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Title: Christopher Columbus, Volume 5
And The New World Of His Discovery, A Narrative

Author: Filson Young

Release Date: December 5, 2004 [EBook #4112]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, VOLUME 5 ***

Produced by David Widger

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

AND THE NEW WORLD OF HIS DISCOVERY

A NARRATIVE BY FILSON YOUNG

Volume 5

DESPERATE REMEDIES

CHAPTER I

THE VOYAGE TO CUBA

The sight of the greater part of their fleet disappearing in the
direction of home threw back the unstable Spanish colony into doubt and
despondency. The brief encouragement afforded by Ojeda's report soon
died away, and the actual discomforts of life in Isabella were more
important than visionary luxuries that seemed to recede into the distance
with the vanishing ships. The food supply was the cause of much
discomfort; the jobbery and dishonesty which seem inseparable from the
fitting out of a large expedition had stored the ships with bad wine and
imperfectly cured provisions; and these combined with the unhealthy
climate to produce a good deal of sickness. The feeling against
Columbus, never far below the Spanish surface, began to express itself
definitely in treacherous consultations and plots; and these were
fomented by Bernal Diaz, the comptroller of the colony, who had access to
Columbus's papers and had seen the letter sent by him to Spain. Columbus
was at this time prostrated by an attack of fever, and Diaz took the
opportunity to work the growing discontent up to the point of action. He
told the colonists that Columbus had painted their condition in far too
favourable terms; that he was deceiving them as well as the Sovereigns;
and a plot was hatched to seize the ships that remained and sail for
home, leaving Columbus behind to enjoy the riches that he had falsely
boasted about. They were ready to take alarm at anything, and to believe
anything one way or the other; and as they had believed Ojed