The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Vol. II)

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Chapter V.

Preparations of Columbus for a Fourth Voyage of Discovery.

[1501-1502.]

The speculation relative to the recovery of the holy sepulchre held but a
temporary sway over the mind of Columbus. His thoughts soon returned, with
renewed ardor, to their wonted channel. He became impatient of inaction,
and soon conceived a leading object for another enterprise of discovery.
The achievement of Vasco de Gama, of the long-attempted navigation to
India by the Cape of Good Hope, was one of the signal events of the day.
Pedro Alvarez Cabral, following in his track, had made a most successful
voyage, and returned with his vessels laden with the precious commodities
of the East. The riches of Calicut were now the theme of every tongue, and
the splendid trade now opened in diamonds and precious stones from the
mines of Hindostan; in pearls, gold, silver, amber, ivory, and porcelain;
in silken stuffs, costly woods, gums, aromatics, and spices of all kinds.
The discoveries of the savage regions of the New World, as yet, brought
little revenue to Spain; but this route, suddenly opened to the luxurious
countries of the East, was pouring immediate wealth into Portugal.

Columbus was roused to emulation by these accounts. He now conceived the
idea of a voyage, in which, with his usual enthusiasm, he hoped to surpass
not merely the discovery of Vasco de Gama, but even those of his own
previous expeditions. According to his own observations in his voyage to
Paria, and the reports of other navigators, who had pursued the same route
to a greater distance, it appeared that the coast of Terra Firma stretched
far to the west. The southern coast of Cuba, which he considered a part of
the Asiatic continent, stretched onwards towards the same point. The
currents of the Caribbean sea must pass between those lands. He was
persuaded, therefore, that there must be a strait existing somewhere
thereabout, opening into the Indian sea. The situation in which he placed
his conjectural strait, was somewhere about what at present is called the
Isthmus of Darien. [110] Could he but discover such a passage, and thus
link the New world he had discovered with the opulent oriental regions of
the old, he felt that he should make a magnificent close to his labors,
and consummate this great object of his existence.

When he unfolded his plan to the sovereigns, it was listened to with great
attention. Certain of the royal council, it is said, endeavored to throw
difficulties in the way; observing that the various exigencies of the
times, and the low state of the royal treasury, rendered any new
expedition highly inexpedient. They intimated also that Columbus ought not
to be employed, until his good conduct in Hispaniola was satisfactorily
established by letters from Ovando. These narrow-minded suggestions failed
in their aim: Isabella had implicit confidence in the integrity of
Columbus. As to the expense, she felt that while furnishing so powerful a
fleet and splendid retinue to Ovando, to take possession of his
government, it would be ungenerous and ungrateful to refuse a few ships to
the discoverer of the New World, to enable him to prosecute his
illustrious enterprises. As to Ferdinand, his cupidity was roused at the
idea of being soon put in possession of a more direct and safe route to
those countries with which the crown of Portugal was opening so lucrative
a trade. The project also would occupy the admiral for a considerable
time, and, while it diverted him from claims of an inconvenient nature,
would employ his talents in a way most beneficial to the crown. However
the king might doubt his abilities as a legislator, he had the highest
opinion of his skill and judgment as a navigator. If such a strait as the
one supposed were really in existence, Columbus vas, of all men in the
world, the one to discover it. His proposition, therefore, was promptly
acceded to; he was authorized to fit out an armament immediately; and
repaired to Seville in the autumn of 1501, to make the necessary
preparations.

Though this substantial enterprise diverted his attention from his
romantic expedition for the recovery of the holy sepulchre, it still
continued to haunt his mind. He left his manuscript collection of
researches among the prophecies in the hands of a devout friar of the name
of Gaspar Gorricio, who assisted to complete it. In February, also, he
wrote a letter to Pope Alexander VII, in which he apologizes, on account
of indispensable occupations, for not having repaired to Rome, according
to his original intention, to give an account of his grand discoveries.
After briefly relating them, he adds that his enterprises had been
undertaken with intent of dedicating the gains to the recovery of the holy
sepulchre. He mentions his vow to furnish, within seven years, fifty
thousand foot and five thousand horse for the purpose, and another of like
force within five succeeding years. This pious intention, he laments, had
been impeded by the arts of the devil, and he feared, without divine aid,
would be entirely frustrated, as the government which had been granted to
him in perpetuity had been taken from him. He informs his Holiness of his
being about to embark on another voyage, and promises solemnly, on his
return, to repair to Rome without delay, to relate everything by word of
mouth, as well as to present him with an account of his voyages, which he
had kept from the commencement to the present time, in the style of the
Commentaries of Caesar. [111]

It was about this time, also, that he sent his letter on the subject of
the sepulchre to the sovereigns, together with the collection of
prophecies. [112] We have no account of the manner in which the
proposition was received. Ferdinand, with all his bigotry, was a shrewd
and worldly prince. Instead of a chivalrous crusade against Jerusalem,
he preferred making a pacific arrangement with the Grand Soldan of Egypt,
who had menaced the destruction of the sacred edifice. He dispatched,
therefore, the learned Peter Martyr, so distinguished for his historical
writings, as ambassador to the Soldan, by whom all ancient grievances
between the two powers were satisfactorily adjusted, and arrangements
made for the conservation of the holy sepulchre, and the protection of
all Christian pilgrims resorting to it.

In the meantime Columbus went on with the preparations for his
contemplated voyage, though but slowly, owing, as Charlevoix intimates, to
the artifices and delays of Fonseca and his agents. He craved permission
to touch at the island of Hispaniola for supplies on his outward voyage.
This, however, the sovereigns forbade, knowing that he had many enemies in
the island, and that the place would be in great agitation from the
arrival of Ovando, and the removal of Bobadilla. They consented, however,
that he should touch there briefly on his return, by which time they hoped
the island would be restored to tranquillity. He was permitted to take
with him, in this expedition, his brother the Adelantado, and his son
Fernando, then in his fourteenth year; also two or three persons learned
in Arabic, to serve as interpreters, in case he should arrive at the
dominions of the Grand Khan, or of any other Eastern prince where that
language might be spoken, or partially known. In reply to letters relative
to the ultimate restoration of his rights, and to matters concerning his
family, the sovereigns wrote him a letter, dated March 14, 1502, from
Valencia de Torre, in which they again solemnly assured him that their
capitulations with him should be fulfilled to the letter, and the
dignities therein ceded enjoyed by him, and his children after him; and if
it should be necessary to confirm them anew, they would do so, and secure
them to his son. Beside which, they expressed their disposition to bestow
further honors and rewards upon himself, his brothers, and his children.
They entreated him, therefore, to depart in peace and confidence, and to
leave all his concerns in Spain to the management of his son Diego.
[113]

This was the last letter that Columbus received from the sovereigns, and
the assurances it contained were as ample and absolute as he could desire.
Recent circumstances, however, had apparently rendered him dubious of the
future. During the time that he passed in Seville, previous to his
departure, he took measures to secure his fame, and preserve the claims of
his family, by placing them under the guardianship of his native country.
He had copies of all the letters, grants, and privileges from the
sovereigns, appointing him admiral, viceroy, and governor of the Indies,
copied and authenticated before the alcaldes of Seville. Two sets of these
were transcribed, together with his letter to the nurse of Prince Juan,
containing a circumstantial and eloquent vindication of his rights; and
two letters to the Bank of St. George, at Genoa, assigning to it the tenth
of his revenues, to be employed in diminishing the duties on corn and
other provisions;--a truly benevolent and patriotic donation, intended for
the relief of the poor of his native city. These two sets of documents he
sent by different individuals to his friend, Doctor Nicolo Oderigo,
formerly ambassador from Genoa to the court of Spain, requesting him to
preserve them in some safe deposit, and to apprise his son Diego of the
same. His dissatisfaction at the conduct of the Spanish court may have
been the cause of this precautionary measure, that an appeal to the world,
or to posterity, might be in the power of his descendants, in case he
should perish in the course of his voyage. [114]

Book XV.

Chapter I.

Departure of Columbus on His Fourth Voyage.--Refused Admission to the
Harbor of San Domingo.--Exposed to a Violent Tempest.

[1502.]

Age was rapidly making its advances upon Columbus when he undertook his
fourth and last voyage of discovery. He had already numbered sixty-six
years, and they were years filled with care and trouble, in which age
outstrips the march of time. His constitution, originally vigorous in the
extreme, had been impaired by hardships and exposures in every clime, and
silently preyed upon by the sufferings of the mind. His frame, once
powerful and commanding, and retaining a semblance of strength and majesty
even in its decay, was yet crazed by infirmities and subject to paroxysms
of excruciating pain. His intellectual forces alone retained their wonted
health and energy, prompting him, at a period of life when most men seek
repose, to sally forth with youthful ardor, on the most toilsome and
adventurous of expeditions.

His squadron for the present voyage consisted of four caravels, the
smallest of fifty tons burden, the largest not exceeding seventy, and the
crews amounting in all to one hundred and fifty men. With this little
armament and these slender barks did the venerable discoverer undertake
the search after a strait, which, if found, must conduct him into the most
remote seas, and lead to a complete circumnavigation of the globe.

In this arduous voyage, however, he had a faithful counselor, and an
intrepid and vigorous coadjutor, in his brother Don Bartholomew, while his
younger son Fernando cheered him with his affectionate sympathy. He had
learnt to appreciate such comforts, from being too often an isolated
stranger, surrounded by false friends and perfidious enemies.

The squadron sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, and passed over to
Ercilla, on the coast of Morocco, where it anchored on the 13th.
Understanding that the Portuguese garrison was closely besieged in the
fortress by the Moors, and exposed to great peril, Columbus was ordered to
touch there, and render all the assistance in his power. Before his
arrival the siege had been raised, but the governor lay ill, having been
wounded in an assault. Columbus sent his brother, the Adelantado, his son
Fernando, and the captains of the caravels on shore, to wait upon the
governor, with expressions of friendship and civility, and offers of the
services of his squadron. Their visit and message gave high satisfaction,
and several cavaliers were sent to wait upon the admiral in return, some
of whom were relatives of his deceased wife, Dona Felippa Munoz. After
this exchange of civilities, the admiral made sail on the same day, and
continued his voyage. [115] On the 25th of May, he arrived at the Grand
Canary, and remained at that and the adjacent islands for a few days,
taking in wood and water. On the evening of the 25th, he took his
departure for the New World. The trade winds were so favorable, that the
little squadron swept gently on its course, without shifting a sail, and
arrived on the 15th of June at one of the Caribbee Islands, called by the
natives Mantinino. [116] After stopping here for three days, to take in
wood and water, and allow the seamen time to wash their clothes, the
squadron passed to the west of the island, and sailed to Dominica, about
ten leagues distant. [117] Columbus continued hence along the inside of
the Antilles, to Santa Cruz, then along the south side of Porto Rico, and
steered for San Domingo. This was contrary to the original plan of the
admiral, who had intended to steer to Jamaica, [118] and thence to take a
departure for the continent, and explore its coasts in search of the
supposed strait. It was contrary to the orders of the sovereigns also,
prohibiting him on his outward voyage to touch at Hispaniola. His excuse
was, that his principal vessel sailed extremely ill, could not carry any
canvas, and continually embarrassed and delayed the rest of the
squadron. [119] He wished, therefore, to exchange it for one of the
fleet which had recently conveyed Ovando to his government, or to
purchase some other vessel at San Domingo; and he was persuaded that he
would not be blamed for departing from his orders, in a case of such
importance to the safety and success of his expedition.

It is necessary to state the situation of the island at this moment.
Ovando had reached San Domingo on the 15th of April. He had been received
with the accustomed ceremony on the shore, by Bobadilla, accompanied by
the principal inhabitants of the town. He was escorted to the fortress,
where his commission was read in form, in presence of all the authorities.
The usual oaths were taken, and ceremonials observed; and the new governor
was hailed with great demonstrations of obedience and satisfaction. Ovando
entered upon the duties of his office with coolness and prudence; and
treated Bobadilla with a courtesy totally opposite to the rudeness with
which the latter had superseded Columbus. The emptiness of mere official
rank, when unsustained by merit, was shown in the case of Bobadilla. The
moment his authority was at an end, all his importance vanished. He found
himself a solitary and neglected man, deserted by those whom he had most
favored, and he experienced the worthlessness of the popularity gained by
courting the prejudices and passions of the multitude. Still there is no
record of any suit having been instituted against him; and Las Casas, who
was on the spot, declares that he never heard any harsh thing spoken of
him by the colonists. [120]

The conduct of Roldan and his accomplices, however, underwent a strict
investigation, and many were arrested to be sent to Spain for trial. They
appeared undismayed, trusting to the influence of their friends in Spain
to protect them, and many relying on the well-known disposition of the
Bishop of Fonseca to favor all who had been opposed to Columbus.

The fleet which had brought out Ovando was now ready for sea; and was to
take out a number of the principal delinquents, and many of the idlers and
profligates of the island. Bobadilla was to embark in the principal ship,
on board of which he put an immense amount of gold, the revenue collected
for the crown during his government, and which he confidently expected
would atone for all his faults. There was one solid mass of virgin gold on
board of this ship, which is famous in the old Spanish chronicles. It had
been found by a female Indian in a brook, on the estate of Francisco de
Garay and Miguel Diaz, and had been taken by Bobadilla to send to the
king, making the owners a suitable compensation. It was said to weigh
three thousand six hundred castellanos. [121]

Large quantities of gold were likewise shipped in the fleet, by the
followers of Roldan, and other adventurers; the wealth gained by the
sufferings of the unhappy natives. Among the various persons who were to
sail in the principal ship, was the unfortunate Guarionex, the once
powerful cacique of the Vega. He had been confined in Fort Conception,
ever since his capture after the war of Higuey, and was now to be sent a
captive in chains to Spain. In one of the ships, Alonzo Sanchez de
Carvajal, the agent of Columbus, had put four thousand pieces of gold, to
be remitted to him; being part of his property, either recently collected,
or recovered from the hands of Bobadilla. [122]

The preparations were all made, and the fleet was ready to put to sea,
when, on the 29th of June, the squadron of Columbus arrived at the mouth
of the river. He immediately sent Pedro de Terreros, captain of one of the
caravels, on shore, to wait on Ovando, and explain to him that the purpose
of his coming was to procure a vessel in exchange for one of his caravels,
which was extremely defective. He requested permission also to shelter his
squadron in the harbor; as he apprehended, from various indications, an
approaching storm. This request was refused by Ovando. Las Casas thinks it
probable that he had instructions from the sovereigns not to admit
Columbus, and that he was further swayed by prudent considerations, as San
Domingo was at that moment crowded with the most virulent enemies of the
admiral, many of them in a high state of exasperation, from recent
proceedings which had taken place against them. [123]

When the ungracious refusal of Ovando was brought to Columbus, and he
found all shelter denied him, he sought at least to avert the danger of
the fleet, which was about to sail. He sent back the officer therefore to
the governor, entreating him not to permit the fleet to put to sea for
several days; assuring him that there were indubitable signs of an
impending tempest. This second request was equally fruitless with the
first. The weather, to an inexperienced eye, was fair and tranquil; the
pilots and seamen were impatient to depart. They scoffed at the prediction
of the admiral, ridiculing him as a false prophet, and they persuaded
Ovando not to detain the fleet on so unsubstantial a pretext.

It was hard treatment of Columbus, thus to be denied the relief which the
state of his ships required, and to be excluded in time of distress from
the very harbor he had discovered. He retired from the river full of grief
and indignation. His crew murmured loudly at being shut out from a port of
their own nation, where even strangers, tinder similar circumstances,
would be admitted. They repined at having embarked with a commander liable
to such treatment; and anticipated nothing but evil from a voyage, in
which they were exposed to the dangers of the sea, and repulsed from the
protection of the land.

Being confident, from his observations of those natural phenomena in which
he was deeply skilled, that the anticipated storm could not be distant,
and expecting it from the land side, Columbus kept his feeble squadron
close to the shore, and sought for secure anchorage in some wild bay or
river of the island.

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

During the early part of this storm, the little squadron of Columbus
remained tolerably well sheltered by the land. On the second day the
tempest increased in violence, and the night coming on with unusual
darkness, the ships lost sight of each other and were separated. The
admiral still kept close to the shore, and sustained no damage. The
others, fearful of the land in such a dark and boisterous night, ran out
for sea-room, and encountered the whole fury of the elements. For several
days they were driven about at the mercy of wind and wave, fearful each
moment of shipwreck, and giving up each other as lost. The Adelantado, who
commanded the ship already mentioned as being scarcely seaworthy, ran the
most imminent hazard, and nothing but his consummate seamanship enabled
him to keep her afloat. At length, after various vicissitudes, they all
arrived safe at Port Hermoso, to the west of San Domingo. The Adelantado
had lost his long boat; and all the vessels, with the exception of that of
the admiral, had sustained more or less injury.

When Columbus learnt the signal destruction that had overwhelmed his
enemies, almost before his eyes, he was deeply impressed with awe, and
considered his own preservation as little less than miraculous. Both his
son Fernando, and the venerable historian Las Casas, looked upon the event
as one of those awful judgments, which seem at times to deal forth
temporal retribution. They notice the circumstance, that while the enemies
of the admiral were swallowed up by the raging sea, the only ship of the
fleet which was enabled to pursue her voyage, and reach her port of
destination, was the frail bark freighted with the property of Columbus.
The evil, however, in this, as in most circumstances, overwhelmed the
innocent as well as the guilty. In the ship with Bobadilla and Roldan
perished the captive Guarionex, the unfortunate cacique of the Vega.
[124]

Chapter II.

Voyage along the Coast of Honduras.

[1502.]

For several days Columbus remained in Port Hermosa to repair his vessels,
and permit his crews to repose and refresh themselves after the late
tempest. He had scarcely left this harbor, when he was obliged to take
shelter from another storm in Jacquemel, or, as it was called by the
Spaniards, Port Brazil. Hence he sailed on the 14th of July, steering for
Terra Firma. The weather falling perfectly calm, he was borne away by the
currents until he found himself in the vicinity of some little islands
near Jamaica, [125] destitute of springs, but where the seamen obtained a
supply of water by digging holes in the sand on the beach.

The calm continuing, he was swept away to the group of small islands, or
keys, on the southern coast of Cuba, to which, in 1494, he had given the
name of The Gardens. He had scarcely touched there, however, when the wind
sprang up from a favorable quarter, and he was enabled to make sail on his
destined course. He now stood to the southwest, and after a few days
discovered, on the 30th of July, a small but elevated island, agreeable to
the eye from the variety of trees with which it was covered. Among these
was a great number of lofty pines, from which circumstance Columbus named
it Isla de Pinos. It has always, however, retained its Indian name of
Guanaja, [126] which has been extended to a number of smaller islands
surrounding it. This group is within a few leagues of the coast of
Honduras, to the east of the great bay or gulf of that name.

The Adelantado, with two launches full of people, landed on the principal
island, which was extremely verdant and fertile. The inhabitants resembled
those of other islands, excepting that their foreheads were narrower.
While the Adelantado was on shore, he beheld a great canoe arriving, as
from a distant and important voyage. He was struck with its magnitude and
contents. It was eight feet wide, and as long as a galley, though formed
of the trunk of a single tree. In the centre was a kind of awning or cabin
of palm-leaves, after the manner of those in the gondolas of Venice, and
sufficiently close to exclude both sun and rain. Under this sat a cacique
with his wives and children. Twenty-five Indians rowed the canoe, and it
was filled with all kinds of articles of the manufacture and natural
production of the adjacent countries. It is supposed that this bark had
come from the province of Yucatan, which is about forty leagues distant
from this island.