Others offered themselves
who wanted nothing more than excitement and novelty; others had dark
schemes of breaking away from all restraint, once they reached the new
land, and carrying on any sort of robbery or traffic that might offer
profit; while still others were priests who thought only of converting
the heathen. If ever men engaged upon an undertaking that required
endurance, hard work, sound common sense, and a practical knowledge of
how to tackle any task that might present itself, this was the occasion.
Yet the men who came forward lacked exactly these indispensable
qualities.
No doubt Columbus and Fonseca picked the best of them; but the
misfortune was that Columbus, who should have known what the business
ahead of them required, did not know how to judge men; and the shrewd
archbishop, who _did_ know how to judge men, had no idea what the
occasion was going to demand of them; and thus they chose men for the
second trip to the new lands who were utterly unsuitable.
Nearly all the two thousand who applied for permission to sail were
personally interviewed by the Admiral, which must have taken much time;
besides, he was busy buying wheat and flour, hard biscuit, salt pork and
fish, cheese, peas, beans, lentils, wine, oil, and vinegar, as well as
honey, almonds, and raisins for Don Cristobal's own table.
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