By May, 1505, he was enabled to travel to court, where that falsehearted prince, as usual, received him with many shallow compliments and unmeaning professions, but studiously evaded the fulfilment of his promises, knowing that death would soon rid him of an applicant whose claims could neither be conveniently granted nor decently denied. The aged admiral felt his end approaching, but still besought the king so far to fulfil his agreements as to appoint Diego to the command which he would speedily, by solemn contract with the crown, inherit. "This," he said, "is a matter which touches my honour. As to the rest, do as your majesty thinks proper; give or withhold, as may be most for your interest, and I shall be content." But all was in vain; and with calm severity he writes from his deathbed-"It appears that his majesty does not think fit to fulfil that which he has promised me by word and seal, with the queen who is now in glory. For me to contend for the contrary would be to contend with the wind. I have done all that I could do. I leave the rest to God, whom I have ever found propitious to me in my necessities." He made his will, providing, with strict equity, for all claims on his justice or benevolence; and having received those consolations of the church which he valued so highly, murmured, "Into thy hands, oh Lord, I commend my spirit," and expired with great tranquillity, on the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years of age. The remains of the great admiral have been destined to an extraordinary pilgrimage. They were first deposited in the convent of Franciscans at Valladolid, and seven years afterwards in that of the Carthusians at Seville. In 1536, with those of his son Diego, they were transported to the New World, and were appropriately enshrined in the Cathedral of St. Domingo, in the island of Hispaniola, always the most favourite region of his affections. "Even here, these precious relics, condemned to wander like their illustrious tenant, were not suffered to find their final resting place." For two hundred and sixty years they reposed in this cathedral, but in 1795, on the cession of that island to the French, with the most solemn and impressive ceremonies, were once more disinterred and conveyed to Havana in the island of Cuba. There they were received with all the distinction which official, military, and ecclesiastical pomp could confer, and were deposited with great ceremony in the wall of the cathedral, at the right of the grand altar, where, the object of deep and reverential interest, they still remain. CHAPTER X. DISCOVERY AND SURVEY OF CUBA. -ITS CONQUEST BY VELAS- IT has been already mentioned that the island of Cuba, discovered by Columbus on his memorable first voyage, was regarded by him and by most of his contemporaries as a portion of the continent of Asia. In 1494, and again, in his last voyage of 1502, he made extensive surveys of its coasts, but, by a singular fatality, only confirmed his original opinion. No further exploration was made until the year 1508, when Nicolas Ovando, then governor of Hispaniola, obeying an order of the court, dispatched Sebastian Ocampo on a voyage of survey. That commander circumnavigated the supposed continent, proving it an island, and made considerable exploration, repairing his vessels in the beautiful harbour of Havana, which he first discovered, (naming it Puerto de Carenas,) the convenience of which, with other natural advantages of the island, he extolled in strong terms, recommending immediate colonization. Nothing more was done, however, until the year 1511, when Diego Columbus (son of the admiral), who had succeeded in supplanting Ovando in the rule of Hispaniola, prepared an expedition of three hundred men, under command of Diego Velasquez, for the conquest and colonization of the island. That officer disembarked at the harbour of Palmas, not without resistance from the natives, headed by Hatuey, a cacique of Hayti, who, on the subjugation of that island, had taken refuge in Cuba. But his forces, weak and unwarlike, were easily defeated, and the unfortunate chief, being captured, was sentenced by his ferocious conqueror to be burned alive. Being urged as usual, at the stake, to embrace Christianity, and secure the joys of heaven, he inquired if any Spaniards would be there; and being told that there would, made the ever-memorable answer, "I will not be a Christian then; for I would not go again to a place where I must find men so cruel." Thanks, however, to the good offices of Las Casas, the generous advocate of an oppressed race, who accompanied the forces, the conquest of Cuba was disgraced by comparatively few of these atrocities. Indeed, the gentle and unwarlike character of the natives induced them to submit, with very little resistance, to the assumed authority of the strangers, and to embrace the proffered religion with greater readiness than any others of their race. The town of Baracoa was first founded by the invaders, and by 1514, the whole island had been overrun and examined by the increasing numbers of emigrants. The towns of Santiago and Trinidad, on the southern shore, were founded, and those of Bayamo, Puerto Principe, and Santi-Espiritus, near the centre. Batabano, in the south, founded in July, 1515, at first, in honour of the illustrious discoverer, received the name of San Cristoval de la Havana-a name, however, transferred, in 1519, to the capital at present known under the last portion of the appellation. The advantages of this splendid site appear to have been first duly appreciated by Hernando de Soto, governor in 1538, who erected a fortress, still standing, and otherwise improved the Havana, just before his memorable and fatal expedition to Florida. So rapidly did it increase in importance, that ten years afterwards, it was adopted as a residence by the governors, and in 1589, was formally constituted by the crown as the capital of the island. The beautiful island of Porto Rico (called Boriquen by the native inhabitants) was, like all the most important of the Antilles, discov ered by Columbus, on his second voyage, in November, 1493. The natives were an ingenious and industrious people, living in greater comfort and civilization than any which the Spaniards had yet encountered. On the subjugation of Hispaniola, Juan Ponce de Leon, a soldier experienced in Moorish warfare, and a companion of Columbus in his second expedition, received as the reward of his activity in quelling the refractory natives, the government of Higuey, a province lying directly opposite to the verdant mountains of Porto Rico. Attracted by its beauty, and the reports of its wealth, he made, in 1508, an expedition of reconnoisance; and the following year, having obtained from the crown an appointment as governor, made a settlement there. Oppression of the natives, as usual, provoked their hostility, but a belief that their invaders, of supernatural ori |