1502-1506.

the sovereigns decline either to restore to the admiral his government, or to capture for him the holy sepulchre—so he sails on a fourth voyage of discovery—fernando colon and his history—ovando denies the expedition entrance to santo domingo harbor—columbus sails westward—strikes the shore of honduras near guanaja island—early american cartography—columbus coasts southward to the darien isthmus—then returns and attempts settlement at veragua—driven thence, his vessels are wrecked at jamaica—there midst starvation and mutiny he remains a year—then he reaches espa?ola and finally spain, where he shortly afterward dies—character of columbus—his biographers.

fourth voyage of the admiral.

since his last return to spain, columbus had rested at granada under the smiles of the sovereigns, who readily promised him all that he might wish, while resolved to grant nothing which could interfere with their absolute domination of the new lands that he had found for them. when tired of begging the restoration of his rights he urged their majesties' assistance in seizing the holy sepulchre, that his vow might be fulfilled, and his mind at rest. after profound study and elaborate preparation he presented the case to them in a manuscript volume of prophecies and portents intermingled with poetry. failing in winning them to this scheme, he promised, if ships were provided him, to undertake new discoveries. partly because they would know more of their new world possessions, and partly to rid themselves of 203 uncomfortable importunities, the sovereigns assented to this proposal, meanwhile intimating that after two years had been allowed in which to quiet espa?ola, the admiral should have his own again, but as clearly indicating to others that he should not.

four vessels, ranging in burden from fifty to seventy tons, were then made ready, the capitana, the santiago de polos, the gallego, and the vizcaino, commanded respectively by diego tristan, francisco de porras, pedro de terreros, and bartolomé de fresco, and embarked at cádiz the 9th of may, 1502. with the expedition sailed diego de porras as chief clerk and notary, and juan sanchez as chief pilot; one hundred and forty men and boys constituted the company. the admiral was accompanied by his brother bartolomé, the adelantado,[iv-1] and by his son fernando,[iv-2] then thirteen years of age. the 204 sail across the ocean was prosperous, with favorable winds and nothing to augur the approaching misfortunes until the ships arrived off santo domingo on the 29th of june.

fate of bobadilla.

during the past two years matters had not improved at espa?ola. it seems that others could govern badly as well as the admiral. indeed, the kings of spain, most of them meaning well by their 205 new world subjects, were too often unfortunate in their choice of agents. until recently bobadilla had held sway, the sovereigns being apparently in no haste to displace him; from which course it was evident either that they had not been properly informed of his conduct, or they approved of it. perhaps it was true that a knave was better for the place than an honest man. a successor, however, had at length arrived in the person of nicolás de ovando, and the superb fleet which had brought him, and was to carry back the displaced governor to spain, now rode at anchor in the harbor.

in following that contriving policy which others beside princes sometimes regard as necessary when straightforwardness were better, it had been deemed expedient that columbus should not on this expedition touch at espa?ola, lest his presence engender fresh broils on the island. and the admiral appeared to entertain no intention of breaking the royal commands, until he found, on reaching the indies, that one of his vessels was unfit for service; or else he pretended that it was so in order to look in on his late government. but whether in actual or feigned distress, when the admiral sent the 29th of june to ask of ovando permission to exchange a leaky caravel, or at least to shelter the vessels from an impending storm, his messenger terreros returned with a refusal.

it was certainly an anomalous position in which the great discoverer found himself, vainly knocking at the door of a possession which he had so lately given to 206 spain, and he not convicted, nay, scarcely accused of any crime. columbus sent again and warned the governor of approaching bad weather. ovando would not heed him. the gubernatorial fleet sailed; but only to face a hurricane which soon strewed the shores of espa?ola with its fragments. current biographies here read like a moral story. on the wrecked vessels were bobadilla, roldan, and other inveterate enemies of the admiral, who with a huge mass of ill-gotten treasure were buried beneath the waves. on a little caravel which survived the tempest was the good bastidas with his property; and on another, which likewise reached spain in safety, were four thousand pesos de oro belonging to columbus. furthermore the admiral sheltered his vessels, and so received no injury from the storm. from all which, grave deductions were severally made—by columbus, that the almighty had preserved him; by his enemies, that he had employed witchcraft to save himself and property; by others, of a luckless order which providence refuses to recognize, that the admiral and adelantado were good seamen. after certain ship repairs, made without difficulty in a little port near santo domingo, on the 14th of july columbus sailed westward on his explorations.

early cartography.

it must be remembered that at this time, and for several years afterward, the spaniards did not know where they were. they supposed the earth smaller than it is, and that they were on the barbarous outposts of india,[iv-3] whose interior was civilized and wealthy; and it was the present object of the admiral to find some strait or passage between this 207 border-land and the detached southern regions about paria, on which he might sail to these rich inner realms, still coasting asia south-westward.

guanaja island.

a storm greeted him, followed by a calm, during which he was carried first southward by jamaica, then northward past the western end of cuba; after which, the wind freshening, he continued his course, and on the 30th of july came to a small elevated island, called by the natives guanaja[iv-4], to which, from 208 the trees that covered it, he gave the name isla de pinos. on going ashore, the adelantado found the 209 island inhabited by people like those of espa?ola and cuba, except that they seemed more intelligent and 210 knew more of the useful arts. presently a large canoe appeared coming from the direction of yucatan. it measured eight feet in its greatest width, and was rowed by twenty-five men. in the middle, under a palm-leaf awning, sat a cacique,[iv-5] or chief, who manifested neither surprise nor fear on being brought into the presence of the admiral. he signified to the spaniards as best he was able the extent and power of mexico, and displayed utensils of copper, stone, and wood, earthen-ware, and cotton cloth brought thence. gold was plentiful there, he also said; but the imagination of the admiral had mapped his strait somewhere southward; so mexico was kept for cortés.

there was on the island an ancient aboriginal of scientific attainments sufficient to enable him to draw for the spaniards a chart of the mainland coast, and tell them much of the country. him they took on board, and after dismissing the cacique with presents, crossed to the continent, and anchored near a point 211 which columbus called punta de caxinas,[iv-6] from the native name of a certain fruit abounding thereabout. here the spaniards landed on the 14th of august, and celebrated mass; then proceeding eastward some fifteen leagues to the mouth of a river,[iv-7] they again landed on the 17th, and took formal possession for spain. about a hundred painted savages displayed themselves, finer specimens than any on the islands, some naked, and others partially covered with white or colored cotton. they were friendly, and presented fruit and vegetables, fish, fowl, and maize. so conspicuously distended were the ears of the natives at one place that the name costa de la oreja was given to that vicinity.[iv-8]

discovery of honduras.

proceeding, the discoverers encountered a succession of gales which continued more than forty days, and having weathered them safely they were so delighted that in sailing round the point of their deliverance they thanked god, and called it cape gracias á dios.[iv-9] all this time columbus suffered severely. indeed, he was now but little better than a wreck in body and mind. on the after part of the deck his bed was placed, and there he lay overwhelmed with pain and melancholy, lost in endless 212 mazes of speculation. now and then he would rouse himself to translate his visions, or to direct the management of the ship, for though half his senses should leave him, he was still a sailor from instinct; but had it not been for the faithful energy of the adelantado, the voyage might as well never have been undertaken.

the mariners had now entered a smooth sea; with a favorable wind they passed rapidly down the mosquito coast, giving the name limonares to a cluster of islands on which grew something like lemons or limes, and on the 16th of september anchored at the mouth of a large river. boats were sent ashore for water, and in returning one was upset and the whole crew were drowned; from which melancholy occurrence the stream was named rio del desastre.[iv-10] continuing, the 25th found the spaniards off the rio san juan de nicaragua, where, to escape a storm, they ran in behind an island, the native name of which was quiriviri,[iv-11] but which from its verdant beauty columbus called la huerta, the garden. there they rested several days, and found sweet speculation, easily inducing the savages to tell them such things as they should most delight to hear. indeed, all along the coast had vague information been given, by signs ill interpreted, of a remarkable country called ciguare, nine days' journey westward beyond the mountains. the people there were like the spaniards, clothed, and armed with steel weapons, with horses and great ships. the women wore bands of coral and strings of pearls, and the commonest utensils were of gold. ten days' journey from ciguare must lie the river ganges; and best of all, there was 213 a passage thither by sea; all the spaniards had to do was to keep right on; they could not miss the way. the europeans gave full credit to these assertions. thus from the beginning mankind have been directed, and oftentimes to the grandest discoveries, by mingled accident and ignorance, and wise men like columbus have believed these supremely silly stories because it pleased them to do so. these savages may have had rumors of mexico or peru on which to build their brilliant fictions; their statements were fictions none the less.

sorceries, savage and civilized.

and indeed as they came together there for the first time, the white men and the red, it is often difficult to tell on which side was the greater simplicity and credulity. the folly of the spaniard was moulded into firmer consistence, was less inept and vapory than the folly of the americans, and that was about all. for instance, at the village of cariay,[iv-12] just opposite on the main-land, columbus thought to raise the spaniards in the estimation of the savages by declining to take the guanin, an inferior kind of gold which they presented; whereupon for the same reason, and in retaliation, the natives refused european trinkets. when the adelantado, seated on a knoll with the notary by his side, sought to transfix some of the wild knowledge of those parts, the natives fled terrorstruck, supposing some magic spell was being cast upon them by the pens, ink, and paper so solemnly drawn forth by the scribe. presently with great caution they returned, and with exorcising gesticulations burned and scattered in the air an odorous powder. on the other hand, with equally enlightened common sense, the christians, unable to fathom the incantations of savagism, fancied 214 these heathen sorcerers bringing from the shades of their wilderness wrathful demons to hurl upon their adversaries; and ever after on the voyage all the ills that befell the spaniards were attributed to the enchantments of the people of cariay.[iv-13] at another port called huiva, columbus found the huts of the natives built in trees, which he attributed to fear of griffins. after a short excursion into the interior the adelantado returned to the ships. near cape gracias á dios the old man of guanaja had been liberated with presents, as no longer of use; now, seven natives were seized and made to divulge what they knew of the country, two of them being retained as guides.

sailing from cariay the 5th of october, the second day they came to the laguna de chiriquí, the country thereabout being called by the natives cerebaro.[iv-14] if some distance back columbus had found the garden, here was a pluralized paradise. the wonder was how nature contrived such glories. round the entrance clustered islands whose outspread foliage brushed the venturesome sails that threaded the deep narrow channels. celestial beauty irradiated the land, and a celestial brightness overspread the sea. but a small additional rent was necessary in the ragged imagination of the admiral to fancy himself already translated. the part of the 215 laguna explored by this expedition was the north-western, known to-day as the bahía del almirante; the southern part was called by the natives aburema.

gathering gold.

hanging from the necks of the natives was pure gold in plates, now first found since touching these shores, but the owners were content to keep it. further on, anywhere but here, they said, was plenty of gold, notably at a place called veragua, twenty-five leagues distant, where these much-admired plates of gold were fabricated. hastening forward, the spaniards arrived, on the 18th, at a river twelve leagues to the eastward of cerebaro, called by fernando colon, guaiga, and by porras, guyga, where the savages attempted at first to drive them away by splashing water, brandishing wooden swords, beating drums, and sounding conchs; which demonstration being over they quietly traded sixteen of their gold-plates, valued at one hundred and fifty ducats, for three hawk-bells. the following day the spaniards were met in like manner by other savages whom a shot sent scampering; after which they returned and traded dutifully.

after this the discoverers touched at the provinces of catibá and cobrabá, where they saw the ruins of a wall built of stone and lime, which excited in them anticipations of a near approach to civilization; but as they neared the rich river the wind freshened and carried them past, without however preventing a glimpse of five towns, one of which the guides assured them was veragua.[iv-15] in the next province, cubigá, terminated the gold region, so they were told. some were eager to go back to veragua and gather gold, but anxious to find his strait columbus put them off, saying he would return anon.

fancy the old admiral groping in the darkness, the 216 world, the universe clear enough to him as mapped in his own mind, but unhappily not fitting the substantial facts. instinctively he seems to hover about this the narrowest part of the continent, his ship's prow now pointed directly toward spain, with india so far away, and the vast water intervening, and the small but mighty strip of land that makes his mental map of no avail. thus since the world began millions have mapped eternity, and still do map it, the heavenly powers meanwhile laughing at the miserable work men make of it.

thus vainly searching, on the 2d of november columbus finds his ships at anchor in a beautiful and commodious harbor entered between two islands. on every side are fields of maize, and orchards of fruit, and groves of palm; for the people dwell in houses and cultivate the ground. there he remains seven days, waiting the cessation of a storm; and he calls the place puerto bello, also written portobello, which name it has ever since retained. venturing forth on the 9th, he makes eastward eight leagues, but is driven back, and takes refuge behind some islands in a small harbor, which he calls puerto de bastimentos,[iv-16] from the abundance of provisions brought them there. after repairing the ships, now badly worm-eaten, he again on the 23d attempts an advance eastward, but is speedily driven into a cove, which he names el retrete, some calling it puerto de escribanos, and which is so small as barely to admit the ships, and so deep that bottom cannot be touched.[iv-17] 217

end of the admiral's discoveries.

and now the mariners show signs of discontent; with gold so near they are not spaniards else. and the great discoverer, the admiral of the ocean sea, must he bury in this little crevice of a barbarous shore his mighty hopes? bastidas was here,[iv-18] although it is not certain how well informed the admiral is of the fact, whether he had notice from bastidas at santo domingo as to the termination of his voyage, or whether the natives here had told him; in any event, there cannot be now in the admiral's mind much doubt that the coast is practically discovered from trinidad to guanaja, and that between these two islands is a shore-line of continent unbroken by any strait. yes, as well unbrace here as elsewhere; and gold-hunting is not a bad occupation for an old man after his life's work is done.

turning then toward veragua for solace, the spaniards sailed from el retrete the 5th of december. 218 but with this change the fickle wind had likewise changed its course; wherever they went were storms and buffetings, until columbus pronounced upon that shore the name la costa de los contrastes. where now was the balmy breath of perfumed isles, the sparkling sun dancing beneath the wanton waters? demonized. gale followed gale in quick succession; winds contending, veering; now the mariners were hurried on toward their destination, only to be driven back to their starting-point. the stubborn waves struck the crazy barks with such menacing force as to send the terror-stricken sailors to their knees in confession, and prayer for deliverance. for nine days the sea was white with angry foam; the sky blazed with electric fires; the men fell sick; provisions spoiled. long, lank, muscular sharks, weatherwise monsters, followed the ships expectantly, until the hunger-smitten crews eyed them ominously in return, until these creatures that had come to eat were caught and eaten by these other creatures. all this time down poured the rain in torrents and nearly submerged the ships. in the midst of these cataclysmal horrors a water-spout was seen approaching, "which," fernando colon is sure, "if they had not dissolved by reciting the gospel of st john, would certainly have sunk whatever it had fallen upon." twenty-nine days were occupied in making as many leagues to the westward. once the ships parted company for three days; twice they ran into portobello, and twice they took refuge at other places on the coast.

at length, with thanksgiving, january 6, 1503, they came to anchor at the mouth of a river, the native name of which was yebra; but columbus, in honor of the day, epiphany, called it santa maría de belen.[iv-19] one league to the westward was the river veragua. the admiral ordered both streams 219 to be sounded. the veragua was found too shallow for the ships. at the mouth of the belen was a bar, which however could be crossed at high water; above the bar the depth was four fathoms. on the bank of the belen stood a village, whose inhabitants at first opposed the landing of the spaniards; but being persuaded by the interpreter, they at length yielded. they were a well-developed, muscular people, rather above medium stature, intelligent, and exceptionally shrewd; in fact, in point of native ability they were in no wise inferior to the spaniards. when questioned concerning their country, they answered guardedly; when asked about their gold mines, they replied evasively. first, it was from some far-off mysterious mountain the metal came; then the river veragua was made to yield it all; there was none at all about belen, nor within their territory, in fact. finally they took a few trinkets, and gave the intruders twenty plates of gold, thinking to be rid of them. within a day or two the vessels were taken over the bar, and on the 9th two of them ascended the river a short distance. the natives made the best of it, and brought fish and gold.

the quibian.

with an armed force the adelantado sets out in boats to explore the veragua. he has not proceeded far when he is met by a fleet of canoes, in one of which sits the quibian,[iv-20] the king of all that country, having under him many subordinate chiefs. he is tall, well-modelled, and compactly built, with restless, searching eyes, but otherwise expressionless features, taciturn and dignified, and, for a savage, of exceptionally bland demeanor. we shall find him as politic as 220 he is powerful; and as for his wealth, unfortunately for him, his domain includes the richest gold mines of that rich coast. on the whole, the quibian is as fine a specimen of his race as the adelantado is of his. and thus they are fairly met, the men of europe and the men of north america; and as in the gladiatorial combat, which opens with a smiling salutation, this four-century life-struggle begins with friendly greetings. pity it is, they are outwardly not more evenly matched; pity it is that the european with his superior civilization, his saltpetre, and blood-hounds, his steel weapons, and strange diseases, should be allowed to do his robbery so easily! but ravenous beasts and bloody bipeds are so made that they do not hesitate to take advantage of the helpless; it is only civilized man, however, that calls his butcherings by pleasant names, such as progress, piety, and makes his religion and his law conform to his heart's unjust desires.

as the champions approach each other, we see about them both an air of determination and command; and while extremely cordial, we see on either side that courtesy common to those who fear while they suspect. with princely grace the red man takes from his naked body some massive golden ornaments and presents them to the white man; the adelantado, not to be outdone in generosity by a savage, with equal dignity and solemnity presents the red man a handful of valueless baubles. the ceremony over, with mutual assurances of friendship the chieftains retire. next day the quibian visits the admiral in his ship. neither has much to say; presents are exchanged, and the savage returns to his people.

while the ships of the spaniards lay by the bank in fancied security, on the 24th of january the storm-demon, as if enraged at the escape of its victims from the fury of the sea, rushed to the mountains, and opening the windows of heaven, let down a deluge on the land. the rushing torrents swept everything before 221 them. the vessels were torn from their moorings and carried down the river, only to be met at the mouth by the incoming breakers from the sea. and thus to their imminent peril they were tossed for several days by the contending waters.

bartolomé penetrates the interior.

the storm abating, and the ships made secure, the adelantado again started in search of the gold-fields. with sixty-eight men he ascended the veragua to the village of the quibian, whose house was situated on a hill round which were scattered the dwellings of his people. the chieftain with a large retinue, unarmed in token of peace, welcomed the visitors at the landing. guides were readily furnished at the adelantado's request; so leaving part of his company to guard the boats, with the remainder he set out on foot for the base of the mountain, distant six leagues, which he reached the following day. for many miles he found the soil richly impregnated with gold, and returned elated, as visions of populous cities and unbounded wealth floated through his brain. which seeing, the quibian grimly smiled that they should deem their work already done, himself subdued, the land their own; and he smiled to think how he had sent them round and away from his own rich mines to the poorer and more distant fields of urirá, his ancient enemy. then the adelantado explored westward, and came to the town and river[iv-21] of this urirá, and to the towns of dururi, cobrabá, and catibá, where he obtained gold and provisions.

there were here fifty leagues of coast, from cerebaro to veragua, called by the spaniards the tierra de rescate, or land of trade, meaning trade in gold, that being the only thing worth trading for in an expedition of this kind. this seaboard was heavily wooded, and uninhabited except along the rivers, for three leagues inland. and all things seeming so favorable, columbus thought he would plant a colony 222 here, leave eighty men and one of the vessels in charge of the adelantado, and with the remainder return to spain, report the results of his discovery, and obtain reinforcements. in a word, if not restrained by some ferdinand, or fonseca, or other hateful friend, he would repeat with fresh enthusiasm his former errors which had so nearly wrought his ruin. but his usual ill-luck came to the rescue. the quibian did not view with favor the preparations which he saw the spaniards making for a permanent residence on his lands, and he determined it should not be. but how could he prevent it? for he was well aware of the advantages these strangers possessed in open warfare. yet there were several ways open to him; if he did not wish to attack them with an overwhelming force he could devastate the country around, withdraw his people, and leave the spaniards to die, meanwhile cutting off such stragglers and foraging parties as he could easily handle. and this he did, beginning operations by summoning the neighboring tribes, ostensibly for the purpose of organizing an expedition against urirá, and cobrabá.

the suspicions of the spaniards were aroused. diego mendez, escudero, esquire, or shield-bearer of the ship santiago,[iv-22] a sharp, bold, and somewhat boastful man, but courageous beyond the comprehension of fear, asked and obtained permission to investigate the matter. entering the veragua in an armed boat he found encamped below the quibian's village about a thousand painted warriors. assuming an air of unconcern mendez landed and strolled leisurely among the savages. remarking on their proposed expedition he offered to join them; but his services were rejected, and his presence was manifestly distasteful to them. he returned and reported that the savages were preparing to attack the spaniards. 223 yet to satisfy some who doubted, mendez went again, this time taking with him one companion, rodrigo de escobar, intending plainly to demand of the quibian his purpose. a host of frowning savages greeted the visitors, who asked to see the quibian. they were informed that he was lying ill from the effects of a wound received in battle. "for that very purpose," replied the ready mendez, "i a surgeon am come to heal him." but the spaniards could not gain audience of the chief, and they returned more than ever convinced of his bloody intention toward them.

capture of the quibian.

what was to be done? the admiral could not depart while hostilities were pending, nor could the spaniards delay their operations until it should please the savages to attack them. the adelantado determined to force an issue. with seventy-five men, on the morning of the 30th of march, he ascended the veragua, and landed unobserved near the quibian's village. hiding his men, he advanced, first with four attendants, then alone, until after some difficulty he gained admission to the quibian's presence. what bartolomé was now attempting was the regular game, afterward played for higher stakes, but now being pretty generally practised in the new world; namely, to capture the chief and hold him hostage for the good behavior of his people. it was at the door in front of the quibian's dwelling that this interview took place. the savage suspected nothing. the very boldness of the scheme, so foreign to aboriginal warfare, tended to allay apprehension. within were fifty of his household, and at easy call five hundred warriors; what had the quibian to fear? the two chiefs sat and talked, first on general subjects; then the adelantado enquired concernedly about his host's illness, examined the wound tenderly, passed his hands over the disabled limb while proposing remedies. suddenly the savage felt the grasp of the spaniard tighten upon him, and 224 before his suspicions were fairly aroused his arms were pinioned behind him. mendez, who had been watching, fired his arquebuse, and the concealed spaniards rushed forward and surrounded the house. the quibian struggled, but weakened by sickness he was easily held in the iron grasp of the adelantado, until by the aid of the other spaniards he was made powerless. so adroitly was the feat performed, that before the presence of the spaniards was generally known among the natives, their chief and all his family were captive, and on the way to the boats. the savages lifted up the usual lamentations, and offered enormous ransom; but it had been determined beforehand that the chief personages of the nation should be sent to spain; for in such procedure, the admiral thought, lay the greater security of his plans.

at this juncture in the narrative historians, even modern writers of fair intelligence, gravely discuss the probabilities of guilt in the quibian's supposed treachery, some holding with diego de porras that the natives did not meditate attack; as if they had not the right to defend their country, their wives and little ones, from the ravages of the invader by any means within their power.

passing conventional twaddle—for if the quibian was not guilty he ought in honor to have been—it is very certain that this action on the part of the spaniards was the cause of many woes, and of their final overthrow in these parts.[iv-23] in any event it was now of the highest importance to secure the quibian. the whole adventure on this coast depended upon it; therefore the adelantado hastened to send his captives on board the ships. desirous of instituting other proceedings for the pacification of that section before 225 returning, the adelantado looked about him for a reliable person to whom he might entrust his weighty charge. present was juan sanchez, chief pilot, an honest sailor, not wholly indifferent to military honors, who earnestly offered service and was accepted. the quibian, tied hand and foot, was firmly bound to his seat in the boat; and superfluous as might appear any admonition, the adelantado charged juan sanchez to look well to his prisoner. "pluck out my beard hair by hair if he escape me," was the vaunting reply of the pilot as he shoved his boat from the bank and started down the river.

juan sanchez outwitted.

but alas for the overweening confidence of a peter or a juan sanchez! fighting the elements at sea is a different thing from fighting indians on land. quite a different order of tactics is required; and the sailor's life is not the school in which to study the wiles of indian strategy. in the one place the sailor is not more superior than is the savage in the other. the quibian, outwardly calm, inwardly is fiercely excited; and like the wild beast when hotly pursued, his instincts quicken with the occasion. he and his loved ones are prisoners, treacherously entrapped by a strange species of the human kind in return for fair words and generous hospitality. their probable fate possesses all the horrors of uncertainty. swiftly with the swift boat runs the time away; something must be done or all is lost. narrowly, but cautiously, the chief surveys his keeper. it is pleasant to look upon the homely face of honest juan sanchez; not a lineament there but shines with god's best message to man, and in language which even dumb intelligence may read. stern duty is largely diluted with humanity, integrity with charming simplicity; from which the wily quibian takes his cue, and thenceforth is master of the situation. with quiet dignity and cheerful resignation he sits among his people, hushing their lamentations and chiding their complaints. by words and little acts of consideration he lightens the 226 labors of the boatmen, and studies for himself and people to give no unnecessary trouble. these conciliatory measures are not lost on the warm-hearted sailor, whose regard for his royal captive rises every moment. he is pronounced by all a well-mannered savage, a most courteous savage. and now the quibian modestly complains of the cords so tightly drawn by the too zealous mendez. they do indeed cut into the flesh, and constrain him to a most uncomfortable position. and he such a gentleman-savage! juan sanchez is not the man to sit there and see a fellow-creature unnecessarily suffer; he cannot do it. the thongs which lacerate the prisoner's wrists are loosened, the cord which binds him to the seat is untied; but for security—for above all this great chief must be kept secure—one end of it the ever-watchful pilot twists round his hand. night comes on. it is very dark, but the captives are quiet, and the boat glides noiselessly down the stream. suddenly the light craft sways; a plunge is heard; the pilot feels his hand violently wrenched; he must loosen his hold or be drawn into the water. it is all as the flash of a pistol in point of time; the quibian's seat is empty; and honest juan sanchez is obliged to present his hanging front before his comrades, a spaniard outwitted by a savage!

after scouring the country in several directions, the adelantado returned to the ships, bringing gold-plates, wristlets, and anklets to the value of three hundred ducats, which were divided, after deducting the king's fifth. among the spoils taken from the quibian were two golden coronets, one of which was presented to bartolomé by the admiral. notwithstanding the escape of the chief, who, after all, was probably drowned, columbus proceeded to execute his plans. there were the king's household and his chief men safely on board, and these should be sufficient to guarantee the tranquillity of the nations. 227 so the arrangements for the comfort and security of the colony during the contemplated absence of the admiral were hastened to completion. the three vessels, after discharging part of their cargoes, were carried by the newly swollen stream over the bar, and reloaded. there they lay at anchor waiting a favorable wind.

the country roused.

all this time, however, the spaniards were reckoning without their host. the quibian was not dead. in spite of his bonds, he had made good his escape. after his bold plunge, finding himself free from the boat, he had extricated his wrists from the loosened cords, swam beneath the water to the bank, and had set out for his village, resolving vengeance. and now, hastily arming a thousand warriors, he attacked the spaniards under cover of the dense vegetation, killing one and wounding eight, but was soon repulsed with heavy loss. shortly afterward diego tristan, coming ashore from one of the vessels with eleven men, recklessly ascended the river a league for wood and water. all but one were killed.[iv-24]

the aspect of affairs was serious. it was now evident that no fear of what might befall his imprisoned household would deter the quibian from his bloody purpose. alive or dead might be his brothers, wives, and children, he would rid his country of these perfidious 228 strangers. to this end he secured the co?peration of the neighboring chieftains, and filled the forest with his warriors. stealthily they lurked in the vicinity of the settlement, and watched every pathway, ready to cut off any who should venture abroad. nowhere on the islands had the spaniards met such stubborn opposition, and serious misgivings filled their minds. their own probable doom they saw foreshadowed in the mutilated bodies of tristan and his men, which came floating past them down the stream, attended by ravenous fishes; and the requiems sung by quarrelling vultures over the remains when afterward they were thrown back by the waves upon the beach, tended in no wise to lessen their dismal forebodings. to heighten their misfortunes, a furious storm arose, which cut off all communication between the settlement and the ships. the adelantado endeavored in vain to quiet the fears of his people, who emboldened by despair would have seized the remaining caravel and put to sea had the weather permitted. yet closer pressed upon them the enraged quibian, until dislodged they retreated to the river bank, before their caravel, and threw up earthworks, which they capped with the ship's boat, and behind which they planted their guns, and so kept the savages at bay.

on shipboard matters were no better. the continued absence of tristan and his crew caused the admiral great anxiety. in such a heavy sea it was unsafe to remain near the shore; the parting of a cable would doom the clumsy craft to swift destruction. and as if this were not enough, the spirit of the quibian broke out among his encaged family. preferring death to captivity they plotted escape. during the night the prisoners were confined in the forecastle, and on the covering slept a guard of soldiers. collecting one night such articles as were within reach, stones used as ballast, boxes, and provision casks, they piled them up under the hatchway 229 cover. toward morning, when the guards were sleeping soundly, as many of the captives as were able mounted the heap, and placing their shoulders to the covering, by quick concerted action burst it open, throwing the sleeping sentinels in every direction, and springing out leaped into the sea. those whose escape was prevented were found next morning dead, some hanging to the roof and sides of their prison, some strangled by means of strings round the neck drawn tight with the foot.

the settlement abandoned.

it was now of the utmost importance to communicate with the shore, as the admiral was convinced that the situation of the colonists was becoming perilous in the extreme. at least, all hope of settlement in that quarter must for the present be abandoned. the fate of the captives, when once it was known, would move the very rocks to revenge. but no boat could live in the surf intervening. then stepped forward pedro ledesma, a sevillian pilot, and offered if rowed to the breakers to attempt to gain the shore by swimming. the thing was done. scarcely had ledesma picked himself up from the spot where the waves threw him when he was surrounded by his forlorn countrymen, who informed him of the fate of tristan, and of their determination to quit that accursed coast at any hazard. ledesma returned and told the admiral, upon whose mind thereupon gloom settled in yet denser shades. unrighteously deprived of his command at santo domingo, he had nourished the hope that this last and most important of his discoveries might prove the base of better fortune than was possible on the spanish isle. for had it not been revealed to him that this veragua was the source whence solomon drew the gold to build the temple? these lamentations continued during the remainder of the storm, which lasted nine days longer; after which preparations were made for the embarkation of the colonists, the admiral consoling himself with the promise of return under more favorable auspices. 230

finally the caravel stationed in the river was dismantled, and out of the spars and some indian canoes was made a raft, by means of which the colonists and their effects were in two days taken on board. the admiral then bore away eastward for espa?ola. and it may have been the lingering hope of blind infatuation—so his followers thought it—that made him cling to the shore until the darien country was passed, before striking out across the caribbean sea; others say it was to avoid contrary winds, while he affirms it was to deceive his pilots that they might not be able to find veragua again without his charts. one worm-eaten caravel he was obliged to drop at portobello. the other two held together until they reached jamaica, where they were beached.

a new series of misfortunes here awaited the great unlucky one. from june 1503 to june 1504 he was doomed to remain on his wrecks, which now lay side by side, partially filled with water. food became scarce, and the foraging expeditions met with constantly increasing difficulties in seeking the necessary supply. by desperate efforts diego mendez succeeded in reaching espa?ola in a canoe; but when he had notified ovando of the perilous situation of columbus, the governor was in no haste to relieve his rival. sickness next followed, and then mutiny. francisco de porras with forty-eight men threw off allegiance to the admiral, and taking ten canoes set out for espa?ola. twice thrown back upon jamaica by adverse winds they abandoned the attempt, and gave themselves up to licentious roving about the island. a second mutiny was near its culmination when a small vessel appeared in the distance. presently diego de escobar approached in a boat, and without leaving it, thrust in upon the admiral a letter, a side of bacon, and a barrel of wine, all from ovando; then he disappeared as mysteriously as he had come. following an attempted reconciliation with porras 231 was a fight between his gang and the spaniards under bartolomé, in which six were killed, among them our honest friend juan sanchez, who had cast his lot with porras. the doughty ledesma, also a rebel, though badly wounded, lived to be assassinated in spain. porras and several others were taken prisoners and confined on board the wreck. the remainder of the deserters then returned, penitent. finally the admiral's agent at santo domingo, diego de salcedo, came to his relief with two ships.

death of the admiral.

it was infamous in ovando to leave columbus so long in such a strait. the excuses he pleaded were absence at jaraguá, and lack of suitable ships; but had he been in earnest to deliver the admiral, means could have been found before the lapse of a year. although on arriving at santo domingo columbus received lodgings in ovando's house, and the governor was outwardly exceedingly attentive to his guest, in reality there was little in common between the two men but jealousy and distrust. porras was allowed to roam at large, though finally sent to spain for trial. columbus sailed for spain september 12, 1504. for a time he kept his bed at seville, writing heart-rending letters to the sovereigns, who paid little attention to them. by the help of the adelantado, ever his most faithful friend and brother, columbus managed the following year to creep up to court and beg redress from the king, for the queen was now dead. but ferdinand was deeply disgusted; not so much however as to prevent his granting the illustrious discoverer a magnificent burial shortly after. it was the 20th of may, 1506, that columbus died at valladolid, at the age of about seventy years.[iv-25]

thus terminated the first attempt of spaniards to plant a colony on the main-land of north america. 232 columbus himself, the leader, advanced with proffers of friendship in one hand and a sword in the other, retaliated upon a fancied savage treachery by a still more insidious treachery, and was driven from the country by a brave ruler, whose deeds deserve to be enrolled beside those of patriots everywhere. one kind act of a tender-hearted spanish sailor—would i had more of them to record in this history—brings the direst misfortune on his countrymen, delays for a dozen years the occupation of veragua, and turns the tide of conquest in other directions.

character of columbus.

most remarkable in the character of columbus was the combination of the theoretical and the practical; and most remarkable in his theories was the anomaly that though nearly all of them were false, they led to as grand results as if they had been true. the aperture through which failure creeps into carefully laid schemes is usually some glaring defect of character; and such defect often appears where little suspected, in natures warped by genius, or where one quality is unduly developed at the expense of another quality. we often see men of rare ability wrecked by what would be regarded an act of folly unaccountable in the stupidest person; but we do not often see success resulting from these same defects. the greatest defect in the faculties of columbus, extravagance of belief, was the primary cause of his success. simple to us as is the reality of the earth's rotundity, and of the practicability of a western route to asia, no one could then have entertained those doctrines without extraordinary credulity; even though pythagoras and others had so long ago expressed such ideas, 233 no one could then have acted on them short of infatuation bordering on insanity. to say the world is round was not enough; thales of miletus proved it not a plane two thousand years before. if it were round, the water would run off; if it were flat, why then one safely might sail on it; if it be flat, and the water runs not off, then at the other end there must be land that keeps the water on, and one might sail over the flat sea to that land—all such logic was less puerile than the feelings by which the genoese ordinarily reached conclusions. his efforts were the embodiment of the ideas of many thoughtful men, timorous persons, perhaps, or merely meditative and passive, but in none of whom united his ability, courage, and enthusiasm; above all, none so scientific were at the same time so determined. often the knowledge of a prophecy is the cause of its fulfilment. some say alonso sanchez told him of espa?ola, and he himself affirms that once he visited iceland. it may have been that on this voyage he learned from the norsemen of their vinland and helluland. what then? were this true, such stories would have had with him scarcely greater weight than the sayings of the ancients, or than current interpretations of holy writ.

nothing more plainly proves the power that sent him forth than the fact that in scarcely one of his original conceptions was he correct. he thought to reach asia over an unobstructed ocean sea by sailing west; he did not. to the day of his death he thought america was asia, and that cuba was mainland; that the earth was much smaller than it is, and that six sevenths of it was land. he dwelt much on a society of amazons who never had existence, and at every step among the islands he ingenuously allowed his inflamed imagination to deceive him. he claimed to have been divinely appointed for this mission; he affirmed his voyage a miracle, and himself inspired with the conception of it by the most holy trinity; he vowed to rescue the holy sepulchre, 234 which he never did; he proclaimed visions which he never saw, such as st elmo at the top-mast with seven lighted tapers, and told of voices which he never heard; he pictured himself a missionary to benighted heathen, when in truth he was scattering among them legions of fiery devils. but what he knew and did, assuredly, was enough, opening the ocean to highways, and finding new continents; enough to fully entitle him to all the glory man can give to man; and as for his errors of judgment, had he been able to map america as accurately as can we to-day, had he been divine instead of, as he claimed, only divinely appointed, with myriads of attendant ministers, his achievement would have been none the greater. from the infirmities of his nature sprang the nobility of brutus; from the weaknesses of columbus was compounded his strength.

assuredly it was no part of the experience and ingenuity which springs from life-long application that made columbus so essentially a visionary; nor was it his scientific attainments, nor the splendid successes which despite the so frequent frowns of fortune we must accredit him. in his avocation of mariner he was a plain, thoughtful man of sound judgment and wise discretion; but fired by enthusiasm he became more than an ordinary navigator; he became more as he fancied himself, superhuman, the very arm of omnipotence. once born in him the infatuation that he was the divinely appointed instrument for the accomplishment of this work, and frowning monarchs or perilous seas were as straws in his way. we see clearly enough what moved him, these four hundred years after the event, though he who was moved in reality knew little about it. by the pressure of rapidly accumulating ideas we see brought to the front in discovery christopher columbus, just as in the reformation of the church martin luther is crowded to the front. the german monk was not the reformation; like the genoese 235 sailor, he was but an instrument in the hands of a power palpable to all, but called by different persons different names.

while yet mingling in the excitements of progressive manhood, he became lost in a maze of mysticism, and to the end of his life he never recovered possession of himself. not that self-mastery, the first necessity of correct conduct, was wholly gone; there was method in his madness; and he could deny the demons within him, but it was only to leave open the door and give himself up to yet other demons.

in the centuries of battle now lately renewed between science and religion, columbus fought on both sides. never was a man more filled at once with the material and the spiritual, with the emotional and the intellectual. mingling with beatified spirits in the garden of his moral paradise were naked wild men equally as glorious in their immoralities. his creed, which was his very life, was not in his eyes a bundle of supernatural abstractions, but concrete reality as much as were any of his temporal affairs. himself an honest devotee of science, and believing science the offspring of religion, science and himself must therefore finally be forever laid upon the same altar. he had no thought of work apart from religion, or of religion apart from work. he had ready a doctrine for every heavenly display, a theory for every earthly phenomenon. when pictures of other lands rose in his imagination, he knew them to be real, just as juan diego of mexico knew to be real the apparition of our lady of guadalupe at tepeyacac. by the gnawing hunger of temporal and spiritual ambition he was enabled to see the new lands suggested by science, just as the imprisoned monk, starved and scourged into the beholdings of insanity, sees angels of every incarnation.

while thus obliged to view all his achievements through the atmosphere of creative mysticism, in weighing his manifold qualities, it is well always to 236 remember that there were achievements, and those of the very highest order. his mysticism was the mysticism of practical life rather than of inactive ideality. his faith was of value to him in giving definiteness to energy otherwise vague and fitful. his all-potential enthusiasm subordinated to one idea every erratic and incoherent aspiration. it gave his life a fixedness of purpose which lust, avarice, and every appetite combined could not have given without it; so that while he brooded with misanthropic wistfulness he did not shirk any fancied duty, even when attended by pain and misfortune. his was not a cloistered inspiration, but an overwhelmingly active enthusiasm. there was in him no longing after a perfect life; in his own eyes his life was perfect. no restless questionings over the unknowable; there was no unknowable. his oblique imagination encompassed all worlds and penetrated all space. his positivism bound the metaphysical no less firmly than the material. abstract conceptions were more tangible than concrete facts. realities were but accidents; ideas were the only true realities. the highway of the heavens which to profoundest investigation is dusty with the débris of an evolving universe, to this self-sufficient sailor was as plain as the king's road from seville to cádiz.

anomalies and aberrations.

and as genius grows with experience, so grew his determination with the errors he so frequently fell into. he was not a happy man, nor was he always a pleasant companion. in his delusions he was self-satisfied; in the loss of himself self-possessed. he endeavored to be prudent and thought himself worldly wise; but, like many self-flatterers wrapped in their own fancies he was easily imposed upon, even by the sovereigns, with whom he aimed to be exceedingly shrewd. his contact with man did not deepen his humanity, but seemed rather to harden his heart, and drive his affections all the more from earth to heaven. his mind was of that gloomy cast which made even his successes 237 sorrowful. we have seen among his practical virtues integrity of a high conventional order, single-mindedness, courage, and indomitable perseverance; and in other characteristics which were not so pleasing—pride displaying itself, as it often does, in religious humility; a melancholy temper; a selfish ambition, which with one grasp would secure to himself and his family the uttermost that man and god could give; with all his devout piety and heavenly zeal a painful and often ludicrous tenacity in clutching at high-sounding titles and hollow honors—there were even in the most unlovable parts of him something to respect, and in his selfishness a self-sacrificing nobleness, a lofty abandonment of self to the idea, which we can but admire. it was not for himself, although it was always most zealously and jealously for himself; the ships, the new lands, the new peoples, his fortunes and his life, all were consecrate; should the adventure prove successful, the gain would be heaven's; if a failure, the loss would fall on him. surely the almighty must smile on terms so favorable to himself. and that he did not finally make good his promises with regard to rescuing the holy sepulchre, and building temples, and converting nations, was for the same reason that he did not finally satisfy his worldly pretensions, and secure himself in his rulership. he had not the time. in all his worldly and heavenly ambitions, the glory of god and the glory of himself were blended with the happy consummation of his grand idea. and never did morbid broodings over the unsubstantial and shadowless produce grander results than these incubations of alternate exaltation and despondency that hatched a continent. and in all that was then transpiring, there are few intelligent readers of history who cannot see an overshadowing, all-controlling destiny shaping events throughout the world, so that this then unknown continent should be prepared to fill the grand purpose which even then appeared to be marked out for it. 238

while, therefore, in the study of this remarkable character, whose description is but a succession of paradoxes, we see everywhere falsehood leading up to truth and truth to falsehood; while we see spring out of the ideal the real, results the most substantial and success the most signal come from conceptions the most fantastical, we can but observe, not only that penetrative vision which in the mind of genius sees through the symbol the divine significance, but that they have not been always or altogether fruitless of good, those spectral fancies which riot in absurdities, building celestial cities, and peopling pandemoniums, even in the absence of genius, symbol, or significance.[iv-26]

239bibliography.

probably not one of the many accounts of columbus which have been published is presented with such fulness of detail, commanding vivid interest from first to last, as that of mr washington irving, the life and voyages of christopher columbus; to which are added those of his companions, 3 vols., new york, 1869. the first editions, one in london, in 4 vols., and one in new york, appeared in 1828; since which time there have been many issues, in english and other languages. the author was born in new york, in 1783, and died at sunnyside, near tarrytown, on the hudson river, in 1859. a strong literary taste was early displayed, specially manifested in 1802 in a series of articles contributed to the morning chronicle. in 1804 he visited europe for his health, returning in 1807. then appeared the serial salmagundi, and in 1809 a history of new york. again in 1815 he went to europe, and after engaging for a time in mercantile pursuits, abandoned them and gave himself up to letters. the publication of the sketch book was begun in numbers in 1818, and was followed by bracebridge hall in 1822, and tales of a traveller in 1824. then came columbus, the material for which he obtained from navarrete in spain. see chapter iii. note 9, this volume. after serving as secretary of the american legation in london from 1829 to 1832, he returned to new york and published the alhambra; then crayon miscellany in 1835; astoria in 1836; captain bonneville in 1837; and wolfert's roost in 1855. from 1842 to 1846 he was american minister to spain. his later works were goldsmith, 1849; mahomet, 1850; and washington, 1855-9. mr irving has been most praised for his genial manner, his gentleness of thought, and his charming style, which carries the reader almost unconsciously along over details in other hands dry and profitless. among these is found his highest merit; and yet one would sometimes wish the author not quite so meritorious. elegance and grace eternal tire by their very faultlessness. in handling the rough realities of life one relishes now and then a rough thought roughly expressed. neither is irving remarkable for historical accuracy, or exact thinking. an early criticism on columbus complains of that without which the works of irving never would have attained great popularity. he was pronounced too wordy, his details too long drawn. if this was the case fifty years ago, it is much more so now. and yet how 240 fascinating is every page! and who but irving could make thrilling such trivial events? permit him the use of words, and howsoever isolated the ideas, or commonplace the events, the result was brilliant; but force him within narrow compass, not only would the charm be lost, but the work would be almost worthless.

the highest delight of a healthy mind, of a mind not diseased either by education or affection, is in receiving the truth. the greatest charm in expression, to a writer who may properly be placed in the category of healthful, is in telling the truth. it is only when truth is dearer to us than tradition, or pride of opinion, that we are ready to learn; it is only when truth is dearer to us than praise or profit that we are fit to teach. if the mind be intelligent as well as healthy, it knows itself to be composed of truth and prejudice, the latter engendered of ignorance and environment, holding it in iron fetters, and with which it knows it must forever struggle in vain wholly to be free. thus keenly alive as well to the difficulties as to the importance of right thinking and exact forms of expression, it nevertheless has its keenest pleasure in striving toward concrete truth. it is truthfulness to nature in all her beauties and deformities, rather than the construction of some more beautiful than natural ideal, that alone satisfies art, whether in the domain of painting, oratory, or literature. we of to-day, while holding in high esteem works of the imagination, are becoming somewhat captious in regard to our facts. the age is essentially informal and real; even our ideal literature must be rigidly true to nature, while whatever pretends to be real must be presented in all simplicity, without circumlocution or disguisement.

half a century ago it was deemed necessary, particularly by writers of selected epochs of history, in order to clothe their narrative with dramatic effect equal to fiction, to intensify characters and events. the good qualities of good men were made to stand out in bold relief, not against their own bad qualities, but against the bad qualities of bad men, whose wickedness was portrayed in such black colors as to overshadow whatever of good they might possess. thus historical episodes were endowed, so far as possible without too great discoloration of truth, like a theatrical performance, each with a perfected hero and a finished villain. of this class of writers were macaulay and motley, froude, freeman, prescott, and irving, whose works are wonderful in their way, not only as art-creations, but as the truest as well as most vivid pictures of their several periods yet presented, and which for generations will be read with that deep and wholesome interest with which they deserve to be regarded. for, although their facts are sometimes highly varnished, their most brilliant creations are always built upon a substantial skeleton of truth. i say that these, the foremost writers of their day, are none of them free from the habit of exaggeration, deception. indeed, with a wasteful extravagance in the use of superlatives it is almost impossible to draw character strongly without in some parts of it exaggerating. but in these days of rational reflection wherein romance and reality are fairly separated, celestial fiction and mundane fact being made to pass under the same experimentum crucis; mind becoming so mechanical that it introverts and analyzes not only its own mechanism but the mechanism of its maker; iconoclasm becoming spiritualized, and the doctrine revived of the old adamic serpent, that the 241 knowledge of good and evil is not death but life and immortality, this knowledge being king of kings, vying with nature's forces and oftentimes defying them—i say, in days like these mature manhood becomes impatient of the santa claus, or other fictitious imagery, from which the infant mind derives much comfort, and prefers, if necessary, the torments of truth to the elysium of fable. it is no longer valid logic that if the hero stoops to trickery, his biographer should stoop to trickery to cover it. for once undertake to shape the stiff clay of material facts into the artistic forms of fiction, and the result is neither history nor romance.

washington irving.

proud as i am of the names of prescott and irving, at whose shrines none worship with profounder admiration than myself; thankless as may be the task of criticising their classic pages, whose very defects shine with a steadier lustre than i dare hope for my brightest consummations; still, forced by my subject, in some instances, into fields partially traversed by them, i can neither pass them by nor wholly praise them. in justice to my theme, in justice to myself, in justice to the age in which i live, i must speak, and that according to the light and the perceptions given me.

mr irving's estimate of the value of honesty and integrity in a historian may be gathered from his own pages. "there is a certain meddlesome spirit," he writes, "which, in the garb of learned research, goes prying about the traces of history, casting down its monuments, and marring and mutilating its fairest trophies. care should be taken to vindicate great names from such pernicious erudition. it defeats one of the most salutary purposes of history, that of furnishing examples of what human genius and laudable enterprise may accomplish." now, if conscientious inquiry into facts signifies a meddlesome spirit; if the plain presentment of facts may rightly be called pernicious erudition; if the overthrow of fascinating falsehood is mutilating the trophies of history; if fashioning golden calves for the worship of the simple be the most salutary purpose of history; then i, for one, prefer the meddlesome spirit and the pernicious erudition which mutilates such monuments to the fairest trophies of historical deception. again—"herrera has been accused also of flattering his nation; exalting the deeds of his countrymen, and softening and concealing their excesses. there is nothing very serious in this accusation. to illustrate the glory of his nation is one of the noblest offices of the historian; and it is difficult to speak too highly of the extraordinary enterprises and splendid actions of the spaniards in those days. in softening their excesses he fell into an amiable and pardonable error, if it were indeed an error for a spanish writer to endeavor to sink them in oblivion." when a writer openly avows his allegiance to falsehood, to amiable falsehood, to falsehood perpetrated to deceive in regard to one's own country, about which one professes to know more than a stranger, nothing remains to be said. nothing remains to be said as to the veracity of that author, but much remains to be said concerning the erroneous impressions left by him of the persons and events coming in the way of this work.

with what exquisite grace, with what tender solicitude and motherly blindness to faults mr irving defends the reputation of columbus! is the genoese a pirate, then is piracy "almost legalized;" is he a slave-maker, "the customs of the times" are pleaded; without censure he lives at córdova in open adultery 242 with beatriz enriquez, and there becomes the father of the illegitimate fernando; a bungling attempt is made to excuse the hero for depriving the poor sailor of the prize offered him who should first see land; oviedo is charged with falsehood because he sometimes decides against the discoverer in issues of policy and character; father buil was "as turbulent as he was crafty" because he disagreed with the admiral in some of his measures; the most extravagant vituperation is hurled at aguado because he is chosen to examine and report on the affairs of the indies; fonseca is denounced as inexpressibly vile because he thwarts some of the discoverer's hare-brained projects; and so with regard to those who in any wise opposed him, while all who smiled on him were angels of light. all through his later life when extravagant requests were met by more than the usual liberality of royalty, irving is petulantly complaining because more is not done for his hero, and because his petulant hero complains. and this puerile pride from which springs such petulance the eloquent biographer coins into the noble ambition of conscious merit. though according to his own statement the madness of the man increased until toward the latter end he was little better than imbecile, yet we are at the same time gravely assured that "his temper was naturally irritable, but he subdued it by the magnanimity of his spirit." the son fernando denies that his father once carded wool; irving does not attempt to excuse this blemish because his readers do not regard work ignoble.

now it is not the toning-down of defects in a good man's character that i object to so much as the predetermined exaltation of one historical personage at the expense of others utterly debased under like premeditation. did mr irving, and the several scores of biographers preceding and following him, parade the good qualities of bobadilla, roldan, and ovando as heartily as those of their hero, the world would be puzzled what to make of it. we are not accustomed to such statements. unseasoned biography is tasteless, and we are taught not to expect truth, but a model. we should not know what these writers were trying to do if they catalogued the misdemeanors of columbus and his brothers with the same embellishments applied to aguado, buil, and fonseca; telling with pathetic exaggeration how the benign admiral of the ocean sea was the first to employ bloodhounds against the naked natives; how he practised varied cruelties in espa?ola beyond expression barbarous; and how he stooped upon occasion not only to vulgar trickery, but to base treachery.

on the other hand, with those who seek notoriety by attempting to degrade the fair fame of noble and successful genius because more credit may have been given by some than is justly due, or by affecting to disbelieve whole narratives and whole histories because portions of them are untrue or too highly colored, i have no sympathy. books have been written to prove, what no one denies, that centuries before columbus other europeans had found this continent, and that thereby the honor of his achievement is lessened—of which sentiment i fail to see the force. so far as the genoese, his works, and merits are concerned, it makes no whit difference were america twenty times before discovered, as elsewhere in this volume has been fully shown.

irving and prescott compared.

prescott was a more exact writer than irving, though prescott was not wholly above the amiable weakness of his time. in the main he stated the 243 truth, and stated it fairly, though he did not always tell the whole truth. the faults of his heroes he would speak, though never so softly; he seldom attempted entirely to conceal them. he might exaggerate, but he neither habitually practised nor openly defended mendacity. prescott would fain please the catholics, if it did not cost too much. irving would please everybody, particularly americans; but most of all he would make a pleasing tale; if truthful, well; if not, it must on no account run counter to popular prejudice. the inimitable charm about them both amply atones in the minds of many for any imperfections. since their day much new light has been thrown upon the subjects treated by them, but not enough seriously to impair the value of their works. in their estimates of the characters of ferdinand and isabella, relatively and respectively, these brilliant writers are not alone. they copied those who wrote before them; and those who came after copied them. it has been the fashion these many years, both by native and foreign historians, to curse ferdinand and to bless isabella, to heap all the odium of the nation and the times upon the man and exalt the woman among the stars. this, surely, is the more pleasant and chivalrous method of disposing of the matter; but in that case i must confess myself at a loss what to do with the facts.

ferdinand and isabella.

none but the simple are deceived by the gentle irving when he insinuates "she is even somewhat bigoted;" by which expression he would have us understand that the fascinating queen of castile was but little of a bigot. again: "ferdinand was a religious bigot; and the devotion of isabella went as near to bigotry as her liberal mind and magnanimous spirit would permit"—that is to say, as the plan of mr irving's story would permit. quite as well as any of us irving knew that isabella was one of the most bigoted women of her bigoted age, far more bigoted than ferdinand, who dared even dispute the pope when his holiness interfered too far in attempting to thwart his ambitious plans. she was, indeed, so deeply dyed a bigot as to allow her ghostly confessor to overawe her finest womanly instincts, her commonly strict sense of honor, justice, and humanity, and cause her to permit in spain the horrible inquisition, the most monstrous mechanism of torture ever invented in aid of the most monstrous crime ever perpetrated by man upon his fellows, the coercion and suppression of opinion. fair as she was in all her ways, and charming—fair of heart and mind and complexion, with regular features, light chestnut hair, mild blue eyes, a modest and gracious demeanor—she did not scruple, for the extermination of heresy, to apply to such of her loving subjects as dared think for themselves the thumb-screw, the ring-bolt and pulley, the rack, the rolling-bench, the punch, the skewer, the pincers, the knotted whip, the sharp-toothed iron collar, chains, balls, and manacles, confiscation of property and burning at the stake; and all under false accusations and distorted evidence. she did not hesitate to seize and put to death hundreds of wealthy men like pecho, and appropriate to her own use their money, though her exquisite womanly sensibilities might sometimes prompt her to fling to the widows and children whom she had turned beggars into the street a few crumbs of their former riches. this mother, who nursed children of her own and who should not have been wholly ignorant of a mother's love, turned a deaf ear to the cries of moorish mothers as they and their children were torn asunder and sold at 244 the slave mart in seville. thousands of innocent men, women, and children she cruelly imprisoned, thousands she cast into the fiery furnace, tens of thousands she robbed and then drove into exile; but it was chastely done, and by a most sweet and beautiful lady. we can hardly believe it true, we do not like to believe it true, that when old rabbi abarbanel pleaded before the king for his people, "i will pay for their ransom six hundred thousand crowns of gold," isabella's soft, musical voice was heard to say, "do not take it," her confessor meanwhile exclaiming "what! judas-like, sell jesus!" besides, thrice six hundred thousand crowns might be secured by not accepting the ransom. and yet this was the bright being, and such her acts by prescott's own statements, cover them as he will never so artfully, whose practical wisdom, he assures us, was "founded on the purest and most exalted principle," and whose "honest soul abhorred anything like artifice." isabella was unquestionably a woman of good intentions; but with such substance the soul-burner's pit is paved.

prescott throws all the odium of the inquisition on torquemada, and i concur. the monk's mind was the ashy, unmelting mould in which the woman's more plastic affections were cast. but then he should be accredited with some portion of the virtues that adorned the character of isabella, for he was the author of many of them. to be just, if isabella is accredited with her virtues, she must be charged with her crimes. and if the queen may throw from her shoulders upon those of her advisers the responsibility of iniquity permitted under her rule, why not king ferdinand, who likewise had men about him urging him to this policy and to that? true, we excuse much in woman as the weaker, and very justly so, which we condemn in the man of powerful cunning. but isabella was not exactly clay in the hands of those about her; or if so, then praise her for her imbecility, and not for any virtue. but she could muster will and spirit enough of her own upon occasion—witness her threat to kill pedro giron with her own hand rather than marry him, and the policy which speaks plainly her sagacity and state-craft in the selection of ferdinand, and in the strict terms of her marriage contract which excluded her husband from any sovereign rights in castile or leon. most inconsistently, indeed, in reviewing the administration of isabella, at the end of three volumes of unadulterated adulation prescott gives his heroine firmness enough in all her ways; independence of thought and action sufficient to circumscribe the pretensions of her nobles; and she "was equally vigilant in resisting ecclesiastical encroachment;" "she enforced the execution of her own plans, oftentimes even at great personal hazard, with a resolution surpassing that of her husband." when, however, she signed the edict for the expulsion of the jews, the excuse was that "she had been early schooled to distrust her own reason." but why multiply quotations? the ferdinand and isabella of prescott is full of these flat contradictions.

we all know that when carried away by feeling women are more cruel than men; so isabella under the frenzy of her fanaticism was, if possible, more cruel than ferdinand, whose passions were ballasted by his ambitions. her feelings were with her faith; and her faith was with such foul iniquity, such inhuman wrong as should cause her euphemistic apologists to blush for resorting to the same species of subterfuge that makes heroes of jack sheppard and dick turpin. 245 again, murder and robbery for christ's sake suits the devil quite as well as when done for one's own sake. and here on earth, to plead in a court of justice good intentions in mitigation of evil acts nothing extenuates in the eyes of any righteous judge. therefore there is little to choose between those of whom it may be said—here is a man who perfidiously robs, tortures, and murders his fellow-beings by the hundred thousand in order to glorify himself, and extend and establish his dominions; and, here is a woman who perfidiously robs, tortures, and murders her fellow-beings by the hundred thousand in order to glorify herself, her priest, her religion, and extend and establish the dominions of her deity. at the farthest, and in the minds of the eloquent biographers themselves, the relative refinement and nobility of the two characters must turn wholly upon one's conception of the relative refinement and nobility of earthly selfishness and heavenly selfishness.

what can we say then, if we make any pretensions to fairness in portraying historical personages, in excuse for isabella that cannot as rightfully be said in excuse for ferdinand? for even he, whom sensational biographers array in such sooty blackness in order that the satin robes of isabella may shine with whiter lustre, has been called in spain the wise and prudent, and in italy the pious. of course there were differences in their dispositions and their ambitions, but not such wide ones as we have been told. he was a man, with a man's nature, cold, coarse, stern, and artful; she a woman, with a woman's nature, warm, refined, gentle, and artful. he was foxlike, she feline. opposing craft with craft, she jealously guarded what she deemed the interests of her subjects, and earnestly sought by encouraging literature and art, and reforming the laws, to refine and elevate her realm. he did precisely the same. in all the iniquities of his lovely consort ferdinand lent a helping hand; man could do nothing worse; and all the world agree that ferdinand was bad. and yet, in what was he worse than she? both were tools of the times, incisive and remorseless. to the ecclesiastical tyranny of which they were victims they added civil tyranny which they imposed upon their subjects. ferdinand was the greatest of spain's sovereigns, far greater than charles, whose fortune it was to reap where his grandfather had planted. it was ferdinand who consolidated all the several sovereignties of the peninsula, save portugal, into one political body, weighty in the affairs of europe. he was ambitious; and to accomplish his ends scrupled at nothing. there was no sin he dared not commit, no wrong he dared not inflict, provided the proximate result should accord with his desires. he was less bound by superstition than the average of the age; he was thoughtful, powerful, princely. both were personages magnificent, glorious, who achieved much good and much evil, the evil being as fully chargeable to the times, which placed princes above promises and religion, above integrity and humanity, as to any special depravity innate in either of them. and what was the immediate result of it; and what the more distant conclusion; and how much after all were spaniards indebted to these rulers? first spain enwrapped in surpassing glories! spain the mistress of the world, on whose dominions the sun refuses to go down. fortunate ferdinand! thrice amiable and virtuous isabella! and next? do we not see that these brilliant successes, these gratified covetings are themselves the seeds of spain's abasement? infinitely 246 better off were spain to-day, i will not say had she not driven out her moors and jews, but had she never known the new world. how much soever of honor isabella may have brought upon herself by her speculations in partnership with the genoese, for the self-same reason, resulting in the great blight of gold and general effeminacy that followed, spain's posterity might reasonably anathematize her memory could they derive any comfort therefrom.

in regard to that much-lauded act of isabella's in lending her assistance to columbus when ferdinand would not, there is this to be said. first, no special praise is due her for assisting the genoese; and secondly, she never assisted him in the manner or to the extent represented. santángel and the pinzons were the real supporters of that first voyage. isabella did not pawn her jewels; she did not sell her wardrobe, or empty her purse. but if she had, for what would it have been? it makes a pleasing story for children to call her patronage by pretty names, to say that it was out of pity for the poor sailor, that it was an act of personal sacrifice for the public good, that it was for charity's sake, or from benevolence, for the extension of knowledge or the vindication of some great principle—only it is a very stupid child that does not know better. clearly enough the object was great returns from a small expenditure; great returns in gold, lands, honors, and proselytings—a species of commercial and political gambling more in accordance with the character as commonly sketched of the "cold and crafty ferdinand," whose measureless avarice and insatiable greed not less than his subtle state-craft and kingly cunning would have prompted him to secure so great a prize at so small a cost, than with the character of an unselfish, heavenly-minded woman. and were it not for the danger of being regarded by the tender-minded as ungallant, i might allude to the haggling which attended the bargain, and tell how the queen at first refused to pay the sailor his price, and let him go, then called him back and gave him what he first had asked, more like a jew than like even the grasping ferdinand.

in conclusion, i feel it almost unnecessary to say that columbus, isabella, and all those bright examples of history whose conduct and influence in the main were on the side of humanity, justice, the useful, and the good, have my most profound admiration, my most intelligent respect. all their faults i freely forgive, and praise them for what they were, as among the noblest, the best, the most beneficial to their race—though not always so, nor always intending it—of any who have come and gone before us. and i can hate bobadilla, roldan, and others of their sort, all historical embodiments of injustice, egotism, treachery, and beastly cruelty, with a godly hatred; but i hope never to be so blinded by the brightness of my subject as to be unable to see the truth, and seeing it, fairly to report it.