garite, who had the charge of the fortress of St. Thomas, had been ordered to explore the surrounding country. obedience to these orders, he left Alonzo de Ojeda, with a small party, to garrison the fort. But, forgetful of his instructions, he and his men abandoned themselves to great excesses among several tribes of Indians whom they visited. Tidings of these excesses reaching Don Diego, the brother of Columbus, who had the superintendence of affairs at Isabella, during the absence of the admiral, the former wrote to Margarite a letter of reproof. Upon this, the latter, abandoning his command, repaired to Isabella, where, seizing an unoccupied vessel, he sailed with several of the disaffected of the colony for Spain.

Caonabo, the chief who had destroyed the fortress of La Navidad, hearing of the departure of Margarite, assembled ten thousand of his warriors, with the design of surprising Ojeda in the fortress of St. Thomas.

Ojeda, however, was not to be taken by surprise. The fortress was in a state of preparation; and, although he had but fifty men, he maintained his post for the space of thirty days, with little loss to himself, but to the destruction of many of the bravest warriors of Caonabo. At length, finding its reduction impossible, the haughty chief retired with his men, filled with admiration of the prowess and achievements of Ojeda.

The return of Columbus was a fortunate event, both for his own honor and the welfare of the colony. Ojeda now proposed to Columbus a plan for taking Caonabo, to which the former acceded, although he deemed it wild and hazard

ous.

In fulfillment of his plan, Ojeda selected ten bold and hardy followers, well armed and well mounted, with whom he traversed the forests to the territories of Caonabo, a distance of sixty leagues. Having found the chief, Ojeda proposed to him to repair to Isabella, for the purpose of making a treaty with Columbus, offering him, in consideration of such a treaty, the bell of the chapel of Isabella-the wonder of the island, in the view of the Indians, who had heard its sound.

The chief at length consented to go; but when the time of departure arrived, he had collected a powerful force of warriors to accompany him. In the course of their march, they halted near a river. In this Ojeda proposed to Caonabo that they should bathe. The latter consenting, they went into the water, at some distance from the Indians;

and, on coming out, Ojeda invited the chief to get up behind him. This well pleased the chief, who, when mounted, had put upon his feet, by way of ornament and honor, as Ojeda pretended, a set of manacles of polished steel, but the real purpose of which was to secure him safely upon the horse.

Thus mounted, Ojeda, with his men also mounted, performed, in the view of the Indians, several feats of horsemanship; and, as they circled round at a distance from the Indians, on a given signal, the party of horsemen, with their prisoner, fled into the forests, through which passing with great expedition, they escaped, and at length arrived at Isabella.

While these things were transacting in the new world, Margarite and other malcontents arrived in Spain, and were loud in their complaints against Columbus. Although not satisfied with the justice of these complaints, Ferdinand and Isabella deemed it expedient to dispatch a commission to inquire into the state of the colony. The person thus commissioned bore the name of Aguado. On his arrival at Isabella, transcending his orders, he treated Columbus with great rudeness; and, by every possible means, endeavored to procure testimony which might be used to his prejudice. in the court of Spain.

Finding in what manner Aguado was proceeding, and the injury which his reputation might receive, if he were suffered to return to Spain alone, Columbus determined to accompany him. On the 10th of March, 1496, they embarked in two caravals. At this time, Caonabo was taken on board the vessel of Columbus, for the purpose of undergoing a trial in Spain, for his conduct in relation to the murder of the Spaniards; but in the course of the voyage, this unfortunate chief expired. On the 11th of June the vessels anchored in the bay of Cadiz.

The enemies of Columbus had in a measure successfully attacked his popularity; and, on his arrival in Spain, he found the former enthusiasm and zeal, in respect to his discoveries, somewhat diminished; yet he was still treated with kindness by Ferdinand and Isabella. After experiencing much delay, he was permitted to fit out another expedition, consisting of six vessels, and on the 30th of May, 1498, he left Spain on his third voyage. In the course of this voyage, pursuing a different route from those of his former voyages, on the 31st of July, he fell in with an isl and, which he named Trinidad; and, on the following day, August 1st, 1498, for the first time obtained a view of the

main continent, near the mouth of the Oronoco. Yet, at this time, he appears to have been ignorant that the land in question was any thing more than an island.

From this point, he hastened his voyage towards Isabella, where he arrived on the 30th of August, at this time worn down by fever, gout, and incessant watchfulness. He indulged the hope, however, that the repose which he should now enjoy would repair the waste which his constitution had undergone; but he was destined to meet with new troubles, and from a quarter, too, le had little reason to expect.

During his absence, a defection had taken place, headed by one Roldan, a man under the greatest obligations to Columbus, but who now aspired to usurp the reins of authority from Don Diego, the brother of Columbus, the governor of the island.

This rebellion Diego had attempted in vain to settle. On the appearance of Columbus, a negotiation was entered into with the rebels, and, for a time, affairs were apparently adjusted; but the spirit of insubordination had taken deep root, and numerous and bitter were the complaints against Columbus, which were from time to time forwarded to Spain. In this unsettled state of affairs, Ferdinand and Isabella incautiously issued letters to Bobadilla, an officer of the royal household, commissioning him to repair to the new world to redress all grievances, and at the same time furnished him with blank letters, signed by themselves, to be filled up in such manner, in relation to his mion, as he thought advisable.

With this unlimited commission in his hands, Bobadilla arrived at San Domingo, on the 5th of August, 1500. Shortly after, this infamous man proceeded to arrest Columbus and his brothers, whom, for a time, he imprisoned; and, at length, crowned his arrogance and injustice by sending them to Spain in chains.

To the people of Spain, such a procedure was most unexpected, and a general burst of indignation proceeded from all quarters. On landing, Columbus dispatched a letter explanatory of his conduct, to a lady in the confidence of Isabella, who showed it to the latter, who was filled with mingled sympathy and indignation.

However Ferdinand might have secretly felt disposed towards Columbus, observes the biographer of the latter, the momentary tide of public feeling was not to be resisted. He joined with his generous queen in her reprobation of the treatment of the admiral, and both sovereigns hastened to

give evidence to the world, that his imprisonment had been without their authority, and contrary to their wishes. Or ders were issued for the instant release of ColumbusTM and his brothers-Bobadilla was soon after recalled, and a man by the name of Ovando was appointed to succeed him. This was doing great injustice to Columbus, who had done nothing to forfeit the confidence of his sovereigns, or his title to his former command. He still shared the confidence of Isabella, but the politic Ferdinand had objects in view, which he found he could accomplish with more certainty by other agents than by means of Columbus.

He was permitted, however, again to fit out an expedition at the public expense; but was forbidden, in his voyage, to touch at Hispaniola. On his arrival, however, on that coast, the injury sustained by one of his vessels compelled him to seek a shelter in the harbor. This request was refused by the hard-hearted Ovando.

At this moment, a fleet was on the point of sailing for Spain, on board of which were Bobadilla, Roldan, and others of his inveterate enemies. Perceiving indications of an approaching tempest, Columbus, notwithstanding the refusal of Ovando, sent to him, informing him of the approaching storm, and advising that the squadron bound for Spain should wait until it was past.

This advice, however, was unheeded, and the fleet set sail. "Within two days, the predictions of Columbus were verified. One of those tremendous hurricanes which sometimes sweep those latitudes, had gradually gathered up. The baleful appearance of the heavens, the wild look of the ocean, the rising murmurs of the wind, all gave notice of its approach. The fleet had scarcely reached the eastern point of Hispaniola, when the tempest burst over it with awful fury, involving every thing in wreck and ruin. The ship on board which were Bobadilla, Roldan, and a number of the most inveterate enemies of Columbus, was swallowed up, with all its crew, and with a large mass of gold, and the principal part of the ill-gotten treasure gained by the miseries of the Indians. Many of the ships were entirely lost; some returned to San Domingo in a shattered condition, and only one was enabled to continue her voyage to Spain. That one, according to Fernando Columbus, was the weakest of the fleet, and had on board four thousand pieces of gold belonging to Columbus."

The little squadron of Columbus survived the tempest, after which he continued his voyage. This proved to be

one of the most eventful and distressing of all the voyages ever undertaken by this illustrious man. Our limits forbid us to follow him. Having experienced every variety of fortune, he at length returned to Spain, where he arrived, a wreck of what he once was, on the 7th of November, 1504. Here he had still reason to hope, that justice would be done him; but the death of Isabella, his patroness and unchanging friend, which occurred within less than a month after his arrival, overshadowed his prospects. For some time he was confined by a painful illness at Seville; but, at length, was enabled to present himself at court. Here, however, "he met with none of that distinguished attention, that cordial kindness, that cherishing sympathy, which his unparalleled services, and his recent sufferings, had merited. Ferdinand received him with many professions of kindness, but with those cold ineffectual smiles, which pass like wintry sunshine over the countenance, and convey no warmth to the heart."

At length, the final hour of Columbus arrived-arrived, too, without his having received from the hands of Ferdinand, what gratitude, what justice, demanded. On the 20th of May, 1506, he expired with great resignation. His last words were, "In manus tuus, Domine, commendo spiritum meum: "into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."

The body of Columbus was deposited in the convent of St. Francisco, but was afterwards removed to a monastery at Seville, where, for a time, it rested with the remains of his son Diego. The bodies of both, however, were afterwards removed to Hispaniola, and here again disinterred, and conveyed to the Havana, in the island of Cuba, where, in peace, they now repose.

Not only was Columbus deprived of his merited honors and rewards, while living, but even his name was neglected to be given to the country which he discovered. This latter honor was borne away by Americus Vesputius, a Florentine, who, the year after Columbus had made the discovery of the continent, followed in his track, and some time after his return published such an account of his voyage, as to lead to the belief, that he was the first discoverer of the continent.

We shall conclude this notice of the great pioneer to this western world, in the eloquent language of the author to whom we have been indebted for the principal incidents in the life of this illustrious man. He (Columbus) died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his

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