gainst the brothers Columbus, the
general purport of which was that they were gross tyrants not fit to be
trusted with the command of Spaniards.

[Sidenote: The government of Columbus was not tyrannical.]

No marked effect seems to have been produced by these first complaints,
but when Margarite and Boyle were once within reach of Fonseca, we need
not wonder that mischief was soon brewing. It was unfortunate for
Columbus that his work of exploration was hampered by the necessity of
founding a colony and governing a parcel of unruly men let loose in the
wilderness, far away from the powerful restraints of civilized society.
Such work required undivided attention and extraordinary talent for
command. It does not appear that Columbus was lacking in such talent. On
the contrary both he and his brother Bartholomew seem to have possessed
it in a high degree. But the situation was desperately bad when the
spirit of mutiny was fomented by deadly enemies at court. I do not find
adequate justification for the charges of tyranny brought against
Columbus. The veracity and fairness of the history of Las Casas are
beyond question; in his divinely beautiful spirit one sees now and then
a trace of tenderness even for Fonseca, whose conduct toward him was
always as mean and malignant as toward Columbus. One gets from Las Casas
the impression that the Admiral's high temper was usually kept under
firm control, and that he showed far less severity than most men would
have done under similar provocation. Bartholomew was made of sterner
stuff, but his whole career presents no instance of wanton cruelty;
toward both white men and Indians his conduct was distinguished by
clemency and moderation. Under the government of these brothers a few
scoundrels were hanged in Hispaniola. Many more ought to have been.

[Sidenote: Troubles with the Indians.]

Of the attempt of Columbus to collect tribute from the native
population, and its consequences in developing the system of
_repartimientos_ out of which grew Indian slavery, I shall treat in a
future chapter.[579] That attempt, which was ill-advised and
ill-managed, was part of a plan for checking wanton depredations and
regulating the relations between the Spaniards and the Indians. The
colonists behaved so badly toward the red men that the chieftain
Caonabo, who had destroyed La Navidad the year before, now formed a
scheme[580] for a general alliance among the native tribes, hoping with
sufficie