Relief Of The Admiral - 2

Relief Of The Admiral - 2

This was the impertinent decision of the Porras brothers; but it did not quite commend

itself to their followers, who were fearful of the possible results if they should persist in

their mutinous conduct. They were very much afraid of being left behind in the island,

and in any case, having attempted and failed in the main object of their mutiny, they saw

no reason why they should refuse a free pardon. But the Porras brothers lied busily. They

said that the Admiral was merely laying a trap in order to get them into his power, and

that he would send them home to Spain in chains; and they even went so far as to assure

their fellow-rebels that the story of a caravel having arrived was not really true; but that

Columbus, who was an adept in the arts of necromancy, had really made his people

believe that they had seen a caravel in the dusk; and that if one had really arrived it would

not have gone away so suddenly, nor would the Admiral and his brother and son have

failed to take their passage in it.

To consolidate the effect of these remarkable statements on the still wavering mutineers,

the Porras brothers decided to commit them to an open act of violence which would

successfully alienate them from the Admiral. They formed them, therefore, into an armed

expedition, with the idea of seizing the stores remaining on the wreck and taking the

Admiral personally. Columbus fortunately got news of this, as he nearly always did when

there was treachery in the wind; and he sent Bartholomew to try to persuade them once

more to return to their duty—a vain and foolish mission, the vanity and folly of which

were fully apparent to Bartholomew. He duly set out upon it; but instead of mild words

he took with him fifty armed men—the whole available able-bodied force, in fact-and

drew near to the position occupied by the rebels.

The exhortation of the Porras brothers had meanwhile produced its effect, and it was

decided that six of the strongest men among the mutineers should make for Bartholomew

himself and try to capture or kill him. The fierce Adelantado, finding himself surrounded

by six assailants, who seemed to be directing their whole effort against his life, swung his

sword in a berserk rage and slashed about him, to such good purpose that four or five of

his assailants soon lay round him killed or wounded. At this point Francisco de Porras

rushed in and cleft the shield held by Bartholomew, severely wounding the hand that held

it; but the sword. stuck in the shield, and while Porras was endeavouring to draw it out

Bartholomew and some others closed upon him, and after a sharp struggle took him

prisoner. The battle, which was a short one, had been meanwhile raging fiercely among

the rest of the forces; but when the mutineers saw their leader taken prisoner, and many

of their number lying dead or wounded, they scattered and fled, but not before

Bartholomew's force had taken several prisoners. It was then found that, although the

rebels had suffered heavily, none of Bartholomew's men were killed, and only one other

besides himself was wounded. The next day the mutineers all came in to surrender,

submitting an abject oath of allegiance; and Columbus, always strangely magnanimous to

rebels and insurgents, pardoned them all with the exception of Francisco de Porras, who,

one is glad to know, was confined in irons to be sent to Spain for trial.

This submission, which was due to the prompt action of Bartholomew rather than to the

somewhat feeble diplomacy of the Admiral, took place on March 20th, and proved

somewhat embarrassing to Columbus. He could put no faith in the oaths and protestations

of the mutineers; and he was very doubtful about the wisdom of establishing them once

more on the wrecks with the hitherto orderly remnant. He therefore divided them up into

several bands, and placing each under the command of an officer whom he could trust, he

supplied them with trinkets and despatched them to different parts of the island, for the

purpose of collecting provisions and carrying on barter with the natives. By this means

the last month or two of this most trying and exciting sojourn on the island of Jamaica

were passed in some measure of peace; and towards the end of June it was brought to an

end by the arrival of two caravels. One of them was the ship purchased by Diego Mendez

out of the three which had arrived from Spain; and the other had been despatched by

Ovando in deference, it is said, to public feeling in San Domingo, which had been so

influenced by Mendez's account of the Admiral's heroic adventures that Ovando dared

not neglect him any longer. Moreover, if it had ever been his hope that the Admiral

would perish on the island of Jamaica, that hope was now doomed to frustration, and, as

he was to be rescued in spite of all, Ovando no doubt thought that he might as well, for

the sake of appearances, have a hand in the rescue.

The two caravels, laden with what was worth saving from the two abandoned hulks, and

carrying what was left of the Admiral's company, sailed from Jamaica on June 28, 1504.

Columbus's joy, as we may imagine, was deep and heartfelt. He said afterwards to

Mendez that it was the happiest day of his life, for that he had never hoped to leave the

place alive.