which had characterized Ferdinand's attitude towards him had now become
altered to fervent enthusiasm.

The Court of Spain, convinced of the value of these new possessions,
lost no time in applying to Pope Alexander VI. for his sanction of their
dominion over the New World. This the Pope granted, drawing the famous
line from Pole to Pole, which was to serve as a dividing line between
the colonies of Spain and Portugal.

Columbus, in the meanwhile, was preparing for his second voyage.
Naturally enough, this was conducted under very different auspices from
the first. It was now a proud fleet which, favoured by the trade winds,
ploughed its way to the south-west, manned by a numerous, influential,
and in many cases aristocratic, company. The advent of this second fleet
to Haiti brought about the first of the innumerable collisions between
the Europeans and the natives of America. Of the garrison which Columbus
had left in the island none remained. There was scarcely a trace,
moreover, of the existence of the rough fort which had been constructed.
The manner of the natives had altered; they received the new-comers with
marked evidences of fear and distrust.

After a while the truth came out. Some members of the European garrison
had taken upon themselves to maltreat the natives, and these, resenting
this, had turned upon their aggressors and slaughtered them to a man,
after which they had burned the fort to the ground. In order to
inculcate the necessary terror into the unfortunate inhabitants a
fearful revenge was wreaked on them by Columbus's men, and the unhappy
people of Haiti paid for their act in floods of blood and tears. This
continued until the Indians became for the time being thoroughly cowed.
Subsequently they were set to work to dig for gold and other metals in