At Isabela, Columbus Encounters Many Difficulties: On Second Voyage, early April, 1494

The first week of April for Columbus on Hispaniola during the second voyage, was very busy. Though he had returned to his fort Isabela and was gratified with the rapid growth of produce grown there, a number of other events soon  piled up quickly. The tales of them, by his son, are notably unsettling. Chief among these concerns seemed to be lack of available food. But there were conflicts with the locals as well and the Admiral decided to return to the sea in order to find 'the mainland', as well as send more supplies inland to the new fort Santo Tomas. In taking this biography by the son as a source, we must remember to be careful. It's still quite possible that the son embellished some things to protect the honor and prestige of his father who, overall, led a troubled life despite his long time notoriety.  Hernando Colon published the book about his father in 1571.

On April 1, 1494, relates his son, a message sent from Santo Tomas by Pedro Margarit, Columbus' captain there, said that the 'natives were fleeing their homes and a local cacique was coming to burn the fort.'

"But the Admiral, knowing that these Indians were cowards, did not make much of this rumour, especially as he trusted in the horses, of which the Indians were very much afraid, fearing that they [the horses] would eat them. In fact, they were in such dread of horses that they dare not enter any building in which one of them was. But as an added precaution the Admiral decided to send more men and food, for he intended to go in the three caravels remaining, to discover the mainland, and thought it wise to ensure the complete peace and security of the island."

These statements of the son aren't explained. Columbus theought the locals were afraid of horses and he knew 'peace and security' was uncertain, yet he wanted to find the mainland. Without more facts it is hard to follow this kind of logic. But the next day he sent 70 men inland to Santo Tomas w/ food and munitions with directions to build a new road, "... for on the original road it was difficult to cross the river fords."

Columbus turned to improving the - still very new-  fort of Isabela and expanded the place into a town.

"He divided it into streets with a convenient central square and endeavoured to bring the river to it in a broad canal, for which he would construct a dam that would also serve to drive mills." [p.165]

But this was given as his response to his people being ill from 'thin air which did not suit them'. They suffered from numerous sicknesses, had only biscuits and wine left as provisions from Spain,

"... since the captains of the ships had failed to look after their stores, and they do not keep as well in that country as in ours [Spain]. And although they received plenty of victuals from the Indians, these disagreed with them badly, since they were not used to them. For this reason the Admiral had decided not to leave more than 300 men on the island, and to send the rest back to Castile, since he considered this number sufficient to keep it at peace and obedient to the rule of the Catholic sovereigns. And because by this time the biscuit was used up and they had wheat but no flour, he decided to construct mills; but there was no spate of water to drive them within a league and a half of the town." [p. 166]

There was no food but that of the locals which many couldn't or wouldn't eat. So Columbus directs them to expand the town and build a ditch nearly four miles in order to direct water, to an as yet, unbuilt mill. A league for the Spanish in those days was around 2.5 miles.

 "In order to hurry the workmen on this job and all the others, the Admiral had himself supervise them, for they all tried to avoid work. He decided to send everyone who was fit except the master craftsmen and workers to march through the Vega Real in order to pacify it and strike fear into the Indians and also gradually to accustom his men to the local food, because the stores they had brought from Castile were diminishing every day." [p. 166]

Columbus put one Hojeda in charge of this force with orders to march inland to Santo Tomas, rebuild the road along the way and when they arrived there to take command of the inland fort. They could rest and remain there but were to send Pedro Margarit ahead to discover new lands. This order was given the week after they received word that they were suffering attacks in Santo Tomas.
On Wednesday, April 9, 1494, this Hojeda set out with 400 men to venture inland to the newer fort.[p.167]

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quotes, pagination from: The Four Voyages, Christopher Columbus, edited, translated and with an introduction by JM Cohen, 1969 and for The Penguin Group, London,