THE
C O M P A N I O N S OF C O L U M B U S .
from the neighborhood.
55
He then proceeded quietly to finish
his fortress, which was defended by lombards, and contained the magazine of provisions, and the treasure amassed in the expedi足 tion.
The provisions were dealt out twice a day, under the in足
spection of proper officers ; the treasure, gained by barter, by ransom, or by plunder, was deposited in a strong box secured by two locks, one key being kept by the royal supervisor, the other by Ocampo. In the meantime provisions became scarce.
The Indians
never appeared in the neighborhood of the fortress, except to harass it with repeated though ineffectual assaults.
Vergara did
not appear with the expected supplies from Jamaica, and a cara足 vel was dispatched in search of him.
The people, worn out with
labor and privations of various kinds, and disgusted with the situation of the settlement, which was in a poor and unhealthy country, grew discontented and factious.
They began to fear that
they should lose the means of departing, as their vessels were in danger of being destroyed by the broma or worms.
Ojeda led
them forth repeatedly upon foraging parties about the adjacent country, and collected some provisions and booty in the Indian villages.
The provisions he deposited in the magazine, part of
the spoils he divided among his followers, and the gold he locked up in the strong box, the keys of which he took possession of, to the great displeasure of the supervisor and his associate Ocampo.
The
murmurs of the people grew loud as their sufferings increased. They insinuated that Ojeda had no authority over this part of the coast, having passed the boundaries of his government, and formed his settlement in the country discovered by Bastides.
By the
time Vergara arrived from Jamaica, the factions of this petty colony had risen to an alarming height.
Ocampo had a personal