as would be a recompence for all their fufferings, and efface the memory of former difappointments. When, by his unwearied endeavours, concord and order were fo far reftored, that he could venture to leave the island, Columbus refolved to purfue his difcoveries, that he might be able to ascertain whether those new countries with which he had opened a communication were connected with any region of the earth already known, or whether they were to be confidered as a feparate portion of the globe hitherto unvifited. He appointed his brother Don Diego, with the affistance of a council of officers, to govern the island in his absence; and gave the command of a body of foldiers to Don Pedro Margarita, with which he was to vifit the different parts of the island, and endeavour to establish the authority of the Spaniards among the inhabitants. Having left them very particular inftructions with respect to their conduct, he weighed anchor on the twenty-fourth of April, with one ship and two fmall barks under his command. During a tedious voyage of full five months, he had a trial of almost all the numerous hardships to which perfons of his profeffion are exposed, without making any discovery of importance, except the ifland of Jamaica. As he ranged along the fouthern coaft of Cuba, he was entangled in a labyrinth formed by an incredible number of fmall islands, to which he gave the name of the Queen's Garden. In this unknown course, among rocks and shelves, he was retarded by contrary winds, affaulted with furious ftorms, and alarmed with the terrible thunder and lightning which is often almoft inceffant between the tropics. At length his provifions fell fhort; his crew, exhaufted with fatigue, as well as hunger, murmured and threatened, and were ready to proceed to the most defperate extremities against him. Befet with danger in fuch various forms, he was obliged to keep, continual watch, to observe every occurrence with his own eyes, to iffue every order, and to fuperintend the execution of it. On no occafion, was the extent of his fkill and experience as a navigator fo much tried. To thefe the fquadron owed its fafety. But this unremitted fatigue of body, and intense application of mind, overpowering his conftitution, though naturally vigorous and robuft, brought, on a feverish diforder, which terminated in a lethargy, that deprived him of fenfe and memory and had almoft proved fatal to his life. But, on his return Sept. 27, to Hifpaniola, the fudden emotion of joy which he felt upon meeting with his brother Bartholomew at Ifabella, occafioned fuch a flow of fpirits as contributed greatly to his recovery. It was now thirteen years fince the two brothers, whom fimilarity of talents united in clofe friendship, had feparated from each other, other, and during that long period there had been no intercourfe between them. Bartholomew, after finishing his negociation in the court of England, had fet out for Spain by the way of France. At Paris he received an account of the extraordinary discoveries which his brother had made in his first voyage, and that he was then preparing to embark on a fecond expedition. Though this naturally induced him to purfue his journey with the utmoft difpatch, the admiral had failed for Hifpaniola before he reached Spain. Ferdinand and Ifabella received him with the respect due to the nearest kinsman of a person whose merit and fervices rendered him fo confpicuous; and as they knew what confolation his prefence would afford to his brother, they perfuaded him to take the command of three fhips, which they had appointed to carry provifions to the colony of Ifabella. He could not have arrived at any juncture when Columbus ftood more in need of a friend capable of affifting him with his counfels, or of dividing with him the cares and burden of government. For although the provisions now brought from Europe, afforded a temporary relief to the Spaniards from the calamities of famine, the fupply was not in fuch quantity as to fupport them long, and the ifland did not hitherto yield what was fufficient for their fuftenance. They were threatened with another danger, ftill more formidable than the return of scarcity, and which demanded more immediate attention. No fooner did Columbus leave the island on his voyage of discovery, than the foldiers under Margarita, as if they had been fet free from difcipline and fubordination, fcorned all reftraint. Inftead of conforming to the prudent inftructions of Columbus, they difperfed in ftraggling parties over the ifland, lived at difcretion upon the natives, wafted their provifions, feized their women, and treated that inoffenfive race with all the infolence of military oppreffion. As long as the Indians had any profpect that their fufferings might. come to a period by the voluntary departure of the invaders, they fubmitted in filence, and diffembled their forrow; but they now perceived that the yoke would be as permament as it was intolerable. The Spaniards had built a town, and furrounded it with ramparts. They had erected forts in different places. They had enclosed and fown feveral fields. It was apparent that they came not to visit the country, but to fettle in it. Though the number of thofe ftrangers was inconfiderable, the ftate of cultivation among this rude people was fo imperfect, and in fuch exact proportion to their own confumption, that it was with difficulty they could afford fubfiftence to their new guests. Their own mode of life was fo indolent and inactive, the warmth of the climate so enervating, the conftitution of their bodies naturally fo feeble, and fo unac customed suftomed to the laborious exertions of industry, that they were fatisfied with a proportion of food amazingly fmall. A handful of maize, or a little of the infipid bread made of a caffada-root, was fufficient to fupport men, whofe ftrength and fpirits were not exhaufted by any vigorous efforts either of body or mind. The Spaniards, though the moft abfemious of all the European nation's, appeared to them exceffively voracious. One Spaniard confumed as much as feveral Indians. This keenness of appetite furprized them fo much, and feemed to them to be fo infatiable, that they fuppofed the Spaniards had left their own country, because it did not produce as much as was requifite to gratify their immoderate defire of food, and had come among them in queft of nourishment. Self-prefervation prompted them to wifh for the departure of guests who wafted fo faft their flender ftock of provifions. The injuries which they fuffered, added to their impatience for this event. They had long expected that the Spaniards would retire of their own accord. They now perceived that, in order to avert the deftruction with which they were threatened, either by the flow confumption of famine, or by the violence of their oppreffors, it was neceffary to affume courage, to attack those formidable invaders with united force, and drive them from the fettlements of which they had violently taken poffeffion. Such were the fentiments which univerfally prevailed among the Indians, when Columbus returned to Ifabella. Inflamed by the unprovoked outrages of the Spaniards, with a degree of rage of which their gentle natures, formed to fuffer and fubmit, feemed highly fufceptible, they waited only for a fignal from their leaders to fall upon the colony. Some of the caziques had already surprised and cut off feveral ftragglers. The dread of this impending danger united the Spaniards, and re-established the authority of Columbus, as they faw no profpect of fafety but in committing themselves to his prudent guidance. It was now neceffary to have recourfe to arms, the employing of which against the Indians, Columbus had hitherto avoided with the greatest folicitude. Unequal as the conflict may feem, between the naked inhabitants of the New World, armed with clubs, fticks hardened in the fire, wooden fwords, and arrows pointed with bones or flints; and troops accustomed to the difcipline, and provided with the inftruments of destruction known in the European art of war, the fituation of the Spaniards was far from being exempt from danger. The vaft fuperiority of the natives in number, compenfated many defects. An handful of men was about to encounter a whole nation. One adverfe event, or even any adverfe delay in determining the fate of the war, might prove fatal fatal to the Spaniards. Confcious that fuccefs depended on the vigour and rapidity of his operations, Columbus inftantly affembled his forces. They were reduced to a very fmall number. Difeafes, engendered by the warmth and humidity of the country, or occafioned by their own licentioufnefs, had raged among them with much violence; experience had not yet taught them the art either of curing thefe, or the precautions requifite for guarding them; two-thirds of the original adventurers were dead, and many of thofe who furvived were incapable of fervice. The body which took the field on March 24, 1495, confifted only of two hundred foot, twenty horfe, and twenty large dogs; and how ftrange foever it may feem, to mention the laft as compofing part of a military force, they were not perhaps the leaft formidable and deftructive of the whole, when employed againft naked and timid Indians. All the caziques of the island, Guacanahari excepted, who retained an inviolable attachment to the Spaniards, were in arms to oppofe Columbus, with forces amounting, if we may believe the Spanish hiftorians, to a hundred thousand men. Inftead of attempting to draw the Spaniards into the faftneffes of the woods and mountains, they were fo imprudent as to take their station in the Vega Real, the most open plain in the country. Columbus did not allow them time to perceive their error, or to alter their pofition. He attacked them during the night, when undifciplined troops are leaft capable of acting with union and concert, and obtained an eafy and bloodless victory. The confternation with which the Indians were filled by the noise and havoc made by the fire-arms, by the impetuous force of the cavalry, and the firft onfet of the dogs, was fo great, that they threw down their weapons, and fled without attempting refiftance. Many were flain; more were taken prifoners, and reduced to fervitude; and fo thoroughly were the reft intimidated, that from that moment they abandoned themselves to defpair, relinquishing all thoughts of contending with aggreffors whom they deemed invincible. Columbus employed feveral months in marching through the island, and in subjecting it to the Spanish government, without meeting with any oppofition. He impofed a tribute upon all the inhabitants above the age of fourteen. Each perfon who lived in those districts where gold was found, was obliged to pay quarterly as much gold dust as filled a hawk's bell; from thofe in other parts of the country, twenty-fivè pounds of cotton were demanded. This was the firft regular taxation of the Indians, and ferved as a precedent for exactions ftill more intolerable. Such an impofition was extremely contrary to thofe maxims which Columbus had hitherto inculcated with refpect to the mode of treating them. them. But intrigues were carrying on in the court of Spain at this juncture, in order to undermine his power and difcredit his operations, which constrained him to depart from his own system of administration. Several unfavourable accounts of his conduct, as well as of the countries difcovered by him, had been tranfmitted to Spain. Margaritta and Father Boyl were now at court; and in order to justify their own conduct, or to gratify their refentment, watched with malevolent attention for every opportunity of spreading infinuations to his detriment. Many of the courtiers viewed his growing reputation and power with envious eyes. Fonseca, archdeacon of Seville, who was intrusted with the chief direction of Indian affairs, had conceived fuch an unfavourable opinion of Columbus, for some reason which the contemporary writers have not mentioned, that he liftened with partiality to every invective against him. It was not eafy for an unfriended stranger, unpractifed in courtly arts, to counteract the machinations of so many enemies. Columbus faw that there was but one method of fupporting his own credit, and of filencing all his adverfaries. He muft produce fuch a quantity of gold as would not only justify what he had reported with respect to the richness of the country, but encourage Ferdinand and Isabella to persevere in profecuting his plans. The neceflity of obtaining it, forced him not only to impofe this heavy tax upon the Indians, but to exact payment of it with extreme rigour; and may be pleaded in excufe for his deviating on this occafion from the mildness and humanity with which he uniformly treated that unhappy people. The labour, attention, and forefight which the Indians were obliged to employ in procuring the tribute demanded of them, appeared the moft intolerable of all evils, to men accustomed to pass their days in a carelefs, improvident indolence. They were incapable of fuch a regular and perfevering exertion of industry, and felt it fuch a grievous reftraint upon their liberty, that they had recourfe to an expedient for obtaining deliverance from this yoke, which demonftrates the excess of their impatience and despair. They formed a.fcheme of ftarving those oppreffors whom they durft not attempt to expel; and from the opinion which they entertained with refpect to the voracious appetite of the Spaniards, they concluded the execution of it to be very practicable. With this view they fufpended all the operations of agriculture; they sowed no maize, they pulled up the roots of the manioc or cassada which were planted, and retiring to the most inacceffible parts of the mountains, left the uncultivated plains to their enemies. This defperate refolution produced in fome degree the effects which they expected. The Spaniards were reduced to extreme want; but they received fuch feasonable H |