suspicions of Columbus. He sailed on, hoping to find the greater part
of the garrison alive, until he arrived off the harbour of La Navidad,
late on the evening of the 27th. Two guns were fired, but no reply was
received. While waiting in dismal suspense for the morning, about
midnight a canoe approached the fleet; but the people in it would not
come on board until they perceived the Admiral standing on the deck of
his ship, when they came up the side without hesitation. One of them
was a cousin of the cacique Guacanagari. He brought a present of two
masks ornamented with gold.

To the inquiries of Columbus as to what had become of the garrison, the
Indians replied that several had died of sickness, others had fallen in
a quarrel among themselves, and others had removed to different parts of
the island, where they had married native wives. He added that
Guacanagari had been attacked by the fierce cacique of the Golden
Mountains of Cibao, who had wounded him in battle and burnt his village,
and that he still remained ill of his wound in a neighbouring hamlet.
Columbus was greatly relieved on finding that the cacique and his people
still remained faithful, and he hoped that some of the Spaniards
scattered about the country, on hearing of his arrival, would quickly
hasten on board.

In the morning, however, not a canoe was to be seen. The inhabitants,
too, kept out of the way. A boat was therefore sent on shore. On
landing, the crew hastened to the fortress. It was a ruin. The
palisades were beaten down, and the whole presented the appearance of
having been sacked, burnt, and destroyed.

Columbus, on visiting the ruins the next morning, discovered no dead
bodies, but broken utensils and torn vestments were found scattered here
and there among the grass.

In vain cannon and arquebuses were fired. Proceeding along the coast in
a boat for about a league, Columbus came to a hamlet, the inhabitants of
which had fled with their goods. In their houses, however, were found
European articles, such as stockings, pieces of cloth, and a Moorish
robe. While he was absent the bodies of eleven Europeans were
discovered buried in different places, evidently some time dead, as
grass had grown over their graves.

At length the Indians, recovering from their alarm, came up to the
Spaniards, and from them the fate of the garrison was in some measure
ascertained.

With the exception of Arana and two or three others, the pe