ended all troubles. The coast of Spain was in sight! Chapter XII Columbus is Graciously Received by Ferdinand and Isabella—His Enemies Unable to Shake their Confidence in Him—The Third Voyage in 1498—Discovery of the Island of Trinidad at the Mouth of the Orinoco Serenely conscious of the value of his services, but with that modesty which is characteristic of all noble spirits, the calumniated world-discoverer approached the throne of his sovereign to establish his innocence of the false accusations made against him. But it was not necessary for him to defend himself, for his mere countenance impressed his royal judges at once with the esteem in which they had previously held his services, as well as with shame for their own credulity. As soon as he had shown them a part only of the valuable products he had brought with him, all their suspicions vanished and they strove to compensate him by every mark of honor. All that Columbus now proposed was granted, the rights which he already held in the newly discovered countries were confirmed, and new ones added. His most urgent desire was the secure establishment of the colony he had founded at Hispaniola and to procure as many men for this purpose as he considered indispensable. Besides this he wanted a sufficient number of farm laborers and artisans of every kind so that he might be able to meet all the requirements of the colony. Unfortunately it was not easy to find many Spaniards who were ready to sail with the Admiral to the New World, for many of the emigrants had returned home and were not as enthusiastic over the new countries as they might have been. The gold there could be obtained only by working for it and these Spaniards did not like to work. Besides this the climate of Hispaniola was not agreeable to many of them. They had come back with bleached and yellow skins and satirically said that they brought back more gold in their faces than in their pockets. To procure men for the settlement of Hispaniola, Columbus advised that the prisons should be opened and that convicts sentenced to death or the galleys should be sent to Hispaniola where they could be useful in the adjacent mines. An order was at once issued to courts of justice in Spain that all such criminals should be sent to the West Indies. In this way Columbus conveyed to the New World many bad persons who naturally gave him much trouble.