Paradise.

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 Ojeda when he
came back with his report of riches, now they believed Cado, the assayer,
who said that even such gold as had been found was of a very poor and
worthless quality. The mutiny developed fast; and a table of charges
against Columbus, which was to be produced in Spain as a justification
for it, had actually been drawn up when the Admiral, recovering from his
illness, discovered what was on foot. He dealt promptly and firmly with
it in his quarterdeck manner, which was always far more effective than
his viceregal manner. Diaz was imprisoned and lodged in chains on board
one of the ships, to be sent to Spain for trial; and the other
ringleaders were punished also according to their deserts. The guns and
ammunition were all stored together on one ship under a safe guard, and
the mutiny was stamped out. But the Spaniards did not l