These judicious instructions, which, if followed | might have preserved an amicable intercourse with the natives, are more especially deserving of notice, because Margarite disregarded them all, and by his disobedience brought trouble on the colony, obloquy on the nation, destruction on the Indians, and unmerited censure on Colum

bus.

In addition to the foregoing orders, there were particular directions for the suprising and securing of the persons of Caonabo and his brothers. The warlike character of that chieftain, his artful policy, extensive power, and implacable hostility, rendered him a dangerous enemy. The measures proposed were not the most open and chivalrous, but Columbus thought himself justified in opposing stratagem to stratagem with a subtle and sanguinary foe.

The 9th of April, Alonso de Ojeda sallied forth from Isabella at the head of the forces, amounting to nearly four hundred men. On arriving at the Rio del Oro in the Royal Vega, he learnt that three Spaniards coming from the fortress of St. Thomas had been robbed of their effects by five Indians, whom a neighboring cacique had sent to assist them in fording the river; and that the cacique, instead of punishing the thieves, had countenanced them and shared their booty. Ojeda was a quick, impetuous soldier, whose ideas of legislation were all of a military kind. Having caught one of the thieves, he caused his ears to be cut off in the public square of the village; he then seized the cacique, his son, and nephew, and sent them in chains to the admiral, after which he pursued his march to the fortress.

In the mean time the prisoners arrived at Isabella in deep dejection. They were accompanied by a neighboring cacique, who, relying upon the merit of various acts of kindness which he had shown to the Spaniards, came to plead for their forgiveness. His intercessions appeared to be of no avail. Columbus felt the importance of strik

ing awe into the minds of the natives with respect to the property of the white men. He ordered, therefore, that the prisoners should be taken to the public square with their hands tied behind them, their crime and punishment proclaimed by the crier, and their heads struck off. Nor was this a punishment disproportioned to their own ideas of justice, for we are told that the crime of theft was held in such abhorrence among them, that, though not otherwise sanguinary in their laws, they punished it with impalement.* It is not probable, however, that Columbus really meant to carry the sentence into effect. At the place of execution the prayers and tears of the friendly cacique were redoubled, pledging himself that there should be no repetition of the offence. The admiral at length made a merit of yielding to his entreaties, and released the prisoners. Just at this juncture a horseman arrived from the fortress, who, in passing by the village of the captive cacique, had found five Spaniards in the power of the Indians. The sight of his horse had put the multitude to flight, though upward of four hundred in number. He had pursued the fugitives, wounding several with his lance, and had brought off his countrymen in triumph.

Convinced by this circumstance that nothing was to be apprehended from the hostilities of these timid people as long as his orders were obeyed, and confiding in the distribution he had made of his forces, both for the tranquillity of the colony and the island, Columbus prepared to depart on the prosecution of his discoveries. To direct the affairs of the island during his absence, he formed a junta, of which his brother Don Diego was president, and Father Boyle, Pedro Fernandez Coronel, Alonzo Sanchez Caravajal, and Juan de Luxan, were councillors. He left his two largest ships in the harbor, being of too great a size and draught of water to explore unknown coasts and rivers, and he took with him three caravels, the Niña or Santa Clara, the San Juan, and the Cordera.

CHAPTER I.

VOYAGE TO THE EAST END OF CUBA.

[1494.]

THE expedition of Columbus, which we are now about to record, may appear of minor importance at the present day, leading as it did to no grand discovery, and merely extending along the coasts of islands with which the reader is sufficiently familiar. Some may feel impatient at the development of opinions and conjectures which have long since been proved to be fallacious, and the detail of exploring enterprises, undertaken in error, and which they know must end in disappointment. But to feel these voyages properly, we must, in a manner, divest ourselves occasionally of the information we possess, relative to the countries visited; we must transport ourselves to the time, and identify ourselves with Columbus, thus fearlessly launching into seas, where as yet a civilized sail had never been unfurled. We must accompany him, step by step, in his cautious but bold advances along the bays and channels of an un

known coast, ignorant of the dangers which might lurk around or which might await him in the interminable region of mystery that still kept break, ing upon his view. We must, as it were, consult with him as to each new reach of shadowy land, and long line of promontory, that we see faintly emerging from the ocean and stretching along the distant horizon. We must watch with him each light canoe that comes skimming the billows, to gather from the looks, the ornaments, and the imperfect communications of its wandering crew, whether those unknown lands are also savage and uncultivated, whether they are islands in the ocean, untrodden as yet by civilized man, or tracts of the old continent of Asia, and wild frontiers of its populous and splendid empires. We must enter into his very thoughts and fancies, find out the data that assisted his judgment, and the hints that excited his conjectures, and for a time clothe the regions through which we are accompanying him with the gorgeous coloring of his own imagination. In this way we may delude ourselves into

* Oviedo, Hist. Ind., lib. v. cap. 3.

participation of the delight of exploring unknown and magnificent lands, where new wonders and beauties break upon us at every step, and we may ultimately be able, as it were, from our own familiar acquaintance, to form an opinion of the character of this extraordinary man, and of the nature of his enterprises.

The plan of the present expedition of Columbus was to revisit the coast of Cuba at the point where he had abandoned it on his first voyage, and thence to explore it on the southern side. As has already been observed, he supposed it to be a continent, and the extreme end of Asia, and if so, by following its shores in the proposed direction he must eventually arrive at Cathay and those other rich and commercial though semi-barbarous countries described by Mandeville and Marco Polo.*

He set sail with his little squadron from the harbor of Isabella on the 24th of April, and steered to the westward. After touching at Monte Christi, he anchored on the same day at the disastrous harbor of La Navidad. His object in revisiting this melancholy scene was to obtain an interview with Guacanagari, who, he understood, had returned to his former residence. He could not be persuaded of the perfidy of that cacique, so deep was the impression made upon his heart by past kindness; he trusted, therefore, that a frank explanation would remove all painful doubts, and restore a friendly intercourse, which would be highly advantageous to the Spaniards, in their present time of scarcity and suffering. Guacanagari, however, still maintained his equivocal conduct, absconding at the sight of the ships; and though several of his subjects assured Columbus that the cacique would soon make him a visit, he did not think it advisable to delay his voyage on such an uncertainty.

Pursuing his course, impeded occasionally by contrary winds, he arrived on the 29th at the port of St. Nicholas, whence he beheld the extreme point of Cuba, to which in his preceding voyage he had given the name of Alpha and Omega, but which was called by the natives Bayatiquiri, and is now known as Point Maysi. Having crossed the channel, which is about eighteen leagues wide, he sailed along the southern coast of Cuba, for the distance of twenty leagues, when he anchored in a harbor, to which, from its size, he gave the name of Puerto Grande, at present called Guantanamo. The entrance was narrow and winding, though deep; the harbor expanded within like a beautiful lake, in the bosom of a wild and mountainous country, covered with trees, some of them in blossom, others bearing fruit. Not far from the shore were two cottages built of reeds, and several fires blazing in various parts of the beach gave signs of inhabitants. Columbus landed, therefore, attended by several men well armed, and by the young Indian interpreter Diego Colon, the native of the island of Guanahani who had been baptized in Spain. On arriving at the cottages, he found them deserted; the fires also were abandoned, and there was not a human being to be seen. The Indians had all fled to the woods and mountains. The sudden arrival of the ships had spread a panic throughout the neighborhood, and apparently interrupted the preparations for a rude but plentiful banquet. There were great quantities of fish, utias, and guanas; some suspended to the branches of the trees, others roasting on wooden spits before the fires.

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 123, MS,

The Spaniards, accustomed of late to slender fare, fell without ceremony on this bounteous feast, thus spread for them, as it were, in the wilderness. They abstained, however, from the guanas, which they still regarded with disgust as a species of serpent, though they were considered so delicate a food by the savages, that, according to Peter Martyr, it was no more lawful for the common people to eat of them, than of peacocks and pheasants in Spain.*

After their repast, as the Spaniards were roving about the vicinity, they beheld about seventy of the natives collected on the top of a lofty rock, and looking down upon them with great awe and amazement. On attempting to approach them they instantly disappeared among the woods and clefts of the mountain. One, however, more bold or more curious than the rest, lingered on the brow of the precipice, gazing with timid wonder at the Spaniards, partly encouraged by their friendly signs, but ready in an instant to bound away after his companions.

By order of Columbus the young Lucayan interpreter advanced and accosted him. The expressions of friendship, in his own language, soon dispelled his apprehensions. He came to meet the interpreter, and being informed by him of the good intentions of the Spaniards, hastened to communicate the intelligence to his comrades. In a little while they were seen descending from their rocks, and issuing from their forests, approaching the strangers with great gentleness and veneration. Through the means of the interpreter, Columbus learnt that they had been sent to the coast by their cacique, to procure fish for a solemn banquet, which he was about to give to a neighboring chieftain, and that they roasted the fish to prevent it from spoiling in the transportation. They seemed to be of the same gentle and pacific character with the natives of Hayti. The ravages that had been made among their provisions by the hungry Spaniards gave them no concern, for they observed that one night's fishing would replace all the loss. Columbus, however, in his usual spirit of justice, ordered that ample compensation should be made them, and, shaking hands, they parted mutually well-pleased.†

Leaving this harbor on the 1st of May, the admiral continued to the westward, along a mountainous coast, adorned by beautiful rivers, and indented by those commodious harbors for which this island is so remarkable. As he advanced, the country grew more fertile and populous. The natives crowded to the shores, man, woman, and child, gazing with astonishment at the ships, which glided gently along at no great distance. They held up fruits and provisions, inviting the Spaniards to land; others came off in canoes, bringing cassava bread, fish, and calabashes of water, not for sale, but as offerings to the strangers, whom, as usual, they considered celestial beings descended from the skies. Columbus distributed the customary presents among them, which were received with transports of joy and gratitude. After continuing some distance along the coast, he came to another gulf or deep bay, narrow at the entrance and expanding within, surrounded by a rich and beautiful country. There were lofty mountains sweeping up from the sea, but the shores were enlivened by numerous villages, and cultivated to such a degree as to resemble gardens and orchards. In this harbor, which it is

*P. Martyr, decad. i. lib. iii. + Peter Martyr, ubi sup.

probable was the same at present called St. Jago de Cuba, Columbus anchored and passed a night, overwhelmed, as usual, with the simple hospitality of the natives.*

On inquiring of the people of this coast after gold, they uniformly pointed to the south, and, as far as they could be understood, intimated that it abounded in a great island which lay in that direction. The admiral, in the course of his first voyage, had received information of such an island, which some of his followers had thought might be Babeque, the object of so much anxious search and chimerical expectation. He had felt a strong inclination to diverge from his course and go in quest of it, and this desire increased with every new report, On the following day, therefore (the 3d of May), after standing westward to a high cape, he turned his prow directly south, and abandoning for a time the coast of Cuba, steered off into the broad sea, in quest of this reported island.

CHAPTER II.

DISCOVERY OF JAMAICA,
[1494.]

COLUMBUS had not sailed many leagues before the blue summits of a vast and lofty island at a great distance, began to rise like clouds above the horizon. It was two days and nights, however, before he reached its shores, filled with admiration, as he gradually drew near, at the beauty of its mountains, the majesty of its forests, the fertility of its valleys, and the great number of villages with which the whole face of the country was animated.

noes,

On approaching the land, at least seventy cafilled with savages gayly painted and decorated with feathers, sallied forth more than a league from the shore. They advanced in warlike array, uttering loud yells, and brandishing lances of pointed wood. The mediation of the interpreter, and a few presents to the crew of one of the canoes, which ventured nearer than the rest, soothed this angry armada, and the squadron pursued its course unmolested. Columbus anchored in a harbor about the centre of the island, to which, from the great beauty of the surrounding country, he gave the name of Santa Gloria.t

On the following morning he weighed anchor at daybreak, and coasted westward in search of a sheltered harbor, where his ship could be careened and calked, as it leaked considerably. After proceeding a few leagues, he found one apparently suitable for the purpose. On sending a boat to sound the entrance, two large canoes, filled with Indians, issued forth, hurling their lances, but from such distance as to fall short of the Spaniards. Wishing to avoid any act of hostility that might prevent future intercourse, Columbus ordered the boat to return on board, and finding there was sufficient depth of water for his ship, entered and anchored in the harbor. Immediately the whole beach was covered with Indians painted with a variety of colors, but chiefly black, some partly clothed with palm-leaves, and all wearing tufts and coronets of feathers. Unlike the hospitable islanders of Cuba and Hayti, they appeared

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 124, MS. Ibid., cap. 125.

to partake of the warlike character of the Caribs, hurling their javelins at the ships, and making the shores resound with their yells and warwhoops.

The admiral reflected that further forbearance might be mistaken for cowardice. It was necessary to careen his ship, and to send men on shore for a supply of water, but previously it was advisable to strike an awe into the savages, that might prevent any molestation from them. As the caravels could not approach sufficiently near to the beach where the Indians were collected, he dispatched the boats well manned and armed. These, rowing close to the shore, let fly a volley of arrows from their cross-bows, by which several Indians were wounded, and the rest thrown into confusion. The Spaniards then sprang on shore, and put the whole multitude to flight; giving another discharge with their cross-bows, and letting loose upon them a dog, who pursued them with sanguinary fury.* This is the first instance of the use of dogs against the natives, which were afterward employed with such cruel effect by the Spaniards in their Indian wars. Columbus now landed and took formal possession of the island, to which he gave the name of Santiago; but it has retained its original Indian name of Jamaica. The harbor, from its commodiousness, he called Puerto Bueno; it was in the form of a horseshoe, and a river entered the sea in its vicinity.†

During the rest of the day the neighborhood remained silent and deserted. On the following morning, however, before sunrise, six Indians were seen on the shore, making signs of amity. They proved to be envoys sent by the caciques with proffers of peace and friendship. These were cordially returned by the admiral; presents of trinkets were sent to the chieftains; and in a little while the harbor again swarmed with the naked and painted multitude, bringing abundance of provisions, similar in kind, but superior in quality, to those of the other islands.

During three days that the ships remained in this harbor, the most amicable intercourse was kept up with the natives. They appeared to be more ingenious, as well as more warlike, than their neighbors of Cuba and Hayti. Their canoes were better constructed, being ornamented with carving and painting at the bow and stern. Many were of great size, though formed of the trunks of single trees, often from a species of the mahogany. Columbus measured one, which was ninety-six feet long, and eight broad,‡ hollowed out of one of those magnificent trees which rise like verdant towers amidst the rich forests of the tropics. Every cacique prided himself on possessing a large canoe of the kind, which he seemed to regard as his ship of state. It is curious to remark the apparently innate difference between these island tribes. The natives of Porto Rico, though surrounded by adjacent islands, and subject to frequent incursions of the Caribs, were of a pacific character, and possessed very few canoes; while Jamaica, separated by distance from intercourse with other islands, protected in the same way from the dangers of invasion, and embosomed, as it were, in a peaceful Mediterranean Sea, was inhabited by a warlike race, and surpassed all the other islands in its maritime armaments.

His ship being repaired, and a supply of water taken in, Columbus made sail, and continued

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 125. Hist. del Almirante, ubi sup. Cura de los Palacios, cap. 124.

along the coast to the westward, so close to the shore that the little squadron was continually surrounded by the canoes of the natives, who came off from every bay, and river, and headland, no longer manifesting hostility, but anxious to exchange anything they possessed for European trifles. After proceeding about twenty-four leagues, they approached the western extremity of the island, where the coast bending to the south, the wind became unfavorable for their further progress along the shore. Being disappointed in his hopes of finding gold in Jamaica, and the breeze being fair for Cuba, Columbus determined to return thither, and not to leave it until he had explored its coast to a sufficient distance to determine the question whether it were terra firma or an island. To the last place at which he touched in Jamaica, he gave the name of the Gulf of Buentiempo (or Fair Weather), on account of the propitious wind which blew for Cuba. Just as he was about to sail, a young Indian came off to the ship, and begged the Spaniards would take him to their country. He was followed by his relatives and friends, who endeavored by the most affecting supplications to dissuade him from his purpose. For some time he was distracted between, concern for the distress of his family, and an ardent desire to see the home of these wonderful strangers. Curiosity, and the youthful propensity to rove, prevailed; he tore himself from the embraces of his friends, and, that he might not behold the tears of his sisters, hid himself in a secret part of the ship. Touched by this scene of natural affection, and pleased with the enterprising and confiding spirit of the youth, Columbus gave orders that he should be treated with especial kindness.† It would have been interesting to have known something more of the fortunes of this curious savage, and of the impressions made upon so lively a mind by a first sight of the wonders of civilization whether the land of the white men equalled his hopes; whether, as is usual with savages, he pined amid the splendors of cities for his native forests, and whether he ever returned to the arms of his family. The early Spanish historians seem never to have interested themselves in the feelings or fortunes of these first visitors from the New to the Old World. No further mention is made of this youthful adventurer.

CHAPTER III.

RETURN ΤΟ CUBA-NAVIGATION AMONG THE ISLANDS CALLED THE QUEEN'S GARDENS.

[1494.]

SETTING sail from the Gulf of Buentiempo, the squadron once more steered for the island of Cuba, and on the 18th of May arrived at a great cape, to which Columbus gave the name of Cabo de la Cruz, which it still retains. Here, landing at a large village, he was well received and entertained by the cacique and his subjects, who had long since heard of him and his ships. In fact, Columbus found, from the report of this chieftain, that the numerous Indians who had visited his ships during his cruise along the northern coast in his first voyage, had spread the story far and near of these wonderful visitors who had descended from the sky, and had filled the whole island

with rumors and astonishment.* The admiral endeavored to ascertain from this cacique and his people, whether Cuba was an island or a continent. They all replied that it was an island, but of infinite extent; for they declared that no one had ever seen the end of it. This reply, while it manifested their ignorance of the nature of a continent, left the question still in doubt and obscurity. The Indian name of this province of Cuba was Macaca.

Resuming his course to the west on the following day, Columbus came to where the coast suddenly swept away to the north-east for many leagues, and then curved around again to the west, forming an immense bay, or rather gulf. Here he was assailed by a violent storm, accompanied by awful thunder and lightning, which in these latitudes seem to rend the very heavens. Fortunately the storm was not of long duration, or his situation would have been perilous in the extreme; for he found the navigation rendered difficult by numerous † keys and sand-banks. These increased as he advanced, until the mariner stationed at the masthead beheld the sea, as far as the eye could reach, completely studded with small islands; some were low, naked, and sandy, others covered with verdure, and others tufted with lofty and beautiful forests. They were of various sizes, from one to four leagues, and were generally the more fertile and elevated, the nearer they were to Cuba. Finding them to increase in number, so as to render it impossible to give names to each, the admiral gave the whole labyrinth of islands, which in a manner enamelled the face of the ocean with variegated verdure, the name of the Queen's Gardens. He thought at first of leaving this archipelago on his right, and standing farther out to sea; but he called to mind that Sir John Mandeville and Marco Polo had mentioned that the coast of Asia was fringed with islands to the amount of several thousand. He persuaded himself that he was among that cluster, and resolved not to lose sight of the main-land, by following which, if it were really Asia, he must soon arrive at the dominions of the Grand Khan.

Entering among these islands, therefore, Columbus soon became entangled in the most perplexed navigation, in which he was exposed to continual perils and difficulties from sand-banks, counter currents, and sunken rocks. The ships were compelled, in a manner, to grope their way, with men stationed at the masthead, and the lead continually going. Sometimes they were obliged to shift their course, within the hour, to all points of the compass; sometimes they were straitened in a narrow channel, where it was necessary to lower all sail, and tow the vessels out, lest they should run aground; notwithstanding all which precautions they frequently touched upon sand-banks, and were extricated with great difficulty. The variableness of the weather added to the embarrassment of the navigation; though after a little while it began to assume some method in its very caprices. In the morning the wind rose in the east with the sun, and following his course through the day, died away at sunset in the west. Heavy clouds gathered with the approach of evening, sending forth sheets of lightning, and distant peals of thunder, and menacing a furious tempest; but as the moon rose, the whole mass broke away,

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 126.

Keys, from Cayos, rocks which occasionally form small islands on the coast of America.