appeared to him the fame with Cipango, the name by which Marco Polo, and other travellers to the eaft, diftinguifhed the islands of Japan, he no longer doubted with refpect to the vicinity of the countries which he had difcovered to the remote parts of Afia; and, in full expectation of reaching foon thofe regions which had been the object of his voyage, he directed his courfe towards the eaft. He put into a commodious harbour, which he called St. Thomas, and found that district to be under the government of a powerful cazique, named Guacanahari, who, as he afterwards learned, was one of the five fovereigns among whom the whole ifland was divided. He immediately feat meffengers to Columbus, who, in his name, delivered to him the prefent of a mask curiously fashioned, with the ears, nofe, and mouth of beaten gold, and invited him to the place of his refidence, near the harbour now called Cape Francois, fome leagues towards the east. Columbus dispatched fome of his officers to vifit this prince, who, as he behaved himself with greater dignity, feemed to claim more attention. They returned, with fuch favourable accounts both of the country and of the people, as made Columbus impatient for that interview with Guacanahari to which he had been invited.

He failed for this purpofe from St. Thomas, on the twenty-fourth of December with a fair wind, and the fea perfectly calm; and as, amidft the multiplicity of his occupations, he had not shut his eyes for two days, he retired at midnight in order to take fome repofe, having committed the helm to the pilot, with ftrict injunctions not to quit it for a moment. The pilot, dreading no danger, carelessly left the helm to an unexperienced cabin boy, and the ship, carried away by a current, was dafhed against a rock. The violence of the fhock awakened Columbus. He ran up to the deck. There, all was confufion and defpair. He alone retained prefence of mind. He ordered fome of the failors to take a boat, and carry out an anchor aftern; but, instead of obeying, they made off towards the Nigna, which was about half a league diftant. He then commanded the mafts to be cut down, in order to lighten the ship; but all his endeavours were too late; the veffel opened near the keel, and filled fo faft with water that its lofs was inevitable. The fmoothnefs of the fea, and the timely affiftance of boats from the Nigna, enabled the crew to fave their lives. As foon as the iflanders heard of this difafter, they crowded to the fhore, with their prince Guacanahari at their head. Inftead of taking advantage of the diftrefs in which they beheld the Spaniards, to attempt any thing to their detriment, they lamented their misfortune with tears of fincere gondolance. Not fatisfied with this unavailing exprefiion of their

fympathy

fympathy, they put to fea a number of canoes, and, under the direction of the Spaniards, affifted in faving whatever could be got out of the wreck; and by the united labour of fo many.hands, almost every thing of value was carried afhore. As faft as the goods were landed, Guacanahari in perfon took charge of them. By his orders they were all depofited in one place, and armed centinels were pofted, who kept the multitude at a diftance, in order to prevent them not only from embezzling, but from infpecting too curioufly what belonged to their guests. Next morning this prince vifited Columbus, who was now on board the Nigna, and endeavoured to confole him for his lofs, by offering all that he poffeffed to repair it *.

The condition of Columbus was fuch, that he ftood in need of confolation. He had hitherto procured no intelligence of the Pinta, and no longer doubted but that his treacherous affociate had fet fail for Europe. in order to have the merit of carrying the first tidings of the extraordi nary difcoveries which had been made, and to pre-occupy fo far the ear of their fovereign, as to rob him of the glory and reward to which he was justly entitled. There remained but one veffel, and that the smallest and moft crazy of the fquadron, to traverse fuch a vast ocean, and carry

*The account which Columbus gives of the humanity and orderly behaviour of the natives on this occafion is very striking. The king (fays he, in a letter to Ferdinand and Ifabella) having been informed of our misfortune, expressed great grief for our lofs, and immediately fent aboard all the people in the place in many large canoes; we fcon unloaded the fhip of every thing that was upon deck, as the king gave us great affiftance: he himself, with his brothers and relations, took all poffible care that every thing fhould be properly done both aboard and on shore. And, from time to time, he fent fome of his relations weeping, to beg of me not to be dejected, for he would give me all that he had. I can affure your highneffes, that fo much care would not have been taken in fecuring our effets in any part of Spain, as all our property was put together in one place near his palace, u. til the houfes which he wanted to prepare for the cuftody of it, were emptied. He immediately placed a guard of armed men, who watched during the whole night, and thofe on fhore lamented as if they had been much interefted in our lofs. The people are so affectionate, so tractable, and fo peaceable, that I fwear to your highneffes, that there is not a better race of men, nor a better country in the world. They love their neighbour as themselves; their converfation is the sweetest and mildeft in the world, cheerful, and always accompanied with a smile. And although it is true that they go naked, yet your highneffes may be affured that they have many very commendable cuftoms; the king is ferved with great fate, and his behaviour is fo decent, that it is pleafant to fee him, as it is likewife to obferve the wonderful memory which thefe people have, and their defire of knowing every thing, which leads them to inquire into its caufes and effects." Life of Columbus, c. 32. It is probable that the Spaniards were indebted for this officious attention, to the opinion which the Indians entertained of them as a fuperior order of beings.

fo

many men back to Europe.

Each of thofe circumstances was alarming, and filled the mind of Columbus with the utmost folicitude. The defire of overtaking Pinzon, and of effacing the unfavourable impreffions which his mifreprefentations might make in Spain, made it neceffary to return thither without delay. The difficulty of taking fuch a number of perfons aboard the Nigna, confirmed him in an opinion, which the fertility of the country, and the gentle temper of the people, had already induced him to form. He refolved to leave a part of his crew in the island, that, by refiding there, they might learn the language of the natives, ftudy their difpofition, examine the nature of the country, fearch for mines, prepare for the commodious fettlement of the colony, with which he purposed to return, and thus fecure and facilitate the acquifition of thofe advantages which he expected from his difcoveries. When he mentioned this to his men, all approved of the design; and from impatience under the fatigue of a long voyage, from the levity natural to failors, or from the hopes of amaffing wealth in a country which af forded fuch promifing fpecimens of its riches, many offered voluntarily the number of those who should remain.

to be

among Nothing was now wanting towards the execution of this fcheme, but to obtain the confent of Guacanahari; and his unfufpicious fimplicity foon prefented to the admiral a favourable opportunity of propofing it. Columbus having, in the beft manner he could, by broken words and figns, expreffed fome curiofity to know the cause which had moved the inlanders to fly with fuch precipitation upon the approach of his fhips, the cazique informed him that the country was much infefted by the incurfions of certain people, whom he called Carribeans, who inhabited feveral islands to the fouth-eaft. These he described as a fierce and warlike race of men, who delighted in blood, and devoured the flesh of the prifoners who were fo unhappy as to fall into their hands; and as the Spaniards, at their first appearance, were fuppofed to be Carribeans, whom the natives, however numerous, durft not face in battle, they had recourfe to their ufual method of fecuring their fafety, by flying into the thickeft and most impenetrable woods. Guacanahari, while fpeaking of thofe dreadful invaders, difcovered fuch fymptoms of terror, as well as fuch consciousness of the inability of his own people to refift them, as led Columbus to conclude that he would not be alarmed at the propofition of any scheme which afforded him the prospect of an additional fecurity against their attacks. He inftantly offered him the affiftance of the Spaniards to repel his enemies; he engaged to take him and his people under the protection of the powerful monarch whom he ferved, and offered to leave in the island fuch a number of his men as fhould be fufficient, not

only

only to defend the inhabitants from future incurfions, but to avenge

their past wrongs.

The credulous prince clofed eagerly with the propofal, and thought himself already safe under the patronage of beings fprung from Heaven, and fuperior in power to mortal men. The ground was marked out for a fmall fort, which Columbus called Navidad, because he had landed there on Christmas day. A deep ditch was drawn around it. The ramparts were fortified with pallifades, and the great guns, faved out of the admiral's ship, were planted upon them. In ten days the work was finished; that fimple race of men labouring with inconfiderate affiduity in erecting this firft monument of their own fervitude. During this time Columbus, by his careffes and liberality, laboured to increase the high opinion which the natives entertained of the Spaniards. But while he endeavoured to inspire them with confidence in their difpofition to do good, he wished likewife to give them fome striking idea of their power to punish and destroy fuch as were the objects of their indignation. With this view, in prefence of a vast assembly, he drew up his men in order of battle, and made an oftentatious but innocent difplay of the sharpness of the Spanish fwords, of the force of their fpears, and the operation of their crofs-bows. These rude people, ftrangers to the ufe of iron, and unacquainted with any hoftile weapons, but arrows of reeds pointed with the bones of fishes, wooden fwords, and javelins hardened in the fire, wondered and trembled. Before this furprise or fear had time to abate, he ordered the great guns to be fired. The fudden explosion ftruck them with fuch terror, that they fell flat to the ground, covering their faces with their hands; and when they beheld the aftonishing effect of the bullets among the trees, towards which the cannon had been pointed, they concluded that it was impoffible to refift men, who had the command of fuch destructive inftruments, and .who came armed with thunder and lightning againft their enemies.

After giving fuch impreffions both of the beneficence and power of the Spaniards, as might have rendered it easy to preserve an ascendant over the minds of the natives, Columbus appointed thirty-eight of his people to remain in the island. He entrusted the command of these to Diego de Arada, a gentleman of Cordova, invefting him with the fame powers which he himself had received from Ferdinand and Ifabella; and furnished him with every thing requifite for the fubfiftence or defence of this infant colony. He ftrictly enjoined them to maintain concord among themfelves, to yield an unreferved obedience to their commander, to avoid giving offence to the natives by any violence or exaction, to cultivate the friendship of Guacanahari, but not to put themselves in his

power

power by ftraggling in fmall parties, or marching too far from the fort. He promised to revifit them foon, with fuch a reinforcement of strength as might enable them to take full poffeffion of the country, and to reap all the fruits of their difcoveries. In the mean time, he engaged to mention their names to the king and queen, and to place their merit and fervices in the most advantageous light.

Having thus taken every precaution for the fecurity of the Colony, he left Navidad on the fourth of January, one thousand four hundred and ninety-three, and steering towards the eaft, discovered, and gave names to most of the harbours on the northern coaft of the island. On the fixth, he defcried the Pinta, and foon came up with her, after a fepa ration of more than fix weeks. Pinzon endeavoured to justify his conduct, by pretending that he had been driven from his courfe by ftrefs of weather, and prevented from returning by contrary winds. The admiral, though he ftill fufpected his perfidious intentions, and knew well what he urged in his own defence to be frivolous as well as false, was so fenfible that this was not a proper time for venturing upon any high ftrain of authority, and felt fuch fatisfaction in this junction with his confort, which delivered him from many difquieting apprehenfions, that lame as Pinzon's apology was, he admitted of it without difficulty, and reftored him to favour. During his abfence from the admiral, Pinzon had vifited feveral harbours in the ifland, had acquired fome gold by trafficking with the natives, but had made no difcovery of any import

ance.

From the condition of his fhips, as well as the temper of his men, Co. lumbus now found it necessary to haften his return to Europe. The former, having fuffered much during a voyage of such an unusual length, were extremely leaky. The latter expressed the utmost impatience to revifit their native country, from which they had been fo long abfent, and where they had things fo wonderful and un-heard of to relate. Aç cordingly, on the fixteenth of January, he directed his course towards the north-east, and foon loft fight of land. He had on board some of the natives, whom he had taken from the different islands which he dif covered; and befides the gold, which was the chief object of research, he had collected fpecimens of all the productions which were likely to become fubjects of commerce in the feveral countries, as well as many unknown birds, and other natural curiofities, which might attract the attention of the learned, or excite the wonder of the people. The voy age was profperous to the fourteenth of February, and he had advanced near five hundred leagues across the Atlantic Ocean, when the wind be gan to rife, and continued to blow with increafing rage, which termi nated

F