Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/484

458 458 PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY. II. PART depths of the ocean. The first accounts transmit- ted by the great navigator and his companions, on his second voyage, while their imaginations were warm with the beauty and novelty of the scenes which met their eyes in the New World, served to keep alive the tone of excitement, which their unexpected successes had kindled in the nation.^ The various specimens sent home in the return ships, of the products of these unknown regions, confirmed the agreeable belief that they formed part of the great Asiatic continent, which had so long excited the cupidity of Europeans. The Spanish court, sharing in the general enthusiasm, endeavoured to promote the spirit of discovery and colonization, by forwarding the requisite supplies, and complying promptly with the most minute suggestions of Columbus. But, in less than two years from the commencement of his second voyage, the face of things experienced a melan- choly change. Accounts were received at home of the most alarming discontent and disaffection in the colony ; while the actual returns from these vaunted regions were so scanty, as to bear no proportion to the expenses of the expedition. 2 See, among others, a letter of en el mundo, porque verdadera- Dr. Clianca, who accompanied mente a otro camino que los navios Columbus on his second voyage, vuelvan puedan llevar tanta canti- It is addressed to the authorities of dad de oio que se pueden maravi- Seville. After noticing the evi- liar cualesquiera que lo supieren." dences of gold in Ilispaniola, he In another part of the letter, the says ; " Ansi que de cierto los Doctor is equally sanguine in re- Reyes nuestros Seilorcsdcsde ago- gard to the fruitfulness of the soil ra se pueden tener por los mas and climate. Letra de Dr. Chanca, prospcros e mas ricos Principes del apud Navarrete, Coleccion de Via- mundo, porque tal cosa hasta agora ges, torn. i. pp. 198- 224* no so ha visio ni leido de ninguno