CHAPTER V. ARRIVAL OF THE FLEET AT HAYTI. THE DESTRUCTION OF LA -DISCOVERY OF JAMAICA.-INTERCOURSE WITH THE STILL keeping north-west, the fleet discovered and touched at the beautiful island of Boriquen or Porto Rico, and after making further discoveries, by the 22d arrived at the eastern extremity of Hayti, The Indians came off to the ships with their accustomed confidence and friendliness; but terrible misgivings were soon awakened by the discovery of several bodies decaying on the shore, one of which, from its beard, was evidently that of a Spaniard. On the 27th, in the evening, the voyagers arrived off La Navidad, and fired cannon as a signal to their friends on shore. No salute was given in reply, and all on board remained in a state of grievous suspense, until the arrival of messengers from Guacanagari, during the night, confirmed their worst apprehensions. After the departure of Columbus, it would appear, the turbulent and mutinous spirits, whom he had left behind, soon abandoned all restraint, quarrelled with each other, and maltreated the Indians. Eleven of them, athirst for the possession of treasure, had set out for the golden region of Cibao, a region ruled by the fierce Carib Caonabo, who had obtained the sovereignty of that province, and was an object of terror to all the surrounding chieftains. Jealous of the intrusion, he had massacred the adventurers, and then, joining his forces to those of a neighbouring cacique, had stealthily marched to the attack of the fortress. The garrison, surprised in the dead of night, after a vain resistance, were slaughtered to a man; and the village of Guacanagari, who faithfully stood by his guests, was burned to the ground. These disastrous tidings were confirmed by the scene, which the morning light revealed to the eyes of the Spaniards. The fortress lay in ruins, and the Indian village in ashes. Guacanagari was found suffering from a wound received in the contest, and shed tears over the misfortunes of his allies and his people. Several of the latter were wounded, evidently by Indian weapons. Despite these confirmatory circumstances, many of the Spaniards doubted the truth of the tale, and insisted that Guacanagari himself had shared in the destruction of his visitors. Father Boyl, the chief of the friars, advised his immediate execution. But Columbus, believing him innocent, exchanged presents with their accustomed friendliness and invited him aboard ship. The chieftain and his people were again filled with amazement at the new and marvellous productions of the old world, or, as they still supposed, of the distant realms of heaven; and gazed with especial wonder on the horses, now for the first time beheld by Indian eyes. But he saw that to many he was an object of suspicion and hostility, and by refusing to wear the cross, he increased the ill-will of the more fanatical. Soon afterwards, he retreated into the mountains, taking with him some Indian women, whom the Spaniards had captured on their way, and whom he succeeded in enticing from the ships. Leaving this ill-omened neighbourhood, on the 7th of December, the governor weighed anchor, and proceeded in quest of a more favourable location for his settlement. About ten leagues east of the lofty promontory which he named Monte Christi, adverse winds compelled him to put into a harbor. The place presented great natural advantages, as well for building as fortification. Two rivers flowed into it, and the golden mountains of Cibao lay but a moderate distance in the interior. Here, therefore, he determined to lay the foundations of a city, and, in honour of his magnanimous patroness, to name it Isabella. All hands, accordingly, were speedily busied in the work of disembarking stores and materials for building; streets and squares were laid out; a church, a public magazine, and a house for the governor, were constructed of stone; and numerous wooden buildings, for the shelter of the settlers, were speedily erected. But the change of climate and unaccustomed toil soon wrought their work on the frames of this over-sanguine multitude. Columbus himself was prostrated with illness; but in some measure to satisfy the disappointed expectants of immediate wealth, resolved to despatch an expedition to the interior, to survey its resources, and to lay open the way to the anticipated region of treasure. Alonzo de Ojeda, a young cavalier distinguished for daring and activity, was put in command of a small force, well armed and resolute, with which, early in January, 1494, he set forth for the interior The task of exploration proved difficult from the forests and mountains through which their course lay; but they were received, as usual, with much kindness at the Indian villages, and were elated at find ing in the sands of the mountain torrents glittering particles of the coveted ore. Having been absent for a number of days, they returned with encouraging reports. Reassured by these favourable tidings, Columbus now dispatched to Spain twelve of his vessels, with specimens of the gold and the natural productions of the island, and a number of Caribs whom he had captured in his cruise among the Cannibal Islands. These pagans, he requested, might be instructed in Spanish and Christianity, and thus become useful as missionaries and interpreters among their anthropophagan brethren. Further to promote the work of conversion, he proposed to establish a regular trade with the mother-country, by which live stock might be furnished to the colony in exchange for a regular supply of cannibals, duly to be caught and sent home for their spiritual good and the merely incidental value of their services as slaves. This notable scheme, (by which, it was believed, "a vast number of souls would be snatched from perdition and carried as it were by main force to heaven,") fell through, from the benevolent disapprobation of the queen. Hardly had the vessels taken their departure, when the impatient. colonists, dispirited by work and sickness, and disappointed in their golden hopes, began to exhibit signs of mutiny and a desire to abandon the settlement. A scheme for seizing the ships was detected by the vigilance of the governor. A slanderous memorial against him was found concealed in one of the buoys. The chief ringleader was sent home to Spain, and others were moderately punished; but enmities and resentments were awakened against the admiral, readily obnoxious as a foreigner, which were destined greatly to thwart and embarrass his future undertakings. On recovering from his illness, his energetic spirit at once found employment in the task of explora tion. Leaving his brother Diego in command of the town, he set forth, on the 12th of March, with four hundred men, well armed and equipped, for the interior. Crossing the beautiful Vega Real,' or Royal Plain, and every where received with wondering curiosity and unbounded hospitality by the Indians, the expedition finally entered the rugged passes of Cibao, or the "Region of Stones," through which the heavy armed soldiers toiled with difficulty, though con soled for the hardships of the way by the sight of golden particles glistening amid the sands of the streams. The most flattering accounts were given by the natives of treasures locked up still deeper in the recesses of the mountains-lumps of gold, they said, were to be found as big as an orange, or even as large as the head of a child. Having marched eighteen leagues, mostly through a rugged and difficult country, Columbus halted his forces, dispatching a small party to make further exploration, and employing the remainder in the erection of a fortress. His scouts brought back favourable reports of the wealth of the country, and leaving fifty-six men, under command of Pedro Margarite, at the new post, he took his way to Isabella, where he arrived after an absence of seventeen days. Here, much to his satisfaction, he found the European plants, which he had committed to the earth, flourishing with remarkable exuberance. Wheat came to perfecton in a little more than two months from the sowing, and the sugar canes, destined in these islands, at no distant day, to supply the markets of half the world, had thriven most kindly in the virgin soil and tropical climate of Hayti. But the influences so benign and propitious to vegetation, were falling with deadly and withering effect on the frames of the colo nists, as yet unacclimated to the dangerous atmosphere of the island. Fevers and other tropical maladies prevailed; and that malign disorder, the terror of licentiousness, contracted from the natives, filled the hearts of the Spaniards with a novel affright and dismay. Despite these unfavourable circumstances, the governor pushed on his plans; the work of building and cultivation went forward; but by compelling the hidalgos and cavaliers in his train to share in the labours of the infant settlement, he awakened enmities which exercised an unfavourable influence on his interests at court. Short allowance became necessary, and Father Boyl, with his ghostly confederates, was aggrieved and disgusted at being included in the general order for stinted rations. Many of the unfortunate colonists perished from diseases incident to the climate, aggravated by unaccustomed labour, and by change and insufficiency of diet. The ill-conduct of the garrison of the inland fortress of St. Thomas soon provoked the enmity of the Indians, and tidings came that the fierce Caonabo was preparing another attack on the invaders of his country. To refresh the colonists by change of air, as well as to over-awe and conciliate the natives, Columbus now prepared a second grand expedition. Ojeda, with four hundred men, was sent to the fortress, with directions to assume the command, while Margarite, with the army, was to make fresh surveys of the country, visiting the various caciques for the purpose of securing their good-will, as well as displaying the power of the Spaniards. Caonabo and his brothers were, if possible, to be secured, and any injuries committed by the Indians were to be summarily punished; but strict injunctions were given that the natives, in general, should be treated in the mildest and most conciliatory manner, and that no provisions should be taken from them without a proper compensation. But these just and politic instructions were little heeded by the rude spirits once freed from his personal control. The expedition, on the 9th of April, left Isabella. Eager to pursue his more congenial vocation of maritime discovery, Columbus now delegated his authority as governor to his brother Diego, with a council, and on the 24th of April, 1494, with the Nina and two other small caravels, set forth on a new voyage of explora tion. Steering to the westward, he soon fell in with Cuba and coasted along its southern shore, enjoying, wherever he landed, the most kind and hospitable treatment from the native inhabitants. A great island, they informed him, lying to the southward, was rich in gold; and therefore, on the 3d of May, he again turned his prow in quest of the ever-fleeting Babeque. The lofty summit of Jamaica soon rose above the horizon, and two days' sailing brought him to its shores. The people of this island, brave and warlike, at first opposed the landing of the strangers, assailing them from their canoes, and hurling their javelins, in great numbers, from the beach. They were put to flight, however, by the superiority of European weapons, and the admiral, landing, took possession of the island, which he named Santiago-a name, indeed, which has proved unable to supplant the beautiful original. The Indians, with their usual placability, were soon on good terms with the victors; and the little squadron, as it coasted along, was continually surrounded with their canoes. One of these, hollowed from a single tree, probably the Ceiba, was ninetysix feet in length, and eight in breadth. These people seemed more ingenious and industrious than any yet seen by the Europeans. Finding no gold in Jamaica, Columbus again took his way to Cuba, where he found the curiosity and reverence of the natives highly excited by the reports of those who had already met the expedition. They knew of no end, they said, to the land in which they dwelt, and he therefore supposed it to be a portion of the main |