lOllltllllll lUIIIIMIIH lUlllllllllU jrmitiiiiuii lOlfiUIIIIUl luniiimiiii iiMimiiiiii fc/w.v.v Ul( - -^ Pass ^// /— Book_i-/£r^ THE WORKS OF WASHINGTON IRVING NEW EDITION, REVISED. VOL. V. COLUMBUS AND HIS COMPANIONS. NEW- YORK: GEORGE P. PUTNAM. 1849. " To declare my opinion herein, whatsotver hath heretofore been dis- covered by the famous traimyles of Saturnus and Hercules, with such other whom the antiquitie for their heroical acts honoured as Gods, seemeth but little and obscure, if it be compared to the victorious labours of the Span- yards." P. Martyr, decad. iii. cap. 4. Lok's translation. ' li 50 f THE LIFE AND VOYAGES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS TO WHICH ARE ADDED THOSE OF HIS COMPANIONS. BY W^ASHINGTON IRVING. Venient annii Ssecnla seris, quibus, Oceanus Vincula, rerum laxet, et ingens Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos Detegat Oibes, nee sit terns Ultima Tliule. Seneca : Medea. author's revised edition. VOL. III. NEW. YORK : GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY, And 142 Strand, London. 1849. Enjity'W.l Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by Washington Irving, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New- York. Leavitt, Trow & Co. Printers and Stereotypers, 49 Ann-street, N.Y. CONTENTS. ALONZO DE OJEDA. HIS FIRST VOYAGE, IN WHICH HE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AMERIGO VESPUCCI. Page Chap. I. — Some Account of Ojeda — of Juan de la Cosa — of Amerigo Vespucci — Preparations for the Voyage. — (A. D. 1499.) ... 17 Chap. II. — Departure from Spain — Arrival on the Coast of Paria — Cus- toms of the Natives 22 Chap. III. — Coasting of Terra Firma — Military Expedition of Ojeda . 25 Chap. IV. — Discovery of the Gulf of Venezuela — Transactions there — Ojeda explores the Gulf — Penetrates to Maracaibo . . . .28 Chap. V. — Prosecution of the Voyage — Return to Spain ... 32 PEDRO A. NINO AND CHRIS. GUERRA. A. D. 1499 • . . 34 VICENTE YANEZ PINZON. A. D. 1499 39 DIEGO DE LEPE AND R. DE BASTIDES. A. D. 1500 47 ALONZO DE OJEDA. SECOND VOYAGE. A. D. 1502 .51 CONTENTS. ALONZO DE OJEDA. THIRD VOYAGE. Page Chap. I. — Ojeda applies for a Command — Has a rival candidate in Diego de Nicuesa — His success (1509) .59 Chap. II. — Feud between the Rival Governors Ojeda and Nicuesa— A Challenge 63 Chap. HI. — E.xploits and Disasters of Ojeda on the Coast of Carthagena — Fate of the veteran Juan de la Cosa 69 Chap. IV. — Arrival of Nicuesa — Vengeance taken on the Indians . . 75 Chap. V. — Ojeda founds the Colony of San Sebastian — Beleaguered by the Indians ........... 79 Chap. VI. — Alonzo de Ojeda supposed by the Savages to have a charmed life — Their experiment to try the fact . 82 Chap. VII. — Arrival of a strange Ship at San Sebastian ... 84 Chap. VIII. — Factions in the Colony — A Convention made . . .87 Chap. IX. — Disastrous Voyage of Ojeda in the Pirate Ship ... 88 Chap. X. — Toilsome March of Ojeda and his Companions through the morasses of Cuba .......... 90 Chap. XI. — Ojeda performs his Vow to the Virgin .... 94 Chap. XII. — Arrival of Ojeda at Jamaica — His Reception by Juan de Esquibel 96 Chap. XIII. — Arrival of Alonzo de Ojeda at San Domingo — Conclusion of his Story 98 DIEGO DE NICUESA. Chap. I. — Nicuesa sails to the Westward — His Shipwreck and Subse- quent Disasters 102 Chap. II. — Nicuesa and his men on a desolate Island . . . 105 Chap. III. — Arrival of a Boat — Conduct of Lope de Olano . . . 107 Chap. IV. — Nicuesa rejoins his Crews .... . 109 Chap. V. — Sufferings of Nicuesa and his men on the Coast of the Isthmus 111 Chap. VI. — Expedition of the Bachelor Enciso in search of the Seat of Government of Ojeda 115 Chap. VII. — The Bachelor hears unwelcome tidings of his destined Juris- diction 119 CONTENTS. vii Page Chap. VIII. — Crusade of the Bachelor Enciso against the Sepulchres of Zenu 121 Chap. IX. — The Bachelor arrives at San Sebastian — His disasters there, and subsequent Exploits at Darien ...... 124 Chap. X. — The Bachelor Enciso undertakes the Command — His downfall 127 Chap. XI. — Perplexities at the Colony — Arrival of Colmenares . . 128 Chap. XII. — Colmenares goes in quest of Nicuesa .... 130 Chap. XIII. — Catastrophe of the tmfortunate Nicuesa . . . , 133 VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA, DISCOVERER OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. Chap. I. — Factions at Darien — Vasco Nuiiez elevated to the Command 138 Chap. II. — Expedition to Coyba — Vasco Nuiiez receives the daughter of a Cacique as hostage .......... 141 Chap. III. — Vasco Nunez hears of a Sea beyond the Mountains . . 145 Chap. IV. — Expedition of Vasco Nuiiez in quest of the Golden Temple of Dobayba 149 Chap. V. — Disaster on the Black River — Indian plot against Darien . 155 Chap. VI. — Further Factions in the Colony — Arrogance of Alonzo Perez and the Bachelor Corral 158 Chap. VII. — Vasco Nuiiez determines to seek the Sea beyond the Moun- tains 163 Chap. VIII. — Expedition in quest of the Southern Sea . . . 165 Chap. IX. — Discovery of the Pacific Ocean ...... 169 Chap. X. — Vasco Nunez marches to the shores of the South Sea . 172 Chap. XI. — Adventures of Vasco Nunez on the Pacific Ocean . .177 Chap. XII. — Further Adventures and Exploits of Vasco Nunez . . 182 Chap. XIII. — Vasco Nuiiez sets out on his return across the Mountains — His contests with the Savages . 185 Chap. XIV. — Enterprise against Tubanama, the warlike Cacique of the Mountains — Return to Darien ....... 188 Chap. XV. — Transactions in Spain — Pedrarias Davila appointed to the command of Darien — Tidings received in Spain of the Discovery of the Pacific Ocean ........... 193 Chap. XVI. — Arrival and grand Entry of Don Pedrarias Davila into Darien 200 viii CONTENTS. Page Chap. XVII. — Perfidious Conduct of Don Pedrarias towards Vasco Nuiiez 203 Chap. XVIII. — Calamities of the Spanish Cavaliers at Darien . . 207 Chap. XIX. — Fruitless Expedition of Pedrarias 209 Chap. XX. — Second Expedition of Vasco Nunez in quest of the Golden Temple of Dobayba 211 Chap. XXI. — Letters from the King in favor of Vasco Nunez — Arrival of Garabito — Arrest of Vasco Nuifiez . ...... 214 Chap. XXII. — Expedition of Morales and Pizarro to the shores of the Pacific Ocean — Their Visit to the Pearl Islands — Their disastrous Return across the Mountains 218 Chap. XXIII. — Unfortunate Enterprises of the Officers of Pedrarias — Matrimonial Compact between the Governor and Vasco Nunez . 226 Chap. XXIV. — Vasco Nunez transports ships across the Mountains to the Pacific Ocean 229 Chap. XXV. — Cruise of Vasco Nunez in the Southern Sea — Rumors from Ada 233 Chap. XXVI. — Reconnoitering Expedition of Garabito — Stratagem of Pedrarias to entrap Vasco Nunez ...... 235 Chap. XXVII. — Vasco Nunez and the Astrologer — His return to Ada . 238 Chap. XXVIII.— Trial of Vasco Nunez 240 Chap. XXIX. — Execution of Vasco Nunez 244 Valdivia and his companions 247 MicER CoDRO, the Astrologer 260 JUAN PONCE DE LEON, CONQUEROR OF POKTO RICO, AND DISCOVERER OF FLORIDA. Chap. I. — Reconnoitering Expedition of Juan Ponce de Leon to the Island ofBoriquen 262 Chap. II. — Juan Ponce aspires to the government of Porto Rico . . 265 Chap. III. — Juan Ponce rules with a strong hand — Exasperation of the Indians — Their experiment to prove whether the Spaniards were mortal 267 Chap. IV. — Conspiracy of the Caciques — Fate of Sotomayor . . 270 Chap. V. — War of Juan Ponce with the Cacique Aguaybana . . 274 CONTENTS. it C/HAP. VI. — Juan Ponce de Leon hears of a wonderful country and mira- culous fountain .......... 278 Chap. VII. — Cruise of Juan Ponce de Leon in search of the Fountain of Youth 281 Chap. VIII. — Expedition of Juan Ponce against the Caribs — His Death 284 APPENDIX. No. I. — Transportation of the Remains of Columbus from St. Domingo to the Havana 291 No. II. — Notice of the Descendants of Columbus .... 295 No. III.— Fernando Columbus 310 No. IV.— Age of Columbus 312 No. V. — Lineage of Columbus 314 No. VI.— Birthplace of Columbus 316 No. VII.— The Colombos 323 No. VIII. — Expedition of John of Anjou 325 No. IX. — Capture of the Venetian Galleys by Colombo the Younger . 327 No. X. — Amerigo Vespucci ........ 330 No. XI. — Martin Alonzo Pinzon 345 No. XII. — Rumor of the Pilot said to have died in the House of Colum- bus 348 No. XIII.— Martin Behem 352 No. XIV. — Voyages of the Scandinavians . . . , . 356 No. XV. — Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients . . . 361 No. XVI.— Of the ships of Columbus 364 No. XVII.— Route of Columbus in his first Voyage . . . 366 No. XVIII. — Principles upon which the Sums mentioned in this Work have been reduced into modern Currency 366 No. XIX. — Prester John 382 No. XX.— Marco Polo 384 No! XXI —The Work of Marco Polo 393 No. XXII.— Sir John Mandeville 398 No. XXIII.— The Zones 400 No. XXIV.— Of the Atalantis of Plato 401 No. XXV. — The imaginary Island of St. Brandan .... 403 VOL. nr. 1* X CONTENTS. Page No. XXVI.— The Island of the Seven Cities 410 No. XXVII. — Discovery of the Island of Madeira . . . . 411 No. XXVIII.— Las Casas 415 No. XXIX.— Peter Martyr 423 No. XXX.— Oviedo 428 No. XXXI.— Cura de Los Palacios 429 No. XXXII. — " Navigatione del Re de Castiglia delle Isole e Paese Nuovamente Ritrovate." — ^" Navigatio Christophori Colombi." . . 431 No. XXXIII.— Antonio de Herrera 432 No. XXXIV.— Bishop Fonseca 434 No. XXXV. — On the Situation of the Terrestrial Paradise . . 438 No. XXXVL— Will of Columbus 444 No. XXXVIL— Signature of Columbus 452 No. XXXVIII.— A Visit to Palos 454 No. XXXIX.— Manifesto of Alonzo de Ojeda .... 468 Index 471 INTRODUCTION. The first discovery of the Western Hemisphere has already been related by the Author in his History of Columbus. It is proposed by him, in the present work, to narrate the enterprises of certain of the companions and disciples of the admiral, who, enkindled by his zeal, and instructed by his example, sallied forth separately in the vast region of adventure to which he had led the way. Many of them sought merely to skirt the continent which he had partially visited ; to secure the first-fruits of the pearl fisheries of Paria and Cubaga ; or to explore the coast of Veragua, which he had represented as the Aurea Cher- sonesus of the ancients. Others aspired to accomplish a grand discovery which he had meditated toward the close of his career. In the course of his expeditions along the coast of Terra Firma, Columbus had repeatedly received irfformation of the existence of a vast sea to the south. He supposed it to be the great Indian Ocean, the region of the oriental spice islands, and that it must communicate by a strait with the Caribbean sea. His last and most disastrous voyage was made for the express purpose of dis- jdi INTRODUCTION. covering that imaginary strait, and making his way into this Southern Ocean. The illustrious navigator, hovi^ever, was doomed to die, as it were, upon the threshold of his discoveries. It was reserved for one of his followers, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, to obtain the first view of the promised ocean, from the lofty mountains of Darien, some years after the eyes of the venerable Admiral had been closed in death. The expeditions here narrated, therefore, may be considered as springing immediately out of the voyages of Columbus, and fulfilling some of his grand designs. They may be compared to the attempts of ad- venturous knights-errant to achieve the enterprise left un- finished by some illustrious predecessor. Neither is this comparison entirely fanciful ; on the contrary, it is a curi- ous fact, well worthy of notice, that the spirit of chivalry entered largely into the early expeditions of the Spanish discoverers, giving them a character wholly distinct from similar enterprises, undertaken by other nations. It will not, perhaps, be considered far-sought, if we trace the cause of this peculiarity to the domestic history of the Spaniards during the middle ages. Eight centuries of incessant warfare with the Moorish usurpers of the Peninsula, produced a deep and lasting effect upon Spanish character and manners. The war being ever close at home, mingled itself with the domestic habits and concerns of the Spaniard. He was born a soldier. The wild and predatory nature of the war also made him a kind of chivalrous marauder. His horse anc INTRODUCTION. xiii weapon were always ready for the field. His delight was in roving incursions and extravagant exploits ; and no gain was so glorious in his eyes as the cavalgada of spoils and captives driven home in triumph from a plundered pro- vince. Religion, which has ever held great empire over the Spanish mind, lent its aid to sanctify these roving and ravaging propensities, and the Castilian cavalier, as he sacked the towns, and laid waste the fields of his Moslem neighbor, piously believed he was doing God service. The conquest of Granada put an end to the peninsular wars between Christian and Infidel : the spirit of Spanish chivalry was thus suddenly deprived of its wonted sphere of action ; but it had been too long fostered and excited, to be as suddenly appeased. The youth of the nation, bred up to daring adventure and heroic achievement, could not brook the tranquil and regular pursuits of common life, but panted for some new field of romantic enterprise. It was at this juncture that the grand project of Colum- bus was carried into effect. His treaty with the sovereigns was, in a manner, signed with the same pen that had subscribed the capitulation of the Moorish capital ; and his first expedition may almost be said to have departed from beneath the walls of Granada. Many of the youthful cavaliers, who had fleshed their swords in that memorable war, crowded the ships of the discoverers, thinking a new career of arms was to be opened to them — a kind of cru- sade into splendid and unknown regions of infidels. The very weapons and armor that had been used against the ^ INTRODUCTION. Moors, were drawn from the arsenal to equip the heroes of these remoter adventures ; and some of the most noted commanders in the New World, will be found to have made their first essay in arms, under the banner of Ferdi- nand and Isabella, in their romantic campaigns among the mountains of Andalusia. To these circumstances may, in a great measure, be ascribed that swelling chivalrous spirit which will be found continually mingling, or rather warring, with the technical habits of the seaman and the sordid schemes of the mer- cenary adventurer, in these early Spanish discoveries. Chivalry had left the land and launched upon the deep. The Spanish cavalier had embarked in the caravel of the discoverer. He carried among the trackless wildernesses of the New World the same contempt of danger and forti- tude under suffering ; the same restless, roaming spirit ; the same passion for inroad and ravage and vainglorious exploit; and the same fervent, and often bigoted, zeal for the propagation of his faith, that had distinguished him during his warfare with the Moors. Instances in point Vill be found in the extravagant career of the daring Ojeda, particularly in his adventures along the coast of Terra Firma and the wild shores of Cuba ; — in the sad story of the " unfortunate Nicuesa," graced as it is with occasional touches of high-bred courtesy ; — in the singular cruise of that brave but credulous old cavalier, Juan Ponce de Leon, who fell upon the flowery coast of Florida in his search after an imaginary fountain of youth ; — and above all, in the INTRODUCTION. x» checkered fort anes of Vasco Nunez de Balboa, whose dis- covery of the Pacific Ocean forms one of the most beauti- ful and striking incidents in the history of the New World, and whose fate might furnish a theme of wonderful interest for a poem or a drama. The extraordinary actions and adventures of these men, while they rival the exploits recorded in chivalric romance, have the additional interest of verity. They leave us in admiration of the bold and heroic qualities inherent in the Spanish character, which led that nation to so high a pitch of power and glory ; and which are still discernible in the great mass of that gallant people, by those who have an opportunity of judging of them rightly. Before concluding these prefatory remarks, the Author would acknowledge how much he has been indebted to the third volume of the invaluable Historical Collection of Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, wherein that author has exhibited his usual industry, accuracy, and critical acumen. He has likewise profited greatly by the second volume of Oviedo's General History, which only exists in manuscript, and a copy of which he found in the Columbian Library of the Cathedral of Seville. He has had some assistance also from the documents of the law case between Don Diego Columbus and the crown, which exist in the Archives of the Indies, and for an inspection of which he is much indebted to the per- mission of the government and the kind attentions of Don Jozef de la Higuera y Lara, the intelligent keeper of the rvl INTRODUCTION. Archives. These, with the historical works of Herrera, Las Casas, Gomara, and Peter Martyr, have been his authorities for the facts contained in the following work, though he has not thought proper to refer to them con- tinually at the bottom of his page. While his work was going through the press, he re- ceived a volume of Spanish Biography, written with great elegance and accuracy, by Don Manuel Josef Quintana, and containing a life of Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was gratified to find that his own arrangement of facts was generally corroborated by this work ; though he was en- abled to correct his dates in several instances, and to make a few other emendations from the volume of Senor Quin- tana, whose position in Spain gave him the means of attaining superior exactness on these points. VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. ALONZO DE OJEDA,* HIS FIRST VOYAGE, IN WHICH HE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY AMERIGO VESPUCCI.t CHAPTER I. SOME ACCOUNT OP OJEDA. — OF JUAN DE LA COSA. — OF AMER- IGO VESPUCCI. PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. [1499.] Those who have read the History of Columbus will, doubtless, remember the character and exploits of Alonzo de Ojeda ; as some of the readers of the following pages, however, may not have perused that work, and as it is proposed at present to trace the subsequent fortunes of this youthful adventurer, a brief sketch of him may not be deemed superfluous. * Ojeda is pronounced in Spanish Oheda, with a strong aspiration of the h. t Vespucci, pronounced Vespuchy. 18 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF Alonzo de Ojeda was a native of Cuenca, in New Castile, and of a respectable family. He was brought up as a page or esquire, in the service of Don Luis de Cerda, Duke of Medina Celi, one of the most powerful nobles of Spain ; the same who for some time patronized Columbus during his application to the Spanish court.* In those warlike days, when the peninsula was distracted by contests between the Christian kingdoms, by feuds between the nobles and the crown, and by incessant and marauding war- fare with the Moors, the houseliold of a Spanish nobleman was a complete school of arras, where the youth of the country were sent to be trained up in all kinds of hardy exercises, and to be led to battle under an illustrious banner. Such was especially the case with the service of the Duke of Medina Celi, who possessed princely domains, whose household was a petty court, who led legions of armed retainers to the field, and who appeared in splendid state and with an immense retinue, more as an ally of Ferdinand and Isabella, than as a subject. He engaged in many of the roughest expeditions of the memorable war of Granada, always insisting on leading his own troops in person, when the service was of peculiar difficulty and danger. Alonzo de Ojeda was formed to signalize himself in such a school. Though small of stature, he was well made, and of wonderful force and activ- ity, with a towering spirit that seemed to make up for deficiency of height. He was a bold and graceful horseman, an excellent foot soldier, dextrous with every weapon, and noted for his extraordinary skill and adroitness in all feats of strength and agility. * Varones Ilustres, por F. Pizarro y Orellana, p. 41. Las Caeas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 82. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 19 He must have been quite young when he followed the Duke of Medina Celi, as page, to the Mooi'ish wars ; for he was but about twenty-one years of age when he accompanied Columbus in his second voyage ; he had already, however, distinguished himself by his enterprising spirit and headlong valor ; and his exploits during that voyage contributed to enhance his reputa- tion. He returned to Spain with Columbus, but did not accom- pany him in his third voyage, in the spring of 1498. He was probably impatient of subordination, and ambitious of a separate employment or command, which the influence of his connections gave him a great chance of obtaining. He had a cousin german of his own name, the reverend Padre Alonzo de Ojeda, a Do- minican friar, one of the first inquisitors of Spain, and a great favorite with the Catholic sovereigns.* This father inquisitor was, moreover, an intimate friend of the bishop Don Juan Rod- riguez Fonseca, who had the chief management of the affairs of the Indies, under which general name were comprehended all the countries discovered in the New Woi'ld. Through the good offices of his cousin inquisitor, therefore, Ojeda had been intro- duced to the notice of the bishop, who took him into his especial favor and patronage. Mention has already been made, in the History of Columbus, of a present made by the bishop to Ojeda of a small Flemish painting of the Holy Virgin. This the young adventurer carried about with him as a protecting relic, invoking it at all times of peril, whether by sea or land ; and to the especial care of the Virgin he attributed the remarkable circum- stance that he had never been wounded in any of the innumera- ble braAvls and battles into which he was continually betrayed by his rash and fiery temperament. * Pizarro. Varones Ilustres. 30 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF While Ojeda was lingering about the court, letters were re ceived from Columbus, giving an account of the events of his third voyage, especially of his discovery of the coast of Paria, which he described as abounding in drugs and spices, in gold and silver, and precious stones, and, above all, in oriental pearls, and which he supposed to be the borders of that vast and unknown region of the East, wherein, according to certain learned theorists, was situated the teiTestrial paradise. Specimens of the pearls, procured in considerable quantities from the natives, accompanied his epistle, together with charts descriptive of bis route. These tidings caused a great sensation among the mari- time adventurers of Spain ; but no one was more excited by them than Alonzo de Ojeda, who, from his intimacy with the bishop, had fuU access to the charts and correspondence of Columbus. He immediately conceived the project of making a voyage in the route thus marked out by the admiral, and of seizing upon the first fruits of discovery which he had left ungathered. His scheme met with ready encouragement from Fonseca, who, as has heretofore been shown, was an implacable enemy to Columbus, and willing to promote any measure that might injure or molest him. The bishop accordingly granted a commission to Ojeda, authorizing him to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of discovery with the proviso merely that he should not visit any territories appertaining to Portugal, nor any of the lands discovered in the name of Spain previous to the year 1495. The latter part of this provision appears to have been craftily worded by the bishop, so as to leave the coast of Paria and its pearl fisheries open to Ojeda, they having been recently discovered by Columbus in 1498. The commission was signed by Fonseca alone, in virtue of THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 21 general powers vested in him for such purposes, but the signature of the sovereigns did not appear on the instrument, and it is doubtful whether their sanction was sought on the occasion. He knew that Columbus had recently remonstrated against a royal mandate issued in 1495, permitting voyages of discovery by private adventurers, and that the sovereigns had in consequence revoked their mandate wherever it might be deemed prejudicial to the stipulated privileges of the admiral.* It is probable, therefore, that the bishop avoided raising any question that might impede the enterprise ; being confident of the ultimate approba- tion of Ferdinand, who would be well pleased to have his domin- ions in the new world extended by the discoveries of private adventurers, undertaken at their own expense. It was stipulated in this, as well as in subsequent licenses for private expeditions, that a certain proportion of the profits, generally a fourth or fifth, should be reserved for the crown. Having thus obtained permission to make the voyage, the next consideration with Ojeda was to find the means. He was a young adventurer, a mere soldier of fortune, and destitute of wealth ; but he had a high reputation for courage and enterprise, and with these, it was thought, would soon make his way to the richest parts of the newly discovered lands, and have the wealth of the Indies at his disposal. He had no difficulty, therefore, in finding moneyed associates among the rich merchants of Seville, who, in that age of discovery, were ever ready to stake their pro- perty upon the schemes of roving navigators. With such assist- ance he soon equipped a squadron of four vessels at Port St. Mary, opposite Cadiz. Among the seamen who engaged with him were several just returned from accompanying Columbus in • Navarrete, torn. ii. Document cxiii. VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF his voyage to this very coast of Paria. The principal associate of Ojeda, and one on whom he placed great reliance, was Juan de la Cosa ; who accompanied him as first mate, or, as it was termed, chief pilot. This was a bold Biscayan, who may be regarded as a disciple of Columbus, with whom he had sailed in his second voyage, when he coasted Cuba and Jamaica, and he had since accompanied Rodrigo de Bastides, in an expedition along the coast of Terra Firma. The hardy veteran was looked up to by his contemporaries as an oracle of the seas, and was pronounced one of the most able mariners of the day ; he may be excused, therefore, if, in his harmless vanity, he considered himself on a par even with Columbus.* Another conspicuous associate of Ojeda, in this voyage, was Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine merchant, induced by broken fortunes and a rambling disposition to seek adventures in the new world. Whether he had any pecuniary interest in the expedition, and in what capacity he sailed, does not appear. His importance has entirely arisen from subsequent circumstances ; from his having written and published a narrative of his voyages, and from his name having eventually been given to the New World. CHAPTER 11. DEPARTTTKE FROM SPAIN. ARRIVAL ON THE COAST OF PARIA. CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on the 20th of May, 1499, and, having touched for supplies at the Canaries, took a departure * Navarrete, Colec. Viag., torn. iii. p. 4. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 23 from Gomara, pursuing the route of Columbus in his third voyage being guided by the chart he had sent home, as well as by the mariners who had accompanied him on that occasion. At the end of twenty-four days he reached the continent of the New World, about two hundred leagues farther south than the part discovered by Columbus, being, as it is supposed, the coast of Surinam.* Hence he ran along the coast of the Gulf of Paria, passing the mouths of many rivers, but especially those of the Esquivo and the Oronoko. These, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, unaccustomed as yet to the mighty rivers of the New World, poured forth such a prodigious volume of water, as to freshen the sea for a great extent. They beheld none of the natives until they arrived at Trinidad, on which island they met with traces of the recent visit of Columbus. Vespucci, in his letters, gives a long description of the people of this island and of the coast of Paria, who were of the Carib race, tall, well made, and vigorous, and expert with the bow, the lance, and the buckler. His description, in general, resembles those which have frequently been given of the aboriginals of the new world ; there are two or three particulars, however, worthy of citation. They appeared, he said, to believe in no religious creed, to have no place of worship, and to make no prayers nor sacrifices ; but, he adds, from the voluptuousness of their lives, they might be considered epicureans.f Their habitations were built in the shape of bells ; of the trunks of trees, thatched with palm-leaves, aud were proof against wind and weather. They appeared to be * Navarrete, torn. iii. p. 5. t Viages de Vespucci. Navarrete, torn. iii. p. 211. 24 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF in common, and some of them were of such magnitude as to con tain six hundred persons : in one place there were eight principal houses capable of sheltering nearly ten thousand inhabitants. Every seven or eight years the natives were obliged to change their residence, from the maladies engendered by the heat of the climate in their crowded habitations. Their riches consisted in beads and ornaments made from the bones of fishes ; in small white and green stones strung like rosa- ries, with which they adorned their persons, and in the beautiful plumes of various colors for which the tropical birds are noted. The Spaniards smiled at their simplicity in attaching an ex- traordinary value to such worthless trifles ; while the savages, in all probability, were equally surprised at beholding the strangers so eager after gold, and pearls, and precious stones, which to them- selves were objects of indifference. Their manner of treating the dead was similar to that ob- served among the natives of some of the islands. Having depo- sited the corpse in a cavei-n or sepulchre, they placed a jar of water and a few eatables at its head, and then abandoned it with- out moan or lamentation. In some parts of the coast, when a per- son was considered near his end his nearest relatives bore him to the woods, and laid him in a hammock suspended to the trees. They then danced round him until evening, when, having left within his reach sufficient meat and drink to sustain him for four days, they repaired to their habitations. If he recovered and re- turned home, he was received with much ceremony and rejoicing ; if he died of his malady or of famine, nothing more was thought of him. Their mode of treating a fever is also worthy of mention. In the height of the malady they plunged the patient in a bath of THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 25 the coldest water, after which they obliged him to make many evolutions round a great fire, until he was in a violent heat, when they put him to bed, that he might sleep : a treatment, by which Amerigo Vespucci declares he saw many cured. CHAPTER III. COASTING OF TERRA FIRMA. MILITARY EXPEDITION OF OJEDA. After touching at various parts of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria, Ojeda passed through the strait of the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth, which Columbus had found so formidable, and then steered his course along the coast of Terra Firma, landing occasionally, until he arrived at Curiana, or the Gulf of Pearls. Hence he stood to the opposite island of Margarita, previously discovered by Columbus, and since renowned for its pearl fishery. This, as well as several adjacent islands, he visited and ex- plored ; after which he returned to the main-land, and touched at Cumana and Maracapana, where he found the rivers infested with alligators, resembling the crocodiles of the Nile. Finding a convenient harbor at Maracapana, he unloaded and careened his vessels there, and built a small brigantine. The natives came to him in great numbers, bringing abundance of venison, fish, and cassava bread, and aiding the seamen in their labors. Their hospitality was not certainly disinterested, for they sought to gain the protection of the Spaniards, whom they I'ever- enced as superhuman beings. "When they thought they had suffi- ciently secured their favor, they represented to Ojeda that their coast was subject to invasion from a distant island, the inhabitants VOL. III. 2 26 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF of which were cannibals, and carri<;d their people into captivitj', to be devoured at their unnatural banquets. They besought Ojeda, therefore, to avenge them upon these ferocious enemies. The request was gratifying to the fighting propensities of Ojeda, and to his love of adventure, and was readily granted. Taking seven of the natives on board of his vessels, as guides, he set sail in quest of the cannibals. After sailing for seven days he came to a chain of islands, some peopled, others uninhabited, supposed to have been the Caribbee islands. One of these was pointed out by his guides as the habitation of their foes. On running near the shore he beheld it thronged with savages, decorated with coro- nets of gaudy plumes, their bodies painted with a variety of colors. They were armed with bows and arrows, with darts, lances, and bucklers, and seemed prepared to defend their island from invasion. The show of war was calculated to rouse the martial spirit of Ojeda. He brought his ships to anchor, ordered out his boats, and provided each with a paterero or small cannon. Besides the oarsmen, each boat contained a number of soldiers, who were told to crouch out of sight in the bottom. The boats then pulled in steadily for the shoi'e. As they approached the Indians let fly a cloud of arrows, but without much effect. Seeing the boats con- tinue to advance, the savages threw themselves into the sea, and brandished their lances to prevent their landing. Upon this, the soldiers sprang up and discharged the patereroes. At the sound and smoke the savages abandoned the water in affright, while Ojeda and his men leaped on shore and pursued them. The Carib warriors rallied on the banks, and fought for a long time with a courage peculiar to their race, but were at length driven to the woods, at the edge of the sword, leaving many killed and wounded on the field of battle. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 27 On the following day the savages were seen on the shore in Btill greater numbers, armed and painted, and decorated with war plumes, and sounding defiance with their conchs and drums. Ojeda again landed with fifty-seven men, whom he separated into four companies and ordered to charge the enemy from different direc- tions. The Caribs fought for a time hand to hand, displaying great dexterity in covering themselves with their bucklers, but were at length entirely routed, and driven with great slaughter to the forests. The Spaniards had but one man killed and twenty- one wounded in these combats, — such superior advantage did their armor give them over the naked savages. Having plundered and set fire to the houses, they returned triumphantly to their ships, with a number of Carib captives ; and made sail for the main-land. Ojeda bestowed a part of the spoil upon the seven Indians who had accompanied him as guides, and sent them exulting to their homes, to relate to their countrymen the signal vengeance wreaked upon their foes. He then anchored in a bay where he remained for twenty days until his men had recovered from their wounds.* * There is some discrepance in the early accounts of this battle, as to the time and place of its occurrence. The author has collated the narratives of Vespucci, Las Casas, Herrera, and Peter Martyr, and the evidence given in the lawsuit of Diego Columbus, and has endeavored as much as possible to recon- cile them. 28 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF CHAPTER IV. DISCOVERY OP THE GULF OF VENEZUELA. TRANSACTIONS THERE. OJEDA EXPLORES THE GULF. PENETRATES TO MARACAIBO. His crew being refreshed and the wounded sufficiently recovered, Ojeda made sail, and touched at the island of Curazao, which, ac- cording to the accounts of Vespucci, was inhabited by a race of giants, " every woman appearing a Penthesilea, and every mar an Antneus."* As Vespucci was a scholar, and as he supposed himself exploring the regions of the extreme East, the ancient realm of fable, it is probable his imagination deceived him, and construed the formidable accounts given by the Indians of their cannibal neighbors of the islands, into something according with his recollections of classic fable. Certain it is that the reports of subsequent voyagers proved the inhabitants of the island to be of the ordinary size. Proceeding along the coast he arrived at a vast deep gulf resembling a tranquil lake ; entering which, he beheld on the eastern side a village, the construction of which struck him with surprise. It consisted of twenty large houses, shaped like bells, and built on piles driven into the bottom of the lake, which, in this part, Avas limpid and of but little depth. Each house was provided with a drawbridge, and with canoes by which the com- munication was carried on. From these resemblances to the Italian city, Ojeda gave to the bay the name of the Gulf of * Vespucci. — Letter to Lorenzo de Pier Francisco de Medicis. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 29 Venice : and it is called at the present day Venezuela, or little Venice : the Indian name was Coquibacoa. When the inhabitants beheld the ships standing into the bay, looking like wonderful and unknown apparitions from the deep, they fled with terror to their houses, and raised the drawbridges. The Spaniards remained for a time gazing with admiration at this amphibious village, when a squadron of canoes entered the harbor fi-om the sea. On beholding the ships they paused in mute amaze- ment, and on the Spaniards attempting to approach them, paddled swiftly to shore, and plunged into the forest. They soon returned with sixteen young girls, whom they conveyed in their canoes to the ships, disti'ibuting four on board of each, either as peace-offer- ings or as tokens of amity and confidence. The best of under- standing now seemed to be established ; and the inhabitants of the village came swarming about the ships in their canoes, and others swimming in great numbers from the shores. The friendship of the savages, however, was all delusive. On a sudden several old women at the doors of the houses uttered loud shrieks, tearing their hair in fury. It appeared to be a sig- nal for hostility. The sixteen nymphs plunged into the sea and naade for shore ; the Indians in the canoes caught up their bows and discharged a flight of arrows, and even those who were swim- ming brandished darts and lances, which they had hitherto con- cealed beneath the water. Ojeda was for a moment surprised at seeing war thus starting up on every side, and the very sea bristling with weapons. Man- ning his boats, he charged amongst the thickest of the enemy, shattered and sunk several of their canoes, killed twenty Indians and wounded many more, and spread such a panic among them, that most of the survivors flunsr themselves into the sea and swam 30 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF to shore. Three of them were taken prisoners, and two of the fugitive girls, and were conveyed on board of the ships, where the men were put in irons. One of them, howevei', and the two girls succeeded in dextrously escaping the same night. Ojeda had but five men wounded in the affray ; all of whom recovered. He visited the houses, but found them abandoned and destitute of booty ; notwithstanding the unprovoked hostility of the inhabitants, he spared the buildings, that he might not cause useless irritation along the coast. Continuing to explore this gulf, Ojeda penetrated to a port or harbor, to which he gave the name of St. Bartholomew, but which is supposed to be the same at present known by the ori- ginal Indian name of Maracaibo. Here, in compliance with the entreaties of the natives, he sent a detachment of twenty-seven Spaniards on a visit to the interior. For nine days they were conducted from town to town, and feasted and almost idolized by the Indians, who regarded them as angelic beings, performing their national dances and games, and chanting their traditional ballads for their entertainment. The natives of this part were distinguished for the symmetry of their foi'ms ; the females in particular appeared to the Span- iards to surpass all they had yet beheld in the New World for grace and beauty. Neither did the men display in the least de- gree that jealousy which prevailed in the other parts of the coast ; but, on the contrary, permitted the most frank and intimate inter- course with their wives and daughters. By the time the Spaniards set out on their return to the ship, the whole country was aroused, pouring forth its population, male and female, to do them honor. Some bore them in litters or hammocks, that they might not be fatigued with the journey, and THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMB-US. 31 happy was the Indian who had the honor of bearing a Spaniard on his shoulders across a river. Others loaded themselves with the presents that had been bestowed on their guests, consisting of rich plumes, weapons of various kinds, and tropical birds and ani- mals. In this way they returned in triumphant procession to the ships, the woods and shores resounding with their songs and shouts. Many of the Indians crowded into the boats which took the detachment to the ships ; others put off in canoes, or swam from shore, so that in a little while the vessels were thronged with up- wards of a thousand wondering natives. While gazing and mar- veling at the strange objects around them, Ojeda ordered the cannon to be discharged, at the sound of which, says Vespucci, the Indians " plunged into the water like so many frogs from a bank." Perceiving, however, that it was done in harmless mirth, they returned on boai-d, and passed the rest of the day in great festivity. The Spaniards brought away with them several of the beautiful and hospitable females from this place, one of Avhom, named by them Isabel, was much prized by Ojeda, and accom- panied him in a subsequent voyage.* * Navarrete, torn. iii. p. 8. Idem, pp. 107, 108. It is worthy of particular mention that Ojeda, in his report of his voyage to the Sovereigns, informed them of his having met with EngUsh voyagers in the vicinity of Coquibacoa, and that the Spanish government attached such im- portance to his information as to take measures to prevent any intrusion into those parts by the English. It is singular that no record should exist of this early and extensive expedition of English navigators. If it was undertaken in the service of the Crown, some document might be found concerning it among the archives of the reign of Henry VII. The English had already discovered the continent of North America. This had been done in 1497, by John Cabot, a Venetian, accompanied by his son Sebastian, who was bom in Bristol. They sailed under a license of Henry VII, who was to have a fifth of the profits of 32 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF CHAPTER V. PROSECUTION OF THE VOYAGE. RETURN TO SPAIN. Leaving the friendly port of Coquibacoa, Ojeda continued along the western shores of the Gulf of Venezuela, and standing out to sea, and doubling Cape Maracaibo, he pursued his coasting voy- age from port to port, and promontory to promontory, of this unknown continent, until he reached that long-stretching headland called Cape de la Vela. There the state of his vessels, and per- haps the disappointment of his hopes at not meeting with abun- dant sources of immediate wealth, induced him to abandon all further voyaging along the coast, and changing his course, he stood across the Caribbean Sea for Hispaniola. The tenor of his commission forbade his visiting that island ; but Ojeda was not a man to stand upon trifles when his interest or inclination prompted the contrary. He trusted to excuse the infraction of his orders by the alleged necessity of touching at the island to calk and refit his vessels, and to procure provisions. His true object, how- ever, is supposed to have been to cut dye-wood, which abounds in the western part of Hispaniola. He accordingly anchored at Yaquimo in September, and landed with a large party of his men. Columbus at that time held command of the island, and, hearing of this unlicensed the voyage. On the 24th June they discovered Newfoundland, and afterwards coasted the continent quite to Florida, bringing back to England a valuable cargo and several of the natives. This was the first discovery of the main-land of America. The success of this expedition may have prompted the one which Ojeda encountered in the neighborhood of Coquibacoa. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 33 intrusion, dispatched Francisco Roldan, the quondam rebel, to call Ojeda to account. The contest of stratagem and management which took place between these two adroit and daring adventurers, has been already detailed in the History of Columbus. Roldan was eventually successful, and Ojeda, being obliged to leave His- paniola, resumed his rambling voyage, visiting various islands, from whence he carried off numbers of the natives. He at length arrived at Cadiz in June, 1500, with his ships crowded with captives, whom he sold as slaves. So meagre, however, was the result of this expedition, that we are told, when all the expenses were deducted, but five hundred ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five adventurers. What made this result the more mortifying was, that a petty armament, which had sailed some time after that of Ojeda, had returned two months before him, rich with the spoils of the New "World. A brief account of this latter expedition is necessary to connect this series of minor dis- coveries, which will be found to lead to enterprises and transac- tions of more stirring interest and importance. VOL. III. 2* 34 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF PEDRO ALONZO NINO* AND CHRISTOVAL GUERRA. [1499.] The permission granted by Bishop Fonseca to Alonzo de Ojeda to undertake a private expedition to the New World, roused the emulation of others of the followers of Columbus. Among these was Pedro Alonzo Nino, a hardy seaman, native of Moguer, in the vicinity of Palos, who had sailed with Columbus, as a pilot, in his first voyage, and also in his cruisings along the coasts of Cuba and Paria.j He soon obtained from the bishop a similar license to that given to Ojeda, and like the latter, sought for some moneyed confederate among the rich merchants of Seville. One of these, named Luis Guerra, offered to fit out a caravel for the expedition ; but on condition that his brother, Christoval Guerra, should have the command. The poverty of Nifio compelled him to assent to the stipulations of the man of wealth, and he sailed as subaltern in his own enterprise ; but his nautical skill and knowledge soon gained him the ascendency ; he became virtually the captain, and ultimately enjoyed the whole credit of the voyage. The bark of these two adventurers was but of fifty tons bur- * Pronounced Ninyo. The N in Spanish is always pronounced as if fol- lowed by the letter y. t Testimony of Bastides in the lawsuit of Diego Columbus. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 35 then, and the crew thirty-three souls, all told. With this slender armament they undertook to traverse unknown and dangerous seas, and to explore the barbarous shores of that vast continent recently discovered by Columbus ; — such was the daring spirit of the Spanish voyagers of those days. It was about the beginning of June, 1499, and but a few days after the departure of Ojeda, that they put to sea. They sailed from the little port of Palos, the cradle of American discovery, whose brave and skillful mariners long continued foremost in all enterprises to the New "World. Being guided by the chart of Columbus, they followed his route, and reached the southern continent, a little beyond Paria, about fifteen days after the same coast had been visited by Ojeda. They then proceeded to the Gulf of Pai'ia, where they landed to cut dye-wood, and were amicably entertained by the natives. Shortly afterwards, sallying from the gulf by the Boca del Drago, they encountered eighteen canoes of Caribs, the pirate rovers of these seas, and the teiTor of the bordering lands. This savage armada, instead of being daunted, as usual, by the sight of a European ship, with swelling sails, resembling some winged monster of the deep, considered it only as an object of plunder or hostility, and assailed it with showers of arrows. The sudden burst of artillery, however, from the sides of the caravel, and the havoc made by this seeming thunder, struck them with dis- may, and they fled in all directions. The Spaniards succeeded in capturing one of the canoes, with one of the warriors who had manned it. In the bottom of the canoe lay an Indian prisoner, bound hand and foot. On being liberated he informed the Span- iards, by signs, that these Caribs had been on a marauding expe- dition along the neighboring coasts, shutting themselves up at 56 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF night in :i stockade which they carried with them, and issuing forth by day to pkmder tlie villages and make captives. He had been one of seven prisoners; his companions had been devoured before his eyes at the cannibal banquets of these savages, and he had been awaiting the same miserable fate. Honest Nino and his confederates were so indignant at this recital, that, receiving it as established fact, they performed what they considered an act of equitable justice, by abandoning the Carib to the discre- tion of his late captive. The latter fell upon the defenceless warrior with fist, and foot, and cudgel ; nor did his rage subside even after the breath had been mauled out of his victim, but, tearing the grim head from the body, he placed it on a pole, as a trophy of his vengeance. Nino and his fellow-adventurers now steered for the island of Margarita, where they obtained a considerable quantity of pearls by barter. They afterwards skirted the opposite coast of Cu- mana, trading cautiously and shrewdly, from port to port ; some- times remaining on board of their little bark, and obliging the savages to come off to them, when the latter appeared too nu- merous ; at other times venturing on shore, and even into the interior. They were invariably treated with amity by the natives, who were perfectly naked, excepting that they were adoi'ned with necklaces and bracelets of pearls. These they sometimes gave freely to the Spaniards, at other times they exchanged them for glass beads and other trinkets, and smiled at the folly of the strangers in making such silly bargains.* The Spaniards were struck Avith the grandeur and density of the forests along this coast ; for in these regions of heat and moisture vegetation appears in its utmost magnificence. They * Las Casas, His',. Ind., lib. i. cap. 171. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 37 heard also the cries and roarings of wild and unknown animals in the woodlands, which, however, appeared not to be very dan- gerous, as the Indians went about the forest armed solely with bows and arrows. From meeting with deer and rabbits, they were convinced that that was a part of Terra Firma, not having found any animals of the kind on the islands.* Nino and Guerra were so well pleased with the hospitality of the natives of Cumana, and with the profitable traffic for pearls, by which they obtained many of great size and beauty, that they remained upwards of three months on the coast. They then proceeded westward to a country called Cauchieto, trading, as usual, for pearls, and for the inferior kind of gold called guanin. At length they arrived at a number of houses and gardens situated on a river and protected by a kind of fortress, the whole forming, to the eyes of the Spaniards, one of the most delicious abodes imaginable. They were about to land and enjoy the pleasures of this fancied Paradise, when they beheld upwards of a thousand Indians, armed with bows and arrows and war clubs, preparing to give them a warm reception ; having been probably incensed by the recent visit of Ojeda. As Nino and Guerra had not the fighting propensities of Ojeda, and were in quest of profit rather than renown, having moreover, in all proba- bility, the fear of the rich merchant of Seville before their eyes, they prudently abstained from landing, and, abandoning this hostile coast, returned forthwith to Cumana, to resume their trade for pearls. They soon amassed a great number, many of which were equal in size and beauty to the most celebrated of the east, though they had been injured in boring from a want of proper implements. * Navarrete, torn. iii. p. 14. 38 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF Satisfied with their success, they now set sail for Spain, and piloted their little bark safely to Bayonne in Gallicia, where they anchored about the middle of April, 1500, nearly two months before tlie arrival of Ojeda and his associates. La Cosa and Vespucci.* The most successful voyagers to the New World were doomed to trouble from their very success. The ample amount of pearls paid to the treasury, as the royal portion of the profits of this expedition, drew suspicion instead of favor upon the two adven- turers. They were accused of having concealed a great part of the pearls collected by them, thus defrauding their companions and the ci'own. Pedro Alonzo Nirio was actually thrown into prison on this accusation, but, nothing being proved against him, he was eventually set free, and enjoyed the enviable reputation of having performed the richest voyage that had yet been made to the New World.f * Peter Martyr. Other historians give a different date for their arrival. Herrera says Feb. 6. t Navarrete, Colec. torn. iii. p. 11. Herrera, decad. i. Ub. iv. cap. 5. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 39 VICENTE YANEZ PINZON. [1499.] Among the maritime adventurers of renown who were roused to action by the licenses granted for private expeditions of discovery, we find conspicuous the name of Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon of Palos, one of the three brave brothers wlio aided Columbus in his first voyage, and risked life and fortune with him in his doubtful and perilous enterprise. Of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the eldest and most important of these three brothers, particular mention has been made in the History of Columbus, and of the unfortunate error in conduct which severed him from the admii-al, brought on him the dis- pleasure of the sovereigns, and probably contributed to his pre- mature and melancholy death. Whatever cloud this may have thrown over his family, it was but temporary. The death of Martin Alonzo, as usual, atoned for his faults, and his good deeds lived after him. The merits and services of himself and his brothers were acknowledged, and the survivors of the family were restored to royal confidence. A feeling of jealous hostility prevented them from taking a part in the subsequent voyages of Columbus ; but the moment the door w^as thrown open for individual enterprise, they pressed forward for permission to engage in it at their own risk and expense — and it was readily granted. In fact, their supposed hostility to 40 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF Columbus was one of the surest recommendations to the favor of the Bishop Fonseca, by whom the license was issued for their expedition. Vicente Yanez Pinzon was the leader of this new enterprise, and he was accompanied by two nephews, Arias Perez and Diego Fernandez, sons of his late brother, Martin Alonzo Pinzon. Several of his sailors had sailed with Columbus in his recent voy- age to Paria, as had also his three principal pilots, Juan Quintero, Juan de Umbria, and Juan de Jerez. Thus these minor voyages seemed all to emanate from the great expeditions of Columbus, and to aim at realizing the ideas and speculations contained in the papers transmitted by him to Spain. The armament consisted of four caravels, and was fitted out at the port of Palos. The funds of Vicente Yanez were completely exhausted before he had fitted out his little squadron ; he was obliged therefore to purchase on credit the sea-stores and articles of traffic necessary for the enterprise. The merchants of Palos seem to have known how to profit by the careless nature of sailors and the sanguine spirit of discoverers. In their bargains they charged honest Pinzon eighty and a hundred per cent, above the market value of their merchandise, and in the hurry and urgency of the moment he was obliged to submit to the imposition.* The squadron put to sea in the beginning of December, 1499, and after passing the Canary and Cape de Verde Islands, stood to the southwest. Having sailed about seven hundred leagues, they crossed the equator and lost sight of the north star. They had scarcely passed the equinoctial line when they encountered a terrible tempest, which had well nigh swallowed up their slender * Navarrete, vol. iii. See Doc. No. 7, where Vicente Yanez Pinzon peti- tions for redress. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 41 barks. The storm passed away, and the firmament was again serene; but the mariners remained tossing about in confusion, dismayed by the turbulence of the waves and the strange aspect of the heavens. They looked in vain to the south for some polar star by which to shape their course, and fancied that some swelling prominence of the globe concealed it from their view. They knew nothing as yet of the firmament of that hemisphere, nor of that beautiful constellation the southern cross, but expected to find a guiding star at the opposite pole, similar to the cynosure of the north. Pinzon, however, who was of an intrepid spirit, pursued his course resolutely to the west, and after sailing about two hundred and forty leagues, and being in the eighth degree of southern latitude, he beheld land afar off on the 28th of January, to which he gave the name of Santa Maria de la Gonsolacion, from *the sight of it having consoled him in the midst of doubts and per- plexities. It is now called Cape St. Augustine, and forms the most prominent part of the immense empire of Brazil, The sea was turbid and discolored as in rivers, and on sound- ing they had sixteen fathoms water. Pinzon landed, accompanied by a notary and witnesses, and took formal possession of the ter- ritory for the Castilian crown ; no one appeared to dispute his pretensions, but he observed on the beach the print of footsteps, of gigantic size. At night there were fires lighted upon a neighboring part of the coast, which induced Pinzon on the following morning to send forty men well armed to the spot. A band of Indians, of about equal number, sallied forth to encounter them, armed with bows and arrows, and seemingly of extraordinary stature. A still greater number were seen in the distance, hastening to the sup- port of their companions. The Indians arrayed themselves for 43 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF combat, and the two parties remained for a short time eyeing each other with mutual curiosity and distrust. The Spaniards now dis- played looking-glasses, beads, and other trinkets, and jingled strings of hawks'-bells, in general so captivating to an Indian ear ; but the haughty savages treated all their overtures with contempt, reo-arding these offerings carelessly for a short time, and then stalking off with stoic gravity. They were ferocious of feature, and apparently warlike in disposition, and are supposed to have been a wandering race of unusual size, who roamed about in the night, and were of the most fierce untractable nature. By night- fall there was not an Indian to be seen in the neighborhood. Discouraged by the inhospitable character of the coast, Pin- zon made sail and stood to the northwest, until he came to the mouth of a river too shallow to receive his ships. Here he sent his boats on shore with a number of men well armed. They landed on the river banks, and beheld a multitude of naked In- dians on a neighboring hill. A single Spaniard, armed simply with sword and buckler, was sent to invite them to friendly inter- course. He approached them with signs of amity, and threw to them a hawk's-bell. They replied to him with similar signs, and threw to him a small gilded wand. The soldier stooped to pick it up, when suddenly a troop of savages rushed down to seize him ; he threw Jiiraself immediately upon the defensive, with sword and target, and though but a small man, and far from robust, handled his weapons with such dexterity and fierceness, that he kept the savages at bay, making a clear circle round him, and wounding several who attempted to break it. His unlooked-for prowess surprised and confounded his assailants, and gave time for his comrades to come to his assistance. The Indians then made a general assault, with such a galling discharge of darts and arrows THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 43 that almost immediately eight or ten Spaniards were slain, and many more wounded. The latter were compelled to retreat to their boats disputing every inch of ground. The Indians pursued them even into the water, surrounding the boats and seizing hold of the oars. The Spaniards made a desperate defence, thrusting many through with their lances, and cutting down and ripping up others with their swords, but such was the ferocity of the survivors, that they persisted in their attack until they overpowered the crew of one of the boats, and bore it off in triumph. With this they re- fired from the combat, and the Spaniards returned defeated and disheartened to their ships, having met with the roughest recep- tion that the Europeans had yet experienced in the New World. Pinzon now stood forty leagues to the northwest, until he arrived in the neighborhood of the equinoctial line. Here he found the water of the sea so fresh that he was enabled to replen- ish his casks Avith it. Astonished at so singular a phenomenon, he stood in for the land, and arrived among a number of fresh and verdant islands, inhabited by a gentle and hospitable race of people, gayly painted, who came off to the ships with the most frank and fearless confidence. Pinzon soon found that these islands lay in the mouth of an immense river, more than thirty leagues in breadth, the water of which entered upwards of forty leagues into the sea before losing its sweetness. It was, in fact, the renowned Maraiion, since known as the Orellana and the Amazon. While lying in the mouth of this river there was a sudden swelling of the stream, which, being opposed by the cur- rent of the sea, and straitened by the narrow channels of the islands, rose more than five fathoms, with mountain waves, and a tremendous noise, threatening the destruction of the ships. Pin- zon extricated his little squadron with great difficulty, and findin«g 44 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF there was but little gold, nor any thing else of value to be found among the simple natives, he requited their hospitality, in the mode too common among the early discoverers, by carrying off thirty-six of them captive. Having regained the sight of the polar star, Pinzon pursued his course along the coast, passing the mouths of the Oronoko, and entering the Gulf of Paria, where he landed and cut brazil- wood. Sallying forth by the Boca del Drago, he reached the island of Hispaniola about the 23d of June, whence he sailed for the Bahamas. Here, in the month of July, while at anchor, there came such a tremendous hurricane that two of the caravels were swallowed up with all their crews in the sight of their terrified companions ; a third parted her cables and was driven out to sea, while the fourth was so furiously beaten by the tempest that the crew threw themselves into the boats and made for shore. Here they found a few naked Indians, who offered them no molestation ; but, fearing that they might spread the tidings of a handful of shipwrecked Spaniards being upon the coast, and thus bring the savages of the neighboring islands ui^on them, a council of war was held whether it would not be a wise precaution to put these Indians to death. Fortunately for the latter, the vessel which had been driven from her anchors returned and put an end to the alarm, and to the council of war. The other caravel also rode out the storm uninjured, and the sea subsiding, the Spaniards returned on boai'd, and made the best of their way to the island of Hispaniola. Having repaired the damages sustained in the gale, they again made sail for Spain, and came to anchor in the river before Palos, about the end of September. Thus ended one of the most checkered and disastrous voyages yet made to the New World. Yaiiez Pinzon had lost two of his THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 45 ships, and many of his men ; what made the loss of the latter more grievous was, that they had been enlisted from among his neighbors, his friends, and relatives. In fact, the expeditions to the New World must have realized the terrors and apprehensions of the people of Palos by filling that little community with widows and orphans. When the rich merchants, who had sold goods to Pinzon at a hundred per cent, advance, beheld him return in this sorry condition, with two shattered barks and a handful of poor, tattered, weather-beaten seamen, they began to tremble for their money. No sooner, therefore, had he and his nephews departed to Granada, to give an account of their discoveries to the sove- reigns, than the merchants seized upon their caravels and cargoes, and began to sell them, to repay themselves. Honest Pinzon immediately addressed a petition to the government, stating the imposition practiced upon him, and the danger he was in of imprisonment and utter ruin, should his creditors be allowed to sacrifice his goods at a public sale. He petitioned that they might be compelled to return the property thus seized, and that he might be enabled to sell three hundred and fifty quintals of brazil-wood, which he had brought back with him, and which would be sufficient to satisfy the demands of his creditors. The sovereigns granted his prayer. They issued an order to the civil authorities of Palos to interfere in the matter, with all possible promptness and brevity, allowing no vexatious delay, and admin- istering justice so impartially that neither of the parties should have cause to complain. Pinzon escaped from the fangs of his creditors, but, of course, must have suffered in purse from the expenses of the law ; which, in Spain, is apt to bury even a successful client under an over- whelming mountain of documents and writings. We infer this in 46 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF respect to Plnzon from a royal order issued in the following year, allowing him to export a quantity of grain, in consideration of the heavy losses he had sustained in his voyage of discovery. He did but share the usual lot of the Spanish discoverers, whose golden anticipations too frequently ended in penury ; but he is distinguished from among the crowd of them by being the first European who crossed the equinoctial line, on the western ocean, and by discovering the great kingdom of Brazil.* * On the 5th of September, 1501, a royal permission was given to Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon to colonize and govern the lands he had discovered, beginning a little north of the river Amazon, and extending to Cape St. Augustine. The object of the government in this permission was to establish an outpost and a resolute commander on this southern frontier, to check any intrusions the Por- tuguese might make in consequence of the accidental discovery of a part of the coast of Brazil by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, in 1500. The subsequent arrange- ment of a partition line between the two countries prevented the necessity of this precaution, and it does not appear that Vicente Yaiiez Pinzon made any second voyage to those parts. In 1506 he undertook an expedition in company with Juan Diaz de Solis, a native of Lebrija, the object of which was to endeavor to find the strait or pas- sage supposed by Columbus to lead from the Atlantic to a Southern Ocean. It was necessarily without success, as was also another voyage made by them, for the same purpose, in 1508. As no such passage exists, no blame could attach to those able navigators for being foiled in the object of their search. In consequence of the distinguished merits and services of the Pinzon family, they were raised, by the Emperor Charles V, to the dignity of a Hidal- guio, or nobility, without any express title, and a coat of arms was granted them, on which were emblazoned three caravels, with a hand at the stern pointing to an island covered with savages. This coat of arms is still main- tained by the family, who have added to it the motto granted to Columbus, merely substituting' the name of Pinzon for that of the admiral, A Castile y a Leon, Nuevo Mundo dio Pinzon. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 47 DIEGO DE LEPE AND RODRIGO DE BASTIDES. [1500.] Notwithstanding the hardships and disasters that had beset the voyagers to the New "World, and the penury in which their golden anticipations had too frequently terminated, adventurers continued to press forward, excited by fresh reports of newly dis- covered regions, each in its turn represented as the real land of promise. Scarcely had Vicente Yafiez Pinzon departed on the voyage recently narrated, when his townsman Diego de Lepe like- wise set sail with two vessels from the busy little port of Palos, on a like expedition. No particulars of importance are known of this voyage, excepting that Lepe doubled Cape St. Augustine, and beheld the southern continent stretching far to the southwest. On returning to Spain he drew a chart of the coast for the Bishop Fonseca, and enjoyed the reputation, for upwards of ten years afterwards, of having extended his discoveries further south than any other voyager. Another contemporary adventurer to the New World was Rodrigo de Bastides, a wealthy notary of Triana, the suburb of Seville inhabited by the maritime part of its population. Being sanctioned by the sovereigns, to whom he engaged to yield a fourth of his profits, he fitted out two caravels in October, 150(1 to go in quest of gold and pearls. 48 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF Prudently distrusting his own judgment in nautical matters, this adventurous notary associated with him the veteran pilot Juan de la Cosa, the same hardy Biscayan who had sailed with Colum bus and Ojeda. A general outline of their voyage has already been given in the life of Columbus ; it extended the discoveries of the coast of Terra Firma from Cape de la Vela, where Ojeda had left off, quite to the port of Nombre de Dios. Bastides distinguished himself from the mass of discoverers by his kind treatment of the natives, and Juan de la Cosa by his sound discretion and his able seamanship. Their voyage had been extremely successful, and they had collected, by barter, a great amount of gold and pearls, when their prosperous career was checked by an unlooked-for evil. Their vessels to their sur- prise became leaky in every part, and they discovered, to their dismay, that the bottoms were pierced in innumerable places by the broma, or worm, which abounds in the waters of the torrid zone, but of which they, as yet, had scai'cely any knowledge. It was with great difficulty they could keep afloat until they reached a small islet on the coast of Hispaniola. Here they repaired their ships as well as they were able, and again put to sea to return to Cadiz. A succession of gales drove them back to port ; the ravages of the worms continued, the leaks broke out afresh ; they landed the most portable and precious part of their wealthy cargoes, and the vessels foundered with the remainder. Bastides lost, moreover, the arras and ammunition saved from the wreck, being obliged to destroy them lest they should fall into the hands of the Indians. Distributing his men into three bands, two of them headed by La Cosa and himself, they set off for San Domingo by three several routes, as the countiy was not able to furnish provisions Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 49 alone, the cacique of Xaragua, and bi-other-in-law of Caonabo, made no overtures of submission. His territories lay remote from Isabella, at the western extremity of the island, around the deep bay called the Bight of Leogan, and the long peninsula called Cape Tiburon. They were difficult of access, and had not as yet been visited by the white men. He. retired into his domains, taking with him his sister, the beautiful Anacaona, wife of Caonabo, whom he cherished with fraternal affection under her misfortunes, who soon acquired almost equal sway over his subjects with him- self, and was destined subsequently to make some figure in the events of the island. Having been forced to take the field by the confederacy of the caciques, Columbus now asserted the right of a conqueror, and considered how he might turn his conquest to most profit. His constant anxiety was to make wealthy returns to Spain, for the purpose of indemnifying the sovereigns for their great expenses ; of meeting the public expectations, so extravagantly excited ; and above all of silencing the calumnies of those who had gone home determined to make the most discouraging representations of his discoveries. He endeavored, therefore, to raise a large and im- mediate revenue, by imposing heavy tributes on the subjected pro- vinces. In those of the Vega, Cibao, and all the region of the mines, each individual above the age of fourteen years was re- quired to pay, every three months, the measure of a Flemish hawk's-bell of gold dust.* The caciques had to pay a much * A hawk's-bell, according to Las Casas (Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 105) con- tains about three castellanos worth of gold dust, equal to five dollars, and in esti- mating the superior value of gold in those days, equivalent to fifteen dollars of our time. A quantity of gold worth one hundred and fifty castellanos, was equiva- lent to seven hundred and ninety-eight dollars of the present day. VOL. II. 3 jO LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. larger amount for tlieir personal tribute. Manicaotex, the brother of Caonabo, was obliged intlividuallj to render in, every three months, half a calabash of gold, amounting to one hundred and lif'ty pesos. In those districts which were distant from the mines, and produced no gold, each individual was required to furnish an arroba (twenty-five pounds) of cotton every three months. Each Indian, on rendering this tribute, received a copper medal as a cer- tificate of payment, which he was to wear suspended round his neck ; those who were found without such documents were liable to arrest and punishment. The taxes and tributes thus imposed, bore hard upon the spirit of the natives, accustomed to be but lightly tasked by their caciques ; and the caciques themselves found the exactions intole- rably grievous. Guarionex, the sovereign of the Royal Vega, represented to Columbus the difficulty he had in complyiug with the terms of his tribute. His richly fertile plain yielded no gold ; and though the mountains on his borders contained mines, and their brooks and torrents washed down gold dust into the sands of the rivers, yet his subjects were not skilled in the art of col- lecting it. He proffered, therefore, instead of the tribute required, to cultivate with grain a band of country stretching across the island from sea to sea, enough, says Las Casas, to have furnished all Castile with bread for ten years.* His offer was rejected. Columbus knew that gold alone would satisfy the avaricious dreams excited in Spain, and insure the popularity and success of his enterprises. Seeing, however, the difficulty that many of the Indians had in furnishing the amount of gold dust required, he lowered the demand to the measure of one half of a hawk's-bell. * Las CasaSj Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 105. CnAP. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 51 To enlbrce the payment of these tributes, and to maintain the subjection of the island, Columbus put the fortress already built in a strong state of defence, and erected others. Beside those of Isabella, and of St. Thomas, in the mountains of Cibao, there were now the fortress of Magdalena, in the Royal Vega, near the site of the old town of Santiago, on the river Jalaqua, two leagues from the place where the new town was afterwards built ; another called Santa Catalina, the site of which is near the Estencia Yaqui ; another called Esperanza, on the banks of the river Yaqui, facing the outlet of the mountain pass La Puerta de los Hidalgos, now the pass of Marney ; but the most imtiortant of those recently erected, was Fort Conception, in one of the most fruitful and beautiful parts of the Vega, about fifteen leagues to the east of Esperanza, controlling the extensive and populous domains of Guarionex.* In this way was the yoke of servitude fixed upon the island, and its thraldom eiFectually insured. Deep despair now fell upon the natives when they found a perpetual task inflicted upon them, enfoi'ced at stated and frequently recurring periods. Weak and indolent by nature, unused to labor of any kind, and brought up in the untasked idleness of their soft climate and their fruitful groves, death itself seemed preferable to a life of toil and anxiety. They saw no end to this harassing evil, which had so suddenly fallen upon them ; no escape from its all-pervading influence ; no prospect of return to that roving independence and ample leisure, so dear to the wild inhabitants of the forest. The pleasant life of the island was at an end : the dream in the shade by day ; the slumber during the sultry noontide heat by the fountain or the stream, or under the spreading palm-tree ; and the song, the * Las Casas, ubi sup., cap. 110. 52 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. dance, and the game in the mellow evening, when summoned to theii- simple amusements by the rude Indian drum. They were now obliged to grope day by day, with bending body and anxious eye, along the borders of their rivers, sifting the sands for the grains of gold which every day grew more scanty ; or to labor in their fields beneath the fervor of a tropical sun, to raise food for their taskmasters, or to produce the vegetable tribute imposed upon them. They sank to sleep weary and exhausted at night, with the certainty that the next day was but to be a repetition of the same toil and suffering. Or if they occasionally indulged in their national dances, the ballads to which they kept time were of a melancholy and plaintive character. They spoke of the times that were past before the white men had introduced sorrow, and slavery, and weary labor among them ; and they rehearsed pretended prophecies, handed down from their ancestors, foretell- ing the invasion of the Spaniards ; that strangers should come into their island, clothed in apparel, with swords capable of cleav- ing a man asunder at a blow, under whose yoke their posterity should be subdued. These ballads, or areytos, they sang with mournful tunes and doleful voices, bewailing the loss of their liberty, and their painful servitude.* They had flattered themselves, for a time, that the visit of the strangers would be but temporary, and that, spreading their ample sails, their ships would once more bear them back to their home in the sky. In their simplicity, they had repeatedly inquired when they intended to return to Turey, or the heavens. They now beheld them taking root, as it were, in the island. They beheld their vessels lying idle and rotting in the harbor, while the crews, scattered about the country, were building habitations and * Peter Martyr, decad. iii. lib. ix. Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 53 fortresses, the solid construction of which, unlike their own slight cabins, gave evidence of permanent abode.* Finding how vain was all attempt to deliver themselves by warlike means fi'om these invincible intruders, they now concerted a forlorn and desperate mode of annoyance. They perceived that the settlement suffei'ed greatly from shortness of provisions, and depended, in a considerable degree, upon the supplies fur- nished by the natives. The fortresses in the interior, also, and the Spaniards quartered in the villages, looked almost entirely to them for subsistence. They agreed among themselves, therefore, not to cultivate the fruits, the roots and maize, their chief articles of food, and to destroy those already growing ; hoping, by pro- ducing a famine, to starve the strangers from the island. They little knew, observes Las Casas, one of the characteristics of the Spaniards, who the more hungry they are, the more inflexible they become, and the more hardened to endure suffering.! They carried their plan generally into effect, abandoning their habita- tions, laying waste their fields and groves, and retiring to the mountains, whei'e there were roots and herbs and abundance of utias for their subsistence. This measure did indeed produce much distress among the Spaniards, but they had foreign resources, and were enabled to endure it by husbanding the partial supplies brought by their ships ; the most disastrous effects fell upon the natives themselves. The Spaniards stationed in the various fortresses, finding that there was not only no hope of tribute, but a danger of famine * Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 106. t No conociendo la propriedad de los Espaiioles, los cuales cuanto mas hambrientos, tanto mayor teson tienen y mas duros son de sufrir y para sufrir. Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 106. 54 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. from this wanton waste and sudden desertion, pursued tlie natives to their retreats, to compel them to return to labor. The Indians took refuge in the most steril and dreary heights ; flying from one wild retreat to another, the women witli tlieir children in their arms or at their backs, and all worn out with fatigue and hunger, and harassed by perpetual alarms. In every noise of the forest or the mountain they fancied they heard the sound of their pur- suers ; they hid themselves in damp and dismal caverns, or in the rocky banks and margins of the torrents, and not daring to hunt, or fish, or even to venture forth in quest of noui-ishing roots and vegetables, they had to satisfy their raging hunger with un- wholesome food. In this way, many thousands of them perished miserably, through famine, fatigue, teiTor, and various contagions maladies engendered by their sufferings. All spirit of opposition was at length completely quelled. The surviving Indians re turned in despair to their habitations, and submitted humbly to the yoke. So deep an awe did they conceive of their conquerors, that it is said a Spaniard might go singly and securely all over the island, and the natives would even transport liim from placo to place on their shoulders.* Before passing on to other events, it may be proper here to notice the fate of Guacanagari, as he makes no further appear- ance in the course of this history. His fi'iendship for the Span- iards had severed him from his countrymen, but did not exone- rate him from the general woes of the island. His territories, like those of the other caciques, were subjected to a tribute, which his people, with the common repugnance to labor, found it difficult to pay. Columbus, who knew his worth, and could have protected » Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. i. c. 106. Hist, del Almirante, cap. 60. Chap. VII ] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 55 him, was long absent either in the interior of the island, or de- tained in Europe by his own wrongs. In the interval, the Span- iards forgot the hospitality and services of Guacanagari, and his tribute was harshly exacted. He found himself overwhelmed with opprobrium from his countrymen at large, and assailed by the clamors and lamentations of his suffering subjects. The strangers whom he had succored in distress, and taken as it were to the bosom of his native island, had become its tyrants and oppressors. Care, and toil, and poverty, and strong-handed vio- lence, had spread their curses over the land, and he felt as if he had invoked them on his race. Unable to bear the hostilities of his fellow caciques, the woes of his subjects, and the extortions of his ungrateful allies, he took refuge at last in the mountains, where he died obscurely and in misery.* An attempt has been made by Oviedo to defame the charac- ter of this Indian prince : it is not for Spaniards, however, to excuse their own ingratitude by casting a stigma on his name. He appears to have always manifested towards them that true friendship which shines brightest in the dark days of adversity. He might have played a nobler part, in making a stand, with his brother caciques, to drive these intruders from his native soil ; but he appears to have been fascinated by his admiration of the strangers, and his personal attachment to Columbus. He was bountiful, hospitable, affectionate, and kind-hearted ; competent to rule a gentle and unwarlike people in the happier days of the island, but unfitted, through the softness of his nature, for the stern turmoil which followed the arrival of the white men. * Charlevoi.v, Hist, de St. Domingo, lib. ii. 56 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. CHAPTER VIII. INTRIGUES AGAINST COLUMBUS IN THE COURT OF SPAIN. AGUADO SENT TO INVESTIGATE THE AFFAIRS OF HISPA- NIOLA. [1495.] While Columbus was endeavoring to remedy the evils produced by the misconduct of Margarite, that recreant commander and his political coadjutor, Friar Boyle, were busily undermining his reputation in the court of Castile. They accused him of deceiv- ing the sovereigns and the public by extravagant descriptions of the countries he had discovered ; they pronounced the island of Hispaniola a source of expense rather than profit, and they drew a dismal picture of the sufferings of the colony, occasioned, as they said, by the oppressions of Columbus and his brothers. They charged them with tasking the community with excessive labor during a time of general sickness and debility ; with stop- ping the rations of individuals on the most trifling pretext, to the great detriment of their health ; with wantonly inflicting severe corporal punishments on the common people, and with heaping indignities on Spanish gentlemen of rank. They said nothing, however, of the exigencies which had called for unusual labor ; nor of the idleness and profligacy which required coercion and chastisement ; nor of the seditious cabals of the Spanish cavaliers, Chap. VIII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 57 ■who had been treated with indulgence rather than severity. In addition to these complaints, they represented the state of confu- sion of the island, in consequence of the absence of the admiral, and the uncertainty Avhich prevailed concerning his fate, inti- mating the probability of his having perished in his foolhardy attempts to explore unknown seas, and discover unprofitable lands. These prejudiced and exaggerated representations derived much weight from the official situations of Margarite and Friar Boyle. They were supported by the testimony of many discon- tented and fectious idlers, who had returned with them to Spain. Some of these persons had connexions of rank, who were ready to resent, with Spanish haughtiness, what they considered the arrogant assumptions of an ignoble foreigner. Thus the popu- larity of Columbus received a \atal blow, and iaiimediately began to decline. The confidence of the sovereigns also was impaired, and precautions were adopted which savor strongly of the cau- tious and suspicious policy of Ferdinand. It was determined to send some person of trust and confidence, who should take upon himself the government of the island in case of the continued absence of the admiral, and who, even in the event of his return, should inquire into the alleged evils and abuses, and remedy such as should appear really in existence. The person proposed for this difficult office was Diego Carillo, a commander of a militaiy order ; but as he was not immediately prepared to sail with the fleet of caravels about to depart with supplies, the sovereigns wrote to Fonseca, the superintendent of India affairs, to send some trusty person with the vessels, to take charge of the provisions with which they were freighted. These he wa.s to distribute among the colonists, under the supervision of VOL. ir. 3* 58 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. the admiral, or, in case of his absence, in presence of those in authority. He was also to collect information concerning the manner in which the island had been governed, the conduct of persons in office, the causes and authors of existing gx-ievances, and the measures by which they were to be remedied. Having collected such infoi-mation, he was to return and make report to the sovereigns ; but in case he should find the admiral at the island, every thing was to remain subject to his control. There was another measure adopted by the sovereigns about this time, which likewise shows the declining favor of Columbus. On the 10th of April, 1495, a proclamation was issued, giving general permission to native-born subjects to settle in the island of Hispaniola, and to go on private voyages of discovery and traffic to the New World. This was granted, subject to certain conditions. All vessels were to sail exclusively from the port of Cadiz, and under the inspection of officers appointed by the crown. Those who embarked for Hispaniola without pay, and at their own expense, were to have lands assigned to them, and to be pro- visioned for one year, with a right to retain such lands, and all houses they might erect upon them. Of all gold which they might collect, they Avere to retain one-third for themselves, and pay two-thirds to the crown. Of all other articles of merchan- dise, the produce of the island, they were to pay merely one- tenth to the crown. Their purchases were to be made in the presence of officers appointed by the sovereigns, and the royal duties paid into the hands of the king's receiver. Each ship sailing on private enterprise, was to take one or two persons named by the royal officers at Cadiz. One-tenth of the tonnage of the ship was to be at the service of the crown, Chap. VIII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 59 free of charge. One-tenth of whatever such ships should pro- cure in the newly-discovered countries, was to be paid to the croAvn on their I'eturn. These regulations included private ships trading to Ilispaniola with provisions. For every vessel thus fitted out on pi-ivate adventure, Colum- bus, in consideration of his pri\-ilege of an eighth of tonnage, was to have the right to freight one on his own account. This general license for voyages of discovery was made in consequence of the earnest applications of Vincent Yaiies Pinzon, and other able and intrepid navigators, most of whom had sailed with Columbus. They offered to make voyages at their own cost and hazard. The offer was tempting and well-timed. The government was poor, the expeditions of Columbus wei-e expen- sive, yet their object was too important to be neglected. Here was an opportunity of attaining all the ends proposed, not merely without expense, but with a certainty of gain. The permission, therefore, was granted, without consulting the opinion or the wishes of the admiral. It was loudly complained of by him, as an infringement of his privileges, and as disturbing the career of regi^ar and well-organized discovery, by the licentious and some- times predatory enterprises of reckless adventurers. Doubtless, much of the odium that has attached itself to the Spanish dis- coveries in the New World, has arisen from the grasping avidity of private individuals. Just at this juncture, in the early part of April, while the interests of Columbus were in such a critical situation, the ships commanded by Torres arrived in Spain. They brought intelli- gence of the safe return of the admiral to Hispaniola, from his voyage along the southern coast of Cuba, with the evidence which he had collected to prove that it was the extremity of the Asiatic 60 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF TBook VIII. continent, and that he had penetrated to the borders of the wealth- iest countries of the East. Specimens were Hkevvise brought of the gold, and the various animal and vegetable curiosities, Avhich he had procured in the course of his voyage. No arrival could have been more timely. It at once removed all doubts respecting his safety, and obviated the necessity of j)art of the precautionary measures then on the point of being taken. The supposed dis- covery of the rich coast of Asia, also, threw a temporary splendor about his expedition, and again awakened the gratitude of the sovereigns. The effect was immediately apparent in their mea- sures. Instead of leaving it to the discretion of Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca to appoint whom he pleased to the commission of inquii-y about to be sent out, they retracted that power, and nomi- nated Juan Aguado. He Avas chosen, because, on returning from Hispaniola, he had been strongly recommended to royal favor by Columbus. It was intended, therefore, as a mark of consideration to the latter, to appoint as commissioner a person of whom he had expressed so high an opinion, and who, it was to be presumed, entertained for him a grateful regard. ^ Fonseca, in virtue of his official station as superintendent of the affairs of the Indies, and probably to gratify his growing ani- mosity for Columbus, had detained a quantity of gold which Don Diego, brother to the admiral, had brought on his own private account. The sovereigns wrote to him repeatedly, oi'dering him not to demand the gold, or if he had seized it, to return it imme- diately, with satisfactory explanations, and to write to Columbus in terms calculated to soothe any angry feelings which he might have excited. He was ordered, also, to consult 'the persons recently arrived from Hispaniola, in Avhat manner he could yield Chap. VIII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 61 satisfaction to the admiral, and to act accordingly. Fonseca thus suffered one of the severest humiliations of an arrogant spirit, that of being obliged to make atonement for its aiTOgance. It quickened, however, the malice which he had conceived against the admiral and his family. Unfortunately his official situation, and tlie royal confidence which he enjoyed, gave liim oj^pox'tuni- ties of gratifying it subsequently in a thousand insidious ways. While the sovereigns thus endeavored to avoid any act which might, give umbrage to Columbus, they took certain measures to provide for the tranquillity of the colony. In a letter to the admiral, they directed that the number of persons in the settle- ment should be limited to five hundred, a greater number being considered unnecessaiy for the service of the island, and a bur- densome expense to the crown. To prevent further discontents about provisions, they ordered that the rations of individuals should be dealt out in portions every fifteen days ; and that all punishment by short allowance, or the stoppage of rations, should be discontinued, as tending to injure the health of the colonists, who required every assistance of nourishing diet, to fortify them against the maladies incident to a strange climate. An able and experienced metallurgist, named Pablo Belvis, was sent out in place of the wrong-headed Firmin Cedo. He was furnished with all the necessary engines and implements for mining, assaying, and purifying the precious metals, and Avith liberal pay and privileges. Ecclesiastics were also sent to supply the place of Friar Boyle, and of certain of his brethren, who desired to leave the island. The instruction and conversion of the natives awakened more and more the solicitude of the queen. In the ships of Torres a large number of Indians arrived, who had been captured in the recent wars with the caciques. Royal 62 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. orilers had been issued, that they should be sold as slaves in the markets of Andalusiix, as had been the custom with respect to negroes taken on the coast of Africa, and to Moorish prisoners captured in the war with Granada. Isabella, however, had been deeply interested by the accounts given of the gentle and hospi- table character of these islanders, and of their great docility. The discovery had been made under her immediate auspices ; she looked upon these people as under her peculiar care, and she anticipated, with pious enthusiasm, the glory of leading them, from darkness into the paths of light. Her compassionate spirit revolted at the idea of treating them as slaves, even though sanc- tioned by the customs of the time. Within five days after the royal order for the sale, a letter was written by the sovereigns to Bishop Fonseca, suspending that order, until they could inquire into the cause for which the Indians had been made prisoners, and consult learned and pious theologians, whether their sale would be justifiable in the eyes of God.* Much difference of opinion took place among divine?, on this important question ; the queen eventually decided it according to the dictates of her own pure conscience and charitable heart. She ordered that the Indians should be sent back to their native country, and enjoined that the islanders should be conciliated by the gentlest means, instead of being treated with severity. Unfortunately her orders came too late to Hispaniola, to have the desired effect. The scenes of warfai-e and violence, produced by the bad passions of the colonists and the vengeance of the natives, were not to be for- gotten, and mutual distrust and rankling animosity had grown up between them, which no after exertions could eradicate. * Letter of the Sovereigns to Fonseca. Navarrete, Colleccion de los ViageSj •- 11, Doc. 92. Ciur. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 63 CHAPTER IX. AKRIVAL OF AGUADO AT ISABELLA. HIS ARROGANT CON- DUCT. TEMPEST IN THE HARBOR. [1495.] Juan Aguado set sail from Spain towards the end of August, with four caravels, well freighted with supplies of all kinds. Don Diego Columbus returned in this squadron to Hispaniola, and arrived at Isabella in the month of October, while the admiral was absent, occupied in re-establishing the tranquillity of the inte- rior. Aguado, as has already been shown, was under obligations to Columbus, who had distinguished him from among his com-, panions, and had recommended him to the favor of the sovereigns. He was, however, one of those weak men, whose heads are turned by the least elevation. Puffed up by a little temporary power, he lost sight, not merely of the respect and gratitude due to Columbus, but of the nature and extent of his own commission. Instead of acting as an agent employed to collect information, he assumed a tone of authority, as though the reins of government had been transferred into his hands. He interfered in public affairs ; ordered various persons to be arrested ; called to account the officers employed by the admiral ; and paid no respect to Don Bartholomew Columbus, who remained in command during the absence of his brother. The Adelantado, astonished at this pre- 64 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII sumption, demanded a sight of the commission under which he acted ; but Aguado treated him witli great haughtiness, replying that he would show it only to the admiral. On second thoughts, however, lest there should be doubts in the public mind of his right to interfere in the affairs of the colony, he ordered his letter of credence from the sovereigns to be pompously proclaimed by sound of trumpet. It was brief but comprehensive, to the fol- lowing purport : — " Cavaliers, Esquires, and other persons, who by our orders are in the Indies, we send to you Juan Aguado, our groom of the chambers, who will speak to you on our part. We command you to give him faith and credit." The report now circulated, that the downftiU of Columbus and his family was at hand, and that an auditor had arrived, empow- ered to hear and to redress the grievances of the public. This rumor originated with Aguado himself, who threw out menaces of rigid investigations and signal punishments. It was a time of jubilee for offenders. Every culprit started up into an accuser ; every one who by negligence or crime had incurred the whole- some penalties of the laws, was loud in his clamors against the oppression of Columbus. There were ills enough in the colony, some incident to its situation, others produced by the misdeeds of the colonists, but all were asci'ibed to the mal-administration of the admiral. He was made i-esponsible alike for the evils pro- duced by others, and for his own stern remedies. All the old complaints were reiterated against him and his brothers, and the usual and illiberal cause given for their oppressions, that they were foreigners, who sought merely their own interest and aggran- dizement, at the expense of the sufferings and the indignities of Spaniards. Destitute of discrimination to perceive what was true and Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 65 what false in these complaints, and anxious only to condemn, Aguado saw in every thing conclusive testimony of the culpability of Columbus. He intimated, and perhaps thought, that the admi- ral was keeping at a distance from Isabella, thi'ough fear of en- countering his im'estigations. In the fullness of his presumption, he even set out with a body of horse to go in quest of him. A vain and weak man in power is prone to employ satellites of his own description. The aiTogant and boasting followers of Aguado, wherever they went, spread rumors among the natives of the might and importance of their chief, and of the punishment he intended to inflict upon Columbus. In a little while the report circulated through the island, that a new admiral had arrived to administer the government, and that the former one was to be put to death. The news of the arrival and of the insolent conduct of Aguado reached Columbus in the intei'ior of the island ; he immediately hastened to Isabella to give him a meeting. Aguado, hearing of his approach, also returned there. As every one knew the lofty spirit of Columbus, his high sense of his services, and his jealous maintenance of his official dignity, a violent explosion was antici- pated at the impending interview. Aguado also expected some- thing of the kind, but, secure in his royal letter of credence, he looked forward with the ignorant audacity of a little mind to the result. The sequel showed how difficult it is for petty spirits to anticipate the conduct of a man like Columbus in an extraordinary situation. His natural heat and impetuosity had been subdued by a life of trials; he had learned to bring his passions into subjec- tion to his judgment ; he had too true an estimate of his own dig- nity to enter into a contest with a shallow boaster like Aguado ; above all, he had a profound respect for the authority of his sov- 66 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. ereigns ; for in his entliusiastic spirit, prone to deep feelings of reve- rence, his loyalty was inferior only to his religion. lie received Aguado, therefore, with grave and punctilious courtesy; and re- torted upon him his own ostentatious ceremonial, ordering that the letter of credence should be again proclaimed by sound of trum- pet in presence of the populace. He listened to it with solemn deference, and assured Aguado of his readiness to acquiesce in whatever might be the pleasure of his sovereigns. This unexpected moderation, Avhile it astonished the beholders, foiled and disappointed Aguado. He had come prepared for a scene of altercation, and had hoped that Columbus, in the heat and impatience of the moment, would have said or done some- thing that might be construed into disrespect for the authority of the sovereigns. He endeavored, in fact, some months afterwards, to procure from the public notaries present, a prejudicial state- ment of the interview ; but the deference of the admiral for the royal letter of credence had been too marked to be disputed ; and all the testimonials were highly in his favor.* Aguado continued to intermeddle in public affairs, and the respect and forbearance with which he was uniformly treated by Columbus, and the mildness of the latter in all his measures to appease the discontents of the colony, were regarded as proofs of his loss of moral courage. He was looked upon as a declining man, and Aguado hailed as the lord of the ascendant. Eveiy dastard spirit who had any lurking ill-will, any real or imaginary cause of complaint, now hastened to give it utterance ; perceiving that, in gratifying his malice, he was promoting his interest, and that in vilifying the admiral he Avas gaining the friendship of Aguado. * Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. ii. cap. 18. Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 67 The poor Indians, too, liaras.sed by the domination of the white men, rejoiced in the prospect of a change of rulers ; vainly hoping that it might produce a mitigation of their sufferings. Many of the caciques who had promised allegiance to the admiral after their defeat in the Vega, now assembled at the house of Manicaotex, the brother of Caonabo, near the river Yagui, where they joined in a formal complaint against Columbus, whom they considered the cause of all the evils which had sprung from the disobedience and the vices of liis followers. Aguado now considered the great object of his mission ful- filled, lie had collected information sufficient, as he thought, to insure the ruin of the admiral and his brothers, and he prepared to i-eturn to Spain. Columbus resolved to do the same. He felt that it was time to appear at court, and dispel the cloud of calumny gathering against him. He had active enemies, of standing and influence, who were seeking every occasion to throw discredit upon himself and his enterprises ; and, stranger and foreigner as he was, he had no active friends at court to oppose their machinations. He feared that they might eventually produce an effect upon the royal mind, fatal to the progi'ess of discovery : he was anxious to return, therefore, and explain the real causes of the repeated dis- appointments with respect to profits anticipated from his enter- prises. It is not one of the least singular traits in this history, that after having been so many years in persuading mankind that there was a new world to be discovered, he had almost equal trouble in proving to them the advantage of its discovery. When the sliips were ready to depart, a terrible storm swept the island. It was one of those awful whirlwinds which occa- sionally rage ■svithin the tropics, and were called by the Indians " furicancs," or '• uricans," a name they still retain with trifling 68 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. variation. About mid-day a furious Avind sprang up from the east, driving before it dense volumes of cloud and vapor. En- countering another tempest of wind from the west, it appeared as if a violent conflict ensued. The clouds Avere rent by incessant flashes, or rather streams of lightning. At one time they were piled up high in the sky, at another they swept to the earth, filling the air with a baleful darkness more dismal than the obscu- rity of midnight. Wherever the Avhirlwind passed, whole tracts of forests were sliivered and stripped of their leaves and branches : those of gigantic size, Avhich resisted the blast, were torn up by the roots, and hurled to a great distance. Groves were rent from the mountain precipices, with vast masses of earth and rock, tumbling into the valleys with terrific noise, and choking the course of rivers. The fearful sounds in the air and on the earth, the pealing thunder, the vivid lightning, the howling of the Avind, the crash of falling trees and rocks, filled every one Avith affright ; and many thought that the end of the world was at hand. Some fled to caverns for safety, for their frail houses were bloAvn doAvn, and the air was filled A\ath the trunks and branches of trees, and even with fragments of rocks, carried along by the fury of the tempest. When the hurricane reached the harbor, it Avhirled the ships round as they lay at anchor, snapped their cables, and sank three of them with all Avho were on board. Others Avere driven about, dashed against each other, and tossed mere wrecks upon the shore by the swelling surges of the sea, Avhich in some places rolled for three or four miles upon the land. The tempest lasted for three hours. When it had passed away, and the sun again appeared, the Indians regarded each other in mute astonishment and dismay. Never in their memory, nor in the traditions of their ancestors, had their island been visited by such a storm. They believed Chap. IX.j CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. that the Deity liad sent this fearful ruin to punish the cruelties and crimes of the white men ; and declared that tliis people had moved the very air, the water, and the earth, to disturb their tranquil life, and to desolate their island.* * Ramusio, torn. iii. p. 7. Peter Martyr, decad. i. lib. r LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII. CHAPTER X. DISCOVERY OF THE MINES OF HAYNA. [1496.] In tlie recent hurricane, tlie four caravels of Aguado had been destroyed, together with two others wliich were in the harbor. The only vessel which survived was the Niiia, and that ui a very shattered condition. Columbus gave orders to have her immedi- ately repaired, and another cai'avel constructed out of the wreck of those which had been destroyed. Wliile waiting until they should be ready for sea, he Avas cheered by tidings of rich mines in the interior of the island, the discovery of which is attributed to an incident of a somewhat romantic nature.* A young Arra- gonian, named Miguel Diaz, in the service of the Adelantado, having a quarrel with another Spaniard, fought with him, and wounded him dangerously. Fearful of the consequences, he fled from the settlement, accompanied by five or six comrades, who had either been engaged in the affray, or were personally attached to him. Wandering about the island, they came to an Indian village on the southern coast, near the mouth of the river Ozema, where the city of San Domingo is at present situated. They were received with kindness by the natives, and resided for some * Oviedo, Cronica de los Indias, lib. ii. cap. 13. Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 71 time among them. The village was governed by a female ca- cique, Avho soon conceived a strong attachment for the young Arragonian. Diaz was not insensible to her tenderness, a con- nexion Avas formed between them, and they lived for some time very happily together. The recollection of his country and his friends began at length to steal upon the thouglits of the young Spaniard. It was a melancholy lot to be exiled from civilized life, and an outcast from among his countrymen. lie longed to return to the settlement, but dreaded the punishment that awaited him, from the austere justice of the Adelantado. His Indian bride, observing him fre- quently melancholy and lost in thought, penetrated the cause, with the quick intelligence of female affection. Fearful that he would abandon her, and return to his countrymen, she endeavored to devise some means of drawing the Spaniards to that part of the island. Knowing that gold was their sovereign attraction, she informed Diaz of certain rich mines in the neighborhood, and urged him to persuade his countrymen to abandon the compara- tively stei'il and unhealthy A^icinity of Isabella, and settle upon the fertile banks of the Ozema ; promising they should be re- ceived with the utmost kindness and hospitality by her nation. Struck with the suggestion, Diaz made particular inquiries about the mines, and was convinced that they abounded in gold. He noticed the superior fruitfulness and beauty of the country, the excellence of the river, and the security of the harbor at its entrance. He flattered himself that the communication of such valuable intelligence would make his peace at Isabella, and obtain his pardon from the Adelantado. Full of these hopes, he pro- cured guides from among the natives, and taking a temporary leave of his Indian bride, set out with his comrades through the 72 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII wilderness for the settlement, which was about fifty leagues dis- tant. Arriving there secretly, he learnt to his great joy, that the man whom he had wounded had recovered. He now presented himself boldly befoi'e the Adelantado, relying that his tidings would earn his forgiveness. He was not mistaken. No news could have come more opportunely. The admiral had been anx- ious to remove the settlement to a more healthy and advantageous situation. He was desirous also of carrying home some conclu- sive proof of the riches of the island, as the most efiectual means of silencing the cavils of his enemies. If the representations of Miguel Diaz were correct, here was a means of effecting both these purposes. Measures were immediately taken to ascertain tbe truth. The Adelantado set forth in person to visit the river Ozema, accompanied by Miguel Diaz, Francisco de Garay, and the Indian guides, and attended by a number of men well armed. They proceeded from Isabella to Magdalena, and thence across the Royal Vega to the fortress of Conception. Continuing on to the south, they came to a range of mountains, which they tra- versed by a defile two leagues in length, and descended into another beautiful plain, which was called Bonao. Proceeding hence for some distance, they came to a great river called Hayna, running through a fertile country, all the streams of which abounded in gold. On the western bank of this river, and about eight leagues from its mouth, they found gold in greater quantities and in larger particles than had yet been met with in any part of the island, not even excepting the province of Cibao. They made experiments in various places within the compass of six miles, and always with success. The soil seemed to be generally impregnated with that metal, so that a common laborer, with little trouble, might find the amount of three drachms in the course of THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 73 fice ; in a moment it was in a blaze, and the eight warriors perished in the flames. Seventy Indians were made captive and sent to the ships, and Ojeda, regardless of the remonstrances of Juan de la Cosa, con- tinued his rash pursuit of the fugitives through the forest. In the dusk of the evening they arrived at a village called Yurbaco ; the inhabitants of which had fled to the mountains with their wives and children and principal effects. The Spaniards, imagining that the Indians were completely terrified and dispersed, now roved in quest of booty among the deserted houses, which stood distant from each other, buried among the trees. While they were thus scattered, troops of savages rushed forth, with furious yells, from all parts of the forest. The Spaniards endeavored to gather together and support each other, but every little party were surrounded by a host of foes. They fought with desperate bravery, but for once their valor and their iron armor were of no avail ; they were overwhelmed by numbers, and sank beneath war clubs and poisoned arrows. Ojeda on the first alarm collected a few soldiers and ensconced himself witiiin a small inclosure, surrounded by palisades. Here he was closely besieged and galled by flights of arrows. He threw himself on his knees, covered himself with his buckler, and, being small and active, managed to protect himself from the deadly shower, but all his companions were slain by his side, some of them perishing in frightful agonies. At this fearful moment the veteran La Cosa, having heard of the peril of his commander, arrived with a few followers to his assistance. Stationing him- self at the gate of the palisades, the brave Biscayan kept the savages at bay until most of his men were slain, and he himself was severely wounded. Just then Ojeda sprang forth like a tiger VOL. III. 4 74 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF into the midst of the enemy, dealing his blows on every side. La Cosa would have seconded him, but was crippled by his wounds. He took refuse with the remnant of his men in an Indian cabin ; the straw roof of which he aided them to throw oiF, lest the enemy should set it on fire. Here he defended himself until all his comrades, but one, were destroyed. The subtle poison of his wounds at length overpowered him, and he sank to the ground. Feeling death at hand, he called to his only surviving companion. " Brother," said he, " since God hath protected thee from harm, sally forth and fly, and if ever thou shouldst see Alonzo de Ojeda, tell him of my fate !" Thus fell the hardy Juan de la Cosa, faithful and devoted to the very last; nor can we refrain from pausing to pay a passing tribute to his memory. He w^as acknowledged by his contempo- raries to be one of the ablest of those gallant Spanish navigators Avho first explored the way to the New "World. But it is by the honest and kindly qualities of his heart that his memory is most endeared to us ; it is, above all, by that loyalty in friendship dis- played in this liis last and fatal expedition. Warmed by his at- tachment for a more youthful and hot-headed adventurer, we see this wary veteran of the seas forgetting his usual prudence and the lessons of his experience, and embarking heart and hand, purse and person, in the wild enterprises of his favorite. We behold him watching over him as a parent, remonstrating with him as a counselor, but fighting by him as a partisan ; following him, without hesitation, into known and needless danger, to cer- tain death itself, and showing no other solicitude in his dying mo- ments, but to be remembered by his friend. The history of these Spanish discoverers abounds in noble and generous traits of character : but few have charmed us more THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 75 than this instance of loyalty to the last gasp, in the death of the stanch Juan de la Cosa. The Spaniard who escaped to tell the story of his end, was the only survivor of seventy that had fol- lowed Ojeda in this rash and headstrong inroad. CHAPTER IV. ARRIVAL OF NICUESA. VENGEANCE TAKEN ON THE INDIANS. "While these disastrous occurrences happened on shore, great alarm began to be felt on board of the ships. Days had elapsed since the party had adventured so rashly into the wilderness ; yet nothing had been seen or heard of them, and the forest spread a mystery over their fate. Some of the Spaniards ventured a little distance into the woods, but were deterred by the distant shouts and yells of the savages, and the noise of their conchs and drums. Armed detachments then coasted the shore in boats, landing occasionally, climbing rocks and promontories, firing signal guns, and sounding trumpets. It was all in vain ; they heard nothing but the echoes of their own noises, or perhaps the wild whoop of an Indian from the bosom of the forest. At length, when they were about to give up the search in despair, they came to a great thicket of mangrove trees on the margin of the sea. These trees grow within the water, but their roots rise, and are intertwined above the surface. In this entangled and almost im- pervious grove, they caught a glimpse of a man in Spanish attire. They entered, and, to their astonishment, found it to be Alonzo de Ojeda. He was lying on the matted roots of the mangroves, his buckler on his shoulder, and his sword in his hand ; but so 76 VOYA(iES AND DISCOVERIES OF wasted with hunger Jiiid latigiie that lie could not speak. They bore him to the firm land ; made; a fire on the shore to warm him, for he was chilled with the damp and cold of his hiding-place, and when he was a little revived they gave him food and wine. In this way he gradually recovered strength to tell his doleful story.* He had succeeded in cutting his way through the host of sava- ges, and attaining tlie woody skirts of the mountains ; but when he found himself alone, and that all his brave men had been cut off, he was ready to yield up in despair. Bitterly did he reproach himself for having disregarded the advice of the veteran La Cosa, and deeply did he deplore the loss of that loyal follower, who had fallen a victim to his devotion. He scarce knew which way to bend his course, but continued on, in the darkness of the night and of the forest, until out of hearing of the yells of triumph uttered by the savages over the bodies of his men. When the day broke, he sought the rudest parts of the mountains, and hid himself until the night ; then struggling forward among rocks, and precipices, and matted forests, he made his way to the sea- side, but was too much exhausted to reach the ships. Indeed il was wonderful that one so small of frame should have been able * The picture here given is so much like romance, that the author quotes his authority at length : — " Llegaron adonde havia, junto al agua de la mar, unos Manglares, que son arboles, que siempre nacen, i crecen i permanecen dientro del agua de la ma.', con grandes raices, asidas, i enmaraifiadas unas con otras, i alii metido, i escondido hallaron a Alonso de Ojeda, con su espada en la mano, i la rodela en las espaldas, i en alia sobre trecientas, seriales de flech- azos. Estabo descaido de hambre, que no podia hechar de si la habia ; i si no fiiera tan robusto, aunque chico de cuerpo, fuera muerto." Las Casas, lib. ii. cap. 58, MS. Herrera, Hist. Ind., d. i. lib. vii. cap. 15. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 77 to endure such great hardships ; but he wm of admirable strength and liardihood. His followers considered his escape from death as little less than miraculous, and he himself regarded it as another proof of the special protection of the Virgin ; for, though he had, as usual, received no wound, yet it is said his buckler bore the dints of upwards of tlu-ee hundred arrows.* AVhile the Spaniards were yet on the shore, administering to the recovery of their commander, they beheld a squadron of ships standing towards the harbor of Carthagena, and soon perceived them to be the ships of Nicuesa. Ojeda was troubled in mind at the sight, recollecting his late intemperate defiance of that cavalier ; and, reflecting that, should he seek him in enmity, he was in no situation to maintain his challenge or defend himself. He ordered his men, therefore, to retui-n on board the ships and leave him alone on the shore, and not to reveal the place of his retreat while Nicuesa should remain in the harbor. As the squadron entered the harboi", the boats sallied forth to meet it. The first inquiry of Nicuesa was concerning Ojeda. The followers of the latter replied, mournfully, that their com- mander had gone on a warlike expedition into the country, but days had elapsed without his return, so that they feared some misfortune had befallen him. They entreated Nicuesa, therefore, to give his word, as a cavalier, that should Ojeda really be in dis- tress, he would not take advantage of his misfortunes to revenge himself for their late disputes. Nicuesa, who was a gentleman of noble and generous spirit, blushed with indignation at such a request. " Seek your com- mander instantly ;" said he, " bring him to me if he be alive ; * Las Casas, lib ii. cap. 58, MS. Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. vii. cap. XV. 78 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF and I pledge myself not merely to forget the past, but to aid hira as if he were a brother."* "When they met, Nicuesa received his late foe with open ai'ms. " It is not," said he, " for hidalgos, like men of vulgar souls, to remember past differences when they behold one another in dis- tress. Henceforth let all that has occurred between us be forgot- ten. Command me as a brother. Myself and my men are at your orders, to follow you wherever you jilease, until the deaths of Juan de la Cosa and his comrades are revenged." The spirits of Ojeda were once more lifted up by this gallant and generous offer. The two governors, no longer rivals, landed four hundred of their men and several horses, and set off with all speed for the fatal village. They approached it in the night, and, dividing their forces into two parties, gave orders that not an Indian should be taken alive. The village was buried in deep sleep, but the woods were filled with large parrots, which, being awakened, made a prodi- gious clamor. The Indians, however, thinking the Spaniards all destroyed, paid no attention to these noises. It was not until their houses were assailed, and wrapped in flames, that they took the alarm. They rushed forth, some with arms, some weapon- less, but were received at their doors by the exasperated Span- iards, and either slain on the spot, or driven back into the fire. Women fled wildly forth with children in their arms, but at sight of the Spaniards glittering in steel, and of the horses, M'hich they supposed ravenous monsters, ran back, shrieking with hor- ror, into their burning habitations. Great was the carnage, for no quarter was shown to age or sex. Many perished by the fire, and many by the sword. * Las Casas, ubi sup. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 79 When they had fully glutted their vengeance, the Spaniards fanged about for booty. While thus employed, they found the body of the unfortunate Juan de la Cosa. It was tied to a tree, but swollen and discolored in a hideous manner by the poison of the arrows with which he had been slain. This dismal spectacle had such an effect upon the common men, that not one would remain in that place during the night. Having sacked the village, therefore, they left it a smoking ruin, and returned in triumph to their ships. The spoil in gold and other articles of value must have been great, for the share of Nicuesa and his men amounted to the value of seven thousand castillanos.* The two governors, now faithful confederates, parted with many expressions of friend- ship, and with mutual admiration of each other's prowess ; and Nicuesa continued his voyage for the coast of Veragua. CHAPTER V. OJEPA FOUNDS THE COLONY OF SAN SEBASTIAN. BELEA- GUERED BY THE INDIANS. Ojeda now adopted, though tardily, the advice of his unfortunate lieutenant, Juan de la Cosa, and, giving up all thoughts of colo- nizing this disastrous part of the coast, steered his course for the Gulf of Uraba. He sought for some time the river Darien, famed among the Indians as abounding in gold, but not finding it, landed in various places, seeking a favorable site for his intended colony. His people were disheartened by the disasters they had * Equivalent to 37^81 dollars of the present day. 80 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF already undergone, and the appearance of surrounding objects was not calculated to reassure them. The country, though fertile? and covered with rich and beautiful vegetation, was in their ' eyes a land of cannibals and monsters. They began to dread the strength as Avell as fierceness of the savages, who could transfix a man with their arrows even when covered with armor, and whose shafts were tipped with deadly poison. They heai'd the howlings of tigers, panthers, and, as they thought, lions in the forests, and encountered large and venomous serpents among the rocks and thickets. As they were passing along the banks of a river, one of their horses was seized by the leg by an enormous alligator, and dragged beneath the waves.* At length Ojeda fixed upon a place for his town, on a height at the east end of the gulf. Here, landing all that could be spared from the ships, he began, with all diligence, to erect houses, giving this embryo capital of his province the name of San Sebastian, in honor of that sainted martyr, who was slain by arrows; hoping he might protect the inhabitants from the impoi- soned shafts of the savages. As a further protection, he erected a large wooden fortress, and sorrounded the place with a stockade. Feeling, however, the inadequacy of his handful of men to con- tend with the hostile tribes around him, he dispatched a ship to Hispaniola, with a letter to the Bachelor, Martin Fernandez de Enciso, his alcalde mayor, informing him of his having estab- lished his seat of government, and urging him to lose no time in joining him with all the recruits, arms and provisions he could command. By the same ship he transmitted to San Domingo all the captives and gold he had collected. * Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. vii. cap. 16. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 81 His capital being placed in a posture of defence, Ojeda now thought of making a progress through his wild territory ; and set out, accordingly, with an armed band, to pay a friendly visit to a neighboring cacique, reputed as possessing great treasures of gold. The natives, however, had by this time learnt the nature of these friendly visits, and were prepared to resist them. Scarcely had the Spaniards entered into the defiles of the surrounding forest, ■when they were assailed by flights of arrows from the close coverts of (he thickets. Some were shot dead on the spot, others, less fortunate, expired raving with the torments of the poison ; the survivors, filled with horror at the sight, and losing all pres- ence of mind, retreated in confusion to the fortress. It was some time before Ojeda could again persuade his men to take the field, so great was their dread of the poisoned weapons of the Indians. At length their provisions began to fail, and they were compelled to forage among the villages in search, not of gold, but of food. In one of their expeditions they were surprised by an ambus- cade of savages, in a gorge of the mountains, and attacked with such fury and effect, that they were completely routed, and pur- sued with yells and bowlings to the very gates of San Sebastian. Many died, in excruciating agony, of their wounds, and others recovered with extreme difficulty. Those who were well, no longer dared to venture forth in search of food ; for the whole forest teemed with lurking foes. They devoured such herbs and roots as they could find, without regard to their quality. The humors of their bodies became coi'rupted, and various diseases, combined with the ravages of famine, daily thinned their num- bers. The sentinel who feebly mounted guard at night, was often found dead at his post in the morning. Some stretched VOL. III. 4* VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF themselves on the ground and expired of mere famine and debil- ity ; nor was death any longer regarded as an evil, but rather as a welcome relief from a life of horror and despair. CHAPTER VI. ALONZO DE OJEDA SUPPOSED BY THE SAVAGES TO HAVE A CHARMED LIFE. THEIR EXPERIMENT TO TRY THE FACT. In the meantime the Indians continued to harass the garrison, lying in wait to surprise the foraging parties, cutting off all strag- glers, and sometimes approaching the walls in open defiance. On such occasions Ojeda sallied forth at the head of his men, and from his great agility was the first to overtake the retreating foe. He slew more of their warriors with his single arm than all his followers together. Though often exposed to showers of arrows, none had ever wounded him, and the Indians began to think he had a charmed life. Perhaps they had heard from fugitive pris- oners, the idea entertained by himself and his followers of his being under supernatural protection. Determined to ascertain the fact, they placed four of their most dextrous archers in am- bush with orders to single him out. A number of them advanced towards the fort sounding their conchs and drums, and uttering yells of defiance. As they expected, the impetuous Ojeda sallied forth immediately at the head of his men. The Indians fled towards the ambuscade, drawing him in heedless pursuit. The archers waited until he was full in front, and then launched their deadly shafts. Three struck his buckler and glanced harmlessly THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 83 off, but the fourth pierced his thigh. Satisfied that he was wounded beyond the possibility of cure, the savages retreated with shouts of triumph. Ojeda was borne back to the fortress in great anguish of body and despondency of spirit. For the first time in his life he had lost blood in battle. The charm in which he had hitherto con- fided was broken ; or rather, the Holy Virgin appeared to have withdrawn her protection. He had the horrible death of his fol- lowers before his eyes, who had perished of their wounds in raving frenzy. One of the symptoms of the poison was to shoot a thrilling chill through the wounded part ; from this circumstance, perhaps, a remedy suggested itself to the imagination of Ojeda, which few but himself could have had the courage to undergo. He caused two plates of iron to be made red hot, and ordered a surgeon to apply them to each orifice of the wound. The surgeon shuddered and refused, saying he would not be the murderer of his general.* Upon this Ojeda made a solemn vow that he would hang him un- less he obeyed. To avoid the gallows, the surgeon applied the glowing plates. Ojeda refused to be tied down, or that any one should hold him during this frightful opei'ation. He endured it without shrinking or uttering a murmur, although it so inflamed his whole system, that they had to wrap him in sheets steeped in vinegar, to allay the burning heat which raged throughout his body ; and we are assured that a barrel of vinegar was exhausted for the purpose. The desperate remedy succeeded : the cold poison, says Bishop Las Casas, was consumed by the vivid fire.t How far the venerable historian is correct in his postulate, sur- * Charlevoix, ut sup. p. 293. t Las Casas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 59, MS 84 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF geons may decide ; but many incredulous persons will be apt to account for the cure by surmising that the arrow was not en- venomed. CHAPTER VII. ARRIVAL OF A STRANGE SHIP AT SAN SEBASTIAN. Alonzo de Ojeda, though pronounced out of danger, was still disabled by his wound, and his helpless situation completed the despair of his companions ; for while he was in health and vigor, his buoyant and mercurial spirit, his active, restless, and enter- prising habits, imparted animation, if not confidence, to every one around him. The only hope of relief was from the sea, and that was nearly extinct, when one day, to the unspeakable joy of the Spaniards, a sail appeared on the horizon. It made for the port and dropped anchor at the foot of the height of San Sebastian, and there was no longer a doubt that it was the promised succor from San Domingo. The ship came indeed from the island of Hispaniola, but it had not been fitted out by tlie Bachelor Enciso. The command- er's name was Bernardino de Talavera. This man was one of the loose heedless adventurers who abounded in San Domingo. His carelessness and extravagance had involved him in debt, and he was threatened with a prison. In the height of his difficulties the ship arrived which Ojeda had sent to San Domingo, freighted with slaves and gold, an earnest of the riches to be found at San Sebastian. Bernardo de Talavera immediately conceived the project of giving his creditors tlie slip, and escaping to this new THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 85 settlement. He understood that Ojeda was in need of recruits, and felt assui'ed that, from his own i-eckless conduct in money matters, he would sympathize with any one harassed by debt. He drew into his schemes a number of desperate debtors like him- self, nor was he scrupulous about filling up his ranks with recruits ■whose legal embarrassments arose from more criminal causes. Never did a more vagabond crew engage in a project of colo- nization. How to provide themselves with a vessel was now the ques- tion. They had neither money nor credit ; but they had cunning and courage, and were troubled by no scruples of conscience; thus qualified, a knave will often succeed better for a time than an honest man ; it is in the long run that he fails, as will be illus- trated in the case of Talavera and his hopeful associates, "\yiiile casting about for means to escape to San Sebastian, they heard of a vessel belonging to certain Genoese, which was at Cape Tiburon, at the western extremity of the island, taking in a cargo of bacon and cassava bread for San Domingo. Nothing could Lave happened more opportunely : here was a ship, amply stored with provisions, and ready to their hand ; they had nothing to do but seize it and embark. The gang, accordingly, seventy in number, made their way separately and secretly to Cape Tiburon, where, assembling at an appointed time and place, they boarded the vessel, overpow- ered the crew, weighed anchor and set sail. They were heedless, hap-hazard mariners, and knew little of the management of a vessel ; the historian Charlevoix thinks, therefore, that it was a special providence which guided them to San Sebastian. Whe- ther or not the good father is right in his opinion, it is certain 86 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF that the arrival of the ship rescued the garrison from the very brink of destruction.* Talavera and his gang, though they had come lightly by their prize, Avere not disposed to part with it as frankly, but demanded to be paid down in gold for the provisions furnished to the starving colonists. Ojeda agreed to their terms, and taking the supplies into his possession, dealt them out sparingly to his com- panions. Several of his hungry followers were dissatisfied with their portions, and even accused Ojeda of unfairness in reserving an undue share for himself. Perhaps there may have been some ground for this charge, arising, not from any selfishness in the character of Ojeda, but from one of those superstitious fancies with which his mind was tinged ; for we are told that, for many years, he had been haunted by a presentiment that he should eventually die of hunger.! This lurking horror of the mind may have made him depart from his usual free and lavish spirit in doling out these providen- tial supplies, and may have induced him to set by an extra por- tion for himself, as a precaution against his anticipated fate ; cer- tain it is, that great clamors rose among his people, some of whom threatened to return in the pirate vessel to Hispaniola. He suc- ceeded, however, in pacifying them for the present, by represent- ing the necessity of husbanding their supplies, and by assuring them that the Bachelor Enciso could not fail soon to arrive, when there would be provisions in abundance. * Hist. S. Domingo, lib. iv. t Herrera, decad. i. lib. viii. cap. 3. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 87 CHAPTER VIII. TACTIONS IN THE COLONY. A CONVENTION MADE. Days and days elapsed, but no relief an-ived at San Sebastian. The Spaniards kept a ceaseless watch upon the sea, but the pro- mised ship failed to appeal*. With all the husbandry of Ojeda the stock of provisions was nearly consumed; famine again pre- vailed, and several of the garrison perished through their various sufferings and their lack of sufficient nourishment. The survivors now became factious in their misery, and a plot was formed among them to seize upon one of the vessels in the harbor and make sail for Hispaniola. Ojeda discovered their intentions, and was reduced to great perplexity. He saw that to remain here without I'elief fi'om abroad was certain destruction, yet he clung to his desperate en- terprise. It was his only chance for fortune or command ; for should this settlement be broken up, he might try in vain, with his exhausted means and broken credit, to obtain another post or set on foot another expedition. Ruin in fact would overwhelm him, should he return without success. He exerted himself, therefore, to the utmost to pacify his men ; representing the folly of abandoning a place where they had established a foothold, and where they only needed a reinforce- ment to enable them to control the surrounding country, and to make themselves masters of its riches. Finding they still demur- red, he offered, now that he was sufficiently recovered from his wound, to go himself to San Domingo in quest of reinforcements and supplies. VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF This offer had the desired effect. Such confidence had the people in the energy, ability, and influence of Ojeda, that they felt assured of relief should he seek it in person. They made a kind of convention with him, therefore, in which it was agreed that they should remain quietly at Sebastian's for the space of fifty days. At the end of this time, in case no tidings had been received of Ojeda, they were to be at liberty to abandon the set- tlement and return in the brigantines to Hispaniola. In the meantime Francisco Pizarro was to command the colony as Lieu- tenant of Ojeda, until the arrival of his alcalde mayor, the Bachelor Enciso. This convention being made, Ojeda embarked in the ship of Bernardino de Talavera. That cutpurse of the ocean and liis loose-handed crew were effectually cured of their ambition to colonize. Disappointed in the hope of finding abun- dant wealth at San Sebastian, and dismayed at the perils and hor- rors of the surrounding wilderness, they preferred returning to Hispaniola, even at the risk of chains and dungeons. Doubtless they thought that the influence of Ojeda Avould be sufficient to obtain their pardon, especially as their timely succor had been the salvation of the colony. CHAPTEK IX. DISASTROUS VOYAGE OF OJEDA IN THE PIRATE SHIP. Ojeda had scarce put to sea in the ship of these freebooters, when a quarrel arose between him and Talavera. Accustomed to take the lead among his companions, still feeling himself gover- nor, and naturally of a domineering spirit, Ojeda, on coming on THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 89 board, had assumed the command as a matter of course. Tala- vera, who claimed dominion over the ship, by the right no doubt of trover and conversion, or, in other words, of downright piracy, resisted this usurpation. Ojeda, as usual, would speedily have settled the question by the sword, but he had the whole vagabond crew against him, who overpowered him with numbers and threw him in irons. Still his swelling spirit was unsubdued. He reviled Talavera and his gang as recreants, traitors, pirates, and offered to fight the whole of them successively, provided they would give him a clear deck, and come on two at a time. Notwithstanding his diminutive size, they had too high an idea of his prowess, and had heard too much of his exploits, to accept his challenge ; so they kept him raging in his chains while they pursued their voyage. They had not proceeded fai", however, when a violent stoi'm arose. Talavera and his crew knew little of navigation, and were totally ignorant of those seas. The raging of the elements, the baffling winds and currents, and the danger of unknown rocks and shoals, filled them with confusion and alarm. They knew not whither they were driving before the storm, or whei'e to seek for shelter. In this hour of peril they called to mind that Ojeda was a sailor as well as a soldier, and that he had repeatedly navigated these seas. Making a truce, therefore, for the common safety, they took off his irons, on condition that he would pilot the vessel during the remainder of the voyage. Ojeda acquitted himself with his accustomed spirit and intre- pidity ; but the vessel had already been swept so far to the west- Avard that all his skill was ineffectual in endeavoring to work up to Hispaniola agains^storms and adverse currents. Borne away by the Gulf Stream, and tempest-tost for many days, until the 90 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF shattered vessel was almost in a foundering condition, he saw no alternative but to run it ashore on the soutliern coast of Cuba. Here then the crew of freebooters landed from their prize in more desperate plight than when they first took possession of it. They were on a wild and unfrequented coast ; their vessel lay a wreck upon the sands, and their only chance was to travel on foot to the eastern extremity of the island, and seek some means of crossing to Hispaniola, where, after all their toils, they might perhaps only arrive to be thrown into a dungeon. Such, however, is the yearning of civilized men after the haunts of cultivated society, that they set out, at every risk, upon their long and pain- ful journey. CHAPTER X. TOILSOME MARCH OF OJEDA AND HIS COMPANIONS THROUGH THE MORASSES OF CUBA. Notwithstanding the recent services of Ojeda, the crew of Talavera still regarded him with hostility ; but, if they had felt the value of his skill and courage at sea, they were no less sensi- ble of their importance on shore, and he soon acquired that ascendency over them which belongs to a master-spirit in time of trouble. Cuba was as yet uncolonized. It was a place of refuge to the unhappy natives of Hayti, who fled hither from the whips and chains of their European taskmasters. The forests abounded with these wretched fugitives, who often opposed themselves tc THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 91 the shipwrecked party, supposing them to be sent by their late masters to drag them back to captivity. Ojeda easily repulsed these attacks ; but found that these fugitives had likewise inspired the villagers with hostility to all European strangers. Seeing that his companions were too feeble and disheartened to tight their way through the populous parts of the island, or to climb the rugged mountains of the interior, he avoided all towns and villages, and led them through the close forests and broad green savannas which extended between the mountains and the sea. He had only made a choice of evils. The forests gradually retired from the coast. The savannas, where the Spaniards at first had to contend merely with long rank grass and creeping vines, soon ended in salt marshes, where the oozy bottom yielded no firm foothold, and the mud and water reached to their knees. Still they pressed forwai-d, continually hoping in a little while to arrive at a firmer soil, and flattering themselves they beheld fresh meadow-land before them, but continually deceived. The farther they proceeded, the deeper grew the mire, until, after they had been eight days on this dismal journey, they found themselves in the centre of a vast morass, where the water reached to their girdles. Though thus almost drowned, they were tor- mented with incessant thirst, for all the water around them was as briny as the ocean. They suffered too the cravings of extreme hunger, having but a scanty supply of cassava bread and cheese, and a few potatoes and other roots, which they devoured raw. When they wished to sleep, they had to climb among the twisted roots of mangrove trees, which grew in clusters in the water. Still the di'eary mai'sh widened and deepened. In many places they had to cross rivers and inlets ; where some, who could 92 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF not swim, were drowned, and others were smothered in the mire. Tlieir situation became wild and desperate. Their cassava bread was spoiled by the water, and their stock of i"oots nearly exhausted. The interminable morass still extended b'efore them, Avhile, to return, after the distance they had come, was hopeless. Ojeda alone kept up a resolute spirit, and cheered and urged them forward. He had the little Flemish painting of the Madona, which had been given him by the Bishop Fonseca, carefully stoi-ed among the provisions in his knapsack. Whenever he stopped to repose among the roots of the mangrove trees, he took out this picture, placed it among the branches, and kneeling, prayed devoutly to the Virgin for protection. This he did repeatedly in the course of the day, and prevailed u{>on his com- panions to follow his example. Nay, more, at a moment of great despondency, he made a solemn vow to his patroness that if she conducted liim alive through this peril, he would erect a chapel in the first Indian village he should arrive at ; and leave her pic- ture there, to remain an object of adoration to the Gentiles.* This frightful morass extended for the distance of thirty leagues, and was so deep and difficult, so entangled by roots and creeping vines, so cut up by creeks and rivers, and so beset by quagmires, that they Avere thirty days in traversing it. Out of the number of seventy men that set out from the ship but thirty- five remained. " Certain it is," obsei'ves the venerable Las Casas, " the sufferings of the Spaniards in the New "World, in search of wealth, have been more cruel and severe than ever nation in the world endured ; but those experienced by Ojeda and his men have surpassed all others." * Las Cc-sas, Hist. Ind., lib. ii. cap. 60, MS. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 93 They were at length so overcome by hunger and fatigue, that some lay down and yielded up the ghost, and others, seating themselves among the mangrove trees, waited in despair for death to put an end to their miseries. Ojeda, with a few of the ligiitest, and most vigorous, continued to struggle forward, and, to their unutterable joy, at length arrived to where the land was firm and dry. They soon descried a footpath, and, following it, arrived at an Indian village, commanded by a cacique called Cueybas. No sooner did they reach the village than they sank to the earth exhausted. The Indians gathered round and gazed at them with wonder ; but when they learnt their story, they exhibited a humanity that would have done honor to the most professing Christians. They bore them to their dwellings, set meat and drink before them, and vied with each other in discharging the offices of the kindest, humanity. Finding that a number of their companions were still in the morass, the cacique sent a large party of Indians with provisions for their relief; with orders to bring on their shoulders such as were too feeble to walk. " The Indians," says the Bishop Las Casas, " did moi'e than they were ordered ; for so they always do, when they are not exasperated by ill treatment. The Spaniards were brought to the village, succored, cherished, consoled, and almost worshiped as if they had been angels." 94 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF CHAPTER XL OJEDA PERFORMS HIS VOW TO THE VIRGIN. Being recovered from his sufferings, Alonzo de Ojeda prepared to perform his vow concerning the picture of the Virgin, though sorely must it have grieved him to part with a relic to which he attributed his deliverance from so many perils. He built a little hermitage or oratory in the village, and furnished it with an altar, above which he placed the picture. He then summoned the benevolent cacique, and explained to him, as well as his limited knowledge of the language, or the aid of interpreters would permit, the main points of the Catholic faith, and especially the history of the Virgin, whom he represented as the mother of the deity that reigned in the skies, and the great advocate for mortal man. The worthy cacique listened to him with mute attention, and though he might not clearly comprehend the doctrine, yet he conceived a profound veneration for the picture. The sentiment was shared by his subjects. They kept the little oratory always swept clean, and decorated it with cotton hangings, labored by their own hands, and with various votive offerings. They com- posed couplets or areytos in honor of the Virgin, which they sang to the accompaniment of rude musical instruments, dancing to the sound under the groves which surrounded the hermitage. A further anecdote concerning this relic may not be unaccept- able. The venerable Las Casas, who records'these facts, informs us that he arrived at the village of Cueybas some time after the THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 95 departui'e of Ojeda. He found the oratory preserved with the most religious care, as a sacred place, and the picture of the Vir- gin regarded with fond adoration. The poor Indians crowded to attend mass, which he performed at the altar ; they listened at- tentively to his paternal instructions, and at his request brought their children to be baptized. The good Las Casas having heard much of this famous relic of Ojeda, was desirous of obtaining possession of it, and offered to give the cacique, in exchange, an image of the Virgin which he had brought with him. The chief- tain made an evasive answer, and seemed much troubled in mind. The next morning he did not make his appearance. Las Casas went to the oratory to perform mass, but found the altar stripped of its precious relic. On inquiring, he learnt that in the night the cacique had fled to the Avoods, bearing off with him his beloved pictui-e of the Virgin. It was in vain that Las Casas sent messengers after him, assuring him that he should not be deprived of the relic, but, on the contrary, that the image should likewise be presented to him. The cacique refused to venture from the fastnesses of the forest, nor did he return to his village and replace the picture in the oratory until after the de- parture of the Spaniards.* * Las Casas, Hist. Ind. cap. 61, MS. Herrera, Hist. Ind. decad. i. lib. Ix. ;ap. 15. 96 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF CHAPTER XII. ARRIVAL OP OJEDA AT JAMAICA. HIS RECEPTION BY JDAN DE ESQUIBEL. "When the Spaniards were compleicly restored to healtli and strength, they resumed their journey. The cacique sent a large body of his subjects to carry their provisions and knapsacks, and to guide them across a desert tract of country to the province of Macaca, where Christopher Columbus had been hospitably enter- tained on his voyage along the coast. They experienced equal kindness from its cacique and his people, for such seems almost invariably the case with the natives of these islands, before they had held much intercourse with Europeans. The province of Macaca was situated at Cape de la Cruz, the nearest point to the island of Jamaica. Here Ojeda learnt that there were Spaniards settled on that island, being in fact the party commanded by the very Juan de Esquibel, whose head he had threatened to strike off, when departing in swelling style from San Domingo. It seemed to be the fortune of Ojeda to hare his bravadoes visited on his head in times of trouble and humiliation. He found himself compelled to apply for succor to the very man he had so vaingloriously menaced. This was no time, however, to stand on points of pride ; he procured a canoe and Indians from the cacique of Macaca, and one Pedro de Ordas undertook the perilous voyage of twenty leagues in the frail bark, and arrived safe at Jamaica. No sooner did Esquibel receive the message of Ojeda, than, ibrgetting past menaces, he instantly dispatched a caravel to bi-ing THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 97 to him the unfortunate discoverer and his companions. He re- ceived him with the utmost kindness, lodged him in his own house, and treated him in all things with the most delicate attention. He was a gentleman who had seen prosperous days, but had fallen into adversity and been buifeted about the world, and had learnt how to respect the feel'uigs of a proud spirit in distress. Ojeda had the warm, touchy heart to feel such conduct ; he remained several days with Esquibel in frank communion, and when he sailed for San Domingo they parted the best of friends. And here we cannot but remark, the singular difference in character and conduct of these Spanish adventurei's when dealing with each other, or with the unhappy natives. Nothing could be more chivalrous, urbane, and charitable ; nothing more pregnant with noble sacrifices of passion ,'uid interest, with magnanimous instances of forgiveness of ijijuries and noble contests of gener- osity, than the transactions of the discoverers with each other ; but the moment they turned to treat with the Indians, even with brave and high-minded caciques, they were vindictive, blood- thii'sty, and implacable. The very Juan de Esquibel, who could requite the recent hostility of Ojeda with such humanity and friendship, was the same, who, under the government of Ovando, laid desolate the province of Higuey in Hispaniola, and inflicted atrocious cruelties upon its inhabitants. "When Alonzo de Ojeda set sail for San Domingo, Bernaldino de Talavera and his rabble adherents remained at Jamaica. They feared to be brought to account for their piratical exploit in stealing the Genoese vessel, and that, in consequence of their re- cent violence to Ojeda, they would find in him an accuser rather than an advocate. The latter, however, in the opinion of Las Casas, who knew him well, was not a man to make accusations. VOL. in. 5 38 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF With all his fauUs he did not liarbor malice. He was quick and fiery, it is true, and liis sword was too apt to leap from its scab- bard on the least provocation ; but after tlie first flash all was over, and, if he cooled upon an injury, he never sought for ven";eance. CHAPTER Xni. ARRIVAL OF ALONZO DE OJEDA AT SAN DOMINGO. CONCLU- SION OF HIS STORY. On arriving at San Domingo, the first inquiry of Alonzo de Ojeda was after the Bachelor Enciso. He was told that he had departed long before, with abundant supplies for the colony, and that nothing had been heard of him since his departure. Ojeda waited for a time in hopes of hearing, by some return ship, of the safe arrival of the Bachelor at San Sebastian. No tidings, howevei", arrived, and he began to fear that he had been lost in those storms which had beset himself on his return voyage. Anxious for the relief of his settlement, and fearing tUat, by delay, his whole scheme of colonization would be defeated, he now endeavored to set on foot another armament, and to enlist a new set of adventurers. His efforts, however, were all ineffectual. The disasters of his colony were known, and his own circumstan- ces were considered desperate. He was doomed to experience the fate that too often attends sanguine and brilliant projectors. The world is dazzled by them for a time, and hails them as he- roes while successful ; but misfortune dissipates the charm, and they become stigmatized with the appellation of adventurers. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 99 When Ojeda figured in San Domingo as the conqueror of Cao- nabo, as the commander of a squadron, as tlie governor of a province, his prowess and exploits were the theme of every tongue. "When he set sail, in vaunting style, for his seat of go- vernment, setting the viceroy at defiance, and threatening the life of Esquibel, every one thought that fortune was at his beck, and he was about to accomplish wonders. A few months had elapsed, and he walked the streets of San Domingo a needy man, ship- wrecked in hope and fortune. His former friends, dreading some new demand upon their purses, looked coldly on him ; his schemes, once so extolled, were now pronounced wild and chimerical, and he was subjected to all kinds of slights and humiliations in the very place which had been the scene of his greatest vainglory. While Ojeda was thus lingering at San Domingo, the admiral, Don Diego Columbus, sent a party of soldiers to Jamaica to ar- rest Talavera and his pirate crew. They were brought in chains to San Domingo, thrown into dungeons, and tried for the robbery of the Genoese vessel. Their crime was too notorious to admit of doubt, and being convicted, Talavera and several of his prin- cipal accomplices were hanged. Such was the end of their fright- ful journey by sea and land. Never had vagabonds traveled farther nor toiled harder to arrive at a gallows ! In the course of the trial Ojeda had naturally been summoned as a witness, and his testimony must have tended greatly to the conviction of the culprits. This drew upon him the vengeance of the surviving comrades of Talavera, who still lurked about San Domingo. As he was returning home one niglit at a late hour, he was waylaid and set upon by a number of these miscre- ants. He displayed his usual spirit. Setting his back against a wall, and drawing his sword, he defended himself admirably 100 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF against the whole gang ; nor was he content with beating them off, but pursued them for some distance through the streets : and having thus put them to utter rout, returned tranquil and un- harmed to his lodgings. This is the last achievement recorded of the gallant but reck- less Ojeda ; for here his bustling career terminated, and he sank into the obscurity which gathers round a ruined man. His health was broken by various hardships and by the lurking effects of the wound received at San Sebastian, which had been but imperfectly cured. Poverty and neglect, and the corroding sickness of the heart, contributed, no less than the maladies of the body, to quench that sanguine and fiery temper, which had hitherto been the secret of his success, and to render him the mere wreck of his former self; for there is no ruin so hopeless and complete, as that of a towering spirit humiliated and broken down. He appears to have lingered some time at San Domingo. Gomara, in his history of the Indies, affirms that he turned monk, and entered in the convent at San Francisco, where he died. Such a change would not have been surprising in a man, who, in his wildest career, mingled the bigot with the soldier ; nor was it unusual with military adventurers in those days, after passing their youth in the bustle and licentiousness of the camp, to end their days in the quiet and mortification of the cloister. Las Casas, however, who was at San Domingo at the time, makes no mention of the fact, as he certainly Avould have done, had it taken place. He confirms, however, all that has been said of the striking reverse in his character and circumstances ; and he adds an affecting pic- ture of his last moments, which may serve as a wholesome com- ment on his life. He died so poor that he did not leave money enough to provide for his interment ; and so broken in spirit, that. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. lOl with liis last breath, he entreated his body miglit be buried in the monastery of San Francisco, just at the portal, in humble expia- tion of his past pride, " that every one who entered might tread upon his grave."* Such was the fate of Alonzo de Ojeda, — and Avho does not forget his errors and his faults at the threshold of his humble and untimely grave ! He Avas one of the most fearless and as- piring of the band of " Ocean chivalry " that followed the foot- steps of Columbus. His story presents a lively picture of the daring enterprises, the extravagant exploits, the thousand acci- dents, by flood and field, which checkered the life of a Spanish cavalier in that roving and romantic ajje. " Never," says Charlevoix, " was a man more suited for a coup-de-main, or to achieve and suffer great things under the direction of another ; none had a heart more lofty, nor ambition more aspiring ; none ever took less heed of fortune, nor showed greater fix-mness of soul, nor found more resources in his own courage ; but none was less calculated to be commander-in-chief of a great enterprise. Good management and good fortune for ever failed him."t * Las Casas, ubi sup. t Charlevoix, Hist. San Domingo. 108. VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF THE VOYAGE OF DIEGO DE NICUESA. CHAPTER I. NICUESA SAILS TO THE WESTWARD. HIS SHIPWRECK AND SUBSEQUENT DISASTERS. We have now to recount the fortunes experienced by the gallant and generous Diego de Nicuesa, after his parting from Alonzo de Ojeda at Carthagena. On resuming his voyage, he embai-ked in a caravel, that he might be able to coast the land and reconnoitre ; he ordered that the two brigantines, one of which was commanded by his Lieutenant Lope de Olano, should keep near to him, while the large vessels, which drew more water, should stand further out to sea. The squadron arrived upon the coast of Veragua, in stormy weather ; and, as Nicuesa could not find any safe harbor, and was apprehensive of rocks and shoals, he stood out to sea at the approach of night, supposing that Lope de Olano would fol- low him with the brigantines according to his orders. The night was boisterous, the caravel was much tossed and driven about, and when the morning dawned, not one of the squadron was in sight. Nicuesa feared some accident had befallen the brigantines ; he stood for the land, and coasted abng it in search of them until he came to a large river, into which he entered and came to anchor. He had not been here long when the stream suddenly THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 103 subsided, having merely been swollen by the rains. Before he had time to extricate himself, the caravel grounded, and at length fell over on one side. The current rushing like a torrent strained the feeble bark to such a degree, that her seams yawned and she appeared ready to go to pieces. In this moment of peril a hardy seaman threw himself into the water to carry the end of a rope on shore as a means of saving the crew. He was swept away by the furious current and perished in the sight of his companions. Undismayed by his fate, another brave seaman plunged into the waves and succeeded in reaching the shore. He then fastened one end of a rope firmly to a tree, and the other being secured on board of the caravel, Nicuesa and his crew passed one by one along it, and reached the shore in safety. Scarcely had they landed when the caravel went to pieces, and with it perished their provisions, clothing, and all other ne- cessaries. Nothing remained to them but the boat of the caravel, which was accidentally cast on shore. Here then they were, in helpless plight, on a remote and savage coast, without food, with- out arms, and almost naked. What had become of the rest of the squadron they knew not. Some feared that the brigantines had been wrecked ; others called to mind that Lope de Olano had been one of the loose lawless men confederated with Fran- cisco Roldan in his rebellion against Columbus, and, judging him from the school in which he had served, hinted their apprehen- sions that he had deserted with the brigantines. Nicuesa partook of their suspicions, and Avas anxious and sad at heart. He con- cealed his uneasiness, however, and endeavored to cheer up his companions, proposing that they should proceed westward on foot in search of Veragua, the seat of his intended government ; observing that, if the ships had survived the tempest, they would 104 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF probably repair to that place. They accordingly set off along the sea-shore, for the thickness of the forest prevented their traversing the interior. Four of the hardiest sailors put to sea in the boat and kept abreast of them, to help them across the bays and rivers. i?heir sufferings were extreme. Most of them were destitute of shoes, and many almost naked. They had to clamber over sharp and rugged rocks, and to struggle through dense forests beset with thorns and brambles. Often they had to wade across rank fens and morasses and drowned lands, or to traverse deep and rapid streams. Their food consisted of herbs and roots and shell-fish gathered along the shore. Had they even met with Indians, they would have dreaded, in their unarmed state, to apply to them for provi- sions, lest they should take revenge for the outrages committed along this coast by other Europeans. To render their sufferings more intolerable, they were in doubt whether, in the storms wliich preceded their shipwreck, they had not been driven past Veragua, in which case each step would take them so much the farther from their desired haven. Still they labored feebly forward, encouraged by the words and the example of Nicuesa, who cheerfully partook of the toils and hardships of the meanest of his men. They had slept one night at the foot of impending rocks and were about to resume their weary march in the morning, when they were espied by some Indians from a neighboring height. Among the followers of Nicuesa was a favorite page, whose tat- tered finery and white hat caught the quick eyes of the savages. One of them immediately singled him out, and taking deadly aim, 1( t fly an arrow that laid him expiring at the feet of liis master- THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 105 While the generous cavalier mourned over his slaughtered page, consternation prevailed among his companions, each fearing for his own life. The Indians, however, did not follow up this casual act of hostility, but suffered the Spaniards to pursue their painful journey unmolested. Arriving one day at the point of a great bay that ran far in- land, they were conveyed, a few at a time, in the boat, to what appeared to be the opposite point. Being all landed, and re- suming their march, they found to their surprise that they were on an island, separated from the main-land by a great arm of the sea. The sailors who managed the boat were too weary to take them to the opposite shore, they remained therefore all night upon the island. In the morning they prepared to depart, but, to their conster- nation, the boat with the four mariners had disappeared. They ran anxiously from point to point, uttering shouts and cries, in hopes the boat might be in some inlet ; they clambered the rocks and strained their eyes over the sea. It was all in vain. No boat was to be seen : no voice responded to their call ; it was too evident the four mariners had either perished or had deserted tliem. CHAPTER II. NICUESA AND HIS MEN ON A DESOLATE ISLAND. The situation of Nicuesa and his men was dreary and desperate in the extreme. They w^ere on a desolate island, bordering upon a swampy coast, in a remote and lonely sea, where commerce VOL. III. «*>* VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF never spread a sail. Their companions in the other ships, if still alive and true to them, had doubtless given them up for lost ; and many years might elapse before the casual bark of a discoverer might venture along these shores. Long before that time their fate Avould be sealed ; and their bones, bleaching on the sands, would alone tell their story. In this hopeless state many abandoned themselves to frantic grief, wandering about the island, wringing their hands and utter- ing groans and lamentations ; others called upon God for succor, and many sat down in silent and sullen despair. The cravings of hunger and thirst at length roused them to exertion. They found no food but a few shell-fish scattered along the shore, and coarse herbs and roots, some of them of an un- wholesome quality. The island had neither springs nor streams of fresh water, and they were fain to slake their thirst at the brackish pools of the marshes. Nicuesa endeavored to animate his men with new hopes. He employed them in constructing a raft of drift-wood and branches of trees, for the purpose of crossing the arm of the sea that sepa- rated them from the main-land. It was a difficult task, for they were destitute of tools ; and when the raft was finished they had no oars with which to manage it. Some of the most expert swim- mers undertook to propel it, but they were too much enfeebled by their sufferings. On their first essay, the currents which sweep that coast bore the raft out to sea, and they swam back with diffi- culty to the island. Having no other chance of escape, and no other means of exei'cising and keeping up the spirits of his fol- lowers, Nicuesa repeatedly ordered new rafts to be constructed ; but the result was always the same, and the men at length either grew too feeble to work, or renounced the attempt in despair. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 107 Thus, day aftei* day, and week after week elapsed, without any mitigation of suffering or any prospect of relief. Every day some one or other sank under his miseries, a victim, not so much to hunger and thirst, as to grief and despondency. His death was envied by his wretched survivors, many of whom were re- duced to such debility, that they had to crawl on hands and knees in search of the herbs and shell-fish which formed their scanty food. CHAPTER III. ARRIVAL OF A BOAT. CONDUCT OF LOPE DE OLANO. When the unfortunate Spaniards, without hope of succor, began to consider death as a desirable end to their miseries, they were roused to new life one day by beholding a sail gleaming on the horizon. Their exultation was checked, however, by the reflec- tion how many chances there were against its approaching this wild and desolate island. Watching it with anxious eyes, they put up prayers to God to conduct it to their relief; and at length, to their great joy, they perceived that it was steering directly for the island. On a nearer approach it proved to be one of the brigantines which had been commanded by Lope de Olano. It came to anchor : a boat put off, and among the crew were the four sailors who had disappeared so mysteriously from the island. These men accounted in a satisfactory manner for their de- sertion. They had been persuaded that the ships were in some harbor to the eastward, and that they were daily leaving them 108 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF farther behincl. Disheartened at the constant, and, in their opin- ion, fruitless toil whicli fell to their share in the struggle westward, they resolved to take their own counsel, without risking the oppo- sition of Nicuesa. In the dead of the night, therefore, when their companions on the island were asleep, they silently cast off their boat, and retraced their course along the coast. After sev- eral days' toil they found the brigantines under the command of Lope de Olano, in the river of Belen, the scene of the disasters of Columbus in his fourth voyage. The conduct of Lope de Olano was regarded with suspicion by his contemporaries, and is still subject to doubt. He is sup- posed to have deserted Nicuesa designedly, intending to usurp the command of the expedition. Men, however, were prone to judge harshly of him from his having been concerned in the treason and rebellion of Francisco Roldan. On the stormy night when Nicuesa stood out to sea to avoid the dangers of the shore, Olano took shelter under the lee of an island. Seeing nothing of the caravel of his commander in the morning, he made no effort to seek for it, but proceeded with the brigantines to the river of Chagres, where he found the ships at anchor. They had landed all their cargo, being almost in a sinking condition from the rav- ages of the worms. Olano persuaded the crews that Nicuesa had perished in the late storm, and, being his lieutenant, he assumed the command. Whether he had been perfidious or not in his mo- tives, his command was but a succession of disasters. He sailed from Chagres for the river of Belen, where the ships were found so damaged that they had to be broken to pieces. Most of the people constructed wretched cabins on the shore, where, during a sudden storm, they were almost washed away by the swelling of the river, or swallowed up in the shifting sands. Several of hii THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 109 men were drowned in an expedition in quest of gold, and he him- self merely escaped by superior swimming. Their provisions were exhausted, they suffered from hunger and fx'om various mal- adies, and many perished in 'extreme misery. All were clamor- ous to abandon the coast, and Olano set about constructing a caravel, out of the wreck of the ships, for the purpose, as he said, of returning to Hispaniola, though many suspected it was still his intention to persist in the enterprise. Such was the state in which the four seamen had found Olano and his party ; most of them living in miserable cabins and destitute of the necessaries of life. The tidings that Nicuesa was still alive put an end to the sway of Olano. Whether he had acted with truth or perfidy, he now manifested a zeal to relieve his commander, and immediately dis- patched a brigantine ill quest of him, which, guided by the four seamen, arrived at the island in the way that has been mentioned. CHAPTER IV. NICUESA REJOINS HIS CREWS. When the crew of the brigantine and the companions of Nicuesa met, they embraced each other with tears, for the hearts even of the rough mariners were subdued by the sorrows they had under- gone ; and men are rendered kind to each other by a community of suffering. The brigantine had brought a quantity of palm- auts, and of such other articles of food as they liad been able to procure along the coast. These the famished Spaniards devoured no VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES .OF with such voracity that Nicuesa was obliged to interfere, lest they should injure themselves. Nor was the supply of fresh water less grateful to their parched and fevered palates. When sufficiently revived, they all abandoned the desolate island, and set sail for the river Belen, exulting as joyfully as if their troubles were at an end, and they were bound to a haven of delight, instead of merely changing the scene of suffering and encountering a new variety of horrors. In the meantime Lope de Olano had been diligently preparing for the approaching interview with his commander, by persuading his fellow-officers to intercede in his behalf, and to place his late conduct in the most favorable light. He had need of their inter- cessions. Nicuesa arrived, burning with indignation. He or- dered him to be instantly seized and punished as a traitor ; attrib- uting to his desertion the ruin of tl)e entetprise and the sufferings and death of so many of his brave followers. The fellow- captains of Olano spoke in his favor ; but Nicuesa turned indignantly upon them : " You do well," cried he, " to supplicate mercy for him ; you, who, yourselves, have need of pardon ! You have participated in his crime ; why, else, have you suffered so long a time to elapse without compelling him to send one of the vessels in search of me ?" The captains vindicated themselves by assurances of their be- lief in his having foundered at sea. They reiterated their sup- plications for mercy to Olano ; drawing the most affecting pictures of their past and present sufferings, and urging the impolicy of increasing the horrors of their situation by acts of severity. Nicuesa at length was prevailed upon to spare his victim ; re- solving to send him, by the first opportunity, a prisoner to Spain. It appeared, in truth, no time to add to the daily blows of fate THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. ill that were thinning the number of his followers. Of the gallant armament of seven hundred resolute and effective men that had sailed with them from San Domingo, four hundred had already perished by various miseries ; and, of the survivors, many could scarcely, be said to live. CHAPTER V. SUFFERINGS OF NICUESA AND HIS MEN ON THE COAST OF THE ISTHMUS. The first care of Nicuesa, on resuming the general command, was to take measures for the relief of his people, Avho were perishing with famine arid disease. All those who were in health, or who had strength sufficient to bear the least fatigue, were sent on foraging parties, among the fields and villages of the natives. It was a service of extreme peril ; for the Indians of this part of the coast were fierce and warlike, and were the same who had proved so formidable to Columbus and his brother, when they attempted to found a settlement in this neighborhood. Many of the Spaniards were slain in these expeditions. Even if they succeeded in collecting provisions, the toil of bring- ing them to the harbor was worse to men in their enfeebled con- dition, than the task of fighting for them ; for they were obliged to transport them on their backs, and, thus heavily laden, to scramble over rugged rocks, through almost impervious forests, and across dismal swamps. Harassed by these perils and fatigues, they broke forth into murmurs against their commander, accusing him, not merely of 112 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF indiflFerence to their sufferings, but of wantonly imposing severe and unnecessary tasks upon them out of revenge for their having neglected him. The genial temper of Nicuesa had, in fact, been soured by disappointment ; and a series of harassing cares and eyils had rendered him irritable and impatient ; but he was a cavalier of a srenerous and honorable nature, and does not appear to have enforced any services that were not indispensable to the common safety. In fact, the famine had increased to such a degree, that, we are told, thirty Spaniards having on one occasion found the dead body of an Indian in a state of decay, they were driven by hunger to make a meal of it, and were so infected by the horrible repast, that not one of them survived.* Disheartened by these miseries, Nicuesa determined to aban- don a place which seemed destined to be the grave of Spaniards. Embarking the greater part of his men in the two brigantines, and the caravel which had been built by Olano, he set sail east- wai'd in search of some more favorable situation for his settlement. A number of the men remained behind, to await the ripening of some maize and vegetables which they had sown. These he left under the command of Alonzo Nunez, whom he nominated his alcalde mayor. When Nicuesa had coasted about four leagues to the east, a Genoese sailor, who had been with Columbus in his last voyage, informed him that there was a fine harbor somewhere in that neighborhood, which had pleased the old admiral so highly, that he had given it the name of Puerto Belle. He added, that they miglit know the harbor by an anchor, half buried in the sand, which Columbus had left there ; near to which was a fountain of * Herrera, Hist Ind., decad. i. and viii. cap. 2. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 113 remarkably cool and sweet water, springing up at the foot of a large tree. Nicuesa ordered search to be made along the coast, and at length they found the anchor, the fountain, and the tree. It was the same harbor which bears the name of Porto Bello at the present day. A number of the crew were sent on shore in search of provisions, but were assailed by the Indians ; and, being too weak to wield their v/eapons with their usual prowess, were driven back to the vessels with the loss of several slain or wounded. Dejected at these continual misfortunes, Nicuesa continued his voyage seven leagues farther, until he came to the harbor to which Columbus had given the name of Puerto de Bastimientos ; or, Port of Provisions. It presented an advantageous situation for a fortress, and was surrounded by a fruitful country. Nicu- esa resolved to make it his abiding place. " Here," said he, " let us stop, en el 7iombre de Dios /" (in the name of God). His fol- lowers, with the superstitious feeling under which men in adver- sity are pi'one to interpret every thing into omens, persuaded themselves that there was favorable augury in his words, and called the harbor " Nombre de Dios," which name it afterwards retained. Nicuesa now landed, and drawmg his sword, took solemn pos- session in the name of the Catholic sovereigns. He immediately began to erect a fortress, to protect his people against the attacks of the savages. As this was a case of exigency, he exacted the labor of every one capable of exertion. The Spaniards, thus equally distressed by famine and toil, forgot their favorable omen, cursed the place as fated to be their grave, and called down imprecations on the head of their commander, who compelled them to labor when ready to sink with hunger and debility. 114 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF Those murmured no less who were sent in quest of food, which was only to be gained by fatigue and bloodshed ; for whatever they collected they had to transport from great distances, and they were frequently waylaid and assaulted by the Indians. When he could spare men for tlie purpose, Nicuesa dispatched the caravel for those whom he had left at the river Belen. Many of them had perished, and the survivors had been reduced to such famine at times, as to eat all kinds of reptiles, until a part of an alligator was a banquet to them. On mustering all his forces when thus united, iSicuesa found that but one hundred emaciated and dejected wretches remained. He dispatched the caravel to Hispaniola, to bring a quantity of bacon which he had ordered to have prepared there, but it never returned. He ordered Gonzalo de Badajos, at the head of twenty men, to scour the country for provisions ; but the Indians had ceased to cultivate : they could do with little food, and could subsist on the roots and wild fruits of the forest. The Spaniards, therefore, found deserted villages and barren fields, but lurking enemies at every defile. So deplorably were they reduced by their sufferings, that at length there were not left a sufficient number in health and strength to mount guard at night ; and the fortress remained without sentinels. Such was the des- perate situation of this once gay and gallant cavalier, and of his brilliant armament, which but a few months before h.\d sailed from San Domingo, flushed with the consciousness of power, and the assurance that they had the means of compelling the favors of fortune. It is necessary to leave thera for a while, and turn our atten- tion to other events which will ultimately be found to bear upon their destinies. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 115 CHAPTER VI. EXPEDITION OP THE BACHELOR ENCISO IN SEARCH OF THE SEAT OP GOVERNMENT OP OJEDA. [1510. J In calling to mind the narrative of the last expedition of Alonzo de Ojeda, the reader will doubtless remember the Bachelor Mar- tin Fernandez de Enciso, who was inspired by that adventurous cavalier with an ill-starred passion for colonizing, and freighted a vessel at San Domingo with reinfo-rcements and supplies for the settlement at San Sebastian. When the Bachelor was on the eve of sailing, a number of the loose hangers-on of the colony, and men encumbered with debt, concerted to join his ship from the coast and the outports. Their creditors, howevei", getting notice of their intention, kept a close watch upon every one that went on board while in the har- bor, and obtained an armed vessel from the admiral Don Diego Columbus, to escort the enterprising Bachelor clear of the island. One man, however, contrived to elude these precautions, and, as he afterwards rose to great importance, it is proper to notice him particularly. His name was Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was a native of Xeres de los Caballeros, and of a noble though impoverished family. He had been brought up in the service of Don Pedro Puerto Carrero, Lord of Moguer, and he afterwards enlisted among the adventurers who accompanied Rodrigo de Bastides in his voyage of discovery. Peter Martyr, in his Latin decades, speaks of him by the appellation of " egregius digladia- tor," which has been interpreted by some as a skillful swordsman, 116 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF by others as an adroit fencing-master. lie intimates, also, that he was a mere soldier of fortune, of loose prodigal habits ; and the circumstances under which he is first introduced to us justify tliis character. He had fixed himself for a time in Hispaniola, and undertaken to cultivate a farm at the town of Salvatierra, on the sea-coast, but in a little time had completely involved himself in debt. The expedition of Enciso presented him with an oppor- tunity of escaping from his embarrassments, and of indulging his adventurous habits. To elude the vigilance of his creditors and of the armed escort, he concealed himself in a cask, which was conveyed from his farm on the sea-coast on board of the vessel, as if containing provisions for the voyage. When the vessel was fairly out at sea, and abandoned by the escort, Vasco Nunez emerged like an apparition from his cask, to the great surprise of Enciso, who had been totally ignorant of the stratagem. The Bachelor was indignant at being thus outwitted, even though he gained a recruit by the deception ; and, in the first ebullition of his wrath, gave the fugitive debtor a very rough reception, threat- ening to put him on shore on the first uninhabited island they should encounter. Vasco Nunez, however, succeeded in pacifying him, " for God," says the venerable Las Cases, " reserved him for greater things." It is probable the Bachelor beheld in him a man well fitted for his expedition, for Vasco Nunez was in the prime and vigor of his days, tall and muscular, seasoned to hard- ships, and of intrepid spirit. Arriving at the main-land, they touched at the fatal harbor of Carthagena, the scene of the sanguinary conflicts of Ojeda and Nicuesa with the natives, and of the death of the brave Juan de la Cosa. Enciso was ignorant of those events, having had no tidings from those adventurers since their departure from San THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 117 Domingo ; without any hesitation, therefore, he landed a number of his men to repair liis boat, which was damaged, and to procure water. While the men were working upon the boat, a multitude of Indians gathered at a distance, well armed and with menacing aspect, sounding their shells and brandishing their weapons. The experience they had had of the tremendous powers of the stran- gers, however, rendered them cautious of attacking, and for three days they hovered in this manner about the Spaniards, the latter being obliged to keep continually on the alert. At length two of the Spaniards ventured one day from the main body to fill a water-cask from the adjacent river. Scarcely had they reached the margin of the stream, when eleven savages sprang from the thickets and surrounded them, bending their bows and pointing their arrows. In this way they stood for a moment or two in fearful suspense, the Indians refraining from discharging their shafts, but keeping them constantly pointed at their breasts. One of the Spaniards attempted to escape to his comrades who w»re repairing the boat, but the other called him back, and, under- standing something of the Indian tongue, addressed a few amica- ble words to the savages. The latter, astonished at being spoken to in their own language, now relaxed a little from their fierceness, and demanded of the strangers who they were, who were their leaders, and what they sought upon their shores. The Spaniard replied that they were harmless people, who came from other lands, and merely touched there through necessity, and he won- dered that they ahould meet them with such hostility ; he at the same time warned them to beware, as there would come many of his countrymen well armed, and would wreak terrible vengeance upon them for any mis-chief they might do. While they were thus parleying, the Bachelor Enciso, hearing that two of his men lUB VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF were surrounded by the savages, sallied instantly fi-om his ship, and hastened with an armed foi"ce to their rescue. As he appx'oached, however, the Spaniard who had held the parley made him a signal that the natives were pacific. In fact, the lat- ter had supposed that this was a new invasion of Ojeda and Nicu- esa, and had thus arrayed themselves, if not to take vengeance for past outrages, at least to defend their houses from a second desolation. When they were convinced, however, that these were a totally different band of strangers, and without hostile intentions, their animosity was at an end ; they threw by their weapons, and came forward with the most confiding frankness. During the whole time that the Spaniards remained there, they treated them with the greatest friendship, supplying them with bread made from maize, with salted fish, and with the fermented and spiritu- ous beverages common along that coast. Such was the magnani- mous conduct of men who were considered among the most fero- cious and warlike of these savage nations ; and who, but recently, had beheld their shores invaded, tlieir villages ravaged and burnt, and their friends and relations butchered, without regard to age or sex, by the countrymen of these very strangers. When we recall the bloody and indiscriminate vengeance wreaked upon this people by Ojeda and his followers for their justifiable resistance of invasion, and compare it with their placable and considerate spirit when an opportunity for revenge presented itself, we con- fess we feel a momentary doubt whether the arbitrary appellation of savage is always applied to the right party. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. 119 CHAPTER VII. THE BACHELOR HEARS UNWELCOME TIDINGS OP HIS DES- TINED JURISDICTION. Not long after the arrival of Enciso at this eventful harbor he was surprised by the circumstance of a brigantine entering, and coming to anchor. To encounter a European sail in these almost unknown seas was always a singular and striking occurrence, but the astonishment of the Bachelor was mingled Avith alarm when, on boarding the brigantifte, he found it manned by a number of the men who had embarked with Ojeda. His first idea was, that they had mutinied against their commander, and deserted witli the vessel. The feelings of the magistrate were aroused within him by the suspicion, and he determined to take his first step as alcalde mayor, by seizing them and inflicting on them the severity of the law. He altered his tone, however, on conversing with their resolute commander. This was no other than Francisco Pizarro, whom Ojeda had left as his locum tenens at San Sebas- tian, and who showed the Bachelor his letter patent, signed by that unfortunate governor. In fact, the little brigantine contained the sad remnant of the once vaunted colony. After the depar- ture of Ojeda in the pirate ship, his followers, whom he had left behind under the command of Pizarro, continued in the fortress until the stipulated term of fifty days had expired. Receiving no succor, and hearing no tidings of Ojeda, they then determined to embark and sail for Hispaniola ; but here an unthought of dif- ficulty presented itself, they were seventy in number, and the two brigantines which had been left with them were incapable of 120 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES OF taking so many. They came to the forlorn agreement, therefore, to rema.in until famine, sickness, and the poisoned arrows of the Indians should reduce their number to the capacity of the brigan- tines. A brief space of time was sufficient for the purpose. They then prepared for the voyage. Four mares which had been kept alive, as terrors to the Indians, were killed and salted for sea-stores. Then taking whatever other articles of provisions remained, they embarked and made sail. One brigantine was commanded by Pizarro, the other by one Valenzuela. They had not proceeded far wlien, in a storm, a sea struck the crazy vessel of Valenzuela with such violence as to cause it to founder with all its crew. The other brigantine was so near that the mariners witnessed the struggles of their drowning compan- ions, and heard their cries. Some of the sailors, with the common disposition to the marvelous, declared that they beheld a great whale, or some other monster of the deep, strike the vessel with its tail, and either stave in its sides or shatter the rudder, so as to cause the shipwreck.* The surviving brigantine then made the best of its way to the harbor of Carthagena, to seek provisions. Such was the disastrous account rendered to the Bachelor by Pizarro, of his destined jurisdiction. Enciso, however, was of a confident mind and sanguine temperament, and trusted to restore all things to order and prosperity on his arrival. * Herrera, Hist. Ind., decad. i. lib. vii. cap. 10. THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS. i2l CHAPTER VID CRUSADE OP THE BACHELOR ENCISO AGAINST THE SEPDL CHRES OF ZENU. The Bachelor Enciso, as has been shown, was a man of the sword as well as of the robe ; having dt oibtless imbibed a passion for military exploit from his intinmcy with the discoverers. Ac- cordingly, while at Carthagena, he was visited by an impulse of the kind, and undertook an enterprise that would have been worthy of his friend Ojeda. He had been told by the Indians that about twenty-five leagues to the west lay a province called Zenu, the mountains of which abounded with the finest gold. This was washed down by torrents during the rainy season, in such quantities, that the natives stretched nets across the rivers to catch the largest particles ; some of which were said to be as large as eggs. The idea of taking gold in nets captivated the imagination of the Bachelor, and his cupidity was still more excited by further accounts of this wealthy province. He was told that Zenu was the general place of sepultui'e of the Indian tribes throughout the country, whither they brought their dead, and buried them, according to their custom, decorated with their most precious ornaments. It appeared to him a matter of course, therefore, that there must be an immense accumulation of riches in the Indian tombs, from the golden ornaments that had been buried with the dead ibrougli a long series of generations. Fired with the thought, lie determined to make a foray into this province and to sack the VOL. TII. B 122 VOYAGES AND DISCOVERFES OF sepulchres ! Neither did he feel niiy compunctions at the idea of plundering the dead, considering tlie deceased as pagans and infidels, who had forfeited even the sanctuary of the grave, by havin