precious metal, in such profusion, as to be made use of in common domestic materials.

212. Instead of steering in search of a country so inviting, which would have conducted them along the coast of Yucatan, to the rich empire of Mexico; Columbus was so intent upon his favorite scheme of discovering an inlet to the Indian ocean, that he bore away to the east towards the gulf of Darien.

213. In this navigation he discovered all the coast of the continent, from Cape Gracios à Dios, to a harbor, which for its beauty and security, he named Porto Bello. He searched in vain for an imaginary strait or inlet, through which he expected to make his way into an unknown sea: and though he went on shore several times, and advanced into the country, he did not penetrate so far as to cross the narrow isthmus which separates the gulf of Mexico from the great southern ocean.

214. He was, however, so delighted with the country, and conceived such an idea of its wealth, from the specimens of gold produced by the natives, that he resolved to leave a small colony upon the banks of the river Belem, in the province of Veragua, under the command of his brother, and to return himself to Spain, in order to procure what was requisite to ren der it a permanent establishment. But the ungovernable spirit of the people under his command, deprived Columbus of the glory of planting the first colony on this continent.

215. Their insolence and rapaciousness provoked the natives to take arms, and as they were a more hardy and warlike race of men than the inhabitants of the islands, they cut off a part of the Spaniards, and obliged the rest to abandon a station they were no longer able to maintain.

216. This was not the only misfortune that befell Columbus: it was followed by a succession of disasters. Furious hurricanes, with violent storms of thunder and lightning, threatened his leaky vessels with destruction: while his disconsolate crew, exhausted with fatigue, and destitute of provisions, were unwil ling, or unable, to execute his commands. One of his ships was lost; he was obliged to abandon another totally unfit for service; and with the two which remained, he quitted that part of the continent, which, in his anguish, he named the coast of Vexation, and bore away for Hispaniola.

217. New distresses awaited him in this voyage; he was driven back by a violent tempest from the coast of Cuba; his vessels ran foul of each other, and were so much shattered by the shock, that with the utmost difficulty they reached Jamaica, where he was obliged to run them aground to prevent them

from sinking. The measure of his calamities seemed now to be full: he was cast on shore upon an island, at a considerable distance from the only settlement of the Spaniards in America: his ships were disabled beyond the possibility of repair. To convey an account of his situation to Hispaniola seemed impracticable; and without this it was in vain to expect relief.

218. His genius, ever fertile in resources, and most vigorous in those perilous extremities, when weak minds abandon themselves to despair, discovered the only expedient which afforded any prospect of deliverance. He had recourse to the hospitality of the natives, who, considering the Spaniards as superior beings, were eager on all occasions to administer to their wants: from them he obtained two of their canoes; in these, which were only fit for creeping along the coast, or crossing from one bay to another, Mendez, a Spaniard, and Fieschi, a Genoese, two gentlemen particularly attached to Columbus, gallantly offered to set out for Hispaniola; a voyage of above ninety miles. This they accomplished in ten days, after encountering incredible dangers, and such fatigue, that several of the Indians, who accompanied them, sunk under it and died.

219. The attention paid them by the governor of Hispaniola, was neither such as their courage merited, nor the distress of Columbus and his associates required. Ovando, from a mean jealousy of Columbus, was afraid of permitting him to set his foot in the island under his government.

220. This ungenerous passion absorbed every tender sentiment for the misfortunes of that great man; and his own fellow-citizens were involved in the same calamity. Mendez and Fieschi spent eight months in fruitless petitions, and in seeking relief for their commander and his associates.

221. During this period, the mind of Columbus was agitated by various passions. For a time, the speedy deliverance expected from the success of Mendez and Fieschi's voyage, cheered the spirits of the most desponding; after some time, they began to suspect that they had miscarried in the attempt, and at length they all concluded, that Mendez and Fieschi had perished.

222. Hope, the last resource of the wretched, now forsook them, and made their situation appear more dismal. The only alternative that appeared, was to end their miserable days among naked savages, far from their native country and friends. The seamen, transported with rage, rose in open mutiny-threatened the life of Columbus, whom they reproached as the author of their calamities; seized ten canoes, which he had purchased of the Indians, and, despising his remonstrances

and entreaties, made off with them to a distant part of the island. At the same time, the natives murmured at the long residence of the Spaniards in their country.

223. Like their neighbors, in Hispaniola, they considered the support of so many strangers to be an intolerable burden. They brought in provisions with reluctance, and with a sparing hand, and threatened to withdraw these supplies altogether. Such a resolution would have been fatal to the Spaniards: their safety depended upon the good-will of the natives; and, unless they could revive the admiration and reverence with I which these simple people had, at first, beheld them, destruction appeared unavoidable.

224. Though the disorderly proceedings of the mutincers had, in a great measure, effaced those favorable impressions, the ingenuity of Columbus suggested an artifice that completely answered his purpose; and not only restored, but increased, the high opinion which the Indians had formerly conceived

of them.

225. By his skill in astronomy, he knew there would be a total eclipse of the moon. He assembled all the principal persons of the district around him on the day before it happened; and after reproaching them for their fickleness in withdrawing their affection and assistance from men, whom they lately had revered; he told them the Spaniards were servants to the great Spirit, who dwells in heaven, who made and governed the world; that he was offended at their refusing to support men who were the objects of his peculiar favor, and was preparing to punish this crime with exemplary severity; and that very night the moon should withhold her light, and appear of a bloody hue, as a sign of the Divine wrath, and an emblem of the vengeance ready to fall upon them.

226. To this marvellous prediction some of them listened with careless indifference, others with credulous astonishment: but when the moon gradually began to be darkened, and at length, appeared of a red color, all were struck with terror: they ran with consternation to their houses, and returning instantly to Columbus loaded with provisions, threw them at his feet, conjuring him to intercede with the great Spirit to avert the destruction with which they were threatened. Columbus seeming to be moved by their entreaties, promised to comply with their desire.

227. The eclipse went off, the moon recovered its splendor, and, from that day, the Spaniards were not only profusely furnished with provisions, but the Indians avoided every thing that

F

could give them offence, and paid a superstitious attention to them as long as they staid upon the island.

228. During these transactions, the mutineers, enraged at their disappointments, marched to that part of the island where Columbus remained, threatening him with new dangers and insults. While they were advancing, an event happened more cruel and afflicting than any which he dreaded from them. The governor of Hispaniola, still under the influence of dark suspicions, sent a small bark to Jamaica, not to relieve Columbus, or deliver his distressed countrymen, but to investigate their condition.

229. Fearing the sympathy of those whom he sent would operate too powerfully in favor of their countrymen, he sent Escobar, an inveterate enemy of Columbus, who adhered to his instructions with malignant accuracy: cast anchor at some distance from the island, approached the shore in a small boat, took a view of the wretched state of the Spaniards, delivered a letter of empty compliment to the admiral, received his answer, and departed.

230. When the Spaniards first descried the vessel standing towards the island, every heart exulted, expecting the hour of their deliverance had arrived: but when the vessel disappeared, they sunk into the deepest dejection, and all their hopes were lost. Columbus alone, though he felt this wanton insult, retained such composure as to be able to cheer his followers: he assured them that Mendez and Fieschi had reached Hispaniola in safety; and that they would speedily procure ships to carry them off; and as Escobar's vessel could not carry them all, he had refused to go, because he was determined not to abandon his companions in distress:-soothed with the expectation of a speedy deliverance, and delighted with his apparent generosity, in attending more to their preservation than his own, their spirits revived, and he regained their confidence.

231. The mutineers were now at hand. All his endeavors to reclaim those desperadoes had no other effect but to increase their frenzy: their demands became more extravagant, and their intentions more violent and bloody: it became necessary to oppose them with open force.

232. Columbus, who had been long afflicted with the gout, could not take the field. His brother, the Adelantado, marched against them. They quickly met. The mutineers rejected with scorn all offers of accommodation, and rushed on boldly to the attack. They were repulsed at the first onset, and several of their most daring leaders were slain. The Adelantado, whose

strength was equal to his courage, closed with their captain, wounded, disarmed him, and made him a prisoner. This disconcerted the rest, who fled with a dastardly fear, equal to their former insolence. Soon afterwards they all submitted to Columbus, and bound themselves by the most solemn oaths to submit to his commands.

233. Hardly was tranquillity established, when the ships appeared, whose arrival Columbus' had promised. With transports of joy the Spaniards quitted an island in which the mean jealousy of Ovando had suffered them to languish above a year, exposed to misery in all its various forms.

234. When they arrived at St. Domingo, on the 18th of August, 1504, the governor, with that mean artifice usually attending vulgar minds, that labors to atone for insolence by servility, now fawned on the man he had attempted to ruin. He received Columbus with the most studied respect, lodged him in his own house, and distinguished him with every mark of honor. 235. But amidst those over-acted demonstrations of regard, the governor could not conceal the malignity latent in his heart. He set at liberty the captain of the mutineers, whom Columbus had brought over in chains, to be tried for his crimes, and threatened those who had adhered to the admiral, with a judicial inquiry into their conduct.

236. Columbus submitted in silence to what he could not redress: but was impatient to quit a country under the jurisdiction of a man who had treated him with such inhumanity and injustice. His preparations were soon finished, and he set sail for Spain with two ships. Disasters still continued to accompany him; one of his vessels was so disabled, as to be forced back to St. Domingo; the other, shattered by violent storms, sailed 2100 miles with jury-masts, and reached, with difficulty, the port of St. Lucar.

237. There he received an account of an event, the most discouraging that could have happened: this was the death of his patroness, queen Isabella, in whose justice, humanity, and favor he confided, as his last resource. Not one was now left to redress his wrongs, or to reward him for his services and sufferings, but Ferdinand, who had so long opposed and so often injured him. To solicit a prince, prejudiced against him, was irksome and hopeless: but thus was Columbus doomed to employ the close of his days.

238. As soon as his health would permit, he repaired to court, where he was received with cold civility: he presented petition after petition, demanding the punishment of his op