oon as he could for Seville, but did not arrive
there until just after the second expedition had started. Presently the
sovereigns sent him with three ships to Hispaniola, to carry supplies to
the colony; and there he arrived while the Admiral was exploring the
coast of Cuba. The meeting of the two brothers was a great relief to
both. The affection between them was very strong, and each was a support
for the other. The Admiral at once proceeded to appoint Bartholomew to
the office of Adelantado, which in this instance was equivalent to
making him governor of Hispaniola under himself, the Viceroy of the
Indies. In making this appointment Columbus seems to have exceeded the
authority granted him by the second article of his agreement of April,
1492, with the sovereigns;[577] but they mended the matter in 1497 by
themselves investing Bartholomew with the office and dignity of
Adelantado.[578]

[Footnote 577: See above, p. 417.]

[Footnote 578: Las Casas, _Hist. de las Indias_, tom. ii. p.
80.]

[Sidenote: Mutiny in Hispaniola; desertion of Boyle and Margarite.]

Columbus was in need of all the aid he could summon, for, during his
absence, the island had become a pandemonium. His brother Diego, a man
of refined and studious habits, who afterwards became a priest, was too
mild in disposition to govern the hot-heads who had come to Hispaniola
to get rich without labour. They would not submit to the rule of this
foreigner. Instead of doing honest work they roamed about the island,
abusing the Indians and slaying one another in silly quarrels. Chief
among the offenders was King Ferdinand's favourite, the commander
Margarite; and he was aided and abetted by Friar Boyle. Some time after
Bartholomew's arrival, these two men of Aragon gathered about them a
party of malcontents and, seizing the ships which had brought that
mariner, sailed away to Spain. Making their way to court, they sought
pardon for thus deserting the colony, saying that duty to their
sovereigns demanded that they should bring home a report of what was
going on in the Indies. They decried the value of Columbus's
discoveries, and reminded the king that Hispaniola was taking money out
of the treasury much faster than it was putting it in; an argument well
calculated to influence Ferdinand that summer, for he was getting ready
to go to war with France over the Naples affair. Then the two recreants
poured forth a stream of accusations a