Undoubtedly

　　Undoubtedly, he was frequently pressed for ready money. He says tohis son, in another letter, "I only live by borrowing." Still he had goodcredit with the Genoese bankers established in Andalusia. In writing to hisson he begs him to economize, but at the same time he acknowledges thereceipt of bills of exchange and considerable sums of money.
　　In the month of December, there is a single transaction in Hispaniolawhich amounts to five thousand dollars of our money. We must not,therefore, take literally his statement that he was too poor to pay for anight's lodging. On the other hand, it is observed in the correspondencethat, on the fifteenth of April, 1505, the king ordered that everythingwhich belonged to Columbus on account of his ten per cent should becarried to the royal treasury as a security for certain debts contracted bythe Admiral.
　　The king had also given an order to the royal agent in Hispaniola thateverything which he owned there should be sold. All these details havebeen carefully brought together by Mr. Harrisse, who says truly that wecannot understand the last order.
　　When at last the official proceedings relating to the affairs in Jamaicaarrived in Europe, Columbus made an effort to go to court. A litter wasprovided for him, and all the preparations for his journey made. But hewas obliged once more by his weakness to give up this plan, and he couldonly write letters pressing his claim. Of such letters the misfortune is, thatthe longer they are, and the more of the detail they give, the less likely arethey to be read. Columbus could only write at night; in the daytime hecould not use his hands.
　　He took care to show Ferdinand that his interests had not beenproperly attended to in the islands. He said that Ovando had been carelessas to the king's service, and he was not unwilling to let it be understoodthat his own administration had been based on a more intelligent policythan that of either of the men who followed him.
　　But he was now an old man. He was unable to go to court in person.
　　He had not succeeded in that which he had sailed for--a strait opening tothe Southern Sea. He had discovered new gold mines on the continent, buthe had brought home but little treasure. His answers from the courtseemed to him formal and unsatisfactory. At court, the stories of the Porrasbrothers were told on the one side, while Diego Mendez and Carvajalrepresented Columbus.
　　In this period of the fading life of Columbus, we have eleven lettersaddressed by him to his son. These show that he was in Seville as late asFebruary, 1505. From the authority of Las Casas, we know that he left thatpart of Spain to go to Segovia in the next May, and from that place hefollowed the court to Salamanca and Valladolid, although he was so weakand ill.
　　He was received, as he had always been, with professions of kindness;but nothing followed important enough to show that there was anythinggenuine in this cordiality. After a few days Columbus begged that someaction might be taken to indemnify him for his losses, and to confirm thepromises which had been made to him before. The king replied that hewas willing to refer all points which had been discussed between them toan arbitration. Columbus assented, and proposed the Archbishop Diego deDeza as an arbiter.