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Diego de Arana interpose his authority; all order, all subordination, all unanimity, were at an end; factions broke out among them, and at length ambition arose to complete the destruction of this mimic empire. Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo, whom Columbus had left as lieutenants to succeed Arana in case of accident, now aspired to an equal share in the authority. In the quarrels which succeeded a Spaniard was killed, and Gutierrez and Escobedo, having failed in their object, withdrew from the fortress, with nine of their adherents and a number of women, and set off for the mountains of Cibao, with the idea of procuring immense wealth from its golden mines. These mountains were in the territories of the famous Caonabo, called by the Spaniards "the lord of the golden house." He was a Carib by birth, and had come an adventurer to the island, but, possessing the fierceness and enterprise of his nation, had gained such an ascendancy over these simple and unwarlike people, as to make himself their most powerful cacique. The wonderful accounts of the white men had reached him among his mountains, and he had the shrewdness to perceive that his own consequence must decline before such formidable intruders. The departure of Columbus had given him hopes that their intrusion would be but temporary; the discords of those who remained increased his confidence. No sooner, therefore, did Gutierrez and Escobedo, with their companions, appear in his dominions, than he seized them and put them to death. He then assembled his subjects, and, traversing the forests with profound secrecy, arrived in the vicinity of La Navidad without being discovered. But ten

men remained in the fortress with Arana; the rest were living in careless security in the village. In the dead of the night Caonabo and his warriors burst upon the place with frightful yells, and set fire to the fortress and village. The Spaniards were completely taken by surprise. Eight were driven to the sea side, and, rushing into the waves, were drowned; the rest were massacred. Guacanagari and his subjects fought faithfully in defence of their guests, but, not being of a warlike character, they were easily routed. The cacique was wounded in the conflict, and his village burnt to the ground.

Such is the story of the first European establishment in the new world. It presents in a diminutive compass an epitome of the gross vices which degrade civilization, and the grand political errors which sometimes subvert the mightiest empires. All law and order were relaxed by licentiousness; public good was sacrificed to private interest and passion; the community was convulsed by divers factions, until the whole body politic was shaken asunder by two aspiring demagogues, ambitious of the command of a petty fortress in a wilderness, and the supreme control of eight and thirty men!

This account of the catastrophe of the fortress satisfied Columbus of the good faith of Guacanagari; but circumstances concurred to keep alive the suspicions entertained of him by the Spaniards. Columbus paid a visit to the chieftain, whom he found in a neighbouring village, suffering apparently from a bruise which he had received in the leg from a stone. Several of his subjects, also, exhibited recent wounds, which had evidently been made by Indian weapons. The cacique was greatly agitated

at seeing Columbus, and deplored with tears the misfortunes of the garrison. At the request of the admiral, his leg was examined by a Spanish surgeon, but no sign of a wound was to be seen, though he shrunk with pain whenever the leg was touched. As some time had elapsed since the battle, the external bruise might have disappeared, while a tenderness might remain in the part. Many of the Spaniards, however, who had not witnessed the generous conduct of the cacique in the first voyage, looked upon his lameness as feigned, and the whole story of the battle a fabrication to conceal his perfidy. Columbus persisted in believing him innocent, and invited him on board of his ships, where the cacique was greatly astonished at the wonders of art and nature brought from the old world. What most amazed him was the horses. He had never seen any but the most diminutive quadrupeds, and gazed with awe at the grandeur of these noble animals, their great strength, terrific appearance, yet perfect docility. The sight of the Carib prisoners also increased his idea of the prowess of the Spaniards, having the hardihood to invade these terrible beings even in their strong holds, while he could scarcely look upon them without shuddering, though in chains.

On board the ship were several Indian women who had been captives to the Caribs. Among them was one distinguished above her companions by a certain loftiness of demeanour; she had been much noticed and admired by the Spaniards, who had given her the name of Catalina. She particularly attracted the attention of the cacique, who is represented to have been of an amorous complexion. He

spoke to her repeatedly, with great gentleness of tone and manner, pity in all probability being mingled with his admiration; for, though rescued from the hands of the Caribs, she and her companions were still, in a manner, captives on board of the ship.

A collation was served up for the entertainment of Guacanagari, and Columbus endeavoured by kindness and hospitality to revive their former cordial intercourse, but it was all in vain; the cacique was evidently distrustful and ill at ease. The suspicions of his guilt gained ground among the Spaniards. Father Boyle, in particular, regarded him with an evil eye, and advised Columbus, now that he had him securely on board of his ship, to detain him prisoner; but Columbus rejected the counsel of the crafty friar, as contrary to sound policy and honourable faith. The cacique, however, accustomed in his former intercourse with the Spaniards to meet on every side with faces beaming with gratitude and friendship, could not but perceive the altered looks of cold suspicion and secret hostility. Notwithstanding the frank and cordial hospitality of the admiral, therefore, he soon took leave and returned to land.

On the following day there was a mysterious movement and agitation among the natives on shore. The brother of Guacanagari came on board, under pretext of bartering a quantity of gold, but as it afterwards proved to bear a message to Catalina, the Indian female, whose beauty had captivated the heart of the cacique, and whom, with a kind of native gallantry, he wished to deliver from bondage.

At midnight, when the crew were buried in their

first sleep, Catalina awakened her female companions, and proposed a bold attempt to gain their liberty. The ship was anchored full three miles from the shore, and the sea was rough; but these island women were accustomed to buffet with the waves, and the water was to them almost as their natural element. Letting themselves down silently from the side of the vessel, they trusted to the strength of their arms, and swam bravely for the shore. They were overheard by the watch, the alarm was given, the boats were manned and gave chase in the direction of a light blazing on the shore, an evident beacon for the fugitives. Such was the vigour of these sea nymphs, however, that they reached the land before they were overtaken. Four were captured on the beach, but the heroic Catalina, with the rest of her companions, escaped in safety to the forest. Guacanagari disappeared on the same day with all his household and effects, and it was supposed had taken refuge, with his island beauty, in the interior. His desertion gave redoubled force to the doubts heretofore entertained, and he was generally stigmatized as the perfidious destroyer of the garrison.

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