507,  Fracanzo  de  jSIontalbodo 
made  no  inquiry  as  regarded  the  death  of  Columbus,  and 
even  was  ignorant  of  his  last  maritime  expedition.  In  the 
Latin  translation,  the  preface  of  which  appeal's  signed  by 
Madrignano,  the  first  of  June,  150S,  it  was  said,  that  "Up 
to  this  date,  Christopher  Columbus  and  his  brother,  deliv- 
ered from  their  captivity,  lived  in  honor  at  the  Court  of 
Spain."  The  continuator  of  Hernandez  del  Pulgar's  cele- 
brated  "  Chronicle   of   the   Catholic   Sovereigns,"   Master 

*  Orbis  Typus  Universalis,  etc.,  1572- 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Vallès,  attributes  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  not  to  a 
man,  but  to  a  caravel  ;  *  he  makes  an  allusion  to  the  fable 
of  the  pilot  who  died  at  the  house  of  Columbus.  This 
carelessness,  which  was  the  natural  consequence  of  so  many 
mistakes,  followed  as  a  matter  of  course,  from  the  great 
disrepute  in  which  the  career  of  the  grand  Admiral  of  the 
Ocean  had  terminated.  The  indifference  of  the  public  for 
his  glory  may  be  judged  from  the  fact,  that  a  cotempoi-ary 
of  the  Discovery,  Lucio  Marineo,  an  elegant  writer,  who 
came  from  Sicily  to  Castile  to  create  a  taste  for  Latin  letters, 
in  writing  his  "  History  of  Memorable  Affairs  of  Spain," 
had  already  caused  confusion  on  the  subject  of  the  Discovery, 
b}-  disfiguring  the  singularly  Symbolic  name  of  CIn-istopher 
Columbus,  and  not  blushing  to  call  him  Peter  CoLUMBUS.f 
He  thus  rendered  himself  the  accomplice  of  the  Teuton, 
Jobst  Ruchamer,  who,  in  his  first  German  book  in  which 
the  New  World  is  spoken  of,  does  not  once  mention  the 
name  of  Columbus,  and  perseveres  in  calling  him  Chris- 
topher Dawber,  \  which  means  Christopher  Cock-dove. 

These  men  were  not  aware  of  the  enormity  of  their 
profanation. 

After  his  third  voyage,  Columbus  had  fallen  so  low  in 
public  estimation  that  nobody  deigned  to  trouble  himself 
about  him.  For  many  he  was  no  longer  of  this  world. 
Others,  attaching  no  importance  to  what  concerned  him, 
took  no  pains  to  verify  the  dates.  We  see  that  this  depreci- 
ation of  his  glory  was  general  at  the  time  when  the  first 
three  "  Oceanic  Decades"  of  Peter  Martyr  appeared  at  Alcala 
de  Henares  in  1516,  ten  years  before  the  first  edition  of  the 
first  books  of  the  "History  of  the  Indies,"  by  Oviedo,  pub- 
lished  at  Toledo,  and  when  the  Venetian,  Ramusio,  had 

*  Vallès.  Breve  y  compendiosa  adicioft  a  la  Cronica  dclos  catolicos 
reyes,  etc.,  cap.  i,  fol.  cciiii. 

fLucii  Marine!  Siculi,  I?e  rebus  Hispanice  memorahilibus. 

\  I  think  Daxvber  must  have  been  a  misprint,  and  that  it  should, 
probably,  have  been  Tauber,  which  expresses  the  above  mean- 
insr.— B. 


INTR  OD  UC  TION.  ^ 

already  undertaken  his  "  Collection  of  Voyages."  The  proof 
of  this  is  seen  by  their  writings.  All  of  them  go  to  exon- 
erate Columbus  from  the  accusations  which  malevolence 
continued  to  spread  against  him  since  his  death.  Neverthe- 
less, the  views  of  the  Spanish  historians  were  powerless  to 
reform  public  opinion  :  First,  because  their  works,  being 
too  learned,  were  not  destined  to  become  popular  ;  next, 
because  none  of  these  works  wei*e  published  in  a  complete 
state  of  finish  ;  lastly  and  particularly,  because  the  greater 
part  of  them  remained  in  manuscripts.  The  second  son  of 
Columbus,  Don  Fernando,  who  wrote  the  biography  of  his 
fiithcr,  did  not  terminate  his  work  until  1536,  and  left  it  in 
manuscript.  The  virtuous  Bartholomew  Las  Casas  com- 
menced his  too  late,  and  finished  it  only  in  fifty-tliree  years 
after  the  death  of  Christopher  Columbus.  He  left  it  in 
manuscript.  Opinion  remained,  then,  under  the  influence 
of  the  most  unjust  prejudices.  The  calumny  Columbus 
had  experienced  since  his  triumph  at  the  return  of  his  first 
voyage,  unappeased  by  his  death,  became  implacable  against 
his  name,  sat  on  his  tomb,  and  defamed  his  memory. 

SECTION  IL 

In  the  midst  of  this  almost  general  injustice,  the  Roman 
Pontificate  alone  preserved  the  thought  of  the  apostolic 
grandeur  of  Columbus. 

Successively  three  Pojics  had  honored  with  their  confi- 
dence this  herald  of  the  Cross.  The  Holy  See  never  failed 
in  its  regard  for  him.  The  Sacred  College  remained  faith- 
ful to  this  noble  sympathy.  Already,  during  his  lifetime, 
when  his  glory  encountered  so  many  detractors  in  that 
Spain  which  he  had  made  the  greatest  nation  in  the  world, 
at  Rome  the  Holy  Father  and  the  Cardinals  honored  his 
immortal  labors.  The  only  writing  of  this  great  man  that 
W'as  published  during  his  lifetime  was  printed  at  Rome,  in 
I4C)3,  by  Aliander  de  Cosco,  in  the  house  of  Eucharius 
Arsrentinus. 


I  o  INTR  OD  UC  TION. 

The  first  personage  in  Rome  who  received  and  propa- 
gated the  historic  details  of  the  Discovery,  was  Cardinal 
Ascanio  Sforza. 

Cardinal  Bernardin  Carvajal  corresponded,  in  relation  to 
Columbus,  with  the  celebrated  scholar,  Peter  Martyr 
d'Anghierra,  professor  of  Latin  at  the  Court  of  Spain. 

Cardinal  Luiz  d'Arragon  sent  one  of  his  secretaries  to 
collect,  under  the  dictation  of  Peter  Martyr,  what  that  ele- 
gant scholar  had  learned  from  Columbus  himself. 

The  illustrious  Cai'dinal  Bembo  inserted  in  his  "  History 
of  Venice  "  a  whole  book  on  the  discovery  of  Columbus. 

Pope  Leo  X.  caused  to  be  read,  during  the  evenings  of 
winter,  in  the  midst  of  the  Pontifical  Court,  all  the  discov- 
eries of  Columbus,  the  history  of  which  was  written  by 
Peter  Martyr  d'Anghierra,  under  the  title  of  Oceanic 
Decades. 

Almost  the  whole  of  the  Roman  cardinalate  invited  a 
noble  citizen  of  the  oity,  —  Guilio-Cesare  Stella,  —  to  write 
in  Latin  verse  the  ejDopee  of  the  New  World. 

Cardinal  Alexander  Farnese  particularly  gave  celebrit}- 
to  this  work,  by  causing  the  manuscript  to  be  read  at  his 
Villa  Farnese,  in  the  presence  of  purpled  togas.  He 
engaged  the  Jesuit,  Father  Francesco  Benci,  to  enrich  it 
with  a  preface. 

Cardinal  Benedetto  Pamphili  counselled  another  Jesuit, 
Father  Ubertino  Carrara,  to  compose  a  poem  on  the  same 
subject. 

Cardinal  Sforza  Pallavacino  celebrated,  himself,  the  work 
of  Columbus,  in  his  Fasti  Sacri. 

The  Cardinal-Bishop  of  Verona,  the  great  Agostino 
Valerio,  in  his  book.  De  Consolatione  Ecclesïœ,  eulogizes 
grandly  the  work  of  the  Discovery,  and  its  importance  to 
Catholicity  ;  and  implicitly  glorifies  Columbus,  in  apply- 
ing to  his  mission  some  remarkable  texts  from  the  prophe- 
cies of  Isaias. 

It  was  under  the  auspices  of  Pope  Innocent  IX.,  and  of 
Cardinal    Gabriel    Paleotto,    that    the   learned   Oratorian, 


INTR  OD  UC  TION.  1 1 

Thomas  Bozius,  published  the  part  of  his  work,  De  Signis 
Ecclesice  Dei^  in  which  he  also  applies  to  Columbus  divers 
passages  of  some  prophecies. 

The  first  cardinal  who  engaged  a  poet  to  celebrate,  in  the 
Italian  language,  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  was  a  French- 
man, his  Eminence  Antoine  Perrenot,  better  known  under 
the  name  of  Cardinal  Granvelle  ;  and  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  the  poet  Lorenzo  Gambara  carried  out  his 
intentions. 

It  was  in  Rome  that  a  noble  Genoese  historian,  Uberto 
Foglieta,  vented  his  indignation  against  "  the  shameful 
silence  and  incredible  blindness"  of  his  country,  which 
accorded  statues  to  some  citizens  for  ordinary  causes,  and 
had  erected  none  to  the  only  one  of  her  children  whose 
glory  was  unequalled.*  Until  the  year  1577,  the  Republic 
of  Genoa,  partaking  of  the  indifference  of  the  other  States 
in  regard  to  Columbus,  had  not  dreamt  of  consecrating  to 
him  a  block  of  that  marble  of  whicji  its  palaces  are  so 
lavish.  It  was  from  the  Eternal  City  that  the  generous  pro- 
test of  the  Genoese  patrician  went  forth,  and  his  declaration 
of  the  incomparable  service  f  rendered  by  his  countryman 
to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Thanks  to  Roman  influence,  Italy  did  not  entirely  lose 
the  remembrance  of  Columbus.  The  voice  of  the  poets, 
encouraged  by  the  Cardinalate,  awakened  patriotism.  As 
in  the  heroic  times  of  Greece,  seven  cities  had  disputed  for 
the  birthplace  of  Homer,  so  now  were  seen  seven  cities 
and  market-places  claiming  the  honor  of  having  given  birth 
to  Columbus.  Savona,  Pradello,  Nervi,  Cugureo,  Bugi- 
asco,  Cuccaro,  dared  to  enter  the  lists  with  Genoa  the 
Superb.  But,  apart  from  this  contest  of  local  self-love,  the 
rest  of  EurojDC,  and  particularly  France,  attached  no  serious 
importance  to  the  person  of  Columbus  or  to  his  superhuman 


*  Uberto  Foglieta,  Clarorum  lÀgurum  Elogi'a,  p.  36.     Printed  at 
Rome,  in  1577. 
flbid. 


13  INTRODUCTION. 

work,  and  nobody  thought  of  writing  his  histor}'.  No  one 
even  took  the  pains  of  translating  at  full  length  the  part  of 
the  works  relative  to  America,  which  was  published  in 
Spain  under  the  title  of  History  of  the  West  Indies. 
People  were  contented  with  vague  rumors,  —  with  palpable 
errors.  The  only  circumstance  which  prevented  Columbus 
from  being  entirely  forgotten  was,  perhaps,  the  stupid  story 
of  the  Qgg.,  which,  notwithstanding  its  extreme  improbability, 
was  I'eceived  as  true.  Columbus  had  discovered  the  New 
World,  and  to  explain  his  discovery  broke  the  end  of  an  'egg 
on  a  table  !  This  story  summed  up  the  two  principal  events 
of  his  life,  —  the  only  ones  that  were  to  be  remembered. 
The  story  of  the  ç^g^  being  pleasant  for  children,  the  first 
history  of  Columbus  that  was  written  in  German}-,  was  for 
the  amusement  of  youth. 

How  could  men  be  seriously  occupied  with  thoughts  of 
Columbus  at  a  time  when  his  work  was  so  little  considered 
by  the  writers,  the  philosophers  who  ruled  the  eighteenth 
century,  —  a  time  when  the  whole  American  continent  was 
known,  and  the  extent  as  well  as  the  form  of  the  earth 
determined?  Those  men  who  imagined  they  had  found  in 
America  objections  against  Moses  and  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures, were  not  placed  in  favorable  circumstances  to  appre- 
ciate the  mission  of  the  man  who  had  placed  the  old  world 
in  relation  with  the  new. 

We  cannot  be  astonished  at  the  errors  of  vulgar  minds, 
when  we  see  a  celebrated  writer,  Raynal,  decked  with  the 
title  of  Philosopher,  and  author  of  the  famous  Philo- 
sophical History  of  the  Indies^  place  Vasco  de  Gama 
above  Columbus,  in  considering  the  passage  of  the  Cape 
as  the  grandest  epoch  of  history  !  *  To  thank  the  Academy 
of  Lyons  for  having  elected  him  among .  its  members,  he 
proposed  to  it  a  prize  on  this  silly  platitude,  which  he 
decorated  with  the  name  of  question:  "Has  the  dis- 
covery of  America  been  hurtful  or  beneficial  to  mankind.''  " 

*  Raynal.     Histoire  Philos,  et  Pol.  des  Indes,  t.  i,  p.  9S. 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


13 


Among  those  encyclopaedists,  who,  according  to  their  title, 
knew  all  the  sciences,  not  one  of  them  appreciated  Colum- 
bus, or  the  grandeur  of  his  work.  The  learned  Buffon 
himself,  participating  in  the  general  contempt  for  the  im- 
portance of  the  New  World,  placed  the  discovery  of  the 
Portuguese  before  that  of  Columbus  :  "  They  doubled  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  traversed  the  seas  of  Africa  and 
of  the  Indies,  and,  whilst  they  directed  all  their  views  to  the 
East  and  to  the  South,  Christopher  Columbus  turned  his 
towards  the  West."  * 

Protestantism  came  to  the  aid  of  French  Philosophy. 

Robertson  found  that  for  the  Discovery  there  was  no  need 
for  Columbus.  "  If  the  sagacity  of  Columbus,"  says  he, 
"  had  not  made  known  to  us  America,  some  years  later  a 
happy  chance  would  have  conducted  us  to  it."t  As  if  ever 
anybody  would  have  dared  to  venture  into  those  dread 
latitudes,  had  not  the  success  of  Christopher  Columbus 
removed  the  fears  of  mariners,  and  thrown  light  on  the 
mysteries  of  tlie  Gloomy  Oceax  ! 

Seeing  that  the  claims  of  Columbus  could  be  so  easily 
passed  over,  a  French  diplomatist,  M.  Otta,  thought  he 
exhibited  an  instance  of  philosophic  perspicacity,  and  one 
that  deserved  praise  from  archaeology,  in  trying  to  prove 
that  Columbus  had  not  made  the  discovery,  inasmuch  as 
America  was  known  before  his  enterprise.  The  first  of 
April,  17S6,  he  addressed  from  New  York,  to  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Franklin,  a  memoir  on  the  subject.  In  the  following 
year,  in  the  materialistic  observations  and  additions  to  the 
philosophical  memoirs  of  Ulloa  upon  the  discovery  of 
America,  the  old  accusations  of  the  enemies  of  Columbus 
were  revived,  and  the  famous  unknown  pilot,  who  confided 
his   charts    to    him,   received    the   title    of   Navigator. J 

♦Buffon.     Œuvres  Compl.,  augmentées  par  Cuvier. 

t  Robertson.     History  of  America.     B.  I. 

J  "This  navigator  to  whom  he  owed  all  the  glory  of  his  discov- 
eries."—  Ulloa.     Mémoires.,  Philos.  Histor.  Phys.  concernant  la  dé- 
couverte de  V Amérique.,  t.  IX. 
2 


H 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


Already,  others,  not  limiting  themselves  to  having  despoiled 
him  of  his  discovery,  disputed  his  assiduity  and  his  talent 
for  observation.  It  is  well  known  that  the  first  observation 
of  terrestrial  magnetism  was  made  on  the  mariner's  com- 
pass by  Christopher  Columbus,  the  thirteenth  of  September, 
1493.  Fontenelle,  in  his  History  of  the  Royal  Acade?ny 
of  Scieitces^  hesitates  not  in  giving  the  homage  of  this 
discovery  to  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  did  not  set  out  until 
1497,  or  even  to  Dieppois  Grignon,  who  was  posterior  to 
the  latter  by  thirty  years  ! 

This  depreciation  of  Columbus,  the  incertitude  in  regard 
to  his  origin,  his  country,  his  work,  was  the  reason  why  he 
was  spoken  of  at  random,  and  without  attaching  mucli 
importance  to  him.  The  gravest  men  by  no  means  prided 
themselves  with  accuracy  in  facts  and  dates,  when  the 
question  was  about  Columbus.  Thus,  Montesquieu  him- 
self, in  his  Spirit  of  the  Laws^  blames  those  who  regretted 
that  Francis  I.  had  not  furnished  ships  to  "  Christopher 
Columbus,  who  had  proposed  the  Indies  to  him."  *  He 
forgets  that  America  was  discovered  twenty-three  years 
before  Francis  I.  mounted  .the  throne.  It  is  thus  that 
another  pedant,  a  cotemporary  of  ours,  M.  de  Marchangy, 
in  his  Poetic  Gaul^  considers  the  discovery  only  as  acces- 
sory, accords  it  only  a  secondary  rank,  and,  after  having 
spoken  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  doubled  by  Vasco  de 
Gama,  says  only  :  "  Towards  the  same  time,  the  Discovery 
of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus  gave  new  develop- 
ments to  this  commercial  activity,  and  to  this  liking  for 
distant  expeditions,"  etc.f  As  if  the  expedition  of  Vasco 
de  Gama,  which  dates  from  1497,  was  not  the  consequence 
of  the  discovery  of  Columbus  in  1493  ! 

In  the  same  manner,  Spain  did  not  manifest  greater  scru- 
ples, and  continued  to  treat  very  cavalierly  the  immortal 
renown  of  the  discoverer  of  America.     In  his  gi^and  General 


.*  Montesquieu.     De  V Esprit  des  Lois,  c.  xviii. 
t  Marchangy.     Gaule  Poétique,  t.  vu. 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


15 


History  of  Spain^  ^lariana  recognizes  in  Columbus  no 
merit  of  discovery  or  initiation.  In  his  estimation,  the 
Discovery  was  a  collective  work.  He  says  :  "  With  what 
good  fortune  and  prodigious  success  these  i/itrcpld  men 
ti-aversed  the  boundless  space  of  the  ocean."  After  having 
mentioned  the  infamous  calumny  of  the  pretended  pilot 
who  died  at  the  house  of  Columbus,  and  by  the  latter 
despoiled  of  his  glory,  he  relates  that  by  the  aid  of  charts 
pilfered  from  the  deceased,  Columbus  recognized  "  all  the 
coasts  that  are  between  the  two  poles,  from  the  Strait  of 
Magellan  to  Cape  de  Vacallao,"  and  that  thus  he  traversed 
more  than  five  thousand  leagues.*  The  author  of  another 
General  History  of  Spain ^  Ferreras,  assigns  the  discovery 
of  the  New  World  to  Americus  Vespuccius,  whom  he  con- 
founds with  the  febulous  pilot,  always  dead,  at  Columbus's 
house,  and  pretends  that  it  was  by  means  of  the  notes 
and  charts  of  Americus  that  Columbus  started  on  his 
enterprise.  | 

In  our  own  days  there  is  manifested  a  movement  of 
reparative  justice  and  friendliness  for  the  fame  of  Colum- 
bus. Pains  are  taken  to  honor  him.  The  portraits,  the 
statues  of  the  hero  arc  multiplied.  Several  cities  raise 
monuments  to  him.  Books  and  periodicals  tend  to  popu- 
larize his  biograph}'.  Still,  never  was  his  glory  in  greater 
danger  than  at  the  present  day.  Notwithstanding  the  rec- 
titude of  his  intentions,  Columbus  remains  unavoidably 
unappreciated.  The  worst  of  obscurities,  —  that  which  is 
produced  by  a  false  literature,  —  separates  us  from  him. 
Historic  error  has  condensed  its  darkness  around  his 
memory.  Tiiis  supercilious  and  pedantic  error  we  know 
intimately.  We  have  found  out  the  secret  of  his  birth, 
followed  his  footsteps  from  the  cradle,  noted  the  dates  of 
his  first  movements,  and  apprehended  the  cause  of  his 
success,  and  of  the  credit  which  it  knew  how  to  obtain. 


*  Mariana.     General  History  of  Sfain,  B.  xxvi. 
t  Ferreras.     General  History  of  Spain,  t.  viii. 


1 6  INTRODUCTION. 

But,  previously,  iu  order  to  show  how  lively  an  interest 
there  is  attached  to  the  memory  of  Columbus,  let  us  take  a 
look  at  the  sympathies  of  our  age  for  that  grandeur  which 
has  not  yet  been  wholly  revealed  to  it. 

SECTION  III. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  a  Frenchman  whom  we 
have  known  personall}^,  M.  de  Pons,  wrote  an  account  of 
his  voyage  to  the  part  of  the  continent  discovered  by 
Columbus,*  and  came  to  Paris  to  print  his  book,  in  which 
he  made  manifest  his  admiration  for  the  discoverer  of  the 
New  World.  Towards  the  same  time,  the  Academy  of 
Turin  listened  to  communications  relative  to  Columbus. 

In  1805,  a  Piedmontese  Count,  Galeani  Napione,  pub- 
lished a  dissertation  on  the  country  of  Columbus,  who  he 
pretended  was  born  at  Cuccaro,  in  Montferrat.f 

In  1809,  the  Abbé  Francois  Cancellieri  published  in 
Rome  some  epistolary  dissertations  on  Columbus.  En- 
couraged by  the  success  that  attended  it,  Galeani  Napione 
gave,  on  the  same  subject,  a  dissertation,  entitled.  Of  the 
First  Discoverer  of  the  New  Contmcjzt.%  A  year  after, 
Morelli  published  at  Venice,  and  republished  at  Bassano, 
under  the  name  of  Lettera  rarissijna^  a  letter  by  Colum- 
bus, written  from  Jamaica.  This  document,  for  a  long 
time  forgotten,  made  great  noise  among  learned  societies. 
Savona  became  concerned  about  the  pretensions  of  Cuc- 
caro, and  wrote  to  reclaim  its  rights.  Genoa  stood  up  for 
its  own  ;  its  Academy  of  Sciences,  Letters  and  Arts, 
named  among  its  members  a  commission  charged  with 
examining  the  question  of  the  birthplace  of  Columbus, 
and  in  iSi3  their  report  excited  a  lively  interest.§ 

*  De  Pons.    Voyage  a  la  partie  Orie7itale  de  la  Terre  Firme.   3  vols, 
t  Napione.     Delia  f  atria  di  Cristoforo  Colombo. 
X  Del ;primo  scoj)ritore  del  continente  del  Nuovo  Mondo. 
§  Ragiotiamento  nel  quale  si  confirma  Vopinione  generate  intorno 
alia  patria  di  Cristoforo  Colombo^  etc. 


INTR  OD  UC  TIOX. 


17 


The  fall  of  the  French  Empire,  and  the  reorganization 
of  Italian  States,  postponed  the  discussion,  without  termi- 
nating it. 

In  1S16,  The  Edinburgh  Review  renewed   the  debate. 

In  1S17,  Luigi  Bossi  prepared,  at  Milan,  his  life  of 
Christopher  Columbus. 

In  1S18,  Cardinal  Zurla  spoke  of  Columbus  in  his  Voy- 
ages of  the  Most  Ilhistr  ions'  Venetians. 

In  I S 19,  Father  Spotorno,  a  Barnabite  and  a  bibliog- 
rapher, published,  at  Genoa,  his  work  entitled.  Of  the 
Origin  a7id  Country  of  Christopher  Columbus^  in  three 
volumes. 

In  1S23,  the  Municipal  Council  of  Genoa  caused,  by  the 
aid  of  subscriptions,  all  the  title-deeds  and  documents  rela- 
tive to  Columbus  to  be  published,  and  had  them  united  in 
a  magnificent  volume,  bearing  the  title  of  Codice  diplo- 
matico  Americano^  which  it  charged  Father  Spotorno  to 
grace  with  a  biographical  introduction. 

The  year  following,  France,  which  could  not  remain 
indiflerent  to  this  ardor  for  the  glory  of  Columbus,  had  a 
ti'anslation  made  of  his  life,  by  Bossi.*  Spain  did  not 
remain  a  stranger  to  the  current  of  thought.  The  director 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  History  of  Madrid,  Don  Martin 
Fernandez  de  Navarrete,  hastened  the  collection  of  the 
documents  relative  to  the  history  of  America,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  the  marine,  which  he  made  by  order  of  the  Crown. 
In  1825,  the  first  volume  was  consigned  to  the  press.| 

In  the  course  of  1826,  while  the  advocate  Giambattista 
Belloro  renewed  at  Genoa  the  pretensions  of  Sacone  to  be 
considered  the  birthplace  of  Columbus,  and  inserted  his 
dissertation  in  the  Astronomical  Correspondence  of  Baron 
de  Zach,  ]Mexico  published  the  two  works  of  La  Vega 
and  of  Busta mente  on  the  discovery  of  the  New  World. 
The  same  year,  an  American  writer  who  sojourned  in  Spain, 

*  Histoire  de  Christophe  Colombe.     Paris,  1S24. 
t  Colcccion  de  los  Viagcs  y  Descubrimientos  que  hici<:ron  por  mar 
los  Espaiùoles  desde  cl  fin  del  siglo,  xv. 
2* 


1 8  INTRODUCTION. 

Mr.  Washington  Irving,  placed  in  relation  with  the  ar- 
chivists of  Madrid,  and  having  at  his  disposal  materials 
already  prepared,  wrote  his  History  of  the  Life  and  Voy- 
ages of  Christopher  Cohimhis.  This  W'Ork,  welcomed 
with  a  lively  interest,  was  circulated  in  a  few  years  in  all 
the  nations  of  Eui'ope. 

In  1S3S,  M.  Ferdinand  Denis,  under  the  form  of  a  his- 
torical romance,  gave  a  lovely  and  poetic  picture  of  the 
Discover}',  in  which  the  distinctive  character  of  Columbus 
is  seized  with  as  much  exactness  as  it  is  expressed  with 
felicity.  Ismatl  be7t  Ka'issar*  is  the  title  of  this  compo- 
sition, in  which  the  richness  of  lively  local  colorings  are 
happily  allied  with  the  truth  of  history.  We  have  seen, 
later,  a  celebrated  romancer  of  tlie  United  States,  Feni- 
moi"e  Cooper,  becoming  occupied  with  this  subject,  wish 
to  appropriate  and  transpose  it  into  his  own  language, f  but 
without  succeeding  in  infusing  into  it  that  spontaneous 
effulgence,  that  charm  of  description,  which  is  poetically 
faithful  to  the  perfumes  of  intertropical  nature,  with  which 
Fernando  Denis  had  impregnated  his  work.  Afterwards, 
a  translation  of  Washington  Irving's  work,  augmented  with 
annotations,  was  published  in  Genoa.  Some  years  later, 
Humboldt  wrote  comments  on  the  discoveries  of  Columbus, 
in  five  volumes,  under  the  title  of  A  Critical  Exa7niîtation 
of  the  History  and  the  Geography  of  the  A^ezv  Co7i- 
tinent. 

In  1843,  our  book.  The  Cross  in  the  Two  Worlds, 
came  to  reveal,  for  the  first  time,  the  providential  mission 
confided  to  Columbus,  and  to  afilrm  loudly  the  saintliness 
of  his  character.  This  work,  come  to  its  fourth  edition, 
translated,  as  is  well  known,  into  Italian,  on  its  first 
appearance  taught  people  to  consider,  under  his  true  char- 
acter, the  herald  of  the  Cross. 

The  events  of  1S4S,  and  the  Eurojoean  commotion  which 
was  their  consequence,  did  not  for  a  long  time  turn  the 

*  Ismal'l  beti  Kaïssar,  ou  la  découverte  del  Nouveau  Monde. 
t  Under  the  title,  Mercedes  of  Castile. 


INTRODUCTIOX.  iç) 

attention  of  the  public  from  a  subject  that  always  engrosses 
its  attention  without  ever  tiring  it.  Some  of  the  American 
republics  wished  to  honor  the  hero  of  the  two  worlds.  Sev- 
eral cities  awarded  him  monuments.  In  1S50,  the  govern- 
ment of  Peru  determined  to  honor  him  with  a  colossal 
statue  in  the  great  square  of  Lima,  and  confided  its  execu- 
tion to  the  celebrated  sculptor,  Salvatore  Revelli,  In  185 1, 
an  eminent  Ligurian,  attached  to  the  service  of  His  Holi- 
ness, Monseigneur  Stefano  Rossi,  published  a  remarkable 
work,  entitled,  "  On  the  Exile  of  Christopher  Columbus,  a 
Genoese."  * 

In  1S53,  our  illustrious  friend  Count  Tullio  Dandolot 
published  at  Milan  his  work,  —  The  Ages  of  Dante  and 
of  Columbus^  —  in  which  he  copied  the  part  of  our  book, 
The  Cross  in  the  Two  Worlds,  which  touched  on  the 
religious  character  of  Columbus,'  and  the  whole  of  Italy 
praised  the  new  work. 

In  1S53,  the  only  descendant  of  the  Counts  Colombo  de 
Cuccaro,  Monseigneur  Luigi  Colombo,  domestic  prelate  of 
His  Holiness,  composed  a  work  on  his  immortal  relative. 
In  his  bookjf  which  was  in  press,  at  the  time  of  our  last 
sojourn  in  Rome,  and  the  proof-sheets  of  which  the  virtuous 
prelate  had  the  courtesy  to  communicate  to  us,  the  question 
of  the  birthplace  is  raised,  but  not  exhausted  definitively. 
The  work,  presenting  an  ensemble  of  appreciations  on  the 
extensive  subject  of  relationship,  rather  than  a  real  history 
of  the  discoveries  of  Christopher  Columbus,  contains,  never- 
theless, a  cursory  view  of  the  sei"vices  rendered  to  the  world 
by  the  man  who  completed  our  knowledge  of  it.î 

*  Del  discacciamcnfo   di  Cristoforo    Colombo,   Genovese,  in  80. 

t  Patria  c  Biografia  del  grande  avimiraglio  D.  Cristoforo  Co- 
lombo, etc.     Roma. 

X  Several  other  writers  who  have  written  biographies  of  Columbus 
are  mentioned  by  M.  De  Lorgues.  —  B. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  IV. 

Thus,  from  the  first  days  of  the  nineteenth  century  to 
more  than  its  first  half,  an  ascending  series  of  publications, 
more  and  more  brought  together  in  proportion  as  we  are 
removed  from  the  epoch  of  the  Discovery,  shows  the  pro- 
gressive interest  that  is  attached  to  the  memory  of  Colum- 
bus. This  constant  succession  of  labors  and  of  testimonials 
on  the  same  subject,  a  constancy  of  which  our  age  does  not 
offer  a  second  example,  sufficiently  shows  how  far  research 
is  from  having  exhausted  this  magnificent  theme  of  history. 

But  this  persistence  of  public  interest  reveals  an  unsatis- 
fied desire,  and  indicates  a  new  expectation.  There  is 
reason  for  wishing  for  new  details,  for  new  elucidations. 
The  instinct  of  people  is  not  deceived.  Now,  we  declare 
loudly  that  after  all  these  homages  of  the  arts,  these  labors 
of  the  learned,  and  these  assertions  of  historians,  Christo- 
pher Columbus  is  worse  known  in  our  days  than  he  was  a 
century  ago.  At  that  time  people  were  at  least  ignorant  of 
him,  and  did  not  pretend  to  have  known  him  thoroughly. 
The  incertitude  of  opinion  was  notorious  ;  and  persons 
knew  they  did  not  know  him,  or  that  they  had  of  him  only 
a  wrong  knowledge,  which  is  often  the  worst  kind  of 
knowledge.  At  present,  everybody  has  the  pretension, 
apparently  well  founded,  of  knowing  and  judging  of  Colum- 
bus. Opinion  is  formed  on  the  appreciation  of  writers 
whose  accredited  names  countenance  the  error  of  the  com- 
mon herd.  Only  one  voice  has  been  heard,  that  of  a 
learned  and  ambitious  coterie,  which  has  gained  possession 
of  the  history  of  Columbus,  and  made  personal  property 
of  his  memory. 

The  time  for  his  historic  Rehabilitation  is  come  at  last. 
We  shall  tell  the  whole  truth  about  him. 

The  coterie  alluded  to  is  composed  solely  of  four  writers. 
Of  the  four,  only  one  has  written  the  life  of  Columbus  in 
the  regular  form  of  history  ;  two  have  written  only  disser- 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

tations  and  introductions  ;  the  last  one  has  written  neither 
memoir  nor  biography, —  he  has  limited  himself  to  a  com- 
mentary,—  but  the  authority  of  his  European  name  has 
sanctioned  the  errors  put  forth  by  the  three  others,  aggra- 
vating them  with  all  the  weight  of  his  own  errors. 

These  four  writers,  whose  tacit  and  retrospective  asso- 
ciation has  obtained  the  monopoly  of  the  history  of  Colum- 
bus, and  who  denaturalize  his  person  and  his  providential 
role,  arc,  —  the  Genoese,  Giambattista  Spotorno  ;  the  Amer- 
ican, Washington  Irving  ;  the  Spanish  academician,  D. 
Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete  ;  and  the  illustrious  Prus- 
sian, Alexander  Humboldt. 

Spotorno  wrote  by  order  of  the  decurional  corps  of 
Genoa  ;  Navarrete,  by  order  of  the  Court  of  Spain  ;  Irving, 
to  gain  the  literary  crown  which,  his  preceding  successes 
presaged;  Humboldt,'to  mark  with  an  everlasting  seal  his 
travels  in  the  equinoctial  regions. 

Spotorno  and  Navarrete  have  only  written  dissertations, 
and  laboriously  collected  materials,  from  which  Messrs. 
Humboldt  and  Irving  have  composed,  —  the  latter,  his 
Hlsto7-y  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Colum- 
bus ',  the  former,  his  Critical  Examination  of  the  History 
and  Geography  of  the  Nexv  Cojitinent.  These  four 
writers  have  deceived  themselves,  and  deceived  us.  The 
official  position  of  the  two  former,  and  the  great  notoriety 
of  the  two  others,  have  invested  their  labors  with  imperious 
authority  ;  and  they  have  imposed  their  errors  on  our 
cotemporaries. 

A  strange  circumstance  !  never  until  now  has  any  Euro- 
pean written  the  life  of  Columbus.  A  thing  not  less  strange, 
no  Catholic  writer  has  hitherto  given  the  complete  biog- 
raphy of  the  messenger  of  the  Cross  in  those  new  regions. 
As  the  justly  celebrated  Father  Ventura  de  Raulica  has 
remarked,  whilst  the  history  of  Bossi  counts  scarcely  forty- 
three  pages,  that  of  Washington  Irving  is  composed  of  four 
volumes,  Svo,  and  the  commentaries  of  Humboldt  of  live 
volumes,  Svo.    Now,  Irving  and  Humboldt,  the  only  writers 


2  3  INTRODUCTION. 

who  have  fully  treated  of  this  history,  are  both  Protestants. 
It  will  be  easily  conceived  that  athwart  the  prejudices  of 
sect,  they  could  not  judge  soundly  of  the  spirit  and  the  acts 
of  the  man  in  whom  the  most  ardent  Catholicity  was  per- 
sonified. The  history  of  this  servant  of  God  has  been  exclu- 
sively presented  to  the  public  by  two  men  opposed  to  his 
faith,  to  the  yearnings  of  his  heart,  to  the  aspirations  of  his 
soul.  The  biography  of  Columbus  has  remained  in  the 
hands  of  his  natural  enemies.  They  have  presented  him  to 
us  such  as  they  have  made  him,  far  from  us,  without  re- 
straint, without  control. 

The  vast  success  obtained  by  the  work  of  Irving,  and 
the  great  name  of  Hiniiboldt,  have  deterred  persons  from 
all  efforts  in  the  way  of  vindication  or  of  rectification  ;  that 
which  issued  from  their  Protestant  pens  has  ajDpeared  to  be 
the  definitive  judgment  of  history.  For  the  last  twent}'- 
eight  years,  academicians,  learned  societies,  biographies, 
reviews,  encyclopsedias,  repeat,  with  respect,  facts  and  opin- 
ions derived  from  these  two  writers  ;  and  there  is  scarcely 
in  the  whole  world  a  single  line  printed  on  Columbus  that 
has  not  been,  with  docility,  borrowed  from  one  or  other  of 
these  two  sources.  Whence  it  follows  that  the  view  taken 
of  it  by  Protestantism  is  the  only  one  by  which  people  have 
judged  of  the  most  vast,  and  evidently,  the  most  superhuman 
achievement  of  Catholic  genius.  Hence  it  again  follows 
that  prejudice,  enmity,  and  hostility  against  the  Catholic 
Church,  have  the  incredible  privilege  of  teaching  the  Cath- 
olic world  the  life  of  a  man  who  is  one  of  its  most  shining 
glories. 

Is  not  such  an  anomaly  as  strange  as  it  is  irrational? 
Even  before  any  examination,  is  it  not  evident  that  preju- 
dice must  have  wormed  itself  into  the  appreciation  that 
Protestantism  could  make  of  the  herald  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  who  was  sent  by  her  inspiration  to  the  inhabitants 
of  unknown  regions.^  The  Protestant  school  could  not 
comprehend  the  character  and  the  mission  of  Columbus. 
To  the  obstacle  arising  from  religious  belief,  must  be  joined 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


23 


another  coming  from  its  system  of  historic  composition. 
The  biographies  of  Columbus  have  been  written  conform- 
ably to  a  preconceived  order  of  ideas,  and  solely  in  accord- 
ance with  the  data  of  human  philosophy.  The  Protestant 
school  does  not  attribute  a  supernatural  character  to  an 
event  that  has  doubled  the  world.  It  does  not  recognize 
in  it  a  day  marked  by  Divine  Wisdom,  and  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  will  inspired  by  the  Most  High.  According  to 
its  disciples,  this  Discovery,  in  default  of  Columbus,  would 
have  quite  naturally  followed,  from  the  progress  of  nautical 
science.  They  cannot  bring  themselves  to  sec,  in  the  dis- 
covery of  the  New  World,  a  providential  intervention. 
How  could  they,  then,  accord  a  Divine  aid  to  the  faith  of 
Columbus.''  They  prefer  attributing  to  the  comj^ass  and 
the  astrolabe,  what  they  refuse  to  Divine  bounty.  They 
admit  the  miracles  of  human  genius,  and  den}-  heavenly 
favors.  They  refuse .  giving  to  God  what  they  are  willing 
to  give  to  man.  And  while  Christopher  Columbus,  after 
having  so  many  times  experienced  supernatural  aid,  recog- 
nized it  with  gratitude,  declared  it  even  in  his  official 
reports  to  government,  and  considered  himself  as  a  simple 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  they,  in  recounting 
his  history,  obstinately  deny  this  efficacious  assistance. 
They  pretend  to  know  Columbus  better  than  Columbus 
knew  himself. 

Conformably  to  their  theory  that  the  motives  of  hiuiian 
acts  are  always  identical,  they  have  rejected  the  superior 
character  of  Columbus,  the  man  chosen  by  Heaven,  and 
despoiled  him  of  his  spiritual  grandeur  in  order  to  make 
him  like  the  rest  of  men.  They  have  studied  to  lessen 
him,  to  shorten  him  to  their  own  stature.  They  have 
invested  him  with  their  own  sentiments;  they  have  lent 
him  their  own  views,  their  own  instincts  ;  judging  of  him 
by  their  own  hearts.  Lest  some  traces  of  his  native 
gi\indeur  should  survive  in  the  majesty  of  his  character, 
they  have  found  in  him  not  only  imperfections,  but  also 
defects,  —  even   vices.     Nevertheless,  their  indulgence  has 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

mercifully  induced  them  to  forgive  him,  in  comparing  him 
with  the  heroes  of  pagan  antiquity,  whose  grandeur  did 
not  exempt  them  from  paying  tribute  to  human  frailty. 
Under  the  pretext  of  erudition,  of  the  impartiality  of  historic 
criticism,  this  Coterie  of  Four  Writers  has  denaturalized 
the  inmost  facts  of  the  life  of  Columbus. 

After  having  exhumed  all  the  accusations  repeated  against 
him  during  his  lifetime,  they  have  known  how  to  aggravate 
them  with  a  calumny  of  which  his  cotemporaries  could 
have  had  no  idea.  In  the  most  envenomed  persecutions 
he  endured,  never  did  any  enemy  of  Columbus  attack  his 
purity  of  manners.  The  breath  of  hatred  never  dared  to 
tarnish  this  mirror  of  chastity.  Such  an  imposture  was 
reserved  for  our  days. 

Is  it  not  time  to  dissipate  this  calumny,  conceived  in 
Piedmont,  born  at  Genoa,  nourished  in  Spain,  and  adopted 
with  ardor  by  Protestantism,  —  to  oppose  to  it  the  Catholic 
grandeur  of  the  man  who  was  providentially  charged  with 
raising  the  veil  that  during  six  thousand  years  hid  from  us 
the  totality  of  the  terrestrial  globe?  Let  the  piety  of  the 
faithful  be  reassured  ;  let  the  admirers  of  Columbus  have 
no  fear  ;  the  herald  of  the  Cross  was  always  without  re- 
proach, as  he  was  always  without  fear.  And  if  he  should 
have  participated  in  our  imperfections,  —  our  almost  invol- 
untary oversights,  —  at  least  he  never  forgot  the  obligations 
he  owed  for  the  honor  the  Divine  Majesty  deigned  to  confer 
on  him.  Nevertheless,  for  those  who  have  at  heart  the 
integrity  of  history  as  much  as  the  glory  of  Columbus,  we 
ought,  before  relating  the  life  of  this  great  Servant  of  God, 
to  expose,  in  a  few  lines,  the  calumny  which  is  the  ground 
of  the  different  imputations  directed  against  him. 

We  are  going  to  show  how  this  calumny  was  impudently 
brought  forward,  accepted,  accredited,  and  imposed  on  the 
learned  of  Europe. 

In  1805,  Galeani  Napione,  an  erudite,  but  cavilling  and 
opinionative  writer,  who  held  out  against  all  evidence  that 
Columbus  was  born  at  the  chateau   of  Cuccaro,  in  Mont- 


INTRODUCTION.  2$ 

ferrât,  examining  the  voluminous  medley  of  lawsuits  suc- 
cessively carried  on  in  Spain  on  account  of  the  inheritance 
of  the  descendants  of  Columbus,  imagined  he  found  a 
coruscation  of  historic  light  in  a  memorandum  drawn  up 
in  behalf  of  a  certain  Diego  Colon  y  Larriategui,  but  which 
was  rejected  by  the  court.  The  attorney  needed,  for  his 
cause,  to  attack  retrospectively,  and  through  the  course  of 
ages,  the  legitimacy  of  the  second  son  of  Columbus,  Don 
Fernando.  As  the  proof  of  the  illegitimacy  did  not  result 
from  any  ostensible  document,  from  any  instrument  either 
past  or  present,  the  crafty  lawyer  sought  to  deduce  it,  not 
from  an  expression  which  he  found  to  his  liking,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  from  the  absence  of  a  word  which  he  pre- 
tended to  be  necessary,  although  it  did  not  gain  him  his 
cause.  In  his  will,  Columbus  charged  his  heir  to  give  a 
pension  to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother  of  his  second  son, 
Don  Fernando.  That  was  very  clear.  But  the  testator  did 
not  precede  with  the  title  of  wife  the  name  of  the  lady. 
The  attorney,  from  this  circumstance,  inferred  the  absence 
of  the  matrimonial  tie,  and  consequently  the  illegitimacy 
of  Fernando  Columbus.  Who  would  believe  it?  this  con- 
temptible quibble  appeared  a  light  to  Napione  !  Thereupon 
he  amplified  quite  a  series  of  arguments  of  equal  force,  and 
presented,  as  a  discovery  he  made  on  the  civil  status  of 
Columbus,  this  miserable  inference,  due  to  the  cavilling  of 
the  poor  licentiate,  Luis  de  la  Palma  y  Freytas.  Napione 
had  thus,  at  a  cheap  rate,  the  honor  of  presenting  new  and 
keen  views. 

In  1S09,  a  French  antiquarian  and  bibliographer,  Fran- 
cois Cancellicri,  expert  in  collecting  and  classifying  fiicts, 
but  destitute  of  philosophic  acumen,  repeated,  w'ithout 
examination,  the  pretended  inference  made  by  Napione, 
of  which,  it  must  be  said,  nobody  at  first  took  notice. 
Hitherto  this  bold  accusation,  hazarded  in  a  work  of 
slender  importance,  did  not  imperil  the  good  name  of 
Columbus  ;  but,  according  to  the  common  proverb,  "  One  is 
never  betrayed  but  by  his  own"  (Jcs  siens) ^  some  years 
3 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

after,  a  Genoese,  Father  Sportorno,  an  old  Barnabite.  ex- 
cited with  a  Iceen  resentment  against  the  second  son  of 
Cokunbus,  Don  Fernando,  whom  he  accused  of  having 
designedly  disseminated  some  doubts  in  regard  to  the  origin 
and  tlie  birthplace  of  his  father,  welcomed  with  ardor  this 
imputation  of  bastardy,  which  favored  his  animosity. 

Neither  the  contrary  proof,  resulting  doubly  from  the 
assertions  and  the  silence  of  the  Spanish  writers,  nor  the 
demonstration  so  logical  of  the  facts,  nor  the  character 
almost  sacerdotal  of  the  messenger  of  the  Cross,  could 
remove  his  prejudice.  This  stain  of  origin,  whatever  it 
may  cost,  was  necessary  for  him,  to  cast,  in  his  turn,  some 
doubt  on  the  veracity  of  the  historian  the  nearest  in  point 
of  time,  and  the  best  acquainted  with  Columbus.  In  all 
his  writings,  Spotorno  recurs  with  a  malignant  satisfaction 
to  the  pretended  illicit  intimacy  of  Columbus  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  and  renews  the  charge  of  illegitimacy  against 
Don  Fernando.  Not  content  with  having,  in  1819,  inserted 
it  in  his  book,  "  Of  the  Origin  and  of  the  Country  of 
Christopher  Columbus,"  he  proudly  repeated  it  in  his 
"Literary  History  of  Liguria,"  but  in  giving  it  as  the 
product  of  his  own  sagacity.  Thus,  as  Napione  had  decked 
himself  with  the  quibble  stolen  from  a  distant  Spanish 
attorney,  so,  by  force  of  repeating  the  plagiarism  committed 
on  Napione,  Spotorno  finishes  with  claiming  as  his  own 
personal  property  this  miserable  calumny,  ignorant  of  its 
true  consequences. 

In  the  eyes  of  unthinking  readers,  this  j)i'etended  dis- 
covery of  the  seci'et  passion  of  Columbus  gained  for  Spo- 
torno the  reputation  of  being  a  learned  critic  ;  it  obtained 
for  him,  in  1S33,  the  honor  of  being  charged  by  the 
decurional  corps  of  Genoa  with  the  publication  of  some 
documents  relative  to  Columbus,  the  collection  of  which 
formed  the  Codice  Colombo  Americano.  The  care  of 
introducing  the  new  volume  with  a  notice  of  the  Genoese 
hero,  was  intrusted  to  him.  Spotorno  could  not  fail,  in 
availing  himself  of    so   favorable   an    opportunity,   to   re- 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


27 


commence  his  imputation  of  bastardy-.  He  uttered, them, 
his  accusations  of  secret  amours  against  the  father,  in  order 
to  stigmatize  the  son.  Tlie  official  position  of  Father  Spo- 
torno  obtained  for  his  notice  as  much  authority  as  it  did 
notoriety.  It  was  he  that  propagated  the  notion  of  the 
frailty  of  the  Hero. 

Precisely  at  that  period,  Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete 
was  continuing  the  "Collection  of  the  Maritime  Voyages  of 
the  Spaniards,"  commenced  by  the  learned  Don  Bautista 
Munoz,  by  order  of  Charles  IV.  A  writer  of  a  graceful 
style,  but  destitute  of  originality,  —  accomplished  with  a 
special  kind  of  learning,  but  wanting  in  that  reach  of 
thought  which  belongs  to  elevated  minds, — Navarrete,  ob- 
taining many  offices,  many  honors,  carried  to  idolatry  his 
respect  for  the  royal  majesty.  Indignant  at  the  freedom  of 
Bossi,  and  especially  at  that  of  his  French  translator,  who 
briefly  recalled  the  ingratitude  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic 
towards  Columbus,  he  undertook  the  task  of  exculpating 
the  most  ungrateful,  by  calumniating  the  most  generous  of 
men.  Vengeance  armed  his  pen.  Yet,  in  the  whole  course 
of  his  researches,  Navarrete  found  nothing  that  could  cast 
the  least  suspicion  on  the  relations  of  Columbus  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez.  All  his  annotations  showed  Fernando  as  the 
legitimate  son  of  the  Admiral  of  the  Ocean.  The  calumny 
of  Spotorno  came  to  give  him  a  new  arm. 

Starting  from  that  moment,  we  meet  with  quite  a  display 
of  accusations.  Columbus  left  Portugal  secretly,  in  order 
to  defraud  his  creditors.  If  he  showed  great  patience  in 
the  delays  made  by  the  Court  of  Spain  in  regard  to  the 
project  of  his  discoveries,  this  patience,  this  force  of  soul 
that  was  attributed  to  his  Catholic  faith,  is  explained  by 
a  secret  cause  :  Columbus  loved  to  distraction  a  certain 
beauty  of  Cordova,  whom  he  had  made  a  mother.  Conse- 
quently, with  him  religious  appearances  were  only  skilful- 
ness  of  conduct  ;  he  conformed  exteriorly  to  the  habits  of 
the  court,  which  was  then  very  rigid  in  regard  to  morals. 
His  unscrupulousness  and   hypocrisy  being  once  admitted, 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

Navarrete  pursues  with  advantage  his  accusations,  shows 
the  insatiable  avidity  of  Columbus,  and  seems  to  admit 
some  acts  of  disloyalty  and  malversation.  In  wresting  and 
mutilating  the  narration  of  Oviedo,  that  old  enemy  of 
Columbus,  he  supposes  some  unspecified  crimes,  —  some 
concealed  misdemeanors,  —  for  which  it  was  sought  to 
punish  him  without  public  chastisement.  Afterwards  come 
the  charges  of  violence  and  of  cruelty.  The  courtier  has 
calumniated  Columbus  beyond  measure,  in  order  the  better 
to  praise  the  clemency  of  Ferdinand,  who,  he  pretends,  was 
gracious  to  him,  and  treated  him  with  kindness. 

Navarrete  afterwards  seeks  to  judge  of  Columbus  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  philosophy  of  history.  He  finds 
that  "  his  faults  were  the  peculiar  consequences  of  human 
frailty,  and  probably  of  the  education  he  received,  of  the 
career  he  embraced,  and  of  the  country  in  which  he  was 
born,  —  a  country  in  which  traffic  and  business  formed  the 
principal  branch  of  riches,  private  as  well  as  public." 
Navarrete  does  not  think  that,  in  speaking  thus,  he  dimin- 
ishes the  glory  of  Columbus  as  "the  author  of  the  discovery 
of  the  Nev/  World,"  and  supports  his  views  with  some 
examples:  ''Alexander  dominated  by  wrath,  and  afterwards 
by  superstition  ;  Alcibiades  having  many  admirable  qual- 
ities and  infamous  vices  ;  Caesar  uniting  inordinate  ambition 
with  eminent  qualities,"  etc.  It  is  thus  that  the  disciple 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  appreciated  !  People  think  they  do  him 
much  honor  by  comparing  him  to  the  great  men  of 
Paganism  ! 

Before  the  impassioned  lucubrations  of  Navarrete  were 
entirely  printed,  Washington  Irving,  who  was  in  Spain, 
became  acquainted  with  them.  Although  a  Protestant, 
and,  therefore,  a  greater  stranger  than  Spotorno  and 
Navarrete  to  the  sentiments  that  animated  Columbus,  he, 
nevertheless,  conceived  a  higher  and  a  juster  idea  of  the 
great  man  than  they  did.  His  rectitude  of  mind,  aided  by 
his  bibliographical  researches,  showed  him  the  short-sight- 
edness and  the  partiality  of  these  two  collectors  of  historic 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

materials.  Although  controllcfl  to  a  certain  extent  by  tlieir 
influence,  and  not  daring  to  come  in  opposition  with 
Navarrete,  he  admits  only  a  part  of  their  accusations, 
mitigates  them,  and  does  not  hazard  the  interpretations 
of  Spotorno  but  with  a  hesitation  bordering  on  repugnance. 

Far  from  pardoning  in  growing  older,  Father  Spotorno 
embittered  against  Fernando  Columbus;  and,  taking  pride 
in  the  conjecture  of  bastardy  welcomed  so  warmly  by  Nav- 
arrete, returns  to  the  charge  with  a  puerile  ostentation.  He 
boasts  of  his  pretended  discovery,  while  the  shameful  merit 
of  this  error  belongs  of  right  to  Napione.  In  his  annota- 
tions to  the  Genoese  edition  of  Irving,  Spotorno,  the  true 
inspirer  of  the  anonymous  notes,  reproaches  the  American 
author  with  timidity.  He  attributes  it  to  the  circumstance 
that  Irving  had  not  read  his  own  work  on  the  "  Origin  and 
the  Country  of  Christopher  Columbus."  He  sifts  again  what 
he  had  already  written  in  the  work  Delia  Origine,  in  the 
Codice  Colovibo  A7nericano^  in  the  Literary  History. 
Not  content  with  repeating  his  assertions,  he  adds,  by  way 
of  induction,  new  blunders  to  his  preceding  mistakes,  and 
finishes  with  proving  how  little  he  was  acquainted  with 
Columbus. 

This  can  be  judged  of  from  a  single  example  :  Spotorno, 
having  mistaken  the  meaning  of  some  words  of  Peter  Mar- 
tyr in  regard  to  an  Indian  of  the  Lucaya  isles  baptized  in 
Spain,  having  for  godfather  Don  Diego  Columbus,  and 
therefore  named  Diego^  according  to  Christian  custom,  con- 
founds this  Diego,  who  served  as  an  interpreter  to  the 
Admiral,  with  his  godfather  Don  Diego,  brother  of  the 
Admiral  ;  and  speaks  seriously  of  the  marriage  of  the  (jen- 
oese,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  with  an  Indian  lady  of  Hayti  ; 
whereas  it  was  the  Lucayian  interpreter,  Diego,  who  espoused 
the  Indian  lady.  It  is  still  only  an  error  in  regard  to  per- 
son, to  situation,  —  a  gross  improbability.  But  what  be- 
comes culpable  is,  that  upon  this  absurd  notion  Spotorno 
dares  to  bring  an  accusation  against  the  character  of 
Columbus. 

3* 


30 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


Spotorno  judges  that  Beatrix  Enriquez  did  not  belong  to 
the  nobility  ;  that  she  must  have  been  very  poor  ;  and  that 
the  remorse  of  Columbus,  and  his  fear  of  the  cause  of  it 
being  discovered,  prove  manifestly  that  his  connection  with 
her  v\^as  not  cemented  by  a  legitimate  union. 

The  persistence  of  Spotorno,  the  positive  tone  of  his 
assertions,  and  especially  the  silence  of  contradictors,  have 
imposed  on  his  fellow-citizens.  His  accusations,  far  from 
being  combated,  have  been  reproduced  with  eagerness  ;  he 
has  passed  for  a  kind  of  oracle  at  Genoa,  and  in  the  whole 
of  Liguria. 

The  respect  generally  manifested  for  Spotorno  by  the 
writers  of  Liguria  (except  in  their  differences  on  the  question 
of  origin),  their  credulous  repetition  of  his  silly  stuff",  and 
their  mutual  respect  for  the  errors  of  each  other,  would  still 
have  been  of  little  consequence,  if  Navarrete  had  not  seized 
with  malignant  joy  the  denunciations  of  Spotorno  against 
the  amours  of  Columbus  in  Cordova.  And  even  this  accu- 
sation would  have  had  no  untoward  notoriety,  destitute  as 
it  was  of  foundation,  had  not  the  illustrious  Humboldt 
accorded  it  credit,  in  screening  with  his  encyclop£edic  name 
the  accusations  made  by  Navarrete. 

After  the  history  of  Washington  Irving,  the  work  which 
most  expressly  and  most  fully  treats  of  Columbus  is  assur- 
edly that  which  has  been  published  by  Humboldt,  under  the 
title  of  A  Critical  Examination  of  the  History  a7id  the 
Geography  of  the  New  Coiitine7tt.  These  two  works, 
then,  compose  solely  the  groundwork  of  science  and  of 
history  relative  to  the  discovery  of  the  New  World.  The 
one  by  his  great  popularity,  the  other  by  his  magisterial 
authority,  have  fixed,  and  almost  formed  public  opinion. 
Academies,  learned  societies,  astronomers,  naturalists,  and 
especially  mariners,  have  no  opinions  about  Columbus  but 
those  that  are  peculiar  to  Humboldt.  We  ourselves  based 
our  opinions  on  him  before  we  examined  with  our  own  eyes. 
But,  whatever  may  be  our  esteem  for  his  judgments  in  mat- 
ters of  pure  physical  science,  we  are  forced  to  declare,  that 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


31 


in  his  "  History  of  the  Geography  of  the  New  Continent," 
the  acts,  and  especially  the  thoughts,  of  Columbus  appear  to 
us  interpreted  by  a  spirit  foreign,  —  and  we  may  say  anti- 
pathic,—  to  his  nature. 

Between  the  two  kinds  of  intuition  of  Columbus  and  of 
Humboldt  there  was  a  gulf  as  broad  as  the  Atlantic.  These 
two  men  were  travellers  on  this  globe  :  Columbus  on  water, 
Humboldt  on  land.  Both  of  them  obsei'ved  the  creation 
attentively,  but  each  of  them  from  the  particular  point  of 
view  of  his  faith  and  of  his  moral  predispositions. 

Columbus,  an  ardent  disciple  of  the  Word,  of  a  strong 
faith,  is  amazed  at  the  aspect  of  the  magnificent  works  of 
his  Creator.  His  meditations,  diversified  with  raptures  and 
overflowing  with  poesy,  arise  as  hymns  with  the  melody  of 
the  breezes,  charged  with  the  unknown  perfumes  of  those 
new  regions.  Humboldt,  in  receiving  in  his  capacious 
mind  the  multiple  impressions  of  the  terrestrial  harmonies, 
never  departs  from  the  philosophic  coolness  of  observation, 
nor  allows  himself  to  be  carried  away  beyond  the  limits  of 
appearances. 

Whilst,  in  his  explorations,  Columbus  incessantly  dis- 
covered the  Lord,  his  benefactor  and  his  master,  Humboldt 
never  came  to  encounter  but  the  great  forces  of  nature,  the 
laws  of  nature,  the  majesty  of  natin'e. 

Columbus  had  an  implicit  faith  in  the  providential,  in  the 
divine  action  that  was  manifested  in  him  and  for  him.  The 
communications  of  the  invisible  with  the  visible,  the  influ- 
ence of  the  immutable  upon  the  mutable  and  accidental, 
were  to  him  fixed  facts.  His  emotions  were  proportionate 
to  the  vastness  of  his  work,  and  did  not  turn  him  from  his 
object,  —  the  glory  of  the  Word  made  flesh  !  In  the  name 
of  the  Redeemer  he  goes  on  his  mission,  invited  to  the  mys- 
teries of  the  unknown  and  of  the  infinite.  Humboldt,  on 
the  contrary,  having  no  longer  to  discover  the  space,  since 
the  form  and  extent  of  this  planet  were  already  exactly  de- 
termined, could  only  pretend  to  verify  some  meteorological 
explanations,  enrich  the  universal  flora,  increase  some  min- 


32 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


eral  collections,  perhaps  seize  the  indices  of  some  general 
law  of  the  globe,  and  describe  the  ensemble  of  its  cosmic 
physiognomy. 

The  illustrious  Humboldt  would  have  wished  he  were 
Columbus,  had  he  not  been  Humboldt.  He  sometimes 
appears  to  find  in  him  a  posthumous  rival,  who  has  pre- 
ceded him  in  the  equinoctial  countries,  and  whose  penetra- 
tion has  divined  many  of  the  grand  principles  of  nature. 
He  has  more  than  once  envied  his  sublime  views,  and 
secretly  compared  himself  to  him  in  many  an  occurrence. 
He  occupied  himself  seriously  with  his  actions,  his  particu- 
lar habits,  his  writings.'  Notwithstanding  this  half  sympa- 
thy, Humboldt,  not  being  able  to  comprehend  the  immortal 
principle  of  such  a  faith,  the  sublimity  of  such  a  view,  has 
misapprehended  the  principal  phases  of  the  life  of  Colum- 
bus. He  has  not  been  able,  at  any  one  time,  to  see  him  in 
all  his  entireness.  When  he  yields  to  some  admiration  for 
his  genius  or  his  tenderness  of  heart,  one  would  say  he  fears 
to  be  dominated  by  the  noble  character  before  him,  and 
therefore  seeks  to  abase  it.  Without  espousing  the  animos- 
ity of  Navarrete,  he  welcomes,  without  having  verified  them, 
the  peevish  assertions  of  the  latter  in  regard  to  the  harsh- 
ness, the  avidity,  the  dissimulation  of  Columbus,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  he  first  admitted  the  charge  against  his 
chastity. 

Upon  this  point  Humboldt  goes  even  beyond  Navarrete. 
He  laughs  with  a  deplorable  laugh  at  the  pretended  fall  of 
that  great  man.  This  weakness  appeared  to  him  to  be  a 
ctcrioîis  fact,  which.  "Navarrete  has  disclosed  with  much 
sagacity  by  the  comparison  of  dates."  He  says  that  it 
was  less  the  persuasion  of  his  friends,  and  his  predilection 
for  Spain,  "that  prevented  Christopher  Columbus  from 
returning  to  Lisbon,  and  accepting  of  the  new  offers  of  the 
King  of  Portugal  contained  in  his  letter  of  the  twentieth  of 
March,  14S8,  than  the  amours  and  the  pregnancy  of  a  beau- 
tiful lady  of  Cordova,  Doîïa  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother 
of  Don  Fernando  Columbus,  natural  son  of  the  Admiral, 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

born  the  fifteenth  of  August,  14SS."*  Such  is  the  conclusion 
of  Humboldt.  He  pledges  imprudently  his  great  name, 
with  out  having  examined  the  matter  by  himself. 

We  affirm  that  upon  this  matter  Humboldt  has  read 
nothing  with  his  own  eyes  in  original  sources  ;  that  he  has 
depended  for  it  on  Navarrctc,  who  derivc^l  it  from  Spotorno, 
who  received  it  from  Napione,  who  derived  it  from  the 
chicanery  of  an  attorney  in  a  lawsuit  !  Still,  this  accusa- 
tion has  been  so  generally  admitted,  that  it  holds  the  place 
of  a  fixed  fact.  More  than  eighty  writers  of  different  stamp 
have  repeated  it,  one  after  the  othej.  At  the  present  time, 
this  calumny  of  fifty  years'  duration  is  so  much  accredited, 
that  it  takes  the  airs  of  an  historical  fact,  supporting  itself 
on  certain  dates  aad  respectable  names.  And  perhaps  no 
single  writer  will  be  found,  of  the  first  or  the  last  rank, 
who,  in  treating  of  this  subject,  dares  dispense  himself 
from  repeating,  for  the  eighty-first  time,  this  error. 

We  are  going,  however,  please  God,  to  put  an  end  to  it. 

We  formally  i^rotest  against  this  calumnious  assertion. 
We  deny  the  f;ict  of  an  illicit  connection.  We  deny  the 
details  that  are  connected  with  it.  We  assert  that  Dona 
Beatrix  Enriquez  of  Cordova  was,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Church,  the  wife  of  Christopher  Columbus.  We  deny  her 
poverty.  We  deny  her  plebeian  condition.  We  deny  her 
state  of  pregnancy  at  the  time  of  the  message  of  the  King 
of  Portugal.  We  deny  the  pretended  passion  of  Colum- 
bus for  Beatrix  that  could  alone  have  retained  him  in  Sjoain, 
contrary  to  his  other  interests. 

And  all  that  we  have  here  said,  we  shall  prove  forthwith. 

SECTION   V. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Columbus,  never  was  there  any 
suspicion  cast  on  the  nature  of  his  connection  with  Beatrix 

*  Humboldt.  Examen  Criiùiuc  de  l'Histoire  et  de  la  Geographic. 
etc.     T.  I.,  p.  104.      •• 


34  INTR  OD  UC  TION. 

Enriquez,  nor  a  doubt  raised  on  the  legitimacy  of  his 
second  son.  The  idea  of  such  an  accusation  did  not  occur 
to  his  enemies.  After  his  death,  no  trace  of  it  is  found 
anywhere.  It  is  not  seen  in  any  cotemporary  author  ;  it  is 
never  found  in  any  Spanish  author.  Now,  it  was  the  part 
of  Sixain,  rather  than  that  of  Italy,  to  know  the  civil  status 
of  Columbus.  In  Italy,  even,  during  more  than  three  hun- 
dred years,  no  such  accusation  is  found.  Not  only  do  his- 
torians not  accuse  him  of  an  illicit  connection,  but  they 
formally  speak  of  his  marriage  ;  and  the  gravest  among 
them,  and  especially  Tiraboschi,  assert  that  he  espoused 
Beatrix  Enriquez  in  his  second  marriage.* 

No  impediment  was  opposed  to  their  union.  She  whom 
Humboldt  is  pleased  to  call  "  a  beaiitiful  lady  of  Cor- 
dova," \  was  a  maiden,  and  free  from  every  engagement. 
The  great  poverty  and  the  plebeian  condition  of  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  which  Spotorno  brings  into  notice  to  show  there 
were  obstacles,  are  both  material  errors. 

The  want  of  fortune  could  not  have  stopped  Columbus. 
At  this  period,  what  was  he  himself  as  regarded  Spain? 
A  foreign  geographer  without  influence,  a  widower  charged 
with  a  child,  drawing  charts  to  gain  a  livelihood.  In  his 
first  marriage  in  Portugal,  if  he  had  met  with  beauty, 
birth  and  virtue,  assuredly  he  did  not  gain  riches.  Father 
Spotorno  draws  from  the  will  of  Columbus  his  proof  that 
Beatrix  was  very  poor,  because  he  enjoins  his  heir  to  give 
her  a  pension.  Intrinsically,  this  proof  is  without  value. 
But  we  find,  on  the  contraiy,  the  denial  of  this  fact  in  a 
circumstance  i^elative  to  the  execution  of  this  testamentary 
behest.  During  the  first  years,  Beatrix  Enriquez  received 
annually  a  pension  of  ten  thousand  maravedis  at  her 
dwelling-house  in  Cordova.  Afterwards,  the  payments 
were  irregular,  but  she  did   not  demand  them.     When  the 

*  Tiraboschi.  Storia  dclla  littcratura  Italiana,  t.  vi.,  lib.  i. 
cap.  vi. 

t  A.  Humboldt.  Critical  Examination  of  the  History  and  Gcog- 
rajiky,  etc.     B.  II. 


INTRODUCTION.  3- 

heir  ceased  altogether  from  paying  them  during  several 
consecutive  years,  she  made  no  complaint.  Never  did  she 
talvC  the  pains  of  reminding  him  of  his  duty.  It  was 
necessary  that  he  himself  should  at  last  remember  his 
obligation.*  This  want  of  urgency  in  claiming  arrears, 
the  nobility  of  silence,  appears  to  us  to  refute  positively 
the  charge  of  extreme  poverty. 

The  want  of  high  birth  could  not  prevent  the  marriage  ; 
for,  according  to  the  avowal  of  all  historians,  Beatrix  Enri- 
quez  was  of  noble  rank.  Spotorno  alone  would  have  it 
to  be  otherwise.  But,  on  this  point,  we  oppose  to  him  a 
witness  who  was  his  own  accomplice,  —  even  Navarrete 
himself.  In  his  quality  as  a  Spaniard,  Navarrete  cannot 
contest  this  notorious  fact:  the  nobility  of  Beatrix  Enriqucz. 
He  declares  her  noble,  and  of  the  principal  house  of 
Cordova. I  Her  rank  naturally  brought  her  into  notice. 
Her  uterine  brother,  the  honorable  Rodrigo  de  Arana,  was 
renowned  at  Cordova,  and  the  imperial  historiographer 
calls  him  "  the  virtuous  gentleman."  \  Her  nephew,  Don 
Diego  de  Arana,  accompanied  Columbus  in  his  first  voyage 
of  discovery,  in  the  quality  of  inspector-general  of  the  fleet. 
Ramusio  reminds  us  that  he  was  "  a  good  gentleman  of 
Cordova,"  and  his  nobility  must  have  been  well  known  for 
Columbus  to  place  under  his  orders  two  oflicers  of  the 
Crown,  in  appointing  him  governor  of  the  fort  of  Navidad. 
In  the  third  voyage  of  the  Admiral,  a  young  brother  of 
Doîia  Beatrix,  Pedro  de  Arana,  commanded  one  of  his 
ships  ;  for,  in  consequence  of  their  alliance,  there  were 
always  some  Aranas  of  Cordova  with  Columbus.  After 
the  death  of  the  Admiral,  and  that  of  his  son,  his  successor, 
we  still  see  a  Diego  de  Arana  in  the  mansion  of  the  Vice- 

*  Pleito.     Mcmoria  ajnsiado  sobrc  cl  hccho. 

t  "  Dona  Bcatriz  Enriquez  doncclla  noble  y  principal  de  aquilla 
cindad."  —  ls^\:irTc\.c,  Disscriation  sobrc  la  historia  dc  la  Nautica, 
farte  tcrcera.     §  19,  fol.  152. 

J  Oviedo.  La  historia  natural  y  general  de  las  Indias.  Lib.  II. 
cap.  12. 


36 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


queen  of  the  Indies,  where  his  rank,  as  well  as  his  alliance, 
gave  him  precedence  over  all  the  officers*  of  the  illustrious 
widow,  Dona  Maria  de  Toledo.  The  nobility  of  Beatrix 
Enriquez  is  equally  made  evident  by  the  necrological 
notice  of  her  son  Fernando,  published  by  the  annalist  of 
Seville. f  Her  purity  of  descent  was,  in  later  times, 
pleaded  even  by  the  descendants  of  the  first  marriage  of 
Columbus.  In  1671,  Don  Pedro  Columbus,  in  the  interest 
of  his  cause,  reminded  the  Qiieen  of  Spain  that  the  two 
sons  of  the  grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  had  for  mothers 
ladies  of  the  most  ancient  nobility.J 

Let  us  now  see  whether  the  passion  of  Columbus  for 
"the  beautiful  lady  of  Cordova"  was  the  true  cause  of  his 
remaining  in  •  Spain,  notwithstanding  the  offers  of  the 
King  of  Portugal.  So  much  the  worse  for  the  illustrious' 
Humboldt,  if  he  receives  from  the  facts  a  contradiction 
somewhat  rude.  Who  would  not  have  verified  the  accu- 
sations of  Navarrete  before  taking  them  under  his  shield? 

In  the  first  place,  when  the  letter  of  King  John  II.  came 
to  Columbus,  towards  the  last  of  April,  148S,  the  pregnancy 
of  Beatrix  no  longer  existed,  since  her  accouchement  had 
taken  place  the  twenty-ninth  of  August  of  the  preceding  3-ear. 
Fernando  Columbus,  born  in  Cordova  the  twenty-ninth  of 
August,  14S7  §  (and  not  the  fifteenth  of  August,  148S,  as 
falsely  stated  by  Navarrete,  and  reasserted  without  verifica- 
tion by  Humboldt),  was  then  eight  months  old  when  the 
letter  of  the  King  of  Portugal  came  to  his  father.  It  was 
not,  then,  the  delicate  state  of  Beatrix  that  caused  him 
to  reject  the  offers  of  that  sovereign. 

The  Protestant  historians  agree  in  withholding  from 
Columbus  the  merit  of  his  patience,  —  to  attribute  it  to  the 

*Navarrete's  Collection,  t.  i. 

t  Diego  Ortiz  de  Zunaga.  Ecclesiastical  Annals  of  Seville. 
B.  XIV.,  fol.  496. 

%  Mem.  in  the  Plicto  de  la  casa  de  Veragas. 

§  Diego  Ortiz  de  Zuniga,  Annales  Ecclesiasticos  y  seculares  de  la 
muy  noble  y  muy  leal  ciudad  de  Sevilla.     Lib.  xiv.,  fol.  496. 


INTRODUCTION.  37 

charms  of  Beatrix  Enriquez.  It  was  she  alone  that  could 
deteniiinc  him  to  remain  for  so  long  a  time  in  Spain,  and 
enable  him  to  bear  the  delays  he  experienced. 

The  dates  will  give  an  answer  to  this  imputation. 

Like  those  rare  flowers  that  will  not  bear  being  trans- 
planted, that  spring  up,  bloom,  and  die  in  the  land  where 
they  grow,  Beatrix  Enriquez,  born,  raised,  and  married 
in  Cordova,  never  passed  the  walls  of  that  ancient  city. 
Columbus  could  never  enjoy  the  charm  of  her  presence  but 
in  coming  himself  to  Cordova.  Now,  Cordova  is  precisely 
the  city  in  which  he  least  remained,  and  in  which  his 
stay  was  the  shortest,  during  his  residence  in  Spain.  He 
sojourned  there  only  a  few  consecutive  months  the  lirst  year 
of  his  landing,  which  was  that  of  his  mai'riage.  From 
"that  time  his  visits  to  Cordova  were  short  and  rare,  — for 
duty  imperiously  required  of  him  to  be  elsewhere.  Official 
documents  prove  this. 

In  14S6,  he  was  already  domiciled  in  the  ante-chambers. 

In  14S7,  he  was  at  Salamanca  for  the  purpose  of  sub- 
mitting his  plan  to  the  Scientific  Congress  assembled  by 
royal  order  at  that  celebrated  University.  He  remained 
there  during  the  winter,  and  part  of  the  spring. 

He  follows  the  Court  unceasingly.  Some  orders  paid  by 
the  treasurer,  Francis  Gonzales  of  Seville,  prove  that  in 
May,  July,  August,  and  October,  he  was  far  away  from 
Cordova.*  The  pregnancy  of  Beatrix  retained  him  so 
little  by  her,  that  at  the  time  of  her  accouchement,  the 
twenty-ninth  of  August,  he  was  absent.  The  second  day 
before,  he  had  received  four  thousand  maravedis,  and  gone 
to  Court  by  order  of  the  sovereigns.  A  payment  made  in 
October  proves  yet  his  absence  from  Cordova.  Winter 
comes  ;  the  Court  takes  up  its  residence  at  Saragossa,  and 
Columbus  goes  there. 

In  14SS,  he  is  at  Seville.  It  is  there  that  the  King  of 
Portugal  addresses  him  his  letter  of  the  twentieth  of  March. 

*  Coleccion  Diplomaticd,  num.  2. 
4 


38 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


Afterwards  he  continues  his  solicitations.  In  the  summei, 
he  I'eceives  for  his  travelHng  expenses  the  sum  of  three 
thousand  maravedis.  The  Court  fixes  itself  during  winter 
at  Valladolid.     Columbus  goes  there  also. 

In  1489,  Columbus  was  still  far  away  from  Cordova,  since 
it  was  from  that  very  city  that  the  order  of  the  twelfth  of 
May  was  issued  to  Seville,  and  other  places,  to  entertain 
gratuitously  Christopher  Columbus,  who  was  called  to  the 
Court  for  the  services  of  the  sovereigns.*  He  came,  in  fact, 
■to  Cordova,  but  could  remain  there  only  a  few  days.  It  is 
known  that  he  made,  as  a  volunteer,  the  campaign  of  Baza. 
Now  this  war  commenced  at  the  end  of  May,  and  was 
terminated  only  the  fourth  of  December. 

In  1490,  Columbus  was  the  guest  of  the  Duke  of  Medina 
Sidonia  ;  and,  a  short  time  after,  that  of  the  Duke  of 
Medina  Celi,  who  was  on  the  point  of  assuming  the  ex- 
penses of  the  projected  expedition. 

In  1491,  we  see  him  still  at  the  residence  of  the  Duke 
of  Medina  Celi,  and  thence  make  some  new  eflbrts  to  gain 
the  favor  of  the  Crown.  A  letter  from  this  rich  lord,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  the  nineteenth 
of  March,  1493,  recalls  to  mind  the  fact  that  he  gave  hospi- 
tality to  Columbus  for  two  years  ;  f  i^nd  thus  contributed 
to  retaining  him  in  Spain,  and  avails  himself  of  this  service 
rendered  to  the  Crown  to  demand  a  favor. 

Let  us  now  judge  from  these  facts,  from  these  dates, 
whether  it  was  the  fascination  of  "  the  beautiful  lady  of 
Cordova"  that  retained  Columbus  in  Spain.  It  is  forgotten 
that  in  1488  he  was  fifty-two  years  old  ;  that  he  was  en- 
gaged in  navigation  thirty-six  years  ;  that  his  maturity  of 
judgment,  and  his  sincere  piety,  could  not  permit  an  ille- 
gitimate affection  to  become  rooted  in  his  heart.  That, 
besides,  his  elevation  of  mind  and  his  firmness  of  will  im- 


*  Documentos  Diplomaticos,  num.  iv. 

t  Documentos  Diplomaticos,  num.  xiv.     Orig.  en  el  real  archiv  de 
Simanc. 


INTRODUCTIOX.  ^y 

posed  silence  on  his  passions,  —  passions  that  were  subdued 
less  by  age  and  by  poverty,  than  crushed  under  the  weight 
of  that  immense  thought  that  contained  one-half  of  the 
globe. 

We  shall  relate,  in  its  place,  under  what  circumstances 
Columbus  married  Dona  Beatrix  Enriquez.  Here  we  limit 
ourselves  solely  to  establishing  the  fact.  His  union  with 
her  was  legitimate,  and  he  did  not  suffer  himself  to  be 
mastered  by  anything  to  the  detriment  of  any  of  his  duties. 

The  Royal  Historiographer  of  Spain,  Antonio  de  Her- 
rera,  whose  impartial  sagacity  and  accuracy  are  unani- 
mously recognized,  has  removed  every  doubt  in  regard  to 
the  second  marriage  of  Columbus.  These  are  his  words  : 
"  After  the  death  of  this  first  wife,  he  espoused  a  second, 
named  Beatrix  Enriquez,  of  the  city  of  Cordova,  by  whom 
he  had  Fernando,  a  virtuous  gentleman,  well  versed  in  the 
science  of  sound  learning.* 

Navarrete  objects  that  up  to  this  time  the  registry  of  the 
marriage  has  not  been  found,  and  cannot  be  jjroduced. 
But  neither  has  the  registry  of  his  baptism  been  found  : 
does  it  hence  follow  that  he  was  not  baptized?  It  is  hard 
to  explain  how  the  charge  of  an  adulterous  connection 
could  be  admitted  against  the  evidence  of  flicts,  and  the 
judgment  of  the  most  common  good  sense.  How  could  a 
scandalous  commerce  have  been  tolerated  by  the  virtuous 
familv  of  Doua  Beatrix.  Would  not  the  vengeance  of  this 
noble  house  have  constrained  the  seducer  to  make  repara- 
tion for  the  stain  cast  on  their  honor.-*  What!  would  it  be 
Cordova  that  Columbus  would  have  chosen  to  raise  his  first- 
born son  in?  Would  he  have  charged  his  mistress,  an 
adulteress,  with  superintending  his  education?  Would  he 
have  sent  him  by  the  worthy  ecclesiastic.  Father  Martin 
Sanchez }  And  the  Qiieen,  —  so  rigid  in  regard  to  man- 
ners,—  would  she  have  given  as  pages  to  her  only  son,  the 

*  Hcrrera.  General  History  of  the  Voyages  and  Conquests  of 
Castillans,  etc.,  ist  dec,  b.  i.,  c.  7. 


40 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


infant  Don  Juan,  the  two  brothers  Cohnnbus,  —  one  legiti- 
mate, the  other  a  bastard  ?  Tlie  venerable  religious  men  with 
whom  Columbus  spent  part  of  his  life,  —  would  they  have 
been  accomplices  in,  or  dupes  to  such  a  criminal  con- 
nection? For  nobody  could  be  ignorant  of  his  relations 
with  Cordova,  and  the  nature  of  the  business  that  led  him 
there.  From  this  well-known  circumstance,  Cordova  was 
considered  his  real  residence,  although  he  never  resided 
there  six  months  at  a  time.  An  authentic  document  proves 
this.  The  twenty-third  of  May,  1493,  while  his  wife.  Dona 
Beatrix,  superintended  the  education  of  his  two  sons, 
Columbus  received  the  premium  of  first  discovery,  con- 
sisting of  a  contingent  annuity  of  ten  thousand  maravedis. 
It  was  necessary  to  determine  a  place  of  payment.  For 
his  convenience,  he  was  assigned  payment  at  his  presumed 
place  of  residence,  and  therefore  at  Cordova.* 

The  cotemporary  historians  of  Fernando  Columbus  cast 
no  doubt  on  his  legitimacy.  They  treat  him  according  to 
the  facts  in  his  case,  and,  therefore,  as  the  legitimate  son 
of  the  Admiral.  If  they  have  not  sought  to  establish  his 
legitimacy,  it  was  because  nobody  contested  it.  The  legit- 
imacy of  Don  Fernando  is  plainly  seen  from  the  ensemble 
of  the  facts.  ' 

First,  in  the  internal  relations  of  the  family,  as  well 
as  in  its  exterior  and  public  relations,  no  difterence  except 
that  of  primogeniture  is  made  between  Diego  and  Fer- 
nando Columbus.  Their  appearance  in  society  was  at  the 
same  time,  in  the  absence  of  their  father.  They  were  pre- 
sented together  at  Court  the  same  day,  by  their  paternal 
uncle,  Don  Bartholomew,  who  went  for  them  to  Cordova.f 
Both  entered  with  the  same  title,  the  same  rank,  the  same 
service  of  the  household  of  the  Prince  Royal.  And  D. 
Eustaquio,  gi'andson  of  Navarrete,  acknowledges  that  Fer- 
nando Columbus  was,  with  his  brother,  one  of  the  greatest 


*  Document.  Diplom.  num.  xxxii.     Annot.  au  titu  de  retite. 
t  Fernando  Columbus.     History  of  the  Admiral,  chap.  LX. 


INTRODUCTION.  ^I 

favorites  of  the  prince.*  At  a  later  period,  both  of  them 
pass  into  the  service  of  the  Qiieen.  Far  from  making  the 
least  différence  unfavorable  to  the  j'oungest,  it  was  precisely 
the  latter  that  Isabella  named  first  her  page,  before  she 
accorded  that  favor  to  the  oldest.  The  nomination  of  Fer- 
nando preceded  that  of  his  brother  Diego  by  twenty-four 
hours,  t 

The  convention  which  took  place  between  the  Crown  of 
Spain  and  Columbus,  in  the  plain  of  Granada,  the  seven- 
teenth of  April,  1492,  in  establishing  the  inheritance  of  his 
dignities  in  the  person  of  the  oldest  of  his  sons,  shows 
implicitly  that  Diego,  the  child  of  the  first  marriage,  is  not 
alone.  The  prologue  of  the  "Journal  of  Columbus"  states 
that  the  sovereigns  have  promised  the  right  of  inheritance 
to  the  eldest  of  his  sons.  The  royal  decree  of  the  twentieth 
of  May,  1493,  which  accords  royal  armorial  bearings  to 
Columbus,  speaks  of  his  sons.  The  act  of  JMayorazgo^  or 
Entailment,  evidently  implies  his  state  of  marriage.  For, 
on  the  one  hand,  he  foresees  the  case  that  he  might  have 
other  children  besides  his  two  sons,  whom  he  names  ;  \  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  does  not  admit  the  possibility  of 
another  conjugal  union,  since  he  does  not  stipulate  any 
resemation  or  dower  for  another  wife.  This  latter  condition 
would  have  been  for  that  purpose  indispensable.  At  this 
period  the  great  Admiral,  worn  out,  old,  and  infirm,  could 
not  expect  an  alliance  conformable  to  his  rank,  without 
insuring  to  his  future  wife  considerable  advantages. 

The  free  and  natural  manner  in  which  Columbus  speaks 
of  his  two  children,  the  unreserved  aficction  of  his  lan- 
guage in  regard  to  his  son  in  his  official  correspondence 
with  the  sovereigns,  show  the  total  absence  of  everything 
like  constraint  of  thought,  or  of  precaution  in  his  words.  § 

*  Colcccion  incditos  fara  la  Ilistoria  dc  Esfana,  por  D.  Miguel 
Salva,  etc.,  t.  xvi.,  p.  291. 

t  Colcccion  Diplomat ica,  num.  cxxv. 

X  Institution  del  Mayorazgo.     Documentes  Diplomat,  num.  cxxvi. 
§  Letter  to  the  Sovereigns,  July  7,  1503,  written  from  Jamaica. 
4* 


42 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


His  habit  of  noticing  and  j^raising  the  precocious  talents, 
and  the  youthful  services  of  the  boy,  should  suffice  to  prove 
the  legitimacy  of  Fernando.  Had  his  birth  been  shameful, 
.would  the  Admiral  have  dwelt  complaisantly  on  this  sub- 
ject? Would  he  have  dared  to  send  him,  when  a  youth,  to 
compliment  the  Portuguese  governor  of  Arcilla,  who  had, 
among  his  officers,  near  relations  of  his  first  wife.  Dona 
Felippa  Mognis  de  Perestrello?  And  would  this  particular 
circumstance  have  been  related  to  us  by  Don  Fernando 
himself  ?  *  Could  a  bastard  ever  have  recalled  such  a  cir- 
cumstance, —  one  so  humiliating  to  himself  ? 

The  legitimacy  of  Fernando,  shown  by  the  unanimous 
belief  of  his  cotemporaries,  justified  by  the  fostering  kind- 
liness of  Qiieen  Isabella,  the  regards  of  the  Catholic  King, 
and  the  particular  esteem  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
is  corroborated  by  a  new  proof.  The  genealogical  tree  of 
the  family  of  the  Admiral  bears  the  name  of  Fernando, 
immediately  after  that  of  Diego,  his  oldest  son,  and  on  the 
same  line.f 

In  the  genealogies  presented  by  the  Colombos  (Colum- 
buses)  of  Italy  before  the  Spanish  tribunals,  at  the  time  of 
the  trials  for  the  succession,  Fernando  was  always  put  in 
the  same  branch  with  Diego.  The  consultation  so  often 
cited  of  the  senator  John  Peter  Sordi,  for  Balthazar  Co- 
lombo, proves  that  the  celebrated  jurisconsult  was  far  from 
having  the  least  doubt  of  the  legitimacy  of  Don  Fernando. J 
In  his  memorial  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  dated  the  fifteenth 
of  July,  1792,  a  great  jurist  of  Madrid,  Don  Perez  de  Cas- 
tro, rejecting  disdainfully,  by  a  marginal  note,  the  insinua- 
tion of  the  attorney  De  la  Palma  y  Freitas  (overruled  in 

*  Historié  del  sign.  Don  Fernando  Colombo.,  etc.,  cap.  Lxxxvii. 

t  The  genealogical  trees  of  the  Colurabuses  that  have  been  pre- 
pared for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  distinguish  carefully  the 
quality  of  the  persons.  Bastards  and  adulterines  are  there  so  desig- 
nated ;  and  the  name  of  Don  Fernando  invariably  figures  among 
the  legitimate. 

%  Joannis  Petri  Sordi  consilitim,  sect,  xi.,  num.  361. 


INTRODUCTION.  43 

the  first  instance),  declared  that  in  no  part  of  the  process 
did  he  find  the  proof  that  Fernando  was  illegitimate.*  On 
the  genealogical  tree  of  the  Colombos  of  Cucarro,  which 
was  shown  us  in  Rome  by  their  last  descendant,  the  name 
of  Fernando  is  by  the  side  of  that  of  Diego,  under  the 
same  title  ;  and  never  was  there,  in  his  family,  the  least 
doubt  of  the  legitimacy  of  Don  Fernando.  Monseigneur 
Luigi  Colombo  recognizes  very  expressly  the  marriage  of 
Columbus  with  the  noble  mother  of  Don  Fernando.f  Fi- 
nally, these  assurances  received  their  last  irrefragable  guar- 
antee from  the  very  hand  of  Columbus  himself.  In  a  letter 
to  j^ersons  whose  duty  he  considered  it  was  to  support  his 
reclamations  at  the  Court  of  Spain,  he  reminds  them  that 
for  the  service  of  the  Crown  he  quitted  all,  —  wife  and 
CHILDREN, Î  —  and  never  enjoyed  the  sweetness  of  living 
with  his  family. 

The  original  of  this  letter,  wholly  written  by  the  hand  of 
the  Admiral,  exists  to  this  day.  A  copy  of  it  forms  part 
of  the  Diplomatic  Collection  printed  in  1825  ;  and,  strange 
to  tell,  the  autographic  authenticity  of  this  document,  which 
so  peremptorily  refutes  Navarrete,  has  been  admitted  by 
Navarrete  himself  in  his  official  capacity  !  He  could  not 
have  been  ignorant  of  it.  But,  blinded  by  prejudice,  he 
looked  at  it  without  reading  it,  without  comprehending  it  ; 
he  limited  himself  to  recognizing  the  writing,  not  seeing 
what  overwhelming  testimony  this  august  autograph  would 
bring  against  his  calumnies. §   (^Scc  Addendum.) 

*  Plcytos  de  los  dcsccdicjitcs  de  Colon. 

t  Patria  e  biografia  del  Grande  Ammiraglio,  pp.  208,  299. 

X  Christopher  Columbus.  "  Y  dejc  mucher  y  fijos  que  jamas  vi 
por  ello." — Col.  Diplomat.^  num.  cxxxvii. 

§  It  was  not  alone  the  royal  historiographer  Don  Bautista  jMuûoz, 
and  the  archivist  General  Don  Thomas  Gonzales,  who  have  num- 
bered and  classified  under  No.  cxxxvii.  this  precious  autograph. 
Don  Martin  Navarrete  has  added  to  it  a  note  stating  that  this  piece 
was  wholly  written  by  the  hand  of  the  Admiral,  En  papcl  dc  mano 
del  Almirante  D.  Cristobal  Colon. 


44 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


SECTION   VI. 


To  continue  further  our  refutation  of  the  slander,  appears 
to  us  useless.  The  facts  speak  for  themselves.  Without 
examining  the  details,  it  is  evident  that  when  one  is  wil- 
lingly deceived  in  regard  to  the  person,  the  family,  and  the 
civil  5/a/z«  of  Columbus,  —  when  one  has  unappreciated  his 
great  soul,  despised  his  genius,  and  calumniated  the  yearn- 
ings of  his  heart,  —  we  are  left  nothing  to  presume  from 
that  his  work  has  been  judged  by  him  with  impartiality. 

And,  in  truth,  those  who  have  written  the  life  of  Colum- 
bus, yielding  to  the  magisterial  influence  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  have  wandered  away  from,  or  been  silent  about 
important  facts,  when  they  have  not  distorted  them  to  make 
them  square  w^ith  their  preconceived  opinions  of  historic 
expositions.  After  having  denied  the  supernatural  aids 
which  were  visibly  manifested  in  the  grand  dramas  of  his 
career,  they  refuse  attributing  human  genius  to  Columbus 
himself.  Solely,  in  declaring  him  a  stranger  to  the  sci- 
ences and  to  mathematics,  they  accord  him  great  sagacity 
of  observation.  From  fear  of  painting  him  as  a  hero,  they 
have  travestied  him  as  a  common  man,  systematically  des- 
poiled him  of  everything  that  constitutes  grandeur,  and 
not  only  have  they  accused  him  of  ignorance,  of  ingratitude, 
of  bigotry,  of  presumption,  of  littleness,  and  of  puerile 
vanity,  but  they  have  also  wished  to  lessen  the  exterior  acts 
of  his  life  ;  diminish  the  obstacles,  shorten  the  conflicts,  and 
lessen  the  perils  over  which  his  inspirations  knew  how  to 
triumph.  They  did  not  perceive  that  in  looking  at  things 
through  the  spectacles  of  positivism,  they  fell  into  the*medi- 
ocre,  and  consequently  into  the  ridiculous  and  the  impos- 
sible. 

Could  a  man  endowed  solely  with  great  tenacity  and 
power  of  observation  know  how  to  do  wliat  Columbus  has 
done.?  Does  not  the  sole  sublimity  of  his  name  speak  of 
his  heart.?     This  renown  of  Columbus,  the  most  immense, 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


45 


the  most  certain,  an  inexhaustible  source  of  celebrity  which 
the  course  of  ages  and  generations  cannot  extinguish, — 
is  it  not  already  a  pledge  of  the  incomparable  superiority 
of  his  work?  Is  not  the  workman  always  greater  than  his 
work,  whether  by  the  power  of  his  conception,  or  by  the 
divine  favor  which  fecundates  it? 

It  is  too  much  forgotten  that  the  work  effected  by  Colum- 
bus is  unequalled  in  history.  He  could  have  imitated 
nobody,  and  nobody  could  repeat  his  acts.  That  which  he 
has  once  done  has  changed  the  relations  of  peoples  during 
the  w'hole  course  of  time.  This  mission,  unique  in  the 
series  of  ages,  could  not  have  been  conferred  by  chance,  or 
by  pure  science.  To  accomplish  it,  a  mathematical  relation 
between  the  sublimity  of  the  man  who  undertook  it,  and 
the  incalculable  grandeur  of  his  work,  would  have  been 
absolutely  necessary,  —  a  grandeur  of  which  human  genius, 
even  at  this  day,  cannot  measure  the  compass,  or  ^Doint  out 
the  limits. 

Let  us  sum  up  our  observations  : 

It  is  contrary  to  common  sense  that  incredulity  should 
explain  faith,  and  that  Catholic  genius  should  be  presented 
to  our  regards  by  Protestantism. 

Apart  from  any  details,  a  little  reflection  should  sufiîce  to 
overturn  totally  the  system  of  the  biographers  of  Colum- 
bus ;  and,  therefore,  the  necessity  of  a  new,  full,  and  com- 
plete history  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  has  been 
much  felt.  This  necessity,  which  so  much  resembles  a 
duty,  has  been  deeply  felt  in  the  Eternal  City.  And  we 
proceed  to  respond  to  it,  as  much  for  the  love  of  truth,  as 
for  the  honor  of  our  country  ;  since,  in  real  fact,  as  has 
been  said  by  De  Maistre,  "  Truth  always  needs  France." 


Book    I. 


CHAPTER     I. 

Time  and  Place  of  the  Birth  of  Columbus.  —  5/a/«5  of  his  Family. 
His  Childhood  and  Education.  —  His  first  services  on  Sea. 
His  accidental  landing:  in  Portugal. 


SECTION  I. 

A  DARK  CLOUD  has  been  cast  around  the  cradle 
of  Christopher  Cohmibus.  His  genealogy,  his  true 
country,  and  the  exact  date  of  his  birth,  are  still  matters  of 
discussion  to  the  present  hour,  without  any  of  the  numer- 
ous writings  on  these  topics  having  hitherto  definitively 
elucidated  them.  The  author  of  the  most  popular  history 
of  Columbus,  Washington  Irving,  begins  with  these  lines  : 
"  Nothing  certain  is  known  in  regard  to  the  first  years  of 
Christopher  Columbus.  The  time,  the  place  of  his  birth, 
are  enveloped  in  equal  obscurity.  His  ancestors  are  known 
no  better  ;  and  such  has  been  the  ftitiguing  sterility  of  the 
commentators,  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  the  truth,  in  the 
midst  of  the  mazes  of  conjectures  with  which  it  is  sur- 
rounded." 

And  after  these  words,  in  place  of  j^resenting  his  readers 
with  a  clew  to  bring  them  out  from  this  labyrinth  of  jDer- 
plexities,  he  himself,  in  his  turn,  only  increases  their  embar- 
rassments, in  increasing  their  incertitude. 

As  regards  ourselves,  the  obscurity  which  several  causes 
(47) 


^S  HIS  TORI'  OF  [book  i. 

have  thrown  around  the  bhlh  of  the  man  who  has  doubled 
our  knowledge  of  the  globe,  does  not  a^opear  to  us  to  be 
impenetrable.  As  soon  as  one  is  completely  unconcerned 
about  the  rival  pretensions  of  families,  of  cities,  and  prov- 
inces, who  claim  the  honor  of  having  given  him  birth,  he 
comes  to  recognize  with  certaint}-  the  origin  of  him  whose 
destiny  was  without  equal  in  the  world.  Let  us  endeavor, 
then,  to  fix  definitively  the  time  and  the  place  of  this  birth, 
which  was  attended  with  such  grand  consequences  to  the 
whole  universe. 

It  is  by  the  date  of  the  death  of  Columbus  that  we  come 
to  point  out  precisely  that  of  his  birth.  It  is  known  that 
he  died  in  Valladolid  the  twentieth  of  May,  1506,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-one  years.  He  was  born,  then,  in  1435. 
According  to  the  manuscript  history  of  the  veracious  chron- 
icler, D.  Andres  Bernaldez,  curate  of  Los  Palacios,  who 
had  received  the  Admiral  of  the  Indies  at  his  house,  and 
seen  with  his  own  eyes  his  notes  and  charts,  Columbus 
must  have  been  born  about  1435.  This  date  perfectly  coin- 
cides with  the  one  assigned  by  the  learned  author  of  the 
^ecclesiastical  History  of  Plaisance,  the  canon  Pietro- 
Maria  Campi.  It  is  very  nearly  the  same  date  that  has 
been  assigned  for  his  birth  by  the  last  descendant  of  the 
Colombos  of  Cucarro,  Monseigneur  Luigi  Colombo,  in  the 
work  he  lately  published  in  Rome.  This  date  of  1435, 
adopted  also  by  Navarrete,  was  that  which  was  also  al- 
ready admitted  by  Count  Galeani  Napione.  It  is  the  only 
one  that  is  indubitable.  It  is,  besides,  in  exact  relation 
with  the  principal  events  recorded  by  historians  ;  no  fact 
contradicts  it,  no  document  gainsays  it.  All  the  facts  attest 
its  accuracy.  It  is,  therefore,  right  to  make  it  our  fixed 
point  of  departure  in  our  investigations. 

As  to  the  birthplace  of  Columbus,  we  cannot  conceive 
why  it  has  been  so  long  contested,  and  so  warmly  disputed. 
We  have  been  surprised  at  the  hesitating  tone  hitherto 
adopted  on  this  subject.  It  is  time  to  make  this  hesitation 
give  place  to  a  precise  and  peremptory  affirmation. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^c) 

Columbus  was  born  in  Genoa.* 

His  father  was  a  Genoese  also.  He  was  named  Dom- 
enico,  or  Dominic,  Columbus,  and  was  the  son  of  John  Co- 
lumbus, who  once  resided  at  Qiiinto,  where  he  appears  to 
have  enjoyed  a  certain  degree  of  competency.  The  fact 
of  the  father  of  Christopher  Columbus  being  a  Genoese, 
cannot  be  disputed.  It  is  proved  by  his  own  declarations, 
in  many  authentic  acts,  whose  originals  exist  at  this  day, 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  notary's  offices  of  Savone 
and  Genoa. 

Dominic  was  married  to  a  native  of  the  village  of  Bas- 
sagno,  Susana,  daughter  of  James  Fantanarossa,  who 
brought  him  a  small  fortune.  He  settled  in  Genoa,  first 
in  a  house  that  was  his  own  property  ;  this  house  was  situ- 
ated outside  the  city  walls,  on  the  road  to  Bassagno,  which 
was  near  it.  Dominic  Columbus  possessed,  also,  a  patrimony 
in  the  valley  of  Nura,  and  some  lots  of  land  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Qiiinto.  Nevertheless,  in  order  to  make  up  for 
the  slenderness  of  his  income,  he  carried  on  the  business 
of  wool-combing.  He  had  a  place  for  weaving  cloths,  in 
which  he  employed  a  workman  and  an  apprentice. 

It  was  in  this  house,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  that 
Christopher  Columbus  was  born.  He  was  presented  to  the 
baptismal  font  in  the  ancient  church  of  St.  Stephen,  then 
situated  on  a  little  hill,  and  served  by  Benedictine  priests. 
This  church  is  commonly  called  St.  Stephen  di  Arco.  The 
popular  tradition  which  has  for  the  last  three  hundred 
years  designated  it  as  the  church  in  which  Columbus  was 
baptized,  has,  in  our  days,  been  fully  confirmed. 

The  family  name  of  Columbus  is  Italian  —  Colombo  ;  in 
Latin  it  was  written  Columbus;  later,  in  Spanish,  Colon; 
but  we  follow  the  Latin  orthography,  and  write  it  Co- 
lumbus. 

Some   years   after,   Dominic  Columbus   having   already 


*  De  Lorgues  proves  this  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt;  but  his 
discussion  and  proofs  of  the  matter  arc  too  long  for  our  pages. — B. 
5 


KQ  HIST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

several  children,  considered  it  would  be  for  his  interest  to 
rent  out  his  house  to  one  of  those  tavern-keepers  who  take 
their  stand  near  the  entrance  into  a  city,  and  to  remove  to 
the  quarter  specially  occupied  by  cap-makers,  dyers,  and 
wool-combers.  For  this  purpose  he  leased  a  small  house 
in  INIulcento  Street,  having  a  ground  floor,  besides  a  hall 
lighted  from  the  door,  contiguous  to  which  there  was  an 
apartment  which  could  serve  as  a  shop.  The  old  register 
of  the  Re^Dublic  of  Genoa  showed  this  house  to  be  No.  i66. 
It  belonged  to  the  religious  of  the  Benedictine  order.  Sev- 
eral receipt-books  of  that  community,  which  have  escaped 
the  ravages  of  revolutions,  and  exist  to  this  day,  mention 
the  successive  payments  made  by  Dominic  Columbus. 
The  last  one  that  appears  under  his  name  is  for  the  year 
14S9.  From  this  period,  his  son-in-law,  James  Bavarello, 
leased  the  house  by  virtue  of  an  agreement  entered  into  the 
twentieth  of  July,  1489,  in  the  office  of  the  notary,  Lorenzo 
Costa. 

Mulcento  Street,  narrow,  rugged,  and  steep  as  it  was,, 
was  at  that  time  the  general  quarter  of  cap-makers  and 
workers  in  woollen  cloths.  At  the  jDresent  day,  in  the 
grave  silence  of  its  solitude,  it  presei'ves,  with  some  remains 
of  the  piety  of  its  ancient  inhabitants,  which  are  here  and 
there  incrusted  in  the  doors  or  in  the  old  walls,  —  a  calm 
and  austere  aspect,  which  reminds  us  of  the  simple  and 
strong  faith  of  the  middle  ages. 

Dominic  Columbus  had  four  sons  :  Christopher,  Barthol- 
omew, Pelligrino,  and  James.  He  had  also  a  daughter, 
who,  expecting  no  better  fortune,  married  a  pork-butcher 
of  the  vicinity,  named  James  Bavarello,  the  obscurity  of 
whose  condition,  when  living,  withdrew  him  from  the 
notice  of  history.  Pelligrino  died  soon  after  he  came  to 
his  majority.  He  worked  at  the  trade  of  his  father.  Most 
writers  have  forgotten,  or  been  ignorant  of,  his  existence. 

It  is  certain  that  the  ancestors  of  Columbus  belonged  to 
the  nobility. 

In  the  veins  of  the  wool-comber  there  flowed  very  pure 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  -i 

blood.  His  ancestors  descended  from  a  niilitarv  stock, 
originally  come  from  Lombard}',  the  collateral  branches  of 
which  had  taken  root  in  Piedmont,  and  on  the  Plaisantin  ; 
whilst  others,  transplanted  into  Liguria,  found  themselves 
obliged  to  turn  to  naval  affairs,  and  to  trading.  Undoubt- 
edly, in  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  there  existed 
several  Colombos,  united  by  ancient  parentage  ;  but  their 
conditions  becoming  widely  diverse,  their  relations  to  each 
other  partook  of  their  diflcrence  of  rank.  Some  attained 
high  positions  by  their  services  or  their  fortune,  whilst  others 
occupied  only  secondary  positions,  or  were  even  ignored 
in  marine  traffic.  Such  were  the  parents  of  John  Anthony 
Colombo,  who  served  in  the  Indies  in  quality  of  Captain, 
under  the  Admiral  of  the  Ocean.  Others,  still,  inhabiting 
the  market-towns  of  Liguria,  attended  to  the  cultivation  of 
their  small  farms.  It  was  these  bonds  of  parentage,  and 
of  vicinity,  that  gave  occasion  to  the  pretensions  that  after- 
wards arose  in  regard  to  the  true  country  of  Christopher 
Columbus. 

The  coat-of-arms  of  the  Columbuses  bore  three  argent 
doves,  surmounted  by  the  emblem  of  justice,  and  having, 
as  a  device,  these  three  words  :  Fides,  Spes,  Charitas  ; 
Faith,  Hope,  Charit}'.  Except  in  slight  shades  of  differ- 
ence, these  arms  were  common  to  the  several  branches  of 
the  ancient  Lombardian  family. 

Several  writers  have  advanced  the  opinion  that  at  Genoa 
the  business  of  a  wool-comber  did  not  derogate  from  one's 
nobility.  We  have  not  been  able,  to  verify  the  value  of  this 
assertion.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  importance  ac- 
quired by  the  body  corporate  of  wool-combers  in  Liguria, 
we  doubt  whether  a  gentleman  of  noble  descent  would 
have  the  desire  to  become  aggregated  with  it.  But  it  is 
certain  that  a  tradition  of  dignity,  of  lovalty,  and  of  honor 
existed  under  the  roof  of  the  artisan  ;  and  that  whether  or 
not  he  had  borne  the  arms  of  his  ancestors,  Dominic 
Columbus  always  appeared  to  bear  them  in  his  mind  and 
in  his  conduct.     He  made   his   family  models  of  sanctity 


rs  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

and  of  duty.  Respect,  filial  i^iet^y,  fraternal  aftection,  mod- 
esty in  prosperity,  courage  in  adversity,  magnanimity, 
Christian  purity,  —  such  were  the  examples  which  the 
wool-comber  gave  to  the  world.  And  he  whose  limited 
means  obliged  him  to  marry  his  daughter  to  a  pork- 
butcher,  knew,  before  leaving  this  world,  that  the  eldest 
of  his  sons  had  enlarged  its  known  space,  and  that  he 
was  Grand  Admiral  and  Viceroy.  It  was  in  his  children 
that  it  pleased  God  to  bless  this  industrious  old  man, 
who,  like  another  Jacob,  after  having  counted,  in  the  long 
years  of  his  pilgrimage,  some  good  days,  some  evil  days 
(and  the  latter  were  the  most  numerous),  sees  himself  with 
complaisance,  at  the  end  of  his  course,  live  again  in  a  son 
who  is  invested  with  splendor  and  transcendent  glory. 

In  beginning  to  write  this  history,  we  love  to  salute  at 
first  the  respectable  image  of  this  artisan,  because  he  hum- 
bly served  God  and  his  country,  labored  diligently,  did 
for  the  education  of  his  children  all  that  his  circumstances 
permitted,  and  did  not  raise  them  egotistically  for  himself, 
but  generously  knew  how  to  let  them  depart  from  him  in 
his  old  age. 

Never  has  the  wool-comber  of  Mulcento  Street  hitherto 
received  a  word  of  approbation  from  the  biographers  of 
his  son.  They  have  limited  themselves  to  saving,  "  The 
parents  of  Columbus  were  poor,  but  honest."  The  certifi- 
cate of  morality  given  by  the  Protestant  school  would 
have  been  somewhat  disparaging,  if  it  were  not  ridicu- 
lous. Is  it  that  honesty  alone  could  have  produced  the 
example  of  those  three  sons,  who,  always  respectful  and 
grateful,  knew,  notwithstanding  their  straitened  circum- 
stances, how  to  solace  the  old  age  of  their  father,  who, 
faithfull}'  united  among  themselves,  were  up  to  the  level 
of  the  most  difficult  enterprises,  as  well  as  the  most  ele- 
vated positions  ;  who  supported  grandeui's  as  naturally  as 
they  did  reverses,  and  who  never  faltered  in  their  duty 
on  any  occasion.?  Do  we  observe  here  nothing  above  sim- 
ple morality?     Do  we  not  perceive  there  the  essence  of 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  53 

nobility,  of  virtue?  Besides,  had  not  the  noble  origin  of  the 
wool-conibcr  been  proved,  the  influence  of  his  example 
should  suffice  to  testify  that  an  exalted  tradition  was  perpet- 
uated at  his  fireside,  which  revealed  the  nobility  of  his  race, 
struggling  against  the  misfortunes  of  life,  and  the  monotony 
and  the  fatigue  of  daily  labors. 

Although  he  saw  them  destined  to  the  labor  of  their 
hands,  the  honest  wool-comber  wished  to  give  his  children 
all  the  education  his  scanty  means  permitted.  Struck  with 
the  intelligence  of  his  eldest  son,  he  resolved  to  second  his 
abilities,  and  give  him  the  most  complete  education  that 
was  then  given.  He  sent  him  to  the  Universit}'  of  Pavia, 
where  his  extreme  youth  was,  no  doubt,  patronized  by 
some  member  of  his  family,  which,  as  we  have  said,  was 
originally  from  Lombardy.  Christopher,  at  that  time,  was 
scarcely  ten  years  old.  It  was  a  very  tender  age  for  such 
laborious  studies  as  natural  philosophy,  astrology,  and 
EXTKAOKDiXARY  PHILOSOPHY,  —  the  teaching  of  which 
rendered  that  University  celebrated. 

Learned  researches  have  been  made  to  know  who  the 
masters  were  from  whom  the  boy  learned  the  elements  of 
the  sciences.  It  has  been  forgotten  that  the  science  of  these 
masters  could  have  profited  him  but  little,  for  he  studied 
only  fi-om  the  age  of  nine  to  twelve  years.  At  fourteen  he 
was  already  gone  to  sea  ;  and  we  know  that  between  his 
leaving  the  Universit}-  and  his  maritime  enrolment,  he 
passed  some  time  as  an  apprentice,  learning  the  trade  of 
his  father.  We  do  not  question  the  merit  of  these  profes- 
sors ;  and  we  will  take  care  not  to  seek,  as  others  have  had 
the  curiosity  to  do,  what  influence  they  exercised  on  him. 

What  is  certain  is,  that  he  was  attentive  to  the  lessons  of 
those  masters  who  arc  at  present  unknown  ;  and  that  from 
his  assiduity  and  precocious  intellect  he  derived  fruits 
enough  to  utilize  afterwards  these  elementary  studies. 
Having  prematurely  quitted  the  University,  —  no  doubt  be- 
cause the  resources  of  his  father  had  failed,  —  he  returned 
to  Genoa,  to  work  at  his  trade  and  labor  with  his  father. 
5* 


54  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Many  persons  will  not  believe  this  ;  but  history  is  jDOsi- 
tive  in  regard  to  it.  After  quitting  the  University  benches, 
he  labored  as  a  workman  with  his  father  and  his  brother 
Bartholomew.  The  instruction  he  received  at  Pavia  did 
not  amount  to  much.  The  little  science  that  he  learned 
at  the  Lombardian  University  is  shown  by  historians.  He 
himself,  avows  it,  and  Humboldt  demonstrates  it.  This 
view  is  further  confirmed  by  other  writers,  quoted  by  M. 
De  Lorgnes. 

SECTION  II. 

After  leaving  the  narrow  and  gloomy  streets  of  Genoa, 
if  one  mounts  on  the  ramparts,  or  if  he  ascends  the  rugged 
mountains  that  overtop  and  surround  it  on  every  side,  leav- 
ing it  no  outlet  but  to  the  Mediterranean,  constraining  it,  as 
it  were,  to  tend  that  way,  he  is  dazzled  by  the  light  vibrat- 
ing the  transparency  of  the  air,  impregnated  with  fragrant 
odors.  The  bright  azure  of  the  waves  playing  on  the 
shores  of  an  enchanting  basin,  and  the  splendid  views  pf 
the  Ligurian  Gulf,  elevate  the  soul  in  transporting  thought 
to  other  places,  beneath  other  skies.  One  feels  that,  not- 
withstanding its  magnificence,  the  enclosure  of  the  marble 
city  suflices  not  for  the  imagination  of  its  children.  He 
understands  that,  in  fact,  the  sea  is  the  life,  the  support,  and 
the  force  of  that  city.  A  general  attraction  disposed  the 
young  men  of  Genoa  to  the  adventures  of  the  sea.  Chris- 
topher Columbus,  whom  an  enlightened  love  of  Nature 
carried  to  the  contemplation  of  the  divine  works,  and 
whom  a  secret  instinct  urged  to  the  study  of  geography, 
r  preferred  the  sea  to  the  sedentaiy  and  monotonous  labors 
^  of  the  family.  A  particular  reason  might  have  determined 
him  in  the  choice  of  such  a  career.  Since  the  loss  of  their 
possessions  in  Lombardy,  almost  all  his  ancestors  sought 
their  fortune  on  sea.  Some  men  of  his  name,  and  of  his 
blood,  had  become  illustrious  in  naval  service.  Besides, 
the  way  of  the  sea  was  the  only  road  to  fortune  and  to 
I       glory  for  the  Genoese. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  55 

At  this  period  navigation  was  in  a  rude  condition.  In- 
stallation on  shipboard  made  no  concessions  to  the  conve- 
niences of  life.  Space  was  economized  with  great  strict- 
ness. The  merchant  ship  was  forced  to  become  somewhat 
warlike  in  appearance.  It  restricted  itself  to  keep  the 
defensive;  but,  exposcdto  the  jDiratcs  of  every  nation,  and 
to  the  most  unexpected  attacks,  it  was  armed,  and  ready  to 
give  an  answer  when  needed.  Notwithstanding  his  small 
scientific  stock  brought  from  the  University  of  Pavia,  the 
young  student  was  obliged,  according  to  the  usages  of  that 
period,  to  commence  his  naval  apprenticeship  as  a  cabin- 
boy.  Unheeded  in  a  subaltern  rank,  it  was  long  practice, 
close  observation,  and  experience,  that  alone  gave  him  a 
theoretical  knowledge  of  the  sea.  Trained  in  this  rugged 
scljool,  the  knowledge  of  arms  became  as  familiar  to  him 
as  that  of  the  winds  and  of  naval  manœuvres.  Undoubtedly 
he  derived  from  the  frequency  of  dangers  from  waves  and 
from  men,  and  from  the  frequency  of  complications  the 
most  unexpected  and  the  most  terrible,  that  coolness  and 
promptitude  of  resolution,  that  surety  of  glance,  and  that 
firmness  and  precision  in  commanding,  which,  on  sea, 
insures  the  safety  of  ships. 

We  know  he  traversed  the  whole  extent  of  the  ^lediter- 
ranean  ;  navigated  in  the  Levant,  —  at  that  pei^iod  infested 
with  the  pirates  of  the  Archipelago,  the  Mahometan  cor- 
sairs, and  the  freebooters  of  the  Barbary  States.  In  one  of 
the  combats,  which  has  not  been  retraced  by  history,  he 
received  a  deep  wound,  the  cicatrix  of  which,  though  long 
forgotten,  reopened  towards  his  latter  years,  and  endan- 
gered his  life.  Exposed  to  the  most  perilous  hazards,  he 
passed  several  years  on  the  waves,  during  which  period  we 
have  no  account  of  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life.  The  first 
time  that  a  historic  document  permits  us  to  alight  on  his 
trace,  he  is  sailing  under  the  French  flag.  But  already 
he  is  a  seaman,  and  one  of  the  ofiiccrs  of  the  famous  Co- 
lombo, his  grand-uncle,  who  commanded  a  fleet  for  King 
René,  against  the  Kingdom  of  Naples,  in  1459. 


^6  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Towards  this  period,  Christopher,  the  intelligent  élevé  of 
that  noble  and  experienced  commander,  became,  in  his 
turn,  master  of  a  ship.  King  René  gave  him  a  command 
in  an  expedition  that  required  uncommon  boldness  and 
ability.  The  object  in  view  was  to  go  to  Tunis  and  bear 
away  the  Fcrnandlne^  a  galley  of  the  first  rank.  When 
he  was  in  the  waters  of  San  Pietro,  in  Sardinia,  it  was 
learned  that  the  Fernandine  was  convoyed  by  two  vessels 
and  a  carack  ;  this  disprojDortion  of  forces  so  much  troubled 
the  seamen,  that,  getting  into  a  state  of  revolt,  they  refused 
going  further,  and  determined  to  return  to  Marseilles. 
Whatever  eloquence  Columbus  may  have  used,  he  was  not 
able  to  overcome  their  fear  ;  and  as  he  had  no  material 
means  of  making  himself  obeyed,  he  had  recourse  to 
stratagem.  The  evening  being  come,  he  turned  the  needle, 
and  caused  the  sails  to  be  unfurled.  The  seamen,  reassured, 
thought  they  sailed  for  Marseilles  ;  but  the  next  morning, 
at  daybreak,  the  vessel  hove  in  sight  of  Carthagena,  with- 
out any  of  the  malcontents  suspecting  the  route  they  had 
taken.  This  act  of  his  youth,  related  incidentally  by  him- 
self at  the  time  that  he  was  grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean, 
paints  well  his  character.  We  there  recognize  his  intre- 
pidity, his  resolution,  his  address  ;  how  little  he  allowed  him- 
self to  be  stopped  by  obstacles  that  come  from  men  ;  if  he 
cannot  surmount  them,  he  goes  round  them  ;  and  the  obe- 
dience which  he  cannot  obtain  openly,  he  gains  possession 
of  and  conquers  by  his  ability. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  after  having  obtained  a  com- 
mand, Columbus,  during  the  four  years  King  René  em- 
ployed in  the  attempt  of  making  a  conquest  of  Naples, 
continued  to  serve  him.  It  was  particularly  on  sea  that 
René  gained  the  greatest  advantages,  and  that  he  had 
longest  to  sustain  the  struggle. 

It  appears  certain  that,  afterwards,  Columbus  continued 
to  navigate,  sometimes  alone,  and  sometimes  with  one  or 
the  other  of  the  Colombos,  his  kinsmen.  The  last  day  of 
his  naval  military  life  was  marked  by  a  dramatic  circum- 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  c*j 

stance,  the  consequences  of  which  incline  us  to  believe 
that  this  event  did  not  occur  but  by  a  special  interposition 
of  Providence,  in  favor  of  him  who  was  afterwards  to  be 
his  peaceful  and  faithful  servant. 

If  Colombo,  the  old  Genoese  Admiral,  was  greatly  re- 
nowned, Colombo  the  younger,  his  nephew,  was  not  less 
celebrated  in  the  Mediterranean,  since  he  there  commanded 
a  squadron  against  the  Mahometans.  This  circumstance, 
no  doubt,  led  Christopher  to  attach  himself  to  him  ;  for,  in 
the  midst  of  the  turmoils  of  his  youth,  he  preserved  alive 
the  faith,  —  the  germ  of  which  w^as  developed  in  his  heart 
b}^  joarental  example.  Besides,  the  ardor  of  the  Genoese 
against  the  Mahometans  was  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Not  far  from  the  gateway  of  St.  Andrew,  and  from 
!Mulcento  Street,  in  which  Dominic  Columbus  resided,  we 
still,  at  this  day,  see  the  street  of  the  jSIoor-slayers,  —  via  de 
j\Iata?}io}'as. 

Concurrent,  then,  with  the  fortunes  of  his  kinsman  Col- 
ombo //  mozo,  or  the  younger,  Christopher,  having  quitted 
the  seas  of  the  Levant,  embarked  as  an  officer  in  a  vessel 
cruising  near  the  coast  of  Portugal,  to  wait  there  for  some 
Venetian  vessels,  with  rich  cargoes.  Having  given  them 
chase,  he  attacked  them  at  daybreak,  between  Lisbon  and 
Cape  St.  Vincent.  The  Venetians  defended  themselves 
with  iiitrepedity  ;  the  combat  lasted  until  evening  ;  and  the 
fury  was  equal  on  both  sides.  Towards  nightfall,  the  Ve- 
netian ship  took  fire  ;  this  vessel  was  hooked  by  grappling 
irons  to  the  one  commanded  by  Columbus,  to  which  it  was 
held  so  fast  by  iron  chains,  that  it  became  impossible  to 
separate  them.  The  fire  spread  rapidly  from  one  ship  to 
the  other.  All  the  wooden  pumps  were  vainly  put  in  play. 
Soon  the  two  ships  were  burnt,  presenting  the  aspect  of  a 
horrible  furnace.  Now,  friends  and  enemies  have  no  other 
resource  but  the  sea:  Genoese  and  Venetians  dart  into  it; 
but  the  danger  had  only  changed  its  form.  The  waves 
spread  out  a  distance  of  two  leagues  before  becoming  spent 
on  the  nearest  coast. 


58  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

After  a  whole  day  of  fighting,  strength  naturally  became 
exhausted.  How  able  soever  a  swimmer  Christopher  may 
have  been,  he  would  inevitably  have  perished  had  not 
Providence  aided  him.  The  waves  pushed  near  his  hand 
one  of  those  large  oars,  at  that  time  still  used  to  supply 
the  want  of  sails  during  calms.  By  means  of  this  support 
he  was  somewhat  able  to  rest  himself,  maintain  himself  on 
the  surface,  and  thus  reach  the  shore.  After  having  thanked 
God  for  his  safety,  he  succeeded,  with  the  aid  of  public 
charity,  in  reaching  Lisbon,  where  he  knew  he  should  find 
many  of  his  countrymen.  Among  these,  he  had  the  sweet 
satisfaction  of  findinsf  his  brother  Bartholomew. 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  39 


CHAPTER    II. 

Stay  of  Columbus  in  Lisbon.  —  His  Marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  a  Navigator.  —  His  Voyages  to  the  Canaries,  the  Azores,  and 
the  African  Coasts.  —  His  Propositions  of  Discovery  to  Genoa, 
to  Venice,  to  Portugal.  —  Oflers  of  the  King.  —  His  Noble  Re- 
fusal. —  His  Return  to  Italy.  —  His  Departure  for  Spain. 


SECTION  I. 

ALREADY,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  Portugal,  too 
narrow  in  her  territorial  limits,  sought  an  extension 
of  them  by  sea.  She  had  augmented  her  domain  by  several 
islands  far  from  known  shores,  in  the  bosom  of  the  ocean. 
This  success  did  not  represent  the  sum  of  the  eflbrts  of 
many  reigns.  It  was  solely  owing  to  the  patronage  of  a 
prince,  who,  though  placed  near  the  throne,  did  not  aspire 
to  it  ;  his  only  ambition  being  to  serve  God  and  his  country. 

A  French  philosopher  has  justly  remarked,  that  all  the 
great  navigators  have  been  Christians.  The  prince  who 
gave  the  lirst  impulse  to  the  navigation  of  the  ocean,  was  a 
true  Catholic. 

Don  Henry,  son  of  King  John,  and  Grand  Master  of  the 
Order  of  Christ,  wished  to  procure  for  his  knights  glory 
in  this  world,  and  eternal  felicity  in  the  next.  While  yet 
very  young,  he  distinguished  himself  against  the  Moors,  in 
Africa,  on  the  walls  of  Ceuta  ;  at  a  later  period,  he  judged 
it  would  be  better  to  convert  than  to  slay  them.  Notwith- 
standing his  quality  of  Grand  Master  of  an  order  instituted 
to  light  against  the  Mahometans,  the  enemies  of  the  law  of 
Jesus  Christ,  he  considered  he  was  more  obliged  to  subju- 
gate them  to  the  sweetness  of  that  yoke,  than  to  extend  the 


6o  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

states  of  the  kings,  his  ancestors.  He  thought  of  carrying 
the  Gospel  to  the  Moors,  and  to  the  idolaters  who  peopled 
the  shores  of  Western  Africa,  which  were  but  little  known 
at  that  time. 

Some  partial  discoveries  were  made  under  the  auspices 
of  Don  Henry.  The  Holy  See  naturally  encouraged  these 
discoveries,  the  twofold  object  of  which  was  the  knowledge 
of  the  earth,  and  the  propagation  of  Christianity.  To  give 
the  zeal  of  the  prince  a  pledge  of  his  good-will,  the  Holy 
Father  conferred  on  the  Crown  of  Portugal  the  right  of 
primacy  over  all  the  barbarous  countries  it  should  discover 
from  Cape  Bajador  to  the  East  Indies.  And  at  the  same 
time  that  he  menaced  with  the  denunciations  of  the  Church 
whosoever  should  dare  to .  thwart  these  beneficent  expedi- 
tions, the  Holy  Father  granted  a  plenary  indulgence  to  all 
those  who,  in  making  part  of  them,  should  perish  in  fulfill- 
ing the  conditions  of  it.  If  the  capital  of  the  Christian 
world  applauded  these  efforts,  the  maritime  cities  of  Italy, 
and  the  republics  of  the  coasts,  became  concerned  about 
them,  but  from  other  motives,  seeing  that  their  interests 
were  threatened. 

The  death  of  Prince  Henry  weakened  the  imj^ulse  given 
to  the  spirit  of  discovery.  Meanwhile,  Lisbon  was  still  the 
city  of  maritime  progress.  It  was  there  that  the  ablest 
shipwrights  were  found  ;  that  the  best  planispheres  and 
works  on  astronomy  were  sold,  that  atlases,  and  the  most 
exact  marine  charts,  were  executed,  and  where  the  most 
capable  pilots  were  most  numerous.  The  name  of  Pilot, 
at  that  time,  meant  every  naval  officer  who  was  not  the 
captain  of  a  ship.  It  was  applied  even  to  captains  of  the 
second  order  in  the  navy.  A  very  large  number  of  mar- 
iners, whom  the  munificence  of  the  prince  mathematician 
attracted  to  Lisbon,  still  continued  their  residence  there, 
notwithstanding  the  loss  of  their  liberal  patron. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  Bartholomew  Colum- 
bus, the  brother  of  Christopher,  should  have  settled  there, 
in  order  to  turn  to  account  his  talents  in  geography,  the 


CHAP  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  6 1 

preeminence  of  which  cannot  be  denied.  His  nephew, 
Don  Fernando,  whose  great  modesty  always  disposed  him 
to  lessen  the  merits  of  his  family,  while  saying  that  he  was 
not  highly  educated,  is  obliged  to  acknowledge  his  superior 
judgment,  and  his  art  in  the  construction  of  spheres. 

While  waiting  for  better  things,  Bartliolomew  Columbus 
made  his  talent  for  geography  sufficiently  lucrative.  It  was 
with  the  greatest  happiness  that  he  opened  his  house  to 
his  shipwrecked  brother.  He  felt  great  tenderness  and 
respect  for  him  as  his  eldest  brother.  He  endeavored  to 
keep  him  always  by  him.  Nevertheless,  this  hospitality 
did  not  become  onerous  to  him.  Christopher  wrote  a  beau- 
tiful hand  ;  and  he  used  the  crayon  and  the  pencil  with  no 
less  ability  than  he  did  the  pen.  He  also  drew  charts  and 
plans,  occupied  himself  with  copying  manuscripts  and  tran- 
scribing rare  books,  because,  though  the  invention  of  j^rint- 
ing  was  then  known  in  Portugal,  typography  was  at  that 
time  in  its  infancy;  good  printers  could  not  be  easily  found, 
and  therefore  books  commanded  high  prices.  And  as  his 
love  for  geography  and  inclination  for  study  had  made  him 
familiar  with  the  w'orks  that  were  most  esteemed  by  the 
reading  community  of  Lisbon,  he  bought  them  up  to  re-sell 
again,  as  occasion  might  require,  and  thus  carried  on  a  small 
traffic  in  books.  By  these  means  he  not  only  provided  for 
his  own  needs,  but  by  economy,  and  the  self-denial  his  filial 
tenderness  imposed  on  him,  he  was  enabled  to  sweeten  the 
old  age  of  his  father,  to  whom  fortune  had  not  been  favor- 
able. The  historian  Gonzalo  Fernandez  de  Oviedo,  his 
enemy,  bears  testimony  that  at  Lisbon,  and  wherever  else 
he  was,  "  he  always  took  care  to  provide  for  the  wants  of 
his  father,"  notwithstanding  the  embarrassments  of  his  own 
situation.  The  engaging  manners  of  Christopher  easily 
introduced  him  to  seafaring  men,  and  caused  him  to  be 
warmly  welcomed  by  many  Genoese  merchants  who  had 
settled  in  Lisbon.  He  never  forgot  the  kindness  of  his  coun- 
trymen, Antonio  Vazo  and  Luigi  Centurio  Escoto.  He 
remembered  the  good  offices  of  Paulo  de  Negro,  as  well  as 
6 


63  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

the  assiduous  attentions  of  the  sons  of  Nicolao  Espindola, 
and  he  paid  their  benevolence  with  immortality,  in  trans- 
mitting to  us  the  obscure  names  of  these  estimable  mer- 
chants. 

Dating  from  his  sojourn  in  Lisbon,  except  some  short 
phases,  the  principal  events  of  his  life  are  shown  us  in  an  un- 
interrupted order,  and  remain  fully  open  to  investigation. 
Properly  speaking,  it  is  here  his  history  commences. 

After  his  almost  miraculous  landing  in  Portugal,  the  first 
fact  we  notice  connected  with  him  concerns  his  habits  of 
piety.  His  edifj'ing  assiduity  in  its  offices  had  as  a  conse- 
quence the  great  event  of  his  life,  which  was  the  j^ropitious 
occasion  of  his  genius  becoming  developed,  his  compara- 
tive faculties  enlarged,  his  being  confirmed  in  his  vocation, 
and  of  his  holding  communications  with  the  learned  and 
the  great  of  the  earth. 

SECTION  II. 

Columbus  having  then  finished  his  thirty-third  year,  had 
attained  the  completion  of  his  physical  vigor  and  of  his 
intellectual  endowments.  His  tall  stature  gave  his  robust 
constitution  a  manly  elegance,  which  naturally  assorted  with 
his  character.  His  long  visage  presented  a  pure  oval.  Al- 
though his  cheek  bones  were  high,  his  rounded  cheeks 
softened  their  contours.  The  noble  largeness  of  his  forehead 
indicated  that  of  his  thought.  In  his  light  blue  eyes  there 
beamed  a  limpid  sei'enity.  His  nose  was  aquiline.  Some 
freckles  on  his  cheeks  gave  his  ruddy  complexion  an  ani- 
mated cast.  Under  the  influence  of  a  sole  thought  for  three 
years,  his  hair,  which  was  blond,  inclining  to  chestnut, 
began  to  turn  gray. 

His  airs  in  natural  relation  with  his  gestures,  and  his 
gestures  so  conformable  to  his  stature,  formed  a  perfect 
union  between  his  physical  and  his  moral  constitution. 
His  mien  and  manners  revealed  an  innate  dignity  that 
could  not  be  doubted.  Nothwithstanding  his  modest  exte- 
rior, he  could  nowhere  pass  without  being  noticed. 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  63 

To  a  rare  fineness  of  hearing,  he  joined  a  keenness  of 
sight  that  reached  far,  and  gave  him  an  exact  knowledge 
of  distances.  His  delicacy  of  taste  enabled  him  to  point 
out  differences  that  were  imperceptible  to  common  people. 
But  all  these  advantages  yielded  to  his  delicacy  of  smell, 
which  discerned  immediately  the  diverse  combinations  of 
odors.  He  admired  with  tenderness  the  works  of  the 
Creator,  sought  with  eagerness  for  flowers,  birds,  and  the 
productions  of  the  sea,  and  enjoyed  in  a  special  manner 
the  odors  of  vegetation. 

Plain  in  his  clothing,  Columbus  had  no  other  finery  of 
dress  than  cleanliness.  In  this  he  was  exquisite.  To  the 
absence  of  stains  or  rents,  or  negligence  in  his  clothing, 
which  he  knew  how  to  preserve  a  long  time,  he  endeavored 
to  join  whiteness,  and  often  fineness  of  linen,  always  slightly 
perfumed.  His  attraction  for  sweet  scents  never  became 
weakened.  He  delighted  in  odoriferous  flowers,  bal- 
samic gums,  perfumes  in  essence  and  in  powders,  and  in 
scented  waters. 

This  elegance  of  taste  was  natural  to  him,  like  his  ability 
in  horsemanship.  His  sole  visage  showed  his  nobleness  of 
mind,  and  a  certain  air  of  authorit}-  that  struck  intelligent 
eyes.     His  whole  demeanor  denoted  the  perfect  gentleman. 

Although  from  the  age  of  fourteen  Columbus  had  been 
always  at  sea,  or  sojourning  in  the  ports  with  the  seamen, 
he  did  not  particij^ate  in  their  ordinary  vices.  He  detested 
swearing  and  indecent  songs  ;  drank  but  little  wine  ;  could 
not  bear  games  of  chance  ;  despised  effeminate  pleasures  ; 
had  no  inclination  for  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and  kept 
on  land  his  frugal  habits  on  shipboard.  His  extreme  fru- 
gality made  him  prefer  an  almost  vegetable  regimen.  He 
passed  easily  from  the  use  of  meats  to  live  on  bread,  rice, 
eggs,  fresh  vegetables,  dates,  etc.  To  wine  he  preferred, 
as  a  drink,  water  sweetened  with  Canary  sugar  and  some 
drops  of  orange-flower. 

This  frugality  was  accomjoanied  with  a  habit  of  order,  of 
arrangement  and  of  punctuality,  which  prevented  him  from 


64  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

putting  off  until  to-morrow  what  should  be  done  to-day. 
He  knew  the  value  of  time.  He  was  never  seen  acting  at 
random,  or  outside  of  the  dictates  of  duty  or  of  good  sense. 
In  nothing  did  he  stop  at  the  good,  if  he  expected  to  be 
able  to  arrive  at  the  better. 

Affectionate  to  his  relations  and  friends,  affable  to  those 
about  him,  showing  his  inferiors  the  kindness  of  superioritv, 
graced  with  an  urbanity  which  is  not  learned  on  shipboard, 
his  ease  of  elocution,  the  graphic  turn  of  his  images,  his 
expressions,  often  hardy,  but  always  happy,  rendered  his 
conversation  attractive. 

Notwithstanding  this  habitual  suavity,  Columbus  was  by 
nature  impatient,  and  inclined  to  anger.  But  this  first  im- 
pulse never  injured  anybody  but  himself.  Reflection,  not 
less  sudden  than  the  transport,  mastered  the  latter,  and 
effectually  repressed  its  sallies.  It  would  appear  that  this 
extreme  irritability  was  given  him  as  a  test,  an  occasion, 
to  strive  against  himself;  to  subdue  his  natural  inclination  ; 
to  overcome  this  internal  obstacle  before  surmounting  exte- 
rior ones.  Trials  calculated  to  produce  the  greatest  impa- 
tience were  the  lot  of  him  who  was  to  be  a  model  of 
patience  itself,  in  order  to  accomplish  his  ever-enduring 
work. 

Remembering  his  father's  example,  and  his  mother's  pious 
recommendations,  Christopher  preserved  on  shipboard  the 
Christian  habits  of  his  childhood.  We  know,  from  his  own 
testimony,  how  much  the  sea  was  an  inexhaustible  source 
of  his  aspirations  towards  God.  From  his  ai'rival  in  Lisbon, 
he  went  regularly  every  morning  to  mass  in  the  church  of 
All  Saints,  adjoining  a  convent  of  nuns.  His  air  of  dis- 
tinction, and  the  piety  of  his  demeanor,  were  remarked 
through  the  grating  of  the  cloister.  A  noble  young  lady 
who  was  there  among  the  boarders,  took  the  most  lively 
interest  in  him.  Wishing  absolutely  to  become  acquainted 
with  him,  her  tender  curiosity  invented  a  means  of  doing  so. 

Her  name  was  Doiâa  FelijDp'a'Perestrello.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Bartholomew  Mognis  de  Perestrello,  an  Italian 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  65 

gentleman  naturalized  in  Portugal,  an  old  officer  in  the 
king's  household,  one  of  the  proteges  of  Prince  Hcniy, 
and  who,  in  his  quality  of  regular  mariner,  had  been  in 
the  last  expeditions  of  discovery.  In  recompense  for  his 
maritime  services,  the  patronizer  of  the  navigation,  Don 
Henry,  had  him  a^Dpointed  governor  of  Porto  Santo,  and 
authorized  him  to  colonize  that  island,  where  large  posses- 
sions were  granted  him  in  perpetuity.  Yet,  because  he 
was  deficient  in  sufficient  capital,  the  colonization  scheme 
was  fettered  from  the  commencement.  The  agricultural 
works  were  arrested  from  a  cause  as  serious  as  it  was 
ridiculous.  Some  rabbits  that  w^ere  taken  to  the  island, 
in  a  short  time  multiplied  to  such  an  extent  that  the  raj^idity 
of  their  propagation  far  exceeded  the  destruction  of  them  by 
the  colonists,  as  yet  too  few  in  number.  These  little  quad- 
rupeds would  eat  all  the  vegetables,  destroying  at  night  the 
plantations,  and  marring  the  efforts  of  the  laborers. 

T'he  government  of  Porto  Santo  scarcely  brought  Peres- 
trello  anything  but  cares  and  expenses.  He  died,  ruined 
by  the  sterile  extent  of  his  domains,  leaving  with  his  widow 
three  daughters,  whose  graces  and  virtues  constituted  their 
principal  fortune. 

This  want  of  fortune  did  not  prevent  Columbus  from 
oflering  his  hand  to  Doua  Felippa.  From  the  time  of  the 
oiler  until  the  marriage  there  elapsed  a  pretty  long  interval, 
l)robably  in  order  that  the  widow  of  Perestrello  should  have 
time  to  make  full  inquiries  about  her  future  son-in-law,  and 
take  precautions  against  her  daughter's  marrying  a  person 
of  inferior  rank.  This  circumstance  shows  us  once  more 
that,  notwithstanding  the  trade  of  his  fiither,  Columbus 
descended  from  an  ancient  stock.  Not  only  did  the  mar- 
riage take  place  with  the  consent  of  the  Perestrello  family, 
but  after  the  union  of  the  tw^o  spouses  the  mother-in-law 
took  them  to  reside  with  her  in  her  own  dwelling. 

Christopher   continued    to  work  at  his  chai'ts   and   his 
manuscripts  to  gain  their   daily  bread,  the  marriage  por- 
tion oi  his  wife  being  scarcely  sufficient  for  their  living. 
6* 


66  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Nevertheless,  the  rank  his  father-in-law  had  occupied,  and 
the  relations  arising  from  that  honorable  alliance,  gave  him 
access  to  the  highest  quarters.  One  circumstance,  until 
this  day  unrecorded  by  biographers,  attests  it  beyond  doubt. 
King  Alphonsus  V.,  who,  without  undertaking  maritime 
expeditions,  still,  from  tradition  and  instinct,  interested 
himself  about  naval  affairs,  cheerfully  admitted  into  his 
presence  this  foreign  pilot,  whose  conversation  captivated 
him.  ■  Columbus  spoke  to  him  about  the  natural  sciences 
and  maritime  adventures.  One  day,  at  the  end  of  a  conver- 
sation on  cosmographie  affairs,  and  perhaps  to  confirm  the 
Genoese  in  his  ideas,  the  King  showed  him  some  reeds  of 
an  enormous  size,  foreign  to  any  climate  of  Europe,  which 
a  storm  had  driven  on  the  shore  of  the  Azores.  This  fact, 
apparently  insignificant,  was  still  very  explicative. 

Although  the  idea  of  his  plan  was  not  developed  in  a 
complete  manner  until  the  fourth  year  of  his  sojourn  in 
Portugal,  we  can  asseil  that  he  had  already  conceived  the 
project  of  examining  the  whole  of  this  earth  ;  for  this  man 
never  was  inconsistent  with  himself.  In  examining  into 
the  secret  of  his  life,  we  find  him  always  the  same.  That 
which  he  was  in  his  advanced  age,  he  was  in  his  youth. 
The  time  of  his  birth  is  known  only  by  that  of  his  death  ; 
the  movements  of  his  youth  are  known  only  by  the  revela- 
tions of  his  adult  age  ;  and  we  do  not  fully  know  the  ideas 
of  his  mature  age  but  by  the  thoughts  of  his  last  years.  He 
has  written  that  he  who  follows  the  business  of  navigating 
the  sea,  feels  the  desire  of  jDenetrating  into  the  secrets  of  the 
world.  This  declaration  of  his  old  age  tells  us  of  the  pre- 
occupations of  his  adult  age  as  well  as  those  of  his  youth. 
Here  we  have  an  involuntary  disclosure  of  those  long  years 
he  passed  on  sen,  without  material  profit  to  his  fortune. 

How  wonderful  are  the  ways  in  which  Providence  acts  ! 
It  draws  from  a  disaster  a  benefit  for  him  who  appears  to 
have  been  its  victim.  Columbus  finds  himself  carried, 
against  his  will,  to  the  centre  of  those  ideas  that  were  to 
expand  his  views,  among  a  people  who  are  given  to  making 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  67 

discoveries,  and  to  acquire  notions  more  and  more  advanced 
in  regard  to  the  ocean,  and  the  regions  of  the  south. 

The  idea  that  increased  silently  within  him,  the  principle 
which  reflection  had  fecundated,  the  study  and  the  impas- 
sioned contemplation  of  the  divine  works,  received  soon,  in 
the  bosom  of  the  family  circle,  a  rapid  development.  In 
their  friendly  chattings,  his  mother-in-law,  a  lady  of  emi- 
nent piety,  and  very  zealous  for  the  cause  of  the  Church, 
struck  with  his  desire  to  discover  unknown  countries,  re- 
counted to  him  the  life  of  her  husband,  who  had  been  an 
able  mariner.  She  told  him  how  he  had  cooperated  in  the 
discovery  of  several  islands.  She  confided  to  him  the  notes 
and  the  journals  of  his  voyages.  From  the  observations 
they  contained,  Columbus  soon  drew  a  support  for  his 
project.  He  examined  the  whole  of  the  progress  of  the 
Portuguese  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  and  the  route  they  fol- 
lowed to  arrive  there.  Some  time  after,  he  embarked  with 
Dona  Felippa  for  her  sterile  possessions  at  Porto  Santo,  and 
remained  there  for  a  certain  time.  It  was  there  that  his 
first  son,  Diego,  was  born. 

Surrounded  by  the  immensit}- of  the  ocean,  —  an  image 
of  the  Infinite,  —  under  the  dazzling  light  of  a  tropical 
sun,  the  genius  of  Columbus  matured  in  the  depths  of  his 
thoughts  a  superhuman  idea,  —  a  project  bolder  than  that 
of  any  known  heroism.  What  he  had  seen,  what  he  had 
heard,  served  only  to  corroborate  the  justness  of  his  induc- 
tions. His  habits,  his  tastes,  his  family  connections,  seemed 
to  be  pre-arranged  for  the  furtherance  of  the  plan  which 
was  elaborated  in  the  depths  of  his  reflections. 

The  second  sister  of  Dona  Felippa  had  also  her  claims 
on  the  possessions  of  Porto  Santo.  She  became  the  wife 
of  a  noble  mariner,  Pedro  Correa,  who  was  governor  of  the 
island.  During  their  conversations  Columbus  could  com- 
municate to  this  mariner  his  cosmographie  inductions,  and 
avail  himself  of  his  observations.  Pedro  had  occasion  to 
make  some  voyages  to  the  fiirthest  islands  of  the  Atlantic, 
far  from  the  African  coast.     He  had  been  to  î»Iadeira  and 


68  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

the  Azores.  He  had  passed  to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  visited 
the  mouth  of  the  Golden  River,  cl  Rio  tVoro^  sojourned 
at  the  fortress  of  St.  George  of  the  Mine  ;  extending,  thus, 
the  domain  of  his  experience  and  the  scale  whence  to  draw 
his  comparisons. 

Pedro  Correa  informed  him  of  his  having  seen  at  the 
island  a  piece  of  wood  delicately  worked,  and  pushed  to- 
wards the  shore  by  the  western  wind,  as  if  it  had  come 
from  the  other  side  of  the  ocean.  At  the  Azores,  Pedro 
had  learned  that  by  the  wea^t  winds  the  waves  had  pushed 
to  the  coasts  of  Graciosa  and  of  Fayal  some  large  pine-trees 
of  an  unknown  species.  He  was  informed  that  at  the  Isle 
of  Flowers  there  were  found  on  the  strand  two  corpses, 
whose  features  were  different  from  those  of  the  islanders. 
It  was  pretended  that  barks  had  been  met  with,  full  of  men 
of  an  unknown  race.  An  officer  of  the  Portuguese  marine, 
Martin  Vincente,  told  him  that  at  a  distance  of  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  leagues  from  Europe,  towards  the  west,  he 
had  drawn  from  the  waves  a  piece  of  wood  perfectly 
sculptured,  which  a  western  breeze  had  for  several  daj-s 
pushed  in  sight  of  his  vessel.  Another  seaman,  Antonio 
Leme,  who  had  married  at  Madeira,  informed  him,  that 
having  sailed  directly  for  the  west,  he  had  seen  three  islands 
at  the  extremity  of  the  western  line. 

This  information,  which  has  been  considered  as  having 
a  great  influence  on  the  determinations  of  Columbus,  was 
only  a  stimulant  to  his  attention..  These  reports  had  no 
solidity',  no  cohesion,  among  themselves,  and  therefore 
they  had  no  influence  on  his  decisions.  And  he  who  col- 
lected them  knew  how  to  assign  them  their  just  value. 

In  the  first  place,  he  considered  the  islands  of  which 
Leme  spoke  as  pure  optical  illusions.  He  supposed  that 
at  most  they  must  be  rocks,  which,  seen  at  a  certain  angle 
and  in  certain  atmospheric  conditions,  might  have  simulated 
the  appearance  of  land  ;  or  rather,  that  they  were  some  of 
those  floating  islands  covered  with  trees  mentioned  by  cer- 
tain  authors,   and   among   others  by  Pliny  and  Juventius 


CHAP.  II.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  69 

Fortunatus,  and  which  moved  in  the  ocean  at  the  mercy 
of  the  winds.  In  reality,  he  soon  ascertained  tliat  the 
venturesome  excursion  of  î^Iartin  Vinccnte  was  only  a 
piece  of  bragging,  as  he  was  never  more  than  a  hundred 
leagues  from  the  coasts.  As  for  those  sculptured  pieces 
of  wood,  those  gigantic  reeds,  and  pines  of  unknown 
species,  and  those  corpses  belonging  to  an  unknown  race, 
which  the  western  winds  had  pushed  to  the  Azores  and 
the  Canaries,  their  testimony  established  nothing  positive  ; 
for  they  might  have  been  carried  from  the  unexplored  parts 
of  Africa  into  the  high  seas  of  the  equatorial  regions,  and 
thence  driven  on  the  islands  b}'^  western  winds.  Besides, 
during  many  years  of  voyages  and  of  transient  residence  in 
those  latitudes,  he  had  never  seen  or  touched  anything  like 
them  himself.  In  these  indices  all  became  reduced  to  hear- 
says. Irving  is  obliged  to  confess  that  these  facts  "  could 
not  have  been  known  by  Columbus  but  only  after  he  had 
formed  his  opinion,  and  could  have  served  only  to  con- 
firm it." 

However  the  case  may  have  been,  from  the  year  1474 
his  resolution  to  set  out  for  the  discovery  of  lands  which 
he  had  a  presentiment  of  existing  in  the  west,  was  fully 
formed.  Through  the  agency  of  a  Tuscan  residing  in 
Lisbon,  he  opened  a  correspondence  with  one  of  the 
greatest  celebrities  of  Italy,  Paul  Toscanelli,  a  Florentine 
physician,  a  mathematician  and  a  cosmographer,  who  was 
familiarly  admitted  into  the  pontifical  court  during  his 
visits  to  Rome,  and  whose  advice  the  King  of  Portugal 
requested  on  subjects  connected  with  geography  and 
navigation. 

Toscanelli,  a  man  of  ardent  zeal  for  the  advancement 
of  science,  was  incited  to  the  study  of  mathematics  by  his 
relations  with  an  old  artist,  goldsmith,  sculptor  and  engi- 
neer, named  Brunellesco,  who  raised  aloft  and  covered 
with  marble  the  admirable  cupola  of  Santa  Maria  del 
Fiore,  in  Florence.  Toscanelli  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  nature.      After  having  read  all  the  narrations  of 


70  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

travellers,  his  relish  for  cosmography  drew  him  into  rela- 
tions with  the  travellers  of  various  nations  who  arrived  in 
Italy,  and  went  to  Rome,  the  centre  of  Christianity  and  the 
permanent  source  of  civilization. 

From  the  only  two  fragments  that  have  come  down  to  us 
of  the  correspondence  between  Columbus  and  Toscanelli, 
it  is  seen  :  — 

First.  That  previously  to  the  month  of  June,  1474, 
Columbus  had  communicated  to  the  learned  Florentine 
his  project  of  navigating  westwards.  Toscanelli  forwarded 
to  him  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  a  few  days  before  he  had 
sent  the  canon  Fernando  Martinez  in  answer  to  one  the 
latter  had  written  him  on  the  part  of  the  King  of  Portugal. 
Now,  this  letter  was  dated  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  1474. 

Secondly.  That  Toscanelli  took  a  lively  interest  in  the 
letters  of  Columbus  ;  that  he  judged  his  reaching  the  Orient 
by  sailing  westwards  a  grand  and  noble  idea  ;  and  that 
already  Columbus  had  mentioned  to  him  the  invaluable 
advantages  that  would  result  from  it  to  Christianity.*  We 
beg  our  readers  to  remark  this  fact  and  the  date  ;  for,  in  this 
single  word  Christianity^  were  summed  up  the  object,  the 
completion,  and  the  recompense  of  the  idea  of  Columbus. 

Eighteen  months  had  elapsed,  during  which  the  project 
was  matured. 

SECTION  III. 

In  1476,  Columbus,  having  attained  liis  fortieth  year, 
resolved  to  attempt  the  realization  of  his  plan.  For  that 
pui'pose  his  eyes  naturally  turned  to  his  own  country.  He 
was  desirous  of  associating  her  in  the  honor  of  such  a  dis- 
covery. Some  Portuguese  writers  have  pretended  that 
Columbus  had  first  offered  to  Portugal  the  first  fruits  of 
his  project.  Some  historians,  who  have  not  been  able  to 
comprehend  this  sublime  character,  have  repeated  it  after 

*  Second  letter  of  Paul  Toscanelli  to  Christopher  Columbus. 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  71 

them  ;  but  the  patriotism  of  Columbus  was  too  sincere,  that 
he  should  not  at  first  have  thought  of  that  city  to  which 
family  affections,  and  the  endearments  of  his  childhood, 
had  attached  him. 

It  is  certain  that  he  wished  his  country,  in  preference  to 
all  others,  should  reap  the  fruit  of  his  discoveries.  He 
came,  then,  to  Genoa,  and  proposed  his  plan  to  the  Senate. 
He  would  obligate  himself  that  if  he  shoidd  be  supplied 
with  some  equipped  vessels,  he  would  pass  through  the 
strait  of  Gibraltar  and  pursue  his  way  westward  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  until  he  would  find  the  land  where  spices 
grow,  and  thus  make  the  circuit  of  the  world.  But  the 
cosmographie  reasons  which  he  advanced  could  not  be 
appreciated  by  the  noble  members  of  that  body.  The 
Genoese,  as  able  as  they  were  intrepid  in  the  basin  of  the 
Mediterranean,  ventured  but  little  on  the  ocean.  The 
progress  which  the  Portuguese  had  daily  made  in  geog- 
raphy had  yet  done  them  no  injury.  They  esteemed  them- 
selves masters  in  the  art  of  navigation,  thought  they  could 
not  be  surpassed,  and  looked  on  the  offer  of  their  countr}-- 
man  as  a  dream.  They  made  a  pretext  of  the  emptiness 
of  the  treasury,  exhausted  by  considerable  armaments  ;  and 
in  order,  perhaps,  to  abate  the  pretensions  of  Columbus, 
they  told  him  that  this  desire  for  discoveries  was  nothing 
new  for  the  Senate  ;  that  already  many  an  explorer  had 
paid  with  his  life  for  his  daring  curiosity.  The  archives 
of*  the  republic  would  prove  the  fact.  There,  it  could  be 
seen  that  two  hundred  years  before  the  proj^osition  now 
submitted  to  the  council,  that  two  captains  of  the  highest 
nobility,  Tedisio  Doria  and  Ugolino  Vivaldi,  had  departed 
for  the  great  ocean  without  there  being  ever  after  any 
account  of  their  fate. 

Refused  by  the  Senate  of  Genoa,  Columbus,  who  wished 
absolutely  to  make  Italy  the  beneficiary  of  his  discovery, 
passed,  it  is  said,  to  Venice  ;  the  republic  of  St.  ]SIark 
appearing  to  him,  as  regarded  finance  and  marine,  to  be 
in  a  way  to  second  his  views.     But,  notwithstanding  his 


73  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

overtures   and    his   scientific   proofs,  the  Council    did   not 
accede  to  his  offer. 


SECTION  IV. 

Thus  dismissed  by  Venice,  as  he  had  been  by  Genoa, 
Cokunbus  repaired  to  Savone,  to  visit  and  console  his 
father,  then  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age. 

We  say  Savone,  and  not  Genoa,  because,  previously  to 
the  year  1469,  Dominic  Columbus  had  left  the  "  marble 
city"  to  settle  at  Savone;  later,  he  returned  to  Genoa. 
This  intermediary  residence,  which  lasted  more  than  sev- 
enteen 3'ears,  appears  to  us  to  be  the  principal  cause  that 
has  contributed  to  the  incertitude  and  the  errors  of  histori- 
ans in  regard  to  the  true  country  of  Christopher  Columbus. 

How  different  are  the  fortunes  of  men  in  this  world  ! 
Some,  from  the  outset,  find  in  decent  comforts  the  rewards 
of  industr}^,  of  foresight,  and  economy  ;  others,  notwith- 
standing the  regularity  of  their  labors,  and  the  privations 
they  patiently  endure,  never  break  the  3-oke  of  the  painful 
labor  to  which  they  seem  doomed.  Their  recompense  is 
reserved  wholly  for  eternity.  They  receive,  here  below, 
only  the  pledges  of  the  immortal  hope  inherent  in  the 
consolations  of  faith.  The  life  of  Dominic  Columbus  was 
only  an  unceasing  struggle  against  obscure  tribulations. 
His  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  the  ill-success  of  his 
industry,  persuaded  him  that  he  would  succeed  better  in 
Savone  than  in  Genoa.  The  unfortunate  easily  become  the 
sport  of  illusions. 

The  sojourn  of  Columbus  with  his  parents  at  this  time, 
was  about  a  year.  He  was  as  much  attached,  and  as  sub- 
missive to  them,  as  he  was  in  his  childhood  ;  he  aided  them 
from  his  straitened  resources,  and  was  so  identified  with 
them,  living  under  the  same  roof,  and  taking  part  in  the 
same  labors,  that  he  was  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
corporation  of  wool-combers.  But  it  is  certain  that  in  this 
humble  dwelling  he  drew  marine  charts,  and  copied  manu- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  73 

scripts,  which,  from  time  to  time,  he  took  to  Genoa,  where 
he  bought  and  sold  printed  books. 


SECTION   V. 

If  the  double  I'efusal  he  received,  and  perhaps  the  impos- 
sibility of  his  having  immediate  recourse  to  another  State, 
with  the  chance  of  success,  caused  Columbus  to  postpone 
his  project,  he  did  not  the  less  assiduously  continue  his 
observations,  or  the  less  seek  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his 
cosmographie  comparisons.  We  see  him  crossing  the  Ger- 
man Ocean,  and  advancing  to  the  Polar  Seas.  In  February, 
1474,  he  was  a  hundred  leagues  beyond  Iceland,  and  veri- 
fied some  phenomena  interesting  to  hydrography.  From 
the  sombre  horizons  of  the  North,  from  the  Ultuna  Thiile 
of  the  ancients  to  the  splendid  skies  of  the  tropics,  with 
his  powerful  faculty  of  generalization,  he  united  together  in 
his  memory  the  harmonies  of  land  and  sea,  seeking  to  pene- 
trate beyond  the  poetry  of  appearances  the  great  laws  of 
the  globe.  Passing  from  the  contemplation  of  the  works 
of  God  to  the  investigation  of  the  works  of  men,  during  the 
brief  periods  of  his  stay  on  land,  he  consecrated  to  the  study 
of  the  wa-itings  of  philosophers,  historians,  and  naturalists, 
every  hour  that  was  not  employed  in  copying  manuscripts, 
and  constructing  spheres  for  gaining  his  daily  bread. 

He  thus  pursued  his  voyages,  from  which  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  gained  any  other  profit  than  a  superior 
experience  in  navigation.  He  continued  his  life  of  hard- 
ship and  labor  until  the  time  came  when  the  King  of  Port- 
ugal, John  II.,  appeared  to  wish  to  revive  the  traditions  of 
his  grand-uncle,  Don  Henry,  of  glorious  memory. 

This  monarch  had  gathered  in  his  marine  some  pilots  of 
the  first  rank,  real  mariners,  such  as  Diego  Cam,  Bartholo- 
mew and  Peter  Diaz.  Like  his  grand-uncle,  he  welcomed 
the  sei-\'ices  of  all  foreigners  of  eminent  abilities.  He  wished 
to  extend  his  conquests  to  the  Indies.  The  energy  of  his 
mind,  and  his  penetration,  enabled  him  to  divine  merit.     It 


74  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

was  not  difficult  for  Columbus,  when  the  moment  became 
favorable,  to  obtain  a  lengthy  audience  for  the  exposition  of 
his  plan.  His  alliance  with  two  governors  of  Porto  Santo, 
and  his  antecedent  relations  with  the  King's  father,  obtained 
for  him  a  kind  reception.  At  the  first  audience,  and  from 
the  beginning,  John,  surprised  at  the  novelty  of  a  plan  that 
upset  all  the  received  ideas  in  cosmography,  showed  him- 
self but  little  disposed  to  enter  into  his  views..  But  later, 
during  other  conversations,  the  King,  weighing  the  argu- 
ments of  Columbus,  comprehended  that  there  was  at  the 
bottom  of  his  proposition  something  immense  and  su2:)erior. 
From  his  elevation  of  thought,  his  knowledge  of  men,  and 
his  relish  for  the  natural  sciences,  the  monarch  felt  disposed 
in  his  favor,  and  determined  to  bear  the  expenses  of  an  expe- 
dition. Nevertheless,  before  making  an  engagement,  he 
wished  to  know  positively  what  remuneration  Columbus 
would  demand  in  case  of  success. 

Portugal  encouraged  discoveries  by  great  liberalities. 
Ordinarily,  the  government  of  the  island,  or  of  the  region 
discovered,  was  conferred  on  him  who  had  taken  possession 
of  it  in  the  name  of  the  Crown.  Sometimes  this  dignity 
was  increased  by  some  title  of  honor.  But  it  was  not  with 
the  like  compensation  that  this  man,  who  was  drawing 
charts  and  copying  manuscripts  for  the  support  of  his 
family,  would  be  satisfied.  In  his  eyes  this  recompense 
appeared  only  shabbiness  ;  it  seemed  to  him  it  would  depre- 
ciate the  grandeur  of  his  discovery.  He  laid  his  conditions, 
then,  before  him.  They  were  so  royal  that  the  monarch 
became  a  little  offended  ;  and  before  subscribing  to  them, 
he  determined  to  submit  to  a  discussion  the  jirobabilities  of 
success. 

He  charged  with  this  examination  a  commission  com- 
posed of  three  members  :  Diego  Ortiz  de  Cazadilla,  Bishop 
of  Ceuta  ;  Roderigo,  his  own  physician  ;  and  a  Jew  named 
Joseph,  also  a  physician,  and  a  master  in  cosmography.  If 
Columbus  required  great  honors,  he  required  no  less  great 
riches,  for  he  had  a  great  thought  to  satisfy,  and  this  satis- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  75 

faction  was  the  only  recompense  he  judged  worthy  of  his 
enterprise.  The  revealer  of  the  globe  will  be  justified  in 
his  incomparable  ambition  by  every  Christian  soul. 

In  its  report,  the  scientific  commission  concluded  to  reject 
the  proposition  of  the  Genoese.  It  regarded  the  project  as 
a  baseless  dream.  Nevertheless,  the  elevation  of  mind  which 
distinguished  John,  pleaded,  without  his  being  aware  of  it, 
the  cause  of  Columbus.  Instinctively  he  had  faith  in  this 
stranger,  so  poor,  and  so  firm  in  his  demands.  Notwith- 
standing the  advice  of  the  commission,  he  continued  to 
consider  seriously  about  the  plan  of  Columbus.  He  accord- 
ingly convoked  a  high  council,  which  was  composed  of  the 
notables  of  the  kingdom. 

The  project  was  then  examined  less  as  to  its  execution 
than  as  regarded  its  advantages  to  the  Portuguese  nation. 
The  discussion  became  general  as  to  the  direction  to  be 
given  the  royal  marine.  The  sitting  was  animated,  and 
almost  stormy.  Prelates  assisted  at  it,  and  among  them 
was  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta,  doubly  influential  by  his  science 
and  his  ofiicial  title  as  confessor  to  the  King.  His  advice 
must  naturally  have  had  great  weight  ;  he  had  already,  as 
president  of  the  cosmographie  commission,  examined  thor- 
oughly the  mechanism  of  the  plan,  —  the  object  of  the  pres- 
ent discussion.  He  declared  that  the  reasons  given  by 
Columbus  were  not  solid  enough  for  a  sage  and  prudent 
prince  to  engage  in  such  an  enterprise,  without  some  pre- 
vious experimentation. 

Leaving  out  of  sight  the  religious  object  of  Columbus, 
the  prelate  entered  generally  and  warmly  into  the  debate, 
pronouncing  against  all  new  projects  of  discovery.  Letting 
the  motives  of  a  narrow  and  over-cautious  prudence  prevail 
over  the  patriotism  and  the  Christian  zeal  that  could  have 
inspired  the  project,  he  treated  the  question  drylj',  as  a  min- 
ister of  finance,  who  ought,  above  all  considerations,  to  make 
the  expenses  balance  the  receipts.  He  saw  in  the  emptiness 
of  the  treasury  a  salutary  obstacle  to  enterprises  which  hith- 
erto were  more  honorable  than  productive.     He  maintained 


yô  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

that,  far  from  seeking  lands  so  distant,  it  would  be  better 
policy  to  conceal  their  existence,  and  the  route  to  them, 
because  the  attraction  of  the  novelt}^  could  not  fail  in  ex- 
citing the  warlike  spirit  of  the  Portuguese,  generally  disposed 
for  extraordinary  things,  and  that  in  a  short  time  coloniza- 
tion would  depopulate  the  kingdom  ;  that  to  pursue  the  way 
of  discov'eries  was  to  weaken  the  interior  before  the  exte- 
rior was  strengthened,  and  to  expose  the  country  to  inva- 
sion ;  and  that  it  was  wiser,  and  at  the  same  time  more 
glorious,  to  fight  the  infidels  in  Barbary,  —  those  enemies 
whose  vicinity  was  always  attended  with  danger. 

This  language,  breathing  a  cold  circumspection,  based  on 
the  calculations  of  arithmetic,  irritated  to  the  quick  the 
patriotism  of  the  assemblj'.  Pedro  de  Meneses,  Count  of 
Villareal,  and  knight  of  the  Order  of  Christ,  i^eplied  with 
spirit,  that  Portugal  was  no  longer  in  her  infancy,  that  her 
princes  were  not  so  impoverished  that  they  could  not  fur- 
nish the  expenses  for  the  expedition  of  Columbus  ;  that  from 
no  cause  should  the  career  so  hapjoily  opened  by  Don  Henry 
be  arrested  ;  that  it  would  redound  to  the  everlasting  glory 
of  Portugal  to  have  penetrated  the  mysteries  and  sounded 
the  depths  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  so  formidable  to  other  * 
nations;  that  thus  would  be  avoided  the  idleness  that  is 
ordinarily  engendered  by  a  prolonged  peace.  It  was  to  out- 
rage the  Portuguese  name,  to  menace  with  imaginary  perils 
those  men  who,  in  dangers  the  most  real  and  the  most 
grave,  showed  so  much  valor  and  intrepidity. 

Coming  afterwards  to  the  object  proposed  by  Columbus, 
the  Coiint  replied  that  this  plan  having  chiefly  in  view  the 
propagation  of  the  Catholic  faith,  he  was  astonished  that  a 
prelate  so  religious  as  was  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta  should  dai'e 
to  oppose  it.  Would  it  not  perhaps  be  to  refuse  God,  to 
reject  this  offer?  Would  it  not  at  least  be  doing  great  injury 
to  neglect  this  opportunity  of  making  the  sacred  voice  of 
the  Gospel  resound  from  pole  to  pole,  in  taking  as  an  organ 
the  Portuguese  nation,  whose  princes  could,  in  recompense 
for  their  zeal,  hope  for  great  accessions  of  empire,  and  that 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  >jh 

glory  which  insures  immortality  ?  In  his  pious  enthusiasm 
the  Christian  knight  added,  that,  "  Soldier  as  he  was,  he 
dared,  as  if  he  at  that  moment  heard  a  voice  and  a  spirit 
from  heaven,  foretell  the  sovereign  who  would  attempt 
this  enterprise  a  happy  success,  a  greater  power  and  a 
vaster  glory  in  the  future,  than  ever  was  obtained  by  the 
most  celebrated  heroes  or  the  most  fortunate  monarchs." 

This  discourse  was  cheered  by  unanimous  acclamations. 
But  the  opinion  of  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta  was  unfavorable  to 
Columbus  even  as  to  the  means  of  execution.  His  well- 
known  ability  in  matters  connected  with  nautical  science 
caused  the  Council,  without  any  adequate  discussion  of  it,  to 
lose  sight  of  the  project,  in  the  midst  of  a  question  consid- 
ered of  more  vital  importance  to  the  Portuguese  nation,  to 
wit  :  the  renewing  of  the  expeditions  commenced  b}'  Don 
Henry,  and  suspended  in  the  last  reign.  Contrary  to  the 
advice  of  the  bishop,  the  Council  gave  its  opinion  in  fixvor 
of  discoveries,  but  it  remained  comj^letcly  silent  about  the 
project  of  Columbus. 

The  sitting  of  this  Council  is  a  precious  monument  in  the 
history  of  Columbus.  It  shows  that  at  that  period  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  Gospel  was  already  the  avowed  and  definite 
object  of  his  enterprise. 

The  light  and  disdainful  manner  in  which  the  high  Coun- 
cil, on  the  authority  of  one  of  its  members,  had  rejected  the 
project  of  Columbus,  satisfied  neither  the  justice  nor  the 
enlightened  judgment  of  King  John.  To  condemn  was  not 
to  judge.  The  conversations  of  the  Genoese  cosmographer 
returned  to  his  mind,  and  he  continued  to  reflect  on  them. 

But  time  passed  on. 

Nothing  came  from  the  Court  to  jout  an  end  to  the  uncer- 
tainty. Columbus,  firm  and  resolute,  girded  with  that 
unconquerable  patience  which  serves  as  armor  for  strong 
souls,  gaining  his  bread  by  the  labor  of  his  pen  and  of  his 
compass,  and  cultivating  his  intellect  from  every  book  he 
traded  in,  acquired,  during  this  forced  inaction,  an  amount 
of  knowledge  not  less  varied  than  it  was  solid. 
7* 


^8  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

At  length  the  King,  by  his  own  reflection,  was  led  to  deter- 
mine absolutely  to  risk  the  enterprise.  What  still  held  him 
back  was  the  exorbitant  remuneration  demanded  by  the 
Genoese.  In  this  perplexity  one  of  his  counsellors  suggested 
to  him  a  means  of  reconciling  his  desire  for  the  expedition 
with  what  was  called  the  dignity  of  the  Crown.  This  means 
consisted  in  furnishing  secretly  with  the  plan  and  instruc- 
tions of  Columbus  a  good  Portuguese  pilot,  and  to  send 
him  for  the  discovery  in  the  route  indicated.  Knowledge 
once  had  of  the  land  sought  by  Columbus,  there  would  be 
no  longer  any  obligation  of  according  him  a  great  recom- 
pense. At  length  King  John,  alas  !  forgot  one  day  that  he 
was  a  gentleman  ;  and  the  unhappy  counsellor,  by  whose 
influence  he  was  led  astray,  was  Doctor  Diego  Ortiz  de  Caz- 
adilla.     The  fact  is  but  too  well  attested. 

A  ray  of  deceitful  hope  came  to  light  up  the  laboriously 
monotonous  life  led  by  Columbus,  who  was  always  waiting. 
A  message  from  the  scientific  commission  invited  him  to 
present  without  delay  the  details  of  his  project,  with  the 
basis  and  proofs,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  theory,  and  the 
means  of  executing  his  plan,  could  be  thoroughly  examined. 
Incapable  of  suspecting  a  felony  in  so  high  a  quarter,  Co- 
lumbus delivered  without  distrust  the  plan,  the  notes,  the 
charts,  —  in  a  word,  the  means  of  executing  his  enterprise. 
Immediately  after,  one  of  the  ablest  captains  of  the  Portu- 
guese marine  was  despatched  with  a  caravel  to  go  appa- 
rently to  revictual  the  isles  of  Cape  Verd,  but  with  secret 
instructions  to  sail  for  the  west,  for  the  discovery  of  unknown 
lands,  conformably  to  the  indications  with  which  he  was 
furnished. 

The  greatest  secrecy  shrouded  this  spoliation  of  genius. 
But  if  Columbus  was  defrauded  of  his  scientific  data,  he 
was  not  deprived  of  his  firmness,  his  faith,  his  superiority 
of  glance,  or  his  mysterious  endowment  received  from  on 
high  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  work.  After  some  days 
of  navigation  boldly  continued  to  the  west,  the  crew  com- 
menced becoming  astonished  at  the  extent,  and  alarmed  at 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  yc) 

the  route.  These  men  trembled  before  immensity.  A  tem- 
pest that  had  arisen  came  to  add  to  their  terrors,  —  the  Lord 
was  not  with  them.  The  distracted  ship  turned  back  in  her 
course,  and  returned  shamefully  to  the  port  whence  she  had 
set  out.  Then,  as  it  commonly  happens  in  similar  cases, 
cowards  became  braggarts  and  banterers.  Returned  to  port, 
they  turned  into  mockery  the  project  of  the  Genoese.  It 
was  nothing,  they-  said,  but  a  vain  extravagance.  Their 
sole  boasting  betrayed,  later,  the  secret  of  this  almost  sacri- 
legious crime. 

The  shaft  of  this  felony  entered  deeply  into  the  heart  of 
Columbus.  But  he  was  already  accustomed  to  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  heart.  Some  time  before,  in  the  midst  of  his 
trials,  death  came  to  deprive  him  of  the  associate  of  his 
hopes,  the  mother  of  his  son,  the  noble  Felippa,  —  the  only 
consolation  of  his  poor  fireside.  Columbus  remained  silent, 
and  looked  up  to  Heaven. 

Meanwhile, the  King  came  to  know  that  the  caravel  had 
not  sailed  the  number  of  days  or  of  leagues  marked  in  the 
instructions  filched  from  Columbus.  He  desired  to  renew 
the  negotiation.  He  would  now  accord  all  that  he  had 
refused  for  so  long  a  time.  But,  on  his  part,  notwithstand- 
ing his  poverty,  Columbus  had  determined  never  to  treat 
with  a  court  capable  of  such  infamy.  He  feigned  not  to 
imderstand  the  new  dispositions  of  the  King.  He  continued 
in  the  isolation  of  his  obscure  occultations.  But  knowing 
from  a  good  source  that  the  monarch  was  going  to  bind  him 
to  his  enterprise  by  a  treaty,  and  being  determined  not  to 
yield,  and  having  everything  to  fear  from  the  counsellors  of 
the  Crown  should  he  persist  in  his  refusal,  he  noiselessly 
turned  into  cash  the  property  of  his  wife,  and  prudently 
prepared  for  his  departure.  Towards  the  end  of  1484  he 
fled  secretly  from  Lisbon,  taking  with  him  his  young  son, 
Diego,  whose  delicate  features  recalled  to  mind  the  beauty 
of  his  mother. 

It  was  by  sea  that  Columbus  escaped  from  Portugal  ;  he 
directed  his  course  to  Genoa. 


So  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

Notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the  most  serene  Republic, 
which  he  had  the  pain  of  experiencing  some  years  before, 
his  patriotism  prompted  him  to  encounter  anew  the  doubts 
and  the  disdains  of  his  native  city.  His  desire  of  insuring 
to  his  coimtry  the  immense  adv'antages  of  his  discoveries, 
induced  him  to  renew  his  applications  to  the  Senate.  But 
some  serious  difficulties  turned  the  government  from  a  pro- 
ject that  at  least  was  extraordinary.  The  resources  of  the 
Republic  did  not  permit  its  diminishing  its  fleet  by  some 
ships  to  attempt  an  expedition  which  no  precedent  justified. 
Columbus  derived  from  this  voyage  only  the  happiness  of 
seeing  his  respectable  father  at  Savone,  of  presenting  him 
with  his  grandson,  and  of  begging  the  blessing  of  the  old 
wool-comber  on  the  head  of  that  child,  who  was  one  day  to 
commingle  his  blood  with  that  of  the  two  royal  houses  of 
Spain  and  of  Portugal. 

In  listening  to  the  projects  of  his  son,  the  heart  of  the  old 
wool-comber  certainly  thrilled  wàth  exultation.  For,  if 
Dominic  Columbus  knew  the  refusal  of  the  two  Republics 
and  the  cupidity  of  Portugal,  he  also  knew  the  firmness  of 
resolution,  the  ardent  faith  of  his  son,  and  even  had  a  con- 
fused presentinrtent  of  his  scientific  superiorit3\  He  knew 
Christopher  had  projected  the  tour  of  the  earth  to  arrive 
thus  among  idolatrous  nations,  and  make  the  standard  of 
Salvation  to  shine  before  their  eyes  !  These  secret  thoughts 
renewed  the  heart  of  the  old  man  with  noble  ho2oes.  Such 
grandeurs  foreseen  from  the  threshold  of  the  tomb,  must 
have  changed  into  a  resplendent  morning  dawn  the  twi- 
light of  his  last  days.  They  were  at  the  same  time  an 
indemnity  for  his  long  tribulations,  and  a  recompense  for 
the  Christian  education  he  had  given  his  children. 

After  having,  during  his  short  stay,  loaded  with  marks  of 
the  utmost  tenderness  the  venerable  old  man,  and  provided 
for  his  wants  during  his  absence,  Christopher  cast  his  eyes 
on  the  Christian  monarchies  of  Europe,  to  choose  the  crown 
with  which  he  would  associate  the  honor  of  executing  his 
scheme. 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  8l 

By  her  zeal  in  defending  the  faith,  her  intrepidity  in 
repelling  the  Moors,  her  chivalrous  character,  her  maritime 
resources,  and  especially  the  great  renown  of  her  two 
sovereigns,  Ferdinand  of  Arragon  and  Isabella  of  Castile, 
then  reigning  together,  Spain  appeared  to  him  to  merit  the 
preference.  From  that  time  he  engaged  himself  tacitly  to 
her,  and  regarded  himself  as  bound  to  her.  Then,  during 
the  first  east  wind,  he  embarked  for  that  kingdom,  without 
having  any  acquaintance  there, — without  any  letter  of  credit 
or  of  recommendation  ;  solely  confiding  himself  to  the  pro- 
tection of  Providence. 


32  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Influence  of  Isabella  on  the  Destinies  of  Spain. 

'PAIN  commanded,  at  that  time,  the  destinies  of  the 
whole  Catholic  world.  Her  struggle  against  the 
Koran,  the  zeal  of  her  crusade  undertaken  on  the  soil  of 
Europe,  excited  the  sympathies  of  the  whole  Christian 
world.  In  applauding  this  heroic  effort,  a  presentiment 
was  experienced  that  something  grand  would  be  the  recom- 
pense of  a  faith  so  heroic. 

One  cannot  well  examine  the  annals  of  the  navigation 
and  the  colonization  of  the  New  World,  without  the  sweet 
name  of  Isabella  coming  to  his  memory  ;  for  she  was  the 
medium  of  the  Discovery,  as  the  man  who  submitted  his 
plan  to  her  was  providentially  destined  to  be  its  organ. 

Here  M.  De  Lorgnes  enters  on  a  lengthy  account  of  the 
debased  condition  of  Spain  before  the  reign  of  Isabella  ; 
shows  how  she  created  the  Spanish  power;  the  impulse 
she  gave  to  literature  ;  her  regeneration  of  the  national 
spirit  ;  and  then  he  gives  a  lively  and  beautiful  picture 
of  that  lady,  who  was  undoubtedly  the  grandest  of  modern 
sovereigns.  But  the  details,  though  highly  int^esting  in 
themselves,  we  are  obliged  to  pass  over  for  want  of  sj^ace, 
and  because  they  more  particularly  belong  to  the  personal 
history  of  Isabella  rather  than  to  that  of  Columbus. 

Isabella  was  the  living  personification  of  the  chivalrous 
genius  of  her  time  and  of  her  nation.  No  lady  on  the 
throne  joined  a  more  sincere  faith  to  a  most  consummate 
prudence,  or  shone  there  with  a  more  unaflected  loyalty. 
A  kind  of  benediction  appeared  manifestly  to  attend  her 
projects  as  well  as   her  acts.      Isabella  could  always  do 


CHAP,  m.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  83 

when  she  willed,  and  she  always  willed  when  she  could 
do.  Success  crowned  all  her  undertakings.  While  sur- 
rounding herself  for  her  service  with  persons  of  the  highest 
capacity  and  of  sincere  devotedness,  God  willed  that  the 
wisdom  of  her  counsels  should  still  surpass  that  of  her 
counsellors. 

By  Isabella  was  eflected  the  chief  act  of  European  poli- 
tics,—  the  expulsion  of  the  Crescent.  And  by  Isabella  was 
eflected  the  most  prodigious  event  of  humanit}^, —  that 
which,  in  doubling  its  terrestrial  domain,  enlarged,  in  a 
tenfold  degree,  the  sphere  of  its  scientific  investigations. 


84  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Arrival  of  Columbus  at  the  Franciscan  Convent  of  La  Rabida.  — 
The  Friendship  between  the  Father  Superior  and  him.  —  He  sets 
out  for  the  Coui't. 

SECTION  I. 

AT  half  a  league  from  Palos,  in  sight  of  the  ocean, 
arises  a  steep  promontory,  surrounded  with  a  belt  of 
vineyards  studded  with  fig-trees,  and  the  summit  of  which 
was  crowned  with  pines.  Like  the  nest  of  a  dove  among 
cypresses,  a  monastery,  concealed  by  the  forest,  darted 
its  steeple  above  the  tops  of  the  trees,  whence  was  exhaled 
an  odor,  the  sweetness  of  which  united  tlie  odors  of  the 
thymes  and  lavenders  that  grew  at  their  feet. 

This  monastery,  which  was  then  inhabited  by  some  relig- 
ious of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  was  dedicated  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin.  It  was  called  Santa  Maria  de  la  Rabida.  It  was 
constructed  on  the  ruins  of  one  of  those  temples  that  jDagan- 
ism  loved  to  erect  in  groves  and  on  high  places.  It  may  be 
seen  that  it  became  enlarged  at  diflerent  periods,  as  occasion 
required,  without  regard  to  symmetry  or  architecture.  The 
enclosure  contained  two  cloisters,  a  chapel,  a  portal,  and  a 
garden. 

From  the  roofing  of  the  convent,  the  cupola  of  which, 
surrounded  by  a  balustrade,  had  formerly  served  as  an 
observatory,  the  view  embraced  a  large  horizon. 

In  July,  14S5,  there  was  set  over  this  convent,  as  Father 
Superior,  a  man  towards  whom  his  cotemporaries  were 
guilty  of  ingratitude,  but  who  will  not  be  forgotten  in  this 
history. 

Subject  to  the  rule  of  his  institute  with  his  whole  heart, 


CHAP  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  85 

this  religious  oflcrcd  to  his  community  the  example  of  a 
true  disciple  of  St.  Francis,  and  the  renown  of  his  piety 
passed  beyond  the  walls  of  the  enclosure  of  La  Rabida. 
He  was  suddenly  called  to  Court.  Qiieen  Isabella  had 
sometimes  requested  his  counsel;  she  held  him  in  such 
high  esteem  that  she  appointed  him  her  confessor.  But 
the  humble  Franciscan  could  not  bear  the  bustle  of  the 
Court.  This  monk  aspired  only  to  the  quiet  regularity  of 
his  cloister,  and  his  importunities  at  last  obtained  for  him 
leave  to  reenter  it.  The  Qiiccn  esteemed  him,  not  only  as 
a  religious  of  a  holy  life,  as  a  spiritual  guide,  and  as  a  great 
theologian,  but  she  also  honored  him  for  his  modesty,  which 
could  not  altogether  conceal  his  science.  She  considered 
him  an  able  astronomer*  and  an  excellent  cosmographer. 
The  evidence  which  she  bore  to  his  science,  and  to  his 
meekness  of  character,  has  come  down  to  us. 

This  Franciscan's  name  was  Juan  Perez  de  Marchina. 
His  fervent  piety  had  not  suppressed  his  inclination  for 
mathematics,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  exact  sciences  did 
not  detract  from  his  taste  for  letters.  The  extent  and 
variety  of  his  learning  cannot  be  doubted.  The  arch- 
chronologist  Oviedo  says,  "  This  religious  was  a  great 
cosmographer."  -j-  The  historian  Antonio  de  Herrera  adds 
that  "  he  was  a  great  humanist,"  —  that  is  to  say,  a  scholar 
and  man  of  science.  The  historian  Lopez  de  Gomora 
mentions  also  his  learning,  and  his  special  knowledge  of 
the  sciences.  J  As  to  the  excellence  of  his  virtue,  it  was 
attested  by  the  Sovereign  Pontilf,  Leo  X.  ;  and  by  the  first 
bishop  of  the  Antilles,  Monseigneur  Allessandro  Geraldini, 
who  speaks  of  "  his  pious  life  and  of  his  well-known 
sanctity."  § 

*  Documentas  Diplomaticos,  num.  Ixxi. 

t  Oviedo,  Hisioria  nat.  y  gen.  dc  las  Indias,  lib.  11,  cap.  5; 
Herrera,  Hist,  gcner.,  decade  i,  liv.  i,  chap.  vii. 

X  Lopez  de  Gomora,  Historia  dc  las  Indias. 

§  Itincrariuni  ad  rcgioncs  sub  cequinoctali plaga  constitutas,  Alcx- 
andri  Geraldini^  Amerini,  cJ>iscoJ>i,  etc.,  lib.  xiv. 
8 


S6  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

After  having  shown  the  intellectual  and  ascetic  superi- 
ority of  this  Franciscan,  we  may  follow  him  in  imagination 
to  the  roof  where,  in  his  quality  as  astronomer,  he  had  a 
kind  of  observatory.  He  used  his  prei^ogatives  as  Superior 
only  to  extend  the  sphere  of  his  meditations,  and  to  prolong 
his  studies. 

Often  during  the  sleep  of  his  brethren,  on  calm  nights, 
Father  Juan,  elevating  his  soul  to  the  Creator  of  the  Worlds, 
followed  the  harmonious  course  of  the  stars.  Shining  like 
a  beacon-flame,  his  thoughts  glowed  solitarily  from  this 
steep  declivit}'.  During  the  day,  when  not  employed  in 
the  offices  of  choir,  he  would  reascend  to  the  place  of  his 
intuitions,  of  which,  perhaps,  nobody  then  in  Spain  had 
the  least  suspicion.  At  the  aspect  of  the  waves  going  to 
lose  themselves  at  an  undiscernible  distance  in  the  west, 
he  asked  himself  whether  or  not,  beyond  that  space  which 
no  ship  had  ever  traversed,  the  empire  of  the  "  Gloomy 
Ocean"  was  really  unconquerable,  —  that  formidable  ocean, 
thus  named  because  of  the  obscurity  which  enshrouded  its 
nature,  its  limits,  and  its  unfathomed  depths. 

This  questioning  already  indicated  a  progress.  The 
opinions  of  cosmograjDhers  were  singularly  confused  in 
regard  to  the  Gloomy  Ocean.  Some  maintained  that, 
continuing  to  sail  in  a  straight  line  to  the  west  for  three 
years,  one  would  not  still  reach  a  shore  ;  others,  that  the 
ocean  was  illimitable  and  shoreless.  Conformably  to  this 
divergence  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  form  of  the  earth, 
every  master  in  geography  had  his  own  peculiar  system 
concerning  the  Gloomy  Ocean.  But  Father  Juan  Perez, 
without  letting  himself  be  imposed  on  by  Arabian  geogra- 
phers and  renowned  pilots,  asked  himself  whether  or  not 
there  were  beyond  these  waters  lands  unknown  to  Chris- 
tians. His  solicitude  for  the  salvation  of  peoples  who  did 
not  know  Christ,  and  his  desire  to  see  the  holy  name  of 
Jesus  blessed  by  all  nations,  led  him  continually  to  this 
question:  Is  there  nothing  beyond  that  expanse  of  ocean? 

His  presentiments  always  gave  him  an  affirmative  answer. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  87 

Independently  of  his  theological  knowledge,  the  Father 
Superior,  by  his  frequent  intercourse  with  the  seamen  of 
Palos,  was  well  informed  in  regard  to  the  expeditions  of 
the  Portuguese  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  knew 
of  the  discoveries  that  had  been  made  at  the  Azores,  and 
at  Cape  Verd. 

One  day,  in  passing  by  the  porter's  lodge,  he  noticed,  in 
the  parlor,  Garcia  Hernandez,  the  physician  of  the  commu- 
nity, gazing  with  surprise  on  a  traveller  who  came  afoot, 
with  a  little  boy,  into  this  place  so  far  away  from  the  public 
route,  and  who  asked  the  brother  porter  for  a  little  bread 
and  water  for  his  little  son.  The  Father  Superior  remarked 
the  air  of  distinction  of  this  man,  contrasted  with  his  state 
of  destitution.  Noticing  by  his  language  that  he  was  a 
foreigner,  he  felt  a  curiosity  mingled  with  interest,  and 
asked  him  whence  he  came  and  whither  he  went.  The 
stranger  replied  to  him,  very  candidly,  that  he  came  from 
Italy,  and  that  he  was  going  to  the  Court  of  the  Sovereigns, 
to  communicate  to  them  an  important  project.  The  Supe- 
rior invited  him  into  the  cloister  to  take  some  rest,  which 
the  latter  accepted. 

This  stranger  was  Christopher  Columbus.  How  was  he 
led  to  this  monastery  }     Nobody  could  tell  how. 

Wherever  he  disembarked,  whether  at  Fort  Santa  Maria, 
at  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda,  at  La  Higuerra,  or  even  at 
Palos,  his  presence  at  the  monastery  of  La  Rabida  cannot 
be  explained  on  natural  principles.  This  convent,  then 
completely  concealed  by  pine-trees,  and  visible  only  from 
the  sea-coast,  was  out  of  the  direct  route  which  Columbus 
should  have  followed  in  going  to  Huclva.  It  was  not  in 
losing  his  way  that  he  could  have  got  there.  He  must 
have  been  led  there  by  one  of  those  chances,  calculated 
admirably,  which  i^eveal  to  us  the  action  of  a  superior 
power,  before  which  we  adoringly  fall  prostrate. 

At  this  time  Columbus  was  not  going,  as  has  been  so 
often   said,   to   Huetra,   to    see    his   brother-in-law,   Pedro 


88  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Correa,  the  former  governor  of  Porto  Santo,*  but  to 
Huelva,  to  an  obscure  Spaniard  named  Muliar,  who  had 
married  the  youngest  sister  of  his  wife,  f  and  to  whom  he 
would  have  undoubtedly  confided  his  little  son  during  his 
solicitations  at  the  Court  of  Castile. 

Assuredly,  if  the  manner  in  which  Columbus  landed  in 
Portugal  was  poetic  or  romantic,  the  way  in  which  Provi- 
dence assisted  him  on  his  landing  in  Spain  is  not  less  mar- 
vellous. When  he  arrives,  without  protection,  without  any 
recommendation,  destitute  of  all  support,  in  a  country  whose 
language  he  does  not  yet  know,  the  divine  goodness  directs 
him  to  a  man  the  best  prepared  for  his  ideas,  and  the  most 
capable  of  comprehending  and  confirming  him  in  his 
mission. 

Under  the  coarse  cloth  that  covered  his  breast,  Juan  Perez 
de  Marchena  concealed  a  generous  patriotism.  Neither 
age,  nor  the  pursuit  of  science,  nor  austerities,  had  nar- 
rowed his  heart.  His  expansive  soul  presei-ved  its  impres- 
sions full  of  freshness  and  vivacity,  and  it  still  felt  that 
perennial  youth  of  vii'tue  which  time  cannot  extinguish. 
He  welcomed  fraternally  the  stranger,  towards  whom  he 
felt  a  sudden  attraction.  A  kind  of  intimacy  immediately 
took  place  between  them  ;  for  already,  before  their  meeting, 
there  preexisted  between  them  the  strictest  conformity  of 
ideas  that  can  unite  two  intelligences. 

The  Father  Superior,  after  the  first  disclosures  of  Colum- 
bus, invited  him  to  remain  with  him,  the  present  moment 
not  being  favoi'able  to  submit  his  project  to  the  Court. 

*  All  the  biographers  of  Columbus  have  ignored  the  existence 
of  Muliar,  and,  like  Irving,  have  mistaken  this  obscure  citizen  of 
Huelva  for  his  other  brother-in-law,  the  Portuguese  Pedro  Correa, 
former  governor  of  Porto  Santo,  an  important  personage. 

t  This  is  certain  :  "  Iba  derecho  de  esta  villa  de  Huelva  para  fallar 
cin  un  su  cuiïado,  casado  cin  humana  de  su  mujer  é  que  â  la  sazon 
estaba,  é  que  habia  nombre  Muliar."  —  Pleyto,  Probujizas  hechas  j)or 
el  Fiscal  del  Rey.  Pregunta  13  ;  Sup;plem.  primer  a  la  Coleccion 
Diplom.i  num.  Ixix. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  89 

It  has  been  pretended  that,  distrusting  his  own  judgment, 
Father  Juan  Perez  sent  immediately  for  Garcia  Hernandez, 
ph3sician  of  the  community,  residing  at  Palos,  —  a  sava?it 
well  versed  in  mathematics  ;  that  the  project  of  Columbus 
^vas  discussed  among  them  in  several  conferences,  and  that, 
after  it  was  recognized  as  rational,  it  was  decided  that  it 
could  be  carried  into  cllect.  This  is  an  error,  as  has  been 
testified  b}^  Hernandez  himself,  in  an  authentic  judiciary 
deposition.* 

Between  Columbus  and  his  host  nobody  intervened.  The 
confidence  of  Father  Juan  Perez  was  complete,  because  the 
demonstration  was  peremptory,  —  because  the  grand  mis- 
sion of  that  stranger  was  manifest  to  him,  —  because  the 
Franciscan  possessed  that  rare  intellectual  light  that  eluci- 
dates great  questions,  and  which,  without  discussing  them, 
decides  on  them.  His  knowledge  of  cosmography  sufiîced 
for  him  to  appreciate  the  cosmic  system  of  the  man  sent 
to  him  by  Providence.  He  heard,  he  comprehended,  he 
believed. 

Thus,  in  this  peaceable  convent  of  the  Franciscans,  the 
largest  scheme  conceived  by  humanity  was  developed  by 
genius  and  encouraged  by  enthusiasm.  In  this  convent 
there  was  an  implicit  and  sudden  belief  in  the  sphericity 
of  the  earth  ;  of  the  existence  of  unknown  islands  and  conti- 
nents, and  in  the  possibility  of  arriving  at  them,  —  at  a 
time  when,  in  all  the  academies,  in  all  the  colleges,  in  all 
the  universities,  these  ideas  were  regarded  as  the  dream  of 
a  sick  brain. 

Columbus,  become  the  guest  of  the  Franciscans,  disen- 
gaged from  the  cares  of  material  life,  and  having  no  longei 
to  gain  his  daily  bread,  could  give  all  his  time  to  the  affairs 
of   his   soul,    and   to    the   contemplation    of  divine    things. 

*  Garcia  Hernandez  himself  has  fixed  the  date  of  the  conference 
by  the  circumstance  that  at  its  conclusion  the  pilot  Sebastian  Rodre- 
guez  was  sent  to  the  camp  of  Santa  Fc,  which  was  done  in  the  win- 
ter of  1491,  six  years  after  the  time  erroneously  assigned  by  Irving 
and  Ms  copiers. 
8* 


^O  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

There  lie  labored  in  the  perfection  of  his  interior.  He  sought 
by  prayer,  and  other  religious  exercises,  to  become  less 
worthy  of  being  the  instrument  to  accomplish  the  immense 
work  with  which  he  felt  himself  charged.  Having  free  ac- 
cess to  the  library  of  the  convent,  he  could  study  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  the  ecclesiastical  authors,  the  paraphrasts,  and 
the  commentators.  It  is  known  that  he  studied  St.  Jerome, 
St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Isidore,  and  that  he  knew 
Scotus,  Nicholas  de  Lyra,  etc.  Undoubtedly,  it  was  tliere 
he  acquired  that  varied  knowledge  of  theological  works 
which  he  showed  afterwards.  We  have  reason  to  say 
that  the  works  of  the  Angel  of  the  Schools,  and  of  the 
Seraphic  Doctor,  the  nobly  speculative  questions  of  meta- 
physics and  of  moral  theology,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
turning  his  attention  to  a  study  less  high,  but  more  prac- 
tical, namely,  the  Lives  of  the  Saints.  He  loved  to  reflect 
on  the  examples  of  those  persons  who  had  diversely  served 
God  ;  —  these  with  an  humble  constancy  and  an  obscure 
horizon  ;  those  with  the  splendor  of  genius  and  celebrity  ; 
and  both  equally  precious  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and  honored 
by  the  Church.  Though  he  was  a  man  of  the  world  then, 
he  still  aspired,  from  the  depths  of  his  heart,  to  celebrate 
the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ.  Deeply  penetrated  with  the 
divine  light  with  which  the  Holy  Scrijotures  illuminate 
the  understanding  of  the  sincerely  submissive  believer, 
Columbus  did  not  confine  himself  to  what  was  to  be 
learned  in  the  library.  He  lived  the  monastic  life,  and 
joined  in  the  studies  and  the  meditations  of  the  Father 
Superior,  and  in  the  offices  and  the  s|)iritual  entertain- 
ments of  the  community.  He  knew  the  spirit  of  St. 
Francis,  and  loved  his  Order,  his  rule,  and  his  habit. 

In  his  turn,  in  Christopher  Columbus, Father  Juan  Perez 
loved  the  man,  as  he  had  already  admired  the  cosmographer, 
the  poet,  the  superior  genius.  We  hesitate  not  to  say  he 
loved  him  so  much  the  more  that,  being  his  confessor,  it 
was  given  him  to  see  naked  that  faith  which  remained 
pure  and  firm  in  spite  of  the  audacity  of  learning,  and  of 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


91 


the  curiosity  of  the  intellect.  He  could  contemplate  face 
to  face  that  thought  more  vast  than  the  known  world,  hum- 
bly inclined  at  the  feet  of  the  judge  who  has  the  power  to  ' 
bind  and  to  loosen,  —  having,  as  a  priest,  read  clearly  in 
the  depths  of  this  soul,  which,  without  being  aware  of  it, 
unveiled  its  beauty  in  disclosing  its  fiaults  in  the  tribunal 
of  confession.  He  admired  so  much  genius  united  to  so 
much  humility.  He  was  astonished  at  the  grandeur  of  this 
man  so  little  known,  in  whom  the  highest  qualities  were 
associated  in  such  harmony  that  they  seemed  to  make  but 
one  by  preeminence  —  that  which  we  call  Virtue.  The 
Franciscan  recognized  in  Columbus  the  mark  of  a  provi- 
dential election.  It  was,  therefore,  that  he  became  inter- 
ested in  his  destiny,  and  became  attached  to  it  with  a 
devotion  that  only  ended  with  his  life. 

At  the  time  Columbus  resolved  to  leave  the  monastery  of 
La  Rabida,  Father  Juan  Perez  procured  for  him  a  small 
sum  of  money,  and  gave  him  an  earnest  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  a  man  of  influence  at  Court,  —  the  Prior  of 
Prado,  —  whose  benevolent  mediation,  he  said,  would  ob- 
tain for  him  an  easy  access  and  a  favorable  reception.  As 
Father  Juan  Perez  judged  that,  notwithstanding  her  noble 
origin,  the  sister-in-law  of  Columbus,  the  wife  of  poor 
Muliar,  could  not,  at  Huelva,  give  a  suitable  education  to 
the  young  Diego,  her  nephew,  he  wished  himself  to  take 
charge  of  his  instruction.  It  was,  therefore,  under  the 
roof,  and  with  the  bread,  the  clothing,  and  the  books  of 
the  charitable  Franciscan  family,  that  the  son  of  Columbus 
was  fed,  clothed,  and  educated  in  his  early  youth. 

The  guest  of  the  convent  of  La  Rabida,  having  his  heart 
henceforth  at  ease,  and  his  mind  at  rest,  in  regard  to  his 
child,  took  leave  of  the  venerable  Superior,  and,  accom- 
panied by  his  prayers,  took  the  route  for  Cordova. 


92  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Sojourn  of  Columbus  in  Cordova.  —  He  marries  Beatrix  Enriquez.  — 
The  support  of  the  Clei'gy  procures  for  him  an  audience  with 
the  Sovereigns.  —  His  useless  solicitations.  —  The  conferences  at 
Salamanca.  —  He  serves  at  the  siege  of  Baza.  —  The  Superior  of 
La  Rabida  aeain  comes  to  aid  him. 


SECTION  I. 

COLUMBUS  came,  full  of  hope,  to  Cordova,  furnished 
with  the  letter  from  which  he  expected  a  result  as 
jDrompt  as  it  would  be  efficacious.  The  great  influence  of 
the  Prior  of  Prado,  it  seemed  to  him,  ought  to  exempt  him 
from  ordinary  delays,  and  gain  him  prompt  access  to  their 
Highnesses.*  But,  alas  !  the  reception  he  got  from  this 
personage  soon  dissipated  the  illusion.  Not  only  did  the 
Prior  make  him  no  promise,  but  he  would  permit  him  to 
have  no  hope,  and  would  not  even  deign  to  listen  to  him. 
Fernando  de  Talavera,  who  was  to  be  his  assiduous  intro- 
ducer to  the  sovereigns,  became  the  first  obstacle  to  the 
issue  of  his  project.  This  man  seemed  to  be  chosen  to 
exercise  painfully  his  patience  and  his  resignation. 

Justly  indignant  at  the  impediments  raised  against  genius 
in  the  accomplishment  of  its  work,  several  writers  have 
treated  with  severity  the  Prior  of  Prado,  for  the  anxieties 
he  caused  .to  the  most  noble  solicitor  of  the  world.  Im- 
partiality obliges  lis  to  acknowledge  that  their  generous 
indignation  has  carried  them  too  far. 

Brother  Fernando  de  Talavera,  of  the  congregation  of 

*  At  this  period,  in  Spain,  the  sovereigns  received  only  the  title 
of  Highness.  That  of  Majesty  was  not  used  until  the  reign  of 
Charles  V. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ç)3 

the  Hieronymites,  Prior  of  Our  Lady  of  Prado  in  Valla- 
dolid,  and  confessor  to  the  two  sovereigns,  was  not  an 
ordinary  character,  envious  of  the  glory  of  others,  or 
systematically  opposed  to  every  new  idea.  Equally  versed 
in  letters  and  in  theology,  he,  some  years  before,  frankly 
seconded  the  literary  movement  inaugurated  by  Isabella. 
The  wisdom  of  his  counsels  equalled  his  modesty.  His 
assiduity  in  business  matters,  and  his  sagacious  proceedings, 
augmented  the  revenue  of  the  Crown  with  more  than  three 
million  maravedis.  In  the  midst  of  the  splendors  of  the 
Court,  he  continued  to  lead  the  life  of  a  true  religious. 
Beneath  an  extreme  gentleness,  and  a  smiling  piety,  he 
concealed  many  austerities,  as  well  as  an  ardent  zeal  for 
the  glory  of  Catholicity.  Free  from  all  personal  ambition, 
edifying  in  his  actions  as  well  as  in  his  words,  he  pos- 
sessed, without  reserve,  the  confidence  of  the  sovereigns, 
and  enjoyed,  even  at  Court,  a  reputation  for  virtue  that 
bordered  on  sanctity. 

What  we  know  of  him  is  not  indicative  of  narrowness  of 
views.  But,  however  learned  and  pious  the  Prior  was,  he 
had  no  special  knowledge  of  mathematics,  and  therefore 
could  not  have  been  a  competent  judge  in  a  matter  of 
cosmography.  He  judged  from  appearances,  without  being 
a  physiognomist,  and  must  necessarily  have  been  deceived. 

The  aspect  of  this  stranger,  —  obscure,  poorly  clothed, 
come  nobody  could  tell  how  into  Spain,  arriving  at  Court 
without  any  support  but  the  patronage  of  a  monk  of  a 
rural  monastery, — gave  him  no  very  advantageous  idea 
of  the-  man,  or,  consequently,  of  his  project.  He  believed 
Father  Juan  Perez  had  been  imposed  on  by  this  dreamer. 
Accordingly,  he  determined  to  let  this  prot'egk  dance  at- 
tendance at  the  vestibules,  the  reception-rooms  and  stair- 
cases,—  to  exercise  his  patience,  and  cause  him  to  become 
disgusted  with  the  trade  of  soliciting.  He  thought  that  in 
that  he  would  render  him  a  service.  And  when,  tlnough 
compassion,  he  consented  to  receive  him,  his  air  of  incredu- 
lity, or  of  distraction,  showing  itself  through  the  politeness 


94 


HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


of  his  manners,  would  have  discouraged  the  perseverance 
of  Columbus,  had  it  not  been  sustained  by  the  invisible 
support  that  was  given  him. 

We  may  now  judge  whether  or  not  the  Prior,  who  had 
made  it  a  rule  not  to  interfere  in  any  recommendation,  felt 
disposed  to  make  any  solicitation  in  behalf  of  this  Italian. 
He  would  have  considered  himself  culpable  towards  their 
Highnesses,  in  prevailing  on  them,  iu  times  so  urgent,  to 
spare  some  moments  in  listening  to  an  adventurer,  who, 
scarcely  having  himself  a  coat,  came  to  offer  them  king- 
doms. Columbus,  then,  had  to  suffer  and  to  struggle 
against  the  prejudices  of  him  who  he  expected  would  be 
his  protector.  During  these  disappointments  and  unsuc- 
cessful attempts,  being  at  the  end  of  his  resources,  and 
feeling  keenly  the  restraints  of  poverty,  he  was  obliged, 
in  order  to  support  himself,  to  recommence  his  copying  of 
manuscripts,  and  his  drawing  of  marine  charts. 

Lost  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd  in  that  brilliant  Cordova, 
famous  for  its  elegant  frivolities  and  the  exigencies  of  its 
luxury,  Columbus  found  himself  forgotten,  isolated,  without 
friends,  without  familiar  acquaintances,  and  given  up  to  the 
saddest  abandonment  ;  when,  notwithstanding  his  destitu- 
tion, a  noble  maiden,  in  whose  neighborhood  he  lodged, 
desired  to  console  his  misfortune  in  attaching  herself  to  him 
by  an  indissoluble  union. 

She  was  of  high  descent.  Her  birih  far  surpassed  her 
fortune,  and  her  beauty  her  birth.  She  was  named  Beatrix. 
This  name,  so  much  loved  by  Dante,  seemed  to  have  been 
made  for  an  Italian.  Doiia  Beatrix  Enriquez  belonged  to 
the  noble  house  of  Arana,  one  of  the  most  ancient  families 
of  Cordova,  in  which  virtue  was  transmitted  by  right  of 
birth,  and  which,  notwithstanding  its  little  opulence,  enjoyed 
that  respectability  which  riches  alone  can  never  obtain. 

The  laconicism  of  historians,  often  their  silence,  and 
always  the  absence  of  Beatrix  Enriquez  on  solemn  occasions, 
some  words  of  Columbus  on  his  death-bed,  veiled  with  a 
modest  reticence,  and  grossly  interpreted,  have  produced 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


95 


a  general  prejudice  against  her.  In  fact,  ancient  his- 
torians, after  having  mentioned  the  fact  of  Cokunbus's 
marriage,  have  no  more  spoken  of  Beatrix.  It  was  because 
they  had  nothing  to  say  against  her.  Her  modesty,  tlie 
nature  of  her  tastes,  her  habits,  which  made  her  shun  the 
high  scenes  to  wliich  her  title  gave  her  access,  her  attach- 
ment for  her  native  city,  from  which  she  was  never  absent, 
have  prevented  her  being  followed  throughout  the  course  of 
her  life.  Her  history  is  limited  to  her  marriage,  as  her 
happiness  is  to  her  union.  The  Christian  wife  enjoys 
modestly  the  glory  of  her  husband,  and  does  not  make  a 
show  of  it. 

In  what  concerns  Beatrix  Enriquez  the  documents  are 
brief,  but  convincing. 

They  show  that  she  descended  from  the  highest  nobility, 
and  was  of  rare  beauty.  Her  fortune,  unequal  to  her  rank, 
still  insured  her  an  independent  living.  But,  having 
brothers,  it  is  probable  that,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
times  and  of  the  country,  she  received  as  a  marriage  portion 
only  her  "  legitime^  The  marriage  of  Beatrix  Enriquez 
took  place  in  Cordova  towards  the  end  of  November,  14S6. 
She  became  the  mother  of  Fernando  Columbus  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  August  followinîT. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  union  was  providentially  prepared 
to  fix  Columbus  in  Spain,  in  order  to  attach  him  by  family 
ties  to  that  heroic  Jand  which  had  become  his  adopted 
country.  If  we  consider  attentively  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  marriage  took  place,  we  shall  find  in  it  some- 
thing strange,  exceptional,  like  the  destiny  of  Columbus; 
there  will  be  found  united  in  it  —  unexpectedness,  grandeur, 
and  moral  suflcring. 

Notwithstanding  her  noble  origin,  her  youth,  and  her  rare 
beauty,  Beatrix  espoused  a  man  then  without  name,  and 
without  his  family  being  known  ;  without  youth,  for  he  was 
forty-nine  years  old  ;  without  virginity  of  heart,  as  he  was 
a  widower  having  a  son  ;  and  without  fortune,  for  he 
possessed  no  lands  or  other  property.     Assuredly  his  dis- 


^6  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

tinguished  air,  the  elevaUon  of  his  conversations,  savoring 
of  a  picturesque  inaccuracy,  showed  his  superiority  ;  but 
his  costume  w^as  unavoidably  poor  and  plain  :  his  hair 
wholly  gray,  and  the  wrinkles  of  his  forehead  no  longer 
presented  the  charms  of  a  long  future,  about  which  passion 
so  often  becomes  voluntarily  deluded.  As  an  object  of 
hope,  he  possessed  only  a  project  that  was  three  times  re- 
jected by  the  councils  of  governments.  Without  doubt,  the 
Aranas  and  the  Enriquezes  were  opposed  to  this  union, 
which  shocked  them  in  their  legitimate  pride,  their  interests, 
their  prejudices,  even  their  reason  itself,  and  ought  to  appear 
less  a  surprise  of  the  heart  than  an  aberration  of  the  mind. 
There  could  have  been  no  want  of  dissuading  Beatrix,  of 
representing  Columbus  as  an  obscure  foreigner,  and  as  an 
audacious  babbler  or  a  dreamer.  She  had  to  sustain  the 
opposition  of  her  relations  and  friends,  and  to  brave 
gossipings  and  ridicule, — that  arm  which  always  subdues 
feeble  desires  and  overcomes  common  resolutions. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  a  will  so  firm  as  that  of  Co- 
lumbus should  have  yielded  to  the  sway  of  the  heart,  the 
beauty  of  Dona  Beatrix  must  have  been  irresistible,  and 
her  moral  qualities  muât  have  formed  with  her  person  an 
ensemble  wonderfully  harmonious.  But  if  he  loved  her  on 
account  of  her  charms,  of  a  certainty  he  was  smitten  only 
with  her  devotedness,  and  loved  her  only  because  she  loved 
him.  Gratitude,  that  generous  sentiijient  which  becomes 
most  deeply  rooted  in  human  affection,  subdues  the  tender- 
ness of  that  man  whom  nothing  could  have  subjugated 
whilst  he  contained  within  his  bosom  the  most  vast  thought 
of  the  whole  earth. 

It  was  not  a  marriage  of  convenience,  of  fortune,  or  of 
position  ;  it  was  an  inclination,  pure  and  invincible,  and 
stronger  than  ambition,  or  experience,  or  even  misfortune. 
It  was  necessary  that  he  should  love  with  all  the  power  of 
his  soul,  and  feel  a  sovereign  charm,  in  order  that  the 
necessity  of  quitting  resolutely  the  presence  of  the  object 
beloved,  of  living  voluntarily  in  the  remoteness  of  separation 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  c); 

to  accomplish  his  work,  should  render  his  sacrifice  more 
meritorious,  and  the  immolation  of  his  heart  more  sublime, — 
a  sacrifice  and  immolation  of  which  nobody  has  hitherto 
spoken,  or  kept  account  of  in  history'. 

The  felicity  which  Beatrix  oflered  him,  placed  as  a 
temptation  on  the  rugged  route  he  was  to  travel,  could  not 
captivate  that  soul  wholly  inspired  with  its  mission,  or  turn 
it  from  its  immortal  purpose.  Columbus,  while  he  was  yet 
in  Cordova,  notwithstanding  the  charms  of  his  marriage, 
did  not  the  less  continue  with  perseverance  his  useless  efibrts 
to  be  heard  and  be  brought  before  the  sovereigns.  Not 
being  able  to  succeed,  he  took  his  pen  and  addressed  King 
Ferdinand  directly  in  these  terms: — 

"  Most  Sc7'ene  Pri?ice.,  — 

"I  have  been  engaged  in  navigating  from  my  youth.  I 
have  voyaged  on  the  seas  for  nearly  forty  years.  I  have 
visited  all  the  known  quarters  of  the  world,  and  have 
conversed  with  a  great  number  of  learned  men  :  with  eccle- 
siastics, with  seculars,  with  Latins,  with  Greeks,  with  Moors, 
and  with  persons  of  all  sorts  of  religions.  I  have  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  navigation,  of  astronomy,  and  of 
geometry.  I  am  sufficiently  expert  in  designing  the  chart 
of  the  earth  to  place  the  cities,  the  rivers,  and  the  moun- 
tains where  they  are  situated.  I  have  applied  myself  to  the 
study  of  works  on  cosmography,  on  history,  and  on  philos- 
ophy. I  feel  myself  at  present  strongly  urged  to  undertake 
the  discovery  of  the  Indies;  and  I  come  to  your  Highness 
to  supplicate  you  to  favor  my  enterprise.  I  doubt  not  that 
those  who  hear  it  will  turn  it  into  ridicule  ;  but  if  your 
Highness  will  give  me  the  means  of  executing  it,  whatever 
the  obstacles  may  be  I  hope  to  be  able  to  make  it  succeed." 

In  this  style,  straightforward,  firm,  and  concise,  in  which 
facts  take  the  j^lace  of  words,  we  see  stamped  the  character 
of  the  man. 

This  letter  received  no  answer.  As  its  author  had  fore- 
9 


c)S  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

seen,  those  perhaps  to  whom  it  was  communicated  mocked 
at  the  idea,  and  the  King  did  as  they  did.  Columbus 
waited,  and  did  not  become  disheartened,  but  persisted  in 
seeking  to  be  heard  in  some  other  way.  •  At  length  he  suc- 
ceeded in  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  former  ajDOStolic 
nuncio,  Antonio  Geraldini.  This  prelate,  at  the  Qiieen's 
request,  had  just  returned  to  Spain  to  finish  the  education 
of  her  oldest  daughter. 

The  high  intellectual  ability  of  Antonio  Geraldini  predis- 
j^osed  him  for  grand  conce^Dtions.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  his  head  was  encircled  with  the  golden  laurel  for  poetry, 
amid  the  acclamations  of  almost  the  whole  of  Italy.  Ac- 
cording to  Apostolo  Zeno,  he  composed,  among  other 
remarkable  pieces,  twelve  poems  on  the  life  of  our  Saviour. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  generous  disposition.  As  soon  as  he 
became  acquainted  with  Columbus,  he  experienced  a  lively 
attraction  towards  him,  and  became  his  friend,  when  he 
thought  he  was  only  his  protector.  He  held  discourse  about 
his  project  with  the  principal  personages  of  the  Court,  and 
especially  the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  Pedro  Gonzalez  de 
Medona,  who  was  also  Grand  Chancellor  of  Castile. 

At  the  request  of  the  ex-nuncio,  the  Grand  Cardinal  re- 
ceived into  his  presence  the  Genoese  navigator.  More 
accustomed  to  aflairs  than  the  Prior  of  Prado,  and  measur- 
ing men  by  the  first  glance,  as  soon  as  he  saw  Columbus 
he  recognized  his  marked  superiority.  After  having  heard 
him  he  felt  a  high  esteem  for  him,  and  conceived  so  high 
an  opinion  of  his  personal  character,  that,  without  having 
thoroughly  examined  his  j^lan,  he  considered  it  his  duty  to 
speak  of  him  to  the  sovereigns.  It  was  through  this  benevo- 
lent intervention  that  Columbus  was  finally  enabled  to  ob- 
tain an  audience. 

Notwithstanding  the  poorness  of  his  clothing,  and  his 
foreign  accent,  Columbus  appeared  before  the  sovereigns 
without  hesitation  or  awkwardness.  The  dignity  of  his 
air  and  the  grace  of  his  deportment,  with  the  noble  famili- 
arity of  his  language,  won  their  attention.     One  would  sa}'' 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  (jc) 

he  was  a  disguised  king  conversing  with  his  equals  ;  because, 
forgetting  his  poverty,  and  wliolly  penetrated  with  the  sanc- 
tity of  his  object,  he  raised  himself  to  the  height  of  his  mis- 
sion, having  a  presentiment  that  he  was  the  legate  of 
Providence,  *  sent  to  the  most  powerful  of  Christian 
princes,  and  especially  those  most  zealous  for  the  faith  : 
because  he  was  engaged  in  proposing  to  those  princes  an 
enterprise  that  would  immortalize  their  reigns,  "  in  doing 
service  to  our  Lord  by  spreading  His  holy  name  and  the 
faith  among  so  many  peo^Dles,  '  who,  perhaps,  were  still 
ignorant  of  the  INIessias.  To  glorify  the  Redeemer,  carry 
the  Gospel  and  civilization  to  the  most  distant  countries, 
and  thus  turn  the  temporal  power  to  a  good  account,  was 
to  prepare  the  way  for  an  imperishable  crown  in  eternity. 

It  was  plainly  and  solely  on  this  religious  motive  that 
Columbus  based  his  hopes  in  addressing  himself  to  the 
Qiicen.  The  political  and  commercial  advantages  which 
he  urged  before  the  governments  of  Genoa,  Vciiice  and 
Portugal,  were  here  presented  only  as  secondary  considera- 
tions. The  first  object  of  the  Discoveiy,  disengaged  from 
every  human  consideration,  was,  therefore,  the  glorification 
of  the  Redeemer  and  the  extension  of  His  Church.  Histo- 
rians have  hitherto  left  this  circumstance  unnoticed,  or  in  a 
state  of  vague  confusion. 

Columbus,  a  man  of  desire  like  Daniel,  wholly  animated 
with  the  divine  spirit,  knowing  the  tender  piety  of  the 
Qiieen,  and  receiving  the  favor  of  her  attention  as  a  pledge 
of  her  sympathy,  spoke  from  his  heart.  His  eloquence 
penetrated  that  of  Isabella.  From  that  moment  she  took 
an  indefinable  interest  in  that  stranger.  His  intelligent 
look,  his  fiice  beaming  with  genius,  and  his  language  full 
of  natural  elevation,  —  notwithstanding  some  defects  in  his 
prosody,  —  showed  an  uncommon  superiority,  and  inspired 
confidence  and  esteem,  mingled  with  respect. 

The  King,  no  doubt,  experienced  a  little  of  this  influence  ; 

*  Columbus.  —  Relation  du  troisihne  Voyage,  etc. 


lOO  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

but  his  character,  full  of  cold  circumspection,  oj^posed  to 
every  impulse  of  the  heart,  prevented  him  from  coming  to  a 
decision.  He  desired  that  a  project  founded  on  scientific 
data  should  at  first  be  verified  by  science  ;  and  referred  the 
matter  to  a  junta,  or  council,  of  savans^  which  he  charged 
the  Prior  of  Prado  to  convoke  and  preside  over. 

The  commission  given  to  the  Prior  was  not  as  easy  to 
fulfil  as  one  would  think.  At  that  period,  Castile  counted 
but  a  small  number  of  cosmographers,  and  it  is  acknowl- 
edged that  these  were  not  very  able.  For  want  of  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  cosmographers,  the  Prior  summoned  some_ 
theologians. 

Salamanca,  where  the  Court  passed  that  winter,  was 
naturally  chosen  as  the  place  for  the  learned  Congress. 
To  assist  the  Prior  of  Prado  in  his  functions,  his  cousin, 
Rodrigo  Maldenado  de  Talavera,  mayor  {i-egidor)  of 
Salamanca,  was  appointed  secretary.  The  date  of  this 
memorable  junta  has  not  been  preserved  by  history. 
Nevertheless,  two  circumstances  enable  us  to  determine 
it  very  nearly.  The  junta  met  in  November,  14S6.  The 
official  reports  of  the  sittings,  imperfectly  made  known  in 
two  years  after,  have  not  yet  come  forth  from  the  archives 
of  Simancas.  In  the  absence  of  these,  we  may,  at  least, 
form  an  idea  of  the  characters  of  those  who  shared  in  this 
curious  debate  between  the  intuition  of  genius  and  the 
incredulity  of  routine. 

SECTION  II. 

Religion  and  science  composed  almost  solely  the  city  of 
Salamanca.  Besides  the  King's  College,  and  those  of  the 
orders  of  Calatrava,  of  Alcantara,  of  the  Orphans,  of  St. 
John,  of  St.  Pelagius,  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  of  the 
Cross,  of  St.  Mary,  of  St.  Bartholomus,  etc.,  the  Domin- 
icans, the  Franciscans,  the  Augustinians,  the  Benedictines, 
the  Hieronymites,  the  Bernardines,  the  Fathers  of  Mercy, 
the  Trinitarians,  the  Canons  regular,  the  Carmelites,  had 
each  their  school. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  iqi 

These  several  institutions  comprised  nearly  all  the  de- 
grees of  education.  Some  were  limited  to  Latin  and 
humanities,  whilst  others  taught  the  higher  branches,  such 
as  the  natural  sciences,  law,  and  theology.  In  the  convents 
where  these  higher  courses  were  carried  on,  some  public 
halls  exteriorly  annexed  to  the  cloister  remained  easily 
accessible  to  youth. 

Education,  then,  in  all  its  degrees  was  given  on  a  large 
scale  in  Salamanca.  These  numerous  educational  estab- 
_  lishments  were  conducted  under  the  sole  direction  of  a 
council  called  the  University,  over  which  a  rector  presided, 
who  was  elected  on  the  feast  of  St.  Martin.  Nearly  eight 
thousand  students  had  their  names  entered  on  the  register 
of  the  University. 

From  its  real  superiority  and  renown,  the  college  of  the 
higher  studies,  then  directed  by  the  Dominicans  in  their 
convent  of  St.  Stephen,  excelled  all  the  other  academical 
institutions.  It  was  in  the  halls  of  this  cloister  that  the 
scientific  Junta  assembled. 

It  was  composed  of  the  professors  of  astronomy  and  of 
cosmography,  who  held  the  first  chairs  of  the  University, 
and  of  the  principal  geographers  and  geometers,  who  had 
formerly  studied  mathematics  under  ISIaster  Apollonius,  and 
natural  philosophy  under  Master  Pascual  de  Ai'anda,  the 
only  two  eminent  professors  of  science  that  Salamanca  had 
yet  produced.  Neither  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena, 
nor  the  young  pilot,  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  attended  the  meeting. 
The  Spaniard  assuredly  the  best  skilled  in  matters  of  cos- 
mography, James  Ferrer,  the  learned  lapidary  of  Burgos, 
had  not,  unfortunately,  been  summoned  there.  He  ^Drobably 
was  then  in  Cairo,  or  in  Damascus. 

In  this  congress,  the  audience  was  not  less  imposing  than 
the  judges.  It  possessed  as  much  knowledge  as  they  did, 
and  more  independence.  It  will  be  remembered  how 
unfavorable  the  president  was  to  the  project  of  Columbus. 
His  cousin,  Rodrigo  Maldonado,  partook  of  his  prejudices. 
According  to  the  manner  in  which  things  are  usually  man- 
9* 


I02 


HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


aged  among  commissions,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  before 
the  first  sitting,  the  council,  governed  by  the  well-l^nown 
opinion  of  the  president,  was  prejudiced  against  the  ques- 
tion to  be  decided,  and  against  the  person  who  came  to 
defend  it. 

In  tlie  first  place,  all  considered  Columbus  as  a  vain  man, 
who  pretended  to  be  able  to  discover  things  that  no  cos- 
mographer  had  ever  dreamt  of;  whence  it  was  inferred, 
that  he  considered  himself  superior  to  all  his  predecessors. 
Besides,  he  was  a  foreigner  —  an  aggravating  circumstance, 
and  one  which  constituted  not  the  least  of  his  faults. 

On  the  appointed  day,  Columbus  ajDpeared  before  these 
judges  with  gœat  tranquillity  of  inind,  notwithstanding 
the  immense  distance  that  lay  between  his  ideas  and  theirs. 

INIany  were  predisposed  to  see,  in  the  theory  of  this 
foreigner,  a  dangerous  innovation  ;  concealing,  it  may  be,  a 
heresy. 

Before  speaking,  Columbus  had  resolved,  in  this  contro- 
versy, not  to  go  beyond  certain  generalities,  and  not  to 
make  known  to  the  public  the  determinate  cause  of  his 
convictions.  The  perfidy  of  Portugal  kept  awake  his 
prudence,  even  before  the  loyal  Court  of  Isabella.  What 
he  went  to  prove  from  cosmographie  data  before  the 
congress,  was  not  therefore  the  decisive  reason  of  his 
system,  and  of  its  peremptory  demonstration.  He  pre- 
sented as  principal  reasons,  only  his  secondary  ones. 

Notwithstanding  this  complication  of  embarrassments, 
Columbus  exposed  with  confidence  the  fundamental  reasons 
that  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  base  of  his  project.  As  he 
depended  especially  on  scientific  data  and  principles,  the 
assembly  could  not  well  follow  up  his  arguments.  It  was 
only  the  Dominicans  of  St.  Stephen's  that  listened  to  him 
with  attention  and  favor. 

The  discussion  was  too  long,  and  touched  on  too  many 
incidental  questions  to  be  promptly  terminated.  »  After 
each  statement  of  Columbus,  there  was  a  secret  reunion  of 
the  council,  in  order  to  consider  the  force  of  his  arguments, 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  103 

verify  the  authorities  brought  forward,  and  to  prepare 
answers  or  objections  for  the  next  sitting.  These  con- 
ferences occupied  some  time,  during  w'hich  Columbus  was 
the  guest  of  the  convent  of  St.  Stephen.  The  Dominicans 
provided  for  all  his  wants,  entertained  him  generously,  and 
even  defrayed  his  travelling  expenses.*  Even  to  this  day, 
their  community  takes  no  small  degree  of  honor  to  itself, 
for  the  hospitality  so  worthily  extended  to  the  messenger 
of  Providence,  then  comparatively  unknown,  f 

Columbus,  feeling  that  in  this  Council,  where  the  number 
of  theologians  was  far  greater  than  that  of  mariners  and 
cosmographers,  inductions  purely  scientific  would  not 
suffice  for  his  judges,  determined,  notwithstanding  the 
fear  of  being  suspected  of  heresy,  to  discliss,  at  last,  even 
the  texts  of  Scripture  and  the  opinions  of  commentators. 

The  ardor  of  his  apostleship  appeared  then  to  transfigure 
him  in  the  ejxs  of  his  audience.  The  raajcst}' of  his  person, 
the  illumination  of  his  countenance,  and  the  keen  sonorous- 
ness of  his  voice,  gave  his  language  a  persuasion  that  was 
irresistible  to  every  unprejudiced  mind.  The  poetry  and 
the  majesty  of  the  Sacred  Writings  electrified  his  heart  ;  the 
energy  of  his  words  became  ennobled  by  the  grandeur  of 
the  subject  ;  and  he  turned  against  his  adversaries,  in  magnifi- 
cently developing  to  them  those  same  texts  of  Scripture  in 
which  they  thought  they  could  show  him  his  condemnation. 

His  noble  attitude  before  the  Council  was  not  forgotten. 
Many  among  the  assembly  became  convinced.  Among 
these,  the  first  professor  of  theology  in  the  college  of 
St.  Stephen,  the  Dominican  Diego  de  Deza,  took  his 
defence,  and  gained  to  his  cause  the  first  masters  in  the 
University. 

*  "  Todo  cl  tiempo  que  se  detenia  Colon  en  Salamanca,  el  convento 
de  San  Estoban  le  dava  aposcnto  y  comida,  y  le  liazia  el  gasto  de 
sus  Jornadas."  Fray  Antonio  de  Remesal,  Historia  dc  la  Provincia 
dé  San  Vinci7ite  dc  Chiapa  y  Guatemala,  lib.  Ii.,  cap.  vii. 

f  "Los  Dominicanos  poncn  entre  sus  glorias  el  habcr  hospidado 
en  San  Et^toban  el  Descubridor  de  las  Indias."  —  Muiaoz,  Historia 
del  Nticvo  Mitndo,  tomo  I.,  lib.  11.,  cap.  xxvi. 


I04  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Columbus  had,  then,  in  his  favor  the  respectabilit}',  if  not 
the  number,  of  the  suffrages.  But  some  fastidious  intellects 
and  opiniative  scholastics  considered  it  singularly  pre- 
sumptuous that  a  mariner  should  contest  the  opinions  of 
St,  Augustine  and  of  Nicholas  de  Lyra.  And  there  was 
circulated  a  vague  rumor,  which  became  dangerous  in  that 
country,  where  the  Inquisition,  lately  established  there, 
displayed  the  activity  of  its  new  jurisdiction.  Happily  the 
Nuncio,  jMonseigneur  Scandiano,  was  not  ignorant  of  what 
had  passed.  The  former  Nuncio  of  the  Holy  See  was  there. 
His  young  brother,  Alessandro  Geraldini,  having  a  pre- 
sentiment of  the  danger,  obtained  an  immediate  audience 
with  the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain.  A  few  words  from  him 
sufficed  to  show  that  the  opinion  of  Nicholas  de  Lyra,  great 
as  he  was  as  a  commentator,  and  even  of  St.  Augustine,  so 
eminent  for  his  philosophy  as  well  as  his  sanctity,  could 
not  be  of  authority  in  matters  of  cosmography  and  of  navi- 
gation, —  sciences  that  were  foreign  to  their  labors.  The 
opinion  of  the  Apostolic  Nuncio,  of  the  Grand  Cardinal,  of 
the  Ex-Nuncio,  and  of  his  brother  Alessandro,  and  the  lively 
sympathies  of  the  professor  of  theology  of  St.  Stephen's, 
Diego  de  Deza,  supported  by  some  notables  of  Salamanca, 
arrested  the  effects  of  the  insinuations  about  which  the 
Holy  Office  had  already  taken  umbrage. 

The  Court  did  not  await  the  end  of  these  conferences.  It 
left  Salamanca  the  twenty-sixth  of  January,  14S7,  to  go  to 
Andalusia. 

The  Junta  separated  before  spring,  without  having  con- 
cluded anything.  It  condemned  the  project  as  being  both 
chimerical  and  impracticable.  Still,  its  proceedings  were 
not  drawn  up  and  sent  to  the  Court.  The  campaign  into 
Malaga  caused,  for  a  time,  the  project  of  Columbus  to 
be  lost  sight  of.  Fernando  de  Talavera  could  not  occupy 
himself  with  it.  In  the  first  place,  he  took  no  interest  in 
it,  not  believing  the  enterprise  was  practicable.  On  the 
other  hand,  obliged  to  follow  the  Coui't  in  his  quality  of 
confessor  to  the  Qiieen,  notwithstanding  his  recent  promo- 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  105 

tion  to  the  bishopric  of  Avila,  it  would  be  difficult  for  him 
to  follow  up  the  aftair,  all  the  members  of  the  Council 
having  been  dispersed. 

Still,  notwithstanding  the  sterility  of  the  Junta,  the  con- 
ferences at  Salamanca  served  to  bring  into  notice  the  erudi- 
tion, the  science,  and  gigantic  views  of  Columbus.  His 
project  had  acquired  an  immense  notoriety,  and  his  name 
a  kind  of  popularity.  From  that  time,  the  Court  began  to 
treat  him  with  consideration.  Without  concluding  any- 
thing, without  making  any  engagement  with  him,  it  was 
easy,  during  spare  hours,  to  question  him,  and  to  converse 
about  his  plan.  The  King  refused  to  risk  a  dollar,  looking 
upon  the  matter  of  unknown  lands  at  the  extremity  of  the 
Indies  as  a  mere  golden  dream. 

It  appears  that  at  several  times  Columbus  was  called  to 
Court.  Payment  for  his  expenses  was  allowed  him  each 
time.  This  ia  seen  in  the  accounts  of  the  royal  treasurer, 
Francis  Gonzalez,  of  Seville.  We  read  there,  at  the  date  of 
^lay  5th,  14S7  :  "  Pay  Christopher  Columbus,  a  foreigner., 
three  thousand  maravedis,  for  things  done  in  the  service  of 
their  Highnesses."*  The  third  of  July  following,  an  equal 
sum  was  paid  him  by  the  same  treasurer.  The  military 
affiairs  that  engaged  the  attention  of  the  sovereigns  caused 
the  proposition  of  Columbus  to  be  postponed,  but  not  re- 
jected ;  certain  dates  prove  the  fact.  The  surrender  of 
Malaga  took  place  the  eighteenth  of  August,  14S7,  and 
nine  days  had  scarcely  elapsed  when  Columbus  received 
from  the  royal  treasury  an  order  for  "  four  thousand  mara- 
vedis, to  repair  to  Court,  by  order  of  their  Highnesses."  j 
The  conferences  about  an  expedition  were  reopened  from 
time  to  time  ;  but  the  immediate  urgency  of  military  affairs 
caused  them  always  to  be  postponed  to  a  future  day.  That 
year,  Cordova  becoming  infested  with  the  plague,  the  Court 
repaired  to  Saragossa,  to  spend  the  winter  in  that  city. 
There  again  the  aftair  of  Columbus  was  brought  forward 
for  a  little  time,  and  he  was  summoned  to  attend  ;  for  a 

♦  Docum.  Diplom.,  num.  11.  ;   Simancas.  t  Ibid. 


Io6  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

receipt  of  the  fifteenth  of  October,  14S7,  shows  that  he 
received  another  order  for  four  thousand  maravedis. 

Useless  solicitations,  and  hopes  deferred,  occupied  almost 
all  the  days  of  Columbus  during  the  following  year. 

Still,  it  depended  only  on  himself  to  execute  at  last  his 
plan,  and  obtain  the  price  he  required  for  his  discovery. 
King  John  II.,  the  only  Portuguese  that  could  appreciate 
his  genius,  had  cleverly  I'esumed  his  negotiations  with  him. 
Columbus,  in  his  answer,  having,  no  doubt,  mentioned  as  a 
reason  for  his  refusal  the  fear  that,  once  in  the  hands  of  the 
inonarch,  his  counsellors  would  seek  some  pretext  to  make 
an  attempt  on  his  liberty,  the  King  sent  him  a  message, 
dated  the  twentieth  of  March,  enclosing  a  safe-conduct. 
The  address  of  the  letter  bore  these  words:  "To  Christo- 
pher Columbus,  our  particyilar  friend,  at  Seville."  But 
Columbus  remained  immovable  in  his  refusal. 

The  sovereigns  quitted  Saragossa  in  the  spring,  to  attempt 
a  surprise  on  the  territory  of  the  Moors.  In  the  course  of 
the  summer  they  called  Columbus  to  Court,  as  is  seen  by 
an  order  for  three  thousand  maravedis,  paid  him  the  six- 
teenth of  June,  14SS.  They  took  up  their  winter  quarters 
in  Valladolid,  which  they  quitted  in  February,  to  go  to 
Medina  del  Campo,  where  they  were  to  receive  an  embassy 
sent  them  by  Henry  VII.,  who  desired  to  contract  an  alli- 
ance with  them.  In  the  commencement  of  May  they  went 
to  Cordova.  At  this  time,  it  appeared  to  them  that  the 
project  of  Columbus  should  receive  a  serious  consideration. 
But  another  impediment  came  in  the  way. 

The  siege  of  Baza  had  been  determined  upon.  It  was 
necessary,  without  losing  a  day  of  the  fine  weather,  to  take 
that  place,  —  one  of  the  strongest  positions  held  by  the 
Moors.  Again  the  project  of  Columbus  was  suspended. 
Unceasingly  gaining  new  strength  in  his  faith,  the  resigna- 
tion of  this  valiant  Christian  was  equal  to  the  persistence 
of  the  almost  fatal  causes  that  so  endlessly  postponed  his 
enterprise.  It  is  not  seen  that  in  this  trying  situation  he 
expressed  any  complaint,  or  betrayed  the  least  impatience. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  107 


SECTION  III. 

The  siege  of  Baza  was  not  a  simple  combination  of 
strategies  ;  it  embraced  nearly  the  last  effort  of  the  Crusade. 
Upon  its  success  dej^endcd  the  fate  of  the  Moors  in  Spain. 
Columbus  took  up  his  sword,  and  repaired  to  the  camp. 
There,  in  the  subaltern  ranks,  he  devoted  himself  silently, 
and  served,  with  as  much  bravery  as  humility,  the  cause  of 
the  Cross.  Pie  appears  even  to  have  given  excellent  advice 
in  regard  to  operations  of  the  siege  ;  but  his  want  of  fortune, 
and  his  being  a  foreigner  and  a  mariner,  prevented  the 
Board  from  turning  it  to  profit.  Several  checks  experi- 
enced in  the  commencement  of  the  campaign,  the  torrents 
of  rain  that  fell,  joined  to  the  diseases  that  were  multiplied 
by  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  disgusted  the  principal  sol- 
diers. The  King  was  solicited  to  raise  the  siege,  for  fear 
of  a  disaster.  Before  deciding  to  do  so,  he  determined  to 
consult  the  Qiieen,  who  was  then  at  Jaen.  Isabella  dis- 
suaded him  from  doing  so,  pi^omising  to  furnish  him  with 
men,  money,  provisions  and  munitions  :  and  she  fulfilled 
her  promise. 

The  surrender  of  Baza,  in  spreading  dismay  among  the 
Mahometan  Moors,  filled  Christian  Spain  with  joy.  Seville 
prejDared  a  magnificent  reception  for  the  two  sovereigns, 
who  made  a  triumphal  entry  within  its  walls.  Columbus 
saw  fute  succeeding  fête,  and  rejoicing  rejoicing,  which 
postponed  still  further  the  renewal  of  the  conferences  he 
had  waited  for  during  two  years. 

Scarcely  had  the  sovereigns  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of 
these  long-continued  rejoicings,  when  a  negotiation  for  the 
marriage  of  their  daughter  Isabella  with  the  Infant  Don 
Alonzo,  —  presumptive  heir  of  the  Crown  of  Portugal, — 
absorbed  their  attention. 

New  ft'tes  preceded  the  union  of  the  prince  and  prin- 
cess, which  took  place  in  April,  1491.  New  parades  of 
splendor  accompanied   and  followed   the  ceremon}-.     The 


loS  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

succession  of  pleasures  and  of  solemnities  appeared  inter- 
minable. Banquets,  dances,  marches,  repelled  the  gravity 
required  for  scientific  discussions.  With  what  patience 
must  not  Columbus  have  been  endowed  ! 

It  was  impossible,  before  winter,  to  resume  the  discussion 
at  Salamanca.  The  report  which  the  Junta  should  have 
sent  to  their  Highnesses  was  not  yet  prepared.  Columbus, 
knowing  that  the  Qiieen  would  not  rest  until  Granada  was 
under  the  domination  of  the  Cross,  was  unwilling  to  await 
the  preparations  for  a  new  war.  Through  the  efforts  of  his 
friends,  he  obtained  an  order  that  the  Council  should  re- 
assemble, and  give  a  definite  judgment  on  his  project. 

The  Bishop  of  Avila,  Fernando  de  Talavera,  presided 
over  this  reunion.  His  opinion  had  not  changed.  The 
members  declared,  unanimously,  that  the  project  was 
founded  on  a  false  and  imaginary  basis,  its  author  affirm- 
ing as  truth  what  was  impossible. 

Notwithstanding  these  disheartening  conclusions,  the 
Qiieen  did  not  abandon  the  project  ;  her  genius  did  not 
condemn  that  of  Columbus.  As  the  war  she  carried  into 
Granada  entailed  enormous  expenses,  Fernando  de  Tala- 
vera was  charged  to  tell  him  that  the  exhausted  state  of 
the  treasury  prevented  the  Qiieen  from  undertaking  the 
enterprise  then  ;  but  that  at  the  end  of  the  war  the  matter 
would  be  reconsidered. 

After  so  many  years  of  obsequious  waiting,  of  persevering 
measures,  of  baflied  hopes,  that  answer  would  have  over- 
whelmed any  other  mind  but  that  of  Columbus.  But, 
accustomed  to  privations,  to  railleries,  and  the  disdain  of 
proud  ignorance,  he  bore  with  firmness  this  new  disap- 
pointment. Determining  absolutely  that  Spain,  whose 
religious  zeal  and  chivalric  character  interested  his  deep- 
est sympathies,  should  profit  by  his  discovery,  he  proposed 
the  enterprise  to  one  of  the  greatest  lords  of  Castile,  —  the 
Duke  of  Medina-Sidonia,  —  who  owned  a  fleet,  ports,  and 
even  armies.  Some  years  before,  to  raise  the  blockade  of 
Albania,  which  the  Moors  had  pressed,  he  levied,  among 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  109 

his  subjects,  an  army  of  forty  thousand  infantry  and  five 
thousand  cavahy.  The  JMcdina-Sidonias  held,  royally,  a 
state  of  sovereignty.  Their  power  became  augmented  by 
their  alliances  with  the  most  ancient  houses  of  Spain. 
Consanguinity  imited  their  flimily,  among  others,  with  that 
of  Her  Excellency  Eugénie  de  Montijo,  Countess  of  Teba, 
who  has  become  the  Empress  of  the  French. 

An  honorable  reception,  and  an  offer  to  be  recommended 
to  the  Qiieen,  was  all  that  he  could  obtain  from  this  great 
lord,  who  Vi'as  then  much  occupied  with  his  preparations 
for  the  coming  campaign.  The  largeness  of  the  views  of 
Columbus  made  him  consider  the  project  as  an  illusion, 
and,  it  may  be,  a  snare  held  out  for  his  finances.  He  dis- 
trusted him,  especially  because  he  was  a  foreigner. 

During  these  intervals,  a  gentleman  named  Morales, 
intendant  of  the  Duke  of  !Mcdina-Celi,  who  possessed  a 
powerful  fleet  also,  engaged  his  master  to  attempt  the 
enterprise.  Columbus  was  requested  to  come  to  Puerto 
Santa  Maria,  a  city  belonging  to  the  Duke.  A  noble 
hospitality  awaited  him  there.  The  Duke  of  Medina-Celi, 
struck  with  his  grandeur  of  character,  and  taken  with  his 
conversation,  felt  so  much  confidence  in  him  that  he  had 
ships  proper  for  a  voyage  of  discovery  immediately  con- 
structed. But,  when  the  moment  for  embarkation  came, 
changing  his  mind,  and  fearing  that  such  an  enterprise, 
made  in  his  name,  would  cause  distrust  in  the  Qiieen,  he 
determined  to  solicit  first  her  authorization.  With  this 
view,  he  wrote  to  her  from  Rota.* 

The  Qiiecn  thanked  the  Duke  for  this  act  of  deference,  and 
requested  him  to  cede  the  shipping  to  the  Crown,  promising 
that  he  should  be  reimbursed  for  the  exj^enses  after  the  war. 
She  told  him  that,  though  she  did  not  much  believe  in  the 
success  of  the  project,  she  was  still  determined  to  make  the 
trial.  The  Qiieen  then  requested  the  Duke  to  send  Colum- 
bus to  her.     On  the  arrival  of  the  latter,  with  great  delicacy 

*  Documcntos  Diplom.,  num.  xiv. 
10 


no 


HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


of  feeling,  she  confided  him  to  the  good  care  of  Alonzo  de 
Qiiintanilla,  wliose  nobleness  of  spirit,  grandeur  of  views, 
and  Catholic  zeal,  merited  so  well  the  honor  of  such  hospi- 
tality. At  several  times  the  Qiieen  caused  Columbus  to  be 
called,  conversed  with  him  about  his  plan,  and  assured  him 
that  after  the  war  he  should  be  satisfied.  But  when  would 
the  war  end?  All  the  Moors  in  Spain  saw  in  Granada 
their  last  rampart.  Their  defence,  prepared  long  in  ad- 
vance, promised  to  be  most  desperate.  To  put  off  the 
enterprise  until  the  end  of  the  war,  would  it  not  be  to  post- 
pone it  indefinitely? 

Reviewing  in  his  mind  the  delays,  the  refusals,  the 
afi\'onts  he  had  borne  in  silence  ;  seeing  that  his  life  was 
wearing  away  painfully,  and  in  vain,  as  regarded  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  work  ;  and  fearing  that  Spain,  blind  and 
deaf  to  her  own  interests,  and  ungrateful  for  the  constancy 
of  his  devotedness,  was  disinherited  by  Providence  of  the 
grandeurs  destined  for  her,  —  Columbus  ceased  from  solicit- 
ing longer.  He  turned  away  from  the  Court  where  his 
patience  was  so  often  tried,  and  determined  to  go  imme- 
diately to  France,  in  order  to  treat  with  her  king,  to  whom 
he  had  recently  addressed  his  proposition. 

Already  at  his  departure  from  Lisbon,  foreseeing  the  case 
where  Spain  may  reject  his  offers,  to  economize  time  Colum- 
bus had  sent  his  brother  Bartholomew  to  propose,  in  his 
name,  the  enterprise  to  the  King  of  England.  Since  then  he 
had  not  heard  from  him.  But  he  had  resolved  not  to  j^ush 
the  negotiation  which  he  believed  was  already  commenced 
in  London,  until  after  France  would  have  formally  rejected 
his  pro]30sal. 

Before  leaving  Spain,  perhaps  forever,  he  concluded  to 
take  to  his  wife  in  Cordova  his  son  Diego,  who  remained  at 
the  monastery  of  La  Rabida,  in  the  charge  of  the  worthy 
Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  who  charitably  attended  to  his 
education. 

He  went  then  to  the  convent  of  La  Rabida. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  m 


SECTION  IV. 

An  inexpressible  sadness  seized  the  heart  of  the  Father 
Superior  wlien  he  saw  at  the  door  of  the  monastery  his  old 
guest  and  friend,  bearing  on  his  countenance  the  traces  of 
fatigues  and  of  disappointed  hoboes,  endured  for  nearly  six 
years.  When  he  learned  that  this  great  man,  weary  of  con- 
tending with  the  disdain  of  savants  and  the  temporizations 
of  the  Court,  had  determined  to  quit  Spain  and  gift  another 
nation  with  his  ideas,  his  patriotism  became  as  much  moved 
as  his  friendship.  He  trembled  for  his  country  ;  he  feared 
to  see  her  irrecoverably  deprived  of  the  glory  and  of  the 
prosperity  that  such  an  enterprise  would  acquire  for  her. 
He  begged  Columbus  to  delay  his  departure,  and  to  spend 
some  time  with  him. 

Juan  Perez  begged  a  friend,  a  disciple  of  St.  Francis,  and 
he  could  not  be  refused.  Besides,  the  peace  of  the  cloister 
was  welcome  to  Columbus  ;  he  needed  recollection  of  spirit, 
and  repose  in  God,  from  the  fatigues  of  the  world.  He  needed 
to  have  his  hopes  renewed,  to  become  more  thoroughly 
confirmed  in  his  exceptional  vocation,  and  to  draw  from 
this  mysterious  source  new  force  against  the  disdain  and 
the  conflicts  that,  maybe,  awaited  him  elsewhere. 

Until  then  the  father  superior  had  accepted,  through 
spontaneous  sympathy  and  a  preexisting  conviction,  the 
project  of  Columbus.  He  judged  of  it  intuitively,  and  be- 
lieved it  without  the  influence  of  anybody  else.  Still,  in 
remembering  that  at  two  congresses,  the  Junta  of  cosmog- 
raphers  had  rejected  the  idea  of  his  guest,  his  moderation 
made  him  think  that  perhaps  he  was  deceived,  that  he  had 
mistaken  his  desires  for  reasons,  and  his  reasons  for  the 
truth  itself;  and  that  science,  divested  of  illusions  and  of 
enthusiasm,  may  falsify  his  dearest  hopes.  In  order  to 
remove  these  doubts,  he  determined  to  have  other  opinion 
besides  his  own  in  regard  to  the  views  of  Columbus.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  sent  immediately  to  Palos,  for  the  physician 


112  H  I  ST  OR  r  OB  [book  i. 

Garcia  Hernandez,  a  mathematician  well  versed  in  cosmog- 
raph3\  All  the  three  conferred  on  the  projected  plan,  the 
object  of  so  many  debates.  The  opinion  of  Hernandez  was 
entirely  conformable  to  that  of  the  learned  Franciscan.  The 
project  was  deemed  founded  on  truth,  and  its  execution 
practicable.* 

Thenceforward,  with  the  Superior  of  La  Rabida,  it  was 
no  longer  time  for  praying  or  for  discussing — it  was  time 
for  acting.  He  determined  to  write,  forthwith,  to  the 
Qiieen.  But,  to  guard  against  his  letter  sharing  the  fate 
that  too  commonl}'  befell  letters  delivered  to  the  secretaries, 
it  was  decided  that  it  should  be  put  into  the  Qiieen's  own 
hands  by  some  trusty  person.  The  influence  of  Father  Juan 
on  the  seamen  of  the  shore  enabled  him,  in  concert  with 
Garcia  Hernandez,  to  choose  a  messenger  who,  as  occasion 
may  require,  would  dexterously  serve  as  a  defender.  They 
confided  the  letter  to  a  man  of  some  note  —  the  pilot  Sebas- 
tian Rodriguez  —  who,  by  his  address  and  acquaintance  with 
etiquette,  knew  how  to  manage  things  at  Court. 

The  pilot  obtained  the  favor  of  handing  the  letter  of  the 
Superior  of  La  Rabida  to  the  Qiieen.  The  Franciscan,  in 
that  letter,  showed  his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer, 
his  patriotism,  and  his  attachment  to  Qiieen  Isabella. 

At  the  end  of  two  weeks  the  pilot  reapjoeared  at  La 
Rabida,  the  bearer  of  a  royal  message.  Isabella,  thanking 
her  former  confessor  for  his  intentions,  invited  him,  on 
receipt  of  her  letter,  to  come  to  her  presence  ;  and  author- 
ized him  from  that  moment  to  raise  the  hopes  of  Columbus 
while  waiting  for  further  instructions.  These  words  of  ho^De 
filled  with  joy  the  little  community  and  their  guest. 

Columbus  went  immediately  to  Moguer,  to  request  an 

*  It  is  wrongfully  that  modern  historians,  and,  among  others, 
Washington  Irving,  have  mentioned  that  the  mariner  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  was  called  to  the  convent  for  the  discussion.  It  is 
seen,  by  unquestionable  documents,  that  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was 
then  in  Rome.  Columbus  had  no  connection  with  him  until  the 
commencement  of  July,  1492.  — 


CJIAP.  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  u^ 

excellent  man  there.  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabezuda,  to  lend  him 
his  mule  for  the  Father  Superior  of  La  Rabida,  who  was 
called  suddenly  to  the  camp  of  Granada  by  her  Highness. 
Cabezuda  willingly  granted  his  request.  Father  Juan  Perez 
left  the  convent  a  little  before  midnight,  secretly  and  with- 
out a  lantern,  notwithstanding  the  danger  of  falling  into  an 
ambuscade,  or  among  marauders.  He  travelled  bravely 
through  the  enemy's  territory,  trusting  in  God,  and,  speed- 
ing his  way,  arrived  safely  in  the  new  city  of  Santa  Fc. 

To  give  attention  to  the  proposition  at  a  time  when  the 
M-ar  was  so  pressing,  and  return  to  a  scheme  that  was  con- 
demned by  two  councils,  the  Qiiecn  must  have  been  strongly 
inclined  in  favor  of  the  enterprise.  In  the  midst  of  her 
financial  embaiTassments,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  length 
of  the  campaign,  to  be  still  occupied  with  the  project  was 
an  unmistakable  sign  of  the  adhesion  her  heart  instinctively 
gave  it. 

Nobody  better  than  the  Superior  of  La  Rabida  could  make 
known  to  the  intelligent  Isabella  the  sublimity  of  the  views 
of  Columbus.  It  was  not  alone  of  his  project  that  he  would 
speak  ;  he  alone  could  reveal  the  predestination  and  the 
holy  intentions  of  the  man  whom  Providence  sent  her  in 
recompense  for  the  life  she  led,  and  to  eternize  her  glory. 

The  Franciscan  obtained  complete  success. 

The  Qiieen,  without  further  thinking  of  the  Junta  of  Sala- 
manca, remembering  the  praises  given  to  Columbus  by  the 
two  Geraldinis,  the  Grand  Cardinal,  Professor  Diego  do 
Deza,  and  others,  and  confiding  esjjecially  in  her  first  im- 
pressions, charged  the  father  superior  to  summon  Colum- 
bus without  delay.  As  she  conjectured  that  in  the  midst  of 
such  long-continued  and  fruitless  solicitations  his  money 
must  have  been  spent,  and  desiring  that  he  should  dress 
moi'e  to  her  taste,  buy  himself  a  riding-horse,  and  appear 
respectable  at  Court,  she  ordered  him  to  be  paid  twenty 
thousand  maravedis*  by  the  maritime  broker  at  Palos. 

♦Equal  to  two  hundred  and  sixteen  dollars  of  the  present  day.  — B. 
ID* 


114  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  War  in  Granada  :  Surrender  of  the  City.  —  The  Project  of  Co- 
lumbus Discussed.  —  Deception.  —  Columbus  starts  for  France  : 
the  Queen  recalls  him,  and  orders  Preparations  to  be  made  for 
his  Voyage. — The  Equipment. — The  Father  Superior  again 
assists  him.  —  Departure  of  Columbus  with  three  Ships. 

SECTION  I. 

WHEN  Columbus  entered  the  new  city  of  Santa  Fé,  it 
was  impossible  to  attend  to  his  project.  The  Qtieen 
gave  him  as  a  guest  to  the  Intendant-General  of  the 
Finances,  the  virtuous  Alonzo  de  Qiiintanilla,  who  v^as 
quite  happy  to  have  him  again. 

The  struggle  between  the  Cross  and  the  Crescent  was 
drawing  to  a  close.  There  was  talk  of  an  early  capitula- 
tion ;  of  seditions  and  of  combats  in  the  interior  of  the  city. 
In  fact,  a  negotiation  was  soon  opened  for  the  surrender  of 
Granada. 

On  Friday,  the  thirtieth  of  December,  the  surrender  of 
the  fortresses  and  of  the  Alhambra  was  made  by  the  JSIoor- 
ish  government  to  the  commissaries  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella. The  second  of  January,  1492,  the  Moorish  King, 
Boabdil  el  Chico,  presented  the  keys  of  the  city  to  the  Cath- 
olic Sovereigns. 

This  war  being,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Qtieen,  only  an  expe- 
dition for  the  cause  of  religion,  the  sovereigns  did  not 
immediately  enter  Granada.  They  determined,  first,  to  do 
homage  to  Jesus  Christ  for  the  conquest. 

On  Friday,  the  sixth  of  January,  the  Epiphany,  or  the 
Feast  of  the  Kings,  the  two  sovereigns  made  their  solemn 
entry  into  the  Alhambra,  at  the  gate  of  which  the  Arch- 


CHAP  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  n^ 

bishop  of  Granada,  assisted  by  a  numerous  clergy,  received 
them  in  procession. 

After  a  struggle  of  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight  years 
the  Crescent  was,  at  last,  laid  prostrate.  This  victory  of 
the  Spaniards  gave  joy  to  the  whole  Christian  world.  John 
de  Strada  was  immediately  sent  to  Rome  as  envoy-extraor- 
dinary. He  made  such  haste  that  he  was  himself  the  first 
to  announce  the  news  of  the  conquest.  The  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  Innocent  VIII.,  thanking  God  with  his  whole  heart, 
ordered  public  thanksgivings,  and  a  solemn  procession  to 
the  church  of  St.  James,  of  the  Spaniards.  His  Holiness 
assisted  there,  with  the  whole  of  the  Sacred  College.  The 
Pope  officiated  pontificall}'  ;  and,  in  the  sermon  pronounced 
in  his'  presence,  the  preacher  j^raised  highly  the  Christian 
character  of  the  sovereigns  and  the  people  of  Spain. 

At  this  epoch,  in  the  midst  of  the  favors  it  reserved  for 
Spain,  Providence  cast  a  look  of  complaisance  on  "  Genoa 
the  Superb."  While  one  of  her  sons,  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people,  meditated  the  most  stupendous  work  of  human 
genius,  another,  chosen  from  her  illustrious  patricians, 
occupied   the  throne  of  Apostolical   infallibility. 

John  Baptist  Cibo,  a  citizen  of  Genoa,  promoted  to  the 
tiara  under  the  name  of  Innocent  VIII.,  was  truly  the  prince 
of  peace,  the  mediator  in  the  quarrels  of  kings,  and  the  zeal- 
ous promoter  of  the  war  against  Islamism.  Nobody  took  a 
more  lively  interest  in  the  success  of  Isabella,  and  in  the 
hopes  of  his  countryman,  Christopher  Columbus,  than  he 
did. 

The  triumphal  rejoicings  of  the  conquest  were  not  yet  at 
an  end,  when  the  Qiicen  gave  an  audience  to  Columbus. 

The  aspect  alone  of  the  noble  foreigner,  to  whom  she  felt 
attracted  by  a  secret  communion  of  faith  and  of  genius, 
sustained  her  against  the  objections  of  the  Junta  of  Sala- 
manca. At  this  audience  there  was  no  discussion  of  the 
project,  because  there  existed  no  doubt  of  its  realization. 
The  Qiieen,  in  giving  her  adhesion  to  it,  instinctively  felt 
that  there  was  in  the  man  an  intclliirence  that  would  over- 


Ii6  HISTORT  OF  [book  I. 

come  the  difficulties.  His  sole  presence  showed  his  internal 
grandeur.     She  believed  in  Columbus. 

The  project  being  accepted,  then,  without  control,  with- 
out restriction,  and  such  as  inspiration  had  conceived  it, 
there  remained  nothing  but  to  determine  the  remuneration 
that  should  result  to  its  author  after  the  success.  A  com- 
mission, still  presided  over  by  the  over-cautious  Fernando 
de  Talavera,  was  charged  with  regulating  this  point. 
Columbus  had  to  attend  it,  and  make  known  his  claims. 
This  was  to  be  done  categorically. 

Then  did  that  man,  with  a  thought  more  vast  than  the 
world,  show  the  grandeur  of  his  hopes  by  tl^e  price  he  set 
on  their  realization.  In  hearing  him,  the  commissioners 
must  have  been  stricken  with  stupor.  The  following  are 
the  principal  conditions  he  required  from  the  Crowns  of 
Castile  and  Arragon.     He  should  be, — 

Viceroy  ; 

Governor-General  of  the  islands  and  terra  Jirma  he 
would  discover  ; 

Grand  Admiral  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

His  dignities  should  descend  hereditarily  in  his  family, 
by  right  of  primogeniture. 

He  should  be  entitled  to  reserve  for  himself  one-tenth  of 
all  the  precious  stones,  pearls,  diamonds,  gold,  silver,  per- 
fumes, spices,  fruits,  and  other  productions,  in  whatsoever 
nianner  discovered  in,  or  exported  from,  the  regions  sub- 
mitted to  his  authority. 

In  hearing  such  demands,  the  commissioners  became 
indignant  at  his  presumption.  The  pride  of  these  courtiers 
became  incensed  at  the  idea  that  an  Italian,  who  so  often 
had  been  ridiculed,  or  pitied,  whilst  he  waited  in  ante- 
chambers to  solicit  audiences,  should  now  stipulate  for 
titles  that  would  place  him  above  the  noblest  houses  of 
Spain.     The  conference  was  suspended. 

Still,  what  Columbus  demanded  appeared  in  his  own 
eyes  very  simple.  He  considered  it  very  natural,  as  he 
was  going   to   give  the  monarchs  kingdoms  much  larger 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  117 

than  those  they  held,  to  fix  a  remuneration  the  importance 
of  which  would  show  it  to  be  for  an  unheard-of  donation. 
The  recompense  ought  to  be  proportionate  to  the  service  ; 
and  he  who  accepts  less  than  his  due  concurs  in  his  own 
humiliation.  Besides,  Columbus  demanded  only  the  price 
he  had,  nine  years  before,  required  from  the  Crown  of 
Portugal.  If  he  added  nothing,  he  retrenched  nothing. 
What  he  thought  then,  he  thought  now.  The  same  causes 
existed  still.  It  was  necessaiy,  in  order  to  realize  his  views, 
to  have  a  high  position,  great  authority,  and  especially 
great  riches.  It  was  identically  the  same  here  as  it  was 
in  Portugal. 

Is  it  desired  to  know  immediately  the  secret  of  this  high 
ambition?  It  was  this:  a  secret  that  escaped  from  him 
some  days  after,  in  a  familiar  conversation  with  the  sov- 
ereigns, and  which,  he  says,  "  made  them  smile."  * 

Columbus  considered  as  already  accomplished  his  dis- 
covery of  miknown  countries,  to  which  he  would  have  the 
happiness  of  announcing  Christ  the  Redeemer.  He  foresaw 
that  his  enterprise  would  encounter  numberless  dangers  and 
terrible  obstacles,  and  that  it  would  require  incessant  labors. 
In  return  for  these  labors,  he  demanded  a  magnificent  recom- 
pense,—  the  only  one  that  he  deemed  worthy  of  his  works. 
He  had  resolved,  by  means  of  the  treasures  he  would  ac- 
quire by  his  discoveries,  to  deliver  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from 
the  sway  of  the  Mussulmans.  He  determined  that  he  wouîd 
at  first  treat  about  purchasing  it  peaceabl}-,  and,  if  he  should 
not  succeed,  that  he  would  raise  fifty  thousand  infantry  and 
five  thousand  cavalry,  in  his  own  pay,  to  wrest  from  the 
profanations  of  the  Mahometans  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  w^ould  immediately  transfer  the  government  of  Jerusa- 
lem to  the  Holy  See,  limiting  himself  to  be  the  sentinel  of 
the  Church  at  the  threshold  of  that  miraculous  land  in 
which  our  redemption  was  accomplished. 

*  Columbus's  jfournal,  Wednesday,  the  twenty-sixth  of  December, 
1492. 


liS  HISTORY  OF  [book  I. 

The  commissioners  of  the  Court,  not  being  able  to  divine 
the  secret  intentions  of  this  man,  saw  in  his  demands  only  ■ 
an  insolent  presumption,  as  daring  as  his  adventures  on  the 
ocean.  Probably  they  did  not  discuss  even  his  vanity,  and 
that  they  limited  themselves  to  referring  the  matter  to  the 
monarchs. 

Fernando  Talavera,  still  imbued  with  his  prejudices 
against  the  Genoese  cosmographer,  represented  to  the 
Qtieen  that  there  would  be  a  great  inconvenience  in 
their  'Highnesses'  being  jî'ii'ties  to  a  treaty  on  the  subject 
of  an  expedition  that  had  been  adjudged  chimerical  ;  that 
failure  would  expose  them  to  the  mockeries  of  foreign 
courts,  and  diminish  in  their  own  states  the  respect  that 
was  had  for  their  well-known  wisdom  ;  that,  even  admit- 
ting its  success,  to  accord  such  exorbitant  privileges  to  an 
unknown  person,  and  especially  a  foreigner,  would  inevit- 
ably lessen  the  majesty  of  the  royal  prestige.  These  obser- 
vations of  her  confessor  made  the  Qrieen  hesitate.  She 
proposed  to  Columbus  conditions  somewhat  different,  but 
still  highly  advantageous.  No  doubt,  the  same  as  in  Port- 
ugal, he  was  offered  revenues,  titles,  and  a  government  that 
would  satisfy  any  heart  but  his.  But  he  would  accept  of 
none  of  these  offers,  and  would  abate  none  of  his  demands. 
What  he  said,  he  said  ;  and  he  held  to  his  demand  royally, 
as  a  king  would  to  his  word.  In  all  his  converse  with 
crowned  heads,  when,  too  often,  his  clothing  betrayed  his 
indigence,  he  naturall}'-,  by  his  elevated  language,  —  the 
sign  of  a  familiar  dignity,  —  treated  monarchs  as  equals  ; 
and,  now  that  the  hour  for  the  execution  of  his  mission 
had  arrived,  he  acted  as  he  had  spoken. 

He  retired,  inflexible  in  his  demand. 

Neither  his  poverty,  nor  his  six.  years  passed  at  the  Court 
of  Spain  in  fruitless  proceedings,  nor  the  course  of  time, 
which  threatened  his  project  with  death,  could  move  him. 
More  than  eighteen  years  had  been  consumed  in  diverse 
attempts,  and   still  he  preferred  recommencing  anew  his 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  hq 

difficult  negotiations  with  another  state,  iMther  than  dero- 
gate from  what  he  considered  the  dignity  of  his  rights. 

His  friends  tried  to  detain  him.  It  appears  that,  at  this 
critical  time,  he  was  anew  in  relation  with  the  Grand 
Cardinal  of  Spain.  In  his  high  opinion  of  Columbus, 
this  prince  of  the  Church  did  not  consider  as  immoderate 
the  conditions  demanded  for  such  services,  and  against 
which  the  pride  of  the  courtiers  had  revolted.  But  con- 
siderations of  a  particular  character,  and  foreign  to  the 
subject,  prevented  him  from  interfering  personally  ;  and 
he  could  give  only  the  patronage  of  his  opinion. 

Outside  of  the  Commission,  the  exorbitancy  of  the  de- 
mands of  Columbus  engaged  the  attention  of  the  counsel- 
lors of  the  sovereigns.  As  it  was  sneeringly  objected  to 
him  that  he  showed  rare  shrewdness,  because  he  had 
obtained  such  a  position  that,  come  what  would,  he  would 
always  have  the  honor  of  a  command  without  any  cost, 
he  offered  to  contribute  one-eighth  of  the  expense.  Not- 
withstanding this  generous  offer,  what  he  demanded  was 
still  refused.  The  King  had  shown  himself  already  averse 
to  the  project.  The  influence  the  archbishop  of  Granada 
exercised  on  the  Qiieen  had  paralyzed  her  will.  It  seemed 
to  her  that  really  the  ^^^a^Z-royalty  demanded  by  Columbus 
would  be  too  onerous,  whatever  may  be  the  discoveries  he 
should  make. 

The  conference  was  at  an  end,  the  negotiation  abandoned. 
Obtaining  nothing,  and  ceding  nothing,  inflexible  in  his 
resolution  of  diminibhing  nothing  in  his  demands,  Colum- 
bus cast  his  eyes  towards  France,  whose  King  had  just  sent 
him  an  answer.  It  was  at  the  end  of  January-,  and  he  was 
unwilling  to  spend  another  day  in  useless  parleyings  with 
the  Spaniards.  lie  bid  adieu  to  his  excellent  friends,  and, 
crossing  his  mule,  went  on  the  route  to  Cordova,  to  visit  his 
family,  before  abandoning  Spain,  perhaps  forever. 


I20  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


SECTION  IL 

Around  Isabella,  that  star  of  the  destinies  of  Spain,  there 
gravitated  some  choice  spirits,  who  reflected  the  splendors 
of  her  inspirations.  Desiring  ardently  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  grandeur  of  their  sovereign  and  of  the  Spanish 
nation,  the  departure  of  Columbus  appeared  to  them  an 
immense,  irreparable  loss,  which  probably  would  prepare 
an  eternal  regi*et  and  shame  for  their  country.  One  of 
these  men,  Luiz  de  Santangel,  receiver  of  ecclesiastical 
dues  in  Arragon,  urgently  requested  an  audience  of  the 
Queen.  Alarmed  for  the  gloryof  his  idolized  sovereign, 
and  moved  by  his  zeal,  he  told  her,  in  a  tone  of  reproach 
mingled  with  complaint,  his  surprise  that  she  had  flagged 
on  an  occasion  so  simple,  —  she  whose  courage  was  always 
seen  to  be  invincible.  He  repi^esented  to  her  how  much 
that  enterprise  merited  her  protection,  since  it  may  have 
such  grand  results  for  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  triumph 
of  the  Church,  and  the  prosperity  of  her  kingdoms.  He 
begged  her  to  think  of  the  displeasure  she  would  experi- 
ence if  some  other  monarch  should  execute  the  project, 
which  ^vas  possible,  and  even  probable.  He  I'eminded  her 
that  even  the  person  of  Columbus,  his  purity  of  morals,  his 
faith,  his  science,  and  his  superiority  over  the  cosmogra- 
phers  who  condemned  him,  merited  confidence  so  much 
the  more  that  he  demanded  nothing  before  giving  himself: 
his  recompense  would  depend  on  his  discoveries  ;  and,  be- 
sides, he  risked  his  own  life,  and  the  eighth  part  of  the 
expenses.  Admitting  that  he  would  discover  nothing,  no 
blame  for  the  failure  could  be  attached  to  their  Highnesses  ; 
everybody,  on  the  contrary,  would  thank  them  for  attempt- 
ing an  enterprise  the  success  of  which  would  be  so  glorious. 
He  insisted  on  the  moral  obligation  of  princes  to  extend  the 
domain  of  the  sciences,  to  become  acquainted  with  distant 
things,  and  to  penetrate,  as  much  as  possible,  into  the 
secrets  of  the  world. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  121 

Far  from  becoming  offended  at  the  freedom  of  these 
remonstrances  of  Santangel,  Isabella,  who  ajDpreciatcd 
their  motives,  thanked  him  for  his  frankness.  At  this 
moment  came  Alonzo  dc  Qiiintanilla,  whose  consummate 
virtue  always  commanded  marked  respect.  He  supported 
with  energy  the  disinterested  representations  of  Santangel. 
During  this  time,  at  some  paces  distant,  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Qiieen,  Father  Juan  Perez,  prostrate  before  the  tabernacle, 
besought  the  Lord,  through  the  merits  of  the  j^assion  of  His 
Divine  Son,  to  enlighten,  with  His  grace,  the  mind  of 
Isabella.      Undoubtedly,  God  graciously  heard  him. 

Suddenly  the  appearance  of  the  Qiieen  changed  ;  her 
looks  became  illumined.  A  mysterious  movement  was 
operating  in  her  soul.  God  opened  her  understanding. 
Her  eyes  sparkled;  she  comjDrehended  Columbus  wholly; 
she  saw  what  a  man  Providence  had  sent  her.  Then, 
listening  to  nothing  but  what  the  interior  voice  spoke  to 
her  heart,  she  thanked  these  two  faithful  servants  for  the 
interest  they  manifested  in  her  glory,  and,  in  the  accent 
of  an  unchangeable  resolution,  declared  that  she  accepted 
the  enterjDrise  on  her  own  account,  as  Qiieen  of  Castile. 
She  added,  that  it  still  would  be  necessary  to  defer  the 
enterprise  for  a  little  time,  on  account  of  the  exhausted 
state  of  the  treasury,  in  consequence  of  the  war  ;  but,  if 
this  delay  would  be  unsatisfactory,  she  had  there  her  jewels, 
and  that  they  should  be  pledged  for  the  sum  necessary  for 
the  equipment. 

Luiz  de  Santangel  assured  the  Qiieen  that  she  would  not 
have  to  pledge  her  jewels,  and  that  he  would  himself  ad- 
vance the  necessary  sum  out  of  the  funds  of  Arnigon.  He 
obtained  an  authorization  from  the  King  for  the  required 
loan  ;  and  at  a  later  period  it  was  reimbursed  to  the 
treasury  of  Arragon.  The  too  cautious  King  would  take 
no  part,  personally,  in  the  enterprise,  having  no  confidence 
in  its  success. 

Immediately,  by  order  of  the  Qiieen,  an  officer  of  the 
Guards  was  despatched,  in  all  haste,  after  Columbus,  to 
II 


122  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

summon  him  back.  He  succeeded  in  overtaking  him  about 
two  leagues  from  Granada,  near  the  bridge  of  Pinos,  cele- 
brated for  many  an  encounter  between  the  Christians  and 
infidels.  It  is  said  that,  disgusted  with  so  many  deceptions 
and  equivocations,  he  hesitated  a  little  time  about  turning 
back  ;  but  when  informed  of  what  had  jDassed,  he  obeyed 
with  an  affectionate  submission,  divining  already  the  part 
reserved  by  Providence  for  that  lady  in  his  work,  who 
alone  was  worthy  of  being  associated  with  him. 

SECTION  III. 

On  his  arrival  at  Court,  Columbus  was  received  with 
extraordinary  honors.  The  Qiieen  welcomed  him  with 
such  marks  of  satisfaction  and  kindness,  as  must  have 
caused  his  immediate  forgetfulness  of  all  his  past  suffer- 
ings. It  is  from  this  moment  that  the  mission  of  Colum- 
bus commences  ;  henceforward  the  Qiieen  alone  becomes 
the  soul  and  the  medium  of  the  enterprise.  The  crafty 
and  susjDicious  King  of  Arragon  remains  a  stranger  to  the 
expedition.  He  gives  his  name  and  signature  to  the  acts 
of  the  Qiieen,  according  to  the  conventions  agreed  between 
them  ;  but  it  was  well  understood  between  them  that  the 
enterprise  was  solely  undertaken  by  the  Qiieen  of  Castile, 
at  her  own  risk.  So,  during  his  lifetime,  the  Castillans 
alone  had  the  right  of  establishing  themselves  in  the  coun- 
tries that  were  discovered. 

What  Columbus  demanded  was  granted,  without  retrench- 
ing a  tittle. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  April,  1492,  the  title  of  the  privileges 
of  Columbus  was  drawn  up.  The  letters-patent  declared 
that  he  would  be  Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  with  the 
same  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  Admii'al  of  Castile  ;  Viceroy 
and  Governor-General  of  all  the  islands  and  the  terra  Jinna 
that  he  should  discover  ;  and  that  his  dignities  should  be 
hereditary  in  his  family  forever. 

The  eighth  of  May,  to  these  contingent  recompenses  the 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  123 

Qiiecn  added  a  favor  of  exquisite  kindness,  in  naming  young 
Diego,  the  oldest  son  of  Columbus,  page  to  the  Prince 
Royal,  with  an  annual  pension  of  nine  thousand  four  hun- 
dred maravedis.  This  envied  honor  was  I'escrved  for  the 
most  illustrious  houses  of  the  kingdom. 

For  the  equipment  of  the  expedition,  from  motives  of 
economy,  the  humble  port  of  Palos  was  chosen.  As  its 
inhabitants  were  condemned,  for  some  misdemeanor,  to 
furnish  the  Crown,  gratuitously,  for  one  year,  with  two 
caravels,  armed  and  equipped,  they  were  enjoined  to  get 
them  read}-,  and  place  them  under  the  orders  of  Columbus 
within  ten  days.  An  order  was  issued  to  suspend  all 
criminal  processes  against  any  person  who  should  engage 
in  the  expedition. 

The  twelfth  of  !May,  Columbus,  having  obtained  leave  to 
depart,  started  immediately  for  Cordova,  to  make  some 
arrangements  relative  to  the  education  of  his  children.  It 
was  probably  then  that  a  nephew  of  his  wife's,  Diego  de 
Arana,  determined  to  attempt  with  him  the  frightful  voy- 
age across  the  "  Gloomy  Ocean." 

A  few  days  afterwards  Columbus  arrived  at  Palos. 

SECTION  IV. 

Father  Juan  Perez  de  îvlarchena,  who  had  opened  an 
asylum  for  the  poor  and  unknown  stranger,  received  into 
his  arms  the  friend,  loaded  with  honors  and  filled  with 
hopes,  returning  to  share  with  him  the  first  joys  of  the 
happiness  the  better  part  of  which  he  owed  him.  Colum- 
bus became  again  the  guest  of  the  community  of  St.  Francis  ; 
and,  as  will  be  seen,  the  assistance  of  the  Father  Superior 
was  not  then  less  useful  to  him  than  it  was  in  the  days  of 
his  first  arrival  at  La  Rabida. 

^leanwhile,  when  it  became  known  in  Palos  that  the 
intention  was  to  navigate  westwards  to  the  "  Gloomy 
Ocean,"  —  the  "tenebrous  sea," — a  general  consternation 
spread  from  house  to  house  and  from  bark  to  bark.     The 


124  HIST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

Gloomy  Ocean  !  That  name  froze  with  fright  the  most 
intrepid  hearts. 

At  the  present  time,  from  the  heights  of  our  scientific 
knowledge,  we  would  assuredly  show  bad  taste  in  smiling 
afiectedly  at  these  terrors.  They  were,  at  that  period, 
natural,  and  almost  logical,  inasmuch  as  they  were  founded 
on  reasonings.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  telescope 
had  not  yet  penetrated  into  ether,  to  gauge  space,  to  num- 
ber the  mj-riads  of  suns  in  the  milky  way,  to  take  the 
projections  of  the  peaks  of  the  moon,  or  to  calculate  the 
velocity  of  the  planets  that  revolve  around  our  sun. 
Science  had  not  fixed  the  composition  and  the  volume 
of  the  earth  ;  its  form  had  remained  indeterminate. 
Some  maintained  that  it  was  flat  and  long,  —  continued 
indefinitely  by  the  incommensurable  ocean  ;  others,  that  it 
was  square,  but  surrounded  by  the  boundless  ocean.  It 
was  stoutly  denied  that  there  were  antipodes.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  imperfect  state  of  nautical  science,  the  teach- 
ings of  cosmographers  were  as  whimsical  and  contradictory 
as  chaos.  It  is  not  surprising  that  this  confusion  should 
act  on  intelligences.  In  the  mind,  the  unknown  touched 
on  darkness,  —  and  darkness  is  fearful  to  every  human 
heart.  It  was  thought  that  chaos, — Erebus,  —  had  re- 
ceded into  the  extreme  depths  of  that  ocean  which  cos- 
mographers called  gloomy;  because,  according  to  the 
Nubian  geographer,  —  the  sheriffe  Edrysi, —  and  the  Ara- 
bian navigators,  there  were  met  with,  on  entering  it, 
"  strong  currents,  obscure  waters,  and  but  little  light  in 
the  atmosphere."  The  uncertainty  and  the  obscurity  of 
science  in  regard  to  that  ocean,  seemed  to  justify  the  name 
given  it.  It  was  in  the  Gloomv  Ocean  that  the  pelagian 
torrents  were  encountered,  and  where  the  gulfs  whirled  ; 
in  the  bosom  of  which  Behemoth  and  the  great  Leviathan 
wantoned,  accompanied  by  other  monsters. 

All  the  works  on  geography  gave  countenance  to  the  ill 
repute  in  which  the  Gloom}^  Ocean  was  held  ;  for  on  the 
charts  of  cosmographers  were  seen,   around   the  frightful 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  135 

words  AIare  Tenebrosum,  hideous  figures,  compared  to 
which  Cyclops,  grifiins,  and  hippocentaurs  had  benignant 
physiognomies.*  The  Arabian  geographers,  forbidden  by 
the  Koran  to  represent  living  animals,  restricted  themselves 
to  characterizing  that  ocean  by  a  sign,  the  ominous  signifi- 
cation of  which,  without  frightening  at  first  sight,  no  less 
confounded  the  imagination.  It  was  a  black  and  crooked 
hand,  —  that  of  Satan!  —  arising  from  the  deep,  and  ready 
to  drag  into  the  gulfs  the  seamen  that  would  be  daring 
enough  to  brave  the  waters  of  the  Baiir  el  Talmet. 

These  submarine  dangers  were  not  the  only  ones  the 
explorers  would  be  subject  to.  Gigantic  opponents  may 
immediately  pounce  on  them  from  the  air.  In  these  lati- 
tudes there  hovered,  on  immense  wings,  the  rock  of  the 
Arabians,  which,  with  its  bill,  seized  not  only  a  man  or 
a  bark,  but  even  a  ship  with  all  its  equipage  ;  taking  them 
up  in  the  clouds,  and  from  that  height  amusing  itself  in 
tearing  and  breaking  them  to  pieces,  and  letting  them  fall, 
men  and  things,  into  the  hideous  waves  of  the  Gloomv 
OcEAx.  Certain  grave  authors  bear  witness  that,  at  that 
period,  they  themselves  participated  in  the  common 
error. 

These  impressions  and  this  terror  are  easily  explained,  if 
we  call  to  mind  that  there  did  not  then  exist  a  single  atlas 
that  did  not  indicate,  by  images  of  monsters  more  and  more 
frightful,  the  nearer  degrees  of  latitude  to  the  equinoctial 
line.  How  could  the  peoj^le,  the  sailors,  have  escaped  from 
the  common  error?     To  go  into  the  Gloomy  Ocean  was 


*  Washington  Irving  says  :  ''  In  the  maps  and  charts  of  those 
times,  and  even  in  those  of  a  much  later  date,  the  variety  of  formid- 
able and  hideous  monsters  depicted  in  all  remote  parts  of  the 
ocean,  evince  the  terrors  and  dangers  with  which  the  imagination 
clothed  it.  The  same  maybe  said  of  distant  and  unknown  lands; 
the  remote  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa  have  monsters  depicted  in  them 
which  it  would  be  difficult  to  trace  to  any  originals  in  natural  his- 
tory."—  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus,  Book  V., 
chap.  v.  —  B. 

II* 


126  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

to  expose  one's  self  to  the -danger  of  being  burnt  by  the 
sun  ;  of  being  engulfed  in  the  obscurity  of  chaos  ;  of  being 
destroyed  in  the  air,  or  buried  eternally  in  the  abyss  of  the 
dark  ocean.  And  the  intrepid  pilots  who  had  frequented 
Lisbon,  or  sailed  to  the  Canaries  or  to  the  Azores,  while 
they  greatly  diminished  these  fears,  were  not  the  less  con- 
vinced of  the  impossibility  of  ever  traversing  the  Gloomy 
Occan^  —  the  frightful  Bahr  al  Taliniet  of  the  Arabians. 

But  time  sped  on.  Notwithstanding  the  royal  order,  and 
their  promise  of  compliance  with  it,  the  authorities  of  Palos 
had  not  yet  furnished  a  single  caravel.  The  anchoring- 
place  was  completely  deserted.  All  the  owners  of  sailing- 
vessels  took  them  to  distant  creeks,  or  sailed  them  to  other 
ports,  to  escape  the  requisition. 

The  twentieth  of  June,  the  Qiieen,  being  informed  of  the 
state  of  things  there,  sent  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Guards, 
Juan  de  Peùasola,  to  Palos,  with  power  to  exact  two  hun- 
dred- maravedis  a  day  from  such  as  should  delay  or  refuse 
to  execute  his  orders.  He  was  authorized  to  seize,  on  the 
coast  of  Andalusia,  any  ship  or  sailor  that  would  appear  to 
him  proper  for  the  new  sei'vice. 

There  was  great  consternation  among  the  ship-owners 
and  the  seamen.  Some  complained  and  some  contested  ; 
to  supplications  were  added  promises.  But  the  equipment 
did  not  go  on  the  faster.  At  length,  Juan  de  PcSasola,  by 
main  force,  seized  on  a  caravel,  a  good  sailer,  called  the 
Pinta^  that  partly  belonged  to  two  inhabitants  of  Palos, 
Gomez  Rascon  and  Cristoval  Qtiintero.  These  men  con- 
sidered themselves  as  ruined,  they  and  their  vessel,  —  their 
whole  fortune.  They  cursed  the  coming  of  the  Genoese 
intriguing  braggart,  who  had  imposed  on  the  prudence  of 
the  sovereigns,  in  obtaining  from  them  the  order  for  this 
disastrous  voyage. 

The  calkers  and  carpenters  felt  sick,  or  concealed  them- 
selves. There  were  neither  wood,  nor  oakum,  nor  tar,  nor 
cables.  The  rigor  of  the  authority  given  to  PeSasola  suc- 
ceeded no  better  than  the  reasonings  of  Columbus.     Three 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  127 

vessels  were  necessary,  and  still  there  was  but  a  single  one. 
Sullenness  had  already  begun  to  show  itself. 

In  this  critical  situation,  the  zeal  of  Father  Juan  Perez 
came  to  the  aid  of  his  friend,  and  of  the  misguided  people. 

The  Franciscan,  from  the  poorness  of  his  living,  and  the 
coarseness  of  his  garb,  is  naturally  sympathetic  with  the 
people.  He  is  loved,  because  he  evidently  loves.  His 
modest  familiarity  atti'acts,  while  his  devotedncss  attaches 
him.  The  Superior  of  La  Rabida,  moreover,  enjoyed  a 
personal  consideration  among  seamen.  He  mixed  with 
the  sailors,  jesting  at  their  terrors,  and  tranquillizing  the 
minds  of  their  families,  and  went  making  the  enrolment, 
by  his  words  and  his  influence,  even  to  the  neighboring 
ports.  The  zealous  Franciscan  expected  from  this  expe- 
dition the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  great 
glory  for  the  Church,  and  great  advantage  to  civilization.* 
He  felt,  as  had  so  justly  been  said  by  the  Queen,  that  Co- 
lumbus "  went  into  the  oceanic  regions  to  accomplish  great 
things  for  the  service  of  God."  As  a  Catholic,  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  good  work,  and  prided  himself  in  cooper- 
ating in  the  apostolate  of  his  guest  ;  thus  endeavoring  to 
realize  the  wish  of  the  founder  of  the  Seraphic  Order, 
whose  zeal  sought  to  preach  Jesus  Christ,  His  Cross,  and 
His  holy  poverty,  throughout  the  whole  universe.  Thus 
Father  Juan  labored,  with  heart  and  soul,  to  change  pol- 
troons into  men  of  courage,  and  to  decide  the  irresolute. 

SECTION   V. 

There  were  then  residing  in  Palos  three  brothers  of  the 
name  of  Pinzon,  —  men  of  wealth  and  of  influence,  and  all 
three  experienced  seamen.  Father  Juan  Perez  had  already 
made  Columbus  acquainted  with  the  oldest  of  them,  Martin 
Alonzo.  He  was  a  man  of  some  science,  of  practical  tact, 
and  of  experience  in  maritime  matters. 

*  Noticias  Historialcs  de  las  Conquistas  de  Terra  Firma,  not  3, 
cap.  xiv. 


128  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

The  idea  of  a  voyage  across  the  "  Gloomy  Ocean"  did 
not  terrify  Martin.  He  had  recently  returned  from  Rome, 
whither  his  business  had  already  called  him  several  times. 
In  his  last  voyage  there,  he  had  acquired  some  ideas  that 
naturally  prepared  him  for  the  grand  views  of  Columbus. 

Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  had  become  intimately  acquainted 
with  one  of  the  librarians  of  Pope  Innocent  VIII.,  who  was 
said  to  be  well  versed  in  geograph}'.  This  savant  shoNved 
him  an  atlas  in  which  there  was  indicated  a  nameless  land 
in  the  ocean,  towards  the  west.  Thus,  while  the  Superior 
of  La  Rabida  had  a  presentiment  that  unknown  lands  ex- 
isted, the  cosmographer  of  the  papal  library  had  come  to 
the  same  conclusion.  Besides,  the  idea  of  Columbus  could 
not  have  been  wholly  unknown  in  Rome.  We  know  that 
at  the  time  of  his  correspondence  with  Toscanelli,  the  latter 
frequented  the  Papal  Court.  It  was  from  the  capital  of  the 
Christian  world  that  the  learned  Florentine  wrote  his  second 
letter  to  the  Genoese  navigator. 

The  project  of  Columbus,  which  would  produce  such 
grand  results  for  the  Church,  could  not  be  indilTerent  to  the 
successor  of  the  prince  of  the  Apostles.  During  several 
years  the  Ploly  See  was  informed  of  the  ideas  of  Columbus. 
The  project  interested  the  Holy  Father  so  much  the  more, 
because  it  was  one  of  his  own  countrymen  that  became 
inspired  with  it.  It  must  have  engaged  the  attention  of 
Rome  at  different  times  ;  whether  through  the  ex-legate, 
Antonio  Geraldini,  or  the  Spanish  ambassador,  Strada  ; 
whether  through  the  correspondence  of  Count  De  Fendilla, 
former  envo}''  of  Castile,  or  especially  through  the  Apostolic 
Nuncio,  Barthélémy  Scandiano,  the  ulterior  relations  of 
Columbus  with  the  Holy  See  show  that  he  must  have  com- 
municated his  resolution  to  the  chief  of  the  Church,  and 
invoked  his  blessing  on  the  object  of  his  labors.  A  constant 
tradition  in  Rome  proves  the  matter.  Rome  in  our  days 
recalls  the  fact.*     The  relatives  of  Pope  Innocent  VIII. 

*  Brief  of  his  Holiness,  the  tenth  of  December,  1851. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  129 

knew  the  interest  the  illustrious  Pontiff  took  in  Columbus's 
project  ;  it  was  for  this  reason  that  they  had  inscribed  on 
his  tomb  his  participation  in  the  Discovery,  which  he  did 
not  have  the  joy  here  below  of  seeing  effected. 

We  cannot  see  how  any  doubt  can  arise  in  regard  to  the 
map  bearing  an  indication  of  a  land  undiscovered.  Such 
an  indication  may  exist  in  consequence  of  that  mysterious 
initiative  attending  great  things,  which  is  peculiar  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  or  as  a  consequence  and  testimony  of  the 
preceding  communication  of  Columbus's  ideas,  submitted  by 
himself  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 

Young  Arias  Perez  Pinzon,  who  accompanied  his  father 
in  that  voyage,  was  present  at  the  cosmographie  conversa- 
tions with  the  librarian.  He  saw  that  savant  give  his  father 
a  copy  of  the  map,  which  the  latter  preserved  carefully; 
perhaps  with  the  intention  of  one  day  attempting  the  dis- 
covery. The  cousins  and  friends  of  Pinzon,  and,  among 
others,  the  pilots  Juan  de  Ungria,  Luis  del  Valle  and  Mar- 
tin Nunez,  knew  of  this  document  on  his  return.* 

However  that  may  be,  as  soon  as  ^Martin  Alonzo  Pin- 
zon, returned  from  Rome,  and  Christopher  Columbus,  who 
was  known  there,  came  to  meet  each  other,  all  the  difficul- 
ties disappeared. t 

*  Plejto  Probamas  del  Fiscal,  Pregunta  xi.,  xii. 

tThe  Protestant  school  is  greatly  embarrassed  at  this  influence  of 
Rome,  being  so  decisive  in  the  expedition.  Not  knowing  how  to 
object  to  the  facts  just  referred  to,  Washington  Irving  has  passed 
over  them  in  silence.  But  Humboldt  could  not  recede  from  their 
logic.  In  his  entire  ignorance  of  Catholic  piety  and  dignity,  with- 
out respect  for  his  own  good  name,  and  with  an  inconsiderateness 
which  literary  justice  cannot  too  much  blame,  he  dares  to  suppose  a 
trick  agreed  on  between  the  older  Pinzon  and  Columbus,  and,  con- 
sequently, with  the  Superior  of  Rabida,  in  the  latter's  imposing  on 
the  credulity  of  the  people,  and  inventing  the  fable  of  the  map 
brought  from  Rome,  in  order,  thus,  to  win  public  confidence. 
Silence  and  sadness  are  the  only  reply  that  such  a  miserable  expla- 
nation merits. 

Besides  the  moral  impossibility  of  such  an  agreement  with  men 


130  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

The  news  of  the  geographical  communication  made  by 
the  librarian  of  the  Pope  went  to  sanction  the  approbation 
given  by  the  Apostolic  Nuncio,  the  Grand  Cardinal  of 
Spain,  the  first  professor  of  theology  at  Salamanca,  and  the 
Fi'anciscan,  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  to  the  ideas  of  Colum- 
bus. Evidently,  the  patronage  of  the  clergy  seemed  to 
guarantee  the  assurances  of  the  Genoese  stranger.  Distrust 
in  him  became,  therefore,  less  general. 

Soon  the  news  spread  that  the  oldest  of  the  three  Pinzons, 
commonly  called  "  Old  Martin,"  believed  in  the  project  of 
the  Genoese.  It  was  added,  even,  that  he  proposed  to 
make  the  adventure,  himself,  in  the  Nina^  a  pretty  little 
caravel  belonging  to  Vincent  Yaîâez  Pinzon,  the  youngest 
of  the  three  brothers.  In  fact,  the  three  Pinzons  had 
signed  a  convention  made  with  Columbus.  Their  exain- 
ple  increased  wonderfully  the  influence  of  the  Superior 
of  La  Rabida,  and  most  of  the  seamen  began  to  take 
courage. 

The  Pinzons  stood  in  high  credit  at  Palos.  Old  Mai'tin 
did  business  in  riggings  and  munitions  for  ships  ;  he  was 
the  principal  purveyor  for  the  marine  of  that  port.  His  for- 
tune, his  education,  and  the  ancientry  of  his  family,  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  notables  of  the  city.  For  the  de- 
mand made  on  it,  Palos  now  offered  as  a  second  caravel,  a 
certain  carack,  grown  old  from  service,  named  the  Gallcga; 
large,  comparatively,  and  heav}',  but  very  solid.  Although 
improper  for  the  service  now  assigned  her,  neither  Colum- 
bus nor  his  counsellor,  Father  Juan  Perez,  dared  to  refuse 
her,  for  fear  of  thus  protracting  the  delays,  already  too 
greatly  extended.     The  carack  was  then  received  in  place 

of  the  character  of  Juan  Perez  and  Christopher  Columbus,  it  is  well 
to  remember,  that,  long  after  the  death  of  the  three  pretended 
accomplices,  the  inquiry  of  the  Fiscal  versus  the  successor  of  the 
Admiral  of  the  Indies,  showed,  and  still  shows,  the  proofs  of  that 
voyage  to  Rome,  and  of  the  information  there  received  by  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon.  The  commissioners  of  the  inquiry  collected  the 
depositions  of  witnesses  de  visu, — 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  i^x 

of  a  cavavcl,  and  her  equipage  was  commenced.  Columbus 
even  chose  her  for  erecting  in  her  his  pavilion,  as  command- 
ant, only  he  first  changed  her  name,  to  render  it  Christian. 
Placing  her  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin, he  had  her  blessed,  and  named  the  Santa  Maria. 

During. the  preparations  for  the  equipment,  he  continued 
to  live  the  life  of  a  member  of  the  Seraphic  Order.  He  did 
not  leave  the  convent  but  when  necessity  required  it,  occu- 
pying himself  with  the  care  of  his  soul,  and  advancing  in 
Christian  perfection.  It  was  undoubtedly  then  that  he  en- 
gaged himself  to  the  rule  of  St.  Francis,  as  a  member  of  the 
Third  Order.  His  days  were  passed  in  prayer,  and  in  medi- 
tating on  the  mysteries  of  religion.  He  labored  to  become 
less  and  less  unworthy  of  the  goodness  of  God,  who  had 
deigned  to  choose  him  for  a  work  unequalled  among  men. 
He  became  in  nowise  troubled  about  the  delays,  the  terrors, 
or  the  ill-will  of  the  city,  although  at  his  departure  the 
opposition  became  so  serious  that  it  was  only  the  royal 
authority  that  could  overcome  it. 

Knowing  that  his  being  a  foreigner,  —  a  Genoese,  —  would 
render  his  eloquence  of  no  avail  ;  that  he  would  not  be 
believed,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  accept  whatever  the 
limited  resources  of  Palos  would  place  within  his  reach,  he 
accepted  with  complete  self-renunciation  what  Providence 
had  decided.  It  was  among  his  principles  not  to  tempt 
God,  not  to  force  circumstances,  but  to  bear  them  with 
resignation,  still  using  unremittingh'^  everything  possible  in 
human  action.  He  felt  assured  of  success,  was  not  dis- 
couraged at  any  difficulties,  was  no  longer  engrossed  with 
exterior  things,  and  remained  in  that  dear  cloister  where 
he  had  met  an  incomparable  friend,  —  the  most  intimate 
and  the  most  loving  one  on  earth. 

Henceforward,  certain  that  his  mission  would  be  accom- 
plished, he  did  not  abandon  his  interior  labors  and  regard 
to  exterior  matters,  but  limited  himself  to  taking  a  look, 
from  time  to  time,  at  the  details  of  the  equipment,  which 
the  Pinzons  watched  with   the  greater  assiduitv,  because 


1^2  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

they  were  interested  in  the  success  of  the  expedition  ;  the 
three  brothers,  and  particularly  the  youngest,  having, 
through  the  intervention  of  Father  Juan  Perez,  advanced 
Columbus  the  eighth  part  of  the  total  expenses  which  he 
was  to  furnish. 

On  one  occasion  Columbus  detected  an  expedient,  con- 
ceived by  Gomez  Rascon  and  Cristobal  Quintero,  to  escape 
from  the  expedition  which  still  terrified  them.  They  had 
so  managed  the  rudder  of  the  Pi?zta,  that  the  pieces  of 
which  it  was  composed  appeared  pei-fectly  jointed  and 
pinned,  but  would  yield  or  separate  at  the  first  surge  of 
the  sea.  He  desired  to  make  them  recommence  the 
work  ;  but  the  carpenters  fled,  and  the  calkers  concealed 
themselves. 

It  was  then  that  the  indefatigable  Franciscan  Father 
rendered  new  services  to  the  world,  in  bringing  the  me- 
chanics back  to  their  work,  and  in  cheering  them  with 
wholesome  exhortations.  Thanks  to  him  rather  than  to 
the  Pinzons,  or  to  Juan  de  Pensola,  who  still  remained  to 
hasten  the  expedition,  towards  the  end  of  July,  the  three 
ships  of  which  the  expedition  was  composed  were  i^eady  to 
take  the  sea. 

SECTION   VI. 

M.  De  Lorgues  gives  at  length  the  details  of  the  prepar- 
atory measures  for  the  voyage.  "  It  seems  to  us,"  he  says, 
"  intei"esting  to  I'estore  scrupulously  to  history,  after  a  gap 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  years,  some  precise  details 
of  the  material  preparations  for  that  voyage."  But  the 
scope  of  this  work  will  not  permit  their  being  mentioned 
here.  Let  it  suffice  to  say,  that  the  expedition  was  not 
composed  of  "  light  barks,"  as  asserted  by  Irving  and 
others,  but  of  caravels,  —  vessels  of  considerable  size  and 
tonnage.  Columbus  himself  said  he  found  them  very 
befitting  for  such  an  enterprise. 

Columbus,  who  left  nothing  to  chance,  would  assuredly 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  133 

not  have  been  guilty  of  the  temerity  of  risking  "  light 
barks."  To  believe  him  guilty  of  such  imprudence  would 
be  to  know  but  little  of  the  man  whom  Providence  raised 
for  such  a  work. 

The  expedition  was  composed,  then,  of  three  caravels, 
each  having  provision  for  a  year,  and  a  good  armament. 
They  were  respectively  named  the  Santa  Maria.,  the  Pinta., 
and  the  Nina. 

On  the  Sa?tta  Maria  there  embarked,  according  to  their 
order  of  precedence,  the  following  :  The  Honorable  Diego 
de  Arana,  nephew  by  marriage  of  Columbus  ;  Pedro  Gut- 
ticrrez,  the  King's  yeoman  of  the  stores  ;  Rodrigo  Sanchez 
de  Segovie,  named  by  the  sovereigns  Vcedor,  controller 
of  the  armament  ;  Rodrigo  de  Escovedo,  notary  royal, 
charged  with  registering  the  acts  and  the  proceedings 
according  to  their  occurrence  ;  and  Bernardin  de  Tapia, 
the  historiographer  of  the  expedition. 

After  these,  as  mates,  there  were  the  pilots  Pedro  Alonzo 
Nino,  a  true  seaman  ;  Barthélémy  Roldan,  a  speculating 
chai'acter,  —  more  of  a  merchant  than  a  soldier  ;  Fernand 
Perez  Matheos,  an  envious  and  unquiet  character  ;  Sancho 
Ruiz,  zealous  for  the  service  ;  Ruy  Fernandez,  a  good 
officer  ;  and  Juan  de  la  Cosa.  Then  followed  the  inter- 
preter of  the  expedition,  a  converted  Jew,  —  Luiz  deTorrez, 
who  knew  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  Coptic,  and 
Armenian  ;  then  the  official  metallurgist,  Castillo,  a  gold- 
smith from  Seville. 

The  board  of  health  was  composed  of  a  certain  Doctor 
Alonzo,  a  middling  physician;  and  of  a  very  good  surgeon, 
Doctor  Juan,  who  was  an  amiable  man,  and  very  compas- 
sionate towards  the  sick. 

Among  the  crew,  there  were  an  Englishman  named 
Tallerte  de  Lajes,  an  Irishman  named  William  Rice  (Guil- 
lemio  1res),  two  Portuguese,  and  a  Majorcan,  which,  with 
others,  formed  a  total  of  sixty-six  persons.  It  is  to  be  re- 
marked, that  among  the  men  on  board  the  Santa  Maria 

there  were  none  from  Palos. 
12 


134  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

The  fine-sailing  Plnta  was  commanded  by  the  oldest 
Pinzon.  He  had,  as  mates,  his  brother  Francis  Martin 
Pinzon,  his  cousin  Juan  de  Ungria,  and  Cristobal  Garcia 
Xalmiento  ;  as  physician,  Garcia  Hernandez,  of  Palos  ;  and 
as  clerk,  another  Garcia  Hernandez,  whom  historians  have 
often  confounded  with  the  former.  Witli  the  exception  of 
Juan  Rodriguez  Bermijo,  all  the  sailors  wei'e  from  Palos 
or  from  Moguer,  —  places  which,  from  their  proximity, 
were  often  confounded  with  each  other.  The  officers  and 
crew  of  the  Pinta  amounted  to  thirty  men,  besides  several 
passengers. 

The  trim  and  coquettish  Nlna^  commanded  by  Vincent 
Yanez  Pinzon,  with  a  crew  of  only  twenty-four  men,  car- 
ried the  rest  of  the  friends  and  neighbors  of  the  Pinzons. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  in  finishing  his  review  of  the 
equipage,  Columbus,  as  was  his  custom,  made  an  address, 
and  that,  yielding  to  the  emotions  of  his  heart,  he  S2:)oke  to 
them  of  God,  into  whose  hands  they  were  going  to  commit 
their  souls.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  resolution  of 
these  men,  when  the  time  for  departure  came  they  were 
seized  with  great  fear.  The  imminence  of  the  danger  in 
such  an  expedition  turned  their  hearts  to  the  Father  of 
Mercies.  Each  thought  of  reconciling  himself  with  God, 
of  confessing  his  sins,  and  obtaining  absolution  for  them. 
Afterwards  they  went,  in  procession,  to  the  monastery  of 
La  Rabida,  their  commandant  at  their  head,  to  implore  the 
divine  assistance,  and  to  put  themselves  under  the  special 
protection  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  They  attended  mass, 
received  the  Holy  Eucharist  from  the  hands  of  Father  Juan 
Perez,  and  returned,  in  a  religious  procession,  to  the 
caravels. 

It  was  a  touching  ceremony.  The  whole  of  the  city  of 
Palos  participated  in  the  emotions  of  the  seamen,  and  many 
a  tear  was  shed  in  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  avail  himself  of  the  first  east  wind 
that  would  arise,  Columbus  ordered  that  no  officer  should 
sleep  on   land.      Then,  having  embraced   his  young   son 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  135 

Diego,  whom  the  generous  Juan  Perez  had  returned  to 
him,  he  consigned  him  to  the  special  care  of  the  good 
priest  JNIartin  Sanchez,  and  Rodriguez  Cabezuda,  to  take 
him  to  his  wife,  Doua  Beatrix,  in  Coi^dova,  in  order  to 
have  his  education  completed.  He  then  returned  to  his 
cell  at  La  Rabida. 

There  he  spent  his  time  in  consulting  with  God,  in  listen- 
ing to  Him,  and  in  purifying  his  heart,  that  he  may  merit 
becoming  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  His  knowledge  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures  enlarged  his  intelligence.  He  felt 
himself  destined  to  a  mission  greater,  perhaps,  than  any 
mortal  being  had  ever  received.  He  went  to  fulfil  an 
unheard-of  apostolatc,  —  to  carry  the  Cross  across  the 
Gloomy  Ocean,  into  unknown  regions,  and  to  jout  the 
posterity  of  Shem  in  communication  with  their  anciently- 
lost  brethren  of  the  race  of  Japhet. 

Buried  in  that  peaceable  monastery,  where  he  received 
so  many  unexpected  consolations,  his  j5ure  and  ardent  faith 
expanded  itself  before  God  ;  his  profound  wisdom  and  ac- 
cumulated science  presented  no  obstacle  to  the  tender  effu- 
sions of  his  piety,  and  the  ardor  of  his  devotion.  Meditating 
on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  his  favorite  book,  he  raised  him- 
self, like  the  eagle  of  Patmos,  to  sublime  conceptions  of  the 
Word  by  whom  all  things  are  made.  With  loving  devotion, 
he  spent  in  prayer  and  meditation  all  the  time  not  claimed 
by  the  offices  of  choir  ;  for  he  scrupulously  observed  the  rule 
of  St.  Francis. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  then  made  a  final 
spiritual  retreat,  while  awaiting  the  moment  for  departure. 

SECTION   VII. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  third  of  August, 
Columbus  awakened  to  the  rustling  of  the  pines,  whose  tops 
were  agitated  by  the  land  breeze.  The  practised  ear  of  the 
mariner  soon  recognized  the  expected  favorable  wind. 

That  day  was  a  Friday.     Friday,  which,  among  sailors, 


136  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

is  superstitiously  considered  as  a  day  foreboding  evil,  be- 
came, on  the  contrary,  for  that  fervent  Christian,  a  day  of 
fortunate  presage  ;  —  for  it  was  the  day  of  our  redemption  ; 
that  of  tlie  delivei'ance  of  tlie  Hoi}-  Sepulchre,  by  the  French- 
man Godfrey  de  Bouillon  ;  and  that  of  the  rendition  of 
Granada,  the  palladium  of  Mahometanism  in  the  west. 
Hence  it  appeared  to  Columbus  a  day  providentially  des- 
tined for  his  departure. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  quitting  immediately  his  cell, 
he  rapped  at  the  door  of  the  Father  Superior,  and  that  soon 
the  latter  awoke  the  brother  sacristan  to  light  the  wax 
candles,  preparatory  to  the  celebration  of  mass.  A  few 
moments  after,  the  watch-guards  on  board  the  caravels 
ma}^,  through  the  pine-trees,  see  the  high  window-panes 
of  La  Rabida  shine  at  that  unusual  hour.  Whilst  the 
community  were  enjoying  their  peaceful  slumbers,  Colum- 
bus entered,  with  gentle  steps,  into  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady. 
The  Father  Superior,  clothed  with  his  sacerdotal  vestments, 
ascended  to  the  altar  to  ofter  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  for  an  in- 
tention, until  then,  perhaps,  unheard  of  since  the  institution 
of  the  Eucharist.  At  the  time  of  communion,  Columbus 
approached  the  holy  table,  and  received,  by  way  of  viati- 
czcjH,  the  bread  of  angels.*  After  his  acts  of  thanksgiving, 
he  left  the  convent  noiselessly,  always  accompanied  by 
Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena. 

During  these  emotions,  recollection  becomes  a  need,  and 
silence  a  sweetness.  Talk  can  only  disturb  that  interior 
calm  which  it  is  itself  incapable  of  giving.  It  is  probable 
they  descended,  absorbed  in  thought  and  in  silence,  the 
declivity  leading  to  Palos.  The  last  stars  still  glittered  in 
the  firmament,  and  the  first  glimmerings  of  dawn  began  to 
appear  in  the  orient.  They  arrived  together  at  the  town 
of  Palos. 

As  soon  as  they  came,  the  cutter  of  the  Santa  Maria 
approached  the  shore  to  receive  the  commandant. 

*  Oviedo  J  Valdez,  Ht'storia,  etc.,  lib.  11.,  cap.  v.,  fol.  6. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  137 

The  voices  of  the  pilots  and  boatswains  awakened  the 
inmates  of  the  neighboring  houses.  The  windows  and 
doors  immediately  flew  open.  The  cry,  "  They  go,  they 
go  !  "  soon  resounded  everywhere.  ^lothers,  wives,  chil- 
dren, run  to  the  qua}-,  sobbing  and  weeping  ;  relations  and 
friends  throw  themselves  into  barks,  to  ajjproach  the  car- 
avels, to  bid  their  adieus  to  those  they,  perhaps,  will  never 
see  again.  Columbus,  pressing  to  his  heart  the  Franciscan 
father,  moved  to  tears,  bids  him  a  silent  farewell,  and 
jumps  into  the  cutter,  which  soon  reached  the  Santa 
Afaria. 

The  Commandant,  received  on  board  with  the  honors 
prescribed  by  the  Admiralty  of  Castile,  ascended  the  poop, 
and  took  a  glance  at  the  arrangements.  The  sign  was 
given  for  those  in  the  cutters  to  leave,  the  shore-boats 
were  hoisted  aboard,  and  the  anchors  drawn  up  to  the 
prows. 

The  Santa  Maria  bore  the  royal  flag  of  the  flotilla.  A 
faithful  emblem  of  the  sentiments  of  Christopher  Columbus, 
and  of  the  real  object  of  his  voyage,  this  flag  was  truly  the 
standard  of  the  Cross.  It  bore  the  image  of  Our  Saviour 
nailed  to  the  tree  of  the  cross,  while  from  the  main-masts 
of  the  Plnta  and  the  JVina  there  waved  only  the  banner 
of  the  expedition,  marked  with  a  gi'een  cross  between  the 
initials  of  the  sovereigns,  and  surmounted  with  a  crown. 

Then  Columbus,  saluting  serenely  the  crowd  on  the  shore, 
and,  with  hand,  bidding  a  last  adieu  to  his  friend  Juan 
Perez,  took  his  place  on  the  quarter-deck  ;  and,  fully  im- 
pressed with  the  character  of  his  enterprise,  with  a  loud 
voice  commanded  the  sails  to  be  unfurled,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ.* 

I    *  Oviedo  y  Valdez,  La  Hisioria  nat.  y.  gen.  de  las  Indias,  lib.  II., 
cap.  v.,  fol.  6. 

12* 


13S  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Events  of  the  Voyage.  —  Fears  of  the  Sailors.  — New  Aspects  of  the 
Ocean.  —  Variation  of  the  Marinei-'s  Compass.  —  A  Conspiracy 
and  a  Revolt.  —  Firmness  of  Columbus.  —  His  Prediction  of  the 
Discovery. 

SECTION  I. 

DE  LORGUES  here  complains  that  the  incidents 
of  this  voyage  have  not  hitherto  been  completely 
given  to  the  public,  and  that  historians  have  held  too  ex- 
clusively to  the  meagre  account  of  it  given  by  the  celebrated 
Las  Casas,  from  the  Journal  of  Columbus.  To  supply  this 
omission,  De  Lorgues  enters  into  lengthy  details  of  the 
events  of  the  voyage,  relying  on  the  authority  of  several 
writers,  and  of  documents,  of  the  highest  respectability. 
But  the  limits  prescribed  for  this  work  will  not  permit  our 
following  him  throughout. 

Remote  as  we  are  from  that  memorable  day,  how  can  we 
avoid  still  admiring  that  calm  and  eminent  courage,  that 
firm  will  which  has  to  face  the  invisible,  conquer  the 
unknown  and  the  formidable,  overcome  the  prejudices  of 
pilots  and  the  terrors  of  sailors,  vanquish  the  most  terrible 
uncertainties  and  the  phantoms  of  the  imagination,  not  less 
frightful  than  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  brave  the  science  of 
the  times,  and  aflront  unknown  enemies,  —  sea-monsters, 
every  possible  creature  in  the  air  and  in  the  waters,  eddies, 
currents,  water-spouts,  calms,  famine,  death  from  thirst, 
etc.  .  .  . 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  130 


SECTION  II. 

On  Friday,  the  third  of  August,  1493,  after  commanding 
the  sails  to  be  unfurled,  Columbus  entered  his  cabin,  and, 
taking  his  pen,  commenced,  also,  his  Journal  of  the  Voyage 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  :  "  In  nomine  Domini  nostri 
Jesu  Ciiristi,"  etc. 

This  prologue,  which  we  possess  entire,  shows,  from  the 
first,  the  specially  Christian  character  of  the  enterprise. 
The  desire  of  penetrating  into  space,  and  the  zeal  to 
evangelize  the  people  supposed  to  exist  in  unknown  re- 
gions, show,  by  their  union  of  aim,  that  this  expedition 
was,  prior  to  all  other  considerations,  a  great  act  of 
Catholic  faith.  We  have  a  glimpse  of  the  holy  union 
there  was  between  the  thought  of  Isabella  and  the  hope 
of  the  pious  navigator.  Columbus,  at  first,  declares  that 
it  is,  after  having  terminated  the  war  against  the  Moors, 
and  erected  the  Cross  on  the  towers  of  the  Alhambra,  that 
the  two  sovereigns,  in  their  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the 
faith,  sent  him  to  the  countries  of  India,  to  see  the  princes 
and  the  peoples  of  those  countries,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  converted  to  our  holy  faith.  He  terminates  this  intro- 
duction to  his  Journal  by  saying  that  he  will  write  every 
night  the  events  of  the  day,  and  every  day  the  events  of  the 
preceding  night;  that  he  will  inscribe  on  a  chart  the  waters 
and  the  lands  of  the  great  ocean  ;  and  that  he  will  banish 
sleep  from  his  eyes,  in  order  to-  direct  the  navigation,  and 
to  accomplish  those  things  that  require  great  efforts.* 

On  ^Monday,  the  sixth  of  August,  the  breeze  increased 
sensibly;  and  soon  the  Pinta  made  a  signal  of  distress, 
her  rudder  having  become  unhung,  and  gone  to  pieces. 
Columbus,  not  being  able  to  remedy  the  accident,  on 
account  of  the    swell    caused   by  the  high  wind,  still  ap- 


*  See  this  prologue,   in  extenso,  in  living's  Columbus,  vol.  i.,  p. 
12;.  — B. 


140  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

preached  her.  He  then  discovered  the  machinations  of 
the  owners,  Gomez  Rascon  and  Cristobal  Qiiintero,  who 
had  ah'eady  tried  the  same  means  to  prevent  the  expedition, 
hoping  to  be  able  to  escape  it  themselves.  The  captain, 
Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  had  the  pieces  bound  fast  together 
by  strong  cordage,  and  the  voyage  was  continued.  They 
directed  their  coui'se  to  the  Canaries.  The  pilots  of  the 
three  caravels  differed  about  the  line  to  be  taken  to 
approach  them  soonest.  Columbus  gave  his  opinion  in 
opposition  to  those  of  the  pilots,  and  the  event  proved  the 
justness  of  his  reasons. 

They  arrived  there  at  night.  The  Commandant  ordered 
the  captain  of  the  Pinta  to  remain  at  the  Great  Canary, 
while  he  would  go  himself  to  try  and  replace  her  with 
another  vessel.  Having  uselessly  sought  one  for  more 
than  three  weeks,  he  had  a  new  rudder  made  for  the 
Piitta,  and  had  the  lateen  sails  of  the  Nina  changed  into 
square  ones.  After  having  taken  in  water,  wood,  and  fresh 
provisions,  they  were  on  the  point  of  starting,  on  the  sixth 
of  September,  At  that  moment  a  vessel  arrived  from  the 
Isle  of  Ferro,  informing  the  Commandant  that  three  Portu- 
guese caravels  had  been  hovering  off  that  island  to  capture 
him.  The  wrath  of  John  II.,  excited  by  the  refusal  of 
Columbus,  pursued  the  latter  to  the  ocean  ;  and,  to  add  to 
his  uneasiness,  a  dead  calm  fixed  him  in  the  waters  of  the 
Gomera,  in  sight  of  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  the  volcanic 
eruptions  of  which  terrified  the  seamen. 

This  situation,  so  tantalizing,  lasted  from  Thursday  morn- 
ing until  Saturday  before  dawn.  At  length,  profiting  by  a 
light  wind,  he  advanced,  and  beheld  the  last  of  the  Cana- 
ries, —  the  island  of  Ferro,  —  precisely  that  at  which  the 
Portuguese  caravels  awaited  him.  "  He  was,  therefore," 
says  Washington  Irving,  "  in  the  very  neighborhood  of 
danger.  Fortunately,  a  breeze  sprang  up  with  the  sun, 
their  sails  were  once  more  filled,  and,  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  the  heights  of  Ferro  gradually  faded  from  the  horizon." 
From  the  beginning  of  this  wonderful  voyage  we  perceive, 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  141 

by  the  very  words  of  a  Protestant  writer,  the  aid  given  by 
Providence  to  its  minister  Columbus.  That  was  not  the 
only  one.  God  did  not  cease  from  assisting  him.  If  the 
ordinary  laws  of  nature  were  never  suspended  in  his  favor, 
still  the  most  happy  coincidences  came  always  to  his  aid 
with  such  a  miraculous  appropriateness,  that  they  needed 
no  miracles. 


SECTION  III. 

Here  ended  the  nautical  science  of  the  most  able  mar- 
iners ;  they  were  now  going  to  enter  into  unknown  regions. 
Whilst  the  heart  of  Columbus  bounded  with  a  noble  joy  in 
launching  into  a  route  which  no  man  had  ever  traversed, 
the  seamen,  after  having  seen  the  heights  of  the  Isle  of 
Ferro  disappear,  began  to  lament.  They  became  desolate, 
despairing  of  ever  again  seeing  their  country.  The  Admi- 
ral tried  to  I'emove  their  fears,  and  spoke  to  them  of  the 
bold  undertakings  of  gross  and  sordid  minds.  He  succeeded 
in  cheering  them  up  for  a  little  time.  Still,  from  a  motive 
of  prudence,  counting  from  that  day,  he  wrote  the  reckon- 
ings in  two  distinct  log-books  :  making  in  one,  fictitious 
reckonings  for  the  crews  ;  and  in  the  other,  the  true  ones 
for  himself.  He  feared  his  officers  would  become  discour- 
aged, if  the  voyage  appeared  too  long.  And  he  was  not 
mistaken. 

The  thirteenth  of  September,  the  genius  of  Columbus 
endured  a  rude  shock.  His  attentive  eye  noticed  the  first 
index  of  magnetic  variation.  It  was  the  first  time,  since 
the  commencement  of  history,  that  the  like  observation 
was  made. 

Columbus  remarked,  at  nightfall,  that  the  magnetic 
needle,  in  place  of  pointing  to  the  north  star,  became 
directed  to  the  north-west  ;  and  that  the  next  day,  at  day- 
break, the  variation  was  still  greater.  Thus  his  only 
guide,  —  the  mariner's  compass,  —  whose  infallibility  alone 
inspired    the  officers  with   a  little  hope,  began  to  betray 


143  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

him,  and  he  found  himself  destitute  of  all  hope  from  the 
sciences.  The  Commandant  took  good  care  not  to  com- 
municate this  piece  of  information  to  the  officers,  whose 
brows  were  already  clouded. 

On  Friday  a  happy  omen,  for  vulgar  intelligences,  reani- 
mated the  hopes  of  the  sailors.  The  crew  of  the  NiTia  saw 
a  sea-swallow,  and  a  ring-tail,  —  the  first  birds  they  saw 
since  they  left  Gomera.  The  next  evening  a  meteor,  in 
the  form  of  a  fiery  branch,  appeared  to  fall  from  the 
heavens,  at  a  distance  of  about  four  leagues.  The  crews 
were  frightened  at  it  ;  but  the  contemplator  of  God's  cre- 
ation only  gazed  at  it  with  admiration. 

The  seventeenth  of  September,  they  reached  those  lati- 
tudes where  tropical  influences  are  so  delightfully  felt. 
"  There  was  a  real  pleasure  experienced,"  says  Las  Casas, 
"  in  enjoying  the  beauties  of  the  mornings,  and  there  was 
nothing  wanting  to  it  but  the  warbling  of  nightingales. 
The  weather  was  like  the  month  of  April  in  Andalusia." 

SECTION  IV. 

Towards  that  part  of  the  globe  which  borders  on  the 
oceanic  prairies,  a  mysterious  cosmographie  division  seems 
to  take  place  in  the  skies,  as  well  as  in  the  deep  waters. 
A  strange  feeling  of  the  unknown  and  the  unexperienced, 
acts  on  a  person  ;  he  has  imposing  views  before  him  ;  and 
he  feels  the  distant  power  of  the  equatorial  regions,  and 
his  proximity  to  southern  skies. 

The  now  magnificent  aspects  of  the  ocean, —  its  limpidity, 
its  solitude,  —  strike  the  beholder  with  an  amazement  that 
is  surpassed  only  by  that  which  is  produced  by  the  noctur- 
nal phenomena  that  are  presented. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  these  wonders  were 
displayed  only  before  the  eyes  of  celestial  spirits  ;  for  the 
inhabitants  of  this  world,  they  were  as  if  they  had  no 
existence.  At  length,  the  beauties  and  solemn  grandeurs 
of  the  equinoctial  ocean,   until  then   unknown,   displayed 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  143 

tliemselves  to  the  eyes  of  men.  For  the  first  time  since 
the  creation  did  the  human  intelligence  exercise  its  facul- 
ties in  these  latitudes,  until  then  the  domain  of  petrels, 
gulls,  porpoises,  and  gigantic  fishes.  And  he  who  was 
chosen  by  Providence  to  be  the  guide  of  immortal  souls 
on  the  deep,  was  here  the  highest  personification  of  intui- 
tion, and  of  love  of  the  Creator.  Neither  before  nor  after 
that  day  did  a  holier  curiosity,  nor  a  livelier  comprehension 
of  nature,  find  its  place  in  these  moving  latitudes. 

The  sacred  image  of  the  Redeemer,  on  the  flag  of  the 
expedition,  which  was  unfurled  by  the  breeze,  seemed,  in 
conjuring  the  brute  forces  of  the  air,  to  sanctify  the  elements 
in  traversing  the  gleaming  horizons  ;  and,  in  the  night,  the 
phosphorescent  waves.  Every  evening,  hymns  in  honor  of 
JNIary,  the  Ocean  Star,  were  wafted  by  the  winds  of  the 
Atlantic.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Word,  Columbus  took, 
in  the  name  of  the  faith,  possession  of  immensity.  The 
Most  lîigh  had  accorded  him  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to 
penetrate  into  space  on  w^hich  neither  the  eye  nor  the  look 
of  mortal  had  ever  yet  lit. 

'  In  entering  into  these  regions  of  the  Gloom\'  Ocean,  the 
cause  of  so  much  terror,  then  enshrouded  in  a  mystery  which 
he  was  destined  to  penetrate,  Columbus,  incited  by  a  laudable 
curiosity,  and  desiring,  as  he  himself  said,  "  to  know  the 
secrets  of  the  world,"  darted  his  untiring  looks  into  the 
depths  of  the  transparent  waters.  He  tried  to  ascertain  the 
character  of  the  submarine  vegetation,  of  the  forests  decking 
the  depths  of  those  concave  regions  which  the  sounding-line 
could  not  reach.  What  kind  of  beings  inhabited  those  sombre 
residences?  What  drama  was  now  being  acted  in  the  deep 
Atlantic  recesses  in  the  bowels  of  the  ocean?  And  what 
terrible  eventualities  may  there  not  arise  from  those  gulfs, 
now  seemingly  dormant?  —  a  fearful  question,  and  one  be- 
fore which  any  other  mortal  would  have  quailed  ! 

Both  history  and  poetry  have  vaunted  the  fearless  sang 
froid  of  Columbus,  his  boldness,  his  passion  for  celebrity, 


144  HISTORY  OF  [book  r. 

and  his  contempt  for  death  ;  and  writers  have  thought  they 
did  him  honor  in  calling  him  "  the  hero  of  glory." 

Such  views  of  him  are  all  errors. 

He  who  advanced  calm  and  serene  above  the  abysses  of 
the  deep,  had  not,  and  did  not  think  he  had,  any  merit  for 
intrepidity.  In  no  circumstance  does  he  make  any  allusion 
to  his  courage.  He  knew  very  well  whom  to  attribute  to 
the  "  fortitude  and  magnanimity  "  he  displayed  in  the  con- 
ducting of  his  enterprise.  Yearning,  above  all  things,  to 
glorify  the  Divine  Word,  to  proclaim  the  blessed  name  of 
the  Redeemer  in  the  countries  he  should  discover,  feeling 
that  his  labors  were  connected  with  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  future  relations  of  peoples  to  each  other  ; 
understanding  that  he  was  made  by  Divine  mercy  the  legate 
of  Providence,  and  a  deputy  of  the  Apostolate  to  unknown 
nations,  he  drew  from  above  the  secrets  of  his  power. 
Protestantism  cannot  deny  it.  "  Columbus  considered  him- 
self under  the  immediate  eye  and  guardianship  of  Heaven 
in  this  solemn  enterprise."  * 

Having  instinctive  consciousness  of  the  sublimity  of  his 
mission,  and  knowing  that  this  voyage  would  tend  to  the 
honor  and  glory  of  the  Christian  religion,  he  feared  no 
danger,  and  held  as  nothing  his  fatigues,  as  he  wrote,  at  a 
later  period,  to  the  supreme  chief  of  the  Church,  the  vicar 
of  Jesus  Christ.f  Still,  notwithstanding  his  confidence  in 
God,  far  from  reposing  altogether  on  the  divine  bounty,  and 
lulling  in  a  sweet  quietude,  he  was  watchful  day  and  night. 
As  he  was  answerable  to  God  and  to  Queen  Isabella  for  the 
lives  committed  to  his  charge,  he  did  not  depend  on  others 
for  the  care  of  them.  Except  the  hours  he  retired  to  recite 
the  office  of  the  Franciscans,  as  was  his  custom  at  La  Ra- 
bida,  he  passed  his  days  and  nights  at  the  poop,  watching 


♦Washington  Irving, — Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Colum- 
bus.    Bk.  III.,  chap.  iii. 

^  Carta  del  Almirante  a  su  Saniidad. — Docum.  Diplom.  num. 
cxlv. 


CHAP.  VU.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  14- 

thc  helm,  observing  the  sea,  the  lur,  the  stars  ;  mounting, 
sometimes,  the  tojD-mast,  in  order  to  see  farther,  and  the 
better  to  judge  of  the  regions  traversed  by  the  vessels. 

Naturally  of  a  retiring  disposition,  and  averse  to  the 
.requirements  of  etiquette,  he  gave  himself  to  the  contem- 
plation of  the  works  of  the  Creator,  which,  with  him,  from 
his  youth  up,  was  his  greatest  delight,  as  in  his  advancing 
age  it  was  the  sweetest  consolation  of  his  soul.  Better  than 
anybody  else  in  the  world,  he  knew  how  to  comprehend  the 
indications  of  the  great  phenomena  and  the  mute  notifica- 
tions of  nature.  He  found  himself  in  that  latitude,  un- 
known before  his  time,  where  the  influences  of  the  air  and 
of  the  waters,  wholly  new,  disconcerted  the  theory  and  the 
instruments  of  nautical  science.  It  is  that  part  of  the  globe 
where  the  color,  the  bitterness,  the  saltness,  and  the  density 
of  the  waters  change,  and  where  the  constancy  of  the  tem- 
perature only  equals  its  mildness.  Columbus  remarked 
"an  extraordinary  change  in  the  heavenly  bodies,  in  the 
temperature  of  the  air,  and  in  the  state  of  the  sea."  Exam- 
ining unceasingly  the  new  fi.ace  of  this  new  nature  he  had 
met  with,  his  genius  tried  to  draw  from  the  exterior  phe- 
nomena some  revelation  in  regard  to  the  regions  he  had 
reached.  His  eyes  spanned  the  horizon,  his  organs  of  smell 
interrogated  the  least  cfliluvias  of  the  saline  scents  that  were 
borne  by  the  winds.  Frequently  he  tasted  water  drawn  at 
difierent  depths,  to  ascertain  its  temperature.  His  sounding- 
line  was  ever  gauging  the  depth  of  the  vvatei"s.  He  made 
experiments  on  the  direction  and  the  force  of  the  pelagian 
currents,  and  seized  with  eagerness  the  herbs  and  plants 
passing  by;  for  everything  could  be  an  index  to  a  man  of 
his  penetration.  A  little  lobster  was  caught  in  sea-weed  ; 
Columbus  examined  it  attentively,  because  such  a  shell-fish 
was  never  seen  at  eighty  leagues  from  a  coast.  The  sea- 
water  was  sensibly  less  salt  than  it  was  at  the  Canaries. 
Some  tunnies  showed  themselves,  and  the  crew  of  the  AlTia 
succeeded  in  harpooning  one. 

The  eighteenth  of  September  the  air  was  like  that  of 
Ï3 


146  HISTORT  OF  [BOOK  I. 

spring  in  Seville.  The  regular  breeze  pushed  on  finely  the 
vessels,  which  endeavored  to  outsail  each  other,  in  order  to 
perceive  land,  and  gain  the  annual  pension  of  ten  thousand 
maravedis  promised  by  the  Qiieen  to  the  one  who  would 
first  point  it  out.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  whose  vessel  wa? 
the  fleetest  sailer,  took  the  advance,  because  he  had  seen  a 
flight  of  birds  take  a  northern  direction.  He  assured  the 
Commandant  that  in  steering  to  the  north  he  would  find 
land  in  fifteen  leagues.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  urgent 
entreaties  of  his  men,  Columbus  would  not  consent  to  turn 
aside  from  the  route.  This  firmness  appeared  to  be  proud 
obstinacy  to  the  men,  who  were  already  disquieted  about  the 
length  of  the  voyage.  Their  fears  embraced  with  rapture 
the  hope  of  a  neighboring  land  announced  to  them  by  an 
experienced  captain,  and,  moreover,  their  own  countryman. 
This  refusal  caused  a  sullen  discontent  in  the  crews  of  the 
three  vessels. 

SECTION  V. 

The  nineteenth  of  September,  there  arose  mists  without 
any  wind,  which  was  for  Columbus  a  certain  sign  of  the 
nearness  of  land.  He  was  convinced  there  were  islands 
near,  but  he  would  not  go  out  of  his  way  to  search  for  them, 
his  object  being  to  arrive  straight  at  the  Indies.  He  vi'ote 
in  his  Journal,  "The  weather  is  good,  and,  please  God,  all 
will  be  well." 

On  Friday,  at  da3'break,  some  favorable  signs  appeared 
towards  the  west.  A  booby  passed  near  the  ships,  and  a 
whale  came  to  s|)ort  at  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  sea- 
weeds and  trojDical  sea-grapes  showed  themselves  in  such 
abundance,  that  the  water  appeared  curdled.  Such  was 
their  resistance,  that  the  cut-waters  could  hardly  cut  through 
them.  They  had  arrived  at  that  part  called,  since  that  time, 
"  the  herby  sea,"  whose  extent  occupies  a  superficies  equal 
to  seven  times  that  of  France. 

The  aspect  of  this  verdure,  which  at  first  pleased  the 
sight  and  raised  the  hopes  of  the  sailors,  for  it  appeared  to 


CHAP.  VII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  jaj 

indicate  the  nearness  of  land,  now,  by  its  immensity,  became 
a  serious  alarm.  They  believed  tliey  had  got  to  tliose 
endless  sw^amps  of  the  ocean  which  were  said  to  serve  as 
boundaries  to  the  world,  and  as  tombs  for  the  curiosity  of 
^  those  who  affronted  them.  These  crowds  of  plants,  assem- 
bled in  such  infinite  numbers,  presented  the  aspect  of  an 
unbounded  marsh,  wliich  the  Creator  had  placed  as  a  limit 
in  the  ocean,  in  order  to  interdict  access  to  it  from  the 
temerity  of  mortals.  This  immense  and  conglomerate  vege- 
tation, which  from  tlie  depths  of  the  waters  appeared  to 
arise  as  a  warning  from  Heaven,  made  the  most  fearless 
turn  pale.  It  seemed  as  if  these  indescribable  latitudes  had 
been  marked  as  the  last  limit  of  navigation,  and  that  this 
salt  herbage,  becoming  more  and  more  dense  and  matted, 
the  caravels  once  completely  in  its  bonds,  their  return  would 
be  ijnpossible.  And  should  it  happen  that  they  would  not 
become  the  prey  of  sea-monsters,  hidden  under  that  verdure, 
they  had  at  least  the  assurance  tliat  during  the  conflict  of 
their  prows  with  the  herbage,  their  sea-stores  would  become 
exhausted  little  b}'  little,  and  that  famine,  with  all  its  horrors, 
would  be  the  expiation  of  so  cursed  an  audacity.  The  minds 
of  the  sailors  became  involuntarily  haunted  with  frightful 
visions,  the  natural  consequence  of  the  stories  mariners  were 
in  the  habit  of  telling  during  the  long  watchings  of  winter,  — 
sometimes  about  the  uninhabited  regions  of  the  south,  and 
sometimes  about  the  submarine  giant  of  the  north,  the  Kra- 
ken,  that  terrible  polypus  which  with  one  arm  embraced  the 
White  Sea,  while  with  another  he  grasped  the  German 
Ocean.  They  did  not  forget  the  dainty  syrens,  the  sea- 
monks  and  anonymous  monsters,  large  and  small,  that 
dragged  ships  into  whirlpools.  Among  the  officers,  the 
most  courageous  minds,  without  adding  anything  to  the  real 
dangers,  feared  the  keels  would  give  way  against  the  reefs 
concealed  by  this  vegetation,  and  run  aground  in  the  midst 
of  those  marine  prairies,  where  it  would  be  impossible  for 
them  to  save  themselves  by  their  boats,  for  never  could  their 
oars  get  free  from  the  long  and  knotted  vegetation. 


148  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

There  was  another  cause  of  unceasing  anxiety  that  dis- 
quieted tlie  three  crews.  The  more  they  advanced,  the 
more  the  wind,  with  a  very  gentle  breeze,  seemed  to  push 
to  the  west.  Now,  never,  in  seas  that  were  known,  was 
there  an  example  of  such  a  fixity  of  impulsion.  They 
imagined  that  this  constancy  of  direction,  so  favorable  for 
taking  them  to  the  unknown  regions  of  the  west,  would  be 
an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  their  return,  and  that  they 
would  forever  remain  separated  from  their  countr}'. 

The  twenty-second  of  September,  they  held  their  course 
west-north-west,  and  made  about  thirty  leagues.  The  herb- 
age, far  from  becoming  denser  as  they  advanced,  became, 
on  the  contrar}',  thinner,  and  almost  disappeared.  Some 
petrels  and  other  birds  were  seen.  Meanwhile,  the  crews 
became  only  more  downcast  and  irritable.  They  got  over 
one  fear  only  to  fall  into  another.  The  constancy  of  the 
winds  from  one  quarter  put  the  climax  to  their  terrors. 
It  was  in  vain  that  the  Commandant  gave  them  assurances 
and  cosmographie  ex^olanations.  They  would  not  listen  to 
him  ;  already  they  had  ceased  to  believe  in  him,  and  they 
thought  nothing  of  either  his  threats  or  his  promises. 
Respect  for  his  authority,  or  submission  to  the  august 
names  of  the  sovereigns,  were  gone.  There  remained  to 
him  no  longer  any  human  means  to  make  himself  obeyed, 
and  to  continue  the  enterprise.  Columbus  had,  then,  no 
other  resource  but  to  Him  who  had  always  assisted 
him.  In  this  conjuncture  of  aflairs,  an  opposite  wind 
arose  suddenly,  as  if  to  show  the  unreasonableness  of  their 
apprehensions. 

In  declaring  the  opportuneness  of  this  wind  sent  him  by 
God,  Columbus  wrote,  quite  simply,  these  words  in  his 
Journal  :  "  This  contrary  wind  was  of  great  advantage  to 
me,  because  my  crews  were  in  a  state  of  great  excitement, 
.imagining  that  in  these  seas  no  winds  blew  that  would 
bring  them  back  to  Spain."  * 

*  Columbus's  Journal,  Saturday,  twenty-second  of  September. 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^^ç. 

But  the  restored  tranquillity  could  not  he  of  long  duration. 
The  next  day,  they  were  again  seized  with  their  vain  ter- 
rors. It  was  Sunday.  The  sea-weeds  and  plants  of  differ- 
ent kinds  reapjDeared  in  thick  beds,  covering  the  whole 
extent  that  was  visible.  The  breeze  pushed  gently  to  the 
west,  without  causing  the  waters  to  undulate.  The  pro- 
longed calm  of  the  waves  became  in  its  turn  suspected. 
There  were  increasing  murmurings  among  the  sailors. 
They  said  they  had  attained  those  stagnant  latitudes  where 
the  winds  lose  their  impulsive  force,  and  the  sea  its  equili- 
brium ;  for  they  had  left  the  sphere  destined  for  the  abode 
of  men.  They  recalled  to  mind  those  animals  that  attach 
themselves  to  the  keels  of  ships,  and  retain  them  until  they 
become  the  prey  of  the  monsters  inhabiting  those  submarine 
forests.  Already  had  Columbus  exhausted  all  his  reason- 
ings ;  he  had  no  human  means  of  reassuring  those  imagina- 
tions scared  by  their  own  phantoms,  when,  in  the  midst  of 
his  perplexities,  and  without  the  wind  being  felt,  the  sea 
immediately  surged  or  swelled  so  that  "  all  were  astonished 
at  it."  Columbus,  thanking  his  Master,  —  the  good  God, — 
wrote  in  his  Journal  these  words  :  "  So  the  swollen  sea  was 
of  great  advantage  to  me,  which  never  occurred  before, 
save  in  the  time  of  the  Jews,  when  the  Egyptians  went 
from  Egypt  in  pursuit  of  !Moses,  who  delivered  the  Hebrews 
from  bondage."  * 

The  twenty-fifth  of  September,  the  Pinta  was  so  near 
the  Santa  Maria  that  the  Commandant  could  converse 
with  îslartin  Alonzo  Pinzon  in  regard  to  a  chart  he  had 
sent,  three  days  before,  to  the  latter.  Columbus  demanded 
it  back  ;  and  Pinzon,  tying  it  on  the  end  of  a  cord,  flung  it 
on  board  to  him.  On  this  chart  were  delineated  some  sup- 
posed islands,  and  INIartin  Alonzo  thought  they  must  be  in 
the  neighborhood  of  them.  Columbus  told  him,  that  with- 
out doubt,  drawn  by  the  currents  to  the  north-east,  the 
caravels  had  not  made  as  much  way  as  the  pilots  thought. 
This  conversation,  in  a  loud  tone,  and  the  answer  of  the 

*  Domingo,  23  dc  Seticmbre. 
13* 


150  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Commandant,  were  probably  meant  to  reassure  the  sailors, 
who  had  already  repeatedly  complained  of  the  length  of 
the  voyage. 

At  sunset  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  mounting  the  stern  of 
the  Plnta^  shouted,  with  all  his  might,  "Land!  land! 
SeSor,  I  am  the  first  who  saw  it  ;  declare  my  right  to  the 
pension."  Immediately  all  the  sailors  raised  shouts  of  joy, 
whilst  those  of  the  Nina  mounted,  one  after  the  other,  the 
top-mast  and  became  also  assured  it  was  land.  At  the 
sound  of  these  exclamations,  the  Commandant,  quite 
moved,  fell  on  his  knees,  his  gratitude  taking  precedence 
of  his  curiosity.  He  thanked  God  before  having  verified 
the  discovery,  which  appeared  to  him  certain  ;  and,  in  his 
deep  gratitude,  intoned  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  Deo.  He 
must  have  believed  that  it  was  really  land,  confusedly 
perceived  at  a  distance  of  twentj'-five  leagues.  But  time 
dissipated  this  illusion,  and  the  despondency  was  the 
greater  because  hope  had  been  so  much  excited. 

The  first  of  October,  at  daybreak,  the  lieutenant  of  ser- 
vice declared,  with  an  accent  of  terror  whicl:i  he  could  not 
control,  that  they  had  made  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
leagues  westwards  from  the  Isle  of  Ferro.  This  figure  cast 
them  into  the  greatest  dejection.  Yet  it  was  short  of  the 
real  truth.  The  secret  account  kept  by  Columbus  showed 
seven  hundred  and  seven  leagues.  The  man  of  Providence 
tried  to  reanimate  the  spirits  of  the  sailors,  and  to  encourage 
the  pilots,  not  concealing  his  satisfaction  that  the  winds  and 
the  waters  cooperated  in  his    enterprise. 

The  breezes,  always  propitious,  pushed  them  on  waves 
steadily  serene.  Columbus,  thanking  God  for  his  bounty, 
could  not  refrain  from  writing  in  his  Journal  these  words  : 
"  The  sea  is  always  fine  ;  be  infinite  thanks  rendered  to 
God."  The  flotilla  pursued  its  course,  and  the  signs  of 
land  became  multiplied.  The  pilots  desired  to  diverge 
from  the  route,  and  go  in  search  of  islands  which  they 
considered  must  be  in  those  latitudes  ;  but  the  Comman- 
dant, though  assured  of  their  existence,  absolutely  refused 


CHAP  Vil.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  131 

going  out  of  his  way.  He  was  determined  to  go  straight 
for  the  Indies.  "  To  lose  time  on  the  way,"  said  he, 
"would  be  to  be  wanting  in  prudence  and  reason."  Mur- 
murinîTS  were  now  chanofed  into  hatred. 


SECTION  VI. 

So  many  times  deceived  by  signs  that  seemed  to  indicate 
land,  the  crews  no  longer  attached  any  faith  to  those  illusory 
appearances.  They  fell  into  a  state  of  sullenness,  —  a  mark 
of  the  greatest  discouragement.  The  sailors,  at  first,  un- 
known to  the  officers,  gathered  in  groups  of  three  or  four, 
to  console  each  other  in  mutually  confiding  their  fears  to 
one  another  ;  but  they  only  increased  them  by  this  com- 
munication. These  meetings  became  daily  more  frequent 
and  more  numerous.  The  discontent  havingf  become  sren- 
eral,  no  pains  were  taken  to  disguise  it.  As  Spaniards, 
they  naturally  detested  this  foreigner,  who  had  resolved, 
they  said,  to  risk  their  lives  with  his  ow^n,  to  make  him  a 
great  lord  at  their  expense.  They  gave  him  the  nicknames 
of  braggart  and  humbug.,  in  order  to  be  able  to  speak  of 
him,  even  in  his  presence,  in  disguised  vvoids.  It  is  thus 
that  revolts  are  commonly  commenced.  The  old  sailors 
considered  the  obstinacy  of  the  Commandant  in  steering 
to  the  west,  —  which  had  no  end,  —  was  a  mark  of  folly. 
They  recalled  to  mind  the  sad  presentiments  of  their  fami- 
lies, the  fright  of  the  whole  of  Palos,  and  the  opposition 
made  by  the  cosmographers  of  Salamanca  to  this  scheme 
of  the  Genoese.  They  regretted  their  confidence  in  the 
Superior  of  La  Rabida,  become  the  dupe  of  this  intriguing 
braggart.  All  agreed  that  to  push  the  voyage  farther 
would  be  going  to  certain  destruction. 

Already  they  had  proved  to  the  Commandant  the  impru- 
dence of  his  perseverance  ;  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  such 
sage  representations.  Neither  prayers  nor  representations 
could  make  any  impression  on  his  diabolical  obstinacy. 
He   heard   their   complaints,   and   saw   their  sadness   and 


152  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

anxiety,  and  did  not  the  less  drag  them  on  to  an  inevitable 
death. 

To  this  danger,  admitted  by  all,  was  it  not  time  to  bring 
a  remedy?  They  had  already  proved,  perhaps,  too  much 
their  obedience  and  their  bravery,  in  penetrating  into  those 
regions  which  nobody  had  ever  seen  before  them.  Ought 
they,  by  a  blind  submission,  to  labor  for  their  own  ruin.? 
As  the  Commandant,  with  his  iron  will,  had  no  regard  for 
their  entreaties,  and  as  nothing  touched  his  proud  obstinacy, 
they  ought,  at  least,  yielding  to  necessity,  provide  for  their 
own  safety,  and  make  him  submit  to  the  common  law  of 
self-preservation,  which  he  had  so  wickedly  set  at  naught. 

Was  it  right  that  a  hundred  and  twenty  men,  the  greater 
part  of  them  Castillans  and  old  Christians,  should  perish 
through  the  caprice  of  one,  and,  what  is  worse,  a  foreigner, 
—  a  Genoese  ?  There  was  nothing  more  to  deliberate  about  ; 
he  must  be  told  to  turn  back  to  Europe  ;  and,  in  case  of  his 
refusal,  be  cast  into  the  sea,  —  that  sea  which  he  has  so 
much  admired.  This  was  the  only  good  counsel,  and  the 
only  way  of  being  delivered  from  a  disaster.  This  rigor, 
being  resorted  to  for  the  common  safety,  could  not  attach 
to  the  conscience  of  any  one  of  them.  It  would  not  be  a 
crime,  but  a  measure  of  "prudence," — a  sacrifice  to  neces- 
sity. He  may,  then,  be  "  prudently  "  cast  into  the  sea  ;  and 
it  would  be  easy,  on  their  return,  to  publish  that  he  fell  by 
accident  at  night,  while  observing  the  stars.  Assuredly 
nobody  would  take  the  trouble  of  inquiring  into  the  fact. 
They  would  not  trouble  themselves  much  about  this 
Genoese   in  noble  Castile. 

It  was  agreed,  then,  that  at  night  he  should  be  cast  from 
on  board  into  the  sea,  at  a  moment  that  would  be  after- 
wards fixed.  To  carry  the  matter  into  effect,  there  was  a 
secret  agreement  between  the  crews  of  the  three  caravels. 
We  have  proof  that,  during  this  voyage,  the  boats  of  the 
three  caravels  came  often  in  contact  with  each  other. 

This  conspiracy  had  almost  every  sailor  as  an  accomplice, 
while  it  had  yet  nobody  as  chief. 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  153 

The  captains  of  the  Plnta  and  the  NiTia  were  not  igno- 
rant of  what  was  hatching  against  the  Commandant  ;  but, 
on  tlic  one  hand,  better  informed  and  more  experienced 
than  the  rest  of  the  seamen,  they  did  not  participate  in  all 
their  fears  ;  on  the  other,  they  felt  themselves,  in  fact,  mas- 
ters of  the  situation,  —  for,  with  the  exception  of  some 
officers  of  the  Saitta  JMaria,  the  three  crews,  comjoosed 
of  their  countrymen,  were  perfectly  submissive  to  them. 
They  abstained  from  all  personal  manifestations  ;  still, 
without  openly  encouraging  them,  they  took  care  not  to 
prevent  them.  Many  times,  in  their  communications  with 
the  Commandant,  the  three  Pinzons,  by  the  loftiness  of 
their  airs  and  the  grossness  of  their  proceedings,  made  him 
sorely  feel  his  isolation,  and  the  strength  of  their  position. 

On  Sunday,  the  seventh  of  October,  at  sunrise,'  a  cannon 
shot  from  the  Nina  announced  the  appearance  of  land. 
The  crews  were  full  of  hope  ;  but  evening  came  without 
making  any  discover}-.  Still,  flocks  of  birds  flew  from  the 
north  to  the  south-west.  Columbus  knew  that  the  Portu- 
guese, in  following  such  flights,  discovered  several  islands  ; 
he  therefore  determined  to  change  his  course  to  west-south- 
west.    This  change  was  made  only  at  nightfall. 

On  Wednesday,  the  tenth  of  October,  the  wind  became 
favorable.  The  flotilla  went  ten  miles  per  hour.  It  made 
fifty-nine  leagues  in  a  day  and  night.  But  this  so  desirable 
a  flcetness  only  served  to  awaken  the  alarm  of  the  crews. 
Seeing  no  end  to  the  voyage,  notwithstanding  the  constancy 
of  propitious  winds,  they  cried  aloud  that  they  were  taken 
to  their  ruin  !  Their  fears  exploded  ;  they  refused  going 
further,  and  put  themselves  in  a  state  of  open  revolt. 

Here  the  Commandant  was  in  the  most  extreme  dano-er 
that  ever  the  chief  of  a  flotilla  was  exposed  to. 

Several  writers  have  repeated  that  at  this  moment  Colum- 
bus, threatened  by  his  crew,  was  obliged  to  promise  them 
that  he  would  turn  back,  if  in  three  days  they  did  not  dis- 
cover land.  We  feel  it  our  duty  to  declare  that  tliese 
assertions  are  destitute  of  any  foundation. 


154  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

What  occurred  was  the  followhig  :  ISIarthi  Alonzo 
Pinzon,  hitherto  sustained  by  the  remembrance  of  his 
voyage  to  Rome,  and  his  high  opinion  of  the  genius  of 
Columbus,  was  now  seized  with  tlie  general  terror.  His 
confidence  failed  ;  he  ceased  to  resist  the  counsels  of  fear, 
and  joined  in  the  revolt  with  his  two- brothers. 

Towards  night,  at  the  moment  when,  according  to  the 
orders  of  the  Commandant,  the  three  caravels  should  get 
quite  close  to  each  other,*  the  JPinta  and  Nina  joined  the 
Santa  Maria.  The  Pinzons,  followed  by  their  men,  all 
armed,  jumjDed  on  the  deck  of  the  Admiral's  ship,  and, 
with  fury  in  their  looks,  and  steel  in  their  hands,  summoned 
him  immediately  to  turn  the  prow  to  Castile.  His  own 
crew,  his  ^^ilots,  even  the  crown  officers  and  the  nephew 
of  liis  wife,  had  joined  in  the  revolt.  He  was  "  alone 
against  all."  His  arguments,  his  assurances,  his  per- 
suasions, were  already  exhausted.  Against  this  harshness 
of  resolution,  and  this  unanimity  of  resorting  to  violence, 
there  did  not  remain  to  him  the  resource  of  even  a  new 
objection  ;  besides,  terror  neither  hears  nor  reasons.  And 
yet  he  succeeded  in  appeasing  the  fury  and  calming  the 
agitation  of  those  rebellious  spirits,  whom  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation  was  urging  to  crime.  And  not  only  did 
he  not  yield  to  their  demands  or  their  threats,  but  he  dared 
even  to  interdict  them  any  protestations  of  fidelit}^,  or  sup- 
plications for  pardon  ;  and,  in  conclusion,  declared  to  them, 
in  a  tone  of  authority,  that  their  complaints  would  avail 
them  nothing  ;  that  he  had  started  to  go  to  the  Indies,  and 
that  he  intended  to  pursue  his  voyage  until,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  God,  he  would  find  it.  | 

How  explain  this  exasperation  of  feelings,  this  animosity, 
—  increased  by  the  fierce  instinct  of  self-preservation,  —  so 
suddenly  hushed  before  a  foreigner,  alone  and  cursed, 
whose  word  was  no   longer  heard,   whose  rank  and  au- 


*  Las  Casas,  Journal  of  Columbus,  seventh  of  October,  1492. 
\  Miercolcs,  10  de  Octiibre. 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


':>:> 


thority  were  set  at  naught,  and  who  invoked  in  vain  the 
names  of  the  sovereigns?  Here  we  have  something  that 
no  mariner,  no  philosopher,  no  man,  not  even  Columbus 
himself,  could  explain  on  natural  j^rinciples.  So  he  him- 
self did  not  attribute  this  victory  to  the  superiority  of  his 
deportment  in  the  presence  of  the  revolt.  Several  months 
after  this  success,  he  avowed  that  when  his  crews  "  were 
all  resolved,  with  one  accord,  to  return,  and  had  revolted 
against  him,  setting  at  naught  his  threatenings,  the  eternal 
God  gave  him  the  strength  and  courage  he  needed,  and 
sustained  him  alone  against  all."  * 

SECTION   VII. 

From  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning  the  divine  aid,  which 
sustained  him  against  the  outburstings  of  so  much  wrath, 
and  the  ruthlessness  of  fear,  became  manifest.  Notwith- 
standing the  serenity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  softness 
of  the  balmy  breezes,  the  sea  became  swelled.  Large 
waves  arose,  pushing  the  cai'avcls  with  a  force  not  hitherto 
experienced.  Some  petrels  appeared  in  great  number. 
A  green  bulrush  passed  by  the  side  of  the  Santa  JSIaria. 
Soon  after,  the  crew  of  the  Phita  perceived  a  reed  and  a 
stick  ;  then  a  second  stick,  which  appeared  to  have  been 
cut  with  a  knife,  and  a  small  plank.  The  Nina  also  found 
some  things:  one  was  a  branch  of  a  tree,  bearing  some 
small  red  fruit.  These  signs  sustained  the  hopes  of  the 
sailors  during  the  day.  The  sailing  had  been  excellent, 
and  counted  twenty-seven  leagues. 

The  sun  went  down  flaming  into  the  solitary  ocean.  The 
whole  of  the  horizon  presented  to  the  eye  its  pure  azure. 
No  vapor  indicated  that  land  was  near  ;  but  suddenly,  as 
if  by  insjDiration,  Columbus  caused  the  first  route  to  be 
taken,  and  ordered  the  helmsman  to  steer  due  west. 

When  the  caravels   came  together,  and  after  they  had, 

*  y»evcs,  14  dc  Hcbrcro. 


156  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

according  to  the  custom  he  established  on  board  his  vessel, 
sung  the  hymn  to  the  Virgin,  —  the  Salva  Rcglna^  —  as- 
sembling all  the  men,  he  made  them  a  touching  address  ; 
recalled  the  favors  with  which  the  Lord  had  loaded  them 
during  the  voyage,  —  giving  them  constantly  favorable 
weather,  lending  them  thus  into  those  latitudes  in  which 
a  sail  had  never  penetrated,  and  conducting  them,  with 
such  paternal  goodness,  through  the  dreaded  paths  of  the 
Gloomy  Ocean.  He  sought  to  raise  their  hearts  in  grati- 
tude to  the  Author  of  these  benefits  ;  and  afterwards  assured 
them  that  they  were  very  near  the  end  of  their  fears,  and 
the  fulfilment  of  their  hopes.  Finally,  he  announced  to 
them  that  they  were  approaching  land,  although  their  eyes 
could  see  nothing  ;  and  assured  them  that  even  that  very 
night  they  would  reach  the  end  of  their  voyage.  Conse- 
quently, he  recommended  to  them  to  watch  all  night,  and 
engaged  them  to  pass  the  time  in  prayer,*  because  they 
would  certainly,  before  day,  see  some  island.  He  ordered 
the  pilots  to  lessen  the  sails  after  midnight  ;  and  promised, 
besides  the  premium  engaged  by  the  Qiieen,  a  velvet  doublet 
to  the  person  who  would  first  announce  land. 

The  Commandant  retired  to  his  cabin.  What  passed 
there  in  the  secret  of  his  retreat?  Feeling  so  near  the 
realization  of  his  hopes,  what  must  not  have  been  the  fer- 
vor of  his  prayers  !  With  what  tenderness  did  he  not  thank 
the  Divine  Majesty  for  his  constant  protection  ! 

About  ten  o'clock,  Columbus  mounted  the  poop.  Scarcely 
had  he  got  there,  when  he  perceived  a  light  in  the  distance  ; 
but,  on  account  of  the  obscurity  of  the  atmosphere,  he  would 
not  assert  there  was  land  there.  He  called  one  of  the  King's 
officers,  Pedro  Guttierez,  and  told  him  to  look  in  the  same 
direction.  Pedro  considered  it  was  really  a  light.  The 
Commandant  then  called  Rodrigo  Sanchez  de  Segovie,  to 
show  it  to  him  ;  but  while  the  latter  was  ascending  to  the 
poop,  the  light  had  disappeared.     After  a  certain  time  the 

*  Herrera,  Histoire  générale,  etc.,  Decade  I.,  liv.  i.,  chap.  xii. 


CHAP.  VII.].        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


^S1 


light  reappeared  once  or  twice.  It  was  like  a  flame  that 
ascended  and  descended  alternately.  By  this  movement, 
which  the  other  mariners  considered  of  no  importance, 
Columbus  was  certain  of  the  nearness  of  land. 

At  midnight,  conformably  to  the  orders  of  the  Comman- 
dant, the  vessels  kept  but  little  sail.  They  ajjpeared  to  go 
rather  slowly  ;  still,  a  current  took  them  strongly  to  the 
west.  The  Pt'jita.,  a  good  sailer,  got  far  ahead  of  the  other 
caravels.  On  each  deck  the  expectation  was  the  same,  and 
the  eagerness  extreme.  Electrified  by  the  solemn  assertion 
of  the  Commandant,  all  hearts  throbbed  with  hope.  Nobody 
doubted  ;  no  eyelid  was  closed.  Suddenly  a  flash  appears, 
and  a  cannot  shot  is  heard.  The  sailors  jump  with  joy  :  it 
was  the  signal  of  land  !  A  mariner  of  the  Pinta,  named 
Juan  Rodriguez  Bcrmejo,  had  perceived  it.  The  clock  of 
the  Santa  Maria  showed  the  time  to  be  two  in  the  morn- 
ing. At  the  report  of  the  cannon  shot,  Columbus,  casting 
himself  on  his  knees,  and  raising  his  hands  to  Heaven, 
while  tears  of  gratitude  overspread  his  cheeks,  intoned  the 
Tc  Dciim  laiidaymis^t  and  the  whole  crews,  transported 
with  joy,  responded  to  the  voice  of  their  chief. 

It  was  not  until  after  having  fulfilled  the  duties  of  religion, 
that  they  yielded  to  the  promptings  of  the  joy  that  filled 
their  hearts.  An  indescribable  movement  immediately  took 
place  in  the  three  ships.  By  an  order  of  Columbus,  all  the 
sails  were  furled,  —  there  was  left  only  the  lug-sail  ;  and 
they  were  to  put  to  until  morning.  The  prudence  of  the 
chief,  who  forgot  nothing,  thought  it  proper  to  put  the 
flotilla  in  a  state  of  defence  ;  for  they  did  not  know  what 
the  return  of  day  would  bring.  The  arms  were  furbished, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  a  grand  ovation.  Friends 
and  relations  felicitated  each  other.  The  whole  of  the  crew 
of  the  Santa  Maria  presented  themselves  before  the  Com- 
mandant, to  oflcr  him  their  respects,  and  to  do  homage  to 
his  genius. 

H 


1 58  HISTORY  OF  .      [book  i. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Island  of  San  Salvador.  —  The  Archipelago  of  the  Lucaya,  or 
Bahama  Islands.  —  Searchings  for  Gold.  —  The  Island  of  Cuba.  — 
Discovery  of  Hispaniola.  —  Hospitality  of  King  Guacanagari.  — 
First  Settlement  of  Europeans  in  the  Antilles. 

SECTION  L 

^N  Friday,  the  twelfth  of  October,  at  dawn,  there  was 
seen  issuing  from  the  mists  a  flowery  land,  whose 
groves,  colored  by  the  first  rays  of  the  sun,  exhaled  an  un- 
known fragrance,  and  charmed  the  eye  by  their  smiling 
appearance.  In  advancing,  the  men  saw  before  them  an 
island  of  considerable  extent,  level,  and  without  any  apjDear- 
ance  of  mountains.  Thick  forests  bounded  the  horizon, 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  glade  gleamed  the  pure  waters  of  a 
lake.  Rolling  land,  covered  by  a  vigorous  vegetation,  sur- 
rounded a  shore  to  which  they  directed  their  course. 

As  soon  as  the  anchors  were  let  down,  with  great  recol- 
lectedness,  clad  in  the  costume  of  his  dignities,  —  with  a 
scarlet  mantle  on  his  shoulders,  and  holding  displayed  the 
image  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  royal  flag,  —  Columbus  de- 
scended into  his  boat,  followed  by  the  staff'-ofiicer.  The 
captains  of  the  Pinta  and  of  the  Nina^  having  the  banner 
of  the  expedition,  came  each  in  his  own  cutter,  with  a 
detachment  perfectly  armed.  In  a  short  time  all  were  on 
shore. 

Columbus,  beaming  with  gladness,  and  mute  with  de- 
light, stepped  on  the  shore  with  the  elastic  ardor  of  youth. 
Scarcely  had  he  touched  the  new  land  than  he  significantly 
planted  in  it  the  standard  of  the  Cross.     Unable  to  contain 


CHAP.  VIII.]    .     CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  15c) 

his  gratitude,  he  j^rostrated  himself  in  adoration  before  the 
Supreme  Author  of  the  Discovery.  Tlirce  times  bowing 
his  head,  he  kissed,  with  streaming  eyes,  the  soil  to  w^hich 
he  was  conducted  by  the  Divine  Goodness  ;  *  all  those  who 
accompanied  him  participating  in  his  emotions,  and  kneel- 
ing, as  he  did,  elevated  a  crucifix  in  the  air.f  Raising  his 
grateful  hands,  and  thanking,  from  the  depths  of  his  heart, 
his  Heavenly  Father,  Columbus  found,  in  the  effusions  of 
his  loving  gratitude,  an  admirable  prayer,  the  first  accents 
of  which  are  preserved  by  history  :  "  Lord  !  Eternal  and 
Almighty  God  !  who,  by  Thy  sacred  word,  hast  created 
the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  seas,  may  Thy  name  be 
blessed  and  glorified  everywhere.  May  Thy  Majesty  be 
exalted,  who  hast  deigned  to  permit  that,  by  Thy  humble 
servant.  Thy  sacred  name  should  be  made  known  and 
preached  in  this  other  part  of  the  world."  +  •  •  . 

His  gratitude  and  piety  found  utterance  in  sublime  expres- 
sions. Then,  standing  up  with  majesty,  and  displaying  the 
standard  of  the  Cross,  he  offered  up  to  Jesus  Christ  the  first 
fruits  of  his  discovery.  In  order  to  give  glory  to  God,  who 
had  shown  it  to  him,  after  having  protected  him  from  so 
many  perils,  he  gave  the  island  the  name  of  San  Salvador^ 
which  means  "Holy  Saviour."  § 

Afterwards  he  drew  his  sword,  and,  all  the  officers  doing 
the  same,  he  declared  he  took  possession  of  that  land  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  Crown  of  Castile. 
Then  he  ordered  the  notary  royal,  in  presence  of  the  com- 
missioner of  marine,  and  of  the  captains,  to  draw  up  the 
proceedings  in  the  prescribed  form. 

♦Ramusio,  DcUc  navigationi  c  viaggi  raccoltc,  vol.  lit.,  fol.  I. 

t  Robertson,  History  0/  America,  t.  i,  Book  II.,  p.  120. 

J  This  prayer  of  Columbus  was  afterwards  repeated,  by  order  of 
the  Sovereigns  of  Castile,  in  subsequent  discoveries.  Fernando 
Cortez,  Nunez  de  Balbao,  Pizarro,  etc.,  had  to  use  it  officially. 

§  "  La  llamo  a  gloria  de  Dios  que  se  le  havia  mostrado,  librando 
lo  de  muchos  peligros,  San  Salvador."  —  Fernando  Colon,  Vida 
del  Almi rant c,  cap.  xxv. 


l6o  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

The  Discovery  having  been  accomplished,  the  conditions 
of  the  treaty  with  the  sovereigns,  signed  in  the  Phiin  of 
Granada,  became  binding  by  the  event;  therefore  the 
titles  of  "  Viceroy,"  of  "  Grand  Admiral,"  of  "  Governor- 
General  of  the  islands  and  terra  Jinna  he  would  discover 
in  the  Indies,"  were  definitively  acquired  b}^  him.  Imme- 
diately all  those  present,  full  of  admiration  and  enthusiasm, 
recognized  him  as  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  and  Vicero}-  of 
the  Indies,  and  as  such  they  Swore  obedience  to  him. 
Many  of  them  expressed  deep  regret  for  their  conduct  ; 
they  besought  him  not  to  remember  their  threats,  which 
were  excited  by  fear,  and  promised  him  a  devotedness  in 
future  equal  to  their  present  submission. 

The  Admiral,  having  declared  his  having  taken  posses- 
sion, ordered  the  carpenters  to  cut,  with  their  axes,  limbs 
of  trees,  and  form  a  large  cross  from  them.  The  island, 
which  he  had  just  offered  to  the  Saviour,  and  named  San 
Salvador,*  was  called  "  Guanahani  "  in  the  language  of  the 
natives.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  the  first  line  of  the  Lucayas, 
and  occupies  the  middle  of  the  prolonged  group  that  forms 
the  archipelago  of  Bahama.  Although  there  was  no  hab- 
itation perceived  in  it,  it  was  considerably  populated  ;  but 
the  natives,  frightened  at  the  appearance  of  the  caravels, 
which  they  took,  some  for  monsters  come  from  the  sea, 
others  for  beings  come  from  heaven,  —  retired  to  the  thick- 
est parts  of  the  woods,  trembling  with  fear. 

While  the  notary-royal  was  engaged  in  writing  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  taking  of  possession,  the  islanders,  who, 
until  then,  had  remained  concealed  behind  the  foliage  of  the 
trees,  gradually  left  their  retreats,  encouraged  by  the  ex- 
pression of  serenity  and  benevolence  in  the  aspect  of  Colum- 
bus, whom  his  high  stature,  his  rich  costume,  the  sheen  of 


*The  English  Protestants,  not  finding  the  name  San  Salvador 
fine  enough  for  their  marine  charts,  have  substituted  for  it  tliat  of 
cat;  and  in  their  hydrographie  atlases,  the  island  of  the  Holy 
Saviour  is  nobly  called  Cat  Island  !  — 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  igj 

his  arms,  and  the  deference  he  received  from  those  around 
him,  pointed  out  as  the  chief  of  those  mysterious  bein^rs, — 
advanced  by  degrees  ;  and  then  ventured  to  approach,  trem- 
bhngly,  the  strange  visitors.  They  even  feU  them,  to  assure 
themselves  they  were  not  dreaming,  and  were  particuLarly 
astonished  at  their  beards.  Following  the  example  set 
them  by  the  Admiral,  the  Spaniai'ds  received,  with  smiles 
of  kindness,  those  artless  children  of  the  forest,  and  com- 
placently submitted  to  their  examinations. 

Columbus  observed  that  they  were  all  young,  and  that 
they  differed  from  the  natives  of  Africa,  in  the  color  of  the 
skin,  and  in  the  form  of  the  head  and  limbs.  In  stature 
they  were  moderately  tall,  and  in  complexion  they  reminded 
one  of  the  color  of  the  natives  of  the  Canaries.  They  had 
large  heads  and  foreheads,  thick  hair,  cut  below  the  tem- 
ples, and  long  behind  ;  the  chin  destitute  of  beard  ;  the 
limbs  straight,  and  the  trunk  well-proportioned.  They 
went  in  a  state  of  complete  nudity  ;  but  they  painted  their 
members  in- different  colors,  — these  in  red,  those  in  white; 
some  daubed  the  whole  body,  others  only  the  face.  Certain 
ones,  undoubtedly  the  elegant  and  refined,  contented  them- 
selves with  painting  only  the  nose.  Their  arms  consisted 
of  clubs  hardened  by  fire,  and  armed  at  the  end  with  the 
tooth  of  a  shark,  or  a  sharp  flint. 

Columbus  considered  that,  from  the  kindness  of  their  dis- 
position, they  could  be  easily  made  Christians,  in  using 
with  them  mild  rather  than  harsh  means.  In  order  to  make 
them  well  disposed,  he  distributed  among  them  colored 
caps,  glass  beads,  hawks'  bells,  and  other  trifles,  which 
seemed  to  them  of  inestimable  value.  They  respectfully 
offered  the  Spaniards  everything  they  possessed.  The  latter 
passed  the  rest  of  the  day  in  recreations  and  amusements  in 
the  groves. 

As   soon   as   the   carpenters   had   completed   their  work, 
Columbus,  still  quite  moved  with  gratitude,  and  his  heart 
glowing  with  evangelical  love,  ordered  the  hole  to  be  en- 
larged that  was  made  for  the  pole  of  the  banner  planted  on 
14* 


1 62  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

this  shore,  —  a  shore  now  conquered  to  Jesus  Christ.  From 
this  hole  was  erected  the  cross  sustained  by  the  hands  of 
Columbus  himself,  while  the  hjaim,  Vexllla  regis  prode- 
îiiit^  was  sung.  When  the  sacred  sign  was  solidly  fixed  in 
the  soil,  he  intoned  the  hymn  of  victory,  Te  Deum  laud- 
amus. 

Columbus  did  not  erect  that  cross  in  that  place  merely  to 
leave  a  sign  of  prior  occupation,  but  in  order  to  consecrate, 
by  that  sign,  the  object  of  his  discovery,  and  to  be  a  memo- 
rial that  he  took  possession  of  this  advanced  frontier  of  the 
New  World  in  the  name  of  the  Redeemer  of  men,  Jesus 
Christ.  As  the  day  was  growing  late,  he  said  evening 
prayers  before  the  image  of  the  cross  ;  afterwards,  taking 
up  the  flag  of  the  expedition,  that  Lahartim  with  which  he 
had  conquered  the  horrors  of  the  Gloomy  Ocean,  the  dread 
of  immensity,  the  caprice  of  the  billows,  and  the  mutinies 
of  men,  he  returned  on  board  his  caravel. 

Early  the  next  day  the  natives  surrounded  the  three  ships 
in  canoes  made  from  a  single  piece  of  wood,  hollowed,  and 
of  admirable  workmanship  for  persons  who  did  not  know 
the  use  of  iron.  They  brought  balls  of  spun  cotton,  darts, 
and  domesticated  parrots,  to  trade  with  the  foreigners. 
Everything  that  came  from  the  wonderful  strangers  was 
precious  to  them  ;  even  pieces  of  broken  glass  were  regarded 
as  valuable  treasures.  They  gave  as  much  as  twenty-five 
pounds  of  spun  cotton  for  a  mei^e  trifle.  But  the  Admiral, 
desiring  that  advantage  should  not  be  taken  of  their  com- 
mercial simplicit}',  forbade  these  disproportionate  exchanges 
and  sales. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  of  October,  the  Ad- 
miral set  ofi'  at  daybreak,  with  the  long-boat  of  the  Santa 
Maria  and  the  boats  of  the  caravels,  to  reconnoitre  the 
other  side  of  the  island.  The  islanders,  already  informed 
of  their  coming,  ran  towards  them,  calling  them,  bringing 
them  fresh  water  and  provisions,  and  thanking  God  for  the 
wonderful  visit.  They  called  to  each  other,  and  urged  their 
relations  who  had  yet  remained  at  home,  saying  aloud  to 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  i^^ 

them,  "  Come  and  see  the  men  who  came  clown  from 
heaven;  bring  them  meat  and  drink";  and  immediately 
every  man  and  woman  ran  towards  them,  each  bringing 
something.  They  blessed  God  in  their  way,  prostrating 
themselves  on  the  ground  and  raising  their  hands  to  heaven. 
The  Admiral  remarked,  in  the  midst  of  the  decjD  forests, 
some  kitchen  gardens  easily  irrigated,  some  orchards,  and 
"  some  stones  suitable  for  the  building  of  churches."  * 

The  Admiral  retained  on  board  seven  natives,  whom  he 
desired  to  take  with  him  to  Castile,  to  present  to  the  sov- 
ereigns, to  learn  the  Sjoanish  language,  to  be  made  Chris- 
tians, and  to  be  afterwards  sent  back  to  their  country. 

Scarcely  removed  from  the  groves  of  San  Salvador,  Co- 
lumbus found  himself  in  a  delightful  embarrassment.  In 
jDroportion  as  he  advanced,  there  arose  above  the  billows 
the  rich  verdure  of  numerous  islands,  pointing  to  every 
quarter  of  the  horizon.  The  eye  could  not  count  them. 
The  natives  that  were  kept  on  board  named  more  than  a 
hundi-ed  of  them,  and  there  were  many  more  still. 

Not  knowing  where  to  commence  the  exploration  of  this 
archipelago,  Columbus  directed  his  course  to  the  one  that 
appeared  the  largest,  at  a  distance  of  about  seven  leagues. 
He  named  it  St.  Mary  of  the  Conception.  In  landing,  he 
took  possession  of  it  in  a  solemn  form  ;  that  is  to  say,  in 
erecting  a  cross.  This  island,  which  had  a  level  surface, 
appeared  to  be  very  fertile  :  by  their  features,  their  nuditv, 
their  confiding  disposition  and  gentleness,  the  natives  re- 
minded one  of  those  of  San  Salvador.  Like  the  latter, 
they,  too,  admired  the  unearthly  strangers,  let  them  freely 
examine  the  land,  and  gave  them,  respectfully,  "whatever 
they  demanded. 

Columbus  afterwards  directed  his  course  to  another 
island,  which,  through  circumspection  for  the  suscepti- 
bilities of  the  King,  he  named  Fcrna7tdlne.i  even  before 

*  Coliiinbiis's  Jounial.     This  remark,  made  tlie   fourteenth  of  Oc- 
tober, 1492,  was  not  mentioned  until  the  fifth  of  January,  1493. 


164  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

he  reached  it.  Its  inhabitants,  rescmbhng  those  of  the 
isles  ah'eady  visited,  appeai'ed  still  "  more  sociable,  more 
civilized,  and  even  more  cunning."  They  bargained  for, 
in  place  of  taking,  even  what  was  offered  them  in  exchange. 
They  manufactured  cotton,  made  hammocks,  and  mantles 
for  married  women.  Their  habitations,  in  the  form  of 
tents,  testified  that  they  were  not  deficient  in  taste, 

Columbus  walked  through  the  woods,  admiring,  with  a 
grateful  heart,  the  magnificence  with  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded. He  sought  to  recognize  the  various  kinds  of 
plants  that  came  in  his  way,  but  was  often  vmsuccessful. 
The  vegetation  displayed  an  embarrassing  luxuriousness  ; 
it  was  truly  variety  in  the  midst  of  infinity. 

The  natives  having  given  him  to  understand  that  at  some 
distance  there  was  a  large  island  called  Saometo^  the  king 
of  which  wore  clothes,  and  much  gold  on  his  person,  the 
Admiral  trimmed  his  sails  to  go  immediately  to  it. 

In  landing  there,  he  noticed  the  superiority  of  this  island 
to  the  others  he  had  seen.  It  abounded  with  superb  forest- 
trees,  and  large  lakes  secured  for  it  a  delightful  coolness. 
The  grass  was  then  as  high  as  it  is  in  the  month  of  April 
in  Andalusia.  Every  moment  noisy  flights  of  parrots,  pass- 
ing from  one  forest  to  another,  obscured  the  sun  by  their 
number.  The  warblings  and  the  brilliant  plumage  of  vast 
numbers  of  birds  unknown  in  Europe,  and  the  purity  of 
the  air,  struck  him  with  surprise.  The  strange  productions 
of  this  island,  and  its  characteristic  aspect,  induced  him  to 
give  it  the  name  of  the  royal  associate  of  his  faith,  of  his 
hopes,  and  of  his  evangelical  zeal.  The  island  of  Saometa 
was  then  named,  by  him,  Isabella. 

At  the  approach  of  the  strangers,  the  inhabitants  fled 
to  the  woods,  taking  with  them  all  their  ornaments,  and 
leaving  only  their  furniture.  The  Admiral  forbade  any  of 
their  things  being  touched,  under  severe  j^enalties.  By 
degrees  the  natives,  seeing  they  were  not  pursued,  returned 
to  make  exchanges.  Some  wore  very  small  plates  of  gold 
suspended   from   their   nostrils,    which    they  willingly  ex' 


CHAP  VIII.]      CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  165 

changed  for  bits  of  glass,  cups,  and  porringers.  He 
remained  two  days  in  this  isUand,  expecting,  from  what 
he  had  heard,  to  be  able  to  trade  largely  for  gold.  lie 
examined,  with  much  interest,  the  soil  and  the  vegetable 
productions.  He  says,  himself:  "The  diversity  of  the 
trees,  and  of  the  fruits  they  bear,  and  of  the  perfumes  with 
which  the  air  is  charged,  fdl  me  with  astonishment  and 
admiration  ;  and  it  would  seem  that  it  ought  to  retain  as 
a  resident  the  person  who  has  seen  it  only  once." 

In  the  midst  of  his  happiness,  Columbus  was  sorry  that 
he  did  not  know  the  botanical  names  and  the  properties  of 
the  vegetable  productions.  "  I  believe,"  he  says,  "  there 
are  here  many  trees  and  plants  that  command  high  prices 
in  Spain,  for  dye-stuffs,  medicines,  and  spices  ;  .  .  .  .  and 
my  not  knowing  them  is  the  greatest  grief  to  me." 

While  walking  on  the  shore  of  a  lake,  he  perceived  an 
iguana,  —  a  reptile  with  claws,  bristling  scales,  and  a  hid- 
eous head.  To  see  him  and  attack  him  were  the  same  thing 
for  Columbus  ;  for  he  considered  it  of  importance  to  accus- 
tom Spanish  intrepidity  to  making  war  on  the  destructive 
animals  of  this  unknown  region.  The  iguana  precipitated 
itself  into  the  lake  ;  but,  as  the  water  was  not  very  deep, 
he  pursued  it,  and  killed  it  with  his  lance.  Its  skin,  which 
was  preserved,  was  seven  feet  long.  Columbus  afterwards 
learned  that  this  reptile,  though  of  horrible  aspect,  is  inof- 
fensive in  its  habits. 

SECTION  IL 

With  his  great  desire  for  seeing  the  works  of  God,  and 
acquiring  gold,  Columbus  was  confounded  at  the  multitude 
of  islands  and  lands,  and  the  number  of  objects  presented 
to  his  observation,  as  well  as  to  his  enthusiastic  admiration. 
So  he  was  obliged  to  remain  satisfied  with  enumerating 
those  new  lands  without  giving  detailed  accounts  of  them. 
"  My  design  is  not  to  give  the  particulars  of  those  islands 
individually,"  he  wrote  to  the  Qiicen,  "because  I  could  not 


l66  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

do  so  in  fifty  years,  and  because,  on  the  contrary,  I  wish  to 
discover  and  see  as  many  countries  as  I  can."* 

In  this  first  voyage,  his  object  was  less  to  observe  nature 
than  to  acquire  gold,  and  that  in  considerable  quantity.  He 
sought  gold,  in  order  to  make  Spain  interested  in  the  mat- 
ter of  continuing  the  discoveries,  by  giving  palpable  proofs 
of  their  im^Dortance.  He  sought  gold,  especially,  in  order 
to  commence  the  fund  of  the  immense  treasure  he  desired 
to  amass.  The  deliverance  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the 
purchase  of  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  always  before 
his  eyes,  —  the  supreme  object  of  his  ambition.  He  desired, 
then,  to  collect,  in  order  to  convert  them  into  gold,  the 
spices  of  the  Orient,  the  frontiers  of  which  he  believed  he 
had  reached.  But  it  was  gold  that  he  sought  particularly. 
Everywhere  he  inquired  diligently  about  the  land  of  gold. 
The  sight  of  the  pi'ecious  metal  exerted  in  him  an  ardent 
desire  for  it,  and  an  almost  loving  eagerness.  Never,  per- 
haps, did  a  Christian  desire  gold  for  a  like  purpose.  Not 
being  able  to  find  some  as  soon  as  he  expected,  he  addressed 
himself  to  God,  and  besought  Him  to  direct  him  to  some, 
and  to  its  beds. 

At  Isabella  he  noticed  some  little  gold  plates  in  the  nos- 
trils of  the  islanders,  and  there  stopped,  hoping  he  would 
be  brought  some  gold  in  exchange  for  European  trinkets. 
But  it  is  not  there  that  the  auriferous  veins  lie,  and  there- 
fore he  directs  his  course  to  an  island  called  Cuba,  "where 
there  are  gold,  spices,  large  ships,  and  merchants."  Ac- 
cording to  the  descriptions  given  of  it  by  the  Indians,  he 
presumes  it  to  be,  he  says,  the  Island  of  Capingo,  of  which 
so  many  wonderful  things  are  related.  —  "According  to  the 
globes  I  have  seen,  and  the  delineations  in  atlases,  it  must 
be  situated  in  this  region." 

The  twenty-fourth  of  October,  at  midnight,  the  Admiral 
took  his  course  for  Cuba,  according  to  the  directions  given 
him  by  the  Indians  on  board.     The  course  taken  was  west- 

*  Cohcmbus's  Journal,  Friday,  the  nineteenth  of  October,  1492. 


CHAP,  vni.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  i6- 

south-west.  The  sea,  strewed  with  islets,  being  full  of 
sand-banks,  through  which  rocks  pierce,  the  Admiral  re- 
mained at  the  prow  the  whole  night.  The  next  day  seven 
or  eight  islands  were  seen,  which  he  called  the  Islas  de 
Arcfia,  or  Sand  Islands,  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of 
the  waters  around  them. 


SECTION  III. 

On  Sunday,  at  early  dawn,  Columbus  saw  before  the 
caravels,  extending  south-west,  a  land  whose  large  appear- 
ance announced  rather  a  continent  than  an  island.  Its  high 
and  airy  mountains  recalled  those  of  Italy.  The  stamp  of 
fecundity  that  marked  this  privileged  land,  in  exciting  his 
curiosity,  struck  his  imagination  with  great  force.  In  pro- 
portion as  he  advanced,  and  would  distinguish  one  form 
from  another,  he  could  plainly  see  a  power  of  vegetation 
unknown  to  him  before.  It  was  no  longer  that  thick  and 
tufted  verdure,  those  watery  plants,  and  those  humid  groves 
of  the  Lucayas  ;  here  the  diversity  and  luxuriance  of  the 
vegetation  struck  him  with  amazement. 

Columbus  had  now  truly  to  regret  his  not  knowing  the 
names  and  the  properties  of  the  plants,  of  his  being  unable 
to  contemplate  onl}-  their  forms,  and  of  knowing  nothing  of 
the  secrets  Divine  Bounty  dcjDosited  in  their  virtues,  or  the 
harmonious  relations  these  productions  bore  to  each  other. 

Meanwhile,  they  saw^  the  mouth  of  a  river  discharging 
calmly  its  limjiid  waters,  and  presenting  a  commodious 
harbor.  When  the  caravels  reached  it,  two  canoes,  having 
natives  in  them,  were  coming  out.  On  seeing  the  boats 
of  the  caravels  sounding  the  channel,  the  natives  took  to 
flight,  and  went  to'  conceal  themselves. 

From  the  deck  of  his  caravel,  the  view  of  Columbus 
embraced  the  two  sides  of  tlie  river,  shaded,  in  their  whole 
visible  length,  with  very  beautiful  and  very  green  trees, 
bearing,  at  the  same  time,  fruit  and  flowers,  upon  which 
were  flying  birds  of  brilliant  plumage,  and  little  birdlets 


i68  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

with  their  sweet  warbHngs.  Among  so  many  species  of 
unknown  vegetable  productions,  his  genius  for  close  obser- 
vation distinguished  several  kinds  of  date-trees  different 
from  those  that  grew  in  Europe,  in  the  Canaries,  or  on 
the  coast  of  Africa. 

Desirous  of  commencing  his  search  for  gold,  and  his  col- 
lection of  the  products  of  the  soil,  the  Admiral  stepped  into 
his  long-boat,  took  possession  of  the  land  in  the  usual  way, 
planted  a  large  cross  in  it,  gave  the  island  the  name  of 
Juana^  in  honor  of  Prince  Juan,  and  the  port  that  of  the 
Saviour^  —  San  Salvador.  Afterwards,  seeing  two  houses 
at  a  distance,  he  went  towards  them.  The  inhabitants  fled 
at  his  approach.  He  found  there  only  a  dog,  cowardly, 
timid,  and  dumb,  —  the  useless  guardian  of  some  fishing 
implements.  He  i"eiterated  his  commands  that  nothing 
should  be  touched,  and  then  ascended  the  river  a  con- 
siderable distance. 

Here  the  scenes  presented  to  his  view  were  such,  that  he 
candidly  declares  he  cannot  tear  himself  from  them  but 
with  the  hope  of  returning  to  them.  He  feels  he  is  tread- 
ing a  soil  specially  favored  by  nature,  and  that  he  is  bor- 
dering on  the  wonders  of  the  equinoctial  regions.  He 
further  declares  that  this  island  is  the  finest  that  has  ever 
been  beheld  by  the  eyes  of  man.* 

In  the  midst  of  this  infinity  of  unknown  objects,  Columbus 
endeavored  to  seize  the  sublime  idea  of  Creative  Wisdom, 
to  learn  by  what  new  marvel  Divine  Science  has  deigned 
to  manifest  itself  to  human  understanding,  and  to  lay  hold 
of  the  index  to  some  grand  law  of  the  globe  ;  for,  from  that 
time,  he  carried,  in  germ,  all  that  he  afterwards  displayed 
in  philosophical  observation,  and  in  his  tendency  to  gen- 
eralize facts. 

His  poetical  ideas,  his  great  views,  and  his  inductions, 
never  made  him  forget  the  practical,  useful,  and  commer- 
cial side  of  things.    After  finding  several  date-bearing  trees, 

*  Journal  of  Columbus,  Domingo,  28  de  Octubre. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  i6q 

he  turns  his  attention  to  herbs,  that  arc  "  as  high  at  the  end 
of  October  as  they  are,  at  Andalusia,  in  the  month  of  May," 
and  recognizes  in  certain  phints  the  characters  of  portuhaca 
and  of  nasturtium  sylvestre. 

The  twenty-ninth  of  October,  the  Admiral  weighed  an- 
chor, and  sailed  to  the  west,  to  go  to  the  capital  mentioned 
to  him  by  the  Indians.  Soon  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  a 
stream  which  he  called  the  River  of  the  Moon.  Towards 
evening  they  discerned  another,  which  he  named  the  River 
of  the  Seas. 

Two  boats  were  sent  to  the  shore  to  make  inquiries  ;  but 
the  whole  population,  on  seeing  the  strangex's,  became 
alarmed,  and  fled.  The  houses,  which  were  like  tents  in 
a  camp,  were  scattered  here  and  there,  without  regularity, 
and  presented  the  utmost  cleanliness,  with  a  kind  of  ele- 
gance in  their  plain  furniture.  There  were  found  there 
some  statueites  of  female  figures,  and  several  wooden 
masks,  carved  with  considerable  ingenuity.  There  were 
also  some  dumb  and  cowardly  dogs,  left,  uselessly,  to  guard 
the  dwellings.  Numerous  fishing  implements  showed  the 
kind  of  industry  pursued  by  this  tribe.  The  Admiral  still 
forbade  anything  being  taken. 

Neither  his  religious  raptures,  nor  the  poetic  efilisions  of 
his  emotions,  arrested  nor  retarded  his  cosmographie  investi- 
gations. In  enjoying  the  serenity  of  the  calm  nights,  equally 
exemj^t  from  excessive  heat  and  excessive  cold,  he  asked 
himself  why,  in  a  latitude  so  little  removed  from  the  Ba- 
hama Isles,  where  the  heat  was  intense,  he  now  found  a 
temperature  so  moderate.  His  reflections  at  once  led  him 
to  attribute  the  heat  of  the  Bahama  Islands  to  their  level, 
which  is  invariably  flat,  and  to  the  absence  of  mountains, 
as  well  as  to  the  constancy  of  the  warm  winds  coming  from 
the  east. 

The  next  day,  the  Admiral,  continuing  his  route  to  the 
west,  perceived  a  cape  advanced  into  the  sea,  so  richly  cov- 
ered with  palm-trees  that  he  called  it  the  Cape  of  Palms, 
The  Indians  on  board  the  Pinta  told  the  captain  that  behind 


1 70  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

the  cape  there  flowed  a  river  only  four  days'  journey  distant 
from  Cuba.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  had  no  doubt  they  were 
coasting,  not  along  an  island,  but  a  continent,  of  which 
Cuba  was  the  chief  state.  In  consequence  of  his  study  of  a 
planisphere  by  Toscanelli,  lent  him  by  Columbus,  and 
which  he  kept  three  days,  Martin  Alonzo  believed  he  had 
arrived  in  the  country  there  hypothetically  delineated. 

Columbus  thought  that  this  vast  country  was,  perhaps, 
the  Asiatic  continent,  and  that  he  was  within  about  a  hun- 
dred leagues  of  Zayto  and  of  Qiiinsay. 

On  Friday,  the  second  of  November,  the  Admiral  re- 
solved, in  order  to  remove  his  doubts,  to  send  a  message  to 
the  sovereign  of  this  region.  He  chose,  for  this  purpose, 
Rodrigo  de  Jerez,  who  had  been  formerly  in  Africa,  and 
the  polyglot  Luiz  de  Torrez,  a  converted  Jew,  formerly 
attached  to  the  family  of  the  Governor  of  Murcia  as  jDre- 
ceptor,  —  to  whom  he  joined  two  Indians,  as  casual  inter- 
preters. These  messengers,  provided  with  glass  trinkets  to 
procure  provisions  for  their  journe}^,  were  to  go  to  the 
Grand  Khan,  and  inform  him  of  the  arrival  in  his  states  of 
the  Admiral,  charged  with  a  letter  and  jDresents  from  the 
Sovereigns  of  Spain,  who  were  desirous  of  establishing 
amicable  relations  with  him.  Columbus  gave  them  very 
particular  instructions  as  to  how  they  were  to  manage  in  this 
mission.  During  their  absence,  he  ordered  the  ships  to  be 
repaired,  but  with  the  precaution  of  having  only  one  on  the 
side  at  a  time,  to  guard  against  every  surprise,  and  to  keep, 
always,  the  other  two  ready  for  fighting,  although,  from 
appearances,  nothing  was  to  be  feared  from  the  natives.* 

*Mr.  Washington  Irving  considers  it  was  in  this  region  that 
Columbus  and  his  men  discovered  the  potato.  We  cannot  avoid 
quoting  his  own  graceful  words  :  "  In  the  course  of  their  researches 
in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  in  quest  of  the  luxuries  of  commerce, 
they  met  with  the  potato  —  an  humble  root,  little  valued  at  the  time, 
but  a  more  precious  acquisition  to  man  than  all  the  spices  of  the 
East."  —  Z//c  and  }"oya^cs  of  Christopher  Columbus,  Book  IV., 
chap.  iv.  —  B. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  171 

The  messengers  returned  at  the  end  of  six  dajs. 

In  place  of  the  Grand  Khan  and  his  capital,  they  found 
only  a  village  of  about  fifty  houses,  where  they  were  received 
as  if  they  had  descended  from  heaven.  The  chief  men  of 
the  inhabitants  carried  them  in  their  arms  to  the  principal 
house,  and  provided  them  with  seats,  while  they  them- 
selves respectfully  sat  on  the  ground,  surrounding  them  and 
kissing  their  feet  and  hands. 

In  returning,  the  messengers  met,  on  their  route,  with 
manv  persons,  women  as  well  as  men,  who  carried  in  their 
hands  some  dried  leaves,  rollcil  up  in  another  leaf,  in  the 
form  of  a  flageolet,  and  burning  at  one  end  while  the  other 
end  was  in  their  mouth,  and  which  they  sucked,  inhaling 
the  smoke,  which  they  expelled  from  their  lijos  in  a  little 
cloud.  They  called  this  kind  of  a  flageolet  or  large  cigar  a 
"  tobago,"  or  tobacco,  the  name  we  have  given  to  the  plant 
itself. 

The  envoys  had  travelled  through  a  country  that  was 
well  cultivated  and  strewed  with  hamlets.  They  saw  num- 
bers of  trees,  of  flowers,  of  balsamic  herbs,  and  of  birds 
that  were  unknown  in  Europe,  except  nightingales,  par- 
tridges, and  geese,  which  abounded  there.  They  had  not 
at  any  time  heard  the  Grand  Khan  spoken  of,  and  even  the 
interpreters  and  the  people  could  not  understand  each  other 
about  the  meaning  of  the  term.  Nothing  denoted  the 
existence  of  any  gold  mines  in  that  region. 

But,  if  tliere  was  no  gold  there,  there  were  souls  to  be 
saved  and  peaceable  2:)opulations  to  be  preserved  ;  and 
Columbus  augured  well  of  their  disposition  for  religion. 
His  hopes  in  this  respect  he  expressed  to  the  sovereigns  in 
these  terms  :  "  I  hold  it  for  certain.  Most  Serene  Princes, 
that  as  soon  as  the  missionaries  will  speak  their  language, 
they  will  all  become  Christians.  I  hope  in  our  Lord  that 
your  Highnesses  will  immediatelv  decide  to  send  them,  in 
order  to  unite  to  the  Church  a  people  so  numerous;  and 
that  you  will  convert  them  as  truly  as  you  have  overthrown 
those  who  would   not  confess   the  Father,   the    Son,   and 


1^3  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

the  Holy  Ghost"*  (the  Moors  and  Saracens  of  Spain). 
As  in  the  ardor  of  his  faith  Columbus  had  no  horror  of 
death,  he  did  not  fear  to  present  to  the  sovereigns  the 
remembrance  of  it,  which  the  courtiers  so  carefully  kept 
out  of  view.  He  said,  then,  to  their  Highnesses  :  "  And 
W'hen  you  will  have  terminated  your  career  "  (as  we  are  all 
mortal),  "you  will  leave  your  kingdom  in  the  greatest  tran- 
quillit}^,  and  purified  from  heresy  and  bad  leaven.  And 
3'ou  will  be  welcomed  by  the  Eternal  Creator."  f  With 
the  same  artlessness  the  messenger  of  Providence,  letting 
his  pen  run  freely,  prayed  God  for  their  Highnesses,  "  that 
He  would  be  pleased  to  grant  them  long  life,  a  greater 
increase  of  kingdoms  and  principalities,  and  continue  to 
give  them  the  will  and  the  dispositions  for  extending  the 
holy  Christian  religion."  j 

Then  he  informs  the  sovereigns  that  he  had  put  his  ves- 
sel afloat  the  same  day,  and  adds  :  "I  go  this  day  to  the 
south-east  to  search  for  gold,  spices,  and  unknown  lands." 

Following  the  indications  given  him  by  the  Indians,  the 
Admiral  now  directed  his  course  to  Babeque,  where  they 
told  him  by  signs  that  gold  was  collected  on  the  shores  at 
night,  by  means  of  torches.  He  ran  eighteen  leagues  along 
the  coast  without  landing.  The  next  day  he  perceived  a 
cape,  which  he  called  Cape  Cuba. 

The  fourteenth  of  November,  directing  his  course  to  the 
east,  he  found  himself  in  a  new  archipelago,  or  cluster  of 
islands.  The  eye  could  not  count  their  number.  They 
were  large,  mountainous,  and  shaded  with  magnificent 
trees.  The  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  the  glittering  of  the 
sea,  interspersed  with  those  masses  of  verdure  which 
seemed  to  come  from  the  waves,  threw  Columbus  into  rap- 
tures. He  called  this  gulf,  so  richly  studded  with  islands, 
the  Sea  of  Neustra  Senora  (Our  Lady). 

On  Friday,  the  sixteenth  of  November,  at  the   moment 


*  Martes,  6  de  Noviemhre.  f  Ibid. 

X  Ibid. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  1^-3 

that  Columbus  stepped  out  of  his  cutter  to  take  possession 
of  the  first  of  these  islands,  in  the  form  consecrated  by  his 
pious  custom,  there  was  seen  lying  on  an  eminence  of  the 
ground  two  very  large  beams  of  wood,  one.  longer  than  the 
other,  and  the  shortest  placed  across  the  long  one,  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  so  exact  that  a  carpenter  could  not  have 
found  juster  proportions.  Falling  immediately  on  his 
knees,  tlic  messenger  of  the  Apostolate  thanked  his  Master 
for  this  new  mark  of  bounty.  He  revered  this  Cross,  that 
had  been  providentially  prepared  in  this  unknown  island. 
It  thus  seemed  to  him  that  God  would  not  abandon  him  ; 
and  he  was  consoled  in  the  depths  of  his  heart  in  seeing 
his  desires  anticipated  in  those  desert  and  nameless  places. 
After  having  "  adored  this  Cross,"  figured  by  a  mysterious 
causality,  he  gave  orders  that  it  should  be  completed,  by 
having  the  pieces  made  fast,  and  that  the  erection  of  the 
sacred  sign  should  take  place  the  next  day,  Sunday,  in  the 
most  conspicuous  place. 

On  Sunday,  the  Admiral,  with  his  staff-officer  and  the 
principal  portion  of  the  crews,  went  in  procession  in  their 
boats,  in  order  to  erect  the  sign  of  Redemption.  This 
Cross,  which  was  very  high  and  very  beautiful,  was  ele- 
vated from  a  towering  point,  from  which  the  trees  could 
not  conceal  the  view.  The  usual  prayers  accompanied  its 
erection,  and  the  whole  of  Sunday  was  consecrated  to  its 
honor  by  prayer  and  repose. 

On  Monday,  the  three  vessels  proceeded  on  their  route, 
but,  impeded  by  the  billows  and  the  winds,  they  made  but 
little  headway.  The  Admiral  turned  his  course  away  from 
Isabella,  from  which  he  was  distant  only  twelve  leagues, 
fearing  that  at  the  sight  of  it  the  Indians  of  San  Salvador 
would  seek  to  escape  ;  for  their  native  isle  was  only  eight 
leagues  from  the  latter.  But  they  appeared  to  be  well  sat- 
isfied with  their  new  mode  of  life,  —  commenced  to  under- 
stand Spanish  somewhat,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  knelt 
before  a  crucifix,  recited  their  prayers  in  raising  their  hands 
to  heaven,  and  said  the  Hail  holy  ^ueefi  and  the  Hail 
15* 


174  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Mai'y^  with  a  kind  of  recollectedness,  persuaded  that  they 
accompanied  men  who  came  from  heaven,  and  who  would 
take  them  back  to  their  country. 

Tlie  twenty-first  of  November,  the  voyage  was  continued 
to  the  IsLind  of  Babeque,  the  treasures  of  which  put  tlieir 
imaginations  in  a  ferment. 

Still,  in  the  midst  of  the  fatigues  caused  by  these  labors, 
subjects  of  discontent  and  inquietude  were  not  wanting  to 
Columbus.  On  board  the  Plnta  and  the  Nina  his  orders 
were  never  punctually  obeyed.  The  two  captains  allowed 
some  expressions  to  escape  them  that  were  more  injurious 
in  the  tone  than  in  the  terms.  The  brothers  Pinzon,  espec- 
ially the  oldest,  could  not  bear  the  idea  that  a  foreigner,  who 
without  their  aid  could  not  have  undertaken  the  enterprise, 
should  gather,  in  virtue  of  his  treaties  with  Castile,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  riches  of  those  countries.  The 
ambition  of  Mai-tin  Alonzo  was  excited  by  envy.  An 
Indian  put  on  board  the  Plnta  as  interpreter,  having  men- 
tioned to  the  captain  the  magnificence  of  Babeque,  the 
route  to  which  he  pretended  to  know,  Martin  Alonzo  sep- 
arated himself  from  the  other  vessels  the  night  of  the 
twenty-first  of  November.  The  weather  was  clear  and 
fine,  and  the  air  soft  and  cool.  The  Admiral,  seeing  the 
Pinta  move  off",  caused  a  signal-light  to  be  lighted,  which 
was  left  to  burn  until  day  ;  but  Pinzon  paid  no  attention  to 
it,  and  continued  to  sail  to  the  east,  where  he  disappeared 
in  the  shades  of  the  horizon.  This  desertion  afltlicted  the 
Admiral. 

The  JVina,  commanded  by  Vincent  Yanez  Pinzon, 
remained  faithfully  at  her  post.  Vincent  Yanez  had  a 
relish  for  maritime  afiliirs  and  for  hydrography.  He  pos- 
sessed a  better  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  navigation,  and 
of  the  obligations  of  duty,  than  his  brothers  did.  Better 
than  theirs  also,  his  disposition  inclined  him  to  appreciate 
the  genius  of  Columbus. 

The  twenty-third  of  November  and  the  following  day, 
the   Admiral,   continuing  the  navigation,  approached   the 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  17- 

Sca  of  Neustra  Scuora,  on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  lie  saw 
several  capes,  and  discovered  several  ports  admirable  for 
their  security  ;  and  in  one  of  his  excursions  on  the  shores 
found  some  stones  containing  some  gold,  which  he  kept  to 
show  to  the  Qiieen.  He  also  found  some  fir-trees,  exceed- 
ingly tall  and  straight,  and  proper  for  ships.  Here  a  mast 
was  chosen  for  the  Nina. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  he  discovered  a  port,  such  as  he  had 
not  yet  met  with.  A  hundred  ships  could  have  held  there, 
without  anchor  or  cable.  Hills  covered  with  fruit-trees,  and 
timber  fit  for  ship-building,  protected  it  against  all  winds. 
Columbus,  in  the  exuberance  of  his  gratitude,  declared  that 
to  this  da}',  "  It  pleased  Our  Lord  to  show  him  every  day 
something  better  than  that  of  the  preceding  day;  and  that 
he  went  from  good  to  better  in  all  his  discoveries."  * 


SECTION  IV. 

On  the  aSth,  the  ships  entered  a  bay,  surrounded  with 
lands  perfectly  cultivated,  forming  a  vast  plain,  studded 
with  hamlets.  The  plain  was  bounded  by  some  hills  and 
high  mountains.  The  Admiral,  with  his  cutter,  sounded  the 
port,  into  which  there  was  discharged  a  river  deep  enough 
for  a  ship  to  sail  in.  It  is  of  this  beautiful  stream  that  he 
thus  writes  to  their  Highnesses  in  such  glowing  terms  :  — 

"The  amenity  of  this  river,  — the  limpidity  of  its  water, 
which  is  clear  to  the  bottom  ;  the  numbers  of  palm-trees  of 
diflerent  forms,  the  highest  and  most  graceful  I  have  ever 
seen,  —  an  innumerable  number  of  other  high  and  verdant 
trees  ;  the  warblings  of  the  birds,  and  the  freshness  of  the 
air,  —  give  this  country.  Most  Serene  Princes,  a  magnifi- 
cence so  wonderful,  that  in  beauty  and  delightfulness  it 
surpasses  all  others,  as  much  as  day  surpasses  night.  It  is 
this  that  has  often  caused  me  to  say  to  my  confidants  that, 
whatever  efforts  I  may  make  to  draw  up  a  complete  report 

♦  Las  Casas,     yournal  of  Columbus,  25  de  Novembre. 


1^6  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

for  your  Highnesses,  neither  could  my  tongue  speak,  nor 
my  pen  write,  the  whole  truth.  It  is  certain  that  I  remain 
confounded  at  the  aspect  of  a  beauteousness  so  superior 
that  I  cannot  express  it.  For  I  have  written  to  you  about 
other  regions,  in  regard  to  their  trees,  their  fruits,  their 
vegetables,  their  ports  and  their  characteristics,  as  well  as  I 
could,  not  as  I  should.  But  as  to  this  land,  everything  goes 
to  show  that  there  is  not  a  finer  region  in  the  world.  I 
must  now  keep  silent,  desiring  that  others  may  see  it  who 
will  love  to  describe  it.  Besides,  I  feel  how  little  the  excel- 
lence of  such  a  country  can  be  expressed  by  me,  and  how 
it  will  share  a  better  fate  from  the  lips  or  the  pen  of 
another."  * 

In  the  first  rank  of  the  favors  he  received  from  God, 
Columbus  put  the  happiness  of  having  contemplated  so 
many  things,  each  one  becoming  always  more  admirable 
than  the  preceding  one.  He  also  thanked  Him  who  had 
chosen  him  for  this  work  for  having  preserved  his  health  ; 
"  for,"  said  he,  "  thanks  to  our  Lord,  not  one  of  the  men 
of  my  crews  has  felt  to  this  day  the  slightest  headache  ; 
not  one  has  kept  his  room  from  indisposition,  if  it  be  not 
an  old  sailor  who  suflered  all  his  life  from  the  gravel,  and 
who  found  himself  well  after  the  second  day  of  our  arrival 
in  this  country.  What  I  say  in  regard  to  health  applies  to 
the  men  of  the  three  vessels."  f 

Having  intuitively  a  clear  notion  of  the  resources  of  the 
country,  and  of  its  preeminence  over  the  others,  when  he 
contemplated  all  its  harmonious  relations,  admired  its 
splendor,  extolled  as  a  poet  as  much  as  a  naturalist  the 
richness  of  its  vegetation,  and  the  beauty  of  its  waters  and 
of  its  ports,  —  Columbus  declares  that  in  all  he  has  dis- 
covered he  comes  to  open  new  ways  for  human  relations. 
Then,  yielding  to  the  exuberance  of  his  thought,  illumined 
from  on  high,  he  dares  give  counsel  and  a  kind  of  precept 

*  Fernando  Columbus.      Vita  del  Almirante,  cap.  xxix. 
t  Martes,  27  de  Novie7nhre. 


CHAP,  viii.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  177 

to  the  sovereigns,  his  masters.  With  a  liberty  wholly 
Christian,  he  declares  to  them  that  they  should  not  permit 
the  access  of  a  country  so  highly  favored  to  any  stranger, 
unless  his  purity  of  faith  is  unquestionable  ;  because  that 
thio  Discovery,  having  been  made  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  for  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  extension  of 
the  Church,  it  is  not  just  that  heresy  and  infidelity  should 
enjoy  this  conquest  of  Catholic  faith.  Alaking  a  rcsîimé 
of  his  thoughts,  he  addresses  to  the  Sovereigns  these  words  : 
"And  I  say  that  your  Highnesses  should  not  permit  any 
Stranger  to  enter  this  country  and  traffic  there,  unless  he  be 
a  Catholic  Christian,  since  the  project  and  execution  of 
this  enterjDrise  had  no  other  object  but  the  increase  and 
glory  of  the  Christian  religion."  * 

Notwithstanding  their  spontancousncss,  these  words,  in- 
spired by  the  sight  of  new  magnificences,  and  written  forty- 
eight  days  after  the  first  landing  at  the  island  of  San  Salva- 
dor, during,  and  even  before,  the  complete  accomplishment 
of  the  Discovery,  merit  attention.  These  words,  as  well  as 
their  date,  are  of  decisive  importance  in  fixing  the  real 
character  of  Columbus's  enterprise.  It  is  no  longer  permis- 
sible to  entertain  any  doubt  of  the  true  motives  that  guided 
the  messenger  of  the  Cross,  or  to  misstate  the  object  he 
proposed  to  himself.  The  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
increase  of  his  Church,'  and,  consequently,  the  salvation  of 
souls  and  the  civilization  of  peoples,  —  such  was  the  ^^I'ime 
object  of  the  eflbrts  of  Columbus. 

Notwithstanding  the  hurry  he  was  in,  the  wonders  of 
nature  in  this  place  captivated  the  Admiral  with  their 
charms.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  found  himself  in 
the   midst  of  illusions  and  flascinations.     This  place,   the 

*  Y  digo  que  Vuestras  Attczas  no  deben  conserttir  que  aqui  trate 
ni  faga  pie  ninguno  extrangero,  salvo  Catolicos  Cristianos,  pues 
esto  fuc  el  fin  y  el  comienzo  del  proposito  que  fuese  per  acrecenta- 
miento  y  gloria  de  la  religion  Cristiana,"  etc.  —  Maries,  27  de 
Noi/iembre. 


1^8  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

wonders  of  which,  astonishing  the  mind,  inspired  respect 
and  holy  thoughts,  received,  therefore,  the  name  of  Puerto 
Santo  (Holy  Port).  For  three  days  he  remained  riveted 
with  admiration  to  Holy  Poi't,  enraptured,  without  being 
able  to  satiate  his  eyes.  Here  his  impatient  thii-st  for 
gold  seemed  quenched  in  the  serene  sweetness  of  the  at- 
mosphere and  in  the  fresh  decorations  of  the  forest,  the 
fragrance  of  which  was  most  grateful.  The  contemplater 
of  Creation  appeared,  for  a  moment,  to  rule  the  messenger 
of  the  Cross,  —  the  incomparable  seeker  of  gold,  anxious  to 
open  the  placers  of  unknown  lands,  in  order  to  obtain  from 
them  the  price  of  the  ineflable  redemj^tion  of  the  Holy  Sep- 
ulchre. He  forgets  himself  in  his  admiration  of  the  works 
of  the  Word,  and  cannot  tear  himself  from  the  charms  of 
these  asjDCCts.  Although,  in  briefly  stating,  in  his  journal, 
the  natural  beauties  of  this  place,  he  modestly  remains  silent 
about  his  religious  feelings,  we  may  easily  divine  the  ecstatic 
emotions  with  which  his  heart  was  delighted.  With  what 
happiness  did  not  the  adoptive  son  of  the  Franciscan  family 
say  his  office,  under  the  vaults  of  those  perennial  forests, 
the  primitive  temj^le  of  nature,  and,  surrounded  with  the 
prodigies  of  the  Creator,  mingling  his  voice  with  the  grave 
psalmodies  of  the  winds  that  traverse  these  solitudes. 

Still,  a  mind  so  practical  and  positive  as  that  of  Colum- 
bus's could  not  consume,  without  immediate  utility  to  his 
enterpiùse,  the  time  accorded  to  satisfying  the  cravings  of 
his  soul.  Profiting  by  his  stay  in  this  place,  which  some 
atmospherical  contrarieties  seemed  to  justifj^,  he  adopted 
some  means  for  preserving  the  health  of  his  men,  and  sent 
on  different  sides,  under  the  command  of  an  officer,  accom- 
panied with  Indian  interpreters,  some  armed  pickets  to 
reconnoitre  the  country,  and  put  him  in  communication 
with  the  inhabitants.  But  the  latter  took  to  flight,  and  all 
their  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  Spaniards  succeeded  only  in 
catching,  in  a  village,  some  women  and  three  children,  and 
in  surprising  a  small  boat,  the  rowers  of  which  they  brought  ' 
with  them. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  i>jq 

On  Friday,  the  thirtieth  of  November,  Cokimbus  desired, 
before  quitting  Puerto  Santo,  to  consecrate,  by  the  sign  of 
Redemption,  this  place,  in  which  the  magnificence  of  the 
Word  so  resplendently  shone.  He  ordered  the  "carpenters 
to  prepare  a  very  hirge  cross.  The  first  of  December,  this 
large  cross  was  taken,  in  grand  procession,  by  the  men  of 
the  two  caravels,  to  the  highest  point  that  commanded  the 
entrance  to  the  port,  and  there  erected,  with  all  the  solem- 
nity that  was  possible,  and  firmly  fixed  in  the  solid  rock. 

At  departing  from  Cuba,  in  order  to  leave  it  a  significa- 
tive name,  Columbus  called  its  eastern  extremity  yl/^/^«  and 
Omega.,  "  the  beginning  and  the  end,"  "because,  for  the  mo- 
ment, he  considered  it  was  there  the  Indies  commenced  on 
their  western  side,  and  that  it  was  there,  also,  the  east  of 
Asia  ended.  It  was  the  reciprocal  point  of  the  beginning 
and  ending  of  the  old  world  in  the  new. 


SECTION   V. 

In  his  ardent  love  for  the  works  of  creation,  it  is  in  vain 
that  we  seek  in  Columbus  a  repining  thinker,  a  sterile  con- 
tcmplator  of  nature.  His  admiration  of  landscapes,  his 
persevering  study  of  the  flora  and  the  fauna  of  theSe  new 
regions,  and  his  examinations  of  the  soil  from  which  he 
expected  to  procure  gold  and  precious  stones,  did  not  absorb 
wholly  his  thoughts.  "AVith  equal  ardor,  he  tried  to  com- 
prehend the  character  of  that  people  who  had  so  diligently 
fled  at  his  approach.  Not  being  able  to  see  them  or  observe 
them,  he  intuitively  comprehended  them. 

In  truth,  his  relations  with  the  natives  of  these  countries, 
from  the  moment  of  his  first  coming  in  contact  with  them, 
were  what  the  longest  observation  and  experience  would 
have  dictated.  He  never  committed  an  error  or  a  mistake 
in  regard  to  these  idco^dIcs.  He  knew  how  to  make  himself 
understood  by  them,  how  to  make  himself  loved  by  them, 
how  to  rule  them  by  afil;ibility,  and  how  to  gain  a  personal 
ascendancy  over  their  minds.     His  solicitude  for  their  sal- 


i8o  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

vation  being  his  first  object,  he  availed  himself  of  every 
opportunity  of  inspiring  them  with  a  high  opinion  of  the 
Europeans,  in  order  that  they  may  desire  to  resemble  them, 
and  adopt  their  customs.  He  desired  by  a  constant  magna- 
nimity to  show  them  the  sublimity  of  the  GosjDcl  he  came 
to  announce  to  them.  Were  it  not  for  the  greedy  cupidity 
of  the  crews,  assuredly  the  Indians  would  have  felt  only 
gratitude  and  respect  for  the  "  celestial  men,"  as  they  called 
them. 

Never  did  Columbus  neglect  any  circumstance  or  occur- 
rence, however  insignificant  it  may  appear.  Between  the 
islands  of  Conception  and  Fernandine,  meeting  a  native 
alone  in  a  canoe,  he  caused  him  to  be  brought  on  board  and 
well  treated.  It  was  found  that  this  man  was  a  courier 
sent  from  a  part  of  the  Lucayas,  to  announce  the  arrival 
of  the  "  divine  men."  In  order  to  obtain  credence  for  this 
astonishing  news,  he  carried  with  him  two  pieces  of  money 
and  some  glass  pearls.  Columbus,  from  this  circumstance, 
concluded  that  his  presence  would  be  known  far  and  wide, 
and  therefore  considered  it  of  importance  to  spread  with 
the  news  the  good  name  of  the  men  come  from  heaven. 
Prudence  and  good  policy,  so  well  in  accord  with  his  nat- 
ural inclination,  counselled  munificence  and  gentleness 
towards  this  infant  people.  In  advance,  Columbus  really 
loved  them  in  Jesus  Christ  ;  he  loved  them  first  as  the 
father  loves  the  child  that  does  not  Icnow  him  yet,  and  they, 
with  their  simple  instinct,  returned  him  confusedly  some- 
thing of  his  aflection.  They  exhausted  in  his  favor  the 
little  constancy  which  their  unsteadiness  of  character  pos- 
sessed. In  no  time  and  in  no  place  have  the  Indians  testi- 
fied to  a  European  the  confidence  and  attachment  they  did 
to  him.  Columbus  had  the  nice  gift  of  making  himself 
loved  and  obeved  without  constraint. 

The  Admiral  having  remarked  the  absence  of  all  habita- 
tions on  the  shores  of  the  sea  and  on  the  borders  of  rivers, 
notwithstanding  the  charms  of  those  sites  and  their  conve- 
niences for  residences,  and  seeing  that  all  the  huts  were  dis- 


CHAP  Vin.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  iSi 

posed  in  such  a  manner  that  then*  inhabitants  could  see 
without  being  seen,  sagaciously  inferred  from  these  circum- 
stances that  some  general  cause  obliged  them  to  vigilance, 
and  that  a  common  peril  kept  them  on  the  alert.  He  con- 
ceived that  a  foreign  race,  hardier  and  better  armed,  arrived 
in  canoes  on  these  shores,  to  plunder  the  inhabitants.  He 
learned,  without  having  at  first  believed  it,  that  in  the  peace 
and  abundance  of  this  smiling  region,  some  atrocious  rob- 
bers traversed  the  verges  of  the  groves,  not  to  rifle  the  huts, 
but  to  take  away  the  inhabitants  themselves,  put  them  in 
pens  like  cattle,  fatten  them,  and  regale  themselves  with 
their  flesh.  This  was  only  too  true.  The  cannibal  Caribs, 
foreign  to  those  isles,  distinct  from  the  natives  in  color,  in 
language,  in  their  bodies  being  tattooed,  in  their  arms,  and 
in  their  blind  courage,  making  irruptions  into  their  islands, 
desolated  their  peaceable  homes.  Columbus  expected  the 
happiest  change  in  the  condition  of  these  people,  hence- 
forward delivered  from  their  oppressors  through  the  protec- 
tion of  Spain,  and  enjoying  the  consolations  of  faith  and 
the  hope  of  eternal  beatitude. 

He  blessed  God  for  having  sent  him  for  this  work  of 
mercy,  and  already  acted  as  a  precursor  of  the  Good  News. 
Before  speaking  to  the  natives  in  a  special  manner  concex'n- 
ing  the  Redeemer,  whom  he  ardently  desired  to  see  them 
adore,  Columbus  wished  to  proclaim  to  the  whole  universe, 
in  the  language  of  the  Catholic  Church,  tl:e  power  of  the 
Word,  in  making  the  name  of  the  well-beloved  Saviour 
resound  throughout  these  shores.  Wherever  his  boats 
came  he  planted  crosses,  in  order  that  the  Indians  may 
know  in  advance  that  this  venerable  sign  was  that  of 
"  celestial  men,"  or  of  men  destined  to  be  such.  The 
Protestant  school  has  generally  either  remained  silent  about 
these  plantings  of  the  Cross,  or  given  to  understand  that  in 
erecting  them  the  Admiral  only  wished  to  leave  ostensible 
signs  of  his  having  taken  possession  of  the  lands.  Here 
the  distinction  made  in  the  things  is  opposed  to  everything 
like  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  intentions  and  their  object. 
i6 


1 82  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

We  will  not  permit  a  doubt  to  remain  on  this  head,  since 
the  actions  and  their  intentions  have  been  clearly  explained 
by  Columbus  himself. 

Possession  in  regular  form  being  once  effected,  the 
Admiral  still  planted  crosses,  choosing  the  most  conspicu- 
ous and  picturesque  sites.  In  this  he  had  more  at  heart  the 
honoring  of  the  Divine  Redeemer  than  the  attesting  of  his 
priority  of  discovery.  As  much  as  he  felt  admiration  for 
the  works  of  the  Word,  so  much  did  he  feel  the  necessity 
of  glorifying  before  men  the  Saviour  of  mankind.  Not 
only  did  he  thank  God  for  having  chosen  him  to  discover 
these  new  things,  but  he  also  thanked  Him  for  having 
accorded  him  the  honor  of  having  first  erected  on  these 
unknown  shores  the  Cross,  the  immortal  sign  of  conquered 
immortality.  He  considered  himself  in  these  lonely  deserts 
as  another  John  the  Baptist,  preparing  the  way  for  Him 
who  was  coming,  with  his  sanctifying  grace,  under  the 
symbol  of  the  Holy  Eucharist.  Chosen  by  Providence, 
Christopher  Columbus  preceded  the  new  apostles,  his 
brethren  the  Franciscans,  and  his  friends  the  Dominicans, 
who  wei*e  soon  to  be  followed  by  the  holy  emulators  of 
Francis  Xavier. 

The  Admiral  took  the  greatest  pains  to  open  the  under- 
standings of  the  Indians  he  had  on  board,*  and  questioned 
them  frequently,  notwithstanding  the  non-success  of  his  ques- 
tions, and  the  confusion  in  the  answers.  He  noticed,  from 
the  first  days,  their  proneness  for  the  exaggerated  and  the 
fantastic.  Their  most  positive  assertions  never  merited 
more  than  half  confidence. 

Columbus  had  not  only  to  distrust  the  explanations  of  the 
interpreters,  but  he  had,  also,  to  guard  against  the  assertions 
of  the  savajits  and  of  travellers,  with  which  his  mind  had 
been  imbued.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  have  some  dis- 
trust of  what  he  saw,  what  he  heard,  and  what  he  remem- 

*  Columbus  had,  in  all,  twenty  Indian  men  and  women,  and  three 
children,  on  board  the  caravels. 


CHAP.  Viii.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  1S3 

bcred.  Naturally,  he  could  explain  the  things  he  met  with, 
only  by  the  things  he  knew  already  ;  for,  in  its  march,  the 
human  understanding  attains  the  unknown  only  by  the 
known.  Columbus  had  read  the  cosmographers,  the  geo- 
graphers, and  the  travellers,  and  Marco  Polo,  as  the  others. 
Among  all  these  works,  the  Tableau  of  the  World,  Imago 
Mundi^  of  Cardinal  Peter  d'Ailh',  appears  to  have  exer- 
cised an  influence  on  his  judment,  in  which  the  author's 
ecclesiastical  rank  and  his  orthodoxy  had  no  less  a  part  than. 
his  scientific  knowledge.  The  penetration  and  presenti- 
ments of  Columbus,  indeed,  we  may  say,  his  instinct  of 
revelation,  prevented  him  from  getting  lost  in  the  perplexi- 
ties of  systems. 

It  has  often  been  said  and  repeated,  that  Columbus 
quitted  Cuba  persuaded  that  he  had  found  the  extremity  of 
the  Asiatic  continent.  This,  again,  is  one  of  those  tradi- 
tional errors  in  regard  to  him  which  has  been  accepted 
without  examination.  We  will  dissipate  it,  further  on,  by 
the  evidence  of  fi\cts  and  documents.  Even  the  generic 
name  of  Indies,  given  by  the  Admiral  to  the  lands  "discov- 
ered, and  that  of  Indians  to  the  inhabitants,  make  nothing 
against  our  view.  The  name  was,  in  advance,  destined  by 
Columbus  for  the  lands  he  would  discover.  This  is  what 
he  says  to  his  son  Fernando  :  "As  the  Indies  are  consid- 
ered throughout  the  whole  world  as  abounding  in  gold  and 
every  kind  of  riches,  he  wished  to  give  the  same  name  to 
the  lands  he  designed  discovering,  in  order  to  oblio^c  Cas- 
tile to  f^ivor  his  enterprise  by  the  hope  of  a  great  advan- 
tage." *  Undoubtedly,  the  physiognomy  so  characteristic 
of  Cuba  led  for  a  moment  to  the  belief  that  he  had 
attained  the  extremity  of  the  Asiatic  continent  ;  but  more 
frequently,  through  his  spontaneous  apperceptions,  he 
thought  he  had  reached  the  advanced  frontiers  of  a  to- 
tally new  world.     Besides,  in  his  first  voyage,  the  contem- 

*  Cotolendy,  La  Vic  dc  Cristojlc  Colomb  et  la  Découverte^  etc. 
Paris,  chez  Claude  Barbin,  16S1. 


184  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

plater  of  nature  sought  less  to  explain  than  to  mention  the 
regions  reached  by  his  caravels. 

SECTION    VI. 

In  directing  his  course  to  the  invisible  Babeque,  the 
Admiral  perceived  to  the  south-east  a  land  which  the 
Indians  told  him  was  Bohio,  where  human  beings  were 
eaten.  They  appeared  to  have  a  horrible  dread  of  the 
people  of  Canniba,*  who  remained  in  this  island  or  its 
vicinity.  They  said  these  ferocious  depredators  fed  on 
^  human  flesh,  had  the  head  of  a  dog,  and  only  one  eye,  in 
the  middle  of  the  forehead.  When  they  saw  the  Admiral, 
notwithstanding  what  they  told  him,  continue  the  route 
to  Bohio,  they  became  stupefied  with  fright,  and  speechless. 
Driven  by  the  breeze,  the  caravels  were  rapidly  taken 
towards  the  mysterious  island. 

The  sixth  of  December  Columbus  entered  a  little  bay, 
which  he  placed  under  the  patronage  of  the  Virgin.  At 
the  south-east  of  this  bay,  a  beautiful  cape  was  seen,  which 
he  named  in  honor  of  Mary,  the  star  of  the  sea.  Cape  Star. 
Several  promontories  and  harbors  were  also  seen,  to  which 
he  gave  names.  He  continued  to  sail  in  sight  of  the  coast  ; 
and,  at  the  "  hour  of  vespers,"  f  he  cast  anchor  in  a  port 
admirable  for  its  safety  and  the  magnificence  of  its  site, 
which  he  named  St.  Nicholas^  in  honor  of  the  saint 
of  whose  feast  this  was  the  day.  Columbus  declared,  that 
after  all  he  had  said  of  the  ports  of  Cuba,  this  one  may 
still  be  justly  praised,  for  "  a  thousand  caracks  could  here 
anchor  in  safet}'." 

On  Friday,  the  seventh  of  December,  they  steered  for 

*  Hence  is  derived  the  word  cannibal,  a  man-eater. 

t  The  piety  of  Columbus,  his  custoin  of  saj'ing  regularly  the 
office  at  the  hour  fixed  by  the  Rule  of  the  Fi-anciscans,  make  him 
involuntarily  say  in  his  Journal,  '■'■at  the  hour  of  vespers"  to  indi- 
cate the  time  in  the  afternoon  he  reserved  for  this  religious  duty. 
This  expression  has  often  escaped  him  without  his  being  aware 
of  it. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  1S5 

the  north-east.  They  discerned  at  a  distance  some  high 
mountains,  and  in  the  intermediate  phiins,  some  fields  and 
hillocks.  The  general  aspect  of  the  country  differed  from 
tlie  tropical  physiognomy  of  Cuba,  and  vaguely  reminded 
them  of  Castile. 

The  eighth  of  December,  the  day  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  a  heavy  rain,  accompanied  with  wind,  kept  all 
on  board.  The  Admiral  could  freely  satisfy  his  tender 
devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin.  During  the  hours  of  office 
he  caused  salvos  to  be  fired  in  honor  of  jSIary,  conceived 
without  sin. 

The  next  day  the  rain  continued.  The  wet  weather,  the 
form  of  the  clouds,  and  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere, 
recalled  to  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber in  Andalusia.  The  plains,  they  perceived,  also  reminded 
them  of  Castile;  and  on  account  of  this  resemblance, — 
so  sweet  to  them,  —  the  Admiral  gave  the  name  oï  Isla 
Espanola  to  the  island.  The  natives  had  several  names 
for  it  ;  some  called  it  "  Bohio,"  which  signifies  "  man- 
sion, or  vast  dwelling"  ;  others,  in  smaller  number,  called  it 
"Haiti,"  which  means  "highland";  but  the  larger  num- 
ber called  it  "  Qiiisqueya,"  a  word  meaning  "the  great 
land,  or  the  great  all";  for  these  people  knew  of  no  land 
that  was  more  extended. 

The  Castillans  sometimes  called  it  "Little  Spain,"  "  Ilis- 
paûola,"  and  sometimes  simply  by  the  abbreviation,  "  Es- 
pagnol." 

The  twelfth  of  December,  Columbus  consecrated  his 
taking  possession  of  the  island  of  Ilispaniola  by  a  sign  con- 
genial to  his  piety.  In  the  presence  of  his  two  crews,  he 
caused  a  very  large  cross  to  be  j^lanted  at  the  entrance  of 
the  port,  on  .xw  eminence,  seen  from  a  great  distance  ;  not 
simply  to  show  the  prior  claims  of  Castile,  and  her  posses- 
sion of  it,  but  "principally,"  he  says,  "as  a  sign  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord,  and  in  honor  of  Christianity."  * 

*  "Y  principalmente  por  scfuil  de  Jesu  Cris.to      Neustra  Seûor.y 
honra  de  la  Cristianidad."  —  Micrcoles  12  de  Decicmbre, 
16* 


i86  HIST0R2'  OF  [book  i. 

During  six  days  the  Admiral  tried  uselessly  to  enter  into 
communication  with  the  natives.  The  latter  always  fled 
at  the  approach  of  the  strangers,  but  at  the  close  of  the 
religious  ceremony  just  mentioned,  a  female  was  caught, 
who  was  brought  on  board  the  Saitta  Maria.  "  She  was 
very  beautiful  and  young,  and  had  a  gold  ring  in  her  nos- 
trils." She  conversed  wùth  the  Indians  of  the  caravels, 
their  language  being  familiar  to  her.  The  Admiral  caused 
her  to  be  dressed  in  European  fashion,  and  after  ornament- 
ing her  with  some  glass  trinkets,,  sent  her  back  home  with 
three  Indians,  who  were  to  speak  to  the  inhabitants.  But 
the  three  interpreters,  detained  by  dread,  dared  not  follow 
the  young  woman  to  the  village,  and  returned  to  the  cara- 
vels at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  Admiral  selit  nine  armed  men,  resolute  and  intelli- 
gent, with  an  Indian  interpreter,  to  reconnoitre  the  country 
and  get  into  communication  with  the  natives.  They  found 
a  deserted  village  four  leagues  and  a  half  distant.  On 
seeing  the  strangers,  the  inhabitants  fled,  after  having  con- 
cealed all  they  possessed.  The  Indian  interpreter  ran  after 
them,  hallooing  to  them  to  return,  that  the  strangers  were 
not  from  Canniba,  but  that  on  the  contrary  they  came  from 
heaven,  and  were  giving  beautiful  things  to  those  they  met 
with.  By  degrees  the  natives  approached,  and  to  the  num- 
ber of  two  thousand  surrounded  the  nine  Sj^aniards,  whom 
they  gazed  at  with  veneration,  mingled  with  fear.  They 
brought  from  their  huts  the  best  provisions  the}^  had,  to 
ofier  them  to  these  guests  who  had  come  from  heaven. 
During  these  transactions,  there  came  a  number  of  men 
bearing  reverently  on  their  shoulders  the  female  Indian  who 
had  received  the  gifts  from  the  Admiral.  A  part  of  her 
jewels  was  carried  with  great  ceremony  before  her,  and  an 
immense  crowd,  led  by  the  husband  of  the  woman,  went 
to  the  caravels  to  thank  the  chief  of  the  celestial  men  for 
his  presents.  The  interpreter  having  heard  on  board  that 
the  Admiral  desired  to  have  a  domesticated  parrot,  men- 
tioned  the   circumstance,   and    immediately  they  brought 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  1S7 

parrots    from    all    parts  as  pure  gifts,  desiring  to  receive 
nothing  in  return  for  them. 

The  nine  Spaniards  returned  with  this  cortege.  They 
noticed,  in  the  course  of  their  journey,  a  beautiful  country, 
and  some  cultivated  fields.  Although  it  was  in  tlie  middle 
of  December,  the  trees  were  green  and  laden  with  fruit, 
and  herbaceous  plants  were  high  and  in  flower,  the  same 
as  in  Castile  in  the  month  of  April. 

On  Friday,  the  Admiral  set  out  anew  in  quest  of  the 
island  of  Babeque,  so  much  praised  by  the  Indians  for  its 
gold.  The  next  day,  coming  again  near  the  Island  of 
Hispaniola,  he  met  with  a  canoe  managed  by  one  Indian. 
He  admired  the  intrepidity  of  the  islander,  who,  in  that 
fragile  concern,  had  dared  to  confront  so  strong  a  wind. 
He  welcomed  him  on  board  the  caravel,  showed  him  every 
kindness,  gave  him  glass  marbles  and  other  trinkets,  and 
landed  him  near  the  village  where  he  resided.  Then  he 
cast  anchor  in  a  neighboring  port,  which  he  named  "  The 
Port  of  Peace,"  and  waited  for  the  result. 

What  the  Admiral  had  foreseen  was  soon  realized.  The 
Indian  displaying  the  rare  presents  he  had  received,  soon 
his  countrymen  congregated  around  him,  while  he  vaunted 
the  munificence  of  the  men  descended  from  heaven.  Still, 
he  did  not  have  the  joy  of  announcing  to  them  a  circum- 
stance that  was  altogether  new.  Already  had  the  report 
of  these  heavenly  voyagers  reached  these  quarters,  and  the 
announcement  of  this  last  event  was  soon  propagated  from 
one  village  to  another.  More  than  five  hundred  islanders 
resorted  to  the  anchorage.  Among  them  some  women,  of 
remarkable  beauty,  wore  in  their  ears  and  nostrils  some 
little  plates  of  very  fine  gold,  which  they  gave  joyfully, 
having  nothing  else  to  ofier.  The  Admiral  gave  a  strict 
charge  that  they  should  all  be  treated  with  the  greatest 
propriety  and  respect,  as  if  they  were  already  Christians  ; 
"because  they  are,"  as  he  wrote  to  the  sovereigns,  "the 
best  people  in  the  world,  and  because  I  have  great  hope 


iSS  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

in  our  Lord  that  your  Highnesses  will  make  them  all 
Christians."  * 

The  eighteentli  of  December,  at  early  dawn,  the  Admi- 
ral, faithful  in  his  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  had  the 
flags  and  pendants  of  the  caravels  displayed,  and  the  day 
being  commemorative  of  one  of  her  festivals,  he  ordered  it 
to  be  saluted  with  a  discharge  of  artillery.  After  the  "  hour 
of  vespers,"  the  young  king  of  the  country  arrived,  borne 
in  a  palanquin,  and  accompanied  with  two  grave  person- 
ages, probably  his  ministers,  or  at  least  his  counsellors. 
The  Admiral  was  just  then  taking  dinner.  The  king  was 
not  willing  that  he  should  be  apprised  of  his  visit.  He 
entered  with  a  quiet  air  into  the  hall,  went  straight  uj)  to 
the  Admiral,  saluted  him  courteously,  sat  down  by  him, 
and  with  a  wave  of  his  hand  commanded  his  guards  '  to 
retire,  which  they  did,  with  marks  of  profound  respect. 
He  retained  with  him  only  the  two  grave  personages,  who 
sat  at  his  feet.  The  Admiral  ordered  him  to  be  served 
with  dinner,  thinking  he  had  invited  himself,  but  he  merely 
tasted  what  was  offered  him,  doing  this  only  to  respond  to 
the  politeness  of  the  Admiral,  and  then  sent  the  rest  to  his 
followers.  After  dinner,  at  a  sign  from  him,  one  of  his 
officers  brought  him  a  belt  ornamented  with  plates  of  gold 
of  delicate  workmanship.  The  young  king  oflered  it  to 
the  Admiral,  who,  after  having  graciously  accepted  it,  con- 
ducted him  through  the  caravel  and  introduced  him  into 
his  cabin.  As  the  young  monarch  looked  with  a  wistful 
eye  at  a  counterpane  on  the  bed,  Columbus  made  him  a 
present  of  it,  adding  to  it  a  collar  of  beautiful  amber  beads 
he  had  round  his  own  neck,  a  pair  of  red  buskins,  and  a 
flask  of  orange-flower  water,  —  hoping  by  these  presents  to 
conciliate  his  good  will  and  attract  him  the  more  easily  to 
Christianity. 

The  Admiral  showed  him  a  crucifix  ;  he  also  showed 
him  portraits  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  and  spoke  to  him 

*  Domingo.)  16  de  Dcciembre. 


CHAP  VIII.]      CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  189 

of  their  grandeur  and  power.  But  the  young  monarch  and 
his  counsellors  believed  that  the  kingdoms  of  these  sover- 
eigns was  in  heaven,  and  not  on  earth.  When  he  descended 
into  his  canoe,  to  regain  his  palanquin,  he  received  military 
honors. 

After  his  departure,  his  brother  came  on  board  with  a 
boobyish  air,  and  meanly  begging  for  some  gewgaws. 
They  learned  from  him  that,  in  the  idiom  of  the  country, 
the  sovereigns  were  called  Caciques.  If  the  Admiral  did 
not  this  day  obtain  much  gold,  it  was  not  because  he  did 
not  hear  much  said  about  it.  An  old  Indian  informed  him 
of  an  island  "wholly  gold,"  and  of  others,  where  the 
precious  metal  abounded  in  such  quantity  that  no  pains 
were  needed  but  to  gather  it. 

The  Admiral  would  not  leave  without  honoring,  on  this 
shore  also,  the  emblem  of  Redemption.  He  had  a  very 
large  cross  made,  and  planted  in  the  middle  of  the  settle- 
ment, to  make  the  people  familiar,  in  advance,  with  the 
sacred  sign.  They  flocked  to  it  \\\\X\  eagerness,  and  knelt 
before  the  sacred  symbol,  the  signification  of  which  they  did 
not  understand,  and  endeavored  to  imitate  the  actions  and 
words  of  the  Spaniards  during  their  prayers.  Judging  of 
the  future  by  their  present  happy  dispositions,  Columbus 
"  hoped  in  our  Lord  tliat  all  these  islands  would  become 
Christian." 

The  next  day,  before  dawn,  they  put  to  sea,  to  continue 
their  rcconnoissance  of  the  coast  of  Hispaniola. 

On  Friday,  the  twenty-first  of  December,  the  Admiral 
discovered  a  port  incomparably  superior  to  any  he  had  yet 
met  with.  It  was  not  necessary  here  to  call  the  natives  ; 
fame  had  preceded  the  arrival  of  the  men  come  from 
heaven.  Late  in  the  evening,  a  canoe,  thronged  with  per- 
sons impatient  to  see  them,  came  to  the  caravels.  The  next 
day  the  shore  was  crowded.  ^len  and  women  oflered  their 
gifts  to  the  celestial  strangers  ;  some,  a  little  gold  ;  others, 
a  calabash  of  fresh  water  and  some  yam  bread,  pleasant  to 
the  taste.     They  appeared  to  have  no  great  possessions. 


190  BISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

"  Men  and  women  were  as  naked  as  they  were  when  they 
came  from  the  bosoms  of  their  mothers,"  says  Cohmabus  ; 
and  he  ordered  the  greatest  decency  to  be  observed  towards 
these  simple  children  of  nature. 

He  received  repeated  messages,  beseeching  him  to  visit  a 
neighboring  settlement  before  leaving  this  quarter  ;  and,  as 
the  place  was  on  his  way,  he  went  there.  The  cacique, 
who  had  come  to  meet  him,  accompanied  him,  with  his 
attendants,  to  an  eminence  above  the  strand,  where  there 
was  a  crowd  anxiously  waiting  to  see  him.  All  of  them 
besought  the  chief  of  the  celestial  voyagers  to  go  no  farther, 
and  to  remain  with  them.  But  some  messengers  came 
from  another  cacique,  also,  praying  him  not  to  depart  until 
their  master  would  see  him.  The  Admiral  willingly  ac- 
ceded to  the  request.  This  cacique  had  a  large  quantity  of 
provisions  prepared,  with  which  he  loaded  the  Spanish 
boats.  Afterwards,  his  subjects  desired,  in  their  turn,  to 
give  provisions  and  parrots.  They  besought  Columbus, 
earnestly,  that  he  should  go  no  farther  ;  and  when  they  saw 
him  embarking,  notwithstanding  their  entreaties,  they  fol- 
lowed him,  in  their  canoes,  to  the  caravels.  Columbus 
treated  them  with  great  kindness,  and  gave  them  glass 
beads,  brass  rings,  and  little  bells  :  "  Not  because  they  asked 
for  them,"  says  Las  Casas,  "but  because  he  considered  it 
becoming,  and  that  he  already  regarded  them  as  Chris- 
tians." 

On  Saturday,  the  twent3'-second  of  December,  the  chief 
monarch  of  the  country,  the  Grand  Cacique  Guacanagari,  a 
j'oung  and  gracious  sovereign,  in  his  desire  of  seeing,  also, 
the  men  come  from  heaven,  sent  one  of  his  chief  officers  to 
invite  the  Admiral  to  bring  his  vessels  near  his  residence, 
and  to  offer  him  a  belt,  to  which  was  suspended,  in  the 
form  of  an  alms-box,  a  mask,  made  of  light  wood,  but 
whose  large  ears,  tongue,  and  eyes,  were  of  pure  gold. 
This  envoy  understood  but  very  little  of  the  language  of  the 
Indians  of  San  Salvador,  and  these  understood  as  little  the 
idiom  spoken  by  himself;  which  caused  them  to  spend  part 


'chap.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  191 

of  the  clay  in  uselessly  questioning  and  answering  each 
other.  It  became  necessary  that  Columbus,  explaining 
their  reciprocal  mistakes,  should  divine,  from  their  signs, 
the  object  of  this  message.  The  next  day  was  Sunday. 
Although  the  Admiral,  as  Las  Casas  observes,  "  was  not  in 
the  habit  of  sailing  on  such  a  day,  not  from  superstition, 
but  through  piety,  he  nevertheless  decided  to  do  so,  in 
order  to  have  an  oj^portunity  of  displaying  the  symbol  of 
Redemption  on  these  coasts,  on  this  day  which  pertained  to 
the  Lord,  and  in  consequence  of  the  hope  he  had  con- 
ceived that  the  inhabitants  would  become  Christians."  In 
the  afternoon,  more  than  a  hundred  canoes,  filled  with  per- 
sons curious  to  see  him,,  surrounded  the  caravels.  Each 
one  brought  his  own  little  present. 

The  wind  having  lacked,  the  Admiral  could  not  go  to  the 
Grand  Cacique  Guacanagari,  but  he  sent  the  notary-royal 
and  some  officers,  in  boats,  to  salute  him  in  his  name. 
Durnig  this  time,  an  inferior  cacique  appeared  on  board  the 
Santa  Maria ^  informing  éiim  that  there  was  much  gold  in 
that  island,  that  persons  came  to  buy  it  from  neighboring 
countries,  and  that  as  much  of  it  could  be  had  as  was  de- 
sired. The  Admiral,  moved  at  this  news,  and  transported 
with  hope,  thanked  his  Divine  Master  with  his  whole  heart. 
And  still,  as  if  he  would  redress  this,  perhaps,  mundane 
jov,  he  made  an  act  of  submission  of  his  will  to  that  of 
God,  and  wrote,  with  edifying  resignation,  in  his  Journal  : 
"  îklay  our  Lord,  who  holds  all  things  in  His  hands,  be 
pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  me  what  is  most  for  His  service." 

An  irresistible  curiosity  urged  the  neighboring  people  to 
come  to  the  caravels.  !More  than  a  thousand  people  came 
in  canoes,  each  one  bringing  some  gift  ;  and,  for  want  of  room, 
more  than  five  hinidred  ventured  to  swim,  in  order  to  get  a 
sight  of  these  unearthly  strangers.  Five  caciques,  with 
their  families,  had  come.  The  Admiral  gave  presents  to 
all,  judging  that  the  little  gifts  would  be  well  employed. 

The  news  about  the  gold  became  confirmed  more  and 
more.     Some  of  the  visitors  spoke  to  Columbus  of  mines 


1^2  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

being  in  the  island.  A  native,  who  appeared  to  be  won- 
derfully attracted  to  him,  mentioned  several  places  that  pro- 
duced gold.  Among  other  places  he  named  Cibao  (the 
Admiral  thought  he  meant  Cipango),  whose  cacique  had  a 
banner  of  pure  gold.  This  country,  he  said,  was  distant, 
and  situated  to  the  east.  Columbus  considered  they  were 
approaching  some  auriferous  mines;  and  piously  thirsting 
for  gold,  and  generously  craving  for  riches,  with  a  fervid 
accent  he  besought  his  Master  to  guide  him  at  once  to  the 
place  where  it  would  be  found,  and  could  not  refrain  from 
exclaiming,  "May  our  Lord  in  His  great  mercy  aid  me  in 
finding  that  gold." 

During  the  night,  the  boats  came  back  with  the  notary 
royal  and  officers  sent  to  Guacanagari,  the  cacique.  On 
their  route  they  were  pressed  with  a  crowd  of  canoes,  filled 
with  persons  desirous  to  see  thé  celestial  men.  Conducted 
to  the  royal  residence,  they  were  received  with  great  cere- 
mony. Guacanagari,  who  regretted  much  not  seeing  the 
Admiral,  sent  him,  while  awaiting  his  visit,  some  parrots, 
with  several  pieces  of  gold. 

SECTION   VIL 

On  Monda}^  the  twenty -fourth  of  December,  before  day, 
the  Admiral,  by  a  good  land  wind,  left  the  port  ;  steering  to 
the  east,  in  the  direction  vv'here  he  was  told  the  gold  mines 
were,  and  with  the  intention,  in  jDassing,  of  visiting  the 
grand  cacique,  Guacanagari.  The  wind  having  ceased, 
they  made  but  little  progress  that  day.  The  Nina  was  half 
a  league  behind. 

After  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  the  Admiral  felt  much 
fatigued.  For  two  consecutive  days  and  the  preceding 
night,  the  concourse  of  the  natives,  the  presents  to  be  given 
and  received,  the  exchanges  to  be  watched  over,  the  ques- 
tions to  be  put  to  interpreters,  and  their  answers,  the  classi- 
fying and  preservation  of  the  different  productions  of  these 
countries  which  he  wished  to  take  to  Castile,  his  religious 


CHAP.  Vin.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


193 


exercises,  and  the  multiplied  cares  of  the  command,  did  not 
leave  him  a  single  minute  for  rest.  Yielding  to  his  need 
for  repose,  an  hour  before  midnight  he  went  down  to  his 
cabin  and  flung  himself  on  his  bed,  undressed.  He  had 
reason  to  be  perfectly  easy  in  regard  to  the  situation  of  the 
vessel.  The  sea  was  calm,  they  were  in  known  quarters 
which  the  boats  had  sounded  a  few  days  before,  and,  be- 
sides, there  was  an  officer  to  watch  over  the  helm. 

Still,  notwithstanding  the  order,  often  repeated  during 
the  voyage,  that  the  helm  should  not  be  intrusted  to  bo}s 
or  novices,  as  soon  as  the  Admiral  lay  down  the  officer  did 
the  same.  An  hour  after,  the  helmsman,  giving  the  rudder 
to  a  cabin-boy,  got  to  his  hammock,  and  the  rest  of  the 
mariners  who  had  the  watch  took  like  advantage  of  the 
absence  of  the  Admiral  to  sleep  at  their  ease.  The  cabin- 
boy  in  his  turn  became  sleepy,  and  the  Sa?ita  j\Iaria  was 
carried  insensibly,  by  the  currents,  against  a  sand-bank. 
For  more  than  a  league  the  roaring  of  the  breakers  was 
heard,  but  so  sound  was  the  sleep  of  the  crew  that  they  did 
not  awake  but  at  the  voice  of  the  Admiral  ;  for  the  latter, 
at  the  first  cries  of  the  cabin-boy,  alarmed  at  the  shock, 
jumped  from  his  bed,  and  was  the  first  on  deck  to  render 
assistance,  before  anybody  else  even  suspected  the  accident. 

The  Admiral  ordered  them  to  take  the  boat  and  carry 
out  an  anchor  astern,  to  warp  the  vessel  oft".  The  master 
and  the  men  jumped  immediately  into  the  boat,  but  in 
place  of  executing  the  manoeuvre,  they  rowed  away  in  all 
haste  to  save  themselves  in  the  A7/ïflr,  which  was  anchored 
half  a  league  windward.  The  captain  of  the  JVina  was 
unwilling  to  receive  on  board  these  pusillanimous  desert- 
ers. They  were,  therefore,  forced  to  return  to  the  caravel  ; 
but  the  boat  of  the  Nina  reached  it  before  they  did.  The 
Admiral,  seeing  that  his  boat  deserted  him,  that  the  ship 
had  swung  across  the  stream,  and  that  she  had  already 
leaned  to  one  side,  so  that  the  water  was  gaining  upon  her, 
tried  to  cut  the  mast,  in  the  hope  of  lightening  her  and 
setting  her  afloat.     But  he  did  not  have  men  enough  to  do 


194  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

these  things,  and  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  idea. 
The  keel  was  too  firmly  bedded  in  the  sand  to  have  her  put 
to  rights.  He  abandoned,  then,  to  Providence  the  body  of 
the  ship,  hopelessly  lost,  and  passed  to  the  JVina,  to  have 
his  crew  transhipped  to  her.  The  sea  at  last  broke  on  the 
body  of  the  vessel,  but  without  sinking  her  ;  the  seams 
alone  opened,  but  the  hull  remained  whole.  At  daybreak, 
he  despatched  Diego  de  Arana  and  Pedro  Guttierrez  to  the 
cacique  Guacanagari,  to  inform  him  of  the  disaster. 

The  news  moved  the  king  even  to  tears.  He  imme- 
diately sent  all  his  people,  with  all  the  canoes  that  could 
be  mustered,  to  Columbus,  to  aid  him  in  discharging  the 
vessel,  and  took  measures  for  the  ^^reservation  of  the  things 
saved  from  the  caravel.  From  time  to  time  he  sent  to  the 
Admiral  to  console  and  cheer  him,  and  to  tell  him  that 
"  he  would  give  him  all  he  possessed."  So  active  was  the 
assistance,  that  in  a  few  hours  the  vessel  was  unloaded. 
Guacanagari  gave  his  visitors  three  large  buildings  for  their 
effects,  and  placed  armed  guards  for  their  safety  from  injury 
or  theft.  Such  was  his  care,  and  such  the  honesty  of  his 
people,  that  in  the  transportation  of  the  cargo  and  muni- 
tions of  the  caravel  the  least  thing  was  not  lost.  The 
sympathies  of  the  people  for  Columbus  in  his  loss,  and 
the  reception  he  received  from  the  sovereign,  mitigated 
the  bitterness  of  the  accident.  In  no  part  of  the  civilized 
world  would  he  have  received  warmer  or  more  cordial 
hospitality. 

Always  submissive  to  God,  and  knowing  that  He  often 
draws  good  from  what  appears  to  us  to  be  evil,  Columbus, 
in  reviewing  in  his  mind  the  diverse  circumstances  of  this 
disaster,  —  how  it  happened  without  any  fault  on  his  part, 
in  the  absence  of  either  storm  or  fog,  in  spite  of  all  his 
efforts  to  save  the  ship  ;  and  considering  that  nothing  that 
the  Santa  JMaria  contained  was  lost,  —  was  led  to  think 
"  that  Our  Lord  willed  it  so  to  happen,  that  he  might 
remain  in  this  place."  *     In  reality,  he  could  leave  in  the 

*  Domingo,  6  de  Ejiero. 


CHAP.  Vin.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  195 

states  of  a  hospitable  prince  a  part  of  his  companions,  who 
could  learn  the  language  of  the  .natives,  teach  them  the 
Christian  religion,  and  amass  gold,  during  his  return  to 
Spain.  Several  of  the  sailors  requested  to  be  left  in  the 
island.  Guacanagari  w^as  delighted  to  see  these  extraordi- 
nary beings  preparing  to  settle  near  him.  As  sometimes 
some  Carib  cannibals  landed  on  the  coast,  and  took  away 
his  subjects,  he  expected,  by  these  powei-ful  strangers,  to  be 
protected  against  them.  The  Admiral,  to  strengthen  him 
in  his  confidence,  showed  him  the  use  of  the  Spanish  arms, 
—  of  arbalets  and  Moorish  hand-bows,  and  the  slaughter 
that  may  be  produced  by  artillery.  He  wished,  in  explain- 
ing to  him  how  he  could  become  redoubtable  to  the  Caribs, 
to  inspire  him  with  the  respect  tliat  is  commanded  by  force, 
in  order  that,  as  occasion  may  require,  he  may  substitute 
fear  for  benevolence.  The  erection  of  a  fortress,  or  rather 
a  fortieth  was  then  decided  on.  Such  a  building,  incidental, 
and  almost  forced,  would  be  a  proof  of  priority  of  occupa- 
tion, and  thus  guard  against  any  ulterior  claims  on  the  part 
of  other  Europeans. 

Every  day  the  relations  between  the  Admiral  and  King 
Guacanagari  became  more  intimate.  The  prince  enter- 
tained for  Columbus  sentiments  of  the  highest  admiration 
and  respect,  and  had  the  greatest  confidence  in  him.  His 
intelligence,  awakened  by  a  lively  curiosity,  urged  him  to 
look  up  to  these  mysterious  beings,  and  to  endeavor  to 
imitate  them.  Grave  in  his  manners,  he  displayed  great 
dignity  and  nobility  of  soul.  While  his  officers  and  people, 
eager  for  hawks'  bells,  which  they  called  chzckc^  got  in  rap- 
tmcs  at  glass  trinkets  and  gew-gaws,  for  which  they  gladly 
exchanged  gold,  cotton  and  provisions,  the  cacique,  wear- 
ing a  shirt,  preferred  gloves  to  everything  else;  and,  in 
return  for  gold  masks,  gold  mirrors,  and  golden  crowns, 
he  only  asked  for  a  simple  wash-pitcher  and  ewer,  to  wasli 
his  hands  in  after  meals,  in  place  of  rubbing  them  with 
odoriferous  herbs,  as  was  his  custom  before  he  had  seen 
the  Admiral.      Generosity  seemed   natural    to    him.      He 


l^e  HISTORY  OF  [BOOK  i. 

never  saw  the  Admiral  without  presenting  him  with  some 
gift.  He  gave,  like  a  tru-e  prince,  for  the  sole  pleasure  of 
giving.  The  etiquette  observed  at  his  court  presented  the 
rudiments  of  a  nascent  civilization,  which  was  not  wholly 
deprived  of  elegance  and  taste  in  the  midst  of  its  simplicity. 

Still,  the  devotedness  which  Guacanagari  manifested  to- 
wards all  the  Spaniards  ought  not  to  be  confounded  with 
his  general  admiration  for  the  superiority  of  the  divine 
men.  What  attracted  him  especially  to  them  was  Colum- 
bus himself.  Savages,  like  children,  judge  by  instinct  of 
things  which  they  cannot  explain  ;  it  is  so  with  them  in 
regard  to  persons  and  to  sentiments.  They  are  never  mis- 
taken about  those  who  love  them.  The  artless  monarch 
felt  himself  attracted  towards  the  grandeur  of  Columbus  ; 
a  deep  fellow-feeling  attached  him  to  that  unearthly  man, 
and  all  his  favors  to  the  strangers  were  directed  towards 
their  chief. 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  genius  of  Columbus,  and 
of  his  providential  role^  was,  undoubtedly,  his  quick  apti- 
tude for  the  sciences  and  occupations  to  which  he  was  most 
unaccustomed.  It  was  this  that  enabled  him  to  do  to  perfec- 
tion everything  useful  that  was  connected  with  the  interests 
of  which  he  was  the  depositary.  The  shipwreck  of  his 
caravel  made  him  an  engineer.  He  designed  the  plan  of 
a  fortress,  or  a  little  square  castle  with  bastions  at  the  an- 
gles, and  directed  personally  the  works. 

The  activity  of  the  Spaniards,  aided  by  the  subjects  of 
Guacanagari,  soon  did  wonders.  Ten  days  after  the  wreck 
of  the  Santa  Afaria,  this  strong  fortress  was  raised  on  the 
shore.  Beneath  it  was  a  vast  cave,  which  was  to  serve  for 
provisions  and  munitions  of  war,  and  also  for  the  merchan- 
dise destined  for  trading. 

To  guard  this  fortress,  over  which  waved  the  ?i.ag  of 
Castile,  Columbus  chose,  among  the  crew  of  the  Santa 
Maria,  the  men  who  appeared  most  steady  and  best  dis- 
posed. He  joined  to  them  Bernardin  de  Tapia,  Doctor 
Juan,  the  "genteel  surgeon,"  the   metal-founder  and  jew- 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  107 

ellcr  of  Seville,  an  armorer,  a  ship-buildcr,  and  a  tailor, — 
and  placed  them  under  the  command  of  Diego  de  Arana,  to 
^vhom  he  delegated  all  the  powers  he  himself  had  received 
from  the  Sovereigns.  lie  gave  him  as  lieutenant,  Pedro 
Guttierrez,  a  King's  officer.  This  nucleus  of  a  colony  ^vas 
composed,  in  all,  of  forty-two  men. 

Authority  being  thus  established,  Columbus  furnished 
this  advanced  guard  of  the  Old  World  with  all  that  was 
found  in  the  Santa  j\faria;  left  it  instruments,  utensils  of 
every  kind,  biscuit  for  a  year,  some  wine,  a  good  supply 
of  arms,  artillery,  and  the  long-boat  of  the  wrecked  vessel. 
The  Admiral  left  them  a  quantity  of  seed  to  sow  in  the 
land,  intrusted  them  with  the  merchandise  with  which 
they  were  to  barter,  and  recommended,  in  a  particular 
manner,  the  three  officers  to  the  cacique,  Guacanagari. 

Columbus  left  the  Spaniards,  then,  on  this  new  soil,  in 
the  best  condition  that  could  be  wished,  —  provided  abun- 
dantly with  everything  necessary  for  life,  in  safety  from 
attack,  surrounded  with  a  friendly  population,  and  under 
the  protection  of  a  generous  monarch.  Before  leaving 
them,  he  made  the  most  touching  address  Jhat  ever  was 
delivered  by  a  father  to  his  children.  He  gave  them  ad- 
mirable counsels  about  foresight  and  sagacity.  He  recalled 
to  them  the  glorious  object  of  the  Discovery,  —  the  propa- 
gation of  the  faith  ;  besought  them  to  study  the  language  of 
the  natives,  and  to  attract  them  to  Christianity  by  their 
example  and  their  teaching.  In  the  name  of  the  Sover- 
eigns, he  commanded  passive  obedience  to  the  officers  he 
had  invested  with  his  own  powers.  The  Admiral  recom- 
mended to  have  the  greatest  regard  for  the  sovereign  of  the 
country,  to  avoid  all  disputes  with  his  subjects,  to  observe 
the  most  rigorous  continence  in  regard  to  women,  to  never 
separate  from  each  other,  never  to  go  alone,  always  to  sleep 
in  the  fortress,  and,  especially,  never  to  leave  the  states  of 
the  hospitable  king  who  had  given  them  a  welcome. 

One  cannot  avoid  having  feelings  of  admiration  for  him, 
in  collecting  the  enfeebled  echoes  of  his  excellent  exhorta- 
17 


1^8  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

tion,  sealed  with  an  almost  testamentary  solemnity,  which 
have  been  transmitted  to  us  by  the  Spanish  historians,  Her- 
rera  and  Munos.  And,  when  we  remember  the  events  that 
took  place  a  short  time  after,  we  are  struck  with  the  lucidity 
of  the  foresight  of  Columbus;  we  see  in  it  a  solicitude  and 
a  sagacity  in  regard  to  eventualities,  which  surpass  human 
prudence. 

The  second  of  January,  the  Admiral  bade  his  last  adieus 
to  Guacanagari.  He  gave  him  a  new  shirt,  put  a  collar  of 
African  gems  on  his  neck,  a  scarlet  mantle  on  his  shoul- 
ders, red  buskins  on  his  feet  ;  and  on  his  finger  a  silver  ring, 
which  the  latter  preferred  to  gold  ;  and  embraced  him  with 
such  Christian,  paternal  good-will,  that  the  artless  cacique, 
who  already  loved  him  sincerely,  not  being  able  to  restrain 
his  feelings,  burst  into  tears. 

On  the  fourth  of  January,  the  Nina  left  the  harbor  and 
steered  eastwards,  in  the  direction  of  a  lofty  promontory, 
which  the  Admiral  named  Monte-Christo  (Christ-Mount). 
Columbus  made  his  observations  as  a  hydrographer,  as  a 
naturalist,  and  as  a  poet,  and  his  untiring  admiration  for  the 
works  of  nature  shows  itself,  still,  in  his  Journal.  Two 
days  after,  the  Nina^  continuing  her  course  to  the  east,  a 
sailor,  who  was  on  the  look-out,  discerned  a  sail  ahead.  It 
was  the  Pinia,  which  a  strong  breeze  drove  towards  the 
Admiral. 

Vainly  did  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  hope  that  the  ocean,  in 
its  immensity,  would  conceal  his  desertion.  Providence 
brought  him  back  beneath  the  eyes  of  his  chief,  in  sight  of 
the  little  Nina^  that  imperceptible  point  in  an  incommen- 
surable expanse.  Forced  b}^  the  wind  to  rejoin  the  Admi- 
ral, the  captain  of  the  Pinta  followed  him  to  the  port  of 
Monte  Christo,  and  came  on  board  his  ship  to  excuse  him- 
self. The  reasons  he  gave  for  his  separation  were  all  false, 
and  several  of  them  plainly  contradictory.  Still,  Columbus 
appeared  to  believe  them,  for  fear  of  aggravating  the  evil, 
as  the  two  vessels  were  commanded  by  Pinzons,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  two  crews  was  composed  of  their  rela- 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


199 


tives  or  their  fcllow-townsmcn  from  Palos.  Upon  every  occa- 
sion, especially  since  the  Discovery,  the  eldest  of  these 
brothers  made  him  grievously  feci  his  isolated  condition, 
and  his  quality  as  a  foreigner.  He  knew  what  excesses  his 
pride  and  his  rudeness,  excited  by  env}',  were  capable  of. 
He  restrained  himself,  says  Las  Casas,  "  from  yielding  to 
the  tem^^tations  of  Satan,  who  sought  to  prevent  the  voyage, 
as  he  had  done  at  the  commencement."  He  became  re- 
signed, and  sacrificed  his  self-love,  his  sense  of  justice,  his 
personal  dignity,  to  a  duty  which  was  of  still  greater  impor- 
tance than  his  rights. 

ISIartin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  having  made  his  crew  accom- 
plices in  his  crime,  passed  sixteen  days  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Rio  de  Gracia,  trading  in  gold,  contrary  to  the  orders 
of  Columbus.  At  the  time  of  his  departure,  joining  violence 
to  rapine,  he  took  away,  by  force,  four  men  and  two  young 
girls,  as  slaves.  But  the  Admiral  obliged  him  to  disseize 
himself  of  his  iniquitous  prey,  comforted  the  Indians,  made 
them  presents,  in  order  to  make  them  forget  the  injury,  and 
put  them  ashore,  so  that  they  could  return  to  their  families. 

Notwithstanding  his  desire  of  coasting  Hispaniola,  the 
conduct  of  the  Pinzons  showed  the  Admiral  the  necessity 
of  regaining  Castile  as  soon  as  possible.  The  bad  condition 
of  the  caravels,  also,  demanded  it. 

The  eighth  of  January,  near  Rio  d'Oro,  or  Golden  River, 
—  thus  named  because  of  the  particles  of  gold  seen  in  its 
sands,  —  he  perceived,  at  a  certain  distance,  three  sea-calves, 
which  elevated  themselves  above  the  surface  of  the  waters. 
They  reminded  him  of  those  he  had  formerly  seen  on  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  and  which,  at  a  distance,  had  some  traces 
of  the  human  fiace.  They  were  mermaids,  —  the  syrens  of 
the  ancients.  He  adds,  that  they  are  not  the  beautiful 
beings  they  have  been  represented  to  be. 

The  ninth,  they  sailed  to  the  north-east,  and  saw  Cape 
Roja.  The  aspect  of  the  coast  was  enchanting.  But  he 
could  not  spare  time  to  make  examinations  and  observa- 
tions ;  he  longed  to  return  to  Castile,  in  order  to  have  no 


200  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

further  connection  with  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  and  to 
inform  the  Qiieen  of  the  fact  of  the  Discovery.  His  mis- 
sion once  fulfilled,  he  was  determined,  he  said,  to  suffer  no 
longer  the  ill-treatment  of  men  without  delicacy  or  virtue, 
who  insolently  pretended  to  make  their  will  prevail  against 
that  of  him  ivho  had  done  thein  so  much  honor. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  201 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Departure  of  Columbus  for  Europe.  —  Navigation  distressing. — 
Danger  and  Vows  during  a  Tempest.  —  Arrival  at  the  Azores. — 
Perfidy  of  the  Portuguese  Governor.  —  A  new  Tempest.  —  Forced 
landing  in  Portugal. 


SECTION  I. 

ON  Friday,  the  eleventh  of  January,  the  Admiral  put  to 
sea,  and  while  coasting  along  the  island  of  Hispani- 
ola,  gave  names  to  several  capes  and  promontories. 

Desiring  to  procure  some  fresh  provisions,  he  sent  a  boat 
to  the  land,  the  crew  of  which  encountered  some  men  with 
bows  and  arrows,  and  with  whom  they  entered  into  com- 
munication. The  sailors  induced  one  of  these  men  to 
follow  them  to  the  caravel.  He  was  a  stout  fellow,  com- 
pletely naked,  and  with  his  face  daubed  with  black.  His 
hair  was  long,  tied  behind,  and  decorated  with  birds'  feath- 
ers. From  his  ferocious  looks  and  hardy  and  undaunted 
manner,  the  Admiral  took  him  for  one  of  those  Caribs 
(man-caters),  of  whom  he  had  heard.  He  asked  him 
whether  he  was  from  Canniba  ;  the  warrior  answered  he 
was  not,  and  pointed  to  the  east  as  the  country  of  that  race. 
After  having  made  useless  inquiries,  he  had  him  sei"\'ed 
with  victuals,  gave  him  some  trinkets,  and  dismissed  him, 
inviting  him  to  return  with  some  gold,  if  he  had  any.  As 
the  boat  approached  the  shore,  some  sixty  warriors  were 
seen  lurking  behind  the  trees.  At  the  first  words  of  their 
countryman,  they  concealed  a  part  of  their  arms  and  came 
forth  to  meet  the  Spaniards.  The  latter  bought  of  them 
two  bows  and  a  number  of  arrows  ;  but  after  receiving  the 


202       '  HISTORY  OF  [book  I.' 

price,  in  place  of  delivering  the  arms,  and  seeing  they  had 
to  do  with  seven  strangers,  they  ran  to  get  their  cords  to 
bind  them  as  captives.  Perceiving  their  intention,  the 
seven  Spaniards  immediately  attacked  them,  wounding  two 
of  them  and  putting  the  rest  to  flight.  The  seven  Sjoan- 
iards  would  have  made  great  carnage  of  them,  had  they 
not  been  restrained  by  the  pilot  who  commanded  the  boat, 
complying  with  the  orders  he  had  received.  Columbus 
was  at  first  grieved  at  this  occurrence  :  he  desired  that  his 
expedition  should  not  cost  this  people,  whom  he  came  to 
lead  to  the  peace  of  the  Lord,  a  single  drop  of  blood.  But, 
reflecting  on  the  matter,  he  became  consoled  ;  for  this  de- 
feat of  sixty  warriors  by  the  seven  strangers,  ought  to  turn 
to  the  advantage  of  the  little  colony  he  left  in  the  little 
fortress. 

Before  returning  to  Castile,  Columbus  desired  to  fall  in 
with  the  Caribs,  or  people  of  Canniba,  so  much  dreaded  in 
the  countries  he  had  visited,  and  to  see  those  cannibals,  — 
those  rebels  against  the  order  of  Providence,  who,  outraging 
nature  by  a  revolting  appetite,  went  to  steal  men  with  the 
intention  of  eating  them.  This  abomination  appeared  to 
him  to  be  impossible  ;  to  believe  it,  he  would  require  to 
see  it.  He  had  also  heard  of  an  island  called  "Matinino," 
which  was  peopled  only  with  armed  women  without  men, 
and  which  reminded  him  of  the  fabulous  Amazons.  He 
was  certain  of  the  existence  of  that  island  ;  but  the  Indians 
being  unable  to  point  out  the  way  to  it,  he  thought  he 
should  find  it  east-south-eastwards.  In  this  he  was  not 
mistaken.  But  a  favorable  wind  springing  up  for  returning 
to  Spain,  and  seeing  that  his  men  were  becoming  gloomy 
on  account  of  their  prolonged  absence  from  home,  he  de- 
termined to  take  the  route  to  Europe,  and  that  the  more, 
because  his  ships  had  become  leaky.  To  remain  was  no 
less  dangerous  than  to  depart.  In  that  situation,  and  at 
that  distance,  he  had  no  help  to  hope  for  but  in  God. 

The  man  of  Providence  turned  the  prow  towards  Spain, 
in  the  name  of  the  Blessed  Trinity.     "  Because,"  says  the 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  '  203 

venerable  Las  Casas,  "  notwithstanding  the  large  leakhig 
of  the  caravels,  he  trusted  that  our  Lord,  who  had  led  him 
on  by  His  bounty,  would  deign  to  lead  him  back  by  His 
mercy." 

On  the  twelfth  of  February  the  wnnd  blew  violently,  and 
in  the  evening  there  were  three  flashes  of  lightning  in  the 
north-east,  which  were  considered  as  signs  of  an  approach- 
ing storm.  The  Admiral  immediately  prepared  for  its 
coming.  It  soon  burst  on  them  with  frightful  violence. 
The  horizon  j^rcsented  a  terrific  aspect.  The  sea,  swollen 
and  roaring,  opened  in  yawning  abysses,  or  raised  to  the 
skies  its  billows,  lashed  by  the  fury  of  the  winds.  The  ribs 
of  the  NiTia  groaned  beneath  the  shocks  of  the  monstrous 
surges.  The  caravels  became  totally  unmanageable.  The 
Pntta,  whose  damaged  masting  prevented  her  from  wrest- 
ling longer  with  the  hurricane,  went  scudding  before  the 
wind.  At  night  the  Admiral  had  three  lanterns,  one  above 
the  other,  put  at  the  part  of  the  mainmast  where  the  royal 
standard  was  fixed,  to  give  a  sign  to  the  Pint  a  to  use  no 
sail.  In  order  to  prevent  the  vessels  from  running  foul  of 
each  other  during  the  darkness  of  the  night,  he  had  a  lan- 
tern raised  as  a  signal,  to  which  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon 
responded,  and  which  he  continued  to  do  until  the  violence 
of  the  hurricane  made  him  disappear  in  the  distance  of  the 
foaming  valleys. 

Far  from  lessening  the  horror  of  the  tempest,  the  return 
of  day  only  increased  its  fury.  The  Admiral  had  not 
quitted  the  deck  ;  he  personally  directed  the  ship.  The 
redoubled  persistence  of  the  storm  had  wonderfully  intimi- 
dated the  most  fearless  mariners.  They  all  turned  their 
eyes  to  the  Admiral,  and  he  turned  his  heart  to  God,  the 
only  resource  in  a  peril  so  imminent.  The  man  could  do 
nothing  longer,  —  the  Christian  alone  remained,  with  his 
faith. 

He  proposed  to  the  seamen  that  a  vow  should  be  made, 
and  that  they  should  determine  by  lot  which  of  them  should 
go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  Santa  Maria  of  Guade- 


204  HISTORT  OP  [book  I. 

loupe,  bearing  a  wax  taper  of  five  pounds  weight.  By  his 
orders,  a  number  of  dried  beans,  equal  to  the  number  of 
persons  on  board,  were  counted,  on  one  of  which  the  sign 
of  the  cross  was  marked  with  a  knife  ;  they  were  put  into 
a  cap  and  well  shaken.  All  came  to  draw,  each  one 
according  to  his  rank. 

It  was  the  Admiral's  turn  to  begin  ;  he  put  his  hand  into 
the  cap  and  drew  the  bean  marked  with  the  cross.  Soon 
afterwards,  the  danger  becoming  more  imminent,  another 
vow  was  determined  upon.  This  time  it  was  to  make  a  pil- 
grimage to  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  in, the  Pontifi- 
cal States.  The  lot  now  fell  on  a  sailor  named  Pedro  Villa. 
As  this  man  was  evidently  not  in  a  way  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  the  journey,  Columbus  engaged  to  bear  them  himself. 
A  little  after,  the  storm  becoming  fiercer,  a  third  vow  was 
determined  upon.  It  was  to  go  to  the  church  of  Santa 
Clara,  at  Moguer,  to  have  a  mass  celebrated,  and  watch  all 
night  in  prayer  before  the  high  altar.  Again  it  was  the 
Admiral  that  drew  the  bean  marked  with  the  cross.  After- 
wards there  was  a  joint  vow  made  to  go  in  procession, 
barefooted  and  in  their  shirts,  to  the  nearest  church  of  Our 
Lady,  in  the  first  land  they  should  reach. 

The  despondency  was  extreme  ;  each  man  gave  himself 
up  for  lost.  There  was  no  doubt  that  the  Pinta  had 
foundered  in  the  storm.  Everybody  recommended  himself 
to  God,  or  to  his  patron  saint,  but  did  not  dare  to  hope  for 
life.  All  believed  themselves  lost  without  resource  ;  no 
human  chance  of  safety  remained.  The  danger  of  the 
caravel  was  augmented  by  the  want  of  ballast,  the  Admiral 
not  having  been  able  to  reach  the  "Isle  of  Women,"  where 
he  proposed  ballasting  the  Nina.  The  consumption  of 
water  and  provisions  had  lightened  her  so,  that  she  rolled 
and  tossed  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  The  crew  abandoned 
themselves  to  despair. 

Columbus  became  a  prey  to  the  most  distressing  anxiety. 
His  mind,  more  agitated  than  the  tumultuous  ocean,  falling 
from  confidence  to  doubt,  and  from  fear  to  anguish,  arose 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  20"^ 

and  sank  alternately,  like  the  billows  of  the  Atlantic.  He 
says  so  himself:  every  splash  of  a  wave  troubled  him.  He 
attributed  this  weakness  to  his  want  of  faith,  and  his  not 
abandoning  himself  to  Providence.  On  the  one  hand, 
when  he  called  to  mind  the  prodigious  circumstances 
attending  the  Discovery,  the  favors  God  had  bestowed  on 
him,  in  according  him  a  triumph  so  grand,  showing  him 
innumerable  things  of  a  marvellous  character,  causing  him 
to  discover  a  multitude  of  islands,  as  if  He  had  willed  that 
after  so  many  contrarieties  endured  in  Castile  all  his  hopes 
should  be  more  than  realized,  he  became  somewhat  en- 
couraged. When  he  examined  into  the  depths  of  his  heart, 
and  there  saw  that  his  chief  desire  was  for  the  greater 
glory  of  God,  it  seemed  to  him  impossible  that  the  Al- 
mighty, who  had  delivered  him  from  so  many  perils  in  his 
first  passage,  when  he  had  most  to  fear,  and  who  had  en- 
abled him  to  overcome  the  terrors  of  dread  and  revolt, 
sustaining  him  "  alone,  against  all,"  should  now  render 
fruitless  all  the  miracles  of  His  bounty  in  forsaking  him  in 
this  extreme  danger.  On  the  other  hand,  seeing  that  the 
rigors  of  the  heavens  persisted,  notwithstanding  his  prayers, 
and  that  total  loss  was  imminent,  he  considered  that  God, 
on  account  of  his  sins,  and  in  punishment  for  them,  had 
certainly  determined  to  take  from  him  the  satisfaction  of 
being  himself  the  bearer  of  the  news  of  the  Discoverv  to 
the  Sovereigns,  and  to  deprive  him  of  the  glorj-  that  would 
attach  to  his  name. 

To  die  without  being  able  to  make  known  the  beauties 
that  were  revealed  to  his  astonished  gaze  ;  to  leave  thus 
Christian  nations  in  ignorance  of  the  New  World  ;  and  to 
leave  these  new  j^eoples  in  ignorance  of  Christ,  —  was  to 
him  a  grief  as  immense  as  was  his  thought.  To  die,  when 
he  had  just  touched  the  shore  of  gold,  when  he  believed 
he  held  the  deliverance  of  the  Holy  Places  in  his  hands  ; 
to  die  with  the  triumph  he  had  gained  for  truth,  —  that 
cosmographie  victory  the  most  important  for  mankind,  — 
was  to  sufler  anguish  of  soul,  of  heart  and  of  mind  :  it  was 
18 


2o6  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

to  die  thrice  in  expiring  but  once.  If  he  had  been  alone  in 
danger,  he  would  have  borne,  he  says,  his  misfortune  with 
more  resignation  ;  he  had  so  often  seen  death  staring  him, 
that  he  would  no  more  have  feared  it  dian  he  did  on  other 
occasions.  What  increased  his  sorrow  was  the  thought  of 
his  being  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  so  many  persons  who 
had  followed  him,  —  the  greater  part  unwillingly,  —  and 
who  in  their  extreme  despair  cursed  him,  accusing  him  of 
having  brought  them  to  ruin.  He  thought  also,  of  his  two 
sons,  who  were  making  their  studies  at  Cordova,  and  who 
were  going  to  become  orphans  in  a  strange  land,  where 
they  would  find  themselves  without  support  ;  for  the  Sov- 
ereigns, ignorant  of  the  services  rendered  them  by  their 
father,  would  no  longer  think  of  the  poor  children. 

In  the  midst  of  the  lamentations  of  the  crew,  of  the  lash- 
ings of  the  breakers,  and  of  the  creakings  of  the  half- 
submerged  Nnia^  Columbus  entered  into  his  cabin.  There, 
with  a  hand  as  rapid  as  it  was  firm,  notwithstanding  the 
fearful  rolling  of  the  vessel,  he  traced  in  haste,  on  a  parch- 
ment, a  brief  account  of  his  discoveries.  He  enclosed  it  in 
another  leaf,  in  which  he  besought  the  person  wdio  should 
read  the  lines  to  take  them  to  the  Qiieen  of  Castile,  prom- 
ising a  recompense  of  a  thousand  ducats.  He  wrapped 
this  packet  in  a  wax  cloth,  sealed  with  his  signet,  then  put 
it  in  a  cake  of  beeswax,  and  putting  the  whole  into  an 
empty  barrel,  threw  them  into  the  sea.  The  crew  saw  in 
this  offering  made  to  the  waves,  only  the  accomplishment 
of  some  secret  vow.  Lest  the  currents  should  bear  away, 
far  from  Europe,  this  message  of  a  forlorn  hope,  he  took  a 
copy  of  it,  and  this  he  enclosed  in  a  similar  manner,  in 
another  barrel,  which  he  attached  to  the  poop,  so  that 
should  the  Nina  be  swallowed  up  by  the  waves,  the  barrel 
might  float  oft',  and  be  found  some  day  in  the  future. 


CHAP  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  207 


SECTION  II. 

On  Friday,  the  fifteenth  of  February,  land  was  dis- 
cerned in  the  east.  The  sight  of  it  reanimated  the  minds 
of  the  crew,  but  a  strong  wind  blew  from  that  quarter. 
The  pilots  thought  they  were  at  the  coast  of  Castile,  but 
Columbus  concluded  it  was  one  of  the  Azores.  Still,  the 
roughness  of  the  sea,  although  diminished,  did  not  permit 
them  to  approach  the  land.  They  passed  the  whole  day, 
the  night,  and  the  next  day  in  trying  to  reach  it,  but  in 
vain.  The  night  of  the  seventeenth  of  February,  Colum- 
bus,—  who,  notwithstanding  an  attack  of  gout,  remained 
since  the  commencement  of  the  storm  until  then,  that  is  to 
say,  four  days  and  nights,  ex^Dosed  to  the  rains,  the  winds, 
and  the  drenching  surges,  without  a  moment's  repose,  and 
almost  without  food,  —  finding  himself  motionless  in  his 
limbs,  was  obliged  to  take  a  little  rest.  But  at  dawn  he 
resumed  the  command,  steered  south-south-east,  and  at  last 
arrived  near  an  island  which  the  obscurity  of  the  night 
prevented  from  being  clearly  discerned.  At  length,  on 
Monday,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  land.  They  had  arrived 
at  Santa  Maria,  the  most  southern  of  the  Azores,  and  a 
possession  of  the  Crown  of  Portugal. 

The  inhabitants  were  at  first  astonished  that  such  a  frail 
ves.sel,  in  the  state  she  was  in,  could  have  borne  against  so 
long  and  furious  a  tempest.  But  they  were  astonished  still 
more  when  they  learned  whence  the  little  caravel  had 
arrived.  At  the  news  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Indies,  they 
gave  gloi"}'  to  God,  and  manifested  the  greatest  joy. 

Towards  evening,  three  men  came  to  the  shore,  hailing 
the  Nina;  and,  a  boat  being  sent  for  them,  they  brought 
the  Admiral  fowls,  fresh  bread,  and  various  refreshments, 
from  the  governor  of  the  island,  who  would,  they  said,  the 
next  day  pay  him  a  visit,  and  bring  further  refreshments, 
together  with  the  three  sailors,  whom  he  still  kept  with 
him,  to  satisfy  his  extreme  curiosity  respecting  the  voyage. 


2oS  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

As  it  was  late  in  the  day,  Columbus  had  the  messengers  to 
remain  on  board  all  night. 

Early  the  next  morning,  the  Admiral,  unwilling  to  defer 
the  fulfilment  of  the  vow  made  by  the  crew,  of  going  bare- 
footed, and  in  their  shirts,  to  the  church  of  Our  Lady  in  the 
first  land  they  should  tread  on,  requested  the  three  messen- 
gers, who  returned  to  the  town,  to  send  a  priest  to  the  her- 
mitage of  Our  Lady,  situated  near  the  sea,  behind  a  caj^e. 
Half  of  the  crew  went  in  procession  to  the  chapel.  While 
the  Spaniards  were  engaged  in  their  devotions,  the  garrison 
of  the  island  surrounded  the  chapel,  and  made  the  poor 
pilgrims  prisoners. 

The  Admiral  awaited  the  return  of  the  boat,  to  go  with 
the  other  half  of  the  men  to  the  hermitage.  At  eleven 
o'clock,  seeing  that  nothing  appeared,  he  suspected  his 
sailors  were  i"etained  prisoners,  or  that  the  boat  had  been 
shattei'ed  on  the  surf-beaten  rocks.  The  chapel  could  not 
be  seen  from  the  caravel  ;  he  therefore  weighed  anchor, 
and  stood  in  a  direction  to  command  a  view  of  it.  Soon 
there  was  seen  a  troop  of  armed  horsemen,  who,  dismount- 
ing, entered  the  boat  and  made  for  the  caravel,  as  if  deter- 
mined to  capture  her.  When  they  were  within  speaking 
distance  of  each  other,  the  governor  of  the  island,  who 
commanded  the  detachment  in  jDerson,  demanded  a  safe- 
conduct  for  his  personal  safety,  in  case  he  should  go  on 
board  the  caravel.  This  the  Admiral  granted  ;  but  the 
astute  Portuguese  still  remained  at  a  wary  distance. 

The  Admiral  demanded  of  him  wh}-,  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  hospitality,  and  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  man,  he  had 
retained  his  men  at  a  time  when  the  Portuguese  who  were 
in  Castile  were  in  as  great  security  as  if  they  were  in  Lisbon. 
He  added,  that  the  King  and  Queen,  of  whom  he  was  Grand 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  had  ordered  him  to  treat  with  dis- 
tinction the  Portuguese  vessels  he  may  meet  with.  He 
assured  him  that  if  he  did  not  return  his  men  he  would 
not  only  continue  his  way  with  the  others,  but  would  also 
chastise  so  odious  a  perfidy. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


209 


The  governor  answered,  with  an  arrogant  tone,  that  here 
they  were  not  disquieted  about  the  King  or  tlie  Qiieen  of 
Castile,  nor  about  their  letters  ;  and  that  he  would  let  him 
see  that  he  had  to  do  with  Portugal.  When  he  had  ex- 
hausted all  his  braggadocio,  he  told  the  Admiral  that,  if 
he  pleased,  he  might  return  to  the  port  with  the  caravel, 
and  that,  for  his  own  part,  acting,  as  he  was,  conformably 
to  the  orders  of  the  King,  his  sovereign,  he  felt  quite  easy 
about  the  result. 

The  Admiral  could  use  only  threatenings  against  such 
treachery.  After  making  preparations  for  any  troublesome 
eventualities  that  may  arise,  he  again  stood  out  to  sea, 
where,  for  two  days  and  nights,  he  was  mercilessly  buf- 
feted by  another  violent  storm. 

On  Friday,  the  twenty-second  of  Februar}',  Columbus,  by 
a  sudden  resolution  or  impulse,  having  returned  to  that  port 
which  he  thought  he  had  abandoned,  soon  saw  a  man  hoist- 
ing his  mantle,  as  a  sign  to  have  him  taken  on  board  the 
A^ina.  Some  time  after,  the  boat,  bringing  two  priests  and 
a  notary,  came  to  the  caravel.  They  demanded  an  assu- 
rance of  safety,  before  going  on  board.  The  Admiral 
having  accorded  it,  they  came  on  board,  and  requested  a 
sight  of  his  papers,  to  see  that  he  was  really  attached  to 
the  service  of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns.  Columbus  con- 
sented to  show  them  his  letters-patent,  and  gave  them 
some  of  the  things  he  brought  from  the  New  World.  The 
delegates  of  the  governor  appeared  to  be  sufficiently  satis- 
fied with  his  character,  and  sent  him  back,  with  the  boat, 
all  the  men  of  the  crew  that  had  been  so  treacherously 
detained.  He  learned  from  his  men  that  if  the  governor 
succeeded  in  getting  hold  of  his  person  he  never  would  be 
restored  to  liberty  :  for  such  were  the  peremptory  orders  of 
King  John  II. 

i8* 


2IO  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


SECTION  III. 

The  third  of  March,  at  sunset,  the  JVina  was  struck  by  a 
squall  of  wind,  which  rent  all  her  sails,  so  that  she  was  on. 
the  point  of  foundering  ;  but  Providence  cast  a  favorable 
look  on  his  servant.  In  the  height  of  the  danger,  new 
prayers  and  a  new  vow  were  resorted  to.  Lots  were 
drawn,  to  know  which  of  the  sean>en  should  go,  in  his 
shirt,  barefooted,  to  the  shrine  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Cinta, 
in  the  province  of  Huelva  ;  and,  as  usual,  the  lot  fell  on 
Columbus.  "Which  led  him  to  judge,"  says  Las  Casas, 
"that  God  was  always  with  him  ;  but  willed  that  he  should 
humble  himself,  and  not  become  proud  on  account  of  the 
favors  already  accorded  him." 

Each  of  the  men,  also,  made  a  vow  to  fast  on  bread  and 
water  the  first  Saturday  that  would  follow  the  arrival  of  the 
caravel.  Still  the  storm  only  increased  in  its  fury.  In  the 
evening,  the  turbulence  of  the  elements  still  increased. 
The  rain,  at  times,  fell  in  torrents,  and  lightnings  flashed 
and  thunder  pealed  from  various  parts  of  the  heavens. 
The  sea  was  broken,  wild,  and  mountainous.  At  one 
moment  the  caravel  was  high  in  the  air,  and  the  next 
moment  seemed  sinking  in  a  yawning  abyss.  The  aspect 
of  things  was  terrible  in  the  highest  degree,  and  no  human 
power  could  have  overcome  the  danger.  "But  it  pleased 
our  Lord  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  Admiral,  and  to  show 
him  land,"  says  Las  Casas.  It  was  seen  towards  midnight  ; 
but  the  obscurity  of  the  night  prevented  him  from  recog- 
nizing where  they  were. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  fourth  of  March,  they  found  them- 
selves near  the  rock  of  Cintra,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus. 
At  the  sight  of  the  imminent  danger  the  caravel  was  in  of 
being  shipwrecked,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Cascaes, 
situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus,  flocked  to  the  church. 
They  lighted  wax  tapers,  and  said  prayers,  during  the  whole 
morning,  for  the  souls  of  the  poor  sailors  of  the  little  car- 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  211 

avcl,  which  seemed  ah"eady  the  prey  of  the  merciless  waves  ; 
and  when,  with  the  assistance  of  God,  Columbus  entered 
into  the  stream,  the  whole  population  ran  to  the  shore, 
esteeming  it  a  miracle  that  they  had  been  saved  from  a 
death  that  appeared  inevitable. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


CHAPTER     X. 

Honors  rendered  to  Columbus  bj  the  People  and  the  Court. — The 
Council  of  State  proposes  to  assassinate  him. , —  The  King 
Honors  and  protects  him. — The  Qtieen  desires  to  see  him. 

SECTION  I. 

Y  skilful  manœuvring,  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  Columbus  reached  the  landing  at  Rastello. 
He  there  cast  anchor,  thanking  the  Author  of  Life  for  hav- 
ing delivered  him  from  so  imminent  a  danger. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival,  he  despatched  a  messenger  to 
Castile,  to  inform  the  Sovereigns  of  his  arrival.  He  wrote 
also  to  the  King  of  Portugal,  who  was  then  at  Valparaiso, 
requesting  permission  to  go  with  his  vessel  to  Lisbon,  not 
thinking  he  was  secure  in  a  place  like  Rastello,  which  was 
frequented  by  a  population  capable  of  seizing  on  his  car- 
avel, which  was  believed  to  be  laden  with  gold,  because 
she  returned  from  the  Indies,  which  he  had  discovered. 
Anticipating  the  susceptibilities  of  John  IL,  he  cleverly 
insinuated  that  he  had  not  been  to  the  coast  of  Guinea, 
but  to  the  extremity  of  Asia,  by  sailing  to  the  west. 

Next,  he  wrote,  without  delay,  to  the  noble  Luiz  de 
Santangel,  —  the  ,man  who,  of  all  others,  was  most  influ- 
ential in  fixing  the  resolution  of  Qiieen  Isabella,  —  mention- 
ing the  success  of  his  voyage,  and  his  then  embarrassed 
situation.  Immediately  after,  he  addressed  an  account  of 
his  voyage,  to  the  treasurer,  Raphael  Sanchez,  which  was 
soon  afterwards  published  in  Rome.  His  letter  to  Sanchez 
concludes  thus  :  — 

"  Although  all  that  I  have  mentioned  seems  extraordinary 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  213 

and  unheard  of,  there  would  have  been  grander  results  if  I 
had  at  my  disposal  a  sufficient  number  of  ships  as  the  case 
required.  It  is  not  to  any  merit  of  mine  that  this  grand  and 
vast  enterprise  is  due  ;  it  is  due  to  the  holy  Catholic  faith, 
and  to  the  piety  and  the  religion  of  the  monarchs  ;  for 
the  Lord  has  accorded  to  men  what  human  intelligence 
could  neither  conceive  nor  attain  ;  because  God  sometimes 
hears  the  prayers  of  His  servants  who  obey  His  precepts, 
even  in  the  things  that  appear  impossible.  Such  is  what 
has  happened  to  me,  who  have  succeeded  in  an  enterprise 
which,  until  tlie  present  time,  no  mortal  dared  to  devise  ; 
for  although  the  existence  of  these  islands  had  been  already 
spoken  of  and  written  about,  yet  all  spoke  and  wrote  of 
them  by  mere  conjecture,  and  under  the  form  of  doubt  ;  but 
nobody  asserted  his  having  seen  them,  so  that  they  were 
considered  fabulous.  Then,  let  the  King,  the  Qiieen,  and 
the  princes,  with  their  very  happy  kingdoms,  in  concert 
with  the  Christian  world,  render  thanks  to  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  has  accorded  us  such  a  victory,  and  such  a 
grand  success  !  Let  there  be  processions  ;  let  solemn  feasts 
be  celebrated  ;  let  the  temples  be  embellished  with  boughs 
and  flowers  ;  let  Jesus  Christ  exult  with  joy  on  earth,  as  He 
rejoices  in  heaven,  at  the  approaching  salvation  of  so  many 
peoples,  until  the  present  in  the  region  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  Let  us  rejoice,  as  well  because  of  the  exaltation  of 
our  Faith,  as  because  of  the  increase  of  temporal  goods,  the 
fruit  of  which  will  be  gathered  not  only  by  Spain,  but  by 
the  whole  Christian  world."  * 

The  tidings  of  the  discovery  of  a  new  world  by  a  ship 
anchored  in  the  Tagus  soon  reached  Lisbon.  Notwith- 
standing the  imfavorablc  state  of  the  weather,  a  crowd 
flocked  to  the  anchorage  at  Rastcllo  ;  a  large  number  of 
barks  swarmed  around   the  caravel.     Admiration  was  no 

*  Epistola  Cristof cri  Colomb.,  ad  magnificum  dom.  Raphaelem 
Sanxis,  etc.,  ab  Hispanio  ydeomate  in  latinura  convertit.  Roma, 
1493- 


214 


HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 


less  excited  than  curiosity.  Heartfelt  thanks  were  rendered 
to  God  for  this  event,  which  a  confused  intuition,  a  secret 
presentiment,  considered  immense.  The  voice  of  the  people 
declared  that  this  glory  was  given  to  Castile  in  recompense 
for  the  zeal  of  her  Sovereigns  in  the  cause  of  religion. 


SECTION  IL 

On  Friday,  the  eighth  of  March,  a  message  from  the 
King  of  Portugal  came  to  give  sanction  to  the  spontaneous 
manifestations  of  homage  rendered  to  the  man  of  Provi- 
dence. The  chief  of  the  nation  followed  the  transports  of 
exultation  presented  by  his  people.  He  graciously  requested 
the  Admiral,  as  the  bad  weather  detained  him  at  the  an- 
chorage, to  be  pleased  to  visit  him  at  his  retreat,  and  ordered 
his  officers  to  furnish  him,  without  cost,  everything  he  needed 
for  himself,  his  men,  or  his  ship.  He  ordered  the  principal 
officers  of  his  household  to  go  to  meet  him,  and  had  a 
princely  entertainment  prepared  for  him  at  Sacamben, 
where  he  was  to  sleep.  The  Admiral  started  on  his  jour- 
ney, accompanied  by  one  of  his  pilots,  who  was  to  perform 
the  functions  of  aid-dc-cajnp.  The  continuance  of  the 
rain  did  not  permit  him  to  reach  Valparaiso  until  the 
evening  following.  He  made  his  entry,  accompanied  by 
a  splendid  retinue. 

The  reception  the  King  gave  him  surpassed  all  the  honors 
he  had  yet  received.  John  II.  received  him  as  he  would  a 
prince  of  the  blood,  —  had  him  seated  and  covered  in  his 
presence,  showed  him  a  high  consideration  ;  spoke  to  him 
with  the  greatest  affability,  and  testified  his  satisfaction  at 
the  success  of  the  enterprise  ;  adding,  that  he  felt  the  greater 
joy,  because,  according  to  the  treaty  concluded  with  Castile 
in  1479,  the  discovery  of  these  new  countries,  and  their  con- 
quest, pertained  to  him  of  right.  The  Admiral  answered 
that,  not  having  read  the  treaty  referred  to,  he  knew  noth'- 
ing  of  its  nature  ;  only  he  knew  that  in  the  instructions  he 
received  it  was  prescribed  to  him  not  to  go  to  La  Mina,  nor 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  215 

to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  and  that  this  order  was  published  in 
all  the  seaports  of  Andalusia,  before  the  voyage  was  com- 
menced. The  King  made  a  gracious  reply,  saying  that 
these  matters  would  be  adjusted  between  the  two  Sovereigns 
and  himself,  without  the  intervention  of  any  umpire. 

Afterwards  the  monarch  confided  his  guest  to  the  atten- 
tions of  the  highest  personage  of  his  court. 

On  Sunday  morning,  after  mass,  the  King  recommenced 
his  conversation  with  Columbus,  and  asked  about  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  voyage.  He  asked  many  more  questions 
than  he  did  the  day  before,  and  took  occasion  to  show  that 
he  was  an  admirer  of  cosmography.  And,  as  in  satisfying 
his  curiosity  he  recognized  the  grandeur  of  the  enterprise, 
he  felt  a  secret  vexation  for  permitting  the  slipping  from  his 
hands  of  those  marvellous  regions  which  were  once  offered 
to  him  by  Columbus,  before  they  were  proposed  to  Castile. 
He  had  some  doubts  in  regard  to  the  distances  and  the 
route  followed.  It  seemed  to  him  that  there  must  have 
been  an  infringement  on  the  rights  of  Portugal,  guaranteed 
to  her  by  the  Papal  Bull,  accorded  to  the  infiint  Don  Hcnrv. 
Immediatel}'  after  the  audience,  he  summoned  his  Council 
to  deliberate  on  the  matter. 

While  Columbus,  as  was  his  wont,  was  passing  the  hours 
of  Sunday  in  prayer  and  meditation,  not  many  paces  from 
him,  in  the  hall  of  the  Council,  the  project  was  discussed  of 
robbing  him  of  his  discoveries,  and  of  putting  him  to  death. 

His  assassination  was  proposed  to  the  King  ;  but  the  lat- 
ter, fearing  God,  repulsed  the  perfidious  suggestion. 

On  Alonday,  Columbus  took  leave  of  the  King.  The 
monarch  loaded  him  with  marks  of  esteem  and  distinction. 
By  his  orders,  Don  Martin  de  Norona  conducted  him  back, 
surrounded  with  all  the  lords  of  the  court,  who  went  with 
him  a  considerable  distance,  to  do  him  the  greater  honor. 

On  the  pressing  invitation  of  the  Qiieen,  the  Admiral  went 
to  the  monasteiy  of  San  Antonio,  where  she  was  with  the 
first  ladies  of  her  court.  She  showed  him  the  greatest  kind- 
ness, manifested  the  highest  regard  for  him,  and  was  pleased 


2i6  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

to  question  him  about  that  new  world  which  he  wished  to 
bring  under  the  law  of  the  Gospel.  She  could  not  get  tired 
of  listening  to  him  ;  and  detained  him  so  long,  that  it  was 
night  before  he  could  get  to  his  lodging-place  at  Llandra. 

Being  on  the  point  of  departing  in  the  morning,  a  squire 
of  the  King's  came  to  offer  him,  on  the  part  of  his  master, 
to  accompany  him  to  the  frontier,  if  he  prefen-ed  going  by- 
land  to  Castile  ;  having  orders  to  furnish  him,  at  the  cost  of 
the  Crown,  with  lodgings,  horses,  and  everything  he  may 
need.  The  weather  having  moderated,  he  preferred  re- 
turning to  Castile  by  sea. 


CHAP.  XI.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^i-j 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Arrival  of  Columbus  at  Palos.  —  His  Reunion  with  the  Father  Su- 
perior of  La  Rabida;  his  Stay  at  the  Convent.  —  His  Depar- 
ture for  the  Court.  —  His  triumphal  Reception  at  Barcelona. — 
Action  of  the  Holy  See  in  Relation  to  Columbus.  —  The  Story 
of  the  Egg. 

SECTION  I. 

A  FEELING  of  vague  inquietude  weighed  heavily  at 
that  time  on  the  little  city  of  Palos.  In  every  family 
there  was  deep  anxiety  about  a  relation  or  a  friend.  For 
seven  months  and  twelve  days  (for  days  were  counted),  they 
were  without  news  of  those  sons  of  the  country  whom  an 
order  of  the  Sovereigns  had  forced  to  follow  that  grand 
schemer,  the  Genoese,  —  a  schemer  whom  more  than  one 
mother  and  one  wife  had  cursed  in  their  waking  houi's. 
What  had  become  of  those  men?  They  were  believed  to 
be  hopelessly  lost,  —  engulfed  in  the  abysses  of  the  Tene- 
brous Sea,  —  and  nobody  dared  to  utter  the  frightful  kind 
of  death  met  with  by  those  unfortunate  beings,  sacrified  to 
the  ambition  of  a  foreign  visionary. 

Such  was  the  state  of  feeling  when,  on  Friday,  the  fifteenth 
of  March,  at  noon,  the  loungers  about  the  port  perceived  a 
caravel,  which,  by  a  light  breeze,  stood  up  the  Odicl,  and 
soon  they  recognized  in  her  the  Niiia.  Transports  of  joy 
immediately  broke  forth  throughout  the  whole  communitv. 
By  a  spontaneous  movement,  all  the  shops  were  shut,  and 
the  people  flocked  to  the  caravel.  The  bells  rung  jDcals, 
cannon  were  fired,  and  the  windows  were  graced  with 
19 


2i8  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

drapery.  "  Columbus,  in  coming  ashore,  was  i-eceived 
with  the  same  honors  as  if  he  had  been  a  king.  The 
wliole  people  accompanied  him  and  his  men,  in  a  solemn 
procession,  to  the  church,  where  they  came  to  thank  God 
for  having  crowned  with  so  happy  a  success  a  voyage  the 
longest  and  the  most  important  that  had  ever  been  under- 
taken." *  After  so  much  anxiety  and  alarm,  what  must 
not  have  been  the  exhilarating  joy  of  those  families,  in 
receiving  into  their  arms  the  dear  ones  they  despaired  of 
ever  again  seeing  here  below  ! 

Some  hours  later,  while  the  whole  city,  transported  with 
an  unspeakable  gladness,  were  offering  their  felicitations 
and  homages  to  the  Admiral,  and,  by  the  pealing  of  their 
bells,  announcing  to  the  neighboring  towns  that  an  uncom- 
mon event  had  occurred,  another  caravel  was  seen  to  come 
near  the  anchorage  of  the  Nina;  it  was  the  Plnta,  which 
was  commanded  by  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon.  After  a  short 
time,  a  yawl  from  the  latter  stealthily  descended  the  river: 
it  was  the  captain,  who  was  making  his  exit. 

Driven  by  the  tempest  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon,  persuaded  that  the  poor  little  NiTxa  was 
lost,  addressed  to  the  Sovereigns  an  account  of  the  Dis- 
covery,—  which  he  feigned  to  have  made  himself,  —  and 
requested  permission  to  go  to  the  Court,  to  give  the  particu- 
lars of  the  expedition.  While  awaiting  their  answer  he 
came  to  his  native  city,  expecting  a  triumphant  reception  ; 
but  when  he  beheld  the  vessel  of  the  Admiral  riding  at 
anchor,  his  heart  died  within  him.  Fearing  that  his  chief 
would  have  him  arrested  and  put  in  irons,  as  was  his  due, 
he  shamefully  got  out  of  the  way,  with  his  heart  filled  with 
rage  at  the  noise  of  the  triumjDh  of  him  whom  he  hoped  to 
have  supplanted. 

The  crew  of  the  Plnta  remained  entire  ;  and  among  the 
men  left  at  Hispaniola,  none  of  them  was  a  native  of  Palos. 
Columbus  could,  without  exaggeration,  have  addressed  to 

*  Robertson.     History  of  America,  Vol.  1.,  Book  II. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  219 

the  people  of  this  port,  who  had  detested  and  cursed  hun, 
these  words  of  the  Good  Shepherd  :  "  Of  them  whom  thou 
hast  given  me,  I  have  not  lost  one."  *  So  the  joy  of  the 
inhabitants  was  unbounded.  Seeing  that  the  Admiral 
brought  back  all  those  confided  to  his  care,  they  were 
unable  to  give  expression  to  the  transports  of  their  admi- 
ration for  him. 

Witnesses  of  the  reception  given  by  their  families  to  the 
sailors  of  Palos,  the  other  seamen,  natives  of  places  in  its 
vicinity,  wishing  for  a  like  happiness,  were  desirous  of 
going  the  same  evening  to  their  own  dwellings.  But  the 
ovations  and  the  enthusiasm  of  which  he  was  the  object 
could  not,  for  a  moment,  efface  from  the  soul  of  Columbus, 
so  tenderly  pious,  the  resolution  formed  during  the  storm 
off  the  coast  of  the  Azores.  The  Admiral  would  not  grant 
a  discharge  to  any  of  them,  before  the  accomplishment  of 
the  vow  which  the  perfidy  of  the  Portuguese  governor  of 
Santa  Maria  had  sacrilegiously  interrupted.  They  had 
promised  to  go  to  the  first  church  dedicated  to  Our  Lady, 
near  the  place  where  the  Nina  would  land.  The  place 
was  now  Palos,  and  the  church,  —  Our  Lady  of  La  Rabida, 
—  at  the  convent  of  which  the  learned  Juan  Perez  de  Mar- 
chena  was  Superior. 

Thus  the  generous  Franciscan,  who  celebrated  the  sol- 
emn mass  for  the  departure  of  the  exjoedition,  celebrated 
the  mass  of  thanksgiving  for  its  return.  Providence  seemed 
to  have  reserved  that  satisfaction  for  him.  In  the  evening, 
solemn  thanks  were  rendered  to  God  for  the  favor  of  the 
Discovery.  The  next  day  they  went  to  thank  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  the  anchor  and  the  hope  of  the  poor  mariner.  It 
was  a  profoundly  touching  ceremony.  All  the  seamen, 
barefooted,  and  in  their  shirts,  from  the  cabin-boy  even  to 
the  Admiral,  in  the  piteous  garb  of  shipwrecked  mariners, 
saved  from  the  billows,  coming  to  give  thanks  to  Mary,  the 
Star  of  the  Sea,  for  having  delivered  them  from  the  abysses 

*  ^uia  quos  dedisti  mihi,  non  perdidi  ex  eis  quern  qtiam.  S.  Joan. 
Evansr.  xviil. 


230  IIISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

of  the  wrathful  ocean,  were  followed  by  a  crowd  who,  with 
then-  whole  hearts,  joined  in  their  prayers  and  in  their  acts 
of  thanksgiving. 

Every  sailor  now  found  himself  the  object  of  particular 
attention  ;  he  was  listened  to  as  an  oracle,  and  his  family 
became  proud  of  him.  But  the  Admiral  saw  that  he  him- 
self was  a  stranger  at  Palos,  and  that  he  had  no  relations 
there.  His  family  was  that  of  St.  Francis  ;  his  brothers  of 
the  Seraphic  Order  awaited  him  at  La  Rabida  ;  so  he  re- 
turned to  them,  and  again  took  possession  of  the  dear  cell 
reserved  for  him  by  the  Father  Superior. 

We  may  easily  conceive  the  happiness  of  these  two  friends 
in  finding  themselves  together  again.  That  great  thought 
which  they  both  had,  at  first,  separately,  —  that  hope  which 
was  common  to  them  both,  and  that  patient  faith  which 
knew  how  to  triumph  over  the  pride  and  the  prejudices  of 
science,  —  were,  at  last,  crowned  with  success.  Father 
Juan  Perez  de  Marchena  was  not  deceived,  then  !  Beyond 
that  blue  line  of  the  west,  which  his  looks  so  often  interro- 
gated, there  existed,  as  he  had  anticipated,  habitable  lands, 
and  peoples  to  be  led  to  the  Saviour.  The  sign  of  Redemp- 
tion was  shown  to  the  natives  ;  the  Cross  was  planted  among 
them,  and  saluted  by  the  simple  children  of  the  forests. 
Now  could  the  wish  of  the  seraphic  Francis  Assisium  be 
accomplished.  The  tranquil  joy,  the  evangelical  satisfac- 
tion, and  the  heartfelt  consolation  experienced  by  the  little 
community  of  La  Rabida,  cannot  be  expressed. 

If  ever,  in  any  diplomatic  congress,  there  was  submitted 
for  consideration  a  project  of  more  importance  than  the  one 
whose  bases  were,  seven  years  J3efore  that,  examined  by 
Columbus  and  the  learned  Franciscan  in  this  humble  monas- 
tery, we  may  safely  assert  that  never  was  there  a  more 
wonderful  scientific  calculation  than  that  which,  on  the 
morrow  of  his  arrival,  he  prepared  for  the  advantage  of 
Castile.  For  the  interests  of  the  Spanish  monarchs,  the 
sketch  he  thus  traced  hastily,  in  the  silence  of  the  cloister. 


CiiAr.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  231 

was,  pcrliaps,  of  more  immense  and  of  more  immediate 
benefit  than  the  Discovery. 

From  his  cell  he  counselled  the  two  Sovereigns  to  do 
homage  to  the  Holy  Sec  for  the  lands  newly  discovered,  and 
to  entreat  its  benediction  on  the  enterprise  by  a  Bull  that 
would  protect  their  acquisitions. 

From  his  cell  he  also  indicated  how,  to  avoid  ulterior 
conflicts,  the  lands  discovered  should  be  apportioned  by  the 
two  maritime  powers  who  then  maintained  exploring  expe- 
ditions in  the  ocean. 

For  this  purpose,  Columbus  conceived  the  idea  of  induc- 
ing the  Sovereign  PontitT  to  assign  to  the  discoveries  of  the 
Castillans  in  the  West  an  equal  space  to  that  which  the 
Portuguese  would  have  in  the  East;  and,  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  frontiers  of  the  two  kingdoms  iu  the  illimitable 
plains  of  the  ocean,  he  proposed  a  means  that  was  of  a 
superhuman  simplicity. 

So,  full  of  confidence  as  if  he  held  the  whole  space  of  the 
globe  beneath  his  eyes,  although  two-thirds  of  it  were  as 
yet  unknown,  with  a  sublime  boldness,  or,  rather,  an  angelic 
quietness,  he  makes  the  section  of  the  equator,  which  no- 
body had  yet  traversed,  traces  across  immensity  a  vast 
demarcation,  draws  from  one  pole  to  the  other  an  ideal 
line  which  will  divide  the  earth,  in  passing  at  a  main  dis- 
tance of  a  hundred  leagues  to  the  west  of  the  islands  of 
Cape  Verd  and  those  of  the  Azores.  To  accomplish  this 
astonishing  geographical  division,  he  chose  precisely  the 
only  point  of  our  planet  which  science  would  choose  in  our 
day  :  the  singular  region  of  the  line  without  magnetic 
declination,  where  the  transparency  of  the  waters,  the  balm- 
iness  of  the  air,  the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere,  the  abuu- 
dance  of  the  submarine  vegetation,  the  tropical  resplendency 
of  the  nights,  and  the  phosphorescence  of  the  waves,  indi- 
cated, in  the  unsteady  empire  of  the  billows,  a  mysterious 
demarcation  made  by  tlie  omnipotent  Creator. 

This  vast  calculation  was  the  boldest  conception  tluit  ever 
issued  from  the  human  intellect.  Still,  Columbus,  \\  ithout 
19* 


222  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

being  astonished,  without  hesitating,  without,  perhaps,  being 
aware  of  the  vastness  of  his  operation,  calmly  takes  his  cal- 
culations of  demarcation,  and  simply  demands  that  they  be 
sent  to  Rome. 

Assuredly,  all  that  he  advanced  in  these  considerations 
for  the  partition  of  unexplored  regions  between  the  Crowns 
of  Castile  and  of  Portugal  was  as  rational  as  it  was  bold,  and 
as  bold  as  it  was  unknown  to  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  because 
the  obstacles  which  new  undertakings  are  alwavs  sure  to 
encounter  must  produce  objections,  doubts,  and,  ultimately, 
resistance.  But  the  messenger  of  Salvation  had  faith  in  the 
infallible  wisdom  of  the  Church,  the  depository  of  the  truths 
of  the  Word.  We  will  hereafter  see  how  the  Holy  See 
justified  this  generous  confidence  reposed  in  it. 

SECTION  II. 

All  the  persons  who  returned  with  Columbus  could  take 
some  recreation  after  their  fatigues,  and  enjoy  the  charms 
of  repose  after  so  many  toils  and  dangers.  As  to  him,  — 
whom  the  lot,  in  three  cases  out  of  four,  had  designated  for 
the  expiation  of  the  sins  of  all,  —  he  must  fulfil  the  vows 
with  which  a  mysterious  predilection  had  charged  him. 

He  first  went  to  the  church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadaloupe, 
bearing  a  lighted  wax  taper  of  five  pounds'  weight.  In 
this  retreat  he  experienced  great  spiritual  consolations,  con- 
versed with  holy  men,  and  formed  friendships  with  them 
that  were  lasting.  He  promised  the  religious  of  the  con- 
vent that,  in  consequence  of  their  kindness  to  him,  he  would 
give  the  name  of  their  monastery  to  one  of  the  islands  he 
would  discover,  —  and  he  kept  his  word. 

Afterwards,  Columbus  returned  to  Moguer,  near  Palos, 
to  the  Convent  of  St.  Clair,  to  which  he  was  affiliated  by 
the  cord  of  St.  Fi-ancis,  which  he  woi*e  beneath  his 
clothes.  There  a  solemn  mass  of  thanksgiving  was  cele- 
brated. When  evening  came,  he  entered,  alone,  the  chapel, 
the  doors  of  which  wei^e  shut  on  him.     There  he  was  to 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  2^" 

spend  the  night  in  prayer.  The  glimmering  light  of  the 
lamp  of  the  sanctuary  was  reflected  on  pictures  and  bas- 
reliefs,  and  showed  confusedly  the  warrior  efligies  of  the 
counts  of  Puerto  Carrero,  former  lords  of  the  place, —  those 
valiant  knights  of  the  Cross  who  acquired  such  celebrity  in 
the  wars  against  the  Moors.  With  an  hereditary  fidelity, 
their  lineage  had,  for  ages,  combated  bravely  against  the 
Crescent.  The  blood  of  the  house  of  Puerto  Carrero  is 
allied,  as  is  known,  with  that  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Coun- 
tess of  Teba,  the  Empress  Eugenie.  The  counts  of  Puerto 
Carrero  slept  their  sleep  in  this  church,  of  which  they  were 
benefactors.  The  alabaster  statues  of  their  wives  and  daugh- 
ters, placed  in  lines  along  the  walls,  showed  the  places  of 
their  sepulture.  It  was  amid  these  funereal  images  of  the 
nothingness  of  human  pomp,  that  the  messenger  of  the 
Most  High,  prostrate  before  the  tabernacle,  and  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ  living  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  examined,  anew, 
his  heart.  The  next  da}-,  after  having  discharged  this  duty, 
he  saw  his  old  friend  the  Abbé  Sanchez  de  Cabezudo,  who 
invited  him  to  come  to  see  him  at  Palos,  and  to  whom  he 
showed  the  Indians  and  the  gold  he  had  brought  from  the 
New  World. 

The  religious  obligations  of  Columbus  were  not  yet  en- 
tirely discharged.  He  had  still  to  go  to  the  shrine  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Cincture,  in  the  same  province  of  Huclva.  It 
is  well  known  that  he  went  there  barefooted,  and  in  his  shirt, 
according  to  the  tenor  of  his  vow. 

After  having  acquitted  himself,  as  far  as  he  could,  of  the 
obligations  to  which  he  had  bound  himself  by  vow,  Colum- 
bus returned  to  the  convent  of  his  Order,  to  meet  again  his 
friend  and  spiritual  guide.  Father  Juan  Perez  de  INIarchena. 
For  more  than  seven  months  he  had  been  deprived  of  tlie 
sacred  aliment  of  the  faith,  —  the  bread  of  the  strong.  He 
felt  the  need  of  reviving  his  soul,  of  refreshing  himself 
with  the  salutary  calm  of  the  Rule,  and  of  enjoying  the 
restorative  repose  of  the  cloister.  In  the  bosom  of  this 
friend,  he  deposited    secrets  v.'hich    nobody  else   knew,  — 


224  HIST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

what  he  had  endured  from  men  ;  what  he  had  received 
from  God  ;  his  individual  conjectures,  which  he  would  not 
confide  to  paper  ;  his  cosmographical  doubts  ;  his  indefinite 
apperceptions,  sketched  in  his  mind  ;  the  bold  corollaries 
of  his  intuition,  —  all  were  poured  into  the  vast  heart  that 
was  covered  by  the  coarse  habit  of  St.  Francis.  The 
mutual  outpourings  to  each  other  of  these  two  minds,  so 
ardently  smitten  with  the  beautiful  and  the  imperishable, 
and  the  free  communication  of  these  two  souls  mutually 
reflecting  each  other,  simple  in  their  faith  and  sublime  in 
their  intuitions,  —  how  fruitful  must  they  not  have  been  in 
superior  apperceptions  and  aspirations  to  the  divine  Word 
our  Redeemer,  from  whom  all  the  love  and  all  the  charity 
among  us  are  derived  ! 

The  Admiral  was  unable  to  remain  at  La  Rabida  more 
than  seven  days.  He  had  to  go  to  Seville,  to  await  there 
the  orders  of  the  Sovereigns,  and  arrived  in  that  city  only  a 
short  time  before  receiving  the  despatch  of  the  Court,  which 
was  addressed  to  him  with  this  significant  superscription  : 
"  To  Don  Christopher  Columbus,  Our  Admiral  of 
THE  Ocean,  Viceroy  and  Governor  of  the  Islands 
discovered  in  the  Indies." 

The  letter  containing  the  felicitations  for  his  happy  voy- 
age, authorized  him  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
a  new  expedition  on  a  more  becoming  scale,  and  invited 
him  to  come  to  Barcelona  as  soon  as  possible. 

By  return  of  the  courier,  Columbus  sent  the  Sovereigns  a 
memorandum  of  the  munitions  requisite  for  the  new  expe- 
dition ;  and,  having  made  at  Seville  such  arrangements  as 
circumstances  permitted,  he  set  out  with  the  seven  Indians 
who  had  escaped  from  the  dangers  of  the  voyage,  taking 
with  him  the  curiosities  and  productions  brought  from  the 
New  World. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  225 


SECTION  III. 

In  the  mean  time,  with  the  rapidity  of  an  electric  tele- 
graph, fame  had  already  spread,  to  the  very  outskirts  of 
Spain,  the  news  of  tlie  wonderful  event  that  had  been  cele- 
brated at  Falos,  at  Seville,  and  at  Barcelona.  The  report 
of  the  Discovery  went  on  increasing  from  hour  to  hour  ; 
and,  as  the  way  of  Columbus  to  the  Court  led  him  tluough 
the  most  flourishing  and  populous  provinces,  an  immense 
concourse  of  people  awaited,  everywhere,  his  arrival. 
"  J-Iis  whole  journey  was,  for  him,  a  continued  triumph. 
The  great  thoroughfares  and  the  country  places  resounded 
with  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  who  quitted  ever}'- 
thing  in  order  to  see  him.  They  went  out  in  crowds  to 
meet  him  in  all  the  cities  through  which  he  was  to  pass."  * 

The  cortege,  less  pompous  than  it  was  strange,  was 
opened  by  some  mariners  of  the  Nina  under  arms,  escort- 
ing the  royal  standard,  borne  by  a  pilot.  Then  came  the 
sailors,  some  with  branches  of  unknown  trees  and  shrubs, 
enormous  calabashes,  gigantic  reeds,  and  arborescent  ferns  ; 
others,  with  raw  cotton,  pimento,  cocoas,  and  ginger;  and 
others,  again,  with  crowns  of  gold,  bracelets,  cinctures, 
masks  of  gold,  superb  conches,  spears,  iron-wood  swords, 
and  bows  and  arrows  without  steel.  Next  were  seen  un- 
known vegetables,  and  animals,  some  of  which  were  living, 
others  stulled  ;  large  lizards,  serpents  with  brilliant  scales, 
alligators,  and  other  strange  animals.  After  these  came  the 
seven  Indians,  decked  in  their  national  ornaments,  and 
carefully  painted  in  white  and  red.  They  preceded  the 
little  states-major  of  the  expedition.  At  last  came  the  Ad- 
miral, in  the  costume  of  his  dignities,  mounted  on  a  charger, 
which  he  managed  with  skill  and  ease.  After  him  came 
his  tln-ee  squires,  who  were  engaged  in  keeping  the  ardent 
crowd  from  pressing  on  him.  Every  moment  the  Indians, 
astonished  and  scared  at  the  curiosity  they  excited,  would 

*  Charlevoix.     Hist,  de  San  Domingo-,  Book  ir.,  p.  107. 


226  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

look  to  their  protector,  the  Admiral,  and  his  smile  would 
immediately  dispel  their  uneasiness. 

History  has  proved  it  :  it  was  not  especially  to  see  the 
Indians,  and  the  wonderful  things  exposed  to  view  in  the 
cortege,  that  caused  this  great  concourse  of  people,  —  a 
nobler  curiosity  prompted  it.  Everybody  wished  to  gaze 
on  the  Admiral,  and  imprint  on  their  memories  the  image 
of  the  man  favored  by  Heaven,  who  had  crossed  the  Gloomy 
Ocean,  and  enlarged  the  known  boundaries  of  the  earth. 
All  limbs  were  in  motion  and  all  heads  uncovered  at  his 
approach  ;  it  was  an  immense  salutation.  The  Christian 
hero,  sweetly  moved  by  these  demonstrations,  referred  this 
triumph  to  God  alone.  Still,  this  incomparable  eagerness 
to  behold  him  was  a  confirmation,  to  him,  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  work  for  which  Providence  had  deigned  to  choose 
him. 

In  their  enthusiasm,  the  people,  having  preceded,  by  this 
ovation,  the  orders  of  the  Sovereigns,  the  punctilious  eti- 
quette of  the  Court  had  to  yield  to  an  eagerness  that  was 
unanimous.  So,  to  gratify  the  public,  as  much  as  to  remu- 
nerate with  an  honor  without  parallel  a  service  without 
equal,  the  Sovereigns  prepared  for  the  Admiral  a  reception 
until  then  unheard  of. 

The  fifteenth  of  April,  the  day  Columbus  was  to  enter 
Barcelona,  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  went  out  to 
meet  him  ;  the  elite  of  the  young  courtiers  preceded  him 
on  horseback,  and  a  deputation  from  the  Court  awaited  him 
at  the  gates  of  the  city.  As  if  to  increase  the  solemnity, 
the  day  was  delightful.  In  the  palace  of  the  Sovereigns,  by 
a  new  contrivance,  the  vast  hall  was  enlarged,  rendered 
accessible  to  the  view,  and  splendidly  decorated.  Beneath 
a  magnificent  canopy  of  gold  brocade  were  two  thrones,  a 
settee  covered  with  velvet  fringed  with  gold,  and,  a  little  in 
advance,  a  richly-decorated  armed  chair. 

Some  moments  before  his  arrival,  the  King  and  Queen, 
wearing  their  crowns,  and  invested  with  all  the  marks  of 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  227 

sovereignty,  entered,  and  sat  on  their  respective  thrones. 
The  Prince  Royal  sat  on  the  settee.  The  armed  chair 
remained  unoccupied. 

The  high  officers  of  the  two  royal  households,  the  minis- 
ters and  the  Counsellors  of  State,  were  ranged  to  the  right 
and  left,  a  little  behind  the  thrones.  The  dignitaries  of 
Arragon  on  the  one  side,  those  of  Castile  on  the  other, 
and,  further  on,  the  employes  of  the  two  civil  houses,  the 
knights,  the  squires,  the  pages,  each  according  to  his  rank 
and  order  of  precedence.  In  the  reserved  hall  were  seated 
the  ladies  of  the  palace,  the  prelates,  men  of  wealth,  and 
the  nobility  ;  outside  the  balustrade  were  the  contractors  of 
the  two  Crowns,  and  the  happy  burgesses,  who  were  pro- 
tected by  some  friends  of  the  Crown. 

Outside  there  was  heard  an  indescribable  sound.  The 
narrow  streets  of  Barcelona  were  thronged  with  multitudes 
impatient  to  sec  him.  At  all  the  balconies,  graced  with  gar- 
lands of  flowers,  tapestr}-,  and  ladies,  were  waved  bouquets, 
fans,  and  mantillas.  From  every  terrace,  and  even  from  the 
roofs  of  houses,  covered  with  spectators,  there  went  forth 
accents  replete  with  gladness. 

The  vociferations  of  the  crowd,  and  the  return  of  the 
lords  sent  to  the  gates  of  the  cit}',  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  cortege.  Soon  there  was  seen  entering,  surrounded  by 
the  officers  of  the  expedition,  the  royal  standard  so  happily 
brought  back  from  the  further  coast  of  the  Tenebrous  Sea. 
People  wondered  at  these  sunburnt  men,  who  had  followed 
him  through  so  many  perils.  Curiosity  gazed  at  the  strange 
objects  brought  from  the  New  World,  —  the  vegetable  pro- 
ductions ;  the  animals,  living  and  preserved  ;  and  especially 
the  timid  Indians. 

At  length  Columbus  came,  as  simple  and  as  modest  in 
the  magnificence  of  his  costume  as  he  was  when  he  once 
departed  from  the  walls  of  Santa  Fc.  It  was  the  modesty 
which  ignores  self,  and  the  simplicity  which  is  produced  by 
natural  greatness.  But  his  heart  overflowed  with  a  holy 
joy,  and  his  face  shone  with  a  sublime  serenity. 


228  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

At  his  entrance  the  two  Sovereigns  arose  from  their 
thrones,*  and,  advancing  to  meet  him,  graciously  tendered 
him  their  hands.  Always  submissive  to  authorit}-,  in  token 
of  homage  he  was  about  bending  the  knee,  and  kissing  the 
royal  hands,  according  to  the  etiquette  of  Castile  ;  but  Isa- 
bella and  Ferdinand  would  not  permit  it.  The  Qiieen, 
somewhat  confused  at  his  deference,  requested  him  to  be 
seated  near  her,  in  the  armed  chair  prepared  for  him. 
"Don  Christopher  Columbus,"  said  the  Qiieen,  "be  covered 
in  the  presence  of  your  Sovereigns  ;  sit  by  them.  Be  seated, 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean  and  Viceroy  of  the  New  World."  f 
Her  eyes  beaming  with  joy,  with  kindness,  and  with  ad- 
miration, the  Qiieen  would  not  take  her  seat  until  after 
Columbus,  according  to  her  orders,  became  covered  as  a 
grandee  of  Spain,  and  seated  in  the  armed  chair.  When 
they  had  obligingly  complimented  him,  they  requested  him 
to  give  an  account  of  the  Discovery. 

Conformably  to  the  request  made,  he,  the  Discoverer  of 
the  New  World,  casting  a  serene  look  around  him,  as  if 
taking  the  whole  audience  as  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  his 
words,  after  having  declared  that  the  true  character  of  the 
expedition  from  which  he  had  returned  was  Christian  prior 
to  every  consideration,  and  that  it  was  scientific  and  politic 
only  in  a  secondary  degree,  said  the  favors  God  had  pleased 
to  vouchsafe  to  Spain,  by  his  enterprise,  appeared  to  be  the 
recompense  of  the  piety  and  zeal  of  the  monarchs  ;  that  the 
broad  ocean,  until  then  interdicted  to  the  curiosity  of  mor- 
tals, had  henceforth  become  open  to  the  fleets  of  Spain  ; 
and  that  the  glorious  flag  of  Castile  was  borne  into  the 
hemisphere  of  the  antipodes,  to  lands  without  number,  now 
visited  by  the  Cross.  He  afterwards  gave  a  brief  and  clear 
recital  of  his  voyage,  from  the  time  of  his  departure  from 
the  Fortunate  Islands  until  the  time  he  quitted  those  name- 
less regions  of  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  was  the 
discoverer. 

*  Munoz,  Historia  del  Neuvo  Mundo,  1. 1.,  lib.  iv. 

^  Amedee  de  Pastoret.     Histoire  des  Découvertes,  MS.,  p.  96. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  229 

"With  the  genius  for  classification  and  order  which  was 
peculiar  to  him,  he  commenced  with  describing  the  soil, 
and  the  geological  and  mineralogical  aspect  of  the  lands 
discovei-ed  ;  the  most  remarkable  vegetable  productions, 
and  the  different  kinds  of  animals,  aquatic  as  well  as  ter- 
restrial, he  had  observed. 

In  illustration  of  this  general  exposition  of  the  products 
of  the  New  World,  the  Demonstrator  of  the  Creation  took 
the  specimens  he  had  brought  with  him,  and,  one  by  one, 
according  to  the  class  they  pertained  to,  he  placed  them 
before  the  e3'es  of  the  august  assemblage  : 

Different  kinds  of  amber,  colored  earths  projDcr  for  jDaint- 
ing,  various  minerals,  precious  stones,  gold,  in  dust  and  in 
grains,  pure  and  wrought.  t 

Passing  to  the  vegetable  kingdom,  he  showed  gums, 
resins,  medicinal  plants,  aromatic  plants,  spices,  dycwoods, 
raw  cotton,  maize,  sweet  potatoes,  tapioca,  calamus,  and 
that  feculent  tubercle  become  the  food  of  the  poor,  and 
which  we  call  the  Irish  potato. 

Afterwards,  to  show  more  strikingly  the  difference  of  the 
products  of  the  newly-discovered  countries  compared  to 
their  congeners  in  the  Old  World,  he  exhibited  strange 
animals, — some  terrestrial,  others  amphibious,  these  scaled, 
those  stuffed,  and  others  yet  living. 

As  soon  as  he  had  terminated  this  poetic  review  of  the 
three  kingdoms  of  nature,  approaching,  at  last,  the  history 
of  man,  —  who  is  their  crowned  monarch,  —  he  called 
attention  to  the  seven  native  Indians  present  :  mentioned 
the  characteristic  differences  of  their  race  ;  described  their 
social  condition,  the  simplicity  of  their  manners;  their 
religious  belief,  confused  and  limited,  but  which  seemed 
exempt  from  idolatrous  superstitions,  and  which,  therefore, 
predisposed  them  to  receive  with  more  fruit  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 

The  gleaming  looks  of  Columbus,  the  dignity  of  his  bear- 
ing, the  poetry  of  his  images,  the  boldness  of  his  language, 
and  the  authority  of  his  gestures,  adding  a  lustre  to  the  nov- 
20 


230  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

elty  of  his  views,  equalled  the  majesty  of  the  subject  treated 
of,  and  kept  the  attention  of  the  audience  spell-bound.  His 
expanded  soul,  penetrated  with  the  w^onders  of  creation, 
was  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  that  age,  and  the  par- 
ticular sentiments  of  that  warlike  Court  which,  the  pre- 
ceding year,  had  erected  the  Cross  on  the  towers  of 
Islamism.  The  assembly  listened  with  breathless  atten- 
tion, and  the  deepest  interest,  to  that  lesson  of  descriptive 
geograjjhy,  and  of  comparative  natural  history,,  which 
Columbus  thus  gave  with  illustrations.  Nobody  felt  tired 
or  fatigued  during  this  exhibition  of  the  wonders  of  the 
New  World. 

The  enterprise  of  the  Discovery  was  undertaken  es- 
pecially with  a  view  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  propa- 
gation of  Christianity,  in  order  that  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  may  be  glorified  to  the  vitniost  extremities  of  the 
earth.  And  as,  in  terminating  his  discourse,  the  revealer 
of  the  globe  declared  that  an  innumerable  multitude  of 
souls,  until  then  living  in  darkness,  would  soon  enter  into 
the  pale  of  the  Church,  and,  thanks  to  the  piety  of  the  two 
Sovereigns,  would  participate  in  the  Redemption,  —  and 
as  the  accents  of  his  ardent  faith,  of  his  tender  charity, 
caused  this  consoling  hope  to  enter  the  hearts  of  the  audi- 
ence,—  the  raptures  and  ardor  that  followed  coming  to 
their  height,  an  indescribable  emotion,  mingled  with  tender- 
ness and  admiration,  seized  on  the  listeners.  There  was 
an  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  Suddenly,  by  an  irresistible 
impulse,  the  King,  the  Qtieen,  the  whole  Court,  the  people, 
throwing  themselves  on  their  knees,  raised  their  hands  to 
heaven,  praising  God,  and  shedding,  with  Columbus,  tears 
of'joy.  At  the  same  time  was  heard  the  hymn  of  victory, — 
the  Te  Deum^  —  intoned  by  the  choristers  of  the  royal 
chapel.  The  great  voice  of  the  people  responded,  and 
wxnt  on  prolonging  itself  outside,  throughout  the  city,  in 
the  midst  of  such  delights,  that  Christian  souls,  according 
to  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Chiapa,  enjoyed  a  foretaste  of 
the  joys  of  Paradise. 


CHAP  XI.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  231 

Immediately  after,  Columbus,  yet  beaming  with  sublime 
sentinients,  and  moved  with  the  enthusiasm  his  presence 
excited,  surrounded  with  an  areola  of  marks  of  respect, 
bowing,  took  his  leave  of  the  King  and  Qiieen,  and  went 
to  the  lodgings  they  had  prepared  for  him.  The  lords  of 
the  Court  accompanied  him  to  the  gate,  surrounded  with 
a  crowd  who  could  never  become  weary  of  gazing  at 
and  cheering  the  great  man,  —  the  visible  minister  of 
Providence. 


SECTION  IV. 

The  rumor  of  the  Discovery,  —  the  greatest  and  the  most 
important  event  for  science  and  for  humanity  that  had  ever 
occurred,  —  spread  along  the  shores  of  Europe,  reached  the 
central  parts,  and  soon  extended  to  the  East.  The  cele- 
brated Sebastian  Cabot,  who  was  then  at  the  Court  of 
England,  acknowledges  that  the  Discovery  was  there  con- 
sidered rather  a  divine  than  a  human  work  ;*  and  the  great 
navigator  himself  considered  it  so. 

But  it  was  especially  in  the  capital  of  the  Christian 
world  that  this  news  excited  the  most  profound  sensation. 

The  Court  of  Rome  became  elated  with  joy.  The  Sover- 
eign Pontifl'  manifested  publicly  his  gladness,  and  solemnly 
thanked  God  for  having  permitted  those  nations  yet  sitting 
in  the  shadows  of  death,  to  see  the  dawn  of  salvation.  The 
distinguished  strangers  who  were  in  the  city,  and  the  am- 
bassadors who  came  there  from  all  the  Catholic  countries 
to  salute  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  participated  in  this  happi- 
ness. 

Like  the  Sacred  College,  the  learned  world  was  in  ecsta- 
sies at  the  Discovery.  The  scholars  and  the  cosmosgraphers 
of  the  papal  library  expected  important  results  from  it,  and 
looked  upon  it  as  the  beginning  of  other  discoveries.  The 
great  master  of  classic  literature,  Pomponius  Lœtus,  shed 

♦Hackluyt,  Collection  de  Voyages,  p.  7. 


233  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

tears  of  joy  on  hearing  of  the  wonder.  Henceforward  were 
the  heroes  of  iDrimitive  times,  the  demi-gods  of  paganism, 
and  the  fabulous  or  historical  expeditions  of  antiquity, 
eclipsed.  Reality  had  come  to  efface  mythology,  and  to 
surpass  even  imagination  itself. 

The  sign  of  Redemption  had  been  carried  across  the  re- 
doubtable Tenebrous  Ocean,  —  the  Mare  Tenebrosum, — 
beyond  the  dubious  Atlantis,  by  a  man  whose  name,  singu- 
larly symbolic  of  salvation,  recalled  to  mind  the  dove, —  the 
emblem  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  —  and  signified  Christ-bearer, 
ChristopJio7'us.  And  this  hero  was  a  model  of  a  Christian. 
His  object  cannot  be  called  in  question  ;  for,  from  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  April,  and,  consequently,  ten  days  after  his  ovation 
at  Barcelona,  already  a  cop)^  of  his  letter  to  Raphael  San- 
chez, sent  to  Rome,  was  there  translated  into  Latin  by 
Aliander  de  Cosco,  and,  with  the  pontifical  authorization, 
printed  by  Eucharius  Argentinus.  Nine  days  later,  the 
Holy  Father  attested,  with  his  own  hand,  the  sublimity  of 
the  mandate  confided  by  Providence  to  his  "well-beloved 
son  "  Christopher  Columbus. 

After  this  solemn  attestation  of  his  Discovery,  Columbus 
could  have  died  satisfied.  Although  he  had,  as  3'et,  met 
with  only  islands,  —  the  advanced  sentinels  of  a  continent 
completely  unknown,  —  by  that  fact  alone  the  New  World 
was  discovered.  He  had  accomplished  his  task.  But  Cod 
destined  him  for  other  trials,  and  other  recompenses. 

A  certain  school  is  obstinately  determined  to  see  in  the 
Discovery  nothing  but  the  effect  of  Chance;  or,  at  most, 
but  the  application  of  a  new  idea  in  hydrography.  They 
reduce  the  merit  of  this  prodigy  to  a  mere  change  of  route. 
The  Portuguese,  say  they,  attempted  to  reach  the  Indies  by 
going  eastwards,  following  the  coasts  of  Africa,  when 
Christopher  Columbus  thought  of  reaching  them  by  sailing 
westwards  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  He  found  some 
islands,  which  he  had  no  great  right  to  count  as  dis- 
coveries, and  which  he  mistook  for  Asia  ;  hence  he  did 
not  find  what  he  sought,  and  found  what  he  did  not  seek. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  233 

We  appeal  to  good  common  sense  :  that  mo\ement  of 
the  crowds,  those  marks  of  astonishment  and  enthusiasm, 
and  those  benedictions  of  the  people  of  the  Azores,  of  the 
banks  of  the  Tagus,  of  Spain,  of  the  whole  Christian 
world,  —  would  they  have  arisen  from  a  mere  change  of 
route?  Assuredly,  what  the  Discovery  consisted  in,  what 
its  extent  was,  or  its  truQ  name,  were  not  then  known  ;  but 
the  conduct  of  the  people  indicated  the  grandeur  of  the 
event.  At  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  the  Canaries,  of 
the  Azores,  of  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd,  did  anybody  wit- 
ness those  thrills  of  exultation  that  w'ere  now  manifested? 

It  was  felt  that  Columbus's  Discovery  was  a  matter  that 
concerned  the  destinies  of  the  wliolc  of  humanity.  The 
crowds  were  not  transported  with  joy  because  the  route  to 
Asia  w"as  found  to  the  west  in  place  of  the  east,  but  because 
a  new  world  had  been  discovered.  And  the  legend  given 
to  Columbus  for  his  arms  is  an  official  proof  of  it  :  "  For 
Castile  and  Leon,  Columbus  found  a  new  world."  * 

The  assertions  of  those  who  attribute  the  honor  of  the 
Discover}^  to  the  sole  sagacity  of  Columbus,  as  well  as  to 
the  superiority  of  his  scientific  knowledge,  or  of  his  experi- 
ence in  maritime  matters,  would  have  been  completely  dis- 
avowed by  himself;  for  he  did  not  attribute  to  his  genius 
what  he  had  not  received  from  it,  nor  to  science  what  it 
could  not  have  given  him.  He  has  positively  said  that 
science,  atlases,  and  the  mathematics,  were  but  of  little 
service  to  him  in  his  undertaking;!  and  the  truth  of  this 
is  seen  at  every  hour  of  peril. 

Thevct,  one  of  our  old  mariners,  who  coasted  with  some 
of  his  sailors,  says  Columbus  "  was  not  very  experienced 
in  maritime  aflairs."  In  his  Cosmography,  published  in 
ISIilan,  in  1556,  Jeronomo  Girava  Terracones  judged  that 
"Christopher  Columbus,  the  Genoese,  was  a  great  mariner, 


*  "  Por  Castilla  y  por  Leon 

Nuevo  Mundo  hallo  Colon." 
t  Columbus.    Libro  de  las  Proficias,  fol.  4. 

20* 


234  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

but  only  a  middling  cosmographer."  Humboldt  declares 
that  "  Columbus  was  but  little  familiar  with  mathematics"  ; 
accuses  him  of  having  made  "  false  observations  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Azores,"  and  speaks  of  his  "  absolute  want 
of  knowledge  in  natural  history."  A  member  of  the  Impe- 
rial Academy  of  Sciences  esteems  "Aristotle  as  much  more 
advanced  in  geography  than  Christopher  Columbus  was," 
and  is  "  astonished  at  the  ignorance  of  the  latter  in  matters 
of  cosmography." 

The  Discovery  cannot,  then,  be  attributed  to  the  scientific 
superiority  of  Columbus.  Besides,  in  his  time,  several 
mariners  pretended  to  be  abler  than  he,  and  were  placed 
above  him  by  public  opinion.  Since  it  is  not,  then,  to  the 
genius  of  Columbus  that  we  can  attribute  the  merit  of  his 
work,  to  what  can  we  refer  it? 

We  answer,  without  equivocation  :  The  superiority  of 
Columbus,  of  his  genius,  and  of  his  grandeur,  was  owing 
to  his  religious  faith. 

Certainly  faith  had  not  infused  into  him  nautical  science, 
which  is  the  result  of  practice  and  observation  ;  but  his  faith 
having  obtained  the  grace  of  God,  he  did  what  others  would 
not  dare  to  do.  He  justified,  in  advance,  by  his  example, 
those  memorable  words  of  the  illustrious  Donoso  Cortes  : 
"The  man  accustomed  to  conversing  with  God,  and  to 
exercising  himself  in  the  meditation  of  divine  things,  all 
other  circumstances  being  equal,  surpasses  other  persons, 
either  by  the  intelligence  and  force  of  his  understanding,  or 
by  the  surety  of  his  judgment,  or  by  the  penetration  and 
sagacity  of  his  inind  ;  but,  especially,  I  know  of  none  where, 
in  equal  circumstances,  he  will  not  surpass  others  in  that 
practical  and  sober-minded  sense  which  is  called  common 
sense."  * 

His  assiduous  study  of  nature  having  persuaded  Columbus 
that  the  spherical  form  is  that  of  the  large  bodies  of  creation, 

*  Denoso  Cortes.  Essay  on  Catholicism,  Liberalism  and  Socialism, 
Book  IL,  chap.  viii. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  235 

—  of  the  stars  and  of  the  planets,  —  he  started  from  the 
principle  that  the  earth  was  round.  His  mode  of  con- 
ceiving the  divine  work  became  proportioned  to  his  ele- 
vated idea  of  the  Creator  ; .  and  his  faith  in  the  Redeemer 
being  equal  to  his  belief  in  the  Word  by  whom  all  things 
have  been  ordained,  he  soon  found,  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures,  the  confirmation  of  his  cosmographie 
ideas.  He  was  persuaded  that  this  world  was  created  from 
a  plan,  and  with  calculation  ;  *  that  nowhere  is  the  sun  the 
destroyer  of  life  ;  that  there  are  no  uninhabitable  zones  ;  that 
the  Tenebrous  Sea  could  not  forever  separate  the  nations, 
and  deprive,  always,  certain  countries  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Word.  Columbus  firmly  believed  that  the  words  of  the 
prophet  were  not  in  vain,  announcing  that  the  confines  of 
the  earth  should  see  the  Salvation  sent  by  God  ;  that  people 
would  come  from  the  north  and  from  the  sea.  f  Conse- 
quently, he  did  not  believe  that  the  Creator  had  delivered 
any  part  of  our  habitation  as  an  inheritance  to  monsters, 
and  unconquerable  brutes.  From  his  confidence  in  God 
came  his  firmness,  his  patience,  his  resolution,  his  tran- 
quillity of  mind,  —  the  means  of  undertaking  and  of  exe- 
cuting his  work. 

Such,  in  their  simplicity,  were  the  first  motives  that 
prompted  Columbus,  —  the  basis  upon  which  he  founded 
the  project  of  the  Discovery.  Mathematics  have  nothing 
to  see  here.  Considerations  drawn  from  gcograjDhv  came 
only  to  support  his  theological  inferences.  Pure  science 
could  profit  him  but  little,  inasmuch  as  its  principal  doc- 
trine was  itself  an  error.  It,  at  that  time,  taught  that  the 
sea  occupied  only  the  seventh  part  of  the  earth,  while  it 
really  covers  more  than  two-thirds  of  it. 

Still,  the  lucidity  of  his  reason,  the  superiority  of  his  in- 
tuition, and  the  ardor  of  his  faith,  do  not  suffice  to  explain 
his  enterprise. 

We  must  say  it  distinctly,  for  it  is  the  truth,  it  is  useless 

*  Sap.  XI.  21.  t  Isaias,  xxx  :  27,  and  XLix  :  12. 


336  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

to  try  to  explain,  on  human  principles,  the  superhuman 
work  of  the  Discovery.  All  those  who  have  studied  the 
life  of  Columbus,  —  the  historians,  his  cotemporaries,  and 
the  historiographers  of  the  Indies,  who  had  the  official 
documents  under  their  eyes,  —  have  been  led  to  recognize, 
in  the  circumstances  of  the  arrival  of  this  man  in  Spain, 
in  those  that  detained  him  there,  and  in  those  that  jDermitted 
the  execution  of  his  enterprise,  an  ordering  beyond  and 
above  mortal  foresight. 

Unless  we  absolutely  deny  all  providential  action  on 
hvunanity,  we  cannot  fail  in  recognizing  the  divine  hand  by 
which  Columbus  was  conducted.  If  ever  the  superior  power 
which  presides  over  the  government  of  the  worlds  should 
manifest  itself  in  this,  it  would  assui^edly  have  been  in  the 
most  considerable  event  of  our  planet.  When  we  review  all 
the  facts  and  the  details  of  the  Discovery,  we  are  forced  to 
acknowledge,  with  Cladera,  the  learned  author  of  "  Histori- 
cal Researches  on  the  Discoveries  of  the  Spaniards  in  the 
Ocean,"  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  violence  to  our  reason 
in  not  believing  that,  in  such  a  work,  Columbus  derived 
from  on  high  his  chief  support.  The  Admiral  himself 
avows,  with  his  modest  laconism,  that  our  Redeemer  had 
directed  him  in  the  route.*  And  from  the  fact  that  in  his 
mind,  in  his  inmost  thought,  and  in  his  final  object,  the 
enterprise  of  the  Discovery  was  allied  with  the  triumph 
of  the  Cross  over  the  Crescent,  and  the  deliverance  of  the 
Holy  Places,  a  singular  and  wonderful  coincidence  can  be 
seen  between  certain  incidents,  and  even  certain  dates  of 
the  voyage. 

Friday,  —  the  day  of  Redemption,  the  day  of  the  conquest 
of  Jerusalem,  the  day  of  the  rendition  of  Granada,  —  seems 
to  have  marked  the  principal  incidents  of  this  Christian 
expedition. 

On  Friday  Columbus  unfurled  his  sails  for  the  voyage. 


*  Aca  me  ordeno  neustro  Redentorel  camino.   Documentos  Diplo- 
maticos,  num.  cxxxvii. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  237 

On  Friday  he  completed  his  observations  on  magnetic 
variation. 

On  Friday  the  first  signs  of  the  New  World  were  seen  in 
the  tropical  birds. 

On  Friday  was  perceived  the  sea  of  herbs,  —  that  great 
oceanic  phenomenon. 

On  Friday,  the  twelfth  of  October,  land  was  discovered. 

On  Friday,  the  same  day,  Columbus  planted  the  first 
cross  in  the  soil  of  the  New  World. 

On  Friday,  the  nineteenth  of  October,  he  wrote  that  he 
would  return  to  Castile  in  the  month  of  April  ;  and  it  was 
in  the  middle  of  the  month  designated  that  he  made  his 
triumphal  entry  into  Barcelona. 

On  Friday,  the  sixteenth  of  November,  he  found  a  cross 
already  completely  prepared,  in  a  desert  island  in  the  sea 
of  Nuestra  Seuora. 

On  Friday,  the  thirtieth  of  November,  he  erected  a  very 
lai'ge  cross  at  Puerto  Santo. 

On  Friday,  the  fourth  of  January,  at  sunrise,  he  started 
back  for  Spain. 

On  Friday,  the  same  day,  in  the  afternoon,  Providence 
brought  back  to  him  the  deserter  captain,  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon. 

On  Friday,  the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  the  sea  gives  him 
fresh  provisions. 

On  Friday,  the  fifteenth  of  February,  having  escaped  from 
a  most  frightful  tempest,  he  sees  the  Azores. 

On  Friday,  the  twenty-second  of  February,  he  was  re- 
stored his  crew,  seized  on  by  the  Portuguese. 

On  Friday,  the  eighth  of  March,  the  invitation  of  his 
enemy,  the  King  of  Portugal,  becomes  the  first  attestation 
of  his  glory. 

On  Friday,  the  fifteenth  of  March,  he  reentered  Palos  in 
triumph. 

Now,  remark  the  strange  coincidence  of  the  day  of  his 
departure  with  the  day  of  his  return,  and  of  the  principal 
incidents  of  his  voyage. 


238  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

We  have  given  the  dates,  and  the  reader  may  draw  from 
them  the  conclusion  he  pleases.  It  will  no  less  remain  a 
fact  that  during  the  voyage  the  chief  events  occurred  on 
a  Friday. 

If  to  the  singularity  of  this  coincidence  we  join  that  of  the 
lot  which,  in  three  cases  out  of  four,  causes  the  mark  of 
the  Cross  to  come  into  the  hands  of  the  Admiral,  and  thus 
directly  designate  him  as  the  person  who  is  to  accomplish 
the  vows  of  all,  —  if  in  these  there  is  nothing  seen  but  the 
workings  of  Chance,  or  Hazard,  it  must  be  allowed  that  this 
assiduous  Chance,  which  so  obligingly  complied  with  the 
intentions,  the  sentiments,  and  the  wishes  of  Columbus, 
merited  gratitude  from  him,  and  ought  to  receive  some 
consideration   from  us. 

When  the  messenger  of  the  Cross,  confessing  the  useless- 
ness  of  the  compass  and  the  astrolabe  for  the  Discovery,  de- 
clared that  our  Redeemer  had  directed  him  in  the  route,  he 
expressed  a  truth  that  is  more  manifest  now  than  it  was 
when  his  pen  wrote  it. 

At  first,  this  voyage,  undertaken  in  opposition  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  unlearned,  and  the  data  of  the  science 
that  then  prevailed,  by  a  fearful  route  across  a  redoubtable 
sea,  remains  to  the  present  day  a  model  for  navigators  to 
follow.  Columbus,  probably  without  his  knowing  it,  in- 
dicated to  future  generations  the  surest  and  safest  route  to 
the  Antilles. 

The  return  of  Columbus  to  Europe  was,  probably,  still 
more  astonishing  than  his  outward  voyage. 

The  Admiral  did  not  follow  the  route  already  traversed. 
He  had  a  caravel  much  damaged  in  the  keel,  another  dam- 
aged in  her  masting;  both  leaking.  He  chose,  by  inspira- 
tion, the  surest  route,  —  that  which  enabled  him  to  avoid 
the  changes  of  weather  and  the  fogs  so  common  between 
the  Azores  and  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  which 
would  enable  him  to  escape  the  tempests  so  frequent  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Bermudes.  It  is  true  he  still  encountered 
frightful  tempests  ;    but   these   great  perturbations   of  the 


CHAr.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  239 

atmosphere  were  exceptional.  He  had  taken  the  most 
favorable  route  for  his  caravels,  without  decks.  An  offi- 
cious Chance  turned  him  from  a  danger  of  which  he  could 
have  no  knowledge  :  and  the  fierceness  of  the  tempests  only 
showed  the  better  the  obliging  nature  of  Chance  in  protect- 
ing him;  for,  with  a  vessel  so  small  and  crazy  as  was  the 
iV/Jïa,  nobody  could,  on  human  principles,  explain  how  he 
was  preserved  from  a  watery  grave.  The  inhabitants  of 
Santa  Maria  at  the  Azores,  and  those  of  Cascaes  and  of 
Lisbon,  were  justly  stupefied  with  astonishment  at  seeing 
how  such  a  small  caravel,  so  much  damaged,  could  have 
borne  against  the  violence  of  such  storms. 

"Such,"  says  Washington  Irving,  "were  the  difficulties 
and  perils  which  attended  his  return  to  Europe  ;  had  one- 
tenth  of  them  beset  his  outward  vo3-age,  his  timid  and 
factious  crew  would  have  risen  in  arms  against  the  enter- 
prise, and  he  never  would  have  discovered  the  New 
World."  * 

But  this  provident  and  attentive  Chance,  or  Hazard,  took 
very  good  care,  in  his  outward  voyage,  to  prevent  obstacles 
from  being  insurmountable,  and  knew  always  how  to  op- 
pose propitious  occurrences  or  coincidences  to  the  most 
terrible  difficulties.  When  we  call  to  mind  the  character 
of  the  men  who  accompanied  Columbus,  the  insolence  of 
his  officers,  even  after  the  Discover}-,  and  his  own  crew 
abandoning  him  when  his  caravel  ran  aground,  we  can 
judge  what  would  have  happened  had  the  wrath  of  the 
Gloomy  Ocean  added  its  perils  to  the  terrors  of  the 
imagination. 

Happily,  officious  Chance,  which  preceded  the  steps  of 
Columbus,  watched  him,  guided  him,  and  directed  him 
with  the  greatest  solicitude. 

This  Chance  which  gives  him  winds  and  waves  when 
he  needs  them  ;  which  appeases  wrath,  and  preserves  his 
authority  to  him  at  the  most  critical  moment,  —  this  Chance 

♦  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus,  Book  V.,  chap.  11. 


240  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

by  which,  without  any  visible  index,  he  predicts  the  mo- 
ment of  the  Discovery,  —  this  Chance  which  enables  him 
to  state,  in  October,  that  he  will  return  to  the  Sovereigns 
in  April,  —  this  Chance  which  protects  him  from  envy, 
from  hatred,  and  from  the  fury  of  the  waves  ;  which  foils 
the  ambushes  of  Portugal,  and  prepares  a  triumph  for  him 
in  the  very  court  of  his  enemy,  —  this  Chance,  so  intelli- 
gent and  so  powerful  as  to  thus  put  on  all  the  airs  of 
Providence,  —  this  Chance,  whatever  be  its  name,  appears 
to  us  a  prodigy  as  miraculous  as  the  most  resplendent 
miracle. 

From  the  very  first  moment,  what  the  cosmographie  sys- 
tem of  Columbus  presented  of  the  rnarvellous  was  perfectly 
appreciated  in  Rome.  The  supernatural  character  of  his 
mission  was  there  recognized  as  if  by  instinct. 

And  this  glorification  of  Columbus  was  a  striking  mani- 
festation of  the  infallibility  of  the  Church. 

We  now  invite  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  a  fact 
which,  for  the  first  time,  is  going  to  be  presented  in  its 
reality,  and  to  wliich  the  historians  of  Columbus  have  not 
hitherto  alluded,  —  a  fact  not  less  curious  than  ignored  ; 
not  less  ignored  than  authentic  ;  not  less  authentic  than 
edifying  ;  and  not  less  edifying  than  demonstrative  of  the 
truly  supernatural  authority  bequeathed  by  Jesus  Christ 
to  His  Church. 


SECTION   V. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  preceding,  while  in  the  midst 
of  the  terrors  of  Palos  Columbus  was  preparing  to  cross  the 
Atlantic,  his  illustrious  countryman,  Pope  Innocent  VIII., 
visited  by  death,  went  to  give  God  an  account  of  his  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church. 

His  successor  was  Alexander  VI.,  assuredly  one  of  the 
least  worthy  popes  mentioned  by  history  ;  but  whose  faults, 
it  must  be  said,  have  been  grossly  exaggerated  by  the  spirit 


CHAP.  XI.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  241 

of  party,  especially  in  confounding  the  private  life  of  the 
soldier  with  the  official  and  regular  life  he  led  after  his 
election  to  the  tiara.  Nevertheless,  such  as  he  was,  with 
his  qualities  and  his  defects,  then  common  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  great  lords  of  his  time,  as  long  as  he  acts  in 
quality  of  inheritor  of  the  primacy  of  Peter,  he  commits 
no  esrors  and  yields  to  no  frailties;  none  of  his  acts  are 
censurable.  As  De  Maistre  has  remarked,  his  BuUary  is 
without  reproach.  And  from  the  fact  that  the  legacy  of 
the  spiritual  power,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  cannot 
prevail,  seems  guaranteed  by  Providence  against  the  errors 
of  human  weakness,  it  would  appear  that  this  jDontitr,  on 
account  of  his  very  infirmity,  was  destined  to  show  the 
better,  in  its  splendor,  the  indefectible  power  of  the  See 
of  St.  Peter.* 

Agreeably  to  the  advice  of  Columbus,  the  Catholic  Sover- 
eigns petitioned  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  to  grant  them  the 
donation  of  the  lands  they  had  discovered  in  the  West,  and 
of  those  they  still  hoped  to  discover  there. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  personal  feelings  of  Alex- 
ander VI.  towards  the  court  of  Spain,  the  demand  could 
not  be  immediately  accorded  ;  this  aflair  would  require  the 
greatest  prudence.  Already  Portugal  had  obtained  a  privi- 
lege for  its  discoveries  in  the  East. 

It  would  be  necessary  that  a  favor  now  accorded  to  Spain 
should  occasion  no  conflicts  under  the  reigns  of  the  present 
monarchs,  or  in  future  ages  ;  and  that  tlie  action  of  the 
Apostolate  should  not  lead  to  sanguinary  rivalries  between 

♦Alexander  VI.,  like  Columbus,  his  cotemporary,  has  been  the 
victim  of  the  vilest  calumnies  from  many  Catholic  as  well  as  non- 
Catholic  writers  ;  so  I  purpose,  after  getting  through  with  this  work, 
preparing  for  publication,  in  English,  the  true  life  of  that  pontiff, 
derived  from  original  documents,  and  other  authentic  cotemporary 
writings.  In  the  mean  time,  I  would  beg  leave  to  refer  the  reader 
who  wishes  to  know  the  real  history  of  that  pope,  to  the 
"Dublin  Review"  for  January,  1S59,  No.  XC.  ;  Article,  History  in 
Fiction.  — B. 


242  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

Christian  nations.  Still,  it  was  necessary  to  assign  limits 
to  the  claims  of  the  two  Catholic  Crowns. 

Here  was  the  difficulty  :  Where  did  the  East  end }  and 
'where  did  the  West  commence,  in  the  illimitable  space  of 
the  ocean?     Such  was  the  problem  to  be  solved. 

Never  had  there  been  a  more  delicate  geograj^hical  or 
political  difficulty  submitted  to  the  Papacy.  According 
to  the  traditionary  prudence  of  the  Holy  See,  and  the  ordi- 
nary temporizations  of  the  Roman  chancery,  such  a  question 
would,  at  first,  have  to  be  taken  up  by  commissions  of  cos- 
mographers  in  Portugal,  in  Castile,  and  in  Italy  ;  and  their 
feports  would  have  to  be  deliberated  upon,  in  order  to  come 
to  a  sure  decision.  A  delay  of  two  years  would  have  been 
necessary  for  such  an  investigation. 

But  evidently  the  SjDanish  Sovereigns  attached  to  their 
written  petition  a  copy  of  the  notes  penned  by  Columbus 
in  his  cell  at  La  Rabida.  And  such  was  the  interest  this 
Christian  enterprise  created  in  Rome,  and  such  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Holy  See  in  the  holiness  of  purpose  and  purity 
of  motive  of  Columbus,  that,  without  hesitation  or  delay,  as 
if  suddenly  enlightened  in  regard  to  the  work  and  the  man 
of  the  Discovery,  it  accepts  his  cosmographie  system  ;  recog- 
nizes, explicitly,  the  spheroidal  form  of  the  earth,  and  its 
rotation  on  its  axis,  having  the  two  poles  for  its  extremities  ; 
and  maintains  all  the  scientific  deductions  of  Columbus.  In 
the  then  contradictory  state  of  cosmography,  this  declaration 
was  strikingly  bold. 

Alexander  VI.  does  not  ti'eat  as  a  diplomatic  negotiation 
the  privilege  he  is  about  to  concede.  Here  he  yields  to  no 
personal  predilection  ;  it  is  not  an  act  of  condescension  of  a 
Spanish  pope  to  Spanish  sovereigns.  There  is  no  longer 
either  Spaniard  or  sovereign  to  be  thought  of  here  ;  the 
Pontiff'  proceeds  solely  as  Chief  of  the  Church,  with  the 
aid  of  the  venerable  cardinals  present  then  in  Rome  ;  for 
the  question  is  not  concerning  an  international  interest,  or 
of  an  affair  to  regulate  for  Castile,  but  about  interests  of 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  243 

vital  importance  to  Catholicity,  to  the  salvation  of  souls, 
and  to  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

As  the  demand  of  Castile  was  just,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  Sacred  College  surrounding 
him,  accorded  it,  by  his  Bull  of  the  third  of  May,  1494. 

The  principle  being  granted,  the  question  was  how  to 
regulate  its  application,  —  to  fixa  limit  to  the  expeditions 
of  the  Castillans,  and  to  divide  between  these  and  the 
Portuguese  the  unknown  parts  of  the  globe,  into  which 
these  two  powers  were  to  introduce  the  Gospel  and 
civilization. 

It  is  here  we  see  visibly  the  participation  of  the  Church 
in  the  Discovery,  and  where  we  perceive  her  agency,  in  the 
benediction  given  by  Innocent  VIII.  to  the  enterprise  of  his 
countryman.  His  successor  accepts,  as  a  pontifical  obli- 
gation, the  patronage  of  the  Discovery  of  the  New  World. 
He  has  faith  in  Columbus.  He  yields  full  credence  to  him 
in  extraordinary  things  ;  requires  no  proof  from  him,  and 
justifies  his  calculations.  It  is  solely  on  Columbus  he 
depends  ;  it  is  i^elying  on  Columbus  that  he  engages  in  the 
vast  partition  of  the  unexplored  world,  between  the  Crowns 
of  Spain  and  of  Portugal.  Everything  the  Messenger  of  the 
Cross  proposes  is  granted  in  full,  as  a  thing  that  is  indicated 
by  Providence.  The  Chief  of  the  Cliurch  imposes  on  the 
Crowns  of  Spain  and  of  Portugal  the  vast  proportions  of 
the  geometric  calculation  made  by  Columbus.  To  assign 
them  the  limit  that  would  maintain  each  respectively  in  its 
rights,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff',  with  a  superhuman  confidence, 
draws  on  the  map  (as  yet  informal)  of  the  world  a  line 
which,  departing  from  the  North  Pole,  passing  a  hundred 
leagues  to  the  west  of  the  Azores  and  the  Cape  de  Verd 
Islands,  traverses  the  Southern  Ocean  to  the  Antarctic  Pole  ; 
thus  going  round  the  whole  earth  without  coming  across 
(oh,  prodigy  !)  the  least  habitable  spot  about  which  there 
could  be  any  contest. 

The  miraculous  precision  of  this  line  was  meant  to  secure 
to  Spain,  in  recompense  for  her  zeal,  the  exclusive  posses- 


244 


H  I  ST  OR  T  OF  [book  i. 


sion  of  the  new  continent  in  its  whole  extent.  Some 
Protestants  have  remarked  that  the  Holy  See,  by  this 
demarcation,  exposed  itself  to  the  danger  of  putting  these 
two  rival  nations  in  presence  of  each  other  at  the  same 
point,  inasmuch  as  the  line  passed  over  latitudes  and 
longitudes  which  no  ship  had  ever  traversed  ;  and  that  it 
is  presumable  that,  in  so  vast  a  prolongation,  the  line 
would  cross  some  land.  Yes,  but  this  line  has  miracu- 
lously passed  through  the  only  space  in  which  there  is  no 
land  found.     Here  is  the  prodigy  of  the  thing  ! 

If  the  illumination  of  Columbus's  genius,  that  mental 
look  of  a  prophetic  reach  cast  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
with  so  much  justness  and  fairness,  astonishes  us,  we  are 
no  less  seized  with  admiration  at  the  absolute  confidence 
the  P*npacy  reposes  in  Columbus.  We  must  bow,  with 
respect,  before  that  exceptional  confidence  which  authenti- 
cates and  sanctions  as  things  already  verified  the  intuitions 
of  his  genius. 

Rome  comprehended  Columbus.  Now,  to  comprehend 
is,  in  a  certain  sense,  to  become  equal  to.  All  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  Holy  Father,  and  of  the  Sacred  College,  were 
in  favor  of  Columbus. 

Never  could  there  have  been  submitted  to  the  chair  of 
Peter  an  affair  more  grave  or  more  delicate,  or  one  that 
apparently  required  more  slowness  of  action  ;  and  still,  as 
has  been  well  remai'ked  by  Humboldt,  "  never  was  there  a 
negotiation  with  the  Court  of  Rome  terminated  in  a  shorter 
time."  What  surprises  this  savant  is  the  two  Bulls,  "  liter- 
ally the  same  in  the  first  half,"  issued  "  in  the  interval  of 
twenty-four  hours."  * 

His  surprise  shows  how  much  the  illustrious  Protestant 
was  a  stranger  to  the  character  of  Columbus.  It  is  precisely 
this  distinction  between  the  two  Bulls  (when  one  would 
have  sufficed)  which  proves  the  esteem  of  the  Papacy  for 

*  Humboldt.  Histoire  de  la  Géographie  du  Nuvcdu  Continent, 
t.  III.,  p.  54. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  245 

the  Rcvcaler  of  the  Globe,  and  the  importance  it  attached 
to  his  work.  In  the  first  Bull,  —  that  of  the  third  of  May, 
—  which  is  called  the  Bull  of  Concession,  the  Holy  See 
awards  to  Spain  the  lands  discovered,  with  the  same  privi- 
leges and  rights  which  the  popes  accorded  to  the  King  of 
Portugal,  in  1438  and  1439.  This  is  the  donation  made 
to  Spain,  on  the  demand  of  her  Sovereigns.  But  the  next 
jday,  the  fourth  of  May,  in  proceeding  to  the  separation  of 
these  two  donations,  in  order  to  solemnize  the  better  this 
unique  measure  without  a  precedent  or  an  analogue,  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff  consecrates,  by  a  particular  Bull,  the  boundary 
Jie  has  fixed,  which  is  the  same  as  that  pointed  out  by  Co- 
lumbus, in  whom  he  has  full  confidence.  A  circumstance 
characteristic  of  the  reason  why  these  two  were  separated 
was  this  :  The  Pope,  in  speaking  of  Columbus  in  the  Bull 
of  Concession,  of  the  third  of  May,  limited  himself  to  call- 
ing him  his  "  dear  son,"  without  qualifying  him  more 
explicitly.  But  the  next  day,  in  the  Bull  of  Partition,  or 
J\cpartùnic7iio,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  as  if  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  give  a  more  solemn  testimony  of  esteem  to 
the  messenger  of  the  Good  News,  the  Chief  of  the  Church 
characterizes,  ofiicially,  the  hero  who  had  enlarged  the 
world.  He  docs  not  confine  himself  to  calling  him  his 
"  well-beloved  son"  {dilcctiim  Jîliu?)i^  ;  he  recognizes  him 
as  fully  worthy  of  this  mission  ;  and  certifies  that  he  is 
highly  worthy  of  praise  by  many  titles,  —  ct  pluri7nu}n 
commendandicvi ;  and  declares  that  he  was  destined  for  so 
great  a  work,  —  ac  ia7ito  iiegotio  aptuDi. 

This  Bull  of  Partition  bears,  evidentl}',  the  character  of  a 
benediction  and  of  a  divine  recompense. 

Here  we  no  longer  find  the  mode  of  proceeding  of  the 
Roman  chancery.  The  Holy  Father  speaks  on  his  own 
responsibility.  After  having  declared  that  he  knows  the 
two  Sovereigns  to  be  truly  Catholic  monarchs  ;  that  he  has 
always  known  them,  and  that  their  piety  is  well  known 
throughout  the  whole  Christian  world,  —  after  having  men- 
tioned their  constancy,  their  labors,  their  expenses,  their 


246  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

fatigues,  their  perils,  their  conquest  of  Granada,  and  their 
expulsion  of  the  Mahometans,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  recalls 
to  mind  that  they  have  joined  to  these  titles  of  glory  the 
intention  of  diffusing  the  Faith  in  islands  and  in  a  terra 
Jiryna  that  are  unknown,  in  order  to  have  the  Redeemer 
adored  there.  The  Chief  of  the  Church  declares  that  he 
recommends  to  God  this  holy  and  praiseworthy  object. 
He  moreover  declares  that  he  grants  this  donation  of  ex- 
clusive privilege,  not  to  the  direct  demands  of  the  Sover- 
eigns, or  of  other  persons  acting  for  them,  but  that  he  does 
it  of  his  own  accord  and  from  his  own  pure  liberality,  act- 
ing knowingly,  with  certainty,  and  in  the  plenitude  of  his 
apostolic  power.* 

Still,  this  liberality  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  is,  like 
the  greater  part  of  papal  recompenses,  submitted  to  a 
certain  condition.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff  orders  the  two 
Sovereigns,  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  to  send  to  these 
countries  men  of  probity,  fearing  God,  well  informed, 
experienced,  and  capable  of  forming  the  inhabitants  to 
the  Catholic  faith  and  good  morals. 

In  the  whole  of  this  Bull  one  feels  that  thei-e  is  a  super- 
natural grandeur  and  an  imposing  majesty  pervading  it. 

In  concluding  it,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  reminds  the  tvvo 
monarchs  that  the  source  of  all  power,  of  all  empire, 
comes  from  God  alone  ;  and  announces  to  them  that,  if 
confiding  in  Him,  they  persevere  in  the  accomplishment 
of  their  design  in  the  manner  pointed  out  to  them,  God 
will  direct  their  actions,  and  that  soon  their  efforts  will 
have  the  most  prosperous  success  for  the  happiness  and 
the  glory  of  the  whole  Christian  world. 

SECTION  VI. 

While  in  all  Christian  countries  the  name  of  Columbus 
was  winning  the  highest  admiration  and  praise,  his  person 

*  Bull  of  the  fourth  of  May,  1 493.  Coleccioii  Diplomatica,  num. 
XVIII. 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  247 

received  in  Spain  unusual  honors.  At  all  times  he  was 
admitted  to  the  presence  of  the  Sovereigns.  He  was  treated 
with  the  most  extreme  deference.  Qiieen  Isabella  could 
not  tire  of  asking  him  questions  and  listening  to  him.  She 
created  new  armorial  bearings  for  him,  permitting  him  to 
quarter,  in  his  blazon,  the  royal  arms  of  Castile  and  of 
Leon  with  his  own  proper  ones.  Nothing  was  decided  in 
regard  to  the  new  expedition  without  having  it  submitted 
to  him. 

Such  was  the  favor  in  which  he  was  held,  that  often  the 
King  was  seen  riding  on  horseback,  having  at  his  right  his 
son,  the  heir-presumptive  of  the  throne,  and  at  his  left  the 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  —  an  honor  that  had  never  an  -ex- 
ample. At  this  time  the  King  felt  proud  of  Columbus, 
who  had  become  the  object  of  the  enthusiastic  admiration 
of  the  people,  and  of  the  jealousy  of  the  powerful. 

After  the  Sovereigns,  the  first  Spaniard  who-  rendered 
distinguished  honors  to  Columbus  was  a  prince  of  the 
Church,  — the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  — Mcndozza. 

With  this  intention  he  gave  him  a  splendid  banquet, 
assigned  him  the  place  of  honor,  and  had  him  served  under 
a  dais,  as  a  monarch,  with  covered  dishes  ;  each  viand  that 
was  presented  to  him  being  first  tasted  before  him,  accord- 
ing to  royal  etiquette,  and  treating  him  in  every  respect 
conformably  to  his  title  of  Viceroy.  This  banquet  opened 
the  scries  of  festivities  that  were  rendered  him  by  the 
highest  personages  of  Spain,  and  became  the  rule  of  the 
etiquette  which  was  respectively  observed  in  his  regard. 

It  is  with  this  solemn  banquet  that  some  persons  have 
connected  the  anecdote  of  the  c^^.,  —  that  insipid  story  to 
which  the  memory  of  Columbus  probably  owes  its  greatest 
popularity  in  Europe. 

One  of  the  part}-,  it  is  said,  having  asked  him  whether, 
if  he  had  not  discovered  the  Indies,  some  other  person 
would  not  have  done  so  :  as  his  only  response  the  Ad- 
miral ordered  an  c^^  to  be  brought  him,  and  proposed  that 
it  should  be  made  to  stand  on  an  end  on  the  table.     One 


248  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

after  the  other  the  guests  tried  it  in  vain  ;  then  he  took  it, 
and  breaking  it  a  little  on  one  extremity,  made  it  stand  on 
the  flattened  one.  Such,  in  substance,  is  the  story  as  it  is 
told.  Washington  Irving  hesitates  not  to  give  it  credit. 
To  surpass  him,  no  doubt,  M.  de  Lamartine  has  this  farce 
acted  at  the  very  table  of  King  Ferdinand. 

We  will  not  waste  our  time  in  demonstrating  the  ab- 
surdity of  this  tale  by  its  utter  improbability.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  without  sense  or  wit  ;  it  proves  nothing,  it 
explains  nothing.  No  consequence  to  the  point  can  be 
inferred  from  it.  It  is  no  more  an  answer  than  it  is  an 
allusion  ;  and  presents,  on  the  whole,  but  a  gross  piece  of 
trickery. 

It  was  not  by  breaking  an  ç^'g'g  at  the  end,  when  the  ques- 
tion was  how  to  maintain  it  by  its  own  equilibrium,  that 
the  Admiral  showed  the  cause  of  the  Discovery.  It  was 
not  by  this  low  artifice,  —  this  want  of  delicacy,  —  that  he 
would  show  his  superiority  of  genius  and  of  perseverance. 
Would  Columbus  have  explained  the  favors  with  which 
Providence  had  loaded  him,  and  justified  the  truth  of  his 
theory  by  a  juggler's  trick.''  and,  still  more,  by  a  clumsy 
trick,  not  to  say  an  unfair  one  } 

The  circumstances  of  time  and  of  place  tend  no  less  to 
contradict  this  silly  story.  Who  then  would  have  dared, 
whether  at  the  table  of  the  Sovereigns,  or  at  that  of  the 
Grand  Cardinal,  to  propose  so  impertinent  a  question  to 
the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies?  Who  would  have  ventured  a 
question  that  would  be  as  disobliging  as  it  would  be  disre- 
spectful? And  how  could  the  Admiral  have  forgotten  the 
rules  of  etiquette  to  the  point  of  giving  orders  to  his  august 
host,  and  ask  that  an  ç.^^  be  brought  him  ?  Was  this  sport 
comj)atible  with  the  number  and  the  dignity  of  the  guests? 

None  of  the  Spanish  historians  have  mentioned  such  a 
circumstance.  The  Milanese,  Girolamo  Benzoni,  the  only 
old  historian  who  relates  this  miserable  story,  was,  no 
doubt,  unable  to  distinguish  his  former  recollections  from 
each  other.     At  any  rate,  the  anecdote  of  the  egg  is  most 


CHAP.  XI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  249 

positively  of  Italian  origin  ;  we  recognize  it  as  such,  and 
we  have  every  reason  to  think  that  Columbus  must  have 
heard  it  from  the  lips  of  his  own  mother.  With  some 
probability  it  has  been  attributed  to  the  celebrated  architect 
Brunellesco,  by  whom  the  church  of  Santa  ^laria  del  Fiore 
raises  its  cupola  into  the  sky  of  Florence.  Here  the  fact 
docs  not  seem  improbable,  however  trifling  it  may  appear 
to  be.  Around  a  joyous  table  at  a  tavern,  Florentine  artists 
may  come  to  these  bantering  questions,  to  these  jngglings, 
where  jesting  holds  the  place  of  reason,  and  where  one  can 
avail  himself  of  "pill  and  poll"  rather  than  of  logic.  At 
such  a  table  we  can  easily  conceive  such  a  trivial  trick  to 
be  played,  but  not  elsewhere.  Before  us,  Voltaire  has  said 
that  the  story  of  the  egg  was  referred  to  Brunellesco.* 
Upon  this  point  we  are  entirely  of  his  ojDinion. 

For  the  dignity  of  history,  we  beseech  our  readers  to 
recite  no  longer  this  miserable  anecdote,  and  not  to  impute 
to  the  Revealcr  of  the  Globe  so  unworthy  a  trick.  To  be- 
lieve it  would  be  to  misunderstand  strangely  his  genius,  his 
dignity,  his  elevation  of  sentiment,  and  the  atmosphere  of 
glory  and  of  respectability  which  his  grandeur  at  that 
time  inspired. 

A  satisfaction  superior  in  his  mind  to  all  the  honors  he 
had  yet  received,  came  to  increase  the  haj^piness  of  the 
Viceroy  of  the  Indies.  He  had  the  joy  of  learning  that  his 
respectable  father,  still  enjoying  all  his  intellectual  faculties, 
rejoiced  in  his  success,  or  rather  his  triumph,  as  did  for- 
merly the  patriarch  Jacob  at  the  elevation  of  his  son  Joseph. 
Christopher  was,  also,  the  next  in  dignity  after  the  King. 
On  his  return  to  Spain  he  sent  to  his  father  a  trustworthy 
person  to  bear  to  him  marks  of  his  pious  aficction,  and  to 
ask  him  for  permission  to  attach  to  his  service  his  young 
brother  James,  afterwards  known  as  Don  Diego,  then  a 
wool-comber  at  Genoa.  The  old  gentleman  courageously 
consented   to  have  this  last  link  of  the  family  circle  rup- 

*  Voltaire.     Essai  sur  les  Mœurs,  c.  cxLiv. 


250  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  i. 

tured,  and  to  remain  without  any  of  his  children.  We 
have  proof  that  after  the  second  departure  of  the  Admiral 
the  old  wool-comber  still  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Arco,  which  he  had  chosen  on  quitting  Savone. 

At  the  time  we  are  speaking  of,  James  Columbus,  aged 
twent3--six  years,  was  working  at  his  trade.  On  receiving 
his  brother's  letter  he  abandoned,  without  pride,  his  wool- 
combing  business,  to  become  in  a  few  weeks  aid-de-camp 
to  the  Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  and  afterwards  administrator 
and  Governor-General  ad  ijiterhn.  With  that  facility,  or 
rather  with  those  graces  which  Providence  bestowed  on  the 
posterity  of  the  old  comber,  in  quitting  the  workshop  to 
mix  with  the  grandeurs  and  honors  of  Spain,  James,  or  Don 
Diego,  appeared  not  to  be  out  of  his  sphere.  He  soon  at- 
tracted resjDCctful  notice,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
circumstance  :  — 

The  seven  Indians  led  by  Columbus  to  Barcelona  had 
learned  from  him  the  principles  of  Christianity.  He  in- 
spired them  with  Faith.  They  besought,  of  themselves,* 
to  be  admitted  to  baptism,  which  the}^  were  judged  qual- 
ified to  receive.  A  grand  pomp  solemnized  these  religious 
first-fruits  of  the  Indies.  The  King,  the  Infant  Don  Juan, 
and  the  first  personages  of  the  Court,  were  the  sponsors  of 
the  catechumens.  Don  Diego  Columbus  became  one  of  the 
seven  godfathers.  He,  after  the  King  ^nd  the  Infant,  oc- 
cupied one  of  the  five  first  places  of  the  Court  at  this 
ceremony.  As  for  Christopher  Columbus  himself,  being  as 
a  father  to  all  the  Indians,  he  did  not  become  the  godfather 
of  either  of  them  ;  for  in  the  Catholic  Church  the  father 
cannot  serve  as  godfather  to  his  own  children.  The  favor 
accorded  to  Don  Diego,  on  the  occasion  of  this  baptism, 
shows  what  a  sovereign  influence  the  Admiral  then  exer- 
cised on  the  Court,  and  on  public  opinion. 

*  Herrera.    Histoire  des  Indies  Occid.,  dec.  i,  liv.  11,  chap.  v. 


CUAP.  XII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  o^i 


CHAPTER     XII. 

Preparations  for  the  Second  Expedition. —The  first  Bureau  of  the 
Colonies.  —  The  Father  Superior  of  La  Rabida  embarks  with 
CoUiinbus 

SECTION  I. 

WHAT  man,  after  having  so  long  endured  the  airs  of 
patronage  or  pity  of  those  who  had  seen  him  wait 
patiently,  in  vain,  in  antechambers,  finding  himself  imme- 
diately, in  his  turn,  sought  and  solicited  by  the  great,  would 
not  have  enjoyed  his  triumph  over  fortune?  Still,  history 
does  not  detect  in  Columbus  the  least  symptom  of  weakness. 
Writers  have  been  unanimous  in  lauding  his  modesty  and 
unvarying  artlessness.  He  wished  he  could  escape  from 
those  noisy  praises  and  those  pompous  receptions,  in  order 
to  go  to  Rome,  and  depose  at  the  foot  of  the  Holy  See  the 
account  of  his  voyages,  and  to  implore  for  spiritual  f:ivors. 
But  the  service  of  the  Crown  of  Castile  would  not  permit 
this  pilgrimage.  John  IL,  King  of  Portugal,  listening  to 
the  advice  of  his  courtiers  to  have  the  precedence  of  Spain 
in  the  new  expeditions,  prepared  for  the  matter  secretly. 

Each  Court  had  its  secret  agents  in  the  other,  to  apprise 
it  of  everything  going  on  that  concerned  it.  So,  as  soon  as 
the  Spanish  monarchs  received  certain  information  of  the 
designs  of  Portugal,  they  displayed  great  activity.  A 
worldly-minded  ecclesiastic,  Don  Juan  dc  Fonseca,  Arch- 
deacon of  Seville,  but  a  bureaucrat  by  instinct,  and  a 
brother  to  men  in  high  credit  with  King  Ferdinand,  was 
charged  to  provide  for  the  armament  of  the  fleet,  and  to 
superintend  the  execution  of  the  measures  already  jore- 
scribed  by  Columbus  when  going  to  Seville.     Conjointly 


252  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

with  this  Director,  or  Superintendent-General  of  the  Ma- 
rine, there  was  created  the  office  of  Controller-General,  to 
whicli  Juan  de  Soria,  of  a  bureaucratic  famil}',  was  pro- 
moted ;  then,  the  place  of  Paymaster,  to  which  Francisco 
Pinelo  seemed  destined  as  a  matter  of  right  ;  he  was  a 
member  of  the  municipality  of  Seville,  had  a  reputation 
for  probity,  and  was  the  person  who  lent  the  Qiieen  five 
millions  of  maravedis  for  this  armament.  Such  was  tlie 
first  germ  of  that  powerful  colonial  administration  which 
was  afterwards  to  become  the  royal  Council  of  the  Indies. 

Among  other  preparations  for  the  new  expedition,  an 
order  to  freight  a  vessel  of  two  hundred  tonnage  was 
issued,  to  Juanoto  Berardi,  a  Florentine  fitter-out,  established 
at  Seville,  who  was  in  relation  with  all  the  ports  in  the 
matter  of  provisioning  ships.  He  was  familiarly  known  at 
court  by  his  Christian,  name,  Juanoto.  He  had  as  first 
clerk  a  countryman  of  his,  an  excellent  arithmetician,  an 
amateur  of  cosmography  and  of  polite  literature,  who,  if  he 
did  not  amass  a  great  fortune  in  conducting  the  aftairs  of 
his  patron,  prepared,  by  his  relations  with  the  Admiral, 
the  bases  of  a  renown  which  has  surpassed  his  knowledge, 
his  merit,  his  voyages,  and,  probably,  his  pi'"etensions. 
This  clerk  was  named  Amerigo  Vespucci. 

Afterwards,  the  Qiieen  adjudged  an  annuity  of  ten  thou- 
sand maravedis  to  the  Admiral,  as  being  the  first  who  per- 
ceived the  light  on  the  island  of  San  Salvador. 

The  next  day,  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  the  Qiieen 
ordered  him  to  be  paid,  by  Francisco  Pinelo,  a  thousand 
doubloons  in  gold,  to  defray  his  expenses.  The  twenty- 
sixth,  an  order  was  issued,  that  wherever  he  should  arrive 
he  should  have  lodgings  gratuitously  for  himself,  as  well  as 
for  the  five  domestics  of  his  suite,  and  that  all  the  baggage 
of  his  household  should  pass  duty  free. 

Two  days  after,  the  Admiral  was  nominated  Captain- 
General  of  the  Fleet  of  the  Indies.  He  was  authorized  to 
make  direct  nominations,  himself,  to  all  the  offices  of  the 
new  government.    The  roj-al  seal  was  confided  to  him,  with 


CHAP.  XII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  253 

authority  to  use  it  as  he  may  judge  proper:  and,  after- 
wards, tlic  Sovereigns,  by  a  solemn  act,  confirmed  all  the 
titles  and  privileges  that  were  assured  to  him  b}'  the  treaty 
of  Santa  Fo. 

Loaded  with  marks  of  consideration,  with  testimonials 
of  admiration  and  of  gratitude,  Columbus  at  last  took  his 
leave  of  the  Sovereigns.  After  the  audience  he  was  con- 
ducted from  the  palace  to  his  dwelling  by  the  whole  Court, 
with  great  ceremony. 

It  was  thus  that  he  left  Barcelona  loaded  with  honors, 
with  felicitations,  and  bearing  with  him  the  high  hopes  that 
Spain  had  reposed  in  him. 

SECTION  IL 

Still,  in  the  midst  of  this  general  triumph,  a  voice  was 
heard  in  the  crowd  execrating  and  cursing  Columbus  :  it 
was  that  of  a  sailor  of  Seville  named  Juan  Rodriguez  Ber- 
mejo,  who,  the  first  on  board  the  Pinta,  halloed  "  Land  I  " 
the  night  of  Wednesday,  the  twelfth  of  October,  1493,  and 
who  claimed  the  annuity  of  ten  thousand  maravedis.  He 
conceived,  it  is  said,  such  spite  because  it  was  adjudged  to 
another,  that  he  went  over  to  Africa  and  became  a  ]SLihom- 
etan,  thinking  of  finding  more  justice  among  Mussulmans 
than  among  Christians. 

It  has  been  said  that  this  dispute  with  a  poor  sailor  about 
the  recompense,  "  little  accorded  with  the  acknowledged 
magnanimity  of  Columbus."  Fortunately,  the  disinterest- 
edness of  the  Admiral  defends  him  from  every  suspicion  of 
cupidity.  He  was  the  first  who  perceived  land,  since  he 
saw  the  light  at  ten  o'clock,  and  announced  what  the  ob- 
scurity of  the  night  did  not  permit  the  sailor  to  see  until 
two  in  the  morning.  The  ftict  sufficiently  justified  his 
claim  to  the  royal  prize.  Moreover,  this  title  of  annuity 
becoming  an  official  proof  of  the  priority  of  Discoverv,  the 
Admiral  should  not  cede  his  right  to  any  person. 

On  the  morrow  of  his  departure,  the  Sovereigns  ad- 
22 


254  HISTORT  OF  [book  i. 

dressed  general  instructions  to  the  Admiral  for  the  govern- 
ment of  tiae  colony  he  was  to  found.  It  is  a  curious  fact, 
that  these  instructions  were  nothing  more  than  tlie  coordi- 
nation of  Columbus's  own  ideas,  and  tliat  they  all  had  been 
suggested  by  him  only.  So  he  received  as  a  rule  of  con- 
duct, his  own  judgment.  The  tirst  lines  of  this  document 
that  have  come  down  to  us,  testify  once  more  the  religious 
sentiments  of  the  Qi.ieen,  and  her  appreciation  of  the  super- 
human character  of  the  Discovery.  Filled  with  respect  for 
the  Revealer  of  the  Globe,  Isabella  seemed  to  have  resigned 
into  his  hands  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  new  countries. 
She  decided  nothing  without  consulting  him  ;  and  when 
she  desired  to  nominate  any  person  in  the  government  of 
the  Indies,  she  demanded  from  him  the  approbation  of  the 
Admiral. 

The  Sovereigns  having  received  from  Rome  the  Brief 
nominating  a  Vicar-Apostolic  for  the  Indies,  addi"essed  an 
official  copy  of  it  to  Father  Bo'il,  —  a  religious  of  the  Bene- 
dictine  Order,  highly  esteemed  by  Ferdinand  for  his  tact  in 
diplomacy,  —  charging  him  to  prescribe  everything  that 
was  necessary  for  the  divine  service. 

Desiring  to  provide  for  it  with  magnificence,  Isabella 
made  a  gift,  to  the  future  church  in  the  Indies,  of  all  the 
necessary  material,  of  sacred  vessels,  and  a  complete  set  of 
ornaments  taken  from  the  royal  chapel.  Twelve  religious, 
chosen  from  among  the  different  religious  orders,  were  to 
accompany  the  Vicar-Apostolic. 

From  the  Court,  messengers  were  desjDatched  in  quick 
succession  to  the  Admiral,  and  to  the  Director  of  the  Marine, 
to  hasten  the  departure  of  the  fleet.  The  end  of  July  had 
come  ;  the  Admiral  had  received  the  solemn  homage  of  the 
Commandant  and  Captains  of  the  Fleet.  He  reviewed  a 
small  corps  of  cavalry  from  Granada  that  was  to  embark 
at  Cadiz.  The  horses  were  noble  animals,  and  worthy  of 
the  accoutrements  of  their  riders.  The  Director  and  the 
Controller  of  the  Marine,  having  an  interest  tliat  the  keen 
eye  of  the  Admiral  should  not  perceive  the  secret  arrange-  , 


CHAP.  XII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  255 

ments  made  with  the  sub-contractors,  became  openly  hostile 
to  him.  Juan  de  Soria,  to  make  a  parade  of  his  virtue  at 
Columbus's  e.Kpense,  and  to  show  his  incorruptible  integ- 
rity, refused  to  enter  on  the  file  of  equipments  a  domestic 
belonging  to  the  Admiral,  although,  in  his  quality  as  Chief, 
the  latter  could  give  orders  to  everybody.  His  functions  as 
Controller,  his  zeal  for  the  Crown,  already  involved  in  so 
many  expenses,  forbade  him  to  yield  to  the  desire  of  the  Ad- 
miral, which  he  taxed  with  being  extravagant.  Feeling 
that  he  was  sustained  by  the  Director,  Fonseca,  he  went  so 
far  as  to  be  wanting  in  personal  respect  for  the  Admiral  ; 
the  latter  joiously  bore  the  indignity  in  silence. 

The  conduct  of  Juan  de  Soria  became  the  topic  of  con- 
versation at  Court.  The  Vicar-Apostolic,  sensible  of  the 
outrage,  wrote  about  it  to  the  Qiieen.  Father  Boil  was,  at 
that  time,  one  of  the  sincere  admirers  of  the  elect  of  Provi- 
dence. 

•  Isabella  immediately  wrote  a  letter  to  Columbus  capable 
of  repairing  the  offence.  The  same  day, — the  fourth  of 
August,  —  she  wrote  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Seville,  recom- 
mending to  him  to  have  the  greatest  regard  for  Colum- 
bus ;  to  smooth  every  difficulty,  and  to  see  that  nobody 
opposed  him.  She  enjoined  him  to  satisfy  him  in  every- 
thing, —  not  only  in  the  matter,  but  also  in  the  form.  She 
charged  him  to  notify  Juan  de  Soria  that  he  would  have  to 
conform  to  the  desires  of  the  Admiral  ;  that  he  must  oppose 
him  in  nothing  whatever,  and  to  say  to  him  that  his  con- 
duct gave  her  much  displeasure.  The  next  day,  not  being 
able  to  contain  her  indignation,  she  had  a  severe  letter 
written  to  the  Controller  of  the  Marine,  intimating  to  him 
that  she  required  that  the  Admiral  should  be  treated  with 
consideration  and  honor,  and  conformably  to  his  title,  and 
threatening  him  with  chastisement  in  case  of  a  second  offence. 
The  eighteenth  her  resentment  had  not  yet  calmed  ;  in 
sending  orders  to  Fonseca,  concerning  the  departure  of  the 
fleet,  she  again  reminded  him  of  the  regard  he  owed  the 
Admiral;  and,  addressing  other  orders  to  Juan  dc  Soria,  she 


256  HISTORY  OF  [book  i. 

could  not  refrain  from  again  reprimanding  the  latter  for  his 
past  fault.* 

In  order  to  cut  short  all  differences  that  may  arise  in 
regard  to  the  persojiiicl  Columbus  may  take  with  him  at 
the  expense  of  Castile,  the  Qiieen  fixed  the  household  of  the 
Grand  Admiral  at  thirty  persons  :  ten  squires  afoot  bearing 
swords,  and  twenty  domestics  of  every  grade,  in  pay  of  the- 
Crown.  Isabella  recommended  further  that  the  Admiral 
should  be  pleased  in  everything,  because  she  desired  it, 
and  such  was  her  good  pleasure  ;  and  that  she  would  be 
much  displeased  if  the  reverse  should  happen. 

It  would  be  hard  to  carry  royal  favor  farther.  The  sin- 
cerity of  Isabella  cannot  be  doubted.  To  her  admiration 
for  the  extraordinary  man  whom  Heaven  had  sent  her  as 
a  visible  recompense  for  her  faith,  were  joined  delicate 
sympathies,  strengthened  by  conformity  of  views  in  many 
respects,  and  producing  a  tenderness  almost  maternal. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  tiiat  the  long  correspondence  between 
the  Qiieen  and  tlie  Admiral,  henceforward  lost  to  the  world, 
is  reduced  to  some  fragments  of  official  missives,  the  greater 
part  of  short  and  of  only  commonplace  interest.  The  last 
letter  the  Qiieen  addressed  to  Columbus  at  the  moment  of 
his  entering  on  his  second  voyage,  shows  with  what  fine- 
ness of  intellect  and  scientific  curiosity  she  pursued  the 
question  of  the  Discovery. 

Twenty  days  before  that  on  which  the  minister  of  Provi- 
dence went  again  to  explore  the  ocean,  the  Qtieen,  in 
returning  him  the  book  of  his  navigation,  —  which  remained 
in  her  hands,  and  of  which  she  had  taken  a  copy,  —  assured 
him  that  save  the  King  and  herself,  no  mortal  had  read  a 
word  of  it.  She  said  to  him  that  the  more  she  read  it,  the 
more  she  saw  how  much  his  scientific  knowledge  surpassed 
any    that   was   ever    possessed    by   a   mortal   being.     She 

*  Letter  of  the  fourth  of  August,  to  Fonseca.  Of  the  fifth,  to  Juan 
de  Soria.  Schedule  of  the  eighteenth  of  August,  to  Juan  de  Soria. 
Colec.  Diplomat.,  Nos.  Lxiii.,  Lxv.,  Lxvi. 


ciiAr.  XII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  257 

insisted  on  having  hydrographical  and  geographical  direc- 
tions, which  would  enable  her  the  better  to  follow  on  the 
chart  the  islands  and  lands  he  would  have  discovered.  She 
desired  that  he  should  mark  the  degrees  and  measure  the 
distances  on  the  chart,  which  she  requested  him  to  send 
her,  promising  him  to  keep  it  concealed  if  he  so  desired 
it.  To  solace  him  in  his  scientific  observations,  she  coun- 
selled him  to  take  with  him  a  good  astronomer  ;  and, 
thinking  of  anticipating  his  w'ishcs,  she  had  the  ingenious 
address  of  nominating,  as  if  done  by  herself,  his  faithful 
friend,  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Alarchena,  whose  name, 
through  mistake,  she  wrote  "Antonio"  in  place  of  "Juan." 
"  Because,"  said  she,  "  he  is  a  good  astronomer,  and  it  has 
always  appeared  to  me  that  his  sentiments  are  perfectly 
conformable  to  j-ours."  *  At  the  same  time,  in  order  to 
prevent  delays,  she  enclosed  an  order  signed  in  blank, 
that  he  may  inscribe  on  it  the  name  of  the  astronomer  he 
would  prefer. 

It  was  just  that  this  Franciscan,  who  was  the  first  to  ap- 
preciate tlie  mission  of  Columbus,  —  who  welcomed  him  in 
his  lowliness,  participated  in  his  theory,  had  a  presentiment 
of  the  existence  of  the  New  World,  and  who  had  prayed  to 
God  and  supplicated  the  Qiicen  for  its  Discover)-,  — should 
be  the  first  to  celebrate  the  sacred  m^-steries  in  the  immen- 
sity of  the  ocean,  and  the  first  to  bless  these  unknown 
shores  in  the  name  of  Christ  the  Redeemer.  And  to 
bring  this  about,  a  singular  concurrence  of  circumstances 
operates  in  his  favor.  Without  solicitation  on  his  part,  he 
is  called  by  the  Qiiecn  to  this  voyage.  It  is  as  a  savant 
that  he  is  a  member  of  the  expedition.  It  is  by  this  title 
that  he  is  on  board  the  Admiral's  ship,  forms  a  jjart  of  the 
ship's  officers,  necessarily  disembarks  with  them  to  take 
every  possession,  and  thus  finds  himself  the  first  j^riest,  the 
first  religious,  that  enjoyed  the  happiness  of  planting  the 
Cross  in  the  new  soil. 

*  Docnmcntoi  Diplomat.',  number  lxxi. 


Book    II. 


CHAPTER    I. 

His  Departure.  —  His  Arrival  at  the  Canaries.  —  He  determines  to 
consecrate  to  tlie  Blessed  Virgin  the  first  Lands  he  will  discover, 
and  directs  his  Course  to  the  Caribbees.  —  The  second  of  Decem- 
ber he  announces  that  Land  will  be  discovered  the  next  day, 
which  becomes  a  fact. — Diego  Marquez  wanders  in  the  Land 
of  the  Cannibals.  —  Dominica.  Guadaloupe,  Montserrat,  Antigua, 
Santa  Cruz,  St.  Ursula,  and  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins. 

SECTIO^r  I. 

A  NUMBER  of  boats  were  ploughing  incessantly  the 
Bay  of  Cadiz.  Fourteen  caravels  anchored  aroinid 
three  large  caracks,  the  most  elevated  of  which,  the  Maria 
Galanta  (the  Gracious  J\/ary),  bearing  the  standard  of 
the  Admiral,  contained  within  them  the  preparations  for  a 
colon}-. 

Besides  provisions,  seeds,  young  trees,  wheat,  rve,  oats, 
and  leguminous  plants,  to  confide  to  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
the  Admiral  caused  to  be  embarked  some  animals,  j^articu- 
larly  horses  for  reproduction,  farming  utensils,  chalk,  brick, 
iron,  etc.  Without  counting  the  ships'  officers,  the  religious, 
military  men,  laborers,  gardeners,  blacksmiths,  masons, 
carpenters,  and  domestics,  —  forming  an  effective  number  of 
five  hundred  men  in  the  pay  of  the  Crown,  —  a  number  of 
persons,  of  every  age  and  of  every  rank,  rendered  enthusi- 

(259) 


26o  HISTORT  OF  [book  ii. 

astic  for  the  regions  of  spices  and  of  gold,  solicited  the  favor 
of  going  there  at  their  own  expense.  Only  seven  hundred 
could  be  admitted,  who  were  distributed  among  the  car- 
avels. But  such  was  the  greediness  for  gold,  that  more  than 
three  hundred  of  these  fortune-seekers  glided  secretly  into 
the  ships.  What  a  contrast  between  the  consternation  and 
the  tears  that  characterized  the  first  departure  from  Palos, 
and  the  overflowing  of  joy  and  the  lively  anticipations  that 
now  resounded  around  the  fleet! 

On  board  the  Graciozis  Mary  there  were  remarked  Gil 
Garcia,  alcaid-major  ;  Bernai  Diaz  de  Pisa,  lieutenant  of 
the  controllers-general  ;  Sebastien  de  Olano,  receiver  of  the 
crown  taxes  ;  the  astronomer.  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Mar- 
chena  ;  the  physician-in-chief,  Doctor  Chanca  ;  some  hidal- 
gos ;  Melchor  Maldonada,  a  cousin  to  the  cosmographer 
of  that  name  ;  and  two  baptized  Indian  interpreters,  one  of 
whom  had  as  godfather  the  brother  of  the  Admiral,  and 
called  the  same  as  he  was,  —  Diego  Colon.  There  also  was 
seen,  as  a  simple  passenger,  the  estimable  Francisco  de 
Casaus,  better  known  vuider  the  name  of  Las  Casas.  His 
son,  Barthélémy,  whom  his  ardent  love  for  the  Indians 
ought  one  day  to  immortalize,  was  then  pursuing  his  first 
studies  at  Seville. 

The  Admiral,  somewhat  ailing,  but  with  a  mind  ever 
vigorous,  had  by  him  his  youngest  brother,  Don  Diego, 
whom  he  took  with  him,  and  his  two  sons,  Diego  and  Fer- 
nando, who  came  to  give  him  their  last  embraces  and 
adieus.  At  the  moment  when  it  was  announced  that  the 
wind  was  favorable,  the  Admiral  found  himself  well  ;  and 
the  twenty-fifth  of  September,  an  hour  before  sunrise,  in 
sight  of  his  two  sons,  (who  gazed  on  him  from  the  shore), 
from  his  ship,  the  Gracious  Mary^  he  gave  the  order  for 
sailing. 

The  fleet,  spreading  their  sails  with  alacrity,  followed 
him,  steering  for  the  Canaries,  where  they  put  into  port. 
They  arrived  there  the  first  of  October,  departed  the  next 
day,  and  on  the  fifth  came  alongside  of  Gomera,  to  take 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  261 

in  wood  and  water,  and  purchase  calves,  goats,  and  sheep, 
which  they  thought  could  be  more  easily  acclimated  in  the 
new  countries  than  the  animals  raised  in  Spain,  There 
the}-  took  in  eight  hogs,  the  parent  stock  of  nearly  all  the 
hogs  of  the  Antilles  and  of  the  new  continent. 

The  seventh  of  October,  each  captain  of  a  caravel  received 
a  sealed  letter,  which  he  was  not  to  open  but  in  case  of  his 
getting  separated  from  the  fleet  by  bad  weather.  It  marked 
the  route  to  be  followed  to  arrive  directly  at  Ilispaniola. 

Columbus  directed  his  course  further  to  the  south  than  he 
had  done  in  his  first  voyage.  He  wished  to  come  to  the 
terrible  Caribs,  of  whom  he  had  heard  such  dreadful  re- 
ports, and  he  took  the  direct  course  to  get  to  them.  The 
Admiral  had  chosen  the  Gracious  Mary  for  his  j^avilion, 
because  of  her  name.  It  is  known  that  he  was  very  devout 
to  the  Blessed  Virgin.*  He  placed  his  second  voyage  under 
her  special  protection,  and  resolved  to  give  her  name  to  the 
first  islands  he  would  discover.  The  patroness  of  mariners, 
the  Ocean  Star,  seemed  pleased  with  this  homage,  and  to 
favor  his  voyage.  There  were  none  of  those  fields  of  sea- 
weed they  met  with  in  their  first  voyage. 

On  the  evening  of  Saturday,  the  second  of  November, 
Columbus  was  convinced,  from  the  sudden  variations  of  the 
winds,  the  character  of  the  rains,  and  the  color  of  the 
waves,  that  land  must  be  close  at  hand,  though  nobody  else 
even  suspected  it.  He  was  so  certain  of  it,  that  he  gave 
orders  to  take  in  sail,  and  to  have  arms  ready  for  any  event 
that  may  occur.  He  judged  with  his  usual  sagacity.  Early 
in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  third,  a  mountainous  island 
was  descried  in  the  west,  which,  in  honor  of  the  day,  he 
named  Dominica. 

Solemn  thanks  were  rendered  to  God  by  the  whole  fleet. 
The  joy  was  extreme  ;  for  all  the  raw  voyagers,  having  found 
tliat  tlicir  life  on  board  was  much  more  constrained  than 
what  they  were  accustomed  to,  sighed  for  land.     In  making 

*IIcn"era.     Iliiioirc  gencr.  des  Voyages.     Dec.  i.,  l'^- ^''' 


202  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

for  this  island,  another  one  was  discovered  to  the  right  of 
the  Gracious  Mary.  It  was  covered  with  tall  forests.  A 
little  further  on,  four  others  were  perceived.  The  Admi- 
ral, not  being  able  to  find  a  convenient  port  in  Dominica, 
directed  his  course  to  the  second  island.  He  landed  on 
this,  bearing  the  royal  banner  of  the  expedition,  and  took 
possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  their  Highnesses,  in  legal 
form  ;  and,  consecrating  it  to  the  Virgin,  he  gave  it  the 
name  of  his  ship,  Maria  Galanta.  Father  Boil  and  his 
religious  were  not  on  board  the  Admiral's  vessel,  but  on 
board  another  one.  In  his  quality  as  astronomer,  the  friend 
of  Columbus,  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  was  by  him. 
He  was  thus  the  fii'st  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  that  trod 
the  soil  of  the  New  World  ;  and  he  must  have  been  the 
person  that  blessed  all  the  wooden  crosses  that  Columbus 
planted  in  all  the  lands  he  discovered,  to  express  the  object 
of  his  enterprise,  and  to  render  homage  to  the  Redeemer. 

The  next  day,  the  Admiral  made  for  the  largest  island 
of  the  group,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Guadaloupe^  in 
grateful  remembrance  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Convent  of 
Guadaloupe,  in  Spain,  and  agreeably  to  the  promise  made 
to  the  religious  of  that  monastery. 

The  smallest  of  the  caravels  was  sent  to  find  a  landing- 
place.  The  captain,  having  found  a  place  for  anchoring, 
went  ashore,  accompanied  by  some  of  his  men,  and  entered 
some  houses  whence  the  inhabitants  had  fled  without  wait- 
ing to  take  all  their  children  with  them.  Here  they  found 
two  very  large  parrots  ;  a  quantity  of  cotton,  some  spun  and 
some  woven  ;  a  quantity  of  provisions,  and  especially  four 
or  five  bones  of  the  legs  and  arms  of  human  beings. 

The  Admiral  found  himself  in  the  principal  of  these 
Caribbean  islands,  towards  which  he  directed  his  course 
in  leaving  the  Canaries.  With  a  precision  which  savors 
of  a  prodigy,  he  came  in  a  straight  line  to  the  centre  of  the 
principality  of  the  cannibals;  for  Guadaloupe,  which  its 
ferocious  inhabitants  called  Turuquiera^  was  the  seat  of 
the  confederation  of  the  man-eaters. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  263 


SECTION  IL 

The  next  morning,  the  Admiral  sent  into  the  interior 
some  detachments,  under  the  conduct  of  captains,  to  pro- 
cure some  information  about  the  inhabitants  of  the  island. 
These  dctachment^wcrc  distributed  in  certain  places,  which 
they  reconnoitred  in  vain,  and  returned  without  being  able 
to  find  a  single  man.  They  met  with  a  little  boy,  whose 
father,  no  doubt,  left  him  in  order  to  flee  more  speedily. 
They  also  brought  with  them  some  foreign  women,  who 
were  retained  captives  in  the  island,  as  well  as  a  youth  of 
about  fourteen  years  of  age.  They  took  and  brought  with 
them  some  native  women  also  ;  but  these  would  not  go  to 
the  caravels,  only  constrained  by  force. 

In  the  evening,  Diego  Marquez,  charged  with  the  com- 
mand of  one  of  the  caravels,  having  gone  ashore,  without 
permission,  with  eight  men,  did  not  return  aboard.  The 
next  day  they  did  not  appear,  and  therefore  the  Admiral 
became  very  uneasy  about  them.  It  was  feared  that  they 
were  devoured  by  the  Caribs  ;  for  they  had  among  them 
very  able  mariners,  who,  by  the  sole  observation  of  the 
stars,  could  find  their  way  back.  The  Admiral  sent  some 
strong  parties  in  search  of  them  ;  he  had  trumpets  sounded, 
and  arquebuses  fired  in  the  woods.  After  having  waited  in 
vain  two  days,  to  rouse  the  spirit  of  discipline  he  feigned  to 
be  going  to  depart,  saying  that,  as  they  went  ashore  without 
his  permission,  they  must  abide  the  risks  and  perils.  The 
friends  of  Marquez  implored  him  not  to  abandon  these  un- 
happy people  to  tiie  ferocity  of  the  cannibals.  He  appeared 
to  be  overcome  by  their  supplications,  and  waited  longer. 
In  the  mean  time  he  took  in  wood  and  water,  and  had  the 
matter  of  washing  strictly  attended  to.  Then  he  sent  the 
fearless  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  whose  sagaciousness  was  known 
to  him,  to  search  everywhere  around,  at  the  head  of  forty 
men.  Notwithstanding  the  activity  of  Alonzo's  march 
across   trackless   forests,    and    his   discharging    arquebuses 


264  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

and  sounding  the  trumpet  at  intervals,  he  returned  with- 
out a  trace  of  his  countrymen,  or  even  of  a  native. 

The  Admiral,  on  his  part,  made,  vs^ith  the  ship's  officer, 
frequent  incursions  into  the  island,  examining  the  soil  and 
the  deserted  dwellings  of  the  tribe.  They  saw  a  number 
of  human  skulls,  that  were  used  as  utensils  ;  found  in  one 
house  the  neck  of  a  man  cooking  in  a  kind  of  pot,  and  in 
other  dwellings  several  human  heads  and  limbs  suspended 
from  the  beams  of  the  houses,  as  if  curing  for  provisions. 

They  learned  from  the  captive  women  that  the  men  of 
that  part  of  the  island,  to  the  number  of  about  three  hun- 
dred, with  their  chief,  had  gone  in  ten  large  canoes,  to 
catch  men  for  their  provisions,  in  the  neighboring  islands. 
They  went  even  to  the  distance  of  a  hundred  leagues  in 
these  canoes,  to  seize  on  men  whose  flesh  appeared  to  them 
a  delicious  dish.  They  did  not  much  esteem  that  of  women 
or  of  children.  Still,  as  the  occasion  offered,  they  seized  on 
both  children  and  women,  —  the  former  to  fatten,  and  to  eat 
them  when  they  would  come  to  the  age  of  puberty  ;  the 
latter  to  serve  them  as  slaves,  or  as  mistresses,  when  their 
beauty  would  merit  that  honor.  If  they  had  children  by 
them,  the  unfortunate  little  ones  were  not  spared.  In  spite 
of  the  entreaties  of  their  mothers,  they  were  unfeelingly 
mutilated,  employed  in  various  offices  until  pubert}',  and 
then  slaughtered  for  eating.  The  cannibals  treated  them 
like  capons,  in  order  the  better  to  fatten  and  to  improve 
the  flavor  of  their  flesh.  They  preserved  only  the  children 
whose  mothers  were  born  in  the  island. 

More  than  twenty  captive  women  followed  the  Spaniards 
to  their  vessels,  and  three  young  bo3'S  came  also  to  seek 
refuge  among  them.  These  unfortunate  boys  had  all  three 
undergone  mutilation.  At  several  times,  captives  came 
begging  the  Spaniards  to  take  them  with  them.  Colum- 
bus, after  having  decorated  them  with  hawks'-bells  and 
glass  beads,  had  them  sent  on  shore,  against  their  will. 
He  thought  the  sight  of  these  ornaments  would  determine 
some  of  the  islanders  to   come  to  receive   such  presents. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  265 

But  the  next  day,  when  the  sailors  went  ashore  for  water, 
the  captives  ran  to  them,  deprived  of  their  ornaments. 
Their  masters  had  brutally  stripped  them  of  their  finery. 
They  implored  the  strangers  to  take  them  away,  liking  bet- 
ter to  abandon  themselves  to  them  than  to  remain  exposed 
to  the  cruelty  of  the  cannibals. 

At  the  moment  the  fleet,  after  eight  days'  waiting,  was 
on  the  point  of  weighing  anchor,  Diego  Marquez  and  his 
companions  were  seen,  leading  with  them  ten  women  and 
boys.  Their  haggard  and  exhausted  looks  bespoke  what 
they  had  suffered.  Vainly  did  they  climb  trees,  to  know 
where  they  were.  The  forests  were  so  dense  as  almost  to 
exclude  tlie  light. 

Notwithstanding  their  hardships,  and  his  joy  at  their 
return,  to  make  an  example  of  them  Columbus  had  the 
firmness  to  put  the  cajDtain  under  arrest,  and  to  deprive 
of  part  of  their  rations  the  eight  men  who  had  strayed 
away  without  permission. 

The  next  day,  at  noon,  the  fleet  coasted  an  island  that 
was  high  and  picturesque.  The  Admiral  named  it  JMont- 
serrat,  in  honor  of  the  celebrated  sanctuary  of  the  Virgin, 
at  the  hermitage  of  that  name.  But  no  trace  of  culture  or 
of  population  was  discovered  on  its  shores.  Taking  advan- 
tage of  its  proximity  to  them,  the  cannibals  had  depopulated 
it  even  to  the  extinction  of  all  human  life.  "  The  Caribs 
had  devoured  all  the  inhabitants."  Columbus,  viewing  the 
place  with  sadness,  passed  on  without  remaining  long 
there. 

In  the  evening  another  island  was  discovered.  The 
Admiral,  placing  it  under  the  patronage  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  called  it   Santa  Mai-ia  del  Rotunda. 

The  next  morning  a  new  island,  of  beautiful  appearance, 
was  discerned  in  the  distance.  The  Admiral  put  this  one 
also  under  the  patronage  of  the  Virgin,  giving  it  the  name 
of  Santa  Maria  la  Antigua.,  which  it  still  bears,  under 
the  abbreviation  of  Antigua. 

The  following  day  they  anchored  at  an  island  in  which 
33 


266  HISTORT  OF  [book  ii. 

they  saw  villages  and  signs  of  cultivation.  A  boat,  well 
manned,  was  sent  on  shore,  to  get  water  and  procure 
information.  They  found  a  village  deserted  by  the  men  ; 
but  they  secured  six  women  and  a  few  boys,  captives  from 
other  islands. 

The  boatmen,  as  they  were  returning  with  their  capture, 
perceived  along  the  coast  a  canoe,  containing  four  men,  two 
women  and  a  child,  come  out  from  a  little  cove.  The 
Indians  were  so  stupefied  with  astonishment  at  the  aspect 
of  the  fleet,  that  they  remained  for  more  than  an  hour 
motionless,  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  ships  ;  and  as,  in 
their  amazement,  they  had  not  noticed  the  boat,  it  stole 
close  to  them,  cutting  oft'  their  retreat  to  the  shore.  The 
Caribs,  at  last  perceiving  the  manœuvre,  resolutely  took 
their  bows  and  arrows  ;  and,  although  they  had  to  deal 
with  more  than  twenty-five  men,  the  women,  as  well  as 
the  men,  commenced  attacking.  They  soon  pierced  two 
of  the  Spaniards  with  their  poisoned  arrows  ;  and  were  it 
not  for  the  bucklers  and  cuirasses  of  the  boatmen,  the  latter 
would  soon  have  experienced  much  evil,  so  sti^ong  were 
their  bows  and  unerring  their  aim.  Seeing  this,  the  cap- 
tain had  the  boat  run  against  the  canoe,  which  was  upset. 
The  Caribs  did  not  the  less  discontinue  shooting  their  ar- 
rows, swimming,  as  dexterously  as  if  they  were  on  land.  At 
length  they  escaped,  diving  into  the  water.  The  Spaniai'ds 
were  unable  to  capture  only  one  of  these  ferocious  islanders  ; 
but,  soon  after  he  was  brought  on  board,  he  died  from  the 
effects  of  a   wound  he  had   received  in   the   conflict. 

The  next  evening  they  perceived  an  island,  which 
Columbus  named  Santa  Cruz  (Holy  Cross).  The  day 
following,  he  came  in  sight  of  a  large  island,  which  was 
followed  by  a  train  of  upwards  of  forty  islets.  The  prin- 
cipal of  these  he  named  Santa  Ursula^  and  the  others  he 
collectively  called  The  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins. 

The  next  day  they  reached  a  large  and  beautiful  island, 
the  native  country  of  the  Indian  women  who  had  taken 
refusre  on  board  the  caravels.     The  natives  called  it  Bori- 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  26" 

qucn.  The  Admiral,  coming  to  change  its  destinies,  gave 
it  the  name  of  the  precursor  of  the  Divine  Master.  He 
named  it  Sati  yuan  Bautista.  Exposed  to  the  incursions 
of  the  Caribs,  the  inhabitants,  like  their  enemies,  made  use 
of  bows  and  arrows  ;  but  only  in  self-defence.  Their  neat 
dwellings  and  fruitful  gardens  denoted  their  possessing  a 
certain  degree  of  ingenuity. 

The  Admiral  now  turned  his  course  to  Hispaniola,  to- 
wards the  fortress  whose  garrison  occupied  his  solicitude. 
They  perceived  a  land  which  nobody  in  the  fleet  knew. 
Althougli  Columbus  passed  along  a  coast  which  lie  had 
never  approached,  it  appeared  to  be  familiar  to  him.  Of 
the  mariners  who  had  already  come  to  Hispaniola,  "  all 
were  uncertain  whether  it  was  the  island  they  were  seek- 
ing." Still,  "we  did  not  the  less,"  says  Dr.  Chanca,  "  with 
the  grace  of  God  and  the  scientific  knowledge  of  the  Adnii- 
ral,  take  a  route  as  direct  as  if  we  had  followed  a  known 
and  traced  way." 


268  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Ruin  of  the  Gari-ison  left  at   Hajti.  —  Guacanagari   suspected. — 
Founding  of  the  City  of  Isabella.  —  Unknown  Diseases. 

SECTION  I. 

>N  the  twenty-second  of  November,  the  fleet  entered 
the  Gulf  of  Samana,  which  the  Admiral  named  Las 
Fléchas,  the  "  Gulf  of  Arrows."  He  at  the  same  time 
assured  them  that  they  had  got  to  Hispaniola.  Continuing 
his  exploration  towards  the  north,  he  examined  the  qualities 
of  the  soil,  for,  in  leaving  his  little  garrison  in  the  fortress, 
his  intention  was  not  to  found  a  city  there. 

While  a  boat  was  sounding  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  del 
Oro,  or  Golden  River,  distant  from  the  fort  about  seven 
leagues,  some  mariners  who  went  ashore  found  two  dead 
human  bodies  in  the  grass  ;  one  having  his  feet  bound  with 
a  cord  of  Spanish  grass,  the  other  with  a  cord  about  his 
neck,  and  his  arms  extended  and  tied  by  the  wrists  to  a 
stake  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  These  bodies  were  in  such  a 
state  of  decay,  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  whether 
they  were  those  of  Europeans  or  of  natives.  The  next 
day  they  found  two  other  bodies,  one  having  a  beard,  which 
no  longer  left  any  doubt  of  their  not  being  Europeans. 

This  aspect  of  things  produced  gloomy  forebodings. 

Immediately  they  steered  towards  the  little  fortress.  It 
was  night  when  they  arrived  in  its  vicinity,  but  though  they 
came  in  sight  of  its  situation,  they  could  distinguish  noîh- 
ing.  The  fleet  stood  at  anchor  about  a  league  from  land, 
not  venturing  among  the  reefs  upon  which  the  Santa  Mai-ia 
had  foundered  the  preceding  year.     All  eyes  were  anxiously 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  269 

directed  towards. the  site  of  the  fort,  hoping  to  see  some 
light,  or  hear  some  sound.  Nothing,  however,  was  heard. 
Astonished  at  this  dead  silence,  the  Admiral  ordered  two 
shots  to  be  fired  from  cannon  of  the  largest  calibre,  to  see 
if  the  fortress  would  respond  to  them  ;  but  the  artillery 
of  the  fortress  made  no  response.  Evcrytiiing  remained 
in  the  silence  and  immobility  of  the  tomb. 

Towards  midnight  a  rowing  of  oars  was  heard  ;  it  was 
that  of  two  Indians  who  demanded  to  see  the  Admiral. 
His  vessel  being  shown  them,  they  rowed  up  to  it,  declining 
to  go  on  board.  Tliey  desired  first  to  see  Columbus  per- 
sonally, being  unwilling  to  trust  anybody  else.  The  Ad- 
miral came  and  spoke  to  them  from  the  barricading  ;  but 
such  was  their  distrust,  that  they  demanded  a  light  to  assure 
themselves  that  it  was  he,  and  no  other.  On  their  demand 
being  granted,  as  soon  as  they  recognized  Columbus  they 
mounted  on  deck  without  hesitation,  and  testified  great 
joy  in  seeing  him. 

They  brought  him  as  presents  two  golden  masks,  sent 
him  by  Guacanagari,  to  whom  one  of  the  envoys  was  a 
cousin.  They  spoke  freely  in  the  presence  of  the  ships' 
officers.  On  their  being  asked  by  Columbus  concerning 
the  fiite  of  tlie  S^oaniards,  they  answered  with  great  naivete 
that  they  were  well,  although  several  had  died  of  diseases, 
or  of  the  combats  they  had  with  each  other  ;  that  others 
had  gone  to  distant  places,  each  taking  four  or  five  wives 
with  him.  They  also  said  that  the  two  caciques,  Caonabo 
and  Mayreni,  having  made  war  on  Guacanagari,  burnt  his 
dwellings,  and  although  he  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  he 
would  come  on  board  the  next  day  with  them.  Several 
times  during  the  interview  they  were  plied  copiously  with 
wine,  and  they  left,  about  three  o'clock,  tolerably  intoxicated. 
It  appears  that  at  a  moment  of  bacchanalian  unguardedness 
with  the  Lucayan  interpreter,  Diego  Colon,  one  of  them 
avowed  to  him  that  all  the  foreigners  were  dead.  Wiien 
the  faithful  Diego  Colon  reported  this  to  his  godfather,  the 
Admiral's  brother,  he  was  not  believed.  On  account  of  the 
23* 


270  HISTORY  OF  [book  ir. 

diffei-ence  between  the  dialect  of  Guanahani  and  that  of 
Hispaniola,  he  had  ill  understood  what  had  been  confided 
to  him. 

The  light  of  the  next  morning  showed  a  deserted  shore. 
There  was  no  shouting,  nor  no  rowing  among  the  waters, 
and  no  human  form  appeared  on  the  beach.  All  was  still 
and  silent;  judging  from  the  first  voyage,  they  expected  to 
see  a  multitude  of  canoes  joyously  surrounding  the  fleet, 
offering  all  kinds  of  native  productions  in  the  way  of  ex- 
change, or  even  as  pure  gifts.  This  estrangement  of  the 
natives  appeared  to  be  of  evil  augur.  The  Admiral  sent 
some  men  to  the  residence  of  Guacanagari,  but  they  found 
it  reduced  to  ashes.  They  perceived  no  Indians,  but  in 
their  dwellings  they  found  some  remains  of  European 
clothing. 

The  Admiral,  accompanied  with  the  staff-officer,  and  a 
party,  came  ashore,  and  went  straight  to  the  place  where 
the  fortress  had  been  erected,  but  alas  !  there  remained  only 
the  site  ;  everything  was  burnt  or  demolished.  Overcom- 
ing his  grief,  he  ordered  excavations  to  be  made  under  the 
ruins,  to  find  a  well,  in  which  he  directed  the  gold  and 
precious  things  that  would  be  acquired  in  his  absence  to  be 
thrown,  in  case  of  sudden  danger.  It  was  found,  but  noth- 
ing was  discovered  in  it. 

While  these  labors  were  going  on,  the  Admiral,  with  his 
escort,  went  along  the  shore  to  look  out  for  a  site  for  a  city. 
They  came  to  a  small  village,  the  inhabitants  of  which  fled 
at  their  approach.  In  the  houses  they  found  a  number  of 
things  that  belonged  to  the  Spaniards,  and  which  certainly 
could  not  have  been  obtained  in  the  way  of  barter,  such  as 
a  beautiful  Moorish  robe,  stockings,  whole  pieces  of  cloth, 
and  the  anchor  of  a  caravel. 

When  Columbus  returned  to  the  ruins  of  the  fortress, 
some  Indians  with  candid  looks  were  there,  who  were  bar- 
tering gold.  They  understood  several  Spanish  words,  and 
knew  the  names  of  all  those  who  had  remained  with  Diego 
de  Arana.     Near  by  they  pointed  out  the  graves  of  eleven 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  271 

of  his  men,  already  covered  with  herbage.     They  all  said 
that  Caonabo  and  Mayreni  had  killed  them. 

Other  Indians  made  their  appearance  gradually.  A 
brotlicr  of  Guacanagari  came,  escorted  with  guards,  to  pre- 
sent his  respects  to  the  Admiral,  whom  he  saluted  in 
Spanish,  and  telling  him  that  all  the  Christians  were  dead. 
His  account  of  the  causes  of  the  disaster  was  in  every 
respect  conformable  to  what  the  preceding  Indians  had 
related.  Qiiarrels  had  arisen  among  the  Spaniards  about 
gold  and  about  women.  The  authority  of  Diego  de  Arana 
was  set  at  nought.  His  two  lieutenants,  Pedro  Guttierrez 
and  Escobedo,  having  killed  a  man  named  Diego,  went 
away  with  nine  others,  who  revolted  with  them,  into  the 
provinces  of  the  King  of  the  Mountains,  Caonabo,  a  prince 
of  Caribbean  origin,  who  immediately  put  them  to  death. 
Others,  wàth  arms  and  ammunition  in  their  hands,  deserted 
to  remote  places,  in  order  to  traffic  for  gold  at  their  ease. 
Others,  in  parties  of  three  or  four,  marauded  about  the 
country,  entering  the  dwellings  of  the  Indians,  eating  their 
provisions,  taking  away  their  wives  and  daughters,  and 
maltreating  the  men.  The  protection  King  Guacanagari 
extended  to  the  Spaniards  caused  the  Indians  to  bear  these 
outrages  patiently  ;  but  the  tyranny  becoming  insupportable, 
they  sought  to  deliver  themselves  from  these  strangers, 
whom  they  thought  to  have  come  from  heaven,  but  who 
had  made  a  hell  of  their  existence.  The  brave  Arana,  the 
only  officer  who  had  remained  faithful  to  the  flag,  with  ten 
others,  kept  at  the  fortress  every  night.  Unfortunately, 
depending  too  much  on  their  cannon,  and  on  the  timidity 
of  the  natives,  they  neglected  having  sentinels,  and  went  to 
sleep,  all  at  the  same  time,  in  perfect  security,  as  they 
imagined. 

Caonabo,  who  was  surnamed  Lord  of  the  Golden  House, 
in  concert  with  a  neighboring  cacique,  amassing  a  numerous 
army,  cautiously  traversing  the  forests,  came  by  a  niglit 
march  and  surrounded  the  fort.  They  invested  it  without 
opposition,    all    being    asleep.      At   the   watchword   from 


3^3  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

Caonabo,  his  warriors  precipitated  themselves  on  the  ram- 
parts, yelling  their  frightful  war-cries,  and  got  possession  of 
the  fortress  before  the  inmates  could  put  themselves  on  their 
defence.  The  latter  were  all  massacred,  and  the  fortress 
was  burnt  down.  Then  Caonabo  turned  his  warriors  to 
the  other  Spaniards  who  lived  outside  the  fortress.  All 
the  dwellings  were  set  on  fire,  and  eight  of  the  unhappy 
victims,  pursued  by  the  Indians,  rushed  to  the  waves,  and 
were  drowned. 

Guacanagtiri  had  the  generosity  to  fly  to  the  defence  of 
his  unworthy  guests  ;  but  he  was  too  late.  In  an  engage- 
ment between  his  troops  and  those  of  the  Lord  of  the  Gol- 
den House,  Guacanagari,  more  brave  than  able,  was  put  to 
flight,  and  himself  wounded  by  a  stroke  of  a  stone  from 
the  hand  of  Caonabo.  His  troops  gave  way  at  the  first 
shock.  He  took  refuge  in  a  wood,  and  the  conqueror  burnt 
his  residence  before  he  could  reenter  his  territory. 

Columbus  assured  those  he  left  at  the  fortress  that  they 
were  in  perfect  security,  provided  they  would  adhere  to  his 
injunctions.  They  had  everything  necessary  for  the  wants 
of  life,  and  the  generosity  of  Guacanagari  provided  bounti- 
fully for  its  comforts.  In  following  the  recommendations 
of  Columbus,  they  would  have  preserved  their  original 
influence  over  the  minds  of  these  people,  who  believed 
them  to  be  immortal.  They  could  have  made  them  Chris- 
tians, and  happy  vassals  of  the  Crown  of  Castile.  Still, 
after  having  lost  the  prestige  which  the  conduct  of  Colum- 
bus had  gained  for  them,  their  disorderly  conduct  and 
oppressions  would  have  remained  unpunished,  if  they  had 
at  least  adhered  to  his  last  injunction,  which  was,  — Never 
to  separate  from  each  other,  or  to  sleep  outside  of  the 
fortress. 

SECTION  II. 

The  Admiral  nominated  a  commission,  composed  of  two 
engineers,  an  architect,  and  a  shipbuilder,  under  the  pres- 
idency of  Melchor  Maldonado,  to  make  a  topographical 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  273 

report  to  him  of  the  most  suitable  site  for  a  city.  Wliilc 
the  commission  were  coasting  the  slioic  in  a  boat,  a  canoe, 
in  which  were  two  Indians,  hailed  them.  The  pilot  recog- 
nized in  one  of  them  the  brother  of  Giiacanagari.  He 
came  to  request  the  strangers  to  visit  the  king,  who  was 
confined  from  his  wound.  IMaldonado,  accompanied  by  the 
members  of  the  commission,  went  ashore,  and  proceeded 
to  the  residence  of  the  monarch,  which  was  composed  of 
about  fifty  buildings.  They  found  him  stretched  on  a  ham- 
mock, surrounded  by  seven  women.  He  testified  his  regret 
at  not  being  able  to  see  the  Admiral  ;  told  how  Caonabo 
and  Mayreni  had  massacred  the  Christians,  and  wounded 
himself.  The  members  of  the  commission  believed  in  the 
sincerity  of  his  words.  When  they  were  leaving,  he  gave 
each  of  them  a  golden  ornament,  and  charged  them  to  tell 
the  Admiral  that  he  would  be  grateful  to  him  for  a  visit,  as 
he  was  not  in  a  state  to  go  to  see  him.  Besides  these 
entreaties,  the  brother  of  Guacanagari  was  sent  to  Colum- 
bus, to  give  him  a  direct  invitation. 

The  next  day,  after  dinner,  the  Admiral  ordered  his 
seventeen  caravel  captains  to  go  ashore,  richly  dressed  in 
glittering  arms.  He  soon  joined  them  with  his  staff  officer, 
whose  rich  costume  would  have  attracted  notice  in  a  large 
city.  He  never  neglected  anything  that  was  calculated  to 
produce  a  favorable  effect.  With  this  biilliant  cortege  he 
arrived  at  the  dwelling  of  the  king,  who  had  prepared  to 
receive  him. 

When  Columbus  ajDpeared,  Guacanagari,  without  leaving 
his  hammock  of  cotton  network,  exhibited  great  emotion 
and  respect  on  seeing  the  Admiral.  In  expressing  his 
regret  for  the  death  of  the  Christians  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears.  He  recited  their  deplorable  end,  and  did  not  forget 
the  cftorts  he  had  made  to  save  them.  He  pointed  out  on 
several  of  his  subjects  scars  evidently  received  from  Indian 
weapons,  and  the  bandages  that  enveloped  his  own  bruised 
leg.  As  Doctor  Chanca  had  brought  with  him  a  surgeon, 
wlio  belonged  to  the  marine,  Columbus  told  the  king  that 


274  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

they  both  were  very  skilful  in  curing  wounds,  and  invited 
him  to  show  his  wound  or  bruise  to  them.  This  he  did 
readily.  Doctor  Chanca,  finding  there  was  not  light  enough 
in  the  apartment  for  the  examination,  said  he  could  see 
better  in  the  open  air.  The  cacique,  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  the  Admiral,  left  his  hammock,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was 
seated,  the  surgeon  removed  the  bandages.  Guacanagari 
told  Columbus  that  the  sore  was  produced  by  a  stroke  of 
a  stone.  No  trace  of  contusion  or  bruise  could  be  per- 
ceived externally.  Still,  he  seemed  to  suffer  when  it  was 
pressed,  or  the  limb  was  moved. 

The  impression  of  the  Spaniards  was  that  the  lameness 
was  feigned.  Father  Boi'l,  impressed  with  this  opinion, 
believed  that  Guacanagari  was  an  accomplice  in  the  mas- 
sacre of  the  Spaniards  ;  he  was  of  opinion  that  he  should  be 
immediately  arrested  and  made  an  example  of.  But  Co- 
lumbus, remembering  the  many  marks  of  attachment  he 
had  received  from  him,  that  his  place  of  dwelling  was 
burnt  down,  the  recent  scars  of  his  subjects,  and  the  con- 
formity of  his  statements  to  those  of  the  other  Indians  he 
had  interrogated,  refused  to  believe  that  he  was  guilty. 
Father  Bo'il,  who,  as  a  diplomatist,  considered  he  was  a 
thorough  judge  of  human  nature,  was  nettled  at  the  con- 
fidence Columbus  still  reposed  in  the  cacique,  notwith- 
standing these  appearances  of  guilt.  The  Admiral  told 
him  that  it  was  at  least  prudent  to  dissemble  until  his  guilt 
would  be  fully  ascertained,  and  even  if  it  should  turn  out 
that  he  was  really  guilty,  it  were  better  not  be  in  haste, 
lest  they  should,  on  their  landing,  have  a  multitude  of 
enemies  to  encounter  ;  and  that  it  would  be  more  prudent 
to  retard  the  punishment  of  the  crime,  and  then  render  it 
more  terrible. 

Guacanagari  gave  the  Admiral,  as  presents,  eight  marks 
and  a  half  of  gold,  a  coronet  of  gold,  three  calabashes  full 
of  gold-dust,  and  a  cap  encircled  with  precious  stones,  and 
thought   himself  outdone  in   munificence  when   presented 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  275 

with  some  Venetian  mirrors,  hawks'  bells,  and  copper  orna- 
ments ;  — for  the  Indians  preferred  copper  to  gold. 

At  the  departure  of  the  Admiral,  the  cacique,  notwith- 
standing his  lameness,  accompanied  him  to  the  ships.  The 
sight  of  these  numerous  vessels  struck  him  with  astonish- 
ment. Hitherto  he  had  never  seen  only  two  caravels,  of 
middling  size,  at  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus  ;  now  he 
was  on  board  a  very  large  vessel,  which  appeared  to  com- 
mand the  rest  of  the  squadron.  The  cattle,  asses,  sheep, 
swine,  and  goats  were  wonders  to  him,  but  the  Andalusian 
horses  struck  him  with  amazement.  He  noticed  some  Carib 
prisoners,  whose  chains  had  not  subdued  their  fierceness  ; 
he  contemplated  them  with  fear  and  shuddering,  even 
though  they  were  in  chains. 

His  attention  was  more  agreeably  arrested  in  another 
part  of  the  vessel.  Among  the  ten  women  who  had  been 
delivered  from  Carib  captivity,  and  who  were  installed  on 
board  the  Graciotts  Mary.,  was  a  young  female  distinguished 
above  her  companions  by  a  queenly  loftiness  of  air  and 
manner,  and  whom  they  called  Dona  Catalina.  Guacanagari 
addressed  her  some  words  of  courtesy,  with  tender  looks  of 
sympathy.  Notwithstanding  the  difference  of  the  dialects 
they  spoke,  they  understood  each  other  fully,  and  entered 
into  an  agreement  in  the  presence  of  all,  without  anybody 
suspecting  it. 

The  Admiral  had  a  collation  prepared  for  the  cacique, 
gave  him  marks  of  friendship  and  confidence  as  in  former 
times,  and  told  him  that  he  intended  settling  near  him  and 
building  houses.  Guacanagari  expressed  much  satisfaction 
at  the  idea,  but  observed  that  the  situation,  on  account  of 
its  humidity,  was  unhealth}',  which  was  indeed  the  case. 

Columbus  spoke  to  him  of  God,  of  Jesus  Christ,  trying 
to  induce  him  to  become  a  Christian,  and  desired  he  would 
wear  suspended  from  his  neck  a  medal  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  until  he  would  be  baptized.  But  when  the  cacique 
understood  that  it  was  a  svmbol  of  the  religion  of  the 
Christians,  he  refused  it.     It  was  onlv  through  the  irrcsist- 


2^6  H  I  ST  OR  7"  OF  [book  ii. 

ible  entreaties  of  Columbus  that  he  was  induced  to  accept 
of  this  sign  of  a  worship  against  which  he  had  become 
prejudiced  b}^  the  gross  licentiousness  of  the  garrison.  Still, 
notwithstanding  his  desire  to  please  the  Admiral,  he  ap- 
peared to  be  ill  at  ease.  Father  Boïl  found,  in  this  circum- 
stance, a  confirmation  of  his  suspicions,  and  counselled 
anew  to  have  him  arrested.  Columbus  would  not  consent 
to  it  ;  something  inexplicable  assured  him  of  the  innocence 
of  his  guest. 

Guacanagari,  without  comprehending  exactly  what  was 
going  on,  saw  plainly,  from  the  cold  and  reserved  air  of  the 
Spaniards,  that  they  were  no  longer  the  same  to  him  as  in 
the  first  voyage  of  the  Admiral,  and  that  Columbus  alone 
was  always  good,  —  always  w^orthy  of  reverence.  He 
asked  permission  to  return  to  land  before  sunset. 

The  next  day,  the  natives  were  seen  in  large  numbers  on 
the  shore.  A  messenger  from  the  cacique  came  to  inquire 
of  the  Admiral  when  he  was  going  to  sail,  and  was  in- 
formed that  it  would  be  the  following  da}-.  At  a  later  hour 
the  brother  of  Guacanagari  came  on  board  the  Graciotis 
Mary^  under  the  pretext  of  bartering  some  gold.  Avoiding 
the  presence  of  the  interpreter,  Diego  Colon,  he  spoke  to 
the  Indian  women,  and  especially  to  the  beautiful  Catalina, 
to  whom  he  conveyed  a  message  from  the  king,  his  brother. 
About  midnight  Catalina  gave  the  signal  to  her  compan- 
ions ;  they  noiselessly  let  themselves  down  from  the  side  of 
the  vessel  into  the  sea,  and  swam  bravely  for  the  shore, 
which  was  three  miles  off'.  A  blazing  light  on  the  shore 
was  the  beacon  which  love  had  provided  for  the  fugitives. 
With  all  their  precautions  they  were  overheard  by  the 
watch,  and  the  alarm  was  raised.  During  the  time  neces- 
sary for  manning  the  boats,  they  had  got  the  advance,  so 
that  they  reached  the  land  safely  before  the  boats  could 
come  up  to  them.  Four  of  them  were  retaken  on  the 
beach,  but  the  high-spirited  beauty  Catalina  made  good 
her  escape  into  the  forest. 

When  it  was  day,  Columbus  sent  to  Guacanagari  to  de- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  277 

mand  back  the  fugitives.  The  officer  charged  with  the 
message  found  neither  the  cacique  nor  any  of  his  subjects. 
His  residence  was  silent  and  deserted.  All  had  departed, 
taking  with  them  their  effects,  provisions  and  utensils. 
This  desertion  confirmed  the  suspicions  of  the  guilt  of 
Guacanagari.*     Columbus  alone  refused  to  condemn  him. 


SECTION  III. 

The  president  of  the  topographical  commission  reported 
that  a  suitable  site,  near  a  convenient  port,  had  been  found. 
While  they  were  directing  their  course  to  it,  the  weather 
changed  and  became  unfavorable.  It  cost  more  pains  to  go 
back  thirty  leagues  than  it  did  to  come  all  along  from 
Spain.  Yet  this  contrariety  had  its  advantages.  They 
were  constrained  to  put  into  a  harbor  that  abounded  with 
fish,  and  were  struck  with  the  advantages  of  the  place. 
It  was  provided  with  an  excellent  port,  and  was  near  two 
rivers,  watering  a  soil  that  was  inexhaustibly  fertile.  At  a 
short  distance  were  stones  fit  for  building.  Tlic  plateau 
was  protected  on  one  side  by  an  impervious  forest,  and  on 
the  other  by  a  natural  rampart  of  rocks,  which  commanded 
the  port,  and  which  could  easily  be  rendered  impregnable. 
They  decided  to  go  no  farther.  Doctor  Chanca  considered 
"  this  place  the  best  situated  in  the  world,"  and  thought 
that  Providence  had  conducted  the  fleet  there,  in  seeking 
refuge  from  bad  weather. 

It  was  with  unspeakable  jolcasure  tliat  the  greater  part  of 
the  Spaniards,  strangers  to  a  sea-faring  life,  took  possession 
of  the  verdant  soil,  the  odoriferous  shades,  and  the  unknown 
fruit  of  this  country,  where,  in  trees  always  green,  birds 
built  their  nests  as  they  do  in  spring-time  in  Europe. 

The  provisions,  guns  and  ammunition,  and  implements 
of  every  kind,  were  stored  in  buildings  that  were  imme- 
diately constructed. 

♦Petri  Martyris  Anghieri,  Dicad.  i,  lib.  11. 
24 


278  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

A  plan  of  the  city  was  formed,  and,  when  Cohimbus  had 
determined  its  proportions,  he  laid,  in  the  name  of  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity,  the  foundation-stone  of  it,  giving  it  the  sweet 
name  of  Isabella. 

In  his  estimation,  the  service  of  God  surpassing  all  other 
considerations,  the  first  edifice  that  was  erected  should  be  the 
church.  It  was  pushed  with  such  activity  that,  on  the  sixth 
of  January,  the  anniversary  of  the  entrance  of  the  Sovereigns 
into  Granada,  High  Mass  was  solemnly  celebrated  in  it  by 
the  Vicar- Apostolic,  assisted  by  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Mar- 
chena  and  the  twelve  religious  who  accomjianied  Father 
Boïl. 

Only  three  public  buildings  were  built  of  stone.  The 
houses  of  private  persons  were  built  of  wood,  plaister,  or 
earth.  Everybody  tried  to  have  a  dwelling  for  himself,  so 
that,  in  a  few  weeks,  Isabella  had  the  appearance  of  a  small 
city.  At  the  same  time,  vegetables  and  cereal  crops  grew 
with  great  rapidity.  The  Indians,  whose  fears  were  re- 
moved by  the  affable  countenance  of  Columbus,  were  earnest 
in  aiding  the  Spaniards  in  their  labors,  and  considered 
themselves  handsomely  paid  in  receiving  some  European 
trifles. 

In  order  to  hasten  the  completion  of  Isabella,  the  first 
city  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World,  Columbus,  as  it 
were,  multiplied  himself,  being  almost  everywhere  at  the 
same  time.  This  incessant  fatigue  undermined  his  strength, 
and  he  fell  sick,  without  his  mind  losing  its  vigor.  While 
he  watched  at  the  founding  of  the  colony,  he  studied  the 
means  of  securing  its  prosperity.  He  often  inquired  of  the 
natives  respecting  the  interior  of  the  island,  and  sent  a  car- 
avel to  explore  it.  He  became  persuaded  that  Isabella  was 
the  natural  outlet  of  the  gold  mines  of  Cibao,  distant  three 
days'  journey.  The  joy  of  tliis  news  was  lessened  by  the 
invasion  of  a  quasi  epidemic  disease,  under  the  ravages  of 
which  the  stoutest  hearts  of  the  expedition  became  dis- 
couraged. 


cnAr.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  379 


CHAPTER     III. 

Europeans  disappointed  in  their  Hopes.  —  Fraud  of  the  Purveyors  of 
the  Marine.  —  Conspiracy  against  Columbus.  —  Revolt.  —  Enmity 
of  the  Vicar- Apostolic  towards  Columbus. 


SE  CTION  I. 

THE  hidalgos  who  bad  come  out  with  so  much  enthu- 
siasm to  seek  for  gold,  did  not  know  how  rude  the  life 
of  a  mariner  is.  The  rations,  consisting  of  salted  meat  and 
fish,  and  mouldy  biscuit,  did  not  agree  with  their  constitu- 
tions. The  fatigues  consequent  on  the  building  of  their 
houses,  and  other  causes,  but  particularly  the  alternations 
of  heat  and  wet  weather,  produced  deadly  fevers. 

As  the  Admiral  was  somewhat  ill  at  the  time  when  tilings 
were  put  on  board  at  Cadiz,  he  could  not  himself  inspect 
the  provisions,  animals,  and  munitions.  It  appears  that 
Juan  de  Soria,  the  controller  of  the  marine,  did  not  neglect 
availing  himself  of  this  circumstance.  At  the  unshipping 
at  Isabella,  it  was  found  that  the  greater  part  of  the  pro- 
visions were  damaged,  or  in  insufficient  quantity.  The 
better  j^art  of  the  wine  had  leaked,  on  account  of  the  casks 
being  badly  bound.  The  supply  of  medicines  fell  iàx  short 
of  the  order  given  by  the  physician-in-chicf.  The  superb 
chargers  which  the  Admiral  had  reviewed  at  Seville  were 
replaced  -by  mean  horses.  We  can  now  conceive  the  in- 
stinctive repugnance  of  Columbus  towards  the  controller- 
general,  Juan  de  Soria,  and  why  the  latter  was  the  irrecon- 
cilable enemy  of  the  man  who  knew  his  frauds.  Thus,  in 
the  fust  expedition  of  a  royal  fleet  to  the  New  World,  we 


28o  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

already  find  the  immoral  speculations  and  fraudulent  con- 
nivances with  which  the  administration  of  the  marine  has 
been  so  often  reproached. 

The  frauds  of  the  bureau  of  Seville  aggravated,  then,  the 
condition  of  the  colony  from  its  commencement.  Cruel 
disappointments  and  discouragements  were  experienced. 
Still,  the  sailors,  soldiers,  and  laborers,  accustomed  to 
fatigues,  continued  the  works  so  perseveringly,  that  by  the 
end  of  January  a  large  number  of  houses  were  erected,  and 
the  Admiral  had  the  city  surrounded  with  a  wall  of  dry 
stones,  in  Arabian  fashion. 

Desiring  to  avail  himself  of  the  favorable  weather  for  the 
return  of  the  fleet  to  Spain,  and  to  procure  more  provisions, 
the  Admiral  sent  back  all  the  ships  except  five,  which  were 
destined  for  the  colony,  as  well  as  for  making  further  dis- 
coveries. He  placed  the  fleet  under  the  command  of  An- 
tonio de  Torres,  who  sailed  in  the  Gracious  Alary.  He 
intrusted  to  Torres  a  memorial,  which  the  latter  was  to 
present  personally  to  the  Sovereigns,  with  some  specimens 
of  native  gold. 

This  precious  document,  which  has  descended  to  us  with 
the  marginal  annotations  of  the  Sovereigns,  is  the  best  tes- 
timony of  the  eminent  superiority  of  Columbus  in  matters 
of  government  and  public  administration.  We  perceive  in 
it,  under  the  veil  of  human  prudence,  that  faith  in  Prov- 
idence which  was  the  basis  of  his  character  and  the  secret 
of  his  sublime  aspirations.  It  is  seen  that,  from  minute 
financial  details  to  great  social  influences,  nothing  escaped 
him.  No  mind  was  more  positive  than  his,  or  more  accu- 
rately practical,  notwitstanding  the  poetic  grandeur  of  his 
views. 

The  fleet  sailed  on  the  second  of  February,  1494.  By 
order  of  the  Admiral,  it  carried  the  Indians  (men,  women, 
and  children)  he  had  taken  on  the  Caribbean  islands  to 
Spain,  in  order  that,  becoming  Christians,  they  may  come 
back  and  serve  as  interpreters.  The  Caribs,  it  appeared  to 
him,   would  be  of  great  utility  in    this  respect,  because, 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  281 

coursing  all  the  islands  of  the  archipelago,  they  were  familiar 
with  their  diflcrcnt  dialects. 

As  soon  as  the  fleet  had  quitted  Hispaniola,  great  dis- 
quietude began  to  possess  those  ardent  and  frivolous  minds, 
strangers  to  every  kind  of  labor,  who  had  attached  them- 
selves to  Columbus,  thinking  they  could  amass  fortunes 
amid  the  flowers  and  delights  of  these  unknown  regions. 
Reality  now  stared  them  in  the  face.  Many  of  them 
expressed  their  disappointment  and  discontentment  *to  each 
other,  and  sought  to  leave  the  exile  they  had  imprudently 
imposed  on  themselves.  The  metallurgist,  Firman  Zedo, 
an  ignorant  and  blabbing  man,  disgusted  with  his  sojourn 
in  the  island,  decried  it  to  his  heart's  content.  He  insisted 
that  it  contained  no  gold,  that  the  shining  specimens  which 
the  Admiral  was  pleased  to  decorate  with  the  name  of  gold 
were  only  lamellas,  or  grains  of  mica,  or  of  a  matter  that  only 
resembled  gold.  He  declared  that  the  wrought  gold  brought 
by  the  natives  was  the  fruit  of  hereditary  savings  ;  that  the 
sources  were  entirely  exhausted,  and  that  nothing  could  be 
obtained  from  them  to  repay  for  the  search.  His  declara- 
tions dispelled  the  charm.  The  discontented,  to  become 
seditious,  only  needed  a  leader.  They  found  one  in  the  per- 
son of  Bernai  Diaz  de  Pisa,  the  lieutenant  of  the  paymaster- 
general,  a  functionary  appointed  by  the  Sovereigns. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  sickness  of  Columbus,  he  deter- 
mined to  institute  a  kind  of  inquiry  regarding  the  conduct 
of  the  Admiral,  and  to  show  by  numerous  witnesses  that 
he  deceived  the  Sovereigns  by  a  delusive  report  ;  and  that 
there  was  nothing  but  ruin  and  death  to  be  expected  in  this 
island,  full  of  impenetrable  thickets,  and  inhabited  by  a 
naked  and  sottish  race,  just  the  people  fit  for  such  a  country. 
Bernai  Diaz  and  his  abettors  were  to  take  possession  of  the 
buildings  at  night  ;  but  at  the  very  moment  when  the  plot 
was  going  to  be  executed,  the  Admiral,  suddenly  restored  to 
health,  and  informed  of  the  evil  design,  had  the  chief  con- 
spirator immediately  arrested  ;  on  his  person  were  found 
the  proofs  of  his  crime,  written  by  his  own  hand,  together 
24* 


282  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

with  the  names  of  his  accomplices.  The  Admiral  could 
immediately  have  had  him  judged  according  to  the  rigor  of 
the  laws,  but  he  limited  himself  to  securing  his  person,  and 
sending  him  back  to  Spain,  with  an  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, in  order  that  the  Sovereigns  themselves  may  judge 
his  case.  The  clemency  of  Columbus  has  been  admired 
by  historians.  Irving  cannot  refrain  from  saying  :  "  The 
Admiral  conducted  himself  with  great  moderation.  Sev- 
eral of  the  inferior  mutineers  were  punished  according  to 
the  degree  of  their  culpability,  but  not  with  the  seventy 
which  their  offence  deserved."  * 

Still,  notwithstanding  the  generous  forbearance  of  Colum- 
bus, this  chastisement,  so  conformable  to  law  and  justice, 
and  to  the  exceptional  position  in  which  he  was  placed, 
became  the  source  of  accusations  and  implacable  recrimina- 
tions. Those  who,  perhaps,  would  have  been  the  victims 
of  the  revolt,  became  the  detractors  of  the  Admiral,  whose 
firmness,  tempered  with  clemency,  saved  them  from  ruin. 
Castilian  pride  could  not  bear  to  see  hidalgos  punished  by  a 
foreigner,  and  he  a  Genoese.  The  malcontents  felt  that 
they  were  sustained  at  Court  by  their  families.  Columbus, 
alone,  a  stranger,  and  now  absent,  must  succumb. 

To  guard  against  any  recurrence  of  such  another  attemjDt, 
Columbus  ordered  the  guns  and  munitions  to  be  taken  from 
four  of  the  vessels,  and  put  into  the  principal  one,  which 
was  devoted  to  him.  Then,  leaving  the  five  ships  to  the 
command  of  his  brother,  Don  Diego,  to  attend  to  the  mal- 
contents, he  advanced  to  the  mountains  of  Cibao.  There, 
according  to  what  the  Indians  had  told,  there  were  mines 
of  gold.  The  very  name  of  the  king  of  these  mountains 
was  of  good  omen.  He  called  himself  Caonabo,  which 
means  "Lord  of  the  Golden  House." 

In  order  to  strike  the  natives  with  astonishment  in  his 
march,  he  chose  the  most  vigorous  of  his  men  and  horses, 

*  Washington  Irving.  Hisioty  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus.     Book  vi.,  c.  viii. 


CHAP,  m.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  28^^ 

and  set  out  with  the  greatest  order,  surrounded  by  his  prin- 
cipal officers,  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  which  supported 
a  regiment  of  about  eighty  men,  divided  into  sections.  He 
maintained  in  his  little  army  the  strictest  order,  so  as  to 
excite  wonder  at  a  distance  by  the  regularity  of  their  move- 
ments. After  having  gone  over  the  rolling  ground  which 
lies  between  the  sea-shore  and  the  mountains,  they  came  to 
a  narrow  and  rugged  defile  or  path,  which  the  cavalry  could 
not  pass.  It  was  the  only  route  that  led  directly  to  Cibao. 
The  exuberant  vegetation,  and  the  ruggcdness  of  the  way, 
arrested  the  progress  of  the  expeditionary  corps. 

At  the  request  of  the  Admiral,  a  number  of  high-spirited 
young  cavaliers,  who  had  learned  the  service  of  pioneers 
under  Qiieen  Isabella,  set  bravely  to  work,  and  in  a  few 
hours  opened  a  road  for  the  troops.  In  honor  of  the  gal- 
lant cavaliers  who  had  effected  it,  it  was  called  "  El  Puerto  to 
de  los  Hidalgos,"  or  Tiie  Gentlemen's  Pass. 

This  obstacle  having  been  overcome,  the  army,  from  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  beheld  a  majestic  plain,  extending  as 
far  as  the  sight  could  reach,  watered  by  several  rivers, 
which,  in  their  serpentine  meandcrings,  diffused  freshness 
and  life  on  their  borders,  where  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of 
a  tropical  clime  lavished  its  indescribable  richness.  The 
art  of  the  natives  coming  to  the  aid  of  nature,  converted 
this  abode  into  an  enchanted  garden,  interspersed  with  par- 
terres, orchards,  groves,  meadows,  leaf-covered  bowers,  and 
light  habitations. 

At  the  sight  of  this  enchanting  view,  Columbus  stopped 
his  horse,  and  made  the  column  halt,  in  order  to  gaze 
undisturbed  at  the  scene,  and  to  raise  his  heart  to  the 
Author  of  these  beauties,  and  thank  him  publicly  for  being 
permitted  to  behold  so  magnificent  a  scene.  He  named  it 
the   Vega  Real,,  or  Royal  Plain. 

In  approaching  the  habitations,  the  trumpets  wore 
sounded,  the  banners  displayed,  and  tlie  tambours  beat 
the  charge.  Seized  with  fear  and  wonder,  some  of  the 
natives  came  before  these  powerful  strangers,  to  gaze   at 


2S4  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

them  with  respect,  and  offer  them  the  fruit,  provisions,  and 
gold  they  possessed  ;  while  others,  scared,  took  to  flight,  or 
shut  themselves  up  in  their  cabins,  thinking  themselves  safe 
behind  their  barricades  of  reeds.  The  Admiral  forbade 
forcing  the  fragile  asylums,  or  disturbing  their  inhabitants. 
He  reached  the  banks  of  the  Yague,  a  small  river,  the 
mouth  of  which  he  had  seen  in  his  first  voyage,  and  which 
he  had  named  the  Golden  River. 

For  two  days,  the  royal  standard  of  Castile  was  caiTied 
among  numerous  populations.  Afterwards,  they  came  to  a 
chain  of  lofty  mountains.  It  was  the  district  of  Cibao,  the 
domain  of  the  "  Lord  of  the  Golden  House." 

On  Saturday,  the  fifteenth  of  March,  it  became  necessary 
to  open  another  route  for  the  cavalry.  The  next  day  the 
expeditionary  corps  ascended  with  ardor  the  rugged  slope. 
Gradually  the  vegetation  became  less  abundant.  On  the 
borders  of  rivulets  and  rivers  they  beheld  only  pines  and 
cabbage-trees  ;  besides,  the  rugged  surface  jDresented  only 
vexatious  undulations,  intersected  with  rocks.  Still  the 
Spaniards  looked  with  jo}^  on  these  things,  because  they 
saw  particles  of  gold  in  the  bottoms  of  all  the  streams, 
which  indicated  that  there  were  mines  in  the  vicinity. 

On  his  route  the  Admiral  found  some  unknown  plants, 
and  collected  some  amber  and  lapis  lazuli;  he  also  dis- 
covered a  metalliferous  vein,  showing  the  presence  of  cop- 
per. He  resolved  to  continue  his  explorations  no  farther, 
but  to  secure  the  advantages  he  had  gained  by  a  fortress, 
whiclr  would  protect  the  communications  between  the 
mountains  of  Cibao  and  the  port  of  Isabella.  He  chose  a 
suitable  site  on  a  rocky  plateau,  which  the  Yague,  with  its 
pure  and  fresh  waters,  almost  surrounded,  forming  a  natural 
defence  for  it.  The  climate  was  salubrious.  A  born 
architect,  the  Admiral  planned  a  fortress  for  this  place. 
From  the  height  of  the  ramparts,  which  we're  constructed 
of  wood  and  stone,  the  eye  beheld  a  delightful  savanna. 
He  called  this  fortress  St.  Thomas,  because  of  the  incredu- 
lity of  the  Spaniards  in  regard  to  the  gold  of  this  region, 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  2S5 

until  thcv  had  beheld  it  with  their  eyes,  and  touched  it  with 
their  haiuls,  in  the  beds  ot'  the  rivulets. 

Columbus,  after  having  traced  the  route  which  was  to 
connect  Isabella  and  Fort  St.  Thomas,  appointed  fii'tv-six 
chosen  men  and  some  horses  to  the  latter  place,  under  the 
command  of  Pedro  !Margarit,  the  father  of  a  family,  and 
destitute  of  fortune,  whom  he  himself  had  recommended 
to  the  Sovereigns,  —  a  circumstance  to  be  noted,  inasmuch 
as  this  officer  became  afterwards  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  the  misfortunes  of  the  colony  and  of  the  troubles  of  the 
Admiral. 

SECTION  IT. 

After  Columbus  returned  to  Isabella,  he  had  scarcely 
recovered  from  his  fatigues  when  he  received  a  message 
from  Pedro  Margarit,  informing  him  that  the  cacique 
Caonabo  was  preparing  to  besiege  the  fortress.  Without 
being  much  alarmed,  because  he  knew  the  timidity  of  the 
Indians,  their  fear  of  horses  and  of  fire-arms,  the  Admiral 
still  sent  it  a  reinforcement  of  seventy  men,  with  an  addi- 
tional supply  of  provisions.  Then  he  set  about  having  the 
city  of  Isabella  completed. 

The  fertility  of  the  soil  appeared  incredible.  Leguminous 
seeds  germinated  in  three  days,  and  arrived  at  maturity  in 
three  weeks.  The  thirtieth  of  March,  —  Easter  Sunda}-, — 
a  laborer  presented  Columbus  with  some  ears  of  wheat 
which  he  had  sown  at  the  end  of  January.  They  were 
certain  of  obtaining  two  crops  in  the  year.  Still,  this  hope 
would  not  suffice  for  present  needs.  The  fever  raged  to  a 
great  extent.  The  able-bodied  laborers,  overtasked,  became 
disheartened,  and  did  but  little  work,  while  the  hidalgos, 
wrapped  up  in  their  pride,  yielded  to  bitter  regrets,  and 
cursed  the  Admiral  and  the  Discovery.  Without  being  of 
any  utility  for  the  colonv,  they  consumed  tlie  provisions, 
which  began  to  decline  visiblv.  The  greater  part  of  the 
meats  was   spoiled,   the   medicines  were   nearly   used,  and 


286  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

there  remained  but  a  small  quantity  of  wine.  The  wheat 
alone  offered  some  resource  ;  but  it  was  necessary  to  use  it 
with  economy. 

The  Admiral  thought  of  distributing  in  the  interior  of  the 
island  the  troops,  consisting  of  four  hundred  infantry  and 
sixteen  cavalry,  in  order  to  leave  only  the  workmen  and  the 
sick  in  Isabella.  In  the  mean  time,  he  commenced  putting 
on  short  allowance  all  the  members  of  the  colony,  without 
exception  of  rank  or  person.  He  was  himself  the  first  per- 
son to  submit  to  the  common  law.  This  measure  of  safety 
appeared  insupportable  to  certain  persons.  The  flour  being 
exhausted,  the  rations  were  distributed  in  wheat  in  its  crude 
state.  Everybody  was  then  obliged  to  grind  his  own  wheat 
with  a  hand-mill.  But  there  were  not  mills  enough  ;  be- 
sides, the  volunteers,  the  hidalgos,  and  those  who,  accus- 
tomed to  easy  lives,  had  come  to  the  island  to  amass 
fortunes,  refused  submitting  to  the  required  labor.  The 
sick  and  the  convalescent  could  not  of  course  do  it  ;  and 
the  common  laborers,  obliged  to  do  it  alone,  in  addition 
to  their  other  work,  became  sick,  or  feigned  to  be  so. 

CokuTibus  considered  it  would  not  be  just  to  have  all  the 
weight  of  this  calamity  fall  on  the  poor  laborers.  The  erec- 
tion of  a  public  mill,  and  the  completion  of  a  canal,  which 
he  wished  to  pass  through  the  centre  of  the  city,  were  the 
only  means  to  I'emedy  these  inconveniences.  He  ordered 
that  labor  at  these  two  works  of  public  utility  should  be 
obligatory,  under  severe  penalties.  The  necessity  of  the 
case  justified  this  severity  ;  for  this  collective  and  tempoi'ary 
labor  would,  in  a  short  time,  render  irregular  daily  labor 
unnecessary,  and,  without  much  effort,  would  give  bread 
to  all  in  a  convenient  manner.  But  Castillan  pride  revolted 
at  the  idea.  The  employés,  the  men  of  the  royal  household, 
and  the  hidalgos,  felt  profoundly  humiliated  to  be  obliged 
to  work  at  manual  labor. 

The  Christian  soul  of  Columbus,  arising  above  the  con- 
siderations of  rank  and  prerogatives,  maintained  the  prin- 
ciple of  equality  before  the  law  of  danger  and  that  of  public 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  2S7 

safety.  All  healthy  persons,  distributed  in  companies,  had 
to  do  their  share  of  the  work,  and  the  chastisement  of  the 
refractory  secured  the  execution  of  the  measures.  No  con- 
sideration could  move  him,  and  his  salutary  inflexibility 
was  a  grievance  which  the  Castillans  would  not  pardon. 
But  he  gained  his  point,  and  the  event  justified  the  sagacity 
of  his  course. 

I  Columbus  laid  down,  as  a  principle,  this  maxim  of  the 
religious  of  the  early  ages  of  the  Church  :  "  He  who  does 
not  work  does  not  deserve  food."  To  noble  idlers  and  lazy 
self-seekers  he  presented  the  choice  of  work  or  retrenchment 
of  rations.  For  this  he  was  accused  of  cruelty,  —  a  charge 
which  the  Vicar-Apostolic  invested  with  the  appearance  of 
truth.  The  latter,  without  perhaps  meaning  to  go  so  far, 
instilled  intb  the  minds  of  the  disaflected  the  spirit  of  dis- 
obedience and  revolt. 

Here  a  short  explanation  in  regard  to  Father  Boil,  and 
his  evangelical  labors,  becomes  necessary. 

Father  Bernard  Boil,  a  native  of  Catalonia,  and  a  Bene- 
dictine monk  of  Montserrat,  was  in  high  credit  at  Court, 
for  his  knowledge,  his  ability,  his  acquaintance  with  diplo- 
matic affairs,  his  shrewdness,  and  the  fertility  of  his  intel- 
lect ;  moreover,  his  moral  character  was  irreproachable. 
He  had  not  come  to  the  Indies  of  his  own  accord,  moved 
by  the  spirit  of  his  vocation,  and  had  not  sought  the 
apostolate. 

Nominated  by  the  Sovereigns  to  this  Vicariatc-Apostolic, 
he  obeyed,  in  embarking  for  it,  as  if  he  were  going  on  a 
mission  of  diplomacy,  —  a  matter  for  which  he  had  a  natu- 
ral aptitude.  His  choice  of  the  greater  part  of  his  fellow- 
laborers,  partook  of  that  want  of  divine  election  which  was 
the  case  with  himself.  Among  those  he  took  with  him, 
some  were  really  qualified  to  evangelize  the  poor  idolaters; 
but  the  greater  number  of  them,  better  qualified  for  the 
quiet  regularity  of  a  cloister,  found  themselves  without 
power  or  influence  in  their  new  mode  of  life.  They  had 
no  zeal  or  facility  for  learning  the  language  of  the  natives, 


288  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

and  speaking  to  them  of  God.  They  edifîed  nobody,  they 
consoled  nobody,  and  they  did  not  even  console  themselves 
for  their  estrangement  ;  but  passed  their  time  in  criticising 
the  conduct  of  the  Admiral,  and  in  sighing  for  their  native 
country. 

From  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  the  colony,  Father  Boil, 
until  then  a  great  admirer  of  Columbus,  was  opposed  to 
him  on  the  subject  of  the  supposed  complicity  of  Guacana- 
gari  in  the  massacre  of  the  Spaniards  at  the  fortress.  He 
was  mortified  that  the  Admiral  should  seem  to  believe 
rather  in  the  savage  than  in  his  own  penetration  as  a  dip- 
lomatist. Hence  the  enmity  of  the  Benedictine  against 
Columbus. 

While  the  pious  brother  Juan  Bergognon,  a  religious  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  and  brother  Roman  Pane,  called 
the  "  poor  hermit,"  of  the  Order  of  St.  Jerome,  were  en- 
gaged in  studying  the  language  of  INIarcorix,  —  the  dialect 
which  was  most  generally  understood  throughout  the  island, 
—  the  Superior  of  the  Mission,  disgusted  with  the  poor 
Indians,  wrote  to  the  Qiieen  to  acknowledge  the  useless- 
ness  of  his  sojourn  among  them,  on  account  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  their  language,  and  requesting  her  to  order  his 
return. 

In  sjoite  of  the  opposition  to  which  we  have  referred, 
the  needed  public  works  were  completed,  through  the 
firmness  of  Columbus.  He  sent  the  garrison  of  Isabella 
into  the  interior  of  the  island,  to  explore  it  thoroughly  ; 
to  show  the  natives  the  banner  of  Castile,  and  the  power 
of  its  subjects  ;  to  find  the  beds  of  gold,  all  the  riches  and 
all  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  its  stratcgetic  conve- 
viences.  This  measure  presented  to  the  colony  the  advan- 
tage of  causing  its  provisions  to  last  for  a  longer  time,  and 
of  accustoming  the  soldiers  to  live  on  the  diet  of  the  natives. 
The  Admiral  then  sent  all  the  troops  to  Pedro  Margarit, 
under  the  conduct  of  Alonzo  de  Ojedo,  who  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  command  of  the  whole  army,  while  Margarit 
was  to  have  that  of  Fort  St.  Thomas. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  2S9 


CHAPTER     IV. 

Voyage  to  Cuba.  —  Discovery  of  Jamaica. — The  Queen's  Gardens. 
—  Periodical  Storms.  —  He  desires  to  crush  the  Power  of  the 
Caribs.  —  Columbus  falls  into  a  Lethargy.  —  Bull  of  Partition.  — 
Treaty  of  Tordesillas.  —  Wonderful  Firmness  of  Pope  Alexan- 
der VI. 

SECTION  I. 

IN  order  to  follow  more  easily  the  first  footsteps  of  the 
Castillans  and  the  operations  of  Columbus  in  His- 
paniola,  we  will  briefly  mention  its  political  and  territorial 
divisions. 

Five  kings,  or  grand  caciques,  each  having  under  his 
orders  a  certain  number  of  lords,  or  subaltern  caciques,  —  a 
kind  of  vassals,  —  reigned  over  the  island  of  Hayti,  which 
the  Admiral  named  Hispaniola.  These  five  kings  were, 
Guarionex,  Caonabo,  Bchcchio,  Guacanagari,  and  Gua}-- 
acoa. 

Guarionex,  descended  from  the  most  illustrious  stock, 
governed  the  north-east  part  of  the  island,  in  which  was 
comprised  the  magnificent  plain,  which  was  called  Vega 
Real;  it  was  in  his  territory  that  Isabella  was  built,  without 
his  permission. 

Guacanagari  reigned  over  the  north-east,  from  Artibonite 
to  beyond  Monte  Cliristo. 

Guayacoa  occupied  the  most  eastern  parts  :  those  that 
were  most  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  Caribs.  His  sub- 
jects were  better  armed  than  the  other  islanders,  and  knew 
how  to  defend  themselves  with  courage. 

Bchcchio  possessed  the  greater  part  of  the  island,  —  that 
which  extended  from  Antibonite  westwards  to  Cape  Tibu- 


290  HISTORT  OF  [book  iî. 

ron,  and  embraced  in  its  limits  tlie  salt  lake  of  Xaragua,  for 
a  long  time  the  theme  of  mysterious  stories. 

Caonabo  reigned  over  the  mountainous  parts,  from  the 
heights  of  Cibao  to  the  southern  shore.  Being  of  Caribbean 
origin,  his  genealogy  was  unknown.  Thrown  on  the 
island  by  mere  accident,  a  romantic  amour  detained  him 
there.  Having  become  a  soldier,  he  put  the  crown  on  his 
own  head.  His  militar}^  talents  secured  his  power.  The 
neighboring  kings  feared  his  enmity,  or  sought  an  alliance 
with  him. 

Each  of  these  grand  caciques  had  under  him  some  secon- 
dary caciques,  who  were  sovereigns  de  facto  in  their  re- 
spective districts.  Save  the  populations  of  the  east,  who 
were  exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the  Caribs,  and  the  tribes 
under  the  warrior-king,  Caonabo,  the  natives  were  of  a 
timid  and  pacific  disposition.  The  delightfulness  of  the 
climate,  the  facility  of  living  without  labor,  a  hereditary 
apathy,  and  a  propensity  for  vague  reveries,  rendered  every 
kind  of  corporal  labor  insupportable  to  them  ;  and  the  more 
so  because  their  diet,  almost  exclusively  vegetable,  hardly 
allowed  them  to  prosecute  any  heavy  labors. 

After  having  fortified  Pedro  Margarit  with  admirable 
instructions,  —  comprising,  foreseeing  and  counselling  every- 
thing ;  the  places  to  be  traversed,  the  observations  to  be 
made,  the  means  of  obtaining  provisions,  of  rendering  jus- 
tice among  the  natives,  of  winning  their  affection  and  leading 
them  to  Christianity,  —  the  Admiral  provided  for  the  safety 
of  the  city,  which  was  left  without  a  garrison,  and  prepared 
for  the  contniuation  of  his  discoveries,  not  wishing  to  be 
forestalled  by  Portugal.  To  act  in  his  absence,  he  insti- 
tuted a  council,  composed  of  Fatlier  Boil,  of  Pedro  Her- 
nandez, of  Alonzo  Sanchez  dc  Carvajal,  and  of  Juan  de 
Luxan,  under  the  presidency  of  his  brother,  Don  Diego 
Columbus.  The  choice  of  Father  Boil  will  excite  no  sur- 
prise, when  it  is  remembered  the  Admiral  never  revenged 
an  outrage  done  to  himself;  that  he  placed  the  public  good 
before  every  consideration  ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  his 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


29] 


difference  of  opinion  with  the  Vicar-Apostolic,  he  honored 
in  him  his  official  character  ;  besides,  he  could  not  ignore 
his  capability,  and  perhaps  he  was  disposed  to  give  him,  as 
occasion  may  require,  a  participation  in  the  official  affairs 
of  the  colony. 

SECTION  IL 

The  Admiral  chose  from  among  the  five  vessels  remain- 
ing at  the  port  of  Isabella  the  three  smallest  caravels,  —  the 
A7«a,  the  San  yuan,  and  the  Cordera,  —  manned  by  crews 
that  were  known  to  him.  The  N'lTia  was  commanded  bv 
Aloiizo  Medel,  of  Palos.  The  Cordera  belonged  to  a  man 
from  Palos,  Cristobal  Perez  NiSo.  The  San  Juan  had  as 
captain  a  mariner  from  Malaga,  but  the  crew  were  from 
Palos  or  its  environs. 

The  Admiral  put  his  pavilion  on  board  the  NlTia,  that 
little  caravel  that  had  carried  him  back  to  Europe  ;  and, 
changing  her  name,  he  had  her  called  the  Santa  Clara 
(the  St.  Clare),  in  memory  of  the  first  daughter  of  the 
Seraphic  order.  He  took  with  him  a  few,  but  chosen  ship's 
officers  —  the  astronomer,  Father  Juan  Perez  dc  Marchena  ; 
the  physician-in-chief,  Doctor  Chanca,  and  other  distin- 
guished characters. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  the  Admiral  left  the  port 
of  Isabella,  and  directed  his  course  to  the  west.  He  dropped 
anchor  in  a  port  belonging  to  the  possessions  of  Guacan- 
agari,  thinking  that  cacique  would  come  and  renew  their 
former  relations.  He  wished  it  the  more,  because  the 
munificent  hospitality  of  that  prince  might  be  of  great  advan- 
tage to  the  colony,  which  was  threatened  with  a  dearth  of 
provisions  ;  but,  at  the  sight  of  the  caravels,  Guacanagari 
retired  to  the  woods.  This  circumstance  came  anew  to 
confirm  the  prejudice  entertained  against  him.  Still,  the 
Admiral  did  not  condemn  him.  The  cacique  maybe  afraid 
that  the  treasure  of  his  heart,  the  beautiful  Catalina,  may 
be  taken  from  him. 

The  Admiral  set  sail  the  next  dav,  with  changeable  winds. 


292 


HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


At  last,  after  foui'  days'  rough  sailing,  he  doubled  the  cape 
he  had  seen  in  his  first  voyage,  and  which  he  had  named 
Alpha  and  Omega.  It  is  at  present  called  Maysi.  After- 
wards, steei"ing  southward,  he  came  to  the  admirable  harbor 
of  Guantanamo,  Having  gone  ashore  with  the  staff-officer 
and  the  interpreter,  Diego  Colon,  they  came  to  a  place 
where  preparations  were  being  made  for  a  sumptuous  feast 
before  fires  that  were  abandoned.  There  they  found  great 
quantities  of  fish,  utias,  and  guanas,  cooked  or  cooking. 
The  Spaniai'ds  were  rejoiced  at  finding  this  bounteous  feast,  to 
which  they  helped  themselves.  The  natives  had  concealed 
themselves  at  their  approach.  At  length  they  beheld  about 
seventy  of  the  islanders  on  the  top  of  a  little  hill,  gazing 
at  them  with  awe  and  amazement.  By  friendly  signs,  one 
of  them  was  induced  to  come  near  them.  As  the  Lucayan 
dialect  was  better  understood  on  this  coast  than  at  His- 
paniola,  it  was  easy  to  dispel  his  apprehensions.  In  a  short 
time  his  fellow-countrymen  approached  the  strangers  with 
gentleness  and  veneration.  They  were  preparing  for  their 
cacique  a  banquet,  which  he  was  going  to  give  a  neighbor- 
ing cacique  ;  and  they  cooked  the  fish  to  preserve  it  during 
the  transportation.  The  ravages  which  had  been  made  of 
their  provisions  by  the  Spaniards  gave  them  no  concern  ; 
for,  they  said,  one  night's  fishing  would  replace  the  loss  ; 
but  Columbus,  unwilling  to  have  their  labor  for  nothing, 
distributed  among  them  some  small  European  objects, 
which  filled  them  v/ith  joy.  Shaking  hands  with  the  sail- 
ors, they  parted,  mutually  well  pleased. 

The  next  day  he  continued  his  course  westward,  in  sight 
of  the  coast,  which  he  observed  with  attention.  His  car- 
avels were  followed  by  an  innumerable  throng  of  Indians  in 
canoes,  who  came  to  offer  them  fruit,  cassava  bread,  fish, 
and  calabashes  filled  with  excellent  water.  Like  the  other 
islanders,  they  believed  the  white  men  descended  from 
heaven.  The  Admiral  gave  them  hawks'  bells  and  other 
trinkets,  which  they  considered  of  inestimable  value.  On 
inquiring  of  them  where    they  got   gold,   they  uniformly 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  293 

pointed  to  the  soutli.  Columbus  then  directed  his  course 
in  that  direction. 

At  daybreak  on  Sunday,  he  beheld  the  blue  summits  of 
lofty  mountains.  It  was  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  which  he 
did  not  reach. until  after  a  day's  sailing.  The  island  ap- 
peared to  him  of  marvellous  beauty. 

As  they  approached  land,  an  armada  of  canoes,  manned 
with  painted  warriors,  brandishing  their  arms,  and  uttering 
fearful  yells,  sallied  forth  from  the  numerous  creeks  to 
oppose  their  landing.  Some  presents  calmed  this  fury,  and 
the  squadron  cast  anchor  in  a  port  to  which  Columbus  gave 
the  name  of  Santa  Gloria.,  from  the  ravishing  beauty  of  the 
surrounding  country.  Afterwards  he  sought  a  convenient 
place  for  calking  the  Nina.,  as  she  leaked  considerably. 
Here  also  another  flotilla  ojDposed  his  landing.  Notwith- 
standing the  savage  yells,  and  some  arrows  directed  against 
the  caravels,  the  Admiral  entered  the  harbor,  which,  from 
its  commodiousness,  he  named  the  Puerto  Biicno. 

Needing  quietness  to  have  the  calking  done,  and  to  take 
in  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  he  reflected  that  it  would  be 
well  to  let  the  natives  see  they  w^ere  not  afraid  of  them. 
Some  boats,  well  manned  and  armed,  were  accordingly  sent 
towards  the  shore.  These  coming  close  to  the  beach,  let  fly 
a  volley  of  arrows  from  their  cross-bows,  which  wounded 
seven  or  eight  of  the  Indians.  A  dog  which  found  his  way 
into  the  party,  seeing  them  flee,  pursued  them  with  fury, 
biting  them  on  the  hinder  parts  while  they  fled.*  The 
next  day,  the  caciques  of  that  region  sent  envoys  with  prof- 
fers of  peace  and  amity  ;  afterwards,  there  came  charged 
with  provisions  canoes  whose  sterns  and  prows  were  orna- 
mented with  painting  and  carving.  These  canoes,  formed 
from  the  trunks  of  single  trees,  were  of  colossal  proportions. 
One  that  was  measured  by  the  Admiral  was  ninety-six  feet 


♦The  incredible  success  obtained  by  this  dog  gave  origin  to  the 
idea  of  employing  these  animals  as  auxiliaries  in  the  wars  against 
tlie  Indians. 

25* 


294  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  ii. 

long,  and  eight  feet  broad.  Here  the  quality  of  the  food 
was  better  than  in  the  other  islands  ;  the  fruit  was  better 
flavored,  and  the  plants  had  more  aroma  in  them. 

The  Admiral  took  possession  of  the  island  in  the  accus- 
tomed form  ;  erected  a  cross  on  its  soil  with  the  appropriate 
praj-ers,  and,  putting  it  under  the  patronage  of  the  apostle 
of  Spain,  gave  it  the  name  of  Santiago  (St.  James).  In 
three  days  the  repairs  of  the  caravel  were  completed  ;  and 
Columbus,  after  having  sailed  by  the  coast  twenty-five 
leagues  without  finding  the  least  trace  of  gold,  directed  his 
course  to  Cuba,  to  know  whether  it  was  an  island  or  a  con- 
tinent. He  thought  he  could  settle  the  question,  when  he 
would  have  coasted  it  some  fifty  or  sixty  leagues. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  May,  he  came  near  a  large  cape, 
which  he  named  Cabo  de  la  Cruz  (Cape  of  the  Holy 
Cross).  This  coast,  which  hitherto  extended  to  the  west, 
suddenly  formed  an  immense  bend,  which  swept  to  the 
north.  A  tem^^est,  such  as  no  European  ever  experienced 
in  these  latitudes,  jDut  them  in  great  peril  ;  when  it  passed 
off",  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  rocks  or  keys, 
and  sand-banks,  between  which  they  made  a  league,  vis- 
ibly guided  by  Providence.  A  countless  number  of  small 
islands,  some  low  and  sandy,  others  elevated  and  covered 
with  verdure,  and  of  a  charming  aspect,  formed  a  kind  of 
labyrinth.  Not  being  able  to  give  each  of  them  a  particular 
name,  Columbus  called  them  collectively  the  "  Qiieen's 
Gardens."  His  ofiicers  besought  him  to  quit  these  parts, 
where  to  recede  was  no  less  dangerous  than  to  advance. 
They  were  in  continual  danger  of  running  aground. 

Some  phenomena  of  a  particular  character  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  Admiral.  The  variableness  of  the  weather 
presented  in  its  caprices  a  kind  of  periodic  regularity,  which 
was  calculated  to  surprise  the  great  observer  of  nature. 
Every  morning  the  wind  came  from  the  east,  —  every  even- 
ing from  the  west  ;  at  the  approach  of  night  heavy  clouds 
gathered  in  the  west,  inci-easing  as  they  came  to  the  zenith, 
and  sending  forth  sheets  of  lightning,  followed  by  peals    of 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  295 

tlumdcr.  But,  as  soon  as  the  moon  rose,  the  whole  mcn- 
acnig  mass  would  soon  disappear.  This  atmospheric  singu- 
larity, and  the  immense  number  of  little  islands,  inclined 
Columbus  to  think  he  was  in  the  archipelago  of  five  thou- 
sand islets,  situated  at  the  extremity  of  India,  spoken  of  by 
^larco  Paulo  and  Mandcville  ;  and,  although  the  caravels 
touched  ground  more  than  once,  notwithstanding  the  pre- 
cautions of  the  pilots,  he  was  unwilling  to  depart  from  this 
country  until  he  would  know  how  the  matter  stood. 

These  islands,  for  the  most  part,  w'cre  inhabited.  In 
the  largest  of  them,  which  the  Admiral  named  the  Santa 
JMaria,  they  found  houses,  which  the  inhabitants  fled  from 
on  their  approach,  some  geese,  some  herons,  and  four  dumb 
dogs,  which,  it  was  afterwards  ascertained,' they  fattened  for 
their  grand  entertainments.* 

The  Admiral  spent  nearly  a  month  in  navigating  this 
dangerous  archipelago.  During  these  operations  they  de- 
scended frequently  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  to  know  the  extent 
of  that  country,  and  whether  it  was  an  island  or  a  conti- 
nent. At  last  he  went  ashore  himself,  in  order  to  solve  this 
geographical  problem. 

Some  of  the  natives  said  Cuba  was  an  island,  but  almost 
all  agreed  that  it  had  no  end.  Some  fishermen,  questioned 
on  the  subject,  said  it  extended  endlessly  to  the  west.  The 
embarrassment  of  Columbus  soon  increased.  In  the  region 
now  arrived  at  the  interpreter  could  not  be  understood,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  resort  to  the  language  of  signs.  This 
imperfect  mode  of  expressing  ideas  led  the  Admiral  into  an 
error  that  was  almost  inevitable.  On  the  one  hand,  he  un- 
derstood that  in  the  west  there  reigned  a  cacique  named 
Magon,  or  Mango,  wearing  a  long  robe  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
an  archer  of  the  exjDcdition,  who  had  been  hunting  in  the 
woods,  saw  a  man  clothed  in  white,  like  the  almoner  of  the 
Santa  Clara;  afterwards  he  saw  two  others,  and,  further  on, 
he  counted   thirty .f     He  considered  it  prudent  to  return 

*  Fernando  Columbus.     Histoire  de  V Admiral,  chap.  LV. 
t  Viewed  at  a  certain  angle,  white  cranes  could  produce  this  illu- 
sion. 


296  HISTORY  OF  [book  ir. 

hastily  to  the  ships.  The  Admiral  immediately  despatched 
two  parties  of  armed  men  in  quest  of  these  people  clothed 
in  white,  but  one  of  these  parties  could  not  advance  more 
than  half  a  league,  on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  forests  ; 
and  the  other,  which  was  to  go  in  a  different  direction  by 
the  shore,  perceiving  on  the  sands  the  recent  footprints  of 
some  monstrous  animals  with  claws,*  hastened  back  also. 
These  circumstances,  collated  with  the  new  atmospheric 
changes  he  experienced,  and  the  accounts  of  travellers  about 
the  country  of  Mangu,  or  Mangon,  as  well  as  the  traditions 
about  the  Grand  Khan,  whose  states  extended  to  the  ocean, 
persuaded  Columbus  that  he  had  arrived  at  or  near  the 
extremit}'^  of  India. 

He  then  continued  his  navigation  to  the  north-west,  find- 
ing new  groups  of  small  islands,  and  observing,  on  his  right, 
the  large  island  of  Pines.  Thinking  that  from  the  latter 
the  Gospel  would  be  spread  among  the  small  archipelagos, 
he  named  it  Evangelista.  He  noticed  the  sudden  direction 
the  coast  took  to  the  south,  —  a  new  circumstance  which 
served  to  confirm  him  in  his  conjectures,  from  its  conformity 
with  what  had  been  written  by  travellers.  Again,  he  was 
informed  by  natives  that  there  was  no  known  limit  to  this 
coast,  even  if  pursued  during  more  than  twenty  days'  travel. 
The  conformity  of  these  reports,  and  coincident  circum- 
stances, changed. his  doubts  into  certainty.  In  order  to  fore- 
stall Portugal  in  any  attempts  she  may  make,  the  Admiral 
considered  it  important  to  take  possession  of  the  terra 
Jirjiia  as  soon  as  possible,  and  accordingly  proceeded  to 
make  a  formal  and  authentic  record  of  the  discovery  of 
the  continent  of  Cuba,  which  was  considered  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Indies. 

There  were  in  the  three  caravels  fifty  seamen,  among 
whom  were  some  pilots  of  high  reputation,  and  persons 
skilled  in  cosmography.  None  of  them  had  any  doubt  on 
the  subject,  and  all   knew  the  data  upon  which  Columbus 

*  They  were  undoubtedly  alligators. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  297 

foiiiidccl  his  conjectures.  They  were  fiimlv  persuaded  that 
Cuba  formed  the  commencement  of  the  Indies.  From  these 
circumstances  Cohmibus  conceived  the  bold  project  of  re- 
turning to  Spain  in  a  route  by  Asia  and  the  Mediterranean. 
God  alone,  and  the  angels,  knew  at  that  time  tlic  form  of 
the  new  continent,  the  immensity  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
the  distance  that  separated  Cuba  from  the  coasts  of  China 
and  of  the  Indian  Archipelago.  The  error  of  Columbus, 
inevitable  as  it  was,  and  from  which  he  could  not  have  been 
exempt  save  by  divine  revelation,  serves  to  show  the  fertility 
of  his  genius  and  the  boldness  of  his  inductions.  In  his 
plan  glitters  the  first  idea  of  circumnavigating  the  globe. 
Doubling  the  Aurea  Chersoncsus  and  the  peninsula  of  Ma- 
lacca, he  might  emerge  into  the  seas  frequented  by  the 
Arabians,  and  anciently  known  by  the  Roman  merchants. 
He  might  pass  Tapobrana,  and,  continuing  on,  arrive  at  the 
shores  of  the  Red  Sea.  Thence  he  might  go  by  land  to 
Jerusalem  and  the  other  holy  places,  —  the  constant  object 
of  his  solicitude  an,d  of  his  heroic  ardor.  Then  he  could 
take  shipping  at  Joppa,  and  return  to  Spain,  traversing 
the  whole  length  of  the  Mediterranean.  But  the  want  of 
provisions,  the  shattered  state  of  his  caravels,  and  the  re- 
monstrances of  his  sailors,  obliged  him  to  turn  back. 

SECTION  III. 

In  recompense  for  his  fatigues  during  this  cruise,  the  con- 
templator  of  Creation  was  invited  to  witness  grand  natural 
spectacles.  In  proportion  as  he  retired  to  the  deep  and 
clear  waters  of  the  coast  of  Cuba,  scenes  of  animated 
nature  vivified  the  solitudes  of  the  ocean.  One  day  they 
came  to  where  the  sea  was  almost  covered  with  tortoises. 
The  next  day  flights  of  cormorants  and  cranes  would  fill 
the  horizon  ;  and  the  following  day,  the  whole  air  would  be 
filled  with  clouds  of  butterflies,  until  the  evening  shower 
would  dispel  them. 

In  continuing  his  route,  he  reentered  the  waters  that  had 


298  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

formerly  alarmed  his  men.  He  found  the  sea  thick  and 
white,  which  he  had  crossed  before  arriving  at  Evangelista. 
The  heavy  and  turbid  waves  were  so  vividly  white  that  they 
dazzled  the  sight.  The  caravels  could  make  but  little  sail, 
and  had  to  make  frequent  soundings.  To  this  local  phe- 
nomenon there  was  soon  added  another,  not  less  annoying 
to  the  crews, than  very  curious  to  an  inquiring  mind.  The 
sea  became  as  black  as  ink,  so  that  nothing  could  be  seen. 
Any  other  heart  than  that  of  Columbus  would  have  quailed 
in  the  presence  of  such  a  transition.  At  length,  on  the  sixth 
of  Jul}',  they  landed  at  the  extremity  of  the  gulf  formed  by 
the  jutting  out  of  Cape  Santa  Cruz.  The  Indians  of  the 
country  hastened  to  bring  them  provisions,  —  a  matter  they 
much  needed. 

To  thank  God  for  the  signal  favors  granted  them  among 
so  many  perils,  Columbus  had  an  altar  erected  at  the  near- 
est shady  place,  and  mass  solemnly  celebrated. 

During  the  ceremon}^,  an  aged  cacique,  venerable  in 
spite  of  his  nudity,  came  near,  observing  with  attention 
everything  that  was  done.  He  perceived  that  the  ceremony 
must  be  of  a  sacred  and  religious  character.  After  Colum- 
bus had  finished  his  thanksgiving,  the  old  man  saluted  him, 
offering  him  a  basket  of  fine  fruit,  which  he  held  in  his 
hand  ;  and  seating  himself  by  him,  addressed  him  in  the 
following  terms,  through  the  interpreter  Diego,  whose  dia- 
lect he  understood  :  "  It  is  meet  and  just  to  render  thanks 
to  God  for  the  blessings  He  vouchsafes  us.  It  appears  to  be 
your  manner,  and  that  of  3'our  people,  thus  to  render  Him 
homage  ;  that  is  all  well.  I  have  been  informed  that  some 
time  ago  j'ou  came  with  your  forces  to  these  countries, 
which  until  then  were  unknown.  Remember,  I  beseech 
and  implore  you,  that  the  souls  of  men,  on  leaving  the 
body,  enter  on  two  ways  :  one,  leading  to  a  noisome  and 
dismal  place,  covered  with  darkness,  prepared  for  those  who 
have  been  unjust  and  cruel  to  their  fellow-men  ;  the  other, 
pleasant  and  delightful,  for  such  as  have  loved  and  promoted 
peace  among  men.     Beware,  then,  if  you  believe  yourself 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  2()() 

to  be  a  mortal  man,  of  doing  injury  to  anybody,  and  ])ear 
in  mind  that  everybody  will  be  rewarded  or  punished 
according  to  his  works." 

Columbus  was  moved  and  consoled  by  these  words. 
Until  then  he  had  never  noticed  in  the  Indians  anything  that 
indicated  a  clear  idea  of  a  future  life.  The  Admiral  blessed 
God  for  having  vouchsafed  this  light  to  men  of  good-will, 
secluded  in  these  distant  regions.  This  old  cacique  re- 
minded him  of  one  of  those  just  men  of  the  primitive  law, 
dwelling,  like  Raguel,  in  idolatrous  countries.  Columbus 
answered,  through  the  interpreter,  that  he  came  from  the 
extremity  of  the  ocean,  sent  by  his  Sovereigns  to  teach  the 
true  religion,  to  cause  justice  to  reign,  to  subdue  the  inhu- 
man Caribs,  and  force  them  to  peace,  and  to  protect  pacific 
nations. 

The  old  cacique  was  overjoyed  at  these  words,  and  could 
not  refrain  from  shedding  tears.  Then,  to  his  great  aston- 
ishment, the  interpreter  told  him  of  the  grandeur  of  the 
monarchs  of  Spain.  Conceiving  the  highest  idea  of  the 
strangers,  and  especially  of  their  chief,  he  suddenly  an- 
nounced his  resolution  of  following  them.  Forgetting  his 
}ears,  he  desired  to  traverse  the  ocean,  to  behold  those 
things  the  description  of  which  had  excited  his  curiosity. 
But  his  wife  and  children  cast  themselves  at  his  feet,  implor- 
ing him  not  to  quit  them  :  at  length  he  listened  to  their 
remonstrances,  and  consented  to  remain  among  his  own 
people. 

Columbus  remained  several  days  at  anchor  in  the  river, 
which,  from  the  masses  celebrated  on  its  banks,  he  named 
the  Rio  de  la  Misa,  and  the  natives  brought  him  abundance 
of  provisions.  He  had  some  repairs  done  to  the  ships,  and 
had  supplies  of  water,  wood,  and  fresh  provisions  taken  in, 
and  on  the  sixteenth  of  July  he  directed  his  course  to  liis- 
paniola  ;  but,  as  he  was  about  doubling  Cape  Santa  Cruz, 
a  violent  squall  struck  the  ships,  and  nearly  threw  tliem  on 
their  beam-ends.  Their  promptitude  alone  saved  them; 
fortunately  they  were  able  to  take  in  sail  immediately,  and, 


300  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

letting  go  their  largest  anchors,  kept  from  driving.  But 
the  Santa  Clara  was  so  much  damaged  by  the  keys  that 
she  leaked  on  every  side, .and  the  utmost  exertions  of  the 
crew  could  not  prevent  tlie  water  from  gaining  on  her.  To 
add  to  their  troubles,  their  stock  of  provisions  began  to  run 
out;  each  man  had,  per  day,  only  a  biscuit  and  a  cup  of 
wine.  The  Admiral,  unwilling  to  fare  better  than  the 
others,  contented  himself  with  the  rations  of  a  sailor.  The 
danger  was  so  great  that  he  wrote  to  the  Qiieen,  in  giving 
an  account  of  this  expedition  :  "  God  grant  that  my  fatigues 
may  be  profitable  to  His  service  and  that  of  your  High- 
nesses. Never  could  self-interest  make  me  expose  myself 
to  so  many  fatigues  and  perils  ;  not  a  day  passes  that  I  am 
not  every  moment  exposed  to  death."  The  billows  burst 
with  so  much  violence,  that  they  sank  the  sides  of  the 
Santa  Clara  under  water.  The  crew  no  longer  expected 
any  human  succor  to  raise  the  ship,  held  down  by  the 
weight  of  the  anchors.  In  the  imminence  of  this  impend- 
ing shipwreck  God  aided  His  servant,  and  enabled  him  to 
take  shelter  in  a  little  cove  of  Cape  Santa  Cruz,  where  the 
natives  brought  him  abundance  of  cassava  bread,  fried  fish, 
fowl,  and  fruit  of  every  kind. 

The  Admiral  remained  here  three  days,  to  rest  his  sailors, 
and  to  repair  the  damages  done  his  ship.  The  wind  con- 
tinuing contrary  for  the  return  to  Hispaniola,  he  stood 
across  for  Jamaica,  to  complete  his  exploration.  There 
also  he  was  assailed  by  storms,  and  his  men  became  quite 
fatigued. 

The  wind  having  changed  to  the  north-east,  the  Admiral 
directed  his  course  to  Hispaniola.  He  did  this  in  so  unei"- 
ring  a  manner,  that  the  next  day,  the  twentieth  of  August, 
he  arrived  at  the  western  cape  of  the  island,  which  he 
named  St.  Michael.  On  the  twenty-third  a  large  canoe 
approached  the  caravels,  having  on  board  a  cacique,  who 
said,  in  a  loud  voice,  in  Spanish,  "  Admiral,  Admiral,  how 
could  you  have  conjectured  that  this  cape  belonged  to 
Hispaniola.'"'     In  truth,  he  did  not  know  that  it  did;  he, 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  301 

however,  found  himself  there,  come  in  a  straight  line,  with 
such  precision,  that  it  seemed  miraculous. 

In  reflecting  on  the  character  of  that  impious  race  who 
for  so  many  ages  had  desolated  the  homes  which  Provi- 
dence had  prepared  for  the  peace  and  happiness  of  its  chil- 
dren, and  calling  to  mind  their  continual  violation  of  the 
laws  of  humanity,  and  their  ruthless  descents  on  peaceable 
populations  who  shuddered  at  the  sole  mention  of  their 
name,  he  resolved  to  subjugate  the  whole  race,  and  to  make 
them  labor  for  the  advantage  of  the  people  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  devour.  By  this  act  of  justice  he  hoped  to  win 
the  grateful  affections  of  the  islanders  for  the  Christians, 
whose  faith  he  desired  they  would  ardently  embrace. 
While  waiting  to  see  what  the  Qiicen  would  decree  in 
relation  to  these  ferocious  savages,  he  desired,  at  least,  to 
go  with  his  caravels  to  the  Caribbean  archipelago,  to  search 
for  the  haunts  of  the  cannibals,  and  burn  their  canoes,  to 
prevent  them  from  continuing  longer  their  depredations. 
He  hoped  to  be  able  to  make  them  powerless  for  evil,  and 
to  oblige  them  to  remain  in  their  islands,  and  cultivate 
them,  in  place  of  their  transporting  other  men  there  to 
fatten  for  their  feastings. 

After  having  endured  some  new  storms,  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  September  the  Admiral  perceived  the  most  east- 
ern cape  of  Hispaniola,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  the 
archangel  Raphael.  Notwithstanding  the  crazed  condition 
of  the  caravels,  the  weather  becoming  calm,  he  directed  his 
course  to  the  Caribs,  whose  power  he  wished  to  crush. 
But  God,  no  doubt,  willed  that  Ilis  servant,  the  messenger 
of  peace,  the  gentle  dove,  the  emblem  of  spiritual  regener- 
ation, should  not  effect  a  mission  of  chastisement,  or  of 
vengeful  2:)iniishment.  As  soon  as  they  passed  the  Island 
of  Mona,  borne  by  a  favorable  wind  towards  the  haunts  of 
the  cannibals,  the  invisible  power  which  until  then  had 
sustained  him  was  suddenly  withdrawn.  Abandoned  now 
to  the  laws  of  nature,  Columbus  was  obliged  to  submit  to 
their  rigorous  exactions.. 
26 


302  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

It  was  just  five  months  since  lie  had  departed  from  His- 
paniola.  For  a  hundred  and  fifty  consecutive  days,  liis 
study  of  nature,  his  examination  of  waters  and  soils,  his 
contemplation  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  his  efforts 
to  reconcile  with  each  other  the  contradictory  statements 
of  the  natives  to  attain  some  geographical  verity,  and  his 
prolonged  struggle  against  the  elements,  maintaining  his 
soul,  his  intellect,  and  his  bod}',  in  a  triple  activity,  ex- 
hausted all  his  forces.  The  feeling  of  his  responsibility, 
and  the  necessity  of  constantly  directing  the  navigation 
himself,  were  too  much  for  his  age,  his  infirmities,  his 
want  of  nourishment,  and  his  privation  of  sleep. 

All  his  organs  became  simultaneously  torpid.  His  brain, 
as  well  as  his  eyes  and  his  limbs,  yielded  to  fatigues  that 
surpassed  human  endurance.  Thei'e  was  a  total  suspension 
of  all  his  physical  and  moral  faculties.  It  was  a  state  of 
complete  lethargy.  Were  it  not  for  the  pulsation  of  his 
arteries,  and  the  flexibility  of  his  members,  one  would  have 
believed  his  sublime  soul  had  returned  to  its  Creator. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  pilots,  left  to  their  own 
counsel,  spread  their  sails  for  the  harbor  of  Isabella. 

SECTION  IV. 

Two  months  before  the  departure  of  Columbus  on  his 
second  voyage,  Portugal  addressed  Castile  a  protestation 
against  the  Bulls  of  the  third  and  fourth  of  May,  1493, 
which,  it  alleged,  infringed  on  the  rights  with  which  her 
Crown  was  previously  invested. 

Castile,  fearing  to  see  a  change  in  the  friendly  relations 
existing  with  her  ally,  desired  to  have  the  reclamation 
attentively  examined.  The  thirtieth  of  July,  1494,  Isabella 
charged  Don  Guttiere  de  Toledo,  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Salamanca,  to  send  her  forthwith  the  masters  in 
astronomy  and  in  geography  he  would  judge  most  capable, 
in  order  that  they 'should  confer  with  the  pilots  she  had 
assembled. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  303 

^Icanwliile,  Portugal,  while  addressing  herself  to  Castile, 
\vas  not  inactive  in  regard  to  influential  members  of  the 
Pontifical  Court.  She  used  all  the  resources  of  her  diplo- 
matic art  to  obtain  from  the  Holy  See,  under  some  form, 
an  invalidation,  or  a  retraction,  of  the  Bulls  accorded  to 
Spain.  But  to  the  importunities  and  solicitations  of  John 
II.  the  Pope  answered,  simply,  that  he  had  in  advance 
anticipated  all  contestations  in  drawing  a  line  of  demarka- 
tion  from  one  pole  to  the  other,  and  that  his  donation  was 
irrevocable.  The  Court  of  Spain,  having  informed  the 
Holy  See  of  the  reclamation  of  Portugal,  received  from 
the  Pope  precisely  the  same  answer. 

Still,  Portugal  did  not  consider  herself  defeated.  She 
returned  to  importuning  the  Holy  See,  advancing,  as  rea- 
sons, her  priorit}'  in  maritime  discoveries,  her  pious  inten- 
tions, and  several  considerations  drawn  from  geograj^hical 
science.  All  were  useless  ;  the  Pope  remained  immovable. 
The  Holy  Father  depended  with  such  confidence  on  the 
boundaries  fixed  by  the  data  furnished  by  Columbus,  that  he 
referred  the  ambassadors  and  envoys  to  the  Bulls  of  the 
third  and  fourth  of  May,   1493. 

A  circumstance  in  this  controversy,  hitherto  overlooked 
by  historians,  but  which,  however,  shows  very  plainly  the 
providential  character  of  the  phpal  line  of  demarkation, 
deserves  to  be  remarked  here. 

It  appears  that  the  Qiieen  of  Castile  herself,  foreseeing 
already  the  possibility  of  the  marriage  of  the  Infanta,  her 
daughter,  with  the  presumptive  heir  of  John  II.,  to  prevent 
every  cause  of  disagreement  with  her  powerful  neighbor, 
was  noways  averse  to  consenting  that  the  Pope  should 
revise  his  Bull  of  Partition,  and  modify  it  so  as  to  be  more 
favorable  to  Portugal.  Isabella  considered  it  a  simple  mat- 
ter of  course  that,  at  her  own  request,  the  Holy  See  would 
restrict  a  privilege  solely  accorded  in  her  favor.  She  was 
so  sure  of  it,  that,  in  writing  to  Columbus  the  fifth  of 
September,  1493,  she  spoke  of  the  amendment  of  the  Bull 


304  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

as  a  thing  already  obtained.*  The  Qiieen  of  Castile  joined 
her  entreaties  to  those  of  John  II.  The  two  parties  inter- 
ested being  thus  of  accord,  it  was  expected  that  the  pre- 
tended error  of  the  Bull  would  be  rectified. 

But  when,  in  his  Bull  of  Partition,  the  Holy  Father  de- 
clared that  he  had  made  the  donation  by  the  spontaneous 
impulse  of  his  own  liberality,  without  regard  to  any  entreaty, 
and  acting  in  virtue  of  his  apostolic  plenitude,  he  attested  a 
truth  no  less  formal  than  it  was  imposing.  So,  respecting 
himself,  the  incomparable  donation,  given  without  any  ex- 
ternal human  impulsion,  and  in  which  he  seemed  the  first 
to  recognize  the  character  of  a  divine  favor,  the  Sovereign 
Pdntiff"  remained  immovable  in  his  determination.  He 
rejected  the  solicitations  and  the  modifications  proposed 
by  Spain,  as  he  had  rejected  the  persisting  reclamations 
and  the  obsequious  supplications  of  Portugal.  His  decision 
remained  as  inflexible  as  a  divine  decree.  The  Holy  Father 
had  pronounced  in  his  quality  as  Chief  of  the  Church  ;  his 
word  already  existed  in  time  as  irrevocable  as  the  accom- 
plished and  the  indefectible.  All  this  is  strange  and  mar- 
vellous. In  such  a  case,  the  greatest  saint  and  the  grandest 
genius,  united  in  the  same  person,  could  not  have  acted 
better  than  did  Alexander  VI.  Still,  in  order  to  put  an 
end  to  these  complaints,  and  to  show  the  immutability  of 
his  resolution,  the  Pope  issued,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  Sep- 
tember, a  Bull,  by  which,  in  confirming  his  donation  to  the 
Sovereigns  of  Castile,  he  extended  it  in  place  of  limiting  it. 
This  Bull  took  its  title  from  its  object,  and  was  called,  in 
diplomacy,  the  "  Bull  of  Extension"  (^Bzila  de  Extensiofi), 

From  that  time,  the  contest  remained  between  the  two 
Crowns. 

The  pertinacity  of  Portugal,  and  the  yielding  disposition 
of  Spain,  who  did  not  wish  to  alienate  an  ally  to  whom  she 
was  going  to  be  still  more  united  by  the  ties  of  blood,  were 
such,  that  with  a  common  accord  they  signed  a  treaty  in  the 

♦  Coleccion  Diplotnat..,  num.  LXXI. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  305 

city  of  Tordesillas,  by  which  they  respectively  bound  them- 
selves to  abide  by  a  boundary  that  would  be  agreed  on  by  a 
learned  commission  comjDosed  of  an  equal  number  of  Span- 
iards and  of  Portuguese,  who  would  be  charged  witlî  cor- 
recting the  pretended  errors  of  the  Bull. 

What  was  the  consequence  of  the  yielding  temper  of 
Spain  and  the  jealous  ambition  of  Portugal,  and  what  was 
the  result  of  the  change  made  in  the  decision  of  the  Holy 
See?     This  deserves  notice. 

When  he  sanctioned  the  calculation  made  by  Columbus, 
and  when  he  made  the  partition  of  the  unknown  and  of  the 
future  contingent,  in  fixing  as  a  line  of  demarkation  the  one 
pointed  out  by  the  Revealer  of  the  New  World,  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff',  without  saying  it,  munificently  gave  Spain 
the  new  continent  in  all  the  integrity  of  its  extent  ! 

The  commission,  without  regarding  the  line  traced  by 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff",  as  if  it  did  not  exist,  agreed  to  draw 
another  straight  line,  running  from  the  Arctic  to  the  An- 
tarctic Pole,  and  passing  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues 
to  the  west  of  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd.  This  was  re- 
moving the  line  fixed  by  the  Holy  Father  two  hundred  and 
sixty  leagues  farther  westwards. 

Hence  it  followed,  that  for  having  disregarded  the  apos- 
tolate  of  Christopher  Columbus,  doubted  of  the  inspired 
science  of  the  Holy  See,  considered  herself  more  equitable 
than  the  Sovereign  Pontiff'  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  Por- 
tugal, and  for  having  dared  to  correct  the  Bull,  Spain  lost 
her  exclusive  privilege  over  the  New  World  ;  and  the  vast 
empire  of  Brazil  was  acquired  by  Portugal. 

The  pretentious  calculations  of  the  commissioners  were 
founded  on  no. cosmographie  data;  whilst,  on  the  contrary, 
the  line  traced  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff'  pointed  out  pre- 
cisely the  most  appropriate  ground  for  it  on  the  face  of  tlic 
globe,  —  a  ground  truly  worthy  of  our  serious  investiga- 
tions. Involuntarily  struck  with  this  marvellous  foresight 
of  the  Holy  See,  the  great  Humboldt  has  shown  the  insig- 
nificance of  the  measures  agreed  upon  by  the  commission, 
26* 


3o6  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

who  pretended  to  make  a  more  ingenious  or  more  exact 
division  tlian  tliat  made  by  Alexander  VI.  Tlie  illustrious 
Protestant,  speaking  of  the  means  then  resorted  to  for  de- 
termining a  line  of  imaginary  demarkation,  says  :  "  The 
state  of  science,  and  the  imperfectness  of  all  the  instruments 
that  could  serve  on  sea  to  measure  time  or  space,  did  not 
permit  yet,  in  1493,  the  practical  solution  of  so  complicated 
a  problem.  In  this  state  of  things,  Pope  Alexander  VI., 
in  arrogating  to  himself  the  right  of  dividing  a  hemisphere 
between  two  powerful  empires,  rendered,  without  knowing 
it,  a  signal  service  to  nautical  astronomy,  and  to  the  phys- 
ical theory  of  terrestrial  magnetism.* 

Noticing,  further  on,  the  disdainful  silence  of  the  com- 
mission on  the  subject  of  the  papal  line  of  demarkation, 
Humboldt  again  remarks  :  "  The  lines  of  the  papal  demark- 
ation merit  being  stated  exactly,  because  they  are  of  great 
weight  in  the  efforts  being  made  to  perfect  nautical  astron- 
omy and  the  methods  of  longitude."  f 

The  enemies  of  the  Church,  the  detractors  of  the  Papacy, 
while  contesting  its  right  to  make  this  astonishing  donation, 
are  obliged  to  acknowledge  the  magnificence  of  the  remu- 
neration it  accorded  to  the  Catholic  zeal  of  Spain. 

Whatever  may  be  one's  religious  faith,  and  at  whatever 
point  of  view  he  may  place  himself,  one  fact  in  this  contest 
must  be  plain  to  him  :  namely,  that  the  Holy  See  showed 
more  confidence  in  Columbus  than  Spain  did.  The  Re- 
vealer  of  the  Globe  was  more  justly  judged  by  the  Church 
than  by  the  government  to  which  he  devoted  himself. 

If  we  examine  with  impartial  minds  the  documents  of 
this  conflict  between  the  two  Catholic  powers,  we  cannot 
avoid  having  a  feeling  of  wonder,  mingled  with  respect,  in 
seeing  how  events  have  justified,  at  the  same  time,  the  fore- 
sight, the  certitude,  and  the  action  of  the  Holy  See.  Here 
the  Church  acted  in  the  manner  of  Providence,  who,  in  His 


*  Humboldt.     Cos7nos,  etc.,  t.  il.,  p.  340. 
t  lôid,  p.  572. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  307 

recompenses,  always  surpasses  the  expectations  of  men  ; 
for,  having  prcsumptuoufcly  tried  to  do  better  than  the 
Church  did,  Spain  lost  the  better  part  of  the  magnificent 
donation  which  was  gianted  her.  In  order  to  chastise  her 
pride,  God  had  only  to  abandon  her  to  herself.  The  fulfil- 
ment of  her  own  desires  was  her  first  punishment. 


3o8       •  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Columbus  meets  his  brother  Bartholomew.  —  Prompt  recovery  of 
the  Admiral.  —  He  receives  the  first  letter  that  is  sent  from 
Europe.  —  Supplies  received.  —  Excesses  committed  in  his  ab- 
sence ;  odious  conduct  of  Pedro  Margarit  and  of  Father  Boil. 
—  General  Conspiracy  of  the  Caciques.  —  Fidelity  ofGuacanagari, 
through  i-egard  for  Columbus.  —  Cause  of  the  sterility  of  the 
Missions.  —  Father  Boil  and  Father  Boyl. 


SECTION  I. 

'HAT  the  Santa  Clara  bore  on  her  quarter-deck 
under  the  name  of  '•'  Admiral,"  was  a  motionless 
body,  deprived  of  all  consciousness.  The  twenty-ninth  of 
September  the  flotilla  entered  the  longed-for  port.  The 
colony  rejoiced  at  its  return  :  five  months'  absence  led  to 
the  fear  that  it  had  perished.  At  length,  after  a  sleep  of 
five  days  and  nights,  a  voice  well  known  to  the  heart  of  the 
Admiral  drew  him  from  his  lethargy.  In  awaking,  he 
found  himself  in  the  arms  of  his  brother  Bartholomev*^,  of 
whom  he  had  had  no  account  for  more  than  eight  years. 
His  other  brother,  Diego,  also  attended  to  him  with  the 
utmost  care. 

The  Admiral  was  much  comforted  by  this  unexpected 
meeting,  and  his  recovery  commenced  forthwith  ;  for  a 
disposition  so  loving  and  so  exquisitely  sensitive  as  that 
of  Columbus,  joy  of  the  heart'must  be  the  most  efficacious 
remedy.  The  satisfaction  arising  from  fraternal  love  proved 
to  be  the  most  salutary  kind  of  medication.  Providence 
had  prepared  this  consoling  surprise  for  His  servant.  Co- 
lumbus found  in  his  two  brothers  a  faithful  support,  at  a 
time   when    fatigue,   treachery,  and  enmity,   freely    stirred 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  309 

up  during  his  absence,  rendered  their  devotedncss  so  nec- 
essary. 

We  have  said,  and  we  will  have  occasion  to  repeat  it, 
that  in  the  wonderful  life  of  Columbus  everything  is  an 
example  and  a  lesson.  The  incidents  connected  with  it, 
men  and  things,  also  convey  their  own  instruction.  If  the 
family  of  the  old  Genoese  wool-comber  is  a  model  to  be 
proposed  for  the  household  of  every  artisan,  the  image  of 
fraternal  atVection  which  united  to  each  other  these  three 
brothers  throughout  life,  is  no  less  beneficent  to  the  heart. 

As,  from  this  period,  the  two  brothers  of  Christopher 
Columbus  acted  important  parts  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony, 
and  participated  in  the  political  life  of  the  Admiral,  it  will 
not  be  devoid  of  interest  to  know  who  these  two  auxiliaries 
were  whom  Providence  sent  to  His  messenger. 

Bartholomew  Columbus  left  Lisbon  in  14S5,  to  go,  on  the 
part  of  his  brother,  to  propose  to  the  King  of  England  the 
project  of  Discovery,  which  was  rejected  by  Portugal. 
The  ship  he  sailed  in  was  captured  by  pirates,  who  robbed 
him  of  everything,  and  left  him  on  an  unknown  shore. 
For  a  long  time  all  his  energy  was  taxed  to  procure  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  renew  his  wardrobe  to  effect  his 
voyage.  He  spent  several  years  in  an  unprofitable  labor, — 
in  constructing  spheres  and  drawing  charts  for  mariners, — 
before  he  could  succeed  in  reaching  the  coast  of  England. 
There,  he  had  first  to  learn  the  language  of  the  country  ;  to 
provide  for  the  means  of  existence  ;  to  obtain  the  countenance 
of  some  patrons,  and  to  learn  the  usages  and  the  etiquette 
of  the  Court.  It  was  only  in  the  middle  of  the  year  1493 
that  he  obtained  an  audience  of  King  Henry  VII.  The 
monarch  liked  the  plan.  To  make  the  proof  more  sen- 
sible, Bartholomew  painted  an  atlas.  His  reasoning  was  so 
clear  and  convincing,  that  the  King  welcomed  the  project, 
and  entered  on  the  preliminaries  of  a  treaty  with  him. 
Bartholomew  departed  immediately  to  seek  his  brother. 

While  on  his  way  to  Spain,  in  passing  through  Paris,  the 
news  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  and  of  the  tri- 


3IO  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

umphal  reception  of  Columbus,  had  reached  London.  The 
King  of  France,  Charles  VIII.,  welcomed,  with  honor,  the 
brother  of  the  man  who  had  enlarged  the  known  world. 
It  was  he  himself  who  informed  him  of  the  event,  and  of 
the  elevation  of  Columbus  to  the  rank  of  Admiral  and  of 
Viceroy.  Knowing  that  he  went  through  his  states,  he 
graciously  induced  him  to  accept  of  a  hundred  gold 
crowns,  to  defray  the  expenses  he  would  have  to  incur  in 
his  kingdom. 

Notwithstanding  the  haste  he  made,  when  Bartholomew 
arrived  at  Seville  the  Admiral  had  already  departed  on  his 
second  voyage.  He  visited  his  sister-in-law,  Dona  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  in  Cordova,  and,  taking  his  nephews,  Diego  and 
Fernando,  who  were  studj'ing  there,  brought  them  to  Valla- 
dolid,  and  presented  them  at  Court.  The  Qiieen  found  the 
two  boys  were  well  raised,  and  complimented  their  uncle 
on  their  deportment  ;  and,  to  finish  their  education  and  form 
their  manners,  wished  to  i^etain  them  at  Court.  The  sol- 
dierly and  chivalric  bearing  of  Don  Bartholomew,  his 
facility  for  learning  languages,  his  conversation  and  his 
experience,  pleased  King  Ferdinand  much.  His  abilities 
as  a  mariner  were  recognized.  The  Qiieen  desired  to  re- 
tain him  in  her  kingdom,  as  much  for  his  own  worth  as 
to  please  the  Admiral.  Bartholomew  received  letters  of 
nobility,  and  the  command  of  three  ships  that  were  to  take 
provisions  to  the  colony.  When  he  arrived  in  Hispaniola, 
the  Admiral  had  started  on  his  second  exploration  of  Cuba. 

Having  entered  on  a  sea-faring  life  a  few  years  later  than 
his  brother,  and  sailed  many  times  with  him,  he  united 
theory  to  the  surety  of  practice.  Largely  endowed  with 
physical  qualities,  the  cast  of  his  physiognomy  expressing 
frankness  and  a  jovial  humor,  —  when  it  was  not  severe,  — 
was  in  harmony  with  his  tall  stature,  and  sustained  with 
the  vigor  of  an  athlete.  Of  a  chivalric  intrepidity,  very 
able  in  the  management  of  every  kind  of  arm,  he  knew,  by 
the  consciousness  of  his  strength,  and  the  manly  tranquillit}- 
of  his  courage,  how  to  command  respect  for  his  person. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  31  p 

One  would  say  he  was  born  to  command  ;  and  if  his  de- 
votedncss  had  not  determined  him  to  remain  echpsed  in 
the  glor}-  of  his  brother,  he  would  have  become  illustrious 
by  himself,  on  his  own  account,  so  much  did  he  possess  a 
high  degree  of  military  instinct,  the  genius  of  a  navigator, 
and  the  foresight  of  an  administrator. 

His  elocution  was  correct  and  easy,  and  the  vivacity  of 
his  style  was  not  wanting  in  elegance.  With  him,  obser- 
vation supplied  the  place  of  study.  He  spoke  Latin,  Italian, 
Portuguese,  Danish,  English  and  Spanish.  Although  he 
was  a  good  Catholic,  and  devoted  to  his  religion,  his  piety 
was  not  tender  and  elevated,  like  that  of  Christopher  ;  he  did 
not  know  the  sweets  of  the  interior  life,  and  did  not  always 
suppress  the  sallies  of  his  frankness,  and  of  his  muscular 
strength,  against  courtiers  and  traitors,  and  the  obstacles 
which  Castillan  vanity  opposed  to  the  doing  of  good. 

The  second  brother  of  the  Admiral,  Don  Diego,  did  not 
resemble  Don  Bartholomew,  save  in  his  absolute  devoted- 
ness  to  his  oldest  brother.  Born  several  years  after  his 
brothers  had  gone  to  sea,  Diego  did  not  possess  their  robust 
constitutions.  His  sickly  childhood  required  long  and  ten- 
der care.  Little  Diego,  being  the  last  son  of  Dominic 
Columbus,  the  only  one  who  had  alwa3S  remained  at  home, 
Suzanna  Fontanarossa  kept  him  tenderly  by  her  as  long  as 
possible. 

When  the  Admiral  returned  from  his  first  vojage,  Diego 
quitted  his  trade,  to  obey  his  brother,  who  had  written  for 
him.  With  that  docility  to  duty,  and  that  instinct  for  be- 
comingncss,  Diego,  presented  at  Court,  was  soon  on  a  level 
with  his  new  career.  His  tender  regard  for  his  brother, 
the  observance  of  his  examples  and  of  his  recommendations, 
taught  him  what  he  ought  to  know.  The  devotedness  of 
Diego  was  ennobled  with  a  religious  sentiment.  He  ad- 
mired in  his  oldest  brother  the  twofold  preeminence  of 
piety  and  of  genius.  He  venerated  him  on  account  of  his 
virtues  ;  for  Diego  had  no  ambition  for  either  renown, 
honors  or  riches.     His  sudden  elevation  did  not  pulT  him 


312  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

up,  for  his  heart  appertained  to  God.  He  remained  in  the 
world  without  loving  it,  and  solely  through  pure  obedience, 
because  such  was  the  wish  of  his  brother,  his  superior,  his 
chief,  whom  he  regarded  as  a  second  father.  He  aspired 
only  to  the  service  of  God,  and  always  occupied  the  differ- 
ent offices  assigned  him  by  the  Admiral,  as  the  employment 
which  God  wished  him  to  discharge. 

His  inclination  was  for  retirement,  and  the  study  of  letters, 
which  tardily  presented  him  their  charms,  when  a  moment 
of  respite  permitted  him  to  open  his  brother's  books.  In 
the  solitude  of  his  dwelling  he  imitated  the  regular  habits 
of  the  Admiral,  recited  the  office  every  day,  and  raised  his 
heart  to  God. 

This  devotedness,  so  replete  with  self-denial,  this  volun- 
tary, secondary  existence,  multiplying  sacrifices  without 
efibrt,  assured  the  Admiral  a  vigilance  against  every  attack, 
whilst  the  vigorous  qualities  of  Don  Bartholomew  infused 
into  his  oi'ders  experience,  foresight,  and  force,  —  in  a  word, 
the  means  of  executing  them. 

SECTION  II. 

Besides  the  news  brought  by  Don  Bartholomew  from 
Spain,  the  Admiral  soon  received  more  recent  news,  by 
Antonio  de  Torres,  who  came  with  four  caravels,  charged 
with  provisions,  refreshments,  medicines,  clothing,  and 
merchandise,  which  he  had  requested,  and  bringing,  for  the 
service  of  the  hospital,  a  physician  and  an  apothecary,  be- 
sides some  miners  and  gardeners.  The  caravels  also 
brought  some  live  stock,  and  divers  other  matters.  They 
likewise  brought,  for  the  household  of  the  Admiral,  some 
special  objects,  in  which  the  Qiieen  manifested  her  delicate 
ingenuity  in  providing  for  the  comforts  and  state  of  the 
Revealer  of  the  Globe. 

But  that  which  most  concerned  the  Admiral  was  the  sat- 
isfaction manifested  by  the  monarchs.  This  was  visible  in 
the  deference  shown  him  in  the  royal  letters.     He  recog- 


en  AP.  \ .  ]  CI  IRIS  TOPI  1ER  C  OL  UMB  US.  -^  j  -. 

nizcd  ill  the  gentle  tone  of  them  the  very  thought  of  the 
Qiieea.  The  Sovereigns  replied  to  him  in  these  terms,  as 
laudative  as  they  are  respectful  :  "  If  we  had  been  present  we 
would  have  been  of  your  opinion."  *  They  gave  him  an 
account  of  the  arrangement  with  Portugal  in  regard  to  com- 
merce on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  of  the  convention,  signed 
the  seventh  of  June,  with  tlie  same  power,  relative  to  the 
line  of  demarkation.  They  confirmed  all  his  nominations  to 
office,  approved  of  all  his  demands,  and  accompanied  their 
obliging  words  with  an  ordinance,  intimating  to  all  those 
who  resided  in  the  Indies  to  obey  the  Admiral  as  Viceroy 
and  as  Governor.  The  order  given  to  Juan  de  Fonseca, 
the  director-general  of  marine,  for  the  continuation  of  sup- 
plies of  every  kind  to  the  colony,  and  the  project  of  estab- 
lishing a  regular  correspondence  with  Hispaniola,  in 
despatching  a  caravel  every  month,  prove  sufficiently  the 
intention  of  founding  there  a  Castilian  dominion.  In  her 
arrangements  for  the  future  of  the  colony,  Isabella  could 
not  forget  the  propagation  of  the  Catholic  faith  and  the  sal- 
vation of  the  Indians,  the  prime  object  of  the  discovery  of 
those  regions.  She  wrote  to  Father  Boil,  to  excite  his 
zeal,  and  to  induce  him  to  persevere  in  the  enterprise  of 
converting  the  natives  ;  she  endeavored  to  rouse  the  indo- 
lent missionary  to  action, f  and  assured  him  that  b}'  perse- 
verance he  would  overcome  all  the  difficulties  of  the 
language. 

A  missive  of  the  Qiicen,  dated  the  sixteenth  of  August, 
1494,  was  particularly  calculated  to  console  the  Admiral, 
and  refresh  his  soul  with  its  sweet  sympathies. 

This  letter,  the  first  that  had  come  from  the  old  wiçrld  to 
the  new,  is  of  peculiar  importance  for  the  history  of  Colum- 
bus. It  recalls  the  true  object  of  the  Discovery  with  a 
frankness  wholly  Christian.  Under  no  pretext  can  anybody 
here,  as  the  Protestant  school  has  speciously  done  elsewhere, 

*  Documcntos  Diplomat.,  num.  Ixxx. 
^  Muhoz-,  Historia  del  Nuevo  Mundo,  lib.  iv.  §  24. 
27 


314  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

suspect,  in  the  expression  of  religious  sentiments,  some  polit- 
ical interest  ;  because,  already  for  more  than  a  year,  Cas- 
tile, thanks   to   the   Bulls   of  the   third  and  fourth  of  May, 

1493,  was  already  in  the  legitim^ite  possession  of  the  lands 
discovered,  and  those  she  may  still  discover.  Consequently, 
every  exhibition  of  Catholic  zeal  would  have  been  superfluous. 
Moreover,  this  administrative  correspondence  was  solely 
destined  for  the  eyes  of  the  Admiral.  But  the  secret 
escaped  from  the  heart  of  the  pious  Qiieen,  in  speaking  to 
the  messenger  of  the  Cross. 

At  first  she  mentions  to  him  :  "  We  have  had  a  great 
pleasure  in  learning  the  things  you  have  written  to  us  ;  and 
for  all  these  things  we  render  heartfelt  thanks  to  our  blessed 
Lord.  We  hope  that,  with  His  aid,  this  work,  which  is 
yours,  will  be  the  cause  of  our  holy  Catholic  Faith  receiv- 
ing great  extension."  * 

Thus,  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  increase  of  His 
Church,  is  the  first  and  chief  theme  of  this  roj-al  com- 
munication. Before  any  reference  to  political  or  com- 
mercial matters,  the  object  in  view  was  the  propagation  of 
Catholicity. 

After  having  undesignedly  shown  the  true  aim  of  Colum- 
bus, the  Qiieen  equally  bears  witness  that  this  idea  is  the 
conception  and  the  personal  property  of  the  hero.  Isabella, 
who  had  with  an  attentive  interest  followed  the  develojo- 
ment  of  this  idea,  and  weighed  the  objections  raised  by  its 
opponents,  without  foreseeing  it,  refuted  in  advance  from 
that  date  the  future  detractors  of  the  glory  of  the  Admiral. 
Her  precious  testimony,   dated   the   sixteenth  of  August, 

1494,  proves  that  the  idea,  the  object,  and  the  plan  of  the 
Discovery  were  the  fruit  of  a  spontaneous  inspiration, 
ripened  by  study  ;  and  not  the  putting  in  practice  of  another 
person's  thoughts,  or  the  execution  of  an  odious  purloining, 
as  his  calumniators,  at  a  later  period,  have  pretended. 

*  Letter  dated  Jrom  Segovia,  the  si'xteeni/i  of  August,  1494,  atid 
countersigned  by  Fernand  Alvarez. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  315 

The  Qiicen  goes  on  to  say  :  "  And  in  all  this,  one  of  the 
chief  satisfactions  we  enjoy  is  to  feel  that  this  enterprise  has 
been  conceived,  explained,  and  executed  by  your  genius, 
your  ability,  and  your  labor.  And  it  appears  to  us  that, 
since  the  first  overtures,  all  that  you  told  us  should  arrive 
has  been  in  the  major  part  effected,  with  as  much  precision 
as  if  you  had  seen  it  accomplished  before  telling  us  of  it."* 

SECTION  III. 

Nevertheless,  the  consolations  adverted  to  could  not 
remedy  the  evils  tliat  were  committed  during  his  absence. 

The  commandant,  Pedro  Margarit,  who  possessed,  in  the 
instructions  of  Columbus  for  the  Spanish  colony,  all  the 
elements  of  strength,  life,  and  prosperity,  deceived  the 
expectations  of  the  Admiral,  and  had  set  the  Council  of 
the  Government  at  defiance.  In  place  of  proceeding  to  the 
exploration  of  the  island,  he  came  and  encamped  at  ten 
leagues  from  Isabella,  quartering  his  soldiers  in  the  villages 
of  the  Indians,  where  they  lived  dispensed  from  all  military- 
exercise,  while  he  himself  yielded  to  sensual  indulgences. 
Tidings  of  these  excesses  soon  reached  Don  Diego  Colum- 
bus. With  the  concurrence  of  the  Council,  he  wrote  to 
Margarit,  enjoining  him  to  execute  the  orders  of  the  Admi- 
ral. But,  in  place  of  complying,  Margarit  gave  an  insolent 
answer.  He  aflccted  to  look  down  with  contempt  on  Don 
Diego,  came  when  he  pleased  to  Isabella,  and  troubled  him- 
self no  more  about  the  Council  than  if  his  sword  were  the 
only  authority  in  the  island.  His  soldiers  considered  they 
did  the  Indians  much  honor  in  taking  from  them  their 
wives,  their  provisions,  and  their  gold,  and  in  consuming 
in  some  days  the  provision  that  would  have  sufficed  for  the 
Indians  the  third  of  a  year. 

After  having  ruined  the  inhabitants  of  the  Vega  Real, 
Pedro  Margarit,  frightened  at  the  consequences  of  his  guilt, 

*  Documcntos  Difloiiuii.,  num.  Ixxix. 


3i6  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

attempted  to  forestall  the  return  of  the  Admiral,  by  taking 
possession  of  the  ships  brought  by  Don  Bartholomew.  As 
he  could  not  seize  on  them  alone,  he  recruited  some  mal- 
contents, and  promptly  formed  them  into  a  party,  to  which 
he  gave  consistence  in  attracting  the  Vicar-Apostolic  to  it. 
A  conformity  of  situation  diminished  the  distance  between 
these  two  characters.  They  were  both  Catalonians,  and 
therefore  not  subject  to  Castile.  Pedro  Margarit  had  vio- 
lated all  his  duties  as  chief  of  the  military  corps  ;  Father 
Boil  had  omitted  all  his  obligations  as  chief  of  the 
mission.  These  two  murmurers,  discontented  with  every- 
thing, because  in  the  depths  of  their  hearts  they  were 
discontented  with  themselves,  increased  their  faction  with 
those  hidalgos  who  could  not  pardon  the  Admiral  for  hav- 
ing submitted  them  to  manual  labor.  They  slandered  the 
Columbuses,  declared  them  upstarts,  foreigners,  and  took 
pleasure  in  degrading  these  true  gentlemen. 

Father  Boil  feigned  that  he  was  quitting  the  colony 
through  pure  devotedness  to  it.  It  was  necessary,  without 
delay,  to  undeceive  the  monarchs,  who  were  led  into  the 
belief  that  this  country  yielded  gold,  aromatics  and  spices, 
whei"eas  it  yielded  only  fevers,  and  other  diseases  unknown 
in  Castile.  They  thus  schemed  their  departure,  seized  on 
some  vessels  that  were  anchored  at  the  port,  and  basely  fled 
as  true  deserters.  Several  religious,  whom  the  attraction  of 
novelty  induced  to  follow  Father  Boil  to  the  Indies,  not 
being  able  to  become  used  to  a  mode  of  life  for  which  they 
were  not  destined,  followed  him  in  his  cowardly  desertion. 

The  first  mission  in  the  New  World  was  sterile,  because 
he  who  directed  it  was  not  called  from  Above,  —  he  had 
not  consulted  God.  He  had  come  among  the  savages  by 
order  of  the  Court,  as  if  on  a  diplomatic  mission.  This 
fact,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Discovery,  proves  that  nobody 
is  a  prophet  unless  he  is  chosen  by  God,  and  that  the  min- 
istry of  the  Gospel  has  not  been  conferred  on  all  indiscrim- 
inately. The  apostolate  is  not  imparted  by  royal  nomina- 
tion.    A  special  vocation  is  needed  for  a  special  mission 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  317 

requiring-  a  particular  vocation.  While  Father  Boil  expe- 
rienced onl}-  weariness,  dryness  and  disgust  in  his  fuiTctions, 
and  while,  without  doing  any  good,  he  assisted  in  doing 
evil,  a  poor  Franciscan  monk,  and  a  Hieronomite  religious, 
who  had  come,  led  by  a  true  vocation,  in  less  than  a  vear 
had  already  learned  the  language  most  generally  spoken  in 
Hispaniola,  and  had  the  consolation  of  publishing  the  glory 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  among  the 
different  communities,  in  addressing  the  chiefs,  —  even  the 
caciques  themselves. 

We  will  say  more:  evangelical  grace  was  not  granted  to 
Father  Boil.  The  spirit  of  strengtli  and  of  truth,  which  con- 
secrates the  apostolate,  could  not  descend  on  this  Catalonian 
diplomatist  ;  for  in  reality  it  was  not  he  whom  the  Chief  of 
the  Church  had  nominated  as  his  Vicar-Apostolic.  The 
boldness  of  this  assertion  may  appear  rash  ;  still,  we  will 
maintain  it.  We  owe  it  to  truth,  to  the  dignity  of  the 
Church,  and  to  the  justice  of  history,  to  clear  w^  this  singu- 
lar fact,  hitherto  enveloped  in  obscurity,  even  for  Spaniards. 
We  will  do  it  in  a  few  lines,  so  as  not  to  retard  the  course 
of  our  recital. 

From  all  the  documents  and  all  histories,  it  is  evident 
that  Father  Bernard  Boil,  a  Catalonian  and  a  Benedictine 
monk,  went  to  the  Indies  as  Vicar-Apostolic.  This  is  a 
patent,  authentic  and  indubitable  fact,  which  we  fully  recog- 
nize. Nevertheless,  it  was  not  this  religious  that  the  Holy 
See  had  nominated.  It  was  with  a  culpable  inconsiderate- 
ness,  and  in  a  manner  almost  fraudulent,  that  Father  Boil, 
undoubtedly  without  his  own  knowledge,  found  himself  in 
possession  of  a  title  which  was  not  designed  for  him. 

Ferdinand  had,  indeed,  through  his  ambassador,  pre- 
sented to  the  Holy  Father  for  nomination  as  Vicar- Apostolic 
of  the  Indies,  the  name  of  Father  Bernard  Boil,*  a  Bcnc- 

♦Tlirough  scrupulous   exactitude  we   are  obliged  to  say  that  at 
Court  it  was  then  written  Bail;  but,  as  the  greater  part  of  historians 
have   written   it   Boil,  we  have   followed  their  orthography.     The 
Catholic  Sovereigns  addressed  hira  thus  :  "  Devoto  Fray  Buil." 
27* 


3iS  HI  S  TORT  OF  [book  ii. 

clictine,  well  known  by  his  ministers,  and  familiar  at  Court. 
But  ki»owing  the  attachment  of  Christopher  Columbus  for 
the  Seraphic  Order,  the  participation  of  the  Franciscans 
in  the  Discovery,  the  Chief  of  the  Church  reserved  this 
honor  for  the  humility  of  a  disciple  of  St.  Francis;  and  he 
named  spontaneously,  by  a  brief  of  the  seventh  of  July, 
1493,  as  Vicar-Apostolic  to  the  Indies,  "  I^riai'  Bernard 
Boyl,  Provincial  of  the  Franciscans  in  Spain."  *  For  the 
first  mission  in  the  New  World  there  was,  above  all,  need 
for  fervid  preaching  and  active  charity,  and  not  simply  for 
the  offices  of  choir,  the  love  of  leai'ning,  or  the  shrewdness 
of  protocols. 

When  the  official  copy  of  the  Bull  arrived  in  Castile,  the 
King  thought  that  there  might  have  been  in  Rome  an  error 
in  the  designation  of  the  person,  on  account  of  the  similar- 
ity of  name  ;  that  the  Pope  had  designated  Friar  Boyl  when 
he  wished  to  have  nominated  Friar  Boil,  and-  that  it  per- 
haps was  a  simple  inadvertence  of  the  chancery  in  the 
address  of  the  Bull  ;  and  the  more  so,  because  the  titular 
name  was  only  on  the  margin  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  address 
was  not  in  the  body  of  the  letter,  but  on  the  margin. 
Meanwhile,  the  matter  becoming  urgent,  it  was  not 
deemed  necessary  to  delay  the  departure  of  the  Fleet, 
or  to  postpone  the  sailing  of  the  missionaries  before 
having  an  explanation  of  the  part  that  was  not  consid- 
ered clear.  In  consequence,  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  no 
moment,  the  Bendictine,  Father  Bo'il,  received  advice  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Bull.f  Nevertheless,  to  spare  him  any  em- 
barrassments he  may  have  from  scruples  of  conscience,  the 

*  This  is  textually  the  address  of  the  Bull  :  '■'■Dilccto  filio  Ber- 
nardo Boyl  fratri  ordints  minorum,  Vicario  dicti  ordinis  i)i  His- 
faniorum  regm's."  —  A  collated  copy  taken  from  the  autograph 
register  of  the  apostolic  letters  of  the  first  year  of  the  pontificate  of 
Alexander  VI.,  page  122.  Obtained  from  the  secret  archives  of  the 
Vatican,  and  certified  the  seventh  of  February,  1851,  by  the  Prefect 
of  the  Vatican. 

t  Letters  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  and  of  the  fourth  of  August, 
1493.  —  Col.  Dipl.  Nos.  Lii.  and  LX. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  319 

original  of  the  official  where  the,  true  superscription  is  read, 
was  not  sent  to  him.  Under  the  singular  pretext  that  it 
was  not  becoming  to  expose  it  to  the  accidents  of  the 
route,*  it  was  retained  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  Royal. 
We  ought  to  add  that,  for  a  long  time,  some  considerate 
hand  has  made  this  important  document  disappear  from 
the  archives  of  Castile.  It  does  not  therefore  form  a  part 
of  the  diplomatic  collection  published  by  order  of  the 
Crown  of  Spain.  But  the  original  of  the  Bull  is  preserved 
in  Rome  in  the  secret  archives  of  the  Vatican  :  it  exists 
there  ;  and  a  copy  of  it,  duly  collated  and  certified,  was 
delivered  for  the  first  time  for  publication,  on  the  seventh 
of  February,  1851.! 

Friar  Bernard  Boyl,  Provincial  of  the  Franciscans,  ap- 
pointed Vicar-Apostolic,  had  not,  then,  any  knowledge  of 
his  nomination. 

Friar  Bernard  Boil,  chosen  by  the  King,  was  sent  in 
place  of  Friar  Bernard  Boyl,  designated  by  the  Holy 
Father.  In  the  eyes  of  Ferdinand,  there  was,  in  the  substi- 
tution he  dared  to  make,  only  the  retification  of  an  address  ; 
he  saw  in  the  change  that  was  made,  only  a  letter  in  the 
name,  and  a  title  as  regarded  the  person.  It  was  Boil,  in 
place  of  Boyl,  and  Benedictine,  in  place  of  Franciscan. 
Apart  from  this  diflerencc  of  orthography  and  of  habit,  it 
was  always  a  religious,  and  a  person  of  irrci^roachable 
morals  ;  and,  at  bottom,  he  found  no  inconvenience  in 
sending  to  the  Indies  a  Benedictine  well  known  at  Court, 

*E1  truslado  della  autorizado  vos  enviainos,  como  vcrcis  :  la  orig- 
inal queda  aca  per  algun  peligro  que  podria  haber  in  el  camino."  — 
Rcgistrado  en  cl  archiva  de  Indias  en  Scvilla.  Coleccion  Dij>lo- 
miiica,  num.  Lii. 

t  We  cite  the  text  certified  by  the  Pontifical  Archivist:  "  Z>e- 
scriptiim  ct  recogv.itum  ex  aiifogra/I/o  regesto  littcrartim  apostolica- 
rttin  Alcxandri  P.  P.  VI.,  anno  I,  fag.  122.  ^tiod  adversafur  in 
tabiilariis  sccretioribus  Vaticanis.  In  quorum  Jtdcm  hie  vte  sub- 
scrips^i  ct  solito  signo  signa  vi. 

'■'■  Dabam  ex  tabular ius prcejat is  V'll.,  idus  Fcbruarii,  «////<>  1S51. 

"  Marinus  Marini, 
"  Tabularior  S.  R.  E.  Prœfcctus" 


320  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

in   place  of   a   Franciscan,   who   probably  was   but   little 
known  there. 

But  the  spirit  of  the  Church  cannot  be  trifled  with.  The 
Bull  of  the  Holy  Father  did  not  come  to  its  address,  and 
the  consequences  are  known. 

If  he  had  remained  penetrated  with  tlie  spirit  of  his  rule, 
and  given  to  prayer  and  study,  this  Benedictine  could  have 
edified  his  community,  while  serving  Spain  with  his  diplo- 
matic ability.  But,  solely  invested  by  the  King  with  a  spir- 
itual mandate,  and  usurping,  although  unknown  to  him, 
the  powers  which  the  Sovereign  Pontiff'  destined  for  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  he  did  not  receive  the  invisible  assist- 
ance that  would  have  made  them  fruitful  ;  he  did  not 
possess  its  efficacy,  its  power  ;  on  the  contrar}-,  in  his 
illegitimate  attributions,  swerving  from  his  vocation,  and 
his  own  proper  character,  and  not  being  where  the  Church 
wished  him  to  be,  he  faltered,  and  fell  beneath  his  own 
proper  character.  While  his  title  of  Vicar-Apostolic  re- 
quired from  him  the  example  of  courage,  of  self-denial,  of 
tender  charity,  and  of  constancy  in  trials,  he  showed  him- 
self tepid  and  cowardly  ;  a  missionary  without  virtue,  a 
priest  without  dignity,  and  a  citizen  without  allegiance  ; 
he  dishonored  his  Order,  became  the  echo  of  slander,  the 
counsellor  of  conspirators  ;  and,  at  last,  shamefully  joined 
civil  defection  to  religious  desertion. 

The  accomplice  of  Father  Boil,  the  commandant  Pedro 
Margarit,  in  abandoning  his  post,  did  not  even  take  the 
pains  of  delegating  his  powers  to  one  of  his  ofl^icers.  The 
soldiers,  finding  themselves  left  to  their  own  counsel,  dis- 
banded, going  in  troops  in  several  directions,  and  multiply- 
ing the  outrages  with  which  they  had  harassed  the  Indians. 
Hitherto,  the  natives  had  remained  submissive  to  force  ;  but 
when  by  this  division  the  Spaniards  were  weakened,  they 
thought  of  recommencing  the  bloody  scenes  of  the  fortress. 
With  the  exception  of  Guacanagari,  who,  always  retained 
by  his  devotedness  to  Columbus,  bore  and  made  his  subjects 
bear  the  ruinous  maintenance  of  a  hundred  soldiers  impu- 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  321 

dently  domiciled  in  his  dominions,  the  caciques  became 
indignant  at  seeing  tliemselves  thus  oppressed.  Exasperated 
at  the  tyranny  of  which  they  were  the  unhappy  victims,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Vega  resolved  to  make  up  by  their  num- 
ber for  the  inferiority  of  their  arms. 

The  kings  of  Xaragua,  of  Higuey,  and  of  the  Vega, 
entered  into  a  league  with  Caonabo,  to  exterminate  the 
proud  depredators  on  all  points  of  the  island.  Guacan- 
agari,  suspected  on  account  of  his  hospitality,  was  kept  out 
of  this  secret  coalition,  and  treated  as  an  enemy.  Caonabo, 
aided  by  his  brother-in-law,  attacked  him  suddenly,  took 
away  from  him  one  of  his  wives,  and  killed  the  one  he 
loved  most,  the  beautiful  Catalina,  who  to  join  him  had 
cast  herself  from  the  Gracious  Mary  into  the  waves.  At 
divers  points  of  the  island  Spaniards  were  massacred.  The 
cacique  Guatiguana  massacred  ten  of  them  who  were  on 
the  banks  of  the  Grand  River.  Then  he  burned  down  the 
building  that  served  as  an  hospital,  and  in  which  there 
were  then  forty  patients  and  convalescents. 

Such  were  the  consequences  of  the  misconduct  of  Mar- 
garit,  and  of  the  slanders  of  Father  Boil  ;  and  such  were 
the  critical  conjunctures  when  Columbus  returned  to  the 
island. 

Unpleasant  tidings  reached  him  from  several  quarters. 
In  the  mean  time  Guacanagari  came  to  Isabella,  and  w^ould 
!>)•  all  means  see  the  Admiral.  He  came  to  his  sick-bed, 
and  showed  himself  profoundly  aflected  at  his  illness.  He 
adverted  to  the  tragical  events  of  the  fortress,  protested 
anew  with  tears  that  he  could  not  have  prevented  that  mis- 
fortune ;  he  reminded  him  that  he  was  his  friend,  and  that 
it  was  for  that  reason  the  other  caciques  had  treated  him  as 
an  enemy.  He  informed  him  of  the  plot  formed  for  the 
extermination  of  the  Spaniards  ;  asked  his  aid  against  his 
neighbors,  now  become  his  enemies;  and  feeling,  on  seeing 
him,  his  fust  allection  for  him  revive,  oflered  to  second  him 
by  every  means  in  his  power. 


322  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Columbus  tries  to  break  the  League  of  the  Caciques.  —  Caonabo  is 
captured.  —  Combat  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  Spaniards 
against  ten  thousand  Natives. — The  Famine  Plot. 


SECTION  L 

COLUMBUS  could  not  leave  unpunished  the  assassina- 
tions committed  by  Guatiguana,  and  esioecially  his 
heinous  crime  against  the  forty  patients  in  the  hospital. 
Moreover,  the  hostility  of  the  natives  was  become  per- 
manent. At  this  time,  Captain  '  Luiz  d'Artiaga  was 
closely  blockaded  in  the  fortress  of  Magdalena.  Columbus, 
foreseeing  that  longer  forbearance  would  occasion  a  greater 
effusion  of  blood,  gave  orders  to  attack  the  cacique  Guati- 
guana suddenly,  and  simultaneously  to  relieve  the  fortress. 
The  troops  of  the  cacique  were  defeated  and  routed,  but 
the  chieftain  himself  made  his  escape. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Admiral  endeavored  to  break  the 
league  formed  by  the  grand  caciques,  in  detaching  from 
the  coalition  Guarionex,  who  reigned  over  the  magnificent 
country  of  the  Vega.  He  sent  for  him,  and  assured  him 
that  the  chastisement  inflicted  on  Guatiguana  was  a  meas- 
ure wholly  personal,  and  that  the  crimes  of  the  Spaniards 
committed  in  his  absence  would  be  equally  punished.  In 
this  interview  the  Admiral  acquired  such  an  ascendancy 
over  Guarionex,  that  he  determined  liim  to  give  his  sister 
in  marriage  to  the  Lucayan,  Diego  Colon,  the  baptized 
interpreter  who  had  served  him  so  faithfully,*  and  to  per- 

*  This  is  the  marriage  spoken  of  by  Spotorno,  confounding,  by  a 
strange  aberration,  the  Indian  interpreter,  a  native  of  San  Salvador, 
with  his  godfather,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  the  brother  of  the 
Admii-al. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  -^ z" 

mit  a  fortress  to  be  built  in  the  midst  of  his  dominions,  whicli 
he  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,  under  the  n;ime  of  La  Concep- 
tion. By  this  means  he  would  have  communications  with 
the  countiy  of  the  gold-mines,  and  could  repress  any  insur- 
rection that  may  take  place.  From  that  time  the  coalition 
became  weakened,  and  was  reduced  to  Caonabo,  his  brother- 
in-law  Behechio,  and  the  King  of  Higuey  ;  and  further- 
more, the  two  latter  could  not  dare  to  do  anything  without 
the  support  of  the  "  Lord  of  the  Golden  House." 

By  paralyzing  the  power  of  Caonabo  the  peace  of  the 
island  would  be  secured.  But  it  was  no  easy  matter  to 
capture  that  cacique  in  his  mountains,  where  the  thorny 
thickets  afforded  him  a  natui'al  defence.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  would  not  answer  to  remain  exposed  to  his  on- 
slaughts. While  perplexed  on  this  subject,  Columbus  was 
relieved  by  an  ofler  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  to  seize  on  the 
Carib  chief  by  stratagem,  and  deliver  him  alive  into  his 
hands. 

Ojeda  set  out  on  this  daring  expedition  accompanied  by 
nine  cavaliers  of  tried  courage  and  vigor,  and,  after  travers- 
ing a  distance  of  more  than  sixty  leagues,  succeeded  in 
attaining  his  object.  We  are  sorry  that  our  space  will  not 
permit  our  giving  the  details  of  this  romantic  exploit. 

The  cacique  had  three  brothers.  One  of  them  especially, 
Manicatex,  who  was  naturally  of  a  military  turn  of  mind, 
collected  a  body  of  five  thousand  archers,  and  sent  emissa- 
ries to  other  divers  caciques  to  form  a  general  rising  against 
the  Spaniards.  Caonabo,  seeking  to  take  revenge  bv  a 
feint,  complained  to  the  Admiral  that  during  his  detention 
the  caciques  bordering  on  his  dominions  maltreated  his  sub- 
jects, and  besought  him  to  be  pleased  to  send  some  soldiers 
to  different  points  of  his  territory.  He  expected  his  brother. 
Manicatex,  would  ensnare  them,  and  make  prisoners  of 
them,  in  order  by  an  exchange  to  effect  his  own  release,  or, 
at  least,  massacre  them,  which  would  render  more  easy  the 
extermination  of  the  rest  of  the  strangers.  But  Columbus 
took  good  care  to  send,  in  place  of  small  bodies,  a  strong 


224  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

detachment,  under  the  orders  of  Ojeda,  —  a  measure  which 
frustrated  the  plan  of  the  captive  Carib. 

The  Admiral  knew  that,  with  the  exception  of  Guacan- 
agari,  the  whole  island  was  going  to  rise  up  in  arms,  so  he 
determined  to  remain  no  longer  inactive. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  March,  though  still  ailing,  he 
entered  on  the  campaign  with  an  effective  force  of  two 
hundred  infantry  and  twenty  horse.  The  inoffensive  Gua- 
canagari,  at  the  head  of  his  warriors,  accompanied  him^ 
according  to  promise.  The  Admii^al  formed  this  small 
number  of  men  into  two  corps,  in  order  to  divide  the  mul- 
titude of  enemies  he  perceived  on  entering  the  Vega,  and 
which,  it  is  said,  amounted  to  m.ore  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  Manicatex,  on  his  side,  had  skilfully  divided 
his  troops  into  five  battalions,  who  were  to  occupy  the  five 
outlets  of  the  plain,  support  each  other,  and  reunite  when 
the  handful  of  Spaniards  marching  against  them  would  have 
entered  the  space  unoccupied  ;  then  advancing,  they  could 
surround  and  stifle,  by  their  multitude,  this  little  force, 
which  the  scouts  had  disdainfully  represented  in  their  re- 
ports by  a  handful  of  maize. 

The  skill  of  the  Admiral  frustrated  the  able  tactics  of 
Manicatex.  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  advanced  reso- 
lutely with  a  hundred  men,  while  another  detachment 
charged  impetuously  on  the  left,  and  the  intrepid  Ojeda, 
with  his  twenty  horse,  pi'ecipitated  himself  on  the  main 
bodv.  The  shock  of  the  cavalry  broke  all  the  lines,  and 
the  fire  of  the  arquebuses  caused  a  general  rout.  One  of 
the  brothers  of  Caonabo  was  taken  prisoner,  and  brought 
to  share  the  fate  of  the  "  Lord  of  the  Golden  House."  The 
Spaniards  led  a  large  number  of  their  prisoners  to  Isabella. 

This  day  insured  for  some  time  the  general  tranquillity 
of  the  island,  in  inspiring  such  an  idea  of  the  power  of 
the  foreigners,  that  soon  after,  when  a  Spaniard  alone  and 
unarmed,  passed  in  lonely  and  unfrequented  places,  the 
Indians  prostrated  themselves  before  him,  and  were  eager 
to  put  themselves  under  his  orders. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  325 

SECTION  IL 

The  Admiral  continued  his  victorious  march  through 
several  parts  of  the  island,  maintaining  military  discipline 
among  his  troops,  and  rendering  justice  to  the  natives, 
whom  his  presence  also  protected  from  all  insults  bv  the 
soldiery.  Afterwards,  in  order  to  guard  against  any  new 
confederations  of  the  caciques,  he  resolved  to  build  three 
more  fortresses  in  the  most  important  positions  of  the  Vega. 
He  drew  the  plan  of  them,  and  gave  them  the  names  of 
Santa  Catalina,  Esperanza,  and  Conception.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  Behcchio,  brother-in-law  to  the  "  Lord  of  the 
Golden  House,"  who  remained  quiet  in  the  recesses  of 
his  most  distant  residence,  the  grand  caciques  made  their 
submission,  and  offered  to  pay  tribute  to  Castile.  They 
expected  it  would  be  a  light  tax  on  vegetable  productions, 
or  one  payable  in  labor  on  the  public  works  undertaken  by 
the  Spaniards. 

But  the  treasury  of  Castile  wished  to  be  indemnified  for 
the  expenses  advanced  for  the  two  expeditions.  The  Ad- 
miral should  prove  that  Father  Boil,  Firman  Zedo  the 
assayer,  Pedro  Margarit,  and  the  bevy  of  deserters  who 
followed  them,  lied  against  the  facts  of  nature,  and  against 
the  clearest  evidence.  To  transmit  gold  was  the  sure  means 
of  encouraging  the  Sovereigns  to  prosecute  the  discovery  of 
unknown  regions,  and  thus  amass  the  means  of  redeeming 
the  Holy  Places.  Accordingly,  he  decreed  the  following 
tax  :  Every  inhabitant  of  the  districts  of  Cibao  and  of  Vega 
Real,  aged  over  fourteen  years,  was  to  pay  the  receiver  of 
the  royal  dues,  every  three  months,  the  measure  of  a  hawk's 
bell  of  gold-dust  or  grains.  Manicatex,  the  brother  of 
Caonabo,  was,  in  addition,  obliged  to  pay,  every  three 
months,  half  a  calabash  of  gold,  amounting  to  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pesos.  In  the  provinces  that  did  not 
possess  gold  mines,  the  quarterly  tribute  consisted  of  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  cotton  for  each  intlividual.  Guarionex,  King 
of  La  Vega,  offered  to  pay  the  impost  in  small  grain  in 
28 


326  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

place  of  gold,  on  the  pretext  that  his  subjects  did  not  know 
how  to  gather  it  in  the  rivers  of  his  territory.  Cokimbus 
refused  the  offer,  and  required  the  tribute  to  be  paid  in  gold. 

On  this  point  some  historians  have  taxed,  with  rigor  and 
improvident  avidity,  the  conduct  of  Columbus.  Las  Casas, 
in  his  zeal  for  the  defence  of  the  Indians,  could  not  ixA  to 
raise  his  voice  against  the  first  impost  they  had  to  bear. 
He  points  to  the  advantages  of  the  proposition  of  Guarionex, 
who  offered  to  cultivate  a  fertile  plain  of  fifty-five  leagues, 
the  produce  of  which  would  furnish  all  Castile  with  bread 
for  ten  3-ears.  But  it  was  not  grain  that  Castile  wanted. 
King  Ferdinand  demanded  gold,  and  not  small  grain.  And 
the  pretext  assigned  by  Guarionex  that  his  subjects  did  not 
know  how  to  gather  gold  in  the  rivers  where  it  was  to  be 
found,  was  not  admissible  ;  in  our  own  days,  even,  no  head 
of  an  administration  would  have  been  contented  with  it. 

The  Admiral  v\^as  consti-ained  to  procure  gold.  He  knew 
that  nothing  else  would  satisfy  King  Ferdinand.  Seeing, 
however,  the  difficulty  some  Indians  had  in  furnishing  the 
dust  required,  he  lowered  the  demand  to  one-half  of  a 
hawk's  bell. 

Nowithstanding  this  lowering  of  the  tribute,  a  gloomy 
sadness  spread  over  the  gi"eater  part  of  Hispaniola. 

The  servile  labor  required  by  the  caciques  from  their 
subjects  was  never  only  of  short  duration  ;  they  limited 
themselves  to  some  rights  in  hunting  and  fishing,  to  a  little 
cassava  or  cotton,  or  to  service  in  time  of  war.  Their  diet, 
almost  exclusively  vegetable,  did  not  give  them  strength. 
They  avoided  all  severe  labor.  Nature  having  herself  pro- 
vided for  their  principal  wants.  The  greater  part  of  their 
time  was  passed  in  slumbering,  in  inlays,  or  in  dances. 
Those  near  the  sea-shore  spent  their  time  in  dreamy  and 
sterile  reveries  on  the  borders  of  the  sea  ;  while  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  valleys  and  mountains  of  the  interior  whiled 
away  their  hours  under  delightful  shades,  occupied  with 
telling  stories,  singing,  and  dances  of  several  kinds.  They 
had  wandering  poets  and  story-tellers,  who  recounted  the 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  327 

adventures  of  the  Carlbs,  and  the  histories  of  sorcerers. 
These  forest  troubadours  supplied  with  their  feet  the  place 
of  a  harp  or  a  mandolin  ;  they  were  also  great  news- 
mongers. They  translated  into  the  several  idioms  of  the 
island  the  poems  or  arcytos  of  the  celebrated  Anocoano, 
whose  name  signified  "  The  Golden  Flower." 

The  Indians,  seeing  their  inability  of  expelling  the  foreign 
intruders  by  arms,  resolved  to  overcome  them  by  famine. 
As  the  Spaniards  were  great  eaters,  and  had  received  no 
provisions  from  abroad  for  a  long  time,  they  hoped  to  be 
able  to  extirpate  them  by  bringing  them  no  food.  Accord- 
ingly they  ceased  from  cultivating  the  land  ;  they  even 
plucked  up  the  fruit-trees,  and  retired  to  the  mountains, 
hoping  to  find  there  in  roots,  wild  fruit,  utias,  fish,  and  fowl, 
sufficient  for  their  own  subsistence. 

This  measure  was  not  carried  into  effect  without  obsta- 
cles ;  but  it  was  principally  at  the  cost  of  those  who  resorted 
to  it.  They  took  refuge  in  the  most  sterile  and  dreary 
heights.  The  cold  and  damp  air  of  the  caverns  increased 
their  troubles.  They  could  settle  down  nowhere,  and 
passed  the  nights  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather. 
The  roots  and  fruit  they  met  with  here  and  there  could  not 
suffice  for  the  nourishment  of  these  multitudes,  who  fled 
unceasingly  from  fear  of  the  Spaniards.  The  privations, 
the  fatigues  they  endured,  together  with  the  insalubrity  of 
the  forests,  where  the  excess  of  vegetation  vitiated  the  air 
during  the  night,  hy  the  disengagement  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  in  too  condensed  a  state,  engendered  diseases  of  an 
epidemic  character,  which  thinned  the  ranks  of  these  poor 
wanderers  ;  while  the  Spaniards  found  resources  in  fishing 
in  the  sea  and  rivers,  and  in  the  provisions  that  arrived 
without  delay  from  Castile. 


338  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Complaints  made  to  the  Court  against  Columbus  and  his  Brothers. 
—  Don  Diego  Columbus  comes  to  Spain.  —  Chicanery  of  the 
Board  of  Marine.  —  The  Bureaucratic  Bishop,  Don  Juan  de  Fon- 
seca.  —  Diego  Columbus  returns  to  Hispaniola.  —  Ingratitude 
of  Aguado.  —  First  Hurricane. 

SECTION  I. 

IN  the  mean  time  the  noble  deserters  had  arrived  at 
Court.  Their  justification  was  not  possible  but  in  repre- 
senting the  government  of  the  Admiral  under  a  repulsive 
aspect.  Pedro  Margarit  and  Father  Boil  found  in  the 
bureaus  of  the  marine  a  corresponding  echo  of  their  exag- 
gerations and  calumnies.  The  archdeacon  Fonseca,  and 
the  controller  Juan  de  Soria,  were  not  remiss  in  seconding 
these  complaints.  The  hidalgos  who  had  stealthily  em- 
barked spoke  only  with  bitterness  of  Hispaniola,  —  a  land 
of  disasters  and  of  deceptions. 

These  deserters,  assuming  the  guise  of  victims  escaped 
from  the  despotism  of  Columbus,  came  to  seek  refuge  under 
the  parental  power  of  the  monarchs,  and  to  implore  pro- 
tection against  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  Governor 
of  the  Indies.  They  exhibited  letters  dictated  by  malev- 
olence, in  which  poor  people  who  were  too  sick  to  embark 
represented  their  dej^lorable  situation  ;  they  added  that  the 
gold  of  the  island  was  found  only  in  sand  in  some  rivulets, 
and  in  too  small  quantity  to  make  the  gathering  of  it  profit- 
able. The  riches  of  Hispaniola  existed  only  in  the  imag- 
ination of  the  Genoese.  Not  content  with  attacking  his 
character  as  head  of  the  government,  they  sought  to  cast  a 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  329 

slur  on  his  probity  ;  they  accused  him  of  connivance  in 
procuring  gold  for  himself  to  the  detriment  of  the  rights  of 
the  Crown.  In  their  blind  hatred,  they  had  alrcadv  circu- 
lated this  report  before  their  departure  from  the  island. 
But  the  receiver  of  Crown  taxes,  Sebastien  de  Olano,  in 
a  letter  to  the  Sovereigns  noticing  this  calumnv,  wrote 
that,  far  from  authorizing  the  delivery  of  merchandise,  and 
receiving  gold  in  lieu  thereof,  in  the  absence  of  the  con- 
trollers-general, the  Admiral  had,  on  the  contrary,  expressly 
forbidden  it.* 

Against  these  bitter  accusations,  who  could  take  the 
defence  of  the  Admiral?  who  could  recall  the  terrible  con- 
junctures in  which  he  acted?  Columbus  was  a  stranger, 
and  absent;  his  enemies  had  nobody  to  contradict  them, 
and  the  multiplicity  of  their  complaints  must  necessarily 
obtain  credit  for  them. 

The  sacerdotal  character  of  the  Vicar-Apostolic  served  to 
give  a  sanction  to  all  these  calumnies,  without  the  need  of 
his  taking  the  pains  to  renew  them.  His  presence  in  Spain, 
when  he  was  thought  to  be  at  tlie  evangelical  post  to  which 
he  had  the  honor  of  being  called  by  Ferdinand,  sufficiently 
showed  the  grievousness  of  the  occurrences  in  Hispaniola. 

Notwithstanding  the  instinctive  faith  Isabella  had  in  the 
excellence  of  Columbus,  the  number  and  the  unanimity 
of  the  accusations  that  came  against  him  could  not  fail 
in  shaking  her  confidence  a  little.  Making  every  allow- 
ance for  wounded  pride  and  exaggerations,  this  concert 
of  complaints  necessarily  revealed  some  fault  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Admiral.  Wishing  to  succor  the  sick 
without  delay,  and  not  to  abandon  the  first  germs  of  the 
colony,  on  the  seventh  of  April  the  Qiieen  ordered  the 
director  of  the  marine  to  send,  without  delay,  four  caravels 
to  Hispaniola. 

Two  days  afterwards,  she  entered  into  a   contract  with 
Juanoto  Berardi,  who  was  to  provision  and   arm   twelve 


*  Documcntos  Diplom..  num.  Ixxxi. 
28* 


330  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

ships  destined  for  Hispaniola.  At  the  same  time  she  wrote 
to  the  director-general  of  the  marine,  that  Diego  Carillo,  a 
commander  of  a  military  order,  should  go  and  take  upon 
himself  the  government  of  the  island  until  the  return  of  the 
Admiral,  whose  long  absence  led  to  the  fear  that  he  had 
perished  in  the  voyage  of  exploration. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  unfavorable  impression  produced 
at  Court,  the  propositions  of  some  pilots  who  sailed  with 
him  in  his  first  voyage  were  welcomed,  in  derogation,  as 
they  were,  of  his  rights  and  privileges.  They  offered  to 
undertake  discoveries  for  the  Crown  without  any  indem- 
nity, and  at  their  own  risk  and  personal  expense.  Fonseca 
supported  these  propositions. 

Just  at  this  juncture  the  ships  commanded  by  Torres 
arrived  in  Spain.  Don  Diego  Columbus  brought  speci- 
mens of  gold,  and  of  various  animal  and  vegetable  produc- 
tions ;  it  was  therefore  easy  to  confirm  the  Qiieen  in  her 
natural  dispositions  towards  the  Admiral.  Still,  such  was 
the  clamor  raised  against  the  Viceroy,  that  Isabella  consid- 
ered it  prudent  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  these  complaints. 
In  place  of  Carillo,  she  had  the  delicacy  to  appoint  Juan 
Aguado,  an  officer  of  her  own  household,  who  had  been  to 
Hispaniola,  and  who  was  under  obligations  to  Columbus, 
inasmuch  as  tlie  Admiral  had  recommended  him  to  her  on 
his  return  to  Castile.  From  these  circumstances,  Isabella 
had  reason  to  think  that  this  choice  of  a  commissioner  of 
inquiry  would  be  less  disagi-eeable  to  the  Viceroy  than  any 
other  she  could  make.  Accordingly  she  wrote  to  Fonseca 
to  apprise  him  of  the  nomination  of  Aguado,  who  would 
take  'the  command  of  the  four  caravels  that  were  to  sail  for 
Hispaniola.  As  the  ships  brought  by  Torres  contained  a 
large  number  of  rebel  Indian  prisoners,  captured  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca  received  orders  to  have 
them  sold  in  the  markets  of  Andalusia.  He,  at  the  same 
time,  was  directed  to  send  to  Court  Bernai  Diaz  de  Pisa, 
the  author  of  the  first  troubles  in  Hispaniola. 

Although  an  ordinance  had  been  expedited  for  the  sale  of 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  331 

the  prisoners,  according  to  the  custom  that  then  prevailed  in 
regard  to  infidels  and  idolaters,  still  a  scruple  arose  in  the 
mind  of  Isabella.  The  enterprise  of  the  Discovery  having, 
as  a  prime  object,  the  conversion  of  nations  who  did  not 
know  Christ,  the  Qiieen  considered  within  herself  whether 
she  should  not  treat  these  people  as  future  children  of  the 
Church,  and  whether  it  was  not  contrary  to  the  Gospel  to 
enslave  them?  She  commanded  that  the  prisoners  should 
be  carried  back  to  Hispaniola,  and  all  set  free,  with  the 
exception  of  nine,  who  were  destined  by  the  Admiral  to 
serve  as  interpreters,  and  who  were  to  remain  some  time 
in  Castile,  to  learn  the  language. 

This  attention  of  the  Qiicen  for  tlie  Viceroy  of  the  Indies 
served  only  to  increase  the  hate  entertained  for  him  by  the 
superintendent  of  the  marine.  It  docs  not  a2:)pcar  that  he 
followed  the  injunctions  of  his  sovereign  with  much  assid- 
uity ;  for,  in  twenty-five  days  after,  she  had  to  renew  the 
expression  of  her  will.  From  this  moment  the  hate  of 
Juan  de  Fonseca  towards  Columbus,  and  all  that  pertained 
to  him,  did  not  become  lulled  any  more.  Sometimes  under- 
hand and  dissembled,  sometimes  imprudent  and  supercili- 
ous, it  contrived  every  means  to  thwart  the  designs  of  the 
Admiral,  to  oppose  his  glory,  and  to  force  him,  by  the  ob- 
stacles it  raised  against  him,  to  consume  the  years  which 
would  have  sufficed  for  him  to  discover  the  rest  of  the  globe. 

For  a  long  time,  in  Spain,  the  episcopal  title  which  was 
borne  so  unworthily  by  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca  has  preserved 
him  from  the  severe  reproof  of  history.  The  historiogra- 
phers royal,  fearing  censures,  though  forced  to  acknowledge 
his  aversion,  and  even  his  "mortal  hatred"  for  Columbus, 
have  not  dared  to  expose  his  conduct,  and  stigmatize  it  with 
their  reprobation.  For  our  own  part,  the  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nity he  profaned  shall  not  arrest  our  pen.  It  is  meet  to 
show,  for  the  honor  of  the  Episcopate,  what  sort  of  a  bishop 
the  director-general  of  the  marine  was.  He  had  the  title 
of  "  Bishop,"  but  was  not  a  pastor  of  souls.  Without  ful- 
filling the  duties  of  a  bishop,  and  without  caring  for  his 


332 


HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


flock,  which  he  never  guided,  and  did  not  even  know,  he 
still  was  called  a  bishop.  Not  seeing  in  the  Episcopate  but 
a  dignity  supported  on  revenues,  he  exchanged,  when  occa- 
sion offered,  his  bishopric  for  one  more  lucrative,  —  barter- 
ing the  See  of  Badajos  for  that  of  Cordova  ;  quitting  the 
bishopric  of  Cordova  for  that  of  Palencia  ;  abandoning  that 
of  Palencia,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  pass  to  that  of  Burgos  ; 
then,  from  the  See  of  Burgos,  ascending  to  the  archbishopric 
of  Rosano  ;  and,  from  the  arch-episcopal  dignity,  aspiring 
to  a  dignity  still  higher  !  This  instance  of  fovor,  almost 
unique,  under  the  reign  of  Isabella,  who  was  very  scrupu- 
lous in  the  presentations  for  the  Episcopate,  was  the  per- 
sonal work  of  King  Ferdinand. 

It  was  not  in  the  nature  of  Isabella  to  have  any  predilec- 
tion for  Juan  de  Fonseca.  The  body  of  the  Spanish  bishops 
is  the  less  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  this  prelate,  as  he 
existed  only  in  a  nominal  manner.  He  was  never  an  au- 
thority in  work  or  example  ;  and  never  did  his  words  or 
his  mandates  edify  anybody.  He  did  not  ascend  to  the 
evangelical  chair,  but  alwa3'S  remained  confined  to  the 
arm-chair  of  the  director  of  the  marine  ;  and,  save  his 
taking  possession,  during  which  he  received  the  homage 
of  the  diocese,  whence  he  departed  the  next  day,  he  was 
not  seen  to  perform  any  pastoral  function.  The  Spanish 
Episcopate  does  not  claim  him  among  its  glories  ;  the 
Church  does  not  claim  the  director  of  the  marine.  We 
may,  then,  with  full  liberty,  utter  our  sentiments  respecting 
Juan  de  Fonseca,  the  instigator  of  all  the  injustices,  of  all 
the  wrongs,  that  the  man  who  had  doubled  the  known 
creation  had  to  suffer  until  his  death. 

A  fsxvorite  with  King  Ferdinand,  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca 
knew  how  to  make  him  a  partaker  of  his  own  malevolence. 
The  King,  as  is  well  known,  did  not  wish  to  contribute  any- 
thing for  the  Disco\^ery.  He  took  no  other  interest  in  it 
than  the  hope  of  finding  gold  mines,  in  order  to  draw  from 
the  treasury  of  Castile  the  sums  necessary  for  his  projects 
of  conquest  in  Europe.     Ferdinand,  who  could  not  easily 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


333 


bear  another's  superiority,  never  pardoned  his  glory.  Juan 
dc  Fonseca  and  his  courtiers  (for  the  favor  he  was  in  drew 
around  him  a  court)  detested  Cohimbus.  Several  grand 
families  were  indeed  jealous  of  the  sudden  elevation  of  this 
foreigner,  and  the  director  of  the  marine  knew  how  to 
make  these  feelings  subservient  to  his  plans. 

SECTION  II. 

On  account  of  the  chicanery  of  Fonseca,  the  caravels 
were  not  ready  to  sail  until  the  end  of  August. 

Aguado  took  with  him  on  board  Don  Diego  Columbus, 
who  was  returning  to  his  brother,  and  some  religious  who 
went  to  replace  the  deserters  of  the  Apostolate,  who  had 
returned  with  Father  Boil.  He  also  took  with  him  the 
well-known  metallurgist,  Pablo  Belvis,  with  several  master 
miners  and  founders,  provided  with  all  the  instruments  of 
their  art,  as  well  as  with  a  certain  quantity  of  mercury  to 
separate  gold  from  sand,  by  means  of  amalgamation. 

Aguado  had  received,  from  the  text  of  his  letter  of  cre- 
dence, which  was  conceived  in  vague  and  brief  terms,  a 
discretionary  power  ;  but  which  assuredly  was  limited  by 
the  verbal  instructions  that  accompanied  its  delivery.  The 
Qiieen  had  nominated  him,  thinking  that,  by  the  choice  of 
his  person,  what  was  disagreeable  in  his  office  would  be 
mitigated  in  the  eyes  of  the  Admiral.  Aguado,  whose 
intelligent  activity  was  praised  by  Columbus,  was,  in  truth, 
a  cunning  fellow,  who  very  well  knew  his  own  interests. 
In  his  relations  wuth  the  director-general  of  the  marine, 
he  noticed  the  influence  of  Fonseca  on  the  King,  and  the 
dispositions  of  the  latter  towards  the  Admiral,  and  then  he 
understood  the  side  he  should  support  himself  on  for  his 
own  interest.  From  that  time,  he  appeared  to  have  re- 
ceived instructions  contrary  to  those  he  received  from  the 
Qiieen  ;  and  it  may  be  asserted,  that  in  landing,  before 
inquiring  into  any  case,  he  put  in  execution  a  plan  of  con- 
d  ict   that  was  quite    opposed    to   his   antecedents,   to    his 


334  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii, 

friendly  relations  with  the  Admiral,  and  so  odious  that  he 
could  have  received  it  only  from  Fonseca. 

Directed  by  pilots  formed  under  Columbus,  the  squadron 
arrived  safely,  in  October,  at  the  port  of  Isabella.  At 
that  very  time  Columbus  was  combating,  in  the  states  of 
Caonabo,  the  brothers  of  that  cacique  who  had  revolted. 
Aguado,  as  if  he  had  been  Viceroy  of  the  Indies,  attributed 
to  himself  all  the  powers  of  the  government,  and  called  to 
account  the  officers  who  were  appointed  by  the  Admiral. 
He  reprimanded  some  of  them  sharply,  and  dared  to  im- 
prison others,  —  paying  no  respect  to  Don  Bartholomew 
Columbus,  appointed  by  the  Admiral  governor  of  the  place, 
as  if  he  did  not  exist.  He  announced  that  he  had  come  to 
inquire  into  the  conduct  af  the  Admiral,  and  to  punish  him 
promptly. 

Don  Bartholomew  having  demanded  to  see  his  letter  of 
credence,  Aguado  rejected  with  haughtiness  this  request, 
saying  that  he  would  show  it  only  to  the  Admiral  himself. 
However,  he  had  it  proclaimed  the  next  day  by  sound  of 
ti'umpet.  After  having  vented  his  vanity  against  the  offi- 
cials of  the  Admiral,  fulminated  threats  against  him,  and 
sought  to  wound  him  in  all  his  feelings,  he  said  that  the 
oldest  of  the  Columbuses  prolonged  his  absence  from  fear 
of  him,  not  daring  to  appear  before  his  judge  ;  but  that  he 
well  knew  how  to  make  him  appear.  Accordingly,  he  took 
a  troop  of  cavalry  to  go  in  quest  of  him,  when  Columbus, 
hearing  of  the  arrival  of  the  commissary,  returned  to 
Isabella. 

The  decisive  moment  had  come.  Aguado  was  going  to 
triumph,  for  he  knew  the  fine  sensibility  of  the  Admiral, 
and  in  advance  was  sure  that  his  multiplied  affi"onts  and 
insolence  going  beyond  all  human  endurance,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  Columbus  to  restrain  himself;  in  this  case, 
there  would  be  nothing  wanting  but  a  report  to  show  that 
he  was  wanting  in  respect  for  the  royal  authorit}-.  But  the 
more  provoking  the  offence  was,  and  the  farther  it  passed 
beyond  the  bounds  of  decency,  the  greater  the  secret  pleasure 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


335 


the  servant  of  God  experienced  in  making  the  sacrifice  of 
his  will.  He  resigned  himself  to  the  injustice  with  a  satis- 
faction which  even  his  enemies  could  not  question  ;  besides, 
he  could  not,  as  a  Christian,  disregard  the  principle  of 
authority. 

When,  therefore,  Aguado  advanced  to  show  his  letter  of 
credence,  the  Admiral  received  him  with  grave  and  punc- 
tilious ceremony,  with  the  sound  of  trumpets,  took  the  letter 
and  read  it,  and  having  heard  the  commissary,  graciously 
assured  him  that  he  was  quite  ready  to  do  what  would  be 
prescribed  for  him  on  the  part  of  the  Sovereigns.  For 
some  time  this  calmness  and  moderation  astonished  and 
confounded  Aguado.  Still,  as  this  deference  foiled  his  ob- 
ject, he  commenced  talking  in  an  arrogant  tone,  hoping,  by 
the  unbecomingness  of  his  manners,  to  provoke  the  wrath 
of  the  Admiral.  But,  to  his  amazement,  Columbus  "bore 
his  insolence  with  great  modesty." 

Aguado,  foiled  in  his  plans,  and  seeing  the  uselessness  of 
provocations,  had  nothing  left  but  to  collect  accusations 
against  his  former  protector.  He  gathered  the  testimonies 
of  the  scum  of  the  colonists,  of  the  slothful,  the  cow- 
ardly, and  of  the  discontented.  Knowing  that  there  had 
arrived,  as  they  said,  "  a  young  Admiral  who  was  to  kill 
the  old  one,"  the  Indians  themselves  came  to  j^rofler  com- 
plaints against  Columbus,  their  only  defender,  whom  they 
made  responsible  for  all  the  excesses  committed  by  the 
Spaniards.  Some  caciques  assembled  at  the  dwelling  of 
Manicatex,  and  resolved  to  lay  their  griefs  before  the  envoy 
of  the  Sovereigns,  —  the  redressers  of  wrongs.  In  Decem- 
ber the  inquiry  which  was  opened  by  Aguado  formed  a 
large  pile  of  papers,  which  appeared  to  him  more  than 
sufficient  to  insure  irretrievably  the  ruin  of  the  Colum- 
buses. 

He  was  now  prepared  to  return  to  Spain,  and  had  given 
orders  for  that  purpose.  The  preparations  for  his  departure 
were  actively  going  on,  when,  in  the  beginning  of  January, 
one  of  those  tempests  unknown   in  Europe,  but  which  the 


336  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

Indians  called  "  hurracan,"  *  burst  on  the  island.  It  was 
one  of  those  frightful  convulsions  of  nature  whose  devas- 
tating character  recalls  the  eruptions  preceded  by  earth- 
quakes. Within  the  memory  of  man  no  such  perturbation 
was  known.  A  conflict  of  typhoons  had  taken  place  in  the 
atmosphere.  The  most  violent  of  the  whirlwinds  traversed 
the  north-western  parts  of  Hispaniola,  tearing  up  b}^  the 
roots  the  largest  trees,  and  hurling  them  to  a  great  distance. 
When  the  hurricane  reached  the  harbor,  it  whirled  the 
ships  round  as  they  lay  at  anchor,  snapped  their  cables, 
and  sank  them.  As  soon  as  the  furious  commotion  in 
the  air  ceased,  the  sea  suddenly  swelled  up.  The  bellow- 
ing waves  arose  to  to  the  skies,  overspread  with  gloom. 
Suddenly  they  overleaped  the  natural  barriers  opposed  to 
their  fury,  and  inundated  the  lowlands  of  the  coast.  The 
Spaniards  believed  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand,  while 
the  Indians  saw  in  this  fearful  ruin  the  punishment  of  the 
crimes  of  their  oppressors. 

After  this  elemental  scourge  had  passed  off,  there  was 
a  hun-ying  to  the  port.  Alas  !  of  Aguado's  four  caravels, 
and  three  others  that  were  at  anchor,  only  a  single  one  re- 
iTiained,  —  the  smallest,  the  oldest,  and  the  most  fragile  of 
all,  —  the  Nilia  I  —  that  caravel  which  had  succored  the 
Admiral  in  his  shipwreck  at  Navidad,  which  had  brought 
him  back  to  Palos,  which  had  afterwards,  under  the  name 
of  Santa  Clara^  borne  him  to  the  exploration  of  Cuba,  the 
discovery  of  Jamaica,  and  the  archipelago  of  the  "  Queen's 
Gardens,"  whence  she  had  returned  rickety,  leaky,  and 
ready  to  founder  in  the  port,  seeming  to  be  inevitably 
doomed  to  perish  ! 

■^  Hence  our  word  hurricane. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  337 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Gold  Mines  discovered.  —  Departure  of  Columbus  for  Spain  with 
the  sick  and  Indians.  —  Romantic  Devotedness  of  a  Cannibal 
Princess  for  Caonabo.  —  To  save  Provisions  the  Crew  want  to 
cast  the  Indians  into  the  Sea,  but  they  are  protected  by  the 
Admiral.  —  He  predicts  the  very  Day  when  they  will  reach  Land. 

SECTION  I. 

COLUMBUS  immediately  ordered  the  repairing  of  the 
Santa  Clara.,  and  the  building  of  another  caravel 
which  would  be  named  the  Santa  Crîiz  (the  Holy  Cross), 
knowing  the  urgent  importance  of  arriving  in  Spain  when 
his  new  accuser  would  come  there.  During  the  building 
of  the  new  vessel,  for  which  the  timbers  of  the  wrecked 
vessels  that  had  been  saved  from  the  waves  were  made  sub- 
servient, he  received  news  that  was  of  more  value  for  his 
defence  than  the  vindication  of  his  government,  although 
the  latter  was  directed  by  the  most  consummate  prudence. 

Some  months  before  the  hurricane,  a  young  Arragoniau 
named  Miguel  Diaz,  attached  to  the  service  of  Don  Bar- 
tholomew Columbus,  having  a  quarrel  with  one  of  his 
compatriots,  fought  with  him  and  wounded  him  danger- 
ously. Knowing  the  inflexible  character  of  Don  Barthol- 
omew, he  would  not  venture  to  sue  for  pardon,  but  took 
to  flight,  accompanied  by  the  witnesses  of  the  fray.  Their 
wandering  course  led  them  to  the  banks  of  the  Ozama,  in 
the  territoiy  of  a  young  female  cacique,  whose  beauty  cap- 
tivated Diaz.  The  Indian  princess  soon  became  enamored 
of  him,  and  became  a  Christian,  to  marry  him.  She  took 
the  name  of  Catalina. 
39 


338  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

Fearing  that  her  husband  would  feel  too  much  isolated 
from  his  countrymen,  and  may  abandon  her  some  day,  she 
informed  him  of  the  existence  of  gold  mines,  at  a  distance 
of  seven  leagues  from  their  residence,  and  engaged  him  to 
bring  his  countrymen  to  her  territory.  Diaz  immediately 
saw  in  this  communication  the  means  of  obtaining  pardon. 
Accompanied  by  some  of  his  wife's  subjects,  he  resolved  to 
go  and  present  himself  to  Don  Bartholomew.  Concealing 
himself  in  the  neighborhood  of  Isabella,  he  learned,  from  a' 
friend,  that  the  wounded  man  was  alive  and  quite  well  ; 
then  he  no  longer  feared  to  make  his  appearance.  Don 
Bartholomew  welcomed  him,  and  reconciled  him  with  his 
adversary.  The  news  he  brought  was  a  providential  sup- 
port for  Columbus. 

Without  loss  of  time  he  despatched  Don  Bartholomew 
with  an  escort  of  a  detachment  of  infantry,  and  accompa- 
nied by  the  metallurgist  Pablo  Belvis,  and  some  miners. 
They  passed  by  the  fortress  of  Conception,  where  they  took 
guides,  and,  traversing  the  domains  of  the  cacique  Bonao, 
they  arrived  at  the  river  Hayna,  on  the  bank  of  which  they 
found  gold  ore  in  abundance.  They  perceived  it,  also,  in 
its  tributary  streams,  and  collected  nuggets  of  it  of  consid- 
erable size. 

Don  Bartholomew  returned  with  some  nuggets  of  gold 
of  great  value.  The  Admiral  received  them  with  a  lively 
gratitude  to  God  for  having  fulfilled  his  desires,  in  sending 
him,  at  the  moment  of  his  departure,  the  best  means  of 
confounding  his  enemies,  of  encouraging  the  Catholic 
Sovereigns  to  continue  the  discoveries,  and  of  enabling 
him  to  crown  his  labors  with  the  conquest  or  the  purchase 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  In  accordance  with  his  usual 
habits  of  piety,  he  immediately  retired  to  his  oratory  to 
thank  the  Lord,  and  offer  Him  the  first  fruits  of  the  new 
discovery  of  gold.  That  part  of  the  lands  on  the  Hayna, 
where  the  gold  mines  were  found,  was  called  "  St.  Chris- 
topher," from  the  name  of  the  fortress  which  Columbus 
ordered  to  be  built  there. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  330 

Before  leaving,  the  Admiral  would  regulate,  during  his 
absence,  the  interior  government  of  the  colony.  By  virtue 
of  his  powers  and  privileges,  he  named  as  his  Lieutenant- 
General  his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew,  with  the  title  of 
Adclantado, — a  title  by  which  he  was  always  afterwards 
designated.  He  also  nominated  as  superior  magistrate  of 
the  colony  Francisco  Roldan,  once  attached  to  his  personal 
service,  and  whom  he  had  formerly  raised  to  the  rank  of 
judge  of  the  "  first  resort." 

Already  Columbus  was  earnest  in  providing  for  the  prin- 
cipal spiritual  wants  of  the  colony,  so  sadly  neglected  by 
Father  Boil.  He  felt  convinced  that,  during  his  absence, 
the  Catholic  religion  would  be  preached  to  the  populations 
of  the  island.  He  confided  the  honor  of  this  apostolate  to 
a  Franciscan,  Father  Juan  Bergognon,  with  whom  he  asso- 
ciated the  pious  Friar,  Roman  Pane,  who  was  favored  with 
the  gift  of  languages.  Then  he  sent  the  latter  into  the 
country  of  the  cacique  Guarionex,  and  charged  him  to 
reduce  to  writing  a  memoir  on  the  primitive  religious  opin- 
ions of  the  Indians,  their  genesis  and  cosmogony.  Notwith- 
standing his  zeal  for  the  glory  of  the  Saviour,  Friar  Pane, 
who  humbly  called  himself  the  Poor  Ilcrjuit^  for  a  moment 
became  afraid  at  the  idea  of  going  alone  among  an  irritated 
and  capricious  ^Dcople.  He  mentioned  his  fear  to  the 
Admiral,  and  besought  him  to  permit  him  to  take  some 
Christians  with  him  to  console  and  sustain  him  in  his  sol- 
itude. Columbus,  with  the  best  grace,  authorized  him  to 
take  with  him  any  person  he  judged  proper,  and  took  care, 
at  the  same  time,  to  station  a  post  of  infantry  within  reach 
of  the  residence  of  the  missioncrs,  to  prevent  the  idolaters 
from  making  any  attempts  on  their  persons. 

Although  the  fickleness  of  their  character,  and  the  con- 
fusion that  reigned  in  their  religious  opinions,  preserved 
the  Indians  from  a  fierce  fanaticism,  their  priests,  called 
Bohutis^  who  acted  at  once  the  part  of  physicians  and  of 
sorcerers,  had  an  interest  in  preventing  a  new  religion  from 
ruining  their  rather  lucrative  occupation,   and  they  could 


240  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

have  armed  the  hands  of  their  credulous  dupes.  Funda- 
mentally, the  i"eligion  of  the  islands  consisted  in  a  gross 
faith  in  certain  idols,  which  they  named  Ze77ies.  These 
zemes,  sometimes  of  wood,  sometimes  of  stone,  and  very 
varied  in  their  forms  and  attributions,  were  very  nearly 
similar  to  the  fetiches  of  the  negroes.  The  Bohutis,  or 
priests,  did  not  constitute  a  distinct  body  ;  they  had  no  dota- 
tions nor  hereditary  privileges.  They  did  not  reign  over 
the  caciques,  and,  on  their  side,  the  caciques  did  not  en- 
deavor to  lessen  their  influence  on  the  superstition  of  the 
people.  To  overthrow  this  religion,  destitute  of  formal 
dogmas  and  of  symbols,  and  holding  to  the  soil  by  no  tradi- 
tional root,  the  mildness  and  charity  of  the  Gospel  should 
have  sufficed.  Unfortunately,  the  violence  and  vices  of  the 
Spaniards  gave  these  people  false  notions  of  Catholicity, 
and,  confounding  the  religion  with  the  men,  they  made 
Christianity  responsible  for  the  crimes  of  their  oppressors. 

SECTION  II. 

At  the  end  of  February,  the  two  caravels  were  ready  for 
the  voyage.  The  sick,  the  discontented,  and  the  dis- 
appointed hidalgos,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  besides  thirty-two  Indians,  —  among  whom 
were  the  haughty  Caonabo,  with  a  brother,  a  son,  and  a 
nephew, — were  divided  among  the  two  vessels.  Aguado 
embarked  on  the  new  caravel,  and  Columbus  on  the  poor 
but  faithful  Santa  Clara. 

On  the  tenth  of  March,  1496,  the  two  vessels  left  the 
port,  and  proceeded  to  the  east,  to  try  a  new  route.  Expe- 
rience had  not  yet  revealed  the  winds  that  prevail  in  these 
latitudes.  It  was  not  at  that  time  known  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  steer  directly  northwards,  so  as  to  fall  in  with  the 
track  of  westerly  winds  to  favor  the  return  to  Europe. 
Columbus  had  to  make  way  against  the  winds,  and  to 
weary  himself  with  incessant  toils.  He  passed  twelve 
days  in  thus  struggling  before  he  lost  sight  of  the  eastern 


CHAP.  VIII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3^1 

cape  of  Hispaniola.  At  length  he  gauicd  the  open  sea,  ou 
the  sixth  of  April.  Their  provisions  having  become  dimin- 
ished from  a  consumption  of  twenty-six  days,  the  Admiral 
determined  to  stop  at  the  Caribbee  Islands,  to  take  in  a 
fresh  supply. 

On  the  tenth,  casting  anchor  before  Guadaloupe,  he  sent 
two  boats,  well  armed,  on  shore,  to  procure  provisions, 
which  were  to  be  paid  for  in  European  trinkets.  Suddenly 
the  beach  became  covered  with  amazons,  decorated  with 
tufts  of  feathers,  and  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  pre- 
pared to  oppose  their  landing.  As  the  sea  was  rough  the 
boats  remained  at  a  distance,  and  two  of  the  Indians  from 
Hispaniola  swam  to  the  shore.  They  told  the  women  that 
there  was  no  injury  intended  for  them,  and  that  the  strangers 
sought  only  provisions,  for  which  they  were  ready  to  pay 
in  gems,  and  that  they  came  from  heaven  (from  Turey). 
The  women  referred  them  to  their  husbands,  who  were  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  island. 

The  boats  proceeded  thither.  They  perceived  on  the 
beach  a  crowd  of  warriors  of  ferocious  aspect,  yelling  and 
discharging  flights  of  arrows,  which,  however,  did  not 
reach  their  mark.  Seeing  that  the  boats  did  not  the  less 
approach  the  land,  they  hid  themselves  in  the  adjacent 
forest,  whence  they  rushed  forth  with  hideous  cries  as  the 
Spaniards  were  landing.  A  discharge  of  fire-arms  soon 
made  them  retire  to  the  forest,  leaving  their  habitations 
deserted.  In  these  were  found  provisions,  some  beautiful 
parrots,  and  the  arm  of  a  man,  which  was  roasting  before 
a  fire. 

The  Admiral  sent  a  detachment  of  forty  men  to  recon- 
noitre the  island.  They  returned  the  next  day,  bringing 
with  them  three  children  and  six  women,  among  whom 
was  the  haughty  wife  of  a  cacique. 

The  Spaniards  passed  nine  days  on  the  island,  laying  in 

a  supply  of  cassava.     Being  on  the  point  of  setting  sail,  he 

sent  on  shore  the  captive  women  and  children,  with  many 

presents,  such  as  all  Indians  dote    on.     But  the  wife   of 

29* 


342  mSTORT  OF  [book  ir. 

the  cacique  declared  she  and  her  daughter  would  remain 
on  board,  and  go  and  see  the  country  of  the  mighty  stran- 
gers.    This  motive  was  but  a  pretext. 

This  intrepid  woman,  seeing  Caonabo  in  chains,  and 
knowing  that,  like  herself,  he  was  a  native  Carib,  with 
cannibal  instincts, — was  touched  with  his*  misfortune.  A 
horrible  sympathy  retained  her  at  his  feet.  Sacrificing  her 
duties,  her  future,  to  the  enthusiasm  of  a  suicidal  glory, 
she  suddenly  forgot  her  children,  her  husband,  her  tribe 
and  her  country,  to  consecrate  herself  to  solacing  the 
weariness  of  the  hero,  whose  exploits  had  electrified  her 
imagination. 

SECTION  III. 

On  the  twentieth  of  April,  they  again  opened  sail.  The 
struggle  against  the  winds  recommenced,  and  by  the  twentieth 
of  May  they  were  still  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean.  None 
of  the  pilots  knew  the  latitude  they  were  in,  and  sadness- 
and  discouragement  became  general.  Their  fresh  water 
had  already  failed  them,  and  their  provisions  became  so 
reduced,  that  Columbus  was  obliged  to  put  every  one  on  a 
daily  allowance  of  six  ounces  of  bread.  As  usual,  he  gave 
himself  the  example  of  equality  in  distress.  The  ignorance 
of  the  distance  they  were  from  land  increased  the  general 
inquietude.  The  pilots  differed  among  themselves  about 
the  route,  and  thought  they  were  wandering  in  the  bound- 
less ocean.  The  Admiral  now  assured  them  that  they  were 
about  a  hundred  leagues  from  the  meridian  of  the  Azores, 
which  was  the  exact  case. 

Columbus  paid  particular  attention  to  the  sick.  His 
compassion,  and  his  piety,  found  means  to  console  these 
poor  people,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  suffering  before 
they  came  on  board.  Whilst  in  the  caravel  of  Aguado,  the 
sick  workmen  and  soldiers  received  no  attention  from  the 
commissary  ;  those  on  board  the  Santa  Clai-a  received 
every  care  and   comfort  that  were   possible.     We  cannot 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  343 

*doiibt  that  the  venerable  Father  Juan  Perez  dc  Marchcna, 
seconding  the  Admiral,  assisted  them  with  spii'itual  aid, 
the  vakie  of  which  is  doubly  felt  in  misfortune. 

About  this  period  Caonabo  died,  and  his  brother  survived 
him  only  a  few  days. 

The  suflcrings-from  scarcity  of  food  continued  to  increase 
from  hour  to  hour,  and  low  murmurings  were  heard.  The 
Spaniards  darted  alternately  looks  of  pity  and  of  wrath  at 
the  thirty  Indians  who  were  on  board.  Famine,  that  horri- 
ble feeling  which  overcomes  every  tender  sentiment,  excited 
cruelty  and  suggested  crime.  Some  of  the  Spaniards  pro- 
posed to  kill  and  cat  the  Indians  ;  others  advised  that  they 
should  be  thrown  into  the  sea,  as  so  many  expensive  and 
useless  mouths.     The  latter  party  seemed  to  jorcvail. 

On  the  seventh  of  June,  this  cruel  resolution  was  made 
public.  When  it  became  known  to  the  Admiral,  the  com- 
passionate mildness  which  he  had  hitherto  exhibited  gave 
place  to  the  most  courageous  energy.  He  arose  in  the 
height  of  his  majesty,  and  stilled  the  tumult  of  despair. 
God  coming  to  his  aid,  he  silenced  the  promptings  of 
famine,  and  declared  firmly  to  these  men  that  he  discovered 
the  Indies  to  beget  souls  for  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord  ;  that 
these  Indians,  redeemed  at  the  price  of  the  same  blood, 
wei'e  their  brethren  ;  that  he  conducted  them  to  Castile  in 
order  to  make  them  children  of  the  Church,  and  friends  to 
the  Spanish  nation  ;  and  that  he  would  not  permit  the 
l^crpetration  of  this  abominable  crime.  He  reminded 
them  that  patience  in  suflerings  was  a  characteristic  virtue 
of  Christians,  —  the  mark  of  their  superiority.  He  further 
added,  that  the  fear  which  instigated  this  cowardly  crime 
was  the  etVcct  of  error  and  ignorance,  as  in  three  days  they 
would  be  in  the  waters  of  Cape  St.  Vincent. 

The  pilots  scofled  at  these  words  ;  but,  on  the  evening  of 
the  third  day,  the  Admiral  ordered  that  sail  should  be  taken 
in  during  the  night,  as  they  would  see  land  the  next  day. 
The  event  proved  the  correctness  of  his  announcement. 

Reflecting  on  the  matter,  and   remembering  how,  froni 


244  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

the  first  Discovery,  all  the  diverse  predictions  of  the  Ad- 
miral were  verified  by  the  events,  the  greater  part  of  the 
sailors,  and  even  of  the  pilots,  were  not  far  from  thinking 
that  pei'haps  he  called  to  his  aid  the  secrets  of  magic  ;  and 
that  at  least,  in  all  great  circumstances,  he  was  endowed 
with  an  inspiration  almost  divine. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  x±K 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Columbus  wears  publicly  the  Habit  of  the  Franciscans.  —  He  goes 
to  Court.  —  At  the  sight  of  him  the  Queen  forgets  all  the  accu- 
sations brought  against  him.  —  Measures  taken  in  favor  of  the 
Colonies.  —  Columbus  refuses  a  Principality.  —  He  establishes  a 
Majorat,  or  Mayorazgo.  —  Outrages  received  when  entering  on 
his  Third  Voyage. 

SECTION  I. 

OX  entering  the  Bay  of  Cadiz,  Columbus  found  three 
caravels,  commanded  by  his  old  pilot,  Pedro  Alonzo 
Nino,  on  the  point  of  sailing  with  supplies  for  the  colony. 
Niûo  immediately  delivered  him  the  despatches  addressed 
to  him  ;  and,  after  having  read  them,  he  considered  it  proper 
to  modify  a  little  the  instructions  left  with  his  brother  Don 
Bartholomew. 

The  flotilla  having  sailed,  Columbus  occupied  himself 
with  the  care  of  the  sick  and  distressed  whom  he  brought 
with  him.  The  paternal  solicitude  with  which  he  had  con- 
tinually treated  them  during  the  voyage,  at  length  opened 
their  eyes.  When  embarking,  they  were  prejudiced  against 
him  ;  but  they  landed  as  grateful  for  his  goodness,  as  they 
were  indignant  at  the  oflences  he  had  received  from  the 
commissary  Aguado. 

Columbus  did  not  go  immediately  to  Court.  Having  in- 
formed the  Sovereigns  of  his  arrival,  he  determined  to  await 
their  orders.  It  was  not  until  a  month  after,  that  they  wrote 
to  him,  from  Almazan.  Their  message  was  dated  the 
twelfth  of  July,   1496. 

It  is  evident  that  Aguado  had  full  time  to  communicate 
to  the  director  of  marine  the  enormous  pile  of  documents 
he  had  brought  with  him  from  Ilispaniola  ;  to  add  verbal 


346  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  Tbook  ii. 

comments  to  them,  and  thus  deceive  the  Sovereigns.  It 
appears  his  proceedings  were  not  unsuccessful.  After 
having  many  times  heard  the  complaints  of  Father  Boil 
and  Pedro  Margarit,  the  Qiieen  had  yet  to  consider  the 
hostile  testimonies  of  the  commander  Gallego,  of  Rodrigo 
Abarca,  of  Micer  Girao,  and  of  Pedro  Navarro,  —  all  ser- 
vitors of  the  royal  household,  and  therefore,  worthy  of 
confidence. 

During  the  month  that  elapsed  between  the  arrival  of 
Columbus  and  the  answer  of  the  Sovereigns,  history  has 
lost  sight  of  the  Admiral.  It  is  only  known  that,  disgusted 
with  the  deceit  and  the  weaknesses  of  the  Court,  and  count- 
ing only  on  God,  he  wished  from  that  time  to  retire  from 
the  world.  Unmindful  of  what  may  be  thought  of  him,  he 
allowed  his  beard  to  grow,  and  wore  exteriorly  his  cord 
over  the  habit  of  St.  Francis,  the  latter  being  somewhat 
shortened.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  even  seri- 
ously contemplated  following  to  La  Rabid  a  his  venerable 
friend  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  who  went  there  to 
finish  his  mortal  career. 

Some  writers,  who  did  not  comprehend  the  eminently 
Christian  character  of  Columbus,  have  been  puzzled  about 
the  religious  habit  w^ith  which  he  invested  himself  on  his 
return  from  his  second  voyage.  Washington  Irving  con- 
jectures that  he  put  on  this  garb  "  in  fulfilment  of  some 
penitential  vow  made  in  a  moment  of  danger."  *  But,  in 
the  first  place,  he  encountered  no  tempest  on  his  return. 
He  had  contrary  winds,  because  they  blew  towards  the 
Antilles  ;  but  they  were  regular,  and  alternated  with  calms. 
This  conjecture  is  therefore  unsustained  by  facts.  The 
statement  of  Oviedo  can  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of 
the  costume  he  adopted  :  he  says  it  was  through  disgust  for 
the  world,  |  and  the  mortification  he  felt  at  the  injustice 
done  him. 

♦Washington  Irving.     History,  etc.,  Book  ix.,  chap.  11. 

t  Oviedo  y  Valdez.     Hist.  nat.  y  gen.,  etc.,  lib.  11.,  chap.  xiii. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3^- 

Las  Casas,  in  his  History  of  the  Indias^  says  he  saw  the 
Admiral  in  Seville,  clothed  very  nearly  like  a  Franciscan 
monk.*  The  cnrate  of  Los  Palacios  mentions  his  receiv- 
ing at  his  house  the  Admiral,  wearing  the  cord  of  St. 
Francis,  and  a  garment  the  cut  and  color  of  which  recalled 
the  habit  of  the  religious  of  the  Observance,  f  Humboldt 
considers  it  was  "  through  devotion  he  appeared  in  the 
streets  of  Seville  wearing  the  habit  of  the  monks  of  St. 
Francis."  %  So  it  is  gratuitously  that  Irving  supposes  a 
vow  which  no  circimistance  could  have  occasioned,  and 
of  which  no  cotemporary  writer  makes  mention. 

At  length  the  letter  of  the  Sovereigns  came  to  hand- 
They  felicitated  the  Admiral  on  his  happy  voyage,  and 
invited  him  to  come  to  Court  when  he  would  have  suffi- 
ciently recovered  from  his  fatigues.  The  letter  was  con- 
ceived in  gracious  and  flattering  terms.  Columbus  imme- 
diately repaired  to  Burgos,  where  the  Court  then  resided. 
During  his  journey,  in  order  to  remove  the  prejudices  the 
deserters  from  the  colony  had  inspired  against  the  Discovery, 
he  displayed  the  rarities  he  had  brought  with  him,  —  gold 
masks, nuggctsof  gold,  the  Indians  who  accompanied  him  ; 
he  had  a  chain  of  gold  put  round  the  neck  of  Caonabo's 
brother,  that  weighed  six  hundred  castellanos.  § 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  complaints  lodged  against 
the  Admiral,  the  Qiieen  wholly  forgot  them  as  soon  as  he 
appeared,  and  felt  for  him  only  the  natural  attraction,  the 
feeling  interest,  mingled  with  respect,  with  which  the  envoy 
of  Providence  had  formerly  affected  her.  His  aspect  alone 
was  a  conclusive  refutation  of  the  charges  of  his  enemies. 

Columbus  exjioscd  in  its  reality  the  situation  of  the  colony. 
Isabella  now  knew  the  dire  jiecessity  that  constrained  him 

*  Las  C.isas.     La  Hisioria  dc  las  Iiidias,  lib.  i.,  chap.  11.,  M.S. 

t  Andres  Bcrnaldcz.     Hist,  dc  los  Reyes  Cat.,  chap,  vir.,  M.S. 

X  Humboldt.  JJist.  dc  la  Gcograph.  du  Niiveau  Continent,  t.  I, 
p.  22. 

§  Equal  to  the  value  of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-five 
dollars  of  the  present  time.  —  B. 


348  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

to  those  measures  of  safety  which  egotism  and  vanity  taxed 
with  cruelty.  The  Admiral  narrated  to  their  Highnesses 
his  discovery  of  the  archipelago  of  the  Caribbees,  of  Cuba, 
and  of  Jamaica  ;  spoke  of  the  mines  of  Cibao,  and  of  those 
of  Hayna  ;  gave  them  some  masks  ornamented  with  gold, 
some  cinctures  embellished  with  gold,  some  purses  filled 
with  grains  of  gold  from  the  mines  of  Cibao,  and  others 
withnuggets  aslarge  as  nuts,  that  were  yielded  by  tlie  mines 
discovered  at  the  time  of  his  departure.  He  also  presented 
them  with  many  objects  unknown  in  Europe,  such  as  sacred 
stones,  images,  arms,  instruments,  besides  animals,  birds 
and  plants,  which  they  had  not  yet  seen.  These  productions 
of  the  new  country  charmed  the  Qiieen.  Ferdinand  was 
more  sensibly  touched  by  some  fragments  of  gold  ore  than 
by  anything  else.  They  thanked  Columbus  ;  loaded  him 
with  kindness,  and  treated  him  publicly  with  all  possible 
honor,  to  the  great  disappointment  of  his  enemies. 

If  we  did  not  know  the  uprightness  of  the  Qiieen,  incom- 
patible with  every  kind  of  dissimulation,  we  would  have  an 
unquestionable  proof  of  sincerity  in  the  letter,  so  full  of  royal 
bounty  and  maternal  gratitude,  she  addressed  from  the  port 
of  Laredo,  the  eighteenth  of  August,  to  thank  him  for  his 
advice  on  the  route  to  be  taken  by  the  fleet  that  was  to  con- 
vey to  Flanders  the  Infanta  Doua  Juana,  the  affianced  bride 
of  the  Archduke  Philip  of  Austria.  The  Qtieen  thanked 
him  doubly  for  the  sagaciousness  of  his  advice,  always  of 
great  weight,  and  for  the  delicacy  of  his  attention  ;  to  which 
was  added  the  timeliness  of  his  letter,  coming  at  the  moment 
of  departure.  Isabella  recognized  in  this  circumstance  that 
zeal  and  aftection  which  he  always  manifested  in  everything 
that  concerned  her  service,  and  begged  him  to  consider  that 
she  received  this  testimony  as  that  of  a  most  particular  and 
faithful  servitor. 

After  having  assisted  at  the  embarkation  of  her  daughter, 
the  Qiieen  could  scarcely  resolve  to  part  with  her.  She 
remained  two  days  and  nights  with  her  on  board  the  ship. 
She  had  prepared  a  cortege  for  her,  chosen  from  the  nobility 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  349 

of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Castile  and  Arragon.  The  fleet, 
composed  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  sail,  under  the  command 
of  the  Grand  Admiral  of  Castile,  conveyed  an  escort  of 
about  twenty  thousanil  men.  It  sailed,  with  a  fair  wind, 
on  the  twenty-second  of  August  ;  and  when  it  disappeared 
from  sight,  the  Qiieen  returned  to  Burgos  very  sad,  to 
occupy  herself  with  other  preparations  for  the  reception 
of  Princess  ^largaret,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Maximil- 
ian III.,  who  had  recently  espoused  the  Infant  Don  Juan, 
the  Prince  Royal. 

SECTION  II. 

In  the  midst  of  these  maternal  preoccupations  and  cares, 
Columbus  could  not  becomingly  press  the  Qiieen  to  order 
immediately  preparations  for  a  third  voyage  of  discovery. 
It  became  necessary  for  him,  as  at  the  time  of  his  first  expe- 
dition, to  wait  in  silence  and  restrain  his  legitimate  impa- 
tience. During  the  forced  inaction  of  his  sojourn  at  Burgos, 
the  Admiral  could  not  fail  in  promptly  entering  into  inti- 
mate intercourse  with  a  man  of  that  city  already  become, 
at  the  request  of  Isabella,  his  correspondent  before  he  left 
Ilispaniola,  but  whom  as  yet  he  knew  only  by  character. 

This  man  was  the' celebrated  Jaime  Ferrer,  the  lapidary, 
who  travelled  in  all  parts  of  the  known  world,  and  was  at 
once  a  traveller,  a  close  observer,  a  linguist,  a  mathema- 
tician, an  astronomer,  a  cosmographer,  a  metallurgist,  a 
scholar,  a  philosopher,  a  poet,  and  almost  a  theologian.  In 
tlie  original  work  of  jNI.  De  Lorgnes  there  is  a  lengthy  and 
highlv  interesting  notice  of  this  extraordinary  j^ersonage,  to 
which  we  would  invite  the  attention  of  such  of  our  readers 
as  are  acquainted  with  French,  as  we  have  not  space  for  it 
in  the  present  work. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Qiieen,  this  lapidary,  speaking  of  Colum- 
bus, writes  as  follows  :  "  I  believe  that  in  its  high  and  mys- 
terious designs  divine  Providence  has  chosen  him  as  its 
mandatory  for  this  work,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  but  an 
introduction  and  a  preparation  for  things  which  this  same 
30 


350  HISTORT  OF  [book  ii. 

divine  Providence  reserves  to  itself  to  disclose  to  us,  for  its 
own  glory  and  the  salvation  and  happiness  of  the  world."  * 


SECTION  III. 

In  the  commencement  of  autumn,  Ferdinand  returned  to 
Burgos.  There  were  neither  money,  nor  vessels,  nor  men 
for  the  contemplated  expedition.  Still,  Isabella  ordered  six 
million  maravedis  to  be  advanced  for  the  equipment  of  a 
squadron  for  Columbus. 

.  The  twentieth  of  October,  the  pilot  Pedro  Alonzo  Niûo, 
returning  from  Hispaniola  with  three  caravels,  entered  the 
port  of  Cadiz.  In  place  of  repairing  immediately  to  Court, 
he  went  to  visit  his  family,  and  contented  himself  with  writ- 
ing that  he  had  a  large  amount  of  gold  on  board  his  ships. 
Ferdinand,  much  pleased  at  this  news,  immediately  changed 
the  destination  of  the  six  million  maravedis,  employing 
them  to  fortify  Roussillon,  then  menaced  by  the  French, 
and  ordered  the  deduction  of  a  similar  sum  for  the  Admiral 
from  the  gold  brought  by  the  caravels  fi^èm  Hispaniola.  It 
was  only  towards  the  end  of  December  that  Niilo  presented 
to  the  Sovereigns  the  despatches  with  which  he  was 
charged.  Then  appeared  the  sad  explanation  of  the  meta- 
phor used  by  the  pilot.  The  large  amount  of  gold  boasted 
of  in  the  letter,  consisted  of  three  hundred  Indian  prison- 
ers, from  the  sale  of  whom  the  vaunted  gold  was  to  come. 

This  absurd  hyperbole  had  a  deplorable  effect  on  public 
opinion.  Ferdinand  became  very  angry,  and  the  Qiieen 
was  much  hurt  that,  notwithstanding  her  preceding  orders 
respecting  the  liberty  of  the  Indians,  so  many  of  them 
were  now  sent  her.  Still,  in  sending  them  to  Castile,  the 
Adelantado  had  only  conformed  to  the  royal  orders  con- 
cerning the  Indians  who  should  take  part  in  the  murder  of 
Spaniards.     The  Admiral  was  much  grieved  at  the  cargo 

*  Coleccion  DiJ>loinatica,  docum.  num.  Ixviii. 


CHAP,  ix.l  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


351 


sent  by  the  Adclantado,  and  particularly  at  the  accounts  he 
received  from  the  colony. 

All  tiie  enemies  of  Columbus  appeared  to  be  now  justi- 
fied. All  the  specimens  of  gold  shown  by  the  Admiral 
were  mere  baits.  The  bureaus  of  marine  at  Seville  were 
rejoiced  at  the  humiliation  of  the  Genoese.  The  minds 
opposed  to  new  things  disapproved  highly  of  the  discov- 
eries. At  Court,  nobody  felt  restrained  in  criticising  distant 
colonizations.  The  Admiral  was  censured,  even  in  his 
presence.  Everybody  blamed  his  views  ;  he  was,  as  he 
himself  says,  "  oppressed  with  reproaches."  Statesmen  and 
financiers  pretended  that  the  monarchs  would  never  cover 
their  expenses,  and  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  but 
ruin  and  misfortune  from  such  bold  projects,  especially 
when  they  were  confided  to  foreigners. 

The  report  of  these  clamors  came  to  the  ears  of  the  Ad- 
miral. He  feared  that  their  influence  would  at  last  dissuade 
the  Sovereigns  from  the  enterprise.  He  expressed  his  dis- 
quietude to  the  QLiccn,  who  answered  him  "with  that  great 
heart  which  ever)body  knew  her  to  have,"  that  he  must  not 
pay  "  the  least  attention  to  these  remarks,  because  her  inten- 
tion was  to  pursue  this  enterprise,  and  sustain  it,  even  if  it 
should  yield  only  rocks  and  stones  ;  that  she  would  not  stop 
at  the  expense,  that  she  considered  as  well  employed  what 
she  had  exjocnded  and  would  still  expend,  because  she 
believed  our  holy  faith  would  be  extended,  and  her  king- 
doms enlarged,  and  that  those  who  disparaged  it  were  no 
friends  to  her  royal  Crown."  * 

SECTION  IV. 

It  was  not  until  the  twenty-third  of  April  that  Isabella 
issued  an  ordinance  for  the  purchase  of  commodities  for  the 
Indies.  The  Admiral  obtained  leave  to  take  in  the  pay  of 
the  Crown  three   hundred   and   thirty  persons,  of  diflcrent 

*  Christopher  Columbus.  —  Xavarrctc's  Collection,  t.  i. 


352  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

trades,  who  should  go  and  settle  in  the  Indies.  The  same 
day,  the  Qiieen  extended  the  powers  formerly  accorded 
him  ;  and,  to  give  the  Admiral  a  new  pledge  of  her  solici- 
tude for  his  interests,  she  solemnly  confirmed  the  privileges 
that  were  given  him  in  the  city  of  Santa  Fé. 

Such  was  the  generosity  of  Isabella,  that,  in  considera- 
tion for  his  recent  discoveries,  she  offered  Columbus  to  give 
him,  as  an  appanage  to  his  vice-royalty,  a  principality  which 
would  be  constituted  in  Hispaniola,  in  the  quarter  he  would 
choose  himself.  This  private  domain  would  have  an  extent 
of  fifty  leagues  by  twenty-five  in  breadth  ;  and  at  his  option 
it  would  be  erected  into  a  duchy  or  a  marquisate. 

Without  doubt  this  ofler  was  very  tempting.  Columbus, 
the  father  of  a  family,  would  thus  see  himself  recompensed 
in  his  posterity.  This  duchy,  —  a  true  principality,  —  would 
have  enabled  him  to  found  a  powerful  house  for  his  second 
son,  while  the  oldest  one  would  succeed  to  his  dignities  as 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean  and  Viceroy  of  the  Indies.  But  the 
man  of  desire,  the  contemplator  of  the  Word,  would  be 
influenced  by  no  human  considerations.  In  him  the  apostle 
got  the  mastery  over  the  head  of  the  family.  Designing, 
from  the  commencement  of  his  enterprises,  to  discover  the 
space  of  the  whole  globe  and  make  its  circuit,  and,  finally, 
to  deliver  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  he  feared  that  the  natural 
attachment  for  an  estate  so  vast,  and  the  government  of  this 
little  state,  would  tempt  his  heart  as  a  fother,  retard  his 
explorations,  delay  the  accomplishment  of  his  almost  evan- 
gelical labors,  and  perhaps  divert  him  from  the  continual 
vigilance  he  owed  to  the  general  interests  of  the  colony  ;  so, 
with  a  renunciation  wholly  Christian,  he  refused  the  royal 
offer. 

Hitherto  most  historians  have  admired  this  disinterest- 
edness ;  but  the  true  motive  of  Columbus  has  escaped  their 
notice.  This  motive,  which  his  modesty  concealed,  they 
have  interpreted  in  a  sense  purely  worldly.  According  to 
these  writers,  he  feared  that  the  envy  of  the  grandees  would 
be   increased   by  this  favor,   and   that   the  officers  of  the 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  yx 

exchequer  would  accuse  him  of  linving  chosen  the  best  part 
of  the  ishuid,  and  of  having  sacrificed  the  pubh'c  interests 
to  his  own  personal  advantages.  These  considerations 
ajjpcar  to  us  to  be  very  feeble  and  very  subordinate,  if  not 
very  puerile,  when  the  Admiral's  greatness  of  soul  is  con- 
sidered. We  cannot  admit  that  they  could  stagger  a  char- 
acter so  superior  to  the  caprices  of  mere  opinion  ;  and, 
assuredly,  they  would  not  have  arrested  a  heart  eager  for 
riches,  or  a  mind  like  his,  accustomed  to  overcome  obsta- 
cles. The  influence  of  his  vocation  can  alone  explain  his 
sublime  refusal. 

Notwithstanding  the  inducement  of  royal  pay  and  the 
hopes  of  gold,  nobody,  came  to  be  eni-olled  for  the  new  ex- 
pedition. An  ocular  witness  explains  to  us  the  cause  of  this 
universal  repugnance.  "Because  those  who  went  w-ith  the 
Admiral  *  *  *  returned  sick,  emaciated,  and  of  so  sicklv  a 
color  that  they  appeared  more  dead  than  alive,  the  country  of 
the  Indies  was  so  much  decried,  that  nobody  could  be  found 
who  would  ventiue  to  go  there." 

J[n  this  extremity,  m  consequence  of  the  unfavoi-able  re- 
ports the  enemies  of  Columbus  had  spread  against  the 
Indies,  it  became  necessary  to  seek  in  the  prisons  and  the 
galleys  for  recruits  for  Hispaniola. 

Tlie  Sovereigns  publislicd  a  pardon  for  all  subjects  gui Itv 
of  certain  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  on  condition  of  their 
serving  for  a  certain  time.  Those  who  were  condemned  to 
deatl),  on  their  passing  two  years  tliere,  were  to  be  liberated  ; 
and  a  year's  sojourn  there  cancelled  all  condemnations 
short  of  capital  punishment.  Thus,  save  the  cases  of 
heresy,  treason,  arson,  and  coining,  all  swindlers,  perjurers, 
robbers,  and  even  murderers,  by  going  at  their  own  ex- 
pense to  Hispaniola,  could  return  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
rehabilitated.  By  a  letter  patent  addressed  to  all  the  ofli- 
cers  of  justice,  they  were  ordered  to  conduct  all  those  that 
were  condemned  to  banishment,  or  forced  labor,  to  the 
Assistc?itc  of  Seville,  who  was  to  deliver  them  to  the  Ad- 
miral.    Isabella  also  accorded  to  Columbus  the  power  of 


354  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

dividing  among  the  colonists  lands  proper  for  settlements, 
under  certain  conditions. 

She  confirmed  the  nomination  of  Don  Bartholomew 
Columbus  as  Adelantado  of  the  Indies.  But  the  King  ap- 
peared offended  at  this  nomination,  which  he  pretended  to  be 
too  important  to  be  made  directly  by  the  Admiral  without 
the  permission  of  the  Sovereigns  ;  the  letter  of  ordinance 
simply  nominated  Don  Bartholomew  Adelantado  of  the 
Indies  from  the  twenty-third  of  July,  without  any  mention 
of  the  anterior  nomination  of  him  by  the  Admiral. 

Notwithstanding  the  kindly  dispositions  for  a  new  enter- 
prise manifested  by  the  Qiieen  since  the  month  of  July, 
1496,  no  steps  for  its  execution  were  taken  by  the  Bureau 
of  Marine  at  Seville,  up  to  the  month  of  September,  1497* 
Columbus  spent  a  whole  year  in  waiting  and  soliciting  their 
back  pay  for  his  men,  the  greater  part  of  whom  had  abused 
and  calumniated  him,  but  whom  he  compassionated  and 
defended,  because  they  were  suffering.  The  most  lively 
solicitude  of  the  Admiral  did  not  proceed  from  these  delays. 
His  greatest  anxiet}^  was  about  the  colony,  which  was  l^t 
without  even  indispensable  necessaries,  and  which  he  fore- 
saw was  in  a  worse  state  than  was  represented,  —  and  such 
was  actuall}'  the  case. 

Soon  a  public  misfortune  occurred,  which  put  off  still 
further  the  preparations  for  the  expedition.  This  was  the 
'  lamented  death  of  the  Infant  Don  Juan,  on  the  fourth  of 
October. 

Sympathizing  with  the  idolized  Qiieen  in  her  bitter  and 
profound  affliction,  the  Admiral  had  the  magnanimous 
courage  of  keeping  silence  until  the  twenty-third  of  Decem- 
ber. At  this  period,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  overcoming 
the  passive  opposition  of  the  bureaus  of  Seville,  who  rej^re- 
sented  that  they  could  not  provision  the  ships  on  account  of 
the  exorbitant  prices  demanded  by  victuallers,  and  the  little 
anxiety  they  showed  in  furnishing  him  with  supplies,  Co- 
lumbus obtained  permission,  conjointly  with  Fonseca,  to  fix 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^r- 

the  prices  of  provisions  and  munitions  destined  for  tlic  Indies, 
and  to  engage  purveyors  at  fixed  prices. 

Tiius,  after  eighteen  months'  patience,  the  Admiral  of  the 
Ocean,  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies,  was  obliged  to  go  himself, 
from  store  to  store,  to  purchase  provisions,  wine,  oil,  etc. 
This  strange  and  fatiguing  role.,  which  his  zeal  for  the  ser- 
vice of  God  and  of  his  Sovereigns  made  him  accept,  was 
not  the  least  of  his  sacrifices.  Still,  notwithstanding  his 
efforts,  with  the  sum  he  received  he  could  provision  only 
two  caravels.  The  presentiment  he  had  of  the  wants  of  the 
colonics  in  Hispaniola,  made  him  despatch  there  these  two 
vessels  under  the  command  of  Pedro  Fernandez  Coronel, 
who  sailed  on  the  eighteenth  of  February,  1498. 

The  Qiieen,  giving  a  new  mark  of  her  high  considera- 
tion for  the  Admiral,  took  into  her  household  his  two  sons 
as  pages. 

It  appears  that  at  this  time  Isabella  insisted  anew  on  Co- 
lumbus's accepting  the  appanage  of  that  principality  of 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  square  leagues  in  Hispaniola,  for- 
merly offered  him,  but  he  persevered  in  his  refusal  with 
generous  devotedness.  Still,  this  attention  of  the  Qiieen  to 
his  interests  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  disposing  defi- 
nitively for  the  future  of  the  revenues  and  incomes  which 
his  convention  with  the  Crown  of  Castile  guaranteed  to  his 
line  by  right  of  primogeniture. 


SECTION    V. 

With  the  consent  of  his  royal  protectress,  the  Admiral 
resolved  to  establish  a  mayorazgo,  wliich  would  perpetuate 
in  his  descent  the  remembrance  of  the  Discovery  and  the 
fruit  of  his  labors.  Accordingly,  on  the  twenty-second  of 
February,  1498,  Columbus,  by  an  authentic  act,  founded 
his  institution  of  Mayorazgo,  or  Majorat.  Without  entering 
into  the  details  of  this  strange  document,  we  will  only 
advert  to  some  stipulations  that  paint  to  the  life  the  char- 


356  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

acter,  the  inmost  life,  and  the  faith  of  the  man  who  doubled 
the  known  world. 

In  the  first  place,  this  institution  of  mayorazgo,  which  is 
to  be  the  realization  of  the  fruit  of  his  perseverance  and 
labors,  is  made  under  the  invocation  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity,  who,  he  says,  "  inspired  me  with  the  idea,  and 
afterwards  made  it  perfectly  clear  to  me  that  one  could 
navigate  and  go  to  the  Indies  from  Spain,  by  traversing  the 
ocean  westward."  * 

Then  he  recalls  that  it  was  by  the  grace  of  the  Almighty, 
in  the  year  1492,  he  discovered  the  land  of  the  Indies  and 
numerous  islands  ;  that  thus  our  Lord  accorded  him  this 
triumph  over  error  and  incredulity,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
he  hopes,  with  certainty,  that  before  long  the  rights  that^ 
have  been  granted  him  over  these  islands  and  terra  Jirma^ 
will  yield  considerable  proceeds,  and  that  therefore  he  insti- 
tutes a  mayorazgo. 

But  this  mayorazgo,  this  solemn  and  testamentary  act, 
the  efiects  of  which  will  be  the  completion  of  his  glory  and 
the  enduring  recompense  of  his  labors,  —  before  founding 
it,  before  specifying  its  conditions  and  requirements,  and 
even  before  announcing  it,  —  he  places  under  the  personal 
protection  of  the  Chief  of  the  Church.  As  he  has  labored 
for  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  his  course  of  life  has 
prepared  a  great  extension  for  Christianity,  he  confides  the 
respect  for  the  rights  he  is  to  acquire,  and  the  integrality  of 
his  institution,  to  the  vigilance  and  the  authority  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  because  this  mayorazgo  is  instituted  '"for 
the  service  of  Almighty  God."  It  is  under  the  fulminations 
of  the  Church  that  he  shields  the  maintenance  of  his  su- 
preme and  last  will. 

The  ii:istitution  of  a  mayorazgo,  or  majorat,  is  but  too 
often  the  consecration  of  pride  and  paternal  complaisance 
for  a  vain  posterity.     But  in  this  case,  Christian  humility, 

*  Institucion  del  Mayorazgo.  Coleccion  Diplomat.,  docum. 
num.  cxxvi. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3-7 

and  a  sincere  devotedness  to  the  Church,  show  themselves 
all  at  once. 

Columbus  constitutes,  as  his  heir,  his  eldest  son,  Don 
Diego,  and  after  him  the  eldest  of  his  sons  ;  the  succession 
to  be  thus  transmitted  by  the  right  of  primogeniture.  He 
imposes  on  his  heirs  the  obligation  of  taking  in  their  signa- 
ture but  the  simple  title  of  Admiral.,  without  any  enumer- 
ation of  his  dignities.  The  possessor  of  the  mayorazgo 
must  write  his  signature  according  to  the  formula  used  by 
Columbus  himself.  Now  this  formula,  composed  of  initials, 
was  a  prayer.  For  always,  in  the  presence  of  God,  he 
made  the  sign  of  the  Cross  at  the  commencement  of  all  his 
writings,  and  in  signing  them  traced  a  prayer  in  the  form 
of  a  sign-manual,  or  signature.* 

Afterwards  he  obliges  the  inheritor  of  the  mayorazgo,  in 
honor  of  the  Almighty  and  Eternal  God,  to  pay  to  the  poor 
the  tithe,  or  tenth,  of  his  revenues.  By  these  poor,  the  heir 
should  at  first,  by  preference,  understand  the  necessitous  of 
the  family  of  the  Admiral.  Thus,  by  this  solemn  act,  which 
the  Pope,  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  and  consequently  Spain, 
the  Republic  of  Genoa,  and  the  States  of  the  New  World, 
were  called  upon  to  witness  that  he  did  not  blush  at  the 
poverty  of  his  parents,  —  he  who  wrote,  "I  am  not  the  first 
Admiral  of  my  family,"  and  who  compared  to  the  favors 
bestowed  on  David  the  graces  God  had  vouchsafed  to  grant 
him. 

After  these  orderings,  Columbus  comes  to  the  pious  sub- 

*His  sign-manual  was  composed  of  the  following  letters  thu's 
disposed  :  — 

S. 
S.    A.     S. 
X.    M.    J. 

XpO     FERENS. 
These  initials  signified  :  Scrvus  Supplcx  Altissimi  Salvatoris.  — 
C/in'stus,  Maria,  Joseph.  —  Christo  Ferens.     The  suppliant  ser- 
vant of  the  Most    High  Saviour. — Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph.  —  Christ- 
bearer. 


358  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

ject  of  his  solicitude,  the  final  object  of  his  ambition  on 
earth,  —  the  redemption  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

He  declares  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  person  who  has 
wealth  to  serve  God,  either  with  his  person  or  with  the. 
property  he  has  received  from  Him.  He  recalls  that,  at 
the  time  when  he  was  prepaiûng  to  set  out  for  the  discovery 
of  the  Indies,  he  had  the  intention  of  suj^plicating  the  Sov- 
ereigns to  employ  all  the  profits  accruing  from  the  Indies 
in  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem.  Consequently  the  inheritor 
of  the  mayorazgo  will  take  care  to  amass  large  sums  of 
money,  in  order  to  go  with  the  Sovereigns  to  make  the 
conquest  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  in  case  of  their  refusal,  must 
go  alone,  with  all  the  forces  he  can  collect.  He  hopes 
that  their  Highnesses,  seeing  him  undertake  this  enterprise, 
will  aid  him  to  accomplish  it. 

After  delivering  the  Holy  Places  from  the  yoke  of  the 
Turks,  Columbus  occupies  himself  with  insuring  the  tem- 
poral independence  of  the  Holy  See  against  all  the  eventu- 
alities of  the  future.  As  if  he  foresaw  that  Protestantism 
was  soon  about  to  emerge  from  the  shade  of  a  German 
cloister,  he  thinks  of  shielding  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  from 
its  attacks.  His  own  words  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  thought 
of  the  servant  of  God  :  — 

"Item.  I  require  of  Don  Diego,  or  of  whomsoever  may 
be  in  possesion  of  the  estate,  that  in  case  of  any  schism,  on 
account  of  our  sins,*  taking  place  in  the  Church  of  God, 
and  that  by  violence  any  person,  of  whatsoever  nation  or 
rank  he  may  be,  should  undertake  to,  despoil  her  of  her 
privileges  and  property,  that  immediately,  under  pain  of 
being  disinherited,  he  will  hasten  (unless  he  should  be  a 
heretic,  which  God  forbid)  to  ofler,  at  the  feet  of  the  Holy 
Father,  his  person,  power  and  wealth,  for  the  purpose  of 
suppressing  the  schism,  and  preventing  the  spoliation  of  the 
honors  and  property  of  the  Church." 

*  "  Que  si  en  la  Iglesia  de  Dios,  por  nuestros  pecados  naciere  al- 
guno  cisma,"  etc.     Coleccion  Diplomat,,  num.  cxxvi. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^çq 

In  well  considering  this  solicitude  for  the  temporal  exist- 
ence of  the  Holy  Sec,  one  would  say  that  the  Revealcr  of 
the  Globe  had  foreseen  the  heresy  which  was  one  day  to  issue 
from  the  monastery  of  the  Augustinians  of  Wittemburg,  and 
the  terrible  perturbation  by  which  so  many  nations  would 
be  detached  from  spiritual  unity.  This  very  large  defection 
may  well  lead  to  the  fear  that  the  schism  would  become 
established  even  in  the  city  of  Rome,  where,  in  fact,  it  tried 
to  introduce  itself.  In  such  an  occurrence  the  mayorazgo 
would  have  been  a  powerful  aid,  as  it  ought  to  amount, 
annually,  to  more  than  twenty-five  million  maravedis. 

The  Admiral  wished,  further,  that  his  heir  should  build 
a  church  in  the  Vega  Real  of  Hispaniola,  in  honor  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  under  the 
title  of  Santa  Alaria  de  la  Coficepciott;  that  he  should 
found  a  well-organized  hospital  ;  and  that  he  should  also 
found  a  faculty  of  theology,  composed  of  four  chairs,  which 
were  to  be  specially  destined  for  the  instruction  of  those 
who  would  devote  themselves  to  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians,  with  the  obligation  on  the  part  of  his  heir,  when 
the  revenues  of  the  estate  would  permit  it,  to  increase  the 
number  of  chairs  and  subsidies  for  evangelical  laborers  for 
the  Indies. 

In  this  testamentary  act  the  whole  soul  of  Columbus  is 
reflected.  In  all  his  disposals  it  is  seen  that  he  wishes  to 
have  the  course  of  his  constant  ideas  continued  after  his 
death,  and  from  the  depth  of  his  tomb  to  have  the  real 
objects  of  his  life  attained, — objects  so  great  in  his  eyes 
that  his  Discoveries  were  only  the  means  and  the  prepara- 
tion for  them.     Thus  :  — 

To  pay  tithe  to  God  in  His  poor. 

To  deliver  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

To  secure  the  temporal  independence  of  the  Po2:)e. 

To  comfort  the  sick. 

To  labor  foi;  the  conversion  of  the  Indians. 

Such  were  the  objects  the  Messenger  of  the  Cross  had 
proposed  to  hinîself;   and   he  requires  that  his  heir,   and 


o 


60  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 


consequently  his  continuator,  should  accomplish  this  glo- 
rious task. 

This  sole  institution  of  mayorazgo  appears  to  us  to  be  the 
best  answer  that  can  be  made  to  those  who  retrospectively 
accuse  this  illustrious  Christian  of  avarice  and  ambition. 
Disinterestedness  is  to  himself  so  natural,  that  he  supposes 
it  in  his  heir  ;  and  if  he  recommends  to  him  the  amassing 
of  riches,  it  is  in  oi"der  that  he  may  the  more  efficaciously 
expend  them  to  the  advantage  of  the  Church. 

Nobody  has  hitherto  sufficiently  remarked  this  zeal  for 
the  house  of  the  Lord  with  which  this  servitor  of  God  was 
inflamed. 

Has  any  other  layman  ever  devoted  himself  to  the  Church 
with  such  ardor?  The  self-renouncement,  the  complete  self- 
abnegation,  and  all  the  sentiments  of  Columbus,  —  were 
they  not  truly  those  of  an  Apostle  "i  What  more  could  a 
saint  have  done,  if  he  had  been  Grand  Admiral  and  Vice- 
roy, than  to  give  his  days,  his  nights,  his  repose,  his  dan- 
gers, his  privations,  his  arrangements,  and  those  of  his 
children,  to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  preparing,  in 
his  mayorazgo,  an  extreme  resource  for  the  necessities  of 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff',  in  case  of  attack  or  dispossession? 

Has  any  other  Christian  ever  manifested  more  enduring 
solicitude  for  the  glory  of  the  Gospel,  the  redemption  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  and  the  dignity  of  the  Pontificate.?  Has 
any  man  ever  made  a  more  complete  sacrifice  of  the  fruit 
of  his  labors?  Not  only  did  Columbus  give  assurance  to 
the  Papacy  of  the  cooperation  of  his  mayorazgo,  and  the 
arms  of  his  heirs,  but  he  was  willing  to  go  so  far  as,  in  case 
of  need,  to  dispossess,  to  disinherit  wholly,  his  descendants, 
in  order  to  save  the  independence  and  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  See  ! 

SECTION  VL 

Notwithstanding  the  declared  wish  of  the  Qiieen,  the 
Admiral  had  to  spend  the  months  of  March,  April,  and  a 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  361 

part  of  May,  in  providing  himself  the  things  necessary  for 
the  colony,  as  well  as  those  for  the  new  expedition.  His 
active  perseverance  succeeded  in  frustrating  the  studied 
inaction  of  the  director  of  marine,  and  in  surmounting  the 
obstacles  thrown  in  his  way  by  the  malevolence  of  the 
bureaus,  in  such  a  manner,  that  at  the  end  of  May  there 
were  at  the  port  of  San  Lucar  six  caravels  ready  to  sail. 
But  this  approaching  departure,  which  was  a  kind  of  in- 
terior triumph,  exasperated  the  spleen  of  Fonseca  and  his 
creatures.  Until  then  no  offence  had  been  offered  to  the 
Admiral  but  indirectly  and  cautiously  ;  it  was  resolved  to 
try  gross  and  public  insult. 

A  certain  Jew,  who  found  it  convenient  to  receive  bap- 
tism, Ximeno  Breviesca,  who  had  become  a  paymaster,  and 
wished  to  advance  rapidly  in  the  esteem  and  support  of 
Fonseca,  undertook  the  task. 

On  many  occasions  this  Ximeno  sought  to  brave  and 
offend  the  Admiral.  The  day  of  sailing  he  followed  him 
to  the  port,  abusing  him  in  the  grossest  manner.  It  appears 
even  that  he  dared  to  follow  him  on  board,  and  there  pro- 
voke him  with  his  outrageous  abuse.  It  is  well  known  that 
at  the  moment  of  embarking  the  Admiral  always  recom- 
mended himself  more  especially  to  God  and  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  disposed  himself  for  his  voyage  with  particular 
acts  of  piety.  His  heart,  at  such  moments,  superabounded 
with  Christian  charity  ;  he  was  therefore  ready  to  pardon, 
and,  consequently,  to  bear  injuries.  But  this  day  the  offence 
was  so  grievous,  so  intolerable  by  its  persistence  and  bra- 
vado, that  the  old  mariner  remembered  what  he  owed  to 
his  rank  as  Admiral.  Impunity  this  time  may  be  attended 
with  disastrous  consequences.  The  offence  was  given  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  squadron,  of  the  crowd  on  the 
quay,  of  some  bandits  and  other  criminals  who  were  on 
board,  —  all  these  would  take  his  patience  for  pusillanimity 
and  cowardice.  At  the  moment  of  departure  it  became, 
perhaps,  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  ships  and  the  main- 
tenance of  discipline,  to  prove  on  the  spot  that  age  had  not 
31 


362  HISTORY  OF  [book  ii. 

reduced  his  vigor,  and  that  he  knew  how  to  make  his  per- 
son respected  as  well  as  to  have  his  orders  executed. 

The  patriarch  of  the  ocean  made  a  step  towards  his 
insulter,  and  with  his  fist  dealt  a  blow  on  his  impudent 
face.  The  miserable  wretch  fell  down,  stunned.  The  Ad- 
miral limited  himself  to  giving  a  few  kicks  to  this  vile 
snarler,  who  fled  in  the  midst  of  hootings,  concealing, 
under  his  humiliation  and  forced  tears,  his  secret  joy  ;  for 
from  that  moment  his  fortune  was  made. 

It  is  undeservedly  that  writers  of  a  particular  school 
have  been  pleased  to  consider  the  chastisement  inflicted  on 
Ximeno  by  the  Admiral  as  a  mark  of  his  ungovernable 
temper.  It  was  quite  simply  an  instance  of  the  police  on 
shipboard.  Columbus  did  not  yield  to  hastiness  or  to  the 
excitement  of  self-love.  He  did  what  he  had  to  do,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  seamen  of  his  time  and  the  neces- 
sity of  the  moment. 

Whatever  had  been  the  behavior  of  Columbus. in  this  cir- 
cumstance, the  most  consummate  prudence  could  not  have 
preserved  him  from  the  snare  laid  for-liim  with  an  infernal 
cunning.  If  he  limited  himself  to  having  Ximeno  chased 
by  his  squires,  he  would  seem  to  be  distrustful  of  his  own 
strength.  This  moderation  would  kill  him  morally  ;  he 
would  lose  his  personal  ascendancy  over  the  squadron,  and 
over  the  malefactors  it  transjoorted.  This  was  just  what  his 
enemies  wanted.  If  he  himself  chastised  the  insolence, — 
had  he  given  only  a  blow,  —  thei'e  was  sufficient  matter  to 
accuee  him  of  corporal  violence,  of  rage,  and  of  brutality. 
By  this  act  alone  all  the  accusations  of  Father  Boil,  of 
Pedro  Margarit,  and  of  Juan  Aguado,  in  regard  to  his  vio- 
lence and  cruelty,  would  be  proved  beyond  doubt. 

This  occurrence,  which  was  brought  about  by  Fonseca, 
was  amply  commented  on  at  Court  through  the  care  taken 
by  him  and  his  partisans.  Since  even  on  the  soil  of  Spain, 
in  a  port  of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  the  Admiral  thus 
treated  one  of  their  officers,  what  could  he  not  have  done  in 
those  distant   regions,  where   his   authority  was  exercised 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  363 

witliout  control?  Ximeno,  the  infamous  satellite  of  Fon- 
scca,  became  the  object  of  the  complaisance  and  favor  of  the 
Court.  The  insulter  was  pitied,  consoled  and  indemnified 
for  his  mishap.  The  insulted  was  reproved  by  public 
opinion.  He  was  no  longer  there  to  defend  himself.  He 
had  weighed  anchor,  receiving  outrage  for  a  farewell,  and 
bearing  with  him  a  presentiment  of  the  blame  with  which 
he  would  be  loaded  in  his  absence. 


Book    III. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Columbus  takes  a  new  Route  for  his  Third  Voyage.  — Dead  Calms 
of  the  Torrid  Zone.  —  The  Heat  spoils  the  Provisions,  etc. — 
Excessive  Thirst  makes  him  change  his  Course.  —  Island  of 
Trinidad  descried.  —  Discovery  of  the  New  Continent.  —  The 
Orinoco. — The  Gulf  of  Paria.  —  Happy  Escape  from  Dangers. 
—  Departs  for  Hispaniola. 

SECTION  I. 

ON  the  thirtieth  of  May,  149S,  the  six  caravels  opened 
sail  in  the  port  of  San  Lucar.  The  Admiral  started 
on  the  voyage,  placing  himself  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity,  whose  august  name  he  vowed  to  give 
the  first  land  he  would  discover. 

It  was  no  longer  islands  that  Columbus  sought.  He 
hoped  this  voyage  would  almost  equal  his  first  one  in  its 
importance.  He  first  stood  to  the  south,  in  order  to  avoid  a 
French  fleet  that  was  cruising  about  Cape  St.  Vincent 

On  the  seventh  of  June,  he  anchored  at  Porto  Santo, 
where  he  heard  mass,  and  took  in  wood  and  water.  Thence 
he  stood  for  Madeira,  where  the  governor,  and  the  greater 
portion  of  the  inhabitants,  who  were  already  acquainted 
with  him,  received  him  with  great  honors.  He  next  made 
for  Gomera,  and  thence  continued  his  route. 

Always  solicitous  for  the  colony,  when  he  came  to  the 
island  of  Ferro  he  despatched  three  vessels  directly  to 
31*  (365) 


j 


66  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


Hispaniola  with  supplies,  under  the  command  of  his 
brother-in-law  Pedro  de  Arana,  of  his  cousin  the  Genoese 
Juan  Antonio  Colombo,  and  of  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Car- 
vajal.  He  carefully  pointed  out  their  course,  and  the  near- 
est way.  They  were  alternately  to  have  the  command,  each 
one  for  a  week. 

Then,  with  his  other  three  ships,  he  turned  his  course  to 
the  torrid  zone,  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 

An  attack  of  gout,  which  for  four  days  was  attended  with 
fever,  came  to  add  to  his  troubles.  But  the  energy  of  his 
will  overcoming  the  violence  of  his  pains,  he  did  not  cease 
from  directing  personally  the  vo3-age.  Leaving  the  barren 
island  of  Buena  Vista,  the  Admiral  stood  to  the  south-west. 
He  persevered  in  keeping  this  direction,  though  the  force 
of  the  currents,  which  was  north  and  north-east,  greatly 
retarded  his  progress.  Still,  he  desired  to  keep  this  route 
until  he  would  cross  the  equinoctial  line,  when  he  intended 
to  steer  for  the  terra  Jirina  of  the  Indies  in  the  West. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  July,  the  wind  suddenly  ceased,  the 
ocean  became  like  a  mirror,  and  the  sails  hung  flaccid  from 
their  masts.  The  vessels  remained  almost  motionless.  The 
crews  panted  under  the  heat  of  a  vertical  sun,  unmitigated 
by  any  refreshing  breeze.  They  were  then  in  the  regions 
of  the  calms,  unknown  until  that  time,  and  they  became 
quite  dejected. 

The  first  day  the  air  became  like  a  furnace,  and  the  tar 
melted  ;  but  happily  the  next  day  some  thick  clouds 
shrouded  the  heavens,  and  some  showers  of  rain  fell  in 
large  drops.  Still  the  heat  remained  suffocating.  The 
provisions  began  rapidly  to  spoil,  and  even  the  salt  meat 
became  putrid,  the  wheat  became  parched  as  if  with  fire, 
and  the  staves  and  hoops  shrank  from  the  wine  and  water 
casks,  some  of  which  leaked  and  others  burst. 

This  excessive  heat  continued  for  eight  days,  and  the  ab- 
sence of  wind  I'endered  it  impossible  to  escape  from  it. 
Columbus  addressed  himself  to  God,  who  had  so  many 
times  aided  him  in  his  dangers  and  difficulties.     He  remem- 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ,367 

bered  his  having  found  a  great  change  in  the  atmosphere 
every  time  he  had  passed  a  hundred  leagues  to  the  west  of 
the  Azores,  at  the  point  designated  by  the  famous  line  of 
Papal  Demarkation.  "  After  that,"  he  says,  "  I  resolved, 
if  it  should  please  the  Lord  to  send  me  wind  and  a  pro- 
pitious time,  to  leave  the  latitudes  in  which  I  found  myself, 
to  push  no  farther  to  the  south,  but,  without  retrograding, 
to  sail  to  the  west,  until  I  would  find  the  temperature  I  had 
met  with  in  the  latitude  of  the  Canaries,  and  then  steer  to 
the  south." 

The  event  justified  his  expectations.  In  advancing  to  the 
west,  he  found  the  atmosphere  to  become  milder  and  more 
serene  accordingly  as  he  approached  the  meridian  already 
mentioned.  But  the  wine-casks  were  empty,  and  there 
remained  but  a  single  barrel  of  water  in  each  of  the  three 
ships.  Being  in  danger  of  perishing  from  thirst,  notwith- 
standing his  regret  for  having  to  depart  from  his  intended 
route,  he  made  sail  for  the  Caribbean  islands,  hoping  to  be 
able  there  to  procure  provisions  and  water,  and  refit  his 
ships.  The  distress  of  the  crews  was  frightful.  In  the 
midst  of  the  most  alarming  apprehensions,  Alonzo  Perez 
Nizzardo,  on  the  thirty-first  of  July,  discerned  three  sum- 
mits of  mountains  which  appeared  united  at  the  same  base. 

It  was  the  land  desired  ! 

It  appeared  distant  about  fifteen  leagues  ;  and  by  a  won- 
derful, if  not  prodigious  singularity,  seemed  at  that  distance 
to  present  the  mysterious  emblem  of  the  Trinity,  whose 
name  the  Admiral  had  vowed  to  bestow  on  it  !  Hence  the 
name  he  gave  it,  of  Trinidad. 

SECTION   II. 

The  strange  circumstances  of  this  discovery,  its  three  sum- 
mits appearing  to  rise  from  the  same  mountain,  and  recalling 
to  mind  the  vow  made  by  the  Admiral  to  give  the  august 
name  of  the  Trinity  (Trinidad)  to  the  first  land  he  would 
discover,  have  stricken  with  astonishment  the  cotemporary 


368  ,  .  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

chroniclers  and  historians.  Muîioz,  who  had  under  his  eyes 
the  narrations  and  the  documents,  informs  us  that  Cokmibus 
attributed  this  discovery  to  a  signal  favor  from  God.*  He 
regarded  as  miraculous  the  circumstances,  the  time,  the 
place,  and  the  aspect  of  tliese  three  summits,  —  a  sight  in  so 
intimate  a  relation  with  the  design  he  had  formed  of  conse- 
crating to  the  Holy  Trinity  the  first  land  he  would  discover. 

According  to  his  invariable  custom,  he  planted  a  very 
large  Cross  on  the  shore,  where  he  glorified  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

After  advancing  further,  the  Admiral  noticed  between  the 
island  of  Trinidad  and  a  neighboring  land,  which  he  took 
for  an  island,  a  violent  current,  accompanied  with  a  strange 
and  terrible  sound.  "  The  water,"  says  he,  "  came  from 
east  to  west,  with  as  much  velocity  as  the  Guadalquiver 
when  swollen  by  floods."  He  saw  that  this  direction  of 
from  east  to  west  continued  at  all  hours  without  interrup- 
tion, with  a  velocity  of  two  miles  and  a  half  an  hour.  He 
seriously  feared  that  he  could  not  advance,  on  account  of  the 
shoals  indicated  by  the  boiling  and  raging,  nor  turn  back, 
on  account  of  the  violence  of  the  current.  While  at  a  late 
hour  of  the  niglit  sleeplessness,  inquietude,  and  his  desire 
to  make  observations,  retained  him  on  board,  he  suddenly 
heard  a  terrible  roaring  from  the  south.  He  beheld  the  sea 
which  came  from  die  west  forming,  as  it  were,  a  hill  of 
water  as  high  as  the  masts  of  the  shijos,  and  advance  to- 
wards him.  To  its  uproar  was  added  tlie  tumult  of  other 
currents.  However,  this  liquid  mass  lowered  itself,  lifting 
up  high  the  caravel,  and  passed  on  to  the  mouth  of  the 
strait,  where  it  stood  for  some  time  struggling  against  the 
counter-cun-ent  of  the  strait.  The  Admiral  felt  the  immi- 
nence of  the  danger  so  great  for  several  weeks  after,  that  he 
was  painfully  affected  by  it.  All  thought  they  would  be 
lost  witliout  resource.  The  next  day  he  had  soundings 
made  by  the  boats.     They  found  a  depth  of  six  or  seven 

*Munoz.     Hist,  del  Nuevo  Mundo,  lib.  vi.,  sec.  23. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  36g 

fiithoms.  They  also  found  that  there  were  two  currents,  — 
one  to  enter,  the  other  to  come  out.  "  ItiDlcascd  the  Lord," 
he  says,  "to  give  me  a  good. wind,  and  I  traversed  the  inte- 
rior of  this  efnl)02ic/iure,  after  which  I  found  a  tranquil  ex- 
panse again."  The  Admiral  gave  to  this  dangerous  pass 
the  name  of  Serpentas  JSIoiith  (Boca  del  Sierpe). 

SECTION  III. 

It  has  been  generally  admitted  that  the  first  point  of  the 
new  continent  perceived  by  Columbus,  was  the  coast  of 
Paria.  This,  however,  is  an  error  refuted  in  advance  by 
the  Admiral  himself,  in  his  report  to  the  Sovereigns. 

It  is  not  iniintcrcsting  to  point  Out  precisely  the  first  place 
that  presented  itself  to  the  longing  eyes  of  the  Europeans. 
It  can  be  done  with  certainty  from  the  account  given  by 
Columbus  himself  of  the  third  voyage. 

Before  leaving  the  Boca  del  Sierpe,  the  Admiral  had  at 
his  right,  a  little  forward  of  the  prow,  the  last  western  cape 
of  Trinidad,  and  on  the  left,  as  much  before  as  behind,  the 
superior  extremity  of  the  delta  of  the  Orinoco,  —  an  im- 
mense river,  which  discharges  itself  by  seven  great  mouths 
and  forty  smaller  issues,  over  an  extent  of  about  fifty  leagues, 
which  they  divide  into  islands  and  islets  of  various  extent. 
A  thick  and  vigorous  vegetation  here  displayed  its  profuse 
prodigality.  It  was  therefore  impossible  to  avoid  taking 
for  islands  and  islets  these  portions  of  land,  then  half 
submerged,  and  forming  numberless  canals,  and  among 
which  no  regular  current  indicated  the  discharge  of  a  river. 

It  was,  then,  to  these  masses  covered  with  sombre  ver- 
dure, appearing  to  arise  from  the  waters  and  gradually 
bounding  the  horizon,  that  the  Admiral  first  directed  his 
attention.  Although  there  was  no  index  to  make  him  sup- 
pose that  these  islands  were  formed  b\-  the  onboicchurc  of  a 
river,  he  had  a  feeling  something  uncommon,  strange  and 
inexplicable  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  these  islands  ;  for, 
far  from  giving  a  collected  name  to  them,  he  designated  the 


370  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

country  by  the  name  of  Tlerrade  Gracia  (Land  of  Grace), 
because  the  grace  of  God  had  alone  conducted  him  there  ; 
and  he  did  not  speak  of  islands  in  this  part  of  his  report. 

The  first  part  of  the  New  Continent  that  necessarily 
gained  the  attention  of  Columbus,  when  he  wished  to  double 
Point  Jeacus,  is  comprised  between  Cape  del  Moro  and 
Cape  de  Medio,  in  the  delta  of  the  Orinoco.  The  vegeta- 
tion was  so  gigantic  that  Columbus  infeiTed  it  was  not  under 
the  predominant  action  of  saline  humidity,  and  that  the 
influence  of  the  seas  here  yielded  to  the  abundance  of  fresh 
water,  and  that  he  at  last  saw  terra  Jii-}na. 

To  satisfy  himself  in  regard  to  the  character  of  it,  he 
tacked  about  towards  the  interior  coast  of  Trinidad,  and  at 
a  distance  of  twelve  leagues  perceived  to  the  north-east  the 
top  of  a  promontory,  which  he  considered  to  be  a  continua- 
tion of  the  Land  of  Grace.  This  was  afterwards  proved  to 
be  the  case.  On  examining  the  sea-water  he  found  it  to 
have  a  fresh  taste,  and  that  it  was  good  for  drinking.  He 
soon  was  in  a  current  that  pushed  him  to  the  north-east, 
and  advancing  further,  he  perceived,  near  Cape  Lapa,  an 
embouchure  still  more  narrow  than  that  of  the  Ser^Dcnt's 
Mouth,  having  the  same  noises  and  turbulence  of  the  waves. 

With  the  design  of  finding  another  outlet,  as  well  as  to 
open  a  communication  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  country, 
he  steered  along  the  western  coast.  The  more  he  advanced 
the  sweeter  he  found  the  water,  and  the  better  for  drinking. 
After  sailing  eighteen  leagues  along  the  coast,  he  sent  boats 
on  shore.  They  found  recent  traces  of  people,  much  cfilti- 
vated  land,  fruit-trees  in  bearing,  and  saw  multitudes  of 
monkeys.  But  they  could  see  no  human  being.  The  In- 
dians are,  from  their  infancy,  so  accustomed  to  the  exercise 
of  their  principal  sensual  faculties,  that  they  acquire  a  supe- 
riority of  sight,  of  hearing,  and  of  smelling,  which  enables 
them  to  perceive  strangers  before  they  are  seen  themselves, 
to  hear  their  steps  and  recognize  their  tracks,  and  thus  they 
are  enabled  to  escape  them.     So  it  was  in  Gracia  the  same 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  371 

as  it  was  in  Trinidad  ;  the  Spaniards  were  unable  to  find 
any  of  tlie  natives. 

This  day  being  Sunday,  Columbus  ordered  it  to  be  sol- 
emnized on  that  new  land,  the  possession  of  which  he  took  in 
the  form  he  was  accustomed  to.  A  large  Cross  was  raised 
on  the  most  prominent  spot  of  the  beach,  and  the  sacred 
name  of  our  Redeemer  resounded  on  this  unknown  shore. 
In  this  ceremony,  the  Admiral  was  represented  by  his  major- 
domo,  Pedro  de  Terreros,  for  an  acute  ophthalmia  forced 
him  to  remain  in  his  cabin.  The  first  European,  then,  that 
landed  on  the  New  Continent  was  Pedro  de  Terreros. 

The  next  day  the  Admiral  neared  the  coast.'  A  small 
canoe,  with  five  men,  came  towards  the  caravel  nearest  the 
shore.  The  captain  called  them,  and  made  a  sign  that  he 
wanted  to  go  ashore.  They  understood  him,  and  approached 
nearer  to  receive  him.  The  captain,  in  jumping  into  the 
canoe,  designedly  overturned  it.  The  Indians  wished  to 
escape  by  swimming,  but  they  were  all,  except  one,  secured 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  brought  to  the  Admiral. 

These  men  were  finely  formed,  and  free  and  graceful  in 
their  movements.  Their  color  recalled  their  origin.  The 
Admiral  gave  them  hawks'  bells,  glass  trinkets,  and  sugar, 
which  delighted  them  exceedingly,  and  then  ordered  them 
to  be  taken  to  the  shore.  Agreeably  to  what  he  expected, 
their  countrymen,  informed  of  the  good  treatment  they  had 
received,  soon  came  in  crowds  to  the  strand.  All  wanted 
to  come  to  the  caravels.  They  brought  with  them  bread, 
fresh  water,  a  green  kind  of  drink,  a  kind  of  wine,  together 
with  bucklers,  bows,  and  even  poisoned  arrows.  They 
gazed  at  the  Spaniards  with  unspeakable  astonishment,  and 
found  the  smell  from  them  very  grateful.  The  next  day  he 
proceeded  eight  leagues  westward,  to  a  point  which  he 
called  Agiija.^  or  the  Needle,  and  found  the  country  beauti- 
ful and  the  shore  very  populous.  "  I  cast  anchor,"  he  says, 
"  in  order  to  have  more  leisure  to  contemplate  this  verdure, 
this  beautiful  country  and  its  inhabitants." 

The  beauty  and  amenity  of  this  place  was  such  that  he 


372  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi.' 

named  it  The  Gardens.  Many  Indians  came,  on  the  j^art 
of  their  king,  to  beg  him  to  come  ashore.  Columbus  could 
not,  on  account  of  his  ophthalmia,  comply  witli  this  invita- 
tion. His  apparent  indifference  redoubled  their  curiosity. 
They  were  tall  of  stature,  and  had  dark  hair,  which  they 
partly  concealed  by  brilliant  bandages  which  the}^  wore 
roimd  the  head.  Their  only  clothing  was  pieces  of  cloth 
around  the  waist,  those  of  the  women  being  much  longer 
than  the  ones  worn  by  the  men.  The  greater  number  of 
them  had  their  necks  ornamented  with  plates  of  gold. 
Some  women  wore,  also,  bracelets  of  fine  pearls.  The 
Admiral  endeavored  to  learn  where  they  found  the  gold. 
Ail  answered  that  it  was  in  a  very  high  country,  towards 
the  west,  but  not  far  distant  ;  still,  they  would  beseech  him 
not  to  go  there,  because  the  natives  were  cannibals.  Co- 
lumbus likewise  inquired  of  them  where  they  got  the 
pearls,  and  they  answered  it  was  from  a  country  in  the 
north-west. 

Notwithstanding  his  desire  to  verify,  himself,  the  places 
designated,  Columbus  had  to  renounce  it,  the  pressing  neces- 
sities of  the  colony  filling  him  with  inquietude,  as  the  sup- 
plies he  sent  to  Hispaniola  would  become  damaged  more 
and  more.  The  cai^avel  he  commanded  was  not  proper  for 
explorations,  on  account  of  her  great  size.  His  health  was 
impaired  by  continual  watchings,  and  his  eyes  were  in  a 
state  bordering  on  blindness.  So  he  felt  it  necessary  to 
make  for  Hispaniola,  whence  he  could  send  his  brother 
Bartholomew  to  continue  his  discoveries. 

He  steered  to  the  west  until  he  found  there  were  only 
three  fathoms  of  water.  He  cast  anchor,  and  sent  a  light 
caravel  called  the  Correo.,  or  Courier,  to  see  if  the  passage 
was  open.  The  Courier  came  to  the  middle  of  a  very  large 
gulf,  which  was  surrounded  by  four  other  smaller  gulfs,  into 
which  were  discharged  the  waters  of  several  rivers.  The 
water  was  very  fresh.  "  I  never  drank  such,"  says  the 
Admiral.  He  called  this  kind  of  interior  sea  the  Gulf  of 
Paria,  or  of  Pearls.     He  expected  to  find  a  sti'ait  to  the 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  373 

north,  for  there  was  no  issue  to  the  west  or  the  south  ;  but 
in  all  these  points  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  land. 
So,  on  the  eleventh  of  August,  he  turned  back  on  his  course, 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  dangerous  strait  on  the  north- 
east, which  he  had  prudently  avoided  on  the  fifth,  by  which 
he  would  be  enabled  to  return  to  the  Gardens.  The  next 
day  he  anchored  near  Cape  Paria,  in  a  port  which  he  named 
Puerto  dc  Galos,  from  a  species  of  monkey  that  abounded 
there. 

SECTION  IV. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  August  he  approaclied  the  strait. 

The  north-eastern  extremity  of  Trinidad  does  not  face  the 
south-eastern  Cape  of  Paria  directly.  Between  the  extrem- 
ity of  the  island  and  the  point  of  the  main  land  there  are 
several  islands,  between  which  the  outlets  are  not  navigable 
for  ships  ;  but  between  the  lai-gest  of  these  islands  and  the 
Americaji  continent  there  is  a  pass  of  about  a  league  and 
a  half  in  breadth, — the  only  one  by  which  a  passage  can 
be  made  to  the  Caribbean  Sea,  —  and  a  fearful  passage  it 
must  be. 

During  the  months  of  July  and  August,  the  heavy  rains 
and  floods  that  swell  the  rivers  discharging  themselves  into 
the  Gulf  of  Paria  give  the  currents  of  fresh  water  a  power- 
ful impulse.  This  body  of  rain  and  river  water  rushes 
against  the  islands  which  oppose  its  issue,  and,  from  the 
conflict  between  the  body  of  fresh  water  struggling  for  an 
outlet,  and  the  tide  of  salt  water  struggling  to  enter,  there 
results  a  concussion  loud  and  violent,  or  a  truly  turbulent 
sea,  foaming  and  roaring  as  if  breaking  over  rocks. 

If  for  entering  the  Gulf  of  Paria  Columbus  needed  the 
aid  of  Providence,  its  assistance  to  enable  him  to  come  out 
of  it  was  no  less  needed. 

A  little  before  noon,  the  three  caravels  came  to  the  pass. 
A  frightful  commotion  was  seen  in  the  waves.  The  river 
water  pushed  towards  the  sea  was  opposed  by  the  tide  of 
33 


374  HISTORY  OF  [book  in. 

salt  water  rushing  with  all  its  force  towards  the  gulf.  The 
waves  arose  as  high  as  mountains,  and  with  a  roaring  that 
frightened  the  most  courageous  of  the  men. 

There  being  no  wind,  the  sailors  couldnot  use  their  sails, 
and  they  feared  they  would  be  cast,  by  the  violence  of  the 
currents,  against  shoals,  or  be  wrecked  against  the  rocks  on 
one  or  other  of  the  coasts.  The  Admiral  declared  that  if 
they  should  succeed  in  extricating  themselves  from  the  dan- 
ger, they  may  well  say  they  were  delivered  from  the  mouth 
of  the  dragon.  Hence  the  name  of  Boca  del  Dragon-, 
which  it  still  bears. 

Notwithstanding  the  imminence  of  the  peril,  the  Admiral, 
availing  himself  of  a  land  breeze,  made  the  caravels  pro- 
ceed. Scarcely  were  the  vessels  in  this  kind  of  a  terrible 
defile  than  the  wind  immediately  fell  ;  and  now  they  ex- 
pected every  moment  to  be  cast  against  the  rocks.  Colum- 
bus turned  to  his  Protector,  and  did  not  invoke  Him  in  vain. 
At  the  moment  of  the  greatest  danger  invisible  aid  came  to 
him  from  Above.  A  wind  arose  with  force,  and  the  fresh 
water  swelled  up  in  waves  like  hills.  "At  length  God  willed 
that  this  same  fresh  water  should  overpower  the  salt  water, 
and  bear  the  vessels  forward."  It  was  by  the  force  of  the 
wind  that  their  safety  was  efiected.  But  such  was  the  assur- 
ance Colum.bus  felt,  and  the  confidence  he  had  in  "  the 
mercy  of  the  Divine  Majesty,"  that  in  that  solemn  moment 
he  occupied  himself  tranquilly  with  hydrographie  observa- 
tions. Accustomed  to  the  prodigies  of  divine  aid,  he  does 
not  mention  this  marvellous  succor  in  his  report  of  the 
voyage. 

As  soon  as  the  caravels  had  escaped  from  the  foaming 
"  Dragon's  Mouth,"  Columbus  gave  public  expression  to 
his  gratitude.  He  thanked  the  Lord  loudly  for  having 
delivered  him  from  the  abyss. 

Sailing  to  the  north-east,  he  recognized  the  exterior  coast 
of  Paria,  and  signalized,  in  front  of  Cape  Three  Peaks,  the 
three  islands,  which  he  named  The  Witnesses,  no  doubt  in 
allusion  to  the  three  miraculous  events  of  his  third  voyage. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  37- 

\vhich  was  undertaken  in  the  name  of  tlie  adorable  Trinitv. 
Afterwards,  leaving  to  the  north-cast  two  islands,  which, 
in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  he  named  one  Conception^ 
the  other  Assinnptlon.,  he  arrived  at  ^Margarita,  and  thence 
came  to  Cubagua,  since  celebrated  for  its  pearl  fisheries. 
From  this  island  he  continued  his  route  to  Hispaniola. 


376  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER     II. 

His  Speculations  in  relation  to  the  Places  he  had  visited.  —  His  Dis- 
covery of  the  Equatorial  Swelling.  —  His  ideas  about  the  Terres- 
trial Paradise.  —  His  Discovery  of  the  great  Equatorial  Current.  — 
Great  Scientific  Conquests  i-esult  from  this  Voyage. — Arrives  at 
the  Island  of  Beata,  where  his  brother  Bartholomew  comes  to 
meet  him. 

SECTION  I. 

IN  none  of  his  former  explorations  had  such  strange  cir- 
cumstances and  appearances  engaged  the  attention  of 
Columbus,  as  those  into  the  causes  of  which  he  now  sought 
to  penetrate.  In  spite  of  the  convulsive  contractions  of  his 
inflamed  eyelids,  the  heaviness  produced  by  his  sleepless- 
ness, and  the  painful  twinges  of  his  gout,  he  tried,  at  cer- 
tain hours,  to  examine  with  a  rapid  scrutiny  these  grand 
displays  of  nature.  The  qualities  of  the  soil,  the  vigor  of 
the  vegetation,  the  color  of  the  natives,  —  which  was  not 
black,  as  in  Africa,  in  the  same  latitude,  —  the  mildness 
of  the  temperature,  the  changes  of  the  constellations,  the 
movements  of  the  waves,  the  direction  of  the  currents,  and 
the  abundance  of  fresh  water  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  raised 
in  his  mind  a  number  of  questions  and  of  ideas. 

From  certain  traits  of  cosmographie  physiognomy,  imper- 
ceptible to  all  other  observers,  he  recognized  tlie  face  of  one 
of  the  grand  geographical  divisions  of  the  globe,  and  the 
choicest  part  of  one  of  the  principal  continents.  By  his 
sole  inductions  from  spontaneous  apperception,  and  im- 
pressions which  he  could  not  explain,  he  felt  convinced 
that  the  part  of  the  earth  in  which  he  then  was  staying 
was  more  elevated  than  that  whence  he  came.  It  seemed 
to  him  as  if  he  was  climbing  what  may  be  called  the  back 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  377 

of  the  ocean,  like  a  mountain  ;  he  felt  assured  that  he  had 
approached  the  highest  part  of  the  globe. 

Already  this  simple  assertion  excelled,  with  all  the  lofti- 
ness of  genius,  all  the  teachings  of  the  science  of  his  time. 
Columbus  was  on  the  way  for  a  grand  discovery  ;  namely, 
the  equatorial  swelling. 

In  a  communication  addressed  to  the  Sovereigns,  the 
Admiral  says,  clearly,  that  it  is  believed  the  earth  is 
round  ;  but  that,  from  what  he  has  seen,  he  conjectures  it 
is  not  perfectly  sphei-ical  ;  that  it  has  rather  the  form  of  a 
pear,  very  round,  except  the  pait  that  has  the  stem,  and 
that  this  part  is  nearer  the  skies.  In  fact,  the  equatorial 
swelling  measures  a  height  of  twenty-one  kilometres,  or 
about  five  times  the  height  of  Mont  Blanc. 

Columbus  says  Aristotle  placed  the  most  culminating 
point  of  the  earth  under  the  Antarctic  Pole  ;  that  other 
savants  had  opposed  his  opinion,  and  placed  it  under  the 
Arctic  Pole  ;  but  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  judges  that  the 
swelling  of  the  globe  is  towards  the  equator.  He  excuses 
the  errors  of  his  predecessors,  as  they  could  have  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  lands  which  he  had  only  recently  dis- 
covered. He  says  he  docs  not  pronounce  on  the  geodetical 
constitution  of  the  other  hemisphere,  as  he  has  not  visited  it. 

From  the  consideration  of  the  equatorial  swelling,  Colum- 
bus passes  to  other  scientific  speculations.  He  tries  to  seize 
on  the  historical  character  of  the  country.  He  endeavors  to 
find  what  may  be  the  destination  of  a  region  so  different 
from  those  he  had  formerly  traversed,  or  that  had  been 
described  by  travellers.  This  country,  being  the  nearest 
to  the  heavens,  and  consequently  the  first  that  received  the 
sun's  rays,  Columbus  asks  himself  if  this  sublime  elevation, 
and  the  delightfulness  of  its  temperature,  did  not  indicate 
the  primitive  sojourn  of  the  first  man,  the  terrestrial  Para- 
dise.^ He  docs  not  say  that  he  found  the  site  of  this  place 
of  delights;  but  he  supposes  that  at  the  culminating  point 
of  the  equatorial  swelling  this  place  ought  to  be  found  ;  but 
that  nobody  can  find  it,  save  by  the  Divine  permission. 
32* 


378  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

What  confirms  him  in  this  opinion,  is  that  gigantic  river 
wliose  immense  volume  cannot  be  compared  to  any  of  those 
that  are  known.  He  presumes  that  this  river,  wliose  waters 
are  so  abundant  as  to  freshen  the  sea  water  to  so  great  a 
distance,  is  one  of  the  four  rivers  flowing  from  the  terres- 
trial Paradise  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures. 

SECTION  IL 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  error  of  Columbus  on  the 
subject  of  the  terrestrial  Paradise,  the  ingeniousness  of  his 
inductions  amply  made  up  for  the  imperfection  or  inade- 
quacy of  his  data.  Larger  apperceptions  than  his  could  not 
be  drawn  from  what  he  had  discovered.  His  judgments 
on  present  or  apparent  things,  though  yet  unknown,  are 
always  based  on  cosmographie  facts,  and  on  profound 
considerations. 

Dating  from  this  period,  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  felt 
certain  that  he  had  touched  a  land  about  which  Europe  had 
no  information.  Therefore  he  did  not  believe  that  he  was 
in  Asia,  but  on  a  continent  totally  unknown  until  that  time. 

As  from  the  quality  of  the  water  he  inferred,  or  divined, 
the  character  of  the  land,  so  from  the  movement  of  the 
waters  he  divined  one  of  the  general  laws  of  the  globe  ; 
namely,  the  great  flood  of  the  ocean,  or  the  equatorial 
current.  He  asserted  that  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  like 
the  heavens,  move  from  east  to  west,  which  is  the  opposite 
of  the  earth's  moving,  or  revolving,  from  west  to  east.  He 
also  asserted,  that  in  this  meridianal  quarter  the  course  of 
the  pelagian  current  was  accelerated  ;  for,  even  ^on  the  day 
of  Our  Lady  of  August,  —  the  feast  of  the  Patroness  of  the 
Seas,  —  between  the  hour  of  mass  and  that  of  complin  they, 
with  a  light  breeze,  made  a  progress  of  sixty-four  marine 
leagues. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  37g 

SECTION  III. 

During  this  voyage,  in  which  Cokmibus  discovered  so 
many  things  in  so  short  a  time  (from  the  first  to  the 
eighteenth  of  August),  his  reasoning  and  inductive  facul- 
ties show  themselves  to  be  still  superior  to  his  discoveries; 
he  sees  vastly  more  with  his  intellect  tlian  by  the  progress 
of  his  caravels.  What  he  perceives  by  his  corporal  sight 
is  nothing,  when  compared  to  his  intuitive  perceptions. 
This  man,  bowed  down  by  suffering,  and  almost  blind, 
saw  everything  and  observed  everything,  objectively  and 
subjectively  :  the  earth  and  its  productions  ;  the  air,  and 
its  qualities,  its  temperature,  and  its  influences.  Thus, 
then,  as  he  expected  before  his  departure,  this  voyage, 
undertaken  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  was 
no  less  important  than  his  first  one.  He  now  returned, 
after  having  made  the  peaceable  conquest  of  three  grand 
verities,  of  three  cosmographie  facts,  which  will  ever  be 
of  utility  to  science  :  — 

The  existence  of  a  new  continent. 

The  equatorial  swelling. 

The  great  oceanic  current. 

The  least  of  these  three  discoveries  would  have  secured 
immortality  for  the  discoverer.  To  this  revelation  of  the 
grand  laws  of  the  globe  were  joined,  multiplied  by  his 
genius,  some  apperceptions,  curious  and  very  important 
for  the  interests  of  science. 

In  addition  to  this  acquisition  made  for  the  advantage  of 
humanity,  the  Revealcr  of  the  Globe,  from  that  time,  pos- 
sessed a  scientific  certitude  whicli  was  not  3et  based  on  any 
testimony  or  observation,  but  which  was  no  less  firmly  fixed 
in  his  mind.  He  knew,  without  our  being  able  to  tell  how, 
that  beyond  that  continent  from  which  there  came  so  large 
a  river  there  was  still  an  ocean. 

Such  was  the  importance  of  this  third  voyage,  that  tliere 
remained  no  longer  any  grand  discovery  to  be  made.  The 
Messenger  of  the  Cross  left  but  verv  few  for  future  genera- 


380  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

tiens.  Thanks  to  him,  the  whole  world  was  thenceforth 
open  to  the  investigations  of  man.  For  three  centuries 
nobody  has  discovered  in  the  laws  of  nature  anything 
broader,  more  profound,  or  more  fundamental  for  science. 
For  three  centuries  nobody  has  derived  from  any  voyage 
as  many  intellectual  acquisitions. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  Report,  or  Relation,  of  his 
Third  Voyage,  so  much  commented  on  and  criticised  by  a 
certain  coterie,  was  not  a  report  quietly  elaborated  in  the 
silence  of  the  closet,  but  a  veritable  extemporary  production. 
It  was  written  at  sea.  The  Admiral,  from  his  sick-bed  in 
his  cabin,  dictated  it  to  one  of  his  secretaries,  Diego  de 
Alvarado,  or  Bernard  de  Ibarra.  This  document  bears 
the  character  of  improvisation,  giving  utterance  to  the 
abundance  of  his  thoughts.  The  condensed  erudition  of 
Columbus  would  be  noticed  there,  if  it  did  not  totally  dis- 
appear before  the  grandeur  of  the  syntheses,  the  immensity 
of  the  views,  the  profoundness  of  the  revelations,  and  the 
new  speculations  offered  by  him  to  the  reflections  of  his 
cotemporaries.  This  document  contains  intrinsic  proofs 
of  its  being  written  during  the  passage  from  Margarita 
to  Hispaniola. 

SECTION  IV. 

The  Admiral  trimmed  his  sails  for  San  Domingo,  a  sea- 
port or  city  which  Don  Bartholomew  was  to  establish  in 
his  absence.  But  the  currents  and  the  east  winds  bore  him 
from  it  ;  and  when  he  thought  he  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ozema,  he  found  himself  at  the  little  island  of  Beata.  At 
first  he  was  astonished  at  tliis  error  in  his  calculation,  but 
on  reflection  he  found  it  to  be  a  confirmation  and  proof  of 
his  discovery  of  the  great  jDclagian  current.  Fearing  to  be 
a  long  time  delayed,  he  sent  a  boat  to  the  shore,  where  an 
Indian  was  found  who  took  charge  of  a  letter  for  the  Adel- 
antado,  and  was  to  take  it  to  him  across  the  mountains. 
The  Admiral  sailed  for  the  port,  and  in  a  few  days  per- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^Sl 

celvcd  a  caravel  coming  to  join  liim.  Don  Bartholomew 
hastened  to  his  aid,  and,  alas  !  his  devotedness  was  never 
more  needed. 

Columbus  arrived  at  Hispaniola  pale,  emaciated,  almost 
blind,  and  needing  repose  for  body  and  mind,  and  still 
ingratitude  and  crinle,  which  during  his  absence  had  put 
the  island  in  a  flame,  did  not  permit  him  to  enjoy  an  hour 
of  quietude  and  restorative  tranquillity. 


383  HISTORY  OF  [book  m. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Events  that  occurred  in  Hispaniola  during  the  Admiral's  Absence. 
—  He  forbids  bad  Christians  from  Avorking  in  the  Mines.  —  Dis- 
content of  the  Castilians.  — The  Adelantado  goes  to  Xaragua. — 
Revolts. 

SECTION  I. 

TO  understand  the  circumstances  under  which  Cohim- 
bus  resumed  the  reins  of  his  government,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  take  a  glance  at  the  events  that  took  place  in 
Hispaniola  during  his  absence  from  the  tenth  of  March, 
1496,  until  the  thirtieth  of  August,  1498. 

The  Admiral,  on  leaving  the  island,  promised  the  colonists 
to  send  them  timely  aid.  The  three  cai^avels  commanded 
b}-  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino  were,  indeed,  charged  with  pro- 
visions, but  from  the  connivance  of  the  marine  in  regard  to 
their  quality,  and  the  little  care  bestowed  on  their  preserva- 
tion during  the  voyage,  the  greater  part  of  them  spoiled, 
and  consequently  became  useless.  From  this  time  until  the 
Admiral  had  sent  the  two  cai'avels  under  the  orders  of 
Pedro  Coronel,  fourteen  months  had  elapsed  without  the 
unfortunate  colonists  receiving  any  news  from  the  mother 
country.  They  believed  themselves  forgotten,  and  accused 
the  Admiral  of  their  ruin.  During  this  time  their  cloth- 
ing and  their  implements,  tools  and  utensils,  had  worn  out, 
and  they  had  no  means  of  replacing  them.  Humiliations 
were  added  to  privations  and  weariness.  The  mettlesome 
and  hectoring  hidalgos,  and  the  young  men  who  came  to 
amass  gold,  were  indignant  at  seeing  themselves  in  rags,  or 
wearing  garments  made  from  the  barks  of  trees  or  from  the 
cotton  of  the  natives.     Their  indignation  at  length  became 


CHAP.  III.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3S3 

converted  into  hatred.  In  all  their  misfortunes  they  did  not 
forget  venting  their  wrath  against  the  Genoese  braggart, 
that  bigot  who  had  no  regard  for  the  noble  sons  of  Castile. 
They  cursed  the  Sovereigns  for  having  placed  them  under 
the  government  of  that  foreigner.  Their  hopes  about  gold 
became  frustrated  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  discovery  of 
the  rich  mines  of  Hayna,  the  Adelantado  did  not  permit 
them  to  labor  at  them. 

This  interdiction  merits  an  explanation. 

Columbus,  seeing  that  the  covetous  idlers  by  whom  he 
was  followed,  in  his  second  voyage,  rushed  on  Ilispaniola  as 
on  a  prey,  tyrannizing  over  the  Indians,  robbing  them  of  the 
little  gold  they  had,  and  trampling  on  all  the  laws  of  Chris- 
tianity and  humanit}-,  had  a  horror  of  their  cooperation  in 
his  work.  He  wished  that  no  impure  hands  should  pollute 
that  gold  which  he  was  going  to  oflcr  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  by 
which  he  hoped  one  day  to  redeem  His  tomb.  He  desired 
that  only  innocent  hands  should  extract  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  this  pure  homage  of  faith.  As  in  the  old  law,  for 
the  construction  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  making  of  orna- 
ments for  the  high  priest,  artisans  animated  with  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  *  were  to  be  chosen,  so  the  Revealer  of  the 
Globe  intended  that  only  true  Christians  alone  should  enjoy 
the  happiness  of  cooperating  in  this  act  of  Catholic  piet}-. 

Even  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  the  Indians 
attributed  a  certain  value  to  gold.  They  travelled  and  made 
voyages  to  procure  it,  bought  and  sold  it  among  themselves 
by  means  of  exchanges,  and  performed  some  superstitious 
ceremonies  to  find  its  best  beds.  During  the  twenty  days  that 
preceded  their  labors,  they  separated  themselves  from  their 
wives,  and  lived  in  continenc}',  imposing  certain  fasts  and 
other  mortifications  on  themselves.  This  custom  was  turned 
to  advantage  by  Columbus.  He  declared  distinctly  to  the 
idlers  who  came  to  Hispaniola  to  seek  gold,  that  it  would 
be  shameful  for  Christians  to  do  less  to  procure  it  than  the 

•Exodus  XXXV  :  31,  35. 


384  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

pagan  and  uneducated  Indians  did.  He  told  them  that  in 
order  to  utilize  doubl}'  their  labors,  the}'  ought,  before  com- 
mencing to  dig  for  it,  cease  from  their  violent  practices, 
reform  their  dissolute  lives,  repent  sincerely  of  their  sins, 
and  confess  them,  put  themselves  in  the  state  of  grace, 
live  in  a  state  of  continency,  impose  fasts  on  themselves  and 
do  penance,  —  and  that  thus  reconciled  with  God,  their 
labors  would  be  blessed,  and  they  would  more  abundantly 
obtain  temporal  goods.  Accordingly,  he  gave  permission 
for  the  working  of  the  mines  only  to  those  whose  regularity 
of  life  and  manners  was  attested  by  the  priests  or  the 
religious  of  the  colony. 

This  measure  wounded  to  the  quick  the  hidalgos  who 
were  not  able  to  go  back  with  the  commissary  Aguado. 
They  expected  that  in  the  absence  of  the  Admiral,  his 
brother,  the  Adelantado,  who  was  less  scrupulous,  would 
give  them  permission  to  go  to  the  mines.  But  Don  Bar- 
tholomew carried  out  strictly  the  orders  of  the  Viceroy. 

The  distress  and  discontent  became  greater,  and  increased 
from  day  to  day.  The  studied  negligence  of  the  bureau  of 
marine  had  thus  attained  its  object.  To  prevent  the  sup- 
plies from  coming  to  Hispaniola  would  lead  to  revolt,  in 
giving  to  the  power  of  numbers  the  force  of  misery  and 
despair.  It  was  expected  that  by  embittering  the  minds 
and  incensing  the  pride  of  the  Castillans,  the  government 
of  the  Adelantado  would  become  impossible.  But  obsta- 
cles and  perils  served  only  to  increase  the  energy  and  activ- 
ity of  Don  Bartholomew.  Wherever  he  came  he  enforced 
obedience.  So,  notwithstanding  the  distress  occasioned  by 
want,  and  the  general  ill-will,  he  had  a  fortress  built  near 
the  mines  of  Hayna,  which  was  named  San  Christobal  (St. 
Christopher).  Another  fortress,  much  larger,  was  erected 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ozema,  and  named  San  Domingo. 
This  fortress  was  built  conformably  to  directions  issued  by 
the  Admiral  from  Cadiz,  and  brought  by  the  pilot  Pedro 
Alonzo  NiSo. 

All  the  parts  of  the  island  visited  by  the  Spaniards  may 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3S5 

be  considered  as  having  submitted  to  thcni  ;  but  the  most 
western  part,  equally  distant  from  Isabella  and  San  Do- 
mingo, the  state  of  Xaragua,  remained  independent.  This 
kingdom,  over  which  reigned  the  grand  cacique  Behechio, 
neither  attacked  nor  recognized  the  Castilian  authority. 
Since  the  capture  of  the  proud  Caonabo,  his  wife,  the  cele- 
brated Anacoano,  "  the  Golden  Flower,"  had  retired  to  the 
residence  of  her  brother  Behechio,  over  whom  she  exer- 
cised great  influence.  The  inaction  of  this  cacique  has 
been  attributed  to  her  influence,  though  Iiis  own  elevated 
sentiments  disposed  him  favorably  towards  the  Spaniards. 
Still,  Don  Bartholomew  considered  it  his  duty  to  delay  no 
longer  the  subjugation  of  this  kingdom,  —  the  only  one  that 
had  not  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  Castile.  To  his 
wish  of  not  leaving  the  example  of  such  independence  to 
the  caciques  who  had  submitted,  was  added  that  of  employ- 
ing usefully,  and  maintaining  in  discipline,  men  whom  want 
of  employment  had  demoralized.  The  Adelantado  marched 
towards  Xaragua  prepared  for  war,  without  desiring  it,  and 
under  the  jDretcnce  of  going  on  an  exploring  expedition. 
Behechio,  very  susceptible  in  his  pride,  on  getting  news 
of  this  visit,  immediately  collected  an  army  of  forty  thou- 
sand men,  which,  divided  into  cohorts,  followed,  without 
being  seen,  the  march  of  the  Spaniards.  But  soon,  by  the 
counsels  of  his  sister,  "  the  Golden  Flower,"  he  recalled  his 
troops. 

On  tlie  invitation  of  the  cacique,  Don  Bartliolomew  re- 
paired to  the  royal  residence,  where  he  was  received  with 
distinguished  honors.  A  grand  entertainment  awaited  him, 
which  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  beautiful,  charm- 
ing, and  gifted  Anacoano.  On  this  occasion,  in  a  friendly 
conversation  with  the  cacique,  the  Adelantado  skilfully  in- 
duced him  to  agree  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Catholic  Sover- 
eigns, and  insure  their  protection.  As  there  were  no  gold 
mines  known  to  be  in  the  kingdom  of  Behechio,  Don  Bar- 
tholomew smoothed  the  difficulty  in  accepting  tribute  in 
provisions,  which  was  not  onerous  for  the  cacique. 
33 


386  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

SECTION  II. 

While  the  Adelantado  was  away  with  his  caravel  to  get 
provisions  for  the  colony,  some  malcontents,  taking  advan- 
tage of  his  absence,  attempted  to  ruin  his  authority  and 
seize  on  the  ruins  of  the  government  of  the  island.  Their 
chief  was  Francisco  Roldan,  a  former  servitor  of  the  Ad- 
iniral,  who  had  been  raised  by  the  Viceroy  to  the  dignity 
of  alcalde-major,  or  chief  judge  of  the  colony  ! 

Since  the  departure  of  the  commissarj^,  with  whom  he 
had  a  secret  understanding,  he  was  filled  with  the  idea  of 
seizing  on  the  government  of  the  colony.  Aguado,  having 
recognized  in  him  the  stuff  for  a  traitor,  informed  him  of 
the  disposition  of  the  marine  at  Seville,  and  especially 
of  the  hatred  of  Fonseca  for  the  Admiral.  He  knew  that 
Pedro  Margarit,  and  the  deserters  leagued  against  the 
Columbuses,-  had,  on  their  return  to  Spain,  received  no 
punishment. 

To  carry  out  his  machinations  he  addressed  himself  to 
all  the  disaffected  of  the  island,  whether  Spaniards  or 
natives,  who  soon  formed  a  strong  party.  He  pretended 
that  his  opposition  was  not  to  the  Admiral,  but  to  the 
Adelantado,  who,  he  said,  exercised  unlawful  authority. 
He  contrived  to  procure  arms  for  his  partisans,  and,  after 
having  committed  great  excesses,  they  came  out  in  open 
revolt.  Roldan  meditated  nothing  less  than  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  Adelantado,  whom  he  considered  the  chief  ob- 
stacle to  his  ambition. 

As  the  rebels  were  one  day  loitering  on  the  coast  of 
Xaragua,  they  perceived,  with  alarm,  in  the  distance,  three 
ships  making  their  appearance.  They  were  the  three  ves- 
sels the  Admiral  had  detached  from  his  squadron  at  the 
Canaries,  and  which  he  had  sent  in  all  haste  to  the  colony, 
under  the  command  of  Pedro  de  Arana,  of  Juan  Antonio 
Colombo,  and  of  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Cai'vajal. 

The  caravels  having  cast  anchor,  the  rebels  thought  them- 
selves lost,  thinking  that  a  strong  force  had  come  to  make 


CHAr.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3S7 

them  give  an  account  of  themselves.  But  Roldan  compre- 
hended, at  first  sight,  that  these  vessels,  a  long  time  at  sea, 
had  no  doubt  missed  tlieir  way,  and  that  the  misdeeds  in 
the  island  were  unknown  on  board.  He  dared  to  present 
himself  as  charged  by  the  Adelantado  with  the  supervision 
of  the  country,  and  demanded  arms  and  provisions  for  his 
men.  The  captains  willingly  complied  with  his  demand. 
The  rebels  were  thus  put  in  communication  with  the  crews. 
The  rebels  boasted  to  tlie  sailors  of  the  easy  and  sensual 
lives  they  led  in  Xaragua,  and  urged  them  to  desertion. 
These  proceedings  were  not  noticed  until  a  little  after 
their  occurrence,  and  the  crews  were  kept  close  on  board. 
Carvajal,  hoping  to  bring  Roldan  back  to  his  duty,  went  to 
confer  with  him.  Roldan  declared  his  good  sentiments 
towards  the  Admiral  ;  that  he  had  taken  up  arms  only 
against  the  Adelantado  ;  and  that  he  had  even  prepared 
a  letter  for  his  old  master,  whose  arrival  he  impatiently 
expected. 

The  three  captains,  being  of  opinion  that  the  winds  and 
the  currents  may  yet  for  a  long  time  delay  the  arrival  of  the 
caravels  at  San  Domingo,  agreed  to  put  ashore  the  artificers 
and  others  who  had  come  in  the  royal  pay,  in  order  that, 
under  the  conduct  of  Juan  Antonio  Colombo,  they  may  go 
by  land  to  San  Domingo,  and  tlius  save  time  and  provisions. 
But  scarcely  had  these  men,  to  the  number  of  forty,  well 
armed  and  equipped,  landed,  than  they  all,  except  seven, 
passed  to  the  flag  of  Roldan.  Xeverthclcss,  with  these 
seven  brave  men,  Juan  Antonio  Colombo,  a  man  truly 
worthy  of  his  illustrious  family,  ventured  to  go  to  Roldan, 
to  represent  to  him  the  wrong  he  was  doing  to  the  Admiral, 
his  benefactor,  to  the  Sovereigns,  and  to  the  colony,  of 
which  he  was  the  chief  judge.  His  eloquence  remained 
fruitless.  Juan  Antonio  went  on  board  the  caravel,  accom- 
panied by  the  few  who  remained  faithful,  and  set  sail  for 
San  Domingo,  with  the  brother-in-law  of  the  Admiral, — 
the  noble  Pedro  dc  Arana,  —  while  Carvajal  remained  at 
anchor  for  some  days  longer,  to  try  and  bring  the  rebels 
back  to  their  allesriance. 


388  HISTORY  OF  [book  in. 


CHAPTER     IV. 

Proclamation  of  the  Viceroy.  —  Permission  given  the  Malcontents 
to  return  to  Spain.  —  Promises  of  Pardon.  —  Defection  of  the 
Troops.  —  He  cannot  resort  to  Force. — Humiliations  he  has  to 
endure.  —  Carvajal  brings  Roldan  to  an  Arrangement  with  the 
Viceroy. 

SECTION  I. 

ON  his  arrival,  the  Admiral  issued  a  proclamation, 
which  ratified  all  the  administrative  acts  of  the 
Adelantado,  and  mentioned  the  revolt  of  Roldan  as  the 
cause  of  the  public  calamities. 

Carvajal,  in  presenting  himself  to  the  Admiral,  repre- 
sented the  feelings  of  Roldan,  without  disguising  the  foixe 
at  his  disposal.  In  his  judgment,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
proceed  with  lenity  and  circumspection.  The  crews  who 
returned  with  the  Admiral  were  for  the  most  part  sick,  in 
consequence  of  the  fatigues  of  the  voyage,  and  the  influence 
of  the  new  climate  they  were  in.  Among  the  old  colonists, 
some  were  homesick,  and  others  disposed  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  rebels.  So,  to  assuage  the  general  excitement, 
and  conciliate  the  good-will  of  all,  the  Admiral  issued 
another  proclamation,  offering  permission  to  such  as  may 
desire  it  to  return  to  Castile,  in  the  five  vessels  that  were 
nearly  ready  to  put  to  sea.  At  the  same  time,  he  wrote 
to  Miguel  Ballester,  commandant  of  the  Fortress  of  Con- 
ception, to  see  Roldan,  who  held  a  force  in  that  quarter, 
and  to  promise  him,  in  his  name,  pardon  and  oblivion  of  the 
past  ;  and  even,  if  he  required  it,  to  give  him  this  promise 
in  writing,  in  order  that  he  may  come  to  San  Domingo. 

Some  days  after,  Ballester,  knowing  that  the  rebels  would 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3S9 

have  a  meeting  at  Bonao,  went  there.  He  found  them  full 
of  arrogance.  Roldan,  treating  with  contempt  the  proffered 
jDardon,  haughtily  replied  that  he  would  not  accept  it,  hav- 
ing no  need  for  it  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  could,  at  his 
pleasure,  sustain  or  ruin  the  authority  of  the  Admiral  him- 
self. Playing  the  honest  man,  he  declared  he  would  listen 
to  no  proposition  until  he  would  have  an  account  of  the 
unfortunate  Indians  taken  away  from  the  district  of  Con- 
ception ;  that,  with  the  force  he  had,  it  did  not  become  him 
to  listen  to  propositions,  unless  for  his  advantage  ;  and  that, 
above  all,  he  would  consent  to  treat  with  no  person  but 
Alonzo  Sanchez  Carvajal,  who  was  an  honest  man. 

Carvajal  was  sent  anew  to  treat  with  the  rebels  ;  but  they, 
becoming  more  arrogant  in  proportion  as  they  knew  the 
feebleness  of  the  government,  would  not  listen  to  him, 
although  he  was  the  commissary  of  their  own  choice.  He, 
however,  obtained  an  interview  with  the  chiefs  of  the  brutal 
horde.  He  delivered  to  Roldan  a  letter  from  the  Admiral, 
in  which  his  soul  is  reflected  in  as  clear  and  simple  a  style 
as  his  heart.     It  was  as  follows  : 

"  Dear  Friend,  — 

"  My  first  care  on  arriving  in  this  capital,  after  having 
embraced  my  brother,  was  to  inquire  about  you.  You 
cannot  doubt  that,  next  to  my  family,  you  have  for  a  long 
time  occupied  the  first  place  in  my  affections  ;  and  I  have 
always  counted  so  much  on  yours,  that  there  is  nothing 
in  which  I  would  not  entirely  have  depended  on  you. 
Judge,  therefore,  of  my  grief  when  I  learned  that  you 
were  embroiled  in  a  feud  with  the  persons  who  are  the 
nearest  to  me  in  the  world,  and  who  ought  to  be  the  dear- 
est. Still,  I  have  been  consoled  on  being  informed  that 
you  ardently  desired  my  return.  I  flattered  mvself  then 
that  your  first  sentiments  in  regard  to  me  were  not  clianged, 
and  I  expected  that,  as  soon  as  vou  would  hear  of  my  ar- 
rival, you  would  not  delay  coming  to  see  me.  Not  seeing 
you  appear,  and  thinking  that  you  apprehended  some  re- 
33* 


390  H  IS  TORT  OF  [BOOK  m. 

sentment  on  my  part,  I  sent  Ballester  to  you,  to  give  you 
all  the  assurances  that  you  could  desire.  The  little  success 
that  attended  that  step  has  filled  me  with  regret.  And 
whence  could  that  distrust  come  which  you  seem  to  have 
in  me?  At  last,  you  demanded  to  have  Carvajal  sent  to 
you.  I  send  him.  Open  your  heart  to  him,  and  tell  him 
what  I  can  do  for  you,  to  regain  your  confidence  ;  but,  in 
the  name  of  God,  remember  what  you  owe  to  your  country, 
to  the  Kings  (our  sovereign  lords),  to  God,  and  to  yourself; 
take  care  of  your  reputation,  and  judge  of  things  more 
soundly  than  you  have  done  in  the  past.  Consider  with 
attention  the  abyss  you  are  digging  under  5^our  feet,  and 
no  longer  persist  in  a  desperate  resolution.  I  have  repre- 
sented you  to  their  Highnesses  as  a  man  of  the  colony 
whom  they  may  most  rely  upon  ;  it  concerns  my  honor  and 
yours  that  a  testimony  so  advantageous  should  not  be  belied 
by  your  conduct.  Hasten,  then,  to  show  yourself  again  the 
man  I  formerly  knew  you  to  be.  I  have  detained  the  ships 
that  were  all  ready  to  sail,  with  the  hope  that,  by  a  prompt 
and  perfect  submission,  you  will  place  me  at  liberty  to  con- 
firm all  the  good  things  I  have  said  of  you.  I  pray  God  to 
have  you  in  His  holy  keeping." 

This  language  was  so  reassuring,  this  goodness  so  per- 
suasive, that  Roldan,  Requelme,  Mojica,  and  Gamez,  the 
four  principal  chiefs,  mounting  on  horseback,  prepared  to 
go  with  Carvajal  to  the  Viceroy.  But  the  troop  of  rebels, 
perceiving  they  were  going  to  depart,  opposed  them,  telling 
them  that  they  should  not  come  to  terms  without  them- 
selves, swearing  that  if  there  should  be  any  agreement  it 
should  be  in  writing,  and  with  their  common  consent. 

At  the  I'equest  of  Carvajal,  the  rebels  put  the  conditions 
they  required  in  writing.  They  were  so  harsh,  so  debasing 
for  the  government,  that  they  seemed  a  mockeiy.  It  was 
all  that  could  be  expected  from  a  gang  of  perverse  men. 

The  brave  Miguel  Ballester,  who  had  joined  Cai-vajal, 
saw,  like  him,  that  these  bandits  sought  only  to  prolong 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  391 

their  impunity  for  tlic  tyranny  they  exercised  on  the  poor 
Indians,  whose  defenders  they  pretended  to  be.  lie  there- 
fore wrote  to  the  Admiral,  beseeching  him,  cost  what  it 
would,  to  effect  a  compromise  with  these  people,  because 
the  flame  of  revolt  was  secretly  propagating  itself,  and  he 
feared  that  even  his  own  little  troop,  already  diminished 
by  some  desertions,  would  pass  to  the  rebels.  Alas  !  these 
apprehensions  were  but  too  well  founded.  The  Admiral, 
desiring  to  know  the  real  force  that  could  be  opposed  to 
the  rebels,  ordered  all  the  men  of  San  Domingo  to  appear 
under  arms,  that  he  may  review  them.  A  report  was  im- 
mediately circulated  that  they  were  to  be  led  to  Bonao 
against  the  rebels.  Only  seventy  men  responded  to  the 
call,  and  all  these  were  not  effective  for  service.  One  was 
without  a  horse,  another  without  arms  ;  some  affected  to  be 
ill  ;  and  of  the  rest,  more  than  half  of  them  had  relations 
among  the  rebels,  or  were  disatTected  to  the  service.  Co- 
lumbus saw  that  resort  to  arms  would  end  only  in  pros- 
trating the  dignity  and  authority  of  his  government.  Hence 
moderation  became  a  necessity  ;  it  was  indispensably  requi- 
site to  temporize  skilfully,  in  order  to  open  a  way  for  some 
eventuality  that  would  permit  the  reëstablishment  of  power. 
Columbus  immediately  proclaimed  permission,  for  all 
who  desired  it,  to  return  to  Spain.  There  were  five  ves- 
sels ready  to  go  to  sea,  on  board  of  which  were  the  Indians 
made  prisoners  in  a  late  insurrection.  During  three  weeks 
he  delayed  their  departure;  but  not  one  of  the  malcon- 
tents, so  clamorous  in  crying  for  an  end  to  their  exile, 
thought  now  of  leaving  the  island.  At  length,  on  the 
eighteenth  of  October,  the  order  for  departure  was  given. 

SECTION  II. 

It  was  by  these  ships  that  the  Admiral  addressed  to  the 
Sovereigns  an  account  of  his  discovery  of  terra  Jirmn,  with 
a  geographical  chart  of  his  voyage  and  a  maritime  chart  of 
the  route  to  be  followed  to  arrive  at  the  coast  of  Paria.     As 


2Q2  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

he  still  suffered  from  his  ophthalmia,  he  dictated  his  letter  to 
his  secretary,  Bernard  d'Ibarra.  He  confided  to  a  gentle- 
man named  Arroyal,  to  present  them  to  the  Qiieen,  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy  pearls,  chosen  from  the  finest  that  were 
procured,  and  certain  gold  ornaments  obtained  in  the  new 
continent.  Columbus  besought  the  Sovereigns  to  notice 
that  these  were  the  first  pearls  obtained  from  the  West. 
He  proposed  that  the  discoveries  in  the  terra  Jirma  should 
be  continued  with  three  ships,  by  Don  Bartholomew,  as  soon 
as  the  presence  of  the  Adelantado  would  be  no  longer 
necessary  on  account  of  the  troubles  caused  by  Roldan. 

The  Admiral,  in  a  particular  report,  exposed  in  their  sad 
reality  the  events  that  had  supervened  during  his  absence. 
He  added  that  things  would  be  made  right  again,  if  the 
Sovereigns  would  arrest  the  spread  of  the  enmity  conceived 
against  his  expeditions,  and  if  the  gentlemen  of  the  bureau 
of  marine  would  abstain  from  traducing  the  Indies,  from 
hindering  the  expediting  of  affairs,  and  from  delays  in  the 
way  of  supplies,  as  they  had  done  at  the  departure  of  his 
squadron,  —  delays  which  were  very  prejudicial  to  the  col- 
ony during  his  absence.  It  was,  moveover,  from  Seville 
that  the  leaven  was  carried  which  was  the  cause  of  all  the 
trouble. 

The  Admiral,  after  having  sincerely  shown  the  evil, 
pointed  out  how  it  may  be  remedied  : 

It  would  be  necessary  to  prolong  a  year  or  two  longer  the 
power  given  the  colonists  to  employ  in  their  service  the 
natives  who  had  been  made  prisoners-of-war.  With  the 
exception  of  clothing,  equipments  and  wine,  which  it 
would  be  necessary  to  import  from  Spain,  everything  else 
necessary  for  life  could  be  procured  from  the  soil.  He  was 
preparing  to  raise  large  crops  of  cassava,  a  kind  of  food 
to  which  the  Castillans  had  already  become  accustomed. 
Sweet  potatoes,  and  ajes^  were  abundant  in  every  locality. 
The  rivers  were  numerous,  and  abounded  with  fish,  and 
poultry  and  hogs  multiplied  there  soon.  Utias  were  so 
numerous  there  that  a  dog,  led  by  a  domestic,  could  catch 


CHAP.  IV.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


393 


from  fifteen  to  twenty  of  them  in  a  day.  The  means  of 
subsistence  were  abundant  ;  and  there  was  nothine:  wantinf 
but  Christians,  who  would  be  such  in  j^racticc  as  well  as  in 
name. 

He  proposed  to  send,  at  each  de2:>arture  of  the  ships  for 
Castile,  fifty  of  these  vicious  and  ungovernable  souls,  who 
would  be  replaced  by  an  equal  number  of  orderly  men.  At 
the  same  time,  some  pious,  zealous  missionaries  should  be 
sent  from  Spain,  to  labor  in  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
and  particularly  to  reform  the  vicious  inclinations  of  Chris- 
tians who  were  unworthy  of  this  name.  In  order  to  facili- 
tate the  spiritual  mission  of  these  religious,  he  requested 
that  an  able  judge  should  be  sent,  who  would  be  well  versed 
in  law,  and  was  already  accustomed  to  administering  justice  ; 
without  whom,  he  said,  the  religious  would  obtain  but  little 
fruit  in  their  labors.  He  insisted  on  having  a  Spaniard  for 
judge,  because  the  malcontents  complained  of  his  own 
rigor,  saying  that,  as  a  Genoese,  he  spared  but  little  the 
blood  of  Castillans. 

This  frank  and  ojDen  manner  of  exposing  the  evil,  and 
indicating  the  remedies,  was  not  appreciated  by  the  Court. 

SECTION  III. 

At  length,  on  the  seventeenth  of  November,  an  article  of 
capitulation  was  drawn  up  between  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels 
and  Carvajal.  assisted  by  the  major-domo  Diego  de  Sala- 
manca, which  was  subject  to  the  ratification  of  the  Admiral. 

It  was  stipulated,  ist,  that  Roldan  and  his  partisans 
should  embark  for  Spain  from  the  port  of  Xaragua,  in  two 
ships  that  were  to  be  jorovisioned  and  ready  for  sailing 
within  the  space  of  fifty  days  ;  2d,  that  they  should  each 
receive  a  certificate  of  good  conduct,  and  an  order  for  the 
amount  of  their  pay  ;  3d,  that  they  should  receive  back  cer- 
tain property  which  had  been  sequestrated  from  them,  and, 
among  the  rest,  three  hundred  hogs  taken  from  Roldan  ; 
4th5  that  each  of  them   should  have,  to   serve  him,  some 


394  •  HISTORY  OF  [book  m. 

Indians,  whom  they  could  take  to  Castile  if  these  desired  to 
follow  them,  and  with  the  privilege  of  taking,  by  prefer- 
ence, the  Indian  women  they  had  made  mothers,  or  who 
were  going  to  become  such. 

This  convention  was  signed  by  the  Admiral  on  the 
twenty-first  of  November.  At  the  same  time,  he  pro- 
claimed a  further  act  of  grace,  permitting  such  of  the  rebels 
as  chose  to  remain  in  the  island  to  enter  into  the  royal  ser- 
vice, or  to  hold  land  in  any  part  of  the  island.  This 
measure  was  a  large  element  in  the  prosperity  of  the  col- 
ony. At  this  time  the  rebels  appeared  impatient  to  depart, 
and  they  set  out  for  Xaragua.  The  stipulation  of  furnish- 
ing them  with  ships  postponed  the  intended  expedition  of 
the  Adelantado,  who  was  to  follow  up  the  discovery  of 
Paria  and  secure  the  pearl  trade.  The  Admiral  was  pro- 
foundly grieved  at  this  state  of  things.  There  remained  to 
him  but  three  ships,  and  these  he  had  intended  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  his  discoveries.  The  sea  stores  on  hand 
scarcely  sufficed  for  the  passage,  of  the  rebels  to  Spain, 
therefore  the  voyage  of  exploration  must  not  be  thought  of 
for  the  present. 

The  Admiral  found,  in  the  absence  of  these  firebrands, 
some  compensation  for  his  regrets.  He  covild,  at  last, 
occupy  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  colony,  establish 
order,  collect  tribute,  extend  the  culture  of  lands,  raise  farm 
stock,  organize  the  working  of  the  mines,  and  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  island.  Without 
reposing  for  an  hour,  he  charged  his  youngest  brother,  the 
modest  and  pious  Don  Diego,  with  the  government  of  San 
Domingo,  and  went  with  Don  Bartholomew  to  visit  the 
interior  of  the  island. 

When  the  ships  were  on  the  point  of  weighing  anchor, 
the  Admiral  wrote  to  the  Sovereigns,  invoking  their  justice, 
stating  the  circumstances  under  which  the  certificates  were 
wrung  from  him,  —  to  save  the  island  from  utter  confusion 
and  ruin,  —  and  that  he  had  signed  these  agreements  with 
the  insurgents  because  he  was  unable  to  subdue  them.     He 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  395 

besought  their  Highnesses  not  to  recognize  engagements 
made  against  his  will,  muler  the  pressure  of  revolt,  and 
really  null  and  void  from  the  want  of  liberty  on  the  one 
part,  and  of  loyal  execution  on  the  other.  For  these  rea- 
sons, he  advised  that  Roldan  and  his  band  should  be  seized, 
and  that  their  gold  (of  which  they  were  said  to  have  large 
quantities)  should  be  taken  from  them  until  their  conduct 
would  be  investigated,  and  that  the  women  they  had  taken 
with  them  through  constraint,  and  among  whom  were  many 
daughters  of  caciques,  should  be  taken  back  from  them. 
This  letter  was  confided  to  the  care  of  an  officer  whose 
devotedness  was  unquestionable. 


2^6  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Chiefs  of  the  Rebels  cannot  control  them. — Arrival  of  Ojeda, 
who  comes  to  patronize  the  Rebels. —  Simultaneous  Revolt  of 
the  Natives.  —  Columbus,  abandoned,  and  on  the  point  of  flying 
to  sea  from  his  Enemies,  is  providentially  aided. — Voluntary 
Submission  of  the  Chiefs  of  the  Rebels.  —  Order  is  reestablished 
and  Prosperity  commences. 

SECTION  7. 

WHILE  Columbus  thought  that  the  rebels  had  sailed 
for  Spain,  the  latter  considered  it  proper  to  remain. 
Xaragua  had  too  many  attractions  for  them  to  leave  it. 
Under  the  pretext  that  the  ships  had  not  arrived  within  the 
specified  time,  that  they  were  badly  equipped,  and  still 
worse  provisioned,  they  refused  to  depart.  However,  Rol- 
dan,  in  a  conversation  with  Carvajal,  having  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  the  Admiral,  to  come  to  terms  with  him,  Co- 
lumbus sent  him  a  safe-conduct,  the  inviolability  of  which 
was  guaranteed  by  three  highly-esteemed  hidalgos  and  two 
sea-captains.  Among  the  signers  we  cannot  omit  mention- 
ing the  name  of  a  gallant  man  and  good  Christian,  Cristo- 
bal Rodriguez,  surnamed  La  Lengua^  because  he  was  the 
first  Castillan  who  learned  to  speak  the  principal  language 
of  Hayti.  The  Admiral  had  strongly  encouraged  him  in 
this  study.  With  a  constancy  equal  to  his  disinterestedness, 
Rodrigo  la  Lengua  rendered  great  service  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  island,  often  exposed  to  the  danger  of  losing 
his  life  among  the  Indians,  and  became,  as  an  interpreter, 
the  zealous  auxiliary  of  the  Franciscan  religious. 

Soon   after,    Columbus,    following   the   example   of   the 
Good  Pastor,  who  seeks  his  sheep  that  have  gone  astray, 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  3^7 

came  himself  with  two  caravels  to  the  jDort  of  Azua,  to 
obtain  a  meeting  with  Roldan.  Far  from  being  touched 
with  a  kindness  that  was  not  due  to  him,  Roldan  went  on 
board  the  caravel  of  the  Admiral,  and  haughtily  proposed 
his  conditions,  as  if  he  had  been  a  conqueror.  Pie  eno-a"-ed 
to  lay  down  his  arms  on  these  conditions:  ist,  he  should 
be  reestablished  in  his  office  as  chief  justice  ;  2d,  a  procla- 
mation should  be  issued  declaring  that  the  troubles  that  had 
arisen  were  the  consequence  of  malevolence  and  false  re- 
ports ;  3d,  the  expulsion  from  the  island,  and  the  immediate 
transportation  to  Europe,  of  fifteen  persons  whom  he  would 
designate  ;  4th,  that  those  who  remained  should  have  lands 
granted  them  in  place  of  royal  pay. 

Extravagant  and  insolent  as  these  conditions  were,  Co- 
lumbus granted  them,  through  love  of  peace.  But,  on  his 
going  on  shore,  the  companions  of  Roldan  added  another 
to  tliem  still  more  extravagant,  namely,  that  if  the  Admiral 
should  fail  in  the  fulfilment  of  any  of  these  articles,  they 
should  have  a  right  to  assemble  and  obtain  their  execution 
by  such  means  as  they  would  judge  proper.  This  was  the 
height  of  insolence  and  insult.  Still,  Columbus,  ceding  to 
inexorable  necessity,  signed  it,  adding  that  he  would  con- 
sent to  it  as  long  as  they  themselves  would  obey  the  orders 
of  the  Sovereigns,  his  own,  and  those  of  the  functionaries 
appointed  by  him.  This  express  stipulation,  which  ap- 
peared to  him  his  last  resource,  and  the  sheet-anchor  of  his 
authority,  he  inserted  in  the  commission  as  chief  judge  given 
to  Roldan  ;  but,  on  sight  of  it,  the  latter  insolently  com- 
manded that  these  words  should  be  effaced,  and,  appealing 
to  the  brutality  of  his  accomplices,  threatened  to  hang 
immediately  whoever  dared  to  contradict  him.  The  Ad- 
miral had  still  to  submit  to  the  will  of  his  former  ungrateful 
and  rebellious  servitor. 

This  moderation  of  Columbus  scarcely  made  any  impres- 
sion on  the  arrogance  of  the  triumphant  traitors.     Roldan 
presented  himself  as  the  only  real  authority,  even  under  the 
very   eyes   of    the   Admiral    himself.      In    San    Domingo, 
34 


2C)8  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

always  surrounded  by  malcontents  and  the  declared  ene- 
mies of  the  Columbuses,  he  oflended,  molested,  and  threat- 
ened whoever  dared  not  to  join  his  party. 

Our  heart  sickens  at  the  recital  of  such  outrages. 

To  add  to  his  crosses,  in  place  of  the  efficacious  sup- 
port he  expected  from  the  Soveixigns,  he  received  an 
answer  dictated  by  Fonseca,  and  the  ambiguous  terms  of 
which  indicated  dispositions  of  an  equivocal  character.  He 
was  informed  that  the  Sovereigns  had  received  his  letters. 
That  as  to  the  rebellion  of  Roldan,  this  affair  being  of  great 
importance,  their  Highnesses  would  examine  it  attentively, 
and  provide  a  remedy  for  it.  Evidently  his  report,  so  pre- 
cise, so  complete,  had  not  convinced  the  Sovereigns.  He 
sacrificed  his  days,  and  those  of  bis  brothers,  to  the  interests 
of  the  Crown  of  Castile,  without  his  being  able  to  inspire 
the  monarchs  with  that  noble  confidence  of  which  he  was 
so  worthy,  and  which  would  have  been  the  chief  recom- 
pense for  a  heart  like  his. 

This  disheartening  conviction,  which  would  have  para- 
lyzed any  will  but  his,  did  not  prevent  him  from  pursuing 
his  plan  of  reorganization  of  the  colon}'.  He  sought,  at 
first,  to  gain  by  mildness  and  material  interests  the  old  abet- 
tors of  Roldan,  by  giving  them  lands  ;  but  the  grants  were 
at  such  distances  from  each  other  that  the  rebels  were  scat- 
tered over  a  large  space,  far  apart  from  each  other,  and  at 
sufficient  distances  from  the  older  settlements.  He  formed 
a  company  of  chosen  men,  whose  devotedness  was  equal  to 
their  moderation  and  bravery,  whose  business  it  was  at  the 
same  time  to  receive  tribute  from  the  natives,  maintain 
peace  among  the  Spaniards,  and  repress,  at  the  start,  any 
risings  among  the  latter.  He  prepai^ed  to  rid  the  colony  of 
incorrigible  malcontents  who  at  no  price  would  work,  and, 
among  others,  the  fifteen  individuals  whose  insufferable 
turbulence  had  been  denounced  by  even  Roldan  himself. 

He  appointed  the  two  honorable  alcaids,  Garcia  de  Bar- 
rantes and  Miguel  Ballester,  to  go  to  Castile,  to  support  at 
Court  his  demands  for  the  interior  government  of  the  col- 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  399 

ony.  In  order  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  enlighten  the 
Sovereigns  in  regard  to  the  revolt  of  Roklan,  and  on  the 
measures  that  should  be  taken,  he  furnished  them  with  the 
depositions  and  proceedings  taken  against  the  rebels. 

A  large  number  of  the  malcontents  embarked  in  the  car- 
avels, taking  with  them  some  Indian  women,  several  of 
whom  were  mothers,  or  about  to  become  such.  Each  of 
them  clandestinely  introduced  into  the  caravels  several 
Indian  slaves,  contrary  to  the  express  orders  of  the  Ad- 
miral. 

SECTION  II. 

Before  the  departure  of  the  caravels,  alarming  reports 
had  come  from  the  north-western  extremity  of  the  island  :  a 
general  revolt  was  preparing.  The  Ciguayans,  more  war- 
like and  more  impatient  of  the  foreign  yoke  than  the  other 
islanders,  had  risen  in  arms.  The  Admiral  despatched 
against  them  the  Adelantado  in  haste,  with  all  the  force  at 
his  disposal. 

While  his  brother  was  separated  from  him  by  revolted 
tribes,  and  San  Domingo  was  without  defence,  information 
of  a  still  graver  character  than  the  insurrection  came  from 
the  opposite  part  of  the  island  :  four  caravels  had  appeared 
in  the  port  of  Yaquimo.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  formerly  under 
great  obligations  to  the  Admiral,  but  now  a  creature  of 
Fonseca's,  commanded  them.  In  violation  of  the  priv- 
ileges accorded  by  the  Sovereigns  to  the  Admiral,  he  went 
to  the  coast  of  Paria  and  the  Gulf  of  Pearls,  and  he  brought 
back  with  him  gold  and  slaves.  His  temerity,  emboldened 
by  the  protection  of  Fonseca,  inspired  him  with  the  idea  of 
hurrying  the  downfall  of  Columbus  by  seizing  on  his  power 
and  his  person.  He  offered  the  Spaniards  settled  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Yaquimo  to  rid  them  of  the  tyranny  of 
the  Columbuses.  He  pretended  that  these  foreigners,  fallen 
in  disfavor  with  the  King,  were  no  longer  countenanced  at 
Court  but  by  the  Qiicen,  whose  declining  health,  since  the 


400  HISTORY  OF  [book  in. 

death  of  her  son,  left  no  hope  for  her  recovery  ;  and  that 
henceforth  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca,  his  patron,  was  the  only 
true'"authority  for  the  Indies.  He  said  he  was  authorized  to 
take  upon  himself,  in  concert  with  Carvaial,  the  provisory 
government  of  the  island,  and  declared  he  would  imme- 
diately insist  on  payment  of  their  back  pay  for  such  as 
would  march  with  him  to  San  Domingo. 

The  old  companions  of  Roldan,  incapable  of  not  availing 
themselves  of  an  occasion  for  revolt,  applauded  this  pro- 
ceeding. Ojeda,  having  reunited  these  audacious  enemies 
of  tranquillit}',  would  constrain  the  peaceable  or  less  ardent 
colonists  to  swell  his  party,  and  to  effect  this  purpose  he 
would  surround  their  habitations  during  the  night. 

When  the  Admiral  received  this  afflicting  news  he  was 
without  disposable  troops,  and  the  doubtful  character  of  the 
feeble  garrison  of  San  Domingo  added  to  his  inquietude. 
There  remained  to  him  no  means  of  meeting  so  many 
perils.  At  this  juncture  his  only  resource  w^as  perhaps 
his  chief  danger,  and  certainly  it  was  the  greatest  of  his 
humiliations  ;  this  only  resource  was  to  put  himself  under 
the  protection  of  the  traitor  Roldan.  But  would  not  the 
interview  of  the  chief  justice  and  Ojeda,  men  equally  vio- 
lent and  ambitious,  lead  them  to  unite  so  as  to  overthrow 
legitimate  power,  and  substitute  their  own  for  it.'*  Defec- 
tion was  rife  among  the  subordinates  of  the  Admiral  ; 
one  after  another  abandoned  him  in  this  accumulation  of 
dangers. 

In  this  ingress  of  enemies  from  without,  come  to'  arouse 
the  slumbering  revolt  within,  together  with  the  rising  of  the 
natives,  the  Admiral  recognized  the  secret  machinations  of 
the  Bureau  of  Seville.  Remembering  the  ingratitude  of  the 
Court,  the  continued  malevolence  of  King  Ferdinand,  which 
his  frigid  politeness  could  never  wholly  conceal  ;  seeing  his 
authority  without  support  in  Spain,  without  respect  or 
efiective  force  in  the  island  ;  seeing  his  life  and  that  of  his 
brothers  was  continually  menaced  by  bandits  accustomed  to 
every  species  of  crime  ;   feeling  his  state  of  isolation,  and 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  401 

the  powerlcssness  that  was  its  consequence  ;  and  consider- 
hig  the  misfortunes  of  the  poor  Indians,  whom  the  excesses 
of  impious  Christians  prevented  from  embracing  the  Gos- 
pel, —  he  felt  a  great  loathing  for  men.  Bowed  to  the 
dust,  and  sinking  under  the  weight  of  so  many  afflictions, 
this  great  soul,  who  had  overcome  so  many  fears  and  sur- 
mounted so  many  dangers,  was  overwhelmed  with  a  mortal 
sadness. 

This  day  was  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  the  Saviour, 
—  Christmas  Day  of  the  year   1499. 

The  courage  of  Columbus,  until  then  unconquci'cd, 
suddenly  failed  him.  He  shuddered  with  horror  at  the 
assassination  to  which  he  was  doomed.  The  instinct  of 
self- preservation  alone  remained  to  him,  and,  for  the  first 
time,  he  thought  of  saving  his  life.  He  resolved  to  cast 
himself,  with  his  brothers,  into  a  caravel, — to  fly  across 
the  ocean  from  the  rage  of  his  enemies.  But  in  the  midst 
of  his  darkest  apprehensions  from  his  officers,  and  the 
mortal  anguish  of  his  heart,  he  did  not  invoke  the  Divine 
Majesty  in  vain.  That  Providence  who  had  so  many  times 
shown  him  His  tutelary  vigilance,  came  personally  to  his 
aid.  God  deigned  to  speak  to  his  perplexed  servant.  A 
voice  from  Above  said  to  him:  "Oman  of  little  faith! 
why  art  thou  cast  down  ?  Fear  nothing.  I  am  with  thee, 
and  I  will  provide  for  thee."  * 

SECTION  III. 

Conformably  to  the  mysterious  announcement  of  divine 
aid,  the  aspect  of  things  immediately  changed,  without 
effort  made  on  his  part.  Before  the  day  was  ended,  he 
learned  the  discovery  of  immense  gold  mines.  Roldan,  far 
from  sharing  his  power  witli  Ojeda,  thought  of  only  re- 
pulsing from  the  island  this  dangerous  rival.     The  struggle 

*  "Mi  soccorse  s.\V  hora  Nostro  Signore,  dicendomi  :  o  huomo  di 
poca  fide  non  haver  paura,  io  sono."  —  Fernando  Colombo,  Vita  del 
Ammarii^lio,  cap.  LXXXiv. 
34* 


402  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

was  ardent  between  these  adversaries,  —  one  worthy  of  the 
other  by  his  audacity,  cunning,  and  physical  force.  At 
length,  after  a  series  of  curious  and  dramatic  incidents, 
Roldan  compelled  Ojeda  to  take  to  his  ships  and  put  to  sea. 

The  facility  with  which  Ojeda  recruited  partisans  among 
the  old  insurgents,  caused  Roldan  to  reflect  seriously  on  the 
matter,  and  determined  him  to  sustain  tuireservedly,  in 
future,  the  authority  of  the  Admiral,  whence  his  own  de- 
rived its  power. 

As  soon  as  the  old  rebels  saw  that  the  chief  justice  was 
now  executing  the  orders  of  the  Admiral,  and  laboring  for 
the  reëstablishment  of  order,  they  conceived  a  mortal  hatred 
for  him. 

During  these  occurrences,  a  young  hidalgo,  named  Fer- 
nando de  Guevarra,  cousin  to  Adrien  de  Mojica,  who  had 
been  one  of  the  chiefs  in  the  revolt  of  Roldan,  came  to 
Xaragua  to  embark  on  the  ships  of  Ojeda,  because  the 
Admiral  had  banished  him  from  the  island  on  account  of 
his  depraved  habits.  But  when  he  came,  the  caravels  of 
the  turbulent  favorite  of  Fonseca  had  already  sailed  for 
some  days.  Roldan  permitted  him  to  remain  in  Xaragua 
until  the  Admiral  would  have  pi'onounced  on  his  fate. 
Guevarra,  possessing  an  agreeable  person  and  winning 
manners,  obtained  admittance  to  the  court  of  Qiieen  Ana- 
coana,  and  presumed  even  to  aspire  to  the  hand  of  her 
daughter,  the  young  Higuenemota.  Having  gained  the 
aflection  of  this  charming  jDrincess,  he  obtained  the  consent 
of  her  mother  to  tlieir  union,  which  he  appeared  to  desire 
legitimating  by  the  blessing  of  the  Chuixh.  But  whether 
Roldan  was  himself  enamored  of  the  young  beauty,  as  has 
been  stated  by  Las  Casas,  or  rather  that  he  did  not  consider 
as  serious  the  promise  of  this  shameless  libertine,  or  that  he 
should  not,  in  the  precarious  position  in  which  Guevarra 
was  placed,  suffer  a  marriage  to  take  place  which  would  give 
some  political  importance  to  a  man  stricken  administratively 
by  the  Viceroy,  the  chief  judge  ordered  Guevarra  to  quit 
immediately  the  quarter  he  had  chosen  for  his  residence. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


403 


Notwithstanding  this  order,  the  young  hidalgo  could  not 
bring  himself  to  leave  the  place  where  his  lady-love  resided. 
Informed  of  the  disobedience  of  his  order,  Roldan  caused 
Guevarra  to  be  brought  before  him,  admonished  him  strictly, 
and  reproached  him  with  having  abused  the  confidence 
of  a  lady  so  eminent  as  Qiieen  Anacoana,  —  a  disloy- 
alty which  the  Viceroy  would  not  pardon.  Guevarra  im- 
plored him  to  be  permitted  to  remain  in  Xaragua,  but 
Roldan  being  inflexible,  he  pretended  to  submit.  Still,  the 
judge  learned  that,  in  the  place  of  obeying,  Guevarra  was 
concealed  in  the  palace  of  the  queen,  and  that  he  sent  for  a 
priest  to  baptize  his  affianced  bride.  Roldan  commanded 
him  to  quit  immediately  the  territory  of  Xaragua,  and  to  go 
and  present  himself  in  person  to  the  Viceroy,  to  receive  his 
orders. 

Far  from  complying  with  this  injunction,  the  hidalgo 
answered  with  threats,  and,  with  some  malcontents,  hatched 
a  plot  against  the  life  of  the  chief  justice.  It  was  agreed 
between  them  to  seize  on  him  and  put  out  his  eyes.  In- 
formed of  their  plan,  he  saw  that  a  vigorous,  sudden  attack 
could  alone  prevent  a  revolt,  and  issued  a  warrant  against 
Guevarra  and  seven  of  his  accomplices.  Their  sudden 
arrest  was  eflected  in  the  very  palace  of  Anacoana,  and 
beneath  her  own  eyes.  The  whole  eight,  loaded  with  irons, 
were  marched  to  the.  citadel  of  San  Domingo. 

On  learning  the  arrest  of  Guevarra,  his  cousin,  Adrien 
de  Mojica,  one  of  the  old  accomplices  of  Roldan,  became 
incensed  against  him.  He  immediately  started  for  Bonao, 
the  place  of  meeting  of  the  old  rebels,  and  the  residence 
of  Pedro  de  Requclmc,  the  most  intimate  friend  that  Roldan 
had.  It  was  not  hard  for  Mojica  to  excite  the  inhabitants 
of  Bonao,  and  to  bring  over  to  the  party  even  Requelme, 
upon  whom  Roldan  so  much  relied,  and  whom  he  had 
appointed  deputy  judge.  Mojica  found  himself  at  the  head 
of  a  large  and  audacious  party.  They  determined  not  only 
to  free  Guevarra,  and  make  away  with  Roldan,  whom  they 


404  HISTORY  OF  [book  iir. 

considered  a  traitor  to  their  cause,  but  also  to  put  the  Ad- 
miral to  death. 

Roldan,  informed  of  their  project,  followed  them  in  haste, 
without  their  suspecting  it.  One  night,  while  the  princi- 
pal conspirators  were  assembled  at  their  place  of  meeting, 
Roldan,  with  seven  domestics  and  two  soldiers,  suddenly 
pounced  on  them,  and  seized  on  Mojica,  with  some  of  his 
accomplices,  whom  .they  led  in  chains  to  San  Domingo. 

Immediately  Roldan  sent  an  official  report  of  the  arrest 
to  the  Admiral,  and  requested  his  orders.  The  Admiral 
was  at  that  time  occupied  with  the  fortifications  of  Con- 
ception. The  news  was  very  afflicting  and  very  embarrass- 
ing to  him.  He  had  promised  himself  that  he  would  never 
"  touch  the  hair  of  any  one's  head."  And  it  was  in  shed- 
ding tears  he  replied  to  the  chief  justice,  that  since  these 
incorrigible  disturbers  of  the  peace  had,  without  provoca- 
tion, made  a  new  atiempt  at  rebellion,  he  must  visit  them 
with  justice  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom. 
Roldan  immediately  pronounced  their  condemnation. 
Adrien  de  Mojica  was  condemned  to  death,  and  his  ac- 
complices, according  to  the  degrees  of  their  culpability, 
to  banishment  or  imprisonment.  The  execution  of  Mojica 
was  to  take  place  from  the  top  of  the  fortress.  At  the  sight 
of  the  preparations  made  for  him,  this  blustering  hidalgo, 
seized  with  fear,  hoping,  perhaps,  that  his  former  friends 
would  come  to  rescue  him,  repulsed  his  confessor  in  order 
to  gain  time,  or  to  extend  the  terrible  moment.  Roldan, 
indignant  at  his  cowardice,  ordered  the  wretch  to  be  flung 
from  the  top  of  the  fortress  into  the  foss.*  As  to  Guevarra, 
the  chief  justice  kept  him  a  prisoner  until  the  fifteenth  of 

*  Availing  themselves  of  the  mistake  of  Herrera,  a  certain  school 
has  completely  denaturalized  these  facts,  in  attributing  them  to 
Columbus,  who  was  then  absent.  We  have  here  reported  the  facts 
as  thej  really  occurred,  and  not  according  to  a  version  against 
which  the  very  statements  of  Columbus  himself,  and  of  his  son 
Fernando,  protest  in  advance. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  405 

June,  when  he  sent  him  to  the  Admiral,  who  was  still  at 
Fort  Conception. 

The  conspirators  were  at  the  last  extrcmit}'.  The  Ade- 
lantado,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  chief  justice,  pursued 
them  with  rapidity  and  vigor,  and  carried  the  sentence  into 
execution  on  the  spot  where  they  caught  them.  For  this 
purpose  they  took  with  them  a  priest,  in  order  that  the 
wretches  may  at  least  make  good  confessions,  and  receive 
absolution. 

The  promptness  of  the  punishment,  the  inflexibility  of 
the  chief  justice,  and  his  deference  for  the  least  desires 
of  the  Viceroy,  frightened  the  rebels  ;  they  took  to  flight. 
The  peaceable  portion  of  the  community  became  reassured, 
and  the  Indians  returned  to  the  obedience  of  Castile.  They 
recommenced  pa3-ing  their  tributes.  The  peaceable  colo- 
nists were  enabled  to  prosecute  their  labors  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  their  lands,  —  labors  that  were  much  encouraged 
by  the  Admiral.  The  plantations  became  multiplied,  and 
flocks  and  herds  increased.  Tranquillity  reigned  in  the 
whole  island  ;  and  a  single  Spaniard  could  with  security 
traverse  the  whole  island,  unarmed.  Already  a  number 
of  Indians  had  asked  for  baptism,  and  they  commenced 
clothing  themselves  in  European  fashion.  They  were  led 
to  abandon  their  old  custom  of  living  in  isolated  habitations, 
and  to  come  and  live  in  villages,  which  permitted  their 
being  the  more  easily  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion. 
A  bright  future  seemed  to  await  the  colony.  Columbus 
felt  assured  that,  in  three  years'  time,  the  royal  tribute  alone 
that  would  be  received  in  the  island  would  amount  to 
sixty  millions  annually.  In  truth,  in  five  years  after,  they 
amounted  to  more  than  a  hundred  millions. 

But  already,  through  the  influence  of  the  bureaus  of 
Seville,  an  event  was  preparing  which  was  to  change  the 
destiny  of  the  Indians,  frustrate  the  sweetest  hopes  of  Co- 
lumbus, turn  the  children  of  the  forest  from  the  sweet  yoke 
of  the  Gospel,  and  deliver  their  race  to  ruin  and  despair. 


4o6  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Enemies  of  Columbus  in  Seville.  —  Secret  Hostility  of  Ferdi- 
nand.—  A  Commissary  is  appointed.  —  Bobadilla  is  invested 
with  extraordinary  Powers.  —  Indians  sold  as  Slaves.  —  Isabella 
annuls  the  Sales,  and  orders  the  Indians  to  be  restored  to  Liberty. 


SECTION  I. 

THE  atrocious  insult  given  to  Columbus  by  the  ex-Jew 
Ximeao  Breviesca,  was  recompensed  with  giving  him 
the  office  of  paymaster-general  of  the  marine.  Fonseca 
rewarded,  as  a  service  rendered  the  Crown,  every  mark  of 
animosity  shown  against  Columbus.  The  daringness  of  his 
attacks  show  how  much  he  counted  on  support  from  the 
highest  quarter.  The  ill-will  of  Ferdinand  towards  Colum- 
bus was  no  longer  a  secret.  The  monarch  envied  the  celeb- 
rity of  the,  great  man,  and  was  jealous  of  the  high  opinion 
and  afiectionate  regard  entertained  for  him  by  the  Qiieen. 
The  unwavering  confidence  she  had  in  him  irritated  the 
selfish  susceptibility  of  the  King.  Since  the  year  1496,  he 
regretted  the  title  of  "Viceroy"  given  to  a  foreigner,  which 
seemed  to  him  to  diminish  the  majesty  of  his  crown.  In 
his  letters  he  always  called  him  "  Admiral  of  the  Indies." 
The  titles  of  "Viceroy"  and  of  "  Perpetual  Governor  "  were 
intentionally  omitted. 

The  new  discovery  of  the  terra  Jirma,  and  the  profound 
observations  of  Columbus  in  these  regions,  with  the  pack- 
ages of  pearls  and  of  golden  ornaments  forwarded  by  him, 
gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  Qiieen.  Still,  she  did  not 
write  to  him  herself,  but  charged  Fonseca  to  do  so.  As 
regarded  Ferdinand,  he  did  not  find  that  the  results  of  these 
expeditions  had  hitherto  covered  the  payments  made  by  the 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  407 

treasury  in  advance,  and  saw  in  the  person  of  Columbus 
only  an  occasion  of  unprofitable  expenses.  Accordingly 
he  lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  accusations  that  were  made 
against  him. 

SECTION  IL 

The  Sovereigns  resolved  to  send  a  commissary  to  His- 
paniola,  to  regulate  matters  there.  Columbus  had  more 
than  once  requested  that  a  jurisconsult,  learned  in  the  law, 
should  be  sent  ;  but  unfortunately  the  person  chosen  was 
not  a  jurisconsult,  but  a  military  man,  the  commander 
Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  —  a  man  who  enjoyed  the  esteem 
of  Fonseca,  and  who  had  great  credit  at  Court.  Yet  the 
departure  of  Bobadilla  was  delayed  more  than  a  year,  when 
the  Qiicen  made  a  visit  to  Seville.  From  this  time  it  was 
tliat,  through  the  influence  of  the  bureaus,  Columbus  fell 
into  disfavor  with  her.  No  longer  are  his  demands  granted. 
He  is  refused  his  eldest  son,  Don  Diego,  whom  he  wrote 
for,  and  whom  he  wished  to  train  in  the  management  of 
aflairs,  and  prepare  for  the  government  which  he  was  one 
day  to  exercise. 

Previously  to  this  period,  the  Qiieen  had  ordered  all  the 
Indians  who  had  been  brought  to  Spain  as  slaves  to  be  set 
free,  and  sent  back  to  their  own  country. 


4o8  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Arrival  of  Bobadilla  at  San  Domingo.  —  He  besieges  the  Fortress, 
and  sets  the  Prisoners  at  Liberty.  —  He  seizes  on  the  Papers  and 
Effects  of  the  Admiral,  who  was  then  absent.  —  He  imprisons 
Columbus  and  his  two  Brothers.  —  He  sends  them,  in  Chains,  to 
Spain. 

SECTION  I. 

WHILE  Columbus  was  assiduously  engaged  in  en- 
larging the  Fortress  of  Conception,  on  the  morning 
of  the  twenty-third  of  August  two  caravels  wei-e  perceived 
from  San  Domingo,  struggling  against  the  land  breezes, 
and  making  for  the  mouth  of  the  Ozema. 

Don  Diego  Columbus,  thinking  that  these  caravels  brought 
Don  Diego,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Admiral,  immediately 
despatched  a  boat,  to  know  if  he  was  on  board.  The  boat 
having  accosted  one  of  the  caravels,  the  Gorda^  inquired 
who  the  commandant  was.  Bobadilla  answered  that  he 
himself  was  the  man  ;  that  he  called  himself  Commander 
Francisco  de  Bobadilla  ;  that  he  came  as  a  commissary  of 
the  Sovereigns,  to  judge  the  rebels  ;  and  that  the  young 
Diego  had  not  embarked.     The  boat  returned. 

This  news,  which  was  soon  circulated  about,  spread  dis- 
may among  the  old  insurgents. 

Towards  ten  o'clock,  the  wind  having  fallen,  the  caravels 
made  their  entrance  into  the  port.  Bobadilla,  at  first  sight, 
could  see  at  some  distance  two  gibbets,  from  which  two 
bodies  were  suspended.  Nothing  more  was,  in  his  mind, 
necessary  to  justify  the  charges  of  cruelty  brought  against 
the  Admiral.     The  greater  part  of  the  functionaries  of  the 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  409 

government  soon  came  on  board   the   caravel,   to  present 
their  homage  to  the  envoy  of  the  Sovereigns. 

The  next  day,  accompanied  by  his  suite,  he  went  to  the 
church,  where  Diego  Columbus,  and  Rodrigo  Perez,  the 
then  deputy  judge,  also  attended.  After  mass,  at  the  very 
door  of  the  church,  Bobadilla  ordered  his  letter-patent  to  be 
read,  authorizing  him  to  investigate  the  late  troubles  that 
had  arisen  in  the  island.  Then  he  demanded  of  Don  Diego, 
and  of  the  deputy  judge,  to  surrender  to  him  Fernando 
Guevarra,  Pedro  Requèlme,  and  the  other  prisoners  de- 
tained in  the  fortress. 

Diego  Columbus  replied  that  the  Viceroy  had  titles  supe- 
rior to  this  commission,  as  would  be  seen  at  the  proper  time 
and  place,  and  that  in  his  absence  he  could  not  comply  with 
such  a  requisition  ;  and  he  requested  a  copy  of  the  letter- 
patent,  to  forward  to  the  Admiral,  on  whom  everything 
in  the  island  depended.  Bobadilla  answered  that,  as  he 
had  not  power  to  act,  it  was  useless  to  give  him  the  copy 
he  demanded  ;  but  he  would  soon  show  he  had  authority, 
not  only  as  chief  justice,  but  as  governor,  and  that  he  had 
command  over  them  all,  —  even  over  the  Admiral  himself. 

The  next  day,  after  mass,  Bobadilla  ordered  the  notary  to 
read,  from  the  church  door,  a  royal  ordinance  conferring  oxt 
him  the  government  and  judicature  of  the  islands  and  terra 
Jïrfna  of  the  Indies,  and,  afterwards,  a  royal  mandate  or- 
dering Columbus  and  his  brothers  to  deliver  him  up  the 
fortresses,  arms,  munitions,  and  other  royal  property. 

He  then  went  and  attacked  the  fortress  (which  made  no 
resistance),  and  took  possession  of  the  prisoners  detained 
there. 

He  next  went  and  took  possession  of  the  residence  of  the 
Viceroy,  who,  he  said,  would  need  it  no  longer,  as  he  was 
going  to  send  him  and  his  brothers,  in  chains,  to  Spain. 
He  seized  on  all  his  furniture,  gold,  plate,  jewels,  pearls, 
horses  and  arms;  and  all  that  without  witnesses,  or  taking 
any  inventory  of  them.  The  mineralogical  curiosities,  the 
rare  shells,  and  the  vegetable  collections  the  Admiral  had" 
35 


41  o  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi, 

gathered  or  formed  in  his  voyages,  and  the  religious  memo- 
rials given  him,  became  the  prey  of  this  brutal  and  greedy 
ignoramus.  The  notes  and  observations  of  Columbus,  his 
charts  and  drawings,  and  documents  containing  the  effu- 
sions of  his  piety  and  the  inmost  secrets  of  his  sublime 
heart,  were  scrutinized  and  profaned  by  the  looks  of  this 
sycopliant.  In  addition  to  these,  he  suppressed  from  the 
administrative  documents  every  writing  that  would  have 
confounded  the  accusers  of  the  Admiral. 


SECTION  II. 

Don  Diego  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  Admiral,  who 
was  'then  at  Conception,  informing  him  of  the  arrival  and 
proceedings  of  Bobadilla.  Columbus  at  first  thought  that 
this  envoy,  like  Aguado,  infatuated  with  his  powers,  exag- 
gerated them.  Not  finding  in  his  conscience  anything  that 
could  have  caused  such  rigor  on  the  part  of  the  Sovereigns, 
he  was  inclined  to  think  that  Bobadilla  had  fabricated  his 
titles,  to  impose  on  the  credulous,  and,  like  Ojeda,  recom- 
mence troubles.  Still,  in  order  to  be  nearer,  and  become 
more  fully  informed  of  the  affairs  of  San  Domingo,  he  came 
to  Bonao,  —  a  place  that  was  daily  increasing  in  impor- 
tance. From  this  place  he  wrote  to  Bobadilla,  felicitating 
him  on  his  arrival  in  the  island,  and  requesting  him  not  to 
take  any  important  measures  before  he  would  have  studied 
the  localities.  He  gave  him  to  understand  that,  desiring 
to  go  to  Castile,  he  would  resign  him  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  would  furnish  him  with  all  the  information  he 
may  need.  But  the  commander  returned  no  answer  to  this 
letter.  He  held  to  the  silence  of  hatred,  or  of  disdain,  for 
a  fallen  rival. 

Some  time  after,  an  alcaid,  sent  by  the  new  governor, 
came  to  Bonao,  to  publish  an  official  copy  of  his  powers, 
and  to  command  the  inhabitants  to  obey  him.  Having 
heard  this  notification,  the  Admiral  protested,  before  the 
alcaid,  that  his  titles  of  "Viceroy"  and  "Governor"  could 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  411 

not  be  annulled  by  the  powers  given  to  Bobadilla,  and  that 
the  nomination  of  the  commissary  regarded  only  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  ;  and  therefore  he  required  all  those 
present  to  be  obedient  to  him  in  everything  else,  as 
formerly. 

Still,  although  Bobadilla  had,  like  a  pirate,  seized  on  the 
residence  of  the  Viceroy,  he  was  not  quite  easy.  The 
Admiral  had  some  devoted  officers  with  him.  lie  exer- 
cised a  great  influence  on  the  caciques.  His  brother,  the 
Adelantado,  was  in  Xaragua,  at  the  head  of  a  faithful 
troop.  A  rumor  was  circulated  in  San  Domingo  that  the 
Admiral  was  going  to  commence  a  general  movement  in 
the  island.  As,  in  virtue  of  his  treaties  witii  Castile,  Co- 
lumbus was  Perpetual  Viceroy  and  Governor  of  the  Indies, 
no  order  could  annul  his  privileges.  In  justice  he  could 
resort  to  arms  to  maintain  his  rights.  .The  new  governor, 
then,  fearing  that  the  Admiral  would  repel  with  the  sword 
the  mandate  that  was  signed  by  the  ingratitude  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  the  error  of  Isabella,  judged  it  prudent  to  employ 
persuasive  and  gentle  means  to  bring  him  to  submit. 

The  piety  of  Columbus,  and  his  aflection  for  the  Order  of 
St.  Francis,  were  well  known,  and  the  commander  thought 
that  the  best  intermediary  in  this  aflair  would  be  a  Francis- 
can. Accordingly,  on  the  seventh  of  September,  he  be- 
sought Father  Juan  de  Trasiera  to  go  to  Bonao  and  inform 
the  Admiral  of  his  having  fallen  into  disfavor  with  the 
Sovereigns,  and  to  show  him  the  letter  of  credence  given  to 
the  new  Governor.  The  Franciscan  father  could  not  refuse 
the  sad  commission.  He  informed  the  Viceroy  of  all  that 
had  passed  in  San  Domingo.  To  convince  him  of  the 
reality  of  the  facts,  which  appeared  to  Columbus  like  an 
uneasy  dream,  he  showed  him  the  letter  of  credence,  whose 
terrible  laconism  removed  every  uncertaintv-,  and  dispensed 
with  further  explanation.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  this 
strange  letter  :  — 

"  Don   Christopher   Columbus,  our  Admiral   of  the 


412  HISTORY  OF  [book  in. 

Ocean,  we  have  ordered  Commander  Francisco  de  Boba- 
dilla,  the  beai'er  of  this  present,  to  tell  jou,  on  our  part, 
certain  things  with  which  he  is  chai'ged.  We  pray  you  to 
attach  credence  and  credit  to  them,  and  to  act  accordingly." 

The  letter  was  signed  by  the  King  and  the  Qiieen,  and 
countersigned  by  the  Secretary,  Miguel  Perez  d'Almanza  ; 
so  there  was  no  more  room  for  doubt.  The  Sovereigns 
broke  the  conventions  made  with  him,  violated  their  word, 
and  disposed  of  privileges  and  offices  which  belonged  to 
him  and  his  descendants.  They  condemned  him  without 
a  trial,  or  giving  him  an  opportunity  of  justifying  himself. 
At  first,  on  thinking  of  this  atrocious  iniquit}^,  which  would 
have  subverted  the  reason  of  any  other  mortal,  Columbus 
was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  and  blushed  with  shame  for 
the  Sovereigns.  But  if  they  stifled  the  sense  of  gratitude, 
forgot  their  promises,  and  falsified  their  words,  the  Admiral 
respected  his  oaths.  He  resolved  not  to  fail  in  his  obe- 
dience, and  to  give,  in  a  Christian  manner,  the  example  of 
submission  to  even  unjust  authority. 

Columbus,  in  order  not  to  give  offence  to  the  pride  of  the 
new  Governor,  took  the  route  to  San  Domingo  on  horse- 
back, without  an  escort,  and  almost  without  servants,  hav- 
ing for  a  sword-belt  only  his  cord  of  St.  Francis,  and,  for 
arms,  his  breviary.  It  was  between  prayer,  the  poetry  of 
the  Psalms,  and  the  contemplation  of  nature  in  these  equi- 
noctial regions,  that  the  disciple  of  the  Cross,  fully  resigned 
to  the  divine  will,  came  humbly  to  his  enemy.  As  soon  as 
Bobadilla  was  informed  of  his  approach,  he  had  Don 
Diego,  the  Admiral's  brother,  seized  and  put  in  irons  on 
board  a  caravel. 

Soon  after,  the  Vicero}^  having  come  to  salute  the  new 
Governor,  the  latter,  refusing  to  see  him,  ordered  him  to  be 
immediately  arrested  and  incarcerated  in  the  fortress,  with 
iron  fetters  on  his  feet.  Columbus,  having  offered  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  satellites,  followed  them  to  the  prison. 

The  Admiral  knew,  no  more  than  his  brother  Diego,  the 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  413 

cause  of  this  treatment.  It  was  kept  a  strict  secret.  Nobody 
\vas  allowed  to  see  or  speak  to  him.  But  Bobadilla  sent 
him  word  to  write  to  his  brother  the  Adelantado,  to  beware 
of  executing  the  persons  condemned  to  death,  whom  he 
held  in  the  prison  at  Xaragua,  and  to  direct  him  to  return 
to  San  Domingo  without  his  soldiers.  Columbus  readily 
exhorted  Don  Bartholomew  to  submit  with  docility  to  or- 
ders given  in  the  name  of  the  Sovereigns,  and  besought 
him  not  to  trouble  himself  about  his  imprisonment,  assuring 
him  that  they  would  return  to  Castile,  where  the  evil  would 
be  repaired  that  had  been  done  them.  As  alwaNS,  fully 
deferring  to  the  wishes  of  his  brother,  the  Adelantado 
immediately  resigned  his  command,  and  took  the  route  to 
San  Domingo.  Scarcely  had  he  arrived  there  than  he  was 
arrested  and  put  in  irons  on  board  another  caravel  ;  so  that 
the  three  brothers  were  kept  isolated  from  each  other,  with- 
out communication  with  each  other,  and  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  destitution. 

Columbus  had  on  only  the  light  coat  he  wore  at  the  time 
of  his  arrest,  and  which  he  used  to  wear  in  the  heat  of  the 
dav.  Bobadilla  had  seized  on  all  his  other  clothing,  even 
his  sayo^  or  surtout.  On  the  stone  floor  of  his  dungeon, 
with  the  pains  of  his  rheumatism  and  the  twinges  of  his 
gout,  he  had  to  suffer  cruelly  from  cold  during  the  nights, 
for  he  was  almost  naked  —  "  destmdo  en  ciicrpo."  His 
fare  was  composed  of  the  most  wretched  stuff'. 

Bobadilla  finished  where  he  ought  to  have  commenced,  on 
arriving  at  Hispaniola,  —  he  opened  an  inquiry  concerning 
the  late  troubles  that  had  arisen  in  the  island.  But,  in  place 
of  seizing  on  the  persons  who  had  been  in  revolt  against 
the  Admiral  and  his  brothers,  as  he  had  been  ordered  by 
the  Sovereigns,  he  gathered  all  the  rebels,  ringleaders, 
criminals,  and  the  prisoners  he  had  released,  to  come  and 
depose  against  the  Admiral,  the  Adelantado,  and  even  the 
mild  Don  Diego.  The  consequence  may  be  readily  fore- 
seen. 

When  it  appeared  that  the  inquiry  had  collected  against 
35* 


414  HISTORY  OF  [BOOK  iii. 

the  three  prisoners  proofs  of  every  crime,  save  the  least 
offence  against  chastity,  Bobadilla  resolved  to  send  them 
to  the  director  of  the  marine,  or  to  his  friend  Gonzalo 
Gomez  Cervantes,  at  Cadiz.  To  insure  the  strict  execution 
of  his  orders,  lie  chose  a  young  officer,  Alonso  de  Vallejo, 
a  nephew  to  Gonzalo  Gomez  Cervantes,  and  a  protégé  of 
Fonseca's,  in  vs^hose  house  he  had  grov^m  up  to  manhood. 

Columbus  was  not  without  some  uneasy  apprehensions. 
The  disdain  for  every  form  of  justice,  the  strict  secresy 
observed,  and  the  inhuman  treatment  he  had  received, 
were  of  ill  omen.  He  did  not  know  where  the  measures 
adopted  against  him  would  end  ;  and,  when  the  silence  of 
his  obscure  prison  was  suddenly  troubled  by  the  clang  of 
arms  and  the  tramp  of  soldiers,  he  felt  certain  he  was 
going  to  be  assassinated  or  led  to  a  scaffold.  Seeing  at  the 
head  of  the  guard  a  favorite  of  Fonseca's,  young  Vallejo, 
whom  he  had  formerly  seen  in  Seville,  he  thought  his  last 
hour  had  come.  "Vallejo,"  said  he,  mournfully,  "whither 
are  you  taking  me?"  "  On  boai'd  the  Gorda^  your  Excel- 
lency, to  embark,"  replied  the  other.  "  Vallejo  !  do  you  tell 
me  the  truth?"  "By  the  life  of  your  Excellency,"  replied 
the  officer,  "  I  swear  I  am  going  to  lead  you  to  the  caravel 
to  embark,"  The  frank  manner  and  accent  of  the  officer 
reassured  the  Admiral.  He  felt  as  if  relieved  from  a  stu- 
pendous weight.  He  feared  he  was  going  to  be  executed 
without  judgment,  as  he  had  been  imprisoned  without  trial, 
and  that  he  would  leave  his  children  behind  him  enshrouded 
in  an  opprobrium  with  which  his  enemies  would  have 
sullied  his  memory. 

Columbus  was  placed  on  board  the  Gorda,  the  same 
vessel  in  which  his  two  brothers  were.  The  three  were  in 
irons. 

The  voluminous  inquest  taken  in  their  case  having  been 
confided  to  the  care  of  Alonso  de  Vallejo,  commandant, 
and  to  Andres  Martin,  master  of  the  vessel,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  October  they  weighed  anchor. 

Vallejo,  though  a  dependent  of  Fonseca's,   was  a  man 


CHAP.  VU.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  415 

of  honor.  lie  was  grieved  to  see  in  irons  the  master  of  all 
navigators,  and  the  conqueror  of  the  Gloomy  Ocean.,  whose 
mild  and  calm  dignity  in  the  midst  of  so  many  insults,  alone 
belied  the  odious  charges  brought  against  him  within  a  few 
weeks.  The  master  of  the  Gorda.,  Andres  Martin,  shared 
in  silence  the  sympathies  of  the  young  officer.  So,  as  soon 
as  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the  port,  they  respectfully 
came  to  the  Admii^al  and  besought  him  to  be  permitted 
to  take  off  his  chains.  Columbus  refused  this  alleviation 
of  his  evils.  He  did  not  wish,  even  at  that  distance,  in  the 
liberty  of  the  ocean,  to  appear  to  contravene  the  orders 
given  by  the  mandatory  of  the  Sovereigns.  Notwithstanding 
the  annoyances  and  pains  which  the  chains  gave  his  aching 
limbs,  he  kept  them  on,  recognizing  only  in  the  Sovereigns, 
in  whose  name  they  were  put  on,  the  power  of  delivering 
him  from  them. 

The  disciple  of  the  Gospel  uttered  no  complaint.  lie 
remained  silent,  wishing  to  give  an  example  of  Christian 
submission  to  legitimate  authority,  even  when  it  is  deceived 
or  abused.  But  if  Columbus  addressed  no  communication 
to  the  Sovereigns  regarding  the  iniquity  of  which  he  was 
the  victim,  at  least  his  heart  was  solaced  in  writing  to  the 
virtuous  friend  of  the  Qiieen,  Doua  Juana  de  la  Torre, 
who  had  nursed  with  her  breast-milk  the  son  of  Isabella,  — 
the  Infant  Don  Juan. 

SECTION  III. 

This  letter,  which  we  would  like  to  reproduce  religiously 
in  its  whole  length,  bears  in  full  relief  the  expression  of  the 
providential  character  and  the  superhuman  mission  of 
Columbus.  We  perceive,  in  the  superior  animation  of  its 
style,  the  spirit  of  an  inspired  Christian,  and  the  simple, 
natural  language  of  a  seaman. 

The  disfavor  into  which  he  fell  does  not  move  Columbus 
in  the  ordinary  way.  lie  does  not  consider  his  adversity  as 
a  purely  individual  fact,  —  the  consequence  of  the  hostility 


4l6  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi, 

of  individuals  oi*  of  a  coterie.  He  recognizes,  in  what  he 
experiences,  the  warfare  of  the  world  against  the  spirit  of 
faith.  "  If  it  be  something  new  for  me,"  says  he,  "  to  com- 
plain of  the  world,  still  its  habit  of  maltreating  is  very  old. 
It  has  battled  with  me  a  thousand  times,  and  I  have  resisted 
it  until  the  present,  when  neither  arms  nor  counsels  can 
avail  me.  It  has  barbarously  sunk  me  to  the  bottom."  * 
Yet,  "  sunk  to  the  bottom"  as  he  appears  to  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  the  -disciple  of  the  Word  is  not  cast  down.  He 
adds  :  "  Hope  in  Him  who  has  created  us  sustains  me  ; 
His  aid  has  always  been  very  prompt.  A  short  time  ago, 
being  still  more  thrown  down,  He  raised  me  with  His  di- 
vine arm,  saying  to  me,  '  O  man  of  little  faith  !  why  art 
thou  cast  down.f"  Fear  nothing:  I  am  with  thee,  and  I  will 
provide  for  thee.'  "  He  reminds  the  excellent  Dona  Juana 
that  he  was,  as  it  were,  forced  to  come  from  abroad  "  to 
serve  these  princes  with  an  innate  affection,  and  to  render 
them  unheard-of  services."  "  God,"  says  he,  "has  made 
me  the  harbinger  of  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth,  of 
which,  in  the  Apocalypse,  He  speaks  by  the  mouth  of  St. 
John,  after  having  spoken  of  it  by  that  of  Isaias,  and  He 
has  shown  me  the  place  where  they  are  to  be  found.  All 
showed  themselves  incredulous.  But  God  gave  the  Queen, 
my  mistress,  the  spirit  of  understanding,  accorded  her  the 
necessary  courage,  and  rendered  her  heiress  of  all  (this  New 
World),  as  being  his  dear  and  well-beloved  daughter." 

The  change  of  opinion,  and  the  violent  measures  adopted 
in  regard  to  him,  do  not  disconcert  him.  He  knows  that 
the  affairs  he  has  conducted  "  pertain  to  those  who  cannot 
but  gain,  from  day  to  day,  in  the  esteem  of  men."  Still, 
matters  have  come  to  that  pass,  that  the  vilest  wretches 
think  they  have  the  right  to  outrage  him.  "  But,"  says  he, 
"  thanks  be  to  God,  this  iniquity  will  some  day  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  him  who  has  the  authority  to  repress  it." 

*  "  Con  crueldad  me  tiene  echado  al  fundo." —  Carta  del  Almi- 
rante  al  ama  del  frinci^e  D.  Juan, 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


417 


This  authority,  whose  protection  the  herald  of  the  Cross 
invokes,  —  what  is  it,  unless  it  be  the  Papacy  itself?  Who 
can  oppose  the  violation  of  his  rights,  and  the  injustice  ren- 
dered him,  if  it  be  not  the  successor  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  and  the  grantor  of  the  donation  made  to  the  Cath- 
olic Sovereigns?  To  him  alone  belonged  to  evoke  this 
cause,  to  protect  with  his  fulminations  the  Messenger  of  the 
Church,  and  prevent  him  from  succumbing  under  the  shafts 
of  iniquity  and  the  artifices  of  regal  felony.  The  intimate 
bonds  which  attached  the  mission  of  Columbus  to  the  apos- 
tolic interests  of  the  Holy  See,  naturally  made  him  hope  in 
its  aid.  Yet,  he  does  not  insist  on  this  eventuality.  He  de- 
vises no  project  ;  he  forms  no  plan  ;  he  exculpates  himself 
from  nothing,  because  he  does  not  know  what  he  is  accused 
of.  He  tries  not,  in  advance,  to  repel  charges  which  he 
cannot  foresee  precisely,  having  done  nothing  that  could  be 
reprehended. 

Not  a  word  escapes  him,  making  any  harsh  allusion  to 
the  Qiieen.  One  would  say  he  knows  how  she  was  led  into 
error. 

What  a  Christian  ! 

He  has  been  stripped  of  everything,  outraged,  and  put  in 
irons  ;  he  bears  them  this  moment  ;  his  flesh  is  bruised  ;  and 
still  this  violent  reverse  of  fortune,  the  audacious  spoliation 
of  which  he  is  the  victim,  the  secret  enmity  of  the  King, 
and  the  triumph  of  his  persecutors,  have  not  been  able  to 
shake  his  constancy.  Finishing  his  letter  he  says  :"  God, 
Our  Lord,  remains  with  His  power  and  His  knowledge  as 
heretofore,  and  he  especially  punishes  ingratitude." 


4i8  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Queen  grieved  at  the  Indignity  offered  to  Columbus. — His  arrival 
at  Court.  —  Ovando  appointed  to  supersede  Bobadilla.  —  Colum- 
bus occupies  himself  with  the  Deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
—  He  composes  religious  Poems,  and  a  Compilation  from  the 
Scriptures,  entitled  "Book  of  the  Prophecies." 


SECTION  I. 

DIVINE  PROVIDENCE  seemed  to  give  propitious 
winds  in  order  to  shorten  the  sufferings  of  the  Ad- 
miral. His  voyage  was  very  hajDpy  and  rapid.  The  two 
caravels,  leaving  in  October,  entered  the  Bay  of  Cadiz  on 
the  twentieth  of  November.  Never  did  any  vessel  come 
in  so  short  a  time.  Like  their  captain,  all  the  officers  lav- 
ished the  most  respectful  attentions  on  the  Admiral  and  his 
brothers.  By  care  of  the  master  of  the  Gorda,  as  soon  as 
they  cast  anchor  a  confidential  man  was  secretly  despatched 
to  Granada,  where  the  Sovereigns  then  resided,  with  the 
letter  to  the  nurse  of  the  Infant  Don  Juan.  The  swiftness 
of  this  messenger  outstripped  the  arrival  of  the  despatches 
and  the  proceedings  sent  b}^  Bobadilla.  Happily  for  Colum- 
bus, Granada  was  not  Seville  ;  bureaucratic  hostilities  and 
local  rancor  had  not  perverted  public  opinion  there.  Around 
the  Alhambra  the  memory  of  the  Discovery,  —  that  grand 
conquest  of  Catholic  faith,  —  and  the  glory  of  the  standard- 
bearer  of  the  Church,  were  religiously  preserved.  Whoever 
his  detractors  may  have  been,  the  lustre  of  his  services,  and 
the  grandeur  of  his  work,  admired  even  by  Mahometans, 
caused  a  general  burst  of  indignation  at  this  outrage,  which 
scarcely  seemed  credible.  We  may  judge  what  passed  in 
the  heart  of  Isabella. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  419 

As  soon  as  Doua  Juaiia  dc  la  Torre  communicated  to  the 
Qiiecn  the  letter  of  Columbus,  the  indignation  of  Isabella 
was  only  surpassed  by  her  grief.  A  courier  was  imme- 
diately despatched  to  Gonzola  Gomez  de  Cervantes  to  set 
the  Admiral  and  his  brothers  instantly  at  liberty.  The 
two  Sovereigns  hastened  to  write  Columbus  a  letter,  in 
which  they  deplore  the  offences  given  him,  so  much  op- 
posed to  their  sentiments,  which  they  felt  wounded  in  his 
person.  With  reiterated  expressions  of  regard  and  esteem, 
they  invited  him  to  come  immediately  to  Court,  and  ordered, 
at  the  same  time,  that  two  thousand  ducats  should  be  ad- 
vanced him,  in  order  to  remedy  the  destitution  in  which 
Bobadilla  had  dared  to  place  him. 

The  seventeenth  of  December,  Columbus,  with  his 
brothers,  was  conducted  to  the  solemn  audience  of  the 
Sovereigns,  who  welcomed  him  with  maries  of  the  great- 
est kindness,  and  of  bitter  resentment  towards  his  perse- 
cutor. A  few  days  afterwards  the  Qiieen  called  him  to  a 
private  audience,  in  order  to  have  an  explanation  of  the 
causes  of  the  animosity  with  which  he  was  pursued,  and 
of  the  true  state  of  the  Indies.  In  this  interview  Columbus 
presented  himself  alone. 

At  the  sight  of  the  Revcaler  of  the  Creation,  Isabella, 
calling  to  mind  the  indignities  he  had  suffered  in  her  name, 
was  moved  to  tears.  When  the  venerable  man  beheld  this 
mark  of  tenderness,  he  could  no  longer  restrain  the  feelings 
suppressed  within  his  breast;  they  burst  forth  in  tears  and 
sobbings.  Columbus  and  Isabella  wept  at  the  same  time, 
without  proffering  a  word  to  each  other.  It  was  after  this 
colloquy  of  their  souls  that  Columbus,  in  a  few  words,  upset 
all  the  charges  of  his  accusers. 

The  tears  of  Isabella  were  a  sovereign  balm  for  the  bleed- 
ing heart  of  Columbus.  The  Catholic  Qiieen  assured  him 
that  all  his  grievances  should  be  redressed,  and  that  he 
should  be  reinstated  in  all  his  dignities  and  privileges  ; 
still,  on  account  of  the  enmities  existing  against  him,  per- 
haps it  would  be  better  not  to  expose  him  immediately  to 


420  HISTORY  OF  [book  III. 

new  embarrassments,  in  reinstating  him  in  the  government 
of  Hispaniola.  After  this  audience,  Coknnbus  addressed 
tlie  Sovereigns  a  formal  complaint  against  the  tyrannical 
acts  committed  by  Bobadilla,  and  in  which  he  shows  the 
vices  and  malversations  of  the  new  administration.  And 
almost  at  the  same  time,  in  order  to  interest  in  his  reclama- 
tion some  personages  who  formed  part  of  the  Council  of  the 
Sovereigns,  he  wrote  a  note,  the  rough  draft  of  which,  writ- 
ten with  his  own  hand,  has  been  happily  preserved. 

In  this  we  find  no  artifice  of  language,  no  oratorical  ar- 
rangement, no  diplomatic  shrewdness.  It  is  the  Messenger 
of  the  Cross  who  speaks.  He  I'ecalls  to  mind  that  he  came 
voluntarily  to  ofter  Spain  the  conquest  of  the  Indies,  and 
that  he  gave  her  the  preference  at  a  time  when  France, 
England,  and  Portugal  had  separately  decided  to  risk  an 
expedition.  "  Then  our  Saviour,"  says  he,  "  ordained  the 
route  for  me.  I  have  placed  under  the  power  of  their 
Highnesses  lands  larger  than  Africa  and  Europe.  Thei'e 
is  reason  to  hope  that  the  Holy  Church  will  prosper  wonder- 
fully by  it.  In  seven  3'ears  I  have,  by  the  Divine  will, 
accomplished  this  conquest.  At  the  moment  that  I  hoped 
to  obtain  recompenses  and  repose,  I  was  suddenly  seized  and 
put  in  irons,  to  the  detriment  of  my  honor,  and  the  service 
of  their  Highnesses,"  etc.  The  Admiral  beseeches  the 
members  of  the  Council,  as  faithful  Christians,  to  examine 
all  his  conventions  with  the  Crown,  to  consider  how  he 
came  from  afar  to  serve  these  princes,  how  he  has  quitted 
wife  *  and  children,  condemning  himself  to  almost  never 
seeing  them,  in  order  the  better  to  watch  over  the  service  ; 
and  to  notice  that,  in  return  for  this  devotedness,  he  has 
been,  in  the  decline  of  his  life,  despoiled  of  his  dignities 
and  his  rights,  without  an}'  regard  for  justice  or  mercy. 

As  to  the  memorandum  in  which  he  justified  his  admin- 
istration, it  cannot  be  doubted  that  it  contained  conclusive 

*  "  Y  deje  muger  y  fijos  que  jamas  vi  por  ello." —  Col.  DiJ>lomat., 
num.  cxxxvii. 


CHAP,  viii.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  42 1 

facts  and  iaiportant  considerations  ;  for,  as  a  consequence 
of  this  communication,  in  spite  of  the  influence  of  the  Se- 
ville bureaus,  the  principal  innovations  of  Bobadilla  were 
annulled,  and  the  regulations  of  Columbus  again  put  in 
force. 

Though  acknowledging  the  administrative  sagacity  of 
Columbus,  the  monarchs  did  not  judge  it  prudent  to  send 
him  back  to  Hispaniola  until  such  time  as  the  animosity- 
raised  against  him  would  have  subsided.  It  was  decided, 
in  removing  Bobadilla,  to  nominate  in  his  place  a  tempo- 
rary governor  for  two  years  ;  this  time  appeared  sufficient 
to  dispel  factions,  cflace  the  traces  of  enmities,  and  re- 
establish the  regularity  of  the  government.  It  was,  they 
said,  especially  in  the  interest  of  the  Admiral  that  this 
measure  was  adopted. 

Assuredly,  when  she  promised  to  reinstate  him  in  his 
titles  and  functions,  the  Qiieen  was  sincere  ;  but  the  astute 
Ferdinand  had  secretly  resolved  to  take  away  forever  from 
Columbus  the  viceroyalty,  as  well  as  the  real  government 
of  the  Indies.  Everything  frqm  that  moment  was  directed 
to  this  point. 

SECTION  II. 

Seeing  the  animosity  manifested  by  the  colonists  towards 
Columbus,  and  the  secret  determination  of  Ferdinand  not 
to  reinstate  him  in  his  government,  most  historians  have 
thought  that  Columbus,  notwithstanding  his  genius,  was 
not  qualified  for  the  position  of  governor. 

In  the  system  of  those  writers  who  deny  all  providential 
action  in  human  afiairs,  and  who  maintain  that  the  sole 
progress  of  Portuguese  navigation  would  necessarily  have 
led  to  the  discovery  of  a  continent  situated  to  the  west  of 
Europe,  Columbus  could  not  avoid  committing  fiudts  as 
governor,  because  he  could  not  possess  all  the  qualifications 
for  such  a  position.  But  our  readers,  who  will  remember 
the  superior  gifts  accorded  to  the  herald  of  the  Cross,  his 
eminent  qualities,  surpassed  only  by  his  virtues  ;  those  who 
36 


422  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

know  that,  with  the  true  Christian,  mercy  surpasses  justice, 
will  not  doubt  that  so  many  excellent  faculties,  so  many 
diverse  aptitudes,  and  such  a  keen  penetration,  united  to 
close  observation,  experience,  and  long-tried  patience, 
qualified  him  to  administer  becomingly  the  government  of 
the  country  he  had  discovered. 

Here  M.  de  Lorgnes  enters  into  a  lengthy  and  able  expo- 
sition and  vindication  of  the  government  of  Columbus. 
We  cannot  follow  him  but  on  a  few  points. 

The  only  well-founded  accusation  brought  by  his  enemies 
against  the  Viceroy  was,  his  formal  opposition  to  the  bap- 
tism of  some  Indians. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  the  messenger  of  salvation, 
who  planted  the  Cross  everywhere,  and  invited  the  natives 
to  venerate  it,  should  repel  them  from  the  Church,  when 
they  desired  to  enter  her  fold.  But  still,  that  he  did  so 
there  is  nothing  more  certain, 

A  number  of  Indians,  enticed  by  the  charm  of  novelty, 
their  childish  inclination  for  imitation,  and,  especially,  the 
privileges  accorded  to  converts,  without  having  the  least 
notions  of  'real  Christianity,  demanded  baptism  as  they 
would  have  demanded  a  European  vest  or  cap.  The  Ad- 
miral opposed,  with  all  his  might,  the  condescendence  of 
certain  ecclesiastics,  whose  too  indulgent  proselytism  favored 
this  pretended  religious  movement,  and  who,  with  the 
desire  of  increasing  promptly  their  flocks,  admitted  the 
Indians  to  baptism  simply  on  their  demand.  It  was  through 
piety  that  he  opposed  the  conferring  of  this  sacrament  ;  that 
is  to  say,  its  profanation.  His  manner  of  treating  the  In- 
dians was  always  paternal.  He  recognized  in  the  children 
of  the  forests  his  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  loved  them 
because  he  had  discovered  them  in  order  to  bring  them 
under  the  sweet  yoke  of  the  Gospel. 

It  has  been  objected  to  Columbus,  as  a  proof  of  his  inca- 
pacity for  governing,  that  he  proposed  the  colonization  of 
Hispaniola  with  criminals. 

Honestly  speaking,  the  idea  of  recruiting  the  colonists 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  423 

from  the  prisons  and  bagnios  ought  not  to  be  attributed  to 
Cohniibus,  but  to  dire  necessity  itself.  Such  a  measure 
shows  the  sad  extremity  to  which  he  was  reduced.  Let  us 
not  forget  that,  at  the  time  of  this  proposition,  the  prejudice 
against  the  Indies  was  so  great  that  no  recompense  could 
induce  a  Castilian  to  go  there.  A  sojourn  of  two  years 
tliere  compensated  for  capital  punishment.  Moreover,  it 
was  a  question  of  life  or  death  for  the  colony.  Again  :  the 
exclusion  procured  by  Columbus  of  the  most  criminal  mal- 
efactors, gave  reason  to  hope  that  this  penitentiary  system 
would  be  attended  with  happy  results.  And,  if  these  cul- 
prits had  not  arrived  under  unfavorable  circumstances,  in 
the  midst  of  rebels  whose  example  and  suggestions  had  not 
awakened  their  evil  instincts,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
their  deportation  would  not  have  been  a  matter  of  regret. 

Never  was  there  a  more  difficult  government  than  that 
with  which  Columbus  was  charged.  He  operated  on  the 
unknown,  deprived  of  all  administrative  precedents,  con- 
tinually restrained  by  the  difficulties  of  climate,  of  hygiene, 
of  old  customs  and  new  needs,  the  perpetual  conflicts  be- 
tween the  hidalgos  and  the  natives,  continual  insubordina- 
tion, and  the  pedantic  pretensions  of  the  bureaucrac}-  of 
Seville. 

Yet  we  do  not  find,  after  having  rigorously  examined  the 
matter,  that  Columbus  committed  even  the  shadow  of  a  fault 
in  his  whole  administration.  Assuredly  he  was  not  infal- 
lible ;  still,  he  did  not  err.  The  protection  of  God  extended 
to  his  works  ;  and,  if  he  was  tried  in  his  person,  he  was 
recompensed  for  his  labors.  None  of  his  institutions  con- 
tained the  germ  of  vice,  the  occasion  of  disorder,  or  the 
principle  of  embarrassment  for  a  future  period. 

We  can  find  no  defect  in  his  administration,  the  same  as 
W'e  can  find  no  vice  in  a  saint.  It  was  because  he  had  not 
in  view  his  personal  elevation,  the  grandeur  of  his  family, 
or  the  enriching  of  his  children,  but  the  glory  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  aggrandizement  of  Castile,  Christian  civilization, 
and  tlie  good  government  of  the  Indies,  and  to  develop  and 


424  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  in. 

make  the  most  of  the  resources  of  these  countries  for  the 
advantage  of  the  people.  Believing  in  the  perpetuity  of 
his  work,  Columbus  did  not  sacrifice  to  the  present  the 
resources  of  the  future. 

Notwithstanding  his  active  search  for  gold,  as  soon  as  he 
became  governor  of  these  new  countries,  very  far  from 
occupying  himself  principally  with  gold  mines  and  working 
them,  he  paid  special  attention  to  the  culture  of  the  earth  — 
the  first  and  the  last  object  of  all  real  colonization. 

Under  the  name  of  "  Royal  Farm,"  he  established  an  agri- 
cultural institution  where  there  were  preserved,  in  the  purity 
of  their  blood,  reproductive  animals  of  each  species.  By  his 
care  plantations  were  multiplied,  and  attempts  made  at 
horticulture  and  in  the  acclimating  of  plants  and  animals. 
He  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  abandon  the  European 
regimen  for  that  of  the  Indians,  and  he  tried  to  get  the  col- 
onists to  adopt  the  fare  of  the  latter.  In  this  his  sagacity 
was  in  advance  of  the  dear-bought  lessons  of  experience. 
In  place  of  bachelors,  thirsting  for  gold,  and  incapable  of 
attaching  themselves  to  the  soil  to  cultivate  it,  he  wished  to 
admit  only  married  persons  of  industrious  habits,  who 
would  cultivate  the  earth,  clear  the  forests,  make  canals  for 
irrigating  the  lands,  or  attend  to  the  raising  of  live  stock. 

SECTION  III. 

The  temporary  deprivation  of  the  Admiral  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Indies  having  been  decided  on,  the  choice 
of  the  Qiieen  fell  on  a  personage  in  high  favor  with  the 
King,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Fonseca's.  He  was  grave 
and  courteous  in  his  manners,  and  fluent  in  speech.  He 
was  the  commmander  of  Lares,  and  his  name  was  Nicolas 
de  Ovando. 

The  splendid  fleet  appointed  to  convey  Ovando  to  his 
new  government,  consisted  of  thirty-two  sail.  The  director- 
general,  the  paymaster  Ximeno  de  Breviesca,  and  Gonsalvo 
Gomez  de  Cervantes,  by  extraordinary  activity,  managed  to 


CHAP,  viii.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  425 

have  the  ships  ready  to  sail  in  less  than  six  months.  If  Co- 
lumbus Avcre  a  man  that  could  be  governed  by  envy,  he 
could  not  without  displeasure,  and  even  suspicion,  behold 
this  warlike  machinery,  this  display  of  force  accorded  to  a 
temporary  governor.  The  superintendent  of  the  marine, 
who  had  formerly  refused  him  the  gratuitous  passage  of  a 
single  domestic,  now  found  no  difficulty  of  accommodating 
ten  mounted  body  guards,  and  twelve  foot  guards,  for  the 
new  governor,  who  also  had  vvitli  him  some  officers  of  high 
rank,  and  went  surrounded  with  pomp  which  the  Viceroy 
would  not  have  dared  to  think  of.  Evidently  the  tempo- 
rary governor  was  flavored  otherwise  than  was  the  governor 
who  had  a  perpetual  and  hereditary  title. 


SECTION  IV. 

But  suspicions  and  vulgar  jealousies  did  not  easily  find 
their  way  to  the  great  heart  of  Columbus,  While  the 
equipment  of  the  fleet  was  going  on,  he,  in  his  retreat,  occu- 
pied with  pra3er,  study,  and  the  meditation  of  heavenly 
truths,  lost  sight  of  the  intrigues  of  the  Court  and  the  jDctty 
agitations  of  the  world.  A  sublimer  ambition  engrossed  his 
thoughts.  It  was  not  enough  to  have  discovered  a  new 
continent  ;  it  remained  for  him  to  receive  the  reward  of  his 
labors. 

Human  glory  was  incapable  of  remunerating  him.  It 
was  from  the  INIost  High  that  he  expected  a  recompense. 
Columbus  hoped  that,  as  a  crowning  of  his  favors,  the 
Divine  Majesty  deigned  to  reserve  for  him  the  deliverance 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  hitherto  refused  to  the  eflbrts  of  the 
Crusaders. 

It  is  known  that  such  was  the  constant  desire  of  Colum- 
bus. Since  his  third  voyage,  by  which  he  had  so  much 
enlarged  the  known  space  of  the  earth,  he  longed  to  put  this 
heroic  project  in  execution.  Sometimes  with  his  friends, 
the  Franciscans    of    Granada,    sometimes   with   those   of 


426  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

Zubia,  where  he  spent  his  time  in  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  Summa  of  the  Angelical  Doctor,  in  reading  the 
masters  of  theology,  in  nourishing  his  spirit  with  the  de- 
lights of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  trying  to  discover  in 
apocalyptic  images  some  luminous  rays  that  would  throw 
light  on  the  question  of  the  Holy  Places,  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  to  them,  and  induce  them 
to  engage  in  the  glorious  enterprise  of  delivering  them. 

Sometimes,  in  the  intervals  of  his  researches,  the  contem- 
plator  of  the  Word,  electrified  with  the  poetry  of  Israel 
and  with  the  sublime  hymns  of  the  Church,  tried  also  to 
i"ender  into  verse  the  emotions  prompted  by  his  piety.  A 
poet  in  sentiment,  he  was  still  more  so  in  expression,  even 
in  the  language  of  his  adopted  country. 

The  religious  stanzas  of  Columbus,  unhappily,  are  lost. 
The  last  vestiges  of  them  are  found  in  the  sketch  of  his 
work  on  the  Prophecies,*  where  they  were  inserted  at  ran- 
dom. His  poetry,  like  Christian  genius,  is  grave  and 
solemn.  One  perceives  in  it  disenchantment  from  the 
world,  the  depths  of  faith,  and  the  logic  of  divine  things. 
His  longest  piece  has  for  subject,  "  The  End  of  Man." 
Columbus  develops  in  six  strophes,  each  commencing  with 
a  Latin  word,  this  Catholic  maxim  :  Mcniorare  iiovissijua 
tua  et  71071  peccabis  in  cetertium.  "  Remember  thy  last 
end  and  thou  wilt  never  sin."  These  six  strophes  bear  the 
stamp  of  the  grandeur  and  the  inflexibility  of  our  dogmas. 
In  them  are  found  those  profound  impressions,  that  longing 
desire  for  heaven,  and  that  horror  for  sin  which  are  so 
characteristic  of  holy  souls.  If,  in  a  language  become  tar- 
dily his,  and  which  he  began  to  lisp  only  towards  his 
forty-ninth  year,  Columbus  showed  himself  a  poet,  what 

*  Unfortunately  the  paraphrase  of  the  Memorare  novissima  tua  ; 
the  commencement  of  an  ode  on  the  birth  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
entitled,  "Gozos  del  nascimiento  de  S.  Juan  Bautista;"  a  stanza 
on  the  subject  of  Christian  duty;  and  here  and  there  some  detached 
verses  on  the  leaves  of  the  Libro  de  las  Profecias, — compose 
eolely  what  is  come  down  to  us  of  the  poetry  of  Columbus. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  427 

harmonious  effusions  would  he  not  have  uttered  in  the  idiom 
of  Dante  and  of  Tasso,  tlie  sweet  language  of  his  30uth? 

This  fact  of  poetic  inspiration  occurring  to  Cohmibus  in 
his  adversity  and  his  old  age,  ajjpears  to  us  worthy  of  re- 
mark. Some  great  geniuses  and  great  saints  also  composed 
poetical  pieces  in  their  last  years.  Youth  begins  with 
poetry,  and  old  age  returns  to  it  as  a  solace  and  a  conso- 
lation. But  this  return  to  poetry,  —  a  reflection  of  the 
eternal  youth  of  the  soul,  —  seems  to  be  the  exclusive 
recompense  of  an  age  which  has  become  gray  in  the  prac- 
tice of  virtue.  To  recall  here  only  one  example  :  a  little 
before  his  death  the  great  Bossuet  employed  himself  in 
translating  the  Psalms  of  David  into  French  verse.  At  a 
distance  of  two  centuries  these  two  sublime  characters 
experienced  the  same  desire,  and  sought  in  the  same  source 
for  its  gratification. 

For  nearly  seven  months,  in  concert  with  some  religious 
savants  well  versed  in  sacred  letters,  Columbus  carefully 
examined  the  Scriptures  and  the  ecclesiastical  authors,  in 
order  to  unite  the  several  texts,  and  point  out  the  interpre- 
tations that  had  reference  to  the  events  he  had  accomplished, 
as  well  as  tlic  passages  that  were  applicable  to  the  tomb  of 
the  Saviour.  At  length,  his  work  appearing  to  him  com- 
plete, on  tlie  thirteenth  of  September,  1501,  he  sent  a  copy 
of  it  to  a  learned  theologian  of  Seville,  Father  Gaspard 
Gorricio,  a  Carthusian,  to  be  examined,  and,  if  need  be, 
enriched  with  additions. 

This  precious  manuscript,  which  was  designed  for  the 
Sovereigns,  has  been  lost.  Its  rough  draft  formed  a  large 
handsome  octavo  volume  of  eighty -four  leaves,  with  the  title 
of  "'  A  Collection  of  Prophecies  on  the  Recovery  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  Discovery  of  the  Indies."  Humboldt  has  no  hesita- 
tion in  calling  this  production  "  the  sketch  of  the  extravagant 
work  of  the  Profccias."  He  has  even  disdainfully  called 
it  "his  pagan  and  biblical  Profccias."  *     The  higli  repute 

*  Examen  Critique,  etc.,  t.  i.,  p.  102. 


428  H  IS  TORT  OF  [book  m. 

of  his  name  has  caused  this  judgment  to  be  accepted,  which 
tends  to  depreciate  Columbus  in  the  esteem  of  erudite 
scholars.  We  cannot  acquiesce  in  this  sentence,  which  was 
passed  unjustly,  and  without  an  examination  of  the  frag- 
ments of  the  work  that  remain.  We  first  notice  two  points  : 
Humboldt  acknowledges  that  the  extravagant  work  is  only 
a  sketch,  or  rough  draft  ;  and  he  admits  that  several  re- 
ligious aided  Columbus  in  the  work. 

In  truth,  the  printed  fragment  of  tlie  "  extravagant 
work"  looked  over  by  Humboldt,  is  only  a  sketch,  a  kind 
of  rough  draft  traced  by  another  hand  than  tliat  of  Colum- 
bus. The  passages  collected,  and  the  authorities  diversely 
classed,  are  not  united  by  any  reasoning,  and  present  only  a 
simple  collection  of  materials.  Is  it  permissible  to  judge 
soundly  of  a  work  from  the  fragments  of  a  sketch,  or  a 
rough  draft  abridged  by  a  mutilation  of  fourteen  pages  .^ 
The  learned  religious  who  aided  Columbus  in  his  book,  did 
not  consider  it  "  an  extravagant  v/ork."  The  erudite  Car- 
thusian of  Seville  had  this  work  in  its  entireness,  that  is 
to  say,  completed  by  fourteen  pages,  which  a  criminal 
hand  afterwards  retrenched  from  the  sketch,  —  the  only 
copy  that  has  come  down  to  us.  These  fourteen  pages 
must  have  formed  the  most  important  part  of  this  work  ; 
Munos,  and  Navarrete  agree  in  this  opinion.  It  was  be- 
cause he  possessed  this  manuscript  whole  and  entire  that 
Father  Gaspard  Gorricio  conceived  a  very  different  opinion 
of  it  from  that  of  Humboldt. 

The  learned  Carthusian  addressed  several  letters  to  Co- 
lumbus on  the  subject.  As  soon  as  he  received  and  read 
the  manuscript,  he  wrote  to  him  that  he  would  endeavor 
to  comply  with  his  desire,  and  that  the  more  so  because 
he  hoped  to  profit  by  it,  and  whet  his  intellect  with  an 
occupation  so  useful,  so  consoling,  so  instructive,  so  condu- 
cive to  the  service  of  God,  and  so  promotive  of  the  good,  as 
well  as  the  honor  of  Spain  and  of  the  whole  Christian 
world.  After  having  thoroughly  examined  the  work,  he 
declares   that   he    can  add    to  it   but  very   little,   because 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  429 

Columbus  had  already  collected  the  cream  of  all  the  author- 
ities, sentences,  words  and  prophecies  in  the  Holy  ScrijD- 
tures,  and  in  the  commentators.  He  found  that  what  was 
left  to  him  to  glean  was  meagre.  Nevertheless,  with 
fervor  and  interior  consolation  he  gave  himself  to  his  task. 
Elevating  himself  to  the  generous  views  of  the  contempla- 
tor  of  Creation,  Father  Gaspard  Gorricio  prayed  to  the 
Almighty  to  enlighten  him  in  his  researches,  in  order  that 
he  may  respond  to  the  "holy  desires"*  of  His  Excellency 
the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies. 

The  work  of  Columbus  on  the  Prophecies  having  for  sole 
object  the  deliverance  of  the  holy  places,  the  Admiral  does 
not  insist  on  the  advantages  of  this  conquest.  The  two 
Sovereigns  knew  his  project.  He  had  apprised  them  of  it 
before  his  first  expedition,  had  again  spoken  to  them  about 
it  on  his  return  from  his  second  voyage,  and  returned  to  it 
before  he  went  to  discover  the  new  continent  ;  consequently 
he  deduces  no  motive  of  the  kind  from  it.  But,  as  he 
founded  his  views  on  the  authority  of  the  Sacred  Writings 
to  accredit  the  exclusively  religious  aim  of  the  proposed 
expedition,  he  first  lays  down,  as  an  introduction  to  his 
work,  certain  principles  for  a  sound  interpretation,  drawn 
from  St.  Augustine,  St.  Thomas,  St.  Isidore,  and  Gerson. 
Then  entering  on  his  subject,  he  recalls  to  mind  the  mai'vel- 
lous  manner  in  which  he  was  chosen  to  accomplish  several 
expressions  of  the  prophets,  and  especially  those  of  Isaias, 
relative  to  the  nations  on  the  confines  of  the  globe. 

Notwithstanding  the  number  of  his  enemies,  who  watched 
every  opportunity  to  ruin  him,  and  the  vigilance  of  the 
Inquisition,  then  so  watchful  to  repress  every  expression  in 
the  least  doubtful  as  regarded  Catholic  orthodoxy,  Columbus 
writes  without  guile  that  the  !Most  Holy  Trinity  inspired 
him  with  the  first  idea  of  his  enterprise  ;  that  it  was  the 
Redeemer,  that  is  to  say,  the  Word  made  flesh,  who  indi- 
cated to   him  the  i-oute  ;  that  our  Lord,  showing  himself 

*  Respuesta  del  P.  D.  Frey  Caspar  Gorricio. 


430  HIS  TORT  OF  [book  in. 

propitious  to  his  desire,  had  accorded  to  him  the  spirit  of 
understanding,  and  that  He  had  afterwards  opened  his  intel- 
ligence in  a  manner  almost  palpable,  giving  him  the  neces- 
sary force  for  the  execution  of  his  project.*  He  states  that, 
in  his  Discovery,  the  sciences  and  mathematics  were  of  but 
little  use  to  him,  and  that  it  was  from  God  alone  he  received 
the  idea,  as  well  as  the  resolution,  which  were  crowned  with 
success. 

Assuredly,  if  we  be  disengaged  from  every  prejudice,  we 
will  find  neither  exaggerations  nor  "extravagances"  in  this 
work  on  the  prophecies.  For  our  own  part,  we  admire  its 
erudition,  its  loftiness  of  view,  and  its  clearness  of  reason- 
ing. As  to  his  accomplishment  of  the  prophecies,  Colum- 
bus only  asserts  a  foct  that  was  already  declared  such  six 
years  before  by  the  noble  lapidary  of  Burgos,  Jaime  Ferrer, 
and  since  then  admitted  by  Christian  philosophers,  bishops, 
and  princes  of  the  Church  of  eminent  merit. 

The  servant  of  God,  seeking  to  penetrate  into  all  the 
secrets  of  our  globe,  and  measuring  the  zeal  of  others  by 
his  own,  hoped,  now  that  he  had  brought  distant  countries 
in  communication  with  each  other,  that  the  name  of  the 
Saviour  would  be  speedily  boi'ne  throughout  the  whole 
earth.  In  the  ardor  of  his  faith,  he  fearlessly  deduced  from 
this  evangelical  result  that  all  nations  would  soon  be  con- 
verted to  Christ,  and  that  all  peoples  being  once  ranged 
under  the  same  law  and  the  same  Chief  Pastor,  the  end  of 
the  world  would  not  be  very  distant. 

The  accomplishment  of  the  prophecies,  and  the  infalli- 
bility of  the  word  of  God,  are  the  bases  of  his  induction  : 
our  Lord  has  said,  "  that  before  the  consummation  of  the 
world,  all  that  was  written  by  the  prophets  should  be  ful- 
filled." From  these  words,  by  a  series  of  reasonings  which 
a  mutilation  of  fourteen  pages  prevents  us  from  fully  appre- 
ciating, he  concludes  the  necessity  of  speedily  delivering 

*  Libra  de  las  Profecias. 


CHAP,  viii.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  431 

the  Holy  Sepulchre,  —  not  to  give  Spain  a  political  advan- 
tage, but  to  make  a  gift  of  it  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

What  the  disciple  of  the  Word  ardently  desired,  was  the 
deliverance  fiom  the  yoke  of  the  infidels  of  the  land  of  mir- 
acles, to  unite  Jerusalem  with  Rome,  and  to  give  the  tomb 
of  the  Saviour  to  the  successor  of  the  prince  of  the  apos- 
tles. Thus  Palestine  would  have  appertained  to  the  Holy 
.see,  according  to  the  natural  bond  which  unites  the  old 
Jerusalem  to  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  same  as  the  Old  Testa- 
ment to  the  New  Testament.  The  Holy  Places  would  have 
been  added  to  the  domain  of  St.  Peter,  as  an  appanage  of 
his  right  of  apostolical  primogeniture.  The  question  of  the 
Holy  Places,  that  gordian  knot  of  the  religious  interests  of 
the  future,  would  have  been  untied  by  the  gold  of  the  new 
world,  or  severed  by  the  sword  of  its  discoverer,  and  would 
not  now  have  served  as  a  pretext  to  the  ambition  of  Greek 
and  Russian  schismatics,  who  pretend  to  be  the  orthodox 
church. 

Columbus  thought  that,  with  the  income  from  his  dues  of 
tenth  and  eighth,  he  could  undertake  this  enterprise.  On 
two  occasions  he  made  in  his  budget  calculations  of  raising 
an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  infantry  and  ten  thousand 
cavalry.*  At  the  time  when  he  was  making  this  pious  cal- 
culation, he  was  not  receiving  of  his  revenues  enough  to  buy 
a  cloak  with.  The  two  thousand  ducats  the  Qiicen  ordered 
to  be  paid  him  in  Cadiz  were  used  in  the  concerns  of  his 
house,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  house  of  the  Adelantado. 
It  was  necessary  for  him  to  sustain  in  Cordova  the  modest 
establishment  of  his  wife,  and  also  to  provide  for  his  brother 
Diego,  who  was  inclined  to  separate  altogether  from  the 
world.  In  his  double  quality  of  Viceroy  and  Grand  Ad- 
miral, he  was  obliged  to  maintain  a  kind  of  state,  and  had 
to  keep  a  certain  number  of  ofiicers  and  of  domestics. 
After  more  than  a  year's  stay  in  Spain,  his  resources  had 
become  exhausted. 

•  Carta  del  Almirantc  Colon  a  su  SantiduJ. 


432  HISTORY  OF  [book  in. 

Still,  when  we  remember  the  strict  principles  of  order 
and  domestic  economy  which  the  Admiral  always  exhib- 
ited, we  cannot  easily  conceive,  even  allowing  for  his 
exceptional  expenses,  how  he  could  be  thus  reduced  to 
destitution.  We  cannot  doubt  that  his  liberality  to  hospi- 
tals, and  his  charity  to  the  poor,  —  those  friends  of  God,  — 
materially  contributed  to  his  pecuniary  embarrassments. 
In  all  probability,  counting  on  his  revenues  then  due,  and 
which  ought  to  amount  to  eight  thousand  ducats,  he  must 
have  discharged  a  debt  of  gratitude  as  well  as  of  piety,  in 
refunding  to  the  Franciscan  community  of  Granada  what 
he  had  formerly  received  at  La  Rabida. 

But,  as  he  did  not  receive  that  year  the  sums  that  were 
due  him  from  Hispaniola,  and  that  a  first  remittance  of  four 
thousand  ducats  did  not  come  until  the  second  of  August, 
1503,  he  was  without  available  funds.  He  who  had  given 
Castile  lands  a  hundred  times  larger  than  herself,  was  with- 
out a  foot  of  earth,  a  garden  to  walk  in,  or  a  roof  to  shelter 
his  head.  He  was  reduced  to  live  in  a  hotel,  and  was 
often  without  the  means  of  paying  his  bill.  But  a  thing 
Otherwise  painful  to  his  charity  was  his  not  having  a  small 
piece  of  money  to  give  as  an  offering  when  he  was  at 
church.  It  was  his  not  having  anything  to  offer  to  the 
Church  and  to  the  poor,  that  made  him  most  regret  his  des- 
titution. Columbus  does  not  speak  of  this  drawback  which 
tends  to  diminish  the  becoming  splendor  of  his  rank,  and 
to  lower  the  dignity  of  his  titles.  To  him,  poverty  is  not 
painful  but  so  far  as  it  injures  the  poor,  whom  he  cannot 
assist. 

The  discredit  cast  on  the  colony  prevented  the  Admiral 
from  receiving  any  advances.  His  embarrassment,  his 
want  of  pecuniary  credit,  and  the  unfriendliness  of  the 
government,  were  notorious,  and  became  known  abroad. 
A  letter  of  the  secretary  of  the  Venetian  embassy  in  Spain, 
in  which  Angelo  Trivigiano  boasts  of  his  having  become 
the  "  great  friend  "  of  Columbus,  shows  at  the  same  time 
his  embarrassment,  and  his  inexhaustible  bounty. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  433 

The  grandees,  who  take  as  the  guide  of  their  conduct  the 
favor  of  the  Court,  abandoned  the  old  navigator.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Franciscans  and  some  learned  foreign- 
ers, no  visitors  came  to  trouble  the  solitude  of  the  fallen 
Vicerov.  He  now  saw  that  he  who  devotes  himself  to  the 
interests  of  all,  obtains  no  individual  gratitude.  Light- 
ened from  the  burden  of  an  administration,  he  with  more 
freedom  raised  his.  thoughts  to  God.  Sublime  transports 
more  frequently  elevated  his  soul  into  the  inscrutable  heights 
of  celestial  converse.  The  contemplatcr  of  the  Word 
found  in  his  forced  leisure  some  consoling  compensations. 
The  ingratitude  of  the  King,  and  the  injustice  of  public 
opinion,  served  only  to  detach  Columbus  more  and  more 
from  temporal  concerns,  and  led  him,  like  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  the  happy  admirer  of  the  invisible  —  St.  Paul 
—  to  live  in  Christ  only,  and  to  wish  to  possess  no  other 
science  but  Jesus,  and  Him  crucified. 
37 


434 


HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 


CHAPTER     IX. 

The  real  Motives  of  Columbus  for  undertaking  the  Fourth  Voyage. 
—  Before  his  Departure  he  indicates,  in  an  unfinished  Chart  to 
the  Queen,  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  —  Don  Bartholomew  accom- 
panies him  through  Affection  alone.  —  Columbus  writes  to  the 
Holy  Father,  and  informs  him  of  his  Project  to  deliver  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  —  His  Precautions  against  the  Enmity  of  Ferdinand. 

SECTION  I. 

FAR  from  seeking  repose  from  the  fatigues  of  a  sea- 
faring life,  and  from  struggles  against  the  wickedness 
of  men,  Columbus,  tired  of  a  state  of  inaction,  which  would 
not  turn  to  the  advantage  of  Catholicity,  proposed  to  the 
Qiieen  to  pursue  his  discoveries  without  delay. 

Modern  historians,  judging  by  humanitarian  principles 
the  motives  of  this  exemplary  Christian,  have  attributed  his 
proposition  to  the  fear  of  being  forestalled  by  petty  rivals  — 
by  men  who  had  ventured  in  his  traces,  and  had  already 
acquired  some  celebrity.  It  is  by  envy,  by  maritime  emu- 
lation, and  by  ambition  alone,  that  they  explain  the  zeal, 
the  ardor  of  which  urged  him,  in  spite  of  his  advanced  age 
and  infirmities,  to  search,  attentively,  the  terrestrial  space 
which  still  had  remained  unexplored. 

Here  there  is  a  complete  mistake  ;  an  interpretation 
different  from  the  reality.  But  it  is  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  prejudices  these  writers  entertain  in  regard  to  a 
man  who  was  a  model  of  disinterestedness  and  of  faith. 
We  can  state  positively  that  Columbus  then,  and  for  some 
time  before,  was  under  no  illusion  in  regard  to  the  Court, 
and  that  he  no  longer  expected  either  favors  or  riches  from 
it.  It  was  solely  to  glorify  the  Redeemer,  to  bear  the 
standard  of  the  Cross  to  the  rest  of  the  earth,  and  thus  to 
complete  the  work  of  his  discoveries,  that  he  wished  to 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  43c 

enter  again  on  the  task  he  proposed  to  himself.  During  his 
voyage,  he  wrote  to  the  Sovereigns  :  "  I  have  not  made  this 
vo}tige  in  order  to  obtain  honor  or  fortune  ;  this  is  cer- 
tain, as  every  hope  in  regard  to  this  matter  had  aheady 
vanished  before  my  departure."  * 

Having  found  the  New  World,  he  thought  that  the  first 
object  of  his  mission  being  attained,  it  remained  for  him  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  globe  and  redeem  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 
in  order  that,  after  having  shown  the  emblem  of  salvation 
to  peoples  until  then  unknown,  they  could  freely  bring  their 
adorations  to  the  tomb  of  the  Saviour.  He  desired,  before 
dying,  to  open  the  route  for  them. 

A  secret  attraction  united  itself  to  his  religious  fervor,  to 
urge  him  to  this  voyage  :  it  was  the  happiness  of  contem- 
plating the  unknown  parts  of  the  earth.  The  frosts  of  age 
had  by  no  means  cooled  down  the  ardor  of  his  enthusiasm 
for  the  works  of  nature.  Columbus  could  never  get  tired 
of  admiring  the  creation,  and  raising  his  soul  to  the  Creator. 
No  man  in  the  world  had  seen  such  an  extent  of  ocean  and 
shore  as  he  had.  The  more  he  saw,  the  larger  became  his 
notions  of  the  magnificences  of  the  Word,  and  the  more 
complete  the  grandeur  of  his  impressions. 

A  marvellous  circumstance  !  In  the  midst  of  the  won- 
ders of  the  Alhambra,  a  sudden  mental  illumination  showed 
Columbus,  across  space  and  the  unknown,  an  image  of 
the  globe,  and  indicated  to  him,  between  the  two  grand 
divisions  of  the  new  continent,  a  narrow  space,  which 
should  serve  as  a  point  of  communication  between  these 
immense  regions  ;  only,  in  this  mysterious  intuition,  he 
took  an  isthmus  for  a  strait.  He  spoke  of  a  strait  of  the 
sea  while  it  was  only  one  of  land  that  existed,  and  showed 
Isabella,  on  an  incomplete  chart  of  the  unexplored  world, 
the  point  where  this  strait  ought  to  be  found,  and  by  which 
one  could  go  to  Asia.  He  pointed  it  out  with  an  astonishing 
precision.    Washington  Irving  acknowledges  he  conjectured 

*  Letter  of  Columbus  to  the  Catholic  Sovereigns,  written  from 
Jamaica  the  seventh  of  July,  1503. 


436  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

that  this  strait  was  situated  about  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,* 
and,  in  fact,  it  is  there  the  hind  strait  is  placed  which  unites 
the  two  gi-eat  divisions  of  the  new  continent. 

The  Queen  having  approved  of  the  design,  Columbus  set 
about  the  preparations  for  his  expedition.  He  asked  for 
permission  to  take  with  him  his  second  son,  Don  Fernando, 
who  was  a  page  to  the  Queen,  and  happily  endowed,  and 
whose  society  would,  in  some  measure,  make  up  for  the 
separation  from  his  family  which  his  mission  imposed  on 
him.  Always  considerate  and  maternal  in  her  bounties, 
the  Queen  acceded  to  his  desire,  and  accorded  the  pay  of  a 
naval  officer  to  young  Fernando. 

The  Admiral  afterwards  repaired  to  Seville,  to  give  or- 
ders about  his  voyage.  While  confiding  himself,  without 
reserve,  to  the  care  of  Providence,  he  did  not  omit  the  pre- 
cautions that  human  prudence  dictated.  He  engaged  the 
Adelantado  to  accompany  him  in  this  voyage.  This  val- 
orous mariner,  undeceived  in  regard  to  the  Court  of  Castile, 
and  attaining  the  age  when  repose  is  a  compensation  for 
advancing  years,  did  not  participate  in  the  Catholic  enthu- 
siasm of  the  Admiral,  and  was  but  little  disposed  to  expose 
himself  to  the  perils  of  an  expedition  of  this  kind.  Never- 
theless, seeing  the  advanced  age  and  physical  infirmities  of 
his  brother,  which  the  energy  of  his  will  prevented  him 
from  feeling  ;  remembering  the  state  he  was  in  on  his 
return  from  his  two  last  voyages  of  discovery  ;  and  con- 
sidering that  his  presence  would  be  absolutely  necessary 
for  him,  Don  Bartholomew  sacrificed  anew  to  fraternal 
love  his  personal  feelings,  his  need  of  repose,  and  his  reso- 
lution of  never  again  serving  a  government  that  was  so 
ungrateful:  so  he  consented  to  embark  with  the  Admiral. 

As  to  Don  Diego,  the  other  brother  of  the  Admiral,  the 
crying  injustice  committed  towards  the  Viceroy,  and  his 
experience  of  the  wickedness  of  men,  appear  to  have  fixed 
him  in  his  vocation.     He  resolved  to  quit  the  Court  and  the 

*  History  of  Christoj>her  Columbus  and  His  Voyages,  B.  xi  v.,  c.  v. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  437 

world,  —  to  serve,  in  future,  only  the  Church,  He  embraced 
the  ecclesiastical  state,  the  lite  of  which  he  already  led  amid 
the  cares  of  government. 

SECTION  II. 

Since  the  death  of  his  countryman,  Pope  Innocent  VIII., 
Columbus  had  not  yet  entered  into  correspondence  with  his 
successor  in  the  See  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles.  In 
departing  on  this  voyage,  which  ought  to  be  the  comple- 
tion of  his  expeditions,  the  Herald  of  the  Cross  wrote  to 
the  Chief  of  the  Church,  to  render  him  an  account  of  his 
silence,  of  his  actions,  and  of  his  intentions,  and  to  invoke 
his  protecting  cooperation. 

From  the  noble  and  familiar  style  of  this  letter,  one 
would  say  that  an  august  relationship  attached  the  mission 
of  Columbus  to  the  destinies  of  Catholicity.  One  notices 
in  it  the  confidence  of  a  son  who  speaks  to  his  father. 
Though  a  laic,  a  married  man,  and  the  fiither  of  a  family, 
Columbus  asks,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  without  mention- 
ing his  titles,  for  a  delegation  of  spiritual  authority, — just 
as  a  veritable  legate  of  the  Holy  See  would  have  done. 
He  prays  the  Supreme  Pontiff'  to  issue  a  Brief,  prescribing 
to  the  heads  of  all  the  religious  Orders  to  let  him  choose 
in  their  convents  six  religious  to  make  Apostolic  mission- 
aries of  them,  and  whom  he  reserved  to  himself  the  right 
of  nominating,  directly  or  by  his  agent,  and  to  the  departure 
of  whom  no  ecclesiastical  or  secular  power  could  oppose 
itself.  He  wishes  that,  at  their  return  to  their  convents, 
these  religious  should  be  received  there,  and  treated  as  if 
they  had  not  left  them,  and  even  with  more  favor,  if  their 
works  should  merit  it.  He  asks  for  some  coopcrators,  be- 
cause he  hopes,  in  our  Blessed  Lord,  that  he  will  be  able 
to  proclaim  His  holy  Name,  and  His  Gospel,  in  the  \vhole 
universe.* 


*  Carta  del  Almirante  Colon  a  su  Saittidad ;  Colcccion  Diplomat. 
Docum.,  num.  cxLV. 
37* 


438  HISTORY  OF  [book  hi. 

Not  being  able,  from  its  length,  to  give  the  whole  letter 
here,  we  abridge  its  contents. 

Columbus  says,  first,  that  when  he  departed  on  his  first 
voyage  of  discovery  he  had  formed  the  resolution  of  coming 
personally,  on  his  return,  to  bring  to  his  Holiness  an 
account  of  that  expedition  ;  but  that  the  pretensions  of 
Portugal  obliged  him  to  go  in  all  haste  on  his  second  voy- 
age, and  that  thus  he  was  not  able  to  effect  his  resolution. 
He  speaks  also  of  his  third  voyage  towards  the  south-west, 
in  which  he  found  immense  lands,  and  sea-water  which 
was  quite  fresh. 

He  says  that  his  heart  will  abound  with  joy  and  delecta- 
tion w^îen,  at  last,  he  will  be  able  to  come  to  his  Holiness 
with  the  whole  history  of  his  discoveries,  which  he  has 
expressly  written  for  him  in  the  form  and  manner  of  the 
Commentaries  of  Caesar,  —  from  the  first  moment  to  the 
present  day,  when  he  feels  disposed  to  make,  in  the  name 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  a  new  voyage,  which  will  be  for  its 
glory  and  the  honor  of  the  holy  Christian  religion.  The 
Herald  of  the  Cross  declares  to  the  Holy  Father  that  the 
very  object  of  his  toils  is  a  recreation  to  him  ;  and  such,  that 
he  fears  no  dangers,  and  is  disposed  to  regard  as  nothing 
the  labors  and  the  divers  kinds  of  deaths  with  which  he  is 
menaced,  without  the  world  having  returned  him  the  least 
gratitude.  He  has  entered  on  his  enterprise  with  the  inten- 
tion of  employing  the  revenues  which  would  result  to  him 
from  it,  in  restoring  the  Holy  Sepulchre  to  the  Church. 
He  recalls  the  fact  that,  after  his  arrival  in  the  new  region, 
he  wrote  to  the  King  and  the  Qiieen  that,  before  seven 
years,  he  would  raise  fifty  thousand  infixntry  and  five  thou- 
sand cavalry  ;  and  in  five  years  would  double  the  number, 
and  thus  would  have  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  foot 
and  ten  thousand  horse.  Our  Lord  had  palpably  given  him 
the  proof  that  the  funds  could  accrue  from  his  revenues  ; 
but  that  Satan  put  all  his  efforts  in  play,  so  that  at  that 
time  nothing  could  be  realized.  The  government  was 
violently  taken  from  him.     Behind  all  these  iniquities,  he 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


439 


saw  a  manœuvre  of  tlie  eternal  enemy,  who  was  afraid  that 
so  pious  a  design  should  be  accomplished. 

The  rough  sketcli  which  we  possess  of  this  letter,  dictiited 
by  the  Admiral  to  his  young  son  Fernando,  remains  unfin- 
ished ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  terminated, 
and  that  it  made  part  of  the  package  which  he  had  charged 
Francisco  dc  Rivarol  to  send  to  Rome.  We  have  implicit 
proofs  of  this  circumstance. 

Looking  from  afar  towards  his  departure,  Columbus 
drew  up  a  memorandum  for  his  son  Diego,  in  which  he 
sets  forth  his  rights  and  titles,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  may  be  maintained.  This  precaution  evinces  his  fears. 
The  unfriendly  disposition  of  the  King  was  known  to  him. 
Fearing  that  in  his  absence,  or  after  his  death,  which  may 
take  place  in  some  distant  region,  open  spoliation  would  be 
superadded  to  the  violences  already  committed  against  him, 
and  that  he  would  be  robbed  of  the  papers  and  parchments 
containing  his  titles  and  privileges,  he  intrusted  them  to  his 
faithful  friends,  the  religious,  and  jxit  them  for  safe  keep- 
ing in  their  convents. 

While  resorting  to  these  measures  of  prudence,  he  did 
not  the  less  omit  writing  to  the  Sovereigns,  recommending 
to  them  his  children  and  his  brothers,  in  case  he  should 
succumb  during  this  voyage.  His  letter  betrays  his  un- 
easiness. Isabella,  who  was  then  in  Valencia  de  la  Torre, 
to  quiet  his  anxiety,  wrote  him  a  letter,  signed  by  the  two 
monarchs,  and  couched  in  extraordinary  terms  of  deference 
and  consideration.  The  Sovereigns  remind  him  of  the 
grief  they  experienced  at  his  incarceration,  as  eveiybody 
knew;  they  promise  to  do  much  more  for  him  than  have 
been  specified  in  his  privileges  ;  and  reiterate  the  assurance 
that,  after  his  death,  they  will  put  his  eldest  son,  Don 
Diego,  in  possession  of  his  titles,  oflices,  and  dignities. 

Notwithstanding  these  royal  promises,  Columbus  con- 
tiiuicd  taking  his  measures  to  guard  against  the  ill-will  of 
the  Court.  He  intrusted  to  the  jurisconsult,  Xicplo  Odcrigo, 
ambassador  from  the   Republic  of  Genoa,  a  copy  of  his 


440  HISTORY,  ETC.  [book  in.  ch.  ix. 

Privileges,  which  he  kept  in  a  chest  at  the  convent  of  the 
Carthusians,  in  Seville.  Not  only  did  he  intrust  Oderigo 
with  copies  of  all  his  titles,  but  he  also  confided  to  his  care 
the  letter  of  the  fourteenth  of  March,  he  had  just  received. 
Francisco  de  Rivarol  was  charged  with  the  task  of  for- 
warding^  them.  Columbus  requested  his  countryman  to 
apprise,  secretly,  his  son  Don  Diego  of  the  place  in  which 
he  would  have  deposited  them. 

Fearing  his  enemies  would  make  soine  attempts  on  every- 
thing that  pertained  to  his  name,  his  rights,  and  his  honors, 
he  deposited  with  the  Franciscans  and  the  Hieronymites 
duplicate  copies  of  his  treaties  with  the  Sovereigns.  Hav- 
ing done  this,  he  occupied  himself  unremittingly  with  the 
preparations  for  his  voyage. 

As  in  the  days  of  his  poetic  youth,  thrilling  with  hope, 
and  unshakable  in  his  resolution,  Columbus  again  takes  to 
the  sea.  He  no  longer  goes  in  order  to  serve  a  king  whose 
ingratitude  and  secret  hostility  are  but  too  well  known  to 
him,  but  sacrificing  himself  in  advance  for  the  good  of 
the  whole  human  race.  It  was  only  by  works  still  more 
prodigious  than  those  he  had  already  effected  that  he  hoped 
to  be  able  to  break  through  the  obstacles  raised  by  the 
Court,  and  attain  to  his  definite  object,  —  the  deliverance 
of  the  Holy  Tomb.  Ten-a  Jîrma  being  now  discovered, 
it  seemed  to  him  that,  if  he  should  be  able  to  pass  the  strait 
which  must  exist  towards  the  middle  of  the  nevv  continent, 
nothing  more  could  prevent  him  from  circumnavigating  the 
globe,  and  that  he  could  return  to  Spain  by  Asia  and  the 
African  coast.  For  this  vovage  of  discovery,  he  counted 
on  the  providential  assistance  which  had  always  sustained 
him  in  tlie  most  critical  moments  ;  and  it  was  with  the 
ardor  of  youth  that,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age, 
Columbus  launched  into  the  regions  of  the  unknown,  the 
veil  of  which  he  hoped  this  time  to  remove  completely. 


Book    IV. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Columbus  departs  with  four  Ships.  —  He  succors  the  Portuguese 
Fortress  of  Arcilla,  besieged  by  the  Moors.  —  The  Go%-crnor  of 
Hispaniola  opposes  his  entrance  into  the  Port.  —  Columbus  pre- 
dicts a  violent  Tempest,  and  begs  the  Governor  to  delay  the  Fleet 
that  was  about  to  sail  for  Spain.  — His  prediction  is  sneered  at, 
but  the  Tempest  comes  and  the  Fleet  perishes.  — Judgment  of 
God  visible.  —  Columbus,  with  his  Ships,  preserved. 


SECTION  I. 

OBLIGED  to  condense  into  one  volume  the  history 
of  this  wonderful  man,  we  have  to  abridge  the  recital 
of  the  principal  events  of  his  life,  and  omit  every  incident 
in  which  he  is  not  personally  concerned.  For  this  reason 
we  are  obliged  to  sacrifice  the  graces  of  style  to  brevity. 
But  we  will  accept  without  a  murmur  the  charges  of  dry- 
ness and  of  meagreness  which  will  be  made  against  us, 
provided  we  can,  nothwithstanding  the  narrowness  of  our 
limits,  reproduce  at  least  the  principal  features  of  this 
extraordinary  character. 

The  fourth  expedition  of  Columbus  has  been  the  least 
noticed  of  all  his  voyages,  though,  in  his  own  estimation,  it 
was  the  noblest  and  the  most  advantageous.  Several 
writers  have  been,  in  fact,  ignorant  of  it  altogether. 

At  the  present  day,  to  recompose  in  its  reality  the  recital 
of  this   prodigious   enterprise,   independently   of  the   testi- 

(440 


^3  HISTORY  OF  [book  it. 

mony  of  Spanish  historians,  we  possess  four  cotemporary 
naiTations  that  were  written  by  eye-witnesses,  and  persons 
who  were  among  the  principal  actors  in  this  memorable 
voyage.  These  are,  first,  the  Relation  of  the  Admiral,  ad- 
dressed in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  ; 
next,  the  History  written  by  Fernando  Columbus,  partly 
from  memory  and  partly  from  the  notes  of  his  û^ther  ;  then, 
the  Summary  of  its  dramatic  incidents,  made  by  Diego 
Mendez  ;  and,  lastly,  the  Notes  and  the  Journal  of  the 
Notary-Royal,  Diego  de  Porras,  an  enemy  of  Columbus. 

No  other  maritime  expedition  of  that  period  furnishes  so 
many  minute  circumstances,  or  presents  history  with  such 
vouchers  for  its  veracity. 

SECTION  IL 

After  meeting  with  the  usual  opposition  from  the  Bureaus 
of  Seville,  Columbus  at  length  succeeded  in  getting  ready 
a  little  squadron  of  four  caravels,  the  smallest  of  which  was 
of  only  fifty  tons  burthen,  and  the  largest  seventy.  They 
were  named  the  Capita7ia^  commanded  by  Diego  Tristan, 
on  board  of  which  the  Admiral  took  his  place  ;  the  St. 
Jamcs^  commanded  by  one  of  the  Porras  ;  the  Galician^ 
commanded  by  Pedro  de  Torreros  ;  and  the  Biscayian^ 
commanded  by  Berthelemy  Fieschi. 

With  the  exception  of  the  two  brothers,  Francisco  and 
Diego  de  Porras,  whom  he  accepted  solely  to  please  Mo- 
rales, the  Treasurer-Royal,  his  other  officers  he  chose  from 
among  men  who  were  proper  for  such  an  enterprise,  and 
the  greater  part  of  whom  had  been  schooled  in  his  former 
voyages.  Among  this  number,  however,  we  are  not  to 
count  the  physician  forced  on  him  by  the  Bureaus  of  Seville, 
— a  certain  charlatan  who  was  formerly  an  apothecary  in 
Valencia,  named  Bernai,  —  a  perverted  character,  whose 
attentions  were  dreaded  by  the  sick,  and  who,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  Admiral,  deserved  to  be  many  times  hanged  and 
quartered,  if  justice  were  rendered  to  his  deeds. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  443 

Without  counting  the  officers  of  his  househukl  and  his 
four  interpreters,  the  Admiral  took  with  liim,  in  these  four 
little  vessels,  a  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Each  caravel  was 
furnished  with  provision  for  two  years.  It  was  with  this 
little  armament  that  he  undertook  to  circumnavigate  the 
globe,  to  defend  himself  against  every  aggression  from  un- 
known peoples,  among  whom  he  would  probably  be 
obliged  to  get  fresli  supplies  of  provision,  and  repair  dam- 
ages done  to  his  ships. 

The  squadron,  wdien  ready  to  sail,  was  detained  in  the 
Bay  of  Cadiz  b}-  south  winds.  During  this  forced  stay,  a 
boat,  which  was  driven  by  the  contrary  winds  on  the  coast, 
brought  information  that  the  Moors  were  blockading  the 
Portuguese  fortress  of  Arcilla,  on  the  side  of  Maroc.  Im- 
mediately on  hearing  this,  the  Admiral,  a  true  Knight  of 
the  Cross,  not  caring  for  the  adverse  winds,  set  sail  for  that 
port  and  arrived  there  speedily. 

"  The  sight  of  the  Spanish  vessels  sufficed  to  put  the  Moors 
to  flight,  who  had,  besides,  encountered  a  vigorous  defence. 
The  Governor  of  the  place,  while  gallantly  defending  the 
ramparts,  received  a  wound.  The  Admiral  sent  his  son, 
his  brother,  and  the  captains  of  the  caravels  to  wait  upon 
him,  with  expressions  of  friendship  and  civility,  and  oflers 
of  the  service  of  the  squadron.  The  Governor  received  the 
deputation  with  marks  of  the  highest  regard,  lavished  ca- 
resses on  young  Fernando,  and  sent  his  chief  officers  to  wait 
on  the  Grand  Admiral  in  return,  some  of  whom  had  the 
honor  of  being  connections  of  his  by  their  relationship  to  his 
first  wife,  Doiia  Felippa  Moùi  de  Perestrello. 

Columbus  continued  his  voyage  the  same  day.  As  if  he 
had  received  a  return  for  his  zeal,  the  wind  became  favor- 
able. "  The  Lord  afterwards  gave  mc  such  ausjDicious 
weather  that  I  came  here  in  four  days,"  he  says,  writing  to 
Father  Gorricio  from  Great  Canary,  where  he  stopped  to 
take  in  wood,  water,  etc.  In  this  letter  he  says  he  goes  on 
this  voyage  in  the  name  of  the    Blessed  Trinity,  and  that  it 


444  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

is  thus  he  hopes  for  the  victory.*  This  militant  expression 
discloses  his  only  wish.  Christopher  Columbus  saw  at  the 
bottom  of  all  the  contrarieties  that  had  retarded  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  work,  the  conflict  of  the  spirit  of  the  world 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Church,  of  which  he  was  the  champion. 
His  life  was  a  continual  warfare  against  the  prince  of  this 
world,  and  he  hoped  to  triumph  over  him  at  last.  He  ter- 
minates his  letter  by  recommending  himself  to  the  prayers 
of  the  Father  Prior,  and  of  the  whole  saintly  community. 

On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  Columbus 
took  his  departure  for  the  New  World.  The  winds  were 
so  favorable  that  in  sixteen  days  the  little  squadron  reached 
the  group  of  Caribbee  islands.  They  touched  at  St.  Lucy, 
whence  they  sailed  for  Martinique,  and  afterwards  to  the 
island  of  St.  John,  now  called  Porto  Rico. 

From  the  latter  island,  Columbus  directed  his  course  to 
San  Domingo,  in  order  to  deliver  there  the  letters  with 
which  he  was  charged,  and  to  exchange  the  Galician  for 
one  of  the  fleet  which  he  knew  would  be  returning  to  Spain, 
under  the  command  of  Antonio  de  Torres  ;  because,  not- 
withstanding the  fine  weather,  he  had  seen  the  defects  of 
the  Galician.  She  sailed  very  badly,  could  not  carry  any 
canvas,  and  delayed  the  other  caravels. 

The  twenty-ninth  of  June,  the  squadron  having  arrived 
before  the  port  of  San  Domingo,  they  cast  anchor  at  a 
league  from  land.  The  Admiral  sent  the  captain  of  the 
Galician^  Pedro  de  Torreros,  in  his  long-boat,  to  state, 
himself,  to  the  Governor  the  necessity  he  was  under  of  pro- 
curing another  vessel,  and  to  request  him  to  let  him  have 
one  of  the  caravels  that  were  going  to  sail,  or  to  furnish 
him  with  another  one,  for  which  the  Admiral  would  pay 
out  of  his  own  pocket.  He  was  also  to  ask,  on  the  part  of 
the  Admiral,  for  permission  to  enter  the  port  with  his  four 
caravels,  to  put  himself  in  shelter  from  a  violent  tempest 
which  he  foresaw  was  approaching. 

*  Cartas  del  Almirante,  al  R.  P.  Gasfar. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  445 

The  Governor,  who,  in  regard  to  the  Admiral,  had  re- 
ceived particular  orders  from  the  Sovereigns,  and  who 
knew  he  was  interdicted  from  touching  at  Ilispaniola,  ob- 
jected to  his  I'equest,  —  the  formal  orders  of  the  Sovereigns. 
It  is  evident  the  need  of  repairs  of  damages,  or  taking 
refuge  in  a  storm,  was  not  foreseen.  Undoubtedly  Ovando 
could  have  given  permission  for  landing;  but  he  feared  to 
displease  the  bureaus  of  marine,  if  he  should  accede  to  the 
Admiral's  demand.  Perhaps,  also,  he  was  not  convinced 
of  the  necessity  of  replacing  with  another  a  vessel  one 
tiiat  had  been  at  sea  scarcely  two  months.  As  to  the  need 
of  escaping  from  a  tempest,  —  the  serenity  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, the  brightness  of  the  sun,  and  the  azured  calm  of 
the  waves,  gave  it  the  air  of  a  joke.  Not  only  did  he  re- 
fuse giving  the  Admiral  auother  ship,  but  he  even  forbade 
him  landing. 

All  that  had  been  requested  being  refused,  the  captain  of 
the  Galician  returned  to  give  the  Admiral  an  account  of  the 
failure  of  his  mission.  He  was  able,  in  passing,  to  count 
thirty-four  vessels  ready  to  sail.  It  was  the  fleet  Torres  was 
to  take  back  to  Spain,  to  which  were  added  two  caravels 
belonging  to  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas. 

It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  the  indignation  with  which  the 
great  man  was  seized  in  being  thus  repulsed  "  from  a  land 
and  ports  which,  by  the  will  of  God,  he  had  gained  for 
Spain  at  the  price  of  his  blood."  This  refusal,  so  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  humanity,  and  to  the  usages  of  seafaring  life, 
spread  consternation  among  the  crews.  They  regretted 
being  under  the  command  of  a  man  whom  such  a  rigor 
seemed  to  reject  from  the  natural  rights  of  man.  They 
were  seized  wiih  the  most  dismal  forebodings. 

But,  however  poignant  mav  have  been  the  indignation 
the  Admiral  felt  at  this  heartless  refusal,  his  humanity,  his 
Christian  charity,  outweighed  his  resentment.  lie  sent 
word  anew  to  the  Governor,  entreating  him  at  least  to 
detain  the  fleet  that  was  about  to  sail,  and  not  to  let  it 
depart  for  eight  days,  because  the  hurricane  would  extend 
38 


4a6  history  of  [book  IV. 

to  distant  regions  ;  and  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  would  go 
without  delay  to  seek  a  shelter  from  it. 

Though  Ovando  was  persuaded  that  the  Admiral  sought 
a  pretext  to  show  himself  in  the  city,  as  he  knew  nothing 
of  navigation  himself,  he  determined  to  have  the  counsel  of 
the  pilots  and  of  the  commandant  Antonio  de  Torres.  It 
must  be  acknowledged  that  no  atmospheric  appearance 
seemed  to  justify  the  prediction  of  the  Admiral,  and  accord- 
inglv  it  was  decided  that  the  fleet  should  dej)art  at  the  time 
set  for  it.  The  pilots,  in  looking  at  the  heavens,  mcrril}^ 
jeered  at  the  inauspicious  announcement  of  the  old  Ad- 
miral, who  was  looked  upon  as  a  morose  dotai'd,  a  false 
prophet. 

Columbus,  much  embarrassed  about  the  state  of  the 
Gallcian^  saw  no  better  expedient  than  to  give  the  worst 
ship  the  best  captain.  Accordingly  he  passed  over  to  her, 
as  her  chief  captain,  his  brother  Bartholomew,  —  a  man 
fertile  in  resources,  —  and  immediately  sought  shelter  along 
a  neighboring  coast.  At  some  leagues  distant  he  found  a 
small  cove  sufficiently  shut,  where  he  managed  as  best  he 
could,  and  made  every  preparation  for  receiving  the  hurri- 
cane with  as  much  haste  as  if  he  actually  saw  it  coming. 

SECTION  III. 

Meanwhile,  the  placid  appearance  of  the  sea,  the  bright- 
ness of  the  heavens,  and  the  gentleness  of  the  breezes,  put 
those  who  were  going  to  depart  in  high  spirits.  Ovando 
had  given  all  the  rebels  leave  to  return  to  Spain.  The 
greater  number  of  tbem  desired  nothing  more,  as  their  foi"- 
tunes  were  already  made.  Besides,  they  took  with  them 
quantities  of  gold,  capable  of  soothing  or  buying  their 
judges. 

They  were  distributed,  to  the  number  of  five  hundred, 
among  different  caravels.  Bobadilla,  the  ex-governor,  who 
consoled  himself  for  his  disgrace  with  piles  of  gold,  took 
his  place  in  the  commandant's  ship.     Roldan  also,  deprived 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^7 

of  office  and  called  to  render  an  account  of  his  rebellion, 
had  heaped  in  this  vessel  masses  of  gold,  obtained  by  every 
kind  of  rapine  during  his  revolt.  This  vessel  also  took 
with  her  a  large  amount  of  gold  for  the  royal  treasury. 
Never  was  there  such  a  quantity  of  gold  seen  at  the  same 
time.  Other  riches,  equally  acquired  at  the  expense  of 
justice  and  humanity,  and  paid  for  with  the  blood  and  the 
lives  of  the  unfortunate  Indians,  were  heaped  up  in  each 
of  the  other  caravels. 

The  fleet  had  come,  with  a  gentle  breeze,  ofl'  Cape 
Raphael,  —  a  distance  of  about  eight  leagues,  —  when  the 
wind  began  to  cease  ;  then  suddenly  disquieting  signs 
showed  themselves.  The  heavens  became  murky  ;  the 
light  of  day  soon  declined  ;  the  air  became  heavy  and 
suflbcating.     It  was  the  prelude  to  the  tempest. 

Though  they  were  in  sight  of  land,  they  could  not  seek 
refuge  there.  No  breath  of  wind  would  move  the  sails, 
which  hung  fîaccid  from  the  masts.  The  ocean  became 
dull  and  green,  and  as  motionless  as  a  lead  cofiin.  It  was 
no  longer  possible  to  return  to  port,  or  to  escape  the  danger 
of  the  coast  by  taking  to  the  high  sea. 

The  tempest  soon  followed  the  threat.  JNIore  than  twenty- 
six  caravels,  all  laden  with  gold,  were  involved  in  wreck 
and  ruin  beneath  the  surges  ;  others  were  borne  by  the 
foamy  waves  to  unknown  latitudes,  where  they  foundered. 

Of  the  whole  of  this  superb  fîeet,  there  returned  to  His- 
paniola  only  two  or  three  vessels,  shattered  and  half 
swamped  ;  whilst  one  only,  the  oldest  and  the  smallest 
of  all,  continued  her  route  to  Europe.  She  was  namct.1 
the  Agnja^  and  "  carried  all  the  Admiral's  money,  which 
consisted  of  four  thousand  pieces  of  gold  ;  and  was  the  first 
that  arrived  in  Castile,  as  if  by  the  favor  of  God."  *  The 
crazy  vessels  that  returned  to  Ilispaniola  brought  with  them 
the  poorest  and  the  most  obscure  persons  of  the  fleet  ;  there 

*  Ilcrrcia.  Hist.  gen.  des  Voyages  ct  Coiujueies  des  Castillans 
dans  les  Indes  Occid.,  dec.  i,  liv.  V.,  chap.  11. 


448  HISTORY  OF  [book  IV. 

was  among  them  but  one  hidalgo,  Rodrigo  de  Bastidas. 
He  was  "  a  very  honest  man,"  *  and  had  also  been  inhu- 
manly persecuted  by  Bobadilla. 

On  this  terrible  day  perished,  without  a  single  exception, 
the  traitors,  the  calumniators,  and  the  sworn  enemies  of 
Columbus.  "  There,"  says  Herrera,  "  perished  Francisco 
de  Bobadilla,  —  he  who  had  sent  away  the  Admiral  and  his 
brothers  with  irons  on  their  feet,  without  trial,  or  giving 
him  an  opportunity  to  defend  himself.  There  also  ended 
his  days  the  rebel  Francisco  Roldan,  and  a  number  of  his 
accomplices,  who  had  risen  in  arms  against  the  Sovereigns 
and  against  the  Admiral,  whose  bread  they  had  eaten,  and 
who  had  tyrannized  over  the  Indians.  There  also  perished 
the  cacique  Guarionex  (who  had  obstinately  refused  to 
receive  the  Gospel).  The  two  thousand  pieces  of  gold  were 
submerged  with  that  pépite  of  gold  of  prodigious  size."t 
Everything  was  lost.  The  sea  swallowed  all  these  iniqui- 
tous riches,  and  their  iniquitous  possessors,  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred  men.  \ 

During  the  occurrence  of  this  disaster,  the  Admiral, 
retired  in  the  little  cove,  left  the  hurricane  to  roar,  and 
confided  himself  to  the  care  of  God. 

During  the  day,  the  four  caravels  held  out  against  the 
buffetings  of  the  winds  as  well  as  they  could,  and  held  their 
places.  But  "the  tempest  was  terrible  during  the  night, 
and  separated  the  vessels."  In  the  midst  of  the  obscurity 
three  of  the  vessels  were  wrung  from  the  port,  leaving  the 
Capitana  alone.  Each  of  the  three  was  driven  to  a  difler- 
ent  quarter,  expecting  nothing  but  death,  and  thinking  that 
the  otliers  were  hopelessly  lost.  They  had  to  abandon 
themselves  to  the  violence  of  the  waves.  The  Galiciatz., 
which,   happily,  was  commanded  by  the  Adelantado,  lost 


*  Rafael  Maria  Baralt.    Resumen  de  la  Historia  de  Venezuela,  1. 1., 
chap.  VII. 

\  Ibid.     Dec.  i,  liv.  v.,  chap.  11. 

+  Oviedo  y  Valdes.    Hist.  Nat.  et  gen.  des  Indes,  liv.  m.,  chap.  IX. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  449 

her  long-boat.  He  had  to  let  her  go,  in  order  to  save  the 
caravel.  They  were  compelled  to  hold  out  to  the  high  sea. 
The  three  caravels  were  much  shattered,  and  lost  large 
parts  of  their  riggings,  and  of  their  jirovisions.  The  vessel 
of  the  Admiral,  although  friglitfully  shaken,  received  no 
damage.  He  himself  says:  "Our  Lord  preserved  the  one 
1  was  in  in  such  a  manner,  that,  though  strangely  assailed, 
she  did  not  sutler  the  least  damage."  After  having  been 
driven  before  the  winds  for  several  days,  the  four  caravels 
met  each  other  again  at  the  port  of  Azua,  on  Sunday,  as  if 
to  celebrate  together  this  holy  day,  and  thank  God  for  His 
manifest  protection.  The  circumstances  of  this  unexpected 
reimion  appear  to  have  struck  even  the  Admiral  himself, 
who  was  so  much  accustomed  to  the  bounties  of  the  Divine 
Majesty. 

This  disaster  was  not  considered  as  a  simple  accident; 
all  cotemporary  writers  looked  upon  it  as  a  providential 
chastisement.  The  action  of  Divine  justice  was  here  so 
manitc'st,  that,  without  exception,  all  the  historians  of  the 
time  contemplated  it  with  awe. 

If  the  discernment  of  the  tempest,  which  spares  the  inno- 
cent and  treats  with  rigor  the  gnilty  ;  casts  in  the  abyss  of 
the  ocean  the  riches  accumulated  at  the  price  of  their  souls, 
—  and  if  the  pass,  or  safe-conduct,  given  amid  the  vawning 
abvsscs  to  the  little  treasure  of  the  Admiral,  which  was 
maliciously  placed  in  the  most  fragile  of  the  caravels, — 
.strike  us  with  astonishment,  this  astonishment  will  be 
changed  into  amazement  in  thinking  of  the  protection 
wliicli,  during  this  same  moment,  shields  the  person  of 
ihe  Admiral  and  his  squadron  in  the  sea  of  the  Antilles. 

Beiizoui,  who  lived  in  Hispaniola  forty  years  after  this 
event,  anil  who  still  could  hear  some  eye-witnesses  of  it, 
cannot  avoid  seeing,  here,  the  execution  of  a  Divine  judg- 
ment.*    The  chastisement  of  the  rebels,   and   the    loss   of 

"Giralomo  Benzoni.  —  La  Historia  del  Nuovo  Momlo,  lib.  i., 
foyl.  xxiv. 

38' 


4^0  HISTORY  OF  [book  ir. 

their  iniquitous  riches,  appeared  to  him  a  salutary  example 
given  to  the  world,  and  a  high  lesson  in  historic  philosophy. 


SECTION  IV. 

The  prediction  of  Columbus,  its  terrible  accomplishment, 
the  immunity  accorded  to  the  little  treasure  of  the  messen- 
ger of  the  Cross,  the  preservation  of  his  four  caravels,  and 
the  exemption  of  his  ow^n  from  every  damage,  —  facts 
which  are  attested  by  eye-witnesses,  by  official  and  other 
authentic  documents,  and  by  all  historians,  —  cannot  now 
be  called'  in  question. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  nobody  has  ever  dared  to 
attribute  such  a  chain  of  circumstances  to  Chance,  —  that 
complaisant  patron  of  the  difficult  which  some  people  are 
pleased  to  charge  with  the  unforeseen  and  the  extraor- 
dinary, when  our  reason  does  not  find  an  explanation  that 
satisfies  it. 

It  is  in  vain  that  one  would  attempt  to  exj^lain  this  stu- 
pendous event  on  natural  principles,  ■  or  that  he  would 
attribute  it  to  the  consummate  ability  and  experience  of  the 
Admiral.  A  prediction  of  this  kind  is  bej-ond  and  above 
the  fillets  of  observation  or  of  experience.  Ask  men  who 
have  made  navigation  a  specialty  —  ask  sea-captains  and 
pilots,  and  they  will  tell  you  of  the  impossibility  of  such  a 
prediction,  or  prophecy,  from  the  data  of  nautical  science. 
The  learned  Arago  did  not  believe  in  the  possibility  of 
predicting  a  tempest,  and  still  less  in  divining  it  before  its 
precursory  signs. 

The  positive  circumstances  of  the  facts  leave  no  room  for 
chance.  Humboldt  and  Washington  Irving,*  the  rational- 
istic writers  and  the  contemners  of  the  supernatural  order, 

*  Irving  pretends  that  if  the  guilty  were  punished,  the  innocent 
cacique  Guarionex  participated  in  their  lot,  and  that  thus  the  inno- 
cent and  the  guilty  were  confounded.  We  will  first  remark  that, 
from  the  Catholic  point  of  view,  this  objection  is  of  no  force;  and 
next,   that,  in  fact,  Guarionex,  obstinately  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the 


CHAP.  1.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  451 

have  not  dared  to  introduce  Chance  here,  and  risk  an  inter- 
pretation of  this  stubborn  event  that  would  be  in  accordance 
with  their  systems. 

What  discrimination  was  there  not  manifested  by  the 
tempest,  in  leaving  to  pursue  her  route  the  frailest  of  the 
caravels,  charged  with  the  revenues  of  the  Admiral,  and 
contenting  itself  with  damaging  the  vessels  of  Rodrigo  de 
Bastidas,  while  it  inexorably  submerged,  after  having  shat- 
tered them,  the  solid  and  firm  caravels  of  the  fleet,  which 
were  charged  with  perverse  men  and  homicidal  riches! 
What  nicety  of  tact  in  the  hurricane,  which  respects  the 
Capiiana,  that  bears  the  pavilion  of  the  messenger  of  the 
Cross,  and  does  not  "  damage  her  the  value  of  a  straw," 
according  to  the  expi-ession  of  Columbus,  leaves  her  at  her 
moorings  in  the  cove,  while  it  pulls  from  their  anchorage, 
drives  and  tosses  in  the  high  sea  the  other  three  caravels, 
and  holds  them  in  imminent  danger,  as  if  to  show  by  this 
difference  of  fate  the  difference  of  their  destination,  and 
more  fully  reveal  a  protection  altogether  special. 

And  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  calm  weather  which 
one  would  say  had  an  understanding  with  the  tempest, 
bringing  back  to  Columbus  the  three  caravels  dispersed  in 
the  illimitable  regions  of  space,  as  if  to  permit  them  to 
solemnize  that  day,  in  accordance  with  the  pious  custom  of 
the  Admiral? 

Is  this  astonishing  prevision  the  effect  of  Chance?  In 
this  case,  at  least,  this  Chance  is  so  ingenious  in  its  combi- 
nations, transcendent  in  its  calculations,  and  so  very  far 
removed  from  the  accidental  and  the  unforeseen,  that  it  can 
scarcely  be  recognized  ;  and  if  it  be  really  Chance,  we  must 
declare  that  it  has  much  changed,  and  is  no  longer  like 
itself. 

The    enemies  of  Columbus,    struck   with    the    immunity 

Gospel,  many  times  pardoned  by  the  Admiral  and  the  Adelantado, 
to  whom  he  was  ungrateful,  besides  his  being  an  instigator  of  assas- 
sinations and  an  accomplice  in  revolts,  cannot,  even  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  appear  innocent. 


453  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

which  preserved  his  money  and  his  caravels,  and  seeing 
how  all  at  once  he  w^as  revenged  on  his  persecutors,  attrib- 
uted to  his  magical  powers  this  terrible  catastrophe. 

When  we  call  to  mind  the  exalted  piety  of  Columbus, 
and  the  crying  wrongs  that  were  done  to  him,  our  hearts,  in 
accord  with  our  reason,  recognize  here  a  great  lesson  given 
to  the  world.  As  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  is  revealed 
by  the  marvels  of  His  works,  so  the  eternal  government  of 
Providence  becomes  visible  to  us  in  such  an  act.  We  ought 
not  to  forget  the  evangelical  generosity  of  the  counsel  of 
Columbus.  After  the  refusal  rudely  given  by  Ovando,  the 
Admiral  sent  a  second  time  to  him,  not  hoping  to  bring 
him  to  better  sentiments  tow^ards  his  own  person,  but  to 
turn  his  enemies  from  the  danger  to  which  they  exposed 
himself,  and  preserve  the  fleet  from  imminent  destruction. 

It  seems  as  if  God  vouchsafed  to  send  to  these  sinners 
this  last  warning,  as  a  proof  of  their  hardness  of  heart. 

But  these  avaricious  men,  now  loaded  with  riches,  were 
impatient  to  return  to  their  country.  They  longed  to  get 
to  Castile,  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  their  rapine.  Their  past 
transgressions  were,  in  advance,  legitimized  by  gold  ;  and 
they  hoped  to  receive  the  favors  with  which  the  high  credit 
of  Fonseca  would  recompense  their  hatred  of  the  Admiral. 
They  rejected,  with  disdain,  the  counsel  of  the  patriarch  of 
the  ocean,  and  responded  with  derision  and  contempt  to 
this  act  of  Christian  magnanimity.  After  having  loaded 
him  with  bitterness  and  calumnies  when  he  governed  them, 
they  saw,  with  joy,  his  ships  repulsed  from  the  land  he  had 
discovered.  The  presence  of  the  just  man  would  have 
troubled  their  guilty  illusions.  Wishing  to  have  nothing 
from  him,  not  even  a  counsel,  they  rejected  his  warning. 
They  said  to  the  servant  of  God  as  the  impious  of  ancient 
days  said  to  the  Lord  Himself:  "Depart  from  us."* 

This  act  of  divine  justice,  authenticated  by  official  writ- 
ings, political  documents,  and  the  testimony  of  the  historians 

*  "  Recede  a  nobis."  — Job  xxi  :  14. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  4^3 

of  the  time,  executed  in  the  second  year  of  the  era  of  the  re- 
vival of  learning,  the  renaissance.,  during  the  advance  of 
printing,  the  literary  development  of  Spain,  and  the  lucidity 
and  progress  of  criticism,  —  appears  to  come  to  prove,  and 
to  render  credible  to  the  most  obstinate  infidels,  the  miracles 
of  the  Old  Testament,  demonstrates,  indubitably,  the  inter- 
vention, sometimes  palpable,  of  the  Sovereign  of  heaven  in 
the  things  of  the  earth,  and  gives  credence  to  the  temporal 
chastisements  of  peoples  under  the  old  law,  as  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures,  attested  by  the  highest  traditions  of  the  East, 
and  the  memory  of  which  is  preserved  even  by  profane 
antiquity. 

Neitiicr  in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs,  nor  after  the  exodus 
from  Egypt,  nor  under  the  judges  or  the  kings,  ever  did  a 
sign  show  itself  more  evident  than  that  by  which  the  wrath 
of  God  was  that  day  manifested  in  the  bosom  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean. 

Still,  the  man  in  whose  favor  this  divine  judgment  ap- 
peared to  have  been  operated,  never  made  any  allusion  to 
his  rejected  warning.  At  first,  in  continuing  his  voyage,  he 
did  not,  perhaps,  know  the  prodigy  that  had  been  operated, 
and  in  which  he  acted  his  part  conformably  to  his  character 
of  messenger  of  salvation.  But  when,  in  two  years  after, 
he  came  to  know  the  catastrophe  in  its  details,  he  desig- 
nated it  by  its  true  name,  —  a  Miracle.  In  writing  to  the 
King,  he  stated  that  for  a  long  time  (perhaps  some  ages) 
our  Lord  God  had  not  shown  the  world  a  miracle  so 
signal.* 

This  catixstrophc  struck  the  cotemporary  historians  with 
awe,  because  of  its  cnormousness.  But,  altogether  miracu- 
lous as  it  was,  it  has,  in  our  estimation,  nothing  more 
extraordinary  than  certain  circumstances  in  the  preceding 
voyages  of  Columbus. 

The  prediction  of  this  tempest  appears  no  more  aston- 


*  '•  Grande  tiempo  ha  que  Dios  Neustro  Scnor  no  mostro  milagro 
tan  publico." — Siiplcm.  primer  a  la  Colcccion  Diplomat.,  num.  cvi. 


454  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

ishing  than  the  announcement  of  land  made  to  the  day,  and 
ahnost  the  hour,  on  the  evening  of  the  eleventh  of  October, 
1492,  when  they  were  yet  twenty-one  leagues  from  any 
coast,  and  when  the  most  practised  eye  could  discover  no 
new  sign  in  the  immensity  of  the  ocean.  And  this  fact 
ought  not  to  appear  more  extraordinary  than  the  assurance 
given  to  the  crev^^s,  enraged  by  famine,  and  who  wanted  to 
destro}^  the  Indians,  that  in  three  days*  Cape  St.  Vincent 
would  be  seen.  And  this  prescience  is  no  more  worthy  of 
astonishment  than  the  discovery  of  Trinidad,  appearing  to 
Columbus  with  even  the  sign  of  the  name  he  had  designed 
before  quitting  the  port. 

In  the  course  of  the  voyage,  the  history  of  which  we 
briefly  epitomize,  the  extraordinary  is  so  near  the  pro- 
digious, and  the  prodigious  so  constantly  attaches  itself  to 
Columbus,  that  we  cannot  avoid  becoming  familiar  with  it. 

The  laws  of  the  general  order  of  things  are  not  inter- 
rupted for  the  advantage  of  Columbus.  He  cannot  avoid 
neither  dangers  nor  sufferings,  but  the  manner  in  which  he 
surmounts  the  most  accumulated  perils,  and  the  confidence 
he  shows  in  face  of  the  most  alarming  extremities,  can- 
not be  explained  without  faith  in  invisible  aids,  and  the 
assistance  of  supernatural  power.  We  say  then,  with  the 
sincerity  of  the  most  profound  conviction,  he  who  does  not 
believe  in  the  supernatural  cannot  comprehend  Columbus. 

SECTION  IV, 

The  Admiral  passed  some  days  at  Azua,  to  permit  his 
crews  to  repose  and  refresh  themselves,  and  to  repair  the 
injuries  done  his  three  caravels  that  had  been  separated 
from  each  other.  The  crews  had  no  information  whatever 
in  regard  to  the  fate  that  had  befallen  the  fleet.  Thence  the 
little  squadron  went  to  the  port  of  Yaquimo,  to  await  calm 
weather. 

*  See  ante,  page  343. 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  455 

The  fourteenth  of  July,  the  sea  becoming  cahn,  the 
Admiral  steered  to  the  south.  He  was  borne  on  by  the 
currents  until  he  found  himself  in  the  vicinity  of  some  little 
islands  near  Jamaica,  destitute  of  springs,  but  where  the 
sailors  obtained  a  supply  of  fresh  water  by  digging  holes 
in  the  sand  on  the  beach.  The  calm  continuing,  he  was 
swept  away  to  the  group  of  small  islands  on  the  south-east 
coast  of  Cuba,  to  which,  in  his  second  voyage,  he  had  given 
the  name  of  Qiieen's  Gardens.  Thence  he  resolutely  con- 
tinued his  course  to  that  part  of  terra  finiia  where  he 
considered  the  strait  ought  to  be  found. 

He  now  held  to  the  south-south-west.  His  voyage  was 
soon  impeded  by  a  strange  state  of  the  atmosphere.  The 
heavens  became  overcast,  the  sun  clouded,  and  the  stars  in- 
visible. Notwithstanding  the  force  and  the  variation  of  the 
winds,  he  felt  that  the  sea  opposed  to  his  progress  a  con- 
stant force,  although  irregular  in  its  violence.  They  were 
drenched  with  frequent  showers.  Often  some  flaming  light- 
nings seemed  to  set  the  horizon  on  fire  ;  it  required  all  the 
vigilance  and  energy  of  will  of  the  Admiral  to  continue  his 
course.     His  men  became  quite  disheartened. 

The  ardent  faith  alone  of  Columbus  enabled  him  to  sur- 
mount these  difficulties.  Steadily  occupied  with  the  Holy 
Places,  and  with  his  thoughts  fixed  on  the  object  of  his  aim, 
he  did  not  Wait  to  count  the  obstacles.  His  sixty-seventh 
year  commenced  weighing  on  him  without  his  paying  any 
attention  to  it.  In  spite  of  his  rheumatic  attacks,  his  stature, 
still  straight  and  firm,  sustained  admirably  the  majesty  of 
his  physiognomy,  upon  which  the  nobleness  of  his  thoughts 
seemed  stamped.  In  proportion  as  he  advanced  in  age  he 
also  advanced  in  Christian  perfection.  The  sweetness  of 
his  looks,  imbued  with  a  loving  tenderness,  was  expressive 
of  something  evangelical.  His  hair,  of  a  lustrous  gray,  or 
rather  white,  encircled  his  temples  with  that  crown  of 
honor  of  which  the  Scriptures  speak.  With  the  amj^litude 
of  his  Franciscan  habit,  and  the  dignity  of  his  bearing,  his 
whole  person  put  one  in  mind  of  one  of  those  images  of  a 


456  HISTORY  OF  [book  rv. 

patriarch  or  a  prophet  of  which  he  has  formed  an  idea 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  You  would  have  said  he  was  a 
shepherd-king,  transported  from  Idumea  or  Mesopotamia 
into  the  vast  plains  of  the  Atlantic. 

One  was  impi'essed  with  the  sanctity  as  much  as  with  the 
grandeur  of  this  Admiral,  whose  mouth  never  hurt  the  feel- 
ings of  anybody,  or  uttered  a  rude  expression.  He  never, 
by  his  words,  sent  to  the  Devil  neither  man,  nor  rope,  nor 
manœuvre,  nor  obstacle,  nor  weather,  as  is  habitually  done  by 
mariners. 

Always  penetrated  with  the  holiness  of  his  object,  the  im- 
portance of  attending  to  duty,  and  the  merit  of  obedience, 
he  failed  not  to  apprise  the  disobedient  of  their  sins,  and 
threatened  to  abandon  to  the  anger  of  God  the  person, 
who  persevered  in  doing  evil,  or  who,  through  negligence, 
omitted  doing  his  duty,  God  being  the  sole  object  of  his 
actions,  Columbus,  when  he  ordered  some  new  manœuvre 
or  some  new  fatiguing  labor,  used  to  say,  "  We  must  do 
such  or  such  a  thing  for  God,"  and  would  try  to  inculcate 
into  the  minds  of  his  men  the  obligations  of  duty,  —  a  mat- 
ter about  which  most  of  them  would  take  but  little  trouble. 

In  leaving  the  port  of  Yaquimo  he  became  dangerously 
ill,  and  several  times  "  approached  the  gates  of  death." 
The  sentiment  of  his  responsibility  and  the  object  of  his 
expedition  surviving  his  loss  of  strength,  he  had  a  small 
cabin  erected  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  thence,  from  his  bed, 
would  give  directions  about  the  route,  prosecuting  his  dis- 
proportionate contest  with  an  overcast  sky  and  an  unknown 
sea. 

At  length  they  perceived,  to  the  south,  an  island  sur- 
rounded by  several  islets  ;  it  was  Guanaja,  situated  in  front 
of  the  Gulf  of  Honduras.  The  Admiral  ordered  it  to  be 
examined.  The  Adelantado  immediately  had  two  boats 
equipped,  and  landed  with  a  sti^ong  detachment.  He  no- 
ticed that  the  island  abounded  with  pine-trees,  like  those  of 
the  Antilles,  and  had  traces  of  civilization,  for  he  saw  some 


CHAP.  I.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  457 

crucibles  for  smelting   copper  in,  some  fragments  of  which 
appeared   to  the  sailors  to  be  gold. 

Meanwhile  he  beheld  a  kind  of  galley,  eight  feet  broad 
and  very  long,  formed  from  the  trunk  of  a  single  tree.  The 
cabin,  in  the  form  of  a  gondola,  covered  with  palm-leaves 
artistically  interlaced,  and  sufficiently  close  to  exclude  the 
rain,  was  filled  with  merchandise  of  various  kinds, — pieces 
of  cotton,  chemisettes,  copper  hatchets,  Mexican  or  wooden 
swords,  earthen  vessels,  almonds,  and  cocoa-nuts.  The 
Adelantado,  without  any  opposition,  tied  this  canoe  be- 
tween his  two  boats,  and  brought  it  to  the  Capitana. 
There  were  on  board  it  some  women  clothed  with  cotton 
dresses,  and  twenty-five  men,  who  wore  broad  cinctures 
around  their  loins.  They  testified  no  fear  in  seeing  them- 
selves in  the  power  of  the  strangers.  Columbus  treated 
them  with  great  kindness,  but  he  uselessly  employed  his  in- 
terpreters, and  tried  himself  to  obtain  any  certain  informa- 
tion from  them.  He  understood  they  were  returning  from 
Yucatan,  a  rich  and  cultivated  country.  He  selected  sev- 
eral of  their  articles  of  commerce,  for  which  he  gave  them 
in  exchange  hawks'  bells,  with  which  they  were  highly  de- 
lighted. He  returned  them  to  their  canoe,  but  retained  one 
of  them,  an  old  man  who  was  named  Giumbe,  to  serve  as 
a  dragoman  or  interpreter,  and  who  appeared  to  him  intel- 
ligent and  expert  in  coasting  navigation. 
39 


458  HISTORT  OF  [book  it. 


CHAPTER     II. 

Columbus  Discovers  Terra  Firma  near  Cape  Caxinas.  —  Atmos- 
pheric Contrarieties.  —  Suflferings  of  the  Crews. —  A  Disaster. — 
The  Island  of  Quiribi.  —  Search  for  a  Strait  at  Chagres.  — The 
Isthmus  of  Panama. 


SECTION  I. 

FROM  the  island  of  Guanaja  the  Admiral  directed  his 
course  to  the  south,  in  search  of  terra  Jirma.  He 
perceived  it  near  a  cape,  whicli  he  named  Caxinas,  from  its 
abounding  witli  trees  bearing  a  kind  of  apple  with  a  spongy 
core,  which  the  natives  called  caxinas.  As  soon  as  he 
doubled  the  cape,  the  tempest  recommenced.  At  length, 
on  the  seventeenth  of  August,  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  leagues 
from  the  cape,  they  reached  land  on  the  bank  of  a  river, 
and  the  Admiral  took  possession  of  it  in  the  usual  form, 
by  the  erection  of  a  large  Cross.  In  commemoration. of 
this  circumstance  the  river  was  called  Rio  de  la  Posesion 
(the  River  of  Possession). 

The  squadron  continued  to  sail  in  sight  of  land,  notwith- 
standing the  adverseness  of  the  winds.  By  orders  of  the 
Admiral  the  little  caravel,  the  Biscay ian.,  went  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  shore,  entering  every  gulf  and  creek  of  any 
size,  for  fear  of  missing  the  passage  or  strait  by  which 
Columbus  hoped  to  enter  into  the  seas  of  the  Levant  or  the 
East  Indies. 

The  sailors  became  exhausted  with  labor,  and  harassed 
with  terror.  Drenching  rains,  a  boisterous  sea,  and  con- 
trary currents,  gave  them  no  respite  since  they  had  left  the 
Queen's  Gardens.  Now  and  then  they  would  land  for 
some   hours  on  certain  coasts,  in  order  to  see  the  inhabit- 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  acq 

ants  and  observe  the  productions  of  these  countries.  They 
thus  saw  some  tribes  who  spoke  different  dialects,  but  who 
understood  but  imperfectly  the  old  Indian  Giumbe,  the  in- 
terpreter. Some,  tattooed  on  different  parts  of  the  body, 
exhibited  on  their  members  figures  of  leopards  and  of 
stags;  others  had  cotton  waistcoats  and  cuirasses.  The 
chieftains  had  caps  of  white  or  colored  cotton.  Some 
wore  tresses  of  hair  in  front.  When  arrayed  for  any 
festival,  some  smeared  their  fiices  in  black,  others  in  red  ; 
these  traced  lines  on  their  foreheads  ;  those  painted  black 
circles  around  their  eyes.  This  whimsicalness  in  deco- 
rating themselves  astonished  young  Fernando  Columbus, 
and  he  wrote,  thirty  years  afterwards,  "  They  all  believe 
that  in  these  dillerent  states  they  are  perfectly  beautiful, 
whereas  they  are  as  frightful  as  the  very  devils." 

In  advancing  to  the  east  they  saw  tribes  who  lived  on 
uncooked  fish  and  on  flesh  meat.  The  ferociousness  of 
their  looks  showed  that  of  their  manners.  On  seeing  them, 
Giumbe  said  they  were  cannibals.  Still  farther  eastwards 
they  came  across  a*  tribe  who  had  their  ears  bored  and  hid- 
eously distended,  which  caused  that  region  to  be  called 
Costa  de  la  Orcja,  or  the  Coast  of  the  Ear. 

The  sea  became  more  adverse,  and  the  wind  increased  in 
severity.  The  sailors  became  exhausted  from  incessant 
fatigues  ;  the  greater  part  of  them  became  sick  or  unman- 
ageable. The  continual  drenching  rotted  the  sails,  which 
tore  into  shreds.  They  lost  anchors  and  tackles  as  well  as 
boats,  and  the  larger  portion  of  their  provisions.  Each  of 
the  caravels  leaked  in  several  places  ;  and  such  was  the 
danger,  that  at  each  returning  gust  of  the  tempest  the  sailors 
thought  themselves  lost.  The  crew  of  the  Biscayian  had 
prepared  for  death,  and  received  the  last  sacraments  from 
Father  Alexandre.  In  the  other  caravels  the  sailors,  seeing 
themselves  deprived  of  the  succors  of  the  Church,  asked 
pardon  of  each  other  for  their  faults,  and  confessed  their 
sins  to  one  another.  There  was  not  a  single  one  among 
them,    large   or  small,  that   did   not  make  some   vow   or 


460  HIST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 

promise  to  make  some  pilgrimage.  Among  the  domestics 
of  the  Admiral  several  engaged  to  embrace  a  monastic  life 
if  they  should  escape  from  this  imminent  peril. 

These  terrific  scenes  were  repeated  several  times. 

As  regai'ded  Columbus  himself,  what  troubled  him  most 
was  to  see  that  he  had  exposed  his  young  son  to  such  perils, 
and  to  know  that  in  the  worst  vessel  of  the  squadron  was 
his  brother  the  Adelantado,  who  had  not  consented  to  ac- 
company him  but  through  submission  to  his  desires.  And 
often  his  thoughts  recurred  to  his  son  Diego,  whom  he  had 
left  in  Spain,  and  who  might  become  an  orphan,  and  per- 
haps be  despoiled  of  his  rights  and  honors.  Happily,  far 
from  being  borne  down  by  his  own  sufferings,  young  Fer- 
nando was  incessant  in  his  attentions  to  him,  and  displayed 
a  fortitude  above  his  age.  Columbus  thus  wrote  of  him: 
"  Our  Lord  gave  him  so  much  courage,  that  it  was  he  who 
put  the  others  in  heart.  And  when  there  was  occasion  for 
manœuvring,  he  did  it  as  if  he  had  been  navigating  for 
eighty  years  ;  and  it  was  he  who  consoled  me." 

At  length,  after  a  struggle  of  sixty  days  to  make  a  dis- 
tance of  seventy  leagues,  they  arrived,  on  the  fourteenth  of 
September,  at  a  cape  where  the  coast,  making  an  angle, 
turned  directly  to  the  south.  As  soon  as  they  had  doubled 
it,  they  had  an  easy  wind  and  free  navigation.  The  Ad- 
miral, in  the  name  of  the  crews,  solemnly  thanked  God  for 
this  sudden  relief  from  their  troubles  ;  and,  as  a  token  of  his 
gratitude,  he  gave  the  cape  the  name  of  Gracios  a  Dlos, 
or  "  Thanks  to  God." 

Here  the  Indian  interpreter,  Giumbe,  who  had  his  share 
in  the  sufferings,  was  dismissed  with  presents.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  much  pleased  with  the  munificence  of  the 
Admiral. 

Continuing  his  course  along  the  coast. of  Mosquito,  being 
greatly  in  need  of  wood  and  water,  the  squadron  anchored, 
on  the  sixteenth  of  September,  near  a  large  river,  up  which 
some  boats  were  sent  to  procure  the  requisite  su^Dplies.  As 
they  were  returning  to  the  ships,  a  sudden  swelling  of  the 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  461 

sea  rushing  in,  and  encountering  the  rapid  current  of  the 
river,  caused  a  violent  conflict,  in  which  one  of  the  boats 
was  swallowed  up,  and  all  on  board  perished.  This  loss 
was  keenly  felt  by  the  crews,  and  especially  by  the  Admiral. 
In  his  affliction,  he  named  this  river  El  Rio  del  Désastre 
(the  River  of  Disaster). 

SECTION  II. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  September,  Columbus  came  to  an 
excellent  landing  between  the  little  island  of  Qiiiribi  and 
the  main  land,  opposite  an  Indian  village  named  Cariar/\ 
which  presented  a  delightful  aspect.  It  was  situated  on  the 
bank  of  a  beautiful  river.  The  sailors  preferred  reposing 
themselves  from  the  fatigues  of  the  voyage  to  going  on 
shore.  The  next  da\-  tlic  Admiral  ordered  them  nut  to 
leave  the  caravels.  When  the  savages,  who  were  prepared 
for  battle,  perceived  that  these  strange  beings  were  pacific, 
and  made  no  movement  to  molest  them,  their  hostility  ceased, 
and  their  curiosity  predominated.  They  approached  the 
waters,  making  signals  of  peace,  and  showing  the  Spaniards 
cotton  tunics,  colored  gowns,  and  weapons.  The  boldest 
of  them  swam  to  the  ships,  to  propose  exchanges. 

Wishing  to  give  them  a  high  idea  of  the  generosity,  and 
disinterestedness  of  the  white  men,  Columbus  forbade  all 
traffic.  He  gave  them  presents  of  hawks'  bells,  which  they 
prizctl  very  highly  ;  but  would  take  nothing  in  return.  The 
people  of  Cariari  made  signs  to  the  Spaniards  to  come 
asliore  ;  but,  seeing  that  invitations  and  entreaties  were 
useless,  they  held  counsel  among  themselves  ;  and,  either 
because  their  pride  was  wounded  at  the  refusal  of  their 
prolVercd  gifts,  or  because  thev  saw  in  it  a  mistrust  of  their 
intentions,  they  resolved,  in  their  turn,  to  receive  no  presents 
from  these  strangers.  Accordingly  they  left  them  lying  in 
a  heap  on  the  strand,  where  the  Spaniards  found  them  on 
a  subsequent  day. 

In  order  to  oblige  these  mysterious  strangers  to  come  on 
39* 


462  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

shore,  and  wishing,  at  first,  to  gain  their  confidence,  the 
people  of  Cariari  deputed  an  old  man,  bearing  a  kind  of 
flag  of  peace  at  the  end  of  a  staff",  and  leading  two  young 
girls,  decorated  with  all  their  finery,  to  be  presented  to  the 
Admiral.  The  oldest  of  them  was  only  eleven  years  old. 
They  were  secretly  provided  with  magic  powders.  He 
placed  them  in  a  boat  which  was  returning  from  Aiguade, 
and  requested  the  sailors  to  take  them  to  the  caravels.  The 
Admiral  gave  them  clothes  and  hawks'  bells,  had  them 
served  with  eatables,  and  in  the  evening  sent  them  back 
on  shore  ;  but,  as  the  strand  was  completely  deserted,  the 
boat  had  to  bring  them  back  on  board.  The  Admiral  took 
measures  for  their  safety  and  repose.  In  the  morning  he 
again  sent  them  on  shore  ;  but,  some  hours  after,  when  the 
boats  returned  to  the  landing-place,  the  two  young  girls 
came  and  returned  everything  they  had  received  as 
pixsents. 

The  next  day,  as  the  Adelantado  approached  the  shore, 
two  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  entering  the  water,  took 
him  out  of  the  boat  in  their  arms,  and,  carrying  him  to 
land,  seated  him,  with  great  ceremony,  on  a  grassy  bank. 
The  Adelantado  made  several  inquiries  of  them,  to  which 
they  answered  with  great  kindness.  Fearing  that  he  could 
not  recollect  everything  they  told  him,  he  ordered  the  notary 
to  write  down  their  replies.  When  the  Indians  saw  the 
latter  trace  some  black  characters,  they  suspected  it  was 
some  magical  artifixe.  Seized  with  terror,  they  fled  pre- 
cipitately, and  thought  they  were  counteracting  the  baleful 
spell,  in  casting  over  their  heads,  and  tow^ardsthe  Spaniards, 
some  secret  powder,  which  the  wind  wafted  towards  the 
latter. 

The  squadron,  on  the  fifth  of  October,  departed  from 
Cariari,  and  sailed  along  what  is  at  present  called  Costa 
Rica  (the  Rich  Coast),  from  the  gold  and  silver  mines  in 
after  years  found  among  its  mountains.  On  their  route 
they  stopped  at  a  couple  of  places,  where  the  Indians  gave 
the  Admii'al  several  mirrors,  and  some  ornaments  of  pure 


CHAP.  II.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  463 

gold.  At  length  they  passed  before  Cobrava,  and  per- 
ceived five  Indian  villages  near  rivers.  Here  they  got  new 
information  about  gold.  It  was  known  that  the  natives 
made  their  mirrors  from  gold  obtained  from  Veragua,  and 
that  the  latter  place  was  not  far  distant.  The  Indian  inter- 
preters assured  the  Admiral  that  the  gold  regions  ended 
there. 

SECTION  III. 

Any  other  man,  loving  riches,  and  knowing  that  the  pos- 
session of  gold  mines  would  conciliate  the  îa\ox  of  the 
Court,  and  stop  the  mouths  of  his  enemies,  would  have 
no  more  urgent  desire  than  to  view  this  country  abounding 
in  gold,  take  solemn  possession  of  it,  go  back  to  Spain, 
and  return  with  forces  sufficient  for  its  occupation.  But 
Columbus,  now  wholly  taken  up  with  finding  a  strait, 
would  not  stop  for  the  mines,  which  he  considered  as 
already  secured  to  the  Crown  ;  so  he  departed,  amid 
drenching  rains,  to  continue  his  voyage  in  quest  of  the 
wished-for  strait. 

He  soon  found  himself  precisely  at  the  spot  wlicrc,  from 
the  vaults  of  the  Alhambra,  he  had  concluded  there  must 
be  a  passage  that  would  enable  him  to  carry  the  standard 
of  Salvation  to  the  sea  of  the  South.  He  had  the  Biscay ian 
to  examine  the  smallest  recesses  in  the  shore.  They  were 
then  on  the  coast  of  Chagrcs.  He  even  sought  the  strait  at 
wliat  is  at  present  called  Paiiarna.  He  searched  for  it 
where  a  particular  configuration  seems  to  have  prepared 
for  the  severance  of  the  two  great  parts  of  the  American 
continent.  One  would  say  that  nature  was  suddenly  ar- 
rested in  her  work  by  the  Most  High,  who,  no  doubt, 
reserves  for  the  genius  of  man  the  opening  of  this  grand 
passage.     Columbus  came  to  designate  its  locality. 


464  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Columbus  has  a  terrible  Struggle  with  the  Elements.  —  Globular 
Lightnings.  —  A  frightful  Water-Spout.  —  Columbus,  almost 
dying,  is  roused  by  the  Cries  of  the  Sailors  ;  he  invokes  his 
Divine  Master,  and  conjures  the  Water-Spout.  —  He  forms  a 
Settlement  on  the  Rio  Belen.  —  The  Indian  Chief  prepares  to 
destroy  the  Spaniards. — The  Adelantado  captures  the  Chief  in 
the  midst  of  his  People. 


SECTION  L 

THE  stormy  winds  continued  to  howl.  During  four 
months,  save  some  rare  intervals,  unpropitious  winds 
and  drenching  rains,  in  addition  to  the  constant  opposition 
of  the  currents,  exhausted  the  strengtli  of  the  men,  and  dis- 
heartened them.  Tlie  captains  and  otiier  officers,  as  well 
as  the  sailors,  begged  for  an  immediate  return  to  Castile. 
The  Admiral,  whose  resolution  was  neve;r  shaken  by  obsta- 
cles, at  any  rate  began  now  to  have  some  doubts  with  regard 
to  the  exact  position  of  the  strait.  He  considered  that  per- 
haps, notwithstanding  the  grave  reasons  for  his  conjecture, 
the  passage  he  sought  for  may  be  placed  much  farther 
south,  towards  those  lands  which  he  thought  must  exist 
in  the  southern  portion  of  the  globe.  So,  reflecting  on  the 
state  of  his  personnel,  of  his  damaged  munitions,  and  of 
his  crazed  and  worm-eaten  ships,  he  resolved  to  turn  back 
and  visit  the  gold  mines  of  Veragua,  about  which  he  had 
heard  such  wonderful  reports. 

On  the  fifth  of  December  he  left  the  port  of  El  Retrète, 
and,  directing  his  course  towards  Veragua,  came  to  Puerto 
Bello.  The  next  day  he  pursued  his  route,  but  was  obliged, 
by  the  winds,  to  return   to  Puerto  Bello  to  await  a  calm. 


CHAP,  m.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  aS^ 

But  as  he  was  about  to  enter  the  port  a  violent  squall  drove  '^ 
him  to  the  main  sea.  The  waves  became  so  high,  and  the 
successions  so  great,  that  there  was  no  longer  any  directing 
of  the  vessels.  The  Admiral  fell  sick  again  ;  one  of  iiis  old 
wounds  reopened,  and  during  nine  days  all  hope  was  lost 
of  his  recovery.  Contrary  squalls,  continually  changing, 
prevented  the  caravels  from  either  entering  a  harbor  or 
reaching  the  high  sea. 

But  they  had  yet  to  encounter  a  tempest  in  all  its  fury. 
The  four  caravels,  become  the  sport  of  the  waves,  were 
pushed  sometimes  to  their  summits,  which  rose  as  high  as 
mountains,  and  sometimes  were  precipitated  into  the  yawn- 
ing abysses  at  their  bases.  Globular  lightnings,  whose 
blazings  lasted  several  seconds,  followed  each  other  uninter- 
ruptedly ;  and  such  was  their  terrific  fury,  that,  notwith- 
standing his  sickness,  the  Admiral  would  every  moment 
rise  in  his  bed  to  see  if  the  masts  and  riggings  were  not 
swept  away. 

In  the  midst  of  this   "elemental  strife"  the  rain  fell  in 
drenching  showers,  which   extinguished  the  lightnings,  but 
soon  came   in  torrents.     It  continued  thus   for  eight  days.  ' 
The  crews  became  so  harassed  that  they  wished  for  death   , 
in  order  to  be  delivered  from  so  many  evils.     It  appears  it 
was  at  this   time  that  Father  Alexandre,  worn   out   with    . 
continual  anguish,  succumbed  to  the  consequences  of  his    I 
suflcrings.     Thus  the  first  chaplain  that  first  died  on  the 
ocean  from  the  fatigues  of  the  apostolate,  was  a  Franciscan. 
The  glorious  first-fruits  of  such   a  death  seemed  justly  due 
to  the  Seraphic  Order. 

But  the  greatest  danger  was  yet  to  come.  A  new  trial 
awaited  these  unhappy  people. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  December,  while  the  Admiral  was 
still  in  bed  and  apparently  in  his  agony,  harrowing  shrieks  \ 
came  from  one  of  the  caravels,  which  were  immediately 
repeated  from  the  others.  These  cries  of  despair  resounded  in 
the  very  soul  of  the  dying  man.  He  shuddered,  and  opened 
his  eyes. 


466  HISTORT  OF  [book  iv. 

]       Something  frightful  was  going  on  in  sight. 

At  a  certain  point  agitated  by  a  vibratory  movement,  the 
sea,  swelHng  with  all  the  waves  which  it  attracted  to  this 
centre,  arose  as  a  single  mountain,  while  dark  clouds 
descending  in  the  form  of  a  reversed  cone  stretched  them- 
selves down  to  the  marine  whirl,  which  arose  tremulously 
at  its  approach,  as  if  to  join  it.  Tliese  two  huge  forms  of 
cloud  and  sea  suddenly  met  and  embraced  each  other  in  the 
form  of  a  whirling  X.  "  It  was,"  says  the  historian  of  San 
I  Domingo,  "  one  of  those  water-spouts  which  seamen  call 
fronks.^  which  were  then  so  little  known,  and  which  have 
since  submerged  so  many  vessels."*  A  sharp,  hissing  noise 
preceded  the  fatal  whiff  of  this  frightful  form,  then  without 
a  name  in  our  language.  This  kind  of  water-spout  is  the 
most  frightful  manifestation  of  that  hellish  tempest  which 
in  the  Orient  receives  the  very  name  of  the  spirit  of  evil,  — 
Typhon.     Woe  to  the  ships  that  encounter  it  in  its  passage  ! 

At  the  cries  of  distress  which  reached  his  heart,  the  great 
man  became  suddenly  reanimated.  In  face  of  the  impend- 
ing ruin  he  rises,  with  his  wonted  vigor,  in  order  to  survey 
and  weigh  the  peril.  He.,  also,  perceives  the  formidable 
thing  that  is  approaching.  The  sea  appeared  to  be  sucked 
up  towards  the  heavens.  For  this  unknown  phenomenon 
he  saw  no  remedy  :  art  was  useless,  and  navigation  power- 
less ;  besides,  there  was  no  steering  any  longer. 

Immediately  Columbus,  the  adorer  of  the  Word,  sus- 
pected, in  this  terrific  display  of  the  brute  forces  of  nature, 
some  Satanic  manœuvre.  He  could  not  exorcise  the  powers 
of  the  air,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church,  fearing  to 
usurp  the  authority  of  the  priesthood  ;  but  he  called  to  mind 
that  he  was  the  chief  of  a  Christian  expedition,  and  that  his 
object  was  a  holy  one,  and  he  desired,  in  his  way,  to  compel 
the  spirit  of  darkness  to  yield  the  passage  to  him.  He  had 
blessed  wax  candles  immediately  lighted  and  put  in  the  lan- 
terns ;  then  he  girded  himself  with  his  sword  over  the  cord 

*P.  Charlevoix,  Histoire  de  Saint  Domingue,  liv.  iv.,  p.  241. 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  467 

of  St.  Francis,  and,  taking  the  book  of  the  Gospels,  stand- 
ing in  face  of  the  watcr-spout  which  was  coming  near,  ac- 
costed it  with  the  sublime  declaration  which  commences  the 
Gospel  of  the  wcll-bclovcd  disciple  of  Jesus,  St.  John,  the 
adoptive  son  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

Trying  to  raise  his  voice  above  the  howling  of  the  tem- 
pest, the  Messenger  of  Salvation  declared  to  Typhon  "  that 
in  the  beginning  was  the  Word  ;  that  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  that  the  Word  was  God.  That  all  things  have 
been  made  by  Him,  and  that  without  Him  was  made 
nothing  that  was  made  ;  that  in  Him  was  life,  and  that  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men  ;  that  the  light  shineth  in  darkness, 
and  that  the  darkness  did  not  comprehend  it  ;  that  the  world 
was  made  by  Him,  and  that  the  world  knew  Him  not  ;  that 
He  came  to  His  own,  and  that  His  own  received  Him  not; 
but  that  He  has  given  to  those  who  believe  in  His  name, 
and  who  are  not  born  of  the  flesh,  or  of  blood,  or  of  the  will 
of  man,  the  power  to  become  the  children  of  God  ;  and  that 
the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  that  He  dwelt  among  us." 

Then,  in  the  name  of  the  divine  Word,  Jesus  Christ. 
whose  words  calmed  the  winds  and  appeased  the  billows, 
Christopher  Columbus  commands  the  water-spout  to  spare 
those  who,  becoming  children  of  God,  go  to  carry  the 
Cross  to  the  extremities  of  the  earth,  and  navigate  in 
the  name  of  the  Thrice-Holy  Trinity.  Then  drawing  his 
sword,  with  a  full  and  ardent  faith  he  traces  in  the  air  with 
the  steel  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  and  describes  a  circle  around 
him  with  the  sword,  as  if  he  had  really  severed  or  inter- 
cepted the  water-spout.*  And,  in  fact,  oh  prodigy  !  tlie 
water-spout,  which  was  coming  straight  towards  the  car- 

*  Ilcncc  the  idea  first  spread  among  sailors,  tliat  one  would  pro- 
tect himself  from  the  water-spout  by  cutting  it  with  a  sabre  and' 
reciting  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  In  his  translation  of  the  Life  of 
Columbus,  Cotolendy  recalls  this  belief.  He  says,  in  a  marginal 
note,  in  speaking  of  the  watcr-spout,  "A  person  is  safe  from  it  by 
cutting  it  with  a  knife,  and  the  Gospel  of  St.  John."  —  La  Vic  de 
Christojlc  Colomb.     In  i2mo,  chez  Claude  Barbin,  i6-Si. 


468  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

avels,  appearing  to  be  pushed  obliquely,  passed  between  the 
half-submerged  caravels,  and  went  off  bellowing  to  lose 
itself  in  the  immensity  of  the  Atlantic* 

This  sudden  retreat  of  a  destructive  phenomenon  ap- 
peared to  Columbus  himself  as  a  new  favor  from  the  Divine 
Majesty,  f  "  The  same  piety  which  prompted  him  to  have 
recourse  to  God  to  be  preserved,  prevented  him  from  hav- 
ing any  doubt  that  he  was  indebted  to  Him  for  his  preser- 
vation in  this  extremity."  % 

Having  nothing  to  object  to  the  authority  of  the  fact,  the 
Protestant  Irving,  to  weaken  the  effect  of  this  miraculous 
event,  attributes  to  a  collective  proceeding  the  work  of  the 
individual  inspiration  of  Columbus.  He  says:  "At  the 
sight  of  the  water-spout,  which  advanced  on  them,  the  de- 
spairing seamen,  seeing  that  no  human  effort  could  avert 
the  danger,  set  about  reading  passages  from  St.  John  the 
Evangelist.  The  water-spout  passed  between  the  vessels 
without  doing  them  any  injury,  and  the  trembling  sailors 
attributed  their  safety  to  the  miraculous  efficacy  of  the 
words  of  the  Scriptures."  § 

It  is  in  vain  for  Irving  to  try  to  hide  under  the  plural 
form  the  spontaneous  initiative  of  Columbus,  and  to  keep 
out  of  sight  his  individual  action.  The  event  itself,  intrin- 
sically, protests  against  such  a  disfigurement  of  history,  and 
opposes  to  it  both  moral  and  physical  impossibilities.  How 
could  the  caravels,  separated  from  each  other  by  the  terri- 
ble commotion  of  the  elements,  scarcely  able  to  see  each 
other  across  the  watery  vapors  and  the  globules  of  foam 
filling  the  air,  and  still  less  hear  each  other,  —  how  could 
they,  we  say,  settle  on  a  plan  of  combating  the  water- 
spout, agree  about  tlie  choice  of  an  Evangelist,  and  fix  on 

•  *  Fernando  Colombo  ;  Vita  dclV  Ainariglio,  cap.  xciv.  Las 
Casas  ;  Historia  de  las  Indias,  lib.  11.,  cap.  xxiv. 

t  Herrera.     Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages,  etc.,  Dec.  I.,  liv.  v.,  cap.  ix. 

Î  P.  Charlevoix.     Hist,  de  S.  Domingue,  liv.  iv.,  p.  242. 

§  Washington  Irving.  Hist,  of  Christopher  Columbus,  Book  XV., 
chap.  VI. 


CHAP,  m.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  469 

the  passages  deemed  proper  for  warding  oft'  the  peril?  In 
the  rapidity  of  its  march,  did  the  friglitful  water-spout  leave 
time  for  deliberation?  Of  whom,  and  how,  take  counsel? 
Not  to  mention  other  reasons,  Irving  docs  not  seem  to  have 
considered  that  none  of  the  pilots  would  of  himself  have 
conceived  an  expedient  so  singularly  foreign  to  nautical 
science,  and  at  the  same  time  so  bold  in  a  spiritual  point 
of  view.  At  most,  all  they  would  have  ventured  on  would 
be  some  prayers  of  the  Liturgy  destined  for  the  warding 
off  of  storms.  To  recur  to  the  words  of  the  well-beloved 
disciple,  and  choose  his  sublime  declaration,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  one  should  himself  be  advanced  in  the  splendors 
of  divine  knowledge,  find  himself  at  the  height  of  this  super- 
human intuition,  merit  the  divine  protection,  be  agreeable 
in  the  eyes  of  God,  —  in  a  word,  be  Christopher  Columbus. 
Every  Catholic  soul  will  think  as  we  do,  and  no  judicious 
mind  will  believe  in  the  truly  inadmissible  plural  of  Irving. 

SECTION  IL 

As  soon  as  the  watcr-spout  disappeared,  the  fur}-  of  the 
sea  abated,  and  little  by  little  there  came  a  calm. 

The  sailors,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  sick,  remained 
debilitated,  dejected,  and  unable  to  attend  to  the  least  ma- 
nœuvre. In  considering  their  labors,  their  fatigues,  and 
their  hardships,  which  no  constitution  could  withstand, 
Herrera  regards  this  calm  as  an  act  of  the  Divine  mercy. 
lie  says,  positively,  that  God  accorded  it  to  them  to  pre- 
serve their  lives.* 

On  the  sixth  of  January,  1503,  the  squadron  entered  a  river, 
which  the  Admiral,  in  honor  of  the  feast  of  the  day,  named 
Bethlehem.,  or,  by  contraction,  Belen.  It  was  only  a  league 
from  that  of  Veragua,  the  country  of  the  gold  mines.  From 
Puerto  Bello  to  Veragua  the  distance  is  about  thirty  leagues. 
To  traverse  it  required  the  labors  and  the  suftcringsof  nearly 

*  llonera.     Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages.,  etc.,  Dec.  i.,  liv.  v.,  chap.  ix. 
40 


470  HISTORT  OF  [book  iv. 

a  month.  To  commemorate  these  unheard-of  traverses, 
the  Admiral  named  this  portion  of  the  coast  Costa  de  los 
Contrastes. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Belen  was  an  Indian  village,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  rose  to  arms  at  the  sight  of  the  foi-eigners. 
On  their  becoming  cooled  down,  information,  though  with 
difficulty,  was  obtained  from  them  in  relation  to  the  situa- 
tion of  the  gold  mines.  The  next  day  an  armed  boat  was 
sent  to  the  river  of  Veragua.  The  inhabitants  made  a  show 
of  opposing  the  landing  ;  but  Diego  Mendez,  who  knew  a 
little  of  their  dialect,  gave  them  to  understand  that  they 
came  with  the  sole  object  of  trading.  They  then  became 
quite  civil,  and  bartered  twenty  gold  mirrors  for  some  Euro- 
pean trinkets. 

The  twelfth  of  January  the  Adelantado,  with  some  boats, 
ascended  the  Veragua,  to  the  residence  of  the  chief  of  the 
country,  who  had  the  title  of  ^tdbian.  Apprised  of  the 
intended  visit,  he  came  to  meet  the  Adelantado.  The  inter- 
view between  them  was  quite  friendly.  The  chief  gave 
them  the  gold  ornaments  he  had  about  him,  and  received 
in  return  some  gifts  which  he  considered  of  great  value. 
They  left  each  other  mutually  well  pleased.  The  next 
day  curiosity  led  the  chief  to  Belen.  The  Admiral  gave 
him  a  grand  reception,  and  showed  him  through  the  car- 
avels. The  Qiiibian  conversed  with  him  by  signs.  The 
attendants  of  the  chief  exchanged  some  gold  mirrors  for 
hawks'  bells.  Suddenly  some  suspicion  ci'ossed  his  mind, 
and  he  went  away  abruptly. 

The  twenty-fourth  of  January,  while  a  bellowing  storm 
convulsed  the  ocean,  the  river,  without  any  visible  cause, 
suddenly  swelled,  and  with  such  violence,  that  the  tacklings 
broke  as  if  they  were  threads.  The  caravels  were  driven 
against  each  other.  The  Admiral  saw  the  danger  was 
extreme.  His  caravels  wxre  on  the  point  of  being  borne 
away.  "  Certainly,"  he  says,  "  I  never  saw  them  in  more 
imminent  danger  ;  "  and  he  artlessly  adds,  with  a  touching 
modesty,  "  Our  Lord  brought  a  remedy,  as  He  has  always 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  471 

done."  Whence  came  this  sudden  inundation  "i  The  Ad- 
miral attributed  it,  not  to  continual  rains,  tliat  would  have 
led  to  a  gradual  swelling  of  the  river,  but  to  a  sudden  cause, 
—  to  a  tremendous  storm  raging  in  the  interior  of  the  coun- 
try, on  that  chain  of  high  mountains  running  from  north  to 
west,  to  which  lie  gave  the  name  of  St.  Christopher. 
Experience  has  since  verified  the  admirable  accuracy  of 
his  conjecture. 

Notwithstanding  the  continued  rains,  the  Adelantado,  at 
the  head  of  seventy  men,  made  a  trip  into  the  interior  of  the 
country,  and  came  before  the  residence  of  the  chief.  The 
latter,  with  gracious  airs,  came,  becomingly  escorted,  to 
meet  him.  The  next  day  the  Adelantado,  conducted  by 
three  guides,  whom  the  cunning  chief  gave  him,  had  to 
ford  a  river  forty-three  times,  in  order  to  make  a  distance 
of  four  leagues.  The  next  day  they  found  some  mineral 
gold  on  the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  guides,  having  con- 
ducted the  Adelantado  to  the  top  of  a  very  high  mountain, 
showed  him  lands  which  extended  beyond  sight,  and  as- 
sured him  that  in  that  whole  region,  and  for  twenty  days' 
journey  beyond,  there  existed  gold  mines.  They  named 
with  confidence  the  places  where  it  would  be  found  more 
or  less  abundant. 

As  the  state  of  his  equipage  no  longer  permitted  Colum-  \ 
bus  to  continue,  during  this  expedition,  his  search  for  the 
strait,  he  resolved  to  establish  at  this  point  a  military  post, 
which  would  also  be  a  factory  for  trading  in  gold,  while  he 
himself  would  return  to  Castile,  to  procure  reinforcements 
and  munitions.  He  made  several  j^i'esents  to  the  chief,  in 
order  that  he  may  not  be  oflended  at  the  settlement  made 
on  his  lands.  The  site  which  the  Admiral  chose  was  .some- 
what elevated,  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  On  this 
site  he  erected  a  fortress,  and  assigned  it  eighty  men,  under 
the  command  of  the  Adelantado.  He  left  them  one  of  the 
caravels,  the  Galician^  for  their  use.  But  to  the  drench- 
ing rains  and  inundations  there  had  already  succeeded  a 
drought.     The  river  had  become  considerably  lower  ;  the 


473  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

sand  had  formed  an  impassable  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  there  were  only  thre»  feet  of  water.  There  was 
nothing  to  be  done  but  to  have  patience.  Columbus  waited' 
until  those  rains,  so  much  cursed  by  his  sailors,  but  now  so 
ardently  desired,  should  come  to  deliver  him  from  this 
blockade. 


SECTION  III. 

\  Meanwhile,  the  chief,  seeing  that  a  settlement  was  formed 
'on  his  territory,  resolved  to  attack  these  strangers  unawares, 
and  to  burn  their  ships.  Dissimulating  his  intentions,  he 
pretended  to  be  collecting  his  troops  to  fight  against  the 
cacique  of  Cobrava  Aurira,  with  whom  he  lately  had  a 
skirmish,  in  which  he  was  wounded  in  the  thigh.  While 
he  made  his  preparations  beneath  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards, 
v/ithout  there  being  any  suspicion  of  him,  a  man  on  board 
the  St.  James  attentively  observed  his  doings  and  those 
of  his  men. 

Diego  Mendez,  the  man  alluded  to, -came  to  the  Admiral 
and  said  to  him  :  "  Senor,  these  people,  who  have  been 
making  preparations  for  war,  say  they  are  going  to  join 
those  of  Veragua,  in  order  to  march  against  the  Indians 
of  Cobrava  Aurira.  I  am  confident,  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  preparation  is  for  burning  our  ships,  and  massacring 
all  of  us."  The  Admiral  charged  Mendez  to  watch  the 
Indians  closely.  Without  losing  ji  moment,  the  latter  con- 
cluded to  arm  a  boat,  and  sail  along  the  coast  of  Veragua, 
to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  camp.  He  had  not  made  half 
a  league  when  he  found  assembled  more  than  a  thousand 
warriors,  well  provided  with  provisions  and  liquors.  Bring- 
ing the  boat  to,  he  dared  to  jump  on  the  beach,  and  go  alone 
into  the  midst  of  them.  He  offered  to  accompany  them  to 
the  war  with  his  boat.  This  they  refused,  saying  it  would 
be  useless.  He  reentered  his  craft,  and  remained  the  whole 
night  watching  them.  That  very  night  they  had  fixed  on 
to  execute  their  project.     Seeing  they  were  discovered,  they 


CHAP.  III.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  473 

returned  to  Vcrngua,  wliilc  the  intrepid  Mendez  came  back 
to  the  Admiral,  to  make  his  rei^ort.  "I  recounted,"  he 
"says,  "  to  his  Excellency  what  had  passed,  and  he  appre- 
ciated it  exceedingly." 

Encouraged  by  this  first  success,  and  by  the  thanks  of  the 
Admiral,  the  brave  Mendez  offered  to  go  and  spy  them  in 
their  camp.  Still,  as  he  meditated  a  stratagem,  he  needed 
a  companion,  and  he  found  one.  Rodrigo  de  Escobar 
wished  to  be  the  man.  In  their  route  jSIendcz  encountered 
two  canoes  with  strange  Indians,  and  learned  from  them 
that  the  project,  disconcerted  by  his  presence,  would  be 
executed  in  less  than  two  days.  He  gave  them  some  toys, 
and  besought  them  to  take  him  to  Veragua.  At  length 
they  consented,  and  landed  him  in  sight  of  the  Indian  vil- 
lages. 

When  he  returned  and  made  his  report,  the  arrest  of  the 
chief  and  his  officers  was  decided  on.  The  execution  of  it 
was  assigned  by  the  Admiral  to  the  Adelantado.  Don  Bar- 
tholomew took  with  him  eighty  men,  who  followed  him 
two  by  two,  to  some  distance  from  the  residence  of  the 
chief.  Then  he  advanced  with  five  men  to  the  fortress  of 
the  chieftain,  seized  on  him,  and  fired  a  shot  from  an  ar- 
quebuse,—  the  signal  for  the  Spaniards  who  were  lying  in 
apibush.  Forthwith  the  officers  and  relations  of  the  chief, 
to  the  number  of  fifty,  mute  with  astonishment,  were  seized 
and  bound  with  strong  cords  along  with  himself. 

The  vassals  of  the  cacique  sent  forth  shrieks  of  woe,  and 
supplicated  the  Adelantado  to  restore  him  to  liberty,  ofler- 
ing,  for  his  ransom,  a  treasure  which  they  said  was  buried 
in  the  neighboring  forest.  But  the  Adelantado  would  wait 
for  nothing,  knowing  that  the  assembling  of  the  tribe  would 
be  attended  with  sanguinary  results. 

The  cunning  chief,  however,  soon  made  his  escape, 
through  the  carelessness  of  the  officer  who  got  charge  of 
him. 

The  copious  rains  that  now  fell  permitted  the  three 
caravels  to  pass  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  Admiral 
40* 


474  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

desiring,  before  he  returned  to  Spain,  to  go  to  Hispaniola, 
to  send  thence  to  the  new  fortress  reinforcements  and  pro- 
visions, cast  •  anchor  about  a  league  from  the  mouth,  so 
as  to  avail  himself  of  the  first  favorable  wind.  But  the 
cacique  was  not  asleep  during  this  time. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  475 


CHAPTER     IV. 

The  Natives  attack  the  Spanish  Camp. — The  Crew  of  a  Long- 
boat is  Massacred.  —  The  Admiral  cannot  go  to  their  ReHef  on 
account  of  the  extreme  Roughness  of  the  Sea. — His  extreme 
Sadness.  —  He  has  a  Miraculous  Vision.  —  Departure  for  His- 
paniola  and  forced  Landing  at  Queen's  Gardens.  —  Arrival  in 
Jamaica,  where  the  Vessels  are  stranded  in  the  Bay  of  Santa 
Gloria. 

SECTION  I. 

ON  the  sixth  of  April,  as  the  Admiral  was  preparing 
for  his  departure,  sixty  men  from  the  garrison  came 
in  their  long-boat  to  the  anchorage  to  bid  their  comrades 
farewell.  The  twenty  men  who  remained  with  the  Adel- 
antado  were  scattered  here  and  there  ;  some  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  and  some  with  Diego  Mendez. 

The  cacique,  taking  advantage  of  this  temporary  diminu- 
tion of  the  garrison,  immediately,  with  his  forces,  surrounded 
the  camp.  They  numbered  more  than  four  hundred  men. 
Happily  their  terrific  war-cries  gave  the  Spaniards  time  to 
arm  themselves.  Soon  the  Indians  were  repulsed,  leaving 
nineteen  of  their  number  dead,  and  fifty  prisoners  of  war. 
The  Spaniards  had  seven  wounded,  some  mortally.  The 
brave  Adelantado  received  a  slight  wound  on  the  breast. 
The  Indians  fled  to  the  woods. 

After  the  battle  was  over,  the  long-boat  of  the  Capilana, 
commanded  by  Diego  Tristan,  which  had  been  sent  for  a 
supply  of  fresh  water,  came  to  the  scene  of  action.  1 1er 
force  consisted  of  but  eleven  men,  three  only  of  whom  were 
armed.  Contrary  to  the  remonstrances  of  Diego  Mendez, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  Indians, 


^76     •  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Tristan  would  ascend  the  river.  The  consequence  was 
that  when  lie  got  to  the  place  that  afforded  fresh  water,  his 
boat  was  surrounded  by  the  Indians  in  their  canoes,  and  all 
on  board,  except  one,  were  massacred.  The  one  who  es- 
caped did  so  by  swimming  under  water  to  the  opposite 
shore.  He  returned  to  the  camp  and  related  the  sad  event. 
In  the  evening  the  long-boat  of  the  Galician  returned 
with  the  men  who  had  gone  to  bid  good-by  to  their  friends. 
The  next  morning  they  tried,  with  a  boat,  to  get  to  the  Ad- 
miral, to  beg  him  to  come  to  their  assistance  and  take  them 
away  ;  but  the  roughness  of  the  sea  prevented  their  passing 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  Elated  with  their  triumph  over  the 
ci*ew  of  the  long-boat,  the  Indians  continued  to  harass  the 
camp,  but  the  Adelantado  was  there. 

SECTION  II. 

The  Admiral  felt  great  anguish  of  mind.  For  ten  days 
he  awaited  the  return  of  the  long-boat,  and  still  there  was 
no  appearance  of  her.  Having  a  presentiment  that  some 
misfortune  had  occurred,  he  sent  several  times  a  boat  well- 
armed  in  quest  of  her,  and  to  try  to  bring  some  news  from 
'the  camp,  but  always  the  surf  at  the  embouchure  of  the 
river  prevented  its  going  any  farther. 

Hitherto,  though  he  was  without  news  from  the  long-boat 
or  the  fortress,  he  was  in  hopes  the  Indians  would  not 
attack  the  factory,  on  account  of  the  fifty  prisoners  de- 
tained as  hostages  on  board  the  St.  James.  Every  even- 
ing they  were  shut  up  in  the  forecastle  of  the  caravel,  the 
hatchway  of  which  was  secured  by  a  strong  chain  and  pad- 
lock ;  and,  for  additional  security,  some  of  the  sailors  slept 
on  the  hatch,  which  was  so  high  as  to  be  considered  out 
of  reach  of  the  prisoners.  One  night  they  neglected  to 
fasten  the  chain.  The  Indians,  noticing  this  negligence, 
collected,  noiselessly,  a  number  of  stones  from  the  ballast 
of  the  vessel,  and  made  a  heap  of  them  under  the  hatch- 
way.    Several  of  the  most  powerful  warriors  mounted  on 


CHAP.  IV.]  CIIRISrOPIIER  COLUMBUS.  477 

the  top,  and,  bending  tlieir  backs,  bj'  a  simultaneous  cflort 
forced  up  the  hatch,  flinging  the  sailors  who  slept  on  it  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  vessel.  In  an  instant  the  greater 
part  of  the  Indians  sprang  up,  plunged  into  the  sea,  and 
swam  ashore.  Several,  however,  were  prevented  from  sal- 
lying forth,  others  were  seized  on  the  deck,  and  forced  back 
into  the  forecastle  ;  and  this  time  the  officers  themselves 
secured  the  chains.  In  the  morning,  when  they  went  to 
give  their  rations  to  the  prisoners,  they  found  them  all  dead. 
The  latter  had,  in  their  despair,  strangled  themselves. 

The  escape  of  tlic  prisoners  increased  the  anxiety  of  the 
Admiral,  and  the  suicide  of  so  many  persons  added  to  the 
horrors  of  the  situation.  It  was  feared  that  the  escaped 
Indians  would  attack  the  Spanish  camp. 

A  fnst-class  sailor  of  the  Biscayiaii^  Pedro  de  Ledesma, 
offered  to  go  ashore  if  the  Admiral  would  have  him  sent 
to  the  beginning  of  the  breakers,  where  the  boat  should 
wait  until  his  return.  He  bravely  attained  the  shore,  and 
reached  the  camp  unexpectedly,  where  he  was  received 
with  delirious  joy  as  a  liberator. 

Ledesma  returned  to  the  Admiral  with  a  verbal  message 
from  the  Adelantado.  Across  the  surges  and  breakers  he 
reached  the  boat  and  was  conducted  to  the  Admiral,  who, 
in  recompense  for  his  exemplary  courage,  immediately 
raised  him  to  the  rank  of  an  officer. 

SECTION  II L 

The  report  of  Ledesma  filled  the  heart  of  Columbus  with 
grief  and  alarm.  His  men  on  land  were  exposed  to  im- 
pending danger,  witiiout  his  being  able  to  assist  them.  He 
felt  for  his  brother,  who  had  under  his  orders  a  troop 
thinned  by  death  and  ready  to  revolt,  and  who  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  multitude  of  furious  savages.  His  leaky  \ 
ships  could  not  withstand  a  new  assault  from  the  tempest. 
The  crews  had  yielded  to  their  fearful  apprehensions.  As  \ 
regarded   himself,  to  his  paroxysms  of  pain  were  added  a 


478  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

violent  fever.  The  sea  and  the  heavens  persisted  in  their 
inclemency.  He  saw  only  anguish  and  gloom  among  his 
sailors.     Even  the  captains  were  shedding  tears  of  woe. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gloomy  desolation,  Columbus  made 
an  effort  to  get  to  the  round-top  {Jnine)  of  the  mainmast,  to 
see  if  he  could  perceive  any  encouraging  signs.  Seeing 
none,  he  sank  down  at  the  foot  of  the  round-top,  as  for- 
merly the  prophet  sank  at  the  foot  of  the  juniper-tree  in  the 
desert,  who,  with  a  desolate  heart,  asked  of  God  to  be  taken 
from  this  world.  Still  Cokuiibus  did  not  murmur,  or  ex- 
press any  wish.  His  dejection  was  too  great  to  be  spent 
in  words.  He  sighed  inwardly  and  fell  asleep.  Affliction 
had  beset  his  soul,  when  he  heard  a  "  tender  voice,"  the 
words  of  which  we  .endeavor  to  translate  with  scrupulous 
fidelity.     This  voice  said  to  him,  — 

"  Oh,  thou  fool  !  slow  to  believe  and  to  serve  thy  God, 
the  God  of  all  !  What  more  did  He  for  Moses,  or  for  His 
servant  David,  than  He  has  done  for  thee?  From  thy  birth 
He  has  taken  the  greatest  care  of  thee.  When  He  saw 
thee  come  to  a  fitting  age.  He  marvellously  inade  thy  name 
resound  throughout  the  earth.  The  Indies,  those  wealth}'- 
regions  of  the  world,  He  gave  thee  for  thine  own,  and 
empowered  thee  to  dispose  of  them  according  to  thy  pleas- 
ure. He  delivered  thee  the  keys  of  the  barriers  of  the 
Ocean  Sea,  which  was  shut  up  with  such  mighty  chains. 
Thy  orders  were  obej'ed  in  many  countries,  and  among 
Christians  thou  didst  acquire  honorable  fame.  What  more 
did  He  for  the  people  of  Israel  when  He  led  them  foilh 
from  Egypt?  Or  even  for  David,  whom,  from  being  a 
shepherd.  He  made  King  of  Judea  ?  Turn  then  to  Him, 
and  acknowledge  thy  error  ;  His  mercy  is  infinite.  Thy 
age  shall  be  no  impediment  to  any  great  undertaking. 
He  has  many  and  vast  inheritances  yet  in  reserve.  Abra- 
ham was  above  a  hundred  years  when  he  begat  Isaac  ; 
and  was  Sarai  youthful .''  Thou  urgest  for  succor  despond- 
ingly.  Answer  !  who  hath  afflicted  thee  so  much  and  so 
many  times,  —  God,  or  the  world?      The  privileges  and 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  479 

promises  which  God  hath  made  to  thee,  lie  hath  never 
broken  ;  neither  hath  He  said,  after  having  received  the  ser- 
vices, that  His  meaning  was  diflercnt,  and  was  to  be  under- 
stood in  a  diflercnt  sense  :  nor  doth  He  inflict  pain  in 
order  to  show  forth  His  power.  He  performs  to  tlie  very 
letter.  He  fulfils  all  that  He  promises,  and  with  increase. 
Is  not  this  His  custom?  I  have  shown  thee  what  thy  Cre- 
ator hath  done  for  thee,  and  what  He  doeth  for  all.  The 
present  is  the  reward  of  the  toils  and  perils  thou  hast  en- 
dured in  serving  others." 

"  In  hearing  this,"  adds  Columbus,  "  I  was  as  one  almost 
dead,  and  had  no  power  to  reply  to  words  so  true  ;  I  could 
only  bewail  my  errors.  Whoever  it  was  that  spoke  to  me, 
finished  by  saying  :  '  Fear  not  !  Have  confidence.  All 
these  tribulations  are  graven  in  marble,  and  it  is  not  with- 
out cause.'  "  * 

In  transcribing  these  words,  repeated  by  Columbus  him- 
self with  liis  charming  artlessness,  we  are  seized  with  an 
indefinable  feeling  of  respect. 

Yet,  while  recognizing  the  elevation  and  poetry  of  these 
inimitable  lines,  the  Protestant  school  tries  to  see  in  them 
only  an  ingenious  fiction,  or  the  pi'oduct  of  a  fevered  de- 
lirium. It  suspects  the  truth  of  the  vision,  and  reduces  the 
recital  of  the  Admiral  to  an  ably  concocted  scheme  to  give 
an  indirect  lesson  to  King  Ferdinand. 

Our  pen  will  not  descend  to  discussing  this  odious  impu- 
tation.    A  single  fact  will  sufiice  to  refute  it. 

In  the  letter  in  which  Columbus  reports  this  vision,  he 
takes  no  occasion  to  remind  the  Sovereigns  of  the  outragre- 
ous  and  unjust  manner  in  which  he  was  deprived  of  his 
government,  to  reclaim  his  reestablishment  in  his  dignities 
and  powers,  or  to  demand,  as  an  act  of  justice,  the  chastise- 
ment of  his  enemies. 

All  that  he  says  is  very  plain  and  direct,  and  it  seems  to 
us  that  it  contains  no  adroit  allusion  or  circuitous  hint.     In 

*  Cuarto  y  uUitno  viage  de  Colon. 


^o  HI  s  TORT  OF  [book  iv. 

truth,  craftiness,  or  resorting  to  tortuous  wa3^s,  formed  uo 
part  of  the  character  of  Cokmibus. 

Who  can  doubt  of  the  reahty  of  this  vision  but  those  who 
really  deny  the  supernatural  order,  and  the  divine  action  on 
humanity  ?  Poor  blind  creatures,  deprived  of  interior  light, 
and  deficient  in  the  sense  of  religion,  which  is  the  very  es- 
sence of  human  reason  !  Whoever  admits  divine  revelation 
believes  in  the  apparitions  with  which  the  patriarchs  were 
favored,  in  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets,  in  the  invisible 
strengthening  of  the  martyrs,  and  in  the  prodigies  operated 
by  the  saints  ;  and  cannot  yield  up  to  doubt  the  vision  re- 
lated by  Columbus.  Such  language  can  be  repeated,  but 
it  could  not  be  fabricated. 

What  Columbus  mentions  passed  during  his  sleep.  It 
was  not  even  precisely  a  vision  like  that  of  the  father  of 
believers,  or  of  Israel,  the  father  of  the  twelve  tribes  ;  nor, 
still  yet,  a  wind  like  that  which  blew  on  the  prophet  in  his 
desolation.  It  was  a  voice.  Columbus  does  not  relate  what 
he  felt,  or  what  he  saw,  but  simply  what  he  heard.  laides 
ex  auditu^  —  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing." 

Whence  came  this  voice,  and  who  uttered  it?  The  ser- 
vant of  God  does  not  say  ;  —  influenced,  no  doubt,  by  his 
Christian  modesty.  He  mentions  the  fact  only,  with  a  dis- 
cretion replete  with  respectful  gratitude  ;  and,  without  desig- 
nating the  quality  of  the  compassionate  being  who  consoled 
him,  he  limits  himself  to  saying  :  "  Whoever  it  was  that 
spoke  to  me."  But  already  the  words  that  precede  these 
have,  without  his  being  aw^are  of  it,  stamped  this  disclosure 
with  the  seal  of  Christian  veracity. 

Every  adept  in  psychological  studies  will  recognize  here 
the  experimental  force  of  the  true,  and  will  find  in  the 
words  of  Columbus  the  criterion  of  truthfulness. 

To  return  to  our  narrative.  After  awaking  from  his 
sleep,  Columbus  felt  much  comforted  and  strengthened. 
The  w^eather,  however,  still  continued  inclement.  For 
nine  days  more  his  constancy  was  further  put  to  the 
proof.      At   length   the  sea  became  calmer,  and,  by   the 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  481 

extraordinary  exertions  of  Diego  Mcndez,  everything  was 
brought  away  from  the  Gallcian  to  the  three  other 
caravels. 

SECTION  IV. 

Towards  the  end  of  April  the  Admiral  gave,  in  the  name 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  the  order  for  sailing.  The  three 
caravels  opened  their  sails,  and  took  their  course  for  Ilis- 
paniola,  where  it  was  necessary  to  go  without  delay  to 
repair  the  ships  and  procure  provisions.  The  continuation 
of  bad  weather,  and  the  incredible  number  of  tempests  they 
had  to  encounter,  in  exhausting  the  physical  strength  of  the 
sailors,  terrified  their  imaginations.  The  pilots  no  longer 
found  any  explanations  for  the  atmospheric  rigors  that  pre- 
sented themselves.  The  crews  were  persuaded  that  the 
numerous  magicians  on  the  coast  had  plied  the  resources 
of  their  black  art  to  keep  the  ships  away  from  land,  and 
cause  them  to  perish.  Columbus  felt  convinced  that  the 
furiousness  of  the  elements,  conjured  against  his  caravels, 
was  a  last  effort  of  the  Enemy  of  Salvation  to  oppose  the 
accomplishment  of  his  object. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  voyage,  undertaken  in  order 
to  open  a  passage  for  the  Cross  over  the  immensity  of  the 
ocean,  and  to  bring  it  back  to  Europe,  by  the  circumnavi- 
gation of  the  globe,  encountered  trom  the  winds,  the  waves, 
and  watery  and  fiery  meteors,  an  opposition  as  violent  as 
it  was  exceptional  ;  and  that  the  perseverance,  the  strugi^le 
of  Columbus,  was  one  of  the  greatest  examples  of  con- 
stancy against  forces  which  so  terribly  surpassed  human 
resources.  This  hostility  of  the  elements  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  mind  of  young  Fernando  Columbus, 
though  he  showed  great  courage,  in  order  not  to  add  to 
the  anguish  of  his  fatiier.  Later,  after  having  several  times 
traversed  the  Atlantic,  when  he  wrote  his  history,  an  expe- 
rience of  thirty  years  having  modified  his  cosmographie 
ideas,  what  he  had  seen,  what  he  had  suffered  during  this 
expedition,  seemed  to  him  impossible.  He  distrusted  his 
41 


483  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

own  recollections,  fearing  the  exaggerations  of  a  youthful 
imagination  ;  and,  to  control  the  fidelity  of  his  memory, 
consulted  the  Narration  of  an  officer  with  whom  he  had 
voyaged,  the  trusty  Diego  Mendez.*  He  there  found  his 
recollections  justified. 

These  contrarieties  of  the  elements  seemed  really  combined 
in  order  to  constrain  Columbus  to  keep  out  to  the  sea,  and 
always  away  from  the  new  land.  Herrera  says:  "As  they 
left  one  port,  it  seemed  as  if  the  winds  spied  their  depar- 
ture, in  order  to  use  afterwards  all  their  force  on  the  vessels, 
as  against  rocks,  that  could  have  resisted  them  ;  and  thus,  by 
the  force  of  the  winds,  they  were  pushed,  now  to  the  east, 
immediately  after  to  the  west,  and  thus  in  so  many  ways 
and  so  often,  that  the  Admiral,  and  all  those  who  w^ere  with 
him,  did  not  know  what  to  decide  on.  f  It  is  a  fact,  that 
since  then  no  maritime  exploration  on  the  rest  of  the  globe, 
no  posterior  voyage  in  these  regions,  was  tried  in  this  cruel 
manner. 

The  caravels,  pierced  with  holes,  leaked  ;  the  provisions 
were  injured,  and  the  same  as  lost.  Still  Columbus,  not 
being  able  to  resign  himself  to  the  idea  that  the  strait  did 
not  exist  in  these  regions,  wished  to  continue  his  search  for 
it  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  contrary  advice  of  the  pilots 
and  the  fears  of  the  sailors,  he  bore  to  the  east,  in  place  of 
the  north.  As  the  officers  had  contests  in  regard  to  the 
route  followed,  and  the  one  to  be  pursued,  which  each  of 
them  estimated  according  to  the  chart  he  had  drawn  up, 
Columbus,  with  that  superiority  of  command  which  every- 
body recognized  in  him,  seized  on  the  charts,  and  imposed 
silence  on  all.  After  having  made  thirt}^  leagues,  the  leak- 
ing of  the  Biscayia7t  was  so  great,  that  it  became  necessary 
to  abandon  her.  Her  equipage  was  divided  between  the 
two  remaining   ships.     The  Admiral  did  not  the  less  con- 


*  Fernando  Colombo.      Vita  delV  Ammiraglio,  cap.  xciv. 
t  Herrera.     Hist.    Gen.  et   Voy.   ct  Conq.  des   Castilians  dans  les 
Ind.  Occid.,  Dec.  I,  liv.  v.,  chap.  ix. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  483 

tinue  his  route.     lie  passed  Port  Retrctc,  and  a  number 
of  islands,  which   he   called   Las  Barbas^  and  which  be- 
longed   to   the   cacique   Pocorosa.      lie    approached   land  I 
anew,  and  advanced  ten  leagues  to  the  west.  < 

Accustomed   to  the  favors  of  Providence,  which  he  had  { 
so    many    times    experienced,   the  Admiral    continued    his 
exploration,  with    his   ships  riddled   and   almost   destitute 
of  provisions.     The  first  of  May  the  pilots,  justly  frightened 
at  the  state  of  things,  represented  to  him  the  condition  of  1 
the  caravels,  and  the  dejected  state  of  the  sailors,  enfeebled  \ 
by  jDrivations  and  fatigues.     Columbus  then  gave  orders  to 
steer  directly  north.     For  two  days  they  had  a  favorable 
wind.     His  officers  feared  they  were  carried  to  the  east  of 
the  Caribbean  archipelago,  while  the  Admiral  feared  they 
were  driven  to  the  west  of  Cape  St.  Michael.     The  latter 
opinion  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  correct  one. 

The  second  of  May  he  came  to  two  islands,  which,  from 
the  number  of  tortoises  seen  on  them,  he  called,  from  their 
name,  Tortiigas.  The  currents  and  contrary  winds  now 
drove  him  anew  to  the  Qiicen's  Gardens,  although  he  had 
endeavored  to  keep  wide  of  them.  His  sea-stores  were  all 
gone,  except  a  little  biscuit,  oil,  and  vinegar  ;  and  the  water 
entered  at  all  parts,  requiring  the  pumps  to  be  incessantly 
worked. 

In  this  sad  situation  they  were  assailed  by  a  tempest.  In 
a  few  hours  they  lost  successivel}'^  three  anchors.  At 
midnight  the  cable  of  the  St.  James  snapped,  and  the 
caravel  was  driven  with  such  violence  upon  the  Capitana, 
that  both  were  much  injured.  "  It  was  a  marvel  that  both 
did  not  go  to  pieces."  The  sea  remained  boisterous  for  ten 
days.  At  length  they  got  to  Macaco,  on  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
where  they  rested  themselves,  and  procured  some  provis- 
ions. Making  sail  again,  he  endeavored  to  beat  up  for 
Ilispaniola;  but  the  adverse  force  of  the  currents  and  of 
the  winds  made  his  efforts  of  but  little  avail. 

The    tempest    recommenced.       The    Si.     James    was   , 
obliged   to   run    into    a   port.     The    Capitana   wished    to 


484  H  1ST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 

keep  the  sea  in  spite  of  the  storm.  la  the  night  the  water 
gained  so  much  on  her,  that  she  was  on  the  point  of  foun- 
dering. "  Their  force  and  industry  could  not  overcome  the 
water,  although  they  labored  incessantly  at  the  pumps. 
Already  the  water  had  risen  to  the  deck."  *  Columbus 
himself  says:  "My  vessel  was  on  the  very  point  of  sinking 
when  our  Lord  conducted  me  miraculously  to  land." 

The  twenty-third  of  June  the  Capitana,  followed  by 
the  St.  yames,  was  pushed  on  the  north  coast  of  Ja- 
maica, into  a  port  well  sheltered,  but  met  with  none  of  the 
natives,  from  whom  they  could  obtain  provisions,  nor  was 
there  any  fresh  water  to  be  had.  The  next  da}^,  with  inex- 
pressible pains  and  perils,  they  sailed  along  the  coast,  seek- 
ing a  harbor  more  to  the  east.  The  Admiral  recognized, 
towards  the  middle  of  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  the 
beautiful  harbor  which  he  had  perceived  at  the  time  of  his 
discovery  of  Jamaica,  and  which  he  had  named  Santa 
Gloria  (Holy  Glory),  because  the  harmonies  of  the  works 
of  the  Creative  Word  were  there  displayed  with  inexpres- 
sible magnificence,  and  because  his  religious  soul  enjoyed 
in  their  contemplation  a  felicity  the  ravishing  delights  of 
which  appeared  to  him  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  shadow  of 
those  of  the  elect. 

This  hospitable  island  was  densely  populated,  and 
abounded  with  all  the  necessaries  of  life.  Columbus  was 
not  the  only  person  who  recognized  in  their  coming  here 
a  particular  favor  from  God.  His  flag-officer,  the  brave 
Diego  Mendez,  considered  this  event  as  an  act  of  the 
Divine  mercy. 

The  two  caravels,  reduced  to  mere  wrecks,  were  ready 
to  sink  even  in  the  port.  Columbus,  therefore,  ordered 
them  to  be  run  aground,  and  fastened  together  side  by 
side.  He  then  had  thatched  cabins  erected  at  their  prows 
and  sterns  ;  and,  to  prevent  all  altercations  with  the  na- 
tives, nobody  was  allowed  to  go  ashore  without  especial 

*Herrera.     Hist.  Gen.  des  Voyages,  etc.,  Dec.  I.,  liv.  vi.,  chap  il. 


CHAP.  IV.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  485 

license.  Their  provisions  were  all  consumed,  and  famine 
stared  them  in  the  face;  but,  througli  tlic  indefatigable  and 
devoted  exertions  of  Diego  Mendez,  a  supply  was  obtained 
from  the  caciques.  For  this  favor  Mendez  himself  says  the 
Admiral  "thanked  God  for  having  brought  me  safe  and 
sound  from  the  midst  of  these  savage  nations."  * 

*  Rclacion  hccha  for  Diego  Mcndcz  dc  Algunas  a  Coniccimtcntos 
del  ultimo  Viagc  del  Almirante  Cristobal  Colon. 
41* 


486  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Columbus  writes  a  Letter  to  the  Sovereigns,  which  he  cannot  send 
but  by  a  Miracle.  —  Diego  Mendez  undertakes  to  be  the  Bearer.  — 
Mendez  is  marvellously  aided  by  Providence,  and  finally  arrives 
in  Hispaniola  in  a  Canoe.  —  This  Voyage  a  truly  miraculous 
one.  —  Revolt  of  the  Brothers  Porras  against  the  Admiral. 


SECTION  I. 

NEITHER  the  abundance  of  provisions,  nor  the  friendly 
disposition  of  the  natives,  could  deceive  the  foresight 
of  the  Admiral.  He  knew  the  fickleness  of  the  savages, 
and  their  innate  dissimulation.  These  people,  nov\r  so 
ready  to  assist,  may  to-morrow  become  enemies.  Twice 
he  had  already  experienced  their  warlike  proj^ensity.  They 
possessed  flotillas  of  canoes  that  were  not  to  be  despised. 
It  would  be  easy  to  starve  out  the  new-comers,  or  burn 
them  with  their  thatched  cabins.  The  sailors,  broken  down 
by  the  prodigious  hardships  they  had  undergone,  were  de- 
prived of  all  energy.  The  caravels  could  not  be  put  to 
sea  again,  and  no  others  could  be  built,  all  the  master- 
carpenters  having  perished  in  the  disaster  of  the  sixth  of 
April. 

Columbus  found  himself  thus  shipwrecked  without  a  tem- 
pest, being  neither  on  land  nor  on  sea,  exposed  to  possible 
danger  from  the  shore,  and  deprived  of  the  resources  of  the 
sea,  —  a  disheartening  position,  because  there  was  no  outlet 
from  it  !  How  was  he  to  obtain  aid .''  How  make  known 
to  the  Qiieen  his  discovery  of  the  gold  mines  of  Veragua, 
and  the  existence  of  an  unexplored  sea  on  the  other  side  of 
the  new  continent .''     The  Admiral  no  lonsfer  had  a  boat  of 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  487 

any  kind  that  could  attempt  to  make  a  voyage  from  Jamaica 
to  IlispanioLn,  —  a  distance  of  forty  leagues,  —  over  a  fickle 
sea,  and  against  the  currents  and  east  winds,  which  often 
require  the  struggle  of  a  month  from  a  well-equipped  ship. 
He  was  sad  on  account  of  this  position,  apparently  so 
humiliating  for  the  conqueror  of  the  Gloomy  Ocean;  — 
sad  on  account  of  his  long  privation  of  the  sacraments  of 
the  Church  and  spiritual  comforts  ;  sad,  especially,  because 
this  exile,  whose  term  was  indefinite,  postponed  the  deliv- 
erance of  the  Holy  Places,  for  which  his  heart  yearned. 

In  the  perplexities  of  this  situation  he  would,  at  all 
events,  write  to  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  a  summary  of  his 
voyage,  and  demand  their  assistance  to  deliver  himself  and 
his  crews  from  this  place. 

That  Columbus  should  have  prepared  a  message,  not- 
withstanding the  impossibility  of  transmitting  it,  must 
appear  a  singular  aliair  ;  no  other  man  in  such  a  position 
would  have  thought  of  it,  for  the  means  of  sending  it  were 
not  within  the  natural  range  of  humanity.  So,  accustomed 
as  Columbus  was  to  the  bounties  of  the  Divine  ^Majesty,  he 
said,  in  writing-  his  letter  to  the  Sovereigns,  that  if  it  should 
reach  them  it  would  be  by  a  miracle. 

It  was,  in  truth,  by  a  miracle  that  it  came  into  their 
hands.  This  letter,  for  a  long  time  forgotten,  though  it  was 
formerly  printed  in  Spain,  made  a  great  noise  some  forty- 
seven  years  ago,  among  learned  societies.  Venice,  Bas- 
sano,  Pisa,  Florence,  Genoa,  Turin,  Milan,  Pavia,  Rome, 
and  Paris,  occupied  themselves  with  it.  The  learned  Mo- 
rclli,  a  librarian  in  Venice,  had  it  republished,  accompanied  • 
with  notes,  under  the  title  of  Lettera  Rarissima. 

This  letter  is  no  less  remarkable  on  account  of  its  mar- 
itime transactions  than  for  its  scientific  discoveries,  or  for 
the  events  it  relates,  than  for  thouglitful  observations.  It 
derives,  especially,  an  extraordinary  interest  from  the  crit- 
ical circumstances  under  which  Columbus  penned  it,  and 
from  his  mode  of  transmitting  it,  which  was  still  more  as- 
tonishing. Properly  speaking,  this  document  is  neither  a 
letter   nor  a  report,  nor  a  summary  of  the  voyage  ;  it  is  a 


488  HISTORY  OF  [book  it. 

communication  from   the   Revealer   of  tlie  Globe  to    the 
Catholic  Sovereigns. 

The  Admiral  at  first  relates  the  unheard-of  sufferings  and 
difficulties  of  this  voyage,  announces  the  existence  of  the 
ocean  on  the  other  side  of  the  discovered  land,  mentions 
the  existence  of  gold  mines  in  Veragua  and  in  the  adjacent 
countries  ;  he  dwells  particularly  on  this  latter  godsend, 
which  he  knows  is  the  only  object  of  the  desires  of  the 
King,  and  says,  "  I  make  more  of  the  scale  and  of  the  gold 
mines  of  this  country  than  of  all  that  has  been  done  in  the 
Indies." 

Before  speaking  of  himself,  he  occupies  himself  with  the 
wants  of  his  crews,  and  with  their  back  pay.  He  invokes 
for  them  the  interest  of  the  Sovereigns,  and  declares  that 
never  will  anybody  bring  better  news  to  Spain  than  they. 
The  destitution  of  these  men,  who  have  served  and  suf- 
fered, recalls  to  his  mind  that  those  who  have  deserted  the 
colony,  flying  from  labor  and  calumniating  his  government, 
had  received  offices  ;  which  is,  he  says,  a  sad  example.  This 
lack  of  justice  leads  him  to  the  lack  of  zeal  shown  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  —  the  constant  thought 
of  his  life.  He  seems,  from  his  sense  of  Christian  dignity, 
not  to  wish  to  speak  again  of  a  project  already  sacrificed  by 
the  ambition  of  Ferdinand  to  uncertain  aggrandizements  in 
Italy.  This  affair  he  does  not  call  by  its  name  ;  he  does 
not  name  it,  so  well  is  it  known  to  the  Sovereigns  ;  but  his 
thoughts,  nourished  by  the  daily  bread  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, present  it  under  a  biblical  figure.  He  gives  to  the 
matter  of  the  Holy  Places  awaiting  their  deliverance  the 
image  of  the  Saviour  Himself,  awaiting,  with  outstretched 
arms,  all  the  day,  for  an  unbelieving  people.*  He  says  : 
"  The  other  aflair,  the  most  important  one,  remains  where 
it  was,  calling  with  outstretched  arms  !  It  has  been  passed 
over  as  foreign,  even  to  this  hour.f 

*  Expand!  manus  meas  toda  die  ad  populum  incredulum  qui  grad- 
itur  in  via  non  bona  post  cogitationes  suas.  —  Isaiœ,  lxv. 

t  Christophe  Colomb.  Lettre  aux  Rois  Catholiques,  datie  de  la 
Jamaique,  le  7  Juillet,  ^503. 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  489 

Continuing  this  idea,  which,  for  its  own  lioiior,  he  did  not 
wish  to  expose  more  to  cold  disdain,  or  to  the  endless  ad- 
journments of  the  Court,  the  Rcvcalcr  of  the  Globe,  seeing 
plainly  that  he  must  deliver,  with  his  own  resources,  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  without  the  cooperation  of  Ferdinand,  de- 
mands what  is  due  to  him  as  the  j^art  due  to  God  Himself. 
He  says  to  the  Sovereigns,  "  It  is  just  to  give  to  God  what 
belongs  to  Him,"  as  if  his  part  were  that  of  the  Church. 
He  reclaims  the  restitution  of  his  property,  and  of  his 
honors  ;  and  the  chastisement  of  those  who  have  robbed 
and  calumniated  him.  "  In  acting  thus,"  he  says,  "  your 
Highnesses  will  show  a  high  degree  of  virtue,  and  will  leave 
Spain  a  gi-and  example  and  a  glorious  memory  as  just  and 
grateful  princes." 

Although  his  reason  and  his  sense  of  equity,  no  less  than 
his  heart,  revolted  at  the  manner  in  which  his  services  were 
recompensed,  neither  bitter  reticence  nor  vengeful  irony  can 
be  perceived  in  his  complaint;  he  even  excuses  himself  for 
having  awakened  recollections  which  he  wished  to  have  left 
buried  in  silence.  But  the  enormity  of  the  injustice,  and 
the  excess  of  the  ingratitude  he  has  received,  move  him  to 
pity  his  own  fate.  The  epic  character  of  his  misfortunes, 
the  poetry  of  his  trials  on  sea,  and  the  iniquity  done  him, — 
assuredly  without  an  equal  after  that  of  the  Jews  towards 
the  Saviour,  —  transport  him,  mentally,  beyond  the  time  ; 
and  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe,  placing  himself  in  the  point 
of  view  of  after  generations,  deplores  the  mortal  destiny  of 
Christopher  Columbus.  He  exclaims:  "I  have  hitherto 
wept  for  others,  but  now  Heaven  have  pity  on  me  ;  and 
O  Earth  !  weep  for  me  !  .  .  .  .  Weep  for  me  whoever  has, 
charity,  truth  and  justice  !  "  It  is  not  Castile  or  Europe 
that  the  Messenger  of  the  Cross  invites  to  weep  for  him,  but 
the  whole  world  :    "  O  Earth  !    weep  for  me  !  " 

What  other  mortal  ever  dared  to  utter  such  language? 
Wliat  poet,  what  prophet,  what  hero  of  the  Gospel,  in 
speaking  of  himself,  used  a  more  energetic  boldness  of 
images,  and  clothed  with  a  grander  majesty  the  accents  that 


490  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

came  from  his  heart.  Here,  indeed,  we  feel  that  "  the  style 
is  the  man."  Grandeur,  simplicity,  sadness,  boldness,  are 
found  naturally  harmonized,  as  if  they  were  a  single  utter- 
ance of  the  soul. 

The  message  remained  without  a  messenger. 

Columbus  knew  the  physical  imjDOSsibility  of  crossing  a 
sea  of  forty  leagues,  against  the  currents  and  the  winds,  in 
the  frail  canoes  of  the  savages.  It  would  have  been  a  mad 
undertaking.  For  one  chance  of  success  there  were  a  thou- 
sand chances  of  failure,  and,  consequently,  of  death. 

During  nine  days  he  meditated  and  remained  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  consulting  Him,  and  at  length  determined  to 
know  what,  according  to  the  expression  of  Peter  Martyr, 
the  Most  High  had  decided  on  in  his  regard. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  Christian,  ready  for  suffer- 
ings, and  willing  to  make  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  for 
the  preservation  of  his  companions,  could  attempt  this  un- 
dertaking. But  who  would  be  this  generous  person?  Co- 
lumbus saw  nobody  capable  of  this  heroism  but  his  old 
servitor,  Diego  Mendez,  a  man  who  loved  God  and  his  old 
master,  and  who  had  no  earthly  ties  to  keep  him  back. 
The  tenth  day  the  Admiral  called  him  to  a  private  confer- 
ence, and  thus  addressed  him  :  — 

"  Diego  Mendez,  my  son,  none  of  those  who  are  here,  but 
you  and  I,  know  the  danger  in  which  we  are  placed.  We 
are  few  in  number,  and  these  savage  Indians  are  many,  and 
of  irritable  and  fickle  natures.  On  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion they  could  easily,  from  the  land,  set  fire  to  our  straw- 
thatched  cabins  and  burn  us  all.  The  arrangement  you 
have  made  with  them  for  supplying  us  with  provisions,  and 
which  they  now  fulfil  with  so  much  cheerfulness,  may  not 
continue  acceptable  to  them,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising 
if  to-morrow  they  brought  us  nothing  ;  nor  have  we  the 
means  of  compelling  them  by  force  to  supply  us,  but  are 
left  entirely  at  their  pleasure.  I  have  thought  of  a  means 
of  rescuing  us,  if  it  meet  with  your  viQ,ws  ;  in  the  canoe  you 
purchased  some  one  may  venture  to  pass  over  to  Hispan- 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  491 

iola,  and  there  procure  a  ship,  by  which  we  all  may  be  de- 
livered from  the  perilous  situation  in  which  we  arc  placed. 
Tell  me  your  opinion  of  the  matter." 

Mendez  replied  :  "  Senor,  the  danger  that  threatens  us  is, 
I  well  know,  far  greater  than  is  imagined.  As  to  the  pro- 
ject of  passing  from  this  island  to  Illspaniola,  in  so  small 
a  vessel  as  a  canoe,  I  hold  it  not  only  extremely  difficult, 
but  even  impossible  ;  because  I  know  nobody  who  would 
venture  to  run  the  extreme  risk  of  traversing  a  gulf  of  forty 
leagues  between  islands  where  the  sea  is  so  extremely 
impetuous." 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence.  Columbus  made  no 
answer,  because  there  was  nothing  to  object.  The  ques- 
tion was  not  one  of  reasoning,  but  one  of  sacrifice.  His 
looks,  his  manner,  sufficiently  told  Mendez  that  it  was  meet 
for  himself,  a  man  of  courage  and  of  faith,  who  had  expe- 
rienced the  bounty  of  God,  to  offer  himself  anew  for  the 
salvation  of  his  companions. 

Mendez  understood  this  mute  language,  and  replied  : 
"  Seùor,  I  have  several  times  put  my  life  in  imminent 
peril  to  save  you,  and  all  those  who  are  with  you,  and 
God  has  preserved  me  in  a  miraculous  manner.  Still, 
there  arc  murmurers  who  say  that  your  Excellency  in- 
trusts to  me  all  alTairs  wherein  honor  is  to  be  gained,  while 
there  are  others  in  your  company  who  could  execute  them 
as  well  as  I  do.  For  this  reason,  I  beg  that  you  would 
summon  all  the  people,  and  propose  this  enterprise  to 
them,  to  see  if  there  is  among  them  any  one  that  will 
undertake  it,  which  I  doubt.  If  all  decline  it,  I  will  risk 
my  life  for  your  service,  as  I  have  many  times  done." 

The  next  day  all  the  ofiiccrs  and  crews  were  assembled. 
The  Admiral  explained  the  state  of  matters  to  them,  and 
proposed  sending  a  canoe  to  Ilispaniola.  They  were  mute 
with  astonishment  at  the  proposition,  and  cveiy  one  drew 
back  from  the  thoughts  of  it,  declaring  it  the  height  of 
rashness. 

Then  Mendez  arose  and  said  :   "  Seùor,  I  have  but  one 


492  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

life  ;  yet  I  am  willing  to  hazard  it  for  the  service  of  your 
Excellency,  and  the  good  of  all  here  present  ;  because  I 
hope  that  God,  seeing  the  intention  that  governs  me,  will 
preserve  me,  as  He  has  already  done  so  many  times." 

The  Admiral,  having  heard  this  announcement,  arose 
from  his  seat,  and,  calling  the  noble  Mendez  to  him,  em- 
braced him  reverently.  He  then  kissed  him  on  the  cheeks, 
and  said  aloud:  "I  well  knew  that  there  was  nobod}^  here 
but  you  who  would  undertake  this  achievement  ;  "  and  then 
added  :  "  I  have  a  firm  confidence  that  our  Lord  God  will 
enable  you  to  overcome  the  dangers  that  threaten  you,  as 
He  has  done  on  so  many  other  occasions." 

Though  he  counted  on  the  Divine  bounty,  Mendez  neg- 
lected no  precaution  of  human  prudence.  Drawing  his 
canoe  on  shore,  he  adjusted  a  keel  and  a  little  mast  to  it, 
payed  it  carefully  with  a  coat  of  tar,  and  took  in  provisions 
for  eight  persons. 

The  courage  of  Mendez  excited  a  noble  emulation.  The 
captain  of  the  Biscayiaii^  Barthélémy  Fieschi,  offered  to  go 
with  Mendez  to  Hispaniola.  To  protect  them  against  the 
Indians,  some  men  decided  to  accompany  them.  A  second 
canoe  was  got  ready.  In  each  canoe  there  went  with 
Mendez  and  Fieschi  six  Spaniards,  whom  they  had  chosen, 
and  six  Indians,  which  were  to  serve  as  oarsmen.  It  was 
agreed  that,  after  having  landed  in  His^oaniola,  Fieschi 
should  return  to  inform  the  Admiral  of  their  safe  arrival  ; 
while  Mendez  should  take  to  the  Governor  the  letter  with 
which  he  was  charged,  and  that,  after  having  despatched 
a  well-provisioned  caravel  to  Jamaica,  he  should  embark 
for  Spain,  with  the  despatches  addressed  to  the  Sovereigns. 

SECTION  IL 

They  set  out  on  their  perilous  voyage  :  there  was  no 
wind  ;  the  sky  was  without  a  cloud,  and  the  sea  perfectly 
calm.  The  Indians,  especially,  suffered  exceedingly  from 
thirst    and    exhaustion.      Still,    the   commanders    cheered 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


493 


thcni  with  the  hope  of  soon  arriving  at  a  small  island 
called  Navassa,  which  lay  in  the  way,  and  where  they 
could  procure  w^ater  and  take  repose. 

Tlie  third  night  had  closed  on  them  without  any  sight 
of  the  island.  One  of  the  Inilians  had  died  from  thirst  and 
exhaustion,  and  the  others  had  become  completely  pros- 
trated and  dislieartcned  ;  in  fact,  they  gave  up  for  death, 
and  the  Spaniards  had  to  take  their  oars. 

^lendez,  the  envoy  of  Columbus,  alone  trusting  in  God, 
preserved  some  hope.  Ivleanwhilo,  the  moon  arose  in  the 
north.  ]Mendez,  who  continually  had  his  eyes  about  him, 
noticed  that  a  dark,  broken  line  concealed  her  lower  disk  ; 
so  he  concluded  that  an  opaque  mass,  or  an  island,  inter- 
posed between  the  moon  and  the  canoes,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance. He  thanked  God  for  having  succored  him  with 
this  celestial  sign,  aroused  the  energy  of  the  oarsmen,  who 
redoubled  their  exertions,  and  the  next  morning,  at  dawn, 
they  reached  Navassa. 

This  was  a  low,  Hat  island,  having  a  circuit  of  only  half 
a  league.  It  was  formed  of  bare  rocks,  and  had  neither  a 
stream,  nor  a  tree,  nor  a  plant.  Fortunately,  however,  in 
the  hollows  of  the  rocks  there  was  found  abundance  of 
rain-water.  Mcndez  rendered  heartfelt  thanks  to  God  for 
this  favor.  Considering  the  little  height  and  extent  of  the 
iîîland,  he  saw  that  if  his  eye  had  not  been  directed  to  the 
moon  at  tlie  precise  moment  it  was,  they  would  have  passed 
the  island  without  being  able  to  distinguish  it,  and  would 
infallibly  have  pcribhed  in  tiie  sea.  They  regaled  them- 
selves with  this  water  which  came  from  the  heavens. 
Several  of  the  Spaniards,  notwithstanding  the  entieaties 
of  their  officers,  drank  of  it  so  as  to  become  sick,  and 
some  of  the  poor  Indians  drank  of  it  to  such  excess  that 
thev  died  on   tiie  spot. 

Having  reposed  for  some  hours,  the  vo3'agers  reentered 
tlieir  canoes.  They  rowed  during  the  niglit,  and  tlie  next 
morning  they  landed  at  Cape  St.  Michael,  at  present  called 
Tiburofi^  on  a  beautiful  shore,  where  they  were  kindly  re- 


494  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

ceived  by  the  natives,  who  flocked  in  crowds  to  receive 
them,  and  supplied  them  plentifully  with  provisions. 

Having  passed  two  days  in  this  place,  to  rest  himself 
from  his  fatigues,  Mendez  set  out  for  San  Domingo  ;  but 
having  learned  on  the  way  that  Ovando,  the  Governor- 
General,  was  in  Xaragua,  he  repaired  to  the  latter  province, 
amid  the  greatest  hardships  and  dangers.  His  confidence 
in  God,  and  the  remembrance  of  his  master,  sustained  him 
in  his  trials  and  difficulties. 

As  soon  as  Mendez  quitted  him,  Fieschi  wanted  to  return 
to  inform  the  Admiral  of  the  safe  arrival  of  his  despatches 
to  Hispaniola  ;  but  such  was  the  fatigue  of  both  the  Span- 
iards and  the  Indians,  that  he  could  not  prevail  on  one  of 
them  to  accompany  him.  For  nothing  in  the  world  would 
they  enter  anew  in  a  canoe  on  such  a  voyage.  Its  late  suc- 
cess appeared  to  them  a  miracle,  which  ought  not  to  be 
counted  on  a  second  time.  The  Spaniards  considered  this 
prodigious  voyage,  effected  in  three  days  and  three  nights, 
as  marvellous  as  the  preservation  of  the  prophet  Jonas 
during  the  same  length  of  time,  in  the  belly  of  the  whale. 
The  intrepid  gentleman  was  therefore  obliged  to  await  the 
ship  which  Mendez  went  to  solicit  from  the  Governor- 
General. 

SECTION  III. 

Kept  continually  confined  to  the  hulks  of  the  caravels, 
the  crews  had  their  eyes  constantly  directed  to  the  north. 
They  expected  the  return  of  Captain  Fieschi,  and  hoped  to 
see  his  canoe.  Many  weeks  had  elapsed  in  this  useless  ex- 
pectation. The  climate,  the  diet  —  exclusively  vegetable  — 
to  which  they  were  reduced,  and  the  absence  of  wine  and 
cordials,  after  the  unheard-of  fatigues  they  had  undergone, 
acted  unfavorably  on  the  weakest  constitutions.  A  certain 
number  of  the  sailors  became  bedridden. 

These  circumstances  cast  a  deep  gloom  on  their  spirits  ; 
to  which  were  added  the  uncertainty  of  the  future,  and  the 
isolation  and   the  state  of  inactivity  to  which  they  were 


CHAP,  v.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  495 

constrained.  Now  weariness  leads  to  idleness,  and  idleness, 
as  is  well  known,  is  the  parent  of  vices.  The  sailors,  hav- 
ing nothing  to  do,  made  secretly  their  comments  on  tlicir 
situation. 

.  Our  readers  will  not  have  forgotten  that  the  four  caravels 
employed  in  the  expedition  were  chartered  in  Seville.  The 
Admiral  had  himself  chosen  his  corps  of  officers,  except  the 
two  Porras,  who  were  likewise  from  Seville.  One  of 
these  he  had  appointed  captain  of  the  St.  jfaîncs,  and 
the  other  notary  of  the  expedition.  Columbus,  through 
regard  for  Morales,  their  brother-in-law,  treated  them  with 
the  kindness  of  relatives,  though  they  were  incompetent  for 
their  situations.  Far  from  being  touched  with  an  indul- 
gence so  paternal,  tliey  resolved  to  conquer  brilliant  posi- 
tions for  themselves,  at  the  expense  of  the  honor,  and  even 
the  life  of  their  benefactor. 

They  soon  drew  around  them  a  large  party,  the  crews 
being  almost  exclusively  from  Seville.  They  secretly  as- 
sured them  that  the  Admiral  retained  them  in  the  rotten 
hulks  of  the  caravels  in  order  to  have  a  guard,  because  he 
was  exiled,  and  could  not  return  to  Castile  ;  that  even  Flis- 
paniola  was  closed  against  him,  and  his  government  given 
to  another.  He  had  sent  his  creatures,  Mendez  and  Fieschi, 
to  Spain,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  tlie  Sovereigns;  and  it 
was  evident  that  everything  here  was  sacrificed  to  his  per- 
sonal interest.  By  degrees  these  men  ruined  the  Admiral's 
authority,  in  recalling  how  the  bureaus  of  Seville  were 
accustomed  to  treat  this  Genoese,  and  how  he  was  obliged 
to  reinstate  Roldan  in  his  office.  They  assured  them  that, 
in  arriving  at  San  Domingo,  they  would  be  well  received 
by  the  Governor,  Ovando,  who  detested  the  Admiral,  and 
would  be  delighted  to  know  that  he  was  forsaken  by 
everybody. 

^leanwhile  Columbus,  diligently  employed  with  tlie  sick, 
and  deeply  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  men  who  had 
accompanied  him  in  his  search  for  the  strait,  was  himself 
prostrated  from  his  physical  suflTerings.     The  pains  in  his 


496  H  I  ST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 

joints  kept  him  confined  to  his  bed.  Accustomed  to  suf- 
ferings, and  exercised  for  a  long  time  in  the  virtue  of 
resignation,  he  showed  no  sign  of  impatience.  A  secret 
presentiment  assured  him  that  Diego  Mendez  had  arrived 
safely  in  Hispaniola,  and  that  the  noble  Fieschi  would  have 
returned  if  he  had  been  able.  His  submission  to  the  Divine 
will,  and  his  perfect  acquiescence  in  it,  removed  far  from 
him  the  violent  thoughts  and  the  secret  irritations  that  then 
agitated  the  minds  of  many  of  his  sailors. 

On  the  second  of  January  the  Porras  and  their  adherents, 
to  the  number  of  forty -eight  men,  arose  in  open  revolt. 
They  meditated  killing  Columbus  and  his  friends  ;  but  being 
assured  by  some  officers  that  they  would  incur  the  ven- 
geance of  the  Sovereigns,  they  for  the  present  contented 
themselves  with  taking  six  canoes  which  the  Admiral  had 
puixhased  from  the  Indians,  and  with  these,  after  helping 
themselves  with  arms  and  provisions,  they  went  away, 
shouting  defiance.  There  remained  to  the  Admiral  only 
some  officers,  and  the  sick  and  infirm.  The  canoes  he  had 
purchased  as  much  to  deprive  the  Indians  of  facilities  for 
attacking  his  cabin  barracks,  as  for  any  use  of  which  they 
could  be  to  him. 

Supported  by  his  domestics,  he  went  every  day  to  the 
cabin  barracks,  which  were  converted  into  an  hospital, 
where  he  remained  comforting  the  sick  in  every  possible 
way,  administering  medicines  to  them,  and  dressing  their 
sores  with  his  own  hands,  j^ained,  as  they  were,  with  gout. 
His  attentions  were  blessed  by  God,  whom  he  continually 
besought  in  favor  of  these  poor  people.  Not  only  did  none 
of  them  die,  but  in  a  short  time  all  were  enabled  to  leave 
the  hospital. 


CHAP.  \7.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  /^i^>j 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Insurgents,  in  imitation  of  Diego  Mendez,  want  to  pass  to 
Hispaniola. — Tliree  times  thej  make  the  Attempt,  and  as  often 
thej  are  repelled  by  the  Sea.  —  They  plunder  the  Habitations 
of  the  Indians,  and  try  to  excite  them  against  the  Admiral.  — 
The  Indians  determined  to  starve  out  the  Strangers. — Anxiety 
of  Columbus.  —  He  addresses  himself  to  God,  who  inspires  him 
with  the  Idea  of  utilizing  the  approaching  Eclipse  of  the  Moon. 

SECTION  I. 

FRANCESCO  DE  PORRAS,  accompanied  by  his 
band,  went  towards  the  most  eastern  point  of  the 
ibhmd,  —  the  one  whence  Diego  Mendez  had  started  for 
Hispaniola.  On  their  way  tliey  phmdered  and  maltreated 
the  Indians,  telling  them  to  go  and  get  payment  from  the 
Admiral,  and  to  kill  him  if  he  refused  satisfying  them. 
They  assured  them  that  they  had  only  this  means  of  deliv- 
ering themselves  from  him,  as  his  object  was  to  exterminate 
them,  the  same  as  he  had  already  done  elsewhere.  As  soon 
as  tliey  came  to  Cape  Aomaquiqne,  the  rebels  put  into  the 
canoes  provisions,  water,  and  some  articles  of  merchandise, 
and,  taking  some  Indian  oarsmen,  departed  for  Hispaniola. 
When  they  had  made  four  leagues  the  waves  commenced 
swelling,  and  a  contrary  wind  arose.  The}'  tried  to  return 
to  the  shore,  but  the  water  entered  the  canoes  and  threat- 
ened submerging  them.  They  now  sought  to  lighten  them 
bv  throwing  overboard  everything  except  their  provisions 
and  arms.  The  sea  becoming  more  and  more  rougli,  they 
resolved  to  get  rid  of  a  jDart  of  the  oarsmen,  in  order  to 
ligiiten  the  canoes,  and*,  for  this  purpose,  they  killed  with 
their  dirks  some  of  these  unfortunate  creatures.  Seeing 
43* 


^oS  HIS  TORT  OF  [book  iv. 

this,  several  of  the  Indians  of  themselves  jumped  into  the 
sea,  trusting  themselves  to  their  expertness  in  swimming; 
but  after  having  sustained  themselves  for  some  time  on  the 
waves,  they  were  obliged,  from  fatigue,  to  return  to  the 
canoes.  They  begged  only  the  favor  of  catching  the  canoes 
even  with  one  hand,  to  rest  themselves  a  little  ;  but  far 
from  yielding  to  their  entreaties,  the  rebels  cut  off  their 
hands  with  their  swords,  and  left  them  to  drown.  At  length 
the  rebels  reached  land. 

They  now  deliberated  on  the  course  to  be  taken  :  some 
were  for  going  to  Cuba,  and  going  thence  to  Hispaniola  ; 
others  for  returning  to  the  caravels,  and  bringing  away  all 
the  arms  and  merchandise  that  remained  ;  and  others,  again, 
those  who  had  joined  the  rebels  only  at  the  last  hour,  were 
for  returning  to  the  obedience  of  the  Admiral.  But  the 
majority  were  in  favor  of  attempting  anew  the  passage  to 
Hispaniola. 

They  waited  for  six  weeks  for  a  more  favorable  time. 
During  this  period  they  pillaged  and  ruined  the  surrounding 
country.  At  last,  judging  the  auspicious  moment  had 
come,  they  entered  their  canoes  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  got 
some  distance  from  the  coast  the  waves  arose,  and  it  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  they  got  back  to  land. 

After  some  time,  taking  the  appearances  of  the  sea  for 
an  invitation,  they  again  reentered  their  canoes,  determined 
this  time  to  cross  this  difficult  passage  ;  but  again  the  wrath 
of  the  sea  alarmed  these  guilty  consciences.  With  all  their 
efforts  they  could  not  go  beyond  the  place  they  had  reached 
the  first  time.  They  considered  themselves  happy  in  being 
able  to  get  back  to  land.  Relinquishing  from  that  time  an 
idea  which  appeared  to  them  chimerical,  and  doubting  not 
that  Mendez  and  Fieschi  had  perished  in  their  attempt, 
they  abandoned  their  canoes  and  resumed  their  business  of 
pillage. 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


SECTION  IL 


499 


The  prudence  of  Columbus  was  such,  that  a  friendly 
relation  was  preserved  with  the  Indians.  They  brought 
provisions  in  abundance,  but,  by  degrees,  required  more 
and  more  for  them.  Either  through  the  in^tigations  of  the 
rebels,  or  on  account  of  the  excesses  committed  by  the  latter 
in  other  parts  of  the  island,  the  Indians  immediately  ceased 
from  bringing  any  further  supplies.  This  interruption  of 
relations  with  them  caused  great  disquietude.  To  resort  to 
force  would  be  an  alternative  full  of  danger,  and  of  but 
temporary  efficacy,  while  the  Admiral  and  the  convales- 
cents would  be  left  exposed  in  the  caravels.  All  the  sea- 
stores  were  nearly  gone,  and  gaunt  famine  now  threatened 
the  Spaniards. 

In  this  horrible  perplexity  Columbus  alone  preserved 
some  hope,  and  besought  the  Lord,  his  Master,  as  he  always 
did;  and,  as  usual,  his  appeal  was  not  in  vain. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  this  threatened  famine  that  the 
well-known  prediction  of  the  eclipse  of  the  moon  took  place, 
and  which  several  writers  have  arranged  so  as  to  make  it  a 
worthy  counterpart  of  the  story  of  the  c^^  broken  on  the  end. 
Yet  between  the  two  anecdotes  there  exists  all  the  differ- 
ence there  is  between  fable  and  reality.  The  story  of  the 
c%^  is  a  fable,  and  the  one  of  the  predicted  eclipse  a  reality. 
We  have  only  to  rectify  some  of  the  accessory  circumstances, 
and  especially  the  words  attributed  to  Columbus  on  this 
occasion. 

It  has  been  inconsiderately  said  that  the  Admiral,  having 
calculated  an  eclipse,  invited  the  Indians  as  it  were  to  a 
show,  and  that  he  told  them  his  God  was  incensed  against 
them  because  they  refused  furnishing  him  with  provisions; 
that  in  three  days  they  would  see  the  moon,  at  its  rising, 
redden  and  then  become  dark,  as  a  sign  of  the  punishments 
that  would  be  inflicted  on  them  ;  and  that  at  the  time  of  the 
eclipse  the  frightened  Indians  supplicated  Columbus  to  ap- 
pease his  God,  promising  to  furnish  him,  in  future,  with 


500  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

provisions  ;  that  then  having  adroitly  shut  himself  up,  he 
seemed  in  converse  with  his  God,  and  that  a  little  before 
the  eclipse  was  over,  he  announced  to  them  that  he  had 
obtained  their  pardon.  This  gross  juggling,  an  unworthy 
way  of  working  on  the  credulity  of  the  savages,  and  of 
bringing  forward  the  sacred  name  of  God,  appears  to  us  to 
be  absolutely  at  vai^iance  with  the  almost  evangelical  char- 
acter of  Columbus. 

And  first,  let  us  remark,  that  the  words  ascribed  to  Co- 
lumbus are  by  no  means  verbatim^  and  that  they  could  not 
have  been  so. 

The  cotemporary  writers,  Fernando  Columbus,  Diego 
Mendez,  Oviedo,  Las  Casas,  were  not  able  to  collect  the 
exact  words  of  Columbus.  Fernando  Columbus,  the  only 
eye-witness,  then  scarcely  fifteen  years  old,  had  taken  no 
notes  of  them,  and  he  wrote  his  account  of  these  events 
more  than  twenty-nine  years  after  their  occurrence.  Evi- 
dently, he  may  have  forgotten  the  exact  words  used  by  his 
father.  Diego  Islendez  was  then  absent,  and  it  was  only  at 
the  end  of  thirty-two  years  that  he  penned  it  as  a  hearsay. 
Oviedo  had  no  knowledge  of  this  fact  but  only  indirectly. 
It  is  known  that  he  willingly  lent  himself  to  the  representa- 
tions of  the  enemies  of  Columbus  :  besides,  he  gathered 
their  version  of  it  only  twenty-five  years  after  the  event  ; 
and  Las  Casas,  who  still  wrote,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
3-ears,  his  History  of  the  Indies,  did  not  terminate  it  until 
fifty-three  years  after  the  death  of  the  Admiral.  It  is  evi- 
dent, then,  that  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  have  derived 
directly  from  their  true  source  the  words  they  attribute  to 
Columbus,  and  that  among  all  these  versions  that  of  Fer- 
nando Columbus,  an  eye-witness,  is  to  be  preferred.  But 
it  is  evident  to  us  that  the  translators  of  the  text  of  Fer- 
nando, which  is  lost,  allowed  some  inaccuracies  to  glide 
into  their  version.  In  the  main  the  accounts  of  the  four 
cotempoi'ary  writers  appear  to  us  worthy  of  credit  as 
regards  the  principal  fact.  They  agree  upon  the  main 
point,  and  seem  to  err  only  in  attributing  to  Columbus  con- 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  501 

duct  and  language  that  were  incompatible  with  his  char- 
acter. This  is  explained  by  the  distance  of  time  between 
the  event  and  the  published  account  of  it.  When  historians 
have  reported  as  a  curious  novelty  this  astronomical  expe- 
dient, in  order  to  show  the  inventive  genius  of  Columbus, 
they  have,  in  good  faith  it  is  true,  attributed  to  him  the  lan- 
guage they  would  themselves  have  used  in  his  place,  —  that 
which  they  considered  becoming  his  situation.  It  is  their 
own  spirit  they  have  benevolently  lent  him  ;  this  is  plainly, 
seen. 

Let  us,  at  last,  state  the  real  circumstances  of  this  event, 
and  restore  its  true  aspect. 

When,  through  Diego  Mendez,  Columbus  made  a  treaty 
with  the  caciques  of  the  neighborhood  of  Santa  Gloria,  to 
be  furnished  with  provisions  at  current  prices,  he  told  them, 
first  and  foremost,  that  God,  his  Master,  had  made  him 
come  to  this  place,  and  that  he  would  reinain  there  until 
it  would  please  Ilim  that  he  should  leave  it.  He  presented 
himself,  then,  to  them  in  his  real  character,  —  as  a  guest 
sent  them  by  Providence,  —  and  kept  the  sailors  on  board 
the  caravels,  to  preserve  the  hospitable  islanders  from  their 
cupidity.  When,  notwithstanding  his  vigilance,  the  Indians,, 
violating  their  promises,  wanted  to  starve  out  the  ship- 
wrecked Spaniards,  Columbus,  seeing  no  human  resource 
for  escaping  the  threatened  famine,  invoked  the  aid  of  the 
Divine  Majesty. 

In  place  of  aiding  him  with  a  material  miracle,  as  lie 
would  have  done  for  a  patriarch  or  a  prophet  of  the  Old 
Law,  and  of  sending  him  some  manna  or  some  quails,  the 
^lost  High  assisted  him  witli  an  idea.  He  succored  His 
servant  with  a  notion  derived  from  the  scientific  order  de- 
pendent on  the  architecture  of  the  heavens.  He  inspired 
him  with  a  means  that  had  never  been  employed  since  the 
commencement  of  certain  history,  and  of  which  the  Admiral 
himself  would  never  have  thought.  God  reminded  him  that 
in  three  days  tlicrc  would  be  an  eclipse  of  the  moon.  Tims 
the  moon,  that  sign  by  which  Diego  ^lendez  was  preserved 


^02     ■  HIS  TOR  2'  OF  [book  iv. 

from  a  horrible  death  from  thirst,  was  to  save  Christopher 
Columbus  from  famine.  In  his  perplexities,  every  time  the 
Messenger  of  the  Cross  went  to  pray,  the  idea  of  the  eclipse 
came  into  his  mind.  Columbus  inferred  from  this  circum- 
stance that  he  must  derive  his  safety  from  the  eclipse.  God 
simply  indicated  to  him  the  subject  ;  his  genius  furnished 
him  with  the  mode  of  rendering  it  efficacious. 

The  Admiral  concluded  to  utilize  this  phenomenon,  so  as 
to  secure  a  supply  of  provisions,  and  show  the  Indians  the 
superiority  of  the  God  of  the  Christians  over  their  zemes. 
He  sent  an  interpreter  to  the  caciques  to  invite  them  to  a 
grand  exhibition,  which  the  strangers  would  give  the  third 
day  from  that.  As  he  foresaw,  they  came  in  crowds.  He 
then  repi'oached  them  with  their  breach  of  faith,  and  their 
unkindness.  He  recalled  to  them  that  he  was  their  guest 
by  the  will  of  God,  his  Master.  He  told  them  that  this 
God,  who  permitted  His  messenger  to  arrive  happily  in 
Hayti,  had,  on  the  contrary,  raised  the  sea,  and  repulsed 
the  attempts  of  the  rebels  who  had  separated  from  him. 
He  added,  that  God,  his  Lord,  knew  of  their  project  to 
starve  out  the  strangers,  notwithstanding  the  agreements 
made  with  them  to  supply  the  caravels  ;  and  that  assuredly 
He,  who  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the  wicked,  was 
displeased  with  them  on  account  of  their  want  of  good  faith 
and  humanity.  And  to  prove  to  them  the  superiority  of  the 
servants  of  his  God  over  their  zemes,  he  announced  to  them 
what  their  bohutis  were  ignorant  of,  and  what  even  their 
zemes  did  not  know  :  that  the  same  evening,  at  the  rising 
of  the  moon,  they  would  see  that  luminary  reddish,  notwith- 
standing the  serenity  of  the  heavens,  and  then  become  ob- 
scure, and  refuse  giving  light. 

Many  of  the  Indians  were  alarmed  at  the  prediction, 
while  others  went  away  deriding  it  with  mockeries.  When 
the  night  came,  the  blood-color  of  the  moon  made  the  most 
daring  of  them  tremble.  When  they  beheld  a  dark  shadow 
stealing  over  her,  they  shrieked  with  terror,  and  ran  with 
provisions   to   the   caravels,    supplicating   the  Admiral   to 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  503 

ajipcasc  his  oflcndcd  God,  and  promising  that  they  would, 
in  future,  bring  provisions  regularly.  Yielding  to  their 
entreaties,  the  Admiral  said  he  would  go  and  speak  to  his 
God  ;  and,  in  fact,  he  did  retire  to  his  cabin.  Whoever 
comprehends  the  character  of  Columbus  will  have  no  doubt 
that  he  prayed  to  God  for  them,  beseeching  Him  to  open 
their  hearts  to  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  to  inspire  them  with 
mild  and  humane  sentiments,  and  to  avert  from  them  the 
evils  with  which  the  natives  of  Ilispaniola  were  afflicted. 

The  eclipse  began  to  decrease  when  the  Admiral,  having 
finished  his  prayers,  returned  from  his  cabin,  and  told  the 
caciques  that  he  had  spoken  to  his  Master  in  their  favor  ; 
that  God  heard  their  promise  of  treating  the  Christians 
kindly,  and  of  bringing  them  provisions;  and  that,  as  they 
entertained  these  sentiments,  his  Master  would  be  favorable 
to  them.  He  told  them  that  this  phenomenon,  an  object 
of  terror  to  the  greater  portion  of  idolatrous  peoples,  was 
not  a  threatening  presage  to  the  servants  of  Christ,  and  that 
soon  the  moon  would  be  no  longer  of  a  reddish-brown 
color,  but  would  reappear  in  her  ordinary  pure  whiteness. 
Columbus,  from  this  circumstance,  took  occasion  to  show 
the  Indians  the  sign  of  Salvation,  and  to  inspire  them  with 
a  salutary  fear  of  the  Lord,  which  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom. In  fact,  the  caciques  thanked  the  Admiral,  and  went 
away  praising  the  God  of  the  Christians,  of  whom  they  no 
longer  spoke  but  with  the  greatest  respect  and  reverence. 
From  that  time  they  steadily  furnished  provisions,  for 
which  they  were  scrupulously  paid  in  articles  of  exchange.* 

♦Those  who  reject  the  supernatural  will  find  insuperable  difficulty, 
not  in  explaining  this  eclipse,  but  in  explaining  how  it  occurred  pre- 
cisely at  the  time  Columbus  so  much  needed  it.  For  our  own  part, 
the  more  we  reflect  on  the  circumstances  under  which  it  took  place, 
and  call  to  mind  how  very  rarely  such  eclipses  occur,  the  more  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  its  occurrence  at  that  particular  time 
was.  as  regarded  Columbus,  of  a  truly  providential  or  miraculous 
character.  —  B. 


504  HISTORY  OF  [BOOK  iv. 


SECTION  III. 

The  favors  Columbus  had  on  so  many  occasions  received 
from  God,  gave  him  the  very  greatest  confidence  in  His 
bounty.  Knowing  that  here  below,  as  throughout  the 
universe,  nothing  happens  but  by  His  permission,  he 
sought  to  know  what  could  be  the  object  of  the  interrup- 
tion of  his  enterprise,  and  whence  proceeded  his  long  delay 
in  that  place,  so  unavailing  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

He  attributed  to  diabolical  influence  the  contrarieties  he 
had  experienced  during  this  voyage.  He  believed  he  could 
see  the  hellish  origin  of  this  unexampled  persecution  he 
had  endured.  Nevertheless,  after  having  submitted  him 
to  terrible  proofs,  the  Lord  had  come  to  his  aid.  Not- 
withstanding the  fierceness  of  the  struggle.  He  had  per- 
mitted him  to  erect  the  Cross  on  different  points  of  the 
new  continent.  He  had  miraculously  conducted  him,  in  a 
shipwrecked  state,  across  seven  hundred  sea  miles,  and  left 
him  in  a  place  he  was  acquainted  with  already.  But  why 
does  God  appear  to  abandon  him  now.'' 

Columbus  continually  thought  of  his  strange  situation. 
He  took  to  himself  a  confidant,  who,  at  the  end  of  three 
centuries,  has  revealed  to  us  what  his  thoughts  were,  and 
shows  what  his  prepossessions  were  during  the  painful 
anxiety  of  this  state  of  exile.  This  confidant  was  the 
sketch  of  the  Book  of  the  Prophecies,  which  the  Admiral 
took  with  him  on  his  voyage,  in  addition  to  some  rare 
works,  the  ordinary  companions  of  his  route,  and  among 
others  the  "  Imago  Mundi"  of  the  learned  Cardinal  Peter 
D'Ailly. 

It  is  seen  by  the  Book  of  the  Prophecies  that  this  soul 
remained  unchangeably  youthful  and  poetic  beneath  the 
weight  of  years  and  the  teasings  of  sufferings.  It  was 
in  verse  that  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  spoke  to  himself. 
He  proposed  to  himself  the  question,  "  What  can  be  the 


CHAP.  VI.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  505 

cause  of  so  long  an  exile?"*  and  his  acquaintance  with 
divine  matters,  his  faith,  rather  than  his  genius,  sought  the 
solution  of  the  problem. 

Eight  months  had  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  Diego 
Mendez,  and  still  there  was  no  account  from  Ilispaniola. 
Except  the  Admiral,  certain  of  his  safe  arrival,  nobody  else 
preserved  the  least  hope  on  the  subject.  Admitting  the 
prodigy  that  Mendez  had  reached  the  shore  of  Hispaniola, 
there  were  yet,  from  Cape  St.  Michael  to  San  Domingo, 
more  than  a  hundred  leagues  to  be  traversed  across  rugged 
mountains  ! 

In  order  that  no  degree  of  bitterness  should  be  withheld 
from  Columbus,  it  was  among  the  persons  whom,  by  his 
attentions  and  moral  medication  he  had  restored  to  health, 
that  there  was  formed,  secretly,  a  conspiracy  still  more  for- 
midable than  the  first  one.  Instigated  by  the  apothecary 
Bernai,  the  old  patients  resolved  to  seize  on  the  remaining 
canoes,  take  everything  that  was  on  board,  and  massacre 
the  Admiral,  who  had,  as  they  said,  put  them  in  this  dire 
situation.  The  secret  was  buried  in  a  profound  silence. 
Columbus  suspected  no  danger  ;  but  Providence  watched 
over  him.  The  time  was  fixed  :  it  was  during  the  night 
that  the  plot  was  to  be  carried  into  effect.  A  few  hours 
before  the  moment  fixed  for  its  execution,  towards  evening, 
a  sail  was  descried  in  the  north-cast,  like  an  apparition  on 
the  sea.  Its  appearance  frustrated  the  perpetration  of  tlie 
contemplated  crime.  The  ship  approached  the  shore,  and 
cast  anchor  at  some  distance  from  the  caravels. 


SECTION  IV. 

All  the  Castillans  saw  with  joy,  mingled  with  doubt,  this 
little  sail,  which  they  thought  ought  to  cast  anchor  nearer. 

*  At  page  77  of  the  Libra  de  las  Profecias  are  found  the  following 
lines,  written  by  the  hand  of  Columbus  :  — 

"  Qi^ial  sea  la  causa  dc  tanto  destierro 
Por  mill  prolongado  y  mas  de  quinientos." 
43 


5o6  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

The  boat  of  the  brigantine  soon  came  near  the  Capltana. 
The  boatmen  asked  for  a  rope,  and  on  its  being  cast  to 
them,  they  attached  to  it  a  barrel  of  wine,  together  with  a 
side  of  bacon,  which  were  drawn  up  into  the  caravel. 
Then  the  officer  tied  to  the  end  of  a  boat-hook  a  letter  for 
the  Admiral,  and  immediately  removed  away  some  dis- 
tance from  the  caravel.  In  recognizing  him,  most  of  the 
sailors  were  struck  with  astonishment.  It  was  the  traitor 
Diego  de  Escobar,  that  commandant  who  had  revolted 
against  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies,  and  who  had,  with  his 
troops,  passed  over  to  Roldan.  The  mission  confided  to 
him  by  Ovando  constituted  a  grave  offence  towards  the 
Admiral. 

In  the  mean  time,  Columbus  left  his  cabin  and  came  on 
the  deck.  Escobar  called  out  to  him,  saying  that  the  Gov- 
ernor was  sorry  he  had  not  in  the  harbor  a  vessel  large 
enough  to  send  for  him  and  his  men  ;  that  his  interests 
should  be  attended  to  ;  that  as  soon  as  possible  he  should 
be  delivered  from  that  place  ;  and  offered  to  take  charge  of 
his  reply,  if  he  would  have  it  ready  immediately,  because 
the  brigantine  would  have  to  leave  without  delay.  Colum- 
bus acknowledged  the  receipt  of  the  message  from  Ovando  ; 
recommended  to  his  favor  Diego  Mendez  and  Fieschi,  as- 
suring him  that  they  went  with  no  other  object  than  that 
of  informing  him  of  the  disaster,  and  to  request  his  aid. 
He  advised  him  of  the  revolt  of  Porras,  who  had  added 
to  the  perils  of  the  situation,  and  finished  in  recommending 
himself  to  his  care  and  diligence. 

During  this  time  the  boat  remained  still.  From  the  car- 
avels the  pilots  put  some  questions  to  the  boatmen  ;  but, 
complying  v\^ith  the  order  they  had  received,  these  men 
remained  silent.  As  soon  as  the  despatch  of  the  Admiral 
was  Sealed,  the  boat  came  back  near  the  Capltana^  took 
it,  and  then  pushed  vigorously  for  the  brigantine,  which 
immediately  hoisted  her  sails. 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  507 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Rebels  attack  the  Admiral.  —  They  are  defeated  by  the  Adel- 
antado,  who  makes  their  Chief  a  Prisoner.  —  Columbus  receives 
some  Aid,  and  returns  to  Hispaniola.  —  He  departs  for  Spain. — 
Successive  Tempests.  —  Providentially  aided,  he  arrives  at  San 
Lucar. 

SECTION  I. 

WIIEX,  the  next  morning,  the  crews  saw  no  more  of 
the  brigantine,  they  thought  it  was  all  a  dream. 
The  circumstances  of  her  arrival  and  departure,  and  the 
reserve  and  silence  of  the  boatmen,  seemed  to  the  officers  a 
matter  of  evil  augur.  They  concluded  that  the  Governor 
did  not  want  to  save  them,  on  account  of  his  enmity 
towards  the  Admiral.  Columbus  sought  to  dispel  their 
suspicions,  professing  himself  satisfied  with  the  communi- 
cations received,  and  gave  as  a  reason  for  the  sudden 
departure  of  the  brigantine,  the  desire  to  bring  caravels 
more  promptly  to  their  aid. 

In  real  truth  Ovando  had  sent  the  traitor  Escobar  only 
to  sec  if  the  Admiial  could,  with  his  own  resources,  leave 
that  place.  There  was  full  proof  of  this.  But  the  interest 
excited  by  the  misfortune  of  Columbus,  and  the  earnest 
entreaties  of  some  Franciscans,  prevented  the  Governor 
from  thwarting  the  exertions  made  by  Diego  Mendez  on 
behalf  of  his  sliipwrecked  companions,  and  made  him,  at 
last,  appear  to  desire  to  succor  them  himself. 

Witli  his  sentiments  of  adoptive  paternity,  the  Admiral 
was  grieved  to  see  a  part  of  his  crews  foolishly  separated 
from  him  ;  he  considered  them  as  children  who  had  gone 
astray.     lie  hoped,  by  the  announcement  of  a  speedy  return 


ço8  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

to  Castile,  to  bring  them  back  to  the  paths  of  duty,  and  to 
spare  the  poor  Indians  the  injuries  the  rebels  continually 
inflicted  on  them.  He  offered  them  full  and  entire  pardon, 
on  condition  that  they  would  reenter  the  caravels  without 
further  delà}-.  In  order  to  prove  to  them  that  he  had  re- 
ceived news  from  Hispaniola,  he  sent  them  a  part  of  the 
bacon  and  some  of  the  wine  that  had  been  brought  by 
Escobar,  and  chose,  as  messengers,  two  men  of  merit  who 
had  had  relations  with  Porras.  When  these  two  messengers 
appeared  at  the  rebel  quarters,  Porras  came  to  meet  them, 
and  took  them  apart,  unwilling  that  his  men  should  hear 
their  propositions,  lest  they  should  accede  to  them.  Still 
they  knew  that  Diego  Mendez  had  arrived  in  Hispaniola, 
and  that  caravels  were  expected  daily. 

We  cannot  follow  this  brutal  revolt  throughout.  Let  it 
suffice  to  say  that  at  length  the  rebels  came  to  attack  the 
Admiral,  when  they  were  met  by  the  Adelantado,  and 
the  few  troops  who  had  remained  with  him,  and  that  the 
Adelantado,  with  prodigious  valor,  overcame  six  of  their 
most  valiant  men,  who  had  sworn  to  take  his  life,  slaying 
most  of  them,  and  making  a  prisoner  of  Francesco  de  Por- 
■ras.  The  rest  of  the  rebels,  finding  themselves  deprived  of 
their  leaders,  were  soon  j)ut  to   flight. 

Columbus  thanked  his  brother,  but  especially  the  Lord. 
He  rendered  many  thanks  to  God,  holding  it  for  certain  that 
He  had  delivered  him  from  death.  This  victory  cost  the 
Admiral's  men  only  two  wounds.  Don  Bartholomew  soon 
recovered  from  the  one  he  had  received,  but  unfortunately 
the  brave  captain  of  tlie  Galician^  Pedro  de  Terreros,  suc- 
cumbed in  a  few  days  after  from  his  wound,  which  he  re- 
ceived in  the  groin. 

The  rebels,  having  no  longer  a  chief,  offered  to  make 
their  submission.  They  bound  themselves  by  oaths  and 
fearful  imprecations  to  be  obedient  in  future.  The  Admiral 
deigned  to  pardon  them  all.  He  merely  retained  Porras  a 
prisoner  on  board  the  caravel,  placed  the  insurgents  under 
the  command  of  a  trusty  captain,  and  cantoned  them  in  the 


CHAP.  VII.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  509 

island,  in  order  to  avoid  collisions,  which  may  take  place  if 
they  should  reenter  the  barracks  in  the  caravels. 


SECTION  IL 

More  than  a  year  had  elapsed  when,  to  the  unspeakable 
joy  of  the  crews,  two  caravels  entered  the  bay  of  Santa 
Gloria.  They  were  under  the  command  of  Diego  de  Sal- 
cedo,  a  brevetted  perfumer,  and  a  former  esquire  of  the 
household  of  the  Achuiral.  The  first  of  these  caravels  was 
chartered  by  the  indefatigable  Diego  iSIendez,  and  was  laden 
%vith  bread,  wine,  meats  and  fruits.  The  second  was  sent 
by  Ovando,  whom  public  opinion  forced  to  show  kind  feel- 
ings, in  spite  of  him.  He  feared  Mendez  would  have  the 
start  of  him,  so  he  confided  his  caravel,  also,  to  the  command 
of  Salcedo.  As  soon  as  the  two  caravels  had  left  the  port 
of  San  Domingo,  Diego  Mendez,  who  had  freighted  anotlier 
ship,  embarked  for  Castile  with  Bartholomew  Fiesclii,  to 
sive  tlie  Sovereigns  an  account  of  the  recent  maritime 
expedition. 

Columbus,  having  thanked  God  for  His  mercy,  went  on 
boaid  the  caravel  chartered  at  his  expense,  witli  his  officers, 
and  the  sailors  wiio  had  remained  faithful  to  him.  The 
others  took  their  place  in  the  caravel  sent  by  the  Governor. 
The  twenty-eighth  of  June  the  ships  left  the  Bay  of  Santa 
Gloria,  where  so  many  dangers  and  mysterious  aids,  so 
many  sullerings  and  invisible  consolations,  had  alternately 
cast  down  and  raised  up  the  largest  heart  in  the  world. 

The  struggle  the  Admiral  had  sustained  against  the  bil- 
lows during  the  whole  course  of  this  voyage,  since  the 
solemn  hour  that  he  had  predicted  the  tempest,  recom- 
menced as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  the  bay.  The  twofold 
violence  of  the  winds  and  the  waves  detained  him  more 
than  a  month  in  this  passage.  A  circumstance  worthy  of 
note  is,  that  with  his  sails,  and  his  experienced  sailors,  it 
required  continual  manœuvring,  for  more  than  a  month,  to 
cross  the  space  which,  by  the  divine  favor,  his  envoy,  Diego 
43* 


5IO  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Mendez,  had  traversed  in  less  than  four  da3'S  with  oars,  and 
in  canoes  ! 

Notwithstanding  the  nautical  improvements  of  our  era, 
the  hydi'ographic  study  of  these  regions,  aided  by  experi- 
ence, there  is  not  this  day  a  naval  officer,  midshipman,  or 
admiral,  that,  at  the  price  of  a  kingdom,  would  attempt  the 
passage  from  Jamaica  to  Hispaniola  or  Hayti,  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  with  the  same  embarkation  that  Diego 
Mendez  did.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  during  this  fourth 
voyage  of  Columbus,  the  prodigious  is  continually  met  with. 
It  will  be  understood  with  what  reason  he  said  to  the  Cath- 
olic Sovereigns,  alluding  to  matters  so  extraordinary,  "Who 
can  believe  what  I  have  written  here?  "  And  still  he  adds, 
immediately  after,  "  I  say  that  in   this  letter  I   have  not 

RECOUNTED  THE  HUNDREDTH  PART  OF  WHAT  HAS  HAP- 
PENED TO  ME."  Those  who  were  with  the  Admiral  can 
attest  the  truth  of  it.* 

At  length  the  Admiral  reached  the  little  island  of  Beata, 
whence,  by  way  of  land,  he  aj>prised  the  Governor  of  his 
approach  ;  then  continuing  his  voyage,  he  arrived  at  San 
Domingo  on  the  thirteenth  of  August. 

The  Governor,  with  a  grand  cortege,  composed  of  the 
office-holders  and  principal  inhabitants,  came  to  greet  Co- 
lumbus. The  public  hastened  to  lavish  tokens  of  respect 
on  him.  Seamen  honored  in  his  person  the  incomparable 
navigator  :  and  the  Franciscans,  the  Messenger  of  Salva- 
tion, the  precursor  of  their  future  preaching.  The  people 
saluted  in  him  the  majesty  of  misfortune  borne  with  j)a- 
tience  ;  his  reverses  gained  him  all  hearts.  It  was  in  the 
government  palace  that  Ovando  installed  him,  and  ^^\e.  him 
fêtes  and  banquets. 

Notwithstanding  the  appearance  of  these  good  relations, 
the  Admiral,  who  always  saw  to  the  bottom  of  things,  knew 
how  to  reduce  to  their  true  value  these  demonstrations  of 

*  Lettre  aux  Rois  Catholiques  datée  de  la  Jamaïque  le']  Juillet, 
1503- 


CiiAP.  VII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  511 

Ovando  ;  and.  on  his  side,  the  Governor  could  not  believe  but 
that  the  Admiral  souglit  to  obtain  influence  in  the  island, 
hoping  to  be  soon  put  again  in  possession  of  his  rights,  for 
the  nomination  of  Ovando  limited  his  powers  to  two  years. 

Soon  Ovando  wished  to  show  Columbus  that  he  was  the 
real  Governor  of  Ilispaniola.  He  raised  a  question  of 
competency,  and  pretended  to  take  cognizance  of  the  rebel- 
lion of  Porras,  because  it  took  place  within  the  limits  of 
his  jurisdiction.  lie  required  the  surrender  of  Porras,  de- 
tained on  board  the  caravel,  and  after  the  first  examination 
set  him  at  liberty,  without  any  judicial  inquiry,  or  commit- 
ting anything  to  writing.  ^loreover,  he  even  spoke  of 
arresting  those  who  had  taken  up  arms  to  defend  the  Ad- 
miral. What  he  did  in  this  respect  was,  he  said,  only  in 
the  interest  of  justice,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  rights 
of  the  Government,  which  those  of  the  Admiralty  could  not 
overrule.  Columbus  determined  to  bear  patiently  every 
injustice  rather  than  occasion  the  least  difficulty  in  the 
colony,  limiting  himself  to  representing  how  illusory  would 
be  the  authority  of  an  Admiral,  if  he  could  not  punish  a 
revolt  on  board  his  ship.  Then  he  smiled  with  that  calm, 
Christian  resignation  with  which  he  was  so  deeply  im- 
bued. 

Such  of  the  miserable  partisans  of  Porras  as  had  not 
already  deserted  on  arriving,  demanded  to  be  permitted  to 
return  to  Spain.  Destitute  of  all  resources,  and  even  of 
clothing,  they  solicited  passages  in  some  ship.  The  Admi- 
ral, after  their  rebellion,  coukl  justly  have  left  them  to  the 
care  of  the  Governor,  and  embarked  solely  with  his  own 
people  and  his  oflicers  in  the  caravel,  and  the  more  so  be- 
cause one  ship  could  not  contain  all  the  passengers  ;  but, 
considering  all  they  had  sullered  during  this  voyage  of 
discovery,  he  pitied  them  for  their  crimes,  for  what  he 
called  their  "  moral  infirmit}',"  and  considered  he  could  not, 
with  a  good  conscience,  abandon  them.  He  appropriated 
for  their  use  the  caravel  that  was  being  refitted,  and,  at  his 


^12  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

own  expense,  bought  another,  in  which  he  himself  was  to 
sail  with  his  fomily  and  friends. 

To  meet  this  increase  of  expenses  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  see  what  revenue  had  been  received  for  him  during 
his  absence.  According  to  a  rough  calculation  made  by  his 
friends,  the  total  amount  should  come  to  about  eleven  thou- 
sand castillans  ;  and  still  only  four  thousand  were  accounted 
for.  This  produced  a  warm  contest  with  the  Governor  ; 
the  latter,  in  the  discussion,  skilfully  laid  his  snares,  but  the 
Admiral  baffled  them,  and  he  remained  master  of  his  just 
indignation.  The  only  thing  he  did  was  to  use  all  his 
efibrts  to  have  the  caravel  refitted  as  soon  as  possible  ;  for 
his  stay  in  San  Domingo  in  the  house  of  so  craftily  po- 
lite an  adversary,  became  insupportable  to  him.  Besides, 
he  was  placed  in  a  false  position  ;  he  could  not  utter  his 
views,  give  counsel,  or  freely  express  his  thoughts  about  any- 
thing. He  felt  that  he  was  a  stranger  in  the  administration 
of  a  country  of  which  he  was  the  donor,  the  Viceroy,  and 
the  perpetual  Governor  !  He  saw  this  magnificent  island 
stained  with  blood  and  devastated,  where  he  wanted  to  in- 
troduce civilization  and  the  blessings  of  Christianity. 

The  sufferings  of  the  poor  Indians  especially  afflicted  the 
heart  of  Columbus.  Alas  !  it  was  not  this  he  expected 
when  he  discovered  these  countries.  He  loved  these  artless 
and  whimsical  children  of  the  forests  ;  he  had  received  the 
gift  of  reading  their  hearts  and  of  subjugating  them  by  his 
personal  ascendancy.  They  shed  tears  of  grief  the  first 
time  he  separated  from  them  at  Navidud.  At  Santa  Gloria 
they  likewise  bewailed  his  departure.  But  now  he  could 
do  nothing  in  their  favor  ;  his  only  hope  for  them  was  from 
the  justice  of  the  Qixeen.  Alas  !  that  noble  Isabella  added 
still  more  to  his  afflictions.  The  latest  accounts  from  Cas- 
tile informed  him  that  she  was  momentarily  des^Daired  of. 
This  news  transpierced  the  heart  of  Columbus  with  grief. 


CHRIS  TOPHER  C  OL  UMB  US. 


SECTION  m. 


5^3 


At  length,  on  the  twelfth  of  September,  Columbus,  after 
having  bid  farewell  to  the  Governor,  and  received  the  hearty 
adieus  of  the  most  honorable  of  the  colonists,  entered  with 
his  friends,  his  officers  and  his  men,  on  board  the  caravel 
he  had  purchased.  The  other  one  that  was  refitted  was  ap- 
propriated for  the  other  mariners  who  wished  to  return  to 
Spain,  and  was  commanded  by  the  Adelantado. 

When  they  were  about  two  leagues  from  the  port,  and  still 
in  sigiit  of  it,  a  sudden  squall  struck  the  mainmast  of  the 
Admiral's  vessel,  shattering  it  in  pieces  to  the  quarter-deck. 
In  place  of  returning  to  have  it  replaced  by  another,  he  im- 
mediately went,  with  his  familv,  on  board  of  the  vessel 
commanded  by  the  Adelantado,  and,  sending  back  the 
damaged  ship  to  port,  continued  on  his  course. 

Throughout  the  voyage  he  experienced  very  tempestuous 
weather.  On  the  ninth  of  October,  a  sudden  gust  shattered 
the  mainmast  in  four  places.  He  was  confined  to  his  bed, 
at  the  time,  from  rheumatism  ;  yet  by  his  advice,  and  the 
inventive  genius  of  the  Adelantado,  the  damage  was  skil- 
fully repaired  ;  the  mast  was  shortened,  and  the  weak  parts 
were  fortified  by  pieces  taken  from  other  parts  of  the  vessel  ; 
then  the  whole  was  well  secured  with  cordage. 

A  few  days  after,  another  tempest  sprung  the  foremast. 
There  remained  yet  seven  hundred  leagues  to  be  traversed. 
Far  from  making  for  the  Azores  to  repair  and  jeplace  his 
masting,  as  any  other  commander  would  have  done,  the 
Admiral,  accustomed  to  the  favors  of  the  Most  High,  ajj- 
pearcd  to  be  no  way  concerned  about  this  new  accident. 
His  pains  left  him  no  repose  ;  besides,  his  mind  was  agi- 
tated with  gloomy  presentiments.  He  longed  to  get  near 
the  Qiieen,  and  he  continued  to  make  straight  for  Castile. 
The  lemaining  part  of  this  voyage  continued  difficult  and 
painlul.  Tempest-tossed  for  several  weeks,  he  at  length, 
on  the  seventh  of  November,  "  by  the  permission  of  God," 
arrivcil  at  the  port  of  San  Lucar. 


514  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Columbus  sojourns  in  Seville.  —  Sickness  and  Death  of  Isabella.  — 
Unspeakable  Grief  of  Columbus  at  her  Death.  —  His  Sickness, 
Poverty,  and  Moral  Sufferings.  —  From  his  Bed  he  counteracts 
an  Intrigue  of  Fonseca  in  Rome.  —  Fruitless  Reclamations  of 
Columbus  before  Ferdinand.  —  He  nobly  rejects  an  Offer  made 
him  by  the  King. 

SECTION  I. 

THE  adored  Isabella  was  succumbing  from  a  chronic 
disease.  Notwithstanding  the  ardent  desire  of  Co- 
lumbus to  have  gone  to  Medina  del  Campo,  where  the 
Court  resided,  he  was  obliged  to  remain  in  Seville,  the 
nursery  of  his  enemies.  His  sufferings  detained  him  at  a 
hotel.  The  few  friends  he  counted  in  this  city  were  then 
absent  ;  even  his  great  admirer,  the  learned  Gaspard  Gor- 
ricio,  had,  for  the  time,  left  his  monastery.  He  was  like  a 
stranger  in  this  city,  which  had  become  the  seat  of  colonial 
afîairs.  During  his  absence  the  bureaus  of  the  marine  had 
received  their  complete  organization.  The  Admiralty  of 
the  Indies  formed  a  true  marine  and  colonial  ministration 
imder  the  presidency  of  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca,  the  implac- 
able enemy  of  the  great  man. 

Columbus,  who  expected  to  be  able,  at  last,  to  rest  from 
his  fatigues  and  cares,  thus  found  himself  unwillingly  under 
the  lash  of  his  persecutors.  The  sailors  whom,  through 
pity,  he  had  brought  back  at  his  own  expense,  and  among 
whom  there  were  several  rebels,  could  not  get  their  pay 
from  the  bureaus.  Knowing  his  generosity,  they  impor- 
tuned him,  well  aware  that  he  would  not  forget  to  urge 
their  claims  with  all  the  earnestness  in  his.  powder. 

Confined  to  his  bed,  almost  unable  to  move,  and  writing 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 


DO 


only  with  great  pain,  he  knew  of  the  proceedings  of  liis 
enemies,  and  that  the  rebels  who  had  made  an  attempt  on 
his  life  were  at  large,  and  were  received  at  Court  plotting 
against  him,  while  the  documents  of  their  procedure  had 
remained  in  the  caravel  that  had  returned  to  San  Domingo 
to  be  masted.  Columbus  wrote  to  the  Sovereigns  to  apprise 
them  of  what  had  occurred. 

The  Admiral,  oppressed  with  his  physical  ailments,  had 
still  to  bear  the  keenest  moral  sufferings.  He  knew  that 
the  heroic  woman  who  had  comprehended  him,  who  had 
sympathized  with  him,  and  who  was  his  protectress  and 
friend,  was  a  prey  to  an  incurable  disease.  He  could 
neither  write  nor  speak  to  her  at  this  dreadful  moment. 
He  dared  not  recall  himself  directly  to  her  remembrance, — 
a  matter  he  yet  counted  on  ;  besides,  tlie  virtuous  Doila 
Juana  de  la  Torre  was  no  more,  who  alone  would,  per- 
haps, have  the  courage  of  speaking  of  him  by  the  sick-bed 
of  Isabella. 

The  Qiieen  had  received  the  letter  which  the  Admiral 
wrote  the  seventh  of  July,  1503,  from  Jamaica,  and  whic'.i 
was  miraculously  carried  by  Diego  Mendcz  to  Ilispaniola, 
and  thence  to  Castile.  She  had  not  waited  for  the  arrival 
of  this  trusty  squire  to  occupy  herself  v/ith  the  interests  of 
the  Admiral.  While  he  was  languishing  on  the  coast  of 
Jamaica,  she  gave  a  proof  of  her  constancy  and  grateful 
remembrance,  in  nominating  his  eldest  son  to  the  rank 
of  body-guard,  with  a  pay  of  fifty  thousand  maravedis  per 
annum.  Soon  after,  she  wrote  twice  to  the  Governor, 
Ovando,  to  take  good  care  of  the  rights  of  the  Admiral, 
conformably  to  the  royal  stipulations.  Later  she  had  ac- 
corded to  his  brother,  the  Abbo  Don  Diego  Columbus, 
letters  of  naturalization',  in  order  to  be  able  to  invest  him 
with  a  benefice. 

Isabella  admitted  into  her  presence  the  pious  and  faithful 
servitor  of  Columbus.  She  listened  to  the  details  of  the 
voyage  ;  and  on  learning  from  him  the  state  of  the  colony, 
—  the  massacres   of    Xaragua  and    Higuev,   the   horrible 


5i6  BISTORT  OF  [book  iv. 

slavery  for  which  the  work  in  the  mines  served  as  a  pre- 
text, the  lamentable  end  of  the  noble  and  hospitable  Ana- 
coana,  - —  her  heart  writhed  with  grief,  and,  with  an  indig- 
nation that  cannot  be  expressed,  she  said  to  the  President 
of  the  Council  of  Justice,  in  speaking  of  Ovando,  —  "I  will 
appoint  him  to  a  place  that  will  never  be  coveted." 

To  reward  the  devotedness  of  the  valorous  Diego  Mendez, 
whom  Columbus  made  a  captain,  she  raised  him  to  the  no- 
bility, giving  him,  with  his  letters-patent,  armorial  bearings 
that  would  perpetuate  the  form  of  his  heroism. 

It  was  rumored  about  Court  that  Isabella  had  exacted  a 
promise  from  the  King  to  recall  from  office  and  chastise 
Ovando,  who  was  reeking  with  the  blood  of  the  Indians  ; 
to  protect  this  distant  people,  whom  she  had  so  much 
desired  to  range  under  the  standard  of  the  Cross,  and  to 
reinstate  in  his  rights,  in  his  titles,  and  in  his  government, 
the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies,  Don  Christopher  Columbus.  This 
rumor  was  well  founded.  It  was  even  said  in  Seville  that 
the  Qi-ieen  had  spoken  of  Columbus  in  her  will.  This  was 
a  mistake.  Motives  of  prudence  imposed  silence  on  her, 
which,  far  from  implying  forgetfulness,  testified  her  faith- 
ful remembrance  of  him.  It  was  even  in  the  interest  of  the 
Admiral  that  she  omitted  making  any  disposition  in  his 
favor.  Already  he  had  enemies  enough  ;  she  feared,  for 
him,  the  animosity  of  the  King.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of 
November,  1504,  Isabella  breathed  her  last,  and  with  her 
death  the  glory  and  the  happiness  of  Spain  became  eclipsed. 

SECTION  II. 

During  this  time  a  keen  anguish  agitated  the  mind  of 
Columbus.  He  shuddered  at  the  idea  of  losing  Isabella, 
who  was  the  soul  of  discoveries,  the  patroness  of  the  Indies, 
the  protectress  of  truth  and  of  justice,  the  image  of  the 
beautiful  and  the  good,  the  ideal  of  regal  superiority.  He 
addressed  his  prayers  to  the  Adorable  Trinity  for  the  preser- 
vation of  her  life. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  51^ 

On  being  informed  of  her  death,  wlio  shall  tell  the  rend- 
ing of  heart  and  the  bitterness  of  grief  he  experienced? 
The  father  who  loses  his  only  daughter  feels  no  keener 
anguish  of  heart.  To  paint  this  imutterablc  affliction  it 
would  be  necessary  to  measure  in  its  sublimity  that  attrac- 
tion for  each  other  of  the  two  souls  which  Providence  had 
predestined  to  elaborate  the  greatest  work  of  the  human 
race.  By  its  immensity  the  grief  of  Columbus  bordered  on 
the  infinite  ;  its  multiple  suffering  was  as  vast  as  the  spirit 
that  animated  the  body  of  that  Qiieen,  which  was  stamped 
with  an  indelible  majesty.  It  was  the  rending  of  a  superior 
sympathy,  rooted  in  tenderness  of  soul,  fecundated  with  the 
splendors  of  faith,  and  vivified-  in  Christ,  who  was  its  prin- 
ciple, its  safeguard,  and  its  immortal  end. 

His  only  stay  in  this  world  was  gone.  He  had  lost  more 
than  a  protectress,  more  than  a  sovereign  :  he  had  lost  a 
friend.  Yes,  the  Qiieen  loved  with  a  maternal  tenderness, 
and  honored  with  a  respectful  deference,  the  man  whom 
God  had  sent  her  to  double  the  known  space  of  creation. 
Isabella  refound  in  Columbus  her  own  qualities;  that  is 
to  say,  her  eminent  virtues.  She  admired  in  him  especially 
that  modesty  of  a  hero,  that  simplicity  of  a  saint,  and  that 
artlessness  of  a  child  which  the  Patriarch  of  the  Ocean 
preserved  throughout  the  vicissitudes  of  his  unequalled 
labors.  An  involuntary  respect  inclined  the  great  and 
venerated  Isabella  towards  this  old  man,  breathing  gran- 
deur, transpiring  the  sublime,  and  beaming  from  this  world 
with  the  impress  of  immortality. 

Columbus  always  saw  in  the  incomparable  Isabella  the 
type  of  purity,  of  constancy,  and  of  fidelity  to  her  word  ; 
the  flower  of  human  graces,  and  the  poetry  of  humanity. 
To  whom  will  he  henceforth  recount  the  ravishments  which 
the  marvels  of  unknown  regions  produced  in  him?  Who 
now  will  undertake  new  discoveries?  Who  now  will  fol-, 
low  him  in  thought,  and  thank  him  for  his  distant  fatigues? 
Who  will  come  to  aid  him?  to  realize,  in  fine,  the  chief 


44 


5i8  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

object  of  his  hopes,  —  the  deliverance  of  the  tomb  of  the 
Divine  Saviour? 

When  he  understood  that  his  loss  was  effected  in  the 
death  of  Isabella,  he  experienced  a  lifelessness  of  heart. 
His  desolation  was  as  mute  as  the  tomb  ;  his  unspeakable 
grief  found  no  utterance.  It  is  only  known  that  his  phys- 
ical sufferings  were  redoubled  by  it. 

As  soon  as  Isabella,  that  sign  of  honor,  of  confidence  and 
of  union,  was  dead,  the  spirit  of  discord  appeared.  Mis- 
trust and  discontentment  showed  themselves  in  the  high 
places  of  the  Court  ;  looks  became  gloomy,  and  grave  in- 
quietudes disturbed  men  of  peace  and  of  foresight.  Machi- 
avelism  took  possession  of  politics  ;  jealous  mediocrities  and 
adroit  hypocrisies  raised  their  heads,  and  the  good  and  the 
just  became  objects  of  suspicion. 

SECTION  III. 

Since  his  landing,  Columbus  could  not  leave  his  bed,  nor 
use  his  hands,  especially  during  the  day,  on  account  of  a 
debility  which  prevented  him  from  holding  the  pen,  and 
permitted  him  writing  only  at  night.  He  w\as  obliged  to 
take  from  the  hours  of  sleep  those  for  his  correspondence, 
and  for  the  management  of  his  affairs.  Yet  the  activity  of 
his  mind,  in  the  midst  of  his  sufîerings,  astonislies  us. 

After  his  arrival  he  learned  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
Julius  II.,  no  doubt  knowing  the  relations  established  be- 
tween his  predecessors  and  the  Revealer  of  the  New  World, 
complained  of  not  having  received  from  him  news  from  the 
Indies.  He  made  a  report  of  his  discoveries  to  the  Chief  of 
the  Church  ;  but,  fearing  that  his  semi-official  communica- 
tions with  the  Pontifical  Court  should  be  made  a  ground  for 
new  accusations,  before  sending  this  document  to  Rome 
he  thought  it  pnrdent  to  give  copies  of  it  to  the  King,  and 
to  the  new  Archbishop  of  Seville,  Diego  de  Deza,  his  friend, 
and  formerly  his  defender  in  the  celebrated  confei'ence  at 
Salamanca. 


CHAP,  viii.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  519 

But  what  we  admire  still  more  than  his  moral  force,  and 
his  patience  in  his  sufferings,  is  his  generosity  of  character, 
and  the  evangelical  perfection  of  his  charity,  which  caused 
him  to  take  under  his  shield  the  seamen  he  had  brought 
back  witli  him,  a  part  of  whom  had  threatened  his  life. 
He  did  not  limit  himself  to  pardoning  them.  To  furnish 
them  with  means  to  return  home,  he  was  obliged  to  submit 
to  a  deduction  of  twelve  hundred  castillans  discount  on  the 
money  he  received  at  San  Domingo.  On  his  arrival  at 
Seville,  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Sovereigns  he  earnestly 
recommended  to  their  solicitude  those  men  whose  pay  was 
still  due,  and  whose  need  was  extreme.  Some  days  after 
he  still  reminded  the  Court  of  their  necessities  and  poverty. 
The  twenty-eighth  of  December  he  recommended  to  his  son 
Diego  to  intercede  on  their  behalf.  Without  fearing  to  be 
considered  importunate  by  his  persistence,  on  the  first  of 
December  he  recommenced  writing  in  their  favor. 

But  this  energy  of  claiming  for  others  justice  and  hu- 
manity, he  could  not  use  in  his  own  regard;  he  limited 
himself  to  recalling  to  mind  his  services,  and  the  engage- 
ments of  the  Crown  towards  him.  He  did  all  that  his  situ- 
ation permitted  him  to  do.  On  his  arrival  at  Seville  he 
wrote  to  the  Sovereigns,  announcing  Jiis  return,  and  stating 
that  he  awaited  their  orders.  Ferdinand,  on  riiis  occasion, 
said  the  most  flattering  things  of  him  to  his  son  Diego, 
which  the  latter,  in  the  innocence  of  his  heart,  believing 
them  to  be  sincere,  transmitted  to  his  father.  But  to  the 
message  the  Admiral  added  a  memorial,  in  the  form  of  "  a 
very  long  letter,"  on  the  administration  of  the  government 
of  the  Indies,  in  which  he  depicted  in  its  reality  the  situa- 
tion of  the  colony,  the  origin  of  the  evils  there,  and  indi- 
cated the  proper  remedies  for  them.  No  reply  came  to 
this  memorial. 

The  Admiral  wrote  twice  afterwards,  without  being  hon- 
ored with  any  answer.  He  wrote  repeatedly  to  his  son 
Diego  to  obtain  an  answer  for  him,  but  it  was  in  vain. 
Diego  could  get  none. 


po  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Columbus  having  been  informed  by  some  member  of  the 
Bureaus  of  Seville  that  three  bishoprics  were  to  be  estab- 
lished in  the  Indies,  he  demanded  from  the  King  the  favor 
of  being  heard  before  anything  definite  would  be  decided  on 
in  this  matter.  No  answer  came.  In  the  course  of  December 
he  learned  from  public  rumor  that  presentations  had  been 
made  and  approved  of,  in  the  ordinary  manner. 

During  the  time  that  the  Admiral  was  languishing  in  dis- 
favor,—  sick,  and  in  a  state  of  destitution,  — in  this  calum- 
nious city,  become  for  him  another  Cedar,  the  Chief  of  the 
Church,  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  viceroyalty  of  the 
Herald  of  the  Cross,  was  astonished  that  in  this  creation  of 
bishoprics,  caused  by  the  rapid  progress  of  the  conversion 
of  the  natives,  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies  had  uttered  no 
opinion,  and  that  no  reference  had  been  made  to  him. 
This  silence  of  Ferdinand  in  regard  to  Columbus,  the  Cross- 
bearer  of  Catholicity,  appeai'ed  suspicious. 

At  the  Pontificial  Court  they  were  not  ignorant  of  the 
envy  and  persecutions  of  which  he  was  the  object.  This 
erection  of  an  archbishopric  and  two  bishoprics  all  at  the 
same  time,  to  provide  for  the  sudden  wants  of  the  three 
centres  of  population,  caused  some  doubts  in  the  Roman 
chancer}'.  Undoubtedly  the  three  bishops  proposed,  offered 
all  the  guarantees  of  piety  and  of  orthodoxy  that  could  be 
desired.  They  were  the  Franciscan  Father  Garcias  de 
Padilla,  the  Doctor  Pedro  de  Deza,  nephew  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Seville,  and  the  Licentiate  Alonzo  Mansa,  a  canon  of 
Salamanca.  So  these  nominations  were  approved  of  by  the 
Holy  See.  Nevertheless,  in  its  prudence  it  did  not  expedite 
the  Bulls  until  it  would  be  more  fully  informed  about  the 
state  of  affairs.  Thus  the  Court  of  Rome  listened  to,  as  if 
it  heard  them,  the  wishes  of  the  Admiral,  which  Ferdinand 
had  rejected.     The  bishojDS  did  not  depart  for  Hispaniola. 

If  Columbus  insisted  so  much  on  giving  his  advice  in  the 
creation  of  these  bishoprics,  it  was  that  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  honor  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  filled  him  with  a 
pious  solicitude.     He  felt  fully  persuaded  that  an   undue 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  521 

advantage  was  taken  of  the  distance,  to  lead  the  Holy  Father 
into  error,  and  to  make  his  sacred  anthority  serve  for  worldly 
pnrposes. 

This  circumstance,  which  has  not  hitherto  been  remarked 
by  any  historian,  deserves  to  be  placed  in  its  true  light. 

Hoping  to  increase  the  importance  of  his  government, 
and  give  Hispaniola  a  rank  or  consequence  that  would 
conduce  to  his  ulterior  views,  Ovando  conceived  the  design 
of  soliciting  the  creation  of  an  archdiocese  and  two  dioceses 
ill  the  island.  The  sole  fact  of  this  creation  would  suffi- 
ciently attest  his  religious  zeal  and  his  administrative  ability. 

He  demanded,  then,  the  erection  of  the  archbishopric  of 
Xaragua,  having  as  suflragans  the  bishopric  of  Larez  and 
that  of  Conception.  Ovando  found  a  particular  interest  in 
erecting  into  an  episcopal  see  the  village  of  Larez,  built 
under  his  auspices,  and  which  contained  about  sixty  inhab- 
itants. By  this  means  he  expected  to  attract  settlers  there, 
and  perpetuate  his  enterprise.  As  to  Conception,  where 
there  were  grouped  about  a  hundred  and  fiftv  individuals, 
protected  by  the  solid  fortress  that  had  been  built  by  the 
Admiral,  the  bishop  would  not  have  to  complain  of  such  a 
residence.  It  received  the  name  of  a  city  :  the  place  was 
salubrious  and  well  protected  ;  he  could  save  his  soul  there 
in  peace,  and  could  consider  himself  safe  from  all  the  at- 
tacks of  his  future  flock. 

As  regarded  the  archbishopric,  it  seemed  natural  enough 
to  establish  it  in  San  Domingo,  the  capital  of  the  colony, 
which  possessed  a  citadel,  a  military  post,  and  the  largest 
population  of  any  place  in  the  whole  island.  But  although 
Ovando  wished  the  creation  of  an  archiépiscopal  see  to  in- 
crease the  lustre  of  his  government,  his  ambitious  and  dom- 
ineering character  made  him  fear  the  presence  of  a  superior 
and  independent  authority,  who  could  have  limited  and 
controlled  certain  points  of  his  proceediVigs.  He  proposed, 
then,  the  establishment  of  the  archdiocese  at  Xaragua,  a 
place  distant  from  tlie  capital  some  seventy  leagues,  across 
mountains  and  valleys,  without  an  open  road,  without 
44* 


^22  HISTORY  OF  [book  IV. 

dwellings  and  without  inhabitants.  Xaragua  !  that  dolorous 
image,  that  frightful  memento  which  Ovando  ought  never 
to  have  recalled  !  a  place  that  was  burnt  after  the  massacre  ! 
a  heap  of  ruins  and  of  ashes  given  u^d  to  silence,  to  deser- 
tion, and  to  dismay  ! 

Still,  such  a  proposition  was  examined,  weighed,  and 
approved  of  by  Fonseca,  president  of  colonial  affairs.  Lo  ! 
how  this  nominal  bishop  would  have  organized  the  service 
of  God  in  Hispaniola  !  He  dared  to  say  that  Christianity 
made  great  progress  in  the  Indies,  because  idolatry  dimin- 
ished there  daily.  Idolatry,  in  fact,  had  diminished  there, 
inasmuch  as  the  Indians  disappeai^ed  from  sight.  After  the 
massacres,  tlie  executions  in  mass,  the  assassinations,  the 
arbitrary  murders  and  the  deaths  caused  by  the  works  on 
the  mines,  —  and  thus  idolatry  was  getting  gradually  extin- 
guished. Could  such  means  have  gained  souls  to  Chris- 
tianity.? It  will  now  be  understood  why  everything  was 
concealed,  or  tried  to  be  concealed,  from  the  Admiral  ;  how 
shameful  trafficking  and  spiritual  turpitude  were  in  dread 
of  his  peneti'ating  and  clear  discernment. 

The  views  of  Columbus  were  secretly  communicated  by 
him  to  the  Apostolic  Nuncio.  The  evangelical  solicitude 
of  the  Herald  of  the  Cross  did  not  end  here. 

Notwithstanding  his  pecuniary  embarrassments,  he  con- 
trived, partly  by  the  aid  and  credit  of  a  few  friends,  to 
raise  funds  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  voyage  to  Rome, 
and  despatched  there,  in  all  haste,  the  Adelantado,  with 
a  message  to  the  Holy  Father.  Don  Bartholomew,  always 
ready  to  comply  with  the  desires  of  his  brother,  departed 
under  the  pretence  of  going  to  visit  his  native  country,  in 
order  to  excite  no  suspicion,  and  speedily  accomplished  his 
voyage.  We  have  the  proof  that  in  1505  he  was  in 
Rome,  where  he  edited  the  history  of  the  first  voyage  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  accompanied  with  a  chart  of  his 
discoveries. 

The  stay  of  the  Adelantado  in  the  Eternal  City  was  not 
of  long  duration,  but  the  object  of  his  journey  was  attained. 


CHAP.  Vin.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  523 

The  Holy  Father  refused  to  expedite  the  briefs.  All  the 
entreaties  of  the  Spanish  Ambassador  had  no  effect  on  the 
Holy  See.  Before  the  Chief  of  the  Church  the  confidential 
advice  of  Columbus  prevailed  over  the  assertions  of  the 
Spanish  Crown  and  the  cunning  of  diplomacy. 

While  in  Seville,  Columbus  one  day  received  a  visit  from 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  who  was  called  to  Court,  by  the  King, 
about  marine  affairs,  and  who  came  to  receive  the  com- 
mands of  the  Admiral  ;  that  is  to  say,  under  the  pretence  of. 
making  himself  agreeable  to  him,  he  sought  to  obtain  a 
recommendation  from  him.  Amerigo  had  made  with  Alonzo 
de  Ojcda  and  the  pilot  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  a  voyage  to  Terra 
Pirfiia^  by  the  aid  of  the  charts  of  the  Admiral,  of  which 
the  director  of  marine,  Juan  dc  Fonseca,  had  traitorously 
given  them  a  copy  ;  and  still  Columbus  seemed  to  forget 
his  participation  in  that  felony.  He  only  knows  or  remem- 
bers that  he  has  voyaged,  made  observations,  and  suffered 
without  much  advantage  to  his  fortune  ;  and,  as  all  his 
former  relations  with  Vespucci  were  agreeable,  Columbus, 
without  looking  closer  into  his  character,  judges  him  to  be 
"  a  very  good  man."  He  accepts  the  proffered  services  of 
Vespucci,  and  gives  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  his  son 
Diego. 

The  Admiral  having  received  no  answer  to  his  letters  to 
the  King,  flattered  himself  that  by  going  to  Court  he  could 
verbally  advance  his  interests.  The  weather  had  become 
mild.  He  thought  he  could  bear  the  gait  of  a  mule, —  that 
of  a  horse  being  too  painful  for  his  state  of  suffering. 
Already,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December,  he  had  written 
to  obtain  from  the  King  permission  to  make  the  journey  on 
a  mule,  "saddled  and  bridled,"  a  matter  that  was  inter- 
dicted by  an  ordinance.* 

Don  Diego  obtained  the  permission,  which  was  signed 
the  twenty-third  of  February  ;  but  the  severe   pains  of  tlie 

*  The  ordinance  referred  to,  was  because  the  universal  use  of 
mules  occasioned  a  decline  in  the  breeding  of  horses.  —  B. 


524  HISTORY  OF  [book  it. 

Admiral,  increased  by  the  displeasure  produced  by  these 
delays,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  did  not  allow 
him  to  avail  himself  then  of  it.  'He  passed  the  Lent  in 
Seville,  vuiable  to  use  his  limbs.  Notwithstanding  his  suf- 
ferings, he  diminished  in  nothing  his  austerities,  observed 
strictly  the  Lenten  Fast,  and  followed  with  exactness  the 
rule  of  the  Seraphic  Order. 

At  length  the  genial  influences  of  spring  ameliorated  his 
condition.  Li  the  course  of  May,  supported  by  his  brother, 
the  Adelantado,  and  mounted  on  a  mule,  he  took  the  route 
to  Segovia,  where  the  Court  then  remained.  Still,  such 
were  his  sufferings  that  he  fell  sick  anew  in  Salamanca. 
After  some  other  delays,  occasioned  by  the  severity  of  his 
sufferings,  he  at  length  came  to  the  end  of  his  journey. 

The  King  welcomed  him  with  his  usual  politeness,  to 
which  he  added  an  air  of  graciousness  and  satisfaction  ;  but 
did  not  give  him  his  title  of  Viceroy,  or  treat  him  according 
to  his  rank,  as  he  had  done  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
Qiieen.  He  listened  with  patience  to  the  recital  of  the  per- 
ilous voyage,  and  with  interest  to  the  account  of  the  mines 
of  Veragua.  He  let  the  Admiral  recount  the  shipwreck  at 
Jamaica,  the  abandonment  to  which  the  Governor  of  His- 
paniola  had  delivered  him,  the  revolt  of  Porras,  the  affronts 
received  in  San  Domingo,  without  giving  him  any  other 
consolation  than  those  vaguely  polite  words  with  which 
the  exj)erience  of  Columbus  could  no  longer  be  deceived. 
Protesting  the  interest  he  felt  in  his  regard,  and  acknowl- 
edging the  titles,  as  old  as  they  were  incontestible,  of  the 
Admiral  to  the  gratitude  of  the  Crown,  the  King  contrived 
to  terminate  the  audience  without  deciding,  or  even  prom- 
ising anything. 

Columbus,  after  having  allowed  some  days  to  pass,  con- 
sidered it  his  duty  to  recall  to  the  remembrance  of  the 
King  the  services  he  had  rendered.  Ferdinand  replied  to 
him  in  a  very  polite  manner,  which  could  not  be  forgotten. 
Still,  the  coldness  of  his  accents  counterbalancing  the  kind- 
ness of  his  words,  his  airs  of  a  monarch,  taken  designedly 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  535 

to  maintain  him  in  a  circumspect  reserve,  and  to  prevent 
every  cliicct  question  that  would  have  led  to  a  frank  reply, 
showed  the  real  disposition  of  the  King.  lie  spoke  par- 
ticularly to  the  Admiral  about  his  gout  and  his  rheum- 
atism, recommended  to  him,  above  all,  to  take  good  care 
of  himself,  mentioning  the  medicines  proper  for  him  to 
take,  and  then,  with  a  gracious  nod,  gave  him  leave  to 
withdraw. 

If  such  a  manner  of  treating  as  an  imbecile  old  man 
the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  seemed  to  Ferdinand  a  clever 
piece  of  dexterity,  what  it  partook  of  the  cruel  must  have 
deeply  revolted  the  heart  of  Columbus.  For  some  days  he 
remained  in  his  retreat,  offering  to  God  these  secret  out- 
rages ;  then  he  essayed  to  put  before  the  eyes  of  the  King, 
in  a  few  lines,  the  object  of  his  reclamation. 

In  his  letter,  far  from  feeling  embarrassed  at  the  listless- 
ness,  almost  disdainful,  which  the  Court  manifested  towards 
him,  the  Admiral,  who  always  avoided  recalling  the  super- 
human character  of  his  Discovery,  and  the  favors  with 
which  the  Lord  had  privileged  him,  this  time  speaks  loudly 
and  strongly  to  his  earthly  Sovereign.  He  calls  by  their 
proper  names  things  which  some  people  would  fain  ignore. 
The  memory  of  prodigies  eBected,  the  consciousness  that 
his  rights  have  been  violated,  and  the  sentiment  of  revolted 
justice,  impress  on  his  st}le  a  vigor  which  cannot  be  ren- 
dered in  the  translation.     This  letter  thws  commences: 

"Most  Puissant  King:  — 

"  Our  Lord  God  sent  me  miraculouslv  here  to  serve 
your  Highnesses.  I  say  miraculoush",  because  I  went  to 
present  my  enterprise  to  Portugal,  whose  King  had  extended 
discoveries  more  than  any  other  had  done,  and  that  he  had 
his  sight  and  hearing  and  all  his  other  faculties  obscured  to 
that  point,  that  during  fourteen  years  he  could  not  compre- 
hend what  I  exposed  to  him.  I  say  also  miraculously, 
because  I  received   urgent  entreaties  by  letter  from  three 


526  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

princes,  which   the  Queen    (God  be  with    her)   saw,  and 
which  were  read  by  Doctor  Villalon,"  etc. 

The  Admiral  added  that  from  the  greatness  of  his  ser- 
vices, and  the  advantages  which  inust  result  from  them, 
everybody  thought  His  Highness  would  honor  him,  and 
would  show  him  his  good-will  by  deeds,  and  that  in  this  he 
would  only  fulfil  what  had  already  been  promised  him  ver- 
bally, what  had  been  engaged  to  him  by  writing,  under  his 
signature. 

The  King  replied  that  he  well  saw  the  advantages  which 
must  result  from  the  Indies,  and  that  he  merited  all  the 
favors  that  had  been  granted  him.  Still,  as  his  demand 
was  of  a  complex  character,  since  there  were  at  the  same 
time  questions  of  titles,  of  government,  of  pecuniary  rights, 
of  accounts  to  be  settled,  of  arrears  to  be  paid  up,  —  in  a 
word,  of  things  almost  litigious,  —  it  would  be  meet  to 
choose  as  an  umpire  a  man  capable  of  this  kind  of  arbitra- 
tion. The  Admiral  accepted  this  proposition,  and  besought 
the  King  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  new  Archbishop  of 
Seville,  Don  Diego  de  Deza.  Ferdinand  agreed  to  this. 
The  Admiral  specified  expressly  the  question  he  intended 
for  settlement  :  it  was  solely  that  which  concerned  his  reve- 
nues, the  amount  of  claims  on  articles  exported  from  the 
Indies,  and  on  those  that  were  imported  there.  As  to  his 
titles,  and  the  government  of  the  Indies,  he  did  not  admit 
that  they  could  be  called  in  question,  his  right  to  them  being 
too  clearly  written  down.  It  appears  the  archbishop  did 
not  act  in  this  matter  ;  either  because  he  thought  his  friend- 
ship for  Columbus  would  make  him  somewhat  of  a  party 
in  this  affair,  or  because  his  modesty  prevented  him  pro- 
nouncing as  umpire  between  his  Sovereign  and  the  Viceroy 
of  the  Indies,  he  declined  the  task.* 

*It  is  more  probable  that  the  matter  was  not  really  submitted  to 
the  archbishop  at  all.  At  least  such  appears  to  be  the  view  of  Mr. 
Washington  Irving. — B. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  527 

At  length,  Columbus  seeing  that  his  representations  were 
without  force,  since  he  had  not  the  power  of  making  them 
effectual,  olVcred  to  leave  the  matter  in  dispute  to  the  gen- 
erosity of  the  King  himself.  He  told  him,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  tardiness  of  litigation,  to  fix  himself  the  amount  that  was 
due  to  him,  because  he  was  worn  down  from  labors  and  in- 
firmities, and  he  longed  to  see  this  matter  terminated,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  retire  to  some  corner  and  die  there  in 
peace. 

The  King  graciously  replied  that  he  did  not  vy^ish  to  de- 
prive himself  yet  of  his  services  ;  that  he  was  determined 
to  satisfy  him  in  every  respect,  that  he  could  not  forget  that 
they  owed  the  Indies  to  him,  and  that  he  intended  to  accord 
him  not  only  what  belonged  to  him  legally  in  virtue  of  his 
privileges,  but  also  to  recompense  him  with  the  riches  be- 
longing to  the  Crown. 

After  assurances  so  formal,  to  utter  a  doubt  would  have 
been  an  offence.  It  was  necessary  to  be  silent  and  wait. 
Besides,  if  the  grandees  had  forsaken  him,  there  yet  remained 
to  him  his  old  friend  Diego  dc  Deza.  Columbus  was  also 
held  in  high  consideration,  and  beloved  by  the  illustrious 
Cardinal  Ximencs,  Archbishop  of  Toledo.  He  retained  a 
ra}'  of  hope,  for  at  times  he  allowed  himself  to  be  beguiled 
by  the  insincere  words  of  Ferdinand.  His  own  uprightness 
was  such  that  he  did  not  believe  others  cajDable  of  dissimu- 
lation so  long  continued,  nor  of  such  a  contempt  for  the 
most  sacred  rights. 

As  it  was  esjDecially  the  Qiieen  who  had  made  engage- 
ments to  the  Admiral,  it  appeared  proper  to  submit  his 
reclamations  to  the  Junta  de  Descaigos,  a  council  or  tri- 
bunal instituted  to  watch  over  and  superintend  the  execu- 
tion of  the  intentions  and  testamentary  obligations  of  the 
Sovereigns  of  Spain.  The  Council  took  the  matter  regularly 
into  hand.  It  spent  much  time  in  examining  the  documents, 
in  discussing  them,  and  in  deliberating  on  them  ;  but  still 
without  coming  to  any  decision.  One  would  have  said 
that  it  excepted  to  its  own  competency.     A  high  influence 


528  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

seemed  to  paralyze  it.  In  Segovia  the  same  spirit  was 
manifested  that  animated  the  coterie  of  Seville. 

At  the  end  of  a  certain  time  he  obtained  that  the  Council 
referred  to  should  resume  the  consideration  of  his  case  ;  but 
it  was  only  to  recommence  delays.  The  Court  was  much 
divided  in  regard  to  this  i^eclamation.  In  their  righteous- 
ness, Cardinal  Ximenes  and  the  Archbishop  of  Seville  did 
not  admit  that  one  could  dispense  himself  from  giving 
Columbus  what  had  been  promised  him.  The  authority 
of  these  two  eminent  prelates  ranged  on  their  side  all  who 
feared  God.  But  around  the  King  the  courtiers,  who  were 
so  by  blood,  were  in  the  majority  ;  for  them,  reasons  of 
state  overruled  every  private  consideration  of  cdnscience 
or  of  engagement.  The  interest  of  the  state,  said  they,  is 
opposed  to  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  the  seventeenth  of 
April,  1492,  notwithstanding  its  ratifications;  the  recom- 
pense demanded  is  too  much  above  the  services  rendered  ; 
it  is  not  politic  to  make  an  individual,  and  especially  a 
foreigner,  so  powerful. 

The  Council  made  no  decision.  Evidently  the  secret 
intervention  of  the  King  was  the  cause  of  its  having  made 
none. 

The  Admiral,  being  no  longer  able  to  sustain  in  Segovia 
the  expenses  which  his  rank  required,  removed  to  Valla- 
dolid,  where  the  Court  made  only  a  short  stay.  But  in 
order  that  his  tribulations  may  reach  their  height,  sickness 
came  to  add  to  the  tortures  of  the  gout,  with  which  he  was 
"  racked  without  mercy." 

Then  Ferdinand,  who,  without  seeming  to  pay  any  atten- 
tion to  them,  watched  the  declining  strength  and  the  pecu- 
niary embarrassments  of  the  Admiral,  judging  the  moment 
opportune,  proposed  to  him  to  renounce  his  privileges,  and 
to  accept  in  exchange  for  them  a  demesne  situated  in  Cas- 
tile, the  fief  of  Carrion  de  los  Condes,  to  which  would  be 
added  a  pension  from  the  exchequer  of  the  Crown.  The 
Admiral  rejected  with  disdain  this  ofler,  by  which  it  was 
intended  to  take  advantage  of  his  helplessness.     As  inflex- 


CHAP.  VIII.]        CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  529 

ible  in  his  destitution  and  infirmities  as  at  the  time  when 
strong  only  in  hope,  in  the  plain  of  Granada,  he  obliged 
the  Court  to  consent  to  his  demands  :  he  yielded  nothing, 
diminished  in  nothing  his  disregarded  rights,  and  kept  the 
silence  of  indignation,  limiting  himself  to  appealing  to  God 
against  this  iniquity. 

We  will  not  weary  our  readers  with  details  of  his  pecu- 
niary embarrassments,  nay,  his  very  destitution,  bordering 
on  absolute  want.  In  this  respect,  and  from  the  same 
causes,  he  was  nearly  in  the  same  condition  he  was  in 
previous  to  his  fourth  voyage  of  discovery.  Neither  will 
we  detail  the  many  other  fruitless  eflbrts  he  made,  ably 
seconded  by  his  son  Diego,  to  regain  his  titles  and  his 
government,  either  for  himself  or  for  his  son.  Ferdinand 
could  not,  in  fact,  be  moved. 

Following  in  the  wake  of  a  certain  school,  the  majority 
of  the  biographers  of  Columbus  blindly  repeat  that  the 
Admiral  died  without  his  having  any  suspicion  of  the  im- 
portance of  his  discoveries,  and  that  to  the  end  of  his  life 
he  took,  or  rather  mistook,  the  New  Continent  for  the  Asiatic 
coast. 

This  is  a  complete  error.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
Columbus  gave  the  name  of  Indies  to  the  lands  he  discov- 
ered, in  order  to  interest  the  Court  in  them,  because  at  that 
time  the  Indies  were  considered  the  richest  country  in  the 
world  for  spices,  pearls,  gold,  and  diamonds.  It  ought  also 
to  be  added,  that  the  Admiral,  since  his  third  voyage, 
pointed  out  a  country  of  which  there  never  before  had 
been  any  mention  made. 

The  logic  of  facts  is  more  convincing  than  that  of  histo- 
rians.    It  outweighs  all  their  subtile  conclusions. 

We  have  said,  and  we  repeat  it,  that  since  his  third  voy- 
age Columbus  knew  that  the  New  Continent  was  not  Asia. 
\Ve  can  affirm  that  he  knew  the  ocean  surrounded  with  its 
waters  this  new  continent  ;  for  before  undertaking  his  fourth 
expedition  he  talked  of  finding  a  strait,  a  passage  which 
45 


530  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

woj.ild  have  conducted  him  to  the  ocean  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

This  is  a  positive  fact,  established  by  the  v^^ords  of  Co- 
hmibus  himself,  the  testimony  of  his  enemies,  and  the  una- 
nimity of  the  writers  of  his  time.  In  Granada,  under  the 
ogives  of  the  Alhambra,  the  Admiral  announced  the  exist- 
ence of  the  ocean  on  the  other  side  of  the  New  Continent. 
If  in  his  letter  of  the  seventh  of  July,  1503,  he  speaks  of 
Ciguare,  and  of  the  Ganges,  he  only  conforms  to  the  ideas 
then  generally  admitted,  and  without  wl^ich  he  could  not 
have  been  understood  ;  but  he  did  not  believe  that  he  found 
Asia.  And  even  when  he  is  obliged  to  use  the  name  of 
Ifidies,  through  prudence  or  through  modest}'^,  not  daring, 
or  being  unwilling,  to  form  one  himself,  to  impose  on  a 
land  so  vast,  he  knows  well  that  God  has  delivered  to  him 
a  soil  that  was  totally  unknown  to  the  ancient  world. 

Columbus  has  so  exact  an  idea  of  his  discovery,  he  is  so 
fully  convinced  that  this  new  continent  is  not  Asia,  that  he 
indicates  how  the  sea  confines  it  ;  he  traces  the  geographical 
position  of  Veragua,  in  regard  to  the  opposite  lands  on  the 
other  side  of  the  ocean,  and  says  that  they  are  found  situated 
as  Tortosa  is  in  regard  to  Fontarabia,  and  Pisa  in  regard  to 
Venice. 

If,  for  a  certain  time,  Columbus  really  believed  that  he 
had  arrived  at  the  Indies,  his  last  expeditions  rectified  and 
fixed  his  ideas  in  regard  to  the  im|)ortance  of  his  discoveries. 
He  had  no  more  doubts  after  his  fourth  voj-age.  He  then 
clearly  saw  the  immensit}'-  of  his  discoveries  ;  he  was  then 
fully  conscious  of  the  enormity  of  the  royal  injustice,  and 
felt  that  never  was  there  a  more  flagrant  iniquity  committed 
against  a  man.  By  the  apostolic  donation  of  the  Holy  See, 
and  the  papal  line  of  demarcation,  of  which  he  was  the 
secret  cause,  he  had  assured  to  Castile  one-half  of  this 
globe  ;  and  still  he  was  refused  his  rights,  his  titles,  his 
honors,  his  bread  !  He  possessed  in  the  world  only  his 
revenues,  and  they  were  not  foi'thcoming.  It  was  to  the 
friendship   or   the   commiseration   of  some   Genoese,  that 


CHAP.  VIII.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  531 

he  owed  the  means  of  being  able  to  live  wretchedly,  by 
borrowing. 

He  saw  disappearing  indefinitely  the  deliverance  of  tlie 
Holy  Sepulchre,  —  the  ardent  desire  of  his  whole  life,  —  at 
a  time  when  everything  seemed  ready  for  its  realization. 
Gold  now  abounded,  and  every  new  arrival  promised  for 
the  next  season  greater  riches  ;  but  there  was  nothing  for 
Columbus!*  What  must  he  not  have  felt  in  his  heart? 
Still  no  complaint  was  heard  from  him.-  Confining  in  the 
depth  of  his  loneliness  the  bitterness  of  his  sorrows,  he 
oflcrcd  them  to  Him  who  had  borne  the  Cross.  This 
calm  in  the  height  of  affliction,  does  it  not  reveal  some- 
thing else  besides  virtue .''  Can  we  find  in  history  an  ex- 
ample similar  to  it?  Philosophy  is  as  incapable  of  inspiring 
as  it  is  of  explaining  this  sublime  resignation.  It  was 
because  the  Messenger  of  Salvation  held  the  crucifix  before 
his  eyes.  He  remembered  that  our  Divine  Lord,  coming 
to  bring  to  poor  humanity  more  than  a  world,  and  more 
than  all  the  worlds,  —  the  Truth,  the  Way,  and  the  Life, — 
was  calumniated,  persecuted,  bound  with  cords,  scourged, 
given  as  a  spectacle  to  the  crowd,  and  delivered  to  death, 
notwithstanding  His  declared  innocence.  Like  Him,  the 
Revealer  of  the  Globe  remained  silent  ;  and,  like  Him,  he 
pardoned  his  enemies. 

*  Some  writers  of  a  certain  school  look  upon  the  idea  of  Columbus, 
in  regard  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  as  visionary. 
Now  we  maintain  that  it  was,  on  the  contrary,  perfectly  practicable, 
and  that  Columbus  had  provided,  or  at  least  discovered,  all  the 
means  for  making  it  an  accomplished  fact.  Had  the  selfish  King 
Ferdinand,  and  the  worldly-minded  Fonseca,  seconded,  in  place  of 
thwarting,  as  they  did,  .the  plans  and  endeavors  of  Columbus,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  glorious  idea  would  have  been  realized. 
No  —  Columbus  was  no  visionarv.  — B. 


533  HIST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

His  Disease  becomes  worse.  —  He  sees  his  End  is  approaching. — 
He  deposits  his  Will  in  the  Hands  of  the  Notary  of  the  Court.  — 
Errors  of  Historians  and  Biographers  in  regard  to  the  Date  of 
this  Will,  and  of  the  Order  relative  to  Doiia  Beatrix  Enriquez.  — 
He  receives  the  last  Sacraments.  —  His  last  Words.  —  He  dies  on 
Ascension-Day.  —  Posthumous  Voyages  of  Columbus. 


SECTION  I. 

AFTER  the  death  of  the  Qiieen,  the  strength  of  Colum- 
bus declined  gradually.  The  energy  of  his  powerful 
organization,  exhausted  by  long  toils,  and  enfeebled  by 
sufferings,  being  no  longer  sustained  by  the  presence  of 
Isabella,  soon  gave  way.  The  strength  of  his  will  alone 
retarded  a  dissolution  which  appeared  imminent. 

In  addition  to  his  other  sufferings,  an  old  wound  he  had 
once  received  reopened  ;  some  gouty  swellings  plagued  his 
hands  and  feet,  and  his  disease  gained  on  the  principal 
centres  of  life. 

In  his  atrocious  calculation  in  regard  to  the  time  Colum- 
bus had  to  suffer,  Ferdinand  showed  an  exact  penetration  ; 
but  there  was  a  secret  of  suffering  deep  in  the  heart  of 
Columbus  which  this  astute  politician  could  not  fathom. 
It  was  this  : 

Notwithstanding  his  perfect  resignation  to  the  will  of 
God,  and  his  pardon  of  the  iniquities  committed  against 
him,  a  desolation  more  bitter  than  the  ingratitude  of  the 
King  afflicted  him  incessantly  in  his  solitude  :  it  was  the 
remembrance  of  those  countries  he  went  to  discover  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  the  wrecked  images  of  those  popu- 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  533 

lations,  formerly  so  happy,  to  whom  he  was  the  first  to 
show  the  Cross,  to  be  sahited  by  them,  and  who  were  now 
ruined  by  an  insensate  barbarity.  The  Revealer  of  the 
New  World  felt  himself  martyred  in  the  Indians,  dismem- 
bered in  the  dispersion  of  their  tribes,  and  the  punishments 
inflicted  on  these  unhapjjy  people,  who  expired  cursing  the 
sublime  religion  which  he  ardently  wished  them  to  embrace 
and  cherish. 

In  the  midst  of  his  physical  torments,  and  of  the  humili- 
ating embarrassments  of  his  state  of  destitution,  Columbus, 
commending  the  fiate  of  his  two  sons  to  the  bounty  of 
Providence,  could  yet  have  forgotten  his  distress  and  hu- 
miliation, and  the  perfidy  of  the  monarch  ;  but  no  human 
preoccupation  could  take  away  the  recollection  of  these 
unfortunate  Indians,  or  diminish  his  indignation  at  the 
treatment  they  received.  By  what  words  could  such  an 
afliiction  be  consoled.''  IIow  moderate  the  grief  which 
penetrated  the  disciple  of  the  ^^'ord  to  the  very  core,  and 
mitigate  his  moral  agony.-*  —  a  grief  as  wide-spread  as  a 
whole  nation,  and  multiple  as  the  populations  of  that  un- 
fortunate race,  whose  end  he  foresaw,  and  whose  lamenta- 
tions he  seemed  to  hear.-' 

He  soon  saw  that  no  human  aid  could  arrest  the  decay 
of  a  body  worn  out  in  all  of  its  organization.  He  re-read, 
for  the  last  time,  his  will  ;  and,  finding  in  it  nothing  to 
change,  desired  to  make  an  authentic  deposit  of  it  in  trusty 
hands. 

Duty  obliges  us  to  pause  for  a  little  time  before  this  last 
act  of  his,  which  has  served  as  an  occasion  for  the  most 
rash  accusations  against  the  moral  purity  of  this  great 
servant  of  God. 

Washington  Irving  pretends  that  "  on  the  eve  of  his  death 
he  executed  a  final  and  regularly  authenticated  codicil." 
This  author  adds,  A  clause  of  this  will  "  recommends  to 
the  care  of  Don  Diego,  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother  of 
his  natural  son  Fernando.  His  connection  with  her  was 
never  sanctioned  by  matrimony,  and  either  this  circum- 
45* 


534  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

stance,  or  some  neglect  of  her,  seems  to  have  awakened 
deep  compunction  in  his  dying  moments."  * 

Ever  since  it  was  broached  by  Napione,  developed  with 
acrimony  by  Spotorno,  commented  on  by  Navarrete,  Irving, 
and  Humboldt,  f  and  followed  by  the  whole  Protestant 
school,  none  of  the  biographers  of  Columbus  have  hitherto 
failed  to  reproduce  pointedly  this  assertion  of  the  regrets 
the  remembrance  of  Beatrix  Enriquez  excited  in  the  Ad- 
miral during  his  last  moments,  and  to  point  out,  as  a  proof 
of  his  "  deep  compunction,"  his  last  codicil,  executed  "  on 
the  eve  of  his  death  "  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  nineteenth  of 
May,  1506. 

We  will  no  longer  allow  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  to  be 
calumniated,  even  to  his  very  agony.  It  is  time  to  put  an 
end  to  this  falsification  of  facts,  arising  from  an  audacious 
transposition  of  dates. 

We  declare,  then,  formally,  that  this  "  deep  compunction" 
of  Columbus  in  his  last  moments  is  a  pure  fiction. 

We  further  assert  that  Columbus  made  no  testamentary 
disposition  "  on  the  eve  of  his  death." 

We  positively  declare  that  the  "  final  and  regularly  au- 
thenticated codicil  "  which  it  is  pretended  was  made  "  on 
the  eve  of  his  death,"  and,  consequently,  on  the  nineteenth 
of  May,  1506,  dated  already  more  than  four  years  prior 
to  this  time  ! 

The  last  codicil  of  Columbus,  —  "a  document  written  by 
his  own  hand,  dated  the  first  of  April,  1502,"  and  deposited 
in  the  cell  of  the  Rev.  F.  Caspar  Gorricio,  of  the  Carthu- 
sian monastery  of  Des  Grottes,  prior  to  the  departure  of  the 
Admiral  on  his  last  voyage,  —  was,  after  his  return,  con- 
firmed in  its  tenor.  He  declares  this  himself.  In  proof 
of  his  constant  desire,  Columbus  reproduced  it  with  his 
own  hand  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1505.  Feeling  his 
end  approaching,  the  Admiral  wished  to  invest  it  with  a 


*  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus.,  Book  XVIIL,  chap,  iv; 
t  See  Introduction,  sees.  iv.  and  v.  —  B. 


CHAP.  IX.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  535 

character  of  authenticity,  by  depositing  it,  in  a  legal  form, 
in  the  hands  of  the  notary  of  the  Court,  Pedro  de  Hinojedo, 
and  to  name  as  his  executors  his  son  Diego,  his  brother 
Bartholomew,  and  Juan  de  Porras,  the  Treasurer-General 
of  Biscay  ;  which  he  did  on  the  nineteenth  of  May,  1506.* 

To  arrive  at  the  true  sense  of  the  words  of  Columbus,  in 
relation  to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  rectification  of  this  date 
is  indispensable,  because  the  interval  which  separates  the 
date  of  the  will  from  the  act  of  its  deposition  renders  inad- 
missible the  injurious  interpretation  given  to  regrets  ex- 
pressed by  the  Admiral. 

Now  after  having  reestablished  the  dates  in  their  proper 
order,  let  us  reproduce  the  flicts  in  their  place,  and  restore 
the  words  to  their  true  sense. 

In  his  last  codicil  of  the  first  of  April,  1503,  recopied  by 
his  own  hand  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1505,  and  depos- 
ited in  legal  form  only  on  the  nineteenth  of  ^lay,  1506, 
Columbus  was  occupied  with  the  condition  of  his  consort, 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  who  was  always  in  rather  straitened  cir- 
cumstances. But  far  from  feeling  any  remorse  on  account 
of  her,  as  has  been  said,  his  remembrance  of  her  only  re- 
veals to  us  his  delicacy  of  soul. 

Our  readers  will  remember  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  marriage  of  Columbus  with  this  Cordovan  lady 
took  place.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  left  Cordova,  and 
scarcely  ever  returned  there  ;  at  least  he  did  not  sojourn 
there.  It  was  because  he  did  not  belong  to  himself;  he 
owed  himself  to  the  work  of  Pi-ovidence.  The  service  of 
the  Sovereigns  which  he  here  turned  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  to  the  increase  of  the  Chinch,  retained  hijii  continu- 
ally. He  sacrificed  pitilessly  his  domestic  happiness  to  the 
interests  of  the  Globe.  In  the  same  manner  as  the  Apostles 
separated  from  their  wives  and  children  to  go  and  spread 
the  Good  News  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  Christopher 

*  Tcstamento  y  Codicilo  del  Almirantc  Cristobal  Colon  en  Valla- 
dolid,  a  19  de  Mayo,  de  1506.  —  Col.  Diplom.  Docum.,  num.  CLViii. 


226  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Columbus,  disengaging  himself  from  the  restraints  of  do- 
mestic happiness,  abandoned  the  felicity  he  had  promised 
himself,  in  order  to  labor  solely  for  the  increase  of  our 
domain,  to  discover  the  totality  of  the  terrestrial  creation, 
to  carry  the  sign  of  Redemption  to  unknown  peoples,  to 
prepare  ways  for  the  Gospel,  and,  in  fine,  with  the  proceeds 
of  his  toils,  to  redeem  the  Sepulchre  of  the  Redeemer. 

Still,  at  the  time  of  undertaking  his  last  expedition  of 
discovery,  the  boldest  and  the  most  dangerous  of  all  his 
voyages,  while  he  was  writing  his  testamentary  dispositions, 
coming  to  recollect  the  long-continued  sacrifices  and  the 
silent  devotedness  of  Beatrix,  the  abandonment  in  which 
he  left  her  so  many  years,  and  calling  to  mind  that  he  forgot 
assigning  her  a  dowry  in  his  act  of  mayorazgo,  Columbus 
conceived  a  profound  regret,  —  a  scruple  of  heart.  He 
feared  that  he  would  appear  to  be  ungrateful,  and  to  have 
really  too  much  neglected  her  who  had  devoted  herself  to 
him  and  for  him,  in  the  hour  of  his  tribulations,  and  whose 
ingenuous  tenderness  took  delight  in  calming  the  anguish 
of  his  incertitude,  and  in  disguising  from  him  the  state  of 
her  comparative  destitution  ;  he  was  afraid  of  not  having 
sufficiently  accorded  or  reconciled  the  attentions  due  to  his 
consort  with  the  exigencies  due  to  the  service  of  God. 

Being  no  longer  able  to  modify,  as  to  the  basis  of  it, 
his  institution  of  mayorazgo,  known  by  the  Sovereigns  and 
by  the  Holy  See,  in  favor  of  the  noble  Beatrix,  who  de- 
manded nothing  and  wished  for  nothing,  and  whose  silence 
and  resignation  equalled  the  devotedness  of  her  first  love, 
he  was  obliged  to  limit  himself  to  recommending  her  to  his 
universal  heir,  in  terms  which  would  render  doubly  obliga- 
tory his  testamentary  Will.  "It  was,"  he  said,  "  for  the 
ease  of  his  conscience."  He  recalls,  in  two  words,  how 
much  he  is  indebted  to  her.  And  as  he  did  not  judge  it 
becoming  to  mention,  in  this  last  act  of  his  Will,  why  this 
obligation  was  a  weight  on  his  heart,  he  considered  it  suffi- 
cient to  say,  —  "  It  is  not  expedient  to  mention  here  the 
reason." 


\ 


CHAP.  IX.]         CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  537 

In  these  words  soleh-,  Napione,  Spotorno,  and  Navarrete, 
equally  strangers  to  the  real  history  of  Columbus,  and  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  believed  they  found  proof 
of  an  illicit  connection.  They  referred  his  regrets  to  an 
irregular  position  towards  Beatrix  Enriquez.  Washington 
Irving,  not  daring  to  contradict  them,. has  almost  ranged 
himself  with  them,  though  with  evident  hesitation. 

The  absurdity  of  such  an  interpretation  is  truly  aston- 
ishing. 

\\'hat  !  If  the  cause  of  the  recommendation  he  made,  — 
that  reason  which  he  did  not  judge  it  expedient  to  mention, 
—  had  been  an  illicit  connection,  would  he  have  recalled 
the  fact  or  circumstance  that  Beatrix  Enriquez  was  the 
mother  of  Don  Fernando?  When  he  mentioned  the  ma- 
ternity of  Beatrix,  could  he  have  concealed  anything 
regarding  the  nature  of  their  connection.^  Evidently  the 
modest  reserve  of  the  Admiral  could  not  concern  this 
maternity,  which  he  avowed  so  clearly.  Mysteriousness 
becomes  impossible  after  such  clearness  of  expression.  The 
reticence,  then,  of  the  testator,  was  not  in  regard  to  the  birth 
of  his  second  son. 

The  same  writers  who  have  seen  in  these  words  the 
avowal  of  a  fault  wrung  from  his  conscience  at  the  awful 
moment  of  bidding  adieu  to  life,  have  forgotten  the  date  of 
this  will.  They  have  confounded  the  drawing  up  of  this 
document  with  the  act  of  its  deposition,  which  was  done 
by  the  Admiral  four  years  later,  on  the  eve  of  his  death. 
From  some  words,  the  meaning  of  which  their  disregard 
for  this  gi'eat  character  prevented  them  from  seizing,  they 
have  inferred  the  existence  of  an  illicit  connection,  and  of  a 
barren  remorse  towards  the  last  moments.  The  difference 
of  dates  did  not  make  them  hesitate.  We  will  not  refute 
their  assertions  here,  or  notice  their  blind  obstinacy.  Re-- 
ferring  our  readers  to  the  proofs  we  have  given  in  the 
Introduction,*   it  will  suffice   to  say  that  the  marriage  of 

♦  Sections  IV.  and  V. 


538  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Columbus,  demonstrated  by  so  many  logical  inductions,  by 
divers  documents  and  proofs,  recognized  by  his  descendants, 
the  genealogical  trees,  and  the  traditions  of  his  relatives, 
was  avowed  by  himself,  with  his  ow^n  hand,  five  years,  four 
months,  and  twenty-eight  days  before  the  act  of  deposition 
made  "  on  the  eve  of  his  death  "  in  an  autographic  docu- 
ment which,  happily,  has  been  preserved  to  us.  He  calls 
this  lady  his  wife^  —  this  lady  from  whom  his  mission  kept 
him  always  so  long  separated.  He  mentions  the  cause  of 
this  heroic  separation. 

And  even  in  the  will,  the  ailicle  invoked  against  Beatrix 
Enriquez  presents  a  proof  of  the  legitimacy  of  his  son.  If 
Dona  Beatrix  was  not  the  legitimate  wife  of  the  Admiral, 
would  he  not  have  put  her  pension  in  the  charge  of  his  son 
Fernando,  —  the  heir  of  a  million  and  a  half.''  Would  it 
not  have  been  natural  to  impose  this  obligation  on  Beatrix's 
own  son,  in  place  of  transferring  it  to  the  son  of  another  bed.'* 
But  Columbus  left  it  expressly  to  Don  Diego,  in  his  quality 
of  first-born,  because  the  pension  of  the  widow  of  the  Ad- 
miral of  the  Indies  was  to  be  paid  by  his  successor  in  the 
Admiralty,  —  the  continuator  of  his  titles  and  privileges. 
Let  us  be  pardoned  for  the  length  of  this  last  answer  to  the 
last  calumny  of  the  last  historians  of  Columbus,  and  re- 
mark, in  passing,  that  such  an  accusation  never  came  into 
the  minds  of  his  persecutors  neither  during  his  life  nor 
during  the  existence  of  his  direct  line.  The  spirit  of  false 
criticism,  and  of  a  vain  erudition,  has  invented  it  in  our 
own  days. 

To  judge,  up  to  the  last  moment,  of  the  character  of  Co- 
lumbus, this  Will  is  of  great  importance.  The  dates  in  it 
are  not  less  significative  than  the  expressions  themselves. 
The  dates  attest  the  invariable  fixity  of  the  determination 
of  the  testator.  What  he  had  written  in  1501,  prior  to  his 
last  expedition,  he  confirms  in  1505.  What  he  wrote  at  the 
latter  time  he  sanctions  anew  in  1506,  by  the  act  of  deposi- 
tion made  "  on  the  eve  of  his  death."  By  his  unchange- 
ableness  of  intention  we  see  his  constancy  of  will,  and  that 


CHAP.  L\.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  53g 

jDrccision  of  reason  which  was    the  cause  of  it,  and  which 
formed  the  basis  of  his  energy  of  character. 

This  consecration  of  his  hist  wishes,  eflcctcd  thus  in 
solemn  circumstances  before  the  notary-royal,  comes,  in 
justifying  it,  to  authorize  what  we  have  said  in  a  manner 
somewhat  peremptory  concerning  the  sublime  candor  and 
loving  disposition  of  Columbus.  It  is  appropriately  that 
we  have  spoken  of  him  as  raised  by  Providence,  inflamed 
with  zeal  for  the  glory  of  the  divine  Word,  and  submitting 
his  science  to  his  faith,  as  he  did  his  genius  to  humility. 

Men  never  become  hypocrites  on  the  bed  of  death  ;  they 
do  not  dissimulate  on  the  threshold  of  eternity.  Now,  by 
the  act  of  deposition  made  "  on  the  eve  of  his  death," 
Columbus  declared,  for  the  last  time,  the  superhuman  char- 
acter of  his  Discovery.  He  reiterated,  in  the  face  of  the 
tomb,  what  the  ingratitude  of  the  Court  had  forced  him  to 
write  to  the  King  and  to  his  counsellors  :  "  By  the  will  of  our 
Lord  God  I  have  given  to  the  King  and  the  Qiieen  the  Indies, 
as  a  thing  that  was  mine  ;  I  may  say  it  because  .  .  .  ."  He 
mentions  further,  in  this  solemn  moment,  the  famous  Line 
of  Demarcation  running  from  one  pole  to  the  other  ;  not 
the  deceitful  and  fallacious  boundary  agreed  on  diplomati- 
cally between  the  Crowns  of  Castile  and  of  Portugal,  upon 
which  he  always  remained  silent  through  respect,  of  which, 
however,  he  seems  to  have  made  no  account,  and  which 
he  never  mentioned,  regarding  it,  perhaps,  as  an  otîence 
towards  the  Holy  See,  —  but  that  astonishing  Line  which 
was  drawn  at  a  hundred  leagues  from  the  Azores  and  Cape 
de  Verd  Islands,  by  the  Sovereign  Pontifl",  assisted  by  the 
Sacred  College,  and  which  will  always  remain,  even  for 
incredulity,  as  one  of  the  greatest  prodigies  of  the  human 
mind,  and  as  a  testimony  of  the  indefectible  inspiration  of 
tlie  Papacy. 


540  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

SECTION  II. 

When  he  had  heard  the  reading  of  this  act  of  his,  —  his 
last  will,  —  and  the  witnesses,  as  well  as  the  notary,  had 
signed  it,  Columbus  asked  for  a  writing-pen. 

Already,  by  his  verbal  recommendations  made  to  his 
eldest  son,  he  had  provided  for  the  interests  of  his  faithful 
servitors.  Formerly  he  had  promised  to  the  heroic  Diego 
Mendez  the  commissariate-general  of  the  police  of  His- 
paniola  ;  Carvajal  and  Geronomo  were  confided  to  the 
kindness  of  his  heir.  But  in  his  last  moments  his  grati- 
tude would  leave  souvenirs  to  some  estimable  persons 
whose  obligingness  he  had  experienced  during  the  first 
years  of  his  stay  in  Portugal.  As  several  of  them  had 
ceased  to  live,  he  extended  to  their  children  and  heirs 
this  proof  of  his  affectionate  remembrance.  He  added  a 
note  to  his  Will,  with  his  own  hand,  mentioning  the  per- 
sons, and  the  small  legacies  he  wished  to  leave  them. 
Among  these  was  a  poor  Jew,  who  lived  near  the  gate 
of  the  Jewry,  in  Lisbon,  to  whom  he  bequeathed  half  a 
mark  of  silver. 

Moreover,  through  a  generous  delicacy,  he  desired  that 
these  bequests  should  be  faithfully  discharged  and  forwarded 
to  the  legatees,  without  their  knowing  by  what  title,  or 
whence  came  the    godsends. 

After  he  had  consigned  to  the  notary  the  last  act  of  his 
wishes,  Columbus  turned  his  thoughts  wholly  from  earthly 
things  and  the  concerns  of  his  family,  in  order  to  converse 
no  longer  but  with  Heaven. 

Few  details  have  been  transmitted  to  us  about  the  last 
moments  of  this  existence,  without  equal  among  the  sons 
of  men.  The  learned  canon  of  Plaisance,  Pietro  Maria 
Campi,  had  collected  on  the  closing  scenes  of  this  Christian 
hero  exact  notions,  which  he  intended  for  publication,  when, 
with  a  rude  visit,  death  came  to  interrupt  his  labors.  From 
what  he  had  been  able  to  procure  concerning  the  last  mo- 
ments of  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe,  he  inferred  that  his 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  541 

death  was  that  of  one  of  the  elect,  —  the  worthy  end  of  an 
apostle  and  a  martyr.* 

Nevertheless,  in  the  absence  of  documentary  details  con- 
cerning the  last  phase  of  this  luminous  star  in  the  sphere 
of  intelligences,  it  is  still  possible  to  trace  sufHciently  exact 
its  most  striking  circumstances. 

We  can  imagine  what  a  hotel  must  have  been  at  that 
period  in  Spain.  It  is  easy  to  represent  to  ourselves  that 
chamber  in  which  the  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  lay  on  his 
bed  of  suflerings,.  The  bare  walls  had  as  ornaments  only 
his  chains,  which  he  always  kept  suspended  before  him  in 
his  study,  as  formerly  the  generals  of  Rome,  who  were  con- 
querors, preserved  the  civic  and  mural  crowns  obtained  as 
the  reward  of  their  courage.  His  chains  were  the  only 
recompense  he  had  received  from  the  world.  There  he, 
who  had  received  so  many  divine  favors,  whom  God  had 
raised  to  remove  the  veil  which  hid  from  humanity  one- 
half  of  the  globe,  lay,  forgotten  by  the  great  ones  of  the 
w^orld,  and  the  people,  a  prey  to  the  dissolution  by  which 
the  decomposition  of  our  mortal  coils  is  effected.  Never- 
theless, amid  the  approaches  of  death,  his  lucidity  of  mind 
subsisted  still,  and  his  thoughts  remained  as  clear  and  per- 
spicacious as  they  were  in  the  times  of  his  discoveries. 

Conformably  to  the  usage  of  the  time,  and  the  particular 
inclination  of  his  piety,  he  put  on  the  habit  of  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  which  he  so  often  wore,  —  a  costume 
in  which  the  great  Isabella  rendered  back  to  God  the  soul  she 
had  received  from  Him.  His  two  sons,  his  officers,  some 
Franciscan  fathers,  and  some  friends,  by  turns  saddened  and 
comforted  by  the  words  of  the  ardent  disciple  of  the  Eternal 
Word,  assisted  at  the  last  struggle  of  his  robust  constitution 
against  dissolution.  He  himself  contemplated  with  atten- 
tion its  rapid  progress.  Having  finished  his  edifying  exhor- 
tations, he  desired,  for  the  last  time,  by  the  Sacrament  of 
Fenance,  of  putting  hiniself  in  the  way  of  receiving  his 

*  Pictro  Maria  Campi.     DclV  Hisioria  Ecdcsiastica  di  Piaccnza. 
46 


542 


HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 


God.  No  pride  taken  in  his  works,  no  looming  of  vanity 
taken  in  his  glory,  by  an  intrusive  temptation,  came  to 
trouble  the  recollectedness  of  his  last  hour.  The  humility 
of  the  habit  of  St.  Francis  truly  enrobed  his  heart. 

He  saw  there  before  his  eyes,  suspended  from  the  bare 
wall  of  his  apartment,  his  chains,  —  the  only  recompense 
he  had  really  received  for  his  superhuman  labors.  Fearing, 
perhaps,  that  the  sight  of  them  may  secretly  embitter  the 
hearts  of  his  children  against  the  injustice  of  the  Court,  in 
order  to  conceal  this  image  of  regal  ingratitude  he  ordered 
that  these  chains  should  descend  with  him  into  the  tomb. 
After  having  given  himself  this  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
pardon  of  the  offences  committed  against  him,  he  made  a 
last  confession,  and  received  absolution. 

The  day  had  come  which  is  one  of  the  great  festivals  of 
Catholicity,  —  the  anniversary  of  that  on  which  the  Son 
of  God,  after  having  accomplished  our  redemption,  and 
founded  His  Church,  ascended  to  His  Father,  to  reenter 
into  His  glory.  Hourly  the  Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean 
felt  himself  advancing  to  the  port  that  opens  to  eternity. 
He  asked  for  the  favor  of  receiving  once  more  on  earth  the 
bread  of  angels.  What  a  spectacle  was  then  presented  in 
that  chamber  of  the  hotel  !  The  envoy  of  the  Most  High, 
the  ardent  adorer  of  the  Word  by  whom  all  things  were 
made,  receiving  the  visit  of  the  Divine  Word,  under  the 
Eucharistie  symbol  !  What  divine  light  must  not  have 
illumined  his  bed  of  sufferings!  With  what  happiness 
must  he  not  have  prostrated  himself  before  his  Divine 
Master,  who  came  to  him!  The  Divine  Redeemer, 
who  reads  souls,  knew  with  what  ardor  he  had  desired 
the  deliverance  of  His  tomb,  and  the  glorification  of  His 
Name  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  his  persevering 
and  pious  aspirations  for  attaining  these  sacred  objects. 
So,  notwithstanding  the  awe  which  every  mortal  creature 
must  feel  before  the  majesty  of  the  Author  of  Life,  Christo- 
pher was  filled  with  hope. 

A  moment  more  and  he  enters  on  the  possession  of  eternal 
life. 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  543 

The  integrity  of  his  intellectual  fiïculties  remained  com- 
plete throughout.  When  he  felt  his  end  quite  close,  he 
emerged  from  his  seraphic  recollcctedncss,  and  asked  for 
the  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction.  He  was  able  to  join 
in  the  prayers  that  were  said  for  him.  He  listened,  with 
humble  contrition,  to  the  recommendation  of  a  departing 
soul,  which  was  made  at  his  bedside  by  one  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan religious  ;  he  gave  the  resjoonses  himself.  Then, 
feeling  that  his  last  moment  had  come,  at  the  hour  of  noon, 
the  disciple  of  the  Word  addressed  to  the  Father  of  the 
Worlds  the  same  woixls  that  were  uttered  by  the  Saviour, 
when  expiring  on  the  Cross  :  I?i  matzus  tuas  Domine 
co7uiuc}tdo  spiritum  mc7im  ("  Into  Thy  hands,  oh  Lord, 
I  commend   my  spirit"). 

This  was  on  Ascension-Day,  the  twentieth  of  May,  1506. 

SECTION  III. 

As  in  the  times  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Church  the 
martyrs  were  buried  with  vials  filled  with  their  blood,  and 
with  the  images  of  the  instruments  of  their  tortures,  the 
chains  with  which  ingratitude  charged  the  feet  and  hands 
of  Columbus  were  enclosed  in  his  coffin.  Afterwards  the 
Franciscans  accompanied  his  corpse  to  the  cathedral-church 
of  Valladolid,  where  the  obsequies  of  the  Admiral  of  the 
Indies  were  celebrated  with  little  pomp  ;  after  which  these 
religious  transported  his  mortal  remains  to  the  vaults  of 
their  Convent  of  the  Observance.  Columbus,  who  first 
found  an  asylum  among  the  Franciscans,  received  from 
them  his  last  hospitality. 

Amid  the  intrigues  and  tlie  parties  dividing  the  Court, 
the  name  of  Christopher  Columbus  remained  forgotten. 
In  an  order  given  by  the  King,  on  the  second  of  June,  1506, 
fourteen  days  after  the  death  of  the  Admiral,  to  send  to  his 
son  Don  Diego  the  gold  and  the  objects  that  belonged  to 
his  fiither,  not  a  single  one  of  those  expressions  is  found 
that  common  decency  would  have  suggested. 


544  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

The  death  of  Columbus  made  so  little  noise,  that  in  the 

following  years  some  works  published  abroad  spoke  of  him 

as  being  still  living.     But  Rome  watched  over  his  glory  ; 

the  Papacy  preserved  from  forgetfulness  the  name  of  the 

■Revealer  of  the  Globe. 

Seven  years  had  passed  without  his  name  being  com- 
pletely forgotten.  The  more  discoveries  wei'e  extended, 
the  more  the  importance  that  was  attached  to  the  work 
of  Columbus. 

Knowing  that  neither  prejudices,  nor  calumnies,  nor  in- 
justice, could  avail  anything  against  the  immortality  of  his 
work,  old  Ferdinand, — desiring,  perhaps,  to  appease  the 
inward  accusation  of  his  conscience,  or  may  be  to  deceive 
public  opinion,  efface  the  remembrance  of  his  injustice 
towards  the  hero,  and  acquire  the  name  of  a  monarch  who 
was  just  and  grateful,  —  ordered  that  pompous  obsequies,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Crown,  should  be  made  for  the  Grand 
Admiral  of  the  Ocean  ;  and  that  Castile  should  concede, 
gratis,  two  metres  of  land  to  the  man  who  had  given  her 
half  the  globe. 

Accordingly,  in  the  year  1513,  the  funereal  solitude  of 
Columbus  was  suddenly  disturbed.  By  a  royal  order,  his 
coffin  was  taken  from  the  convent  of  the  Franciscans  of 
the  Observance  at  Valladolid,  and  transported,  with  great 
pomp,  to  Seville.  A  solemn  service  took  place  in  the 
cathedral.  After  the  absolution,  his  friends,  the  Carthu- 
sians, bore  the  coffin  of  the  Admiral  to  the  other  side  of 
the  Guadalquiver,  to  their  peaceable  retreat  of  Santa  Maria 
de  las  Grutas  (St.  Mary  of  the  Grottos).  There  it  was 
deposited,  not  among  the  lords  of  Alcala,  as  has  been  erro- 
neously stated  by  the  annalist  of  Seville,  but  in  a  sepulchre 
entirely  new,  in  a  vault  under  the  Chapel  of  Christ. 

In  the  peace  of  this  cloister  he  remained  asleep  in  the 
Lord  until  1526,  when  the  hammer  that  troubled  the  repose 
of  his  sepulture  at  Valladolid,  resounded  in  his  vault.  By 
his  side  were  placed  the  mortal  remains  of  Don  Diego,  his 


CHAP.  IX.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  545 

successor.     Those  wlio  had   slowly  put  to  death  the  father 
had  also  succeeded  in  getting  rid  of  the  son. 

After  an  oblivion  of  ten  years  the  two  coffins  were 
again  disturbed.  The  remains  of  Columbus,  taken  from 
the  silence  of  the  Carthusian  cloister,  were  taken  on  board 
a  caravel.  Thus  the  man  who  had  first  crossed  the  ocean, 
inflamed  with  pious  hopes,  was  also  the  first  who  was  to 
cross  it  after  his  death.  lie  returned  with  his  chains  to  the 
city  in  which  he  had  been  loaded  with  them. 

In  tlie  year  1536  the  body  of  Columbus  was  transiX)rted 
from  Castile  to  San  Domingo,  — that  city  which  was  founded 
by  his  orders,  and  to  which  he  had  given  as  a  coat-of-arms, 
besides  the  Lion  and  the  Tower  of  Isabella,  the  Cross  and 
the  Key,  the  emblems  of  Catholicity.  It  was  deposited  in 
a  recess  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  cathedral,  to  the  right  of  the 
main  altar. 

A  treaty  of  peace  concluded  between  France  and  Spain, 
in  1795,  having  assured  to  the  former  of  these  powers  the 
definite  possession  of  Hispaniola,  the  government  of  Spain 
did  not  wish  to  abandon  this  glorious  relic  to  the  new  pos- 
sessors of  the  island. 

In  the  month  of  December  the  remains  of  the  Admiral 
were  exhumed  in  San  Domingo,  and  taken  on  board  the 
brigantine,  the  Discovoy^  to  be  transported  to  the  island 
of  Cuba.  On  this  occasion  the  display  of  military  pomp 
and  religious  ceremonies  was  extraordinary.  One  would 
have  said  it  was  the  triumphal  march  of  the  relics  of  a 
saint. 

His  remains  were  taken  by  the  Discovery  to  Ocliao, 
whence  the  Sa7i  Lorenzo  conveyed  them  to  Cuba,  where 
they  arrived  on  the  sixteenth  of  January  following,  and 
where  new  military  and  religious  honors  awaited  them. 
Here  they  were  deposited  near  the  grand  altar  of  the  cathe- 
dral, to  the  right  of  the  sanctuary,  in  the  presence  of  all  the 
notables  of  the  island,  and  with  sentiments  of  religious 
respect. 

Let  us  not  be  deceived  : 
46* 


546  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

These  military  and  religious  exhibitions,  these  unusual 
gatherings,  this  pious  earnestness  of  troops  of  the  army  and 
navy,  and  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  corporations,  were 
less  a  testimony  rendered  to  the  Discovery  of  these  coun- 
tries than  a  homage  oflered  to  the  memory  of  the  Christian 
hero  who,  "  after  having  first  discovered  this  island  was  the 
first  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  Cross  in  it,  and  to  spread 
among  the  natives  the  Faith  of  Jesus  Christ." 

By  these  successive  exhumations  and  transportations  we 
see  that  the  vicissitudes  of  the  fortune  of  Columbus,  and 
the  fluctuations  of  his  destiny,  were  not  terminated  by  death. 
As  on  four  diflerent  occasions  he  had  sought  from  the  Fran- 
ciscan family  an  asylum,  so  he  had  made  four  voyages  of 
discovery,  and  so,  also,  his  remains  were  sent  four  times  to 
find  a  definite  place  of  sepulture.  Would  we  not  say  that 
the  wonderful  survived  him  beyond  the  tomb,  as  if  he  were 
not  to  resemble  the  rest  of  mortals  even  in  death  ! 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  547 


CHAPTER    X. 

The  Private  Life  of  Columbus.  —  His  Public  Life  a  Model  for 
Administrators. —  Providential  Character  of  Columbus. —  His 
Christian  Mission  and  Relations  with  the  Church.  —  His  Spir- 
itual Affinities.  —  The  Legend  of  St.  Christopher.  —  His  Affini- 
ties with  the  Patriarchs,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Apostles.  —  Simili- 
tude of  Moses  and  Columbus.  —  Of  the  Sanctity  of  Columbus.  — 
Testimonies  of  the  Most  High  in  favor  of  His  Servant.  —  Public 
Miracles  of  a  Cross  that  was  erected  by  Columbus. 

SECTION  I. 

HITHERTO,  without  stopping  for  the  philosophical 
examination  of  the  facts  accomphshcd  by  Columbus, 
we  have  simply  recounted,  in  abridging  them,  the  principal 
events  of  his  life.  We  will  now  take  a  look  at  the  ensemble 
of  this  vast  existence  which  we  have  been  obliged  to  sketch 
so  briefly. 

It  is  in  vain  that  we  would  apply  to  Columbus  the  recent 
principles  of  the  pure  rationalist  school  in  relation  to  its 
j^hilosophy  of  history,  or  that  we  would  confine  our  appre- 
ciations within  the  systematic  rules  of  modern  biography, 
equally  inspired  by  its  influences. 

The  life  of  Coliunbus  is  the  complete  overthrow  of  these 
pedantic  principles,  imperiously  imposed  by  the  pure  ra- 
tionalist school  on  those  writers  who  consider  themselves 
philosophers  merely  because  they  arc  heavy,  deprived  of 
spirit,  and  always  proceed  by  way  of  negation,  never  aflirm- 
ing  anything  positively,  and  devoted  to  perpetual  doubt. 
The  real  history  of  the  discoverer  of  the  New  World  can- 
not lessen  itself  so  as  to  keep  within  this  philosojihical 
system  of  biography,  —  a   true   Procrustes'  bed,  —  to  the 


548  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

measure  of  which  it  requires  all  human  actions  to  be  re- 
duced, even  were  it  at  the  cost  of  the  most  ruthless  mutila- 
tions of  truth,  and  the  dislocation  of  the  best  established 
events  of  history. 

We  cannot  admit  the  opinion  of  Navarrete  based  on  this 
theory,  when  judging  of  Columbus  he  says  :  "  His  faults 
were  the  part  of  nature  and  of  human  frailty,  and  probably 
the  result  of  the  education  he  had  received,  of  the  career 
he  embraced,  and  of  the  country  in  which  he  was  born,  — 
a  country  in  which  traffic  and  merchandizing  formed  the 
principal  branch  of  riches,  both  public  and  private."  We 
do  not  believe  in  this  original  transmission  of  the  qualities 
or  the  vices  of  a  nation  to  the  individuals  who  compose  it  ; 
because  then  every  member  of  the  aggregation  would  be 
equally  stamped  with  the  same  character  and  the  same  pre- 
dispositions. Experience  gives  a  flat  contradiction  to  this 
absurdity,  which  would  give  itself  the  airs  of  knowledge 
and  superiority.  No  disposition  for  traffic  or  for  specu- 
lating shows  itself  in  the  administrative  acts  of  Columbus. 

Neither  do  we  accept  of  the  opinion  of  Washington 
Irving,  based  on  the  same  system  :  *  "  Great  men  are  com- 
pounds of  great  and  little  qualities.  Indeed,  much  of  their 
greatness  arises  from  their  mastery  over  the  imperfections 
of  their  nature,  and  their  noblest  actions  are  sometimes 
struck  forth  by  the  collision  of  their  merits  and  their 
defects."  f 

According  to  this  system,  the  life  of  a  saint  could  never 
be  written,  especially  if  he  was  a  man  of  genius,  and  he 

*  Washington  Irving.  History  of  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus,  Book  XVIII.,  chap.  V. 

fThatisto  say,  in  other  terms,  that  their  indolence  creates  energy; 
their  cowardice,  bravery!  How  will  the  collision  of  qualities  op- 
posed to  noble  actions,  and  which,  therefore,  ought  to  produce  only 
vices,  attain  to  virtue,  to  grandeur,  to  the  sublime.''  This  is  what  we 
challenge  every  man  in  existence  to  explain.  See,  now,  to  what  a 
height,  or  rather  depth  of  absurdity,  this  modern  system  of  biog- 
raphy leads. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  549 

thought  and  acted  in  critical  circumstances,  and  in  an 
elevated  position  ;  for  he  must  necessarily  have  weaknesses 
and  show  defects,  since  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a  man, 
because  he  is  man,  should  exhibit  a  compound  of  virtues 
and  of  weaknesses.  This  school  of  the  philosophy  of  his- 
tory does  not  admit  that  a  man  is  ever  ditVercnt  from  others, 
as  regards  the  basis  of  his  character,  which  is  equally 
composed  of  virtues  and  of  foibles;  only  his  qualities,  both 
good  and  bad,  are  respectively  more  pronounced, according 
to  tlic  traits  which  distinguish  his  individuality.  So,  not 
being  able,  on  human  principles,  to  explain  the  sublimity 
of  the  language  of  Columbus  in  his  vision  on  the  coast  of 
Veragua,  astonished  at  the  diction  of  the  old  navigator, 
rather  than  recognize  the  gi'andeur  of  his  Christian  soul, 
Humboldt  dares  to  advance  the  strange  opinion  which  he 
thus  expresses  :  "  The  eloquence  of  uncultivated  minds, 
cast  in  the  midst  of  an  advanced  civilization,  is  like  the 
eloquence  of  the  primitive  times.  When  we  observe  supe- 
rior men  of  a  strong  stamp  of  character,  and  but  little 
familiar  with  the  riches  of  the  language  they  use,  in  one  of 
those  impassioned  flights  which,  by  their  very  wildness,  are 
opposed  to  the  exercise  of  thought,  we  find  in  them  that 
poetic  coloring  of  sentiment  which  appertains  to  the  elo- 
quence of  the  primitive  ages."  *  Whence  it  logically 
follows,  that  any  man  of  a  strong  stamp  of  character,  and 
but  little  familiar  with  the  Spanish  language,  could,  in  a 
similar  case,  have  used  the  sublime  language  of  Columbus  ! 
The  most  recent  work  published  in  France  on  Christo- 
pher Columbus,  contains  the  proof  of  this  systematic  mode 
of  appreciating  men.  In  a  Notice  amply  developed  and 
remarkable  for  erudition,  the  learned  editor  {dircctctcr)  of 
the  Noîivclle  biographie  General,  Doctor  Hocfer,  sa3-s  : 
"  Great  geniuses,  like  other  mortals,  derive  above  all  things 
from  the  man  and  from  the  epoch."  It  is  the  historians  who, 
judging  the  past  tlirough  the  prism  of  the  present,  that  give 

♦  Humboldt.    Examen  Critique,  etc.,  t.  iii.,  p.  240. 


550  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

us  false  ideas.  It  is  thus  that  they  represent  Columbus  as 
inspired  by  glory  to  serve  humanity,  whilst  such  an  ambi- 
tion never  came  into  his  mind,  no  more  than  to  Guttenberg, 
his  cotemporary,  who,  with  SchaefFer  and  Faust,  sold  as 
manuscripts  the  first  books  that  were  printed. 

"  Columbus,  before  crossing  the  Ocean,  had,  at  first,  taken 
care  to  stipulate  for  himself  and  his  heirs  conditions  truly 
princely  :  see  the  man.  He  afterwards  had  at  heart  to  carry 
the  Catholic  faith  to  the  antipodes,  and  to  wrest  the  Ploly 
Sepulchre  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels  :  see  the  epoch." 

According  to  this  principle,  the  personality  of  Columbus 
would  be  reduced  to  the  reproduction  of  the  general  ideas 
of  his  time.  He  would  be  only  the  incarnation  of  the  domi- 
nant thought  of  his  epoch. 

The  authority  of  facts,  and  the  impartiality  of  history,  as 
well  as  the  doctrine  of  Catholicity,  reduce  this  theory  to 
nothing.  The  history  of  the  Church,  in  every  page,  dis- 
proves these  assertions  and  pretensions.  Undoubtedly  no 
man  can  altogether  escape  from  all  the  influences  of  the 
dominant  ideas  of  his  time,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  he 
lives.  He  cannot  continually  assimilate  the  true  when  he 
respires  only  the  false,  or  show  himself  great  if  he  was 
never  in  contact  but  with  littleness.  But  the  grace  of  God, 
that  invisible  foi'ce  which  leads  men,  notwithstanding  their 
wavering,  operates  on  certain  souls,  and  seems  to  modify 
^luman  nature.  The  man  thus  assisted  becomes  then  master 
of  things  to  which  he  seems  not  to  have  been  destined  natu- 
rally, and  of  which  his  education,  his  acquired  science,  his 
keenness  of  intellect,  would  not  have  rendered  him  capable. 
The  sole  sublimity  of  St.  John,  a  man  without  education  or 
letters,  upsets  from  its  base  the  modern  system  of  the  phil- 
osophy of  history. 

What  of  the  Jewish  or  of  the  Roman  ideas  of  his  epoch 
does  one  find  in  St.  John,  the  Son  of  Light,  the  declarer  of 
the  Word,  and  His  well-beloved  disciple.''  To  what  age 
of  literature  appertain  his  collaborators,  the  writers  of  the 
Gospel, — a  work  without  a  known  type  as  without  a  pos- 


CHAP.  S.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  551 

siblc  imitation,  without  relationship  with  the  productions  of 
the  languages  of  antiquity,  or  the  traditions  of  the  learned 
Orient,  and  still  accessible  to  all,  and  marvellous  to  every- 
body ! 

The  rationalist  scliool,  proceeding  according  to  its  theory 
on  the  philosophy  of  history,  cannot  explain  the  Gospel. 
It  will  no  more  explain  its  propagators,  —  the  apostles  and 
martyrs.  The  history  of  the  Church,  which  presents  us 
with  eighteen  centuries  of  observation,  of  experience,  of 
active  and  beneficent  life,  has,  it  seems  to  us,  the  right  to 
count  for  something  in  this  world.  It  makes  indissolubly 
a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  European  nations.  Now, 
this  tradition  of  eighteen  centuries  contains  the  permanent 
refutation  of  the  principles  of  this  philosophy  of  history  ; 
for  from  generation  to  generation,  by  an  uninterrupted  suc- 
cession, this  Church  has  produced  astonishing  and  perfect 
men,  eternally  worthy  of  admiration,  who  have  justified  the 
words,  "  God  is  admirable  in  His  saints."  These  perfect 
men,  these  saints,  —  to  call  them  by  their  glorious  name,  — 
appear  to  us,  as  well  as  the  Church,  to  be  in  nowise  expli- 
cable by  this  philosophy. 

This  school  is  obliged  to  attribute  to  enthusiasm,  to  hal- 
lucination, certain  facts,  whose  happy  results  surpass  the 
calculations  of  science,  and  the  cogitations  of  the  wisdom 
of  the  world.  In  desiring  to  avoid  recognizing  a  super- 
natural action, —  a  Providence,  —  it  becomes  necessary  to 
admit  a  blind  and  deaf  power  :  namely,  Chance.  Then  we 
have  explanations  that  are  contrary  to  good  sense.  The 
laws  of  reason  become  subverted  ;  the  rules  of  the  just, 
our  notion  of  the  beautiful,  are  reversed  or  overthrown,  to 
attribute  to  illusion,  to  error,  and  to  deceit,  the  government 
of  humanity.  The  new  philosophy  of  history  is  only  fatal- 
ism, applied  to  the  recital  of  the  events  of  the  world. 

The  writers  imbued  with  this  system,  in  order  to  submit 
Columbus  to  their  theory,  accept,  complaisantly,  every 
imputation,  every  biographical  error,  which  tends  to  lower 
him,  to  place  him  nearer  the   level   of  other  men.     They 


^^2  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

accuse  him  of  ingratitude,  of  puerile  vanity,  of  ignorance, 
of  avidity,  of  duplicity,  of  an  illicit  connection,  and  of 
religious  enthusiasm,  which,  in  their  eyes,  is  the  greatest 
of  his  faults.  Nevertheless,  the  inevitable  power  of  truth 
gets  the  mastery  of  them  to  that  point,  that,  not  being  able 
to  deny  the  sublimity  of  Columbus,  they  are  forced  to 
admire,  after  his  patience  and  his  energy,  his  unalterable 
virtue  ;  and  with  his  disinterestedness,  his  pardon  of  inju- 
ries and  offences,  and  his  magnanimity  !  —  in  such  a  man- 
ner that,  notwithstanding  their  criticisms,  Columbus  still 
remains  a  prodigy  of  moral  grandeur. 

But  none  of  these  writers  recognizes  the  providential 
character  of  Columbus,  or  his  Christian  mission. 

We  declare,  so  as  to  have  no  more  to  return  to  this  sub- 
ject, that  this  svstem  of  philosophy,  conceived  beyond  the 
Rhine,  hatched  by  Protestantism,  and  introduced  and  accli- 
mated in  France  during  the  first  years  of  the  "  Restoi-ation," 
cannot,  neither  proximately  nor  distantly,  be  reconciled 
w^ith  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  or  with  the  life  of 
its  Revealer.  In  vain  will  you  narrow,  cramp,  lessen  the 
man,  distort  and  dislocate  the  facts  ;  the  supernatural  will 
not  show  itself  the  less  evident,  as  it  is  absurd  to  attribute 
ceitain  series  of  facts  to  Chance  alone  ;  and  when  Chance 
disappears,  Providence  becomes  manifest. 

With  all  frankness  we  say:  An  Apostle  of  the  Cross,  a 
Messenger  of  Catholicity,  —  Christopher  Columbus,  re- 
suming the  thought  and  the  militant  fervor  of  the  middle 
ages,  cannot  be  comprehended  and  appreciated  but  by 
Catholics  ;  the  Hero  of  the  Faith  is  not  intelligible  to  incre- 
dulity. 

SECTION  IL 

Those  deceive  themselves  very  much,  who,  after  having 
read  the  Holy  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  imagine 
they  know  the  whole  history  of  our  Loi'd  Jesus  Christ. 
His  well-beloved  disciple,  in  concluding  his  relation  of  the 
Divine  Master,  says  clearly  that  He  did  many  other  things, 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  553 

and  that  the  books  that  could  be  written  of  them  would  fill 
the  world.  Simple  reason  would,  in  reality,  inform  us  that 
the  sole  facts  reported  by  the  evangelists  could  not  embrace 
a  whole  life,  or  even  the  whole  of  the  three  years  of  the 
preaching  and  teaching  of  the  public  life  of  the  Redeemer. 

In  like  manner,  those  who  would  believe  to  have  seen 
here  the  entire  life  of  the  disciple  of  Christ,  Christopher 
Columbus,  would  be  much  mistaken.  Columbus  did,  and 
said,  and  wrote  many  things  which  will  never  be  repeated, 
never  read,  or  never  known  by  men  in  this  world.  His 
abridging  genius  suppressed  details;  he  said  himself  that  he 
did  not  write  the  hundredth  part  of  what  had  happened  to 
him,  and  we  have  had  frequent  proof  of  it,  in  seeking  to 
reconstitute  his  life. 

Independently  of  these  causes  of  obscurity,  the  prejudices 
of  his  cotemporarics,  a  certain  party  spirit  indulged  in  by 
the  Spanish  historians,  and  a  badly  understood  patriotism, 
have,  in  a  measure,  concealed  Columbus  from  us.  Those 
who  wrote  during  the  lifetime  of  King  Ferdinand,  or  of  his 
grandson,  Charles  V.,  were  obliged,  for  fear  of  exciting  the 
royal  wrath,  to  touch  but  very  lightly  on  the  actions  and 
words  of  Columbus.  M.  De  Lorgues  shows  this  at  consid- 
erable length,  but  as  the  matter  is  somewhat  J'o?-elgn  to  our 
purpose,  we  are  reluctantly  obliged  to  pass  it  by. 

It  is  evident  that,  with  the  view  of  disguising  the  wrongs 
done  by  King  Ferdinand,  and  to  render  somewhat  less  odious 
the  excesses  committed  in  the  conquest  of  the  Indies,  the 
official  writers  of  Spain  have  systematically  misrepresented 
the  history  of  Columbus.  They  have  taken  care  to  under- 
rate and  to  calumniate  the  natives  most  worthy  of  regard, 
among  others  the  two  sovereigns  who  had  most  welcomed 
the  Castilians,  —  the  noble  and  faithful  Guacanagari,  and 
the  artless  and  amiable  Anacoana.  Not  being  able  to  find 
any  fact  wherewith  to  reproach  the  Admiral,  they  have  cir- 
culated vague  insinuations  against  his  character,  and  omit- 
ted designedly  the  edifying    incidents  of   his    life,    which, 

in  revealing  his  full  Christian  grandeur,  would  the  more 
47 


554  HISTORY  OF  [book  .IV. 

clearly  have  sliown  the  iniquity  of  the  malevolent  monarch. 
How,  in  fact,  could  an  official  writer  have  dared  to  speak 
of  a  Viceroy  to  whom  his  title  was  refused,  of  a  Grand 
Admiral  without  a  squadron,  or  of  a  Governor-General 
who  was  prevented  from  officiating?  The  King's  malig- 
nity followed  him  to  the  tomb. 

Nevertheless,  the  transcendent  purity  of  character  of 
Columbus,  and  what  was  presented  by  his  extraordinary 
and  almost  superhuman  role  here  below,  struck  these  preju- 
diced men,  and  led  them  to  avow  that  pagan  antiquity 
would  have  raised  temples  to  this  demigod  who  had  dis- 
covered the  New  World.  Truth  has  wrung  from  them 
the  declaration  that  he  who  thus  had  opened  a  way  for  the 
Gospel  merited  a  statue  of  solid  gold.*  Without  daring  to 
proclaim  it  loudly,  they  have  recognized  the  apostolate  of 
Christopher  Columbus. 

This  shameful  silence,  this  malice  prepense,  of  these 
writers  against  an  immortal  glory,  imposes  on  us  the  duty 
of  exposing  clearly  what  they  hoped  to  conceal,  of  recog- 
nizing authoritatively  the  special  character  of  Columbus,  of 
establishing,  once  for  all,  the  role  which  was  assigned  him, 
the  providential  destination  of  his  commission,  and  to  show 
the  marks  of  divine  favor  b}'-  which  this  exceptional  man 
was  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  mankind. 

SECTION  III. 

The  moral  grandeur  of  Columbus  was  not  inferior  to  his 
work. 

Without  waiting  to  consider  what  his  vast  existence 
presents  of  the  mythical  and  of  the  superhuman,  let  us 
contemplate  his  jDrovidential  mission.  And  in  order  to 
judge  the  better  of  his  public  life,  we  will  first  examine 
him  as  a  private  individual.  Let  us  view  him  in  his  pa- 
ternal home  at  Genoa  : 

*  Oviedo.     Histoire  Nat.  et  Gen.  des  Indies,  liv.  vi.,  chap.  viii. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  c^:^^ 

The  most  characteristic  trait  of  the  character  of  Colum- 
bus, that  which  formed  the  basis  of  his  moral  physiognomy, 
and  which  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  distinguished  him 
through  life,  was  his  abiding  sense  of  duty. 

The  love  of  his  parents  is,  for  the  child,  the  first  of  his 
duties.  He  ought  to  love  them  before  knowing  God. 
Now,  Columbus  loved  his  parents.  We  have  seen  that  he 
strove  to  alleviate  their  poverty  when  he  himself  was 
needy.  He  had  provided  for  the  wants  of  the  old  age  of 
his  father  before  he  risked  his  life  in  his  first  voyage  of 
discovery.  He  sent  the  first  fruits  of  his  success  and  of 
transient  competency  to  the  venerable  old  man  ;  and  when 
the  latter  took  his  leave  of  this  world,  Christopher  no  more 
forgot  him  than  he  did  the  pious  mother  who  first  had 
taught  him  to  love  and  serve  God.  He  gave  the  name  of 
his  father  to  the  capital  of  the  island  of  Hispaniola.  Time 
did  not  cool  down  his  filial  piety.  Age,  suficrings,  the 
cares  of  a  famil}*,  did  not  extinguish  in  his  heart  the  remem- 
brance of  his  parents.  In  his  seventieth  year,  he  still  gave 
to  his  father  and  mother  a  mark  of  affectionate  solicitude 
in  thinking  of  the  succor  of  their  souls,  and  in  founding 
masses  for  their  repose. 

However  ardent  the  filial  affection  of  Columbus  was,  it 
diminished  in  nothing  his  fraternal  aftection.  He  tenderly 
loved  his  brothers,  who  mingled  with  respect  the  return 
with  which  they  paid  him  back.  Both  of  them  showed 
him  an  equal  devotedness.  In  recommending  to  his  eldest 
son  to  love  his  young  brother,  Don  Fernando,  he  said  to 
him  :  "  Ten  brothers  would  not  be  too  many  for  you.  I 
have  never  found  better  friends  at  my  right  and  my  left 
than  my  brothers."  Never  was  elder  brother  more  provi- 
dent, more  grateful  than  was  Columbus  towards  his  younger 
brothers.  His  solicitude  for  their  interests  is  seen  even  in 
his  official  relations  with  the  Sovereigns.  He  thought  of 
their  weltare  in  his  institution  of  Mayorazgo.  In  this  re- 
gard, the  dispositions  of  this  act  are,  perhaps,  without  an 
equal.     He  had   their  services  present  to  his  mind  when 


556  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv- 

writing  his  Will.  He  named,  as  his  first  testamentary  ex- 
ecutor Don  Bartholomew,  and  knew  how  to  inspire  his 
children  with  the  respect  and  attachment  for  his  brothers, 
of  which  they  were  so  worthy. 

The  sacrifice  of  his  heart,  which  Columbus  had  made  to 
the  cause  of  the  Gospel,  prevents  us  from  judging  of  him 
as  a  husband.  We  will  not  speak  of  his  conjugal  life, 
which  was  a  continual  privation  of  domestic  happiness. 
All  that  is  known  of  his  marriage  is,  that  he  had  all  the 
responsibilities  and  cares  of  it,  without  enjoying  the  sweet 
compensations  for  them  that  are  found  in  the  endearments 
of  the  domestic  hearth.  But  who  can  doubt  that  he  who 
showed  himself  to  be  so  tender  a  father,  was  not  equally 
an  afiectionate  husband? 

Columbus  had  for  his  eldest  son,  who  was  at  so  early 
an  age  deprived  of  his  mother,  bowels  truly  maternal.  He 
loved  him  with  the  jorovident  tenderness  Doîïa  Felippa 
would  have  for  him  had  she  lived.  He  cherished  with  an 
equal  affection  his  second  son,  Fernando.  The  artless 
complaisance  with  which  he  speaks  of  this  little  boy,  even 
in  his  letters  to  the  Sovereigns,  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
recommends  him  to  his  elder  brother,  manifest  the  exquisite 
sensibility  that  animated  his  paternal  heart. 

Great  efforts  and  researches  have  been  made  to  ascertain 
what  was  the  first  cause  of  the  conviction  of  Columbus, 
and  of  his  determination  to  discover  an  unknown  conti- 
nent. Some  writers  have  thought  that  he  possessed  some 
mathematical  knowledge  superior  to  that  of  his  age,  and 
that  he  was  the  first  who  had  made  use  of  the  astrolabe  and 
the  qviadrant.  Especially  a  great  influence  on  the  mind 
of  Columbus  has  been  attributed  to  the  quasi-^ùiyYxwe,  verses 
of  a  tragedy  of  Seneca,  entitled   Medea.*     In  the   same 

*  .  .  .  .  "  Venient  annis 

Ssecula  seris,  quibus  Oceanus 

Vincula  rerum  laxit,  et  ingens 

Peateat  tellus,  Typhis  que  novos 

Detegat  orbes,  nee  sit  terris 

Ultima  Thule "  — Medea,  hs±  II. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  557 

manner,  it  has  been  believed  that  the  idea  of  the  existence 
of  a  continent  to  the  west,  beyond  the  pilkus  of  Hercules, 
was  suggested  to  him  by  some  ancient  authors. 

These  inferences,  with  which  minds  have  hitherto  been 
contented,  will  not  bear  a  thorough  and  serious  examination. 

In  the  first  place,  the  nautical  instruments  known  by 
Columbus  were  already  familiar  to  all  the  mariners  of  his 
time  ;  and,  even  before  he  was  born,  the  mariner's  compass, 
the  astrolabe,  and  the  quadrant  and  sextant  were  used.  His 
particular  specialty  in  matlicmatics  would  appear,  at  the 
present  time,  questionable.  Humboldt  accuses  him  of  gross 
ignorance  in  this  respect,  and  of  having  made  false  observa- 
tions in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Azores.  He  finds  that  he 
was  not  familiar  "  but  with  the  practice  of  the  methods  of  ob- 
servation, without  having  sufficiently  studied  the  principles 
upon  which  these  methods  are  founded."  *  It  is  not,  then, 
to  transcendental  mathematics  that  the  honor  of  the  idea 
and  of  the  energetic  will  of  Columbus  should  be  attributed. 

Great  importance  has  been  attached  to  the  verses  of  the 
J\Iedca,  because  they  have  been  found  twice  copied  by  the 
hand  of  Columbus.  But  nothing  proves  that  they  had  the 
least  influence  on  his  determination.  The  very  paper  on 
which  was  written  the  reflection  of  Columbus  upon  the 
slibject  of  these  verses,  testifies,  by  its  certain  date,  against 
this  supposition.  These  verses,  to  which  nobody,  not  even 
Columbus  himself,  paid  any  attention  before  his  discovery, 
are  transcribed  in  the  rough  sketch  of  his  Book  of  the 
Prophecies,  Las  Profccias;  consequently,  not  only  after 
his  first  expedition,  but  even  after  his  fourth  voyage,  while 
he  languished,  shipwrecked,  in  Jamaica.  These  verses 
had  no  meaning  before  the  enterprise  of  Columbus.  His 
expedition  has  endowed  them  with  a  marvellous  meaning; 
but,  until  he  appeared,  nobody  had  remarked  it.  It  would 
be  equally  injudicious  to  attribute  a  determining  influence 
to  the  fragments  of  authors  whicli  everybody,  as  well  as 

*  Humboldt.    Examen  Criliqiic,  etc,  t.  in.,  p.  20. 
47' 


^^8  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Columbus,  could  have  examined.  Assuredly  certain  ideas 
of  Eratosthenes  and  of  Posidomus,  reported  in  Strabo,  the 
words  of  the  Timteus  of  Plato  on  the  subject  of  the  Atlan- 
tis, some  cosmographical  ideas  of  Aristotle  on  the  form  and 
the  little  extent  of  the  earth,  divers  cursory  views  of  the 
geography  of  the  Arabians,  the  work  of  Albertus  Magnus, 
—  the  Liber  Cos77iographictis^  that  of  Roger  Bacon,  —  the 
Opus  Majlis^  as  well  as  the  book  of  Cardinal  Peter  D'Ailly, 
the  Imago  Mundi^  —  were  known  and  examined;  and  still 
these  several  authorities  had  converted  nobody  to  the  idea 
of  Columbus.  And  when,  at  the  Junta  of  Salamanca,  he 
heard  the  voice  of  an  adherent,  it  was  not  that  of  a  cosmog- 
rapher,  but  of  a  theologian,  the  Dominican  Diego  de  Deza. 

Moreover,  the  science  of  that  period  could  have  only  mis- 
led Columbus.  In  the  first  place,  it  had  no  positive  teach- 
ing :  it  opposed  conjectures  to  other  conjectures,  without  the 
authority  of  experimentation  being  able  to  decide  the  con- 
troversy. There  was  no  agreement  in  regard  to  the  form 
or  the  extent  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  only  datum  upon  which 
Columbus  could  have  supported  himself  relative  to  the 
aqueous  mass  of  the  globe  was  a  manifest  error,  the  oppo- 
site of  the  teachings  of  subsequent  observation. 

If  some  believed  in  the  existence  of  antipodes,  others 
denied  it  to  such  a  point  that  even  after  the  death  of  Co- 
lumbus there  were  sava?its  who  inveighed  against  such  a 
belief.  In  the  time  that  Herrera  wrote  his  "  General  His- 
tory of  the  Indies,"  there  were  some  doctors  who  sneered 
at  the  idea  of  there  being  antipodes.  This  historian  de- 
clares that  the  pretended  insights  which  are  imagined  to  be 
found  in  certain  passages  of  the  ancients  in  regard  to  the 
existence  of  unknown  lands,  were  extremely  uncertain,  very 
obscure,  and  almost  unintelligible  until  the  Discovery  of 
Columbus  gave  them  the  clearness  and  the  sense  which 
have  been  attributed  to  them  since  that  period. 

The  dissertations  of  biographers  to  ascertain  the  origin 
of  the  project  of  Columbus  to  discover  the  other  half  of  the 
globe,  appear  to  us  to  be  equally  worthless  ;  deprived,  as 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  559 

they  arc,  of  authority,  and  incapable  of  leading  to  convic- 
tion. What  author  better  than  Columbus  himself  can 
inform  us  whence  he  derived  his  first  idea  ?  Let  us  listen 
to  him  ;  this  idea  did  not  come  to  him  from  either  sphere 
or  compass,  or  from  mathematics,  or  from  his  own  reflec- 
tion. He  does  not  attribute  to  himself  the  merit  of  it.  This 
idea  presented  itself  to  him  by  a  sudden  inspiration.  "  It 
was,"  he  says,  "  the  Holy  Trinity  who  incited  in  him  the 
thought,  rendering  it  more  and  more  clear  to  him  that  one 
could  go  by  sea  from  the  West  to  tlie  East."  *  This  idea, 
which  showed  itself  at  first  as  a  luminous  point  in  the  light 
and  shade  of  the  imagination,  acquired  gradually,  by 
meditation,  its  development  and  perfect  lucidity.  This 
first  inspiration  was  afterwards  strengthened  by  the  reading 
of  various  authors.  Columbus,  then,  discovered  in  their 
writings  what  the  commonalty  of  readers  did  not  notice  in 
them.  But  we  may  safely  aflSrm  that,  by  their  sole  au- 
thority, some  verses  from  Seneca,  and  passages  from  ancient 
authors,  would  never  have  produced  that  unalterable  con- 
viction which  knew  how  to  resist  eighteen  years  of  doubts, 
of  negations,  and  of  scientific  disdain. 

Columbus  has  taken  a  place  in  the  history  of  the  progress 
of  the  sciences,  from  which  he  never  will  be  dispossessed. 
In  our  own  da3'S,  Humboldt,  whom  his  admirers  call  "  the 
modern  Aristotle,"  is  attracted  to  him  ;  he  admires  him 
"  preserving,  amid  so  many  material  and  minute  cares, 
which  freeze  the  soul  and  contract  the  character,  a  profound 
and  poetic  sentiment  of  the  grandeur  of  nature."  It  is,  in 
fact,  unheard-of  that  the  chief  of  a  squadron,  a  governor 
having  the  care  of  a  new  administration,  bestowed  equal 
attention  on  the  observation  of  the  country  he  was  explor- 
ing. Humboldt  acknowledges  that  "  what  characterizes 
Columbus  is  the  penetration  and  extreme  accuracy  with 
which  he  seizes  the  phenomena  of  the  external  world. 
He  is  quite  as  remarkable  as  an  observer  of  nature  as  he  is 

*  Libra  de  las  Profccias,  fol.  iv. 


560  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

as  an  intrepid  navigator.  Arrived  under  new  heavens,  and 
in  a  new  world,  the  configuration  of  lands,  the  aspect  of 
vegetation,  the  habits  of  animals,  the  distribution  of  heat 
according  to  longitude,  the  pelagian  currents,  the  variations 
of  terrestrial  magnetism,  —  nothing  escaped  his  sagacity  ! 
....  Columbus  does  not  limit  himself  to  collecting  isolated 
facts  ;  he  combines  them,  he  seeks  their  mutual  relations 
to  each  other.  He  sometimes  rises  with  boldness  to  the  dis- 
coveiy  of  the  general  laws  that  govern  the  physical  world." 
Want  of  sjoace  prevents  us  from  mentioning  here  his  grand 
views,  his  bold  judgments  on  Nature,  the  conquests  of  his 
genius  in  the  regions  of  the  unknown,  which  he  penetrated 
with  so  much  audacity  ;  we  will  limit  ourselves  to  mention- 
ing the  principal  discoveries  which  have  come  forth  from 
his  writings. 

These  grand  discoveries  in  the  scientific  order,  are  seven 
in  number  : 

1.  The  influence  exercised  by  longitude  on  the  declina- 
tion of  the  magnetic  needle. 

2.  The  variations  to  which  isothermal  lines  are  subject, 
in  following  the  direction  of  curves  from  the  western  coasts 
of  Europe  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the  New  World. 

3.  The  position  of  the  great  field  of  sea-weeds  in  the  basin 
of  the  Atlantic,  whence  issue  the  shoals  of  fish  destined  for 
our  food. 

4.  The  general  direction  of  the  tropical  seas. 

5.  The  geological  causes  of  the  configuration  of  the  An- 
tilles. 

6.  The  equatorial  swelling,  imjDlying  a  flattening  at  the 
poles. 

7.  The  continental  equilibrium  of  the  globe,  which  no- 
body before  him  supposed. 

In  addition  to  his  discovery  of  the  New  World,  mankind 
owes  to  Columbus  these  seven  discoveries,  the  least  of  which 
would  assuredly  have  rendered  illustrious  a  whole  academy. 
These  conquests  were  not  the  fruit  of  acquired  science,  but 
the  recompense  of  attention  united  to  a  faculty  of  obser- 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPJIER  COLUMBUS.  561 

vation,  which  enabled  him  to  seize  and  to  compare  the 
phenomena  of  this  world.  If  he  was  not  supported  by 
science,  as  we  are  assured  by  all  savatits  with  Humboldt 
that  he  was  not,  who,  then,  revealed  to  hira  all  the  secrets 
of  these  causes,  until  then  hidden  from  human  knowledge? 

In  default  of  physical  studies,  he  carried  into  his  investi- 
gations an  assiduity  so  great,  a  desire  so  ardent  to  penetrate 
into  the  secrets  of  Nature,  and  Faith  aided  him  to  rise  so 
high,  the  better  to  discover  the  order  of  Creation,  that  he 
could  more  easily  than  another  perceive  the  indices  by 
which  the  fundamental  laws  of  our  globe  are  revealed.  He 
did  not  seek  knowledge,  or  the  secrets  of  nature,  through 
simple  curiosity  ;  he  besought  God  to  enlighten  him  ;  he 
implored  Him  to  come  to  his  aid, — not  to  dispense  him 
from  mental  labor  (to  which  man  is  doomed),  or  to  obtain 
the  knowledge  of  things  without  effort  on  his  part, — but  to 
guide  him  in  his  investigations.  And  his  thought, —  rendered 
more  keen  by  the  contemplation  of  divine  things,  becomes 
more  agile,  more  easily  sustained  in  the  higher  region  of 
the  understanding,  —  thus  saw  further,  quicker,  and  more  ac- 
curately than  science,  proceeding  according  to  its  own  data, 
would  have  enabled  it  to  do. 

Columbus  loved  Nature  especially  on  account  of  its  Cre- 
ator, his  Master,  and  always  saw  the  Divine  Architect  in 
his  work.  Far  from  becoming  weakened  by  years,  his 
close  intimacy,  his  familiarity  with  Nature,  like  true  friend- 
ship, could  only  become  more  intimate  and  inseparable  by 
his  explorations.  The  more  he  knew  Nature  the  more  he 
loved  the  Word  made  flesh,  and  the  more  he  desired  to 
sei-ve  Him.  In  growing  old,  his  admiration  and  his  grati- 
tude increased  with  his  years.  In  his  soarings  there  is  no 
doubt;  his  belief  is  firm  and  complete,  because  he  connects 
visible  things  with  their  invisible  principle,  according  to  the 
Catholic  doctrine,  —  the  only  true  philosophy.  If,  in  his  first 
explorations,  supporting  himself  somewhat  on  the  teachings 
of  science,  he  made  some  mistakes,  some  blunders,  experi- 
ence and  observation  modified   his  first  opinions,  and  he 


^62  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

was  enabled  of  himself  to  correct  them.  If  at  first,  in  order 
to  combat  the  opinion  of  those  who  regard  the  earth  as  ex- 
tended to  infinity,  he  said,  in  comparing  our  planet  to  the 
other  creations  of  God,  "  This  world  is  not  as  large  as  the 
commonalty  of  men  consider  it;  I  say  that  this  earth  is  a 
small  affair,"  it  was  because  he  considered  what  he  had  dis- 
covered of  little  extent  compared  to  what  could  be  discovered. 

The  portion  of  the  writings  of  Columbus  which  paper 
has  collected,  that  at  least  which  has  come  down  to  us,  is 
not  very  extensive.  We  possess  only  a  very  small  part  of 
what  issued  from  his  pen.  He  wrote  a  great  many  letters 
to  the  Qiieen  as  well  as  to  some  religious,  to  the  apostolic 
prothonotary,  Peter  Martyr,  and  to  some  notables  of  the 
Court.  We  have  scarcely  only  sixteen  of  them,  unless  we 
give  the  name  to  some  epistolary  fragments  scattered  in 
various  documents. 

The  History  of  his  four  voyages,  written  for  the  Holy 
Father  on  the  plan  of  "Cassar's  Commentaries,"  is  lost,  as 
well  as  the  Narration  of  his  second  voyage,  addressed  to 
the  Catholic  Sovereigns.  His  notes,  his  geographical 
charts,  which  the  curate  of  Palacios,  Las  Casas,  and  Don 
Fernando  had  before  their  eyes,  have  disappeared.  The 
observations  he  had  written  down  after  his  third  voyage, 
his  remarks  on  natural  history,  and  his  cosmographie  views 
seized  on  by  Bobadilla,  the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  1500, 
were  never  returned.  Nothing  is  absolutely  known  of  what 
has  become  of  the  complete  Book  of  the  Prophecies.  We 
have  of  it  only  the  rough  sketch,  informal  and  mutilated. 

What  characterizes  the  style  of  Columbus  is  its  sponta- 
neity, its  brevity,  its  strength,  the  absence  of  arrangement 
and  of  art.  He  would  wish  to  say  everything  at  the  same 
time  ;  hence  results  in  certain  passages  something  diffuse, 
and  apjjarently  obscure,  but  which  is  elevated,  pi'ofound 
and  synthetic,  in  the  .  manner  of  St.  Paul.  Sober  in  his 
style  as  in  his  life,  Columbus,  avoiding  phraseological 
embellishment,  goes  always  straight  to  the  point  in  the 
simplest  and  shortest  manner.     Such  is  his  heedlessness  for 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  ^63 

all  arrangement  in  his  writings,  whatever  they  mav  be,  that 
even  his  official  reports  to  the  Sovereigns  bear  the  impress 
of  improvisation.  Never  did  he,  even  as  Admiral,  make  a 
studied  report.  One  would  say  that  there  were  several 
men  in  him.  He  writes  at  the  same  time  in  quality  of  Mes- 
senger of  Salvation  and  of  Contemplator  of  the  Creation; 
he  speaks  as  a  mariner,  as  a  missionary,  as  a  naturalist,  and 
seems  urged  to  say  everything  at  the  same  time.  Still, 
when  writing  as  head  of  the  colonial  government,  he  does 
so  with  method  and  precision,  and  shows  himself  to  be  an 
admirable  administrator. 

The  intimate  relation  between  the  style  and  the  character 
of  the  man,  which  nowadays  has  become  a  proverbial 
verity,  is  seen  in  a  palpable  manner  in  the  writings  of 
Columbus. 

This  man  lived  in  the  presence  of  God.  His  meditations 
were  made  in  the  very  midst  of  the  most  divine  manifesta- 
tign  of  the  infinite  that  is  accessible  to  our  senses:  namely, 
the  ocean  !  The  ocean,  one  over  the  whole  globe,  and  so 
diverse  in  its  unchangeable  unity, — the  ocean,  which  ab- 
sorbs our  contemplation,  which  makes  the  poet  dumb,  inter- 
dicts philosophy,  and  scares  the  semi-thinker,  —  fecundated 
the  genius  of  Columbus.  Near  the  brilliant  skies  of  the 
tropics,  near  the  Fortunate  Isles  and  in  the  lands  of  the 
Azores,  the  boldness  of  his  thoughts  came  from  reflection; 
his  maturity  of  conviction  was  formed  under  the  inspiration 
of  the  divine  Word,  —  that  conviction  which  neither  the 
force  of  time  nor  the  weakness  of  man 'was  able  to  shake; 

Like  his  genius,  the  style  of  Columbus  seems  to  tower 
and  increase  in  grandeur  with  his  years.  His  most  remark- 
able production  was  written  in  his  sixty-seventh  year. 
The  fire  of  youth  and  of  poetry,  warming  his  breast,  pierced 
through  the  iciness  of  old  age  like  the  volcanoes  of  the 
Andes  at  the  limits  of  perpetual  snow.  He  thus  shows  an 
unalterable  strength,  exempted  from  the  laws  of  time  and 
of  physical  influences.  The  ardor  of  his  piety,  the  fresh- 
ness of  his  inspiration,  are  still  seen  at  the  end  of  his  fourth 


564  HISTORY  OF  [book  IV. 

expedition,  in  his  disastrous  voyage  of  1503.  Escaped 
miraculously  from  an  inevitable  shipwreck,  his  ships  shat- 
tered and  half-submerged,  with  great  difficulty  reaching  a 
port  whei-e  the  leakages  put  them  in  danger  of  sinking,  find- 
ing himself  in  the  face  of  threatened  famine,  and  racked 
with  a  merciless  gout,  far  from  participating  in  the  despond- 
ency of  his  crews,  or  being  terrified  by  this  state  of  things, 
he  unites  his  thoughts  with  those  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
solemnizes  with  her  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
and,  during  the  fast  he  is  obliged  to  observe,  he  celebrates 
in  majestic  verse  the  birth  of  the  precursor  of  the  JMessias. 
This  poetic  inspiration,  amid  sufferings  and  ships  half- 
submerged,  is  undoubtedly  the  only  example  of  literary 
composition  that  has  ever  been  produced  in  similar  circum- 
stances. 

What  an  idea  does  not  this  peaceful  chant  of  a  Christian 
soul  give  us  of  the  serenity  of  spirit  and  the  piety  of  Co- 
lumbus, overcoming  the  pains  of  the  flesh  and  the  terrors  of 
his  situation,  thinking,  at  that  great  distance,  only  of  partici- 
pating in  the  joy  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  of  celebrating 
on  that  day  the  nativity  of  St.  John,  who  leaped  in  the 
womb  of  his  mother  at  the  voice  of  the  Virgin  blessed 
among  all  women,  who  bore  within  her  the  Divine  Saviour  ! 

SECTION  IV. 

If  Columbus  had  limited  himself  to  the  discovery  of  new 
lands,  we  might,  in  fully  recognizing  his  genius,  consider 
him  simply  as  a  cosmographie  navigator  ;  but  hisxliscoveries 
are  so  closely  connected  with  his  private  life,  with  his  faith, 
and  his  apostolic  role  influences  his  official  acts  to  such  an 
extent,  that  it  is  diametrically  opposed  to  justice  to  judge 
of  him  without  regard  to  his  religious  sentiments,  the  prin- 
ciple and  the  end  of  his  public  existence. 

And  if  anybody  be  surprised  that,  after  having  men- 
tioned his  excellent  qualities,  we  have  not,  with  that  strict 
impartiality  which  history  requires,  and  which  it   is  the 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  565 

(lutv  of  the  historian  or  the  biographer  to  conform  to, 
sought  the  weak  part  of  tlie  character  of  Columbus,  in 
order  to  put  his  failings  side  by  side  with  his  virtues,  and 
fairly  submit  them  to  the  appreciation  of  the  reader,  we 
reply  in  advance  to  such  a  rej^roach,  that  it  is  in  vain  we 
have  auscultated  the  heart  of  this  hero  ;  we  have  examined 
it  in  every  point  of  view,  and  never  have  we  been  able  to 
detect  in  it  a  voluntary  fault,  a  wrong,  or  a  failing.  To  go 
to  the  end  with  our  declaration,  we  even  frankly  avow  that 
we  are  not  surprised  at  this  total  absence  of  censurable  pro- 
pensities or  actions  in  the  w^hole  course  of  his  life,  because 
we  find  no  vices  or  defects  in  saints. 

Generally  speaking,  in  great  men  the  weaknesses  inherent 
in  our  nature  can  be  recognized,  although  mitigated  by 
their  generosity,  the  elevated  scenes  in  which  they  moved, 
the  respect  for  public  and  individual  opinion,  and  the  fear 
of  posterity.  But  in  the  heroes  of  the  Gospel  there  is  no 
fa*ilt  of  character,  no  weakness  ;  charity,  in  purifying  them, 
elevates,  ennobles  them.  They  have  to  such  an  extent 
admired  and  imitated  the  divine  model,  that  they  have 
modified  their  own  nature,  in  order  to  approximate  to  it  as 
nearly  as  humanity  will  permit. 

We  will,  then,  in  all  frankness,  speak  our  opinion  of 
Columbus  : 

This  man  had  no  defect  of  character,  or  no  worldly  qual- 
ity.    We  have  weighty  reasons  for  considering  him  a  saint. 

It  is  with  just  reason  that  we  go  straight  to  the  point, 
speaking  of  what  is  seen  in  him,  and  not  troubling  our- 
selves about  what  is  not  found  in  him,  for  the  very  reason 
that  his  other  biographers,  who,  to  comply  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  so-called  system  of  historic  philosophy,  have 
labored  by  erroneous  inferences,  to  show  that  Columbus  had 
faults  of  character,  have  not  been  able  to  cite  a  single  one 
in  support  of  their  charges  against  him.  Furthermore, 
because  these  writers,  one  after  the  other,  yielding  to 
the  logic  of  facts,  have  all  been  led  to  etlace,  themselves, 
the  consequences  of  their  blame  and  of  their  reservations, 
48 


566  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

and  to  finish  with  a  eulogy  of  the  virtues  of  Columbus  so 
complete,  that  they  wholly  neutralize  their  own  criticisms 
of  him.  Without  their  knowing  it,  this  attempt  only  serves 
the  better  to  show  plainly  his  moral  superiority. 


SECTION  V. 

It  can  be  safely  affirmed,  that  by  an  intimate  solidarity, 
the  purity  of  life  of  the  private  man  serves  in  advance  as  a 
pledge  of  the  dignity  and  irreproachable  conduct  of  the 
public  functionary.  After  having  seen  Columbus  taking- 
care  that  justice  and  equity  should  reign  supreme  in  his 
own  household,  we  naturally  expect  from  him  strict  observ- 
ance of  duty,  especially  when  political  responsibilities  or 
mterests  are  united  with  his  moral  obligations. 

In  the  elevated  scene  to  which  he  suddenly  ascended, 
invested  the  same  day  with  the  triple  dignities  of  Grand 
Admiral,  Governor-General,  and  Viceroy,  Columbus  never 
failed  in  his  engagements  or  duties.  During  his  adminis- 
tration, nobody  accused  him  of  partiality.  The  haughty 
hidalgos,  the  persecutors  of  the  Indians,  alone  complained 
that  he  protected  the  natives  :  his  solicitude  for  them 
wounded  their  Castillan  pride.  But  Columbus,  the  discijDle 
of  the  Gospel,  was  not  to  be  swayed  by  class  privileges  ; 
his  zeal  was  extended  to  the  interests  of  all.  He  established, 
strictly,  complete  equality  before  the  laws.  We  have  already 
shown  *  that  his  administration  was  exempt  from  blame  ; 
so,  without  waiting  here  for  any  more  details,  we  will 
glance  at  some  groups  of  facts  : 

His  refusal  of  a  principality,  lest  his  particular  advan- 
tages or  interests  should  turn  him  from  his  public  duties, 
shows,  more  than  words  could  do,  his  disinterestedness. 

Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean,  Vicer.oy,  and  Governor- 
General,  with  a  perpetual  title,  he  never  forgot  the  obedience 

♦Book  II.,  chap,  viii.,  §  ii. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  567 

he  owed,  and  submitted  to  the  orders  of  a  simple  commis- 
sary of  the  Sovereigns,  so  much  did  he  respect  legitimate 
authority  visibly  delegated  from  Above. 

Always  he  gave  the  example  of  devotedness,  and  of 
equality  in  misfortune.  During  dearths  or  sickness,  whether 
at  sea  or  on  land,  he  availed  himself  of  none  of  his  privi- 
leges, and  would  accept  of  only  the  common  allowances. 

His  administrative  measures  present  no  eagerness  for  tem- 
porary advantages,  that  blind  yielding  to  imaginary  urgency 
which  shapes  the  greater  part  of  the  acts  of  authority  in  the 
management  of  affairs.  He  never  sacrifices  to  the  actual- 
ities of  the  present  day  the  interests  of  future  days,  for  he 
knows  that  the  acts  of  the  administration  endure  longer 
than  the  administrator  does,  and  that  the  future  is  wholly 
contained  in  the  present.  On  no  occasion  do  we  sec  him 
descend  to  hankerings  for  earthly  glory,  yield  to  any  am- 
bition for  popularity,  or  truckle  for  the  favors  of  the  Court. 
The  chicaneries  of  the  bureaus,  the  injustice  and  ingratitude 
of  the  King,  do  not  cause  him  to  vary  in  his  conduct. 

When  even  the  text  of  his  conventions  with  the  Sov- 
ereigns gave  him  the  right  to  defend  by  arms  the  perpetual 
government  of  which  he  was  in  possession,  and  his  vice- 
royalty  of  the  Indies,  which  no  posterior  order  could  annul, 
he  gives  the  example  of  Cliristian  obedience  to  legitimate 
authority.  He  respects  to  the  end  his  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  does  not  consider  himself  absolved  from  it  by  the  injus- 
tice of  others.  In  place  of  entertaining  any  rancor,  or  pun- 
ishing the  Sovereigns  by  his  inaction,  he  still  seeks  to  serve 
the  Crown  of  Castile.  After  the  death  of  the  Qiieen,  he 
recommends  to  his  son  to  redouble  his  zeal  for  the  service 
of  the  King,  and  to  seek  to  lighten  the  weight  of  aflairs  for 
him. 

The  activity  of  Columbus,  his  care  of  details,  his  fore- 
sight, his  moderation,  his  firmness,  his  devotedness,  his 
respect  for  autliority  even  when  it  is  inimical  to  himself,  his 
protection  of  the  weak,  of  the  sailors  who  participated  in 
his  toils  and  suflerings,  and  his  grateful  remembrance  of  his 


568  HISTORT  OF  [book  iv. 

faithful  and  zealous  subordinates,  make  him  a  model  of 
public  virtues. 

As  religion  is  the  secret  of  this  force,  the  bond  of  all  his 
actions  and  of  his  virtues,  Columbus  is  shown  to  men  of  the 
world  as  a  bright  example.  A  saint  seems  to  be  a  model 
only  for  the  purest-minded  among  Christians.  A  bishop, 
a  founder  of  a  monastic  Order,  a  missionary,  appear  to  be 
proposed  as  examples  only  for  bishops,  priests  and  religious. 
One  would  say  that  the  cloister  or  the  sanctuary  has  alone 
profited  by  their  history.  Providence  has  judged  it  expe- 
dient to  show  mankind  a  laic  who  is  a  functionary  accord- 
ing to  the  Gospel.  Columbus,  a  layman  and  an  adminis- 
trator, in  the  official  world,  is  especially  a  model,  a  lesson, 
for  high  functionaries,  and  even  for  sovereigns.  His  life  is 
pregnant  with  fruitful  instruction. 

Subordinates  will  there  learn  to  bear  courageously  the 
miscalculations  they  may  make,  and  the  injustices  that  may 
be  done  them,  in  the  course  of  their  functions  or  their 
career.  The  life  of  Columbus  shows  that  merit  may  not 
be  rewarded  here  below  :  he  suffers,  but  he  does  not  rise 
in  rebellion.  The  Christian  sees  in  these  trials  a  means  of 
making  himself  a  better  man,  and  of  atoning,  by  his  resig- 
nation, for  his  secret  negligences  towards  God.  Besides, 
resignation  to  the  Divine  Will  brings  with  it  an  interior 
sweetness,  which  is  not  known  by  the  spirit  of  the  world. 

If  Columbus,  planting  himself  on  his  strict  rights,  his 
conventions  with  the  Crown  of  Castile,  had  arisen  in  insur- 
rection, and  repulsed  with  arms  the  commissaries  Aguado, 
Bobadilla,  and  Ovando,  who  sought  to  dispossess  him;  if 
he  had  secured  to  himself  an  independent  state,  appropri- 
ating to  himself  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  his  end  would 
have  been  that  of  an  ordinary  man  :  the  grandeur  and  the 
poetry  of  his  labors  would  have  been  eclipsed  in  this  vulgar 
turn  of  fortune  ;  the  interest  which  the  whole  world  will 
evet  attach  to  his  touching  memory  would  long  since  have 
vanished  ;  he  would  have  been  despoiled  of  that  halo  of 
glory,  the  wreaths  of  which  his  ill-fortune  so  holily  sup- 
ported. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  569 

In  seeing  such  grand  services  so  badly  rewarded,  such 
just  rights  ignored,  one  learns  to  support  with  less  pain 
petty  injustices,  clashings  of  interests,  the  promptings  of 
self-love,  the  wrongs  done  by  the  public,  or  by  superiors. 
What  arc  the  wrongs  of  an  administration,  of  a  munici- 
pality, of  a  captain  of  a  corps  towards  an  individual,  of  an 
employe,  or  of  an  officer,  when  one  thinks  of  the  services 
rendered  by  Columbus,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  was 
rewarded  for  them?  One  will  no  longer  complain  of  oppo- 
sitions, of  little  vexations,  or  of  unjust  preferences,  in  calling 
to  mind  what  Columbus  surtered  without  murmuring. 

If  we  arise  to  the  cause  of  his  force  of  soul,  of  his  tran- 
quillity of  mind,  in  what  concerns  him,  we  shall  see  that  his 
knowledge  of  the  feebleness  of  human  nature,  his  high  con- 
ception of  God,  his  notion  of  the  divine  goodness,  his  desire 
for  pardoning,  to  be,  in  his  turn,  pardoned  ;  his  conscious- 
ness of  the  fleetness  of  this  world,  of  the  instability  of  ter- 
restrial things,  and  the  detachment  from  transitory  things 
of  his  soul,  which  was  wholly  raised  to  immortal  joys  and 
splendors,  sustained  him  during  his  trials.  He  consoled 
himself  with  hopes  of  the  imperishable,  and  of  the  supreme 
good,  for  the  deceptions  and  the  iniquities  of  the  present 
life. 

SECTION   VI. 

We  have  been  contemplating  a  man  of  perfect  virtue,  of 
an  entire  purity  of  heart,  whose  moral  grandeur  surpasses 
the  most  celebrated  types  of  antiquity,  and  who  is  not  infe- 
rior to  the  noblest  of  those  of  the  heroes  formed  by  the 
Gospel. 

But  this  is  not  all.  To  form  a  correct  judgment  of  Co- 
lumbus, let  us  endeavor  to  enter  into  the  depths  of  his 
character. 

Assuredly,  when  we  examine  him  thoroughly,  embracing 

in  the  same  view  the  princijoal  acts  and  events  of  his  career, 

we  are  led  to  recognize  that  his  public  character,  which  was 

in  necessary  relation  with  his  private  character,  presents,  in 

'48* 


^ijO  HIS  TORT  OF  [book  iv. 

a  special  manner,  the  naarks  of  a  religious  mission,  and  of 
an  evangelical  mandate.  As  was  so  justly  said  by  Father 
Ventura,  —  "  Columbus  is  the  man  of  the  Church." 

In  reality,  Columbus  belongs  much  more  decidedly  to  the 
Church  than  he  does  to  the  marine.  Though  fixed  in  the 
world  by  his  functions,  he  habitually  lived  in  it  more  like  a 
religious  than  a  laic.  After  his  arrival  in  Spain,  —  a  coun- 
try which  Providence  destined  to  serve  for  His  views,  — 
Columbus  was  miraculously  conducted  to  a  monastery, 
where  he  prepared  himself  for  his  great  mission. 

There  he  unites  himself  solely  with  religious  or  with 
ecclesiastics.  At  Court,  where  he  \vas  introduced  by  the 
former  Apostolic  Nuncio,  from  all,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Grand  Cardinal  and  the  Qiieen,  he  receives  only  opposi- 
tion. At  the  junta  of  the  savants  in  Salamanca  he  encoun- 
ters only  distrust  or  disdain.  He  is  supported  only  by  one 
man,  who  is  a  religious  and  a  theologian»  The  Dominicans 
next  become  his  hosts  ;  he  receives  from  them  hospitality 
and  pecuniary  aid. 

When,  tired  of  waiting,  he  is  going  to  quit  Spain,  it  is  a 
monk  who  retains  him  ;  who  goes  to  the  Qiieen,  and  causes 
him  to  be  called  back,  and  who,  finishing  with  his  prayers 
what  he  had  commenced  with  exhortations,  obtains  the 
royal  word  of  Isabella. 

It  is  to  this  monaster}'  that  Columbus  returns  ;  it  is  here 
that  he  prepares  himself  for  his  expedition,  not  with  com- 
passes, charts,  or  other  aids  of  the  sciences,  but  by  penance, 
prayer,  and  the  meditation  of  things  divine.  His  expedition 
takes  the  religious  character  of  its  origin  and  object  :  he 
gives  the  name  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  his  ship,  and  hoists 
the  Cross  in  her  ;  he  departs  on  a  Friday,  and  commands 
the  sails  to  be  unfurled  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.    • 

It  is  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  that  he  takes  possession 
of  the  lands  he  discovers.  It  is  to  honor  the  Redeemer  that 
he  erects  Crosses  everywhere  he  lands.  After  having  pro- 
claimed the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the  billows,  he  spreads 
His  Name   in  the  virgin  groves  of  the  archipelagos,  and 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  571 

the  coasts  of  the  New  Continent.  Through  his  piet}',  the 
prayers  of  the  universal  language  of  Catholicity  strike  the 
ear.  The  inhabitants  of  the  islands,  and  the  tribes  of 
the  woods,  salute  the  symbol  of  Redemption  and  of  eternal 
beatitude.  Following  the  example  of  Christopher  Colum- 
bus, they  voluntarily  kneel  before  this  emblem,  the  signifi- 
cation of  which  they  do  not  yet  know,  but  the  mysterious 
influence  of  which  they  feel. 

He  was  the  first  who  carried  the  Cross  to  the  new  coun- 
try, lie  was  the  precursor  of  the  missionaries,  the  herald 
of  Catholicity,  and  the  tacit  mandatory  of  the  Papacy.  He 
was  the  first  who  conceived,  or,  at  least,  formed  the  idea, 
of  a  seminary  for  the  foreign  missions,  —  and  desired  to 
found  it  at  his  own  expense. 

He  presents  the  Holy  Sec  with  an  opportunity,  or 
occasion,  of  showing  the  spirit  of  infallible  sagacity  that 
perpetually  inspire»  the  Church,  and  of  pi"oving,  in  an 
unquestionable  manner,  that  the  Papacy,  far  from  striking 
with  an  anathema  those  who  admitted  the  existence  of  a 
new  continent,  as  was  so  often  repeated  by  some  writers 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  praised  the  man  who  discovered 
it,  and  formed  a  judgment  of  the  form  and  dimensions  of 
the  globe,  much  bolder,  and  more  exact  and  sagacious,  than 
did  the  cosmographers  and  savants  of  that  period. 

Far  from  secularizing  himself  after  his  Discovery,  of  en- 
joying in  the  world  his  triumph,  his  sudden  importance, 
or  of  delighting  in  his  vice-royalty,  he  aspires  only  to  new 
explorations,  in  order  to  proclaim,  in  countries  still  more 
distant,  the  Name  of  the  Redeemer.  He  regularly  savs 
the  office  of  the  Franciscan  religious.  At  Valladolid,  at 
Granada,  wherever  he  sojourns,  it  is  in  their  monasteries 
that  he  has  his  abode.  Outside  of  the  Seraphic  Order,  he 
has  no  intimate  relations  but  with  the  Dominicans,  the 
Carthusians,  the  Hieronymites,  with  ecclesiastics  of  edify- 
ing lives,  and  with  simple  men  serving  God.  He  is  but 
very  seldom  seen  in  commerce  with  the  grand,  or  with  the 
favorites  of  Llie  Court.     A  Tcrtiarv,  or  member  of  the  Third 


572  HISTORY  OF  [book  IV. 

Order  of  St.  Francis,  he  lived  as  a  true  religious  not  raised 
to  tlie  priesthood. 

Tlie  subsequent  voyages  of  Cokimbus  had  for  their  object 
only  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  All  his  posterior  discov- 
eries being  merely  the  execution  of  his  plan,  it  may  truly 
be  said  that, —  thanks  to  him,  —  the  Perpetual  Sacrifice  of 
the  New  Law,  announced  and  prophesied  in  the  Old  Law, 
has  been  really  established  on  the  earth.  At  every  hour 
of  the  day  and  of  the  night,  the  immolation  of  the  Divine 
victim  is  renewed  in  the  two  hemispheres.  When  the 
vespéral  chant  of  complin  announces  the  close  of  day  in 
Europe,  that  of  matins  has  already  preceded  the  dawn  in 
other  regions  ;  and  while  the  night  covers  with  its  shadows 
the  Eastern  hemisphere,  the  August  Sacrifice  is  offered  up 
in  the  Andes,  and  among  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  The  sun 
shines  incessantly  on  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  words  of  the  prophets,  the  accents  of  the 
psalmists,  the  recitals  of  the  evangelists,  join  and  succeed 
each  other  according  to  the  rules  of  the  Roman  Liturgy  ; 
and  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New  the  glory  of  the  Word, 
like  His  mercy,  is  announced  to  man.  The  power  of 
Catholic  unity  is  strikingly  manifested  in  the  permanency 
of  this  homage  rendered  to  our  Lord  ;  for,  on  this  globe,  it  is 
solel3'the  Catholic  Church  that  offers  this  unchangeable  per- 
petuity of  aspii'ations  to  Heaven.  The  Holy  Sacrifice  is 
continued  without  interruption,  like  organic  life,  the  respi- 
ration of  plants,  or  the^  rotation  of  the  earth  around  its  axis. 
After  the  discovery  of  the  totality  of  our  planet,  to  show 
there  the  emblem  of  Salvation,  Columbus  had  but  one 
desire,  the  deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  access  of  all  nations  to  it,  and  to  give  the  pos- 
session of  it  to  the  Holy  See.  He  had  no  temporal  inquie- 
tude but  in  relation  to  this  spiritual  object,  and  to  preserve 
from  all  future  dismemberment  the  patrimony  of  the  Church. 
His  recourse  to  the  Holy  See,  the  spiritual  powers  he  be- 
sought from  it,  the  services  he  offered  to  render  it,  the  con- 
sideration the  Papacy  manifested  for  him,  the  confidence  it 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  573 

reposed  in  liiin,  as  well  in  legartl  to  the  Line  of  Dcmarka- 
tion  as  to  the  erection  of  episcopal  sees  in  the  Indies,  and 
the  assiduous  relations  it  required  of  him  to  keep  with  it, — 
seem  to  confirm  tacitly  the  character  of  apostolic  legate 
with  which  he  showed  himself  invested  in  his  acts  and  in  his 
intentions.  His  exemplai'y  piety,  his  confidence  in  God, 
the  lustre  of  his  rank,  the  humility  of  liis  life,  his  unheard-of 
misfortunes,  and  his  services  without  equal,  distinguish  him 
from  the  rest  of  mortals.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
never  did  any  man  accomplish  so  vast  a  work  as  he  did. 
The  evangelic  mildness  of  the  means  corresponded  with 
the  holiness  of  the  object.  Without  shedding  a  drop  of 
blood,  without  causing  a  tear  to  flow,  he  doubled  the  known 
space  of  the  earth,  and  opened  to  science  an  illimitable 
field. 

Evidently  God  chose  Christopher  Columbus  as  a  Mes- 
senger of  Salvation. 

From  the  cradle  this  man  was  marked  with  a  mysterious 
seal.  Belonging  to  the  era  of  the  revival  of  letters,  w^iich 
is  so  familiarly  known  to  us,  he  seems  still  more  to  par- 
ticipate of  the  legendary  existence  of  the  sainted  civilizers 
of  the  middle  ages.  He  remains  surrounded  with  the  mar- 
vellous, notwithstanding  the  prosaic  accusations  of  his 
enemies.  Columbus  introduced  himself  to  notice  during 
the  full  movement  of  literary  progress,  the  blooming  season 
of  luiiversities  and  of  printing  in  Spain.  He  occasioned 
the  institution  of  naval  schools,  of  hydrographie  commis- 
sions, and  the  development  of  the  marine.  And  still  his 
imposing  grandeur  seems  to  elevate  him  above  the  level  of 
history,  to  render  him  back  to  the  shadowy  ages  of  the 
myth  and  the  epopee.  It  is  because  every  grandeur  which 
is  detached  from  the  earth  carries  in  itself  its  sublimity,  and 
every  sublimity  its  poetry. 

For  the  reason  that  Columbus,  chosen  by  God,  was  called 
to  accomplish  the  work  of  Providence,  the  mark  of  this 
election  is  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  positivism  of  the  details 
of  the  functions  he  had  to  discharge.     This  high  dignitary 


274  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

of  the  marine,  this  Governor-General  of  the  colonies,  has 
something  about  him  that  is  strange  and  exceptional,  which 
at  first  sight  does  not  strike  the  vulgar  mind,  but  which 
Christian  souls  and  interior  men  may  easily  remark. 


SECTION   VII. 

In  the  primitive  history  of  Catholicity,  which  an  uninter- 
rupted filiation  conducts  to  the  cradle  of  mankind,  we  see, 
by  an  express  intention  of  Providence,  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets  receive  in  advance,  at  their  birth,  names  symbolic 
of  the  character  or  the  role  they  are  to  display.  Equally 
in  the  establishment  of  the  Gospel,  we  see  also,  without  ex- 
ception, the  first  cooperators  chosen  by  our  Lord,  bear 
names  figurative  of  their  particular  destination. 

Before  the  divine  Redeemer  of  men  preached  His  doc- 
trine, His  precursor,  John  the  Baptist,  descended  from  the 
priestly  race  of  Abia,  bore  the  significative  name  which  was 
given  him  by  supernatural  authority,*  notwithstanding  tlie 
opposition  of  his  relations,  who  all  wished  him  to  be  called 
Zachary,  like  his  father,  and  spurned  the  name  of  John,  be- 
cause no  one  of  their  family  had  borne  it.f  The  name  of 
John, —  yokannes,  —  expresses  true  piety,  grace,  mercy, 
which  he  who  prepared  the  ways  of  the  Lord  announced  to 
men.     Rectas  facite  seihitas  ejus. 

The  first  of  the  evangelists  was  called  Levi,  son  of  Al- 
2:)heus.  Jesus  Christ,  in  calling  him  to  follow  Him,  gave 
him  the  name  of  Matthew,  which  expresses,  at  the  same 
time,  a  voluntary  gift  and  the  gratuity  of  the  favor. 

Not  to  multiply  examples,  we  will  mention  only  one 
more,  that  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  St.  Peter,  the 
Chief  of  the  Church. 

At  the  time  the  Divine  Redeemer  perceived  him  casting 
nets  with  the  aid  of  his  brother  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  he 

*  Luke  I  :  6i.  \  Ibid. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  575 

was  simply  Simon  Bai-jona.  Already  these  two  names 
united,  presented  an  interesting  signification.  Jesns  tells 
him  to  leave  his  nets,  that  He  will  make  him  a  fisher  of  men. 
Immediately,  with  an  obedience  as  unfeigned  as  it  was  sub- 
missive, he  abandons  the  nets,  his  means  of  gaining  a  liv- 
ing. And  although  married,  having  in  his  charge  his  sick 
mother-in-law,  he  follows  the  Messias  without  the  least  hesi- 
tation, without  inquiring  about  his  new  means  of  subsist- 
ence, or  of  providing  for  his  family. 

This  unhesitating  confidence,  this  prompt  obedience,  an 
index  of  the  uprightness  of  intention  and  of  the  faithful  sim- 
plicity which  distinguished  the  eldest  of  the  Apostles,  was 
strikingly  represented  by  his  name  of  Simon  Bar-jona,  for 
in  Hebi^ew-Syriac  Simon  signifies  ivho  obeys.,  and  Bar-jona, 
Son  of  the  Dove.  In  advance,  the  name  of  thi^  obscure 
fisherman,  expressing  obedience  and  simplicity,  foretokened, 
also,  the  Eldest,  since  the  Dove  (  in  Latin  Columbus)  was 
the  symbol  of  it.*  But  to  these  two  names  the  Divine 
Master  added  a  third,  which  was  to  complete  the  figure  of 
his  destiny  ;  he  gave  him  the  name  of  Cephas,  which,  in- 
terpreted, means  Peter,  —  a  ?'ocZ',  —  the  foundation-stone. 
And  such  is  the  power  of  this  name,  that  after  having  said 
to  him,  "  I  say  to  thee  that  thou  art  Peter,"  our  Redeemer 
immediately  adds,  "  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
Church."  t 

It  would  not  be  astonishing  if  the  man  chosen  to  double 
the  known  extent  of  the  earth,  and  to  carry  the  Gospel 
among  unknown  nations,  shoidd  not  likewise  present  in  his 
name  some  mysterious  or  symbolic  meanings. 

*  The  Dove,  the  emblem  of  a  pacific  message,  a  memento  of  the 
ark  of  Noe,  became,  on  account  of  its  antiquity,  the  emblem  of 
Seniority,  and  in  this  quality  figured  in  the  standards  of  the  most 
ancient  of  peoples,  the  Assyrians,  from  whom  Juda  descended  by 
Arphaxad. 

t  Et  ego  dico  libi  quia  tu  es  Petrus  et  super  banc  Potram  adificabo, 
Ecclesiam  meam  et  portae  inferi  non  pra;valcbant  ad  versus  cam."  — 
6"/.  Matth.  xvi  :  18. 


576  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

After  his  birth,  the  oldest  of  the  sons  of  Dominic  Co- 
lombo was  presented  at  the  baptismal  font  in  a  church  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Stephen,  the  first  martyr.  There  a  baptismal 
name  was  added  to  his  family  name.  This  infant  had  from 
that  moment  the  names  the  most  appropriate  that  could  be 
for  the  functions  he  was  to  dischai'ge  among  men. 

From  his  parentage  his  surname  was  Colombo.  This 
name,  which  in  Latin  is  Columbus,  a  Dove,  means  at  the 
same  time  innocence,  purity,  simplicity  of  heart,  —  the 
message  on  water,  the  pacific  message,  the  divine  message  ; 
the  prompt  arrival,  the  happy  news,  the  discovered  land. 
It  also  expresses  navigation,  maritime  genius,  the  primary 
piece  of  every  ship  —  the  keel.*  To  these  names,  so  ex- 
pressive, which  he  held  by  right  of  blood,  the  Church 
added  another,  which  was  to  be  indicative  of  his  future 
mission,  —  Christophorus,  —  that  is  to  say,  who  bears 
Christ,  who  transports  the  Cross,  who  spreads  the  Gospel. 

The  power  of  his  name  augurs  that  of  his  destiny. 

Everything  in  his  life  is  a  subject  of  surprise  and  aston- 
ishment. In  his  early  youth,  though  of  an  ancient  race,  he 
performs  obscure  labors  in  jDoverty.  Afterwards,  on  the 
day  set  by  Providence,  he  who  was  formerl}^  only  a  cabin- 
boy  becomes  Grand  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  ;  the  former 
apprentice  of  a  wool-carder  takes  his  rank  as  perpetual 
Governor,  Admiral,  and  Viceroy  of  the  Indies.  He  is  saluted 
in  his  triple  dignity  in  a  land  situated  beyond  the  Gloomy 
Ocean.  The  revolted  crews,  who  two  days  before  desired 
to  cast  him  into  the  billows,  become  humbled  before  his 
genius,  and  take  an  oath  of  obedience  to  him,  as  to  a 
monarch. 

If  we  consider  at  one  stretch,  and  in  mass,  the  events  of 
the   life   of  Columbus,  we    immediately  perceive    that  the 


*  In  ancient  times,  in  Italj^,  the  keel  of  every  vessel  was  called 
the  Colombo.  This  name  is  still  found  in  the  "  Treatise  on  Naval 
Constructions,"  by  Bartolomeo  Crescentio.  —  A.  Jul.  Archéologie 
Navale. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  5^^ 

picturesqueness  and  the  poetry  of  these  events  almost  equal 
their  grandeur. 

The  white  sails  of  his  three  caravels  remind  us  of  the 
three  white  doves  on  the  azure  field  of  his  paternal  or 
family  arms,  having,  for  device,  the  three  names  of  the 
three  theological  virtues  ;  his  first  expedition,  wonderful 
for  its  rapidity,  and  the  return  of  which  was  still  more 
wonderful  on  account  of  the  successive  tempests  that  beset 
it  ;  the  mysterious  relations  between  Fridays  and  the  events 
of  this  enterprise,  undertaken  in  honor  of  the  Crucified  ; 
the  report  of  his  triumph  rejoicing  his  old  father,  as  a  re- 
ward for  his  filial  piety  ;  his  three  first  voyages,  undertaken 
and  accomplished  with  three  caravels,  in  the  name  of  the 
Thrice-IIoly  Trinity  ;  his  career  of  discoveries,  composed 
of  four  maritime  expeditions;  his  hospitality  from  the 
Seraphic  Order  four  times  ;  then  his  posthumous  voyages, 
for  finding  that  funereal  repose  which  Dante,  during  his 
lifetime,  implored  from  the  Franciscans  of  Corvo  ;  the 
visible  assistance  of  God  during  his  gigantic  labors  ;  the 
wonderful  scientific  conquests  due  to  this  man,  whom  some 
modern  savants  exclude  from  the  ranks  of  the  learned  ;  the 
protection  accorded  to  him  who  touched  him,  and  to  those 
who  went  in  his  name  ;  his  chief  suflerings  coming  from 
those  whom  he  had  most  obliged  or  served  ;  the  majesty 
of  his  old  age  ;  the  vigorous  poetry  of  his  intellect,  which 
resists  time  and  misfortunes  ;  in  fine,  his  agony,  radiant 
with  intelligence,  and  his  final  departure  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Ascension  of  the  Redeemer,  —  this  strangeness, 
these  oppositions,  these  grandeurs,  which  one  would  say 
were  destined  long  ago  for  recitals  in  heroic  tragedies,  or 
for  the  strings  of  the  harp,  do  they  not  separate  Columbus 
from  all  the  human  existences  recorded  in  history? 

The  facts  and  events  of  this  man's  career  are  no  less  cu- 
rious, strange  and  wonderful,  than  they  are  certain  and 
indubitable  ;  and  yet  tliosc  who  witnessed  them,  who  par- 
ticipated in  them,  who  aided  in  their  accomplishment,  did 
not  understand  them,  or  did  not  heed  them.  The  chiefs  of 
49 


578  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

the  bureau  of  marine  were  as  silly  as  they  were  irreligious. 
They  did  not  see  that  their  chicaneries  would  add  to  the 
grandeur  of  their  innocent  victim,  and  that  they  were 
raising  him  in  the  eyes  of  posterity,  when  they  thought 
they  were  lowering  him  in  the  estimation  of  the  courtiers 
of  the  King. 

But,  in  order  to  be  just,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
some  choice  Christians,  such  as  the  illustrious  Franciscan 
Cardinal  Ximenes,  and  the  learned  Dominican  Diego  de 
Deza,  Archbishop  of  Seville,  had  glimpses  of  the  myste- 
rious seal  affixed  to  his  august  destination.  Some  others, 
away  from  the  Court,  had  a  clear  perception  of  his  gran- 
deur ;  like  the  noble  lapidary  of  Burgos,  they  considered 
that  Christopher  Columbus  had  fulfilled  a  providential 
mandate.  Since  that  time  several  learned  Spanish  theolo- 
gians and  commentators  have  been  struck  with  the  mystic 
connection  existing  between  the  acts  of  Columbus  and 
certain  sentences  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Father  Acosta 
acknowledges  that  divers  passages  of  the  Prophet  Isaias, 
among  others  chap.  Ixvi,,  may  be  applied  to  the  Discovery 
of  the  Indies,  and  says  :  "  Several  very  learned  authors  de- 
clare that  the  whole  of  this  chapter  refers  to  the  Indies." 
In  his  book  "  De  Consolatione  Ecclesiœ,"  the  great  Cardinal 
Valerio  extolled  implicitly  the  character  ot  Columbus. 
Maluenda,  Thomas  Bozius,  Ponce  de  Leon,  Botera,  Father 
Thomas  of  Jesus,  Solorzano  Herrera,  and  all  those  who 
have  seriously  studied  the  epoch  of  the  Discovery,  have 
been  persuaded  that  the  mission  of  Columbus  was  provi- 
dential. It  was  not  without  surprise  and  admiration  that 
they  have  seen  his  ships,  and  even  his  armorial  ensigns, 
announced  by  the  Prince-Prophet.  We  find  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  nine  passages  clearly  applicable  to  the  Discovery 
of  the  New  World. 

The  progress  of  time  has  served  only  to  render  more 
manifest  these  relations,  and  to  elucidate  their  applications. 
That  the  mission  of  Columbus,  —  that  event  which  was  to 
modify  so  profoundly  the  future  circumstances  of  humanity, 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  579 

—  was  shown  to  the  Prophet,  to  whom  the  Messias  was 
revealed,  will  appear  in  nowise  extraordinary  to  those  souls 
who  are,  happily,  imbued  with  divine  truth.  As  to  those 
persons  who  will  not  ascend  so  high,  and  who  demand 
more  recent  testimonies,  we  answer  that,  outside  of  written 
documents,  there  exists,  even  to  this  day,  the  proof  of  a 
forgotten  announcement,  of  a  mysterious  presentiment  of 
peoples,  relative  to  the  mission  of  Columbus,  and  we  loy- 
ally forewarn  them  that  without  Columbus  the  mysterious 
figure  which  is  going  to  be  presented  to  them  would  be 
inexplicable. 

SECTION   VIII. 

To  the  revelations  of  Israel  there  succeeded,  after  the 
times  of  the  Messias,  a  prophecy,  the  author  of  which  is 
no  better  known  than  the  origin,  the  origin  than  the  date, 
the  date  than  the  language,  and  still  which  a  constant  trans- 
mission has  brought  down  to  our  own  days.  This  myste- 
rious prophecy,  without  a  written  text,  without  an  avowed 
father,  come  nobody  knows  whence,  like  the  mysterious 
rumors  that  agitated  the  Roman  world  immediately  pre- 
vious to  the  birth  of  the  Saviour,  has  been  represented 
under  the  form  of  an  anonymous  tradition  ;  collective,  per- 
haps, but  assuredly  popular. 

This  tradition  has  been  personified  by  sculpture,  has  been 
installed  in  the  ruined  basilicas  of  Antioch  and  of  Byzan- 
tium, and  in  the  old  churches  of  Romanic  style,  whence  it 
has  glided  into  monasteries  and  abbe3's,  and  even  into 
Gothic  cathedrals,  by  means  of  mural  paintings  and  statu- 
ary. A  pious  belief  has  caused  the  adoption,  as  commem- 
orative of  the  past,  this  symbolic  image  of  the  future.  We 
desire  to  recall  the  colossal  effigy  of  St.  Christopher,  and 
his  popular  legend.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  St. 
Christopher  was  the  patron  saint  of  Columbus. 

Let  us  first  see  the  real  history  of  this  saint,  and  after- 
wards we  will  appreciate  the  signification  of  the  symbols 
that  are  assiîrned  him. 


580  HISTORT  OF  [book  iv. 

From  hagiography  we  learn  the  following  particulars  of 
him  :  Opherus,  a  Syrian  by  birth,  was  a  pagan,  and  of 
gigantic  stature,  —  a  kind  of  Goliath,  proud  of  his  strength, 
and  desirous  of  serving  none  but  the  most  powerful  king  on 
earth.  Having  become  a  Christian  at  the  sight  of  a  mir- 
acle, in  the  ardor  of  his  faith  he  would  have  no  other  name 
but  ChristopJiorus  (Christ-bearer).  St.  Babylus,  Bishop 
of  Antioch,  admitted  him  to  baptism.  Christopher  pub- 
lished the  Gospel  in  his  own  country,  in  the  environs  of 
Palestine,  in  several  countries  of  Asia  Minor,  and  travelled 
constantly,  preaching  courageously  the  Good  News,  until 
the  time  when,  arrested  by  the  emissaries  of  idolatry,  during 
the  persecution  of  the  Emperor  Decius,  he  sealed  with  his 
blood  the  Cross  which  he  had  borne. 

His  martyrdom  was  promptly  celebrated  in  the  East. 
Soon  the  Orientals  rendered  him  honors.  St.  Ambrose 
praised  him  highly.  St.  Christopher  is  classed  in  the  most 
ancient  martyi^ologies.  Formerly  two  churches  in  Constan- 
tinople were  dedicated  to  him.  The  "  Mosarabic  Breviary," 
attributed  to  St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  makes  mention  of  him. 
In  the  time  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great  there  was  a  monastery 
in  Sicily  under  the  name  of  St.  Christopher.  From  the 
seventh  century  downwards,  Toledo,  and  several  other  cities 
in  Spain,  possessed  some  relics  of  this  martyr.  In  Paris  the 
parish  church  of  his  name  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  ones 
in  the  city. 

Nothing  is  more  authenti'c,  nothing  more  precise,  than 
this  history  of  St.  Christopher.  Nothing,  again,  is  better 
established  than  the  ancientness  of  the  honors  rendered  to 
him  since  the  fourth  century  of  the  Church.  Still,  if  we 
now  take  into  consideration  the  manner  in  which  the  faith- 
ful honored  St.  Christopher  from  the  commencement,  we 
will  find  no  connection  between  the  apostolic  acts  of  his 
life  and  the  symbols  under  which  he  has  been  represented. 

His  image  is  that  of  a  gigantic,  or  rather  colossal,  saint, 
whose  attitude  expresses  neither  doctrine,  nor  penance,  nor 
martyrdom.     He  does  not  j^ray,  he  does  not  speak,  he  does 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  581 

not  sullcr.  Nevertheless,  he  is  not  motionless  in  his  glory  ; 
he  marches  across  waters,  bearing  the  infant  Christ  on  his 
shoulders. 

Assuredly,  in  this  image  of  the  confessor  of  the  Faith, 
nothing  recalls  his  apostolate  or  his  martyrdom.  This 
representation  being  in  nowise  applicable  to  the  events  of 
the  life  of  St.  Christopher,  it  evidently  can  refer  only  to  his 
name.  Now,  since  an  expression  has  been  given  to  this 
name,  really  symbolic,  which  cannot  regard  the  past,  it 
must  necessarily  refer  to  the  future. 

This  fL\ct  implies,  forcibly,  the  existence  of  a  prophecy 
for  a  long  time  forgotten  ;  of  a  mysterious  announcement, 
the  origin  of  which  is  at  present  unknown,  but  upon  which 
has  necessarily  been  founded  the  sculptural  type  of  St. 
Christopher,  such  as  it  was  first  produced  by  the  East,  and 
such  as  it  is  still  preserved  in  the  south  of  Christian  Europe. 
From  these  circumstances  it  is  permissible  to  infer  that  this 
prophecy  was  probably  cotcmporaneous  with  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Christopher.  It  would  not  be  impossible  that 
this  figure  was  literally  the  reproduction,  in  stone,  of  the 
prophecy  of  the  saint  who  first  took  the  name  of  Christ- 
bear  cr  (Christopher),  and  would  have  announced  that  one 
day  a  great  man,  bearing  also  -'Christ"  in  his  name, 
would  eflectually  transport  the  Law  of  Jesus  Christ  across 
the  ocean-sea.  This  would  explain  how  Oriental  genius, 
giving  to  the  holy  martyr  the-  emblem  of  the  holy  voyager 
announced,  has  produced,  in  sculpture,  the  form  of  a  colos- 
sal man,  in  relation  with  his  gigantic  work.  By  a  unique 
exception  in  sacred  iconograph}',  and  the  usages  of  religion, 
popular  piety  adopted  these  figurative  symbols  of  the  future. 
The  Church  welcomed  the  colossal  effigies  of  St.  Christo- 
pher, which,  in  rendering  homage  to  the  giant  martyr  of 
the  Faith,  represented  the  future  apostolate  of  a  great  man 
who  would  bear  "  Christ  "  in  his  very  name. 

To  every  serious  mind,  it  becomes  evident,  ist,  That  a 
mysterious  tradition  has  occasioned  the  figure  of  this  sym- 
bolic statue  announcing  the  future  in  place  of  recalling  the 
49* 


582  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

past,  and  therefore  deprived  of  all  the  mementoes  of  the 
apostolic  life  and  of  the  martyreal  palm  of  St.  Christopher, 
and  represented  him  solely  whei'e  he  never  w^as,  on  sea, 
and  made  him  crossing  waves,  w^hereas  he  evangelized  only 
on  land  ;  2d,  That  the  knov^^ledge  of  this  prophecy,  the 
cause  of  the  colossal  effigy,  being  lost,  there  was  afterwards 
a  2Dious  legend  composed,  which  underwent  alterations  and 
variations,  according  to  the  times  and  the  places.  It  re- 
mains certain  that  the  far  East  was  the  original  source  of 
this  tradition,  and  that  it  was  there  the  first  churches  and 
first  statues  were  raised  in  honor  of  St.  Christopher. 

Now  in  what  manner  was  St.  Christopher  first  repre- 
sented? How  did  the  iconographie  chisel  of  the  statuary 
write  the  name .''     The  facts  will  give  the  answer. 

St.  Christopher  is  invariably  represented  under  the  form 
of  a  giant  bearing  the  infant  Jesus  on  his  shoulders,  passing 
the  sea  without  being  completely  wetted,  and  supporting 
himself  on  a  verdant  tree  having  its  top  and  its  roots. 

Let  us  analyze  this  emblem,  and  the  results  will  easily 
enable  us  to  find  the  signification  of  the  whole. 

This  giant  saint  is  a  very  good  Christian,  a  hero  of  Cath- 
olicity. He  carries  beyond  the  sea  the  infant  Jesus,  —  that 
is  to  say,  the  dawn  of  the  Gospel  on  the  new  land.  The 
little  Jesus  holds  in  His  hand  the  globe  of  the  earth,  sur- 
iBounted  with  the  Cross.  This  sphericity  of  the  globe 
epitomizes  in  advance  the  whole  system  of  the  Discovery. 
The  cross  surmounting  the  globe  announces  the  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel  among  all  peoples.  The  Catholic  giant,  with 
his  forehead  encircled  with  a  halo  of  glory,  the  indication 
of  sanctity,  supports  himself,  in  traversing  the  billows,  on 
the  trunk  of  a  flowering  tree  bearing  leaves  and  fruit,  which 
at  once  reminds  us  of  the  flowering  rod  of  Aaron,  the  root 
of  Jesse,  the  trunk  of  the  tree  of  Salvation,  —  that  wood 
which  has  saved  the  world.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  this 
tree,  towards  its  top,  has  date-bearing  branches,  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  Orient,  and  at  its  foot  fibrous  roots, 
the  sign  of  transplantation,  of  new  culture.     Besides,  the 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  583 

old  Latin  device  of  St.  Christopher,  expressing  the  generos- 
ity of  this  giant  apostle,  who  has  the  gentleness  of  a  dove, 
and  the  Good  News  of  which  he  is  the  bearer,  reads  thus  : 
"  Qui  te  mane  vident,  nocturno  tempore  rident." 
These  words  evidently  imply  future  movement,  a  subse- 
quent voyage,  and  can  in  nowise  be  referred  to  the  past. 

In  the  course  of  time,  after  the  invasion  of  the  Vandals, 
who  were  Arians,  this  colossal  statue  having  become  unin- 
telligible to  many  minds  in  Germany  and  other  countries, 
there  was  a  legend  composed  which  may  explain  this 
figure,  and  connect  it  with  the  life  of  St.  Christopher.  By 
degrees,  the  accessories  of  this  effigy  were  modified:  in 
place  of  a  missionary  bearing  the  Christ,  a  hermit  was 
represented,  carrying,  gratuitously, •travellers  on  his  shoul- 
ders across  a  deep  river.  Such  an  employment  at  that 
time,  when  there  existed  but  few  bridges  or  ferry-boats, 
may  have  been  of  great  utility.  St.  Christopher,  on  ac- 
count of  his  strong  shoulders,  has  been  supposed  to  be  the 
predecessor  of  the  confraternity  of  bridge-builders  modestly 
devoted  to  this  good  work,  following  the  example  of  the 
young  shepherd,  St.  Benezet,  to  whom  the  country  of  Ven- 
aissin  owed  the  bridge  of  x\vignon.  It  has  been  said  that, 
to  try  him,  Jesus  Christ,  under  the  form  of  a  child,  came 
one  night  to  him,  to  beg  him  to  take  Him  across  the  river, 
which  had  been  swelled  by  the  recent  rains,  and  that  the 
saint,  taking  Ilim  on  his  back,  recognized,  by  His  weight 
becoming  more  and  more  heavy,  that  he  bore  the  Master 
of  the  World. 

The  mysterious  tradition,  and  the  colossal  effigy  which 
consecrated  it  in  the  churches  of  the  East,  took  thus,  in 
coming  amid  the  woods  of  Germany,  and  the  fogs  of  the 
shores  of  the  North,  the  character  of  a  commonjDlace 
legend,  —  a  Christian  anecdote,  to  beguile  the  long  evenings 
of  winter.  Paintinsrs  havintr  conformed  to  the  variations  of 
legendary  tradition,  the  sea  was  finally  replaced  by  a  river. 
On  one  side  is  a  hermit,  with  relics  in  his  hand,  near  a 
chapel  with  its  bell-tower  ;  on  the    other,  a  brave  German 


284  HISTORY  OF  [book  it. 

on  horseback,  going  to  a  mill,  the  water-wheel  of  which  is 
seen. 

It  is  not  in  the  north  of  Europe,  then,  that  we  ought  to 
seek  the  exact  representation  of  the  colossal  statue  of  St. 
Christopher.  To  find  it,  we  must  return  towards  the  south, 
adjacent  to  the  country  where  it  originated.  There  St. 
Christopher  is,  indeed,  the  giant  who  carries  Christ,  and 
passes  the  great  sea  or  ocean,  having  water  only  to  his 
waist,  holding,  in  place  of  a  staff,  the  mystic  tree  which  is 
to  be  transplanted,  or  even  holding  in  his  hand  a  cross, 
which  he  takes  to  the  other  side  of  the  sea. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  churches,  the  images, 
and  the  name  of  St.- Christopher  are  more  spread  in  the 
south  than  in  the  norths  and  among  the  populations  of  the 
shores  than  among  those  of  the  interior  districts.  Among 
all  Christian  countries,  Spain  was  the  one  in  which  were 
most  multiplied  the  effigies,  the  churches,  and  the  chapels 
of  St.  Christopher.  Certainly  no  other  nation  in  Europe 
possessed  as  anciently,  or  on  as  many  altars,  relics  of  this 
martyr,  or  raised  higher  statues  to- this  holy  giant  who  was 
to  pass  the  sea. 

So  an  ancient  tradition,  for  a  long  time  unheeded  — 
ascending  at  least  to  the  twelfth  century,  and  recalled  by 
Columbus  *  after  his  third  voyage  —  had  pointed  out  Spain 
as  the  country  that  was  to  accomplish  a  gi-eat  religious  mis- 
sion. In  his  "  Natural  and  Moral  History  of  the  Indies," 
Father  Acosta,  whose  profound  and  comprehensive  views 
Humboldt  has  noted,  says,  also,  "  that  it  has  been  predicted 
for  a  long  time  that  the  New  World  was  to  be  converted  to 
Jesus  Christ  by  the  Spanish  nation."  Is  it  not  strange,  that 
a  country  confined  between  mountains  and  the  sea,  and 
which,  therefore,  could  extend  itself  only  by  the  ocean, 
should  be  designated  for  this  evangelical  work  !  This  idea 
of  an  evangelic  action  beyond  the  Gloomy  Ocean,  is  it 
not  astonishing  ! 

*  Libra  de  las  Prqfecias,  fol.  iv. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  585 

It  was,  in  fact,  from  Spain,  a  country  in  which  St.  Chris- 
topher was  so  much  honored,  that  the  messenger  of  the 
Good  News  departed  to  carry  the  Cross  beyond  the  ocean. 

And  it  is  so  natural  to  see  in  the  Catholic  mission  of 
Columbus  the  interpretation  of  the  emblematic  figure  of  St. 
Christopher,  that  the  first  geographer  of  the  epoch  of  the 
Discover}',  Juan  de  la  Cosa,  in  finishing  his  map  of  the 
New  World,  in  place  of  naming  the  conqueror  of  the 
Gloomy  Oceax,  contented  himself  with  painting  the  sym- 
bolic figure  of  the  saint  who  bears  Christ  on  his  shoulders 
across  the  sea.*  In  his  estimation,  the  prediction  contained 
in  this  religious  image  was  already  realized. 

In  fact  for  more  than  ten  centuries  the  colossal  statue  we 
have  been  speaking  of  expressed,  ii^  relief,  the  act  of  piety 
which  was  one  day  to  put  the  old  world  in  possession  of  the 
new  one. 

It  is  also  to  be  remarked,  that  since  the  Discovery  the 
statues  of  St.  Christopher  are  less  colossal,  and  the  churches 
dedicated  to  him  less  numerous,  than  before  that  epoch. 
Those  that  existed  already  are  preserved  ;  it  is  but  rarely 
that  new  ones  are  dedicated  to  him.  Now  the  gigantic 
effigy  has  received  its  true  interpretation.  Henceforward 
the  palm  of  his  triumph,  the  crown  of  his  victory,  can  be 
rendered  to  the  Syrian  martyr,  St.  Christopher.  It  remains 
to  us  to  venerate  in  him  only  the  martyr  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  probably  the  author,  or  the  occasion  of  the  mysterious 
prophecy,  with  the  accomplishment  of  which  Christopher 
Columbus  was  charged. 


*  M.  Ferdinand  Denis  thinks  Juan  dc  la  Cosa  sought,  in  this 
effigy,  to  reproduce  the  very  countenance  of  Christoplier  Columbus. 
We  are  wholly  of  his  opinion;  and  the  editor  of  Ilerrcra  un- 
doubtedly participated  in  it  in  advance,  for,  in  his  publication  of 
162S,  the  portrait  appears  to  be  but  simply  an  enlargement  of  the 
miniature  likeness  of  St.  Christopher,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  map 
of  Juan  de  la  Cosa. 


586  HISTORY  OF  [BOOK  iv. 

SECTION  IX. 

One  cannot  judge  of  Columbus  as  he  would  of  the  Em- 
peror Henry  III.,  Louis  XIV.,  Cromwell,  or  the  great 
Frederic. 

This  man  is  not  wholly  explicable  by  the  facts  of  obser- 
vation, since  extraordinary  events,  and  a  concourse  of 
marvellous  coincidences,  enter  into  his  enterprises  as  a  nav- 
igator, and  into  his  administrative  acts,  and  that  the  spirit 
that  animated  him,  and  his  religious  character,  make  him 
partake  more  of  heaven  than  of  earth. 

The  contemplator  of  the  Word,  the  herald  of  the  Cross, 
the  liberator  in  hope  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  bears  in  all  his 
habitudes  the  mark  of  .his  ajjostolate.  The  ambassador  of 
God  to  unknown  nations  is  distinguished  among  all  men  by 
the  character  of  his  august  career. 

There  is  something  of  the  mysterious  and  the  sublime 
XTiixed  up  with  his  life  :  the  dramatic  and  the  poetic  enter 
into  his  existence.  Everything  that  comes  in  contact  with 
this  man  acquires  dignity  or  confers  distinction.  By  their 
persistence,  or  their  excess  even,  his  tribulations  pertain  to 
the  domain  of  the  epopee,  as  much  as  to  that  of  history. 
Some  miserable,  envious,,  and  ungrateful  wretches,  whom 
their  mediocrity  destined  to  forgetfulness,  appertain  to  his- 
toiy,  for  the  very  reason  that  they  attacked  the  Herald  of  the 
Cross.     Their  names  remain  to  be  in  eternal  disgrace. 

But  those  who  served  faithfully  this  good  master,  gain 
immortality  by  their  connection  with  him.  Their  names 
cannot  be  effaced  from  the  pages  of  history.  Everything 
that  belongs  to  him,  or  is  connected  with  him,  becomes 
increased  in  glory  or  in  utility  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  titles 
of  nobility  accorded  to  his  brothers  cannot  exalt  them. 
That  of  brothers  to  Columbus  far  surpasses  their  letters- 
patent.  His  faithful  squire,  Diego  Mendez,  obtained  armo- 
rial bearings.  His  faithful  steward,  Pedro  de  Terreros, 
wounded  mortal!}^  in  defending  him,  had  in  advance  re- 
ceived a  title  to  immortality.     Columbus  reserved  for  him 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  587 

the  honor  of  being  the  fust  European  that  trod  the  New 
Continent.  His  Indian  interpreter,  Diego  Colon,  a  poor 
idolater,  was,  after  he  was  baptized,  married  to  the  sister  of 
the  noblest  sovereign  of  Hispaniola.  His  Spanish  inter- 
preter, Cristobal  Rodriguez,  surnamed  La  Lengua.,  ac- 
quired great  honors.  His  domestics  became  officers  ;  his 
officers  navigators.  His  first  pilots  attain  to  celebrity  ; 
Others  are  placed  in  important  posts  or  in  honorable  em- 
ployments, like  Sanchez  de  Carvajal,  who  was  appointed 
body-guard.  The  devotedness  of  his  countryman  Bar- 
thélémy Fieschi,  has  eternally  associated  him  with  the  glory 
of  his  last  expedition. 

If  he  had  had  no  relations  with  Columbus,  who  would 
have  remembered  the  jurisconsult  Nicolas  Oderigo,  although 
temporarily  charged  with  a  mission  by  the  Republic  of 
Genoa?  and  even  would  the  generous  Dominican  Diego  de 
Deza,  and  the  learned  Carthusian  Gaspard  Gorricio,  be 
known  beyond  the  other  side  of  the  Pyrenees?  After  hav- 
ing charmed  the  erudite  Court  of  Isabella,  Peter  Martyr 
would  have  been  forgotten  for  the  last  three  centuries,  if,  to 
guard  against  the  etVects  of  time,  he  had  not  spoken  of 
Columbus.  By  the  fascination  of  his  convei'sation,  the 
Revealer  of  the  Globe  led  Doctor  Garcia  Hernandez,  of 
Palos,  and  Doctor  Chanca,  of  Seville,  to  visit  the  newly- 
discovered  regions  ;  and  their  confidence  in  him  has  saved 
them  from  inevitable  forgetfulness.  By  conversing  with 
the  lirst  clerk  of  Juanato  Berardi,  Columbus  made  a  cos- 
mographer  of  him.  He  raised  this  book-keeper,  who  was 
named  Amerigo  Vespucci,  almost  to  the  height  of  a  rival. 

In  like  manner,  for  having  generously  welcomed  the 
traveller,  then  unknown,  when  he  came,  poor  and  way- 
worn, to  the  monastery  of  La  Rabida,  the  Seraphic  Order, 
aspiring  only  to  the  privileges  of  humility,  sees  itself  invested 
with  honors  which  were  refused  to  science  ;  and  until  the 
end  of  time  it  will  participate  in  the  glory  of  the  Discovery. 
The  sons  of  St.  Francis  have  received  the  reward  or  prize 
of  the  valiant.     The  first  priest   who  celebrated   the  holy 


^S8  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Sacrifice  on  the  ocean  was  a  Franciscan  ;  the  first  priest 
who  trod  on  the  newly-discovered  land  was  a  Franciscan  ; 
and  the  first  priest  who  preached  in  the  Indian  language 
the  name  of  the  Redeemer,  who  promulgated  the  Law  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  authority  of  the  holy  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  Church,  was  a  Franciscan. 

The  Seraphic  Order  had  the  honor  of  conferring  the"  first 
baptism,  of  founding  the  first  convent,  and  of  furnishing 
the  first  bishop  for  Hispaniola,  as  it  had  the  honor  of  draw- 
ing from  its  bosom  the  first  martyr  which  the  Apostolate 
counts  in  the  expanded  spaces  of  the  ocean. 

In  sober  truth,  this  man  appearing  on  the  scene  of  the 
world  during  the  era  of  the  Revival  of  Learning,  bon-ows 
nothing  from  the  epoch  ;  he  outstrips  it  as  regards  intuition 
and  science  ;  but  the  full,  implicit,  and  ardent  faith  of  the 
middle  ages,  with  its  militant  and  chivalrous  character,  is  in 
him.  Still,  he  so  participates  in  the  primitive  and  funda- 
mental characteristics  of  Catholicity,  that  he  reminds  us 
of  a  hero  of  the  Gospel,  a  jDrophet  radiant  with  holiness,  an 
august  patriarch,  rather  than  of  a  knight-errant  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Vainly  has  profane  learning,  lately  resuscitated  by 
the  invention  of  printing,  with  its  mythological  allusions, 
its  recollections  of  metamorphoses,  invaded  Castile,  seduced 
some  gifted  minds  in  Italy  and  France,  and  even  attempted 
to  find  an  entrance  into  the  Eternal  City.  Columbus  never 
enters  into  any  league  or  compact  with  error.  No  expres- 
sion, no  form  of  thought,  betrays,  on  his  part,  the  least  con- 
cession to  the  infatuation  of  so  many  of  his  cotemporaries. 
In  his  relations  with  the  propagators  of  Greek  and  of  pure 
Latinity,  the  disciple  of  St.  Francis  remains  what  he  was 
in  his  childhood  in  Genoa,  and  afterwards  on  sea,  —  the 
pupil  of  pure  Catholicity.  This  respect  for  his  faith,  this 
orthodoxy  of  language,  tells  better  than  any  commentary 
could,  to  what  a  point  the  disciple  of  the  Gospel  had  pro- 
foundly penetrated  into  the  meaning  of  divine  things,  and 
how  abiding  the  consciousness  of  his  mission  was  in  him. 

Never  did  the  disciple  of  the  Crucified  compare  himself  to 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  5S9 

the  great  geniuses  of  Greece  and  Rome,  or  to  the  celebrities 
of  profane  antiquity.  If  he  compares  hi-s  destiny  with  those 
of  some  others,  it  is  to  the  great  men  of  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament  that,  in  his  modesty,  he  seems  to  allude. 
One  time  he  seems  to  support  the  firmness  of  his  faith,  the 
boldness  of  his  enterprise,  by  the  example  of  St.  Peter. 
Twice  he  compares  the  graces  lavished  on  him  by  the  Di- 
vine Majesty  to  the  favors  Moses  and  David  had  received. 
But  it  was  particularly  with  the  mission  of  the  legislator  of 
the  Hebrews  that  the  Messenger  of  Salvation  compared  his 
own. 

Had  he  strong  reasons  for  these  comparisons,  most  re- 
spectful, and  assuredly,  in  his  thoughts,  far  removed  from  all 
personal  vanity?  The  want  of  space  prevents  us  from 
examining  this  question.  We  simply  see  some  exterior 
traits  of  similitude  between  Columbus  and  the  Chief  of  the 
Apostolate.  la  different  languages,  the  one  and  the  other 
had  received  the  same  family  name.  St.  Peter  was  son  of 
the  Dove,  and  Christopher  of  Columbus,  which  also  means 
a  Dove.  The  former  received  from  Christ  a  name  which 
signified  that  he  w^ould  bear  the  Church  ;  the  latter  received 
from  the  Church  a  name  which  signified  that  he  would 
bear  Christ.  St.  Peter  represented  the  fixity  of  the  basis, 
the  immutability  of  the  foundation;  Christopher  Columbus 
represented  the  expansion  of  the  Church,  the  propagation 
of  the  Faith. 

Afterwards,  if  we  consider  the  most  salient  points  of 
comparison  between  the  destiny  of  Closes  and  that  of  Co- 
lumbus, it  will  appear  that  these  two  extraordinary  men 
have  equally  accomplished  providential  missions  :  That 
of  !Moses,  attested  by  the  Church,  is  recognized  equally 
by  Jews  and  by  Christians.  That  of  Columbus,  attested 
by  evidence,  will  one  day  be  recognized  by  all  men  of  good 
faith. 

x\t  the  time  appointed  by  Providence,  fifteen  hundred 
years  before  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  Moses  organizes  or 
gives  a  constitution  to  the  people  of  God,  who  had  been 
50 


590  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

oppressed  and  enfeebled  by  bondage,  establishes  the  true 
doctrine,  the  worship  of  the  one  only  true  God,  and  isolates 
his  people,  in  order  to  preserve  them  the  better  from  the 
contagion  of  idolatry. 

At  the  time  appointed  by  Providence,  fifteen  hundred 
years  after  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  Christopher  Columbus 
enlarges  the  known  surface  of  the  earth,  brings  natipns, 
as  it  were,  nearer  each  other,  and  expands  the  domain  of 
the  Catholic  Church. 

Both  of  these  men  bear  names  that  are  highly  symbolic. 

Both  of  them  were  forty  years  old  when  they  commenced 
the  execution  of  their  respective  divine  mandates.  Moses 
had  to  quit  his  wife  Sephora,  in  order  to  attend  to  his 
mission.  Columbus  keeps  far  away  from  Beatrix,  in  order 
to  accomplish  his. 

The  sea  opens  its  waters  to  give  a  passage  to  Moses  ;  the 
ocean  smooths  its  deep  waters  to  give  a  passage  to  the  ships 
of  Columbus. 

Moses  brought  a  new  Law,  the  Law  of  the  Covenant,  to 
the  chosen  people.  Columbus  brought  the  New  Law^  the 
Law  of  Grace,  to  the  called  peoples.  The  former  applied 
the  temporary  law  with  its  severe  inflexibility  ;  the  latter 
the  law  of  grace,  of  mercy,  and  of  charity. 

Moses  triumphed  by  the  sign  of  the  Cross  over  the  obsta- 
cles raised  against  him  by  the  carnal-minded.  He  pre- 
figured this  sign  with  his  arms  extended  and  raised  on  the 
mountain,  and  with  the  post  in  the  form  of  the  Greek  letter 
Tau^  upon  which. he  exposed  the  brazen  serpent.  Colum- 
bus triumphed  over  others  and  over  himself  by  the  sacred 
sign  he  carried  in  his  heart  and  in  his  name  ;  and  which  he 
held  in  his  hand  in  putting  his  foot  on  the  frontier  of  the 
New  World. 

These  two  mandatories  from  on  high,  diversely  occupied, 
received  visible  marks  of  divine  assistance,  and  were  suc- 
cored supernaturally  with  aids  proportioned  to  the  difference 
of  the  times  and  the  places. 

In  recompense  for  his  perils  and  his  excessive  fatigues, 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  591 

and  for  the  liberty  given  to  his  people,  Moses  had  to  en- 
counter contentions,  menaces,  conspiracies,  riots,  and  the 
defection  of  his  kinsmen.  In  return  for  the  increase  of  ter- 
restrial domain,  for  the  donations  given  to  science,  to  the 
human  intellect,  and  for  the  riches  he  bestowed  on  Spain, 
Columbus  had  to  bear  with  revolts,  desertions,  destitution, 
chains,  poverty,  and  calumny! 

Moses  desired  to  see  God  face  to  face,  as  he  had  the  hap- 
piness of  hearing  Him  and  of  speaking  to  Him.  Columbus 
desired  to  see  Him  in  the  wonders  of  His  works,  and  to 
know  Him  by  His  exterior  creation,  as  he  had  felt  within 
him  His  omnipotence. 

Moses  aspired  to  conduct  his  people  to  the  promised  land  ; 
Columbus  aspired  to  open  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
access  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  attained  the  object  of  his 
wishes.  The  names  of  both  these  men  will  be  perpetuated 
to  the  end  of  the  human  race. 

The  wonders  operated  in  favor  of  Columbus,  in  the  broad 
light  of  history  and  of  printing,  render  perfectly  credible, 
even  to  philosophers  of  good  faith,  the  miracles  that  wei^e 
wrought  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  God,  and  the  accom- 
plislnnent  of  His  intentions  among  the  idolatrous  nations, 
at  a  period  when  material  and  decisive  signs  supplied  the 
place  of  the  authority  of  the  words  of  grace  and  of  love, 
ever  since  manifested  in  the  Gospel  dispensation. 

The  gigantic  labors  of  Columbus,  the  Cyclopean  char- 
acter of  his  voyages,  the  astonishing  boldness  of  his  inves- 
tigations, the  strange  coincidences  in  his  career,  and  the 
prodigious  signs  of  the  assistance  he  received  from  on  high, 
in  addition  to  the  force  of  his  style,  make  him  ascend  to  the 
heroic  ages  of  primitive  times  ;  and  he  would  seem  to  be  an 
emblematic  figure,  the  form  of  a  hieropliant,  if  his  evan- 
gelic tenderness,  his  ardent  Catholicity,  did  not  unite  him 
with  ourselves.  The  reason  is,  because  in  the  midst  of  his 
functions,  maritime,  administrative,  and  regal,  and  in  the 
multiplicity  of  affairs  which   too   often  absorb  one's  whole 


^^2  H  IS  TOR  2'  OF  [book  iv. 

life,  and  leave  the  soul  no  time  for  reflecting  on  eternal 
things,  Columbus  did  not  cease  from  acting  as  if  in  the 
presence  of  God.  It  was,  therefore,  that  his  virtue  surpassed 
the  bounds  of  human  force,  and  was  able  to  elevate  itself  to 
that  constant  height  in  which  divine  grace  alone  sustains  the 
feebleness  of  the  inortal  being.  In  thoroughly  analyzing 
this  character,  in  submitting  to  a  minute  criticism  the  ac- 
tions and  the  intentions  of  this  Herald  of  the  Cross,  one 
necessarily  comes  to  recognize  in  him  a  virtue  so  constant, 
so  thorough,  that  it  appears  to  form  his  very  being  ;  one 
scarcely  dares  to  call  it  by  the  commonplace  and  too  often 
hackneyed  name  of  virtue,  and  he  is  on  the  point  of  calling 
it  sanctity. 

All  the  saints  have  not  got  to  heaven  by  the  sam.e  paths. 
In  the  same  way  that  there  are  many  mansions  in  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Celestial  Father,  there  are  many  ways  for 
attaining  to  sanctity. 

Amid  the  engagements  of  secular  life,  Columbus  could 
not  limit  himself  to  prayer,  to  the  offices  of  choir,  to  morti- 
fications, or  to  interior  perfectionment,  like  cloistered  reli- 
gious, but  he  strove  with  all  his  might  to  carry  .their 
spirit  of  self-denial,  their  zeal  for  the  service  of  God  and 
the  salvation  of  their  neighbor,  into  the  exercise  of  his 
public  duties.  His  authority  w^as  more  than  once  compro- 
mised, and  his  life  exposed  on  account  of  the  evangelical 
gentleness  from  which  he  would  not  depart  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  gravest  dangers.  In  truth,  as  chief  of  a  maritime 
expedition,  Columbus  never  shed  a  single  drop  of  blood. 
Now,  until  his  time,  all  exploring  expeditions  had  been 
marked  by  the  eftlision  of  blood.  Before  commanding  or 
governing  others,  he  strove  to  govern  himself;  his  empire 
over  the  natural  violence  of  his  chai-acter,  proves  with 
what  perseverance  he  had  combated  against  himself. 

Columbus  was  gentle,  and  humble  of  heart.  Far  from 
attributing  to  himself  any  merit  on  his  return  from  his  first 
voyage,  he  showed  himself  astonished  at  having  accom- 
plished it  in  so  easy  a  manner.     It  is  to  the  sole  bounty  of 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  593 

God  that  lie  renders  homage  for  his  success.  Such  was 
constantly  his  humility,  that  he  never  consented  to  have  his 
name  given  to  any  land,  to  any  island,  or  to  any  ship,  while 
his  mates  were  very  anxious  to  give  their  names  at  least  to 
some  caravels.  His  modesty  and  his  evangelical  gentleness 
are  seen  in  the  manner  in  which  he  received  the  lowly, 
according  to  the  world,  the  inferior  employés,  the  sailors, 
and  even  down  to  the  cabin-boys.  It  is  known  that  the 
cabin-boys  were  not  afraid  to  talk  to  him,  and  that  he  used 
to  converse  kindly  with  them,  in  imitation  of  the  Divine 
blaster,  who  desired  that  little  children  should  come  near 
him. 

Columbus  was  remarkable  particularly  for  his  affec- 
tionate regard  for  the  sick.  The  forgiveness  of  injuries 
done  him  was  not  simply  natural  to  his  generosity  of  char- 
acter ;  he  carried  it  so  far,  and  rendered  so  truly  evangelical 
his  pardon  of  his  enemies,  that  he  pleaded  for  them,  suflered 
for  them,  and  paid  out  of  his  pocket  for  them. 

His  unswerving  xittachment  to  the  Catholic  faith,  his 
provident  solicitude  for  the  Papacy,  could  not  have  been 
surpassed  bv  any  member  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church.  In 
his  carelessness  about  personal  glory,  while  he  neglected  to 
write  and  print  the  history  of  his  discoveries,  in  order  to 
transmit  it  to  posterity,  he  prepared  expressly  for  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontifl'  a  lengthy  account  of  his  Christian  expeditions. 
This  pious  regard  which  he  showed  for  the  Holy  Father, 
he  did  not  show  for  temporal  sovereigns.  This  simple  fact 
proves  once  more  how  little  he  was  governed  by  human 
considerations.  The  firm  and  ardent  desire  Columbus  had 
of  delivering  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  of  making  the  tomb 
of  the  Saviour  honored  by  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  in 
order  thus  to  serve  for  the  piety  of  the  faithful  as  much  as 
his  discoveries  had  served  for  the  interests  of  Christianity 
and  civilization,  —  are  not  these  the  part  of  a  true  Hero 
of  the  Gospel.'' 

His  noble  projects  of  discovery,  his  conquests  in  the 
regions  of  the  unknown,  of  scientific  truths,  altered  in  noth- 
50* 


594  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

ing  his  child-like  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  whose 
honor  he  tenderly  loved,  nor  his  filial  piety  toward  St. 
Francis,  the  glorious  founder  of  the  Order,  which  had  given 
him  the  first  shelter  and  the  first  assistance.  If  the  testi- 
monies of  his  fervor  and  moral  purity  were  not  clearly 
evident  from  all  the  facts  of  his  life,  his  familiar  relations 
with  the  most  learned  and  pious  religious  of  his  time  would 
sufficiently  show  the  state  of  perfection  he  arrived  at,  and 
in  which  he  implored  of  God  the  grace  to  serve  Him. 

This  e?isemble  of  aspirations,  of  disinterested  calculations, 
of  Christian,  enterprises  and  of  pious  acts,  form  such  a  con- 
cert, that  we  cannot  find  engaged  in  the  world  another 
Christian  as  great  by  faith,  by  constancy  in  trials,  and  by 
resignation  to  the  divine  will,  as  he  was. 

What  shows  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  Revealer  of  the 
Globe  was  not  only  chosen  for  the  Discovery,  but  that  fol- 
lowing the  Lord  he  walked  in  the  narrow  wa}'  with  a  firm 
step,  is  this:  that  his  work  being  accomplished,  the  succors 
of  God  did  not  desert  him.  On  the  contrary,  the  favors  he 
receives  are  multiplied  with  his  labors  and  needs.  The 
more  he  advances  in  age,  the  more  he  advances  in  Christian 
perfection,  and  the  more  sensible  he  is  of  the  miraculous 
assistance  he  receives.  The  cooperative  action  of  Provi- 
dence is  not  only  sensible  to  Columbus,  but  it  becomes 
manifest  to  all  those  who  observe  him  with  eyes  that  will 
look  at  the  light.  But  in  proportion  as,  fortified  by  trials 
and  invisible  succors,  he  becomes  capable  of  bearing  much 
sufiei"ing,  his  tribulations  increase  with  a  grievous  profu- 
sion, and  are  multiplied  and  proportioned  to  his  greatness. 
And  still  no  complaint  for  his  afflictions  escapes  from  the 
Herald  of  the  Cross.  His  capability  of  suffering  becomes 
immense,  like  his  love.  His  serenity  of  spirit  to  his  last 
hour,  his  angelic  calm  in  his  last  agony,  his  conversation 
commenced  in  heaven  before  his  mortal  spirit  quitted  the 
earth,  his  wonderful  beginning  and  his  edifying  end,  —  do 
not  all  these  show  that  Columbus  was  one  of  the  predes- 
tinate 1 


oiiAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  595 

Columbus  possessed,  visibly,  the  three  Theological  Vir- 
tues, lie  practised,  constantly,  the  four  Cardinal  VirUics. 
The  Seven  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  appeared  descended  on 
him,  and  we  have  found  God  admirable  in  him,  as  He  is 
always  in  His  saints. 

After  a  serious  examination  of  the  facts,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  that  this  adorer  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  this  contem- 
plator  of  the  Word,  this  man  of  mercy,  who  pardoned  his 
enemies,  even  his  tormentors,  who  remained  poor  in  the 
midst  of  riches  which  he  could  easily  have  acquired,  if  he 
had  not  been  sparing  of  pains  and  tears  toothers,  —  that 
this  precursor  of  the  Good  News,  this  herald  of  the  Cross, 
so  much  favored  by  God,  should  not  be  among  the  number 
of  His  elect  in  heaven,  after  having  been  manifestly  so  on 
earth. 

SECTION  X. 

To  what  order  do  the  facts  we  have  been  mentioning 
belong?  Do  they  appertain  to  the  world,  or  to  sanctity.-* 
If  one  had  not  read  all  that  precedes,  in  simply  seeing  this 
chapter,  would  he  not  think  we  were  treating  of  one  of  the 
blessed,  or  transcribing  some  pages  from  the  life  of  a  saint.? 

As  for  our  own  part,  our  opinion  in  this  regard  has  been 
fixed  for  a  long  time.  At  first  sufficiently  expressed  in 
1S43,  in  our  book  entitled  "The  Cross  in  the  Two 
Worlds,"  it  has  since  been  corroborated  by  a  special  study 
of  the  epoch  of  the  Discovery,  and  of  the  life  and  character 
of  Columbus.  Our  first  presentiments  have  been  confirmed  ; 
and,  considering  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  as  worthy  of 
the  respect  of  the  whole  human  race  (for,  without  the 
authorization  of  the  Church,  we  dare  not  say  its  vener- 
ation), we  attach  a  pious  love  to  his  memory. 

This  is  not  enough.  We  will  disclose  the  profound 
conviction  of  our  mind.  We  declare  before  God,  who 
knows  it,  and  before  men,  who  do  not  know  it,  tliat 
CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  WAS  A  SAINT. 


590  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

We  use  this  word  Saint  as  far  as  it  is  permitted  the 
submissiveness  of  a  Catholic  to  employ  it,  as  a  figure  of 
speech,  for  want  of  a  moi-e  exact  term  to  apply  to  a  man 
whom  the  Chiirch  has  not  yet  canonized;  for,  in  our  eyes, 
nobody  until  then  is  a  Saint,  in  the  true  acceptation  of  the 
word.  And  when  we  declare,  with  full  conviction,  that 
Christopher  Columbus  was  a  Saint,  we  mean  to  say  that 
the  Messenger  of  the  Cross  is  found,  as  regards  history,  in 
the  position  of  a  hero  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  a  great  ser- 
vant of  the  Church,  upon  the  merits  of  whom  the  Church 
has  not  yet  pronounced.  Some  great  bishops,  martyrs, 
founders  of  religious  Orders,  who  are  now  illustrious 
canonized  saints,  have  remained,  temporarily,  in  an  equal 
situation,  awaiting  the  day  of  their  canonization. 

Doubtless  more  than  one  reader  will  be  surprised,  or 
perhaps  scandalized,  at  the  boldness  of  this  assertion  ;  but 
we  can  assure  them  neither  the  august  Chief  of  Christianity, 
nor  the  princes  of  the  Church,  will  be  at  all  astonished  at 
our  words.  When  lately,  in  Rome,  we  rendered  homage 
to  the  moral  and  religious  purity  of  Columbus,  and  declared 
his  grandeur,  our  voice  received,  in  the  places  of  the  pon- 
tificate, only  friendliness  and  encouragement.  The  immor- 
tal Pius  IX.,  the  first  pope  who  traversed  the  ocean,  and 
dwelt  in  the  land  discovered  by  Columbus,  knows  his  great 
piety,  his  providential  mission,  and  the  earnest  desire  of  the 
Holy  See  for  his  glory.  The  Sacred  College  honored  the 
great  Cross-bearer  of  Catholicity.  The  honor  of  his  name 
is  preserved  in  the  Eternal  City.  It  is  not  there  forgotten 
that  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  had  the  honor  of  being  in 
epistolary  correspondence  with  three  popes  successively  ; 
that,  after  his  death,  three  other  popes,  —  namely,  Leo  X., 
Gregory  XIV.,  and  Innocent  IX.,  —  accepted  the  dedica- 
tions of  works  in  which  were  mentioned  the  divine  spirit 
that  filled  and  animated  Columbus.  It  is  there  also  remem- 
bered, that,  in  imitation  of  the  Papacy,  the  cardinalate  also 
protected  and  fostered  his  glory  ;  and  that  at  divers  times 
tiie  cardinals  inspired   and  encouraged  the  poems  which 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  5^7 

Italy  published  in  praise  of  this  Christian,  then  aim  ist 
unknown  to  the  world. 

The  Franciscans  of  Rome  have  given  an  asylum  to  the 
imperishable  memory  of  this  man.  The  friendship  of 
Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchcna  for  Columbus  has  been 
transmitted  in  the  Seraphic  Order.  The  Franciscans  of 
the  Conventual  Minors,  the  religious  of  the  Observance, 
the  Capuchins,  remain  the  fiiithful  hosts  of  his  memory. 
And,  on  their  side,  the  Dominicans  have  not  forgotten 
him.  There  still  can  be  found  among  them,  to  this  day, 
more  than  one  Diego  de  Dcza  to  defend  his  worth  and 
his  glory;  foremost  among  whom  is  their  admirable  Gen- 
eral, the  Rev.  Father  Jandel,  of  whom  France  justly  feels 
proud.* 

We  repeat  it,  then  :  the  Herald  of  the  King  of  Glory  is, 
in  the  presence  of  the  Church,  in  the  expecting  position  of 
one  of  the  Blessed  before  his  beatification. 

And  why  should  we  not  say  it,  inasmucli  as  we  have  the 
presentiment  of  it?  The  day  will  undoubtedly  come  when 
the  superior  virtue  which  God  caused  to  shine  in  the  Mes- 
senger of  Salvation  will  be  solemnly  declared  by  the  Vicar 
of  Jesus  Christ,  exercising  the  spiritual  authority  of  the 
world  ;  and  the  Church  herself  will  add  a  title  to  the 
names  so  wonderfully  significative,  which  the  elect  of 
Providence  already  bore.  The  sanctity  of  Christopher 
Columbus  being  declared,  nothing  will  thenceforth  be 
wanting  in  the  rehabilitation  of  this  hero.  It  is  to  the 
Papacy  that  it  appertains,  at  a  seasonable  time,  to  decide, 
in  its  wisdom,  on  that  aureola  which  would  be  the  only 
worthy  crowning  of  such  a  glory. 

But  perhaps  it  will  be  said:  a  saint  works  miracles; 
miracles  are  preeminently  the  signs  of  sanctity.  Now, 
Columbus  has  not  wrought  miracles. 

*In  this  connection  it  rnay  not  be  irrelevant  to  mention,  that  the 
translator,  or  rather  compiler,  of  this  work,  is,  notwithstanding  his 
unworthiness  to  be  so,  a  Tertiary,  or  member  of  the  Third  Order  of 
the  Dominicans.  —  B. 


coS  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

Who  will  prove  this? 

On  what  grounds  could  one  deny  these  miracles?  Who 
has  shown  that  the  Herald  of  the  Cross  never  worked 
miracles?  We,  for  our  part,  adduce  proof  that,  after  the 
prodigies  effected  during  his  life,  he  has,  since  his  death, 
wrought  miracles. 

God  has  willed  that  the  sign  of  Redemption,  the  Cross, 
which  was  so  lovingly  borne  by  Columbus  to  the  New 
World,  should  render  testimony  to  the  virtue  and  sanctity 
of  His  messenger,  and  that  some  particular  graces  should 
be  manifested  to  the  admiration  and  veneration  of  Chris- 
tians, by  a  cross  erected  in  Hispaniola  by  Christopher 
Columbus,  as  a  mark  of  his  tender  piety  to  the  Saviour 
of  men. 

This  merits  particular  mention. 

SECTION  XI. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  1495,  Columbus  visited,  for 
the  second  time,  the  Vega  Real  (the  Royal  Plain),  in 
Hispaniola,  where,  the  preceding  year,  he  had  halted, 
seized  with  admiration,  blessing  God  publicly,  at  the  head 
of  his  troops,  and  thanking  Him  for  having  shown  him 
such  beauties.  After  the  submission  of  Guarionex,  the 
sovereign  of  the  country,  the  iVdmiral  obtained  from  him 
authorization  to  erect  a  fortress  at  the  pass,  or  entrance,  to 
this  beautiful  country.  Desiring  to  honor  the  sign  of  Sal- 
vation in  this  charming  place,  he  gave  oi'ders  to  Alonzo 
de  Valencia,  a  mate  of  a  caravel,  to  take  twenty  men  with 
him,  and  cut  down  a  superb  tree  he  had  chosen,  to  form  a 
cross  from  it.  The  trunk,  perfectly  squared,  formed  the 
shaft  of  the  cross  ;  and  the  largest  limb,  put  across,  repre- 
sented the  arms.  This  large  cross,  of  remarkable  height, 
was  elevated  by  Columbus  on  a  hill  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains, whence  the  sight  embraced,  with  an  immense  hor- 
izon, the  most  magnificent  view  of  this  magnificent  plain. 

Columbus,  applying  his  innate  talent  as  an  engineer  to 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  599 

the  construction  of  the  fortress,  of  which  he  had  drawn  the 
plan,  sojourned  for  some  time  in  this  place,  to  which  he 
had  given  the  name  of  Immaculate  Conception.  The 
fortress,  and  the  adjoining  countr_v,  were  called  by  the 
same  name,  or  simply  Conception.  Puring  the  execution 
of  the  works,  having  no  priest  or  no  church  near  him,  he 
every  day  said  his  prayers  before  this  cross.  He  collected 
the  workmen  and  the  soldiers  there,  for  the  like  purpose, 
every  morning  and  evening.  It  was  near  this  sacred  sign 
that  he  regularly  recited  his  office.  The  Revealer  of  the 
Globe  had  a  particular  affection  for  this  cross.  Like  the 
Psalmist,  seeking  the  Lord  and  praising  His  works  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,*  often  he  came  there  in  the  obscure 
glimmering  of  the  stars.  At  the  foot  of  this  cross,  the 
symbol  of  eternal  life,  he  used  to  become  absorbed  in  inef- 
fable contemplations.  The  sight  of  the  stars,  gravitating 
harmoniously  in  ether,  would  act  in  a  heavenly  manner  on 
his  soul,  as  if  he  heard,  at  that  distance,  the  melody  of  the 
celestial  choirs.  Undoubtedly  his  intuition  of  mystic  things 
became  enlarged  under  the  tuition  of  this  sign  which  he 
had  erected  with  a  sincere  piety,  and  with  which  God 
.appeared  to  be  pleased.  We  see  in  the  history  of  a  Span- 
iard, the  celebrated  St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  that  one  day,  while 
he  prayed  near  a  cross,  on  the  road  from  Manreza  to  Barce- 
lona, all  that  he  had  before  known  of  religion  was  "put 
before  his  eyes  in  so  clear  a  light,  that  the  truths  of  faith 
seemed  to  him  to  have  nothing  obscure  about  them."  f  It  ap- 
pears that  interior  illuminations  enlightened  also  Christopher 
Columbus  in  this  2:)lace  ;  for  he  sojourned  there  by  pre^lilec- 
tion,  although  he  was  camped  there  as  if  engaged  in  war. 

Conception  was,  of  all  the  places  in  Hispaniola,  that  in 
which  he  remained  the  longest  time.  He  had  there  neither 
fLimily,  nor  society,  nor  conveniences  for  intellectual  pur- 


**•  Media  nocte  surgcbam  ad  confitcndum  tibi,  super  judicia  jus- 
tificationes  tua;."  —  Psalm  cxvni.,  v.  6j. 
t  F.  Bouhours.  —  Life  of  St.  Jgnatius,  Book  I. 


6oo  HISTORY  OF         '  [book  iv. 

suits  ;  but  sublime  compensations  were  given  to  his  state  of 
isolation.  So  he  returned  again  with  eagerness  to  Con- 
ception on  his  return  from  his  third  voyage,  after  his 
discovery  of  Trinidad  and  the  new  continent.  After  he 
had  appeased  the  troubles  excited  by  Roldan,  leaving  his 
brother  Diego  Governor  of  San  Domingo,  and  the  Adelan- 
tado  overseeing  the  province  of  Xaragua,  he  returned  to 
the  splendid  solitude  of  Conception.  He  sojourned  there 
for  several  consecutive  months,  and  was  there  still  v^hen 
Bobadilla  landed  in  the  island  and  dispossessed  him  of  its 
government.  This  constancy  and  this  attachment  canno't 
otherwise  be  explained  than  by  spiritual  consolations  and 
favors.  It  was  there  that  he  had  especially  invoked  the 
Blessed  Trinity  :  he  says  so  himself.  So  he  desired  to 
consecrate  this  place  by  the  erection  of  a  church,  in  which 
three  masses  were  to  be  daily  celebrated  :  the  first,  in  honor 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity  ;  the  second,  in  honor  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception  ;   and  the  third,  for  the  faithful  dej^arted.* 

When  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe,  in  recompense  for  his 
discoveries,  was  deprived  of  his  government  and  sent  to 
Spain  in  chains,  the  Castillans,  accustomed  by  his  example 
to  pray  at  the  foot  of  this  Cross,  continued  to  come  there.. 
One  day,  the  aid  of  this  Cross  being  invoked  with  a  sincere 
faith,  it  wrought  a  miracle.  Those  who  had  fevers  were 
cured  by  touching  it.  This  prodigy  attracted  other  patients, 
other  suffering  Christians,  who  recommended  themselves 
earnestly  to  God.  A  great  many  of  them  were  cured. 
Hence  it  came  that  this  Cross  was  called  The  True 
Cross  ;  for  it  "was  distinguished  from  other  crosses  by 
miracles. 

The  name  and  the  prodigies  of  The  True  Cross  spread 
to  a  distance.  The  Indians,  oppressed  b}'  the  Spaniards 
since  the  new  government  of  Bobadilla,  noticing  the  ven- 
eration of  their  new  masters  for  this  sign,  resolved  to  destroy 

*Testamento  y  Codicilio  del  Almirante  Don  Cristobal  Colon 
otorgado  en  Valladolid  a  19  Mayo  del  afio  1506. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  6or 

it.  They  came  to  it  in  large  force,  and,  attaching  strong 
ropes*  to  the  shaft  of  the  Cross,  tried  with  all  their  might 
to  pull  it  down  ;  but  their  numbers,  no  more  than  their 
cflbrts,  could  do  anything  with  it.  The  Cross  remained 
immovable,  defying  their  strength.  Mortified  at  their 
failure,  they  tried  to  destroy  it  by  lire.  Having  collected  a 
large  lot  of  dry  brush-wood,  they  came  at  night,  and,  sur- 
rounding the  Cross  with  the  inflammable  fagots  to  a  consid- 
erable height,  set  fire  to  them.  The  fire  burned  with  great 
force.  The  Cross  soon  disappeared  in  the  flames  and  smoke. 
The.  idolaters,  with  their  priests,  the  Bohutis,  went  away 
satisfied  ;  but  the  next  morning  they  perceived  the  Cross 
subsisting  entire,  and  perfectly  preserved  amid  the  smoking 
cinders.  Its  natural  color  even  was  not  altered,  "except 
that  at  the  foot  there  appeared  a  little  dark  spot,  as  if  one 
had  approached  it  with  a  lighted  candle."  f 

Amazed  and  frightened  at  this  miraculous  power,  they 
ran  away  trembling  with  terror,  fearing  they  had  incurred 
its  wrath,  persuaded  that  it  came  from  Heaven.  Still,  the 
violent  spite  of  their  Bohutis  made  them  return  to  the  charge, 
to  try  to  cut  it  down  with  their  hatchets.  They  found  in 
tj^e  wood  an  unusual  resistance  ;  they  saw  that  as  soon 
as  they  cut  out  a  chip  the  void  became  filled  again,  \  and 
that  they  had  to  recommence  the  work.  The  desperation 
of  their  obstinacy  yielded  before  this  new  prodigy.  Re- 
membering that  their  numbers  w'ere  powerless  not  only  to 
pull  down  the  Cross,  but  even  to  move  it,  and  seeing  that 
the  Christians  testified  a  veneration  for  this  sign,  they  also 
thenceforth  used  to  prostrate  themselves  at  the  sight  of  it.§ 

To  these  prodigies  there  was  another  one,  permanent 
and  visible  to  all,  whose  evidence  increased  with  each 
year:  that  of  its  perfect  preservation  from  decay,  without 

♦  Oviedo  y  Valdcz.  La  Historia  Natural  y  General  de  las 
Jndias,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  V. 

fF.  Charlevoix.     Histoire  de  Saint  Dominguc,  torn,  i.,  liv.  vi. 
X  Oviedo  y  Valdcz.     Hist.  Nat.  y  Gen.  de  las  Itidias,  lib.  in.,  c.  v. 
§  Ibid. 

51 


6o2  H  IS  TORT  OF  [book  iv. 

being  covered  with  tar  or  any  chemical  coating  that  could 
have  resisted  the  action  of  the  humidity  and  extreme  heat 
of  that  climate,  which  so  promptly  produces  rottenness. 
This  Cross  became  neither  split  nor  warped,  nor  attacked 
with  insects  or  worms.  One  would  have  said  that  it  was 
just  newly  raised.  Fifty-eight  years  after  its  erection,  the 
True  Cross  was  as  undamaged  as  it  was  on  the  first  day. 
Another  marvel  which  struck  especially  the  inhabitants  of 
that  country  was  to  see  standing,  respected  by  the  hurricanes 
and  the  water-spouts,*  this  Cross,  while  the  adjacent  trees 
and  the  houses  in  the  neighborhood  had  been  uprooted  and 
overthrown. 

The  recital  of  these  prodigies,  and  the  sight  of  the  mirac- 
ulous cures  effected  by  it,  drew  to  the  True  Cross  a  large 
concourse  of  the  colonists.  They  used  to  invoke  the  aid  of 
the  True  Cross,  and  make  pilgrimages  to  it.  Many,  veri- 
fying the  prodigy  of  the  renewing  of  the  wood,  with  their 
knives  cut  off  portions  of  it,  which  they  carried  away  with 
them  ;  every  day  new  cuts  were  made  in  it.  Yet  it  was 
piety,  rather  than  curiosity,  that  inspired  these  religious 
larcenies.  Small  portions  of  the  True  Cross  were  placed 
in  reliquaries  and  carried  to  other  parts  of  Hispaniola,  to 
other  colonies  of  the  New  World,  and  even  to  Castile. 
"  God  ordered  liiatters  so  as  to  warrant  and  show  that  He 
was  pleased  with  the  piety  of  the  faithful,  in  venerating 
what  He  had  done  to  confound  the  sacrilege  attempted  by  the 
Indians."  | 

This  standing  miracle,  together  with  the  numberless  cures 
effected,  and  the  resort  to  Conception,  gave  to  the  renown 
of  the  True  Cross  an  unbounded  notoriety.  As  human 
infirmity  shows  itself  everywhere  where  tliere  are  men,  it 
appears  that  certain  clergymen,  talking  advantage  of  the 
piety  of  the  faithful,  received  numerous  offerings  destined 
for  the  True  Cross,  but  did   not  iipply  them  according  to 


*  Oviedo  y  Valdez.     Hisi.  N'ai,  y  Gen  de  las  Indias,  lib.  iii.,  c.  v. 
t  F.  Charlevoix.     Hisi.  de  Saini  Domingiie,  torn,  i.,  liv.  vi. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  603 

the  intentions  of  the  pilgrims  and  the  sick.  The  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  having  been  informed  of  this  abuse,  ordered 
the  treasurer  of  the  Bishop  of  Conception  to  be  careful  to 
employ  the  sums  given  to  Jionor  the  Very  Holy  Cross  for 
the  intentions  or  jDurposes  of  the  donors,  because  he  knew 
they  were  not  so  applied.  •  In  the  year  1525,  Charles  V.,  to 
honor  also  in  his  turn  the  Very  Holy  Cross,  ordered  the 
previous  deduction,  for  four  years,  of  the  sum  of  twenty 
thousand  maravedis  from  the  fines  coming  to  the  Crown,  to 
contribute  personally  to  the  embellishment  of  the  site  and 
environs  of  the  Very  Holy  Cross,  "La  Santissima  Cruz," 
and  for  rendering  them  more  appropriate  for  the  respect 
and  veneration  due  to  it."* 

The  miracles  oi:)erated  by  the  True  Cross  multiplying, 
and  rendering  it  more  and  more  celebrated,  Spain  became 
moved  at  the  number  and  splendor  of  prodigies  so  well 
authenticated.  The  Emperor  wrote  about  the  matter  to  the 
Holy  Father,  praying  him  to  be  pleased  to  authorize  the 
devotion  of  the  faithful  to  this  Cross,  and  to  grant  indul- 
gences to  those  who  would  make  pilgrimages  to  it  and 
bring  oflerings  for  his  intentions. f 

But,  as  the  Herald  of  the  Cross  was  not  named  in  the 
imperial  missive,  and  that  it  spoke  only  of  a  Cross  which 
they  erected  near  Conception,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff',  in  his 
prudence,  was  not  in  a  hurry  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Emperor.  The  Holy  See  and  theologians  in  general  do 
not  accord  much  confidence  to  prodigies  due  to  they.  This 
power,  which  is  so  commonly  asserted  and  invoked  by  Ger- 
man philosophers,  —  this  thcy.^  vvhich  was  in  such  high 
credit  with  writers  of  the  eighteenth  century,  —  has  not  vet 
become  an  authority  for  Rome.  The  Church  does  not 
recognise  the  merits  of  they.,  and  believes  but  little  in  mir- 
acles operated  by  the  plural. 

In  fact,  in  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  we   do  not 

*  Ilcrrcra.     Ilist.  Gen.  dc  las  Imlias  Occid.,  Dccad.  in.,  lib.  viii., 
cap.  X. 
i  Ibid. 


6o4  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

see  a  single  miracle  mentioned  without  the  name  of  its 
author:  also,  in  the  primitive  history  of  tlie  Apostolate, 
there  is  no  trace  of  a  miracle  without  the  name  of  the 
worker  of  it  ;  and  even,  wlien  for  causes  reserved  in  the 
secrets  of  Providence,  the  miracle  is  operated  by  a  plurality 
of  persons,  the  names,  the  quality  of  these  chosen  persons, 
is  never  a  secret.  Their  plurality  can  always  be  reduced  to 
distinct  singular  numbers.  They  are  the  sons  of  Aaron, 
the  priests,  or  the  prophets  ;  or  the  apostles,  or  the  disci- 
ples, and  afterwards  saints  or  religious  corporations  inherit- 
ing their  spirit,  — but  it  is  never  the  public,  the  crowd,  the 
they^  that  operate  the  miracle.  When  God,  according 
graces  to  gatherings  of  the  faithful,  vouchsafes  to  hear  the 
petitions  of  those  who  pray  unitedly.  He  does  not  for  this 
reason  confer  miraculous  power  on  numbers  —  on  the  anon- 
ymous. He  works  miracles  for  them,  but  not  by  them  : 
such  is  ordinarily  the  case. 

Certainly  miracles  have  been  seen  wrought  in  this  or 
that  chapel,  at  such  or  such  an  altar,  without  any  one  being 
able  to  point  out  the  cause,  that  is  to  say,  the  personal 
reason  or  instrumentality,  and  without  knowing  to  whose 
merits  the  favor  was  due.  Nevertheless,  generally  speak- 
ing it  is  by  an  individual  the  miracle  is  obtained,  which  is 
for  the  advantage  of  several,  and  then  they  can  have  no 
pretensions  to  it. 

However  the  case  may  be,  Rome,  in  her  prudence,  waited 
for  ampler  information.  Perhaps,  also,  she  desired  that 
time  should  come  to  the  proof  of  these  prodigies.  But  the 
new  discoveries  in  the  New  World,  the  conquest  of  Mexico, 
that  of  Peru,  the  rapid  progress  of  the  Portuguese  in  South 
America  and  in  the  East  Indies,  caused  Spain  to  neglect 
her  first  colony.  In  the  following  years,  some  cause  which 
is  completely  unknown  to  us  occasioned  the  cessation  of 
the  prodigy  of  the  renewing  of  the  wood  of  the  Truk 
Cross  of  Conception.  Yet  the  touching  of  it  still  operated 
miracles;  and  as  the  pious  avidity  of  pilgrims  continued  to 
take  portions  of  it  away,  it  diminished   from  day  to  day. 


CHAI'.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  605 

To  guard  it  against  this  religious  avidity,  the  Bishop  of 
Conception  had  it  carried  processionally  to  the  cathedral, 
whore  it  was  placed  in  a  chapel.  The  True  Cross  was 
still  there  in  1535,  at  the  time  that  Oviedo,  then  governor 
of  the  citadel  of  San  Domingo,  wrote  tlie  third  book  of  his 
NatJtral  History  of  the  'Indies. 

But  twenty-nine  years  after,  in  1553,  a  terrible  earth- 
quake destroyed  almost  entirely  the  city  of  Conception.  All 
the  stone  edifices  were  overturned,  with  the  exception  of 
one.  The  cathedral,  built  of  cut  stone,  fell  down  from  the 
violence  of  the  succussions.  One  chapel  alone  remained 
unhurt  :  it  was  that  in  which  the  True  Cross  was  pre- 
served. It  was  also  remarked  that  none  of  the  inhabitants 
who  had  in  their  habitations,  or  about  them,  portions  of  the 
True  Cross,  though  for  a  while  buried  under  the  ruins  of 
their  dwellings,  received  the  least  injury.*  A  remarkable 
circumstance  :  the  first  friends  of  Columbus,  —  of  him  who 
had  erected  this  miraculous  sign,  —  the  Franciscans,  were 
in  their  church  at  the  moment  when  the  earthquake  mani- 
fested itself.  Thrown  down  and  covered  with  the  materials 
of  the  building  overturned  on  them,  they  still  arose  pro- 
tected by  an  invisible  power.  None  of  them  received  the 
least  hurt.  A  thing  equally  remarkable  was,  that  the  only 
house  that  remained  standing  after  this  terrible  scourge  was 
the  convent  of  St.  Francis,  the  religious  of  which  possessed 
a  fragment  of  the  True  Cross  of  Conception.  While 
Father  John  Baptist  Le  Pers  took  on  the  spot  notes  for 
Father  Charlevoix,  to  serve  him  in  writing  his  History  of 
San  Domingo,  the  spared  monastery  was  still  seen  standing 
alone  amid  the  ruins  of  tlie  city."f 

After   this  disaster,   the    portion   of  the  population    who 

*  F.  Charlevoix.     Ilisi.  de  Saint  Domingue,  t.  i.,  liv.  vi. 

t  The  reader  will  compare  the  discriminations  made  by  the  earth- 
quake here,  with  those  made  by  the  tempest  predicted  by  Columbus, 
and  mentioned  in  the  second  and  third  Sections  of  Book  IV.,  and 
then  ask  himself  if  the  finger  of  God  was  not  visible  in  both  these 
prodigies,  or,  as  we  consider  tliem,  miracles  !  —  B. 

51' 


6o6  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

survived  it  dispersed  far  and  wide.  The  inhabitants  who 
held  most  to  the  soil,  went  and  built  the  town  of  La  Vega, 
two  leagues  south-east  of  Conception. 

What  became  of  the  True  Cross  after  this  emigration  } 

We  cannot  tell.  This  terrible  overthrow  changed  the 
conditions  and  relations  of  the  country.  The  episcopal  see 
of  Conception  was  suppressed,  and  reunited  with  that  of 
San  Domingo.  The  extension  of  the  colonies  of  Darien 
and  of  Castile  d'Or,  the  discovery  of  the  mines  of  Mexico 
and  of  Peru,  by  their  importance,  received  the  exclusive 
attention  of  the  Royal  Council  of  the  Indies,  and  His- 
paniola  was  almost  abandoned  to  herself.  The  English, 
availing  themselves  of  this  negligence,  came  and  attacked 
and  ruined  San  Domingo.  The  French,  on  their  side,  had 
made  settlements  in  some  parts  of  the  island,  without 
having  asked  for  permission.  The  connections  between 
Spain  and  this  unhappy  colony  had  diminished  to  that  point 
that  she  sent  a  ship  thei'e  only  every  three  years  !  The 
abuses  of  power,  and  the  avidity  of  the  local  authorities, 
were  pushed  to  that  extent,  that  the  Governor,  with  the 
other  principal  functionaries,  used  to  buy  the  whole  cai'go 
of  this  ship  before  it  came  to  anchor,  in  order  to  resell  it  at 
exorbitant  prices. 

Amid  the  disorder  and  uneasiness  of  such  a  situation, 
and  threatened  with  invasions  from  English,  French,  and 
Dutch  adventurers,  the  communications  of  the  colonists 
with  the  interior  of  the  island  became  less  and  less  frequent, 
and  then  ceased.  It  is  not  strange  that  in  a  country  ruined 
and  terrified  it  was  not  known  what  became  of  the  True 
Cross,  miraculously  preserved  and  preservative,  when,  at 
San  Domingo,  the  exact  burial-place  of  Columbus  himself 
was  forgotten. 

We  do  not  find  it  surprising  that  the  relations  existing 
between  the  mission  of  Columbus  and  the  Cross  he  erected, 
should  have  remained  unnoticed  by  men  who  even  lost 
sight  of  the  relations  existing  between  Columbus  and  the 
Discovery,  and  who,  in  very  good  faith,  spoke  of  his  Dis- 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  607 

cove ly  in  the  plural,  as  they  did  of  his  miraculous  Cross. 
Who  would  have  dared,  under  the  government  of  Ovando, 
to  recall  the  name  of  Christopher  Columbus  in  connection 
with  the  miracles  of  this  Cross?  Afterwards,  the  modesty 
of  his  son  and  successor,  Don  Diego,  the  embarrassments 
caused  to  the  latter  by  the  hereditary  hatreds  with  which  he 
had  to  contend,  and  the  fear  of  lending  color  to  the  cal- 
umnies of  his  vigilant  denouncers,  prevented  him  from 
mixing  his  name  with  tlie  prodigies  attributed  to  the  Cross 
that  was  erected  by  his  father. 

The  reality  of  the  miracles  of  the  True  Cross  of  Con- 
ception cannot  for  a  moment  be  questioned  ;  it  is  carried 
to  the  highest  degree  of  historic  certitude,  and  attains 
palpable  evidence.  Not  only  do  the  official  historiogra- 
phers mention  the  facts,  but  they  corroborate  them  by 
cotemporary  evidences  and  authentic  documents.  The  con- 
sequences of  the  miracles  operated  by  virtue  of  this  Cross, 
become  the  object  of  administrative  correspondence  with 
the  authorities  of  Hispaniola,  and  of  a  communication  of 
the  Emperor  to  the  Chief  of  the  Church.  The  notoriety  of 
these  prodigies  passes  tiic  ocean,  penetrates  into  Spain,  and 
is  especially  spread  throughout  the  New  World.  And  as 
the  name  of  True  Cross  is  replete  with  authority,  and  as 
it  imposes  respect  for  and  reanimates  faith,  by  the  miracles 
it  attests,  it  is  first  seen  implanted  in  the  New  Continent. 

The  name  of  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz  has  no  other  origin 
than  the  remembrance  of  the  True  Cross  honored  at  Con- 
ception. The  pretended  explanation  of  the  name  of  Vera 
Cruz  given  by  some  historians,  will  not  bear  a  close  exami- 
nation. They  say  that  Fernando  Cortez  named  Villa  Rica 
V^era  Cruz,  because  he  landed  there  on  Good  Friday.  If 
he  had  wisiied  to  have  consecrated  the  remembrance  of  the 
day  of  his  landing,  he  would  have  called  the  place  Ave 
Crux,  or  rather  Vexilla  Regis,  and  would  not  have  given 
it  the  special  name  of  Vera  Cruz,  —  True  Cross,  —  spon- 
taneously bestowed  by  the  populations  of  Hispaniola  on 
the  only  Cross  in  the  island  that  wrought  prodigies. 


6o8  H  1ST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 

Fernando  Cortez  was  the  ablest  and  most  fortunate,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  most  humane  and  most  rehgious  of 
the  Conquistadoi'es.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was 
at  .San  Domingo  when  Columbus  landed  there,  returning 
from  his  last  voyage  ;  and  that,  as  kinsman  to  Ovando, 
young  Cortez,  probably  remaining  in  his  house,  had,  not- 
withstanding his  youth,  noticed  the  piety  of  the  Admiral. 
The  prococious  genius  of  Cortez  neglected  no  occasion  of 
observation.  By  many  tokens  it  was  seen  that  he  sought 
success  in  his  imitation  of  great  men,  and  that  he  desired 
to  take  Columbus  for  his  model.  Like  him,  he  elevated  the 
Cross  in  his  ships,  and,  like  him,  he  also  erected  crosses  and 
proclaimed  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  in  new  countries.  It 
is  beyond  a  doubt  that  he  heard  of  the  miracles  of  the  True 
Cross.  We  know  that  portions  of  this  Cross  were  carried 
in  relics  to  Europe  and  to  the  East  Indies.  In  all  prob- 
ability Fernando  Cortez  had  one  of  these  venerated  portions 
inserted  in  the  large  Cross  he  erected  in  the  place  which, 
for  this  reason,  he  named  The  True  Cross,  —  La  Vera 
Cruz. 

If  the  miracles  operated  by  the  True  Cross  cannot  be 
denied,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  this  Cross  was  erected  by 
Columbus,  for  his  enemy  Oviedo  acknowledges  it  was. 
He  wrote  his  details  of  the  miiTicles  near  the  places  where 
they  were  operated  ;  so  he  speaks  of  them  with  the  greatest 
respect.  He  calls  it  The  Holy  Cross  of  Conception.* 
He  specifies  the  time  when  Christopher  Columbus  erected 
this  Cross.  He  names  the  mate  who,  by  order  of  the  Ad- 
miral, took  command  of  the  squad  who  were  charged  with 
executing  the  erection  of  it.  This  officer,  Alonzo  de  Va- 
lencia, was  still  alive,  and  residing  at  San  Domingo. 

One  of  the  writers  living  nearest  this  period,  the  Abbé 
Lopez  de  Gomara,  says  very  plainly  that  many  sick  persons 
were  cured  by  the  Cross  which  Christopher  Columbus 
erected  at  the  time  of  his  second  visit  to  La  Vega,  and  that 

*  La  Santa  Vera  Cruz  de  la  cuidad  de  la  ConceJ)cîon. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  609 

for  this  reason  it  received  the  name  of  True  Cross.  Por- 
tions of  it  were  taken  away  under  the  form  of  relics.*  He 
recalls  the  fact,  that  notwithstanding  their  numbers,  *the 
Indians  were  not  able  to  pull  it  down.  Another  witness 
very  important  on  the  subject  of  this  Cross,  is  Columbus 
himself.  In  his  Will  he  designates,  in  order  to  have  a 
chapel  built  there,  this  place,  where  he  in  a  special  manner 
invoked  the  Blessed  Trinity  ;  and  this  place  is  so  famil- 
iarly known  to  his  family  and  friends,  that  he  docs  not 
distinguish  it  by  its  particular  name.  He  limits  himself  to 
recommending  that  this  chapel,  dedicated  to  the  Trinity, 
should  be  built  as  near  as  possible  to  the  very  place  where 
he  had  invoked  the  Triune  God  in  the  plain  called  Con- 
ception.f  The  notoriety  of  the  place,  the  modesty  of  the 
Admiral,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  interior  consolations 
he  had  received  there,  cause  him  to  omit  the  particulars 
of  it. 

The  church  projected  by  Columbus  could  not  be  built. 
The  obstacles  brought  by  the  Court  to  the  execution  of  its 
conventions,  and  the  non-payment  of  the  revenues  due  to 
him,  prevented  his  heir  from  fulfdling  any  of  these  pious 
intentions. 

The  man  who  had  discovered  such  vast  countries,  mines 
of  gold,  of  silver,  of  copper,  beds  of  pearls,  and  innumer- 
able other  riches  ;  the  Christian  who  burned  with  the  desire 
of  delivering  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  of  defending  the 
Papacy  ;  who  assigned  the  tenth  of  his  revenues  for  the 
poor,  who  projected  an  hospital  for  the  sick,  a  foculty  of 
theology  for  the  foreign  missions,  a  church  in  honor  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  and  a  chapel  in  honor  of  Ever- 
Adorable  Trinity,  —  found  himself  completely  deprived  of 
his  legitimate  opulence.     Notwithstanding  the  ardor  of  his 

♦  Francisco  Lopez  de  Goinara.     Hist,  dc  las  Indias,  cap.  xxxiv. 

tThis  chapel  in  honor  of  tlic  Trinity  ought  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  church  in  honor  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  under  the 
invocation  of  Holy  Mary  of  the  Conception,  which  Columbus  had 
provided  for  in  hib  Institution  of  Mayorazgo. 


6io  HISTORY  OF  [book  ir. 

desire,  the  perpetual  Governor-General,  the  Viceroy  of  the 
Indies,  could  offer  to  God  only  this  wooden  Cross  ;  and 
Godgraciously  accepted  this  offering,  and  was  pleased  to 
bless  this  sole  monument  which  the  piety  of  Columbus 
could  offer  in  this  island,  of  which  he  was  the  discoverer 
and  the  donor.  The  Most  High  poured  down  His  grace 
on  this  Cross,  the  emblem  of  the  name  and  of  the  heart  of 
Columbus.  He  endowed  it  with  miraculous  power,  as  He 
had  formerly  done  to  the  rod  of  Moses  and  to  the  staff  of 
Eliseus.  This  Cross  operated  prodigies,  cured  the  diseased, 
and  consoled  the  afflicted.  Its  supernatural  virtue  was 
manifested  even  in  the  parts  or  portions  of  it  that  were 
taken  to  a  distance.  And  still  nobody,  perhaps,  among 
those  who  were  cured,  attributed  to  the  Apostle  of  the  Cross 
the  least  part  of  this  favor  from  on  High. 

This  thoughtlessness  will  not  surprise  those  who  will 
remember  that  of  the  ten  lepers  who  were  cured,  only  one 
returned  to  the  Divine  Redeemer  to  thank  Him.  It  was 
precisely  the  character  so  miraculous  of  the  True  Cross 
which  prevented  Columbus  from  being  thought  of.  How 
could  the  public  have  thought  that  a  man  carried  away 
from  the  island  in  chains,  an  ex-governor  remaining  in  dis- 
favor, and  afterwards  dying  in  indigence  and  obscurity, 
could  have  counted  for  anything  in  the  marvellous  virtues 
of  this  wooden  Cross?  The  people  profited  by  the  miracu- 
lous benefits  of  this  Cross  without  thinking  of  Columbus, 
in  the  same  way  that  the  Indies  were  enjoyed  without  the 
least  spark  of  gratitude  to  him.  The  Revealer  of  the  Globe 
judged  with  such  accuracy  the  prejudices  that  were  con- 
ceived and  circulated  against  him,  that  he  wrote  a  few  years 
previously,  "  I  have  received  so  singular  a  reputation,  that 
if  I  were  to  build  churches  or  hospitals  it  would  be  said 
they  were  caverns  for  robbers." 

Nevertheless,  and  this  deserves  to  be  borne  in  mind,  the 
first  whom  the  touching  of  this  Cross  restored  to  health 
were  precisely  those  who,  following  the  example  of  Co- 
lumbus, honored  the   Cross,  at  the  foot  of  which  he  was 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  6n 

accustomed  to  nicditutc  on  heavenly  things.  Without  tlieir 
knowing  it,  their  remembrance  of  him  counted  for  some- 
thing in  their  veneration  of  this  symbol.  But  such,  in  fact, 
was  the  reputation  given  to  Columbus,  —  and  we  have  sceii 
^low  this  reputation  was  brought  about,  —  that  among  even 
those  whose  miraculous  cures  were  due  to  him,  none  could 
have  dared  to  declare  loudly  that  he  had  recommended 
himself  to  him  near  the  Cross  which  his  piety  had  erected. 
However  the  case  may  be,  no  fact  is  more  certain,  or 
better  established,  than  the  miracles  wrought  by  this  Cross. 
Nobody  can  suspect  here  either  fraud  or  deceit.  It  is  not  a 
doubtful  relic,  a  mysterious  object  concealed  behind  some 
altar,  to  which  access  is  prevented  by  a  balustrade  ;  it  is  a 
simple  wooden  Cross  set  up  in  the  open  air  on  a  rising 
ground.  For  obtaining  favors  from  it,  there  is  no  occasion 
for  an  intermediary.  By  the  impenetrable  means  of  an 
invisible  power,  this  wood,  conformably  to  the  will  of 
Providence,  acts  according  to  the  deserts  of  the  supplicant; 
it  operates  sometimes  on  the  very  spot  where  faith  invokes 
it,  sometimes  at  great  distances,  by  means  of  portions  of  it 
that  have  been  detached  by  a  pious  daring.  The  subse- 
quent disappearance  of  this  Cross  ought  not  in  any  degree 
to  impair  the  historic  reality  of  its  effects,  or  the  authen- 
ticity of  its  prodigies.  How  many  glorious  relics,  objects 
of  the  most  authorized  veneration,  have  not  in  like  manner, 
in  the  vicissitudes  of  ages,  been  lost  or  destroyed  ! 

The  renown  of  Columbus  at  length  commences  to  arise 
from  the  tomb  of  forgetfulness.  We  firmly  hope  that  one 
day  the  sanctity  of  the  Herald  of  the  Cross  to  the  New 
World  will  be  vindicated  from  the  aspersions  and  neg- 
ligences of  so-called  history,  and  that,  under  the  protection 
of  the  Papacy,  he  will  receive  solemnly  the  veneration  and 
the  homage  which  the  Church  awards  to  the  saints  of  the 
Lord. 


6i2  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

SECTION  XII. 

Such  is  the  destination  of  this  biography,  and  its  intrinsic 
value,  that  even  in  depriving  Columbus  of  his  mandate, 
and  in  obstinately  refusing  to  i^ecognize  his  providential 
office,  his  life  will  not  be  wanting  in  presenting  to  thought- 
ful minds  a  high  teaching  as  regards  the  philosophy  of 
history. 

Reduced  to  himself,  the  Revealer  of  the  Globe  remains 
still  inexplicable,  mysterious,  and  grand,  like  everything 
that  is  not  of  earth.  His  life  presents  a  practical  lesson  of 
human  wisdom  and  of  admirable  resignation.  How  much 
instruction  worthy  of  imitation  does  not  his  example  ofier  ! 

The  man  who,  next  to  saving  one's  soul,  accomplished 
the  greatest  work  of  humanity,  was  also  the  person  who 
experienced  the  greatest  ingratitude.  Unknown  and  dis- 
dained before  his  Discovery,  for  a  little  while  admired  after 
his  first  success,  then  hated,  dispossessed  of  his  government, 
imprisoned  and  put  in  chains  for  no  reason,  though  restored 
to  liberty,  he  remains  marked  with  the  stroke  of  regal  dis- 
favor. It  is  in  vain  that  he  adds  new  discoveries  and  new 
empires  to  the  lands  already  given  to  Spain  ;  no  prodigies 
of  munificence  or  of  glory  raise  him  in  public  opinion. 
He  sees  himself  abandoned  by  almost  all,  because  such  is 
the  will  of  the  ungrateful  King  ;  and  he  who  made  Castile 
the  richest  nation  in  the  universe,  languishes,  obscurely,  a 
prey  to  pecuniary  embarrassments,  to  sufferings  of  body  and 
of  heart,  uneasy  about  his  daily  bread,  and  he  dies  almost 
unregarded.  The  accumulation  of  his  reverses  exceeds 
human  projoortions.  His  misfortunes  almost  surpass  his 
glory.  Still  this  man  does  not  murmur  :  he  accuses,  he 
curses  nobody  ;  and  does  not  regret  that  he  was  born.  The 
people  of  ancient  times  would  never  have  conceived  this 
type  of  a  hero.  Christianity  alone,  whose  creation  he  was, 
can  comprehend  him. 

His  example  shows  us  that  even  in  governing  one's 
passions,  in  fulfilling  with  love  each  of  his  duties,  and  in 


LiiAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  613 

putting  in  the  service  of  the  noblest  intentions  the  most  un- 
remitting prudence,  nobody  is  "exempt  from  the  ordinary 
tribuhitions  of  life.  Genius,  glory,  sublimity,  do  not  pre- 
serve one  from  the  envenomed  shafts  of  calumny  ;  virtue,  the 
gifts  of  God,  do  not  deliver  man  from  the  conditions  of  his 
state  of  life.  Notwithstanding  the  counsels  of  the  most 
consummate  prudence,  it  is  not  in  one's  power  to  escape 
oppression  or  to  flee  from  injustice.  Inexorable  time  bows 
us  down  and  breaks  us  down  in  its  march  to  eternity.  The 
course  of  events  frustrates  our  purposes,  and  turns  aside,  or 
uses  our  forces  to  our  detriment. 

The  example  of  Columbus  shows  that  nobody  can  com- 
pletely obtain  here  below  tlie  object  of  his  desires.  The 
man  who  doubled  the  known  space  of  the  earth  was  not 
able  to  attain  his  object  ;  he  proposed  to  himself  much  more 
than  he  realized. 

Columbus  fostered  in  his  thoughts  three  noble  objects  of 
ambition  :  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  ;  the  circum- 
navigation of  the  Globe  ;  the  deliverance  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre. 

Of  these  aspirations  of  his  heart  one  only  was  realized, 
and  that  scarcely  ;  for  if  he  discov^ered  the  New  Continent, 
he  did  not  have  the  legitimate  satisfaction  of  giving  it  his 
name.  A  man  who  had  done  nothing  but  collect  his  con- 
versations, seized  on  and  appropriated  to  himself  this  part 
of  his  glory,  and  this  unjust  possession  has  not  been  troubled 
by  succeeding  ages!  public  indiflerence  has  sanctioned  this 
spoliation  of  heroism  !  The  Catholic  intentions  of  the  Mes- 
senger of  the  Cross  were  almost  wholly  ignored  by  Spain. 
He  was  no  more  recognized  as  a  great  Christian  than  as 
a  great  navigator.  The  injustice  of  his  cotemporaries  was 
transmitted  to  their  descendants,  and  is  perpetuated  to  our 
own  generation.  The  obstinacy  of  error  is  as  stubborn  as 
hell,  which,  however,  will  not  prevail  in  the  end. 

The  accumulation  of  difliculties  which  Columbus  had  to 
surmount  in  order  to  accomplish  his  work,  seems  renewed, 
in  our  days,  to  prevent  rendering  him  justice.  As  easy  as  it 
52 


6 14  H  1ST  OR  r  OF  [book  iv. 

was  to  bury  his  glory  under  the  weight  of  prejudices,  and 
to  abandon  to  a  stranger  the  preeminence  of  his  genius,  so 
much  the  more  difficult  is  it  now  to  bring  minds  back  to 
the  truth,  to  remove  old  prejudices,  and  to  obtain  for  Co- 
lumbus his  terrestrial  rehabilitation. 

In  the  first  place,  important  documents  have  disappeared 
from  the  archives  of  Spain,  since  the  printing  of  the  De- 
cades of  Herrera.  The  rough  sketch  of  the  Book  of  the 
Prophecies  has  been  mutilated.  The  French  occupation 
under  Napoleon  I.  served  as  an  occasion  or  pretext  for  lar- 
cenies that  are  to  be  much  regretted.  Some  manuscript 
writings  which  would  have  enabled  us  to  show  the  spiritual 
grandeurs  of  Columbus,  have  disappeared.  The  learned 
canon  of  Plaisance,  Pietro  Maria  Campi,  died  at  the  time 
he  was  going  to  consign  to  writing  the  edifying  end  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  and  the  precious  papers  he  had 
collected  were  destroyed  by  the  ignorance  or  the  careless- 
ness of  his  heirs.  Tliere  is  nought  even  to  the  very  terres- 
trial rehabilitation  of  Columbus,  or  of  his  very  portrait,  that 
does  not  encounter  obstacles  of  various  kinds.  Some  fan- 
tastic figures  and  ignoble  images  of  him,  of  a  shocking 
unlikeliness,  placed  in  historic  galleries  and  museums  in 
Europe,  are  accredited  to  esteemed  names.  Every  large 
city  in  Italy  show^s  us  its  particular  portrait  of  the  Genoese 
hero. 

If  the  work  of  Columbus  profits  the  human  race  collect- 
ively, the  history  of  his  life  is  not  less  useful  to  every  man 
in  particular. 

To  superficial  and  worldly  minds  it  shows,  to  demonstra- 
tion, the  transientness,  the  nothingness  of  human  things, 
and  the  necessity  of  another  life,  expounding  our  present 
existence,  and  rewarding  or  punishing  its  works.  One  sees 
there  that  the  terrestrial  stimulants  of  riches  and  of  renown 
could  not  cope  with  the  imminence  of  the  dangers,  and  the 
infinity  of  obstacles  over  which  a  firm  resolution,  like  truth, 
prevailed  ;  and  that  there  is  also  mingled  with  the  great 
acts  of  the  role  of  Columbus  something  superior  and  mys- 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  615 

terious,  —  as  much  outsulc  of  liis  genius  as  it  is  above  his 
will.  This  force,  which  inhdclity,  and  the  so-called  phil- 
osophy of  history,  call  by  all  kinds  of  names,  save  the  true 
one,  is  called  Grace,  in  the  language  of  Catholicity. 

As  regards  sincere  Christians,  in  recognizing  the  mani- 
fest iniluence  of  Grace  on  the  prodigies  of  the  Revealer  of 
the  Globe,  they  will,  at  the  same  time,  see  the  highest  pos- 
sible individual  glorification  of  Catholicity.  Assuredly, 
since  the  conuiiencemcnt  of  histor)',  no  mortal  accom- 
plished a  work  comparable  in  importance  to  that  of  Co- 
hmibus.  The  human  mind  will  not  be  able  to  conceive, 
until  the  end  of  the  world,  how  another  man  could  execute 
so  prodigious  a  work.  It  is  also  no  less  evident  that  the 
Church  alone,  —  that  is  to  say,  the  clergy  of  all  degrees 
of  her  hierarchy,  in  the  complete  representation  of  her 
powers  and  her  dignities,  —  concurred  in  making  the  Dis- 
covery an  accomplished  fact.  It  was  the  clergy  alone  that 
believed  in  Columbus,  when,  with  all  its  weiglit,  science 
harassed  him  with  its  objections  and  its  disdains. 

By  an  instinctive  consequence  of  the  relations  which 
united  to  the  destinies  of  Catholicity  th»  sacerdotal  heart 
and  the  apostolic  genius  of  Colinnbus,  the  clergv,  who  had 
been  the  fosterers  of  his  ideas,  were  the  consolers  of  his 
afflictions,  and  remained  the  defenders  of  his  glorv.  One 
would  say  that,  outstripping  the  science  of  that  period,  the 
clergy  felt  that  the  cause  of  this  laic  was  their  own,  and 
that  in  justifying  him  they  honored  themselves.  In  truth, 
the  life  of  Columbus  places,  irrefragably,  in  the  clearest 
light,  the  superiority  of  Catholicity  ;  for  one  finds  in  it  the 
contact  of  the  supernatural  with  man.  In  honest  truth,  the 
Discovery  cannot  be  explained  without  the  admission  of 
supernatural  aid,  or  Grace,  as  it  is  agreed,  on  all  hands, 
that  he  possessed  no  science  superior  to  that  of  his  age,  or 
no  nautical  means  that  were  not  known  to  other  mariners 
before  him. 

Moreover,  his  life  justifies,  in  advance,  the  Papacy  from 
the  accusations  brought  against  it  by  encyclopaidists,  on  the 


6i6  HISTORY  OF  [book  iv. 

subject  of  its  aversion  to  the  lights  of  science,  and  of  the 
pretended  persecution  of  Galileo.  The  rotation  of  the  earth 
on  its  axis  was  no  more  embarrassing  for  orthodoxy  than 
the  sphericit}^  of  the  globe,  admitted  in  principle  and  in 
fact  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  The  theory  of  sphericity 
must  necessarily  lead  to  that  of  terrestrial  rotation. 

From  the  height  of  its  infallibility,  the  Papacy  had,  since 
the  fourth  of  May,  1493,  recognized,  implicitly,  the  sphe- 
roidal form  of  the  globe,  in  tracing  the  line  of  demarkation, 
for  the  partition  of  unknown  countries,  between  the  Crowns 
of  Castile  and  of  Portugal.  Then,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
in  accepting  of  the  dedication  of  the  work  "  De  Revolution- 
ibus  Orbium  Coelestium,"  the  Sovereign  Pontiff',  Paul  III., 
sanctioned  the  basis  of  the  ideas  of  Copernicus.  How, 
then,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  after  the  notable  progress 
of  astronomy,  due  to  the  invention  of  the  telescope,  could 
the  Holy  See  have  persecuted,  in  Galileo,  his  doctrine  of 
terrestrial  rotation  or  movement?  Evidently  the  measures 
of  surety  which  were  considered  proper  to  be  taken,  in 
regard  to  the  learned  astronomer,  were  entirely  of  a  per- 
sonal character.  «His  theory,  it  is  true,  may  have  furnished 
the  occasion  for  it,  but  evidently  it  was  not  the  sole  or  the 
direct  cause.  The  confidence  accorded  to  Columbus  by 
the  Roman'  Pontificate  refuted,  in  advance,  accusations 
subsequently  brought  against  it  in  relation  to  Galileo. 
The  latter  only  rendered  more  tangible  the  demonstration 
already  so  peremptory  of  the  sphericity  of  the  globe. 

The  infallible  wisdom  of  the  Church  is  not  less  visible  in 
its  decisions,  than  the  operation  of  Grace  in  the  very  work 
of  the  Discovery.  The  history  of  Columbus  contains  the 
glorification  of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  it  shows  the  spirit  of 
light  which  always  guides  the  Papacy  in  the  government 
of  intelligences  ;  it  presents  an  occasion  for  admiring  the 
fearless  confidence  which  the  Holy  See  generously  accorded 
to  the  genius  of  a  layman,  in  whom  its  infallible  wisdom 
divined  a  providential  mission,  at  a  time  when  the  cau- 
tious prudence  of  politicians  distrusted  his  views  and  his 
calculations. 


CHAP.  X.]  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  617 

The  life  of  Columbus  conveys  to  us  grave  teachings,  ex- 
cites salutary  thoughts,  and  inspires  us  with  serious  and 
profitable  considerations  and  reflections  about  ourselves. 
The  drama  of  the  existence  of  this  man,  which  has  s»  direct 
an  influence  on  future  ages,  acts  in  a  threefold  manner  on 
the  imagination,  the  heart,  and  the  soul.  If  the  aspect  of  his 
reverses  saddens  us,  the  sight  of  his  indefectible  constancy 
elevates  us,  and  brings  us  nearer  to  God.  When  one  sees 
this  sublime  donor  of  a  new  world,  oppressed  by  ingrati- 
tude, maintain  a  silence  full  of  grandeur  towards  his  ene- 
mies, preserve  his  primitive  candor,  lose  nothing  of  his 
serenity,  or  of  his  inexhaustible  affection,  he  recognizes, 
in  looking  at  this  new  prodigy,  that,  amid  the  most  terrible 
trials,  God  did  not  deprive  His  servant  of  the  cincture  of 
valiantness  with  which  he  had  girded  his  loins  as  a  navi- 
gator. He  preserved  to  him  hope,  because  he  had  kept 
the  Faith  ;  and  poetry  did  not  desert  the  soul  of  Columbus 
when  the  world  abandoned  it,  after  having  oppressed  it 
with  its  injustices.  For  his  interior  recompense,  God  was 
pleased  to  grant  him  that  he  should  keep  his  primal  fresh- 
ness of  sentiment;  that  time  should  produce  no  wrinkle  in 
his  beautiful  soul,  no  obduracy  in  his  reason  ;  and  that  he 
should  feel  no  callousness  of  heart.  The  excess  of  the 
injustices  he  experienced  did  not  give  him  that  morose 
tinge  of  character,  that  disposition  to  misanthropy,  or  that 
distrustful  disposition  so  natural  to  all  those  who  have  had 
for  a  long  time  to  complain  of  their  fellow-men.  This  great 
contemplator  of  the  Creation,  come  to  the  zenith  of  human 
experience,  and  of  the  divine  knowledge  of  the  Word, 
sought  to  become  a  little  child  by  the  simplicity  of  his 
faith,  and  the  trustfulness  of  his  hoj^e,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  totality  of  this  life  of  a 
navigator,  of  an  apostle,  of  a  martyr  ;  when  we  see  this 
powerful  intelligence,  penetrated  with  the  presence  of  God 
to  the  point  of  always  suffering  without  a  murmur,  so  much 
is  he  assured  of  tlie  immortal  retribution  of  his  works  here 


6i8      HISTORY  OF  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS. 

below,  we  feel  prompted  to  bow  to  him  with  respect  and 
veneration,  and  feel  inclined  to  believe  with  docility,  and 
to  love  without  reserve.  One  experiences  a  sudden  pity 
for  hiunan  grandeui^s,  and  detaches  himself,  at  least  for  a 
while,  from  the  perishable  things  of  earth,  to  aspire  to  and 
fix  his  thoughts  on  the  eternal  things  of  heaven.  At  the 
sole  conteiTiplation  of  such  a  life,  one  feels  that  he  arises 
above  terrestrial  imperfections  and  virtues  ;  and,  to  use  the 
proper  words,  that  he  touches  on  the  domain  of  sanctity. 
It  is  impossible  for  a  Catholic  soul  to  study  the  life  of 
Columbus  without  feeling  affected,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
strengthened  in  his  faith.  This  deep-felt  emotion,  which 
derives  from  a  secret  emotion  as  much  as  from  a  presenti- 
ment natural  to  faith,  is,  perhaps,  an  important  corollary 
still  further  attesting  the  sanctity  of  this  great  servant  of 
God. 

The  study  of  this  biography,  profitable  to  all  minds,  will, 
especially  to  Christians,  be  a  subject  of  edification.  In 
reading  the  summary  —  entirely  too  brief  —  of  his  life, 
written  by  his  son  Fernando,  thirty  years  after  his  death, 
one  notices  that  Fernando,  touched  with  a  religious  emo- 
tion, on  account  of  what  he  perceives  in  the  notes  of  his 
father,  and  which,  unfortunately,  his  excessive  modesty 
prevents  him  from  mentioning  —  writes  his  recital  with  a 
sentiment  of  profound  piety,  and  terminates  it  with  an  ele- 
vation of  his  heart  to  God,  inscribing,  as  the  only  conclusion 
of  his  book,  these  two  words,  which  contain  the  whole  sub- 
stance and  meaning  of  it  :  "  Laus  Deo  !  "  (God  be  praised.) 


ADDENDUM. 


IF  any  more  reasons  than  those  we  have  adduced  be 
needed  to  prove  the  marriage  of  Cohimbus  with  Doua 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  an  unanswerable  and  conchisive  one  is 
found  in  the  Admiral's  testamentary  Will.  Now  it  is  seen 
in  this  document  that  while  Columbus  expressly  makes 
illegitimacy  a  disqualification  for  the  inheritance  of  the 
Mayorazgo,  or  entailed  estate,  he  makes  Don  Fernando, 
whom  he  had  by  Dona  Beatrix,  heir,  in  case  of  Don  Diego, 
his  eldest  son,  dying  without  children.  Would  he  have 
made  such  a  blunder  had  Fernando  been  illegitimate?  To 
say  nothing  of  the  effects  of  such  an  oversight  or  blunder  in 
law  and  equitj',  was  it  reserved  for  Christopher  Columbus, 
who  was  a  model  of  consistency  in  everything  else  during 
his  eventful  life,  to  become  inconsistent  with  himself  at  his 
approaching  death,  or  rather  for  the  four  years  that  pre- 
ceded that  event,  when  he  wrote  the  Act  of  Mayorazgo  ? 

In  proving  the  legitimacy  of  the  son,  we  at  the  same 
time,  as  a  matter  of  course,  prove  that  his  parents  were 
lawfully  married. 

For  the  convenience  of  such  of  our  readers  as  may  not 
have  the  Will  to  refer  to,  we  will  quote  from  Irving's  ver- 
sion of  it  :  — 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  am  to  be  succeeded  by  Don  Diego, 
my   son,  who  in   case  of  death   without  children  is  to  be 

succeeded  by  my  other  son,  Ferdinand And  should  it 

please  the  Lord  that  the  estate,  after  having  continued  some 
time  in  the  line  of  any  of  the  above  successors,  should  stand 
in  need  of  an  immediate  and  lawful  male  heir,  the  succès- 

(619) 


620  ADDENDUM. 

sion  shall  then  devolve  to  the  nearest  relation,  being  a  man 

of    legUmiate   birth This    entailed    estate    shall    in 

nowise  be  inherited  by  a  woman,  except  in  case  that  no 
male  is  to  be  found,  either  in  this  or  any  other  quarter  of 
the  world,  of  my  real  lineage,  whose  name,  as  well  as  that 
of  his  ancestors,  shall  have  always  been  that  of  Columbus. 
In  such  an  event  (which  may  God  forfend),  then  the  female 
of  legitimate  blrth^  most  nearly  related  to  the  preceding 
possessor  of  the  estate,  shall  succeed  to  it "  * 

What  now  becomes  of  the  assertion  of  Irving,  that  the 
connection  of  Columbus  with  Beatrix  Enriquez  was  noi 
sanctioned  by  matrimony }  —  B. 

*  See  the  Will  in  extenso  in  Irving's  Lîfe  of  Columbjis,  and  in  T. 
D.  McGee's  Catholic  History  of  Atnerica,  published  by  Donahoe,  of 
Boston. 


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