One of them foundered, and he was obliged to abandon another.
With the remaining two he bore away for Hispaniola, but in the tempest his ships falling foul of each other, it was with the greatest difficulty he reached the island of Jamaica.
His two vessels were in such a shattered condition, that, to prevent them from sinking, and to save the lives of his crews, he was obliged to run them on shore.
Having no ship now left, he had no means of reaching Hispaniola, or of making his situation known.

In this juncture he had recourse to the hospitable kindness of the natives, who, considering the Spaniards as beings of a superior nature, were eager, on every occasion to assist them.
From them he obtained two canoes, each formed out of a single tree hollowed with fire.

In these, which were only fit for creeping along the coast, two of his brave and faithful companions, assisted by a few Indians, gallantly offered to set out for Hispaniola; this voyage they accomplished in ten days, after encountering incredible fatigues and dangers.
By them he wrote letters to Ovando, describing his situation and requesting him to send ships to bring off him and his crews; but what will you think of the unfeeling cruelty of this man, when I tell you that he suffered these brave men to wait eight months before he would give them any hopes of relieving their companions: and what must have been the feelings of Columbus during this period.
At last the ships arrived which were to take them from the island, where the unfeeling Ovando had suffered them to languish above a year, exposed to misery in all its various forms.

When he arrived at St.Domingo, Ovando treated him with every kind of insult and injustice.

Columbus submitted in silence, but became extremely impatient to quit a country where he had been treated with such barbarity.
The preparations were soon finished, and he set sail for Spain with two ships, but disaster still pursued him to the end of his course.