The officials were furious. Pasamonte, the treasurer, the most heartless destroyer of natives among all the king's officers, wrote, denouncing the Dominicans as rebels, and sent a Franciscan friar to Spain to support his accusation. The king was much offended, and when Montesinos and the prior of his convent arrived in Madrid to contradict Pasamonte's statements, they found the doors of the palace closed against them. Nothing daunted and imbued with the true apostolic spirit, they made their way, without asking permission, to the royal presence, and there advocated the cause of the Indians so eloquently that Ferdinand promised to have the matter investigated immediately. A council of theologians and jurists was appointed to study the matter and hear the evidence on both sides; but they were so long in coming to a decision that Montesinos and his prior lost patience and insisted on a resolution, whereupon they decided that the distributions were legal in virtue of the powers granted by the Holy See to the kings of Castilla, and that, if it was a matter of conscience at all, it was one for the king and his councilors, and not for the officials, who simply obeyed orders. The two Dominicans were ordered to return to la Espanola, and by the example of their virtues and mansuetude stimulate those who might be inclined to act wickedly.

The royal conscience was not satisfied, however, with the sophistry of his councilors, and as a quietus to it, the _well-meaning_ ordinances just cited were enacted. They, too, remained a dead letter, and not even the scathing and persevering denunciations of Las Casas, who continued the good work begun by Montesinos, could obtain any practical improvement in the lot of the Indians until it was too late, and thousands of them had been crushed under the heel of the conqueror.

King Ferdinand's efforts to make Puerto Rico a prosperous colony were rendered futile by the dissensions between the Admiral's and his own partizans and the passions awakened by the favoritism displayed in the distribution of Indians. That the king took a great interest in the colonization of the island is shown by the many ordinances and decrees issued all tending to that end. He gave special licenses to people in Spain and in Santo Domingo to establish themselves in Puerto Rico.[22]

In his minute instructions to Ponce and his successors he regulated every branch of the administration, and wrote to Ceron and Diaz: " ...I wish this island well governed and peopled as a special affair of mine." On a single day (February 26, 1511) he made, among others of a purely private character, the following public dispositions: "That the tithes and 'primicias'" [23] should be paid in kind only; that the fifth part of the output of the mines should be paid only during the first ten years; that he ceded to the colony for the term of four years all fines imposed by the courts, to be employed in the construction of roads and bridges; that the traffic between San Juan and la Espanola should be free, and that this island should enjoy the same rights and privileges as the other; that no children or grandchildren of people executed or burned for crimes or heresy should be admitted into the colony, and that an exact account should be sent to him of all the colonists, caciques, and Indians and their distribution.

He occupied himself with the island's affairs with equal interest up to the time of his death, in 1516. He made it a bishopric in 1512. In 1513 he disposed that the colonists were to build houses of adobe, that is, of sun-dried bricks; that all married men should send for their wives, and that useful trees should be planted. In 1514 he prohibited labor contracts, or the purchase or transfer of slaves or Indians "encomendados" (distributed). Finally, in 1515, he provided for the defense of the island against the incursions of the Caribs.

If these measures did not produce the desired result, it was due to the discord among the colonists, created by the system of "repartimientos" introduced in an evil hour by Columbus, a system which was the poisoned source of most of the evils that have afflicted the Antilles.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 21: The twelfth part of a "fanega," equal to about two gallons, dry measure.]

[Footnote 22: Cedulas de vecindad.]

[Footnote 23: First-fruits.]

CHAPTER IX

THE RETURN OF CERON AND DIAZ--PONCE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA

1511-1515

Ceron and Diaz returned to San Juan in November, 1511.

Before their departure from Seville they received sundry marks of royal favor. Among these was permission to Diaz and his wife to wear silken garments, and to transfer to San Juan the 40 Indians they possessed in la Espanola.

We have seen that the first article of the king's instructions to them enjoins the maintenance of friendly relations with Ponce, and in the distribution of Indians to favor those who had distinguished themselves in the suppression of the revolt.

They did nothing of the kind.

Their first proceeding was to show their resentment at the summary treatment they had received at the captain's hands by depriving him of the administration of the royal granges, the profits of which he shared with King Ferdinand, because, as his Highness explained to Pasamente in June, 1511, "Ponce received no salary as captain of the island."

They next sent a lengthy exposition to Madrid, accusing the captain of maladministration of the royal domain, and, to judge by the tenor of the king's letter to Ponce, dated in Burgos on the 23d of February, 1512, they succeeded in influencing him to some extent against his favorite, though not enough to deprive him of the royal patronage. "I am surprised," wrote the king, "at the small number of Indians and the small quantity of gold from our mines. The fiscal will audit your accounts, that you may be at liberty for the expedition to Bemini, which some one else has already proposed to me; but I prefer _you_, as I wish to recompense your services and because I believe that you will serve us better there than in our grange in San Juan, _in which you have proceeded with some negligence_."

In the redistribution of Indians which followed, Ceron and Diaz ignored the orders of the sovereign and openly favored their own followers to the neglect of the conquerors', whose claims were prior, and whose wounds and scars certainly entitled them to consideration.

This caused such a storm of protest and complaint against the doings of his proteges that Diego Columbus was forced to suspend them and appoint Commander Moscoso in their place.

This personage only made matters worse. The first thing _he_ did was to practise another redistribution of Indians. This exasperated everybody to such an extent that the Admiral found it necessary to come to San Juan himself. He came, accompanied by a numerous suite of aspirants to different positions, among them Christopher Mendoza, the successor of Moscoso (1514). After the restoration of Ceron and Diaz in their offices, Ponce quietly retired to his residence in Caparra.

He was wealthy and could afford to bide his time, but the spirit of unrest in him chafed under this forced inaction. The idea of discovering the island, said to exist somewhere in the northwestern part of these Indies, where wonderful waters flowed that restored old age to youth and kept youth always young, occupied his mind more and more persistently, until, having obtained the king's sanction, he fitted out an expedition of three ships and sailed from the port of Aguada March 3, 1512.

Strange as it may seem, that men like Ponce, Zuniga, and the other leading expeditionists should be glad of an opportunity to risk their lives and fortunes in the pursuit of a chimera, it must be remembered that the island of Bemini itself was not a chimera.

The followers of Columbus, the majority of them ignorant and credulous, had seen a mysterious new world rise, as it were, from the depths of the ocean. As the islands, one after the other, appeared before their astonished eyes, they discovered real marvels each day.

The air, the land, the sea, were full of them. The natives pointed in different directions and spoke of other islands, and the adventurers'

imaginations peopled them with fancied wonders. There was, according to an old legend, a fountain of perennial youth somewhere in the world, and where was it more likely to be found than in this hitherto unknown part of it?

Ponce and his companions believed in its existence as firmly as, some years later, Ferdinand Pizarro believed in the existence of El Dorado and the golden lake of Parime.

The expedition touched at Guanakani on the 14th of March, and on the 27th discovered what Ponce believed to be the island of which he was in search. On April 2d Ponce landed and took possession in the king's name. The native name of the island was Cansio or Cautix, but the captain named it "la Florida," some say because he found it covered with the flowers of spring; others, because he had discovered it on Resurrection day, called "Pascua Florida" by the Spanish Catholics.

The land was inhabited by a branch of the warlike Seminole Indians, who disputed the Spaniards' advance into the interior. No traces of gold were found, nor did the invaders feel themselves rejuvenated, when, after a wearisome march or fierce fight with the natives, they bathed in, or drank of, the waters of some stream or spring. They had come to a decidedly inhospitable shore, and Ponce, after exploring the eastern and southern littoral, and discovering the Cayos group of small islands, turned back to San Juan, where he arrived in the beginning of October, "looking much older," says the chronicler, "than when he went in search of rejuvenation."

Two years later he sailed for the Peninsula and anchored in Bayona in April, 1514. King Ferdinand received him graciously and conferred on him the titles of Adelantado of Bemini and la Florida, with civil and criminal jurisdiction on land and sea. He also made him commander of the fleet for the destruction of the Caribs, and perpetual "regidor"

(prefect) of San Juan Bautista _de Puerto Rico_. This last surname for the island began to be used in official documents about this time (October, 1514).

The fleet for the destruction of the Caribs consisted of three caravels. With these, Ponce sailed from Betis on May 14, 1515,[24] and reached the Leeward Islands in due course. In Guadeloupe, one of the Carib strongholds, he landed a number of men without due precaution.

They were attacked by the natives. Fifteen of them were wounded, four of whom died. Some women who had been sent ashore to wash the soiled linen were carried off. Ponce's report of the event was laconic: "I wrote from San Lucas and from la Palma," he writes to the king (August 7th to 8th). "In Guadeloupe, while taking in water the Indians wounded some of my men. They shall be chastised." Haro, one of the crown officers in San Juan, informed the king afterward of all the circumstances of the affair, and added: "He (Ponce) left the (wounded) men in a deserted island on this side, which is Santa Cruz, and now he sends a captain, instead of going himself ..."

Ponce's third landing occurred June 15, 1515. He found the island in a deplorable condition. Discontent and disorder were rampant. The king had deprived Diego Columbus of the right to distribute Indians (January 23, 1513), and had commissioned Pasamonte to make a new distribution in San Juan. The treasurer had delegated the task to licentiate Sancho Velasquez, who received at the same time power to audit the accounts of all the crown officers. The redistribution was practised in September, 1514, with no better result than the former ones. It was impossible to satisfy the demands of all. The discontented were mostly Ponce's old companions, who overwhelmed the king with protests, while Velasquez defended himself, accusing Ponce and his friends of turbulence and exaggerated ambition.

As a consequence of all this strife and discord, the Indians were turned over from one master to another, distributed like cattle over different parts of the islands, and at each change their lot became worse.

Still, there were large numbers of them that had never yet been subjugated. Some, like the caciques of Humacao and Daguao, who occupied the eastern and southeastern parts of the island, had agreed to live on a peace footing with the Spaniards, but Ponce's impolitic proceeding in taking by force ten men from the village of the first-named chief caused him and his neighbor of Daguao to burn their villages and take to the mountains in revolt. Many other natives had found a comparatively safe refuge in the islands along the coast, and added largely to the precarious situation by pouncing on the Spanish settlements along the coast when least expected. Governor Mendoza undertook a punitive expedition to Vieques, in which the cacique Yaureibo was killed; but the Indians had lost that superstitious dread of the Spaniards and of their weapons that had made them submit at first, and they continued their incursions, impeding the island's progress for more than a century.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 24: Washington Irving says January.]

CHAPTER X

DISSENSIONS--TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL

1515-1520

The total number of Spaniards in the island at the time of the rebellion did not exceed 200. Of these, between 80 and 100 were killed by the Indians. The survivors were reenforced, first by the followers of Ceron and Diaz, then by some stray adventurers who accompanied Diego Columbus on his visit to the island. We may assume, therefore, with Mr. Acosta,[25] that at the time of which we write the Spanish population numbered about 400, who Arango, in a memorial addressed to the Cardinal Regent, classifies as Government officials, old conquerors, new hirelings, and "marranos hijos de reconciliados,"

which, translated, means, "vile brood of pardoned criminals," the latter being, in all probability, the immigrants into whose antecedents the king had recommended his officers in Seville not to inquire.

This population was divided into different hostile parties. The most powerful at the time was Ponce's party, led by Sedeno, the auditor, and Villafranca, the treasurer; opposed to whom were the partizans of Ceron and Diaz, the proteges of the Admiral, and those who had found favor with Velasquez, all of them deadly enemies because of the unequal division among them of the unhappy Indians.

The expedition to Florida and the honors conferred upon him by the king naturally enhanced Ponce's prestige among his old companions.

Diego Columbus himself was fain to recognize the superior claim of him who now presented himself with the title Adelantado of Bemini and Florida, so that the captain's return to office was effected without opposition.

With his appointment as perpetual prefect, Ponce assumed the right to make a redistribution of Indians, but could not exercise it, because Sancho Velasquez had made one, as delegate of Pasamonte, only the year before (September, 1515).

In virtue of his special appointment as judge auditor of the accounts of all the crown officers, he had condemned Ponce during his absence to pay 1,352 gold pesos for shortcomings in his administration of the royal estates.[26]

The licentiate's report to the king, dated April 27, 1515, gives an idea of the state of affairs in San Juan at the time. " ... I found the island under tyranny, as will be seen from the documents I enclose. Juan Ceron and Miguel Diaz are responsible for 100,000 Castellanos[27] for Indians taken from persons who held them by schedule from your Highness."