Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/510

484 484 PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY. PART the veteran navigator, quitting the port of Cadiz, [ . on the 9th of March, 1502, once more spread his sails for those golden regions, which he had ap- proached so near, but was destined never to reach. Remarkable It will not bc nccessarv to pursue his course fur- fate of his •'_ ■•■ -nemies. j.|^gj. ^j-^^j^ ^q noticc E singlc occurrence of most extraordinary nature. The admiral had received instructions not to touch at Hispaniola on his out- ward voyage. The leaky condition of one of his ships, however, and the signs of an approaching storm, induced him to seek a temporary refuge there ; at the same time, he counselled Ovando to delay for a few days the departure of the fleet, then riding in the harbour, which was destined to carry Bobadilla and the rebels with their ill-gotten treas- ures back to Spain. The churlish governor, how- ever, not only refused Columbus admittance, but gave orders for the instant departure of the vessels. The apprehensions of the experienced mariner were fully justified by the event. Scarcely had the Spanish fleet quitted its moorings, before one of those tremendous hurricanes came on, which so often desolate these tropical regions, sweeping down every thing before it, and fell with such vio- lence on the little navy, that out of eighteen ships, of which it was composed, not more than three or four escaped. The rest all foundered, including those which contained Bobadilla, and the late ene- mies of Columbus. Two hundred thousand castella- By an ordinance of 1503, we find salary of 50,000 maravedies. Ibid., Diego Colon made contino of the Doc. Dipl., no. 150. royal household, with an annual