The unceasing and almost superhuman wear of mind and body at last seriously affected his health. Utterly exhausted and unable to sleep, he fell into a lethargy which deprived him of sense and memory. Fearing that he might not recover, they hastened to get back to Isabella as best they could. There he found a remedy for his troubles more potent then any physicians could provide. His favorite brother, Bartolomeo, who had been sent by the King with more men and supplies, had arrived. Thus he had double cause for joy. These two brothers, who were devotedly attached to each other and had similar tastes, had been separated thirteen long years. Bartolomeo’s arrival could not have been more fortunate. The Admiral’s illness and the wretched condition of affairs at Hispaniola required the services of just such an intelligent, brave, and experienced man and, had he not come just when he did, there is little doubt Columbus and the entire colony would have perished. This unexpected good fortune not only worked Columbus’ recovery but placed him in a position to prevent the destruction of the new colony. During his absence everything had been thrown into confusion. Two-thirds of the colony had fallen victims to the diseases common in that latitude. Margrite, who had been made captain-general, had become a rebel, but as he could not carry out his purposes, had escaped to Spain upon one of the vessels with Buil, his fellow-conspirator. The soldiers under his command were scattered over the island without a leader and had committed all kinds of outrages. Because of this the natives had become embittered toward the Spaniards and had murdered many of them.
Such were the conditions which threatened the destruction of the young colony.
The worst of all was the fact that the natives, hitherto so peaceful and friendly, at last began to realize the danger which menaced them. Made wiser by their experiences, they looked into the future and saw, with a shudder, that a longer stay of these strangers, whom they at first had reverenced, meant famine and slavery for them. With the idle life to which they were accustomed, and in that hot climate, very little food was required for daily subsistence. A handful of maize and a little roasted cassava[18] were all they needed. Now, they noticed with surprise, that one Spaniard ate more at one meal than four of them would eat in a whole day, from which they concluded that it would not be long before everything on the island would be consumed and they would be left victims of hunger.
These observations and the daily spectacle of deeds of violence committed by the Spaniards, at last convinced the natives they must either throw off the yoke or forever wear it. They had courage enough to make the attempt. They took up arms and united themselves under their caciques into a large army, numbering about one hundred thousand. Columbus did not shrink before the danger confronting the colony though he deeply deplored the bitterness which had been caused among the natives by the outrages committed by his inferiors. His chief hope, that these poor and ignorant heathen might be led to accept the Christian religion, was now dissipated and he realized that blood must be shed among those who might have lived together peaceably. In the midst of these discouragements the faithful Guakanahari visited him and tendered him his sympathy and help. This steadfast friend of the Europeans had already incurred the enmity of the other caciques for protecting the strangers; and hence, in self-defence, it became necessary for him to side with the Spaniards. Columbus cordially thanked him and accepted the service of his warriors.
Chapter XI
The Natives are Subjugated—Columbus is Traduced in Spain—He Returns to Europe and Suffers Many Hardships on the Voyage
With the two armies confronting one another the time had come which must decide for either the lives of the Spaniards or the freedom of the natives. Upon the one side were a hundred thousand Indians, armed with clubs, spears, and arrows, the latter tipped with bone or flint. Upon the other were only two hundred infantry and twenty cavalrymen, supported by a small force of Indians under the command of Guakanahari. The contrast was great, but what the Europeans lacked in numbers they made up in the science of war, as well as in their weapons, horses, and hounds—that hunted Indians as if they were game. The risk was equally great on both sides and the issue of the battle apparently uncertain. Columbus attacked the Indians fiercely. The roar of musketry, the neighing of horses, and bellowing of the hounds so bewildered the savages that after a brief and unorganized resistance they took to flight. Some of them fell by the sword, others were trampled upon by the horses or torn by the hounds, while others were taken prisoners. The rest fled to the forest. Thus was it decided that these innocent people should bow their necks to the yoke of European slavery. Columbus lost no time in taking advantage of his victory. He traversed the whole region and wherever he went established his authority without a shadow of resistance. In a few months the entire populous island was under Spanish rule.
Margrite and Buil, the two deadly enemies of Columbus, meanwhile had reached Spain. He knew that they would spare no pains to belittle his services in every way they could and to convince the suspicious King of Spain that the discoveries made by him were of very small account. He saw a storm coming which would certainly overwhelm him if he did not take measures to avert it. The only means of doing this was to send the Spanish Court some conspicuous proof of the wealth which he had promised would accrue from his discoveries; and to place himself in a position to furnish such proof, he found it necessary to make extortionate demands upon the poor Indians for contributions. He ordered that the islanders living in the gold region should bring to him quarterly a certain quantity of gold-dust and all the others twenty-five pounds of cotton wool. This was more than the poor people could furnish. As they had been accustomed from youth to a life of idleness, it became unendurable for them to search for gold and gather cotton wool day after day like slaves. Their sustenance was growing scarcer each week and yet the Europeans cruelly drove them to their tasks. As they could not furnish what was demanded of them, even with their utmost exertions, they determined to carry out a plan possible only for those in a desperate condition. Counting upon the gluttony of the Europeans, they thought it feasible to compel them to leave the island if they stopped planting maize and cassava. They unanimously destroyed their crops and fled into unapproachable mountain places, where they subsisted upon fruits and wild turnips, but the unfortunates were soon the victims of their own scheme. They quickly felt the pangs of that hunger which they thought would overcome their oppressors. Some of them were swept away in a lamentable manner, others were carried off by contagious diseases, and the remainder were so exhausted that they could not bear the burdens imposed upon them. As far as the Spaniards were concerned they did not suffer much from this desperate scheme, for by their own exertions and by the arrival of subsistence from Europe they were protected from utter want. The hope of the poor natives, that they might survive the intruders, perished.
In the meantime the storm which Columbus saw rising in the distance at last burst upon him. Margrite and Buil had so belittled the importance of his discoveries and pictured his accomplishment in such odious colors that the Spanish Court lost its confidence in him. The King decided to send a representative to the West Indies to investigate affairs and report. This man, Juan Aguado, was far from having the ability or insight to discharge such a duty. Puffed up with his new importance, Aguado came to Hispaniola and hastened to impress the Admiral with his dignity. He met Columbus in a most contemptuous manner and invited all—Spaniards as well as natives—who had any complaints to make, to appear before him. He eagerly seized upon every charge which the discontented brought against Columbus, without inquiring into its truth or falsity, so that he might collect a mass of individual complaints which should exhibit the man whom he hoped to destroy in the worst possible light. Columbus, as we know, could endure much, but this new affliction bore heavily upon him. He resolved to go to Spain at once and make a personal explanation to the King and Queen, leaving the issue to their sense of justice. In pursuance of his plan he appointed his brother Bartolomeo as adelantado, or governor of the island, during his absence, and a certain man, named Roldan, to have military command. This was unfortunate as the latter was an unprincipled adventurer.
On the tenth of May[19] Columbus left the island with two new vessels and two hundred and twenty men. To make as speedy a voyage as possible he steered in a direct course for Spain. He did not know how much this would prolong the voyage. He had to learn by unfortunate experience what every seaman now knows, how uncertain the trade-winds make such a course. It is well known now that vessels returning from the West Indies, in order to evade these contrary winds, must steer farther north. He soon discovered the difficulties of the course he had selected but, as he was not accustomed to yield to obstacles, he pushed on all the more resolutely. His voyage was so greatly protracted, however, that after three months he had little prospect of reaching its end. His troubles were still further increased by the diminution of his supplies, and at last his crew were reduced to a very small portion of bread. Hunger at last made them so furious that they were resolved to slaughter the Indians on board or, if that were not allowed, to throw them overboard so that the rest might have enough to eat. In this crisis Columbus once more showed that humane feeling which was always characteristic of him. He firmly refused to permit it and explained to them that these unfortunate Indians were their companions, sharers in a common necessity, and had as much right to food as themselves. By these and similar representations he appeased them temporarily. Before they had time to renew their inhuman demands Heaven itself interposed and ended all troubles. The coast of Spain was in sight!