But this brings us back to Roldan's story, being closely connected with it.
CONTENTION WITH ROLDAN.
After great trouble and many attempts at agreement, in which mention is more than once made of slaves, the dispute between Roldan's party, rebels they might almost be called, and Columbus, was at last, after two years' negotiation, brought to a close.

Roldan kept his chief-justiceship; and his friends received lands and slaves.

It brings to mind the conclusion of many a long war in the old world, in which two great powers have been contending against each other, with several small powers on each side, the latter being either ruined in the course of the war, or sacrificed at the end.

The admiral gave repartimientos to those followers of Roldan who chose to stay in the island, which were constituted in the following manner.

The admiral placed under such a caciqne so many thousand matas (shoots of the cazabi), or, which came to the same thing, so many thousand montones (small mounds a foot and a half high, and ten or twelve feet round, on each of which a cazabi shoot was planted); and Columbus then ordered that the cacique or his people should till these lands for whomsoever they were assigned to.