Authentic Letters of Columbus. 155 



XVII. 



Letter from Columbus to his son Diego. Dated December 13TH 

 1504. Original in the collection of the Duke of Veragua, 

 Madrid. 



t 



My Dearest Son: 



Eight days have been completed to-day since the departure from 

 here of your uncle, your brother and Carbajal, who went together to 

 kiss the royal hands of His Highness and make a report of the voy- 

 age, and also to aid you in the negotiation of whatever may prove to 

 be necessary. 



Don Fernando left here with 150 ducats to be expended at his 

 discretion. He will have to use some part of that money, but he will 

 give you whatever he can. He also carries with him a letter of credit 

 for some of your merchants there. You must be careful in this mat- 

 ter, because I have already had some trouble with your Governor, be- 

 cause everybody had told me that I had there some eleven or twelve 

 thousand castellanos, and the result was that I had only four thou- 

 sand. He wanted to charge me many things which I was not bound 

 to pay, and I, trusting on the promises made by Their Highnesses 

 that restitution of everything should be ordered to be made to me, de- 

 cided to allow him to go on with his charges. I was in hopes that 

 some day I could call him to account for that. He is so overbearing 

 that nobody who has money there dares to ask for it. 



I am well aware of the fact that after I left he received more 

 than 5,000 castellanos; and if it were possible for you to obtain from 

 His Highness a good letter to him, ordering him to deliver to whom- 

 ever I may send with my power of attorney an account of what be-, 

 longs to me and send the money, it would be very good for all, — 

 otherwise he will give nothing. Miguel Diaz and Velazquez dare not 

 even mention the subject to him. Carbajal knows very well how 

 this can be fixed. Show him this letter. The 150 ducats which 

 Luis Soria sent to you when I came have been paid as he wished. 



I wrote you a long letter which I sent to you by Don Fernando. 

 I also sent a memorandum. Now after having given further thoughts 

 to the subject I shall say that whereas Their Highnesses stated ver- 

 bally and also under their signature, at the time of my departure, 

 that they would give me everything to which I am entitled under my 

 letters of privilege, it is proper not to make any claim, either for the 

 third, or the tenth or the eighth, mentioned in the memorandum, 



