Sad reverses, however, awaited the great commander during this voyage of discovery. The garrison which he had left on the island of Hispaniola had disappeared, and the natives seemed less favorably disposed towards the white man than at first--a change which probably accounts for the fate of the garrison. Columbus, indeed, added other islands to the list of those before known, planted stations here and there on the principal island above named, and showed his usual unequaled energy and skill in the conduct of the expedition. But, as he could not be every where at once, his absence from a place was the sure signal of misrule and insubordination among that class of adventurers who had never been accustomed to subjection or labor. His cautious and conciliating policy in the treatment of the natives was abandoned, where he could not be present to enforce it, and, the consequence was, that they were aroused to resentment, on account of the injuries inflicted upon them. The treatment of the female natives, on the part of the colonists, was of that scandalous character calculated to produce continual broils and collisions. Eventually, a fierce warlike spirit was excited among portions of this naturally gentle and timid people; but they proved to be unequal to the civilized man, with the superior arms and discipline of the latter, in hostile encounter, and were driven before him as the leaves of autumn before a storm. There was such a war of extermination, that, in less than four years after the Spaniards had set foot on the island of Hispaniola, one-third of its population, amounting probably to several hundred thousand, was destroyed. Complaints were made by the colonists against the administration of Columbus, so that eventually he felt the necessity of returning home to vindicate his proceedings. Ferdinand and Isabella, however, took no part with the malcontents against him. They treated him with marked distinction; but it was evident that with the novelty of his discoveries, the enthusiasm of the nation had passed away. It was generally felt to be a losing concern. The actual returns of gold and other products of the new world were so scanty, as to bear no proportion to the outlays. A third expedition was projected, and after various hindrances, arising from the difficulty of meeting the expense, and the apathy of the public, Columbus took his departure from the port of St. Lucas, May 30, 1498. Proceeding in a still more southerly direction than before, on the 1st of August following, he succeeded in reaching _terra firma_. He thus entitled himself to the glory of discovering the great southern continent, for which he had before prepared the way.