Relief Of The Admiral - 1

Relief Of The Admiral - 1

There was no further difficulty about provisions, which were punctually brought by the
natives on the old terms; but the familiar, spirit of sedition began to work again among
the unhappy Spaniards, and once more a mutiny, led this time by the apothecary
Bernardo, took form—the intention being to seize the remaining canoes and attempt to
reach Espanola. This was the point at which matters had arrived, in March 1504, when as
the twilight was falling one evening a cry was raised that there was a ship in sight; and
presently a small caravel was seen standing in towards the shore. All ideas of mutiny
were forgotten, and the crew assembled in joyful anticipation to await, as they thought,
the coming of their deliverers. The caravel came on with the evening breeze; but while it
was yet a long way off the shore it was seen to be lying to; a boat was lowered and rowed
towards the harbour.
As the boat drew near Columbus could recognise in it Diego de Escobar, whom he
remembered having condemned to death for his share in the rebellion of Roldan. He was
not the man whom Columbus would have most wished to see at that moment. The boat
came alongside the hulks, and a barrel of wine and a side of bacon, the sea-compliment
customary on such occasions, was handed up. Greatly to the Admiral's surprise, however,
Escobar did not come on board, but pushed his boat off and began to speak to Columbus
from a little distance. He told him that Ovando was greatly distressed at the Admiral's
misfortunes; that he had been much occupied by wars in Espanola, and had not been able
to send a message to him before; that he greatly regretted he had no ship at present large
enough to bring off the Admiral and his people, but that he would send one as soon as he
had it. In the meantime the Admiral was to be assured that all his affairs in Espanola were
being attended to faithfully, and that Escobar was instructed to bring back at once any
letters which the Admiral might wish to write.
The coolness and unexpectedness of this message completely took away the breath of the
unhappy Spaniards, who doubtless stood looking in bewilderment from Escobar to
Columbus, unable to believe that the caravel had not been sent for their relief. Columbus,
however, with a self-restraint which cannot be too highly praised, realised that Escobar
meant what he said, and that by protesting against his action or trying to interfere with it
he would only be putting himself in the wrong. He therefore retired immediately to his
cabin and wrote a letter to Ovando, in which he drew a vivid picture of the distress of his
people, reported the rebellion of the Porras brothers, and reminded Ovando that he relied
upon the fulfilment of his promise to send relief. The letter was handed over to Escobar,
who rowed back with it to his caravel and immediately sailed away with it into the night.
Before he could retire to commune with his own thoughts or to talk with his faithful
brother, Columbus had the painful duty of speaking to his people, whose puzzled and
disappointed faces must have cost him some extra pangs. He told them that he was quite
satisfied with the message from Ovando, that it was a sign of kindness on his part thus to
send them news in advance that relief was coming, that their situation was now known in
San Domingo, and that vessels would soon be here to take them away. He added that he
himself was so sure of these things that he had refused to go back with Escobar, but had
preferred to remain with them and share their lot until relief should come. This had the
desired effect of cheering the Spaniards; but it was far from representing the real
sentiments of Columbus on the subject. The fact that Escobar had been chosen to convey
this strange empty message of sympathy seemed to him suspicious, and with his profound
distrust of Ovando Columbus began to wonder whether some further scheme might not
be on foot to damage him in the eyes of the Sovereigns. He was convinced that Ovando
had meant to let him starve on the island, and that the real purpose of Escobar's visit had
been to find out what condition the Admiral was in, so that Ovando might know how to
act. It is very hard to get at the truth of what these two men thought of each other. They
were both suspicious, each was playing for his own hand, and Ovando was only a little
more unscrupulous than Columbus; but there can be no doubt that whatever his motives
may have been Ovando acted with abominable treachery and cruelty in leaving the
Admiral unrelieved for nearly nine months.
Columbus now tried to make use of the visit of Escobar to restore to allegiance the band
of rebels that were wandering about in the neighbourhood under the leadership of the
Porras brothers. Why he should have wished to bring them back to the ships is not clear,
for by all accounts he was very well rid of them; but probably his pride as a commander
was hurt by the thought that half of his company had defied his authority and were in a
state of mutiny. At any rate he sent out an ambassador to Porras, offering to receive the
mutineers back without any punishment, and to give them a free passage to Espanola in
the vessels which were shortly expected, if they would return to their allegiance with him.
The folly of this overture was made manifest by the treatment which it received. It was
bad enough to make advances to the Porras brothers, but it was still worse to have those
advances repulsed, and that is what happened. The Porras brothers, being themselves
incapable of any single-mindedness, affected not to believe in the sincerity of the
Admiral's offer; they feared that he was laying some kind of trap for them; moreover,
they were doing very well in their lawless way, and living very comfortably on the
natives; so they told Columbus's ambassadors that his offer was declined. At the same
time they undertook to conduct themselves in an amicable and orderly manner on
condition that, when the vessels arrived, one of them should be apportioned to the
exclusive use of the mutineers; and that in the meantime the Admiral should share with
them his store of provisions and trinkets, as theirs were exhausted.