ce that was outraged by the
rapacious cruelty of his countrymen, we have no means of knowing. Shortly
afterwards he fell dangerously ill of a sickness which carried him off in
three days. Las Casas was much impressed by his Christian end and by the
fact that before he died he had been moved to testify to the true
condition of things in the Indies, than which no other act on his part
could have been a better preparation for death.

The affairs of Las Casas were now well advanced and all seemed plain
sailing ahead; he conferred with Diego Columbus, Admiral of the Indies,
concerning the foundation of the forts he had undertaken to build along
the coast at intervals of one hundred leagues from one another. These
forts were to serve for defence and also as centres of trade to which the
Indians would be attracted to bring their gold, pearls, and other things
of value to be exchanged for the Spanish merchandise they
prized--hawks'-bells, beads of coloured glass, and like trifles. The
Admiral was in agreement with this project, until he consulted his brother
Fernando Columbus, who suggested to him that he should ask from the King
the administration of justice in the new settlements and their extensions.
Las Casas opposed this project, but the Admiral followed his brother's
counsel and presented his petition to the Council, where it was
disallowed; the Admiral in consequence took no further interest in the
plan and thus Las Casas was deprived of his valuable support.

CHAPTER XI. - ROYAL GRANT TO LAS CASAS. THE PEARL COAST. LAS CASAS IN
HISPANIOLA. FORMATION OF A COMPANY.

As the date for the King's departure from Spain to assume the imperial
dignity drew near the opposition to his leaving grew so strong that the
question of stopping him by force, if necessary, was even mooted, and
various parts of Spain were in a state of ferment bordering on civil war.
Charles left Barcelona and proceeded through Aragon to Burgos and from
thence to Coruna, where he had summoned the Cortes of Castile to assemble.
This city had been chosen, partly because it was a convenient port of
embarkation and partly, also, because the tide of opposition and hatred
against the Flemish courtiers had reached such a height that they felt it
wiser to keep to a seaport, from whence flight would be easier than from
an inland town, in case their position became untenable after the King's
departure.

In the midst of such preoccupations, it required