ng any great continent
that had to be circumnavigated. The recent expedition of Vespucius and
Ojeda (1499-1500) had followed the northern coast of South America for a
long distance to the west of Cubagua, as far as the gulf of Maracaibo.
Columbus now decided to return to the coast of Cochin China (Cuba) and
follow the coast southwestward until he should find the passage between
his Eden continent and the Golden Chersonese (Malacca) into the Indian
ocean. He would thus be able to reach by this western route the same
shores of Hindustan which Gama had lately reached by sailing eastward.
So confident did he feel of the success of this enterprise, that he
wrote a letter to Pope Alexander VI., renewing his vow to furnish troops
for the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre.[606] It was no doubt the symptom
of a reaction against his misfortunes that he grew more and more
mystical in these days, consoling himself with the belief that he was a
chosen instrument in the hands of Providence for enlarging the bounds of
Christendom. In this mood he made some studies on the prophecies, after
the fantastic fashion of his time,[607] and a habit grew upon him of
attributing his discoveries to miraculous inspiration rather than to the
good use to which his poetical and scientific mind had put the data
furnished by Marco Polo and the ancient geographers.

[Footnote 606: Navarrete, _Coleccion_, tom. ii. pp. 280-282.]

[Footnote 607: The MS. volume of notes on the prophecies is in
the Colombina. There is a description of it in Navarrete, tom.
ii. pp. 260-273.]

[Sidenote: Crossing the Atlantic.]

[Sidenote: Columbus not allowed to stop at San Domingo.]

The armament for the Admiral's fourth and last voyage consisted of four
small caravels, of from fifty to seventy tons burthen, with crews
numbering, all told, 150 men. His brother Bartholomew, and his younger
son Ferdinand, then a boy of fourteen, accompanied him. They sailed from
Cadiz on the 11th of May, 1502, and finally left the Canaries behind on
the 26th of the same month. The course chosen was the same as on the
second voyage, and the unfailing trade-winds brought the ships on the
15th of June to an island called Mantinino, probably Martinique, not
more than ten leagues distant from Dominica. The Admiral had been
instructed not to touch at Hispaniola upon his way out, probably for
fear of further commotions there until Ovando should have succeeded in
br