Chapter V (9)

The soft breeze that was blowing scarcely ruffled the surface of this beautiful river; two or three picturesque barks, called mystics, with long latine sails, were gliding down it. A little aid of the imagination might suffice to picture them as the light caravels of Columbus, sallying forth on their eventful expedition, while the distant bells of the town of Hnelva, which were ringing melodiously, might be supposed as cheering the voyagers with a farewell peal.

I cannot express to you what were my feelings on treading the shore which had once been animated with the bustle of departure, and whose sands had been printed by the last footstep of Columbus. The solemn and sublime nature of the event that had followed, together with the fate and fortunes of those concerned in it, filled the mind with vague yet melancholy ideas. It was like viewing the silent and empty stage of some great drama when all the actors had departed. The very aspect of the landscape, so tranquilly beautiful, had an effect upon me; and as I paced the deserted shores by the side of a descendant of one of the discoverers, I felt my heart swelling witfi emotions and my eyes filling with tears.

What surprised me was, to find no semblance of a sea-port; there was neither wharf nor landing-place--nothing but a naked river bank, with the hulk of a ferry-boat, which I was told carried passengers to Huelva, lying high and dry on the sands, deserted by the tide. Palos, though it has doubtless dwindled away from its former size, can never have been important as to extent and population. If it possessed warehouses on the beach, they have disappeared. It is at present a mere village of the poorest kind, and lies nearly a quarter of a mile from the river, in a hollow among hills. It contains a few hundred inhabitants, who subsist principally by laboring in the fields and vineyards. Its race of merchants and mariners is extinct. There are no vessels belonging to the place, nor any show of traffic, excepting at the season of fruit and wine, when a few mystics and other light barks anchor in the river to collect the produce of the neighborhood. The people are totally ignorant, and it is probable that the greater part of them scarce know even the name of America. Such is the place whence sallied forth the enterprise for the discovery of the western world!

We were now summoned to breakfast in a little saloon of the hacienda. The table was covered with natural luxuries produced upon the spot--fine purple and muscatel grapes from the adjacent vineyard, delicious melons from the garden, and generous wines made on the estate. The repast was heightened by the genial manners of my hospitable host, who appeared to possess the most enviable cheerfulness of spirit and simplicity of heart.

After breakfast we set off in the calesa to visit the convent of La Rabida, about half a league distant The road, for a part of the way, lay through the vineyards, and was deep and sandy. The calasero had been at his wit's end to conceive what motive a stranger like myself, apparently traveling for mere amusement, could have in coming so far to see so miserable a place as Palos, which he set down as one of the very poorest places in the whole world; but this additional toil and struggle through deep sand to visit the old convent of La Rabida completed his confusion--"Hombre!" exclaimed he, "es una ruina! no hay mas que dos frailes!"--"Zounds! why it's a ruin! there are only two friars there!" Don Juan laughed, and told him that I had come all the way from Seville precisely to see that old ruin and those two friars. The calasero made the Spaniard's last reply when he is perplexed--he shrugged his shoulders and crossed himself. After ascending a hill and passing through the skirts of a straggling pine wood, we arrived in front of the convent. It stands in a bleak and solitary situation, on the brow of a rocky height or promontory, overlooking to the west a wide range of sea and land, bounded by the frontier mountains of Portugal, about eight leagues distant. The convent is shut out from a view of the vineyard of Palos by the gloomy forest of pines already mentioned, which cover the promontory to the east, and darken the whole landscape in that direction.

There is nothing remarkable in the architecture of the convent; part of it is Gothic, but the edifice, having been frequently repaired, and being whitewashed, according to a universal custom in Andalusia, inherited from the Moors, has not that venerable aspect which might be expected from its antiquity.

We alighted at the gate where Columbus, when a poor pedestrian, a stranger in the land, asked bread and water for his child! As long as the convent stands, this must be a spot calculated to awaken the most thrilling interest. The gate remains apparently in nearly the same state as at the time of his visit, but there is no longer a porter at hand to administer to the wants of the wayfarer. The door stood wide open, and admitted us into a small court-yard. Thence we passed through a Gothic portal into the chapel, without seeing a human being. We then traversed two interior cloisters, equally vacant and silent, and bearing a look of neglect and dilapidation. From an open window we had a peep at what had once been a garden, but that had also gone to ruin; the walls were broken and thrown down; a few shrubs, and a scattered fig tree or two, were all the traces of cultivation that remained. We passed through the long dormitories, but the cells were shut up and abandoned; we saw no living thing except a solitary cat stealing across a distant corridor, which fled in a panic at the unusual sight of strangers. At length, after patrolling nearly the whole of the empty building to the echo of our own footsteps, we came to where the door of a cell, being partly open, gave us the sight of a monk within, seated at a table writing. He rose, and received us with much civility, and conducted us to the superior, who was reading in an adjacent cell. They were both rather young men, and, together with a novitiate and a lay-brother, who officiated as cook, formed the whole community of the convent.

Don Juan Fernandez communicated to them the object of my visit, and my desire also to inspect the archives of the convent, to find if there was any record of the sojourn of Columbus. They informed us that the archives had been entirely destroyed by the French. The younger monk, however, who had perused them, had a vague recollection of various particulars concerning the transactions of Columbus at Palos, his visit to the convent, and the sailing of his expedition. From all that he cited, however, it appeared to me that all the information on the subject contained in the archives had been extracted from Herrera and other well-known authors. The monk was talkative and eloquent, and soon diverged from the subject of Columbus, to one which he considered of infinitely greater importance--the miraculous image of the Virgin possessed by their convent, and known by the name of "Our Lady of La Rabida." He gave us a history of the wonderful way in which the image had been found buried in the earth, where it had lain hidden for ages, since the time of the conquest of Spain by the Moors; the disputes between the convent and different places in the neighborhood for the possession of it; the marvelous protection it extended to the adjacent country, especially in preventing all madness, either in man or dog, for this malady was anciently so prevalent in this place as to gain it the appellation of La Rabia, by which it was originally called; a name which, thanks to the beneficent influence of the Virgin, it no longer merited nor retained. Such are the legends and relics with which every convent in Spain is enriched, which are zealously cried up by the monks, and devoutly credited by the populace.

Twice a year, on the festival of our Lady of La Rabida and on that of the patron saint of the order, the solitude and silence of the convent are interrupted by the intrusion of a swarming multitude, composed of the inhabitants of Moguer, of Huelva, and the neighboring plains and mountains. The open esplanade in front of the edifice resembles a fair, the adjacent forest teems with the motley throng, and the image of our Lady of La Rabida is borne forth in triumphant procession.

While the friar was thus dilating upon the merits and renown of the image, I amused myself with those day-dreams, or conjurings of the imagination, to which I am a little given. As the internal arrangements of convents are apt to be the same from age to age, I pictured to myself this chamber as the same inhabited by the guardian, Juan Perez de Marchena, at the time of the visit of Columbus. Why might not the old and ponderous table before me be the very one on which he displayed his conjectural maps, and expounded his theory of a western route to India? It required but another stretch of the imagination to assemble the little conclave around the table; Juan Perez the friar, Garci Fernandez the physician, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon the bold navigator, all listening with rapt attention to Columbus, or to the tale of some old seaman of Palos, about islands seen in the western parts of the ocean.

The friars, as far as their poor means and scanty knowledge extended, were disposed to do every thing to promote the object of my visit. They showed us all parts of the convent, which, however, has little to boast of, excepting the historical associations connected with it. The library was reduced to a few volumes, chiefly on ecclesiastical subjects, piled promiscuously in the corner of a vaulted chamber, and covered with dust. The chamber itself was curious, being the most ancient part of the edifice, and supposed to have formed part of a temple in the time of the Romans.

We ascended to the roof of the convent to enjoy the extensive prospect it commands. Immediately below the promontory on which it is situated, runs a narrow but tolerably deep river, called the Domingo Rubio, which empties itself into the Tinto. It is the opinion of Don Luis Fernandez Pinzon, that the ships of Columbus were careened and fitted out in this river, as it affords better shelter than the Tinto, and its shores are not so shallow. A lonely bark of a fisherman was lying in this stream, and not far off, on a sandy point, were the ruins of an ancient watchtower. From the roof of the convent, all the windings of the Odiel and the Tinto were to be seen, and their junction into the main stream, by which Columbus sallied forth to sea. In fact the convent serves as a landmark, being, from its lofty and solitary situation, visible for a considerable distance to vessels coming on the coast. On the opposite side I looked down upon the lonely road, through the wood of pine trees, by which the zealous guardian of the convent, Fray Juan Perez, departed at midnight on his mule, when he sought the camp of Ferdinand and Isabella in the Vega of Granada, to plead the project of Columbus before the queen.

Having finished our inspection of the convent, we prepared to depart, and were accompanied to the outward portal by the two friars. Our calasero brought his rattling and rickety vehicle for us to mount; at sight of which one of the monks exclaimed, with a smile, "Santa Maria! only to think! A calesa before the gate of the convent of La Rabida!" And, indeed, so solitary and remote is this ancient edifice, and so simple is the mode of living of the people in this by-corner of Spain, that the appearance of even a sorry calesa might well cause astonishment. It is only singular that in such a by-corner the scheme of Columbus should have found intelligent listeners and coadjutors, after it had been discarded, almost with scoffing and contempt, from learned universities and splendid courts.

On our way back to the hacienda, we met Don Rafael, a younger son of Don Juan Fernandez, a fine young man, about twenty-one years of age, and who, his father informed me, was at present studying French and mathematics. He was well mounted on a spirited gray horse, and dressed in the Andalusian style, with the little round hat and jacket. He sat his horse gracefully, and managed him well. I was pleased with the frank and easy terms on which Don Juan appeared to live with his children. This I was inclined to think his favorite son, as I understood he was the only one that partook of the old gentleman's fondness for the chase, and that accompanied him in his hunting excursions.

A dinner had been prepared for us at the hacienda, by the wife of the capitaz, or overseer, who, with her husband, seemed to be well pleased with this visit from Don Juan, and to be confident of receiving a pleasant answer from the good-humored old gentleman whenever they addressed him. The dinner was served up about two o'clock, and was a most agreeable meal. The fruits and wines were from the estate, and were excellent; the rest of the provisions were from Moguer, for the adjacent village of Palos is too poor to furnish any thing. A gentle breeze from the sea played through the hall, and tempered the summer heat. Indeed I do not know when I have seen a more enviable spot than this country retreat of the Pinzons. Its situation on a breezy hill, at no great distance from the sea, and in a southern climate, produces a happy temperature, neither hot in summer nor cold in winter. It commands a beautiful prospect, and is surrounded by natural luxuries. The country abounds with game, the adjacent river affords abundant sport in fishing, both by day and night, and delightful excursions for those fond of sailing. During the busy seasons of rural life, and especially at the joyous period of vintage, the family pass some time here, accompanied by numerous guests, at which times, Don Juan assured me, there was no lack of amusements, both by land and water.

When we had dined, and taken the siesta, or afternoon nap, according to the Spanish custom in summer time, we set out on our return to Moguer, visiting the village of Palos in the way. Don Gabriel had been sent in advance to procure the keys of the village church, and to apprise the curate of our wish to inspect the archives. The village consists principally of two streets of low whitewashed houses. Many of the inhabitants have very dark complexions, betraying a mixture of African blood.

On entering the village, we repaired to the lowly mansion of the curate. I had hoped to find him some such personage as the curate in Don Quixote, possessed of shrewdness and information in his limited sphere, and that I might gain some anecdotes from him concerning the parish, its worthies, its antiquities, and its historical events. Perhaps I might have done so at any other time, but, unfortunately, the curate was something of a sportsman, and had heard of some game among the neighboring hills. We met him just sallying forth from his house, and, I must confess, his appearance was picturesque. He was a short, broad, sturdy little man, and had doffed his cassock and broad clerical beaver, for a short jacket and a little round Andalusian hat; he had his gun in hand, and was on the point of mounting a donkey which had been led forth by an ancient withered handmaid. Fearful of being detained from his foray, he accosted my companion the moment he came in sight. "God preserve you, Señor Don Juan! I have received your message, and have but one answer to make. The archives have all been destroyed. We have no trace of any thing you seek for--nothing--nothing. Don Rafael has the keys of the church. You can examine it at your leisure--Adios, caballero!" With these words the galliard little curate mounted his donkey, thumped his ribs with the butt end of his gun, and trotted off to the hills.

In our way to the church we passed by the ruins of what had once been a fair and spacious dwelling, greatly superior to the other houses of the village. This, Don Juan informed me, was an old family possession, but since they had removed from Palos it had fallen to decay for want of a tenant. It was probably the family residence of Martin Alonzo or Vicente Yafiez Pinzon, in the time of Columbus.

We now arrived at the Church of St. George, in the porch of which Columbus first proclaimed to the inhabitants of Palos the order of the sovereigns, that they should furnish him with ships for his great voyage of discovery. This edifice has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley toward the river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in former times; just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle.

I paused in the porch, and endeavored to recall the interesting scene that had taken place there, when Columbus, accompanied by the zealous friar Juan Perez, caused the public notary to read the royal order in presence of the astonished alcaldes, regidors, and alguazils; but it is difficult to conceive the consternation that must have been struck into so remote a little community, by this sudden apparition of an entire stranger among them, bearing a command that they should put their persons and ships at his disposal, and sail with him away into the unknown wilderness of the ocean.

The interior of the church has nothing remarkable, excepting a wooden image of St. George vanquishing the Dragon, which is erected over the high altar, and is the admiration of the good people of Palos, who bear it about the streets in grand procession on the anniversary of the saint. This group existed in the time of Columbus, and now flourishes in renovated youth and splendor, having been newly painted and gilded, and the countenance of the saint rendered peculiarly blooming and lustrous.

Having finished the examination of the church, we resumed our seats in the calesa and returned to Moguer. One thing only remained to fulfill the object of my pilgrimage. This was to visit the chapel of the Convent of Santa Clara. When Columbus was in danger of being lost in a tempest on his way home from his great voyage of discovery, he made a vow, that, should he be spared, he would watch and pray one whole night in this chapel; a vow which he doubtless fulfilled immediately after his arrival.

My kind and attentive friend, Don Juan, conducted me to the convent. It is the wealthiest in Moguer, and belongs to a sisterhood of Franciscan nuns. The chapel is large, and ornamented with some degree of richness, particularly the part about the high altar, which, is embellished by magnificent monuments of the brave family of the Puerto Carreros, the ancient lords of Moguer, and renowned in Moorish warfare. The alabaster effigies of distinguished warriors of that house, and of their wives and sisters, lie side by side, with folded hands, on tombs immediately before the altar, while others recline in deep niches on either side. The night had closed in by the time I entered the church, which made the scene more impressive. A few votive lamps shed a dim light about the interior; their beams were feebly reflected by the gilded work of the high altar, and the frames of the surrounding paintings, and rested upon the marble figures of the warriors and dames lying in the monumental repose of ages. The solemn pile must have presented much the same appearance when the pious discoverer performed his vigil, kneeling before this very altar, and praying and watching throughout the night, and pouring forth heartfelt praises for having been spared to accomplish his sublime discovery.

I had now completed the main purpose of my journey, having visited the various places connected with the story of Columbus. It was highly gratifying to find some of them so little changed though so great a space of time had intervened; but in this quiet nook of Spain, so far removed from the main thoroughfares, the lapse of time produces but few violent revolutions. Nothing, however, had surprised and gratified me more than the contiuued stability of the Pinzon family. On the morning after my excursion to Palos, chance gave me an opportunity of seeing something of the interior of most of their households. Having a curiosity to visit the remains of a Moorish castle, once the citadel of Moguer, Don Fernandez undertook to show me a tower which served as a magazine of wine to one of the Pinzon family. In seeking for the key we were sent from house to house of nearly the whole connection. All appeared to be living in that golden mean equally removed from the wants and superfluities of life, and all to be happily interwoven by kind and cordial habits of intimacy. We found the females of the family generally seated in the patios, or central courts of their dwellings, beneath the shade of awnings and among shrubs and flowers. Here the Andalusian ladies are accustomed to pass their mornings at work, surrounded by their handmaids, in the primitive, or rather oriental style. In the porches of some of the houses I observed the coat-of-arms granted to the family by Charles V, hung up like a picture in a frame. Over the door of Don Luis, the naval officer, it was carved on an escutcheon of stone, and colored. I had gathered many particulars of the family also from conversation with Don Juan, and from the family legend lent me by Don Luis. From all that I could learn, it would appear that the lapse of nearly three centuries and a half has made but little change in the condition of the Pinzons. From generation to generation they have retained the same fair standing and reputable name throughout the neighborhood, filling offices of public trust and dignity, and possessing great influence over their fellow-citizens by their good sense and good conduct. How rare is it to see such an instance of stability of fortune in this fluctuating world, and how truly honorable is this hereditary respectability, which has been secured by no titles nor entails, but perpetuated merely by the innate worth of the race! I declare to you that the most illustrious descents of mere titled rank could never command the sincere respect and cordial regard with which I contemplated this stanch and enduring family, which for three centuries and a half has stood merely upon its virtues.

As I was to set off on my return to Seville before two o'clock, I partook of a farewell repast at the house of Don Juan, between twelve and one, and then took leave of his household with sincere regret. The good old gentleman, with the courtesy, or rather the cordiality, of a true Spaniard, accompanied me to the posada, to see me off. I had dispensed but little money in the posada--thanks to the hospitality of the Pinzons--yet the Spanish pride of my host and hostess seemed pleased that I had preferred their humble chamber, and the scanty bed they had provided me, to the spacious mansion of Don Juan; and when I expressed my thanks for their kindness and attention, and regaled mine host with a few choice segars, the heart of the poor man was overcome. He seized me by both hands and gave me a parting benediction, and then ran after the calasero, to enjoin him to take particular care of me during my journey.

Taking a hearty leave of my excellent friend Don Juan, who had been unremitting in his attentions to me to the last moment, I now set off on my wayfaring, gratified to the utmost with my visit, and full of kind and grateful feelings towards Moguer and its hospitable inhabitants.

Index.

A.

Acuna, Don Alonzo de, summons Columbus to give an account of himself, on his return from the New World.

Address of an Indian of Cuba to Columbus.

Adelantado, title of, given to Christopher Columbus, confirmed by the king.

Adrian de Moxica.

Admiral, the, a title granted to Columbus and his descendants.

Africa, essay on the navigation of, by the ancients.

Aguado, Juan, recommended to the Spanish Government by Columbus; appointed commissioner to inquire into the conduct of Columbus; arrives at Isabella; his insolent behavior; his interview with Columbus: the Caciques having preferred complaints against Columbus, he determines on returning to Spain.

Alexander VI., pope, character of; famous bulls of, relative to the New World; letter of Columbus to.

Aliaco, Pedro, work of, referred to, note.

Alligators, found in great numbers at Puerto Bello.

All Saints, discovery of the bay of.

Alonzo, Don, heir-apparent of Portugal, his marriage with the princess Isabella.

Alpha and Omega, the extreme point of Cuba.

Alva, duke of, Don Diego Columbus marries his daughter; he assists in obtaining justice for his son-in-law.

Alvaro, Don, de Portugal, attack upon, in the royal tent.

Amazons, an island of supposed; warlike women of the Caribbee islands. Amazons, river of, discovered by Vicente Pinzon.

Amber, specimens of, among the mountains of Cibao.

Anacaona, wife to Caonabo, retires with her brother Behechio, after the great battle of the Vega; composes legendary ballads; her admiration of the Spaniards; counsels her brother to conciliate the friendship of the Spaniards; her reception of the Adelantado; her wonder and delight at seeing a Spanish ship; her grief at the departure of the Adelantado; her conduct in respect to her daughter and Guevara; her admiration of the Spaniards turned into detestation; receives a visit from Ovando; is seized; carried in chains to St. Domingo; and ignominiously hanged; her fine character.

Anana, or the pine-apple, first met with.

Angel, Luis de St., his remonstrance with the queen relative to the project of Columbus; succeeds.

Antigua, island of, discovered.

Antilles, the, discovered; taken possession of.

Apparitions, ideas of the Haytiens in respect to.

Appendix, containing illustrations and documents.

Arana, Diego de, left in charge of Hispaniola, during the first absence of Columbus, history of the disaster which occurred to him after the departure of Columbus.

Arano, Pedro de, commander of one of Columbus's ships on his third voyage.

Areytos, or ballads, of the Haytiens.

Aristizabal, Don Gabriel de, solicits the removal of the remains of Columbus.

Arriaga, Luis de, is shut up within the walls of Magdalena.

Astrolabe, the, applied to navigation.

Atalantis, Plato's observations on.

Audience, royal, court of, established.

Augustine, St., his arguments against the existence of Antipodes.

Augustine, St., Cape of, discovered by Pinzon.

Aurea Cheraonesus, the place whence Solomon is supposed to have had gold.

Azores, the, when discovered; arrival at by Columbus on his return from his first voyage.

B.

Babeque, a supposed island, Columbus goes in search of.

Bahama Islands, discovery of; cruise among the.

Ballads of the Haytiens.

Ballester, Miguel, his conduct during the conspiracy of Roldan; receives a letter from Columbus; his character; interview with Roman; second interview: sends advice to the admiral; is besieged in the fortress of Conception; sails for Spain.

Barbas, Las, islands of, discovered.

Barrantes, Garcia de, sails for Spain.

Barros, Joam de, his account of Columbus's proposition to John II. king of Portugal.

Basil, St., his description of Paradise.

Bastides, Rodrigo, of Seville, explores the coast of Terra Firma.

Baza, surrender of.

Beata, Cape, sailors of Columbus climb the rock of.

Behem, Martin, his planisphere; an account of; the assertion relative to his having discovered the western world previous to Columbus considered.

Behechio assists Caonabo, and kills one of the wives of Guacanagari; the only Cacique who does not sue for peace; receives a visit from Bartholomew Columbus; his reception of him; consents to pay tribute; invites the Adelantado to come and receive it; his astonishment at visiting a Spanish ship.

Bolen, river of, discovered; abounds in fish; Columbus commences a settlement on its banks.

Bell of Isabella, the superstitious ideas of the Haytiens in respect to it.

Belvis, Pablo, sent to Hayti in the place of Fermin Cedo.

Berahoma, condemned to death for having violated the wife of the Cacique of the Vega; is pardoned.

Bernaldez, Andres, a short account of his life and writings.

Bernardo of Valentia, his conspiracy at Jamaica.

Bloodhounds, first use of in the New World; employed by Columbus in his wars with the Haytiens.

Bobadilla, Don Francisco de, charged with a commission to Hispaniola to inquire into the conduct of Columbus; his character; instructions with which he is charged; sails; arrives at St. Domingo; his judgment formed before he leaves his ship; assumes power on landing; storms the fortress of St. Domingo; assumes the government before he investigates the conduct of Columbus; seizes his arms, gold, secret papers, etc.; summons Columbus to appear before him; his baseness in collecting evidence; puts Don Diego in chains; also Columbus; his fears in respect to the Adelantado; puts him in irons; his mal-administration; a saying of his; superseded in his government by Ovando; sails for Spain and is lost, with all his crew, in a violent hurricane.

Boca del Sierpe.

Borgonon, Juan, labors to convert the Haytiens.

Boyle, Bernardo, friar, appointed apostolical vicar for the New World; his advice to Columbus in respect to Guacanagari; confirms the accounts sent home by Columbus; consecrates the first church at Isabella; his character and conduct; his hatred of Columbus; encourages the misconduct of Margarite; forms the plan of seizing Bartholomew Columbus's ships and returning to Spain; sees sail; his accusations of Columbus at the court of Madrid.

Brandan, St., imaginary island of.

Brazils, the, discovered by Vicente Pinzon; a part discovered and taken possession of for the Portuguese crown by Cabral.

Breviesca, Ximeno de, a worthless hireling; his conduct and punishment.

Bucklers, used by the natives of Trinidad. Bull of Partition issued by Pope Martin V.; relative to the New World, issued by Pope Alexander VI..

---- of Demarcation.

Burgos, the court held at.

Butios, the priests of the Haytiens.

Butterflies, clouds of, seen on the southern coast of Cuba.

C.

Cabot, Sebastian, discovers Labrador, supposed to be the first that visited the main-land of the New World.

Cabral, Pedro Alvarez de, discovers part of the Brazils, and takes possession of it in the name of the king of Portugal. Cabron, Cape, or Capo del Enamorado.

Cacao, first known to the Spaniards.

Caciques, seizure of fourteen, in the night, by Bartholomew Columbus and his officers.

Canaries, an optical delusion seen by the people of the; arrival of Columbus at, in his first voyage.

Canoes, capable of containing 150 persons, seen at Puerto Santo; large size of those at Jamaica.

Caonabo, character and conduct of; takes the fortress at La Navidad; and massacres the Spaniards; assembles his warriors; Columbus leaves directions with Margarite to surprise; besieges Ojeda; gives up the siege and retires; forms a plan of exterminating the Spaniards; invades the territories of Guacanagari; character of; is visited by Ojeda, with a design to entrap him; agrees to wait upon Columbus, and sets forward; is taken by stratagem; is chained; his conduct when in the presence of Columbus; embarks for Spain; a Guadaloupe woman falls in love with him; dies on the voyage.

Carocol, Island of.

Cariari, transactions at.

Caribbee Islands, discovered.

Caribs, character of the; origin of; cruelty to.

Caravajal, Don Garcia Lopez de, his embassy to Portugal.

Carvajal, Alonzo de, commander of one of Columbus's ships, on his third voyage; arrives at Hispaniola; volunteers to endeavor to bring the rebels of Xavagua to obedience; his ship strikes on a sand-bank; arrives at St. Domingo by land; suspicions entertained against him; takes a letter from the admiral to Roldan; takes propositions from Roldan to the admiral; another interview with Boldan; appointed factor to Columbus; his evidence relative to the discovery of the coast of Paria by Columbus.

Carracks, description of.

Casas, Las, his character of Don Diego Columbus; his observations relative to Hayti; his account of two Spaniards; his picture of the consequences of the administration of Ovando; his account of a combat between one Indian and two mounted cavaliers; is present at a battle in Higuey; his remark on the cold reception of Columbus by the king; his remark in respect to the injustice of Ferdinand; an account of; his zeal in behalf of the slaves; his dubious expedient to lessen the quantum of human misery; character of his General History of the Indies.

Castaneda, Juan de, his disgraceful reception of Columbus on his return from the New World; cause of his conduct.

Catalina, a Carib, her admiration of Guacanagari; proposes to her captive companions an attempt to regain their liberty; escapes by swimming.

Catalina, a female Cacique, falls in love with Miguel Diaz; imparts to him a knowledge of the gold mines of Hayna.

Cathay, accounts of Marco Polo in respect to; of Sir John Mandeville.

Catherine, St., discovery of.

Cavern, near Cape Francois, description of.

Caymans, islands of.

Cedo, Fermin, his opinion in respect to the gold found in Hispaniola; Belvis sent in Ms place.

Ceuta, the bishop of, his arguments against the proposition of Columbus; proposes to the council to keep Columbus in suspense, and in the mean time to send a ship in the route proposed; this advice acted upon; and fails.

Chanca, Dr., confirms the accounts sent home by Columbus.

Charles VIII., king of France, his kindness to Bartholomew Columbus.

Charles V. succeeds his grandfather, Ferdinand; recognizes the innocence of Don Diego Columbus; acknowledges the right of Don Diego to exercise the office of viceroy; his orders in respect to the claims of Don Diego's widow; his ordinances relative to the slave trade.

Charlevoix, his description of the sea of the Antilles, Chaufepic, Jacques George, a passage from, in respect to the Coloinbos.

Chvistoval, St., fortress of, erected by Bartholomew Columbus; mountains of.

Cibao, Columbus's expedition to the mountains of; meaning of the word Cibao; Luxan's description of the mountains of.

Ciguayens, a warlike Indian tribe, account of.

Cintra, rock of, arrival at, by Columbus, on his return from the New World.

Cipango (or Japan), Marco Polo's account of.

Cities, island of the seven.

Cladera, Don Christoval, his refutation of a letter written by M. Otto, to Dr. Franklin.

Colon, Diego, acts as interpreter; his speech to the natives of Cuba; marries the daughter of the Cacique Guarionex.

Colombo, the old Genoese admiral, conveys the king of Portugal to the Mediterranean coast of France.

Colombo, the younger (nephew of the old admiral), a famous corsair.

----, Balthazar, of Cuccaro, loses his cause in respect to the heirship of Columbus.

----, Juan, commander of one of Columbus's ships on his third voyage.

Colombos, the navigators, an account of; capture of the Venetian galleys.

Columbus, Bartholomew, accompanies Bartholomew Diaz along the coast of Africa; an account of his proceedings; arrives at Valladolid; sent to assist his brother with three ships; character of; is invested by Columbus with the title and authority of Adelantado; attends his brother in his expedition against the Indians of the Vega; goes to the mines of Ilayna; is invested with the command on the return of Columbus to Spain; takes Porras prisoner; sails to meet his brother; account of his administration during the absence of Columbus; sends 300 Indians to Spain to be sold as slaves; erects the fortress of San Domingo; pays a visit to Behechio; his reception; demands a tribute; establishes a chain of military posts; causes several Indians who had broken some Christian images, etc., to be burnt; marches against the Caciques, who had formed a conspiracy against the Spaniards; causes them to be seized; pardons most of them; again visits Behechio to receive the tribute of cotton; his skill in government; a conspiracy formed against him by Roldan; narrowly escapes assassination; repairs to the Vega in relief of Fort Conception; his interview with Roldan; is shut up in Fort Conception; relieved by the arrival of Coronal; publishes an amnesty to all who return to their duty; marches against Guarionex, who has rebelled; his campaign in the mountains of Ciguay; releases the wife of one of the Caciques whom he had taken with Mayobanex; favorable consequences of this; his vigorous proceedings against the rebels engaged in the conspiracy of Guevara and Moxica; is put in irons by Bobadilla; accompanies Columbus on his fourth voyage; waits on the governor of Ercilla; takes possession of Cape Honduras in the name of the sovereigns of Castile; lands at Cariari; forms a plan to seize Quibian; does so, with his wives and children; Quibian escapes; and attacks in return; is finally compelled to remove the settlement to another place; is in great danger; compelled to embark with his brother and all his men; sets sail from St. Domingo for Spain with his brother; proceeds to court to urge the justice of the king; accompanies his brother to court; goes to represent his brother on the arrival of the new king and queen of Castile; is sent out to St. Domingo by Ferdinand to admonish his nephew, Don Diego; is presented with the property and government of Mona for life, etc.; dies at St. Domingo; his character.