COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER. 



143 



ittv irrcnt cowanls. <>no of these islands in peopled 

 by women, who practice mi tcminine oocupa- 

 iit exercise the bow and arrow, und cover 

 themselves with plates of copper, which metal they 

 luivc in aluilhlaneo. There is another island, us I am 

 :, larger than Kspanola, in which tho inhab- 

 itants an 1 without hair, und which contains a greut 

 al>uiulance of gold. In confirmation of these and 

 other accounts, I have brought tho Indians along with 

 testimonies. In conclusion, and to speak only 

 of what I have performed, this voyage so hastily dis- 

 patched will, as their highnesses may see, enable any 

 desirable quantity of gold to bo obtained by a very 

 small assistance afforded me on their part At present 

 there are within roach: spices and cotton to as great 

 an amount as they can desire,_aloe in a great abun- 

 dance, und equal store of mastic^ a production nowhere 

 else I'liuinl except in Greece and the island of Scio, 

 where it is sola at such a price as the possessors 

 choose. To these may be added slaves, as numerous 

 as may be wished for. Besides, 1 have, as 1 think, 

 discovered rhubarb and cinnamon, and expect count- 

 less other things of value will be found by the men 

 whom I left there, as I made it a point not to stay in 

 any one place while the wind enabled me to proceed 

 upon the voyage, except at Villa do .Navidaa, where 

 1 left them well established. 



Honors fell thick and fast about the head of 

 the discoverer. Telling of a ceremonious ban- 

 quet that was given him, the Italian historian 

 Benzoni relates the well-known anecdote of the 

 egg. Recent historians ignore the story, think- 

 ing it trivial, probably, if not untrue. It seems 

 to be authentic, and its value is matter of 

 opinion. How the moral, which needs to be' so 

 often repeated, that what is accomplished seems 

 easy, could be more succinctly put, it is hard to 

 fancy. Perhaps it was a relative of Pinzon's 

 who asked Columbus whether he thought, in 

 case he had not made the discovery, there were 

 not other men who could. Taking an egg, he 

 jisked the company to make it stand on end. 

 Each in turn gave it up as impossible. Striking 

 it gently on the table, Columbus broke the shell 

 just enough to enable it to stand. Any one 

 could make it stand, but no one had done so. 



Meantime Columbus was urged to hasten his 

 return, and he was none the less eager. The 

 Court applied for a Papal bull announcing 

 Spain's right to the new territory and defining 

 the Portuguese possessions. Without further 

 ado, the Pope drew an imaginary line through 

 (he middle of the Atlantic, from north to south, 

 and gave all discovered to the east of it to Port- 

 ugal and all to the west of it to Spain. 



Isabella manifested the greatest desire for the 

 conversion of the Indians, and for that purpose 

 she sent 12 priests, among whom was Ber- 

 nardo Boil, a Benedictine monk. The natives 

 brought by Columbus were baptized with great 

 ceremony, the King, the Queen, and young Prince 

 Juan acting as sponsors. They were to return 

 to assist in the work of conversion, and Isabella 

 cliarired that all natives be treated with the ut- 

 most kindness, and that severe punishment be 

 inflicted on any Spaniard who should be guilty 

 of treating them wrongfully in anyway. Before 

 Columbus left the court the former provisional 

 agreement was confirmed, and he was granted 

 every right and title he had ever claimed, with 

 power to invest another with the same authority 

 in his absence. 



Men were as eager now to go as before 

 they had been reluctant, and many were re- 



fused. Finally, there were collected three large 

 ships and 14 caravels filled with a joyous 

 company, many of them from the highest fami- 

 lies in Spain. Among them was Don Alonzo 

 de Ojeda, son of the Grand Inquisitor of Spurn. 

 They were supplied with husbandmen, miners, 

 carpenters, and various other mechanics, ani- 

 mals, grain, seeds, plants, vines, sugar-cane, 

 grafts, saplings, ana everything necessary for 

 trading with the Indians. Some days before 

 setting sail Columbus drew up * paper which 

 runs as follows : 



Most high and mighty Sovereigns : In obedience to 

 your highnesses' commands, and with submission to 

 superior judgment, I will say whatever occurs to me 

 in reference to the colonization and commerce of the 

 island of Espanola, and of the other islands, both 

 those already discovered and those that may be dis- 

 covered hereafter. 



In the first place, as regards the island of Espanola, 

 inasmuch as the number of colonists who desire to go 

 thither amounts to 2,000, owing to the hind being 

 safer and better for farming and trading, and because 

 it will serve as a place to which they can return and 

 from which they can carry on trade with the neigh- 

 boring islands : 



Item. That in the said island there shall be founded 

 3 or 4 towns, situated in the most convenient places, 

 and that the settlers who are there be assigned to the 

 aforesaid places and towns. 



Item. That, for the better and more speedy colo- 

 nization of the said island, no one shall have liberty 

 to collect gold in it except those who have taken out 

 colonists' papers and have built houses for their abode 

 in the town in which they are, that they may live 

 united and in greater safety. 



Item. That each town shall have its alcalde or 

 alcaldes, and its notary public, as is the use and cus- 

 tom in Castile. 



Item. That there shall be a" church and parish 

 priests or friars to administer the sacraments, to per- 

 form divine worship, and for the conversion of the 

 Indians. 



Item. That none of the colonists shall go to seek 

 gold without a license from tho governor or alcalde 

 of the town where ho lives ; ana that he must first 

 take oath to return to the place whence he sets out 

 for the purpose of registering faithfully all the gold 

 ho may have found, and to return once a month or 

 once a week, as the time may have been set for him, 

 to render account and uhpw the quantity of said gold ; 

 and that this shall bo written, done by the notary be- 

 fore the alcalde, or, if it seems better, that a friar or 

 priest, deputed for the purpose, shall also be present 



Item. That the gold thus brought in shall be 

 smelted immediately and stamped with some mark 

 that shall distinguish each town ; and that the por- 

 tion which belongs to your highnesses shall be 

 weighed, and given and consignee to each alcalde in 

 his own town, and registered by the above-mentioned 

 priest or friar, so that it shall not pass through the 

 haii. Is of one person alone, and there shall be no op- 

 portunity to conceal the truth. 



Item, That all gold that may be found without 

 tho mark of one of the said towns, in the possession 

 of any one who has once registered in accordance 

 with the above order, shall be taken as forfeited, and 

 that the accuser shall have one portion of it and your 

 highnesses the other. 



Item. That 1 per centum of all the gold that my 

 be found shall be set aside for building churches and 

 adorning the same, and for the support of the priests 

 or friars belonging to them ; ana if it should be 

 thought proper to pay anything to the alcaldes or 

 notaries for their services or for insuring the faithful 

 performance of their duties, that this amount shall be 

 sent to the governor or treasurer who may be ap- 

 pointed there by your highnesses. 



Hem. As regards the division of the gold and t!ie 



