CHAPTER IX. —­ THE NEW COLONY

—­Expeditions of discovery—­Guacanagari—­search for gold—­mutiny in the
colony—­the vessels sent home—­Columbus marches inland—­collection
of gold—­fortress of st. Thomas—­A new voyage of discovery—­Jamaica
visited—­the south shore of Cuba explored—­return—­Evangelista
discovered—­Columbus falls sick—­return to Isabella.

Columbus had hoped, with reason, to send back a part of the vessels which made up his large squadron, with gold collected in the year by the colonists at La Navidad.  In truth, when, in 1501, the system of gold-washing-had been developed, the colony yielded twelve hundred pounds of gold in one year.  The search for gold, from the beginning, broke up all intelligent plans for geographical discovery or for colonization.  In this case, it was almost too clear that there was nothing but bad news to send back to Spain.  Columbus went forward, however, as well as he could, with the establishment of a new colony, and with the search for gold.

He sent out expeditions of discovery to open relations with the natives, and to find the best places for washing and mining for gold.  Melchior Meldonado commanded three hundred men, in the first of these expeditions.  They came to a good harbor at the mouth of a river, where they saw a fine house, which they supposed might be the home of Guacanagari.  They met an armed party of one hundred Indians; but these men put away their weapons when signals of peace were made, and brought presents in token of good-will.

The house to which they went was round, with a hemispherical roof or dome.  It was thirty-two paces in diameter, divided by wicker work into different rooms.  Smaller houses, for persons of rank lower than the chiefs, surrounded it.  The natives told the explorers that Guacanagari himself had retired to the hills.

On receiving the report of these explorers Columbus sent out Ojeda with a hundred men, and Corvalan with a similar party in different directions.  These officers, in their report, described the operation of gold-washing, much as it is known to explorers in mining regions to-day.  The natives made a deep ditch into which the gold bearing sand should settle.  For more important work they had flat baskets in which they shook the sand and parted it from the gold.  With the left hand they dipped up sand, handled this skilfully or “dextrously” with the right hand, so that in a few minutes they could give grains of gold to the gratified explorers.  Ojeda brought home to Columbus one nugget which weighed nine ounces.