that they were easily satisfied with the fruits of the island, which,
with a handful of maize or a little of the insipid bread made of the
cassava root, were sufficient for their support.

But it was with difficulty they could afford subsistence for the new
guests. The Spaniards, though considered an abstemious people, appeared
to them excessively voracious. One Spaniard consumed as much as several
Indians; this keenness of appetite appeared so insatiable, that they
supposed the Spaniards had left their own country because it did not
produce enough to gratify their immoderate appetites, and had come among
them in quest of nourishment.

Columbus having taken all the steps which he thought necessary to
ensure the prosperity of his new colony, entrusted the command of the
military force to Margaritta, and set sail with three vessels to extend
his discoveries; but, after a long and tedious voyage, in which he
endured every hardship, the most important discovery he made was the
island of Jamaica.

Having been absent much longer than he had expected, he returned to his
new settlement, but the colonists had become refractory and
unmanageable.

No sooner had he left the island on his voyage of discovery, than the
soldiers under Margaritta dispersed in straggling parties over the
island, lived at discretion upon the natives, wasted their property, and
treated that inoffensive race with the insolence of military oppression.

During the absence of Columbus, several unfavourable accounts of his
conduct had been transmitted to Spain, and these accusations gained such