eld the mountains of an island mysteriously hidden
till then in the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Among the spectators were Bernal Diaz de Pisa, accountant of the
fleet, the first conspirator in America; thirteen Benedictine friars,
with Boil at their head, who, with Moren Pedro de Margarit, the
strategist, respectively represented the religious and military
powers; there was Roldan, another insubordinate, the first alcalde of
the Espanola; there were Alonzo de Ojeda and Guevara, true
knights-errant, who were soon to distinguish themselves: the first by
the capture of the chief Caonabo, the second by his romantic
love-affair with Higuemota, the daughter of the chiefess Anacaona.
There was Adrian Mojica, destined shortly to be hanged on the ramparts
of Fort Concepcion by order of the Viceroy. There was Juan de
Esquivel, the future conqueror of Jamaica; Sebastian Olano, receiver
of the royal share of the gold and other riches that no one doubted to
find; Father Marchena, the Admiral's first protector, friend, and
counselor; the two knight commanders of military orders Gallego and
Arroyo; the fleet's physician, Chanca; the queen's three servants,
Navarro, Pena-soto, and Girau; the pilot, Antonio de Torres, who was
to return to Spain with the Admiral's ship and first despatches.
There was Juan de la Cosa, cartographer, who traced the first map of
the Antilles; there were the father and uncle of Bartolome de las
Casas, the apostle of the Indies; Diego de Penalosa, the first notary
public; Fermin Jedo, the metallurgist, and Villacorta, the mechanical
engineer. Luis de Ariega, afterward famous as the defender of the fort
at Magdalena; Diego Velasquez, the future conqueror of Cuba; Vega,
Abarca, Gil Garcia, Marguez, Maldonado, Beltran and many other doughty
warriors, whose names had been the terror of the Moors during the war
in Granada. Finally, there were Diego Columbus, the Admiral's brother;
and among the men-at-arms, one, destined to play the principal role in
the conquest of Puerto Rico. His name was Juan Ponce, a native of
Santervas or Sanservas de Campos in the kingdom of Leon. He had served
fifteen years in the war with the Moors as page or shield-bearer to
Pedro Nunez de Guzman, knight commander of the order of Calatrava, and
he had joined Columbus like the rest--to seek his fortune in the
western hemisphere.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: March 15, 1493.]

[Footnote 2: Literally, "_hijos d'algo_," sons of something