Such were some of the evils which had sprung up under the rule of Bobadilla. The wrongs of the natives reaching the benevolent heart of Isabella, she urged that a new governor, Don Nicolas de Ovando, should be sent out to supersede him, to inquire into the conduct of Columbus. Ovando shortly afterwards sailed in command of one of the largest fleets that had yet proceeded to the New World.
We should always bear in mind the lofty enthusiastic aspirations which influenced the mind of the great navigator. He had hoped by the wealth he should obtain to win the Holy Sepulchre from the infidels, but more practical schemes soon occupied him. The wealth brought from the East, owing to the discoveries of the Portuguese, aroused him to emulation. He had found a strong current setting westward, through the Caribbean Sea, between the coasts of Paria on the south and Cuba on the north, the latter, as he believed, being a part of the Asiatic continent stretching onwards in the same direction. He believed therefore that there must be a straight opening into the Indian Sea, and, could he discover it, he believed that he should be able to reach India by a far more easy route than any yet followed.
His plan was listened to with attention by the sovereigns, and he was authorised to fit out another armament.
He asked permission to touch at Hispaniola for supplies on the outward voyage, but the sovereigns, knowing that he had many enemies in the island, forbade him doing so. They, however, to soothe his feelings, wrote him a letter dated the 14th of March, 1502, solemnly assuring him that all his dignities should be enjoyed by him and his sons after him, and that they would bestow further honours and rewards upon him and them as well as upon his excellent brothers.
Chapter Seven.
Fourth and last voyage of Columbus—A.D. 1502.
Columbus sails from Cadiz the 9th of May, 1502, in command of four caravels—Reaches Martinico, and steers for San Domingo to change one of his vessels finds Bobadilla about to sail—Refused admission to the port—Warns the Governor of an impending hurricane—Keeps close in with the land—Escapes—Bobadilla’s ship founders—Only one with the treasure of Columbus reaches Spain—Touching at Jamaica, stands across to Bonacca off the coast of Honduras—Visited by a cacique in a large canoe laden with numerous articles—Search for the supposed strait—Goes on shore on the mainland—The natives bring presents—Sails along the coast—Stormy weather continues—Columbus suffers from illness—Fine weather—Off the Mosquito shore—Natives offended at their presents not being accepted—Hostages brought—Frightened at seeing the notary write—Natives carried off as guides—Ships anchor in the Bay of Caribaro—Large quantities of gold seen among the natives—Reaches the coast of Veragua—Hostility of natives—Frightened into friendship—Much gold obtained—Columbus quits the gold region in search of the straits—Hears of the gold region of Ciguere—Anchors in Puerto Bello—Passes Nombre de Dios—Anchors in Cabinet Harbour—The seamen insult the natives, who attack the ships—Put to flight by the guns—Columbus sails in search of the gold-mines of Veragua.
Columbus had reached the age of sixty-eight years when he embarked upon his fourth voyage. His squadron consisted of four caravels, the smallest of fifty tons burden, the largest not exceeding seventy; the crews amounted, in all, to one hundred and fifty men. He had with him his faithful and intrepid brother, Don Bartholomew, and his younger son, Fernando. The squadron sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, A.D. 1502, and after touching at Ercilla, on the coast of Morocco, stood away for the Canaries, where it arrived on the 25th of May, on the evening of which day he took his departure for the New World. Without shifting a sail it reached Martinico.