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duct of the followers of Columbus, and sent Porras to Spain, to be examined by the board which had charge of the affairs of the Indies.

The sojourn of Columbus at St Domingo was but little calculated to yield him satisfaction. He was grieved at the desolation of the island by the oppressive treatment of the natives, and the horrible massacre which had been perpetrated by Ovando and his agents. Columbus had fondly hoped, at one time, to have rendered the natives civilized, industrious, and tributary subjects to the crown, and to have derived from their well-regulated labour a great and steady revenue. How different had been the event! The five great tribes which had peopled the mountains and the valleys at the time of the discovery, and had rendered, by their mingled towns and villages and tracts of cultivation, the rich levels of the Vegas so many << painted gardens,» had almost all passed away, and the native princes had perished chiefly by violent or ignominious deaths. Columbus regarded the affairs of the island with a different eye from Ovando. He had a paternal feeling for its prosperity, and his for

tunes were implicated in its judicious management. He complained, in subsequent letters to the Sovereigns, that all the public affairs were ill conducted; that the ore which was collected lay unguarded in large quantities in houses slightly built and thatched, inviting depredation; that Ovando was unpopular, the people were dissolute, and the property of the crown and the security of the island in continual risk from mutiny and sedition.' While he saw all this, he had no power to interfere, and any observation or remonstrance on his part was apt to be ill received by the go

vernor.

He found his own immediate concerns in great confusion. His rents and dues were either uncollected, or he could not obtain a clear account and a full liquidation of them. Whatever he could collect was appropriated to the fitting out of the vessels which were to convey himself and his crews to Spain. He accuses Ovando, in his subsequent letters, of having neglected, if not sacrificed, his interests

'Letter of Columbus to his son Diego, dated Seville, 3rd Dec. 1504. Navarrete, t. i, p. 341.

concerns.

during his long absence, and of having impeded those who were appointed to attend to his That he had some grounds for these complaints would appear from two letters still extant,' written by Queen Isabella to Ovando, on the 27th of November, 1503, in which she informs him of the complaint of Alonso Sanchez de Carvajal, that he was impeded in collecting the rents of the Admiral; and expressly commands Ovando to observe the capitulations granted to Columbus, to respect his agents, and to facilitate instead of obstructing his concerns. These letters, while they imply ungenerous conduct on the part of the governor towards his illustrious predecessor, evince likewise the personal interest taken by Isabella in the affairs of Columbus, during his absence. She had, in fact, signified her displeasure at his being excluded from the port of St Domingo, when he applied there for succour for his squadron, and for shelter from a storm; and had censured Ovando for not taking his advice and detaining the fleet of

1 Navarrete, Collec., t. ii. Decad. 151, 152.

Bobadilla, by which it would have escaped its disastrous fate.' And here it may be observed, that the sanguinary acts of Ovando towards the natives, in particular the massacre at Haragna, and the execution of the unfortunate Anacaona, awakened equal horror and indignation in Isabella; she was languishing on her death-bed when she received the intelligence, and with her dying breath she exacted a promise from King Ferdinand that Ovando should immediately be recalled from his government. The promise was tardily and reluctantly fulfilled, after an interval of about four years, and not until induced by other circumstances; for Ovando contrived to propitiate the monarch, by forcing a revenue from the island.

The continual misunderstandings which took place between the Admiral and the governor, though always qualified on the part of the latter with great complaisance, induced Columbus to hasten as much as possible his departure from the island. The ship in which he had returned from Jamaica was repaired

' Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, l. v, c. 12.

and fitted out, and put under the command of the Adelantado; another vessel was freighted, in which Columbus embarked with his son and his domestics. The greater part of his late crews remained at St Domingo; as they were in great poverty, he relieved their necessities with his own purse, and advanced the funds necessary for the voyage home of those who chose to return. Many thus relieved by his generosity had been among the most violent of the rebels.

On the 12th of September, he set sail; but had scarcely left the harbour when, in a sudden squall, the mast of his ship was carried away. He immediately went with his family on board of the vessel commanded by the Adelantado, and, sending back the damaged ship to port, continued on his course. Throughout the voyage he experienced the most tempestuous weather. In one storm the mainmast was sprung in four places. The Admiral was confined to his bed at the time by the gout; by his advice, however, and the activity of the Adelantado, the damage was skilfully repaired: the mast was shortened;