 
Serenely conscious of the value of his services, but with that modesty which is characteristic of all noble spirits, the calumniated world-discoverer approached the throne of his sovereign to establish his innocence of the false accusations made against him. But it was not necessary for him to defend himself, for his mere countenance impressed his royal judges at once with the esteem in which they had previously held his services, as well as with shame for their own credulity. As soon as he had shown them a part only of the valuable products he had brought with him, all their suspicions vanished and they strove to compensate him by every mark of honor. All that Columbus now proposed was granted, the rights which he already held in the newly discovered countries were confirmed, and new ones added. His most urgent desire was the secure establishment of the colony he had founded at Hispaniola and to procure as many men for this purpose as he considered indispensable. Besides this he wanted a sufficient number of farm laborers and artisans of every kind so that he might be able to meet all the requirements of the colony. Unfortunately it was not easy to find many Spaniards who were ready to sail with the Admiral to the New World, for many of the emigrants had returned home and were not as enthusiastic over the new countries as they might have been. The gold there could be obtained only by working for it and these Spaniards did not like to work. Besides this the climate of Hispaniola was not agreeable to many of them. They had come back with bleached and yellow skins and satirically said that they brought back more gold in their faces than in their pockets. To procure men for the settlement of Hispaniola, Columbus advised that the prisons should be opened and that convicts sentenced to death or the galleys should be sent to Hispaniola where they could be useful in the adjacent mines. An order was at once issued to courts of justice in Spain that all such criminals should be sent to the West Indies. In this way Columbus conveyed to the New World many bad persons who naturally gave him much trouble. Notwithstanding the issue of the royal order that Columbus should be provided with everything he asked, the equipment of the fleet progressed very slowly, for the money promised him could not be raised at once and those opposed to the undertaking put many obstacles in his way, which retarded the progress of the business. At last, however, two freight vessels left for Hispaniola in January, 1498, but Columbus had to wait until the thirtieth of May before he could weigh anchor with six vessels deficiently manned. He had now determined to take an entirely new course, hoping to discover the real Indies. With this purpose in view, after he reached the Canary Islands he sailed in the same direction to the island of the Green Cape, which the Portuguese had discovered. Immediately after leaving the Canaries he sent half of his vessels directly to Hispaniola to take fresh provisions to the colony and ordered their captains to make the voyage as quickly as possible. After passing the island of the Green Cape, which is called the Salz Island, he anchored near a small, barren one where the Portuguese sent their lepers to be cured. Upon this small island there are multitudes of turtles which swim there from the African coast to lay their eggs in the sand. These animals are very easily caught. When placed upon their backs they cannot move. It had been found that to eat their flesh and wash in their blood was a sure cure for leprosy, so those afflicted with that disease were sent there to be healed. Besides these turtles there was an immense number of goats upon this island, which had sprang from eight goats once brought there by a Portuguese. There was neither tree nor stream on the island and the poor lepers were forced to drink foul rain water which collected in holes. There were at that time only seven of them on the island. From there Columbus steered to the southward until he reached the equator, where his fleet was becalmed. The sun’s rays beat down upon their heads fiercely and they could find no shelter from its blazing heat. The wine-casks split, all the water aboard was foul, the provisions rotted, the vessels themselves grew so hot that the despairing sailors expected every instant they would take fire. Besides his own troubles and the despair of his exhausted companions, he was afflicted by gout, induced by his anxiety and sleeplessness. He lay racked with pain, troubled with anxiety over the dangerous condition of his vessels, tormented with the heat, without the comfort of a drink of fresh water. At last the heavens had pity upon him and sent such an abundant rain that the men could hardly remain upon deck. It did not greatly abate the terrible heat, but they secured a supply of fresh water, and, as the calm disappeared, hope once more arose in their half-lifeless breasts. They eagerly implored him not to persist in sailing farther south and this time he yielded and took a southwesterly course. After sailing several days in that direction, upon the first of August, 1498, the welcome shout of “Land, land!” was heard from the mast-head. It was heavenly music in the ears of the hungry and exhausted seamen who had been tossing about so long. The island which they observed was covered with three hill-tops and so Columbus named it Trinidad, which name it still bears. It lies not far from the mouth of the Orinoco River, which empties into the sea with such force that the fleet was very unsafe. The waves dashed and broke against them fiercely and one vessel had the misfortune to be caught in this mighty wave rush, and for a time was in great danger of being destroyed. Finding himself in the midst of a terrible battle of the waves which tossed his vessels up and down, to the right and left, as if they had been feathers, he had to exert all his skill to escape from this dangerous spot through a channel which had such a cruel aspect that he named it La Boca del Drago (the Dragon’s Throat). Columbus was now fully convinced he had reached the mainland, for no island could contain such a mighty river as the Orinoco. He steered still farther to the west along the coast and landed at different places. He found that the natives of this country had many of the characteristics of those in Hispaniola, only they were more intelligent and courageous and were of whiter skin. They were also decorated with gold ornaments and costly pearls, which they willingly exchanged for European trifles. One of them came to Columbus upon one occasion without any attendants, while he was on shore seeking fresh air as a relief from his ailment. He boldly approached the Admiral’s camp, removed his red silk cap, and placed a gold crown on his head in its place. Columbus decided the native must be a cacique and took pains that he should be properly treated. These Indians wore a soft woollen cloth wound about the head, and their bodies from the waist to the knee were covered with a similar cloth. They had long but well-kept hair and their weapons were shields, bows, and arrows. Columbus would gladly have remained there long enough to ascertain something of the nature of the inland country but the wretched condition of his vessels and his continued indisposition forced him to abandon further investigation and sail to Hispaniola. Upon this voyage he discovered the island of Margarita, which has become so famous for its pearl fisheries. Worn out with illness and the incessant strain upon him, he at last reached the colony, to take a long rest from his cares and troubles. |
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