THE WORKS

OF

HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.

VOLUME VI.

HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

Vol. I. 1501-1530.

SAN FRANCISCO:
A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
1883.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1882, by
HUBERT H. BANCROFT,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

All Rights Reserved.

PREFACE.

During the year 1875 I published under title of The Native Races of the Pacific States what purports to be an exhaustive research into the character and customs of the aboriginal inhabitants of the western portion of North America at the time they were first seen by their subduers. The present work is a history of the same territory from the coming of the Europeans.

The plan is extensive and can be here but briefly explained. The territory covered embraces the whole of Central America and Mexico, and all Anglo-American domains west of the Rocky Mountains. First given is a glance at European society, particularly Spanish civilization at about the close of the fifteenth century. This is followed by a summary of maritime exploration from the fourth century to the year 1540, with some notices of the earliest American books. Then, beginning with the discoveries of Columbus, the men from Europe are closely followed as one after another they find and take possession of the country in its several parts, and the doings of their successors are chronicled. The result is a History of the Pacific States of North America, under the following general divisions:—History of Central America; History of Mexico; History of the North Mexican States; History of New Mexico and Arizona; History of California; History of Nevada; History of Utah; History of the Northwest Coast; History of Oregon; History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana; History of British Columbia, and History of Alaska.

Broadly stated, my plan as to order of publication proceeds geographically from south to north, as indicated in the list above given, which for the most part is likewise the chronological order of conquest and occupation. In respect of detail, to some extent I reverse this order, proceeding from the more general to the more minute as I advance northward. The difference, though considerable, is however less in reality than in appearance. And the reason I hold sufficient. To give to each of the Spanish-American provinces, and later to each of the federal and independent states, covering as they do with dead monotony centuries of unchanging action and ideas, time and space equal to that which may be well employed in narrating north-western occupation and empire-building would be no less impracticable than profitless. It is my aim to present complete and accurate histories of all the countries whose events I attempt to chronicle, but the annals of the several Central American and Mexican provinces and states, both before and after the Revolution, run in grooves too nearly parallel long to command the attention of the general reader.

In all the territorial subdivisions, southern as well as northern, I treat the beginnings and earliest development more exhaustively than later events. After the Conquest, the histories of Central America and Mexico are presented on a scale sufficiently comprehensive, but national rather than local. The northern vii Mexican states, having had a more varied experience, arising from nearer contact with progressional events, receive somewhat more attention in regard to detail than other parts of the republic. To the Pacific United States is devoted more space comparatively than to southern regions, California being regarded as the centre and culminating point of this historical field.

For the History of Central America, to which this must serve as special as well as general introduction, I would say that, besides the standard chroniclers and the many documents of late printed in Spain and elsewhere, I have been able to secure a number of valuable manuscripts nowhere else existing; some from the Maximilian, Ramirez, and other collections, and all of Mr E. G. Squier's manuscripts relating to the subject fell into my hands. Much of the material used by me in writing of this very interesting part of the world has been drawn from obscure sources, from local and unknown Spanish works, and from the somewhat confused archives of Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, and Guatemala.

Material for the history of western North America has greatly increased of late. Ancient manuscripts of whose existence historians have never known, or which were supposed to be forever lost, have been brought to light and printed by patriotic men and intelligent governments. These fragments supply many missing links in the chain of early events, and illuminate a multitude of otherwise obscure parts.

My efforts in gathering material have been continued, and since the publication of The Native Races fifteen thousand volumes have been added to my collection. viii Among these additions are bound volumes of original documents, copies from public and private archives, and about eight hundred manuscript dictations by men who played their part in creating the history. Most of those who thus gave me their testimony in person are now dead; and the narratives of their observations and experiences, as they stand recorded in these manuscript volumes, constitute no unimportant element in the foundation upon which the structure of this western history in its several parts must forever rest.

To the experienced writer, who might otherwise regard the completion of so vast an undertaking within so apparently limited a period as indicative of work superficially done, I would say that this History was begun in 1869, six years before the publication of The Native Races; and although the earlier volumes of the several divisions I was obliged for the most part not only to plan and write, but to extract and arrange my own material, later I was able to utilize the labors of others. Among these as the most faithful and efficient I take pleasure in mentioning Mr Henry L. Oak, Mr William Nemos, Mr Thomas Savage, Mrs Frances Fuller Victor, and Mr Ivan Petroff, of whom, and of others, I speak at length elsewhere.

Of my methods of working I need say but little here, since I describe them more fully in another place. Their peculiarity, if they have any, consists in the employment of assistants, as before mentioned, to bring together by indices, references, and other devices, all existing testimony on each topic to be treated. I thus obtain important information, which otherwise, with but one lifetime at my disposal, would have been ix beyond control. Completeness of evidence by no means insures a wise decision from an incompetent judge; yet the wise judge gladly avails himself of all attainable testimony. It has been my purpose to give in every instance due credit to sources of information, and cite freely such conclusions of other writers as differ from my own. I am more and more convinced of the wisdom and necessity of such a course, by which, moreover, I aim to impart a certain bibliographic value to my work. The detail to be encompassed appeared absolutely unlimited, and more than once I despaired of ever completing my task. Preparatory investigation occupied tenfold more time than the writing.

I deem it proper to express briefly my idea of what history should be, and to indicate the general line of thought that has guided me in this task. From the mere chronicle of happenings, petty and momentous, to the historico-philosophical essay, illustrated with here and there a fact supporting the writer's theories, the range is wide. Neither extreme meets the requirements of history, however accurate the one or brilliant the other. Not to a million minute photographs do we look for practical information respecting a mountain range, nor yet to an artistic painting of some one striking feature for a correct description. From the two extremes, equally to be avoided, the true historian will, whatever his inclination, be impelled by prudence, judgment, and duty from theory toward fact, from vivid coloring toward photographic exactness. Not that there is too much brilliancy in current history, but too little fact. An accurate record of events must form the foundation, and largely the x superstructure. Yet events pure and simple are by no means more important than the institutionary development which they cause or accompany. Men, institutions, industries, must be studied equally. A man's character and influence no less than his actions demand attention. Cause and effect are more essential than mere occurrence; achievements of peace should take precedence of warlike conquest; the condition of the people is a more profitable and interesting subject of investigation than the acts of governors, the valor of generals, or the doctrines of priests. The historian must classify, and digest, and teach as well as record; he should not, however, confound his conclusions with the facts on which they rest. Symmetry of plan and execution as well as rigid condensation, always desirable, become an absolute necessity in a work like that which I have undertaken. In respect to time and territory my field is immense. The matter to be presented is an intricate complication of annals, national and sectional, local and personal. That my plan is in every respect the best possible, I do not say; but it is the best that my judgment suggests after long deliberation. The extent of this work is chargeable to the magnitude of the subject and the immense mass of information gathered rather than to any tendency to verbosity. There is scarcely a page but has been twice or thrice rewritten with a view to condensation; and instead of faithfully discharging this irksome duty, it would have been far easier and cheaper to have sent a hundred volumes through the press. The plan once formed, I sought to make the treatment exhaustive and symmetrical. Not all regions nor all periods are portrayed on the same scale: but though the camera xi of investigation is set up before each successive topic at varying distances, the picture, large or small, is finished with equal care. I may add that I have attached more than ordinary importance to the matter of mechanical arrangement, by which through title-pages, chapter-headings, and indices the reader may expeditiously refer to any desired topic, and find all that the work contains about any event, period, place, institution, man, or book; and above all I have aimed at exactness.

We hear much of the philosophy of history, of the science and signification of history; but there is only one way to write anything, which is to tell the truth, plainly and concisely. As for the writer, I will only say that while he should lay aside for the time his own religion and patriotism, he should be always ready to recognize the influence and weigh the value of the religion and patriotism of others. The exact historian will lend himself neither to idolatry nor to detraction, and will positively decline to act either as the champion or assailant of any party or power. Friendships and enmities, loves and hates, he will throw into the crucible of evidence to be refined and cast into forms of unalloyed truth. He must be just and humble. To clear judgment he must add strict integrity and catholicity of opinion. Ever in mind should be the occult forces that move mankind, and the laws by which are formulated belief, conscience, and character. The actions of men are governed by proximate states of mind, and these are generated both from antecedent states of mind and antecedent states of body, influenced by social and natural environment. The right of every generation should be xii determined, not by the ethics of any society, sect, or age, but by the broad, inexorable teachings of nature; nor should he forget that standards of morality are a freak of fashion, and that from wrongs begotten of necessity in the womb of progress has been brought forth right, and likewise right has engendered wrongs. He should remember that in the worst men there is much that is good, and in the best much that is bad; that constructed upon the present skeleton of human nature a perfect man would be a monster; nor should he forget how much the world owes its bad men. But alas! who of us are wholly free from the effects of early training and later social atmospheres! Who of us has not in some degree faith, hope, and charity! Who of us does not hug some ancestral tradition, or rock some pet theory!

As to the relative importance of early history, here and elsewhere, it is premature for any now living to judge. Beside the bloody battles of antiquity, the sieges, crusades, and wild convulsions of unfolding civilization, this transplanting of ours may seem tame. Yet the great gathering of the enlightened from all nations upon these shores, the subjugation of the wilderness with its wild humanity, and the new empire-modelling that followed, may disclose as deep a significance in the world's future as any display of army movements, or dainty morsels of court scandal, or the idiosyncrasies of monarchs and ministers. It need not be recited to possessors of our latter-day liberties that the people are the state, and rulers the servants. It is historical barbarism, of which the Homeric poems and Carlovingian tales not alone are guilty, to throw the masses into the background, or wholly to ignore xiii them. "Heureux le peuple dont l'histoire ennuie," is an oft repeated aphorism; as if deeds diabolical were the only actions worthy of record. But we of this new western development are not disposed to exalt brute battling overmuch; as for rulers and generals, we discover in them the creatures, not the creators, of civilization. We would rather see how nations originate, organize, and unfold; we would rather examine the structure and operations of religions, society refinements and tyrannies, class affinities and antagonisms, wealth economies, the evolutions of arts and industries, intellectual and moral as well as æsthetic culture, and all domestic phenomena with their homely joys and cares. For these last named, even down to dress, or the lack of it, are in part the man, and the man is the nation. With past history we may become tolerably familiar; but present developments are so strange, their anomalies are so startling to him who attempts to reduce them to form, that he is well content to leave for the moment the grosser extravagances of antiquity, howsoever much superior in interest they may be to the average mind. Yet in the old and the new we may alike from the abstract to the concrete note the genesis of history, and from the concrete to the abstract regard the analysis of history. The historian should be able to analyze and to generalize; yet his path leads not alone through the enticing fields of speculation, nor is it his only province to pluck the fruits and flowers of philosophy, or to blow brain bubbles and weave theorems. He must plod along the rough highways of time and development, and out of many entanglements bring the vital facts of history. And therein lies the richest reward. "Shakspere's capital discovery was this," says Edward xiv Dowden, "that the facts of the world are worthy to command our highest ardour, our most resolute action, our most solemn awe; and that the more we penetrate into fact, the more will our nature be quickened, enriched, and exalted."

That the success of this work should be proportionate to the labor bestowed upon it is scarcely to be expected; but I do believe that in due time it will be generally recognized as a work worth doing, and let me dare to hope fairly well done. If I read life's lesson aright, truth alone is omnipotent and immortal. Therefore, of all I wrongfully offend I crave beforehand pardon; from those I rightfully offend I ask no mercy; their censure is dearer to me than would be their praise. xv

CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.

xxiv

AUTHORITIES QUOTED
IN THE
HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

1

MAP OF DARIEN AND TIERRA FIRME

View larger image

HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
SPAIN AND CIVILIZATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

General View—Transition from the Old to the New Civilization—Historical Sketch of Spain—Spanish Character—Spanish Society—Prominent Features of the Age—Domestic Matters—The New World—Comparative Civilizations and Savagisms—Earliest Voyages of Discovery.

How stood this ever changing world four hundred years ago? Already Asia was prematurely old. Ships skirted Africa; but, save the northern seaboard, to all but heaven the continent was as dark as its stolid inhabitants. America was in swaddlings, knowing not its own existence, and known of none. Europe was an aged youth, bearing the world-disturbing torch which still shed a dim, fitful light and malignant odor.

Societies were held together by loyalty to civil and ecclesiastical rulers; not by that coöperation which springs from the common interests of the people. Unhallowed were all things real; divine the unsubstantial and potential. Beyond the stars were laid out spiritual cities, and under foot the hollow ground was dismal with the groans of the departed. Regions 2 of the world outlying the known, were tenanted by sea-monsters, dragons, and hobgoblins. European commerce crept forth from walled towns and battlemented buildings, and peradventure, escaping the dangers of the land, hugged the shore in open boats, resting by night, and trembling amid-ships by day. Learning was chiefly confined to the clergy. Feudalism as a system was dead, but its evils remained. Innumerable burdens were heaped upon the people by the dominant classes who gave them little protection in return. Upon the most frivolous pretexts the fruits of their industry were seized and appropriated by their masters. It was a praiseworthy performance for a hundred thousand men to meet and slay each other to gratify the whim of a state minister or a king's concubine. Then came a change, and by reason of their revised Ptolemies, their antipodal soundings, and new geographies, their magnetic needles, printing machines, and men-killing implements, learning began to revive, and the people began in some faint degree to think for themselves.

Under the shifting sands of progress truth incubates, and the hatched ideas fashion for themselves a great mind in which they may find lodgment; fashion for themselves a tongue by which to speak; fashion for themselves a lever by which to move the world.

The epoch of which I speak rested upon the confines of two civilizations, the old and the new. It was a transition period from the dim twilight of the dark age to the brightness of modern thought; from an age of unquestioning faith to one of curiosity and scepticism. It was a period of concretions and crystallizations, following one of many rarefactions; religion was embracing science; astrology was merging into astronomy; magic into physics; alchemy into chemistry. Saltpetre was superseding steel in warfare; feudalism having fulfilled its purpose was being displaced by monarchical power; intercourse was springing 3 up between nations, and international laws were being made. Even the material universe and the realms of space were enlarging with the enlargement of mind. Two worlds were about that time unveiled to Spain, an oriental and an occidental; by the capture of Constantinople ancient Greek and Latin learning was emancipated, and the Christian religion became settled as the faith of Europe; while toward the west, the mists of the ages lifted from the ocean, and, as if emerging from primeval waters, a fair new continent ripe for a thousand industries stood revealed.

This was progress indeed, and the mind, bursting its mediæval fetters, stood forth and took a new survey. With the dawn of the sixteenth century there appeared a universal awakening throughout Christendom. Slumbering civilization, roused by the heavy tread of marching events, turned from royal prison-houses of learning, and beheld with wonder and delight the unfolding of these new mysteries. The dust and cobwebs of the past, which had so long dimmed the imagination, were disturbed by an aggressive spirit of inquiry. The report of exploding fallacies reverberated throughout Europe; and as the smoke cleared away, and light broke in through the obscurity, there fell as it were scales from the eyes of the learned, and man gazed upon his fellow-man with new and strange emotions. For centuries men's minds had been chained to the traditions of the past; thought had traveled as in a treadmill; philosophy had advanced with the face turned backward; knight-errantry had been the highest type of manhood, and Christianity, like its founder, had been made to bear the sins of the many. While its friends claimed for it all the virtues of mankind, its enemies charged it with all the vices. The first efforts of scholastics in their exposition of these new appearances was to square the accumulative information of the day with the subtleties of the schools and the doctrines and dogmas of the past. The source of all knowledge and the foundation 4 of all science were claimed to be in the holy scriptures and in the tenets of the church. Any conception, or invention, or discovery that might pass unscathed these two touchstones was denominated truth, though human reason could not grasp it. Likewise, any stray fact which by these tests failed satisfactorily to account for itself, was pronounced false, though human reason declared it true.

I do not mean to say that all darkness and nescience were swept away in a breath, or that knowledge fell suddenly on mankind like an inspiration; it was enough for some few to learn for the first time of such a thing as ignorance. Although the change was real and decisive, and the mind in its attempt to fathom new phenomena was effectually lured from the mystic pages of antiquity, there yet remained enough and to spare of ignorance and credulity. Searchers after the truth yet saw as through a glass darkly; the clearer vision of face to face could be attained only by slow degrees, and often the very attempt to scale the prison-house walls plunged the aspirant after higher culture yet deeper into the ditch; but that there were any searchings at all was no small advance. Shackles were stricken off, but the untutored intellect as yet knew not the use of liberty; a new light was flashed in upon the mental vision, but the sudden glare was for the moment bewildering, and not until centuries after was the significance of this transitional epoch fully manifest. It may be possible to exaggerate the importance of this awakening; yet how exaggerate the value to western Europe of Greek literature and the revival of classic learning, of the invention of printing, or the influence for good or evil on Spain of her New World discoveries?

Rightly to understand the condition of education in Spain in the fifteenth century, we must remember that mental training and not the acquisition of knowledge was the object of education, and as the object to be attained differed greatly from that which we are 5 now seeking, so the result was proportionately different. The tendency of education in the fifteenth century was toward a more determined reliance and belief in authority and in revelation; the tendency of education in the nineteenth century is toward inquiry and scepticism. As to the comparative value of these results there are of course many differences of opinion, and I shall not discuss them here. We may be sure, however, that in whatsoever direction human mind is trained by other human mind, there is ever present and underlying all activities inexorable progress, an eternal unfolding into ever fairer proportions of all that is best and noblest in mankind.

Our history dates from Spain, at the time when Castile and Aragon were the dominant power of Europe. Before entering upon the doings, or passing judgment upon the character, of those whose fortunes it is the purpose of this work to follow into the forests of the New World, let us glance at the origin of the Spaniards, examine the cradle of their civilization, and see out of what conditions a people so unlike any on the globe to-day were evolved.

Far back as tradition and theory can reach, the Iberians, possibly of Turanian stock, followed their rude vocations, hunting, fishing, fighting; guarded on one side by the Pyrenees, and on the others by the sea. Next, in an epoch to whose date no approximation is now possible, the Celts came down on Spain, the first wave of that Aryan sea destined to submerge all Europe. Under the Celtiberians, the fierce and powerful compound race now formed by the union of Iberian and Celt, broken indeed into various tribes but with analogous customs and tongues, Spain first became known to the civilized world. Then came the commercial and colonizing Phœnician and planted a settlement at Cádiz. After them the Carthaginians landed on the eastern shore of the Peninsula and founded Carthago Nova, now Cartagena. The power 6 of the Carthaginians in Spain was broken by the Scipios, in the second Punic war, toward the close of the third century b. c.; and yet, says Ticknor, "they have left in the population and language of Spain, traces which have never been wholly obliterated."

The Romans, after driving out the Carthaginians, attacked the interior Celtiberians, who fought them hard and long; but the latter being finally subjugated, all Hispania, save perhaps the rugged north-west, was divided into Roman provinces, and in them the language and institutions of Rome were established. Forced from their hereditary feuds by the iron hand of their conquerors, the Celtiberians rapidly increased in wealth and numbers, and of their prosperity the Empire was not slow to make avail. From the fertile fields of Spain flowed vast quantities of cerealia into the granary of Rome. The gold and silver of their metal-veined sierras the enslaved Spaniards were forced to produce, as they in succeeding ages wrung from the natives of the New World the same unjust service. The introduction of Christianity, about the middle of the third century, brought upon the adherents of this religion the most cruel persecutions; which, however, instead of destroying it but rooted it the more firmly. Some say, indeed, that Saint Paul preached at Saragossa, and planted a church there; however this may be, it was not until the conversion of Constantine that Christianity became the dominant religion of the Peninsula.

The fifth century opens with the dissolution of the empire of the Romans, for the barbarians are upon them. Over the Pyrenees, in awful deluge, sweep Suevi, Alani, Vandals, and Silingi. The Suevi, in a. d. 409, take possession of the north-west, now Galicia; the Alani seize Lusitania, to-day Portugal; and the Vandals and Silingi settle Vandalusia, or Andalusia, the latter tribe occupying Seville. Blighted by this barbaric whirlwind, civilization droops; the 7 arts and sciences introduced by the Romans fall into disgrace; the churlish conquerors will have none of them; and the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, turning toward its original seat, flees the inhospitable west and takes refuge in the capital of the eastern empire, which thereafter becomes the depository of the wrecks of classic learning. In their dilemma the Romanized indigenes call to their help the less uncouth Visigoths. In 427 the Vandals pass into Africa. Between 455 and 584 the Visigoths conquer the Romans and subjugate the Suevi; so that now their kingdom stretches from the bank of the Loire to Gibraltar. Thus to the Latin is added the Gothic element; the Latin language, corrupted as it had become, gains upon, or rather for the most part holds its original advantage over the Gothic tongue, and becomes the basis of the modern Castilian, with such grammatical simplifications as the northern taste renders necessary.

Still the great Peninsula seethes and bubbles like a caldron over the furnace-fires of its progressional unrest. Two centuries of contentions between states, and between kings and nobles, aggravated by the usual convulsions incident to elective monarchies, suffice to bring upon them a new foe. The crescent of Islam, resting on Mecca and threatening at once the Bosporus and the Pillars of Hercules, flames suddenly out at its western horn over fated Spain. At Algeciras, near Gibraltar, in 711, in great force, the Mauritanian Arabs, or Moors, effect a landing, invited thither by Count Julian, commander of Andalusia, in revenge for the violation of his daughter by Rodrigo, last of the Gothic kings. Routing the Visigoths in the battle of Jerez de la Frontera, in five swift years the Saracens are masters of all save the mountainous north-west; and penetrating Aquitania, the kingdom of the Franks is prevented from falling into their hands only by the decisive victory won by Charles Martel at Tours in 732. An emirate 8 under the caliphate of Bagdad is established at Córdova, and multitudes of Syrian and Egyptian Mahometans flock to Spain. Thus pressed, to the rugged mountains of Asturias, under Pelayo, one of their national heroes, flee such Christians as will not submit. There the wreck of the Visigothic kingdom takes refuge; there stubborn patriots rally and nurse their nationality betimes in the caves of the Pyrenees, waiting opportunity to deliver their country from the yoke of the hated Infidel. In 755 Abdurrahman, the last caliph of the dynasty of Ommiades, having escaped the massacre of Damascus, wrests Spain from the hands of the Abbassides and founds the caliphate of Córdova, which then formed one of the four great divisions of the Prophet's dominions. Moorish kings now take the place of Moorish emirs, and thus is governed Córdova till 1238, and Granada till 1492.

Meanwhile the Mahometans ruled mildly and well. The native Christians living among them kept their religion, churches, and clergy, as well as their laws and tribunals except in cases involving capital punishment, or where a Mahometan was a party in the suit. The usual consequences of race-contact followed; over wide tracts Arabic became the common language, and so remained even after Moslem power had fallen. As late as the fourteenth century public acts in many parts of Spain were written in Arabic. As the result of this intermixture, there was the linguistic medley called lingua franca, a composite of Arabic, Gothic, Latin, Hebrew, and Gallic, with the Romance, or corrupted Latin of Spain, united with the Limousin, the language of the gay science spoken in Languedoc and Provence, as a base. Out of this came the Castilian, which after undergoing various modifications settled into the Spanish language, leaving it substantially in its present form, though refined and polished by subsequent centuries of civilization. It was not, however, until near the reign of Alfonso X., 1252-1282, long after the 9 Christians had emerged from the mountains and had mingled with the reconquered indigenes, that the Castilian became perfectly established as a written, settled, and polite language. Nor were the consequences of Arabic occupation confined to language; they tinged the whole life of the nation.

The Spaniards who under Pelayo had taken refuge in the mountains of Asturias, in 716 founded a small government called the kingdom of Oviedo. There the seeds of liberty, trampled by adversity, took root, and from the patriot soil arose a nation that spread its branches wide over the land. Gradually the Christian kingdoms enlarged. First Galicia, then, two hundred years later, Leon and Castile were added to the little empire. The latter part of the tenth century the kingdoms of Leon, Castile, and Navarre, held the northern extremity of the Peninsula, while all the rest was under the dominion of the caliphate of Córdova.

And now, emerged from the mountain fastnesses whither they had fled before this southern swarm of turbaned Infidels, the sturdy Christians press heavily on their foe. Inch by inch, each step counting a century, they fight their way from the Pyrenees back to Granada. Assuming the title of caliph, Abdurrahman III. defeats the Christians at Zamora on the Douro, but is in turn repulsed, in 938, at Simancas. In vain the Mahometans call to their aid the Almoravides of Morocco; their race upon the Peninsula is run. As portions of the country are wrested from them, lands are awarded to notable Christian leaders, who at intervals pause in their holy crusade, and fall to warring on each other; and by these intestine brawls more Christian blood is spilt than by all the cimiters of the Saracens. At such times the Infidels might turn and make the Christians an easy prey; but centuries of opulence, and, except along their northern border, of inaction, have sapped their strength and left them 10 nerveless. It is the old story alike of peoples, sects, and individuals; discipline, begotten by necessity, engenders strength, which fattened by luxury swells to weakness.

The beginning of the eleventh century finds the Christians occupying about half the Peninsula, that is to say the kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Leon was but another name for the kingdom of Oviedo, or Asturias, the birthplace of Spanish nationality. Castile—Roman, castella; Arabic, ardo-l-koláa, land of castles, so called from the castillos, or forts, built there—though destined eventually to absorb all the kingdoms of the Peninsula, was at first a republic, consisting of a few small towns or fortified castles, which had united for mutual protection from both Mahometans and contentious Christian brethren. In 1037 Leon was united by Ferdinand I., called the Great, to Castile; and from its central position, and the strength arising from perpetual vigilance, the new kingdom gradually widened and added to its dominions, until eventually all the kingdoms of the Peninsula were united under the banner of Castile. Navarre belonged to a French count, whose successor drove the Saracens from the territory adjacent on the south-west, and founded the kingdom of Aragon.

In 1085 the Cid, a Castilian chieftain, born at Búrgos, and famous in poetry, romance, and war, seized Toledo, and overran Valencia; in 1118 Alfonso of Aragon wrested Saragossa from the Moors. Portugal, hitherto a province of Castile, assumed the title of kingdom in 1139. Finally the four kingdoms of the north, together with Portugal, formed a league against the Infidels, and in a great battle fought in the Sierra Morena, near Tolosa, in 1212, Mahometan power in Spain was effectually broken. In this decisive engagement the Christian confederates were commanded by Alfonso III. of Castile, who never rested till the followers of the Prophet 11 were driven from the central plateau. To the kingdom of Castile, Ferdinand III., 1217-1252, annexed Jaen, Córdova, and Seville, which with difficulty were held by his son Alfonso X., surnamed the Wise—a better scholar than soldier, as we see. Alfonso XI. was succeeded by Pedro el Cruel, who died in 1369.

A succession of singularly brilliant events, culminating in the empire of Charles V., brought Spain, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, to the front rank among European powers. The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, which in 1479 united the crowns of Aragon and Castile; the conquest of Granada in 1492, terminating eight centuries of almost continuous warfare; the discovery of America the same year; the annexation of Naples in 1503, and of Navarre in 1512, after the union of Spain and the Netherlands in the marriage of Juana, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, with Philip the Fair, son of the Emperor Maximilian I., and father of Charles V., all coming in quick succession, form a train of important incidents unparalleled in the history of nations. Before the death of Philip II. in 1598, the empire of Spain extended to every part of the globe—Portugal, conquered by the duke of Alva in 1580; Sicily and Sardinia, Artois and Franche Comté, the Balearic and Canary islands; in Africa—Melilla, Ceuta, Oran, and Tunis; in Asia—the Moluccas and the Philippine Islands, together with several settlements elsewhere; beside a large part of the two Americas, which alone comprised about one fifth of the world.

But nations like men must die. The full measure of prosperity had been meted out to Spain, and now she must lay it down—such is the inexorable law of progress. It was the very irony of autocracy, that one man should rule half the world! Spain's pyramid of greatness, which assumed such lofty proportions during the reign of their Catholic Majesties, culminated during the reigns of their immediate successors. A long line 12 of ambitious and able princes had raised the empire to a giddy height; but with an illiterate and non-progressive populace, no sooner did the rulers become incompetent than the nation fell in pieces. In the height of his grandeur Spain's grandest monarch surfeited of success and abdicated; and with the death of his son Philip the glory of the empire departed. Then might her epitaph be written—Nine centuries of steady growth—a long and lusty youth, more than falls to the lot of most nations—and in three brief centuries more she rose, and ripened, and rotted.

It is not with death, however, but life, we have to do. Intellectual sparks were lighting up the dark corners of the earth, and a series of brilliant epochs began with the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella—modern Golden Ages they might be called. The golden age of Spain, dating from 1474 to 1516, was followed by Germany's golden age, which was during the reign of Charles V., 1519-1558. Then came England with the reign of Elizabeth, 1558-1603; then France under Louis XIV. and Louis XV., 1640-1740; Russia under Peter the Great, 1672-1725; and Prussia under Frederick the Great, 1740-1786. During this time European civilization was bursting its narrow confines and encircling the hitherto unknown world in every direction.

The Spaniards we would know and judge. We shall judge them, even though we know them not. We love to judge our fellows, and to think how much better are we than they. Little attention we give it, though it is a self-evident proposition, that to judge a people by any other standard than that to which they have been taught to conform is to do them great injustice. If we may believe psychology, thought, in its higher phases, develops only with the development of language; the conceptions of the mind can not rise much higher than forms of speech will enable it to express. Apply this postulate to the measure of 13 character, and the corollary is, that to interpret fairly, we must restrict our imagination to such ideas, our mind to such beliefs, and our tongue to such formulas as belong to those we judge. This, however, is no easy matter. In the present age of intellectual progress and changing activity, when old delusions are being rapidly dispelled by science, and new discoveries are constantly opening new channels to distinction, it is almost impossible to place ourselves within the narrow limits of mediæval restrictions, in which thought and opinion were not allowed to germinate, but were passed unchanged from one generation to another. "It often happens," as John Stuart Mill remarks, "that the universal belief of one age of mankind—a belief from which no one was, nor, without an extra effort of genius or courage, could at that time be, free—becomes so palpable an absurdity, that the only difficulty then is to imagine how such a thing can ever have appeared credible." Not only were the Church dogmas of the Middle Age accepted as truth, but at that time to hold opinions antagonistic to established creeds was seldom so much as deemed possible.

From the foregoing premises it clearly follows, that rightly to measure the character of those who carried European civilization into the wilds of America, we must, in so far as we may, divest ourselves of the present, and enter into the spirit of their times. We must fix in our minds the precise epoch in the history of human progress to which the discovery of this New World belongs. We must roll up four brilliant centuries of the scroll of science, cloud nine tenths of the world in obscurity, throw a spell upon the ocean; then wall the imagination within the confines of this narrow horizon and conceive the effect. We must know something, not alone of national polities and the attitude of kings, but we must enter the society of individuals, and study the impulses of the people. We must call up the inscrutable past, surround ourselves with those influences that give the stamp to character and the 14 color to creed. We must familiarize ourselves with scenes familiar to the people we discuss; we must walk their streets, look through their eyes, think their thoughts; we must personate them and practically construe them. We should fill our breast with the aspirations that impelled them, our imagination with the fears that restrained them, and feel those subtle forces which for generations had been developing intellect and moulding opinion. We should dare even to gain access to their domestic and religious penetralia, to invade the sanctity of the hearth and altar, to sound the hidden chords of domestic life, to walk softly through vaulted aisles and convent corridors, bending the ear to catch the whisperings of the confessional; we should enter with the monk his cloister-cell, with the gallant the presence of his lady-love, and learn whence the significance and whither the tendency of their strange conceits. If, at the outset, with the political position, we also thus firmly grasp their inner social life, much that were otherwise enigmatical or suspicious appears in a clearer light; and we can then behold their chivalrous but cruel deeds with the same charity in which we hope posterity may shroud our own enormities. Thus only may we be led to understand the various processes by which this phase of civilization was evolved.

The configuration and climate of the Peninsula assist in giving variety to the character of its inhabitants. The interior is one vast table-land, higher than any other plateau in Europe, being from two to three thousand feet above the level of the sea. On either side precipitous mountain ranges interpose between the table-land and the shores, and through these numerous streams thread their way. The table-land is for the most part dry and treeless, hot in summer and cold in winter; Asturias is wet and wooded; the valleys of the Guadalquivir, Douro, Ebro, Tagus, and other rivers, are in places quite fertile. In the 15 southern provinces of Andalusia and Murcia, autumn and winter are mild and pleasant, and spring is surpassingly lovely; but the solano which during summer blows from the heated plains of Africa is intolerable to any but the acclimated. From the snow-clad Pyrenees the piercing blasts of winter sweep over Leon, Castile, and Estremadura, at the north protracting the long winter and making cold and humid the spring, and arrive at the middle provinces stripped of their moisture, but not of their raw unwelcome chilliness.

During the eleven convulsive centuries preceding our epoch we have seen mix and agglutinate the several ingredients of Spanish character—Iberian, Celt, Phœnician; Roman, Goth, and Moor, all contributing their quota. Christian, Infidel, and Jew, with their loves and hates, season the mass; and thus society becomes an olla podrida, and Spain presents the anomalous race of the world.

In different provinces different race-elements preponderate, that of Rome tincturing the whole more strongly than any other. Under analysis these several social ingredients may be easily detected. By comparison with Strabo, Arnold traces many of the social characteristics of the Spaniards back to the Iberians. "The grave dress, the temperance and sobriety, the unyielding spirit, the extreme indolence, the perverseness in guerilla warfare, and the remarkable absence of the highest military qualities ascribed by the Greek and Roman writers," he affirms, "are all more or less characteristic of the Spaniards of modern times. The courtesy and gallantry of the Spaniard to women has also come down to him from his Iberian ancestors."

So in the volatile, dark-haired Celt, where reckless courage and indifference to human life reached their height, where quick perception and ready wit supplied the place of sober thought and logical deductions, where man was courageous and changeable, and 16 woman was at once fickle, chaste, and passionate—in these fierce barbarians we see a multitude of traits handed by them to their descendants. Of Phœnician and Iberian influence, traces are seen in their skill in scientific mining; of Gothic, in their comparatively liberal forms of government, their attachment to military display, and in their good faith, integrity, and morality—would these latter had been a trifle more Gothic; of Roman, in their love of ecclesiastical forms, church and state loyalty, in their stately dignity and sobriety of deportment; of Arab, in their hatred of work, their love of freedom, their religious enthusiasm, their tactics in war, and in their language, poetry, art, and architecture. Some of these terms appear paradoxical, but human nature, in its ingredients, is ever paradoxical. In the Spanish language Brace discovers that the principal "terms for agriculture and science are Latin; for the Church, Latin or Greek; for arms, riding, and war, Teutonic; and for arts and plants in southern Spain, Arabic." From the north and east and south the boldest of the nations had congregated on this frontier peninsula, waiting the outburst which, after a thousand years of fermentation, broke over its western slope.

Buckle, in support of a theory referring the origin of character to physical causes, ascribes the superstition of Spain to famine and disease, to earthquakes and the awe-producing phenomena of wild scenery; their fickleness he attributes to climate, the heat and dryness in Spain interrupting labor and leading to desultory habits; their love of romance and adventure he traces to pastoral life, which prevailed to the neglect of agriculture during the Moorish invasion.

The fall of Granada left the Peninsula occupied essentially as follows: In the north and west were the descendants of Goths and Celts who, unmolested by Roman or Moor, retained in a measure their ancestral characteristics. Low of stature, thick-set and awkward, as strong and as hairy almost as bears, the 17 men of Asturias and Galicia, of Leon and Biscay, century after century come and go, living as their fathers lived, neither better nor worse, caring nothing for Arab or Dutchman, and little even for the Spanish kings; proud as ever of Pelayo, of the mountains that cradled Spanish liberty, of their great antiquity, which they boast as greater than that of any living nation; superstitious, irritable, and impetuous, but honest, frank, and sincere; implacable as enemies, but faithful as friends. Their boast is that never have they been subdued by Moor. Their chiefs were of the ancient Gothic blood, blue blood they called it, not being tainted with Arabic like that of their darker southern neighbors; of such material were early founded the kingdoms of Leon and Castile.

On their eastern side was the kingdom of Navarre, founded by the counts of the French marches. Though at one time these two sections had been united, the usual partition of heritage had soon dismembered them. Portugal, an offshoot of Castile, was permanently separated; Aragon, founded by Navarre, became also independent. Upon the eastern seaboard the people of Catalonia and Valencia, though diluted with the Limousin element, yet retain traces of their foreign relationships. "Of the modern evidences of race in the different provinces," says Brace, "travellers tell us that in Valencia the people resemble both their Keltiberian and Carthaginian ancestors, being cunning, perfidious, vindictive, and sullen. The burning sun has tanned their skin dark and aided to form in them an excitable and nervous temperament; they have, too, the superstitious tendencies that characterize the people of a hot climate. The Valencian women are fairer than the men, and are conspicuous for their beauty of form. They wear the hair and the ornaments of the head after the old Romish style. The Catalan is rude, active and industrious, a good soldier, and fond of his independence, resembling both Kelts and Iberians in his 18 covetous, bold, cruel, and warlike character. The Aragonese are two children of the Goths in their force of will, their attachment to constitutional liberties, and their opposition to arbitrary power."

The tall, tough, agile eastern mountaineer presents as marked a contrast to the stubby Asturian as does the sparkling Andalusian to the grave Castilian. For a long time the people of Andalusia were semi-Moorish in their character. There, where the soft air of Africa comes fresh from the Mediterranean, had dwelt the dusky, graceful Arab; worshipping Mahomet as the Castilian worshipped Christ, and regarding his Christian and Jewish neighbors with as little affection as either Jew or Christian regarded him. Scattered along the banks of the Guadalquivir, and in separate quarters of many towns of southern Spain, were bands of that anomalous race, the gypsies. Short, dark, ugly, with long, coarse, wavy hair, mixing with other men as light and darkness mix, they plied their trade of buying, stealing, and selling. During the latter part of the war they occupied themselves in bringing horses from Africa and selling them to Moors or Christians.

In the mountain fastnesses of Toledo there yet lived a remnant of Silingi stock, known as almogávares, who had never bent knee to Infidel; who, throughout the long contest which waged on every side of them, had kept green their liberty and their faith—a Christian oasis in the broad pagan desert. There, too, a broken band of the chosen Israel, now fairly launched upon their eternal wanderings, found a momentary resting-place. Before the arrival of the Visigoths, it is said, a colony of Hebrews planted themselves near Toledo, and by their industry and superior financial ability, became at length the royal bankers, and notwithstanding bitter prejudices, they rose high in influence, even to the honor of having their daughters enrolled among the king's mistresses.

Thus for a time the several parts of the Peninsula 19 differ widely in language, manners, and institutions; but at length, by wars and political combinations, race-barriers are broken down, and opposing clanships welded by an intenser hatred for some common enemy. The south through its Mediterranean trade soonest attains eminence, but warlike Castile subsequently acquires predominance. Meanwhile the masses retain their old ways better than their leaders. The nobility, and frequenters of courts, mingling more with the world, adopt the fashions of courts, and change with their changes. The inhabitants of the border provinces feel the influences of the war comparatively little; upon the great central plateau, however, there meet and mix almost all the stocks and creeds of the then known world. Aryan and Semite; Roman, Goth, and Mauritanian; Mahometan, Christian, and Jew; planting and plucking, building up and tearing down, fattening and starving, fighting and worshipping and burning—the whole table-land of Spain turned into a battle-arena of the nations, into a world's gladiatorial show; its occupants alternately marrying and battling, Moslem with Christian, Moslem with Moslem, Christian with Christian, Christian and Moslem uniting now against Christian and now against Moslem, while the slaughter of Jew, heretic, and gypsy fills the interlude. So pass centuries; and from this alembic of nations is distilled the tall, symmetrical, black-haired, bright-eyed, sharp-featured Castilian and Estremaduran.

Out of this heterogeneous medley of opposing qualities we have now to draw general characteristics.

In demeanor the Spaniard is grave, punctilious, reserved with strangers, jealous of familiarity or encroachment on his dignity; but among his acquaintances, or with those who are ready to recognize what he conceives to be his due, he throws off restraint, and becomes an agreeable companion and a firm friend. While impatient and resentful of fancied 20 slights, he is easily won by kindness, and is always dazzled by skill in arms and personal valor.

In disposition he is serious almost to melancholy, firm to stubbornness, imperturbable, lethargic, inert, moody; yet when roused there breaks forth the deepest enthusiasm and the most ungovernable passion. So punctilious is his sense of honor, so zealous and truthful is he in his friendships, so affectionate and humane in all his private relations, that at one time the term Spanish gentleman was synonymous with everything just, generous, and high-minded throughout Europe. In intellect he is contemplative rather than profound, apt in emergencies, but lacking breadth and depth. In habits he is temperate and frugal, easily satisfied, indolent. To live without work is his ideal of enjoyment. Dissoluteness and intemperance can not be ranked among his vices, nor do travellers place hospitality in his list of virtues. There is no such word as rowdy in his vocabulary. Turbulent from imposition he may be, and after injury vengeful; but brawler, disturber of peace and social order, he is not. Though taciturn, he is deep in feeling; in his love of country he is provincial rather than national. Though hard to be driven he is easily led; acting collectively, officially, he is given to venality, when personally thrown upon his honor he is scrupulous and trusty.

In manners the Spaniard is proverbial for high breeding, courtesy, and decorum. Whether beggar or courtier, his politeness seldom deserts him. "Dios guarde á usted," May God protect you; "Vaya usted con Dios, caballero," God be with you, sir; are the usual valedictions. In reply to the importunities of a beggar the cavalier exclaims, "Perdone usted, por Dios, hermano," For the love of God excuse me, my brother. To the highest noble and to the meanest peasant the greeting is the same. Sedate, sober-minded, reserved, the Spaniard is but the modified result of his several exemplars. "All Spaniards," 21 remarks Ford, "are prodigal to each other in cheap names and titles of honor; thus even beggars address each other as señor y caballero, lord and knight. The most coveted style is excelencia, your excellency." Nicknames are common. No one rises to distinction without carrying with him one or more appellations significant of the skill or occupation of his early days.

The Castilian has less ingenuity in mechanics, less skill in trade, less taste, less delicacy of perception, than the Italian, but far more pride, firmness, and courage; a more solemn demeanor, and a stronger sense of honor.

Every Spaniard of whatever class considers himself a caballero, a well-born and Christian gentleman, the superior of most, the equal of any, the inferior of none. Profuse in proffers of kindness, he is no less slow to fulfil them than to accept favors from others. He is very vain; vain of personal appearance, vain of his ancestry, his breeding; vain of his ignorance and superstition; proud of many things he should be ashamed of, and ashamed of nothing. Thieving was never prominent as a national vice. As a rule Spaniards are too proud to steal; the impulse of wounded affection or injured pride nerves the arm that strikes, oftener than the desire for plunder.

The old German cosmographer Sebastian Munster quaintly writes, Basel, 1553: "The Spaniards have good heads, but with all their studying they learn but little, for after having half learned a thing they think themselves very wise, and in their talk try to show much learning which they do not possess." Comparing them with the French, the same chronicler says: "The Frenchmen are taller, but the Spaniards more hardy. In war, the Spaniards are deliberate, and the French, impetuous. The French are great babblers, but the Spaniards can well keep a secret. The French are joyous and light of thought; they like to live well; but the Spaniards are melancholy, 22 serious, and not given to carousing. The French receive their guests friendlily and treat them well, but the Spaniards are cross to strangers, so that one must go from house to house in search of entertainment. The cause of this is that Spaniards have travelled little, and do not like to spend their money for food."

In Castile, more than elsewhere, was seen the perfect central type, which in its earlier stages was so remarkable for practical sagacity, for an insight into causes and motives, and skill in the adaptation of means to ends. In the wars of the New World, affirms Macaulay, "where something different from ordinary strategy was required in the general, and something different from ordinary discipline of the soldier, where it was every day necessary to meet by some new expedient the varying tactics of a barbarous enemy, the Spanish adventurers, sprung from the common people, displayed a fertility of resource, and a talent for negotiation and command, to which history scarcely affords a parallel." It must be borne in mind, however, that the New World adventurer was not always a national type.

Graham declares that "the history of the expeditions which terminated in the conquest of Mexico and Peru displays, perhaps, more strikingly than any other portion of the records of the human race, what amazing exertions the spirit of man can prompt him to attempt, and sustain him to endure." And again—"The masses," says Ford, who has studied them well, "the least spoilt and the most national, stand like pillars amid ruins, and on them the edifice of Spain's greatness must be reconstructed." "All the force of Europe," exclaims Peterborough, "would not be sufficient to subdue the Castiles with the people against it."

So great is their reverence for antiquity, that they appear to live almost as much in the past as in the present. Age is synonymous with wisdom; the older the habit or opinion, the more worthy of belief it is. 23 Innovation they abhor as dangerous; the universe of knowledge stands already revealed; there is nothing more to learn. Their premises they know to be sound, their conclusions correct, their beliefs true; what necessity then for further troubling themselves? Children in everything but teachableness, with themselves and their traditions they are content. Their education is finished. This is the most hopeless form of ignorance. Their legends they carefully preserve, old-time customs they love to practise, and they dwell with devoted enthusiasm on the exploits of their ancestors. To this day, twelve centuries after the occurrence, the peasantry of Asturias are divided between the descendants of those who aided the patriot Pelayo against the Moors, and those who did not—the latter being stigmatized as vaqueros; while the Andalusian Morisco keeps alive the story of Granada's grandeur, and dreams of Moslem warriors, of Abencerrage knights, and the restoration of former greatness. So strong is the influence of tradition and dead ancestry.

Speaking of the quality of firmness, and tenacity of purpose, says Bell, "So obstinate is the Spaniard, and in some provinces so remarkably self-willed, that the inhabitants of one part of Spain make a jest of the others on that account. Thus the obstinate Biscayan is represented as driving a nail into the wall with his head, whilst the still more obstinate Aragonian is figured in the same act and attitude, but with the point of the nail turned outward!" With the poniard at his throat, many a prostrate foe will die rather than yield, and as surely will the victor plunge in the fatal weapon if the cry for quarter be not quickly uttered. In Andalusia there was a fashion prevalent among duellists, when determined to fight their quarrel to the end, of firmly binding together, below the elbows, the left arms of the combatants; then, with knives in their right hands, they fought until one or both were dead. 24

Notwithstanding their excessive loyalty to their rulers, their love of antiquity and hatred of change; and notwithstanding the oppression of their princes, the condition of the lower classes in Spain at the close of the fifteenth century was far above that of the same class in any other European country. This was owing, not to any special consideration on the part of their political or ecclesiastical rulers, but to that greatest of scourges, war.

While the rulers were absorbed in conquering, and in keeping themselves from being conquered, except within the immediate battle-arena the people were left much alone. Besides, armies must have supplies, and producers were held in esteem by the military consumers.

Inequalities of power and wealth, unless arrested by extrinsic causes, ever tend to wider extremes. In Spain, the increase of wealth in the hands of priests and princes was checked by long-continued war. The products of the country must be used to feed the soldiery, and the power of the nobility must be employed against the common enemy. There was neither the time nor the opportunity to grind the people to the uttermost. Though the war bore heavily upon the working classes, it proved to them the greatest blessing; while the masses elsewhere throughout Europe were kept in a state of feudalistic serfdom, the necessity of Spain being for men rather than for beasts, elevation followed. Further than this, race-contact, and the friction attending the interminglings of courts and camps, tended in some degree towards polishing and refining society. "Since nothing makes us forget the arbitrary distinctions of rank," says Hallam, "so much as participation in any common calamity, every man who had escaped the great shipwreck of liberty and religion in the mountains of Asturias was invested with a personal dignity, which gave him value in his own eyes and those of his country. It is probably this sentiment transmitted 25 to posterity, and gradually fixing the national character, that had produced the elevation of manner remarked by travellers in the Castilian peasant."

And yet there were caste and social stratification enough. The stubborn manliness of the lower orders did not make them noble. Royalty alone was divine. The nobles loved money, yet for them to traffic was disgraceful. The ecclesiastic, whose calling placed him on a plane distinct from these, aside from his religious teachings, stood out as the earnest advocate of honest labor. Work was well enough for Moor, and Jew, and Indian; but he whose line of fighting ancestors had not beginning within the memory of man, must starve rather than stain his lineage by doing something useful.

The several social strata, moreover, were jealously kept distinct. The first distinction was that which separated them from foreigners. In the days of Cæsar and Cicero, Rome was master of the world; Rome was the world; were any not of Rome they were barbarians. So it was with Spaniards. To be of Castile was to be the most highly favored of mortals; to be a Spaniard, though not a Castilian, was something to be proud of; to be anything else was most unfortunate.

The next distinction was between the Spaniard of pure blood and the Christianized native of foreign origin. In the eyes of the Castilian baptism could not wholly cleanse a Moor or Jew. Moriscos the Church might make; heretics the Inquisition might reconstruct; but all Spain could not make from foreign material a Christian Spaniard of the pure ancient blood. About foreign fashions, foreign inventions, foreign progress, foreign criticism, they cared nothing. And probably nowhere in modern times was this irrational idea of caste carried to such an absurd extent as in the New World. Children of Spanish parentage, born in America, were regarded socially as inferior to children of the same 26 parents who happened to be born in Spain. To be born a Spanish peasant was better than hidalgo, or cavalier, with American nativity; for at one time the former, on migrating to America, was entitled by virtue of that fact to the prefix 'Don.' Under the viceroys native Mexicans, though of pure Castilian ancestry, were too often excluded from the higher offices of Church and State; and this notwithstanding that both canonical and civil law, if we may believe Betancur y Figueroa, provided that natives should be preferred in all ecclesiastical appointments from the lightest benefice to the highest prelacy. "But notwithstanding such repeated recommendations," says Robertson, "preferment in almost every different line is conferred on native Spaniards." Mr Ward, English consul at Mexico in 1825-7, affirms that "the son, who had the misfortune to be born of a creole mother, was considered as an inferior, in the house of his own father, to the European book-keeper or clerk, for whom the daughter, if there were one, and a large share of the fortune were reserved. 'Eres criollo y basta;' You are a creole and that is enough, was a common phrase amongst the Spaniards when angry with their children." Truly it was a good thing in those days to be at once 'of Christ' and 'of Spain.' It was positively believed by some that blood flowed in accordance with the majesty of law, and that the quality of one was inferior to the quality of another. The blood of the Indian was held as scarcely more human than the blood of beasts, and was often shed as freely.

Then, too, there was a distinction between the profession of arms and all other professions. Following republican Rome again, the education of no man aspiring to a public career was complete until he had served as a soldier. No one can truthfully charge the Spaniards of the sixteenth century with lack of courage. Military skill was the highest type of manhood. Of danger they made a plaything, not only 27 in their wars but in their sports. Life was dull unless brightened by blood.

In Aragon the barons were limited to a few great families who traced their descent from twelve peers, called ricos homes de natura. Although obliged to attend the king in his wars, in every other respect they were independent. They were themselves exempt from taxation and punishment, and held absolute authority over the lives and property of their vassals. The next lower order of nobility in Aragon was called infanzones, corresponding to the hidalgos of Castile. The caballeros, or knights, were the immediate followers of the ricos homes, and were possessed of important privileges.

In La Mancha the peasantry were of a quality different from those sent by Castile and Estremadura to the New World. Quintana writes of them, "He who travels through La Mancha will see the scaffold before he sees the town. They are lazy, dirty, quarrelsome, and never suffer from hunger, for when they wish to become the owners of anything they take it;" and remarks another, "They live on parched garbanzos, and pass the winter lying on their bellies like reptiles in the sun." See Murillo's matchless pictures.

Another class and race, broken fragments of which we have before encountered, secured more rest in Spain than elsewhere, yet from a different cause. Homeless Israel in the Arab found a friend. Not that the Mahometans loved the Jews, but because the Christians hated them, was their condition made so tolerable in Spain under Saracen rule. Then, and until their expulsion, they occupied an important position, being the chief money-handlers, merchants, and bankers. Overcome in their dislike for each other by a more bitter hatred against their common enemy, the Jews and Moors lived upon terms somewhat approaching equality. The Jews surpassed their Moorish masters in wealth, and were but little inferior to them in arts and letters. They were not 28 only usurers, but husbandmen, artisans, and doctors. As Christian domination extended southward, this comparatively happy state of the Spanish Jews disappeared. Under pretext of justice, their moneys were wrested from them by the nobles; indeed, if too stubborn they were not unfrequently put to death; and with the capitulation of Granada and the loss of their Moorish allies, the condition of the Jews became pitiable in the extreme. Two incidents of the crowning of Pope John XXIII., in 1410, as related by Monstrelet, give us a tolerably fair idea of the feelings entertained toward the Jews. In his progress through Rome, these people presented him with a manuscript copy of the old Testament. He, "having examined it a little, threw it behind him, saying, 'Your religion is good, but this of ours is better.'" And again, "There were before and behind him two hundred men-at-arms, each having in his hand a leathern mallet, with which they struck the Jews in such wise as it was a pleasure to see."

With such an example the condition of the Jews grew more serious. As for the Spaniards, they bettered the instruction, as was sufficiently proved by their expulsion-edict of March, 1492—an edict forbidding unbaptized Jews to be found within the limits of Spain at the end of four months; an edict allowing them in that time to sell their property, but forbidding them at the end of that time "to carry away with them any gold, silver, or money whatsoever;" "an edict," says the Catholic historian, Lafuente, "that condemned to expatriation, to misery, to despair, and to death, many thousands of families born and bred in Spain."

In almost every mediæval town there was a Jewish district, in which, says M. Depping, their historian, "Jews like troops of lepers were thrust away and huddled together into the most uncomfortable and most unhealthy quarters of the city, as miserable as it was disgusting;" or, as Paul Lacroix describes it, 29 "a large enclosure of wretched houses, irregularly built, divided by small streets with no attempt at uniformity. The principal thoroughfare is lined with stalls, in which are sold not only old clothes, furniture, and utensils, but also new and glittering articles." Within their prescribed limits, all their necessities were supplied, and a dirt-begrimed prison-like synagogue usually occupied the center. But even in these wretched places they were often subjected to cruelties the most severe and sickening. Terrible as were the indignities heaped upon this unfortunate people it must not be supposed that they were wholly unprovoked, or that all the forbearance was on the part of the sufferers. Opinions on these questions are widely divergent, and I refer to them here only to show more clearly the condition of Europe at the time of which I write.

The Spaniards of the sixteenth century have been called a cruel people; and so they were. Yet they were no more cruel than other nations of their day, and no more cruel relatively, according to the progress of humanity, than are we to-day. Time evolves in many respects a more refined civilization, but the nature of man changes not. Individuals may be less beastly; society may be regulated more by law and less by passion; between nations in their wars and diplomacy there may be less systematic torture, less unblushing chicanery; but the world has yet to find a weightier right than might. I fail to discover in America, by Catholic Spaniards or heathen savages, deeds more atrocious than some committed in India and China within the century by Protestant England, the world's model of piety and propriety; and yet the treatment of Indians in North America by the people of Great Britain has been far more just and humane than their treatment by the people of the United States.

Before such a charge as that of excessive cruelty can be made good against a people, there are several things to be considered. And first the motive. The 30 surgeon who amputates a limb to save a life is not called cruel. Now the Spaniards were the spiritual surgeons of their day. Nine tenths of all their cruelties were committed under the conviction that what they did was in the line of duty, and that to refrain from so doing would have been no kindness. Though with the experience of the past and by the clearer light of the nineteenth century we conclude that these convictions were false, and though we contemplate them with horror and condemn the acts which resulted from them as barbarous, yet it is almost superfluous to say that with their teachings and surroundings we should have been the same. The inherent qualities of human nature seem to be changed but little if at all by the cultivation and development of mind. Secondly, the quality of cruelty is not pronounced, but relative. There are cruelties of the heart, of the sensibilities, no less cruel than bodily tortures. The age of savagism is always cruel. Cruelty springs from ignorance rather than from instinct. Childlike and thoughtless things, things tender by instinct, are cruel from disingenuous perversity. A clouded, unreasoning, unreasonable mind, even when hiding beneath it a tender heart, begets cruelty; while a sterner disposition, if accompanied by a clear, truth-loving intellect, delights in no injustice—and cruelty is always unjust. This is why, if it be true as has been charged, that notwithstanding boys are more cruel than girls, women are more cruel than men. Children, women, and savages are cruel from thoughtlessness; though the cruel boy may be very tender of his puppy, the cruel woman of her child, the cruel savage of his horse. Even the moralities and intellectual refinements of that day were not free from what would seem to us studied and unnecessary cruelty. I will cite a few instances of European cruelty, not confined to Spaniards, which will show not only that Spain was not more cruel than other nations, but that the savages of America were not 31 more cruel than the Europeans of their day. Both tortured to the uttermost where they hated, even as men do now; the chief difference was, the Europeans, being the stronger, could torture the harder. Civilization changes, not the quantity of cruelty, but the quality only.

"Cæsar Borgia," writes Sebastiano de Branca in his diary, about the year 1500, "Cæsar Borgia was the cruelest man of any age." To serve his purposes he did not hesitate to use poison and perjury. He was treacherous, incestuous, murderous, even keeping a private executioner, Michilotto, to do his bidding. Louis XI. of France, and other princes, kept a court assassin. The fifteenth century was lurid with atrocities. Rodrigo Lenzuoli, the father, Lucretia, the daughter, and Cæsar, the son, comprised the Borgia trio, distinguished no less for their intellect, beauty, wealth, and bravery, than for their craft, lust, treachery, and cruelty. Says Lecky: "Philip II. and Isabella the Catholic inflicted more suffering in obedience to their consciences than Nero or Domitian in obedience to their lusts."

In 1415 John Huss was burned for his religion, and in 1431 Joan of Arc for her patriotism. In like manner perished thousands of others. Mahomet II., disputing with the Venetian artist Gentile Bellini as to the length of John the Baptist's neck after decollation, called a slave, and striking off his head with one blow of his cimeter, exclaimed: "There! did not I say yours is too long?"

Princes made bloodshed a pastime. Edward IV. put to death a tradesman for perpetrating a pun; caused a gentleman to be executed for speaking against a favorite; and condemned his own brother to death in a fit of petulance. In an interview between this same Edward of England and the king of France, the monarchs were brought together in huge iron cages, each distrustful of the other. Louis XII. confined Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan, in an iron 32 cage for ten years, and until his death. This was a punishment common at that time in Italy and Spain. Pedro el Cruel is charged by Hallam with having murdered his wife and mother, most of his brothers and sisters, many of the Castilian nobility, and multitudes of the commonalty.

The church tolerated the persecution of its enemies, believing it was for the glory of God. Nor was this idea confined to Spain or to the fifteenth century, for we find in England and even in America that persecutions for conscience' sake, with all the cruelties that refined civilization could devise existed at the opening of the present century; nor indeed is the world yet completely emancipated from this thraldom.

Yet the Spaniards, I say, were bad enough. The cruelties following the capitulation of Málaga, in 1487, were more befitting fiends than a man and woman who prided themselves in the title of Catholic king and queen.

Since the establishment of the Inquisition, religious persecutions had become but too gratifying to the national taste. On this occasion at Málaga, the apostate Moors were first caught and burned. Twelve apostate Christians were then fastened to stakes in an open place and made the barbarous sport of Spanish cavaliers, who, mounted on fleet horses, hurled at their naked bodies pointed reeds while rushing past at full speed. This was continued until the torn and bleeding flesh of their victims was filled with darts, and the wretched sufferers expired under the most excruciating torments. Then, of the rest of the Moorish prisoners, three divisions were made; one for the redemption of Christian captives, one to be distributed among the victors as slaves, and one to be publicly sold into slavery.

Spanish knights returned from their incursions against the Moors with strings of turbaned heads hanging from their saddle-bows, which, as they passed along, they threw to the boys in the streets, in order 33 to inspire their youthful minds with hatred to the foes of their religion.

From making slaves of prisoners of war, a traffic in human flesh springs up. A slave-trade association was formed in Portugal in 1443. Gonzalez brought slaves to Seville; Columbus sent to Spain a cargo of Indian slaves in 1495; in 1503 the enslavement of American Indians was authorized by Ferdinand and Isabella; and in 1508 the African slave-trade unfolded in all its hideous barbarity. The slave-trade, however, was tolerated by these sovereigns from mistaken kindness, rather than from cruelty. It was to shield the Indian, who died under the infliction of labor, that Isabella permitted the importation of Africans into the colonies.

Cruelty was a prominent wheel in the machinery of government, as well as in religious discipline. Torture was deemed inseparable from justice, either as preparatory to trial to elicit a confession of guilt, or as part of an execution to increase the punishment. Hippolite de Marsilli, a learned jurisconsult of Bologna, mentioned fourteen ways of inflicting torture, which are given by Lacroix. Among them were compressing the limbs with instruments or cords; the injection of water, vinegar, or oil; application of hot pitch; starvation; placing hot eggs under the armpits; introducing dice under the skin; tying lighted candles to the fingers which were consumed with the wax, and dropping water from a great height upon the stomach. Josse Damhoudere mentioned thirteen modes of execution or punishment—fire, the sword, mechanical force, quartering, the wheel, the fork, the gibbet, dragging, spiking, cutting off the ears, dismembering, hogging, and the pillory. Every country had its peculiar system of torture.

In 1547 English vagrants were branded with a V and enslaved for two years. Should the unfortunate attempt escape, a hot S was burned into the flesh and he was a slave for life. A second attempted 34 escape was death. In those days wife-whipping was a common and respectable domestic discipline; culprits in the pillory and stocks were stationed in the marketplace where all the people might strike them; prisoners were stripped of their clothes, confined in filthy dungeons half filled with stagnant water, and there not unfrequently left to starve, while slimy reptiles crawled over the naked body, or drove their poisonous fangs into the quivering flesh.

The sports of the Spaniards we now regard as cruel, as ours will be regarded four hundred years hence. Although delighting in games, in pantomimic dance, in fencing, wrestling, running, leaping, hunting, hawking, with the gentler pastime of song and guitar, the more popular amusements were cock-fights, dog and bull fights, bull and bear fights, bear and dog fights, enjoyed alike by high and low, by women, boys, and men, by laity and clergy. Sometimes fighters would enter the arena blindfolded and engage in deadly encounter. Yet how much more cruel were these sports than modern horse-racing, cock-fighting, dog-fighting, prize-fighting, rope-walking, lion-taming, steeple-chases, to say nothing of the more gentlemanly cruelty of raising foxes to be hunted, and worried, and finally torn in pieces by dogs, let posterity judge. I do not say that the sixteenth-century sports of Spain were not more cruel than the English sports of to-day. I think they were. But that Spaniards were inherently more cruel, that is to say, that their hearts were more wickedly wanton, their sympathies more inhumane, or that they enjoyed a more ardent pleasure in inflicting pain upon others than men do now, I do not believe. The Spaniards were a nation of soldiers, and soldiers are necessarily cruel. Men go to war to hurt the enemy, not to be kind to him. Unquestionably the effect of bull-fights, like the gladiatorial shows of imperial Rome, was debasing, tending to excite a love of the bloody and terrible, and to render insipid 35 tamer and more refined amusements. This to them was a misfortune, although the repulsive sport did foster a spirit of courage and endurance.

The corrida de toros, bull-run, or bull-fight, the national sport of Spain, is a relic of Moorish chivalry, yet no less Spanish than Arabic; for the institution as it exists in Spain is found neither in Africa nor in Arabia. Originally, as in the ancient tournament, in the sport engaged only cavaliers, or gentlemen, in whom were combined such skill and strength that the head of a bull was sometimes stricken off by a single blow of the montante. Since which time the tournament has degenerated into a prize-ring, and the chivalrous bull-fight which in principle was a display of courage combined with skill in horsemanship, and in the use of the lance, has become a sort of dramatic shambles, where the actors are low-born and mercenary professionals.

The home life of the Spaniard, which pictures his softer shades of character, and shows the more delicate tracings of his mental and moral sensibilities, must not be disregarded. There alone we shall see him as he is, stripped of the paraphernalia attending his appearance before men, with the intents and purposes of heart and mind laid open before us.

We have noticed how the genius of the Mahometan clung to the soil long after he was driven away; to this day southern Spain is more Arabic than Gothic. The towns of Andalusia—of which Cádiz, with its whitewashed antiquity and its streets and walls clean as a taza de plata, is the key; and Seville, radiant with sunny gardens and glittering towers, is the pride—consist of narrow, tortuous streets walled by Moorish mansions enclosing cool courts. Shutterless windows, through which half-muffled lovers whisper soft nothings to bar-imprisoned señoritas, open without; fresh young love and musty antiquity thus mingling in harmonious contrast. Then, favored by the 36 voluptuous air of spring, or broiling beneath the enervating heat of summer, are Granada, Córdova, and Málaga, where glory and shame, heroic virtue and unblushing vice, erudition and ignorance, Christianity and paganism were so blended that the past and present seem almost one. As if proud of their Moorish origin, these cities of southern Spain battle with time, and hold in fast embrace the shadows of departed grandeur. The better class of Moorish houses are yet preserved; and the otherwise unendurable heat of this so-called oven of Spain is rendered supportable by the narrow, crooked streets—so narrow, indeed, that in some of them vehicles can not pass each other—and by the irregular, projecting stories of the terrace-roofed houses.

Though widely separate in their religious systems much there is alike in the national characteristics of these grave and haughty sheiks and the Spaniards. To both were given conquest, wealth, and opportunity. Both struggled blindly and bravely, sinking into national decay and corruption, which closed in around them like a pestilence. But in their religion there was no doubt a difference. One was sensual, the other spiritual. In one were the seeds of progress, of intellectual culture, and of all those enlightenments and refinements which make men more fit to dominate this earth. And though the Allah akbar echoes from the receding hosts who worship God and his prophet, yet its mission is fulfilled. Where now is the might of Mauritania? Where the power and pride that caused Egypt to dream again of the days of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies? Syria and Palestine are desolate, Bedouinized. To Bagdad remains but the memory of ancient splendor; her palaces are heaps. No more the good Haroun al Raschid walks her streets; no more the universities of Kufa and Bassora, Samarcand and Balkh enlighten the world. The sons of Hagar have had their day; their work is done. What Spain and her colonies now are need not here be told. 37

Every Spanish town has its plaza, great square, or public market-place, which every day presents a busy scene. Thither in early morning resort the improvident—though not specially lazy—common people for their daily supply of food. Then there is the paseo, or public promenade, or, as it is more frequently called, the alameda, from álamo, poplar, a beautiful walk, shaded on either side by trees. There may be seen every pleasant day after the siesta, or midday sleep, groups of either sex, and all classes, high and low, rich and poor, walking to and fro, chatting, smoking, flirting, drinking in health and content and merriment with the cool, delicious evening air; while ladies in carriages and cavaliers on curveting steeds occupy and enliven the roadway.

Numberless kinds of dwellings obtain in various parts, conspicuous among which are the Asturian caverns, the subterranean abodes of La Mancha, the forts of Castile, and the Moorish palaces of Andalusia. Stone, hewn and unhewn, is the material employed in mountainous districts; adobe, or sun-dried brick, with thatched roof, upon the plains. A common class of architecture is a windowless parallelogram divided into two rooms, one for the family, and the other for the cattle, the attic being used as a barn. Houses of this kind are built in one and two stories. An out-house for stores, which is also used as a sleeping-place for the women, perched on pillars eight feet high, sometimes stands adjacent. Across one end of the family room, which, of necessity, is used for all domestic purposes, extends a fire-place, ten or fifteen feet in length and six feet in depth, over which is a large bell-shaped chimney extending out into the middle of the room. This style of building might be elaborated, wings added, or the form changed. Tiled roofs are common, and overhanging eaves. Some houses are of three or four stories; others run out long and low upon the ground. More pretentious dwellings are often in the form of a hollow square, 38 with a patio and garden within. Of such are convents with cloisters, and over them ranges of corridors and rooms.

Among the upper classes the apartments of the lady consist of an antechamber, or drawing-room, a boudoir, a bed-room, a dressing-room, and an oratory. The drawing-room is furnished with tapestry hangings on which are represented battles and biblical scenes—war and religion even here; polished oak or mahogany high-backed chairs, clumsy, and elaborately carved; in the corners of the room triangular tables on which stand heavy silver or gold candlesticks with sperm candles, the light from which is reflected by small oval Venetian mirrors, in fantastically wrought gold or silver frames; cupboards with glass doors for plate, etc. In the boudoir is a toilet-table before Venetian mirrors profusely draped in handsome lace; a book-case, work-table, arm-chairs, sacred paintings and family portraits; in the sleeping-room, a tall heavy bedstead with damask or velvet curtains, a crucifix—the image of silver or gold, and the cross of ivory—with a little basin of holy water near it, a priedieu and prayer-book; in the dressing-room a wardrobe, and all necessary toilet appliances; in the oratory an altar, a crucifix, two or more priedieux, and, if mass is said, as is often the case in the houses of the great or wealthy, images of saints by the masters, with all the accompanying ornaments of devotion.

The dwellings of southern Spain, large and small, lean toward the Arabic in architecture—Arabic decorations, with second-story balconies; the rooms rich in carved ceilings, wainscoting, and arabesque; the entrance from the street in city houses being through a vestibule and an ornamented iron-grated gate. During the summer, when the sun's rays strike like poisoned darts, the family live for the most part in the patio. There upon the marble pavement, beside the cooling fountain, and amidst fragrant orange, 39 palm, and citron trees, visitors are received, chocolate drank, and cigarettes smoked. There too they dance to the music of the guitar, play cards, and take their siesta.

To oriental customs may be attributed the jealous privacy by which the women of Spain were guarded by husbands and fathers. Besides her natural weakness, woman was yet inferior, inept, characterless, not to be trusted. The fortress-like houses of the better sort, which are scattered all over the table-land of the Peninsula, with their spacious inner court and iron-barred windows, were so arranged that the part occupied by the female members of the household was separate from the more public rooms of the men. This precinct was unapproachable by any but the most intimate friend or invited guest. Their domestic policy, like every other, was suspicious and guarded.

This is further illustrated by the mode of entering a house, which also shows the effect of centuries of warfare upon manners. In outer doors, and in those of distinct floors, and apartments, was inserted a small grate and slide. On knocking, the slide moved back, and at the grating appeared the lustrous, searching eyes of the inmate. "Quien es?" Who is it? was the salutation from within. "Gente de paz." Peaceful people, was the reply.

Extreme sensitiveness with regard to dress characterizes Spaniards of the better sort, and rather than appear in public unbecomingly attired, they remain hidden at home, only stealing out for necessities at nightfall, or perhaps in the early morn, and then back to their home for the day. In this we see a strong mixture of pride and bienséance, in which there is more sensitiveness than sense. But man can not live by reason alone. He who in this factitious world is guided only by the instincts of a sound mind, regardless of the frivolities of fashion, of convenance, indifferent to his neighbor's ideas of propriety, and to any taste 40 except his own, commits a mistake. Though he alone is wise, and all the world fools, yet of necessity he must become foolish, else he is not wise.

Males, in their costume, were the birds of gay plumage at the beginning of the sixteenth century. So fantastically clad was the English nobleman in his laced doublet and open gown, that he was scarcely to be distinguished from a woman. In the time of Charles V. courtiers dressed in bright colors, but with his sombre son Philip, all was black—black velvet trimmed with jet; and stiff—stiff collars, and stiff black truncated cone hats, with brim scarcely an inch wide, in place of the soft slouchy sombrero.

The national and characteristic garment of both sexes in Spain for about three centuries was, for the outer covering, the capa, or cloak, of the cavalier, and the mantilla of the lady. In the reign of Charles V. the former was a short cape, and the latter simply a head-dress; but with time both enlarged until one reached below the knee, and the other below the waist. Some writers give to these garments a remote antiquity. They point to ancient coins where Iberia is represented as a veiled woman, and ignoring sex claim that to the Iberians the Romans gave the toga, and that for fifteen centuries the fashion continued. Others deny such connection. It is undoubtedly true that the capa of the sixteenth century was much shorter than the cloak of to-day, being a cape rather than a cloak, and not at all resembling the Roman toga. Sebastian Franc in his Weltbuch, Tübingen, 1534, writes: "Their women wear a curious dress around the neck; they have an iron band to which are fastened bent prongs reaching over the head, over which, when they desire it, they draw a cloth for the protection of the head, and this they hold to be a great ornament." To the men and women of Spain this garment is as the shell to the turtle; within it, though on a crowded thoroughfare, they may at any moment retire from the world, and 41 ensconce themselves within themselves. The cavalier with a peculiar fling, utterly unattainable by a foreigner, throws the skirt over the breast and shoulder so as to partially or completely hide the face according to his pleasure. On the way to and from church the lady's face is covered; and the gallant sighing for a glimpse of features divinely fair, is obliged to enter the sanctuary, hide behind a column near the altar; then as one female after another approaches, kneels, and unveils, he may feast his eyes on the faces before him. The mantilla serves as a bonnet, veil, and shawl; formerly it was but an oblong piece of cloth, with velvet or lace border; later a lace veil was added as part of it; and now the Spanish female face is becoming more and more visible in public.

The capa is indispensable to the Spaniard; it fits his nature like a glove, and is almost a part of him. It may be worn over a rich dress, or it may conceal rags or nakedness; it may cover a noble, generous heart, or a multitude of sins. Hidden beneath it, in secret the wearer may work out his purpose, though in the market-place. It keeps out the cold; it may hide the assassin's dagger; it serves as a disguise in love intrigues, and is a grateful protection from importunate creditors. Twisted round the left arm, it is a shield; at night, it is a bed; and with a sword, capa y espada, it not unfrequently constitutes the entire earthly possessions of the haughty, poverty-stricken cavalier. Whatever be the character or condition of the wearer, dignity is lent him by its ample folds, and comeliness by its graceful drapery. It is an unpardonable breach of decorum for a muffled cavalier to address a person, or for any one to speak to him while so muffled. Politeness teaches him to throw open to his friend both his garment and his heart, that it may be plain that no concealed weapon is in the one, or malice in the other. A son dare not speak to his own father when his face is covered by his cloak. 42

The peasantry flaunted the gayest and most picturesque attire on holiday occasions; the majo, a rustic beau, wore a figured velvet waistcoat with square velvet buttons, and brilliant with colored ribbons; embroidered stockings, silver-buckled shoes, and a colored capa thrown gracefully over the left shoulder. The dress of Fígaro in the play, is that of an Andalusian dandy. The costume of Valencia is more Asiatic, or Asiatic-antique it might be called, partaking somewhat, as it does, of the ancient Greek costume—wide linen drawers, linen shirt, hempen sandals, footless stockings, wide red woollen belt, gay velvet jacket with silken sash, with a colored capa over all. The long hair is bound by a silken band in the form of a turban. The female peasant dress is no less showy; a red velvet bodice, with scarlet or purple petticoat, all profusely embroidered, a gay-colored square-cut mantilla fastened by a silver brooch, with chains and jewels and colored stones according to the purse of the wearer.

The ordinary peasant dress of Estremadura consists of wide cloth knee-breeches, closely resembling those of the Moors, a gabardine of cloth or leather, and cloth leggings. The men wear the hair long. The women have a fashion of putting on a great number of petticoats; the rustic belles of Zamarramala, a village of Estremadura, manage to carry from fourteen to seventeen. In Andalusia the men have short jackets ornamented with jet or steel beads, knee-breeches, and highly ornamented leathern leggings; the women wear short embroidered and flounced petticoats, and a Moorish sleeveless jacket embroidered with gold or silver and laced in front. Asturian peasants have wooden shoes with three large nails in the soles, which keep them from the ground; leathern shoes they frequently carry in their travels, and to and from church, under their arms, or on their heads, putting them on just before entering the village or church. The women wear ear-rings 43 and necklaces of glass imitation of coral; a handkerchief, folded triangularly, covers the head; at funerals, a large black mantle is worn. The Castilians wear sandals, called abarcas, tied to the ankle by narrow strips of rawhide. The Estremadurans wear a hat, very broad-brimmed; the Catalonians, a red Phrygian cap; the Valencians, a kind of Greek cap; the Asturians, a three-cornered black or dark blue cap with velvet facings; the Biscayans, a flat red woollen cap; the Andalusians, a turban-like hat, or a silk handkerchief. In Aragon, as well as in some of the southern provinces, the broad-brimmed slouching sombrero obtains. Hats were invented by a Swiss, Pansian, in 1404, and a Spaniard first manufactured them in London in 1510. Jews in Spain were obliged to wear yellow hats; in Germany bankrupts, in like manner, were required to wear hats of green and yellow.

The general costume of a Spanish nobleman consisted of a silk gabardine, with sleeves close-fitting at the wrist but puffed and slashed between the elbow and shoulder so as to show the fine linen shirt beneath; chamois-skin doublet, thick but flexible; silk hose, and silk trowsers slashed; long bell-shaped boots with golden spur-supporters; broad, polished leathern belt, from which hung a long sword on the left side, and a long dagger in a leathern or velvet scabbard on the right; a round, soft, broad-brimmed beaver hat, with an ostrich-feather fastened by a diamond brooch on the side or in front; a cape or cloak embroidered or laced with gold or silver thread, fastened with cord and tassel, and worn hanging from the left shoulder, or thrown around the body so as to cover part of the face. Within doors, the cloak was laid aside; a velvet doublet was substituted for the leathern one; and instead of boots, shoes of leather or velvet, slashed over the toes, were worn. The dress of the lady was a heavy, flowing brocade or velvet skirt, open in front, displaying an underdress 44 of light silk or satin; a chemisette with slashed sleeves; a stomacher with long ends hanging in front, and a velvet sleeveless jacket laced with gold or silver cord. The breast was covered with lace, and the neck and shoulders were bare, except when covered by the toca, a kind of head-dress, out of which by elongation grew the characteristic mantilla. Her shoes were of velvet, her stockings of silk or wool; from the waist on the right side hung a reticule, a silver or gold whistle for calling servants, and a poniard. Her dueña wore a black skirt, and a large black mantle completely covering the head, face, and shoulders down to the waist. Swords formed no part of domestic dress prior to the fifteenth century.

Black was the color of the church, certain clerical orders excepted. Those of the learned professions wore black. The ladies usually attended church in black, and indeed were sometimes seen in sombre hues upon the alameda. Black robes and a canoe-shaped hat covered the Basque priest; and the friar, sackcloth and gray, bound round the waist with a twisted cord. Alguaciles, or constables, followed the ancient cavalier costume—broad-brimmed hat, black cloak, short knee-breeches, black stockings, silver-buckled shoes, Vandyke ruffles, and white lace collar. This in the Basque provinces only. Friars appeared in a hooded robe, extending to the ankles, over woollen breeches and jacket. A cord was tied round the waist from which hung a rosary. Hempen or leathern shoes were worn, and by some orders broad hats. The robe of the friar was of coarse wool; that of the clergyman serge, with a cloak, low leathern shoes with buckle, black stockings, knee-breeches, a white collar, and a black hat with broad brim turned up at the sides. The robes of vicars, parish curates, and other church dignitaries were of silk. The Franciscan's robe was of a yellowish gray color, the Dominican's white, the Carmelite's reddish gray, the 45 Capuchin's silver gray, the Jesuit's black. The bishop's color was violet, the cardinal's red or purple.

Domestic routine in Spain, with allowances for class, season, and locality, was substantially as follows. The noble or wealthy master of a household was served before rising with chocolate, which service was called the desayuno. He then rose and dressed; after which, kneeling before the crucifix, he said a prayer; then he proceeded to the avocations of the day, taking las once, or the eleven o'clock luncheon of cake and wine, either at home or at the house of a friend, or wherever he happened to be. After a twelve or one o'clock dinner came the siesta. At five o'clock there was to be eaten the merienda, consisting of chocolate, preserved fruit, and ices; and between nine and eleven, supper. In the private chapel of the grandees mass was said. The middle class usually attended church about sunrise; after which breakfast, and at noon dinner.

The religious training of children was excessive. At daybreak the angelus was recited, then to chapel or church to mass, after which the child might breakfast; at noon angelus and dinner; after the siesta vespers at church, and rosary at home; at six o'clock angelus and chocolate; prayers at eight; supper at nine; after which more prayers and to bed. The child was expected to attend all these devotions, the night prayer perhaps excepted, the youngest children being sent to bed after the rosary. And this not alone Sunday, but every day.

A national dish, centuries old, common to Spain and all Spanish countries, called the olla podrida, constitutes a staple food with almost all classes. It is made of meat and vegetables boiled together, but usually served in two dishes, and its constituents depend upon the resources of the cook, for everything eatable is put into it that can be obtained. Beef, mutton, pork, and fowl; beans, peas, potatoes, 46 onions, cabbage, and garlic; the water in which the mess is boiled is served as soup with rice or bread, and the two courses constitute the whole of every meal of the lower classes. On the tables of the wealthy, after the olla podrida, fish, roast meats, and a profuse dessert of sweetmeats, jellies, preserves, and bonbons are served. The Andalusians make a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, green-peppers, chiccory, with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and stale bread, which with them is a staple dish, called gazpacho.

It was a gluttonous, sensual age, that of the century preceding our epoch; but from these vices Spain was probably more free than any other civilized nation of Europe. There the discipline of war absorbed the attention which elsewhere was given to luxurious living. We find nothing in Spain such as we are told about in England, where the households of the great were composed of brawling retainers, ill-mannered clowns, and riotous serving men and women who terminated many a feast with bloodshed; where guests snatched and scrambled for food, gorging themselves with whatever they could lay hands on; where drunken broils were of daily occurrence, and the master of the household was not unfrequently obliged to sheath his sword in the body of some contumacious servant grown dangerous by the unbridled license in which he had been indulged.

What shall we say of the monks and cardinals now grown fat from the well filled coffers of the Church? With their wealth in some instances they had grown sensuous and extravagant. Their cupboards were loaded with rich viands, in which they freely indulged; and their tables were surrounded by musicians and all the luxuries and delicacies the world could contribute. Not to the faults of the few, however, would we call too much attention, but to the virtues of the many; for during these dark years of ignorance and voluptuousness the Church was planting 47 and watering the seeds of the sanctity of marriage and domestic life in Spain, and surrounding the family altar with so many safeguards among her people, that the long ages since have not sufficed to dispel nor destroy them. The wealthy families of Spain had their court jesters, but coarse buffoonery or indecent jests were seldom tolerated.

Two persons often ate from one plate, using their fingers for forks. A sheath-knife, or dagger, which they carried upon the person, served to cut the food. Among the first books printed in Venice was a folio volume on cookery, issued in 1475. In the English metrical Stans Puer ad Mensam, following Wright, the guest is told to "bring no knyves unskoured to the table;" in other words, his sheath knife should be clean, and he is also informed that polite persons will not pick their teeth with it while at table. It was considered a breach of good manners to blow the nose with the same fingers used in conveying food to the mouth. Hats were worn by the men, and head-dresses by the women, on all domestic occasions. In France, the metrical Contenances de Table, or manual of table manners, shows but little more refinement there than elsewhere. Among other directions the reader is told first to examine his seat whether it be clean:

He is forbidden to spit upon the table while at dinner:

Or to spurt water from his mouth into the basin used in common by the company:

48

Or leave sops in his wine glass:

But by implication he may spurt and throw remnants on the floor, as much as he pleases.

Even in their use of tobacco, of which they are excessively fond, the Spaniards are temperate. Though they smoke it almost constantly, it is in such small quantities, and in so mild a form, that tobacco does them less injury than it inflicts on many other nations. It was the custom to carry a daily supply wrapped in a lettuce or cabbage leaf to preserve it moist. The cigarette was prepared for smoking by taking a small quantity of tobacco, finely cut, rolling it in a piece of corn-husk or paper, and lighting with flint, steel, and punk. Though the tobacco may be strong, prepared in this way the effect is less injurious than when rolled in larger quantities into a cigar, or cut from a plug and smoked from a pipe or chewed.

Noble youths of both sexes were accustomed, to serve a sort of apprenticeship for a number of years in the king's household. In like manner the sons and daughters of gentlemen served in the houses of the nobility, and common people in the houses of gentlemen, that each might be benefited by the knowledge and refinement of his superior.

Spaniards, as I have said, are called inhospitable; but this charge must be taken with allowance. Every phase of human nature has its generous quality; locked in every heart is a wealth of kindliness which opens to him who holds the key. By nature these people are reserved, suspicious. They carry no window in their breast. In their domestic affairs they are specially reticent before strangers. Their wives and daughters they hide away; their troubles they cover within the ashes that preserve them; their sensibilities shrink from cold contact with the world. If some find certain Spaniards at given 49 periods inhospitable, others at other times and places find them very generous. In early times inns were not common in Spain, and we are told that in certain places every private house had its guest's quarters consisting of one or more rooms according to the opulence of the owner. To this apartment every stranger of whatsoever degree was welcome. There he lived as long as he pleased, fed and cared for by the host; and—you may call it pride—if through poverty provisions grew scarce, the family would undergo the greatest privation rather than the guest should suffer want, or be forced to hasten his departure. Furthermore all was free; to offer pay for entertainment was deemed an insult, though a present might be given and accepted.

While called a melancholy people, amusement appeared at times to be the life of the nation. Royalty and religion at rest, peace here and hereafter secured, there was nothing more of life than to enjoy it. To labor when one might repose; to sigh when one might sing; to undergo the pains of culture when sweet pleasure temptingly proposed a holiday—ah no! Fools attempt to better their condition and make it worse. Let those who need improving scour themselves; we know enough.

So lazily lapped in stupidity, beside their feast-days and bull-fights, their passions and passion-plays, they lolled upon the greensward and danced to tambourine and castanets, and wrestled, and ran races; they fenced, fought, played cards, shook dice, and enlivened home monotony by all sorts of games and gymnastic exercises. Dancing was carried to such excess as to lead to dissoluteness and occasional death, even as it does to-day. The dances of the peasantry in many instances bear a striking resemblance to those of the native races of America. In Asturias, men, and sometimes men and women, form a circle joining hands by the little finger. A leader sings in plaintive 50 monotone a description of some Spanish feat of arms prior to the eleventh century, or of a tournament of later days, or of some unhappy love adventure, or of a thrilling incident in the conquest of America. At the end of every strophe, all sing in chorus the refrain which sometimes terminates in an invocation, as for example, May Saint Peter be with me! May the Magdalen protect us! The dance is a long step forward, and two short steps backward and laterally to the right, so that the circle keeps constantly moving in that direction, meanwhile keeping time to the music with arms as well as feet. These dances take place on Sunday afternoons, and on feast-days, and when the priest is present men and women are separated in the dance. The fandango, danced by two persons with castanets to the music of the guitar, is peculiar to the south of Spain.

Between the eras proper of tournaments and bull-fights, a species of tilting called correr la sortija was greatly in vogue. A gold finger-ring was suspended by a thread from the top of a pole, and at it charged the cavalier with lance in rest and horse at full speed. The smallness of the object, its constant motion, and its proximity to the pole rendered it an exceedingly difficult feat to accomplish.

Cards and dice were at this time in the height of their fascination. Every class, age, profession, and sex were filled with a passion for gambling—a most levelling vice, at this juncture, bringing in contact noble and commoner, knight and squire, women, servants, and trades-people. An English poet about the year 1500 thus laments the degeneracy of the nobles:

From her low estate of mediæval drudge or plaything, woman was lifted by the exaltation of the 51 Virgin,—lifted too high by chivalry; then fell too low with the sensual reaction. Finally, after many waverings, she rises again, and in the more favored spheres takes her rightful place beside her lord, his confidant and equal. At the time of which I write, however, she was less respected than now, and hence less respectable; less trusted, and consequently less trustworthy. Her virtue, fortified by bolts and bars at home, was watched by servants abroad. Falling into the customs of the invaders during Moslem domination, Castilian ladies became more and more retired, until the dwelling was little better than a nunnery. The days of tournaments, and jousts, and troubadours were over, and indifference succeeded chivalric sentimentality.

Seldom has Spanish society been conspicuous for its high moral tone. Female chastity was an abstract quality, the property of the father or husband, rather than an inherent virtue for the safe-keeping of which the female possessor was responsible. The master of a household exercised sovereign authority therein, claiming even the power of life and death over the members of his family. He was addressed in the third person as 'your worship;' sons dare not cover their head, cross their legs, or even sit in his presence unless so directed; daughters were betrothed without their knowledge, and to men whom they had never seen; the selection of a husband rested entirely with the father, and the daughter had only to acquiesce. Female decorum and purity were placed under espionage. A dueña kept guard over the wife and daughter at home, and closely followed at their heels whenever they stepped into the street. Ladies, closely veiled, marched solemnly to church, preceded by a rodrigon, or squire, with cushion and prayer-book, and followed by a dueña. At service, her place was in front, and men took up their station behind her. Teach woman first that she is inferior, next that she is impotent; add to this intellectual inanity 52 and implied moral unaccountability, and you have a creature ripe for wickedness.

This excess of caution defeated its own purpose. Women, left much alone within their cloister-like homes, waited not in vain for opportunity. The gay mistress could often too easily win over her attendant, and make of her dueña a go-between; yet if we may believe the record, infidelity was rare, and for two reasons. First, woman in her seclusion escaped many temptations; and secondly, a wholesome fear, the certainty that vengeance, swift and sure, would follow the offence, resulting in the death of one or both offenders, placed a curb on passion. Females of the lower classes, left alone to take care of their virtue as best they might, with faces open and actions free, were less given to transgression than their wealthier sisters.

Lewd women could not testify in criminal cases. Respectable women were permitted to testify, but the judge was obliged to wait on them at their homes, as they were not allowed to attend court. Learning to write was discouraged in females, as they could then have it in their power to scribble love-letters to their gallants. Queen Isabella did much to elevate and purify both religion and morals. The court of Enrique IV., her predecessor, has been described as but little better than a brothel, where "the queen, a daughter of Portugal, lived openly with her parasites and gallants, as the king did with his minions and mistresses." Maids of honor were trained courtesans, and the noblemen of the court occupied their time in illicit amours and love intrigues. From the king on his throne to his lowest subject, all who could afford it kept a mistress.

Ware states that within a century the widows of Madrid were "compelled to pass the whole first year of their mourning in a chamber entirely hung with black, where not a single ray of the sun could penetrate, seated on a little mattress with their legs 53 always crossed. When this year was over, they retired to pass the second year in a chamber hung with grey." This savagism is paralleled by the Thlinkeets of Alaska, who at certain times confine women in a little kennel for six months, giving them one a size larger for the second six months; likewise by the Tacullies of New Caledonia, who make the widow carry the deceased husband's ashes upon her back in a bag for one or two years.

A glance at English and French society shows us, however, that the character of the Spanish women of this epoch compared favorably with that of their northern sisters. Though perhaps no chaster than the French, they were not street-brawlers like the English women. These latter, we are told, from whom the men would separate themselves in their debauches, would likewise assemble at the public house, drink their ale, talk loudly and lewdly, and gossip, swear, and fight. In a religious play of the period, representing the deluge, Noah, when ready to enter the ark, seeks his wife, and finds her carousing with her gossips at the public drink-house.

"Young ladies, even of great families," says Wright, "were brought up not only strictly but even tyrannically by their mothers, who kept them constantly at work, exacted from them almost slavish deference and respect, and even counted upon their earnings." A mother in those days was accounted a little severe who beat her daughter "once in the week, or twice, and sometimes twice a day," and "broke her head in two or three places," or still worse, permitted her to "speak with no man, whosoever come."

Witness the wooing of Matilda of Flanders by William the Conqueror. Having had the audacity to refuse him, the noble suitor entered her home, seized her long tresses, dragged her about the floor, struck her; then flinging her from him, he spurned her with his foot. Matilda at once accepted him, 54 saying: "He must be a man of courage who dare beat me in my father's palace."

Pedro el Cruel, king of Castile and Leon, about the middle of the fourteenth century held good, and commanded, under heavy penalties, that no one of the laboring classes, man or woman, who was able to work, should be found begging. He fixed the day's wage of every class with the most punctilious exactitude. Shoemakers, tailors, armorers, and others who worked by the job, had a definite price attached to the making of every article. A shoe of such and such leather, made after such a fashion, with a double or single sole; a cloak, lined or unlined; a weapon of an ordinary, or of a superior temper and finish—each article in its fabrication was to cost just so much and no more.

It was an age of interference in the affairs of men, the strong against the weak. It was in these trade regulations, and in sumptuary laws, the superstition of political economy and social statics, that the science of ignorance culminated. It was then that learned men threw dust into the air, cast a cloud about their own intellect, and labored hard to inculcate the principles of nescience into the minds of men. In England the number of servants a nobleman might have was fixed by law, as was also costume, and the number of courses at dinner. Soup and two dishes legally constituted a Frenchman's dinner in 1340.

Ferdinand and Isabella were, perhaps, the most parentally inclined of all. No affair, religious, moral, political, judicial, economical, literary, industrial, mechanical, or mercantile could escape their attention. From the regulation and organization of the high councils, and of the civil and ecclesiastical tribunals, to the ordinances for the leather-dressers and cloth-shearers; from the decrees concerning the universities and the literary and scientific bodies, to the orders that prescribed the weight of horseshoes; from the general laws on commerce and 55 navigation, to those which fixed the expenditure at weddings and baptisms, and the amount of wax to be burned at funerals; from the highest interests and rights of religion and of the throne, down to the most humble and mechanical industries—all were considered, legislated upon, and seen to by their Catholic Majesties, with infinite pains and vigilance. In 1510, thinking the colonists of Española too fond of ostentation and extravagance, Ferdinand issued a proclamation, forbidding them to wear rich silks, brocades, or gold or silver lace. Owners of vessels, in times of peace, were forced to engage at fixed prices in perilous voyages of discovery or commerce.

In England it appears that the dress of the men commanded the special attention of their rulers. Spaniards made men and women alike to feel the iron heel of sumptuary legislation; while the English, in laws of nearly coincident date, for the most part omitted the sex. By distinctive qualities, Edward IV., 1461-1483, regulated the dress of his people—from the royal cloth-of-gold down to the two-shillings-a-yard, and under, cloth of the laboring classes; but, if we may believe Sanford, he took care to exempt his women subjects from the provisions of this act, save only the wives of the two-shillings-a-yard boor, who might be expected to have other things to attend to.

The continental ladies, it appears, could flaunt it bravely upon occasion, at least in France and Flanders. For through these countries crusaded, in 1428, Thomas Conecte, a Carmelite friar, preaching against the evils of the age, or what he considered as such. Among these, dress held a place, and many other things not generally condemned at present. His manner of going to work was peculiar, and is pretty well described by Monstrelet.

In his audiences he always separated the men from the women by a cord, "for he had observed some sly doings between them while he was preaching." Having 56 taken these wise precautions, he was accustomed earnestly to admonish his hearers "on the damnation of their souls and on pain of excommunication, to bring to him whatever backgammon-boards, chessboards, nine-pins, or other instruments for games of amusement they might possess." Right bitterly would he then attack the luxurious apparel of ladies of rank; especially the monstrous head-gear which was in fashion at that time; all of which bred trouble, as may readily be imagined, and produced no good results.

We see the same style of preaching indulged in by the Wesleys in England and Whitefield and others in America at different times, and ever with the same lack of practical results. The most costly jewelry, the finest apparel, grand houses and free living are as conspicuous among the followers of these self-sacrificing and conscientious men as among the members of any other church, or among those who are not members of any church. And if the pious Carmelite friar failed in his crusade against fine clothes, free living, and monstrous head-gear among the Spanish of the fifteenth century, so have more modern crusaders failed in similar attempts in later times.

This then was Spain and Spanish character, as nearly as I have been able to picture them in the short space allotted, at or prior to the dawn of the sixteenth century. We have found Spaniards the noblest race on earth at that time; their men brave, their women modest. Before them opened a career more brilliant than the world has ever seen before or since. To follow them in some parts of that career is the purpose of these volumes.

We have found these people after all not so very different from ourselves—more loyal than we, but more ignorant; more religious, but more superstitious; 57 more daring, but more reckless; more enthusiastic, but more chimerical. They were endowed with the virtues and vices of their age, as we are with the virtues and vices of ours. They were sincere in their opinions, and honest in their efforts; but we have the advantage of them by four centuries of recorded experiences. Our knowledge, our advantages, are superior to theirs; do we make superior use of them? Spain lighted a hemisphere of dark waters, brought forth hidden islands and continents, and presented half a world to the other half. With all our boasted improvement, have we done more?

It is the custom of historical commentators to praise and to blame ad libitum. This is right if it be done judiciously. We should praise discreetly, and blame with steadiness. But there is really little to praise or to blame in history, and most of it that is done is simply praising or blaming the providence of progress. Would you blame the Spanish people for being ignorant, submissive, and cruel? They were as God and circumstances made them. Would you blame their king and princes for domineering them? They were as the people and circumstances made them. The people were indignant if their rulers did not impose upon them. Says Grenville, writing in his memoirs so late as 1818: "The Regent drives in the park every day in a tilbury, with his groom sitting by his side; grave men are shocked at this undignified practice."

Meanwhile, amidst the many so-called spirits which in this epoch hovered over man, the spirit of discovery was not the least potent. Curiosity, the mother of science, became the mother of new worlds; gave birth to continents, islands, and seas; gave form and boundary to earth. Over the sea, the mists of the Dark Age had rested with greater density even than on land. The aurora of progress now illumined the western horizon as of old it did the eastern. Hitherto the great ocean, beyond a few leagues from 58 shore, was a mystery. As may be seen depicted on ancient charts, it was filled, in the imaginations of navigators, with formidable water-beasts and monsters, scarcely less terrible than those that Æneas saw as he entered the mouth of Hades:

Ancient geographers affirmed that the heat of the torrid zone was intolerable, that men and ships entering it would shrivel. This belt of consuming heat presented an impenetrable barrier between the known and the unknown.

What wonder that intellect was stunted, civilization dwarfed, restricted as was human knowledge to the narrow grave-like walls of western Europe! No sooner were these ancient boundaries burst, and the black and dreadful fog-banks which lay upon primeval ocean pierced, than fancy, like a freed bird, bounded forth, swept the circumference of the earth, soared aloft amid the stars, and dared even to ask of religion a reason.

One glance westward. On either side of an unswept sea, a Sea of Darkness it was called by those that feared it, there rested at the opening of this history two fair continents, each unknown to the other. One was cultivated; its nations were well advanced in those arts and courtesies that spring from accumulated experiences; the other, for the most part, unmarred by man, lay revelling in primeval beauty, fresh as from the Creator's hand. The leaven of progress working in one, brought to its knowledge the existence of the other; the Sea of Darkness with its uncouth monsters was turned into a highway, and civilized Europe stood face to face with sylvan America. This world newly found was called the 59 New World; though which is the new and which the old; which, if either, peopled the other, is yet undetermined. One in organism and in the nature human, the people of the two worlds were in color, customs, and sentiment several. The barbarous New World boasted its civilizations, while the civilized Old World disclosed its barbarisms; on Mexican and Peruvian highlands were nations of city-builders as far superior in culture to the islanders and coast-dwellers seen by Columbus, as were the European discoverers superior to the American highlanders. Of probable indigenous origin, this lesser civilization shows traces of high antiquity; even the ruder nations of the north leave far behind them absolute primevalism.

I do not say with some that in America were seen in certain directions marks of as high culture as any in Europe. There were no such marks. But this unquestionably is true; that, as in Europe, we here find that most inexplicable of phenomena, the evolution of civility; man's mental and spiritual necessities, like his physical wants, appear everywhere the same. The mind, like the body, craves nutriment, and the dimmed imprisoned soul a higher sympathy; hence we see men of every clime and color making for themselves gods, and contriving creeds which shall presently deliver them from their dilemma. The civilizations of America, unlike well-rooted saplings of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, were sensitive-plants which collapsed upon the first foreign touch, leaving only the blackness of darkness; hence it was the wild tribes, far more than the cultivated nations, that influenced the character of subsequent American societies.

In her civil and religious polities America was every whit as consistent as Europe. Neither was altogether perfect or wise; and we wonder at the blindness and stupidity of one as of the other. Although we could catch but a glimpse of the Americans before they vanished, yet we might see that 60 intellect was not stationary, but growing, and that society was instinct with intelligent and progressional activity.

In their religions the Americans paralleled the rest of mankind. Every religion derives its form and color from the mind of the worshippers, so that by their gods we may know them. From elevated natures emanate chaste and refined conceptions of the deity; from brutish natures coarse conceptions. Christianity is the highest and purest of all religions; but if we study the moral precepts of the foremost American nations, we shall see that in many respects they were not far behind, and were indeed in some instances in advance of Christianity. True, the Aztecs practised human sacrifice, with all its attendant horrors; but what were the religious wars, the expulsion of Jews, the slaughter of Infidels, the burning of heretics, but human sacrifice? Moreover, while we turn in horror from the sacrificial stone of the Aztecs, where the human victims were treated as gods and whence their souls were sent direct to Paradise, yet we find among them little of that most infamous of crimes—persecution for opinion's sake; nor yet do we read of their ingenuity being taxed for the contrivance of engines of the most excruciating torture, as we do in the history of Christianity. Tortures which, while killing the body, it was believed consigned the soul to eternal agonies.

There was little in the social or political systems of Europe of which the counterpart could not be found in America; indeed, the economical, social, and political condition of every civilization finds its counterpart in every other civilization; and there were institutions then existing in America at whose feet Europe might have sat with benefit.

Among the wilder tribes we find prevalent the patriarchal state, with its hundreds of languages and theologies; a slight advance from which are those associations of families banded for safety, thus presenting 61 a state of society not unlike that of European feudalism. From this point, every quality and grade of government presents itself until full-blown monarchy is attained, where a sole sovereign becomes an emperor of nations with a state and severity equal to that of the most enlightened. The government of the Nashua nations, which was monarchical and nearly absolute, denotes no small progress from primordial patriarchy.

Like their cousins of Spain and England, the sovereigns of Mexico had their elaborate palaces, with magnificent surroundings, their country residence and their hunting-grounds, their botanical and zoological gardens, and their harems filled with the daughters of nobles, who deemed it an honor to see them thus royally defiled. There were aristocratic and knightly orders; nobles, plebeians, and slaves; pontiffs and priesthoods; land tenures and taxation; seminaries of learning, and systems of education, in which virtue was extolled and vice denounced; laws and law courts of various grades, and councils and tribunals of various kinds; military orders with drill, engineer corps, arms, and fortifications; commerce, caravans, markets, merchants, pedlers, and commercial fairs, with a credit system, and express and postal facilities.

They were not lacking in pleasures and amusements similar to those of the Europeans, such as feasts with professional jester, music, dancing; and after dinner the drama, national games, gymnastics, and gladiatorial combats. They were not without their intoxicating drink, delighting in drunkenness while denouncing it. Their medical faculty and systems of surgery they had, and their burial-men; also their literati, scholars, orators, and poets, with an arithmetical system, a calendar, a knowledge of astronomy, hieroglyphic books, chronological records, public libraries, and national archives.

The horoscope of infants was cast; the cross was 62 lifted up; incense was burned; baptism and circumcision were practised. Whence arose these customs so like those of their fellow-men across the Atlantic, whom they had never seen or heard of?

The conquerors found all this when they entered the country. They examined with admiration the manufactures of gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead, wrought to exquisite patterns with surprising skill. They gazed with astonishment on huge architectural piles, on monumental remains speaking louder than words; on temples, causeways, fountains, aqueducts, and light-houses, surrounded as they were with statues and intricate and costly stone carvings. They found that the Americans made cloth, paper, pottery, and dyes, and were proficient in painting. Their mosaic feather-work was a marvel.

There are many points of interest, well worth examination, which I have not space here properly to mention. The interested reader, however, will find all material necessary to careful comparison in my Native Races of the Pacific States. He will there find described conditions of society analogous to feudalism and chivalry; he will find municipal governments, walled towns, and standing armies. There were legislative assemblies similar to that of the Cortes, and associations not unlike that of the Holy Brotherhood. To say that trial by combat sometimes occurred is affirming of them nothing complimentary; but upon the absence of some European institutions they were to be congratulated.

Although living lives of easy poverty, the wild tribes of America everywhere possessed dormant wealth enough to tempt the cupidity alike of the fierce Spaniard, the blithe Frenchman, and the sombre Englishman. Under a burning tropical sun, where neither meat nor clothing was essential to comfort, the land yielded gold, while in hyperborean forests where no precious metals were discovered the richest peltries abounded; so that no savage in all this northern continent 63 was found so poor that grasping civilization could find nothing to rob him of.

When Europe undertook the mastery of America, she found the people, as a rule, ready to be friendly. Some at first were startled into the seizure of their arms, the first impulse of the wild man on meeting anything strange being to defend himself. But their fears were easily allayed, their confidence easily gained, and their pledges of good faith were usually to be depended upon.

The variations between them and their brethren across the Atlantic were less of kind than of quality. They were more children than wild beasts. Physically they were complete, but mentally they were not fully developed. Their minds were not so broad, nor so strong or subtle as those of white men. Their cunning partook more of brute instinct than of civilized artifice. There was mind-power enough, but it lacked shape and consistency. They were naturally no more blood-thirsty, or cruel, or superstitious than their conquerors, but their cruelty and superstitions were of coarser, cruder forms. The American aboriginal character has been greatly misconstrued, and is to-day but imperfectly understood.

The chief difference, or cause of difference, between the people of Europe and the more advanced nations of America, it seems to me, lay in the ignorance of some few things, apparently insignificant in themselves, yet mighty enough to revolutionize Christendom; such as the use of iron, gunpowder, and movable types. The absence of horses, and other of the more useful domestic animals, was also a disadvantage.

After reading of the Europeans of that day it is irony to call the Americans revengeful or cruel. Where is it possible to find more strongly developed those qualities which civilization most condemns than among civilized nations—the same, only refined? So blind 64 are we to our own faults, so quick to see and condemn the faults of our weak and defenceless neighbor!

Catalogue crime and place the white beside the red. Seldom was the Indian treacherous until he had been deceived. The Indians tortured their prisoners; so did the white men, hunting them with bloodhounds, enslaving them, branding them with hot irons, beating and roasting them, making them work in the mines until death relieved them by thousands, butchering wives and children because the husband and father dared strike a blow in their defence. It is well to call them brutal in warfare when the white man so quickly adopts their most brutal customs; it is well to call them beasts of prey, when the white man crosses the ocean to prey upon those very beasts which he pretends to slur.

In speaking of the Indians, it has become the custom wilfully to misapply terms. If a tribe resist an injury, it is called an outbreak; if successful in war, it is a massacre; if successful in single combat, it is a murder. Thus soldiers speak to cover the disgrace of defeat, and thus reports are made by men who regard not decency in speaking of a savage, to say nothing of fairness. It is enough that we have exterminated this people, without attempting to malign them and exalt our own baseness. What should we do were a foreign power to come in ships to our shore and begin to slaughter our animals, to stake off our land and divide it among themselves? We should drive them away if we were able; but if we found them the stronger, we should employ every art to destroy them, and in so doing regard ourselves as patriots performing a sacred obligation. This is the Indians crime; and in so doing we call him cunning, revengeful, hateful, diabolical. But the white man brings him blankets, it may be said, brings him medicine, tells him of contrivances, teaches him civilization. These things are exactly what the savage does not want, and what he is much better off without. 65 The white man's comforts kill him almost as quickly as do his cruelties; and the teachings of Christ's ministers are abhorrent if they are coupled with the examples of lecherous and murderous professors of Christianity.

These, however, were by no means all that white men gave the Indian. We might enumerate alcohol, small-pox, measles, syphilis, and a dozen other disgusting adjuncts of civilization of which the savage before knew nothing. Can savagism boast greater achievements? White men have killed fifty Indians where Indians have killed one white man, and this, notwithstanding that nine tenths of all injuries inflicted have been perpetrated by white invaders. A thousand Indian women have been outraged by men whose mothers had taught them the Lord's prayer, where one white woman has been injured by these benighted heathen. At any time in the history of America I would rather take my chances as a white woman among savages, than as an Indian woman among white people.

Brethren by procreation, but by destiny foes, as we behold them there the so-called New and Old thus so strangely brought together, naturally enough we ask ourselves, Whence came the one, and whither tends the other? Whence came these dusky denizens of the forest, and for how many thousands of ages has the feeble light of their intelligence struggled with the darkness, dimly flickering, now gathering strength, now falling back into dense obscurity; how long and in what manner has the divine spark thus wrestled with its environment? And whither tends this fierce flame of human advancement which just now bursts its ancient boundaries, sweeps across the Sea of Darkness, absorbs all lesser lights, and dazzles and consumes a hemisphere of souls? More especially, when we look back toward what we are accustomed to call the beginning, and mark the steady advance of knowledge, the ever-increasing power of 66 mind; when we consider the progress of even the last half century, and listen to the present din and clatter of improvement, do we raise our eyes to the future and ask, Whither tends all this? Whither tends with so rapidly accelerating swiftness this self-begetting of enlightenment, this massing of human acquirements; whither tends this perpetually increasing domination of the intellectual over the material? Within the past few thousand years we have seen our race emerge from barbarism, and notwithstanding the inherent tendency to evil ever present in our natures, we have seen mankind put on civilization and accept for their faith Christianity, the purest and highest type of religion. We have seen nations cease somewhat their hereditary growlings, and brutal blood-sheddings, and mingle as brethren; we have seen wavy grain supplant the tangled wildwood, gardens materialize from the mirage, and magnificent cities rise out of the rocky ground. Thus we have seen the whole earth placed under tribute, and this mysterious reasoning intelligence of ours elevating itself yet more and more above the instincts of the brute, and asserting its dominion over nature; belting the earth with an impatient energy, which now presses outward from every meridian, widening its domain as best it may toward the north and toward the south, building equatorial fires under polar icebergs. All this and more from the records of our race we have seen accomplished, and yet do see it; civilization working itself out in accordance with the eternal purposes of Omnipotence, unfolding under man's agency, yet independent of man's will; a subtile, extraneous, unifying energy, stimulated by agencies good not more than by agencies evil, yet always tending in its results to good rather than to evil; an influence beyond the reach or cognizance of man, working in and round persons and societies, turning and overturning, now clouding the sky with blackness and dropping disorder on floundering humanity, but only to be followed by a yet more fertilizing sunshine; laying 67 waste and building up, building up by laying waste, civilizing as well by war and avarice as by good-will and sweet charity, civilizing as surely, if not as rapidly, with the world of humanity struggling against it, as with the same human world laboring for it.

Slowly rattles along the dim present, well-nigh buried in its own dust; it is only the past that is well-defined and clear to history.

Summary of Geographical Knowledge and Discovery from the Earliest Records to the Year 1540.

Before entering upon the narration of events composing this history, it seems to me important, in order as well properly to appreciate the foregoing Introduction as to gain from succeeding chapters something more than gratified curiosity, that an exposition of Early Voyages should be given,—acting powerfully as they did on evolving thought and material development, giving breadth and vigor to intellect, enthusiasm to enterprise, and in elevating and stimulating that commercial spirit which was eventually to depose kings, exalt the people, strip from science its superstitions, from religion its cabalistic forms, and by its associations, its negotiations, its adventurous daring, its wars, its alliances, and its humanizing polities, to break the barriers of ancient enmity and bring together in common brotherhood all the nations of the earth.

Therefore, I now propose to give a chronological statement of every authentic voyage of discovery made beyond the Mediterranean prior to 1540, while doubtful and disputed voyages will be discussed according to their relative importance. I shall notice, moreover, such books and charts relating to America as were produced during this period, with fac-similes of the more important maps, to illustrate, at different dates, the progress of discovery. It is my purpose, so far as possible, in the very limited space allowed, to state fairly the conclusions of the best writers on every important point.

One word as to the authorities consulted in the preparation of this Summary. Of books relating to America, published prior to 1540, there are in all about sixty-five; only twenty-five, however, contain original information; twenty-three are general cosmographical works with brief sections on America compiled from the original twenty-five; while seventeen merely mention the New World or its discoveries, and are therefore of no value in this connection. Of the forty-eight containing matter more or less important, there are over two hundred editions, the earliest of which only, in most instances, will be mentioned, and that without extensive bibliographical notes. These books and charts I notice in chronological order under dates of their successive appearance.

The subject of Early Voyages has been so frequently and so thoroughly discussed by able modern writers that it is unnecessary, and indeed impracticable 68 in so condensed an essay, to refer to ancient authorities alone, and prove everything from the beginning. I shall therefore, besides the Spanish historians Peter Martyr, Oviedo, Las Casas, Gomara, Herrera, and the standard collections of Ramusio, Grynæus, Purchas, and Hakluyt, freely use the works of later writers according to their relative worth. And of these last mentioned I epitomize the following. Historia del Nuevo-Mundo, escribíala D. Juan Baut. Muñoz, tom. i.—all ever published—En Madrid, 1793, contains a clear well-written prologo, or essay, on the first three voyages of Columbus with minor mention of contemporary discoveries. An account is also given of the author's labors in beginning the large and invaluable collection of documents completed and published by Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los Españoles desde fines del siglo XV., 5 vols. 4to, Madrid, 1825-37. This collection of Navarrete's is without doubt the most valuable work on the subject of early American voyages, and the foundation of all that followed; containing as it does the original Spanish, Latin, and Portuguese texts of the more important Spanish and Portuguese expeditions from 1393 to 1540—the Latin and Portuguese done into Spanish—together with over five hundred original documents from the Spanish archives, with extensive and generally impartial notes by the editor. For a biographical sketch of this author see chapter iii. of this volume. Washington Irving's Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus and his Companions, published in London, 1828-31 (edition used, that of New York, 1869, 3 vols.), is an able and elegant abridged translation of Navarrete, and of La Historia de el Almirante D. Christoval Colon, by his son Fernando Colon, in Barcia, Historiadores Primitivos, tom. i., Madrid, 1749. Alexander von Humboldt's Examen critique de l'histoire de la Géographie du nouveau continent, et des progrès de l'astronomie nautique aux 15ème et 16ème Siècles, 5 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1836-9, is a most exhaustive digest of materials furnished by Navarrete and the older historians, illustrated with the results of the author's personal investigations. The work embraces two treatises; first, the causes which led to the discovery of America; second, facts relating to Columbus and Vespucci, with the dates of geographic discoveries. Humboldt's Abhandlung über die ältesten Karten, printed as an introduction to Ghillany, Geschichte des Seefahrers Ritter Martin Behaim, Nuremberg, 1853, of which I have only a manuscript English translation, is an essay as well on the naming of America as on early maps. Another important treatise is that of J. G. Kohl, Die beiden ältesten General-Karten von America, Weimar, 1860, of nearly two hundred large folio pages on the earliest manuscript and printed maps, two of the former, dated 1527 and 1529, accompanying the work, reproduced in chromo-lithographic fac-simile. The same author has produced other works on the subject, the most important being A History of the Discovery of the East Coast of North America, published in Collections of the Maine Historical Society, 2d series, vol. i., Portland, 1869. This contains reduced copies of twenty-three early maps, and is perhaps the most complete work existing, so far as the northern coasts are concerned, giving comparatively little attention to more southern voyages. Kunstmann, Die Entdeckung Amerikas, Munich, 1859, is a careful compilation of ninety-six imperial quarto pages, with copious notes and references, 69 written to accompany a collection of thirteen large chromo-lithographic reproductions of manuscript maps preserved in the Academy of Sciences at Munich, and generally known as the Munich Atlas. Herr Kunstmann treats chiefly of the Atlantic islands, with special reference to the connection between the discoveries of Spaniards and Northmen. Major's Life of Prince Henry of Portugal, London, 1868, is the best authority for Portuguese voyages as well as for the revival of maritime enterprise in the fifteenth century. Stevens' Historical and Geographical Notes on the Earliest Discoveries in America, 1453-1530, New Haven, 1869, was written originally as an introduction to a book by the author's brother on his proposed interoceanic communication via Tehuantepec. It is a concise statement of the whole matter, presenting some of its phases in a practically new light. Varnhagen, Le Premier Voyage de Amerigo Vespucci, Vienna, 1869, must not be omitted as the chief support of a theory on Vespucci's voyages which nearly concerns the first discovery of our Pacific States territory proper. Rafn, Antiquitates Americanæ, Hafniæ, 1837, is the source of nearly all our knowledge of the discoveries of the Northmen in America in the tenth and following centuries; and De Costa, The Pre-Columbian Discovery of America, Albany, 1868, presents an English translation of the same Icelandic sagas in which the enterprises of the Northmen are recorded. The Cartografía Mexicana of Orozco y Berra, published by the Mexican Geographical Society, contains, as its title indicates, a mention of early maps in chronologic order; and the Mapoteca Colombiana of Urricœchea, London, 1860, is another important contribution of similar nature. There should be mentioned the excellent review given in the first volume of Bryant's History of the United States, which has appeared since this Summary was written; and I might present quite a list of papers read before the various learned societies of Europe and America on different topics connected with this subject in late years, none of them I believe materially affecting my conclusions.

The above form but a small portion of the works devoted wholly or in part to the subject, but they are believed to contain all the material necessary for even a more detailed statement than my purpose demands.

Of the voyages of the ancients, properly so called, that is, of such as preceded the fall of the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century, I shall here say little. These maritime expeditions, confined for the most part to the Mediterranean, though extending for some distance along the coasts of the Indian and Atlantic oceans, with occasional voyages designedly or accidentally prolonged to more distant islands, and it may be continents, come down to us through antique histories, cosmographies, and poems, so mixed with vague hypothetical and mythological conceptions, that the most searching investigation is often unable to separate fact from fable. There are multitudes of classic and mediæval legends adopted by Tasso, Pulci, and other Italian poets, such, for example, as that which makes the Greek wanderer Ulysses the pioneer of western adventure, which in a sober treatise are scarcely worthy of mention. Turning to the dawn his vessel's poop, this son of Laertes, it is said, passed Gibraltar, the bound ordained by Hercules not to be overstepped by man, and, as Dante tells us, sailed for the Happy Isles of 70 the unknown Atlantic, unrestrained by son, or father, or even Penelope's ever-weaving web of love.

A little journey was a wonderful exploit before the time of Christ—instance the immortal fame achieved by Hanno, the Carthaginian, in visiting the west coast of Africa, b. c. 570; by Herodotus, in making the excursion of Egypt and India, b. c. 464-456; by Pytheas, in his voyage to the British Isles, b. c. 340; by Nearchus, in descending the Indus, b. c. 326; by Eudoxus, in his attempt to sail round Africa, b. c. 130; by Cæsar, in undertaking the conquest of Gaul, b. c. 58; by Strabo, in penetrating Asia some thirty or forty years later. After the Christian era Pausanias, a Roman, in 175 wrote a guide-book of Greece; Fa Hian, a Chinese monk, went westward into India in the year 400 or thereabout; Cosmas Indicopleustes travelled in India a century and a half later and wrote a book to prove the world square, and the universe an oblong coffer; Arculphe wrote of the Holy Land about 650; an Englishman, Willibald, made the tour of southern Europe and Palestine, setting out from Southampton in 721; in 851 went Soliman from Persia to the China sea. So it has been said.

Indeed, the writings of Herodotus indicate that, over two thousand years before Dias and Vasco da Gama, Africa was circumnavigated by a fleet of Phœnician ships sent by Pharaoh Necho down the Red Sea with orders to return to Egypt by way of the Pillars of Hercules. A Persian, Sataspes, endeavored to accomplish the voyage from the other direction, but failed. Plato's island of Atlantis, founded by the god Neptune, was of great size, "larger than Asia and Libya together, and was situated over against the straits now called the Pillars of Hercules." The climate and soil were so good that fruits ripened twice every year. There were metals, with elephants and other animals in abundance. Upon a mountain was a beautiful city with gold and ivory palaces, having gardens and statues. Unfortunately in time the sea swallowed up this island, so that it could scarcely have been America.

So far as these voyages and strange tales concern the possible knowledge of America by the ancients, I have already discussed them in my Native Races of the Pacific States. Therein is mentioned a theory which has found many advocates, and to which I will again briefly allude in this place. It is that at the beginning of the Christian era America was visited by the Apostle St Thomas. He was accompanied by a number of fellow-laborers in the ministry, who preached the gospel and planted the Christian religion in America. The theory is ably advocated in the excellent work of Rev. W. Gleeson, The History of the Catholic Church in California. The principal arguments advanced may be briefly stated as follows: First, that the whole tenor of Scripture teaching is in favor of the supposition that the gospel was preached to all the world from the beginning, rather than after the lapse of several centuries. Second, that at a date fixed by Mexican hieroglyphics as a little before the middle of the first century after Christ, a celebrated personage, certainly the most remarkable in Mexican mythology, came from the north. He is represented as a white man, with flowing beard, clad in a long white robe, adorned with red crosses, head uncovered, and a staff in his 71 hand. This was the Quetzalcoatl, whom the Mexicans afterward worshipped, and whose return was so anxiously looked for by them. See Torquemada, Monarq. Ind. Third, that to him popular tradition ascribes the worship paid to the cross, the practice of confession, and in a word all the customs found on the arrival of the Spaniards to be nearly identical with those of the Christian religion. Veytia, Hist. Ant. de Mexico. Fourth, that the name Quetzalcoatl is synonymous with that of St Thomas. See Native Races, v. 26. Fifth, that Quetzalcoatl promised on his departure to return at some future day with his posterity and resume the possession of the empire, and that day was looked forward to with general confidence, Prescott's Conq. Mex., and that a general feeling prevailed at the time of Montezuma that the period of his return had arrived. Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mex. Sixth, that there were at the convent of Nijapa, in the province of Oajaca, hieroglyphs containing all the principal doctrines of the Christian religion, and the coming of the Apostle to the country. Id.

Sahagun, who wrote at the time of the conquest, speaks of the general belief in this prophecy, and assures us that on the arrival of the Spaniards they repeatedly offered them divine honors, believing that their god Quetzalcoatl had returned. Conq. Mex., i. chap. iii.

"It is then undeniably true," says Gleeson, Catholic Church in Cal., 185, "that a popular tradition existed in the country respecting a prophecy made by Quetzalcohuatl, in which was foretold the future arrival of whites on the coast; and this, while it proves the reality of the man, and his character as a teacher of religion, also proves the still more important and appreciable fact of his being a Christian, and of western origin; for, it was clearly set forth in the prophecy, that the persons who should come would be whites, and of the same religion as he. The time also seems to have been specified by the Apostle, if we are to judge by the expression that they were expecting him every day. And, indeed, Boturini assures us that the time mentioned in the Mexican hieroglyphics was that in which the Christians arrived. The year ce acatl was that foretold by Quetzalcohuatl, and in that year the Spaniards landed in the Country." On ancient voyages and cosmography see also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 125-206.

It is the results of ancient voyages, the point of geographical knowledge attained by ancient civilization in its most advanced stage and by it bequeathed to the Dark Age, and not the voyages themselves, with which we have to do at present. This knowledge is found for the most part embodied in the system of Ptolemy, the Alexandrian geographer of the second century, whose works became the standard text-books, and holding their prominence for fourteen hundred years were not superseded as late as the sixteenth century, but were republished from time to time, with additions, setting forth the results of new discoveries. In this manner twenty-one editions appeared during the first half of that century. Nor was even Ptolemy the originator of this prolonged system. One hundred and fifty years before him was the Greek geographer Strabo, who gave descriptions of countries and peoples, fixing his localities usually by itinerary distances; and to this work of Strabo's, Ptolemy added a century and a half of progress, and determined 72 his localities by astronomical observation. The work of Pomponius Mela, the Roman geographer who wrote probably somewhat later than Strabo, is regarded as no improvement on that of his predecessor.

Ptolemy's World was nearly all in the north temperate zone, embracing about fifty degrees of latitude and one hundred and twenty of longitude. The Fortunate Isles, now called the Canaries, were known to Ptolemy, and by him used as a western limit or first meridian. This, and as a nucleus of poetic myths, seem to have been their only use; as Muñoz says, Hist. del Nuevo Mundo, p. 30: "Fuera de este uso apenas aprovecharon sino para entretenir ociosas imaginaciones con fábulas de poetas." The eastern limit was vaguely located in the region beyond the Ganges; actually in about 100° east longitude. On the south were included the African coasts of the Mediterranean and Red Sea, with the southern coasts of Arabia and India proper—the term India being then applied indefinitely to all eastern lands, including even parts of Africa—thus fixing the southern bound at about 30° north latitude in the west, and 10° in the east. Northward the limit may be placed a little above 60°, within which falls the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, then supposed to be an island, and also the island of Thule, the location of which is disputed, some claiming it to have been Iceland, others the Faroe Islands, and others the Shetland Islands. But Ptolemy's latitudes were all some ten degrees too far north, while in his longitudes he went still further astray; since, reckoning from the Canaries as his first meridian, he made his last meridian 180°, when it should have been 120°, and thus by narrowing half the circumference of the globe some sixty degrees he made the world nearly one third less than it really is. Authorities differ, however, as to what were Ptolemy's ideas. But more of this hereafter. On the opposite page is a map in which the world as known in these times is left white, the shaded portions being the result of subsequent discoveries down to the last half of the fifteenth century. A map of Ptolemy's World, reduced to its true proportions, may be seen in Goselin, Recherches sur la géographie systématique et positive des anciens, tom. iv., Paris, 1813.

The World; the white part as known at the end of the Fourth Century, the lightly shaded portions as known at the end of the Fifteenth.

View larger image

Within these limits, then, geographical knowledge was confined at the end of the fourth century; limits not sharply defined, but indefinite and wavering according to ages, to the directions of conquest, and to distances from Mediterranean centres. Beyond these limits was a realm of darkness peopled by strange beings, creatures of poetic fancy or crude conjecture. Just as the wonder-land of Homer to contemporaneous eastern Greeks, was Italy, with its strange waters inhabited by very strange beasts, and Sicily, and neighboring isles, where were the Satyrs, and the gigantic one-eyed Cyclops eating milk and mutton and men, so to later teachers were the strange seas beyond. On the north was an impenetrable region of eternal ice; on the south, an equatorial zone of burning heat; a barrier of frost on the one side and of fire on the other, both equally uninhabitable to the European man, and cutting off all communication with possible habitable lands elsewhere. The burning zone, however, seems to have been a popular idea, rather than a part of the system taught by Ptolemy, who, indeed, held that Africa extended south-east and north-east toward the eastern parts of Asia, making of the Indian Ocean an immense gulf not connected with the Atlantic on the 74 west. Strabo and other geographers who preceded Ptolemy gave Africa approximately its correct shape; traditions of its circumnavigation even were kept alive, in spite of Ptolemy's theory, influencing geographic thought not a little during the fifteenth century. Irving is of opinion, Columbus, vol. iii. p. 440, that modern authors consider the knowledge of the ancients concerning Africa much less extensive than has been generally supposed; but Major, Prince Henry, p. 89 et seq., accepts a circumnavigation of Africa in the seventh century b. c., and also Hanno's voyage far down the African coast, placing the date of the latter 570 b. c. Among the philosophers of western Europe no definite hypotheses appear to have been advanced as to the extent of land beyond the known region; as to the ideas of the Arabs and Buddhist priests concerning the matter it is difficult to determine. See Kohl's Hist. Discov., p. 149; Draper's Intellectual Development, p. 451, New York, 1872. Beyond the Fortunate Isles to the west stretched a Mare Tenebrosum, or Sea of Darkness, as early writers express it, separating the known western coast from the far unknown east. In this dark sea tradition planted islands at various points, reiterating the fact of their existence so often that names and locations were finally given them on maps, though the islands themselves have never yet been found. Except these fabulous islands, there was little thought of land between the coasts of Europe and Asia. Compare maps in this volume; also George Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. i. p. 6, Boston, 1870; D'Avesac, in Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, 1845, tom. cv. p. 293; tom. cvi. p. 47.

To sum up the geographical knowledge of the ancients, we have first, the sphericity of the earth surmised, although its size was vaguely conceived and underrated; secondly, the positive knowledge of Europeans limited to the unshaded portion of the map on page 73; thirdly, divers theories respecting the conformation of southern Africa; fourthly, a mare oceanum stretching westward to the unknown Asiatic shore, with hypothetical islands intervening, and expressed opinions that this sea was navigable, and that possibly India might be reached by sailing westward. These ideas, vague as they seem, were held only by the learned few; the world of the ignorant reached scarcely beyond the horizon of their actual experience. Not until long after its actual circumnavigation, in the sixteenth century, was the popular mind able to grasp the idea of the earth's sphericity.

We come now to mediæval times, when from the fifth to the fifteenth century the cosmographical as well as all other knowledge of the ancients lay well-nigh dormant; to the people a land of darkness as well as a sea, though in some few colleges and convents these things were thought of. "Ces ténèbres," says Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 59, "s'étendaient sans doute sur les masses; mais, dans les couvens et les colléges quelques individus conservaient les traditions de l'antiquité." Upon this world of darkness light first broke from the far north, the voyages of the Scandinavians from the ninth to the twelfth centuries being the aurora borealis of maritime discovery. These Northmen, as in their expeditions Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes were indiscriminately called, by their warlike propensities made themselves known and feared along the shores of Europe at an early date; 75 but their western discoveries were known only to themselves; at all events, no trace of distant voyages to the west are found in the records of their neighbors. It is only quite recently that the sagas of the Northmen were brought to the attention of European scholars; and when the Danish bishop, Müller, published his bibliography of the sagas, 3 vols., Copenhagen, 1817-1820, these narratives were held to be more fiction than fact. Even so late a writer as George Bancroft, History of the United States, vol. i. pp. 5, 6, says that the story of colonization by the Northmen "rests on narratives, mythological in form, and obscure in meaning; ancient, yet not contemporary," and that "no clear historic evidence establishes the natural probability that they accomplished the passage." Irving, Columbus, vol. iii. pp. 432-5, considers the matter "still to be wrapped in much doubt and obscurity." Both of these authors, however, seem to have considered only the evidence presented by Malte-Brun and Forster. Since their time proofs beyond question have established the authenticity of these voyages of the Northmen. The sagas on American discoveries are preserved in the archives at Copenhagen, with a collection of other historical data, reaching down to the fourteenth century, the date of their completion. It is true that they deal somewhat in the marvellous—they would not be authentic else, written at that time—but they contain tales no more wonderful or monstrous than the writings of more southern nations. See an account of the Copenhagen documents and the examination of their authenticity in De Costa's Pre-Columbian Discov. Am., pp. i-lx. Two nearly contemporary ecclesiastical histories—that of Adam of Bremen, 1073, and Ordericus Vitalis, about 1100—describe briefly the western lands of the Northmen. Further reference, Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 32; Rafn, Antiquitates Am., p. 337; Kohl's Hist. Discov., p. 76.

Vague notions were not wanting of communication with America before the time of the Northmen, but these, whatever they were, are now to us pure speculation and may be omitted here. Passing over a general movement by which before the middle of the ninth century the Northmen appear to have broken through their former bounds, and to have extended their plundering raids in all directions, taking possession of the Shetland and Faroe islands and even of the north of Britain, we come to the first definite adventure westward.

[a. d. 860-4.] Two bold men, Naddod and Gardar, in one of their coast-island cruises, were driven from their course to the north-west and discovered Iceland, called by one Snowland, and by the other Gardar Island. Kohl, Hist. Discov., p. 61, dates both voyages 860; Forster gives 861 to Naddod's; other authors place the former in the year 860, and the latter in 864.

[874.] Ingolf made a settlement in Iceland at a point still called by his name. Other immigrants followed, and a flourishing colony was founded. The Northmen found on the island Irish priests, who had come there at a time not definitely known, but who immediately abandoned the country to the new settlers. Within twenty years thereafter Iceland was fairly well inhabited. De Costa, Pre-Columbian Discov. Am., pp. xxii-iv., makes the date a. d. 875.

[876.] One Gunnbjörn, an Icelandic colonist, is reported to have seen accidentally, 76 from a distance, the coast of Greenland. Kohl dates this voyage 877.

[982-6.] Eric the Red, banished from Iceland for murder in 982, sailed west, found land, remained there three years, and returned, naming the country Greenland to attract settlers. In 985, or 986, he sailed again with a larger force, this time founding a settlement to which other adventurers resorted. Of the first voyage Kohl makes no mention.

[983.] One of the sagas contains a report by an Irish merchant that one Are Marson was carried in a storm to Whiteman's Land "in the Western Ocean, opposite Vinland, six days' sail west of Ireland." Rafn thinks this may have been that part of America in the vicinity of Florida; others make it the Azores. There are also vague reports of later voyages to the same land by Björn Asbrandson in 999, and by Gudleif in 1027. In the present stage of investigation the proof is insufficient to establish an Irish pre-Scandinavian discovery of America.

[990.] In this year, or, as De Costa makes it, in 986, Biarne, sailing from Iceland in search of his father, who had previously gone to Greenland, was carried far to the south-west, to within sight of land, undoubtedly America, which he coasted north-east for several days and returned to Greenland. Three points particularly noticed on the new coast are conjectured by Kohl to have been Cape Cod, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.

[1000.] Leif, son of Eric the Red, sailed from Greenland south-west in search of the lands seen by Biarne, reached the same in reverse order, landing probably at Newfoundland, which he named Helluland (Stony Land); Nova Scotia, he called Markland (Woodland); and passing round Cape Cod, made a settlement, named after himself, Leifsbudir, at some point on Narragansett Bay. He called this country Vinland from the fact that vines were found there, and the name was afterwards applied to the whole region extending northward to Markland. In the spring of 1001 Leif returned to Greenland with a cargo of grapes and wood.

[1002-5.] Thorwald, another of Eric's sons, sailed with one vessel to Vinland, where Leif had landed, and lived there through the winter by fishing. Early in 1003 he explored the country westward in boats, and in the spring of 1004 doubled Cape Cod, naming it Kialarnes (Ship's Nose), and perished in a battle with the Skraellings, or Indians, at some point on the shore of Massachusetts Bay. His companions spent the winter at Leifsbudir and returned to Greenland in 1005.

[1008.] In the spring of 1008 Thorfinn Karlsefne sailed from Greenland with three vessels to Helluland—which name was applied not only to Newfoundland but to the region north of that point—and thence along the coast to Nova Scotia, and to Cape Cod. Here the party divided, Thorhall, the hunter, in attempting to explore northward, being driven by a storm to Ireland, while Thorfinn spent the winter farther south near Leifsbudir, where a son was born to him. After an unsuccessful search for Thorhall by one vessel, a third winter was spent in Vinland, and in 1011 Thorfinn returned to Greenland, leaving perhaps a small colony. De Costa, Pre-Columbian Discov. Am., pp. 48-76, makes the date of this voyage 1007-10.

[1012.] Helge, Finboge, and Eric's daughter Freydisa, who had before 77 visited America with her husband, sailed to Vinland, and such as were not killed in the internal dissensions of the party returned to Greenland in 1013. The records of this expedition are very slight. De Costa's date is 1011-12.

[1035.] Adam of Bremen speaks of Frisian or German navigators who about the year 1035 landed on an island beyond Iceland, where the inhabitants were of great size, and were accompanied by fierce dogs—perhaps the Eskimos.

[1121.] After the expeditions that have been mentioned, concerning each of which the sagas contain one or more accounts, no farther regular reports have been preserved; but various voyages are briefly alluded to in different records, as though trips to the new regions of Vinland were no longer of sufficient rarity to be specially noticed. Such allusions refer to voyages made in 1121, 1285, 1288, 1289, 1290, and 1357. After 1357 no more is heard of the western lands. The settlements were gradually abandoned both in Vinland and Greenland, as the power of the Northmen declined, and so far as can be known, even their memory was buried in the unread records of former greatness. On Scandinavian discoveries, besides Rafn and De Costa, see Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 32; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 61-85 and 478; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 88-128; Abstract of Rafn, in Journal Lond. Geog. Soc., 1838, vol. viii. pp. 114-29.

Thus after this play of northern lights upon the western horizon for four or five centuries, enterprise in that direction languished, and finally the Sea of Darkness lapsed into its primeval obscurity. Nevertheless the deeds of the Scandinavians must have become more or less known to other parts of Europe, for the spirit of uneasiness which sent these Northmen across their western waters sent them also—particularly the Danes—eastward in the Holy Crusades. It would be well for the student to examine the works of Adam of Bremen, and Ordericus Vitalis, who beside these pre-Columbian voyages describe also the Crusades. Moreover, Iceland had Catholic bishops and was therefore in communication with Rome, where the discoveries of the Northmen must have been known. Rafn, Antiquitates Am., pp. 283, 292, and De Costa, Pre-Columbian Discov. Am., pp. 106-109, give translations from Scandinavian archives of contemporaneous descriptions of the earth in which these New World discoveries of the Northmen are included. Sailing charts and maps of the new discoveries must have been drawn by the Northmen, for although none of them were preserved, yet in Torfæus, Grœnlandia antiqua, Hauniæ, 1706, made by Icelandic draughtsmen in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and in Ptolemy's Geography, edition of 1482, is information of certain things contained in no other charts of the period extant, which must therefore have been partially compiled from Scandinavian sources.

It is not to be supposed that the Northmen imagined that they had found a new continent; very naturally to them Greenland, Helluland, Markland, and Vinland were but the western continuation of Europe. It is to this belief, as well as to the prevailing apathy and skepticism of the age concerning matters beyond the reach of positive knowledge, that the strange fact of the loss of all trace of these discoveries is due.

The exact results of these ancient expeditions, and their influence on the subsequent revival of maritime enterprise, form a difficult and as yet undecided 78 point in the discussion of this subject. Kunstmann gives particular attention to this matter, and attaches more importance to northern voyages and their connection with later expeditions than most other authors; still it has not yet been proved that Prince Henry, Toscanelli, or Columbus in the fifteenth century had any knowledge of north-western discoveries.

[1096-1271.] The Crusades—as expeditions, but chiefly for their results—deserve a brief mention in this connection. When in the seventh century Palestine passed from Christian to Mahometan hands, in which possession it has remained with but temporary interruptions to the present time, Christian pilgrimages to the Holy City for a few centuries were allowed, and to some extent protected. By successive changes of dynasty, however, power was transferred from the Arab to the Turkish branch of the Mahometans, so that in the eleventh century Christian pilgrims were cruelly oppressed, and hindered from their pious visits to the tomb of Christ. Roused at first by the exhortations of Peter the Hermit, Italy, France, England, and Germany sent armies of the undisciplined and fanatical rabble to avenge the insults to their faith, and wrest the Holy City from the power of barbarian heretics. From the eleventh to the thirteenth century nine expeditions were undertaken eastward in the prosecution of this work. Jerusalem was several times taken and retaken, but finally the Crescent was successful in resisting the encroachments of the Cross, and the Crusades failed in their visionary purpose. Still the continued migration of vast multitudes, from different nations through strange and distant lands, contributed much to increase popular knowledge of the world, to arouse fresh interest in regions hitherto little known, and to excite curiosity respecting the countries still further to the east. Meanwhile, commerce received an impetus from the work of furnishing supplies to the crusaders; so that these expeditions are included by modern writers as prominent among the causes which led to the coming revival of civilization.

[1147.] During the twelfth century few maritime expeditions are reported deserving of notice. At some not very clearly defined date before 1147, eight Arabs, the Almagrurins, are said to have sailed thirty-five days south-west from Lisbon with the intention of exploring the Sea of Darkness. At the end of the thirty-five days they found and named an Isle of Sheep, and twelve days farther south reached another island peopled by red men. They are said to have found there a man who spoke Arabic. Upon the whole the claim to a discovery of any part of America in this voyage should be slight. If the voyage be authentic, the land reached was perhaps the Canary Islands; some say those of Cape Verde.

[1160-73.] Benjamin de Tudela, a Spanish Jew, travelled for thirteen years in India, bringing back considerable information respecting Chinese Tartary and the islands of the Indian Ocean. D. Benjamini, Itinerarium ex versione Montani, Antwerp, 1575; Itinerarium D. Benjaminis, Leyden, 1633; Travels of Benjamin, Son of Jonas, London, 1783.

[1170.] In this year is placed the reported voyage of Madoc, a Welsh prince, who, sailing to the west and north from Ireland, landed on an unknown shore. He afterward returned to this new country with ten ships 79 with the intention of colonizing, but was never again heard of. This voyage rests on very slight authority, but has claimed importance by reason of reports, long believed, of the existence in various parts of America of Welsh-speaking Indian tribes. These reports, like scores of others referring the Americans to European relationships, proved groundless. To say the least, the voyage of Madoc must be considered doubtful. The most ancient Discouery of the West Indies by Madoc the sonne of Owen Guyneth, Prince of North-wales, in the yeere 1170; taken out of the history of Wales, in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 1.

[1246 et seq.] In the middle of the thirteenth century the desire to extend Christianity was encouraged by rumored conversions already made in the dominions of the Mogul, and especially by the report of a powerful Christian monarch, Prester John, who had reigned somewhere in the interior of Asia. This report led to the sending of several priests as missionaries to the far East. Carpini in 1246, and Ascelino in 1254, Italian Franciscans, penetrated to the region now known as Chinese Turkestan. About the same time, 1253 according to Hakluyt, Rubruquis, also a Franciscan, from Brabant, traversed the central Asiatic deserts. He was the first to present a definite idea of the position of Tartary and Cathay. A notice of his travels was given in the writings of Roger Bacon in 1267. Toward the end of this century Odorico, of the same order, visited Persia, India, and finally China, remaining three years in Peking. Viaggio del Beato Frate Odorico di Porto Maggiore del Frivli fatto nell'Anno MCCCXVIII (half a century later than above), in Ramusio, tom. ii., fol. 254. See also Hakluyt's Voy., vol. i. pp. 21-117; vol. ii. pp. 39, 53; Navarrete, Col. Viages, tom. i. pp. ix. x.

[1250-95.] Nicolo and Maffio Polo, Venetian brothers, left Venice in 1250 on a trading trip north-eastward. Passing north of the Caspian Sea, they spent three years at Bokhara, and afterward in 1265, proceeded to the court of Kublai Khan at Kemenfu in Chinese Tartary, whence they returned in 1269, intrusted with a mission to the Pope. In 1271 they again set out, taking with them Marco, son of Nicolo. They revisited the Tartar court, where they spent seventeen years, and returned by sea down the Chinese and Indian coasts to Ormuz in Persia and thence overland to Constantinople, reaching Venice in 1295. Marco seems to have been a great favorite at the eastern court, where he was intrusted with missions in all directions. By means of his own travels and by reports of the natives from all sections whom he met, he gained an extensive knowledge of China and adjoining countries, including the numerous islands of the coast, chief among which was Zipangu, or Japan. From his memoranda, he afterwards wrote in prison, a full account of his eastern travels, which was copied and widely circulated in manuscript. See Hakluyt Society, Divers Voyages, Introd., p. lii., London, 1850, for an account of printed editions of Polo's work. Its authenticity and general reliability are now admitted, though doubtless errors have been multiplied by copyists. This journey of Marco Polo was by far the most important, for revising geography, of any undertaken during the middle ages. From this time the coasts of Asia were laid down on maps and described with tolerable accuracy by cosmographers. De i Viaggi di Messer Marco Polo, Gentil 'hvomo Venetiano, in Ramusio, tom. ii. fol. 2-60; 80 Marco Polo de Veniesia de le meravegliose cose del mondo, Venice, 1496; Marci Pauli veneti de regionibus orientalibus libri tres, Cologne, 1671.

The Venetians were the most enterprising navigators of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They reached England at an early date,—Estancelin, Recherches, pp. 114-16, Paris, 1832—and not improbably extended their commercial operations still farther north, Iceland being at the time a flourishing republic with Catholic bishops. Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 92-4. No details however are preserved of any particular one of these voyages, nor of such as may have been directed toward Cape Non, the southern limit of oceanic navigation. Some time during this century a Moor, Ibn Fatimah, was driven by storms from Cape Non down past Cape Blanco, and his adventure was recorded in an Arabian geography.

[1291.] Doria and Vivaldi, Genoese, undertook a voyage down the African coast with a view of reaching India, and were last heard of at a place called Gozora. On this voyage, which rests on several authorities, has been founded a claim that the Italians preceded the Portuguese in passing Cape Bojador. Major, Prince Henry, pp. 99-110, concludes from an examination of all the documents that there are no grounds for this claim, although admitting the voyage and its purpose, in fact everything but its success. Gozora was probably Cape Non. Kohl regards this expedition as uncertain. One of the documents gives the date as 1281; from which circumstance Kohl and Humboldt erroneously make of it two voyages. D'Avesac, in Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, 1845, tom. cviii. p. 45, has the date 1285. Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 30-1, speaks of Genoese expeditions and the rediscovery of the Canaries during this century.

[1306.] On a map made by the Venetian Sanuto in 1306, Africa is represented as surrounded by the sea, but there is no evidence that the geography of that region is derived from any actual observations. The map simply shows one of the two theories then held respecting the shape of southern Africa.

[1332 et seq.] Sir John Mandeville, an English physician, between 1332 and 1366, travelled in eastern parts, including the Holy Land, India, and China. On his return he wrote in three languages an account of his adventures, with descriptions of the countries visited. See Hakluyt Soc., Divers Voy., Introd. p. xliii. His work corroborates that of Marco Polo, and although full of exaggerations, and probably tampered with by copyists in respect to adventures and anecdotes, "yet," says Irving, "his accounts of the countries which he visited have been found far more veracious than had been imagined." Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iii. pp. 128-38; Travels of Sir John Mandeville, London, 1725.

[1341 et seq.] As we have seen, the Canaries were known to the ancients, and made by Ptolemy the western limit of the world; but subsequently they were nearly forgotten until rediscovered and visited, perhaps several times, toward the middle of the fourteenth century, by the Portuguese. There is a definite account of one of these voyages. Two vessels were sent there by the King of Portugal in 1341, and nearly all the islands of the group visited, but no settlement was made. Before this, Luis de la Cerda represented to the Pope the existence of such islands, and received by a bull of 81 lordship of them, with the title of Prince of Fortune. The king of Portugal claimed in 1345 to have sent out previous expeditions to the islands. The project of Cerda proved a failure and no colony was founded. Voyages to the Canaries became quite frequent before the end of the century. Galvano, Discoveries, London, 1862; and in Collection of Curious Voyages, London, 1812, p. 10; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 30-1; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 1-4. Major, Prince Henry, pp. 139-45, dates the bull 1334.

[1346.] In August, 1346, Jaime Ferrer, a Catalan navigator, sailed from Majorca in the Mediterranean to search down the African coast for the Rujaura, or River of Gold, and never was heard from. This is proved by a document in the Genoese archives, and by an inscription on a Catalan map of 1375. Major shows this to have been an expedition in search of an unknown or imaginary river of gold, whose supposed existence rested on ancient traditions that a branch of the Nile flowed into the Atlantic, and which belief was strengthened by the gold brought from Guinea by the Arabs. Humboldt understands this Rujaura to have been the Rio d'Ouro below Cape Bojador, an inlet named later by the Portuguese; and he also states that Ferrer actually reached that point; but of this there seems to be no evidence.

[1351 et seq.] The Azores appear to have been discovered by the Portuguese early in this half century, appearing on a map of 1351. There is however no account of the voyage by which this discovery was made, although there is a tradition of a Greek who was there cast away in 1370. On a Genoese map of the same date the Madeira group is shown, having probably been discovered by Portuguese ships under Genoese captains early in the fourteenth century.

[1364.] By Villault de Bellefond, Relation des costes d'Afrique, Paris, 1669, it is stated that the Dieppese in 1364 made a voyage round Cape Verde, and far beyond, establishing trading-posts, which were repeatedly visited in the following years. On this account, repeated by many writers—Estancelin, Recherches, p. 72; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 285—is founded the French claim of having preceded the Portuguese in passing Cape Bojador and occupying the gold coast. Major, Prince Henry, pp. 117-33, maintains by strong proofs that this voyage rests on no good authority, and that the French occupation of that coast is of much later date.

[1380.] Nicolo Zeno, a Venetian, sailing northward for England, was driven in a storm still farther north, and landed on some islands in possession of the Northmen, which he named Friesland, but which are supposed to have been the Faroe group. Kindly received by the people, he sent to Venice for his brother, and both spent there the rest of their lives, making frequent excursions to neighboring islands, and gaining a knowledge of other more distant lands known to the Northmen, including two countries called Drogeo and Estotiland, lying to the southward of Greenland, which countries the Frieslanders claimed once to have visited. Nicolo died in 1395, and Antonio in 1404, after writing an account of their adventures, which, with a chart, he sent to a third brother, Carlo. The manuscript was preserved by the family and first published under the title Dei Commentarii del viaggio in Persia, etc., Venezia, 1558. After passing the ordeal of criticism the work is generally accepted as a faithful report of actual occurrences, though embellished, like 82 all writings of the time, with fable. Dello Scoprimento dell' Isola Frislanda Eslanda, en Grovelanda, et Icaria, in Ramusio, tom. ii. fol. 230-4; Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 121-8; Bos, Leben der See-Helden, pp. 523-7; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 48-9; Lelewel, Géog. du moyen âge, tom. iii. pp. 74 et seq. Irving, however, Columbus, vol. iii. pp. 435-40, sees in this voyage only another of "the fables circulated shortly after the discovery of Columbus, to arrogate to other nations and individuals the credit of the achievement," while Zahrtmann, Remarks on the Voy. to the Northern Hemisphere, ascribed to the Zeni of Venice, in Journal of the Geog. Soc., vol. v. pp. 102-28, London, 1835, claims that the whole account is a fable.

The chart by the brothers Zeni, published with the manuscript, is of great importance as the first known map which shows any part of America. It contains internal evidences of its own authenticity, one of which is that Greenland is much better drawn than could have been done from other or extraneous sources even in 1558. I give from Kohl's fac-simile a copy of the map, omitting a few of the names.

Zeno's Chart, Drawn about 1390.

View larger image

There can be little doubt that the countries marked Estotiland, Drogeo, and Icaria—possibly Nova Scotia, New England, and Newfoundland—owe their position on this chart to the actual knowledge of America, obtained either by a fishing-vessel wrecked there, as stated by the Zeni, or from a tradition preserved since the time of the Northmen. The lines of latitude and longitude were not on the original manuscript chart, but were added by the editors in 1558. Lelewel, Géog. du moyen âge, tom. iii. pp. 79-101, Bruxelles, 1852; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 97-106. 83

At an unknown date, probably near the end of the thirteenth century, Robert Machin, an Englishman, eloped with a lady in his own vessel from Bristol. He steered for France, but was driven by a tempest to the island of Madeira, where both died. Some of the crew escaped to the African coast, where they were taken prisoners, but afterward were redeemed by the Spaniards, to whom one of them related the discovery of Madeira, his account leading to its rediscovery. Major concludes, "that henceforth the story of this accidental discovery of Madeira by Machin must be accepted as a reality," but the date cannot be fixed. That of 1344 often assigned to the voyage results from a misreading of Galvano. Beside Galvano, Discov., pp. 58-9, see Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. ii. p. 1672; The Voyage of Macham, an English man, wherein he first of any man discovered the Iland of Madera, in Hakluyt, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 1; Curious and Ent. Voy., p. 13; Major's Prince Henry, p. 67; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 4.

[1402.] At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Jean de Betancourt with a company of Norman adventurers conquered Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. He afterward became tributary to the crown of Castile, and by the aid of the Spanish government obtained possession of other islands of the group, establishing there a permanent colony. Muñoz, Hist. del Nuevo Mundo, pp. 30-33; Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. i., gives the date 1405; Galvano, Discov., p. 60; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 6; Pinkerton's Col. Voy., vol. xvi. pp. 808-15.

We enter now a new epoch in maritime discovery. Hitherto, if we exclude the voyages of the Northmen, there had been no attempt worthy the name of systematic ocean exploration. In the words of Major, "the pathways of the human race had been the mountain, the river, and the plain, the strait, the lake, the inland sea," but now a road is open through the trackless ocean, "a road replete with danger, but abundant in promise." Portugal, guided by the genius of Prince Henry the Navigator, was the first to shake off the lethargy which had so long rested on Europe. For some time past the Portuguese had been gradually eclipsing the Italians in maritime enterprise; but not until a prince leaves the pleasures of youth for the perils of the sea, throwing his life into the cause with all the ardor of a devotee, does ocean navigation become anything more than private commercial speculation, with now and then some slight aid from governments. True, others had undertaken the voyage round Africa, but Portugal was perhaps the first to make it. As D'Avesac remarks, Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1846, tom. cx. p. 161: "Les Portugais ne s'y engagèrent point les premiers; mais seuls ils y persevérèrent, et les premiers ils atteignirent le but." Born in the year 1394, at a time when under his father, John, Portugal was already casting wistful glances over the Sea of Darkness, Prince Henry devoted his early life to geographical studies and his later life to discovery. Leaving the pomp and luxury of his father's court, he removed to the coast of Algarve, and from the dreary headland of Sagres let fly his imagination along the unknown shores of Africa. Drawing to him such young noblemen as were willing to share his labors, he established a school of navigation, giving special care to the study of cartography and mathematics. The geographical position of his native land was to the 84 Portuguese, in regard to oceanic adventure, not unlike that of the Italians in regard to Mediterranean navigation. Several causes united to inspire this prince with so noble an ambition. He desired to promote geographical science; to test the theories and traditions of the day; to know the truth concerning the disputed question of the form and extent of southern Africa; to turn the flow of riches, the gold and spices and slaves of India, from Italy into his own country. Nor was this last stimulant lessened by the fact that of late, by reason of Mahometan encroachments on Christian dominions, the old avenues of eastern traffic via the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf, or by the Red Sea and caravans across the deserts, were yearly becoming more insecure, and this too at a time when the taste for eastern luxuries was constantly increasing. Yet other incentives were Christian rivalry and Christian zeal. Spain had carried the cross to the Canaries; rumors kept coming in of Prester John and his Christian kingdom, now supposed to be in Africa instead of in Asia. Prince Henry moreover was grand master of the Order of Christ, and it behooved him to be stirring. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. xxvi.; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 33-4.

[1415.] Prince Henry began his voyages along the coast of Africa about the year 1415, at which time João de Trasto was sent with vessels to the Canaries. It was Henry's custom to despatch an expedition almost every year, endeavoring each time to advance upon the last, and so finally attain the end of the mystery—whereat the nobles grumbled not a little about useless expense. Obviously progress southward at this rate was very slow, and many years elapsed before Cape Bojador was passed and unknown seas were entered. Major's Prince Henry, pp. 64-65.

[1416-28.] Meanwhile Pedro, Henry's brother, travelled extensively, journeying through the Holy Land, visiting Rome, Babylon, and even England. Fortunately he found at Venice a copy of Marco Polo's work, and brought it home to Prince Henry. Galvano's Discov., pp. 66-7; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 11, 12.

[1418.] Gonzalez and Vaz, who were sent this year by Prince Henry on the regular annual expedition, were driven from their course and rediscovered Porto Santo. Galvano, Discov., pp. 62-4; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 11, 12; Curious and Ent. Voy., pp. 14, 15.

[1419.] Nicolo di Conti, Venetian, spent twenty-five years in India, Mangi, and Java, returning in 1444, and confirming many of Polo's statements. Discorso sopra il Viaggio di Nicolo di Conti Venetiano, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 373. Twice in 1419, if we may credit Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. xxvi., did Prince Henry's ships pass seventy leagues beyond Cape Non.

[1420.] Gonzalez again embarks from Portugal intending to plant a colony, and guided by one Morales, a survivor of Machin's voyage, rediscovered Madeira. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. pp. xxvi-vii.; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 73-7; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 13; Galvano's Discov., pp. 63-4; Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling, tom. i. pt. ii. p. 16. On a certain map dated 1459 is a cape supposed to be Good Hope, with the statement that in 1420 an Indian junk had passed that point from the east; but for this no authority is given. 85

1431.] The Formigas and Santa María islands of the Azore group were this year discovered by Cabral. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 15, makes the date August 15, 1432. For details of the discovery and settlement of all the eastern Atlantic islands, see idem, pp. 1-25.

[1434-6.] Gil Eannes, after an unsuccessful attempt in the preceding year, succeeded in 1434 in doubling Cape Bojador for the first time. Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, p. 34, makes the date 1433, and Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. xxvii., 1423. In 1435 Eannes with Baldaya passed fifty leagues beyond the cape, and in 1436 Baldaya advanced to a point fifty leagues beyond the inlet since known as Rio d'Ouro.

[1441-8.] For several years after the successful doubling of Cape Bojador, no new attempt of importance is recorded, but in 1441 the voyages were renewed, and in the next eight years the exploration was pushed one hundred leagues below Cape Verde. Prior to 1446 fifty-one vessels had traded on the African coast, nearly one thousand slaves had been taken to Portugal, and the discoveries in the Azores had been greatly extended. By these explorations Prince Henry had exploded the theory of a burning zone impassable to man, and of stormy seas impeding all navigation; his belief that Africa might be circumnavigated was confirmed; and he had obtained from the pope a grant to the crown of Portugal of lands he might discover beyond Cape Bojador to the Indies inclusive.

[1455-6.] According to Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. i. p. 105, Alvise Cadamosto, a Venetian, the first of his countrymen as he claims to sail down the new coast, made a voyage for Prince Henry to the Gambia River below Cape Verde. This expedition derives its importance not from the limit reached, where others had preceded him, but from his numerous landing points, careful observations, and the detailed account published by the voyager himself in La Prima Navigazione, etc., Vicenza, 1507; also in Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. i. pp. 104-15. This explorer touched at Porto Santo, Madeira, the Canaries, Cape Blanco, Senegal, Budomel, Cape Verde, and the Gambia River.

[1457.] Cadamosto claims, La seconda navigazione, in Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. i. pp. 116-20, to have made a second voyage, during which he discovered the Cape Verde Islands; but Major, Prince Henry, pp. 278-88, shows that such a voyage was not made in that year, if at all.

[1460.] Diogo Gomez discovered the Cape Verde Islands, and their colonization was effected during the following years. Major, Prince Henry, pp. 288-99, publishes the original account for the first time in English. Prince Henry died in November of this year. Major's Prince Henry, p. 303; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 19. Irving, Columbus, vol. i. p. 30, fixes this date 1473; and Galvano, Discov., p. 14, says 1463.

[1461.] The spirit of discovery and the thirst for African gold and slaves had become too strong to receive more than a temporary check in the death of its chief promoter. In the year following Prince Henry's death a fort was built on the African coast to protect the already extensive trade, and in 1461 or 1462 Pedro de Cintra reached a point in nearly 5° north, being over six hundred miles below the limit of Cadamosto's voyage. La Nauigation del Capitan Pietro di Sintra Portoghese, scritta per Meser Aluise da ca da Mosto, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 119. 86

[1469-89.] In 1469 Fernam Gomez rented the African trade from the king of Portugal for a term of five years, and during that time pushed his explorations under Santarem and Escobar to Cape St Catherine in 2° south, first crossing the equator in 1471. Under João II., who succeeded Alfonso V. in 1481, the traffic continued, and in 1489 Diogo Cam reached a point in 22°, over two hundred leagues below the Congo River, planting there a cross which is said to be yet standing. Martin Behaim, the mathematician and cosmographer, accompanied Cam on this voyage, and an error or interpolation in Schedel, Registrum, etc., Nuremberg, 1493, gave rise to the unfounded report that they sailed west and discovered America. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 257, 283, 292, 309; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 325-38; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. xl.; Harrisse, Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima, p. 40; Galvano's Discov., pp. 74-6; Otto, in Am. Phil. Soc., vol. ii., 1786.

We enter now the Columbian epoch proper, to which, as we have seen, the enterprises of Prince Henry and the Portuguese were precursory. About 1484, Christopher Columbus having proposed a new scheme of reaching India by sailing west, the king of Portugal surreptitiously sent a vessel to test his theory, which, after searching unsuccessfully for land westward, returned to the Cape Verde Islands. Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 53-4 et al. Columbus had resided in Portugal since 1470, and had made several trips in Portuguese ships down the African coast, in the course of which he is supposed to have first conceived his new project. Indignant at the conduct of the Portuguese king, Columbus left for Spain. Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, Hist. Prim., tom. i. pp. 9-10; translation in Pinkerton's Col. Voy., vol. xii. pp. 1-16; and in Kerr's Col. Voy., vol. iii. pp. 1-242.

In 1486 Bartolomeu Dias sailed round Cape Good Hope and continued his voyage to Great Fish River on the south-east coast, from which point he was compelled to return on account of the murmurs of his men. The cape, now for the first time doubled by Europeans, was seen and named by him on his return. In 1487 King João sent two priests, Covilham and Payva, to travel in the East, in the hope of gathering more definite information respecting Prester John and his famous Christian kingdom. Prester John they did not find, but Covilham in his wanderings reached Sofala on the east coast of Africa in about 20° south latitude, being the first of his countrymen to sail on the Indian Ocean. At Sofala he learned the practicability of the voyage which Dias had actually accomplished a little before, and a message to that effect was immediately sent to the king. Major's Prince Henry, pp. 339-42; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. xl-i; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 230 et seq.; Galvano's Discov., pp. 77-8.

From this time to the great discovery of 1492, few expeditions remain to be mentioned. It must not be forgotten, however, that by this time trading voyages were of ordinary occurrence all along the eastern Atlantic coast and its adjoining islands from Scandinavia to Guinea. A lively commerce was carried on throughout this century between Bristol and Iceland, and in the words of Kunstmann, substantiated by older authorities, "a bull of Nicolas IV. to the bishops of Iceland, proves that the pope in 1448 was intimately acquainted with matters in Greenland." It seems incredible 87 that during all this intercourse with northern lands, no knowledge of America was gained by southern maritime nations, yet so far as we know there exists no proof of such knowledge.

[1476.] John of Kolno, or Szkolny, is reported to have made a voyage in the service of the king of Denmark in 1476, and to have touched on the coast of Labrador. The report rests on the authority of Wytfliet, Descriptionis Ptolemaicæ augmentum, Lovanii, 1598, fol. 188, supported by a single sentence, "Tambien han ydo alla hombres de Noruega con el Piloto Iuan Scolno," in Gomara, Hist. Gen. de las Indias, Anvers, 1554, cap. xxxvii. fol. 31; by a similar sentence in Herrera, Hist. Gen., Madrid, 1601, dec. i. lib. vi. cap. xvi., in which the name is changed to Juan Seduco; and by the inscription, Jac Scolvus Groetland, on a country west of Greenland on a map made by Michael Lok in 1582, fac-simile in Hakluyt Soc., Divers Voy., p. 55. According to Kohl, Hist. Discov., pp. 114-15, this voyage is considered apocryphal by Danish and Norwegian writers. Lelewel, Géog. du moyen âge, p. 106, regards the voyage as authentic, and Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 45-8, attaches to it great importance as the source of all the voyages to the north which followed. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 152-4, gives but little attention to the voyage, and confesses his inability to decide on its merits: "Je ne puis hasarder aucun jugement sur cette assertion de Wytfliet."

[1477.] In this year Columbus, whom we first find with the Portuguese traders on the African coast, sailed northward, probably with an English merchantman from Bristol, to a point one hundred leagues beyond Thule, in 73° north. Colon, Hist. del Almirante in Barcia, tom. i. p. 4; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 43-7; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 272. He probably visited Iceland, although he gives the latitude incorrectly, taking it very likely from ancient geography rather than his own observations.

[1482.] According to Kunstmann, the edition of Ptolemy this year, Ptolomæi Cosmographia, Ulmæ, 1482, lib. viii., contains a map that includes Greenland, and must have been compiled from northern sources.

[1488.] Desmarquets, Mémoires Chronologiques, etc., Dieppe, 1785, tom. i. pp. 92-8, states that one Cousin sailed from Dieppe early in 1488, stood off further from land than other voyagers had done, and after two months reached an unknown land and a great river, which he named the Maragnon. Was this the Marañon in South America? He then sailed south-eastward and discovered the southern point of Africa, returning to Dieppe in 1489. The discovery was kept secret, but Cousin made a second voyage round the cape and succeeded in reaching India. Major, besides pointing out some inconsistencies in this account, shows that M. Desmarquets "could commit himself to assertions of great moment which are demonstrably false." He is not good authority for so remarkable a discovery not elsewhere recorded.

Before striking out with Columbus in his bold venture to the west, let us sum up what we have learned thus far and see where we stand. First, the geographical knowledge of the ancients was restricted to a parallelogram extending north-west and south-east from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean, comprising one hundred and twenty degrees east and west by fifty degrees 88 north and south; circumscribe this knowledge with legendary stories and hypothetical and traditional beliefs concerning the regions beyond; then add a true theory of the earth's sphericity, though mistaken as to its size. This is all they knew, and this knowledge they committed to the Dark Age, during which time it was preserved, and, indeed, little by little enlarged, as we have seen. During the latter part of the fifteenth century, particularly, a powerful impulse had been given to discovery, especially toward the south; so that now the limits of the ancients were moved eastward at least forty degrees, to the eastern coasts and islands of Asia, chiefly by the travels of Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville. Toward the south, the true form of Africa had been ascertained, and its coasts had been explored by the Portuguese, except a space of about fifteen degrees on the south-west. Northward the old limit had been advanced but slightly, but within this limit much information had been gained by actual navigation about regions only vaguely described by Ptolemy. Westward, in what was still a Sea of Darkness, great discoveries had been made by the Northmen, but their results were now practically lost; while toward the south, several important groups of islands had been added to the known world. See map on page 73, where the regions added during this period are lightly shaded. And now, within the old bound the world is much better known than at the beginning of the period, and many minor geographical errors of the ancients have been corrected by the Crusaders, and others who attempted on a smaller scale to extend the Catholic faith, as well as by commercial travellers in distant lands. Again, by the influx of Mahometans into Europe during five or six centuries, eastern luxuries had been introduced to an extent hitherto unknown, and had in fact become necessities in Christian courts, thus making the India trade the great field of commercial enterprise even by the tedious and uncertain overland routes where middle-men absorbed the profits, and rendering the opening of other and easier routes an object of primary importance. The almost exclusive possession of trade via the old routes by the Italians, furnished an additional motive to other European nations for explorations by sea. The art of printing, recently invented, facilitated the diffusion of learning, so that it was impossible for the world ever again to lapse into the old intellectual darkness. The astrolabe, the foundation of the modern quadrant, had been adapted by a meeting of cosmographers in Portugal to the observation of latitudes by the sun's altitude, and thus the chief obstacle to long sea-voyages was removed. The polarity of the magnet had long been known, but the practical adaptation of the magnetic needle to purposes of navigation occurred about the beginning of the fourteenth century. The mariner's compass, however, only attained its highest purpose toward the close of the fifteenth century, when the Sea of Darkness was traversed. But before this, the greatest impediments to ocean navigation had been overcome by voyages actually made through the aid of the new inventions. Beside the coasts brought to light by these voyages, they had done much to dispel the old superstitions of burning zones, impassable capes, and unnavigable seas.

We have seen that, as a result either of the poetic fancy or of the actual discovery of the ancients, various islands were traditionally located in the Atlantic. Most of them undoubtedly owed their existence to the natural 89 tendency of man to people unknown seas with fabulous lands and beings, "Il est si naturel à l'homme de rêver quelque chose au-delà de l'horizon visible," observes Humboldt. For a full account of the history and location of these islands, "dont la position est encore plus variable que le nom," and the important part played by them in ancient and middle-age geography, see Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 156-245, and Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 6 et seq., and 35-37. In the fifteenth century, with the revival of maritime enterprise, came a renewal and multiplication of the old fables. Monastic scholars, by their continued study of the old writers, by their attempts to reconcile ancient geography with fabulous events in the lives of the saints, and by their inevitable tendency to exaggeration, had contributed largely to their preservation. Still, throughout the preceding period, the belief in the existence of such islands had been vague and hypothetical; but when the actual existence of numerous islands in the western ocean was proved, and the Canary, Madeira, Azore, and Cape Verde groups were discovered and explored, the old ideas were naturally revived and confirmed, and with them rose a desire to rediscover all that had been known to the ancient voyagers. The reported wonders of the fabulous isles, having on them great and rich cities, were confidently sought in each newly found land, and not appearing in any of them, the islands themselves were successively located farther and farther to the west, out in the mysterious sea, to be surely brought to light by future explorations.

And of a truth, this wondrous western empire was subsequently brought to light; peoples and cities were found, but beyond the limits within which the wildest dreams of their discoverers had ever placed them. On this foundation not a few speculators build a theory that America was known to the ancients. The chief of the hypothetical isles were San Brandan, Antilia, and the Island of the Seven Cities; their existence was firmly believed in, and they were definitely located on maps of the period. San Brandan is said to have been visited by the saint whose name it bears in the sixth century. It was at first located far north and west of Ireland, but gradually moved southward until at the time of Columbus' first voyage it is found nearly in the latitude of Cape Verde. To the inflamed imagination mirage is solid earth, or sea, or a beautiful city; an island which was long supposed to be visible from Madeira and the Canaries had something to do with the location of this island of the saint, and of the others.

Antilia, and the Island of Seven Cities, according to Behaim's map, are identical. See page 93 this volume; also a reputed letter of Toscanelli, about the existence of which Humboldt thinks there may be some doubt. The only tangible point in the traditionary history is the migration of seven bishops, driven from the Peninsula by the Moorish invasion in the eighth century, who took refuge there and built the Seven Cities. The history and location of this Island of the Seven Cities in the fifteenth century are similar to those of San Brandan Island. Galvano says a Portuguese ship was there in 1447. Brazil, Bracie, or Berzil, was another of these wandering isles, whose name has been preserved and applied to a rock west of Ireland, to one of the Azore islands, and to a country in South America. This name has been the theme of much discussion, which, so far as I know, leads to no 90 result beyond the fact that the name of a valuable dye-wood known to the ancients was afterward applied to lands known or conjectured to produce such woods. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 214-45; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 7-10, and 35 et seq. Kunstmann attaches greater geographical importance to the fabulous isles than Humboldt, connecting them in a manner apparently not quite clear to himself with the previous discoveries of the Northmen. Thus stood facts and fancies concerning the geography of the world, when the greatest of discoverers arose and achieved the greatest of discoveries.

Although in the chapters following I speak more at length of the deeds of the Genoese and his companions, yet in order to complete this Summary it is necessary to mention them here. I shall attempt no discussion concerning the country, family, date of birth, or early life of Christopher Columbus. For the differences of opinion on these points, with numerous references, see Harrisse, Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima, New York, 1866, p. 2 et seq. Born somewhere in Italy, probably Genoa, about 1435, he received something more than a rudimentary education, went to sea at the early age of fourteen, and in 1470, which is about the date of his coming to Portugal, had already an extensive experience in the navigation of the Mediterranean, and was skilled in the theory as well as the practice of his profession. We have already seen him with the Portuguese on the African coast, and with the English in Iceland. In fact, before his first voyage westward in 1492, he was practically acquainted with all waters then navigated by Europeans.

The promptings which urged forward this navigator to the execution of his great enterprise may be stated as follows: The success of the Portuguese in long voyages down the African coast suggested to his mind, soon after 1470, that if they could sail so far south, another might sail west with the same facility and perhaps profit. Says his son: "Estando en Portugal, empeçó à congeturar, que del mismo modo que los Portugueses navegaron tan lejos al Mediodia, podria navegarse la buelta de Occidente, i hallar tierra en aquel viage." Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. p. 4; edition of Venetia, 1709, pp. 22-3; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 12; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. lxxix; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. lib. i. cap. 1-7. His ardent imagination once seized with this idea, every nook and corner of geographical knowledge was searched for evidence to support his theory. By intercourse with other navigators he learned that at different times and places along the western coasts of Europe and Africa, objects apparently from unknown western lands had been washed ashore, suppositionally by the wind, really by the Gulf Stream or other oceanic currents. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. p. 249. Though well aware of existing rumors of islands seen at different times in the western ocean, it was not upon these, if any such there were, that he built his greatest anticipations of success. In the writings of the ancients he found another stimulant. Filled with fervent piety and superstitious credulity, he pored over every cosmographical work upon which he could lay his hands, as well the compilations of antiquated notions, such as the Imago Mundi of Pierre D'Ailly, or the more modern travels of Marco Polo and 91 Sir John Mandeville. Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. p. 4 et seq.; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 349, 352; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 46, 60; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 74-6.

The result of these studies was a complete acquaintance with the geographical knowledge of the day, with the greater part of what I have thus far epitomized, the doings of the Northmen excepted. From all this he knew of the earth's sphericity; he believed that the larger part of the world's surface was dry land; that the land known to Ptolemy extended over at least 180 degrees, or half the circumference of the globe, that is, from the Canaries to the Ganges; he knew that by later travels the eastern limit of geographical knowledge had been moved much farther east, even to Cathay; he believed that far out in the ocean lay the island of Zipangu; he knew that some eight or ten degrees had been added on the west by the discovery of the Azores; he believed that at most only one third of the circumference remained to be navigated; that this space might naturally contain some islands available as way stations in the voyage; that the explorations in the East were very indefinite, and consequently Asia might, and probably did, extend farther east than was supposed; that Ptolemy's figures were not undisputed—Marino making the distance from the Canaries to the Ganges 225 degrees instead of 180, while another geographer, Alfragano, by actual measurement, made each degree about one sixth smaller than Ptolemy, thus reducing the size of the earth, and with it the remaining distance to India; that several ancient writers—see quotations from Aristotle, Strabo, Seneca, et al., in Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 38, 61, 98 et seq.—had pronounced the distance to India very short, and had affirmed that it might be navigated in a few days; and finally that other scholars, as Toscanelli, had arrived at the same conclusions as himself, possibly before himself. Cartas de Pablo Toscanelli, Físico Florentin, á Cristobal Colon y al Canónigo Portugues Fernando Martinez, sobre el descubrimiento de las Indias, in Navarrete, tom. ii. pp. 1-4; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 48-9. See also, on Columbus' motives, Irving's Columbus, vol. i. pp. 42-51, and vol. ii. p. 148; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, pp. 45-7; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 324-9; Stevens' Notes, p. 28; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 347-52; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 74. Many of these conclusions were erroneous, being founded on an incorrect idea of longitude; but this reduction of the earth's size was an error most fortunate for discovery, inasmuch as with a correct idea of the distance to be traversed, and with no suspicion of an intervening continent, such an expedition as that of the Genoese would not have been undertaken at the time.

Such were the ideas and aspirations of Columbus before his undertakings; later in life a theologic mysticism took possession of his mind, and his success was simply a fulfillment of divine prophecy in which cosmographical realities went for nothing. See Cartas de Don Cristobal Colon, in Navarrete, tom. i. p. 330.

All attempts to diminish the glory of Columbus' achievement by proving a previous discovery whose results were known to him have signally failed. The reports of mysterious maps which have been claimed to have prompted his enterprise evidently amount to nothing in view of the fact that Columbus never suspected the existence of any new countries, yet that he saw maps 92 of the world, including the Asiatic coasts, can not be doubted. The case of the pilot Sanchez, said to have died in the house of Columbus, and to have told him of lands he had seen toward the west, if true, is likewise of little moment as touching the honor due to Columbus, for many men were confident of having seen such lands from the Canaries and other islands, and several voyages had been made in search of them, all of which was certainly known to Columbus. The story of Sanchez was started by Oviedo, who gives no authority or date for the event; it was repeated generally with disapproval by other historians, until revived by Garcilaso de la Vega with date and details; but his date, 1484, is ten years after Columbus is known to have proposed his scheme to the Portuguese government. Columbus originated no new theory respecting the earth's form or size, though a popular idea has always prevailed, notwithstanding the statements of the best writers to the contrary, that he is entitled to the glory of the theory as well as to that of the execution of the project. He was not in advance of his age, entertained no new theories, believed no more than did Prince Henry, his predecessor, or Toscanelli, his contemporary; nor was he the first to conceive the possibility of reaching the east by sailing west. He was however the first to act in accordance with existing beliefs. The Northmen in their voyages had entertained no ideas of a New World, or of an Asia to the west. To knowledge of theoretical geography, Columbus added the skill of a practical navigator, and the iron will to overcome obstacles. He sailed west, reached Asia as he believed, and proved old theories correct.

There seem to be two undecided points in that matter, neither of which can ever be settled. First, did his experience in the Portuguese voyages, the perusal of some old author, or a hint from one of the few men acquainted with old traditions, first suggest to Columbus his project? In the absence of sustaining proof, the statement of the son Fernando that the father should be credited with the reconception of the great idea, goes for little. Second, to what extent did his voyage to the north influence his plan? There is no evidence, but a strong probability, that he heard in that voyage of the existence of land in the west. It is hardly possible that no tradition of Markland and Vinland remained in Iceland, when but little more than a hundred years had passed since the last ship had returned from those countries, and when many persons must have been living who had been in Greenland. If such traditions did exist, Columbus certainly must have made himself acquainted with them. Still his visit to the north was in 1477, several years after the first formation of his plan, and any information gained at the time could only have been confirmatory rather than suggestive. Both Humboldt and Kunstmann think that even if he ever heard of the discoveries of the Northmen—which is thought probable by the latter—this knowledge would not have agreed with, nor encouraged, his plans. Kohl, Hist. Discov., pp. 115-20, believes that such a knowledge would have been the strongest possible confirmation of his idea of the nearness of Asia and Europe, in which opinion I concur. The idea of Draper, Hist. Int. Develop., p. 446, that had Columbus known of the northern discoveries he would have steered farther to the north, seems of no weight, since he sought not the northern but the southern parts of India. 93

What Columbus had to contend with at this juncture was not, as I have said, old doctrines oppugnant to any new conception, but the ignorance of the masses, who held no doctrine beyond that of proximate sense, which spread out the earth's surface, so far as their dull conceptions could reach, in one universal flatness; and the knowledge of courts, whence alone the great discoverer could hope for support, was but little in advance of that of the people. Then the Church, with its usual firmness and conservatism, was against him. The monks, who were then the guardians of learning, knew, or might have known, all that Prince Henry, Columbus, and other earnest searchers had ascertained regarding the geography of the earth; but what were science and facts to them if they in any wise conflicted with the preconceived notions of the Fathers, or with Church dogmas? "II est vrai," says Humboldt, "que les scrupules théologiques de Lactance, de St. Chrysostôme et de quelques autres Pères de l'Eglise, contribuèrent à pousser l'esprit humain dans un mouvement rétrograde." And again, the African expeditions of the Portuguese had not on the whole been profitable or encouraging to other similar undertakings, and the financial condition of most European courts was not such as to warrant new expenses. Portugal, more advanced and in better condition to embark in new enterprises than any other nation, now regarded the opening of her route to India via the Cape of Good Hope an accomplished fact, and therefore looked coldly on any new venture. Nor were the extravagant demands of Columbus with respect to titles and authority over the new regions of Asia which he hoped to find, likely to inspire monarchs, jealous of their dignities, with favor toward a penniless, untitled adventurer. Passing as well the successive disappointments of Columbus in his weary efforts to obtain the assistance necessary to the accomplishment of his project, as his final success with Queen Isabella of Castile, let us resume our chronological summary.

Martin Behaim's Globe, 1492.

View larger image

94

[1492.] Shortly before the sailing of Columbus, the learned astronomer Martin Behaim, of Nuremberg, constructed a globe showing the whole surface of the earth as understood by the best geographers of the time. This globe has been preserved, and I present a fac-simile of the American hemisphere published in Ghillany, Geschichte des Seefahrers Ritter Martin Behaim, Nürnberg, 1853. The entire globe may be seen in Jomard, Les Monuments de la Géographie, no. xv., Paris, 1854. A section of the globe is given by Irving, Columbus, vol. i. p. 53 (see also Id., p. 135), by London Geog. Soc. Journal, 1848, vol. xviii. p. 76; and a copy from Ghillany, with some of the names omitted, may be found in Kohl's Hist. Discov., p. 147, map no. iv.

The chart by which the voyage of Columbus was made is supposed to have been a copy of Behaim's Globe, which indeed may be regarded as the exponent of geographical conceptions, those of Columbus as well as those of the learned men and practical navigators of the day. By an inscription on the original, the Asiatic coast is known to have been laid down from Marco Polo, and to the islands of Antilia and San Brandan are joined other inscriptions giving their history as I have before indicated. Sailing from Palos on the 3d of August, 1492, with one hundred and twenty men in three vessels commanded by himself and the two brothers Pinzon, Columbus was at last fairly launched on the Sea of Darkness. After a detention of three weeks at the Canaries, he sailed thence the 6th of September; marked, not without alarm, the variation of the needle on the 30th of September; and on the 12th of October discovered San Salvador, or Cat Island.

So far all was well; all was as the bold navigator had anticipated; all accorded with current opinions, his own among the number; he had sailed certain days, had accomplished a certain distance, and had reached triumphantly one of the numerous islands mentioned by Marco Polo, and, God willing, would soon find the larger island of Zipangu. Alas for mathematical calculations, for that other third of the earth's circumference; alas for the intervening continent and broad Pacific sea, which baffled the great discoverer to the day of his death!

Passing over the cruise through the Bahamas, or Marco Polo's archipelago of seven thousand islands, in which the discoverers touched successively at Concepcion, Exuma (Fernandina), and Isla Larga (Isabela), we find Columbus sailing from the last-mentioned island on the 24th of October for Zipangu, with the intention of proceeding thence to the main-land, and presenting his credentials to the great Khan.

Touching at the Mucaras group, Columbus arrived at Zipangu, which was none other than the island of Cuba, on the 28th of October, and gave to the island, in place of its barbarous appellation, the more Christian name of Juana. Cruising along the northern shore of Cuba, in frequent converse with the natives, he soon learned that this was not Zipangu, was not even an island, but was the veritable Asiatic continent itself, for so his fervid mind interpreted the strange language of this people. Unfortunately he could not find the Khan; after diligent search he could find no great city, nor any imperial court, nor other display of oriental opulence such as were described by Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville—only naked barbarians and thatched huts; so after advancing west beyond Savana la 95 Mar, the discoverers returned to the eastern end of Cuba, visiting on the way the group El Jardin del Rey. Postponing the exploration of the coast toward the south-west, Columbus returned eastward and followed the northern coast of Española, turning off on his way to discover the Tortugas, and arriving at La Navidad, where he built a fort and left a colony of thirty-nine men. Now, Española, and not Cuba as he had at first supposed, was the true Zipangu; for the main-land of China could not by any possibility be the island of Japan; and in this belief Columbus sailed for Spain on the 16th of January, reaching the Azores on the 18th of February, and arriving at Palos the 15th of March, 1493. Primer viage de Colon, in Navarrete, tom. i. pp. 1-197; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. i. booke ii. pp. 10-13; Sammlung aller Reisebeschreibungen, tom. xiii. p. 10; Napione and De Conti, Biografia Colombo, pp. 305-36; Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. i.; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. pp. 21-31, 46-55; Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. pp. 13-38; Irving's Columbus, vol. i. pp. 124-289; vol. iii. pp. 447-68; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 356-7; West-Indische Spieghel, p. 10; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 66-76.

[1493.] Just before reaching the Azores, Columbus wrote on shipboard two letters describing his voyage, one under date of the 15th of February, and the other of the 14th of March. The manuscript of one, with copies printed in Spain probably during this same year, are yet preserved. Of the other, both the original manuscript and Spanish copies, if any were printed, are lost; but of a Latin translation, six editions are extant, supposed to have been printed in 1493, in France and in Italy, under the title Epistola Christofori Colom, or De Insulis Inventis, etc. A poetical paraphrase of the same letter appeared the same year as Dati, Questa e la Hystoria, etc., Florence, 1493, and four other works of this year contain slight allusions to Columbus. Seven or eight editions of Columbus' letters appeared in different forms during the next forty years. Both letters may be found with Spanish translations in the first volume of Navarrete's collection. For the bibliographical notices of this sketch I have depended chiefly on Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., as the latest and most complete essay on early American books, notwithstanding the few blunders that have subjected it to so much ridicule. I shall not consider it necessary to repeat the reference with each notice, as Harrisse's work is arranged chronologically.

As soon as Columbus had explained to Ferdinand and Isabella the nature of his important discovery, the Spanish sovereigns applied to the Pope for the same grants and privileges respecting lands discovered, and to be discovered, in the west, that had before been granted the Portuguese in the south and east. His Holiness, accepting the Spanish statements that the concessions demanded did not in any way conflict with previous grants to the Portuguese, by bull of May 2, 1493, ceded to Spain all lands which might be discovered by her west of a line drawn from pole to pole, one hundred leagues west of the Azores; the Portuguese to have all new lands east of the same line. It is obvious that his Holiness fixed this line arbitrarily, without a thought of the position or importance of the corresponding meridian at the antipodes. This opposite meridian, according to the idea of longitude entertained at the time, would fall in the vicinity of India proper; and the Portuguese, besides their natural jealousy of this new success of Spain, feared that 96 the western hemisphere thus given to her rival might include portions of their Indian grants. Hence arose much trouble in the few following years between the two courts. See infra.

Amidst the enthusiasm following his success Columbus had no difficulty in fitting out another expedition. Embarking from Cádiz September 25, 1493, with seventeen vessels and over 1,200 men, among whom were Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa, el almirante, or the admiral, as Columbus was now called, touched at the Canaries, discovered Dominica the 3d of November, and Guadalupe a few days later; thence sailing north-west through the Caribbean Archipelago, he occasionally landed and gave names to islands. Resting two days at Puerto Rico, he reached the coast of Española on the 22d of November, and on the 27th anchored off the port of Navidad. The settlement established at this place in the previous voyage had totally disappeared; the colonists as is supposed falling victims to internal dissensions and general excesses. A new city called Isabela was then founded at another port of this island, and Ojeda was sent inland to explore the country. After a short absence he returned, reporting the country rich in gold. On the second of February, 1494, twelve vessels, with specimens of the people and products of the country, were despatched for Spain under Antonio de Torres. By this departure was also sent a request for immediate supplies. Recovering from a serious illness, Columbus checked a revolt among his people on the 24th of April, built a fort in the interior, and then sailed to explore the main coast of Asia—as he supposed, but in truth Cuba—south-westward from the point where he left it on his first voyage. Following the south coast of Cuba the admiral at length reached the vicinity of Philipina, or Cortés Bay, where the shore bends to the southward. This to him seemed conclusive proof that it was indeed the main-land of Asia which he was coasting. The statements of the natives who said that Cuba was in fact an island, but that it was so large that no one had ever reached its western extremity, confirmed him in his belief—since one might question the knowledge of a boundary which no one had ever reached and from which no one had ever come. The theory of the age was thus made good, and that was sufficient; so Columbus brought all his crew, officers and men, before the notary, and made them swear that the island of Cuba was the continent of Asia—an act significant of methods of conversion in those days. He even proposed to continue the voyage along the coast to the Red Sea, and thence home by way of the Mediterranean, or, better still, round the Cape of Good Hope, to meet and surprise the Portuguese; but his companions thought the supplies insufficient for so long a voyage, and the admiral was persuaded to postpone the attempt.

Returning therefore to Española, on the way back Columbus discovered and partially explored Jamaica, Isla de Pinos, and the small islands scattered to the southward of Cuba, arriving at Isabela on the 4th of September. There he found matters in a bad way. The colony, comprising a motley crew of lawless adventurers, ever ready to attribute success to themselves and ill-fortune to their governor, trumped up numerous complaints which caused the admiral no little trouble. Margarite, to whom had been given a command for an expedition inland, had revolted and sailed with several ships for Spain. 97 Open war had been declared with the natives, and the colonists were hard pressed; but the admiral's presence and Ojeda's impetuous bravery soon secured order. Meanwhile two arrivals inspired the colonists with fresh courage; that of Bartolomé Colon, brother of the admiral, with three ships, and that of Torres, with four vessels laden with supplies. With the gold that had been accumulated, and specimens of fruits and plants, and five hundred natives as slaves, Torres was sent back to Spain, accompanied by Diego Colon, whose mission was to defend his brother's interests at court. The pacification of the natives was then completed, and heavy taxes were imposed upon them. In October, 1495, arrived Juan de Aguado, sent by the king to ascertain the facts concerning charges against the admiral. This man, in place of executing his commission fairly, only stirred up the accusers of Columbus to greater enmity—which quality of justice well accorded with the temper of his master Ferdinand. On account of these troubles, as well as from the discovery of a new gold mine, which proved beyond question that Española was the ancient Ophir of King Solomon, Columbus decided to return to Spain. So leaving his brother, Bartolomé, in command as adelantado, or lieutenant-governor, he sailed with Aguado, on the 10th of March, in two caravels, carrying 225 Spaniards and thirty natives. Touching at Marigalante, and Guadalupe, he arrived at Cádiz June 11, 1496. Segundo Viage de Cristobal Colon, in Navarrete, tom. i. pp. 198-241; Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. pp. 42-73; Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. 2-4; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. pp. 31-5; Napione and De Conti, Biografia Colombo, pp. 331-50; Irving's Columbus, vol. i. pp. 338-497; vol. ii. pp. 1-87; Major's Prince Henry, p. 358; Humboldt's Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 217; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 93-9. The letters which Columbus sent to Spain by Torres in February, 1494, if ever printed, are lost; but in Syllacio, ad Sapiẽtissimũ ... de insulis, etc., Pavia, 1494 or 1495, appeared certain letters from Spain to the author of this work, describing the second voyage of Columbus.

[1494.] Thus during the absence of Columbus on his second voyage we have seen the ocean route between Spain and Española six times navigated; first, by the fleet of twelve vessels sent back to Spain by the admiral under Antonio de Torres; second, by Bartolomé Colon, who followed his brother to Española with three ships; third, by Margarite, who revolted and left Española during the absence of Columbus in Cuba; fourth, by Torres in command of four vessels from Spain with supplies for the colony; fifth, by the return of the same four ships to Spain with gold and slaves; and sixth, by Juan de Aguado with four ships from Spain in August, 1495.

With the division of the world by Pope Alexander VI., Portugal was not satisfied. The world was thought to be not so large then as now, and one half of it was not enough for so small a kingdom which had boasted so great a navigator as Prince Henry. It was not their own side, but the other side, that troubled the Portuguese, fearing as they did that the opposite meridian threw into Spain's half a part or the whole of India. So Spain and Portugal fell to quarrelling over this partition by his Holiness; and the matter was referred to a commission, and finally settled by the treaty of Tordesillas in June, 1494, which moved the line 270 leagues farther west. About the location of 98 this line of demarcation, and its effect on Brazil, and the Moluccas, much has been written, though little has been said as to the motive that prompted Portugal in making this change. The fact is, that at a time when the Spice Islands were but vaguely known, and the existence of Brazil not even suspected, it is impossible to conceive why Portugal desired to change the partition line from 100 leagues to 370 leagues west of the Azores; for the change could only diminish the possessions of Portugal in India by 270 leagues, as in truth it did, including the Moluccas in the loss, and gaining in return 270 leagues of open Atlantic sea! True, there proved to be an accidental gain of a part of Brazil, but there could have been no idea at the time that this partition line cut through any eastern portion of lands discovered by Columbus to the west. In whatever light we imagine them to have regarded it, there is still an unexplained mystery. The Pacific ocean was unknown; between the discoveries of Spain and Portugal, so far as known, all was land—India. By carrying the partition line westward, Portugal may have thought to find some western land; at all events, it is generally believed that the effect of the partition in the antipodes was not well considered; that the only point in question was the right of making discoveries in the western ocean, and that the treaty of Tordesillas was decided in favor of Spain—Portugal being forced to yield the main point, but insisting on the change of partition in order to give her more sea-room. On the other hand it may be claimed that the antipodes, of which they knew so little, were the avowed object of all the expeditions sent out by both parties. See the original bull and treaty in Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. ii. pp. 28, 130; also Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, vol. ii. pp. 173-83; Calvo, Recueil Complet des Traités, Paris, 1862, tom. i. pp. 1-36; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. i. booke ii. pp. 13-15; Curious and Ent. Voy., p. 20; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, p. 183.

Italy, and especially Venice, as we have seen, was the first of the European states to display in any marked degree in mediæval times that commercial spirit so early and so well developed in the Phœnicians. Portugal caught the flame under John the Great, 1385-1433, and led the van of a more daring discovery and exploration by conquests on the north-west coast of Africa. Simultaneously Prince Henry was sending expeditions farther down the western coast of Africa, and among the islands of the Atlantic. His country reaped the reward in 1486, when the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope opened her a way by sea to Hindostan, and to the commerce of the Orient, and gave at the same time the death-blow to Venetian ascendancy in that market.

But Spain, as chance would have it, did not lag far behind her sister kingdom. The fact of the great navigators, Columbus and Vespucci, being Italians, and yet having to seek assistance of Spain, sufficiently indicates in what direction the swing of maritime power was tending. The astronomical schools of Córdova, Seville, and Granada had well prepared Spain for the application of astronomy to navigation, and the long internal wars had bred those bold and enduring spirits who alone are fitted to conduct with success great enterprises of certain danger and uncertain result.

It is claimed by some that John and Sebastian Cabot made their first voyage 99 and discovered Newfoundland in 1494. The claim rests on a statement of the Spanish ambassador to England in a letter dated July 25, 1498, to the effect that during the past seven years several vessels had been sent each year from Bristol in search of Brasil and the Islands of the Seven Cities, and on an inscription on Sebastian Cabot's map of 1544, which states that land was first discovered by the Cabots on June 24, 1494. D'Avesac, Letter on the Voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot, in Kohl, pp. 506-7. But other authors consider the map—even if made by Cabot, which is extremely doubtful—insufficient authority to prove such a voyage.

[1495.] At the solicitation of the brothers Pinzon and other navigators, a license was granted April 10, 1495, permitting any native-born Spaniard to make private voyages for trade and discovery from Cádiz to the Western India; such expeditions to be under the inspection of government, one of whose officials was to accompany each vessel to ensure the payment to the crown of one tenth of the profit of the voyage. For this document in full, see Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. ii. p. 165. See also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 356 et seq. Whether any one actually took advantage of this license before its repeal—which was on June 2, 1497, at the instigation of Columbus—is a disputed point of some importance in connection with certain doubtful expeditions to be considered hereafter.

[1496.] Pedro Alonso Niño sailed from Cádiz June 17, 1496, just after the return of Columbus, in command of three vessels laden with supplies for the colony at Española.

[1497.] Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator, claims to have set sail from Cádiz with four vessels in the service of the king of Spain on the tenth, or twentieth, of May, 1497. In what capacity he accompanied the expedition, or who was its commander, he does not state, but says that he was chosen by the king to go with the expedition. "Me ad talia investiganda in ipsam societatem elegit." Sailing south-south-west to the Canaries, 280 leagues from Lisbon, he remained there eight days, and then sailed west-one-quarter-south-west 1,000 leagues in twenty-seven, or thirty-seven, days, to a point on the main-land in 16° north and 75° west of the Canaries—that is to say, on the coast of Central America near Cape Gracias á Dios. This must have been about the 1st of July, some days perhaps after Cabot's landing farther north, which was the 24th of June. The Spaniards went ashore in boats, but the natives were too timid to trade; so that continuing their voyage for two days north-west in sight of the flat coast, they reached a more secure anchorage, established friendly relations with the people, and found some traces of gold. The ships then followed the coast for several days, to a port where was found a village built over the water like Venice, and there fought with the natives (of Tabasco?); sailed eighty leagues along the coast to a region of many rivers (Pánuco?), where they were kindly received by people of a different language, and made a journey of eighteen leagues inland, visiting many towns. This province was called by the inhabitants Lariab, and is situated in the torrid zone, near the tropic of Cancer, in 23° north. Again they started, pursued a north-west course and frequently anchored, sailing thus 870 leagues, until after thirteen 100 months, that is to say in June, 1498, they reached "the best harbor in the world" (port of Cape Cañaveral?), in 28° 30', where they resolved to repair their ships for the return voyage. There they remained thirty-seven days, and when about to depart, the natives complained of certain cannibals who came each year from an island 100 leagues distant to attack them. The Spaniards, in return for their kindness, promised to avenge their wrongs. Accordingly they sailed north-east and east to a group of islands, some of which were inhabited (Bermudas?); landing at one of them called Ity, they defeated the cannibals, and made 250 prisoners, with a loss of one man killed and twenty-two wounded. Returning, they arrived at Cádiz October 15, 1499, with 222 prisoners, who were sold as slaves. The above is the account given by Vespucci in a letter written in 1504, according to the edition adopted as authentic and original by Varnhagen, Le premier Voyage de Amerigo Vespucci, who believes that Vicente Yañez Pinzon and Juan Diaz de Solis were the commanders. This voyage is not generally regarded as authentic; and a long and complicated discussion has arisen on the question whether the account given is to be regarded as true, as wholly a fabrication, or as belonging to a subsequent voyage and accidentally or intentionally dated back two years. As this voyage, if actually made as claimed by M. Varnhagen, would be the first to touch the territory which I denominate the Pacific States, I find it necessary to give in this place the leading points in the discussion. In what may be called the standard authorities on American discovery, such as Navarrete, Humboldt, and others, is found fully presented the question of the authenticity of Vespucci's voyage, always, however, under the supposition that the land claimed to have been visited was the coast of Paria. The theory of M. Varnhagen, that that region must be sought in North America, reopens the question and introduces some new features which cannot be passed by unnoticed in this connection. Without entering upon the somewhat complicated bibliography of Vespucci's narrations, or taking up the question of his claims in the matter of naming America, I shall attempt to state briefly, and as clearly as I am able, the arguments for and against the authenticity of a voyage, in which perhaps is involved the question of the first post-Scandinavian discovery of the North American continent.

Besides Vespucci's own statement, in a letter written in 1504, no contemporary document has been found which mentions such an expedition, though most diligent search for such documents has been made in the Spanish archives by partisans and opponents of the Florentine's claim. This absence of confirmatory documents is the more noticeable as the expedition was made under royal patronage. In another and previously written letter describing his second voyage in 1499, Vespucci not only makes no mention of this voyage, but even excuses his long silence by saying that nothing had occurred worth relating. True, a short letter of one Vianello, dated 1506, published by Humboldt, mentions a voyage to which no date is given, made by Vespucci in company with Juan de la Cosa. M. Varnhagen supposes this to have been the voyage in question, and a large river discovered at the time to have been the Mississippi; but, beside the fact that there is no reason for attributing the date of 1497 rather than any other to this voyage, Vianello's letter, 101 with two others, published by Harrisse, indicates a much later date for the expedition with Juan de la Cosa.

Moreover, not only is there a want of original records, but contemporary historians are silent respecting this expedition; the first mention by later writers being a denial of its authenticity when it was thought to conflict with the admiral's claims as discoverer of the continent. Yet, on the supposition of a voyage to the North American coast, there are some passages in the historians Peter Martyr, Oviedo, Gomara, and Herrera, which point more or less definitely to an exploration of the gulf of Honduras before 1502. Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. vi., writing before 1508, says that many claim to have sailed round Cuba; and later, dec. i. cap. x., he mentions a report that Pinzon and Solis had explored the coast of Honduras, giving, however, no dates. Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. ii. p. 140, says positively that the gulf of Honduras was discovered not by Columbus, but by Pinzon and Solis, and that before the former discovered the Amazon, or the latter the Rio de la Plata, that is to say before 1499. Gomara, Hist. de las Indias, fol. 63, states that Pinzon and Solis are said by some to have explored the coast of Honduras three years before Columbus, which would make it in 1499. Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iv. lib. viii. cap. iii., says that the gulf of Honduras was named Hibueras from the gourds found floating in its waters by the first Spaniards who sailed along the coast. To M. Varnhagen, this it may be random remark of Herrera is proof positive that as Columbus did not enter or name the gulf, he was not the first Spaniard who sailed along the coast. Whatever weight may be attached to these passages from the historians, in proving a voyage to North America previous to that of the admiral, such evidence is manifestly increased by the fact that the date of the voyage attributed to Pinzon and Solis seems to rest entirely on the statement of Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. lib. vi. cap. xvi., who describes the expedition with other events under the date of 1506. Yet in the testimony in the lawsuit hereinafter to be mentioned, it is implied, though not expressly stated, that the voyage was after that of Columbus, since special pains was taken by the king to prove the coast explored by Pinzon to be distinct from that discovered by the admiral. Another point is that in this same testimony the name 'Caria' is given to a place visited during Pinzon's voyage, and for this name Vespucci's 'Lariab' may possibly be a misprint.

Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. pp. 59, 267, 272-4, repeatedly states it as an undeniable fact that Vespucci was employed in Spain in fitting out the vessels for the third voyage of Columbus, up to the date of the sailing of the expedition, May 30, 1498, and consequently could not himself have sailed in May or any other month of 1497. He makes this statement on the authority of documents collected by Muñoz. Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., p. 57, states, also on the authority of Muñoz, that from April, 1497, to May 30, 1498, Vespucci was "constantly travelling from Seville to San Lúcar." Vespucci is known to have succeeded Juanoto Berardi, who died in December, 1495, in a contract to fit out vessels for the Spanish government, and to have received money on account of that contract on the 12th of January, 1496. Irving, with access to the documents of Muñoz, says that four caravels fitted out by Vespucci sailed February 3, 1496, but were driven back; and he speaks of 102 no evidence of his presence in Spain in 1497 or 1498. Navarrete, relying on the same Muñoz documents—which consist of extracts from the books of expenses of Indian armadas in the Casa de Contratacion in Seville—gives no date to the sailing and wreck of the four vessels mentioned by Irving, but implies that the event took place before Berardi's death. After speaking of the receipt of money on the 12th of January, 1496, he states that Vespucci "went on attending to everything until the armada was despatched from San Lúcar." Col. de Viages, tom. iii. p. 317. He does not state that the fleet thus fitted out was that in which Columbus sailed in 1498. Muñoz in the printed portion of his work is silent on the subject. Varnhagen, Vespuce et son Premier Voy., p. 18, argues that Humboldt had no authority whatever for applying Navarrete's statement respecting the armada despatched from San Lúcar to the admiral's fleet, that statement having probably been his authority, and not the original documents of Muñoz; and that the four vessels whose fitting-out Vespucci personally superintended were much more probably those in which he himself sailed and made the voyage in question. Varnhagen furthermore thinks that the death of Berardi furnished a reasonable motive for the resolution formed by Vespucci to visit the Indies, and a favorable opportunity for carrying out his resolution. If it can be proved that Vespucci was in Spain in 1497 and 1498, of course the question of his claimed voyage admits of no farther discussion; but if Humboldt's only authority be his interpretation of Navarrete's statement, even if the interpretation be not unnatural or improbable, the matter must still be considered doubtful until the original Muñoz documents are produced.

The silence of contemporary documents respecting Vespucci's voyage carries the greater weight from the fact that there are special reasons for the existence of such documents, if the voyage had been actually made. In 1508 a suit was begun by Diego Colon against the Spanish crown for the government of certain territory claimed by virtue of the discovery of Paria by his father, the admiral. The suit continued to 1513, and every effort was made by the crown to prove a previous discovery of the coast in question; hundreds of witnesses were examined, and their testimony has been preserved and published in Navarrete's collection. In this suit Vespucci was not summoned as a witness, although much of the time in royal employ, having held the office of piloto mayor from 1508 to his death in 1512. No claim was advanced for his discovery, although the voyage is stated to have been made under royal patronage, and by proving its authenticity the crown would have gained its object. Indeed, Vespucci's name is only mentioned once in all the testimony, and that as having accompanied Alonso de Ojeda in his voyage of 1499. That no one of the many witnesses examined knew of Vespucci's voyage in 1497, if it were a fact, is hardly possible. Not only were the witnesses silent on the Florentine's expedition, but many of them, including Ojeda, affirmed that Paria was first discovered by Columbus, and next afterward by Ojeda himself. Now as Vespucci accompanied Ojeda, the latter would surely have known of any previous discovery by Vespucci, and as Ojeda was not friendly to Columbus he certainly would have made the fact known. Moreover, the admiral's charts and sailing-directions were followed by Ojeda in his voyage, which would hardly have been done with a 103 skilful pilot like Vespucci on board, and one who had visited the coast before. True, this last point would have little weight if the coast of Paria was not the region visited by Vespucci, while the other points would be little if at all affected by the theory that North America was the coast explored. No other Spanish voyage to the new region was neglected; indeed, to have so completely disregarded Vespucci's expedition, it must be supposed that the king not only knew exactly what region he explored, but had a positive conviction that said region was entirely distinct from Paria; and we have seen that no such definite opinion was held at the time, but on the contrary, special pains was taken to prove that the new regions were "all one coast." When it is considered that Vespucci's voyage, that is the voyage of Pinzon and Solis, was mentioned in the testimony, the failure to summon the piloto mayor appears all the more remarkable. What more efficient witness could have been brought forward? Thus the silence of the testimony in this suit on the question under discussion, must be deemed something more than mere negative proof, as it is termed by M. Varnhagen. This gentleman also notes that only one witness mentions that Vespucci accompanied Ojeda in 1499; but he does not note that the presence of Vespucci on Ojeda's ships was of no importance to either party in the suit, while a previous discovery by him was of the very greatest importance to the crown.

The date of sailing from Cádiz is given by different editions of Vespucci's letter as May 10, and May 20, 1497; and of his return as October 1, 15, and 18, 1499. From these dates two difficulties arise; first, the duration of the voyage is stated in the letter to have been eighteen months, while the period between the dates of sailing and return is twenty-nine months; and again, Vespucci is known to have sailed with Ojeda in May, 1499, that is, five months before he returned from the voyage in question. One way of reconciling the first difficulty is to suppose that the author reckoned time by the Florentine method, then common in familiar correspondence, according to which the year began the 25th of March. Then in case of a very natural misprint in the original of May for March, the voyage really began in 1498, its duration being thus reduced to nineteen months. A more simple method of removing both difficulties is to suppose a misprint of 1499 for 1498 as the date of the return; this would reduce the time to seventeen months. Several later editions have made this change. The edition claimed as original by M. Varnhagen has the date 1499 according to his translation, and strangely enough the editor makes no allusion to it in his notes, although in a former pamphlet he speaks of 1498 as the date of the return. I attach very little weight to discrepancies in dates in this relation except as evidence against any intentional deception on the part of Vespucci. Confusion in dates is common in all relations of the period; and Vespucci's letters were written hastily, not for publication, and merely to interest his correspondents by a description of the marvels he had seen in his New World adventures. It may here be stated that the long and bitterly argued question of the rival claims of Vespucci and Columbus in the matter of naming America has no bearing on the present discussion. There is no evidence that the voyage in question had any influence in fixing the name America; and to pronounce this expedition not authentic has no tendency to weaken Vespucci's reputation 104 for honesty, which may now be considered fully established; nor do the arguments against intentional falsification on Vespucci's part tend to prove the voyage authentic.

Several coincidences between the narratives of this voyage and that of Ojeda have led many writers to conclude that both describe the same expedition, the dates having been accidentally or intentionally changed. Humboldt, after a careful examination, was convinced that the two voyages were identical. But when we consider that Humboldt, Navarrete, and Irving formed their conclusions without a suspicion of a voyage to North America, and before that question had ever once arisen; that Navarrete severely criticises Vespucci's narrative as applied to Ojeda's voyage; that two of the strongest coincidences—the mention of Paria as the coast visited, and the discovery of a town built over the water like Venice—have no weight in view of the new theory, since the province is called Lariab in the original edition, and that method of building was not uncommon in all the tropical regions of America, it must be admitted that this argument has by itself little force against the authenticity of Vespucci's voyage.

The right granted to private individuals by the Spanish government in April, 1495, to make voyages of discovery at their own expense, subject to certain regulations, was partially revoked in June, 1497, after Vespucci's claimed departure. All authorities agree that during this time such private voyages, or even clandestine expeditions, may have been and probably were made, of which no records have been preserved. It is argued that Vespucci's voyage may have been of this number, although claimed to have been made under royal patronage, and by no means clandestine. It is even suggested that the revocation of the right of private navigation, brought about by the influence of Columbus, was purposely delayed until after Vespucci's departure—all of which proves, if it proves anything, simply that there was nothing to prevent Vespucci from making the voyage.

We have seen how certain statements of the old chroniclers may be taken as indicative of a voyage along the Central American coast previous to that of Columbus. There are also similar indications in some of the early maps. Thus Juan de la Cosa's map representing Cuba as an island in 1500 (see page 115 this volume) might be accounted for by such a voyage as Vespucci claims to have made. It will be seen hereafter that early maps show some slight traces of a knowledge of Florida before its discovery in 1512 (pp. 128-9 this vol.) In the Ruysch map of 1508 (p. 126 this vol.) the eastern coast of what seems to be Cuba is identified by M. Varnhagen with the main-land; in his opinion the inscription at the north point of that coast refers directly to Vespucci's expedition, and 'Cape S. Marci' at the southern point may indicate Vespucci's arrival on Saint Mark's day, especially as his uncle was a priest of the order of St Mark. If this appears somewhat far-fetched, perhaps more weight should be attached to the name 'Cape Doffin de Abril' on the southern point of what may be Florida on the Ptolemy map of 1513 (p. 130 this vol.), for at the end of April Vespucci may, according to his narrative, have been at that point. On this matter of an early voyage it may be noted that Columbus, striking the coast at Guanaja Island in 1502 in search of a passage westward, instead of following westward, as he naturally would have done, at 105 least to the head of the gulf of Honduras, turned directly east. A knowledge on his part that Vespucci had already explored westward and northward without finding a passage, would account for his actions. But they have already been satisfactorily accounted for by the fact that he simply proposed to sail along the sinuosities of the supposed southern coasts of Asia to India, rather than to penetrate any intervening continent, whose existence he did not suspect.

In addition to the leading arguments for and against the voyage in question, the following minor points are urged:

It is claimed that the command of such an expedition would not have been given to a foreigner, and Vespucci did not become a naturalized citizen of Spain until 1505. But on the other hand, if Vespucci had rendered no other service to Spain than to have accompanied Ojeda, he would hardly have received so many favors from the government, especially after having served four years under the king of Portugal.

Señor Navarrete finds a difficulty in Vespucci's claim to have brought back to Spain 222 slaves in the few small vessels under his command. Vespucci also speaks of Ferdinand as king of Castile, which it was not customary to do until after Isabella's death.

The high opinion held of Vespucci during his life by Columbus and his zealous friends is of little weight, because the admiral's claim to have discovered the supposed Asiatic continent or islands adjacent thereto was undoubted; but the favorable opinions expressed by later writers, especially by Fernando Colon, writing after America was known to be distinct from Asia, tend to prove that the Florentine made in his lifetime no claim to a voyage in 1497. Yet the publication and circulation of his letter in several languages, uncontradicted for years, would indicate its authenticity, unless it be taken as a sign of carelessness for dates and details so long as they were not supposed to conflict with the admiral's claims. It must also be remembered that the same voyager's second, third, and fourth expeditions have all been disputed and have at last proved authentic.

M. Varnhagen applies to Vespucci and his men the well-known tradition related by Sahagun and others of white men who appeared at Pánuco from the east before the coming of the Spaniards. He also supposes Guerrero, the soldier found by Cortés at Cozumel, and believed by other authors to have been a survivor with Aguilar of Valdivia's shipwreck in 1512, to have been left in Yucatan by Vespucci; but he gives no reason for this belief, except that Guerrero had married among the natives, and had adopted many of their customs. By the same writer it is thought much more likely that Cape Gracias á Dios was named by Vespucci after a long voyage in search of land, than by Columbus after following the coast a few days and taking possession; especially as Columbus in his own letter simply mentions his arrival at the cape, the fact of his having given the name coming from other sources.

The events of the voyage, and the description of the coast visited by Vespucci as given in his letter, furnish no evidence whatever for or against the authenticity of the expedition; but if it be admitted from outside evidence that the voyage was actually made, and was distinct from that of Ojeda, while the narrative has nothing except the occurrence of the name Paria in favor 106 of a South American destination, from it may be gathered the following points in support of the theory that a more northern coast was the one explored. The course sailed from the Canaries, W. ¼ SW.; the time thirty-seven days; the distance 1,000 leagues, taking the distance from Lisbon to the Canaries, 280 leagues, as a scale of measurement; the latitude of the landing 16°, and longitude 75° west of the Canaries; and the arrival by sailing up the coast at a province situated in about 23°, and near the tropic of Cancer, are worthy of consideration, since a series of blunders such as these is hardly probable. The natives of Lariab were of different language from and hostile to the nations passed further south, as the Huastecs of the Pánuco region are known to have been with respect to the Mexicans. Moreover, Lariab has a slight claim to being a Huastec word, since Orozco y Berra gives three names of places in that language containing an l and ending in ab; but of course this would interfere sadly with the theory that Lariab is a misprint of Caria. Vespucci's description of the natives, criticised by Navarrete as incorrect when applied to the people of Paria, agrees better, as M. Varnhagen thinks, with the aborigines of Honduras. Other parts of Vespucci's vague and rambling descriptions apply well enough to the North American coasts, or in fact to any part of tropical America, north or south.

The application of the narrative to North America is not, however, without its difficulties. Vespucci makes no mention of the Antilles, through which his course must have led him; perhaps not seeing them by reason of fog; or he had instructions not to concern himself with what the admiral had already discovered. He also refers to a larger work, never published, in which details were to be given. Neither does he mention the prominent peninsulas of Yucatan and Florida, nor the lofty mountain peaks which he would naturally have seen in following the Mexican coast. He claims to have sailed north-west from Pánuco 870 leagues (over dry land?) to the best harbor in the world. M. Varnhagen's explanation of this difficulty is that Vespucci simply states incidentally that he left Pánuco "tuttavia verso il Maestrale" still toward the north-west, not intending to include in this course the whole voyage of 870 leagues. All the windings of the coast and the entering and leaving of many ports or rivers must be taken into account to make up a distance of 870 leagues between Pánuco and Cape Cañaveral; and the latter port would hardly be considered the 'best harbor in the world' except by a great stretch of the imagination, or by a navigator little acquainted with good harbors. The archipelago of Ity has generally been supposed to be Hayti, but there is probably no reason for the identity beyond the resemblance of names. The Bermudas when discovered in 1522 were uninhabited, but this does not prove that they were always so; the Spaniards may have returned and captured the people for slaves. Indeed the Bermudas may have been the archipelago of San Bernardo, famous for its fierce Carib population, but generally located off the gulf of Urabá. It may even have been named by Vespucci, for on San Bernardo's day, the 20th of August, he was probably there.

Thus have I given, and let me hope without prejudice, the arguments for and against this disputed voyage; and from the evidence the reader may draw his own conclusions. To me the proofs seem conclusive that Vespucci made no voyage to South America prior to 1499, when he accompanied 107 Alonso de Ojeda. Against a North American expedition the evidence, if less conclusive, is still very strong; since the most that can be claimed in its favor is a probability that the Central American coast was visited by some navigator before 1502, and a possibility, though certainly a very slim one, that Vespucci accompanied such navigation.

On this voyage see Navigationum Alberici Vesputii Epitome, in Grynæus, Novus Orbis, pp. 122, 155; Varnhagen, Le Premier Voyage de Vespucci; Id., Vespuce et son Prem. Voy.; also in Société Géog., Bulletin, Jan. and Feb., 1853; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 58-68, and Additions, pp. xxvii-viii.; Lester and Foster's Life of Vespucius, pp. 93-139; Leben der See-Helden, p. 24; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 183-241, 291-3, 309-34; Irving's Columbus, vol. iii. pp. 395-418; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. v.; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 370-5; Kerr's Col. Voy., vol. iii. p. 342; Eerste Zee-Togt van Alonso D'Ojeda, en Amerikus Vesputius, in Gottfried, Reysen, tom. iii. p. 38; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 41-7, 257.

[1497.] To continue our chronological summary. Following the brilliant success of Spain, England was the first nation to attempt discovery to the westward. Fully acquainted with the achievements and hypotheses of Columbus, having been indeed almost persuaded by him to embrace his beliefs, King Henry VII. on the 5th of March, 1496, granted a license to John Cabot, a Venetian citizen and trader of Bristol, to attempt discoveries in that direction.

Either from respect for Portuguese and Spanish rights in the south, or from some vague hints received from the Northmen during their trading voyages to Iceland, or possibly from a dim idea of the advantages of great-circle sailing, the English determined to attempt reaching India by a northern route. This expedition of Cabot's, with perhaps several vessels, sailed from Bristol probably in May, 1497; discovered land the 24th of June on the coast of Labrador between 56° and 58°; sailed some 300 leagues in a direction not known, but probably northward; and one vessel, the Matthew, returned to Bristol in August of the same year. No further details of the voyage are known, and those given, which are the conclusions of Humboldt, Kohl, and Stevens, have all been disputed in respect to date, commander, and point of landing. D'Avesac, as we have seen (pp. 98-9), insists on a previous voyage in 1494. Biddle, Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, London, 1831, p. 42 et seq., claims that Sebastian Cabot was the commander. Robinson, Account of Discov. in the West, Richmond, 1848, pp. 81-93, explains that by a change in the method of reckoning time after 1752, the date should properly read 1498. Many authors moreover confound this voyage with a later one. Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 4-11; Galvano's Discov., pp. 87-9; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 40-1. Irving, Columbus, vol. ii. p. 316, names but one voyage and regards the accounts as "vague and scanty." See also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 279, 313; Hakluyt Soc., Divers Voy., pp. lxviii., 19-26; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 121-35; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 48-53; Stevens' Notes, pp. 17-19; Pinkerton's Col. Voy., vol. xii. p. 158; Bancroft's Hist. U. S., vol. i. p. 13.

The Portuguese, to complete their discovery of the route to India by way 108 of the Cape of Good Hope, sent out Vasco da Gama with four ships. Sailing from Lisbon July 8, 1497, he doubled the Cape of Good Hope the 22d of November, passed the limit reached by Dias on the 17th of December, received intelligence of Prester John at several points on the eastern coast, and anchored at Calicut May 20, 1498. Trading somewhat, jealous of everybody, after quarrelling with Arabian merchants and failing to make good his arbitrary measures, he thought best to return. Accordingly he set sail the 29th of August, passed the cape March 20, 1499, and reached Lisbon about the end of August. Thus Gama was the first to accomplish the grand object of so many efforts, and to reach India by water. His achievement would doubtless have been regarded as the most glorious on record, both to himself and to Portugal, had not Columbus for Spain reached the same continent, as he supposed, farther east several years before. Navigatione di Vasco di Gama, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 130; Galvano's Discov., pp. 93-4; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. pp. xli.-ii.; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 391-406; Voyages, Curious and Entertaining, p. 103; Leben der See-Helden, p. 40; Notizie di Vasquez di Gama, in Cancellieri, Notizie, p. 165.

[1498.] After the return of the Cabots in August, 1497, with the news of having discovered the northern regions of Cathay, King Henry issued a new patent dated February 3, 1498, and, probably in May of the same year, two vessels with 300 men sailed from Bristol under command of Sebastian Cabot. Little is known of the voyage, save that he reached the coast of Labrador, which he followed northward until at a certain point where the coast trends eastward he found much ice even in July. This northern limit is placed by Ramusio at latitude 56°; by Gomara, who states that Cabot himself gives a much higher latitude, at 58°; by Galvano, at above 60°. Kohl follows Humboldt in the opinion that it was 67° 30', which would place it on the Cumberland peninsula. Cabot then turned southward and sailed as near shore as possible. The southern limit of this voyage is more indefinite than the northern. In a conversation with Peter Martyr, prior to 1515, Cabot stated that he reached the latitude of Gibraltar, and the chronicler adds that he sailed so far west that he had Cuba on his left. Cabot's remark would place him in latitude 36°, near Cape Hatteras, while Martyr's addition might apply to any locality on the east coast. Martyr's statement is the only authority for the supposition by Humboldt and others—see Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 313, and Preface to Ghillany—that Cabot reached Florida. Stevens, Notes, pp. 17-19 and 35, considers Peter Martyr's remark as absurd, since it would place Cabot near Cincinnati. He is satisfied that the southern limit was the gulf of St Lawrence, founding this belief on maps of 1500 (see p. 115 this vol.) and 1508 (p. 126 this vol.), 1514, and 1544, the latter said to have been made by Cabot himself. That Cabot did not reach the southern coast of the United States seems proved by the fact that he was in Spain from 1513 to 1524, holding high positions, including that of piloto mayor, while that coast was actually being explored, and he making no claim to a previous discovery. The point reached, therefore, must remain undetermined between Cape Hatteras, where Kohl fixes it, and the gulf of St Lawrence, with a strong probability, as I think, in favor of the latter. Nothing whatever is known of the route or date of Cabot's return. And it is to be remembered that concerning this voyage we have only one contemporary document, which is a letter dated 109 in 1498, stating simply that the expedition was still absent. All additional details are from accounts written after the geography of the New World was better known in consequence of the discovery of the South Sea. Nothing, then, can be proved by Cabot's voyages beyond the discovery of the continent in June, 1497, and the exploration of the coast from the gulf of St Lawrence to above 60° in 1498. The statement of Asher, Life of Henry Hudson, London, 1860, that Cabot "was the first to recognize that a new and unknown continent was lying as one vast barrier between western Europe and eastern Asia," accepted also by Kohl, Hist. Discov., p. 145, appears to me utterly without foundation. Cabot's complaint that a new-found land—that is a land further north and east than any part of Asia described by Polo—was a barrier to his reaching India, and the fact that on a map made as late as 1544, and doubtfully attributed to him, a separate continent is shown, seem weak authority for according him so important a discovery, especially when other voyagers and geographers, intimate with him and fully acquainted with his discoveries, continued for many years to join those discoveries to the Asiatic continent. See, beside references on page 107, Peter Martyr, dec. iii. cap. vi.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 31, 115; Robertson's Hist. Amer., book ix.; American Antiq. Soc., Transact., 1865, p. 25 et seq.; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 135-46, 481; Stevens' Notes, pp. 35, 52; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 53-4.

Returned from his second voyage, Columbus found his popularity waning, and with it the enthusiasm for new discoveries. The voyage had not been profitable, had not been fruitful enough in gold to satisfy the adventurers who accompanied him, and the ghastly faces of the mariners more than counteracted the effect of the specimens of native products exhibited. It was difficult, therefore, to obtain men for a new enterprise. Still, notwithstanding the reports of his numerous enemies, the admiral was considerately treated at court, and finally, by the efforts of the queen, six vessels were made ready, and Columbus embarked from San Lúcar on a third voyage May 30, 1498. This time he determined to steer farther to the south than before, in order to reach, as he supposed, the richer parts of Asia. After touching at Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Canaries, he divided his fleet, sent three vessels direct to Española, and with the other three reached the Cape Verde Islands the 27th of June. Thence he sailed first south-west and west through the region of tropical calms, and then northward to Trinidad Island, where he arrived the 31st of July. Coasting the island on the south, in sight of the main-land, he entered the gulf of Paria, landed, and found much gold of an inferior quality, and an abundance of pearls; from which circumstance, that land, which was the northern end of South America, was for some time thereafter known as the Pearl Coast. Passing out by the Boca del Drago on the 14th of August, he followed the northern coast of Paria to the island of Cubagua, beginning to suspect meanwhile that the land on his left was the main-land of Asia. Ill health and the state of his supplies did not permit him to satisfy himself on that point at the time, and consequently he turned his course north-west for Española. On the 30th of August he arrived at the mouth of the river Ozema, where he met his brother Bartolomé, who informed him of the internal discords and external wars of the colonists. 110 Francisco Roldan had refused to submit to the admiral's authority, and on the 18th of October five ships were despatched for Spain with news of the rebellion. By this departure Columbus sent letters and charts describing this Pearl Coast, as his present South American discoveries which yielded so many gems were called. During the whole year following, peace was maintained among the colonists only by the most humiliating concessions of Columbus to Roldan and his crew. On the 5th of September, 1499, Alonso de Ojeda arrived at Española from the Pearl Coast, whither he had been to take advantage of the discoveries and misfortunes of the admiral.

Vessels laden with complaints by and against Columbus were despatched for Spain in October; needy, ambitious courtiers held King Ferdinand's willing ear against him; from his persistent advocacy of Indian slave-traffic the friendship of his patron, Queen Isabella, grew cold; and in July, 1500, Francisco de Bobadilla was sent to Española with powers to investigate. Arrived at Santo Domingo August 23, the commissioner assumed at once authority, which at most was his right only after careful and conscientious inquiry, seized Columbus and his brother, and in October sent them in irons to Spain. Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. pp. 74-99; Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. vi.-vii.; Tercer Viage de Cristobal Colon, in Navarrete, tom. i. pp. 242-76; Napione and De Conti, Biografia di Colombo, pp. 350-75; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 99-108, where is given Columbus' letter received in Spain in December, 1498, but apparently not printed at the time.

During this third voyage, while about the gulf of Paria, new visions of the earth's form filled the mind of the great navigator, inflamed as it was by illness and anxiety. The world was indeed for the most part spherical, as had been supposed, but in this great central region on the equator he believed the surface to rise gradually to a great height, making the earth pear-shape with the terrestrial paradise, or birth-place of man, on its apex, the waters and islands visited by him being on the borders of this elevated portion. It is not necessary to enumerate the natural phenomena, scientific writings, and scripture texts with which he confirmed his theory. In his distracted enthusiasm he leaves us somewhat uncertain as to his idea of the situation of this new region with respect to India proper and those parts of Asia found by him in a former voyage farther north. If he had supposed it to be simply a southern extension of Marco Polo's Asia, he would not subsequently have sought for a strait or passage to India to the north rather than to the south of this point. Gama's successful circumnavigation of Africa forbade a revival in the mind of Columbus of the old theory of Ptolemy, that Africa extended east and north so as to enclose the Indian Ocean like an immense gulf. The admiral's idea, so far as he formed a definite one on the subject, must have been that of a large island, or detached portion of the Asiatic continent, occupying very nearly the actual relative position of the Australian archipelago, and only vaguely included, if at all, in ancient or mediæval knowledge of the far East. No other conclusion could rationally be drawn from his letters and subsequent actions; and we shall find such an idea of the geography of these parts often repeated in following years. We shall also see how unfortunate it was for the posthumous glory of the great discoverer in the matter of naming the western world, that he did not more clearly specify his idea of this 111 new land—for I believe this was the first suspicion that new lands of any considerable extent existed—and that his account of this and his fourth voyage were not more widely circulated in print.

[1499.] The discovery of the Pearl Coast, made known in Spain in December, 1498, caused several expeditions to be sent out in the following year. These were trading and not exploring voyages, and their commanders had no thought of cosmography, caring little whether Paria were the terrestrial paradise or the infernal regions, so that pearls, and gold, and slaves were abundant. No connected journals of these voyages have been preserved, our knowledge of them being derived from statements of the early historians and from testimony in the famous lawsuit with the heirs of Columbus, printed in Navarrete's collection.

The first was that of Alonso de Ojeda, who, by the influence of Bishop Fonseca, the admiral's most bitter enemy, obtained a commission to visit the Pearl Coast, avoiding, however, lands discovered by the Portuguese and by Columbus prior to 1495. In company with Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, Ojeda embarked with four vessels from Santa María, near Cádiz, on the 20th of May, 1499. Sailing by the admiral's charts, he touched at the Canaries, and after twenty-four days reached the main-land of South America between 3° and 6° north latitude—that is according to Ojeda's testimony; but Vespucci's account of what was probably the same voyage brings them first upon the continent further south. This is claimed by Varnhagen, Examen de quelques points de l'histoire géographique du Brazil, Paris, 1858, as the first discovery of Brazil. Following the coast north-west for 200 leagues without landing, but discovering the two great rivers Essequebo and Orinoco, they landed on Trinidad Island, the first inhabited coast which they touched, where they traded for pearls and found traces of the admiral who had preceded them. Out through the Boca del Drago, following the coast of Paria to the gulf of Pearls, or Curiana, landing on Margarita Island, anchoring in the bay of Corsarios, they continued from port to port to Chichirivichi, where they had a fight with the natives, and spent twenty days in a port near by. Ojeda then visited Curazao and the gulf of Venezuela, where was found a town built over the water like Venice. On the 24th of August he discovered Lake Maracaibo, and afterward followed the coast westward to Cape de la Vela, whence he directed his course, on the 30th of August, to Española, arriving, as we have seen, September 5, 1499. He finally returned to Spain in the middle of June, 1500, the voyage having yielded but a small profit. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 4-11 and 543-5; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 367-9; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. pp. 195, 220; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. p. 76.

The second minor expedition to South America was that of Pedro Alonso Niño and Cristóbal Guerra, similar in its object to that of Ojeda. A few days after Ojeda's departure they sailed from Palos in one vessel with thirty-three men, reaching the main-land farther north, and some fifteen days later than Ojeda. They traded on the coast of Cumaná for three months, their western limit being the region of Chichirivichi, started for home February 13, 1500, and arrived in Spain about the middle of April with a large quantity of pearls. Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. viii.; Gomara, Hist. de las Indias, fol. 98; 112 Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. ii. p. 147; tom. iii. pp. 11-18, 542; Irving's Columbus, vol. iii. p. 37-42; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 220.

The third expedition of this year was that of Vicente Yañez Pinzon, who had commanded a vessel under Columbus in 1492. Sailing early in December, 1499, from Palos with a fleet of four vessels he crossed the equator, and on the 20th of January—Peter Martyr says the 26th, and Irving the 28th of January—discovered land in latitude 8° south, at Cape St Augustine, which he named Santa María de la Consolacion. Varnhagen, Examen, pp. 19-24, entertains doubts regarding the spot where Pinzon first landed, and thinks it quite as likely to have been some cape further north. From this point, wherever it may have been, Pinzon followed the coast to the north, touched at various places, discovered the Amazon, and in due time reached the gulf of Paria. Thence he sailed through the Boca del Drago, arrived at Española on the 23d of June, and returned to Spain in September, 1500. This voyage was as disastrous as the preceding one had been profitable. Peter Martyr states, dec. i. cap. ix., that Paria was thought to be a part of Asia beyond the Ganges. See also De Navigatione Pinzoni Socii Admirantis, et de rebus per eum repertis, in Grynæus, Novus Orbis, p. 119; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 18-23; Major's Prince Henry, p. 369; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 313-14; tom. iii. p. 221.

Here belongs Amerigo Vespucci's account of a second voyage made in conjunction with others in the service of the king of Spain. Departing in May, 1499—some editions of his letters have it 1489—from Cádiz and touching at the Canaries he steered south-west for nineteen days, sailing in that time 500 leagues to a point on the main-land in latitude 5° south,—from incorrect readings of the originals some editors make him say 800 leagues and latitude 8°—where the days and nights are equal on the 27th of June, at which time the sun enters Cancer. Thence coasting eastward forty leagues; then north-west to a beautiful island and convenient harbor; and yet eighty other leagues to a secure harbor where he remained seventeen days and gathered many pearls; thence to another port; then to an island fifteen leagues from the main-land; and again to another island, which was called Gigantes, where captives were taken; then to a fine bay where the ships were refitted; and finally, after forty-seven days at this last place they sail for Antilla, that is Española. Two months and two days are spent at Antilla, whence on the 22d of July they embark for Spain, and reach Cádiz September 8, 1500. De Secundariæ Navigatinis Cursu, Latin text and Spanish translation of Vespucci's letter in Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 242-62.

It has never been claimed that Vespucci attempted discoveries in 1499 as chief in command. The voyage described by him is without doubt that of Pinzon or Ojeda, although D'Avesac, in Bulletin de la Soc. Géog., makes it identical with that of Lepe. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. pp. 200 et seq., by comparing the details decides that it was that of Pinzon, and by the same method he concludes that Vespucci's first voyage was that under Ojeda. As the points of resemblance are slight in either case; as Vespucci is known to have accompanied Ojeda; as he would have been obliged to return to Spain before Ojeda in June, 1500, in order to sail with Pinzon in December, 1499; and as Vespucci describes an astronomical phenomenon which, as Humboldt 113 admits, could not possibly have taken place during Pinzon's voyage, I am inclined to accept the generally received opinion that Ojeda's is the voyage described. "There can now be no doubt that Vespucci's voyage in 1499 was identical with that of Ojeda." Major's Prince Henry, p. 370; Varnhagen, Exam., pp. 1-19. Navarrete and Irving imply that this was the only voyage made by Vespucci for the crown of Spain. However it may be, for the purposes of this Summary the question is of little importance; for there are no disputed points of geographical import depending on the two trading voyages, one of which Vespucci attempts to describe; and if there were, his account in the different forms in which it exists is so full of blunders that it could throw but little light upon the subject.

The fourth minor expedition of this year was that of Diego de Lepe, who sailed in less than a month after Pinzon—that is near the end of December, 1499—with two vessels. Touching main-land below Cape St Augustine, he observed the south-western trend of the coast below that point; but of his voyage along the shore nothing is known save that he reached the Pearl Coast. Before the 5th of June he had returned to Spain. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 23-4, 553-5; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 314-15; tom. iv. pp. 221-2.

There are some scattered hints collected in Biddle's Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, pp. 91 et seq., of a new expedition in 1499 by the Cabots, directed this time to tropical regions. They are not sufficient to render it probable that such a voyage was made, although Ojeda reported that he found several Englishmen cruising on the Pearl Coast. Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 41; Kohl's Hist. Discov., p. 145.

[1500.] In this year Cristóbal Guerra made a second voyage to the Pearl Coast with some success, and returned to Spain before November 1, 1501. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 24-5. Spain also made preparations to explore the northern lands discovered by the Cabots, but without any known results. Peschel, Geschichte der Entd., Stuttgart, 1858, p. 316; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 41-46; Biddle's Mem. Cabot, p. 236; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 192-3. In Diccionario Universal, Apénd., article 'Viages,' p. 805, is mentioned a voyage to the Pearl Coast by Alonso Velez de Mendoza in two vessels. No authorities are given.

The year following the return of Gama from his successful voyage to India, Pedro Alvarez Cabral was entrusted with the command of thirteen well-armed vessels, and sent to establish commercial relations with the new countries now made accessible to Portuguese enterprise. Cabral embarked from Lisbon on the 9th of March, 1500; thirteen days later he left behind him the Cape Verde Islands, pursuing a south-westerly course. Whether he was driven by storms in this direction, or wished to avoid the calms of the Guinea coast, or whether he entertained a hope of reaching some part of the regions recently discovered by the Spaniards is not known. Certain it is, however, that notwithstanding his having sailed for India, on the 22d of April—Humboldt says in February—he found himself on the coast of Brazil in about latitude 10° south, leaving a gap probably of some 170 leagues between this point and the southern limit of Lepe and Pinzon. Thence he coasted southward, took formal possession of the land on the 1st of May at 114 Porto Seguro, and named the country Vera Cruz, which name soon became Santa Cruz. Cabral immediately sent Gaspar de Lemos in one of the ships back to Portugal with an account and map of the new discoveries. Leaving two convicts with the natives of that coast, Cabral continued his journey for India on the 22d of May. Off the Cape of Good Hope he lost four vessels, in one of which was Bartolomeu Dias, the discoverer of the cape, and reached Calicut on the 13th of September. Returning he met at Cape Verde a fleet, on board of which is supposed to have been Amerigo Vespucci, and arrived at Lisbon July 23, 1501. Navigation del Capitano Pedro Alvares, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 132-9; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. i. booke ii. pp. 30-1; Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 48-9; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 45-6, 94-101; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 315; tom. iv. p. 223; tom. v. pp. 53, 61.

The Portuguese did not overlook the north while making their important discoveries to the south. Two vessels, probably in the spring of 1500, were sent out under Gaspar Cortereal. No journal or chart of the voyage is now in existence, hence little is known of its object or results. Still more dim is a previous voyage ascribed by Cordeiro to João Vaz Cortereal, father of Gaspar, about the time of Kolno, which, as Kunstmann views it, "requires further proof." Touching at the Azores, Gaspar Cortereal, possibly following Cabot's charts, struck the coast of Newfoundland north of Cape Race, and sailing north discovered a land which he called Terra Verde, perhaps Greenland, but was stopped by ice at a river which he named Rio Nevado, whose location is unknown. Cortereal returned to Lisbon before the end of 1500. Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 48-9; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 57; Galvano's Discov., pp. 95-6; Major's Prince Henry, p. 374; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 166-8, 174-7. Biddle, Mem. Cabot, pp. 137-261, thinks that Cortereal landed south of Cape Race; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 222, is of the opinion that Terra Verde was not Greenland.

In October of this same year Rodrigo de Bastidas sailed from Cádiz with two vessels. Touching the shore of South America near Isla Verde, which lies between Guadalupe and the main-land, he followed the coast westward to El Retrete, or perhaps Nombre de Dios, on the isthmus of Darien, in about 9° 30' north latitude. Returning, he was wrecked on Española toward the end of 1501, and reached Cádiz in September, 1502. This being the first authentic voyage by Europeans to the territory herein defined as the Pacific States, such incidents as are known will be given hereafter. For references to this voyage, see Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. p. 76; tom. ii. p. 334, where the date given is 1502; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 67, date of voyage also 1502; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 25-8, 545-6; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. lib. iv. cap. xi.; Galvano's Discov., pp. 99-100, date of voyage 1503; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 360-1; tom. iv. pp. 224; Voyages, Curious and Ent., p. 436; Churchill's Col. Voy., vol. viii. p. 375; Harris' Col. Voy., vol. i. p. 270; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 369-70; Asiento que hizo con sus Majestades Católicas Rodrigo de Bastidas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc. Inéd., tom. ii. pp. 362-467; Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. i. p. 159; Quintana, Vidas de Españoles Célebres, 'Balboa,' p. 1.

Of the many manuscript maps and charts made by navigators prior to this 115 time none have been preserved. In the year 1500, however, a map of the world was made by the veteran pilot Juan de la Cosa, who had sailed with Columbus on his second voyage, and had accompanied Alonso de Ojeda to the Pearl Coast. It is preserved in the Royal Library of Madrid, and shows in a remarkably clear manner all discoveries up to that date. Drawn in colors and gold on ox-hide, on a scale of fifteen leagues to the degree, it lays down the parallels of Gibraltar and Paris, beside the equator and tropic of Cancer, and gives a scale at the top and bottom. Stevens' Notes, p. 16. Humboldt first published a copy of the American portion, and the whole, or parts thereof, have been since published or described in Lelewel, Géog. du moyen âge, tom. ii. pp. 109 et seq., atlas, no. 41; Sagra, Hist. physique et politique de l'île de Cuba, Paris, 1838, and atlas; Ghillany, Geschichte, etc., pref. by Humboldt; Jomard, Monuments de géog., atlas no. xvi., which gives a full-sized fac-simile; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 151-5, 239, plate v., being a copy of the northern part from Humboldt with additions from Jomard. Stevens in his Notes, see pp. 11-16, 33, 51, and plate i., produces a photo-lithographic copy of the western hemisphere from Jomard. I give a copy of the central portions of the western hemisphere from Humboldt, Stevens, and Kohl.

Juan de la Cosa's Map, 1500.

View larger image

The upper portion is North America, and the lower South America, between which a continuous coast line remains as yet undiscovered. 116

All the newly found regions are represented as parts of Asia, and consequently names are applied only to islands and particular localities. Up to this time three portions of the supposed Asiatic seaboard have been explored. First, there are the discoveries of the Cabots in the north, represented as extending from 'Cabo de Yngleterra' westward to the flag which bounds the 'Sea discovered by the English.' This direct western trend of the coast, most likely laid down from Cabot's charts, is one of the strongest evidences that the coast explored by Cabot was the northern shore of the gulf of St Lawrence. Another reason for entertaining such belief is the use of the words Mar descubierta por Yngleses instead of Mare Oceanus, thus indicating that it was a sea or gulf and not the open ocean. Cosa could not at the time have known the results of Cortereal's voyage. On Cabot's coast various points are named, but farther to the north-east and to the south-west the line is laid down indefinitely and without names, probably from Marco Polo. Kohl puts the inscription Mar descubierta, etc., farther south and west than on the original, and thinks the curve in the coast west of the last flag to be Cape Cod. Then we have in the south the northern coast of South America quite accurately laid down from Cape de la Vela south-eastward to the limit of Pinzon's voyage in 1499; with a nameless coast-line south-east to the locality of Cape St Augustine. From Cape de la Vela we have the same imaginary coast-line without names extending westward, as if to meet the line from the north-east; but just at the point where the lines must meet, or be separated by a strait leading to India proper, the non-committal map-maker inserted a picture—indicated by the double dotted lines—thus avoiding the expression of his opinion as to whether the Pearl Coast was joined to Asia, or was detached from the continent. On the original map no attempt is made to show inland topography, although the copies of Humboldt and Kohl have some lakes and rivers. I have taken the liberty to indicate the indefinite, nameless coasts by a dotted line for greater clearness. The last of the three several explored regions shown by this map are the central islands, Cuba, Española, and others discovered by Columbus, who was accompanied in at least one of his voyages by the author himself. In this part of the map some difficulty has arisen from the fact that Cuba is represented as an island, while Columbus is known to have held the opinion that it was a part of the mainland; an opinion, as before stated, which was subscribed to under oath by all his men, including Juan de la Cosa. On the original, the western part of Cuba is cut off by green paint, the conventional sign of terra incognita, which leads Stevens to infer that the pilot "did not intend to represent Cuba to be an island," but that he only supposed it to be such. This, however, by no means implies that the draughtsman intended to say that Cuba was not an island, but rather that he was not certain that it was an island, but only supposed it to be. It will be remembered that the natives affirmed from the first that it was an island, although so large that no one had ever reached its western extremity. This statement, together with his own observations during the voyage, probably caused Juan de la Cosa to afterward change the opinion to which he had perhaps hastily subscribed at the request of Columbus. There can be but little doubt of the authenticity of this map, although Stevens considers it has been distorted in the various copies and descriptions. 117 That the author did not himself make any later additions to it is evident from the fact that his own subsequent discoveries are not shown.

[1501.] Again King Henry of England issues commissions permitting private persons to make discovery at their own expense. So far as known, however, no voyage was effected under this royal encouragement, although it is not improbable that intercourse with Newfoundland was continued after Cabot's discovery. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 55; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 185-7; Biddle's Mem. Cabot, p. 228 et seq.; Peschel, Geschichte der Entd., p. 334 et seq.

The Portuguese, more practical in their attempts, push discovery in all directions. Juan de Nova with four vessels sails from Lisbon March 5, 1501, doubles the Cape of Good Hope, and returning reaches Lisbon September 11, 1502, having discovered Ascension Island on the voyage out, and St Helena on the return. Galvano's Discov., pp. 97-8; Major's Prince Henry, p. 413; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 225; tom. v. p. 107. The Cape of Good Hope route to India may now be declared open; voyages thither from this time cannot properly be called voyages of discovery; hence of the frequent subsequent voyages of the Portuguese to India I shall make no mention except of such as in some way relate to America. For a summary of these later voyages see Major's Prince Henry, pp. 413-18.

Gaspar Cortereal this year makes a second voyage to the regions of the north, sailing from Belem, near Lisbon, May 15, 1501, with two or three vessels, touching probably at some point in Newfoundland, and coasting northward some six or seven hundred miles. He does not, however, reach the Terra Verde of the former voyage on account of ice. One of the vessels—Kunstmann says two—returned, arriving at Lisbon October 8, 1501; the other with the commander was never afterward heard from. One of the chief objects of this expedition seems to have been the capture of slaves. The name Labrador is applied by Cortereal to this discovery, "and is perhaps the only permanent trace of Portuguese adventure within the limits of North America." Bancroft's Hist. U. S., vol. i. p. 16; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. p. 44; Major's Prince Henry, p. 374; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 224; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 169-71; Peschel, Geschichte der Entd., pp. 331 et seq.; Biddle's Mem. Cabot, pp. 237 et seq.

The Portuguese also send an expedition to prosecute the discoveries begun by Cabral, who has not yet returned from India, but whose discovery of Brazil has been reported by Lemos. Strangely enough no documents exist in the Portuguese archives touching this voyage, nor is the name of its commander known, although Varnhagen thinks it may have been Manuel. It is known as Vespucci's third voyage, and its incidents are found only in his letters. The authenticity of this as of his other voyages has been often doubted and denied, and as it is the voyage that resulted in the naming of America, it has given rise to much discussion, into which however I shall not enter. The discussion does not affect the voyage itself, nor the leading facts connected with it, the questions being whether Vespucci was in command, which indeed he does not claim to have been; and above all, whether the results of the voyage entitled him to the honor of naming America, which they certainly did not, even had he commanded, from the fact that other 118 navigators had discovered both of the Americas before him. Navarrete, one of Vespucci's most jealous enemies, admits that he visited the coast of Brazil in a subordinate capacity in some Portuguese expedition; and Humboldt, in an essay of 115 pages, effectually defends the veracity of Vespucci in his accounts of his voyages, which the distinguished commentator quotes with notes on the variations of different editions.

Vespucci was induced to leave Seville in order to accompany the fleet, which consisted of three vessels—some editions say ten, some fourteen—and which sailed from Lisbon on the 13th of May. Passing the Canaries without landing, to the African coast and Basilica in 14°, probably Cape Verde, there he remained eleven days. At this place he met Cabral's fleet returning from India and learned the particulars of the voyage, including the American discoveries, of which he gives a full account in a letter written at the time under date of June 4, 1501, which is a strong proof of the veracity of his other accounts. See extracts in Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. v. pp. 34-44. It is extraordinary that in the several accounts of this meeting the name of Vespucci's commander is not mentioned. From Cape Verde the fleet sailed south-west sixty-seven days and touched the main-land the 17th of August, at a point in 5° south latitude, taking possession for the king of Portugal. Thence it followed the coast south-east, doubled Cape St Augustine, and went on in sight of land for 600 leagues to a point in 32° south—according to Gomara, 40°; Navarrete thinks it could not have been over 26°. Having found no precious metals during a voyage of ten months, the Portuguese abandoned this coast on the 13th (or 15th) of February, 1502, and after having been driven by storms far to the south-east, and discovering some land whose identity is uncertain—Humboldt thinks it was an accumulation of ice, or the coast of Patagonia—they reached the coast of Ethiopia on the 10th of May, the Azores toward the end of July, and Lisbon September 7, 1502. Vespucci gives full descriptions of the natives of Brazil, but these descriptions, together with the numerous conflicting statements, or blunders of the various texts relating to details of the voyage, I pass over as unimportant to my purpose. That Vespucci was with a Portuguese fleet which in 1501-2 explored a large but ill-defined portion of the Brazilian coast, there can be no doubt. Grynæus, Novus Orbis, pp. 122-30; Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. i. pp. 139-44; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 46, 262-80; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. v. pp. 1-115; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 375-7; Galvano's Discov., pp. 98-9.

[1502.] Miguel Cortereal sailed from Lisbon May 10, 1502, in search of his brother Gaspar, only to share his brother's fate. Neither of his two vessels appears to have returned. Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 44; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 226; Major's Prince Henry, p. 374; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 171-2.

It is probable that Portuguese fishermen continued their trips more or less to Labrador and Newfoundland, but if so, no accounts have been preserved. Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 187-92; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 69, 95; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. v. cap. iii.

In January, 1502, Alonso de Ojeda with four vessels departed from Cádiz on a second voyage to the Pearl Coast, with the intention of there establishing 119 a colony. Accompanied by Garcia de Ocampo, Juan de Vergara, Hernando de Guevara, and his nephew Pedro de Ojeda, he touched at the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands, and reached the gulf of Paria. Refitting his vessels, on the 11th of March he set sail and coasted north-westward, touching at various points until he came to a port which he called Santa Cruz, probably Bahía Honda, about twenty-five miles east of Cape de la Vela. During the voyage along the coast the vessels were much of the time separated, following different courses. At Santa Cruz Ojeda found a man who had been left by Bastidas, and there he determined to establish his colony. A fort was built, and a vessel sent to Jamaica for supplies; but the colony did not prosper. To other troubles were added dissensions among the fiery leaders, and about the end of May Ojeda was imprisoned by his companions; the colony was finally abandoned, and its governor brought as a prisoner to Española in September. The few disputed points of this voyage concern only the personal quarrels of Ojeda and his fellow-captains. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 28-39, 168-70, 591 et seq.; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 360; tom. iv. p. 226.

On the eleventh of May, 1502, Columbus embarked from Cádiz on his fourth and last voyage. Refitting at Española, he directed his course westward, discovered terra firma at the Guanaja Islands, off the north coast of Honduras, and sailing southward, followed the shores of the supposed Asia to El Retrete on the isthmus of Darien, where terminated the discovery of Bastidas from the opposite direction, whose chart may have been in the admiral's possession. Particulars of this voyage are given hereafter. See Cuarto y Último Viage de Cristobal Colon, in Navarrete, tom. i. pp. 277-313; Colon, Hist. del Almirante, in Barcia, tom. i. pp. 101-18; Gomara, Hist. de las Indias, fol. 31; Peter Martyr, dec. iii. cap. iv.; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. lib. v.-vi.; Benzoni, Historia del Mondo Nvovo, Venetia, 1572, fol. 28; Galvano's Discov., pp. 100-1; Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. i. pp. 164-74; Burke's European Settlements in Am., vol. i. pp. 37-45; Napione and De Conti, Biografia Colombo, pp. 379-406; Laharpe, Abrégé, tom. ix. p. 122; Acosta, Comp. Histórico de la Nueva Granada, cap. i.; Navigatio Christophori Colvmbi, in Grynæus, Novus Orbis, p. 90, and elsewhere.

Since the admiral's discovery, in 1498, of the Pearl Coast, that is, the extreme northern shore of South America, nothing had occurred to modify his views formed at that time concerning the new regions, except to show that this southern addition of the Asiatic continent was much larger than had at first been supposed. His special aim in this fourth voyage was to do what various circumstances had prevented him from doing before, namely, to sail along the eastern and southern coasts of Asia to India, passing, of course, through the supposed strait between the main-land and the land of Paria. It is certainly extraordinary that this idea entertained by Columbus corresponded so closely with the actual conformation of the eastern Asiatic coast, and its southern addition of the Australian archipelago; that this conformation is so closely duplicated in the American coasts; and that the position of the admiral's hypothetical strait was almost identical with the actual narrowest part of the American continent. Columbus followed the coast to the western limit of Bastidas' voyage and could find no opening in the shore, 120 either because the ancient chroniclers were faulty in making no mention of this great supposed southern extension of Asia, or because the strait had in some way escaped his scrutiny. He therefore abandoned the search, and gave himself up to other schemes, but he never relinquished his original idea, and died, 1506, in the belief that he had reached the coast of Asia, and without the suspicion of a new continent. Moreover, his belief was shared by all cosmographers and scholars of the time. Peter Martyr, dec. i. cap. viii.; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i. p. 26; tom. iv. p. 188; Preface to Ghillany; Major's Prince Henry, p. 420; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 140, 238-9; Draper's Int. Develop., p. 445; Stevens' Notes, p. 37.

[1503.] Another expedition was sent by Portugal in search of the Cortereals, but returned unsuccessful. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 58; Peschel, Geschichte der Entd., p. 334.

According to Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 173-4, we have "authentic deeds and depositions proving beyond doubt a French expedition to Brazil as early as 1503;" in support of which he refers to De Gonneville, Mémoires, Paris, 1663; De Brosses, Hist. des Navigations, Paris, 1756, tom. i. pp. 104-14; Revista Trimensal, Rio de Janeiro, tom. vi. p. 412-14; D'Avesac, in Bulletin de la Soc. Géog., tom. xiv. p. 172.

In 1503 the Portuguese sent a third fleet of six vessels under Gonzalo Coelho to make farther explorations on the coast of Brazil, then called Santa Cruz, and to sail, if possible, around its southern extremity to India, an idea that seems to have been conceived during the preceding voyage, but which could not then be carried into effect for want of supplies. Vespucci commanded one of the vessels, and set out with high hopes of accomplishing great things for his country, his God, and himself. This is known as Vespucci's fourth voyage. Beyond the account which he gives in his letters, little is known of it except the fact that Coelho made such a voyage at the time. The identity of the two expeditions has not been undisputed, but Humboldt and Major both show that there can be little doubt in the matter. The fleet sailed from Lisbon on the 10th of June—Vespucci says May—remained twelve or thirteen days at the Cape Verde Islands, and thence sailed south-east to within sight of Sierra Leone. The navigators were prevented by a storm from anchoring, and so directed their course south-west for 300 leagues to a desert island in about lat. 3° south, supposed to be Fernando de Noronha, where Coelho lost his ship on the 10th of August. Vespucci's vessel was separated from the rest for eight days, but afterward joined one of them, and the two sailed south-west for seventeen days, making 300 leagues, and arriving at the Bahía de Todos os Santos. Remaining there two months and four days, they followed the coast for 260 leagues to the port now called Cape Frio, where they built a fort and left twenty-four men who had belonged to the vessel which had been wrecked. In this port, which by Vespucci's observations was in lat. 18° south and 35° (or 57°) west of Lisbon, they remained five months, exploring the interior for forty leagues; they then loaded with Brazil-wood, and after a return voyage of seventy-seven days arrived in Lisbon June 28 (or 18), 1504. Vespucci believed the other ships of the fleet to have been lost, but after his account was written, Coelho returned with two ships; nothing, however, is now known of his movements after the separation. 121 Di Amerigo Vespucci Fiorentino, in Ramusio, tom, i., Lettera prima, fol. 139, Lettera secondo, fol. 141, Sommario, fol. 141; Viages de Vespucio, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 281-90; Southey's Hist. Brazil, vol. i. p. 20.

Alfonso de Alburquerque sailed from Lisbon April 6, 1503, with four vessels for India; but shaping his course far to the south-west, after twenty-four (or twenty-eight) days he reached an island previously discovered by Vespucci; thence he touched the main-land of Brazil, after which he proceeded around the Cape of Good Hope to India, and returned to Lisbon September 16, 1504. Viaggio fatto nell'India per Giovanni di Empoli, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 158; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. i. pp. 32-3. Bergomas, Nouissime historiarũ omniũ, etc., Venetiis, 1503, a book of chronicles published with frequent additions to date, contains, for the first time, in this edition, a chapter on the newly found islands of Columbus. In my copy, which is dated ten years later, this chapter is on folio 328. At least nine editions of the work appeared before 1540.

[1504.] Soon after the return from his third voyage, Vespucci wrote a letter to Piero de' Medici, setting forth its incidents. This letter, which bears no date, was probably written in corrupt Italian, and after circulating to some extent in manuscript, as was the custom at the time, it may have been printed, but no copies are known to exist, and the original is lost. Translations were made, however, into Latin and German, which appeared in small pamphlet form in at least seventeen different editions before 1507, under the title of Mundus Novus, or its equivalent. The earliest edition which bears a date is that of 1504, but of the nine issues without date, some undoubtedly appeared before that year. It is probable that other editions have disappeared on account of their undurable form. None of Vespucci's other accounts are known to have been printed before 1507.

This same year the Libretto de tutta le Navigazione del Re di Spagna is said to have been printed at Venice, being the first collection of voyages, and containing, according to the few Italian authors who claim to have seen it, the first three voyages of Columbus and those of Niño and Pinzon. If authentic, it was the first account of the voyage of Columbus to the Pearl Coast; but no copy is known at present to exist, and its circulation must have been small compared with Vespucci's relations. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. pp. 67-77; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., nos. 22-41.

A chart made about 1504 has been preserved which shows Portuguese discoveries only. In the north are laid down Newfoundland and Labrador under the name of 'Terra de Cortte Reall,' and Greenland with no name, but so correctly represented as to form a strong evidence that it was reached by Cortereal. On the south we have the coast of Brazil, to which no name is given; between the two is open sea, with no indication of Spanish discoveries. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 127-8, and Munich Atlas, no. iii.; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 174-7, plate viii.

With the year 1504 the fishing voyages of the Bretons and Normans to Newfoundland are said to have begun, but there are no accounts of any particular voyage. Sobre las navegaciones de los vascongados á los mares de Terranova, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 176; Viages Menores, Id., p. 46. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 69 et seq., makes these trips begin with Denys' in 1503. 122

Juan de la Cosa equipped and armed four vessels, and was despatched in the service of Queen Isabella of Spain, to explore and trade in the vicinity of the gulf of Urabá, and also to check rumored encroachments of the Portuguese in that direction. All that is recorded of the expedition is that in 1506 the crown received 491,708 maravedís as the royal share of the profits. Carta de Cristobal Guerra, in Navarrete, tom. ii. p. 293; Carta de la Reina, in Id., tom. iii. p. 109; Real Cédula, adicion, Id., p. 161. Stevens, in his Notes, p. 33, gives the date as 1505.

[1505.] Alonso de Ojeda, with three vessels, made a third voyage to Coquibacoa and the gulf of Urabá. Noticias biográficas del capitan Alonso Hojeda, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 169.

The letter written by Columbus from Jamaica July 7, 1503, describing the events of his fourth voyage, is preserved in the Spanish archives. If printed, no copies are known to exist, but an Italian translation appeared as Copia de la Lettera, Venetia, 1505.

A Portuguese map made about 1505 by Pedro Reinel shapes Newfoundland more accurately than the map of 1504, being the first to give the name 'C. Raso' to the south-east point; but Greenland is drawn much less correctly. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 125-7; Munich Atlas, no. i. Plate ix. in Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 177-9, differs materially from the fac-simile in the Munich Atlas. See also Peschel, Geschichte der Entd., p. 332; Schmeller, Ueber einigen der handschriftlichen Seekarten, in Akademie der Wissenschaften, Abhandl., tom. iv. pt. i. p. 247 et seq.

[1506.] The Bretons under Jean Denys are said to have explored the gulf of St Lawrence, and to have made a map which has not been found. The reports of this and of succeeding voyages northward are exceedingly vague. Charlevoix, Hist. de la Nouvelle France, Paris, 1744, tom. i. p. 4; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 41; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 201-5; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 69; Bancroft's Hist. U. S., vol. i. p. 16.

Vicente Yañez Pinzon made a second voyage with Juan Diaz de Solis, in which he explored the gulf of Honduras, from the Guanaja Islands, the western limit of Columbus' voyage, to the islands of Caria on the coast of Yucatan, in search of the passage which was still believed to exist between the main continent of Asia and the land known as the Pearl Coast, Santa Cruz, or, in the Latin translations of Vespucci, as the Mundus Novus, or New World. Brief mention of this voyage may be found in Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 46, repeated in Irving's Columbus, vol. iii. p. 52; and Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 228. See also Reise des Diaz de Solis und Yanez Pinzon, in Sammlung aller Reisebeschreibungen, tom. xiii. p. 157.

Tristan da Cunha in a voyage to India, sailing from Lisbon March 6, 1506, round Cape St Augustine, heard of—eut connaissance de—a Rio São Sebastião in the province of Pernambuco, and discovered the island since called by his name, in 37° 5' south latitude, on his passage to the Cape of Good Hope. Galvano does not mention that Cunha reached America.

On the 20th of May, 1506, at Valladolid, died the great admiral of the Western Ocean, Christopher Columbus; whose story, notwithstanding his 123 innumerable historians, is nowhere more fully comprehended than in the simple lines which may be seen to-day upon his tomb:

Maffei of Volterra, Commentariorum urbanorum, Rome, 1506, a kind of geographical encyclopædia, contains a section on the loca nuper reperta. Five editions are mentioned as having been issued in the years 1510, 1511, and 1530, all but one at Paris.

M. Varnhagen claims that the original mixed Italian text of Vespucci's first voyage was printed in Florence in 1505 or 1506, and that several copies have been preserved. This is the text used by him in his defense of Vespucci. See Premier Voy., Vienna, 1869, and Vespucci, son caractère, etc., Lima, 1865, in which the letter is reproduced. I find no mention by any other author of such an edition.

[1507.] No voyages are mentioned in this year; but the bibliography of the year is remarkable. Montalboddo (or Zorzi), Paesi Nouamente retrouati, Et Nouo Mondo da Alberico Vesputio, Florentino, intitulato, Vicentia, 1507, is the second collection of voyages issued, and the first of which any copies at present exist. This work is divided into six books, of which the fourth and fifth relate to America, the fourth being a reproduction of the Libretto of 1504, while the fifth is the Nouo Mondo, or third voyage of Vespucci; and its mention in the title shows how important a feature it was deemed in a work of this character. In the following year, besides a new Italian edition, there appeared a German translation under the title of Ruchamer, Newe unbekanthe landte, Nuremberg, 1508, and a Latin translation, Itinerariũ Portugallẽsiũ, Milan, 1508. At least fourteen editions in Italian, Latin, German, and French appeared before 1530.

Hylacomylus (Waldsee-Müller), Cosmographiæ Introdvctio ... Insuper quatuor Americi Vespucij Nauigationes, Deodate (St Dié, Lorraine), 1507, is the title of a work which appeared four times in the same place and year. It is the first collection of Vespucci's four voyages, and generally regarded as the first edition of the first and fourth, although as we have seen M. Varnhagen claims an Italian edition of the first in 1506. This account of the third voyage is different from that so widely circulated before as Mundus Novus. Three other editions of the work, or of the part relating to Vespucci, appeared in 1509 and 1510. In Hylacomylus the following passage occurs: "But now that those parts have been more extensively examined, and another fourth part has been discovered by Americus (as will be seen in the sequel), I do not see why we should rightly refuse to name it America, namely, the land of Americus or America, after its discoverer, Americus, a man of sagacious mind, since both Europe and Asia took their names from women." Here we have the origin of the name 'America.' To the northern discoveries of Columbus, Cabot, and Cortereal, on the islands and coast of the supposed Asia, no general name was given because those regions were already named India, Cathay, Mangi, etc., while names were applied by Europeans only to particular places on the new coasts. When Columbus in 1498 explored the northern coast of South America he had no doubt it was a portion, 124 though probably a detached portion, of Asia, and the terms Paria and the Pearl Coast sufficed to designate the region during the succeeding trading voyages. Concerning these voyages, only a letter of Columbus and a slight account of Pinzon's expedition had been printed, apparently without attracting much attention. The voyages of Columbus, Bastidas, and Pinzon along the coast of Central America were almost unknown. Meanwhile the fame of the great navigator had become much obscured. His enterprises on the supposed Asiatic coast had been unprofitable to Spain. The eyes of the world were now directed farther south. By the Portuguese the coasts of Brazil had been explored for a long distance, proving the great extent of this south-eastern portion of the supposed Asia, whose existence was not indicated on the old charts, and which certainly required a name. These Portuguese explorations and their results were known to the world almost exclusively by the letter of Vespucci so often printed. To the Latin translation of the letter, the name Mundus Novus had been applied, meaning not necessarily a new continent, but simply the newly found regions. The name 'America' suggested itself naturally, possibly through the influence of some friend who was an admirer of Vespucci, to the German professor of a university in Lorraine, as appropriate for the new region, and he accordingly proposed it. Having proposed it, his pride and that of his friends—a clique who had great influence over the productions of the German press at that period—was involved in securing its adoption. No open opposition seems to have been made, even by the Portuguese who had applied the name 'Santa Cruz' to the same region; still it was long before the new name replaced the old ones. In later years, when America was found to be joined to the northern continent, and all that great land to be entirely distinct from Asia, the name had become too firmly fixed to be easily changed, and no effort that we know of was made to change it. Later still some authors, inadvertently perhaps, attributed the first discovery to Vespucci. This aroused the wrath of Las Casas and others, and a discussion ensued which has lasted to the present time. See list of partisans on both sides in Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 65-7. Muñoz and Navarrete insist that Vespucci was an impostor, but others, headed by Humboldt, have proved conclusively that the name 'America' was adopted as the result of the somewhat strange combination of circumstances described, without any intentional wrong to Columbus. This conclusion is founded chiefly on the following reasons, namely: The honor to Vespucci resulted chiefly from his third voyage in 1501, and not from his first voyage in 1497, which last mentioned is the only one possible to have claimed precedence over Columbus in the discovery of the continent. Furthermore, neither Columbus nor Vespucci ever suspected that a new continent had been found; and to precede Cabot in reaching Asia, Vespucci, even if relying on his first voyage, must have dated it somewhat earlier in 1497 than he did; while to precede Columbus he must have dated it before 1492, when, as they both believed, Columbus had touched Asia at Cuba. Then, again, there is no evidence whatever that Vespucci ever claimed the honor of discovery. He was on intimate terms with the admiral and his friends, and is highly spoken of by all, especially by Fernando Colon, who was extremely jealous in every particular which might affect his father's honor. Moreover, it is certain that Vespucci did not himself propose the 125 name 'America;' it is not certain that he even used the term Mundus Novus or its equivalent in his letters; and it is quite possible that he never even knew of his name being applied to the New World, since the name did not come into general use until many years after his death, which occurred in 1512. The most serious charge which in my opinion can be brought against Vespucci is neglect—perhaps an intentional deception for the purpose of giving himself temporary prominence in the eyes of his correspondent—in failing to name the commanders under whom he sailed; and with exaggeration and carelessness in his details. But it is to be remembered that his writings were simply letters to friends describing in familiar terms the wonders of his voyages, with little care for dry dates and names, reserving particulars for a large work which he had prepared, but which has never come to light. "After all," says Irving, "this is a question more of curiosity than of real moment ... about which grave men will continue to write weary volumes, until the subject acquires a fictitious importance from the mountain of controversy heaped upon it." Cancellieri, Notizie di Colombo, pp. 41-8; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. and v., and Preface to Ghillany; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. i. p. cxxvi.; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 380-8; Kohl's Hist. Discov., p. 496; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 65-6; D'Avesac, Martin Hylacomylus, Paris, 1867; Muñoz, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, p. x.; Stevens' Notes, pp. 24, 35, 52 et seq.; Viages de Vespucio, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 183; Carta del Excmo. Sr. Vizconde de Santarem, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 309-34. Ludd, Speculi Orbis, Strasburg, 1507, adopts Waldsee-Müller's suggestion so far as to speak of the 'American race,' or people, gentis Americi. Major, Prince Henry, pp. 380-8, explains the connection between this and other works of the time influenced by the St Dié clique. See also Stevens' Notes, p. 35.

[1508.] Pinzon and Solis, with Pedro Ledesma as pilot, were sent by Spain for the third time to search southward for the strait which they, as well as Columbus and Bastidas, had failed to find farther north and west. Sailing from San Lúcar June 29, 1508, they touched at the Cape Verde Islands, proceeded to Cape St Augustine, and followed the coast south-west to about 40° south latitude, returning to Spain in October, 1509. Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 47. Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 110, joins this voyage to the preceding one of 1506.

Another of the uncertain French voyages to Newfoundland is reported to have taken place in 1508, under the command of Thomas Aubert, from Dieppe. Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 41; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 203-5.

In 1508 the governor of Española sent Sebastian de Ocampo to explore Cuba. He was the first to sail round the island, thus proving it such, as Juan de la Cosa probably imagined it to be eight years earlier. Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling, tom. vi. p. 1; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. lib. vii. cap. i.; Stevens' Notes, p. 35.

Ptolemy, In hoc opere hæc continentvr, Geographiæ Cl. Ptolemæi, Rome, 1508, is said to be the first edition of this work which contains allusions to the New World. Other editions of Ptolemy, prepared by different editors, with additional text and maps, and with some changes in original matter, appeared in 1511, 1512, 1513, 1519, 1520, 1522, 1525, 1532, and 1535. The edition first 126 mentioned contains, in addition to the preceding one of 1507, fourteen leaves of text and an engraved map by Johann Ruysch—the first ever published which includes the New World. Copies have been printed by Lelewel in his Géog. du moyen âge, atlas; by Santarem, in his Recherches, Paris, 1842, atlas; and by Humboldt, Kohl, and Stevens. I have taken the annexed copy from the three last mentioned authorities, omitting some of the unimportant names.

Map by Johann Ruysch, 1508.

View larger image

This map follows closely that of Juan de la Cosa in 1500, but illustrates more clearly the geographical idea of the time. The discoveries of Cabot, whom Ruysch is supposed to have accompanied, as well as those of Cortereal in the north, of Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland, are laid down with tolerable accuracy; and the rest of the supposed Asiatic coast as in Behaim's globe is taken from Marco Polo. In the centre we have the lands discovered by Columbus, and the old fabulous island of Antilia restored. To 'Spagnola' (Española) is joined an inscription stating the compiler's belief that it was identical with Zipangu, or Japan. Western Cuba is cut off by a scroll, instead of by green paint as in the map of Juan de la Cosa, with an inscription to the effect that this was the limit of Spanish exploration. Ruysch, having as yet no knowledge of Ocampo's voyage performed during this same year, evidently entertained the same idea respecting Cuba that was held by Juan de la Cosa, but did not venture to proclaim it an island. In the south, the New World is shown under the name 'Terra Sanctæ Crucis sive Mvndvs Novvs.' An open sea separates the New World from Asia, showing that Ruysch did not know of the unsuccessful search for this passage by Columbus, Bastidas, and Pinzon. It is worthy of remark that the name America is not used by this countryman of Hylacomylus. Humboldt thinks that he had not seen the Cosmographiæ Introdvctio, but had read some other edition of Vespucci's third 127 voyage. Exam. Crit., tom. ii. pp. 5, 9; tom. iv. p. 121, and Preface to Ghillany. See also Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 136-7; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 107-8; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 156-8; Stevens' Notes, pp. 31-2.

[1509.] Stimulated by the admiral's gold discoveries at Veragua, which had been corroborated by subsequent voyages. King Ferdinand of Spain determined to establish colonies on that coast. The region known as Tierra Firme was to that end divided into two provinces, of which Alonso de Ojeda was appointed governor of one, and Diego de Nicuesa of the other. Ojeda sailed from Española November 10, 1509, and Nicuesa soon followed. Their adventures form an important part of early Central American history, and are fully related in the following chapters. During the succeeding years frequent voyages were made back and forth between the new colonies, Jamaica, Cuba, and Española, which are for the most part omitted here as not constituting new discoveries. Peter Martyr, dec. ii. cap. i.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fols. 67-9; Galvano's Discov., p. 109-10; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. ii. pp. 421-8; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. i. cap. vii. lib. vii. et seq.

The Globus Mundi, Strasburg, 1509, an anonymous work, was the first to apply the name America to the southern continent. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. p. 142; Major's Prince Henry, p. 387.

Peter Martyr's Map, 1511.

View larger image

[1511.] Juan de Agramonte received a commission from the Spanish government, and made arrangements to sail to Newfoundland and the lands of the north-western ocean, but nothing further is known of the matter. Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 42; Sobrecarta de la Reina Doña Juana, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 122. P. Martyris, Anglimediolanensis opera, Seville, 1511, is the first edition of Peter Martyr's first decade; containing in ten letters, or books, accounts of the first three voyages of Columbus, certain 128 expeditions to the Pearl Coast, and closing with a brief mention of the admiral's fourth voyage. The learned author was personally acquainted with Columbus, and his relations are consequently of great value. This work contains a map, of which I give a copy from Stevens, the only fac-simile I have seen.

The map shows only Spanish discoveries, but it is by far the most accurate yet made. Cuba, now proved to be an island, is so laid down. No name is given to the Mundus Novus, which, by a knowledge of the Spanish voyages, is made to extend much farther north and west than in Ruysch's map; but above the known coasts a place is left open where the passage to India it was believed might yet be found. The representation of a country, corresponding with Florida, to the north of Cuba, under the name of 'Isla de Beimini,' may indicate that Florida had been reached either by Ocampo in 1508, by some private adventurer, as Diego Miruelo, who is said to have preceded Ponce de Leon, or, as is claimed by some, by Vespucci in his pretended voyage of 1497; but more probably this region was laid down from the older maps—see Behaim's map, p. 93—and the name was applied in accordance with the reports among the natives of a wonderful country or island, which they called bimini, situated in that direction. The map is not large enough to show exactly the relation which Peter Martyr supposed to exist between these regions and the rest of the world, but the text of the first decade leaves no doubt that he still believed them to be parts of Asia.

The Ptolemy of 1511 has a map which I have not seen, but which from certain descriptions resembles that of Ruysch, except that it represents Terra Corterealis as an island separated from the supposed Asiatic coast; the name Sanctæ Crucis for South America being still retained. As long as the new lands were believed to be a part of Asia, the maps bore some resemblance to the actual countries intended to be represented, but from the first dawning of an idea of separate lands we shall see the greatest confusion in the efforts of map-makers to depict the New World. Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., no. 68; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., 133; Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 33. A copy of this map was published in Lelewel's Atlas.

[1512.] The West India Islands, in which the Spaniards are at length firmly established, become now the point of new departures. Conquerors and discoverers henceforth for the most part sail from Española or Cuba rather than from Spain. Juan Ponce de Leon, a wealthy citizen who had been governor of Puerto Rico, fitted out three vessels at his own expense, and sailed in search of a fountain, which according to the traditions of the natives had the property of restoring youth, and which was situated in the land called Bimini far to the north. This infatuation had been current in the Islands for several years, and, as we have seen, the name was applied to such a land on Peter Martyr's map of 1511. Sailing from Puerto Rico March 3, 1512, Ponce de Leon followed the northern coast of Española, and thence north-west through the Bahamas, reaching San Salvador on the 14th of March. Thirteen days thereafter he saw the coast of Florida, so named by him from the day of discovery, which was Pascua Florida, or Easter-day. The native name of the land was Cautio. On the 2d of April the Spaniards landed in 30° 8', and took possession for the king of Spain; then following the 129 coast southward they doubled Cape Corrientes (Cañaveral) May 8, and advanced to an undetermined point on the southern or eastern coast, which Kohl thinks may have been Charlotte Bay. All this while they believed the country to be an island. On the 14th of June Ponce de Leon departed from Florida, and on his return touched at the Tortugas, at the Lucayos, at Bahama, and at San Salvador, arriving at Puerto Rico the 21st of September. He left behind one vessel under Juan Perez de Ortubia, who arrived a few days later with the news of having found Bimini, but no fountain of youth. Reise des Ponce de Leon, und Entdeckung von Florida, in Sammlung aller Reisebesch., tom. xiii. p. 188; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 50-3: Real cédula dando facultad á Francisco de Garay, in Navarrete, tom. iii. p. 148; Uitvoerlyke Scheepstogt door den Dapperen Jean Ponze de Leon gedaan naar Florida, in Gottfried, tom, iii.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fols. 50-2; Galvano's Discov., p. 123. Kohl places the voyage in 1513, relying on Peschel, who, he says, has proved the year 1512 to be an impossible date.

In 1512 the Regidor Valdivia was sent by the colonists from the gulf of Darien, then called Urabá, to Española for supplies. Being wrecked in a violent tempest, he escaped in boats to the coast of Yucatan, where he and his companions were made captives by the natives. Some were sacrificed to the gods, and then eaten; only two, Gonzalo Guerrero and Gerónimo de Aguilar, survived their many hardships, the latter being rescued by Cortés in 1519. Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i. pp. 368-72; Gomara, Hist. Mex., fol. 21-2; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. iv. cap. vii.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, pp. 24-9.

The very rare map in Stobnicza's Ptolemy, Cracoviæ, 1512, I have not seen. It is said to show the New World as a continuous coast from 50° north latitude to 40° south. Neither in the text nor in the map is found the name America.

[1513.] In September, 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa set out from the settlement of Antigua on the gulf of Urabá, and crossing the narrow isthmus which joins the two Americas, discovered a vast ocean to the southward on the other side of the supposed Asia. The Isthmus here runs east and west, and on either side, to the north and to the south are great oceans, which for a long time were called the North Sea and the South Sea. After exploring the neighboring coasts he returned to Antigua in January, 1514, after an absence of four months. Galvano's Discov., pp. 123-5; Peter Martyr, dec. iii. cap. i.; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii. pp. 9-17; Andagoya's Narrative, p. 7; Carta del Adelantado Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc. Inéd., tom. ii. p. 526.

The Ptolemy of 1513 has a map which is said to have been made by Hylacomylus as early as 1508, but concerning which there seems to be much uncertainty. I give a copy from the fac-simile of Stevens and Varnhagen.

The name Cuba does not appear, and in its place is Isabela. Many of the names given by other maps to points on the coast of Cuba are transferred to the main-land opposite. The compiler evidently was undecided whether Cuba was a part of the Asiatic main or not, and therefore represented it in both ways. The coast line must be regarded as imaginary or taken from the old charts, unless, as M. Varnhagen thinks, Vespucci actually sailed along 130 the Florida coast in 1497. This map if made in 1508 may be regarded as the first to join the southern continent, or Mundus Novus, to the main-land of Asia. This southern land is called 'Terra Incognita,' with an inscription stating expressly that it was discovered by Columbus, notwithstanding the fact that its supposed author proposed the name America in honor of Vespucci only the year before. In fact the map is in many respects incoherent, and is mentioned by most writers but vaguely. Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., no. 74; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. iv. pp. 109 et seq., and Preface to Ghillany; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 130-2; Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 33; Varnhagen, Nouvelles Recherches, Vienna, 1869, p. 56; Stevens' Notes, pl. ii. no. i. pp. 13, 14, 51; Major's Prince Henry, pp. 385-6; Santarem, in Bulletin de la Soc. Géog., May, 1847, pp. 318-23.

Map from Ptolemy, 1513.

View larger image

The name America is thought by Major to occur first on a manuscript map by Leonardo da Vinci, in the queen's collection at Windsor, to which he ascribes the date of 1513 or 1514.

[1514.] Pedrarias Dávila, having been appointed governor of Castilla del Oro, by which name the region about the isthmus of Darien was now called, sailed from San Lúcar with an armada of fifteen vessels and over 2000 men, April 12, 1514. The special object of this expedition was to discover and 131 settle the shores of the South Sea, whose existence had been reported in Spain, but whose discovery by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa was not known before the departure of Pedrarias. Herrera, dec. i. lib. x. cap. xiii.; Peter Martyr, dec. ii. cap. vii.; dec. iii. cap. v.; Galvano's Discov., p. 125; Quintana, Vidas de Españoles Célebres, 'Balboa,' p. 28; Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. i. p. 207. See chapter x. of this volume.

[1515.] Juan Diaz de Solis sailed from Lepe October 8, 1515, with three vessels, and surveyed the eastern coast of South America from Cape San Roque to Rio Janeiro, where he was killed by the natives. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 48-50. Three vessels were fitted out at Seville, well manned and armed for a cruise against the Caribs, under command of Juan Ponce de Leon, but the Spaniards were defeated in their first encounter with the savages at Guadalupe, and the expedition was practically abandoned.

The adventures of Badajoz, Mercado, Morales, and others in 1515-16 and the following years, by which the geography of the Isthmus was more fully determined, are given elsewhere.

Schöner, Luculentissima quædã terræ totius descriptio, Nuremberg, 1515, and another edition of the same work under the title Orbis Typvs, same place and date, have a chapter on America 'discovered by Vespucci in 1497.' In Reisch, Margaritha Philosophica, Strasburg, 1515, an encyclopedia frequently republished, is a map which is almost an exact copy of that in the Ptolemy of 1513, except in its names. The main-land to the north-west of Cuba is called Zoana Mela, but the names of certain localities along the coast are omitted. Both Cuba and Española are called Isabela, and the southern continent is laid down as 'Paria seu Prisilia.' Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., nos. 80-2; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 130-1; Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 33; Stevens' Notes, p. 52; fac-simile, pl. iv. no. 2.

[1516.] After Ponce de Leon's voyage in 1512 or 1513, and probably before that time, trips were made by private adventurers northward from Española and Cuba to the Islands and to Florida. Among these is that of Diego de Miruelo in 1516, who probably visited the western or gulf coast of Florida, and brought back specimens of gold. No details are known of the expedition. Garcilaso de la Vega, La Florida del Inca, Madrid, 1723, p. 5.

Lettera di Amerigo Vespucci, Florence, 1516, the second collection of the four voyages; Peter Martyr, Ioannes ruffus, De Orbe Decades, Alcala, 1516, the first edition of three decades; and Giustiniani, Psalterium, Genoa, 1516, which appends a life of Columbus to the nineteenth Psalm, are among the new books of the year.

[1517.] Eden, in his dedication of an English translation of Munster's Cosmography, in 1553, speaks of certain ships "furnished and set forth" in 1517 under Sebastian Cabot and Sir Thomas Pert; but so faint was the heart of the baronet that the voyage "toke none effect." On this authority some authors have ascribed a voyage to Cabot in 1517, to regions concerning which they do not agree. An expedition whose destination and results are unknown, can have had little effect on geographical knowledge; and Kohl, after a full discussion of the subject, seems to have proved against Biddle, its chief supporter, that there is not sufficient evidence of such a voyage. Navigatione di Sebastiano Cabota, in Ramusio, tom. ii. fol. 212; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., 132 pp. 54-5; Roux de Rochelle, in Bulletin, Soc. Géog., Apr. 1832, p. 209; Peter Martyr, dec. iii. cap. vi.

Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba, with three vessels and 110 men, sailed from La Habana February 8, 1517, sent by the governor of Cuba to make explorations toward the west. Touching at Cape Catoche, in Yucatan, he coasted the peninsula in fifteen days to Campeche, and six days later reached Potonchan, or Champoton, where a battle was fought with the natives, and the Spaniards defeated. Accounts indicate that the explorers were not unanimous in supposing Yucatan to be an island, as it was afterward represented on some maps. Failing to procure a supply of water in the slough of Lagartos, Córdoba sailed across the Gulf to Florida, and thence returned to Cuba, where he died in ten days from his wounds. I find nothing to show what part of Florida he touched. Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i. pp. 349-51; Peter Martyr, dec. iv. cap. i.; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. pp. 497-8; Galvano's Discov., pp. 130-1; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 8-9; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. xvii.; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, pp. 3-8; Prescott's Mex., vol. i. pp. 222-24; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 53-5; West-Indische Spieghel, p. 188; Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., tom. i. pp. 338-41.

[1518.] The following year Juan de Grijalva was sent from Cuba to carry on the explorations begun by Córdoba. Grijalva sailed from Santiago de Cuba April 8, 1518, with four vessels, reached the island of Santa Cruz (Cozumel) on the 3d of May, took possession on the 6th of May, and shortly after entered Ascension Bay. From this point he coasted Yucatan 270 leagues, by his estimate, to Puerto Deseado, entered and named the Rio de Grijalva (Tabasco), and took possession of the country in the vicinity of Vera Cruz about the 19th of June. Advancing up the coast to Cabo Rojo, he turned about and entered Rio Tonalá, engaged in a parting fight at Champoton, followed the coast for several weeks, and then turned for Cuba, arriving at Matanzas about the 1st of November. During his absence, Cristóbal de Olid had coasted a large part of Yucatan in search of Grijalva's fleet. Peter Martyr, dec. iv. cap. iii.-iv.; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i. pp. 351-8, Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. pp. 502-37; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 8-11, 56-8; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. iii. cap. i. ix.; Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. i. pp. 240-4; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iv. pp. 40-50; Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, pp. 8-16; Diaz, Itinéraire, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. pp. 1-47; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 53-64; Alaman, Disertaciones, tom. i. pp. 45-8; Reise des Johann Grijalva und allererste Entdeckung Neuspaniens, in Sammlung, tom. xiii. p. 258; Itinerario de Juan de Grijalva, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., tom. i. p. 281.

I may here remark that such manuscript maps, made generally by pilots for government use, as have been preserved are, as might be expected, far superior to those published in geographical works of the period. I give a copy of a Portuguese chart preserved in the Royal Academy at Munich.

From the fact that Yucatan is represented as a peninsula, though not named, while the discoveries of Grijalva and Cortés are not shown, the date of 1518 may be ascribed to the map. Stevens believes it to have been made some time about 1514; Kohl about 1520; Kunstmann some time after 1511. Unexplored coasts are left out instead of being laid down from old Asiatic 133 maps; as for example the United States coast from Newfoundland (Bacalnaos) to Florida (Bimini), and the Gulf coast from Florida to Yucatan. In the central region the names 'Terram Antipodum' and 'Antilhas de Castela' are used without any means of deciding to exactly what parts they are to be applied. The South Sea discovered by Balboa in 1513 is here shown for the first time with the inscription 'Mar visto pelos Castelhanus.' To South America the name 'Brasill' is given. The presence of two Mahometan flags in locations corresponding to Honduras and Venezuela, shows that the compiler still had no doubt that he was mapping parts of Asia. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 129 et seq.; Munich Atlas, no. iv., from which I take my copy; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 179-82, pl. x.; Stevens' Notes, pp. 17, 53, pl. v. Pomponius Mela's Libri de situ orbis, Vienna, 1518, contains a commentary by Vadianus, written however in 1512, in which the name America is used in speaking of the New World. Other editions appeared in 1522 and 1530.

Map in Munich Atlas, supposed to have been Drawn about 1518.

View larger image

[1519.] Stobnicza's Ptolemy of 1519 alludes to the New World discovered by Vespucci and named after him.

Enciso, Suma de geografia, Seville, 1519, is the first Spanish work known which treats of the new regions. The author was a companion of Ojeda in his unfortunate attempt to found a colony on Tierra Firme. Another edition appeared in 1530.

On February 18, 1519, Hernan Cortés set sail from Cuba to undertake 134 the conquest of the countries discovered by Córdoba and Grijalva. After spending some time on the island of Cozumel, where he rescued Gerónimo de Aguilar from his long captivity (see p. 129), he followed the coast to Rio de Grijalva, where he defeated the natives in battle, and took possession of the land in the name of the Catholic sovereigns. From this place he continued his voyage sailing near the shore to Vera Cruz, where he landed his forces and began the conquest of Montezuma's empire, the history of which forms part of a subsequent volume of this series.

Francisco de Garay, governor of Jamaica, prompted by the reports of Ponce de Leon, Córdoba, and Grijalva, despatched four vessels in 1519, under Alonso Alvarez Pineda, who sailed northward to a point on the Pánuco coast (where, according to Gomara, an expedition had been sent during the preceding year, under Camargo). Prevented by winds and shoals from coasting northward as he desired, he sailed along in sight of the low gulf shores until he reached Vera Cruz, where he found the fleet of Cortés. Troubles between the commanders arose from this meeting which will be narrated hereafter.

Garay continued for some time his attempts to found a settlement in the region of Pánuco, but without success. Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. i.; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 55-6; West-Indische Spieghel, p. 202; Gomara, Hist. Conq., fol. 222-7; Viages Menores, in Navarrete, tom. iii. pp. 64-7; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 73.

Soon after landing at Vera Cruz Cortés despatched for Spain a vessel under the pilot Antonio de Alaminos, with messengers who were to clear up before the king certain irregularities which the determined conqueror had felt obliged to commit, and furthermore to establish his authority upon a more defined basis. Alaminos sailed July 16, 1519, following a new route north of Cuba, through the Bahama Channel, and down the Gulf Stream, of which current he was probably the first to take advantage. Touching at Cuba and discovering Terceira he reached Spain in October. Diaz del Castillo, Hist. Verdadera de la Conqvista, Madrid, 1632, fol. 37-9; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. v. cap. xiv.; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 243-5.

The history of the Darien colonies is elsewhere recounted in this volume, and the introduction here of the numerous land and water expeditions on and along the Isthmus would be confusing and unprofitable. Suffice it to say that in 1519 the city of Panamá was founded, and a second expedition sent under Gaspar de Espinosa up the South Sea coast. The northern limit reached was the gulf of San Lúcar (Nicoya), latitude 10° north, in Nicaragua, and the expedition returned to Panamá by land from Burica. Andagoya's Narrative of the Proceedings of Pedrarias Dávila, London, 1865, pp. 23-4; Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 162; Oviedo, Hist Gen., tom. iii. p. 61 et seq.

We have seen several unsuccessful attempts by both Spaniards and Portuguese to find a passage to India by the southern parts of Brazil, Santa Cruz, or America. In 1519 a native of Oporto, Fernando de Magalhaens, called by Spaniards Magallanes, and by English authors Magellan, after having made several voyages for Portugal to India via Good Hope, quit the Portuguese service dissatisfied, entered the service of Spain, and undertook the oft-repeated attempt of reaching the east by sailing west. His particular destination 135 was the Moluccas, which the Spaniards claimed as lying within the hemisphere granted to them by the treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. It appears that Magellan had seen some map, of unknown origin, on which was represented a strait instead of an open sea at the southern point of America—probably the conjecture of some geographer, for, says Humboldt, "dans le moyen âge les conjectures étaient inscrits religieusement sur les cartes." See Exam. Crit., tom. i. pp. 306, 326, 354; tom. ii. pp. 17-26. Sailing from San Lúcar September 20, 1519, with five ships and 265 men, he reached Rio de Janeiro on the coast of Brazil on the 13th of December, and from that point coasted southward. An attempt to pass through the continent by the Rio de la Plata failed, and on March 31, 1520, the fleet reached Port St Julian in about 49° south, where it remained five months until the 24th of August. On the 21st of October Magellan arrived at Cabo de las Vírgenes and the entrance to what seemed, and indeed proved, to be the long-desired strait. Having lost one vessel on the eastern coast, and being deserted by another which turned back and sailed for Spain after having entered the strait, with the remaining three he passed on, naming the land on the south Tierra del Fuego, from the fires seen burning there. Emerging from the strait, which he called Vitoria after one of his ships, on the 27th of November he entered and named the Pacific Ocean. Then steering north-west for warmer climes he crossed the line February 13, 1521, arrived at the Ladrones on the 6th of March, and at the Philippines on the 16th of March. This bold navigator, "second only to Columbus in the history of nautical exploration," was killed on the 27th of April, in a battle with the natives of one of these islands; the remainder of the force, consisting of 115 men under Caraballo, proceeded on their way, touching at Borneo and other islands, and anchoring on the 8th of November at the Moluccas, their destination. From this point one of the vessels, the Vitoria, in command of Sebastian del Cano, sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, and reached San Lúcar September 6, 1522, with only eighteen survivors of the 265 who had sailed with Magellan. Thus was accomplished the first circumnavigation of the globe.

As to the circumstances attending the naming of the Pacific Ocean, a few words may not be out of place. Magellan was accompanied by one Antonio Pigafetta, of Vicenza, afterward Caviliere di Rhodi, who wrote in bad Italian a narrative of the voyage, which was rewritten and translated into French, Primer voyage autour du Monde, par le Chevallier Pigafetta, sur l'Escadre de Magellan pendant les années 1519, 20, 21, et 22, by Charles Amoretti. "Le mercredi, 28 novembre," says Pigafetta, liv. ii. p. 50, "nous débouquâmes du détroit pour entrer dans la grande mer, à laquelle nous donnâmes ensuite le nom de mer Pacifique; dans laquelle nous naviguâmes pendant le cours de trois mois et vingt jours, sans goûter d'aucune nourriture fraiche." And again, p. 52, "Pendant cet espace de trois mois et vingt jours nous parcourûmes à peu près quatre mille lieues dans cette mer que nous appelâmes Pacifique, parce que durant tout le temps de notre traversée nous n'essuyâmes pas le moindre tempête;" or, as Ramusio, Viaggio atorno il mondo fatto et descritto per M. Antonio Pigafetta, in Viaggi, tom. iii. fol. 393, puts it, "Et in questi tre mesi, & venti giorni fecero quattro mila leghe in vn golfo per questo mar 136 Pacifico, il qual ben si puó chiamar pacifico, perche in tutto questo tempo senza veder mai terra alcuna, non hebbero né fortuna di vento, né di altra tempesta." Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. vii., speaks of it only as "the huge Ocean" first found by Vasco Nuñez, and then called the South Sea. Galvano, Discov., p. 142, alludes to it as a "mightie sea called Pacificum." Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. ii. p. 22, merely remarks: "Es aquel estrecho en algunas partes mas ó menos de media legua, y çircundado de montañas altissimas cargadas de nieve, y corre en otra mar que le puso nombre el capitan Fernando de Magallanes, el Mar Pacífico; y es muy profundo, y en algunas partes de veynte é çinco hasta en treynta braças." Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 120, says, "No cabia de gozo por auer hallado aq̃l passo para el otro mar del Sur, por do pẽsava llegar presto alas yslas del Maluco," without any mention of the word Pacific. The Sammlung aller Reisebeschreibungen, tom. xi. p. 346, gives it essentially the same as Pigafetta: "In einer Zeit von drey Monaten und zwanzig Tagen, legete er viertausend Meilen in einer See zurück, welche er das friedfertige oder stille Meer nannte; weil er keinen Sturm auf demselben ausstund, und kein anderes Land sah, als diese beyden Inseln." Kohl, Die beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 161, is unable to find the name on the old maps: "Der Name 'Oceano Pacifico,' der auch schon auf den Reisen des Magellan und Loaysa in Schwung kam, steht nirgends auf unseren Karten." Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ix. cap. xv., describes the exit from the strait in the language following: "a veynte y siete de Nouiẽbre, salio al espacioso mar del Sur, dando infinitas gracias a Dios." Navarrete, Viages al Maluco; Primero el de Hernando de Magallanes, in tom. iv. pp. 49-50, of his collection says: "Salió pues Magallanes del estrecho que nombraron de Todos los Santos el dia 27 de Noviembre de 1520 con las tres naos Trinidad, Victoria, y Concepcion, y se halló en una mar oscura y gruesa que era indicio de gran golfo; pero despues le nombraron Mar Pacífico, porque en todo el tiempo que navegaron por él, no tuvieron tempestad alguna." Happening thus, that in this first circumnavigation of the globe, as the strangers entered at its southern end the South Sea of Vasco Nuñez, the waters greeted them kindly, in return they gave them a peaceful title; other voyagers entering this same sea at other times gave to it a far different character. For further reference see Voyage de Fernando de Magelhaens, in Berenger, Col. Voy., tom. i. pp. 1-26; Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling, tom. ix. pt. ii. p. 7; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. i. pt. ii. pp. 33-46.

A manuscript map supposed to have been made by Maiollo in 1519, of which a fac-simile is given in the Munich Atlas, no. v., shows the islands and main-land from Yucatan south and east, closely resembling, except in names of localities, the map of 1518 (see page 133). The eastern part of Brazil is called 'Sante Crucis,' and on the Pearl Coast is an inscription to the effect that it was discovered by Columbus. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 135-6; Schmeller, in Abhandl. Akademie der Wissensch., tom. iv. pt. i. p. 253.

[1520.] An anonymous pamphlet without date, Copia der Newen Zeytung, is a translation of a letter describing a voyage of two thousand miles along the Brazilian coast. Harrisse places it under date of 1520, and thinks it may furnish grounds for the belief that Magellan was not the first to reach the strait. Varnhagen, Hist. Brazil, Madrid, 1854, maintains that the voyage 137 described was under Solis and Pinzon in 1508. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. v. p. 249, applies the description to some later voyage made between 1525 and 1540.

To Varthema, Itinerario Nello Egitto, Venetia (supposed to be 1520), is joined an account of Grijalva's voyage to Yucatan in 1518 (see page 132), translated from the original diary of Juan Diaz, chaplain of the expedition. Other editions appeared in 1522-26-35. Discorso sopra lo itinerario di Lodouico Barthema, in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 160. The Itinerary of Diaz is not given by Ramusio. Provinciæ sive Regiones in India Occidentali, Valladolid, 1520, is a Latin translation of an account, by an unknown author, of the conquest of Cuba by Diego Velazquez. Pigghe, De æquinoctiorum sol, etc., Paris, supposed to have been printed in 1520, has a passage on the lands discovered by Vespucci. A New Interlude, London, 1519 or 1520, has a verse in which the name America is used.

A globe made by John Schöner in 1520 is preserved in Nuremberg, and copies have been given by Ghillany, Lelewel, and Kohl, of which I give a reduction.

Schöner's Globe, 1520.

View larger image

This is the first drawing to represent all the regions of the New World as distinct, although not distant, from the Asiatic coast, which is laid down mostly as in Behaim's globe, with some imaginary additions round the north pole. This separation was undoubtedly a mere conjecture of the compiler, for the voyage of Magellan, which might have suggested such an idea, was 138 not yet known or even consummated, and the map shows no knowledge of the later voyages even to the eastern coast. All the northern discoveries are given as an island, 'Terra Corterealis.' The central and southern parts—except their separation from Asia—are accurately copied from the map of Ptolemy, 1513 (see page 130), although a strait leads through the Isthmus into the South Sea. 'Terra de Cuba' is the name applied to the northern part of what may be regarded as the nucleus which afterward grew into North America, while the southern part is called Paria. Several names of localities on the coast, as 'C. Dellicontis' and 'C. Bonaventura,' are retained from the map of 1513, although Kohl erroneously calls all the names new and original. To the southern continent various names are applied, as America, Brazil, Paria (repeated), Land of Cannibals and of Parrots. On the original is an antarctic region round the south pole, called 'Brasiliæ Regio,' and separated from America in lat. 42° south by a strait, although the discovery of such a strait could not at the time have been known. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. p. 28. Several globes of about this date preserved in Germany are said to agree with this of Schöner's in their general features. Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 153-63, pl. vii., and Beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 33; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., p. 141.

In the Solinus-Camers, Enarrationes, Vienna, 1520, was published a woodcut map, the first to give the name America. The map was made by Petrus Apianus, and afterward used by him in his cosmography. According to various descriptions it agrees very nearly with Schöner's globe except in the extreme north, where Engronelant is represented very much as in the map of the Zeni in 1400 (see page 82). Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 134-5; Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 33; Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 184, 192.

Cortés with his second letter dated October 30, 1520, sent to Spain a map of the Gulf of Mexico, which was printed in 1524. The map is valuable only for its list of names along the whole extent of the gulf coast, and it is therefore unnecessary to reproduce it here. Yucatan seems to be represented as an island. Stevens' Notes, pp. 38, 53, pl. iv. no. vii.

In 1520 Lucas Vazquez de Aillon and other wealthy citizens of Española sent two vessels, probably under one Jordan, to the Lucayos Islands for slaves. Not succeeding according to their expectations in the islands, the Spaniards directed their course northward toward the country discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513, and finally touched the coast in about 32° or 33°—Port Royal according to Navarrete; Stevens says Cape Fear—a region probably never before visited. They called the country Chicora, and the place of landing was named Cabo de Santa Elena and Rio Jordan. They made no explorations in any direction. One vessel and nearly all the slaves were lost on the return. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 69-71; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 245-8; Stevens' Notes, p. 48.

Pánfilo de Narvaez sailed from Cuba in 1520 with a large force to dispossess Cortés, who had declared himself independent of his chief Velazquez; but after many reverses his forces went over to his opponent. Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 52-5; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. p. 540; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i. p. 474.

The conquest of Mexico once accomplished, Hernan Cortés very soon 139 turned his attention to the South Sea coasts. Hearing from natives that the Pacific extended as far north as the land he had conquered, he sent small parties to explore and take possession, which they did at two points, Tehuantepec and Zacatula, before the end of 1521. Cortés was fully acquainted with the cosmographic theories of the time, and was enthusiastic in their application to the discovery of islands and main, rich in spices and precious metals. It was now established in a general way, as shown by the best maps, that the newly discovered lands were not the main Asiatic continent of Marco Polo, but a great south-eastern projection of that continent, probably separated from it by a strait. Cortés' idea was to sail down the coast as he termed it, northward at first, until he should either reach the rich Indian lands, or on the way find the strait which should afford a short cut from Spain to those lands. His efforts will be briefly noticed here in chronologic order, but fully presented in another part of my work. The best and almost only authority is Cortés, Cartas.

[1521.] Juan Ponce de Leon, learning from other voyagers that the land of Florida discovered by him was not, as he had believed it to be, an island, fitted out an expedition in Puerto Rico and sailed to repeat in Florida the glorious achievements of Cortés in New Spain. He reached the west coast of the peninsula, but was killed by the natives soon after landing, and his men returned without having accomplished their object.

Peter Martyr, De nvper svb D. Carolo repertis Insulis, Basiliæ, 1521, is the first edition of a part of the fourth decade.

[1522.] Pomponius Mela, De Orbis Sitv, Basiliæ, 1522, reproduced Apianus' map of 1520 (see page 137), also Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten, p. 33. The Ptolemy of this year, edited by Frisius, contains two maps resembling in their general appearance the Ptolemy map of 1513, and showing but little advance in geographical knowledge. These maps are also in the edition of 1525. Asher's Catalogue, no. civ., Berlin, 1873. Translationus hispanischer, etc., n.p., n.d., has a slight notice of the City of Mexico. Ein Schöne Newe Zeytung, Augsburg (1522), notices the voyages of Columbus and the conquest of Mexico. Of the newe lãdes and of ye people founde by the Messengers of the Kynge of portygale, attributed to this year, is regarded as the first book in English to treat of America, which it calls Armenica. Cortés, Carta de Relaciõ, Seville, 1522, is the letter dated October 30, 1520, supposed to be the conqueror's second letter, the first having been lost. Eight other editions or translations appeared in various forms before 1532.

In 1522 Pascual de Andagoya followed the west coast of America southward from Panamá, to a point six or seven days' sail below the gulf of San Miguel in the province of Birú (Peru), a little beyond Point Pinos. Information obtained during this expedition concerning more southern lands, furnished the motive for the conquest of Peru undertaken a few years later by Francisco Pizarro. Pascual de Andagoya, Narrative, pp. 40-1.

Gil Gonzalez Dávila with a fleet of four vessels sailed from the islands in the Bay of Panamá, January 21, 1522, to explore the South Sea coast north-westward. Reaching the gulf of Nicoya, the limit of Espinosa's voyage, Gil Gonzalez proceeded by land and discovered Lake Nicaragua. The pilot Andres Niño continued westward, discovered and named the gulf of 140 Fonseca, and reached, according to Herrera, dec. iii. lib. iv. cap. v.-vi., the province of Chorotega, having discovered 350 leagues of sea-coast from Nicoya, or 650 leagues from the gulf of San Miguel. Peter Martyr places Niño's ultimate limit at 300 leagues beyond the gulf of San Vicente; Ribero's map at 140 leagues west of the bay of Fonseca. Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am., pp. 163-9, thinks he probably reached the mountains south of Soconusco. See also Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 413, 417-18; Galvano's Discov., pp. 148-9; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii. pp. 97-114; Squier's Nicaragua, New York, 1860, pp. 157-61. Not long afterward the cities of Granada and Leon were founded, and communication with Nicaragua from the south became of frequent occurrence.

In 1522 Pedro de Alvarado occupied Tututepec on the Pacific; while at Zacatula a villa was founded, and a beginning made there on several vessels for exploration northward. Cortés, Cartas, Letter of May 15, 1522.

[1523.] Francisco de Garay fitted out a new fleet of eleven vessels, with 850 men, which sailed from Jamaica June 26, 1523. This force was intended for the conquest and settlement of Pánuco, but soon united with the army of Cortés without having accomplished anything of importance. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 67-9; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii. lib. v. cap. v.-vi.; Peter Martyr, dec. vii. cap. v.; Cortes, Carta tercera de Relaciõ, Seville, 1523. This third letter was written May 15, 1522. Other editions appeared in 1524, and 1532. For the bibliography of Cortés' letters see Harrisse, Bib. Am. Vet., pp. 215-23. Maximilian, De Molvccis Insulis, Coloniæ, 1523, is a letter written by the emperor's secretary, describing Magellan's voyage round the world. Other editions are mentioned as having appeared in 1523, 1524, 1534, 1536, and 1537.

[1524.] Apianus, Cosmographicus Liber, Landshutæ, 1524, contains a short chapter on America, which the author describes as an island, because he says it is surrounded by water; furthermore, he affirms this land was named from Vespucci, its discoverer. The map of Solinus-Camers, 1520, is repeated in this and in several succeeding editions of the cosmography. Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 134-5. Francis, De Orbis Sitv ac Descriptione, Antwerp, 1524, also describes the New World.

In 1524 Cortés' fleet at Zacatula was not yet launched, the work having been delayed by fire. The conquest of Colima had however made known a good port, and brought new rumors of rich islands further north. The conqueror's plans were unchanged and his enthusiasm undiminished. His use of the term "la costa abajo," or down the coast, when he meant to sail northward, has sadly confused many writers as to his real intentions, and as to his ideas of the strait. Cortés, Cartas, Letter of Oct. 15, 1524.

In 1524 was made the first official French expedition to the New World. A fleet of four vessels was made ready under Giovanni Verrazano at Dieppe, but three of his ships were separated from him in some inexplicable manner before leaving European waters; and in the remaining one, the Dauphine, with fifty men, he sailed on the 17th of January, 1524, from an island near Madeira. After a voyage of forty-nine days, during which time he sailed 900 leagues, Verrazano struck the United States coast in about latitude 34°, perhaps at Cape Fear. Thence he sailed first southward fifty leagues, then 141 turning about he followed the coast northward, frequently touching, to Newfoundland, whence he returned to Dieppe in July, 1524. Verrazano in his journal mentions only one date, and names but one locality; consequently there is much difference of opinion concerning his landings.

The southern limit of the voyage, so far as it can be known, was in the vicinity of Cape Romain, South Carolina, though some authors, apparently without sufficient authority—the voyager says he saw palms—have placed the limit in Florida. It is probable that a large part of the United States coast was for the first time explored during this voyage, which also completed the discovery of the whole eastern shore-line of America, except probably a short but indefinite distance in South Carolina and Georgia, between the limits reached by Ponce de Leon in 1513 and by Verrazano; one intermediate point having also been visited by Aillon in 1520. Relatione di Giouanni da Verrazzano Fiorentìno della terra per lui scoperta in nome di sua Maestà, scritta in Dieppa, adi 8, Luglio, MDXXIIII., in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 420. In the preface to this volume, edition of 1556, the author states that it is not known whether New France is joined to Florida or not. Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii. lib. vi. cap. ix.; Hakluyt's Divers Voy., pp. 55-71; New York Hist. Soc., Collections, 1841, series ii. vol. i.; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 249-70; Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 295-300; Aa, Naaukeurige Versameling, tom. x. app. p. 13. A chart given by Verrazano to Henry VIII. is said to have been used by Lock in compiling the map published in Hakluyt's Divers Voy., London, 1582. (Reprint by the Hakluyt Society, 1850. Copy in Kohl, p. 290.)

In 1522 Pedro de Alvarado had accomplished the conquest of Tehuantepec on the South Sea; in 1524 and the following years he extended his explorations and conquests by land across the isthmus over all the north-western region of Central America, joining his conquests to those of his countrymen from Panamá. In 1523 Cristóbal de Olid made an expedition by water to Honduras in the service of Cortés, founding a settlement; and in 1524 Cortés himself marched overland from Mexico to Honduras. Lettres de Pédro de Alvarado à Fernan Cortés, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. pp. 107-50, and in Ramusio, Viaggi, tom. iii. fol. 296-300; Peter Martyr, dec. viii. cap. v. x.; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii. pp. 434, 439, 475-87; Gomara, Hist. Conq. Mex., fol. 228-33, 245-6, 250-74; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii. lib. iii. cap. xvii.; lib. vi. cap. x.-xii.; lib. vii. cap. viii.-ix.; lib. viii. cap. i.-vii.; Alaman, Disertaciones, tom. i. pp. 203-25; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iv. pp. 546-50, 598 et seq., 631-705.

In this same year, 1524, Francisco Pizarro sailed from Panamá southward, and began the conquest of Peru, which, as related elsewhere in this volume, brought to light, before 1540, nearly the whole western coast of South America. For references to Pizarro's discovery see a later chapter of this volume.

A meeting of the leading pilots and cosmographers of Spain and Portugal, known as the Council of Badajoz, was convened for the purpose of settling disputed questions between the two governments. Failing in its primary purpose, the council nevertheless contributed largely to a better knowledge of New World geography. Indeed, from this time the European governments may be supposed to have had, and to have delineated on their official charts, tolerably accurate ideas of the general form of America and of its 142 relation to Asia, except in the north-west, although the existence of a passage through the continent was still firmly believed in. Writers on cosmography and compilers of published maps did not, however, for a long time obtain the knowledge lodged in the hands of government officials.

[1525.] The man who accompanied Magellan in 1519, but left him after entering the strait and returned with one vessel to Spain, was named Estévan Gomez. In 1525 this captain was sent by Spain to search for a corresponding strait in the north. Although an official expedition, and the only one ever sent by Spain to northern parts, no journal has been preserved, and only slight particulars derived from the old chroniclers are known. Gomez expected to find a strait somewhere between Florida and Newfoundland, probably not knowing the result of Verrazano's voyage of the preceding year. Cabot was at the time piloto mayor in Spain, and if Verrazano had, as is claimed for him by some, reached the southern United States coasts, it is not likely that Gomez would have looked there so confidently for his strait. This voyage lasted about ten months, and in it Gomez is supposed to have explored the coast from Newfoundland to a point below New York—possibly to Georgia or Florida. Peter Martyr, dec. vi. cap. x.; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii. lib. viii. cap. viii.; Kohl's Hist. Discov., pp. 271-81; Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iv. p. viii.; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., pp. 70-1. According to Harrisse, Fries, Auslegung der Mercarthen oder Cartha Marina, Strasburg, 1525, contains a map of the world, including America, but Kohl states that this map, although made in 1525, was not published till 1530. Other publications of the year are: Pietro Arias (Pedrarias Dávila), Lettere di Pietro Arias Capitano generale, della conquista del paese del Mar Occeano, written from Darien, and printed without place or date; Pigafetta, Le voyage et nauigation faict par les Espaignolz es Isles de Mollucques, an abridgment of the original account by the author, who was with Magellan; Cortes, La quarta Relacion, Toledo, 1525, dated October 15, 1524.

García de Loaisa sailed from Corunna July 24, 1525, to follow Magellan's track. Passing through the strait between January and May, 1526, he arrived at the Moluccas in October. Viages al Maluco, Segundo el del Comendador Fr. Garcia de Loaisa, in Navarrete, tom. v.; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. pp. 127-45; Relaciones del viaje hecho á las islas Molucas, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, tom. v. p. 5.

[1526.] One small vessel of Loaisa's fleet, under command of Santiago de Guevara, became separated from the rest June 1, 1526, after having reached the Pacific Ocean. Guevara decided to steer for the coast of New Spain, which was first seen in the middle of July; and on the 25th he anchored at Tehuantepec. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. v. pp. 176-81, 224-5.

Cortés' exploring vessels, begun in 1522—the first having been burned on the stocks, others were built in their place—were now, after long delay, nearly ready to sail; and Guevara's vessel was brought up from Tehuantepec to join them. Cortés, Cartas, Letter of September, 1526.

Aillon, in 1523, was made adelantado of Chicora, the country discovered by him in 1520, and immediately prepared a new expedition with a view to colonize the country, explore the coasts, and to find, if possible, a passage to India. The preparations were not completed until July, 1526, when he 143 sailed from Española with six vessels, 500 men, and ninety horses. He reached the Rio Jordan—perhaps St Helena Sound, South Carolina—and thence made a careful exploration northward, at least to Cape Fear, and probably much farther. Aillon died on the 18th of October, and after much internal dissension 150 men, all that remained alive, returned to Santo Domingo. Navarrete, Col. de Viages, tom. iii. pp. 71-4, 153-60; Kunstmann, Entdeckung Am., p. 71.

Oviedo, De la Natural hystoria de las Indias, Toledo, 1526, describes the New World, but this book is not the great historical work, lately printed, by the same author. It may be found also in Barcia, Historiadores Primitivos, and in Ramusio.

Sebastian Cabot attempted a voyage to India in 1526, sailing with four vessels in April, with the intention of bearing succor to Loaisa. Owing to insubordination among his officers, and other misfortunes, he reached only the Rio de la Plata, and after extensive explorations in that region, returned to Spain, having been absent four years. Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. ii. p. 169; Diccionario Universal, Mexico, apend., 'Viages,' tom. x. p. 807; Roux de Rochelle, in Bulletin de la Soc. Geog., April, 1832, p. 212.

[1527.] June 10, 1527, an English expedition—the last officially sent by that nation within the limits of my sketch—sailed from Plymouth, still in search of a north-west passage. The two vessels sailed in company to latitude 53°, and reached the coast, where, on the 1st of July, they were separated by a storm, and one of them was probably lost. The other, under John Rut, turned southward, followed the coast of New England, often landing, probably reached Chicora, and returned to England via the West India Islands, arriving early in October. Hakluyt's Divers Voy., pp. 27, 33; Biddle's Mem. Cabot, pp. 114, 275; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i. p. 611; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii. lib. v. cap. iii.

Francisco Montejo, who had accompanied the expeditions of Grijalva and Cortés, and had since been sent by the latter as ambassador to Spain, obtained from the king in 1526 a commission as adelantado to conquer the "islands of Yucatan and Cozumel." He sailed from Seville in 1527, landed at Cozumel, penetrated the northern part of the peninsula, and during the following years fought desperately to accomplish its conquest, but failed. A small colony struggled for existence at Campeche for several years, but in 1535 not a single Spaniard remained in Yucatan. Cogolludo, Hist. Yucathan, pp. 59-94; Gomara, Hist. Ind., fol. 62-3; Stephens' Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, New York, 1858, vol. i. pp. 56-62.

La Salle, La Salade, Paris, 1527, contains references to Greenland and other northern parts of America.

In July, 1527, three of the vessels built by Cortés made a preliminary trip up the Pacific coast from Zacatula to Santiago in Colima and back—the first voyage along that coast. Relacion ó Derrotero, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., tom. xiv. pp. 65-9; Relacion de la Derrota, in Florida, Col. Doc., pp. 88-91. But an order from Spain required the fleet to be sent to India direct—instead of by the roundabout route proposed by Cortés—for the relief of Loaisa; and the three vessels sailed from Zacatula in October under Saavedra, arriving safely in India. Guevara's ship was too worm-eaten to accompany them; 144 but several vessels were already on the stocks at Tehuantepec to replace those sent across the ocean. Sutil y Mexicana, Viage, introd. pp. vi.-xi.; Navarrete, Col. Viages, tom. v. pp. 95-114, 181, 440-86; Gil, Memoria, in Boletin de la Soc. Mex. Geog., tom. viii. p. 477 et seq.

In 1527 Robert Thorne, English ambassador to Charles V., wrote a book or memorial to Henry VIII. on cosmography, on the Spanish and Portuguese discoveries, and on the importance of exploring northward for a passage to Cathay. It was afterward printed as The booke made by the right worshipful M. Robert Thorne, in Hakluyt's Voy., vol. i. pp. 214-20.

In 1526 a commissioner was appointed to correct the Spanish charts. Fernando Colon was charged with the revision, and in 1527 a map was made called Carta universal en que se contiene todo lo que del mundo se ha descubierto fasta agora. This map has been preserved, and a fac-simile is given in Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am. It shows the whole eastern coast line from the strait of Magellan to Greenland, and the western coast from Panamá to the vicinity of Soconusco, and indicates that the information in possession of the Spanish government was remarkably accurate and complete. Yucatan is represented as an island, and the discoveries on the Pacific side of South America are not laid down; otherwise this map varies but little except in names from a map made by Diego Ribero, in 1529, of which I shall give a copy. Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am., pp. 1-24; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii. p. 184, and Preface to Ghillany.

[1528.] Bordone, Libro di Benedetto Bordone Nel qual si ragiona de tutte l'Isole del mondo, Vinegia, 1528, gives maps of the larger American islands, and also a map of the world, the American part of which I copy from the original. No part of the western coast is shown, although the New World is represented as distinct from Asia.

Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am., p. 34, mentions another work printed at Venice the same year, which has a map resembling that of Schöner in 1520.

Pánfilo de Narvaez sailed from Spain in 1527 with five ships and 600 men, to conquer the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and after losing some of his ships by storm, and many of his men by desertion, in cruising about Española, Cuba, and other islands, he landed in the vicinity of Tampa Bay April 14, 1528, and nearly all the company perished in an attempt to follow the coast toward Vera Cruz. Cabeça de Vaca's Relation, New York, 1871, pp. 13-20; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iv. lib. iv. cap. iv.-vii.; lib. v. cap. v.

Map by Benedetto Bordone, 1528.

View larger image

[1529.] Major, Prince Henry, pp. 440-52, entertains the opinion that Australia was discovered probably before 1529, and certainly before 1542.

In 1529 was made the before-mentioned Spanish official map by Diego Ribero, which may be supposed to show all that was known by European pilots at that time of New World geography. It contains some improvements and additions to Colon's map of 1527 with the same title, although 145 criticised, perhaps justly, by Stevens as partisan in its distribution of the new regions among the European powers. I give a copy reduced from the full-sized fac-simile in Kohl, Beiden ältesten Karten von Am.

Greenland is called Labrador and is joined to the continent, as the separating strait had not at the time been explored. It will be noticed that Greenland is far less accurately laid down on this and other late maps than on some earlier ones which are supposed to have derived some of their details from northern sources. Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia have the general name of Bacallaos. Many of the numerous islands along the coast are named in the original. Corresponding perhaps to the New England and middle United States we have the 'Tiera de Estevã Gomez,' stated by an inscription to have been discovered by the Spaniards in 1525. From this land to Florida extends the 'Tiera de Ayllon,' between which and 'Nveva España' comes the 'Tiera de Garay,' thus dividing nearly all of the northern continent among the Spaniards. The West India Islands have here their true number, position, and names. Yucatan is given in its true proportions but is separated by a strait from the main-land. The South Sea coast is represented only to the limit of the voyage of Gil Gonzalez Dávila on the north, and extends southward to the port of Chinchax in about latitude 10° south, including, according to an inscription, the countries which had been reached by Pizarro in 1527. The form of South America is correctly laid down and the name 'Mvndvs Novvs' is applied to the whole, which is divided into the provinces of 'Castilla del Oro,' 'Perv,' 'Tiera del Brasil,' 'Tiera de Patagones,' and 'Tiera de Fernã de Magallaes,' or land of Magellan. South of the strait is the 'Tiera de los Fuegos,' whose true form and extent were not known until Schouten and Le Maire doubled Cape Horn in 1616.

Thus far I have copied or mentioned all maps which could throw any light on the progress of geographical knowledge, and have endeavored to give a statement of all the voyages by which this progress was made. Thus far we have seen the coasts of both North and South America, except in the south-west and the far north-west, more or less carefully explored by European voyagers; we have seen the New World recognized as distinct for the most part from Asia, a tolerably correct idea of its form and extent given by government pilots, and the name America applied, except on official maps, to the southern continent. Henceforth voyages to the parts already discovered become of common occurrence, and numerous maps, both in manuscript and print, are made, no one of which I shall attempt to follow. In the expeditions of the next and concluding ten years of this Summary I shall notice chiefly those by which a knowledge was acquired of the countries lying toward California and the great Northwest, presenting several maps to illustrate this part of the subject.

[1530.] During the absence of Cortés in Spain no progress had been made in maritime exploration; and by 1530 his ships on the stocks at Tehuantepec were ruined, but he made haste to build more. Cortés, Cartas, letters of Oct. 10, 1530, and April 20, 1532.

Nuño de Guzman, formerly president of the audiencia of New Spain, and the inveterate enemy of Cortés, undertook with a large force, recruited in 147 Mexico, the conquest of the region lying to the north-west of that city. The northern limit of his conquest in 1530-1 was Culiacan, between which and Mexico the whole country was brought under Spanish control by expeditions sent by Guzman in all directions under different leaders. Relation di Nvnno di Gvsman, in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 331, and abridged in Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1556; Jornada que hizo Nuño de Guzman á la Nueva Galicia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. ii.; Primera relacion, p. 288; Tercera relacion, p. 439; Cuarta relacion, p. 461; Doc. para Hist. de Mex., serie iii. p. 669; Mota Padilla, Conquista de Nueva Galicia, MS. of 1742; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii. pp. 559-77; Gil, Memoria, in Boletin de la Soc. Mex. Geog., tom. viii. p. 424 et seq.

Diego Ribero's Map, 1529.

View larger image

Hakluyt, in his Voyages, vol. iii. p. 700, states that one William Hawkins, of Plymouth, made voyages, in a ship fitted out at his own expense, to the coast of Brazil in 1530 and 1532, bringing back an Indian king as a curiosity.

Peter Martyr, De Orbe novo, Cõpluti, 1530, is the first complete edition of eight decades; and Opus Epistolarum, of the same date and place, is a collection of over eight hundred letters written between 1488 and 1525, many of them relating more or less to American affairs.

In the Ptolemy of 1530, in several subsequent editions, and in Munster's Cosmography of 1572 et seq., is the map of which the following is a reduction.

The New World, from Ptolemy, 1530.

View larger image

I give this drawing, circulated for many years in standard works, to illustrate how extremely slow were cosmographers to form anything like a correct idea of American geography, and how little they availed themselves of the more correct knowledge shown on official charts. The following map, made in 1544, illustrates still further the absurdities circulated for many years 148 under the name of geography. Scores of additional examples might be given.

Ruscelli's Map, 1544.

View larger image

[1532.] At last, in the middle of 1532, Cortés was able to despatch from Acapulco two vessels, under Hurtado de Mendoza and Mazuela, to make the first voyage up the coast beyond Colima. Mendoza touched at Santiago and at the port of Jalisco, near the later San Blas, discovering the islands of Magdalena, or Tres Marías. Then they took refuge from a storm in a port located only by conjecture, probably on the Sonora coast, where after a time the vessels parted. Mendoza went on up the coast. Having landed and ascended the Rio Tamotchala—now the Fuerte—he was killed, with most of his men, by the Indians. The rest were massacred a little later, when the vessel grounded and broke up at the mouth of the Rio Petatlan, or Sinaloa. Meanwhile, Mazuela with the other vessel returning down the coast was driven ashore in Banderas Bay, where all his men but two or three were killed by the natives. Authorities, being voluminous, complicated, and of necessity fully presented elsewhere, are omitted here.

Cortes, De Insvlis nvper inventis, Coloniæ, 1532, is a translation of Hernan Cortés' second and third letters, with Peter Martyr's De Insulis, and a letter from Fray Martin de Valencia, dated Yucatan, June 12, 1531, with some letters from Zumárraga, first bishop of Mexico.

Grynævs, Novvs Orbis, Paris and Basle, 1532, is a collection of the voyages of Columbus, Pinzon, Vespucci, and others. In this work the assertion is made that Vespucci discovered America before Columbus, which aroused the wrath of Las Casas, and seems to have originated the subsequent bitter attacks on Vespucci. About the maps originally published with this work there seems to be some doubt, most copies, like my own, having no map. 149 According to Stevens' Notes, pp. 19, 51-2, pl. iii. no. 4, the Paris edition of Grynæus contained a map made by Orontius Fine in 1531. The following is a reduction from Stevens' fac-simile on Mercator's projection:

Orontius Fine's Map, 1531.

View larger image

All of the New World, so far as explored, is represented with tolerable accuracy, but the unexplored South Sea coast is made to extend westward from the region of Acapulco, and to join the southern coast of Asia, which is laid down from the ancient chronicles. Instead of being, as Stevens terms it, a "culmination of absurdities," I regard this map as more consistent with the knowledge of the time than any other printed during the first half of the sixteenth century. North America when found was regarded as Asia; South America was at first supposed to be a large island, and later an immense south-eastern extension of Asia; subsequent explorations, chiefly that of Magellan, showed the existence of a vast ocean between southern America and southern Asia; official maps left unexplored regions blank, expressing no theory as to the northern extension of the Pacific Ocean; other maps, as we have seen, without any authority whatever, make that ocean extend north and completely separate Asia from the New World. The present map, however, clings to the original idea and makes North America an eastern extension of Asia, giving the name America to the southern continent.

The map in the Basle edition of Grynæus, also given in Stevens' Notes, pl. iv. no. 4, closely resembles Schöner's Globe of 1520 (see page 137).

[1533.] The expedition of Becerra, Grijalva, and Jimenez, sent out by Cortés to search for Hurtado de Mendoza and to continue north-western discoveries, sailed from Santiago in November. This voyage, like those following, will be fully treated elsewhere in this work. The only result, so far as the purposes of this chapter are concerned, was the discovery of the Revilla Gigedo group of islands and the southern part of the peninsula of Lower California, supposed then to be an island. Jimenez landed and was killed at 150 Santa Cruz, now known as La Paz. The subsequent expedition of 1535-6, headed by Cortés in person, added only very slightly to geographical knowledge of the north-west. Many points were touched and named along the coast; but comparatively few can be definitely located except by the aid of information afforded by the earlier explorations of Guzman by land.

Schöner, Opvscvlvm Geographicvm, supposed to have been printed in 1533, maintains that the New World is part of Asia, and contains, so far as known, the first charge against Vespucci. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. v. pp. 174-5. Other books of the year are: Franck, Weltbuch, Tübingen, 1533, which includes America in a description of the world; and Zummaraga, Botschafft des Grossmechtigsten Königs Dauid, n.p., n.d., containing a letter from Mexico dated in 1532.

[1534.] In 1534, 1535, and 1540, Jacques Cartier made three voyages for France, in which Newfoundland and the gulf and river of St Lawrence were carefully explored. Prima Relatione di Iacqves Carthier della Terra Nvova detta la Nuoua Francia, trouata nell'anno MDXXXIIII., in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 435; Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 201-36; Sammlung alter Reisebeschreibungen, tom. xv. p. 29.

Simon de Alcazaba sailed from San Lúcar in September, 1534, with two ships and 280 men, intending to conquer and settle the western coast of South America south of Peru. After spending a long time in the strait of Magellan, he was finally prevented by the mutiny of his men from proceeding farther. His explorations in the Patagonian regions were more extensive than had been made before. Seventy-five men, the remnant of his expedition, reached Española in September, 1535, one vessel having been wrecked on the coast of Brazil. Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. ii. pp. 155-65; Galvano's Discov., pp. 198-9; Herrera, dec. v. lib. vii. cap. v.; Diccionario Univ., app. tom. x. p. 807; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. p. 171.

The books of 1534 are, Francis of Bologna, La Letera, Venetia, n.d.; Chronica compendiosissima, Antwerp, 1534, containing letters from priests in Mexico; Vadianus, Epitome, Tigura, 1534, includes the Insulæ Oceani; Peter Martyr, Libro Primo Della Historia, Vinegia, 1534, which has joined to it a libro secondo by Oviedo, and an anonymous third book on the conquest of Peru; two anonymous works, Letera de la nobil cipta, and Copia delle Lettere del Prefetto della India, being letters from Peru, the latter describing the conquest; Honter, De cosmographiæ, Basileæ, 1534, with a chapter on the new islands; Xeres, Uerdadera relacion de la conquista del Peru, Seville, 1534; and an anonymous work on the same subject, La conquista del Peru, Seville, 1534.

[1535.] In this year appeared the first edition of the great historical work of Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, La Historia general de las Indias, Seville, 1535. Only nineteen of the fifty books which comprise the whole work appear in this edition; the work complete has since been published in Madrid, 1851-5. Steinhowel, Chronica Beschreibung, Franckenfort, 1535, has a chapter on 'America discovered in 1497.'

[1536.] In April, 1528, as we have seen, Pánfilo de Narvaez had landed on the west coast of Florida, probably at Tampa Bay, and attempted with three hundred men to reach Pánuco by land. The company gradually melted 151 from famine, sickness, and battles with the savages, until only Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca with a few companions remained. They were held as slaves by the natives of the Gulf coast for six years; and then escaping, traversed Texas, Chihuahua, and Sonora, by a route which has not been very definitely fixed. Cabeza de Vaca with three companions reached the Spanish settlements in northern Sinaloa early in 1536, and their reports served as a powerful incentive to more extended exploration. Relatione che fece Alvaro Nvnez detto Capo di vacca, in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 310-30; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1499; Cabeça de Vaca's Relation, New York, 1871; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom, vii.; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii. p. 582 et seq.; Barcia, Historiadores Prim., tom. i.

Peter Martyr, De Rebus Oceanicis, Paris, 1536, contains nine decades. This work, with Sacro Bosco, Sphera Volgare, Venetiis, 1537, and Nunez, Tratado da Sfera, Olisipone, 1537, closes the bibliographical part of this Summary, in which, following Harrisse as the latest authority, I have endeavored to mention all the original works by which the geographical results of voyages of discovery were made known prior to 1540.

[1537.] After the abandonment of California by the colony, Cortés sent two vessels under Hernando de Grijalva and Alvarado (not Pedro) to Peru with supplies and reinforcements for Pizarro. There are vague reports that Grijalva sailed westward from Peru and made a long cruise in the Pacific, visiting various islands which cannot be located. Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. v. lib. viii. cap. x.; dec. vii. lib. v. cap. ix.; Galvano's Discov., pp. 202-3; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. p. 180.

[1538.] Fernando de Soto landed on the west coast of Florida, crossed the peninsula to that part discovered by Aillon in 1526, wandered four or five years in the interior of the southern United States and followed the course of the Mississippi, probably as far up as to the Ohio. Here Soto died, and the remnant of his company, after penetrating farther west to the buffalo country, floated down the Mississippi and returned to Mexico in 1543. Soto's travels are esteemed by Kohl as "the principal source of knowledge regarding these regions, for more than a hundred years." Discov. and Conq. of Terra Florida, Hakluyt Soc., London, 1851; Selection of Curious Voy., Sup. to Hakluyt, London, 1812, p. 689; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1532; Ferdinands von Soto Reise nach Florida, in Sammlung, tom. xvi. p. 395.

[1539.] In August, 1539, three vessels under Alonso de Camargo were despatched from Seville for India via the South Sea, and reached Cabo de las Vírgenes January 20, 1540. One of the vessels was wrecked in the strait of Magellan; another returned to Spain, and the third entered the Pacific, and finally, after touching Chile in 38° 30', arrived at Arequipa in Peru. This voyage is supposed to have afforded the first knowledge of the intermediate coast between the strait of Magellan and Peru. Diccionario Univ., app. tom. x. p. 807; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. vii. lib. i. cap. viii.; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. p. 186.

Cabeza de Vaca brought to Sinaloa and thence to Mexico accounts of wonderful towns in the northern regions traversed by him; and in March, 1539, Fray Marcos de Niza, accompanied by one of the men who had seen the reported wonders, set out from Culiacan and proceeded northward in search 152 of the Seven Cities of whose existence other rumors were current besides those brought by Alvar Nuñez. Marcos de Niza reached the Pueblo towns of Zuñi and brought back greatly exaggerated reports of the wealth of the people and the magnificence of their cities. Relatione del Reverendo Fra Marco da Nizza, in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 356; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1560; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. de Doc., tom. iii. p. 325; Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 366-73; Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. ix. p. 256. See also Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner, in Pacific R. R. Reports, vol. iii. pp. 104-8.

Niza's report prompted Cortés to renewed efforts in his Californian enterprise, and in July, 1539, Francisco de Ulloa was sent from Acapulco with three vessels to prosecute the discoveries by water. Ulloa spent some time in the port of Santiago for repairs, lost one vessel in a gale near the entrance to the gulf, visited Santa Cruz, and then followed the main coast to the mouth of the Colorado, and returned along the coast of the Peninsula to Santa Cruz, where he arrived on the 18th of October. From this place he doubled the southern point of California, and sailed up the western coast to Cedros Island, and somewhat beyond. During the whole voyage he touched and named many places, whose names have seldom been retained, but some of which may be with tolerable certainty identified. In April the vessels separated, one returning by a quick passage to Colima. Ulloa himself with the other vessel attempted to continue his explorations northward, with what success is not known. According to Gomara and Bernal Diaz, he returned after several months spent in fruitless endeavors to reach more northern latitudes; other authorities state that he was never heard from. Preciado, who accompanied the expedition, wrote of it a detailed but not very clear narrative or journal. Relatione dello scoprimento che nel nome di Dio va à far l'armata dell' illustrissimo Fernando Cortese, etc. (Preciado's Relation), in Ramusio, tom. iii. 339-54, and in Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 397-424; Gomara, Hist. Conq., fol. 292-3; Bernal Diaz, Hist. Conq., fol. 234; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. vi. lib. ix. cap. viii. et seq.; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. v. p. 856; Sutil y Mexicana, Viage, pp. xxii.-vi.; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. pp. 193-210; Venegas, Noticia de la California, quoted from Gomara, tom. i. pp. 159-61; Clavigero, Storia della California, tom. i. p. 151.

[1540.] Also in consequence of Marcos de Niza's reports, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, who had succeeded Nuño de Guzman and Torre as governor of New Galicia, set out from Culiacan in April, 1540, penetrated to the Pueblo towns, or the Seven Cities of Cibola, and thence to the valley of the Rio Grande and far toward the north-east to Quivira, whose location, fixed by him in latitude 40°, has been a much disputed question. While in Sonora, he sent forth Melchor Diaz, who explored the head of the gulf, and the mouths of the rivers, Gila and Colorado, where he found letters left by Alarcon. See infra. From Cibola, Coronado sent Garcia Lopez de Cárdenas west, who passed through the Moqui towns and followed the Colorado for some distance. Coronado returned in 1542. Relatione che mando Francesco Vazquez di Coronado, in Ramusio, tom. iii. fol. 359; Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. de Doc., tom. iii. p. 511. Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii. pp. 373-82, has the same and Gomara's account. Ternaux-Compans, Voyages, série i. tom. ix., gives the relations of Coronado, 153 Castañeda, and Jaramillo. See also Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner, in Pacific R. R. Reports, vol. iii. pp. 108-12; Simpson, in Report of Smithsonian Institution, 1869.

To coöperate with Coronado's land expedition, Hernando de Alarcon was despatched from Acapulco in May, 1540. Alarcon followed the coast to the head of the gulf, and ascended the Buena Guia (Colorado) some eighty-five leagues in boats, but hearing nothing from Coronado, he returned after burying letters, which, as we have seen, were found by Melchor Diaz. Beside the references given above, see Sutil y Mexicana, Viage, p. xxviii.; Burney's Discov. South Sea, vol. i. pp. 211-16; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1560; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv. p. 21 et seq.; vol. vi. p. 60; Doc. Hist. Mex., serie iii. p. 671.

I here present reductions of two maps of the time to illustrate the explorations on the north-west coast, with which I close this sketch. The first was made by the pilot Castillo in 1541, and is taken from Cortés, Hist. Nueva-España, edited by Lorenzana, Mexico, 1770, p. 325.

Castillo's Map, 1541.

View larger image

A similar chart is mentioned by Señor Navarrete as existing in the hydrographic archives in Madrid. The second, from the Munich Atlas, no. vi., is of uncertain date. Peschel places it between 1532 and 1540; and it was certainly made about that time, as Yucatan is represented as an island, and California as a peninsula, although later it came again to be considered an island, as at its first discovery. 154

Manuscript Map, Author Unknown, Supposed to have been Drawn between 1532 And 1510.

View larger image

This, then, was Discovery. And in the progress of discovery we may trace the progress of mind. We can but wonder now, when we see our little earth belted with steam and lightning, how reluctantly the infant intellect left its cradle to examine its surroundings. Wrapped in its Mediterranean swaddlings, it crept forth timidly, tremblingly, slowly gaining courage with experience, until, throwing off impediments, it trod the earth in the fearless pride of manhood. Like all science, philosophy, and religion, cosmography was at first a superstition. Walled within narrow limits, as we have seen, by imaginary frost and fire, shaken from fear of heaven above and hell beneath, there is little wonder that the ancients dared not venture far from home; nor that, when men began to explore parts unknown, there should appear that romance of geography so fascinating to the Greek mind, that halo thrown by the dimness of time and distance over strange seas and lands. From this time to that of the adaptation of the magnet to purposes of navigation, about a score of centuries, there was little progress in discovery.

Is it not strange how the secrets of nature, one after another, reveal themselves according to man's necessities? Who would have looked for the deliverance of pent-up humanity from certain mysterious qualities in magnetic iron ore, which floated toward the north that side of a cork on which it was placed? When Vasco da Gama and Columbus almost simultaneously opened to Europe oceanic highways through which were destined to flow the treasures of the eastern and the western Indies, then it was that a new quality was discovered in the loadstone; for in addition to its power to take up iron, it was found to possess the rare virtue of drawing gold and silver from distant parts into the coffers of European princes; then it was that paths were marked out across the Sea of Darkness, and ships passed to and fro bearing the destroyers of nations, and laden with their spoils. 155

CHAPTER II.
COLUMBUS AND HIS DISCOVERY.
1492-1500.

Early Experiences—The Compact—Embarkation at Palos—The Voyage—Discovery of Land—Unfavorable Comparison with the Paradise of Marco Polo—Cruise among the Islands—One Nature Everywhere—Desertion of Pinzon—Wreck of the Santa María—The Fortress of La Navidad Erected—Return to Spain—Rights of Civilization—The Papal Bull of Partition—Fonseca Appointed Superintendent of the Indies—Second Voyage—Navidad in Ruins—Isabela Established—Discontent of the Colonists—Explorations of the Interior—Coasting Cuba, and Discovery of Jamaica—Failure of Columbus as Governor—Intercourse with Spain—Destruction of the Indians—Government of the Indies—Diego and Bartolomé Colon—Charges against the Admiral—Commission of Inquiry Appointed—Second Return to Spain—Third Voyage—Trinidad Discovered—Santo Domingo Founded—The Roldan Rebellion—Francisco de Bobadilla Appointed to Supersede Columbus—Arbitrary and Iniquitous Conduct of Bobadilla—Columbus sent in Chains to Spain.

In the developments of progress the agent, however subordinate to the event, cannot fail to command our intelligent curiosity. The fact is less one with us than the factor. The instrument is nearer us in pulsating humanity than the event, which is the result of inexorable causations wholly beyond our knowledge. That America could not have remained much longer hidden from the civilized world does not lessen the vivid interest which attaches to the man Columbus, as he plods along the dusty highway toward Huelva, leading by the hand his boy, and bearing upon his shoulders the more immediate destinies of nations. 156

Nor are we indifferent to the agencies that evolved the agent. Every signal success springs from a fortuitous conjunction of talent and opportunity; from a coalition of taste or training with the approaching fancy or dominant idea of the times. While assisting his father wool-combing, the youthful Genoese was toughening his sinews and acquiring habits of industry; while studying geometry and Latin at Pavia, while serving as sailor in the Mediterranean, or afterward cruising the high seas, he was knitting more firmly the tissues of his mind, and strengthening his courage for the life-conflict which was to follow. Without such discipline, in vain from the north and south and west might Progress come whispering him secrets; for inspiration without action is but impalpable breath, leaving no impression, and genius unseasoned by application decomposes to corruption all the more rank by reason of its richness.

His marriage with the daughter of Bartolommeo Perestrello, a distinguished navigator under Prince Henry; his map-making as means of support; his residence on the isle of Porto Santo, and his interest while there in maritime discovery; his conversations and correspondence with navigators and cosmographers in various quarters; his zealous study of the writings of Marco Polo, Benjamin of Tudela, and Carpini, and his eager absorption of the fantastic tale of Antonio Leone, of Madeira; his ponderings on ocean mysteries, and his struggles with poverty; his audience of John of Portugal, and the treachery of that monarch in attempting to anticipate his plans by secretly sending out a vessel, and the deserved defeat which followed; his sending his brother Bartolomé with proposals to England; his stealing from Lisbon with his son Diego, lest he should be arrested for debt; his supposed application to Genoa; his interviews with the dukes of Medina Sidonia and Medina Celi, and the letter of the latter to Queen Isabella of Castile; his visit to the court at Córdova, 157 and the dark days attending it; the conference of learned men at Salamanca, and their unfavorable verdict; the weary waitings on the preoccupied sovereigns at Málaga and Seville; the succor given at La Rábida, and the worthy prior's intercession with the queen; the humble dignity of the mariner at Granada amidst scenes of oriental splendor and general rejoicings, which only intensified his discontent; the lofty constancy in his demands when once a royal hearing was obtained; the fresh disappointment after such long delay, and the proud bitterness of spirit with which he turned his back on Spain to seek in France a patron for his schemes; the final appeal of Santángel, who afterward assisted in obtaining the money, and the conversion of Isabella, who now offered, if necessary, to pledge her jewels to meet the charges of the voyage; the despatching of a royal courier after the determined fugitive, who returned in joy to receive the tardy aid—these incidents in the career of Columbus are a household story.

And therein, thus far, we see displayed great persistency of purpose by one possessed of a conception so stupendous as to overwhelm well-nigh the strongest; by one not over-careful in money-matters, or morality; proud and sensitive whenever the pet project is touched, but affable enough otherwise, and not above begging upon necessity. It was a long time to wait, eighteen years, when every day was one of alternate hope and despair; and they were not altogether worthless, those noiseless voices from another world, which kept alive in him the inspiration that oft-times now appeared as the broken tracery of a half-remembered dream.

An agreement was made by the sovereigns and the mariner, that to Columbus, his heirs and successors forever, should be secured the office of admiral, and the titles of viceroy and governor-general of all the lands and seas he should discover, with power to nominate candidates from whom the sovereigns 158 might choose rulers for the realms discovered; that one tenth of the net returns of gold, pearls, or other commodities brought therefrom should be his; that in disputes arising from the new traffic he, or his lieutenant, should be sole arbitrator within his domain, the high admiral of Castile being judge within his district; and that by contributing one eighth of the cost of any enterprise to the regions found by him he should receive one eighth the profits. To these dignities and prerogatives was added the right of the discoverer, and of his heirs, to prefix to their names the title 'Don,' which should elevate them into respectability beside the grandees of Spain. This agreement was signed by Ferdinand as well as by Isabella, although the crown of Castile alone assumed the risk, and alone was to receive the benefit.

It was not a common spectacle in those days along the southern seaboard of Spain, that of science urging religion into its service. Nevertheless, by royal order, reiterated by Peñalosa in person with pronounced effect, the devil-fearers of Palos were forced to provide ships and seamen for what they regarded as anything but an orthodox adventure. This they did with the greatest reluctance.

Even under pressure of that civil and ecclesiastical system so completely interwoven in Spain that to disobey one was rebellion against both, even in the face of king and priest, these mechanical sea-farers, who halted not before tangible danger in any form, shrank from the awful uncertainty of a plunge into the mysteries of the dim, lowering, unintelligible west. Then came bravely forward the brothers Pinzon, and not only assisted in providing two ships, so that Queen Isabella, after all, might wear her jewels while her deputy was scouring the high seas for new dominions, but furnished Columbus with money to equip another vessel and to pay his eighth 159 of the charge which should secure him one eighth of the profits—a service never sufficiently remembered or rewarded by either Columbus, his masters, or successors.

The expedition comprised one hundred and twenty men, in three small vessels, the Santa María, decked, and carrying the flag of the admiral, and the Pinta and Niña, open caravels, commanded by Martin Alonso Pinzon and Vicente Yañez Pinzon respectively. Among others were the inspector-general of the armament, Rodrigo Sanchez; the chief alguacil, Diego de Arana; the royal notary, Rodrigo de Escobar; and four pilots, Francisco Martin Pinzon, Sancho Ruiz, Pedro Alonso Niño, and Bartolomé Roldan. The commander-in-chief with his tall, enduring form bowed by an idea; his long, thin face, with its large, round eyes, high forehead, straight, pointed nose; features, in which tenacity and gloom struggled for the predominance, surrounded by thin locks and gray beard—was scarcely a personage either to inspire confidence or win affection. The squadron sailed from the port of Palos August 3, 1492.

But for the fact that it was the first, the voyage was quite commonplace; the most serious occurrences being the breaking of a rudder, which obliged the expedition to put in at the Canaries for repairs, and the variation of the needle, which caused a little fright among the pilots. The sea was tranquil, toward the last extremely so, and the wind generally favorable; yet no small trepidation attended this gradual loosening of hold upon the substantial world, and the drifting daily farther and farther into the fathomless unknown. Hence it was with the wildest joy that early in the morning of the 12th of October the cry of Land! was heard, and that soon afterward the venturesome navigators felt beneath their feet the indubitable isle to which they gave the name San Salvador, taking possession for Castile. 160

Now the sovereigns had promised that he who first saw land should be recompensed by a pension of ten thousand maravedís, equivalent to thirty-six dollars. It was at two o'clock in the morning that Rodrigo de Triana, a mariner on board the Pinta, gave the signal, the first that proved true after several had been mistakenly made; whereupon he claimed the reward. But previously, during the night, Columbus had fancied he descried a fitful light that should be on some shore. On the strength of this surmise he secured to himself the insignificant sum, which, to say nothing of its justness, was not a very magnanimous proceeding in so great a discoverer. We are told of Triana, that, burning under a sense of wrong, after returning to Spain, he passed into Africa and turned Mahometan. However this may have been, dawn had shown them the island, which seemed itself but dawn, to be dispelled by the full sun's rays when the night's dream had passed. Over the trackless waste of sea, suspended between earth and sky, the good ships had felt their way, until now, like goddesses, they sat at anchor on the other side of Ocean.

Though this land was unlike the Zipangu of his dreams, Columbus was not disposed to complain; but rather, midst tears and praises, to kiss the earth, be it of whatsoever quality, and smile benignantly upon the naked natives that crept timidly forward, wondering whether the ships were monsters of the deep, or bright beings dropped from heaven.

Of a truth, it was a wonderful place, this India of Marco Polo that the Genoese now sought. Intersected by rivers and canals, spanned by bridges under which the largest ships might sail, were fertile provinces fragrant with fruit and spices. Mangi alone boasted twelve thousand cities with gorgeous palaces, whose pillars and roofs were emblazoned in gold, and so situated as to be compassed within a few days' 161 travel. The cities and fortresses of Cathay were counted by tens of thousands, and their busy population by millions. On every side were gardens and luxurious groves; pleasure-boats and banqueting-barges floated on the lakes, and myriads of white sails swept over the bays. The mountains were veined with silver, the river-beds paved with gold, and pearls were as common as pebbles. Sheep were as large as oxen, and oxen were as large as elephants. Birds of brilliant plumage filled the enchanting air, and strange beasts of beauty and utility roamed the forests. The inhabitants were arrayed in silks and furs, and fed on luscious viands; there were living springs that cured all diseases. The army of the great Khan, the happy ruler of all these glories, was in number as the grains of the sand which the sea surrounds; and as for vessels of war, and horses, and elephants, there were a thousand times ten thousand. What a contrast to such a creation was this low-lying strip of jungle-covered sand, peopled by copper-hued creatures dwelling in huts, and sustaining life by the natural products of the unkempt earth! This, however, was but an outlying island of Cathay; the main-land of Asia could not be far distant; in any event, here was India, and these people were Indians.

There was little enough, now appearing, in the India thus far found to enrich Spain. In their noses the natives displayed gold, always a royal monopoly when discovered; and they brought cotton for barter, on which the admiral immediately laid the same restriction. Being informed, by signs, that the metal came from the south, after examining the shore thereabout in boats, the Spaniards set sail on the 14th, took possession of Santa María de la Concepcion on the 15th, of Fernandina, now Exuma, the day following, and afterward of Isabela, now Isla Larga, or Long Island; also of a group to which they gave the name Islas de Arena. Soils and 162 other substances, atmospheres and sunshines, were all familiar; plants and animals, though differing in degree and kind, were similar to those they had always been accustomed to see. One creation was everywhere apparent; one nature; one rule. It was wonderful, stupendous! And if these human kind have souls, what a mighty work is here to fit them for eternity!

Crossing the Bahama Bank, they came on the 28th to Cuba, which Columbus called Juana, and which, with its dense uprolling green spangled with parrots, gay woodpeckers, and humming-birds, scarlet flamingoes and glittering insects; its trees of royal palm, cocoanut, cedar, mahogany, and shrubs of spicy fragrance; its unknown fruits and foods; its transparent waters whose finny denizens flashed back the sunlight from their variegated scales, all under the brightest of skies, all breathed upon by softest airs, and lapped in serenest seas, was more like his own Zipangu, if, indeed, it was not Mangi itself.

Coasting eastward, the Pinta sailed away and left the other vessels, and it was with deep chagrin that Columbus saw no attention paid his signals to return. Pinzon had heard of gold-fields in advance of him, and he was going to reap them. The wreck of the Santa María a month afterward, leaving the admiral only the little Niña, made his situation all the more critical, and made him feel more keenly than ever the desertion. Nor was this the first indication of mutiny and disruption among his people during the voyage. If the truth must be told, the character of the man, though inured to the cruel hardihood of the age, seems here to be undergoing change; else it was not originally as either he or his friends have estimated. The new and varied experiences amidst the new and varied phenomena attending the idea and its consummation make it a matter of no wonder that his head began to be a little turned. He had pondered painfully on what Aristotle taught regarding 163 the sphericity of the earth, on what Seneca said about sailing to the Indies westwardly, and on the terrestrial paradise placed by Dante at the antipodes of the holy city; and now he was here among those happy regions of which so long ago philosophers had spoken and poets sung. Under the inspiration of rare intelligence, and by wonderful courage and force of will, this Genoese sailor had brought to his own terms the world's proudest sovereigns. Success, in his mind the most perfect, the most complete, was by this time proved beyond peradventure. At the outset he had suspected himself the special agent of the supernatural; now he was sure of it. It was meet, therefore, that all men should fear and obey him. Impelled to activity, he was impelled, if necessary, to severity. During the passage he had deemed it expedient several times to mislead the sailors, who were consequently backward about reposing in him the respect and confidence due a commander. Suspicious of the Spanish sovereigns from the first, his fears constantly increased as the magnitude of his discovery slowly unfolded before him, that he should eventually be robbed of it. He was jealous lest any of those who had shared with him the perils of the adventure should secure to themselves some part of the honor or profit attending it. He had quarrelled with the Pinzons, who, having staked their money and lives on what was generally regarded a mad risk, thought some consideration from the commander their due. The admiral's temper was tamed somewhat by the very boldness of Pinzon's act; for when the Pinta returned from her cruisings, little was then said about it; but if ever the opportunity should come, her commander must pay dearly for his disobedience.

Cuba failed to display any opulent oriental city, but furnished tobacco and maize, gifts from savagism to civilization as comforting, perhaps, as any received in return. The mariners next discovered 164 and coasted Hayti, or Española, thus occupying the greater part of December. On the northern side of the island, out of the wrecked Santa María and her belongings, Columbus built and equipped a fortress, which he called La Navidad; and leaving there thirty-nine men under command of Diego de Arana, with Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo, lieutenants, on the 4th of January, 1493, he embarked for Spain. Those left behind were expected by the ardent-minded admiral, during his absence, to obtain, in trade, a ton of gold, beside discovering mines and spices.

Violent storms attended the homeward voyage; but on the 15th of March the expedition reached Palos in safety, after touching at the Azores and the coast of Portugal. Then followed rejoicings. Over Spain, over Europe, the tidings flew: A New World to the westward! Bells rang and choirs pealed hosannas. A New World for Spain; now were their Catholic Majesties well paid for their losses and trials in connection with Mahometans and Jews!

With six natives, and divers birds and plants and other specimens from the Islands, Columbus set out for Barcelona, then the residence of the Spanish sovereigns. Throughout the journey, the highway and houses were thronged with spectators eager for a glimpse of the strange spectacle. Arrived at court, the great mariner was most graciously received, being permitted even to be seated in the presence of royalty. He told his tale. It is said that all present wept. Columbus was as much excited as any. In a delirium of joy he vowed within seven years to appoint an army of four thousand horse and fifty thousand foot for the rescue of Jerusalem, and to pay the cost out of his own pocket; but, unfortunately, he never found himself in funds sufficient to fulfil his pious promise. The original compact between the sovereigns and the discoverer was confirmed, and to 165 the latter was granted a family coat of arms. While Columbus was fêted by the nobles, and all the world resounded with his praises, Martin Alonso Pinzon lay a-dying; the reward for his invaluable services, exceeding a hundred-fold all that Isabella and Ferdinand together had done, being loss of property, loss of health, the insults of the admiral, the scorn of the queen, all now happily crowned by speedy death.

Never had nature made, within historic times, a paradise more perfect than this Cuba and this Hayti that the Genoese had found. Never was a sylvan race more gentle, more hospitable than that which peopled this primeval garden. Naked, because they needed not clothing; dwelling under palm-leaves, such being sufficient protection; their sustenance the spontaneous gifts of the ever generous land and sea; undisturbed by artificial curbings and corrections, and tormented by no ambitions, their life was a summer day, as blissful as mortals can know. It was as Eden; without work they might enjoy all that earth could give. Disease and pain they scarcely knew; only death was terrible. In their social intercourse they were sympathizing, loving, and decorous, practising the sublimest religious precepts without knowing it, and obeying Christ more perfectly than many who profess to serve him. With strangers the men were frank, cordial, honest; the women artless and compliant. Knowing no guile, they suspected none. Possessing all things, they gave freely of that which cost them nothing. Having no laws, they broke none; circumscribed by no conventional moralities, they were not immoral. If charity be the highest virtue, and purity and peace the greatest good, then were these savages far better and happier beings than any civilization could boast. That they possessed any rights, any natural or inherent privileges in regard to their lands or their lives; that these innocent and inoffensive people were not fit subjects 166 for coercion, treachery, robbery, enslavement, and slaughter, was a matter which seems never to have been questioned at that time by either discoverer, adventurer, or ruler. However invalid in any of the Spanish courts might have been the argument of a house-breaker, that in the room he entered he discovered a purse of gold, and took it, Spaniards never thought of applying such logic to themselves in regard to the possessions of the natives in the new lands their Genoese had found.

What Spain required now was a title such as the neighboring nations of Europe should recognize as valid. So far as the doctrine was concerned, of appropriating to themselves the possessions of others, they were all equally sound in it. Europe with her steel and saltpetre and magnetic needle was stronger than naked barbarians, whose possessions were thereupon seized as fast as found. The right to such robbery has been held sacred since the earliest records of the human race; and it was by this time legalized by the civilized nations. Savagism had no rights which civilization was bound to respect. The world belonged not to Christian or Mahometan, but to whatever idea, principle, or power could take it. In none of their pretended principles, in none of their codes of honor or ethics, was there any other ultimate appeal than brute force; their deity they made to fit the occasion, whatever that might be. This they did not know, however. They thought themselves patterns of justice and fair morality; and all that troubled them was in what attitude they would stand toward each other with regard to their several discoveries and conquests. But while such was the recognized condition of affairs at the beginning of the sixteenth century among the reckless adventurers of Spain, such were not the teachings of the Church, nor the views of the intelligent and right thinking men of the time. True, the army of fortune-seekers who first rushed to the new world in search of gold came 167 for lust and plunder, but with them, and inspired with very different motives, came the missionaries of the cross, pointing the savages to civilization and a purer religion than their own. But civilization and religion, it must be confessed, had little to recommend them in the examples of unprincipled men who were ever present to give the lie to the teachings of the priests.

Thus it was that the Spanish sovereigns, being Christian, applied for a confirmation of title to Alexander VI., then sovereign pontiff of Christendom, at the same time insinuating, in a somewhat worldly fashion, that learned men regarded the rights of their Catholic Majesties secure enough even without such confirmation. No valid objections before the holy tribunal could be raised against Christian princes powerful enough to sustain their pretensions to ownership while propagating the true faith in heathen lands; but Pope Eugene IV. and his successors had already granted Portugal all lands discovered by Portuguese from Cape Bojador to the Indies. In order, therefore, to avoid conflict, the bull issued the 2d of May, 1493, ceding Spain the same rights respecting discoveries already granted Portugal, was on the day following defined to this effect:—An imaginary line of demarcation should be drawn from pole to pole, one hundred leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands; all lands discovered east of that line should be Portugal's, while west of that line all should belong to Spain. Thus by a very mortal breath and the flourish of a pen, the unknown world, with all its multitudes of interests and inhabitants, was divided between these two sovereignties, occupying the peninsula of south-western Europe; though in their wisdom they forgot that if the world was round, Portugal in going east and Spain in going west must somewhere meet, and might yet quarrel on the other side. Subsequently, that is to say on the 7th of June, 1494, by treaty between Spain and Portugal the papal line of partition was removed, 168 making it three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, Portugal having complained of want of sea-room for southern enterprise. This removal ultimately gave the Portuguese Brazil. And ecclesiastics claim that care was ever exercised by the Spanish crown to comply with the obligations thus laid upon it by this holy sanction.

Appointed to take charge of the affairs of the New World was Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, arch-deacon of Seville, and afterward patriarch of the Indies. Although high in ecclesiastical preferment, he was a bustling man of business, and ably filled the office during a period of some thirty years. Of unflinching devotion to his sovereign, sedate, stern in the accomplishment of his duty, and obliged as he was, in the interests of the crown, to exercise occasional restraint on the rashness or presumption of the conquerors, he incurred their enmity and was reviled by their biographers. That he was retained so long in office by such able monarchs as Ferdinand and Charles goes far to prove invalid the charges of misrule and villainy so liberally made against him. Associated with Fonseca was Francisco Pinelo, as treasurer, and Juan de Soria as contador, or auditor. Their chief office was at Seville, with a custom-house at Cádiz belonging to the same department. This was the germ of the famous Casa de Contratacion de las Indias, or India House of Trade, so long dominant in the government of the New World.

Thus all went swimmingly. Columbus found no difficulty in fitting out a fleet for a second venture, a royal order being issued that all captains, with their ships and crews, in all the Andalusian ports, should hold themselves in readiness for that purpose. Seventeen vessels sailed from Cádiz the 25th of September, 1493, having on board twelve hundred persons,—miners, mechanics, agriculturists, and gentlemen,—with horses, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and fowls; the seeds of vegetables, of orchard fruits, of oranges, lemons, 169 and grain for planting; together with provisions, medicines, implements, goods for trade, arms, ammunition, and all the requirements for founding a colony. Among the passengers were Diego Colon, the admiral's brother, Bernal Diaz de Pisa, contador, Fermin Cedo, assayer, and Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa, subsequently famous in New World discoveries; also twelve priests, chief among whom was Bernardo Buil, a Benedictine monk, sent by the pope as his apostolic vicar, with all the ornaments and vestments for full service, which always had a wonderful effect upon the natives. The work of conversion had already been begun by baptizing in solemn state the six savages brought over by Columbus, Ferdinand and Isabella with Prince Juan standing sponsors. The 3d of November the expedition reached Dominica, so named from the day of arrival, Sunday. Next was discovered an island to which Columbus gave the name of his ship, Marigalante; then Guadalupe, where were tamed geese, and pine-apples, also human bones, significant of the presence of the horror-breeding Caribs, or cannibals. Thus cruising among these Caribbee Islands, and naming them one after another, Columbus continued his way and finally came to Navidad, only to find the fortress in ruins, its former occupants having fallen victims to their own follies.

Choosing a site a little to the east of Navidad, still on the north side of Hayti, the Spaniards landed their effects, and laid out a city, which they called Isabela, surrounding it with ramparts. As soon as the vessels could be laden with gold, they were to be sent back to Spain; but the death of the Spaniards left at Navidad had somewhat marred original plans.

While Columbus lay ill, directing affairs as best he might, early in January, 1494, two parties under Ojeda and Gorvalan reconnoitred the island, each in a different direction, and returning, reported gold. As it was inconvenient to their anchorage, and as many 170 of the colonists were prostrate with disease, it was deemed best to let the ships go back empty rather than detain them longer; hence, on the 2d of February, twelve of the largest craft put to sea under command of Antonio de Torres, having on board further specimens of the people and products of the country. By this departure was sent a request for immediate supplies.

Murmurs now arose against Columbus, the sick and disappointed ones complaining most loudly that he had deceived them, had lured them thither with false hopes to die. And they begged Diaz de Pisa, already at the head of a faction, and Cedo, who said there was not gold in those isles in paying quantities, to seize the remaining ships and sail with them for Spain. But the admiral hearing of it, arrested Diaz, and held him in irons on board one of the vessels to await trial in Spain.

Recovered from illness, Columbus left his brother Diego in command at Isabela, and set out, at the head of four hundred men, for the golden mountains of Cibao, in the interior of the island, intending there to build a fortress, and to work the mines on an extensive scale. Arrived at a favorable locality, where gold seemed plentiful in the brooks, the Spaniards threw up a strong wooden fort, which they called Santo Tomás, a piece of pleasantry aimed at the doubting assayer, Cedo. Leaving in command Pedro Margarite, Columbus returned to Isabela. Afterward a smaller post was built, called Magdalena, and the command was given to Luis de Arriaga.

The natives could not welcome so large an invasion, which they now clearly saw would bring upon them serious results. Thereupon they withdrew from the vicinity of Santo Tomás, refusing all intercourse with its inmates; and as a Spanish hidalgo could by no means work, even at gold-gathering, success in that direction was not marked. Provisions and medicine 171 then began to fail, and fresh discontent arose, even Father Buil arraying himself in opposition to the admiral.

As much to keep his people occupied as through any expectation of profit, Columbus sent another expedition into the interior of Hayti, and himself crossed to the south side of Cuba in three caravels, intending thence to reach Cathay. Soon he discovered to the southward a lofty isle, which he called at first Santa Gloria, then Santiago, but which finally retained its native name, Jamaica, that is to say, Island of Springs. After reaching nearly the western end of Cuba, thinking it still the continent of Asia, and that possibly he might by that way reach Spain, in which event he could then see what was beyond, he coasted the south sides of Jamaica and Hayti, and returned to Isabela, where he arrived insensible from excitement and fatigue. When he awoke to bodily suffering, which for a time had been drowned in delirious energy, there, to his great joy, he found his brother Bartolomé, who had come from Spain with three well-laden ships to his assistance.

Great events generally choose great men for their accomplishment, though not unfrequently we see no small dust raised by an insignificant agent. As a mariner and discoverer, Columbus had no superior; as colonist and governor, he had by this time proved himself a failure. There are some things great men cannot do as well as their inferiors. It was one thing to rule at sea, and quite another to rule on shore. In bringing to his India these unruly Spaniards, he had sown for himself the whirlwind. Had he been more judicious in the selection of his followers, his later days would have been more successful as well as more peaceful. Discovery was his infatuation; he was never for a moment unattended by a consuming curiosity to find a western way to civilized India. Had he been possessed of sound practical judgment 172 in the matter, of the same knowledge of himself and of political affairs that he had of navigation, he would have seen that he could not, at the same time, gratify his passion for discovery and successfully govern colonies. In his fatal desire to assume rulership, and upon the ill-understood reports of simple savages, with no knowledge of the resources or capabilities of the country, without definite purpose or mature plans, he had brought upon himself an avalanche of woes. Beside his incapacity for such a task, his position was rendered all the more trying by the fact that he was a foreigner, whose arbitrary acts galled his impatient subordinates, and finally wrought them to the pitch of open rebellion. The Spaniards were quick enough to perceive that this Genoese sailor was in no wise fitted to lay the foundation of a prosperous Spanish colony; and when during his absence he left in command his brother, to whom attached no prestige of high achievement to make up for his misfortune in not being born in Spain, complications grew daily worse. Even the ecclesiastics were against the admiral; for with a foresight born of a deep study of human nature they saw that between the fires of the real and the unreal this man was becoming mad. They saw the religious hypochondria, which had already inflamed his intellect, now aggravated by the anxieties incident to the government of a turbulent element under circumstances unprecedented, undermining his health, and bringing rapidly upon him those mental and physical distempers which rendered the remainder of his life prolonged misery. Thus we may plainly see how Columbus brought upon himself the series of calamities which are commonly found charged to unscrupulous sovereigns and villainous rivals.

And thickly enough misfortunes were laid upon him on his return to Isabela. Margarite, who had been ordered to explore the island, leaving Ojeda in command at Santo Tomás, had abandoned himself to 173 licentious idleness, followed by outrages upon the natives, which notwithstanding their pacific disposition had driven them to retaliation.

And here was the beginning of these four centuries of such rank injustice, such horrible atrocities inflicted by the hand of the stronger upon the weaker, of the civilized upon the savage, that should make a man blush to own kinship to a race so defiled before its maker in whose image it was created.

It is the self-same story, old and new, from Española to Darien and Mexico, from Brazil to Labrador, and from Patagonia to Alaska, by sailor and cavalier, Spaniard and Englishman, by gold-hunter and fur-hunter—the unenlightened red man welcoming with wonder his destroyer, upon whom he is soon forced to turn to save himself, his wife, his children, but only at last to fall by the merciless arm of development beneath the pitiable destiny of man primeval.

Throwing off all pretence of allegiance to Columbus, when satiated with his excesses, Margarite, with a mutinous crew at his heels and accompanied by Father Buil, had taken such ships as best suited them and had departed for Spain. Two caciques, or native chieftains, Guatiguana, and Caonabo the Carib, with their followers had arisen in arms, had killed some of the Spaniards, had besieged Magdalena and Santo Tomás, and had even cast an ominous eye on Isabela. Such were the chief occurrences at the settlement during the absence of the admiral.

First of all, Columbus made his brother Bartolomé adelantado, that is to say, leader of an enterprise, or governor of a frontier province. Then he sent relief to the fortress of Magdalena, and established another military post near where was subsequently Santiago, which he called Concepcion. Later the chain was continued by building other posts; one near the Rio Yaquí, called Santa Catalina, and one on the river Yaquí, called Esperanza. Meanwhile Ojeda 174 offered to take the redoubtable Carib, Caonabo, by stratagem; which was accomplished, while he was surrounded by a multitude of warriors, by first winning the admiration and confidence of the cacique, and then on the plea of personal ornamentation and display obtaining his consent to wear some beautiful bright manacles, and sit bound behind Ojeda on his steed; in which plight he was safely brought by the dashing cavalier at the head of his horsemen into Isabela.

About this time Antonio de Torres arrived with four ships from Spain, and was sent back with the gold which had been collected, and five hundred Indians to be sold as slaves. By this departure went Diego Colon to refute the charges of incompetency and maladministration now being preferred against his brother at court.

Though suffering from a fresh attack of fever, on the 27th of March, 1495, accompanied by the adelantado and all his available forces, Columbus set out from Isabela to subjugate the caciques of the island, who had combined to extirpate the Spaniards. Charging the naked red men amidst the noise of drum, trumpet, and halloo, with horse and bloodhound, lance, sabre, and firelock, a peace was soon conquered. Multitudes of the inhabitants were butchered, and upon the rest was imposed such cruel tribute that they gradually sank beneath the servitude. But when the white men thus had the domain to themselves, they did not know what to do with it. It was not for them to till the soil, or labor in the mines; hence famine threatened, and they were finally reduced to the last extremity.

There is little wonder, under the circumstances, that orders were issued in Spain to depose Columbus, first by the appointment of a commission of inquiry, and finally by removal.

Thus far the government of the Indies, as the New World began to be called, had been administered 175 solely by the admiral, according to agreement, with Fonseca as superintendent in Spain. None but they were permitted to freight or despatch any vessel to the New World. Columbus was authorized to appoint two subordinate officers subject to royal sanction; and yet the sovereigns took offense when he named Bartolomé adelantado, which office was not that of lieutenant-governor, as many writers aver, but nearer that of territorial governor, with political as well as military powers, usually appointed by and subject only to the king. Assuming a certain degree of state, the admiral appeared at Isabela richly dressed, with ten escuderos de á pié, or squires of foot, and twenty familiares, composing his civil and military family. He had been directed before leaving Spain to appoint in each of the several settlements or colonies which should be planted an alcalde, or justice, exercising the combined duties of mayor and judge, with jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, appeal being to the admiral; also an alguacil mayor, or high sheriff; and, if necessary, an ayuntamiento, or town council. All edicts, orders, and commissions must be issued in the name of the sovereigns, countersigned by the notary, with the royal seal affixed. The admiral had been further directed to build a warehouse where the royal stores should be kept, and all traffic should be subject to his direction. When he sailed upon his Cuban expedition he left for the direction of the colony a junta, of which his brother Diego was president, and Alonso Sanchez Carvajal, Juan de Luxan, Pedro Fernandez Coronel, and Father Buil, councillors.

Diego Colon was a well-meaning man, gentle and discreet, approaching in visage and dress nearer the priest than the cavalier; he was neither shrewd nor energetic. Bartolomé was quite the opposite, and in many respects was the ablest of the brothers. Powerful in mind and body, authoritative and determinate in demeanor, generous in disposition, fearless in spirit, 176 a thorough seaman, a man of no narrow worldly experience, fairly educated, and talented with the pen, he was neither the amiable, inefficient Diego, nor the dreamy, enthusiastic admiral.

Quick to notice in their deputy any indication of misrule, or undue assumption of authority, their Majesties did not fail to lend an attentive ear to the charges preferred against him. Yet the record does not show from first to last that either Isabella or Ferdinand ever really desired or intended to do Columbus injustice or injury. When Torres returned from Spain, after the first accusation had been made, the sovereigns, besides a letter expressing the warmest confidence in the discoverer, and high consideration for the affairs of the colony, sent a special real provision ordering all to obey the admiral as themselves, under penalty of ten thousand maravedís for every offence. When further accusations came, instead of divesting him of his authority, they sent as commissioner of inquiry Juan Aguado, a warm friend of the admiral. Often they checked Fonseca's too harsh measures with regard to Columbus and his brothers, and interposed their royal protection from such officers as acted too severely under the exasperating folly of the admiral. To satisfy the discoverer would have been impossible for any patron, so wild were his desires, so chimerical his plans, so injudicious his acts.

Aguado arrived at Isabela in October. He brought four caravels laden with supplies, and Diego Colon, passenger. Soon it was noised abroad that the conduct of the admiral was to be questioned, whereat both white men and red rejoiced. Aguado could but see the pitiable state of things upon the island, idleness, poverty, excesses, and disobedience among the colonists, folly and mismanagement among the rulers, and seeing, could but report accordingly; for which, and for no other reasons that I am able to 177 discover, the biographers of Columbus heap upon the commissioner opprobrious epithets.

When Aguado returned to Spain, Columbus accompanied him to make such excuses before the sovereigns as best he might. They embarked from Isabela March 10, 1496, leaving the adelantado in command, and carrying with them two hundred and twenty-five disaffected colonists, and a number of Indian captives, among whom was the proud and once powerful chieftain, Caonabo, so treacherously taken by Ojeda. Contrary winds and starvation attended them, Caonabo dying during the voyage. Arrived at Cádiz in June, the admiral found Pedro Alonso Niño about to sail with three caravels for Hayti. Niño carried out more priests, and brought back more slaves.

Columbus appeared in Spain in a Franciscan garb and with dejected demeanor. To all the world, except to himself, it was by this time evident that his gorgeous India was a myth, and settlement on the supposition of its existence a mistake. He seemed now dazed by reverses, as formerly he had been dazed by successes. Nevertheless, he continued to make as much as possible of his discoveries, parading a brother of Caonabo in a broad gold collar with a massive gold chain attached.

Still the sovereigns were gracious. They scarcely alluded to the complaints and ever-increasing charges against the admiral, but confirmed anew his dignities, enlarged his perquisites, and showed him every kindness. The title of adelantado was formally vested by them in Bartolomé. When asked for more ships and money, they readily granted both; moreover, they offered the admiral a tract of land in Hayti, twenty-five by fifty leagues, which, however, he declined; they offered him sixty sailors, a hundred and forty soldiers, one hundred miners, mechanics, and farmers, and thirty women, the services of all to be paid by the crown. But because there 178 was some delay, occasioned by the operations in Italy and the armada for Flanders, the biographers of the admiral again break out in abuse of the sovereigns and their servants. The truth is, Ferdinand and Isabella stood by the Genoese much longer than did their subjects. For example, when certain millions of maravedís, equivalent to over a hundred thousand dollars to-day, had been appropriated, and eight vessels equipped, so unpopular had the admiral and his enterprises become, that it was found necessary to press sailors into the service, and empty the prisons for colonists. And it was only when their admiral, viceroy, and governor of the Indies so far forgot himself, when on the point of sailing, as publicly, and with his own hand and foot, to strike down and kick Jimeno de Berviesca, an official under Fonseca, that the sovereigns began to realize the unfitness of Columbus for the management of colonies. It was a serious offense to attack a public servant; and when this was done under the very eyes of royalty, and by the man they had so delighted to honor, the truth came home to them, and they never afterward regarded the Genoese with the same degree of favor. Yet for his great merits, his genius, enthusiasm, and perseverance, and for the glory unparalleled conferred by him on Spain, they would ever be to him just and generous. He could never become again the pauper pilot, as he had been called at Granada while begging help for his first voyage.

Two vessels were despatched to the colony under Pedro Fernandez Coronel early in 1498. On the 30th of May Columbus embarked from San Lúcar with six vessels, arrived at the northern seaboard of South America, and discovered there the isle of Trinidad the 31st of July, sailed through the gulf of Paria, where gold and pearls were seen in profusion, discovered the Margarita Islands, and came to 179 Hayti, arriving off the river Ozema, on the southern side of the island, the 30th of August.

Prior to the last departure of the admiral for Spain, gold had been discovered in this vicinity, and during his absence a military post, called San Cristóbal, had been planted there, and at the adjacent harbor a fort built, which was named Santo Domingo, and which was from this time the capital of the Indies. At intervals during the past two years, the adelantado at the head of his marauders had scoured the island, collecting the quarterly tribute, and making observation on such measures as he thought might increase the same. Insurrections had been occasionally organized by the caciques, but were usually stifled by the prompt and politic action of the adelantado. Many of the colonists had gradually relaxed in their loyalty to Columbus, until finally, at the instigation of Francisco Roldan, they declared their independence of the adelantado, though still acknowledging fealty to Spain. After creating no small disturbance about Concepcion and Isabela, Roldan had retired with his band to the province of Jaraguá.

On landing at Santo Domingo, the admiral first proclaimed his approval of the adelantado's measures, and then set about to pacify the colonists. With the common people, many officers of trust had joined the revolt of Roldan. Columbus offered amnesty to all, which was at first refused, and letters from both sides were sent to Spain. But at length there was reconciliation; Roldan became a partisan of Columbus, and assisted in subduing other hostile factions, which resulted in flinging Adrian de Moxica off the battlements of Fort Concepcion.

The distracted state of the colony, the continued charges against Columbus, and the inadequate returns from large outlays, impelled the sovereigns to send out another commission with power to punish offenders, civil and criminal, and, if necessary, to 180 supersede the admiral in the government. The commissioner chosen for this purpose was Francisco de Bobadilla, an arrogant, shallow-minded man, who delighted rather in degrading merit than in exercising justice. He was authorized by letters patent to acquaint himself concerning the truth of the rebellion against the admiral; what robberies, cruelties, or other overt acts had been committed; he was directed to seize the person and sequestrate the property of any offender, or punish in any way he might deem best. A provisional letter was addressed by the sovereigns to the admiral of the ocean sea, ordering him to surrender to the commissioner all forts, arms, ships, houses, cattle, or other public property, which letter was to be used only if necessary. Bobadilla, accompanied by a body-guard of twenty-five men, sailed with two caravels in July, 1500, and arrived at Santo Domingo on the 23d of August. By this opportunity some of the Indians sent over by Columbus as slaves were returned in charge of six friars. It is doubtful whether the enslavement of the red man could ever have been made profitable, but whether it could or not, the Catholic Church is entitled to much credit for thus promptly setting its foot upon the diabolical traffic which had already received the approval of some of the first jurists of the day. Indeed the doctrine that the Indians were not endowed with souls was rapidly spreading, and had found many believers, and had not the pope fortunately at this juncture decided against the proposition, the subject of Indian slavery would not have been so easily or so quickly settled.

Among the first objects to meet the eye of Bobadilla, on landing, were the bodies of two Spaniards swinging from gibbets, which argued not very favorably for the quietude of the island. Columbus was absent at Fort Concepcion; the adelantado and Roldan were pursuing rebels in Jaraguá; Diego Colon, who was in charge at Santo Domingo, was 181 peremptorily commanded to surrender certain prisoners, which he refused to do until the admiral, whose commission was higher than that of Bobadilla, and under whom he served, should order it.

Thereupon Bobadilla broke open the jail, and the prisoners were finally set at liberty. He not only assumed the custody of the crown property, but he entered the house of Columbus, took possession of his effects, and made his residence there. He sided with the late insurgents, giving ear only to them. Next he ordered to appear before him the admiral, who came with all quietness, and was immediately ironed and cast into prison. The brothers of Columbus met the same fate. It was a most villainous proceeding on the part of Bobadilla, wholly unauthorized, wholly unnecessary. Columbus was condemned before he was tried. While in the act of coming forward of his own accord, not with hostile front, but unattended, he was seized, manacled, and incarcerated. It was not until afterward that he was charged with inflicting on the colonists, even on hidalgos, oppressive labor, abuse, and cruel punishments; with failing to provide them sufficient food; with opposing royal authority; with secreting gold and pearls; and with unjust treatment of the natives, making unnecessary war upon them, levying iniquitous tribute, preventing their conversion, and sending them as slaves to Spain. Some went so far as to hint at an intended transfer of allegiance to some other power. But were all the calumnies true, twice told, which vile, revengeful men had heaped upon him, he would not have merited the treatment that he now received at the hand of their Majesties' agent. Ever loyal, high-minded, and sincere, ever performing his duties to the best of his ability, the worst that can be truthfully said of him is that he was unfitted by temperament and training, unfitted by his genius, by those very qualities which made him so superior to other men in other directions, for 182 organizing in a tropical wilderness that social thrift upon which might be built a staid community out of the ignorant, presumptuous, and desperate element fresh from conflicts with Jews and Moors.

After having been subjected to much insult and indignity, the three brothers were placed on shipboard and sent to Spain. Andrés Martin, master of the caravel, offered to remove the manacles, but the admiral said no. It was by the king's agent the irons were put on; it must be by the king's order if ever they are taken off. "And I will always keep these chains," he added with proud bitterness, "as memorials of reward for faithful services."

Both Ferdinand and Isabella and all the people were shocked to see the illustrious discoverer in such a plight. Immediately the sovereigns heard of it the chains were stricken off, and the prisoners released. From the odious abasement into which he had been unjustly thrust by an infamous agent, Columbus was once more lifted high into favor by the sovereigns, whose moist eyes testified their hearts' sincerity. 183

CHAPTER III.
DISCOVERY OF DARIEN.

Rodrigo de Bastidas—Extension of New World Privileges—The Royal Share—Juan de la Cosa—Ships of the Early Discoverers—Coasting Darien—The Terrible Teredo—Wrecked on Española—Spanish Money—Treatment of Bastidas by Ovando—Accused, and Sent to Spain for Trial—He is Immediately Acquitted—Future Career and Character of Bastidas—The Archives of the Indies—The Several Collections of Public Documents in Spain—The Labors of Muñoz and Navarrete—Bibliographical Notices of the Printed Collections of Navarrete, Ternaux-Compans, Salvá and Baranda, and Pacheco and Cárdenas.

The first Spaniard to touch the territory which for the purposes of my work I have taken the liberty to denominate the Pacific States of North America was Rodrigo de Bastidas, a notary of Triana, the gypsy suburb of Seville.

Although the discoveries of Columbus had been made for Castile, and Castilians regarded their rights to the new lands superior to those of any others, even other inhabitants of Spain; and although at first none might visit the New World save those authorized by Columbus or Fonseca; yet, owing to inadequate returns from heavy expenditures, and the inability of the admiral properly to control colonization in the several parts of the ever-widening area, at the solicitation of several persons desirous of entering the new field of commerce and adventure at their own charge, on the 10th of April, 1495, the sovereigns issued a proclamation granting native-born subjects of Spain permission to settle in Hayti, 184 or Española,[III-1] as I shall continue to call the island, and to make to other parts private voyages of discovery and trade, under royal license. The regulations were that the vessels so sailing should be equipped under royal inspection, that they should depart only from the port of Cádiz, and that they should carry one or two crown officers. The sovereigns retained, without payment, one tenth of the tonnage, and were to receive one tenth of the gross returns. Settlers on Española were to receive grants of land, and one year's provision; of the gold they gathered they were to pay two thirds to the crown; on all other products one tenth. Although this step was taken without consulting Columbus, it was the aim of the sovereigns fully to respect his rights in the matter; therefore, and in lieu of his property in one eighth of all the tonnage, for every seven vessels thus privately adventured he was privileged to despatch one on his own account. The admiral still complaining, such parts of the proclamation as in any wise interfered with his rights were revoked, and his former privileges confirmed, the 2d of June, 1497.[III-2] 185

Among those to take advantage of this permission, 186 beside Bastidas, was Alonso de Ojeda, who embarked with four vessels from Spain in May, 1499, in company with Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, sailed along the seaboard of South America from Paria and the Pearl Coast, discovered by Columbus, to the gulf of Venezuela, so called because like Venice the native villages were built over the water. At Cape de la Vela, Ojeda left the coast and crossed to Española, whence he was driven off by Roldan at the command of Columbus. He reached Spain in June, 1500; and though his ships were crowded with slaves, after paying expenses there were left but five hundred ducats to divide among fifty-five persons. Sailing in a caravel of only fifty tons, a few days later than Ojeda, were Pedro Alonso Niño and Cristóbal Guerra, who, following the track of Columbus and Ojeda to the Pearl Coast, thence crossed to Margarita, returned to the main-land and coasted Cumaná, and finally returned to Spain, arriving about two months before Ojeda, well laden with gold and pearls. This was the first really profitable voyage, pecuniarily, to the New World. Then there was Vicente Yañez Pinzon, who sailed in four caravels in December, 1499, and shortly after Diego de Lepe, in two vessels, both going to Brazil.

Quite exceptional to the ordinary adventurer was Bastidas. He was a man of standing in the community, possessed of some means himself and having wealthy friends; he was intelligent and influential, and withal humane, even Las Casas admitting that no one ever accused him of illtreating the Indians.

The friends of the honest notary, among them Juan de Ledesma, were ready enough to join him, pecuniarily, in a venture to the famous Pearl Coast, as the South American shore of the admiral's third voyage was now called. Obtaining from Fonseca's office a royal license,[III-3] and enlisting the coöperation of Juan de la Cosa, already veteran in western pilotage, Bastidas equipped two caravels,[III-4] embarked at Cádiz in October, 1500, took on board wood, water, meat, and cheese at Gomera, and steering a little north of the admiral's last track, came to a 190 green isle, which he called Isla Verde, and reached the mainland near Venezuela. Coasting westward, he passed Santa Marta, and arrived at the Magdalena River in March, 1501, so naming it on arrival from the day, which was that of the woman's conversion. There he narrowly escaped shipwreck. Continuing, and trading on the way, he found the ports of Zamba and Coronados—the latter so called because the natives wore large crowns—the islands of San Bernardo, Barú, and the Arenas, off Cartagena Bay. Next he saw Fuerte and tenantless Tortuga, touched at the port of Cenú, passed Point Caribana, entered the gulf of Urabá, and saw the farallones, or craggy islet peaks, rising abruptly from the water near the Darien shore. Thus far from Cape de la Vela he had discovered one hundred and fifty leagues[III-5] of new seaboard. And because when the tide was low the water was fresh, he called the place Golfo Dulce. Thus came the Spaniards upon the isthmus that unites the two Americas; and along it they sailed to Point Manzanilla, in which vicinity were El Retrete and Nombre de Dios.[III-6]

It is a balmy beginning, this of these men from Spain, of that intercontinental commerce which is shortly to bring destruction on one side and retrogression 191 on the other; a commerce which shall end only with the next general cataclysm. Threading their way among islands smothered in foliage, which seemed upon the glossy water-surface as floating fragments of the thickly matted verdure of the mainland, listening to notes unfamiliar to their ears, and seeing these strange men and women so like and yet so unlike Spaniards, they find themselves wondering whether they are in the world or out of it. We who so well know our little planet and its ways can scarcely imagine what it was in the darkness to be taken up at Seville, and put down amidst the magic play of light and shade at Darien. Probably now the world was round; yet still it might be fungiform, or crescent-shaped, or amorphous, having a smooth or ragged edge, from which a fearful slipping-off might any moment ensue. All they can know is what they see, and that they cannot half know, for they can scarcely more than half see or feel or smell. Some part of the perpendicular rays of the incandescent sun falling on their toughened skins they can feel; some part of the water that from the surcharged reservoirs of low-lying clouds so frequently and freely pours upon the spot whence it is pumped by this same vertical sun. They can turn their bewildered eyes toward the south and see beyond its clean white border the mainland stretching off in billows of burnished green to the far-away hazy horizon, where like a voluptuous beauty it imprints a kiss upon the blushing sky; they may lie in the gray mist of evening and dream, and dream, their minds—how many removes from the intelligence of the impatient sea and the self-tuned life upon the shore? Or they may drift about in the amber light of a soft vaporous morning without much dreaming; one thing at least to them is real, and that is gold. Without the aid of divine revelation they fathom the difference between the precious solid substance and hollow brass. So do the savages, thinking the latter much the prettier; and thus 192 both sides, each believing the others fools and well cheated, are happy in their traffic. The Spaniards are enchanted less by the lovely garb in which nature everywhere greets them than by the ease with which the golden harvest is gathered. Thus all betokens the most flattering success when a luckless event casts a shadow over their bright fortunes.

The two ships were found to be leaking badly. An examination was made, when the bottoms were found pierced by teredos;[III-7] and thus before they knew it their vessels were unfit for service. Hoping still to reach Cádiz, Bastidas immediately set sail, touched at Jamaica for wood and water, and continued his voyage as far as Contramaestre, an islet one league distant from Española, where he was obliged to anchor and repair his ships. Again embarking for Spain, he was met by a gale which threw him back upon the island. Buffeted in a second attempt, he ran the ships for safety into the little port of Jaraguá, where they filled and sank, the loss in vessels, slaves, Brazil-wood, cloth, and gold, being not less than five millions of maravedís.[III-8] For notwithstanding the estimable 193 reputation for piety, justice, and humanity which he has always borne, the good Bastidas did not scruple gently to entrap on board his ships, along the shore of Darien, several scores of unsuspecting natives, to be sold as slaves; nor, having thus exercised his virtues in the klopemania of the day, did he scruple to abandon with his sinking ships the greater portion of these innocent wretches in order to save the more of his gold, which was deemed of greater proximate and certain value than the bodies or even the souls of the heathen.

Thus observing everywhere, as perforce we must as we proceed, the magnanimity and high morality with which our so prized and petted civilization greeted weak, defenseless, and inoffensive savagism, we are prepared when shipwrecked mariners are thrown upon a distant isle inhabited by their own countrymen, subjects of the same sovereigns—we are prepared by their reception, which we shall presently see, to exclaim with uplifted hands, Behold, how these brethren love one another! 194

After burning superfluous ammunition, the Spaniards gathered up their valuables, and placing them on the backs of such captives as for that purpose they had kindly permitted to live, set out in three divisions over separate routes, so as to secure a more liberal supply of provisions on the way, for Santo Domingo, distant seventy leagues. In his license, as we have seen, Bastidas was authorized to trade only in lands discovered by himself. But on the way his followers with their trinkets had purchased food from the natives; for which offence, on his arrival at Santo Domingo, Bastidas was seized by Bobadilla and cast into prison. In vain did all the shipwrecked company protest that they had bought only such articles as were necessary for their nourishment during the march. To their affirmations the governor turned a deaf ear; and as Bobadilla was about to depart for Spain, the notary was ordered thither for trial, sailing in July, 1502.

Before the sovereigns Bastidas found no difficulty in justifying his conduct; and so rich were the returns from his traffic with the natives of Darien, that notwithstanding the unfortunate termination of the adventure he was enabled to pay a large sum into the royal treasury. For their important successes, to Rodrigo de Bastidas was awarded an annual pension of fifty thousand maravedís, and to Juan de la Cosa a similar sum with the title of alguacil mayor of Urabá, all to be paid them out of returns from the new lands which they had found. "Such," remarks Irving, "was the economical generosity of King Ferdinand, who rewarded the past toils of his adventurous discoverers out of the expected produce of their future labors."[III-9] 195

The most fertile source of information relative to the early affairs of America is the Archives of the Indies, a general term comprising various collections in various places. From this source many writers have drawn, and are still drawing; many documents have been printed, and many yet remain to be printed. Altogether the collections are very numerous, as the government required full records, and in some cases copies, to be kept of official documents concerning discovery, conquest, and settlement. The several council-chambers and public offices where the business was transacted were the first depositories of these papers, the chief places then being Seville, Cádiz, and Madrid. In 1566 Philip II. ordered all collections, ecclesiastic and secular, to be united, and deposited in the fortress of Simancas. Again in 1717, when all the councils were consolidated in one, Felipe V., who founded the Academia de la Historia, among other things for the gathering and preserving of materials 196 for history, directed all papers to be conveyed annually to the Archivo de Simancas. These provisions could not have been fully carried out, or else a very extensive system of copying must have been practised; for later, when the Archives were thrown open to the search of historians, the accumulation at Simancas, though large, did not appear to be much greater than at some other places. Further than this, there were family archives in the houses of those who had played prominent parts in public affairs, and ecclesiastical relaciones in the convents of the several orders, of little less importance than public records. And while the government insisted on the making of complete records, and observed great care in preventing their contents from being known, especially to foreigners, little pains was taken to preserve them from damage or destruction, or to arrange them for convenient reference. Therefore when they came to light it was in the form of bulky masses of unassorted, worm-eaten, and partially illegible papers. Many documents, mentioned by contemporary writers, are known to have been lost, and their contents blotted from existence. Fernando VI., 1746-1759, commissioned Burriel and Santiago Palomares to examine the archives of the kingdom and to copy and form into a collection such of the manuscripts as they should deem best. This collection was placed in the Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid. Other collections were made during the two following reigns by Abella, Traggia, Velazquez, Muñoz, Navarrete, Sans, Vargas Ponce, and Villanueva, which found lodgment in various localities.

The early chroniclers of the Indies picked up their knowledge as best they might, by observation, by conversation, and by the examination of written evidence. Las Casas and Oviedo spent much time in the New World; Peter Martyr had access to whatever existed, beside talking with everybody who had been to America; Gomara copied much from Oviedo. Everything was at the disposal of Herrera as crown historiographer, as a matter of course, though he did not always make the best use of his opportunities. Gashard affirms that both Cabrera and Herrera were ignorant of the existence of many of the most valuable documents of their day. Ramusio, Hakluyt, Purchas, and others, succeeded in getting now and then an original paper on the Indies to print in their several collections. Among the first English historians who attempted for purposes of history to utilize the Archives of the Indies was William Robertson, who published the History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles, London, 1769; and in 1777, his History of America, 2 vols. 4to, several editions appearing subsequently also in 8vo. Robertson was a Scotch clergyman of great learning and ability. His style was elegant and vigorous, and he was by far the most philosophic writer on America up to his time. Although his statements are full of errors, intensified by dogmatism, but for which he cannot always be blamed, all who have come after him have profited by his writings; and some of these, indeed, have reaped richer rewards than he to whom they owed their success, and with far less labor.

Early in his work Mr Robertson applied to the proper authorities at Madrid, Vienna, and St Petersburg for access to material. Germany and Russia responded in a spirit of liberality, but Spain would none of it. In 1775 Robertson ascertained that the largest room occupied by the Archivos de Simancas was filled with American papers, in 873 bundles; that they were 197 concealed from strangers with solicitous care, Spanish subjects even being denied access without an order from the crown; and that no copies could be obtained except upon the payment of exorbitant fees. However, through the assistance of Lord Grantham, English ambassador at Madrid, and by preparing a set of questions to be submitted to persons who had lived in America, much new and important information was elicited, and copies of certain manuscripts were obtained. The letters of Cortés, and the writings of Motolinia, Mendieta, and others, which Robertson used in manuscript, have since been printed.

It is greatly to be regretted that the learned Juan Bautista Muñoz did not live to complete his Historia del Nuevo Mundo, only the first volume of which appeared. This was published in Madrid, in 1793, bringing his work down to 1500. Muñoz was born near Valencia in 1745, graduated at the University, and in 1779 was commissioned by the king to write a history of America, all public and private material being placed at his disposal by royal order. Many papers were wanting in the archives of the department of the Indies in Madrid; whereupon he went to Simancas, Seville, Cádiz, and other towns, armed with a royal cédula, which opened to him family and monastic accumulations as well as all public depositories. So great was the confusion in which he found the royal archives, that it seemed to him as if they had been disarranged purposely to hide what they contained. Even in the indices of the Archivo Secreto del Consejo de Indias there was scarcely any indication of papers belonging to the earlier American periods. Nevertheless, by persistent search, mass after mass of rich material was unearthed in the secret archives as well as in the Real Casa Audiencia de la Contratacion, the archives at Simancas, the royal libraries of Madrid and the Escorial, the Contaduría Principal of the Audiencia de Indias in Cádiz, the Archivo General de Portugal, the monastery of Monserrate, the colleges of San Bartolomé and Cuenca at Salamanca, and San Gregorio at Valladolid, the cathedral of Palencia, the Sacromonte of Granada, and in the convents of San Francisco of Tolosa in Guipúzcoa, Santo Domingo of Málaga, and San Acacio, San José, and San Isidro del Campo of Seville, until it may be said of him that his efforts were buried beneath the magnitude of their invocation. Then it was that he found he had undertaken greater things than he could accomplish. Even with the aid of government he could not master the confused masses; for money and men unlimited cannot accomplish everything without time. The indefatigable Muñoz worked faithfully; the king complained of the meagre results; the author died doing his best, and his work to this day remains undone. During his labors he made an extensive collection of papers, memorials, and other manuscripts relating to America, known as the Coleccion de Muñoz, which he once intended to publish, but this with a portion of his history was left in manuscript. Irving states that the papers of Muñoz were left with Señor Uguina, and Ternaux-Compans claims to have obtained all of Uguina's manuscripts; but Prescott asserts that the collection of Muñoz was deposited in the archives of the Royal Academy of History at Madrid, and was there augmented by the manuscripts of Vargas Ponce, obtained chiefly from the archives of the Indies at Seville. Prior to 1793 the Archivo General de Indias was established at Seville, and a large quantity of old papers conveyed 198 thither from Madrid and Simancas. About 1810 the archives at Simancas were sacked by Napoleon; in 1814 the remnant was re-arranged and classified.

Before the death of Muñoz, Navarrete was commissioned by the king to search the archives for documents relating to the doings of the Spanish navy. By him personally, or under his direction when occupied in other duties, the search was continued from 1789 to 1825. The results of these labors were as follows: before 1793, twenty-four folio volumes of copies from the Royal Library at Madrid, the collections of the marquises of Santa Cruz and of Villafranca, of the dukes de Medina Sidonia and del Infantado, and from the Biblioteca de los estudios reales de San Isidro, and the Biblioteca alta del Escorial; after 1793, seventeen volumes of copies from the Archivo General de Indias, including the papers in the Casa de Contratacion in Seville, the Colegio de San Telmo, the Biblioteca de San Acacio, and from the collection of the Conde del Aguila. With this material, increased by subsequent researches in the libraries of the Royal Academy of History in Madrid, and other public institutions, and in many private collections, particularly that of the Duke of Veraguas, and with access to the Muñoz collection, Navarrete began in 1825 the publication of his Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos, que hicieron por mar los Españoles desde fines del Siglo XV., in 5 vols., Madrid, 1825-37, in which he printed over 500 documents, many of them of the highest importance. As this collection constitutes one of the chief authorities upon the early affairs of Darien, a brief notice of the author may not be out of place.

Martin Fernandez de Navarrete was born in 1765 in Ábalos in old Castile. He entered the seminary of Vergara in 1777, where he studied Latin and mathematics and displayed some literary taste. In 1780 he joined the navy, was stationed first as a midshipman at Ferrol, joined Córdoba's squadron in 1781, and cruised in the summer of that year on the English coast. He did good service before Gibraltar in September, 1782, and in the battle off Cape Espartel the 20th of October following. In 1783, having been promoted to a naval ensigncy, he was appointed to the Cartagena department, and cruised in consequence against the Moors during the years 1784-5. On the close of the Algerine wars he studied the higher mathematics, navigation, and manœuvring with Gabriel de Císcar, distinguishing himself in these branches. In 1789, his health forcing him to quit active service, he was commissioned by Carlos IV. to examine the archives of the kingdom and collect manuscripts relating to marine history; a work for which his zeal and knowledge particularly fitted him. This was the beginning of his famous Collection of Voyages, although its first volumes did not appear till thirty-six years after. When the war broke out between France and Spain in 1793, he joined the squadron commanded by Juan de Lángara, who appointed him his chief aid, primer ayudante, and secretary. He was still at sea, in 1796, when war was declared against England; but in 1797, Lángara being named minister of marine, and unwilling to lose his young secretary, he brought him to Madrid, giving him a place in the department. Here, in 1802, Navarrete published, as a preface to the Relacion del Viage hecho por las goletas Sutil y Mexicana, a résumé of Spanish discoveries on the Californian and Northwest coasts, 199 that has been much cited in the English-American disputes about the Oregon boundary. Meanwhile his merits were recognized in Madrid. In 1807 he was named ministro fiscal of the supreme council of the admiralty court, he holding already the rank of captain. But in this year came the French invasion, overturning all things. Madrid fell in 1808. In 1812 Navarrete was found in Cádiz; in 1814 in Murcia. Fernando regained his throne, however, May 14, 1814; four months after which event Navarrete returned to Madrid. In 1815 he proposed from his place in the Spanish Academy that new system of orthography which has been adopted for its dictionary. He interested himself also in the fine arts, and as secretary of the Academy of San Fernando contributed many valuable papers to its Transactions. Soon after his return to Madrid, being little pleased with the stormy and veering statesmanship of the day, he retired as much as possible from politics, and began to collect materials for his life of Cervantes—an excellent and very complete work published by the academy, with its edition of Don Quijote, in 1820. Honors continued to cluster around the historian. Toward the close of 1823 he was appointed director of the hydrographic department, and he became for many years in fact, if not in name, the great and chief naval authority of Spain; and this without prejudice to his literary activity. In 1825 appeared the first two volumes of his Collection of Voyages; the third appeared in 1829; the fourth and fifth in 1837; while the sixth and seventh were still unfinished at the author's death. On the publication of the Estatuto Real, in 1834, he received a place in the new peerage, and sat afterward as senator for his own province, in almost every legislature. But his studious life and pacific character were hardly destined to shine in a political career, nor was it for the interest of science that they should. In the winter of 1844, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, Navarrete died. The Academy issued a posthumous work of his in 1846, a dissertation on the history of the nautical and mathematical sciences in Spain. A collection of his smaller works, Coleccion de Opúsculos, was begun in 1848 by his son. The two volumes which have already appeared consist mainly of short biographies of Spanish navigators and literary men, previously scattered in periodicals and in the transactions of the various academies and societies. Navarrete was a man of learning and research, as clearly appears; inclined somewhat to verbosity; tiresome to most readers, though pronounced elegante y castizo by his contemporaries. Of the historical value of his works, however, there is but one opinion. Humboldt speaks of his Collection of Voyages as 'one of the most important monuments of modern times,' and calls him 'the most accurate historian of the geographical discoveries on the New Continent.' The Baron de Zach, M. de Berthelot, Prescott, Helps, Irving, and Stirling, have all given him much consideration. Indeed, the friends of Navarrete cannot complain that he has not been honored. Decorated with grand orders, member in high place of many academies and societies, his lot was more fortunate than is usual among literary men. The parts of Navarrete's collection which bear most directly upon this history are: Relacion de Diego de Porras, i. 282-96; Carta que escribió D. Cristóbal Colon, i. 296-313; Relacion hecha por Diego Mendez, i. 314-29; Cartas de Colon, i. 330-52; Viages Menores, iii. 1-74; Real cédula por la cual, con referencia á lo capitulado con Diego de Nicuesa y Alonso de Hojeda, iii. 116-17; Noticias biográficas del capitan Alonso Hojeda, iii. 163-76; 200 and the Establecimientos ó Primeras Poblaciones de los Españoles en el Darien, including instructions to Pedrarias, letters of Vasco Nuñez, memorial of Rodrigo de Colmenares, and the relation of Pascual de Andagoya, iii. 337-459.

Scarcely was Navarrete's Coleccion de Viages put to press, when Washington Irving heard of it, and went to Madrid with the intention of translating it into English. But he soon saw that with less labor he could accomplish a work which would yield him greater returns. Navarrete, who had already collected the material and prepared the way, was still disposed to lend the genial American every assistance; it was necessary for him to make few original investigations; so that under the circumstances the Life of Columbus was by no means a difficult task for so ready a writer. Humboldt visited Madrid before coming to America, but seems to have consulted no important historical documents not in the possession of others. Prescott obtained from the collections of Muñoz and Navarrete 8000 foolscap pages of copies, most of which having any importance have since been printed by Icazbalceta, Alaman, and others.

Between the years 1837 and 1841 Henri Ternaux-Compans published at Paris twenty volumes of Voyages, relations, et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, containing, beside translations of several rare and then unobtainable works, some seventy-five original documents, several of them from the Muñoz collection, and others obtained from the Spanish archives in some unexplained way, possibly not wholly disconnected with the French campaign on the Peninsula. Among his translations are documents relating to the conquest and settlement of Central America and Mexico, the relations of Cabeza de Vaca and Ixtlilxochitl, Oviedo's History of Nicaragua, Zurita's Report on New Spain, and Ixtlilxochitl's History of the Chichimecs. Ternaux-Compans also published Recueil de documents et mémoires originaux sur l'histoire des possessions espagnoles dans l'Amérique, Paris, 1840; and Bibliothèque américaine, a catalogue of books on America appearing prior to 1700.

The project of printing original papers selected from national and family archives was agitated in Spain by Campomanes, Jovellanos, Villamil, and others, who collected and wrote much upon the subject. The scheme was delayed by the political disruptions incident to the early part of the century, by which the archives became badly scattered. In 1842, under the auspices of the Academia de la Historia, was begun the publication, at Madrid, of a Coleccion de Documentos Inéditos para la Historia de España, with the names of Martin Fernandez Navarrete, Miguel Salvá, and Pedro Sainz de Baranda on the title-page. Navarrete lived to see only the fifth volume; Salvá and Baranda continued the publication to vol. xxiii., after which, Salvá edited alone to vol. xxxii., when he was joined by the marquises of Pidal and of Miraflores. After vol. xlvii., Pidal's name was dropped, and with vol. lvii. Salvá and the Marqués de Fuente del Valle appeared as editors. In connection with documents relating to the general history of Spain is here printed a vast amount of matter about America, and the doings of Spaniards in that quarter.

During the next score of years floods of light are let in upon the dark 201 recesses of hidden treasures, the spirit of unearthing which extends to Mexico. I may mention incidentally Ramirez, who, in his Proceso de Residencia contra Alvarado and Nuño de Guzman, gives some original Mexican documents not elsewhere published. Alaman, at the close of his Disertaciones, prints about forty original documents on the time of the Conquest, some of them from the collection of Navarrete, and others from original sources, such as the Hospital de Jesus in Mexico. The Documentos para la Historia de México, Mexico, 1853-7, in 21 volumes, was made chiefly from Mexican sources, and is specially valuable for north-west Mexico. Icazbalceta's collection includes fifty-three documents, with few exceptions inéditos, the existence of several of which, such as a letter of Cortés, and the relation of Tapia on the Conquest, was then unknown. Most of them were obtained through Gonzalez de Vera, of Madrid; only two or three were found in Mexico. Thus far Icazbalceta's collection refers exclusively to the sixteenth century. Brasseur de Bourbourg, for his Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique, Paris, 1857-9, one volume of which is devoted to a history of the Conquest from an Indian stand-point, seems to have relied on his Nahua manuscripts, the standard histories, and a few Spanish manuscripts. Although much thus far had been done, it seemed little to the savans of Spain in comparison with what yet might be accomplished. And it was with this feeling that the government authorized the printing of any documents in the Real Archivo de Indias affecting the history of America down to the end of the seventeenth century. The publication of this new series of papers was begun at Madrid in 1864 under title of Coleccion de Documentos Inéditos relativos al Descubrimiento, Conquista y Colonizacion de las posesiones Españolas en América y Oceanía, sacados, en su mayor parte, del Real Archivo de Indias. Joaquin F. Pacheco, Francisco de Cárdenas, and Luis Torres de Mendoza were editors at the first. After vol. iii. the first two names were dropped, and after vol. xii. the third, the work being thenceforth continued, competentemente autorizada. By this publication alone were placed within easy reach of all the world hundreds of the richest treasures of the Archives of the Indies, twenty for every one that the writer of thirty years ago could reach. 202

CHAPTER IV.
COLUMBUS ON THE COASTS OF HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, AND COSTA RICA.
1502-1506.

The Sovereigns Decline either to Restore to the Admiral his Government, or to Capture for him the Holy Sepulchre—So he Sails on a Fourth Voyage of Discovery—Fernando Colon and his History—Ovando Denies the Expedition Entrance to Santo Domingo Harbor—Columbus Sails Westward—Strikes the Shore of Honduras near Guanaja Island—Early American Cartography—Columbus Coasts Southward to the Darien Isthmus—Then Returns and Attempts Settlement at Veragua—Driven thence, his Vessels are Wrecked at Jamaica—There midst Starvation and Mutiny he Remains a Year—Then he Reaches Española and finally Spain, where he shortly afterward Dies—Character of Columbus—His Biographers.

Since his last return to Spain, Columbus had rested at Granada under the smiles of the sovereigns, who readily promised him all that he might wish, while resolved to grant nothing which could interfere with their absolute domination of the new lands that he had found for them. When tired of begging the restoration of his rights he urged their Majesties' assistance in seizing the holy sepulchre, that his vow might be fulfilled, and his mind at rest. After profound study and elaborate preparation he presented the case to them in a manuscript volume of prophecies and portents intermingled with poetry. Failing in winning them to this scheme, he promised, if ships were provided him, to undertake new discoveries. Partly because they would know more of their New World possessions, and partly to rid themselves of 203 uncomfortable importunities, the sovereigns assented to this proposal, meanwhile intimating that after two years had been allowed in which to quiet Española, the admiral should have his own again, but as clearly indicating to others that he should not.

Four vessels, ranging in burden from fifty to seventy tons, were then made ready, the Capitana, the Santiago de Polos, the Gallego, and the Vizcaino, commanded respectively by Diego Tristan, Francisco de Porras, Pedro de Terreros, and Bartolomé de Fresco, and embarked at Cádiz the 9th of May, 1502. With the expedition sailed Diego de Porras as chief clerk and notary, and Juan Sanchez as chief pilot; one hundred and forty men and boys constituted the company. The admiral was accompanied by his brother Bartolomé, the adelantado,[IV-1] and by his son Fernando,[IV-2] then thirteen years of age. The 204 sail across the ocean was prosperous, with favorable winds and nothing to augur the approaching misfortunes until the ships arrived off Santo Domingo on the 29th of June.

During the past two years matters had not improved at Española. It seems that others could govern badly as well as the admiral. Indeed, the kings of Spain, most of them meaning well by their 205 New World subjects, were too often unfortunate in their choice of agents. Until recently Bobadilla had held sway, the sovereigns being apparently in no haste to displace him; from which course it was evident either that they had not been properly informed of his conduct, or they approved of it. Perhaps it was true that a knave was better for the place than an honest man. A successor, however, had at length arrived in the person of Nicolás de Ovando, and the superb fleet which had brought him, and was to carry back the displaced governor to Spain, now rode at anchor in the harbor.

In following that contriving policy which others beside princes sometimes regard as necessary when straightforwardness were better, it had been deemed expedient that Columbus should not on this expedition touch at Española, lest his presence engender fresh broils on the island. And the admiral appeared to entertain no intention of breaking the royal commands, until he found, on reaching the Indies, that one of his vessels was unfit for service; or else he pretended that it was so in order to look in on his late government. But whether in actual or feigned distress, when the admiral sent the 29th of June to ask of Ovando permission to exchange a leaky caravel, or at least to shelter the vessels from an impending storm, his messenger Terreros returned with a refusal.

It was certainly an anomalous position in which the great discoverer found himself, vainly knocking at the door of a possession which he had so lately given to 206 Spain, and he not convicted, nay, scarcely accused of any crime. Columbus sent again and warned the governor of approaching bad weather. Ovando would not heed him. The gubernatorial fleet sailed; but only to face a hurricane which soon strewed the shores of Española with its fragments. Current biographies here read like a moral story. On the wrecked vessels were Bobadilla, Roldan, and other inveterate enemies of the admiral, who with a huge mass of ill-gotten treasure were buried beneath the waves. On a little caravel which survived the tempest was the good Bastidas with his property; and on another, which likewise reached Spain in safety, were four thousand pesos de oro belonging to Columbus. Furthermore the admiral sheltered his vessels, and so received no injury from the storm. From all which, grave deductions were severally made—by Columbus, that the Almighty had preserved him; by his enemies, that he had employed witchcraft to save himself and property; by others, of a luckless order which providence refuses to recognize, that the admiral and adelantado were good seamen. After certain ship repairs, made without difficulty in a little port near Santo Domingo, on the 14th of July Columbus sailed westward on his explorations.

It must be remembered that at this time, and for several years afterward, the Spaniards did not know where they were. They supposed the earth smaller than it is, and that they were on the barbarous outposts of India,[IV-3] whose interior was civilized and wealthy; and it was the present object of the admiral to find some strait or passage between this 207 border-land and the detached southern regions about Paria, on which he might sail to these rich inner realms, still coasting Asia south-westward.

A storm greeted him, followed by a calm, during which he was carried first southward by Jamaica, then northward past the western end of Cuba; after which, the wind freshening, he continued his course, and on the 30th of July came to a small elevated island, called by the natives Guanaja[IV-4], to which, from 208 the trees that covered it, he gave the name Isla de Pinos. On going ashore, the adelantado found the 209 island inhabited by people like those of Española and Cuba, except that they seemed more intelligent and 210 knew more of the useful arts. Presently a large canoe appeared coming from the direction of Yucatan. It measured eight feet in its greatest width, and was rowed by twenty-five men. In the middle, under a palm-leaf awning, sat a cacique,[IV-5] or chief, who manifested neither surprise nor fear on being brought into the presence of the admiral. He signified to the Spaniards as best he was able the extent and power of Mexico, and displayed utensils of copper, stone, and wood, earthen-ware, and cotton cloth brought thence. Gold was plentiful there, he also said; but the imagination of the admiral had mapped his strait somewhere southward; so Mexico was kept for Cortés.

There was on the island an ancient aboriginal of scientific attainments sufficient to enable him to draw for the Spaniards a chart of the mainland coast, and tell them much of the country. Him they took on board, and after dismissing the cacique with presents, crossed to the continent, and anchored near a point 211 which Columbus called Punta de Caxinas,[IV-6] from the native name of a certain fruit abounding thereabout. Here the Spaniards landed on the 14th of August, and celebrated mass; then proceeding eastward some fifteen leagues to the mouth of a river,[IV-7] they again landed on the 17th, and took formal possession for Spain. About a hundred painted savages displayed themselves, finer specimens than any on the islands, some naked, and others partially covered with white or colored cotton. They were friendly, and presented fruit and vegetables, fish, fowl, and maize. So conspicuously distended were the ears of the natives at one place that the name Costa de la Oreja was given to that vicinity.[IV-8]

Proceeding, the discoverers encountered a succession of gales which continued more than forty days, and having weathered them safely they were so delighted that in sailing round the point of their deliverance they thanked God, and called it Cape Gracias á Dios.[IV-9] All this time Columbus suffered severely. Indeed, he was now but little better than a wreck in body and mind. On the after part of the deck his bed was placed, and there he lay overwhelmed with pain and melancholy, lost in endless 212 mazes of speculation. Now and then he would rouse himself to translate his visions, or to direct the management of the ship, for though half his senses should leave him, he was still a sailor from instinct; but had it not been for the faithful energy of the adelantado, the voyage might as well never have been undertaken.

The mariners had now entered a smooth sea; with a favorable wind they passed rapidly down the Mosquito Coast, giving the name Limonares to a cluster of islands on which grew something like lemons or limes, and on the 16th of September anchored at the mouth of a large river. Boats were sent ashore for water, and in returning one was upset and the whole crew were drowned; from which melancholy occurrence the stream was named Rio del Desastre.[IV-10] Continuing, the 25th found the Spaniards off the Rio San Juan de Nicaragua, where, to escape a storm, they ran in behind an island, the native name of which was Quiriviri,[IV-11] but which from its verdant beauty Columbus called La Huerta, The Garden. There they rested several days, and found sweet speculation, easily inducing the savages to tell them such things as they should most delight to hear. Indeed, all along the coast had vague information been given, by signs ill interpreted, of a remarkable country called Ciguare, nine days' journey westward beyond the mountains. The people there were like the Spaniards, clothed, and armed with steel weapons, with horses and great ships. The women wore bands of coral and strings of pearls, and the commonest utensils were of gold. Ten days' journey from Ciguare must lie the river Ganges; and best of all, there was 213 a passage thither by sea; all the Spaniards had to do was to keep right on; they could not miss the way. The Europeans gave full credit to these assertions. Thus from the beginning mankind have been directed, and oftentimes to the grandest discoveries, by mingled accident and ignorance, and wise men like Columbus have believed these supremely silly stories because it pleased them to do so. These savages may have had rumors of Mexico or Peru on which to build their brilliant fictions; their statements were fictions none the less.

And indeed as they came together there for the first time, the white men and the red, it is often difficult to tell on which side was the greater simplicity and credulity. The folly of the Spaniard was moulded into firmer consistence, was less inept and vapory than the folly of the Americans, and that was about all. For instance, at the village of Cariay,[IV-12] just opposite on the main-land, Columbus thought to raise the Spaniards in the estimation of the savages by declining to take the guanin, an inferior kind of gold which they presented; whereupon for the same reason, and in retaliation, the natives refused European trinkets. When the adelantado, seated on a knoll with the notary by his side, sought to transfix some of the wild knowledge of those parts, the natives fled terrorstruck, supposing some magic spell was being cast upon them by the pens, ink, and paper so solemnly drawn forth by the scribe. Presently with great caution they returned, and with exorcising gesticulations burned and scattered in the air an odorous powder. On the other hand, with equally enlightened common sense, the Christians, unable to fathom the incantations of savagism, fancied 214 these heathen sorcerers bringing from the shades of their wilderness wrathful demons to hurl upon their adversaries; and ever after on the voyage all the ills that befell the Spaniards were attributed to the enchantments of the people of Cariay.[IV-13] At another port called Huiva, Columbus found the huts of the natives built in trees, which he attributed to fear of griffins. After a short excursion into the interior the adelantado returned to the ships. Near Cape Gracias á Dios the old man of Guanaja had been liberated with presents, as no longer of use; now, seven natives were seized and made to divulge what they knew of the country, two of them being retained as guides.

Sailing from Cariay the 5th of October, the second day they came to the Laguna de Chiriquí, the country thereabout being called by the natives Cerebaro.[IV-14] If some distance back Columbus had found The Garden, here was a pluralized paradise. The wonder was how nature contrived such glories. Round the entrance clustered islands whose outspread foliage brushed the venturesome sails that threaded the deep narrow channels. Celestial beauty irradiated the land, and a celestial brightness overspread the sea. But a small additional rent was necessary in the ragged imagination of the admiral to fancy himself already translated. The part of the 215 laguna explored by this expedition was the north-western, known to-day as the Bahía del Almirante; the southern part was called by the natives Aburema.

Hanging from the necks of the natives was pure gold in plates, now first found since touching these shores, but the owners were content to keep it. Further on, anywhere but here, they said, was plenty of gold, notably at a place called Veragua, twenty-five leagues distant, where these much-admired plates of gold were fabricated. Hastening forward, the Spaniards arrived, on the 18th, at a river twelve leagues to the eastward of Cerebaro, called by Fernando Colon, Guaiga, and by Porras, Guyga, where the savages attempted at first to drive them away by splashing water, brandishing wooden swords, beating drums, and sounding conchs; which demonstration being over they quietly traded sixteen of their gold-plates, valued at one hundred and fifty ducats, for three hawk-bells. The following day the Spaniards were met in like manner by other savages whom a shot sent scampering; after which they returned and traded dutifully.

After this the discoverers touched at the provinces of Catibá and Cobrabá, where they saw the ruins of a wall built of stone and lime, which excited in them anticipations of a near approach to civilization; but as they neared the rich river the wind freshened and carried them past, without however preventing a glimpse of five towns, one of which the guides assured them was Veragua.[IV-15] In the next province, Cubigá, terminated the gold region, so they were told. Some were eager to go back to Veragua and gather gold, but anxious to find his strait Columbus put them off, saying he would return anon.

Fancy the old admiral groping in the darkness, the 216 world, the universe clear enough to him as mapped in his own mind, but unhappily not fitting the substantial facts. Instinctively he seems to hover about this the narrowest part of the continent, his ship's prow now pointed directly toward Spain, with India so far away, and the vast water intervening, and the small but mighty strip of land that makes his mental map of no avail. Thus since the world began millions have mapped eternity, and still do map it, the heavenly powers meanwhile laughing at the miserable work men make of it.

Thus vainly searching, on the 2d of November Columbus finds his ships at anchor in a beautiful and commodious harbor entered between two islands. On every side are fields of maize, and orchards of fruit, and groves of palm; for the people dwell in houses and cultivate the ground. There he remains seven days, waiting the cessation of a storm; and he calls the place Puerto Bello, also written Portobello, which name it has ever since retained. Venturing forth on the 9th, he makes eastward eight leagues, but is driven back, and takes refuge behind some islands in a small harbor, which he calls Puerto de Bastimentos,[IV-16] from the abundance of provisions brought them there. After repairing the ships, now badly worm-eaten, he again on the 23d attempts an advance eastward, but is speedily driven into a cove, which he names El Retrete, some calling it Puerto de Escribanos, and which is so small as barely to admit the ships, and so deep that bottom cannot be touched.[IV-17] 217

And now the mariners show signs of discontent; with gold so near they are not Spaniards else. And the great discoverer, the admiral of the ocean sea, must he bury in this little crevice of a barbarous shore his mighty hopes? Bastidas was here,[IV-18] although it is not certain how well informed the admiral is of the fact, whether he had notice from Bastidas at Santo Domingo as to the termination of his voyage, or whether the natives here had told him; in any event, there cannot be now in the admiral's mind much doubt that the coast is practically discovered from Trinidad to Guanaja, and that between these two islands is a shore-line of continent unbroken by any strait. Yes, as well unbrace here as elsewhere; and gold-hunting is not a bad occupation for an old man after his life's work is done.

Turning then toward Veragua for solace, the Spaniards sailed from El Retrete the 5th of December. 218 But with this change the fickle wind had likewise changed its course; wherever they went were storms and buffetings, until Columbus pronounced upon that shore the name La Costa de los Contrastes. Where now was the balmy breath of perfumed isles, the sparkling sun dancing beneath the wanton waters? Demonized. Gale followed gale in quick succession; winds contending, veering; now the mariners were hurried on toward their destination, only to be driven back to their starting-point. The stubborn waves struck the crazy barks with such menacing force as to send the terror-stricken sailors to their knees in confession, and prayer for deliverance. For nine days the sea was white with angry foam; the sky blazed with electric fires; the men fell sick; provisions spoiled. Long, lank, muscular sharks, weatherwise monsters, followed the ships expectantly, until the hunger-smitten crews eyed them ominously in return, until these creatures that had come to eat were caught and eaten by these other creatures. All this time down poured the rain in torrents and nearly submerged the ships. In the midst of these cataclysmal horrors a water-spout was seen approaching, "which," Fernando Colon is sure, "if they had not dissolved by reciting the gospel of St John, would certainly have sunk whatever it had fallen upon." Twenty-nine days were occupied in making as many leagues to the westward. Once the ships parted company for three days; twice they ran into Portobello, and twice they took refuge at other places on the coast.

At length, with thanksgiving, January 6, 1503, they came to anchor at the mouth of a river, the native name of which was Yebra; but Columbus, in honor of the day, Epiphany, called it Santa María de Belen.[IV-19] One league to the westward was the river Veragua. The admiral ordered both streams 219 to be sounded. The Veragua was found too shallow for the ships. At the mouth of the Belen was a bar, which however could be crossed at high water; above the bar the depth was four fathoms. On the bank of the Belen stood a village, whose inhabitants at first opposed the landing of the Spaniards; but being persuaded by the interpreter, they at length yielded. They were a well-developed, muscular people, rather above medium stature, intelligent, and exceptionally shrewd; in fact, in point of native ability they were in no wise inferior to the Spaniards. When questioned concerning their country, they answered guardedly; when asked about their gold mines, they replied evasively. First, it was from some far-off mysterious mountain the metal came; then the river Veragua was made to yield it all; there was none at all about Belen, nor within their territory, in fact. Finally they took a few trinkets, and gave the intruders twenty plates of gold, thinking to be rid of them. Within a day or two the vessels were taken over the bar, and on the 9th two of them ascended the river a short distance. The natives made the best of it, and brought fish and gold.

With an armed force the adelantado sets out in boats to explore the Veragua. He has not proceeded far when he is met by a fleet of canoes, in one of which sits the quibian,[IV-20] the king of all that country, having under him many subordinate chiefs. He is tall, well-modelled, and compactly built, with restless, searching eyes, but otherwise expressionless features, taciturn and dignified, and, for a savage, of exceptionally bland demeanor. We shall find him as politic as 220 he is powerful; and as for his wealth, unfortunately for him, his domain includes the richest gold mines of that rich coast. On the whole, the quibian is as fine a specimen of his race as the adelantado is of his. And thus they are fairly met, the men of Europe and the men of North America; and as in the gladiatorial combat, which opens with a smiling salutation, this four-century life-struggle begins with friendly greetings. Pity it is, they are outwardly not more evenly matched; pity it is that the European with his superior civilization, his saltpetre, and blood-hounds, his steel weapons, and strange diseases, should be allowed to do his robbery so easily! But ravenous beasts and bloody bipeds are so made that they do not hesitate to take advantage of the helpless; it is only civilized man, however, that calls his butcherings by pleasant names, such as progress, piety, and makes his religion and his law conform to his heart's unjust desires.

As the champions approach each other, we see about them both an air of determination and command; and while extremely cordial, we see on either side that courtesy common to those who fear while they suspect. With princely grace the red man takes from his naked body some massive golden ornaments and presents them to the white man; the adelantado, not to be outdone in generosity by a savage, with equal dignity and solemnity presents the red man a handful of valueless baubles. The ceremony over, with mutual assurances of friendship the chieftains retire. Next day the quibian visits the admiral in his ship. Neither has much to say; presents are exchanged, and the savage returns to his people.

While the ships of the Spaniards lay by the bank in fancied security, on the 24th of January the storm-demon, as if enraged at the escape of its victims from the fury of the sea, rushed to the mountains, and opening the windows of heaven, let down a deluge on the land. The rushing torrents swept everything before 221 them. The vessels were torn from their moorings and carried down the river, only to be met at the mouth by the incoming breakers from the sea. And thus to their imminent peril they were tossed for several days by the contending waters.

The storm abating, and the ships made secure, the adelantado again started in search of the gold-fields. With sixty-eight men he ascended the Veragua to the village of the quibian, whose house was situated on a hill round which were scattered the dwellings of his people. The chieftain with a large retinue, unarmed in token of peace, welcomed the visitors at the landing. Guides were readily furnished at the adelantado's request; so leaving part of his company to guard the boats, with the remainder he set out on foot for the base of the mountain, distant six leagues, which he reached the following day. For many miles he found the soil richly impregnated with gold, and returned elated, as visions of populous cities and unbounded wealth floated through his brain. Which seeing, the quibian grimly smiled that they should deem their work already done, himself subdued, the land their own; and he smiled to think how he had sent them round and away from his own rich mines to the poorer and more distant fields of Urirá, his ancient enemy. Then the adelantado explored westward, and came to the town and river[IV-21] of this Urirá, and to the towns of Dururi, Cobrabá, and Catibá, where he obtained gold and provisions.

There were here fifty leagues of coast, from Cerebaro to Veragua, called by the Spaniards the tierra de rescate, or land of trade, meaning trade in gold, that being the only thing worth trading for in an expedition of this kind. This seaboard was heavily wooded, and uninhabited except along the rivers, for three leagues inland. And all things seeming so favorable, Columbus thought he would plant a colony 222 here, leave eighty men and one of the vessels in charge of the adelantado, and with the remainder return to Spain, report the results of his discovery, and obtain reinforcements. In a word, if not restrained by some Ferdinand, or Fonseca, or other hateful friend, he would repeat with fresh enthusiasm his former errors which had so nearly wrought his ruin. But his usual ill-luck came to the rescue. The quibian did not view with favor the preparations which he saw the Spaniards making for a permanent residence on his lands, and he determined it should not be. But how could he prevent it? For he was well aware of the advantages these strangers possessed in open warfare. Yet there were several ways open to him; if he did not wish to attack them with an overwhelming force he could devastate the country around, withdraw his people, and leave the Spaniards to die, meanwhile cutting off such stragglers and foraging parties as he could easily handle. And this he did, beginning operations by summoning the neighboring tribes, ostensibly for the purpose of organizing an expedition against Urirá, and Cobrabá.

The suspicions of the Spaniards were aroused. Diego Mendez, escudero, esquire, or shield-bearer of the ship Santiago,[IV-22] a sharp, bold, and somewhat boastful man, but courageous beyond the comprehension of fear, asked and obtained permission to investigate the matter. Entering the Veragua in an armed boat he found encamped below the quibian's village about a thousand painted warriors. Assuming an air of unconcern Mendez landed and strolled leisurely among the savages. Remarking on their proposed expedition he offered to join them; but his services were rejected, and his presence was manifestly distasteful to them. He returned and reported that the savages were preparing to attack the Spaniards. 223 Yet to satisfy some who doubted, Mendez went again, this time taking with him one companion, Rodrigo de Escobar, intending plainly to demand of the quibian his purpose. A host of frowning savages greeted the visitors, who asked to see the quibian. They were informed that he was lying ill from the effects of a wound received in battle. "For that very purpose," replied the ready Mendez, "I a surgeon am come to heal him." But the Spaniards could not gain audience of the chief, and they returned more than ever convinced of his bloody intention toward them.

What was to be done? The admiral could not depart while hostilities were pending, nor could the Spaniards delay their operations until it should please the savages to attack them. The adelantado determined to force an issue. With seventy-five men, on the morning of the 30th of March, he ascended the Veragua, and landed unobserved near the quibian's village. Hiding his men, he advanced, first with four attendants, then alone, until after some difficulty he gained admission to the quibian's presence. What Bartolomé was now attempting was the regular game, afterward played for higher stakes, but now being pretty generally practised in the New World; namely, to capture the chief and hold him hostage for the good behavior of his people. It was at the door in front of the quibian's dwelling that this interview took place. The savage suspected nothing. The very boldness of the scheme, so foreign to aboriginal warfare, tended to allay apprehension. Within were fifty of his household, and at easy call five hundred warriors; what had the quibian to fear? The two chiefs sat and talked, first on general subjects; then the adelantado enquired concernedly about his host's illness, examined the wound tenderly, passed his hands over the disabled limb while proposing remedies. Suddenly the savage felt the grasp of the Spaniard tighten upon him, and 224 before his suspicions were fairly aroused his arms were pinioned behind him. Mendez, who had been watching, fired his arquebuse, and the concealed Spaniards rushed forward and surrounded the house. The quibian struggled, but weakened by sickness he was easily held in the iron grasp of the adelantado, until by the aid of the other Spaniards he was made powerless. So adroitly was the feat performed, that before the presence of the Spaniards was generally known among the natives, their chief and all his family were captive, and on the way to the boats. The savages lifted up the usual lamentations, and offered enormous ransom; but it had been determined beforehand that the chief personages of the nation should be sent to Spain; for in such procedure, the admiral thought, lay the greater security of his plans.

At this juncture in the narrative historians, even modern writers of fair intelligence, gravely discuss the probabilities of guilt in the quibian's supposed treachery, some holding with Diego de Porras that the natives did not meditate attack; as if they had not the right to defend their country, their wives and little ones, from the ravages of the invader by any means within their power.

Passing conventional twaddle—for if the quibian was not guilty he ought in honor to have been—it is very certain that this action on the part of the Spaniards was the cause of many woes, and of their final overthrow in these parts.[IV-23] In any event it was now of the highest importance to secure the quibian. The whole adventure on this coast depended upon it; therefore the adelantado hastened to send his captives on board the ships. Desirous of instituting other proceedings for the pacification of that section before 225 returning, the adelantado looked about him for a reliable person to whom he might entrust his weighty charge. Present was Juan Sanchez, chief pilot, an honest sailor, not wholly indifferent to military honors, who earnestly offered service and was accepted. The quibian, tied hand and foot, was firmly bound to his seat in the boat; and superfluous as might appear any admonition, the adelantado charged Juan Sanchez to look well to his prisoner. "Pluck out my beard hair by hair if he escape me," was the vaunting reply of the pilot as he shoved his boat from the bank and started down the river.

But alas for the overweening confidence of a Peter or a Juan Sanchez! Fighting the elements at sea is a different thing from fighting Indians on land. Quite a different order of tactics is required; and the sailor's life is not the school in which to study the wiles of Indian strategy. In the one place the sailor is not more superior than is the savage in the other. The quibian, outwardly calm, inwardly is fiercely excited; and like the wild beast when hotly pursued, his instincts quicken with the occasion. He and his loved ones are prisoners, treacherously entrapped by a strange species of the human kind in return for fair words and generous hospitality. Their probable fate possesses all the horrors of uncertainty. Swiftly with the swift boat runs the time away; something must be done or all is lost. Narrowly, but cautiously, the chief surveys his keeper. It is pleasant to look upon the homely face of honest Juan Sanchez; not a lineament there but shines with God's best message to man, and in language which even dumb intelligence may read. Stern duty is largely diluted with humanity, integrity with charming simplicity; from which the wily quibian takes his cue, and thenceforth is master of the situation. With quiet dignity and cheerful resignation he sits among his people, hushing their lamentations and chiding their complaints. By words and little acts of consideration he lightens the 226 labors of the boatmen, and studies for himself and people to give no unnecessary trouble. These conciliatory measures are not lost on the warm-hearted sailor, whose regard for his royal captive rises every moment. He is pronounced by all a well-mannered savage, a most courteous savage. And now the quibian modestly complains of the cords so tightly drawn by the too zealous Mendez. They do indeed cut into the flesh, and constrain him to a most uncomfortable position. And he such a gentleman-savage! Juan Sanchez is not the man to sit there and see a fellow-creature unnecessarily suffer; he cannot do it. The thongs which lacerate the prisoner's wrists are loosened, the cord which binds him to the seat is untied; but for security—for above all this great chief must be kept secure—one end of it the ever-watchful pilot twists round his hand. Night comes on. It is very dark, but the captives are quiet, and the boat glides noiselessly down the stream. Suddenly the light craft sways; a plunge is heard; the pilot feels his hand violently wrenched; he must loosen his hold or be drawn into the water. It is all as the flash of a pistol in point of time; the quibian's seat is empty; and honest Juan Sanchez is obliged to present his hanging front before his comrades, a Spaniard outwitted by a savage!

After scouring the country in several directions, the adelantado returned to the ships, bringing gold-plates, wristlets, and anklets to the value of three hundred ducats, which were divided, after deducting the king's fifth. Among the spoils taken from the quibian were two golden coronets, one of which was presented to Bartolomé by the admiral. Notwithstanding the escape of the chief, who, after all, was probably drowned, Columbus proceeded to execute his plans. There were the king's household and his chief men safely on board, and these should be sufficient to guarantee the tranquillity of the nations. 227 So the arrangements for the comfort and security of the colony during the contemplated absence of the admiral were hastened to completion. The three vessels, after discharging part of their cargoes, were carried by the newly swollen stream over the bar, and reloaded. There they lay at anchor waiting a favorable wind.

All this time, however, the Spaniards were reckoning without their host. The quibian was not dead. In spite of his bonds, he had made good his escape. After his bold plunge, finding himself free from the boat, he had extricated his wrists from the loosened cords, swam beneath the water to the bank, and had set out for his village, resolving vengeance. And now, hastily arming a thousand warriors, he attacked the Spaniards under cover of the dense vegetation, killing one and wounding eight, but was soon repulsed with heavy loss. Shortly afterward Diego Tristan, coming ashore from one of the vessels with eleven men, recklessly ascended the river a league for wood and water. All but one were killed.[IV-24]

The aspect of affairs was serious. It was now evident that no fear of what might befall his imprisoned household would deter the quibian from his bloody purpose. Alive or dead might be his brothers, wives, and children, he would rid his country of these perfidious 228 strangers. To this end he secured the coöperation of the neighboring chieftains, and filled the forest with his warriors. Stealthily they lurked in the vicinity of the settlement, and watched every pathway, ready to cut off any who should venture abroad. Nowhere on the Islands had the Spaniards met such stubborn opposition, and serious misgivings filled their minds. Their own probable doom they saw foreshadowed in the mutilated bodies of Tristan and his men, which came floating past them down the stream, attended by ravenous fishes; and the requiems sung by quarrelling vultures over the remains when afterward they were thrown back by the waves upon the beach, tended in no wise to lessen their dismal forebodings. To heighten their misfortunes, a furious storm arose, which cut off all communication between the settlement and the ships. The adelantado endeavored in vain to quiet the fears of his people, who emboldened by despair would have seized the remaining caravel and put to sea had the weather permitted. Yet closer pressed upon them the enraged quibian, until dislodged they retreated to the river bank, before their caravel, and threw up earthworks, which they capped with the ship's boat, and behind which they planted their guns, and so kept the savages at bay.

On shipboard matters were no better. The continued absence of Tristan and his crew caused the admiral great anxiety. In such a heavy sea it was unsafe to remain near the shore; the parting of a cable would doom the clumsy craft to swift destruction. And as if this were not enough, the spirit of the quibian broke out among his encaged family. Preferring death to captivity they plotted escape. During the night the prisoners were confined in the forecastle, and on the covering slept a guard of soldiers. Collecting one night such articles as were within reach, stones used as ballast, boxes, and provision casks, they piled them up under the hatchway 229 cover. Toward morning, when the guards were sleeping soundly, as many of the captives as were able mounted the heap, and placing their shoulders to the covering, by quick concerted action burst it open, throwing the sleeping sentinels in every direction, and springing out leaped into the sea. Those whose escape was prevented were found next morning dead, some hanging to the roof and sides of their prison, some strangled by means of strings round the neck drawn tight with the foot.

It was now of the utmost importance to communicate with the shore, as the admiral was convinced that the situation of the colonists was becoming perilous in the extreme. At least, all hope of settlement in that quarter must for the present be abandoned. The fate of the captives, when once it was known, would move the very rocks to revenge. But no boat could live in the surf intervening. Then stepped forward Pedro Ledesma, a Sevillian pilot, and offered if rowed to the breakers to attempt to gain the shore by swimming. The thing was done. Scarcely had Ledesma picked himself up from the spot where the waves threw him when he was surrounded by his forlorn countrymen, who informed him of the fate of Tristan, and of their determination to quit that accursed coast at any hazard. Ledesma returned and told the admiral, upon whose mind thereupon gloom settled in yet denser shades. Unrighteously deprived of his command at Santo Domingo, he had nourished the hope that this last and most important of his discoveries might prove the base of better fortune than was possible on the Spanish Isle. For had it not been revealed to him that this Veragua was the source whence Solomon drew the gold to build the temple? These lamentations continued during the remainder of the storm, which lasted nine days longer; after which preparations were made for the embarkation of the colonists, the admiral consoling himself with the promise of return under more favorable auspices. 230

Finally the caravel stationed in the river was dismantled, and out of the spars and some Indian canoes was made a raft, by means of which the colonists and their effects were in two days taken on board. The admiral then bore away eastward for Española. And it may have been the lingering hope of blind infatuation—so his followers thought it—that made him cling to the shore until the Darien country was passed, before striking out across the Caribbean Sea; others say it was to avoid contrary winds, while he affirms it was to deceive his pilots that they might not be able to find Veragua again without his charts. One worm-eaten caravel he was obliged to drop at Portobello. The other two held together until they reached Jamaica, where they were beached.

A new series of misfortunes here awaited the Great Unlucky One. From June 1503 to June 1504 he was doomed to remain on his wrecks, which now lay side by side, partially filled with water. Food became scarce, and the foraging expeditions met with constantly increasing difficulties in seeking the necessary supply. By desperate efforts Diego Mendez succeeded in reaching Española in a canoe; but when he had notified Ovando of the perilous situation of Columbus, the governor was in no haste to relieve his rival. Sickness next followed, and then mutiny. Francisco de Porras with forty-eight men threw off allegiance to the admiral, and taking ten canoes set out for Española. Twice thrown back upon Jamaica by adverse winds they abandoned the attempt, and gave themselves up to licentious roving about the island. A second mutiny was near its culmination when a small vessel appeared in the distance. Presently Diego de Escobar approached in a boat, and without leaving it, thrust in upon the admiral a letter, a side of bacon, and a barrel of wine, all from Ovando; then he disappeared as mysteriously as he had come. Following an attempted reconciliation with Porras 231 was a fight between his gang and the Spaniards under Bartolomé, in which six were killed, among them our honest friend Juan Sanchez, who had cast his lot with Porras. The doughty Ledesma, also a rebel, though badly wounded, lived to be assassinated in Spain. Porras and several others were taken prisoners and confined on board the wreck. The remainder of the deserters then returned, penitent. Finally the admiral's agent at Santo Domingo, Diego de Salcedo, came to his relief with two ships.

It was infamous in Ovando to leave Columbus so long in such a strait. The excuses he pleaded were absence at Jaraguá, and lack of suitable ships; but had he been in earnest to deliver the admiral, means could have been found before the lapse of a year. Although on arriving at Santo Domingo Columbus received lodgings in Ovando's house, and the governor was outwardly exceedingly attentive to his guest, in reality there was little in common between the two men but jealousy and distrust. Porras was allowed to roam at large, though finally sent to Spain for trial. Columbus sailed for Spain September 12, 1504. For a time he kept his bed at Seville, writing heart-rending letters to the sovereigns, who paid little attention to them. By the help of the adelantado, ever his most faithful friend and brother, Columbus managed the following year to creep up to court and beg redress from the king, for the queen was now dead. But Ferdinand was deeply disgusted; not so much however as to prevent his granting the illustrious discoverer a magnificent burial shortly after. It was the 20th of May, 1506, that Columbus died at Valladolid, at the age of about seventy years.[IV-25]

Thus terminated the first attempt of Spaniards to plant a colony on the main-land of North America. 232 Columbus himself, the leader, advanced with proffers of friendship in one hand and a sword in the other, retaliated upon a fancied savage treachery by a still more insidious treachery, and was driven from the country by a brave ruler, whose deeds deserve to be enrolled beside those of patriots everywhere. One kind act of a tender-hearted Spanish sailor—would I had more of them to record in this history—brings the direst misfortune on his countrymen, delays for a dozen years the occupation of Veragua, and turns the tide of conquest in other directions.

Most remarkable in the character of Columbus was the combination of the theoretical and the practical; and most remarkable in his theories was the anomaly that though nearly all of them were false, they led to as grand results as if they had been true. The aperture through which failure creeps into carefully laid schemes is usually some glaring defect of character; and such defect often appears where little suspected, in natures warped by genius, or where one quality is unduly developed at the expense of another quality. We often see men of rare ability wrecked by what would be regarded an act of folly unaccountable in the stupidest person; but we do not often see success resulting from these same defects. The greatest defect in the faculties of Columbus, extravagance of belief, was the primary cause of his success. Simple to us as is the reality of the earth's rotundity, and of the practicability of a western route to Asia, no one could then have entertained those doctrines without extraordinary credulity; even though Pythagoras and others had so long ago expressed such ideas, 233 no one could then have acted on them short of infatuation bordering on insanity. To say the world is round was not enough; Thales of Miletus proved it not a plane two thousand years before. If it were round, the water would run off; if it were flat, why then one safely might sail on it; if it be flat, and the water runs not off, then at the other end there must be land that keeps the water on, and one might sail over the flat sea to that land—all such logic was less puerile than the feelings by which the Genoese ordinarily reached conclusions. His efforts were the embodiment of the ideas of many thoughtful men, timorous persons, perhaps, or merely meditative and passive, but in none of whom united his ability, courage, and enthusiasm; above all, none so scientific were at the same time so determined. Often the knowledge of a prophecy is the cause of its fulfilment. Some say Alonso Sanchez told him of Española, and he himself affirms that once he visited Iceland. It may have been that on this voyage he learned from the Norsemen of their Vinland and Helluland. What then? Were this true, such stories would have had with him scarcely greater weight than the sayings of the ancients, or than current interpretations of holy writ.

Nothing more plainly proves the power that sent him forth than the fact that in scarcely one of his original conceptions was he correct. He thought to reach Asia over an unobstructed ocean sea by sailing west; he did not. To the day of his death he thought America was Asia, and that Cuba was mainland; that the earth was much smaller than it is, and that six sevenths of it was land. He dwelt much on a society of Amazons who never had existence, and at every step among the Islands he ingenuously allowed his inflamed imagination to deceive him. He claimed to have been divinely appointed for this mission; he affirmed his voyage a miracle, and himself inspired with the conception of it by the most holy Trinity; he vowed to rescue the holy sepulchre, 234 which he never did; he proclaimed visions which he never saw, such as St Elmo at the top-mast with seven lighted tapers, and told of voices which he never heard; he pictured himself a missionary to benighted heathen, when in truth he was scattering among them legions of fiery devils. But what he knew and did, assuredly, was enough, opening the ocean to highways, and finding new continents; enough to fully entitle him to all the glory man can give to man; and as for his errors of judgment, had he been able to map America as accurately as can we to-day, had he been divine instead of, as he claimed, only divinely appointed, with myriads of attendant ministers, his achievement would have been none the greater. From the infirmities of his nature sprang the nobility of Brutus; from the weaknesses of Columbus was compounded his strength.

Assuredly it was no part of the experience and ingenuity which springs from life-long application that made Columbus so essentially a visionary; nor was it his scientific attainments, nor the splendid successes which despite the so frequent frowns of fortune we must accredit him. In his avocation of mariner he was a plain, thoughtful man of sound judgment and wise discretion; but fired by enthusiasm he became more than an ordinary navigator; he became more as he fancied himself, superhuman, the very arm of omnipotence. Once born in him the infatuation that he was the divinely appointed instrument for the accomplishment of this work, and frowning monarchs or perilous seas were as straws in his way. We see clearly enough what moved him, these four hundred years after the event, though he who was moved in reality knew little about it. By the pressure of rapidly accumulating ideas we see brought to the front in discovery Christopher Columbus, just as in the reformation of the church Martin Luther is crowded to the front. The German monk was not the Reformation; like the Genoese 235 sailor, he was but an instrument in the hands of a power palpable to all, but called by different persons different names.

While yet mingling in the excitements of progressive manhood, he became lost in a maze of mysticism, and to the end of his life he never recovered possession of himself. Not that self-mastery, the first necessity of correct conduct, was wholly gone; there was method in his madness; and he could deny the demons within him, but it was only to leave open the door and give himself up to yet other demons.

In the centuries of battle now lately renewed between science and religion, Columbus fought on both sides. Never was a man more filled at once with the material and the spiritual, with the emotional and the intellectual. Mingling with beatified spirits in the garden of his moral paradise were naked wild men equally as glorious in their immoralities. His creed, which was his very life, was not in his eyes a bundle of supernatural abstractions, but concrete reality as much as were any of his temporal affairs. Himself an honest devotee of science, and believing science the offspring of religion, science and himself must therefore finally be forever laid upon the same altar. He had no thought of work apart from religion, or of religion apart from work. He had ready a doctrine for every heavenly display, a theory for every earthly phenomenon. When pictures of other lands rose in his imagination, he knew them to be real, just as Juan Diego of Mexico knew to be real the apparition of our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyacac. By the gnawing hunger of temporal and spiritual ambition he was enabled to see the new lands suggested by science, just as the imprisoned monk, starved and scourged into the beholdings of insanity, sees angels of every incarnation.

While thus obliged to view all his achievements through the atmosphere of creative mysticism, in weighing his manifold qualities, it is well always to 236 remember that there were achievements, and those of the very highest order. His mysticism was the mysticism of practical life rather than of inactive ideality. His faith was of value to him in giving definiteness to energy otherwise vague and fitful. His all-potential enthusiasm subordinated to one idea every erratic and incoherent aspiration. It gave his life a fixedness of purpose which lust, avarice, and every appetite combined could not have given without it; so that while he brooded with misanthropic wistfulness he did not shirk any fancied duty, even when attended by pain and misfortune. His was not a cloistered inspiration, but an overwhelmingly active enthusiasm. There was in him no longing after a perfect life; in his own eyes his life was perfect. No restless questionings over the unknowable; there was no unknowable. His oblique imagination encompassed all worlds and penetrated all space. His positivism bound the metaphysical no less firmly than the material. Abstract conceptions were more tangible than concrete facts. Realities were but accidents; ideas were the only true realities. The highway of the heavens which to profoundest investigation is dusty with the débris of an evolving universe, to this self-sufficient sailor was as plain as the king's road from Seville to Cádiz.

And as genius grows with experience, so grew his determination with the errors he so frequently fell into. He was not a happy man, nor was he always a pleasant companion. In his delusions he was self-satisfied; in the loss of himself self-possessed. He endeavored to be prudent and thought himself worldly wise; but, like many self-flatterers wrapped in their own fancies he was easily imposed upon, even by the sovereigns, with whom he aimed to be exceedingly shrewd. His contact with man did not deepen his humanity, but seemed rather to harden his heart, and drive his affections all the more from earth to heaven. His mind was of that gloomy cast which made even his successes 237 sorrowful. We have seen among his practical virtues integrity of a high conventional order, single-mindedness, courage, and indomitable perseverance; and in other characteristics which were not so pleasing—pride displaying itself, as it often does, in religious humility; a melancholy temper; a selfish ambition, which with one grasp would secure to himself and his family the uttermost that man and God could give; with all his devout piety and heavenly zeal a painful and often ludicrous tenacity in clutching at high-sounding titles and hollow honors—there were even in the most unlovable parts of him something to respect, and in his selfishness a self-sacrificing nobleness, a lofty abandonment of self to the idea, which we can but admire. It was not for himself, although it was always most zealously and jealously for himself; the ships, the new lands, the new peoples, his fortunes and his life, all were consecrate; should the adventure prove successful, the gain would be heaven's; if a failure, the loss would fall on him. Surely the Almighty must smile on terms so favorable to himself. And that he did not finally make good his promises with regard to rescuing the holy sepulchre, and building temples, and converting nations, was for the same reason that he did not finally satisfy his worldly pretensions, and secure himself in his rulership. He had not the time. In all his worldly and heavenly ambitions, the glory of God and the glory of himself were blended with the happy consummation of his grand idea. And never did morbid broodings over the unsubstantial and shadowless produce grander results than these incubations of alternate exaltation and despondency that hatched a continent. And in all that was then transpiring, there are few intelligent readers of history who cannot see an overshadowing, all-controlling destiny shaping events throughout the world, so that this then unknown continent should be prepared to fill the grand purpose which even then appeared to be marked out for it. 238

While, therefore, in the study of this remarkable character, whose description is but a succession of paradoxes, we see everywhere falsehood leading up to truth and truth to falsehood; while we see spring out of the ideal the real, results the most substantial and success the most signal come from conceptions the most fantastical, we can but observe, not only that penetrative vision which in the mind of genius sees through the symbol the divine significance, but that they have not been always or altogether fruitless of good, those spectral fancies which riot in absurdities, building celestial cities, and peopling pandemoniums, even in the absence of genius, symbol, or significance.[IV-26]

239

Probably not one of the many accounts of Columbus which have been published is presented with such fulness of detail, commanding vivid interest from first to last, as that of Mr Washington Irving, The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus; to which are added those of His Companions, 3 vols., New York, 1869. The first editions, one in London, in 4 vols., and one in New York, appeared in 1828; since which time there have been many issues, in English and other languages. The author was born in New York, in 1783, and died at Sunnyside, near Tarrytown, on the Hudson River, in 1859. A strong literary taste was early displayed, specially manifested in 1802 in a series of articles contributed to the Morning Chronicle. In 1804 he visited Europe for his health, returning in 1807. Then appeared the serial Salmagundi, and in 1809 A History of New York. Again in 1815 he went to Europe, and after engaging for a time in mercantile pursuits, abandoned them and gave himself up to letters. The publication of the Sketch Book was begun in numbers in 1818, and was followed by Bracebridge Hall in 1822, and Tales of a Traveller in 1824. Then came Columbus, the material for which he obtained from Navarrete in Spain. See chapter iii. note 9, this volume. After serving as secretary of the American Legation in London from 1829 to 1832, he returned to New York and published The Alhambra; then Crayon Miscellany in 1835; Astoria in 1836; Captain Bonneville in 1837; and Wolfert's Roost in 1855. From 1842 to 1846 he was American Minister to Spain. His later works were Goldsmith, 1849; Mahomet, 1850; and Washington, 1855-9. Mr Irving has been most praised for his genial manner, his gentleness of thought, and his charming style, which carries the reader almost unconsciously along over details in other hands dry and profitless. Among these is found his highest merit; and yet one would sometimes wish the author not quite so meritorious. Elegance and grace eternal tire by their very faultlessness. In handling the rough realities of life one relishes now and then a rough thought roughly expressed. Neither is Irving remarkable for historical accuracy, or exact thinking. An early criticism on Columbus complains of that without which the works of Irving never would have attained great popularity. He was pronounced too wordy, his details too long drawn. If this was the case fifty years ago, it is much more so now. And yet how 240 fascinating is every page! And who but Irving could make thrilling such trivial events? Permit him the use of words, and howsoever isolated the ideas, or commonplace the events, the result was brilliant; but force him within narrow compass, not only would the charm be lost, but the work would be almost worthless.

The highest delight of a healthy mind, of a mind not diseased either by education or affection, is in receiving the truth. The greatest charm in expression, to a writer who may properly be placed in the category of healthful, is in telling the truth. It is only when truth is dearer to us than tradition, or pride of opinion, that we are ready to learn; it is only when truth is dearer to us than praise or profit that we are fit to teach. If the mind be intelligent as well as healthy, it knows itself to be composed of truth and prejudice, the latter engendered of ignorance and environment, holding it in iron fetters, and with which it knows it must forever struggle in vain wholly to be free. Thus keenly alive as well to the difficulties as to the importance of right thinking and exact forms of expression, it nevertheless has its keenest pleasure in striving toward concrete truth. It is truthfulness to nature in all her beauties and deformities, rather than the construction of some more beautiful than natural ideal, that alone satisfies art, whether in the domain of painting, oratory, or literature. We of to-day, while holding in high esteem works of the imagination, are becoming somewhat captious in regard to our facts. The age is essentially informal and real; even our ideal literature must be rigidly true to nature, while whatever pretends to be real must be presented in all simplicity, without circumlocution or disguisement.

Half a century ago it was deemed necessary, particularly by writers of selected epochs of history, in order to clothe their narrative with dramatic effect equal to fiction, to intensify characters and events. The good qualities of good men were made to stand out in bold relief, not against their own bad qualities, but against the bad qualities of bad men, whose wickedness was portrayed in such black colors as to overshadow whatever of good they might possess. Thus historical episodes were endowed, so far as possible without too great discoloration of truth, like a theatrical performance, each with a perfected hero and a finished villain. Of this class of writers were Macaulay and Motley, Froude, Freeman, Prescott, and Irving, whose works are wonderful in their way, not only as art-creations, but as the truest as well as most vivid pictures of their several periods yet presented, and which for generations will be read with that deep and wholesome interest with which they deserve to be regarded. For, although their facts are sometimes highly varnished, their most brilliant creations are always built upon a substantial skeleton of truth. I say that these, the foremost writers of their day, are none of them free from the habit of exaggeration, deception. Indeed, with a wasteful extravagance in the use of superlatives it is almost impossible to draw character strongly without in some parts of it exaggerating. But in these days of rational reflection wherein romance and reality are fairly separated, celestial fiction and mundane fact being made to pass under the same experimentum crucis; mind becoming so mechanical that it introverts and analyzes not only its own mechanism but the mechanism of its maker; iconoclasm becoming spiritualized, and the doctrine revived of the old Adamic serpent, that the 241 knowledge of good and evil is not death but life and immortality, this knowledge being king of kings, vying with nature's forces and oftentimes defying them—I say, in days like these mature manhood becomes impatient of the Santa Claus, or other fictitious imagery, from which the infant mind derives much comfort, and prefers, if necessary, the torments of truth to the elysium of fable. It is no longer valid logic that if the hero stoops to trickery, his biographer should stoop to trickery to cover it. For once undertake to shape the stiff clay of material facts into the artistic forms of fiction, and the result is neither history nor romance.

Proud as I am of the names of Prescott and Irving, at whose shrines none worship with profounder admiration than myself; thankless as may be the task of criticising their classic pages, whose very defects shine with a steadier lustre than I dare hope for my brightest consummations; still, forced by my subject, in some instances, into fields partially traversed by them, I can neither pass them by nor wholly praise them. In justice to my theme, in justice to myself, in justice to the age in which I live, I must speak, and that according to the light and the perceptions given me.

Mr Irving's estimate of the value of honesty and integrity in a historian may be gathered from his own pages. "There is a certain meddlesome spirit," he writes, "which, in the garb of learned research, goes prying about the traces of history, casting down its monuments, and marring and mutilating its fairest trophies. Care should be taken to vindicate great names from such pernicious erudition. It defeats one of the most salutary purposes of history, that of furnishing examples of what human genius and laudable enterprise may accomplish." Now, if conscientious inquiry into facts signifies a meddlesome spirit; if the plain presentment of facts may rightly be called pernicious erudition; if the overthrow of fascinating falsehood is mutilating the trophies of history; if fashioning golden calves for the worship of the simple be the most salutary purpose of history; then I, for one, prefer the meddlesome spirit and the pernicious erudition which mutilates such monuments to the fairest trophies of historical deception. Again—"Herrera has been accused also of flattering his nation; exalting the deeds of his countrymen, and softening and concealing their excesses. There is nothing very serious in this accusation. To illustrate the glory of his nation is one of the noblest offices of the historian; and it is difficult to speak too highly of the extraordinary enterprises and splendid actions of the Spaniards in those days. In softening their excesses he fell into an amiable and pardonable error, if it were indeed an error for a Spanish writer to endeavor to sink them in oblivion." When a writer openly avows his allegiance to falsehood, to amiable falsehood, to falsehood perpetrated to deceive in regard to one's own country, about which one professes to know more than a stranger, nothing remains to be said. Nothing remains to be said as to the veracity of that author, but much remains to be said concerning the erroneous impressions left by him of the persons and events coming in the way of this work.

With what exquisite grace, with what tender solicitude and motherly blindness to faults Mr Irving defends the reputation of Columbus! Is the Genoese a pirate, then is piracy "almost legalized;" is he a slave-maker, "the customs of the times" are pleaded; without censure he lives at Córdova in open adultery 242 with Beatriz Enriquez, and there becomes the father of the illegitimate Fernando; a bungling attempt is made to excuse the hero for depriving the poor sailor of the prize offered him who should first see land; Oviedo is charged with falsehood because he sometimes decides against the discoverer in issues of policy and character; Father Buil was "as turbulent as he was crafty" because he disagreed with the admiral in some of his measures; the most extravagant vituperation is hurled at Aguado because he is chosen to examine and report on the affairs of the Indies; Fonseca is denounced as inexpressibly vile because he thwarts some of the discoverer's hare-brained projects; and so with regard to those who in any wise opposed him, while all who smiled on him were angels of light. All through his later life when extravagant requests were met by more than the usual liberality of royalty, Irving is petulantly complaining because more is not done for his hero, and because his petulant hero complains. And this puerile pride from which springs such petulance the eloquent biographer coins into the noble ambition of conscious merit. Though according to his own statement the madness of the man increased until toward the latter end he was little better than imbecile, yet we are at the same time gravely assured that "his temper was naturally irritable, but he subdued it by the magnanimity of his spirit." The son Fernando denies that his father once carded wool; Irving does not attempt to excuse this blemish because his readers do not regard work ignoble.

Now it is not the toning-down of defects in a good man's character that I object to so much as the predetermined exaltation of one historical personage at the expense of others utterly debased under like premeditation. Did Mr Irving, and the several scores of biographers preceding and following him, parade the good qualities of Bobadilla, Roldan, and Ovando as heartily as those of their hero, the world would be puzzled what to make of it. We are not accustomed to such statements. Unseasoned biography is tasteless, and we are taught not to expect truth, but a model. We should not know what these writers were trying to do if they catalogued the misdemeanors of Columbus and his brothers with the same embellishments applied to Aguado, Buil, and Fonseca; telling with pathetic exaggeration how the benign admiral of the ocean sea was the first to employ bloodhounds against the naked natives; how he practised varied cruelties in Española beyond expression barbarous; and how he stooped upon occasion not only to vulgar trickery, but to base treachery.

On the other hand, with those who seek notoriety by attempting to degrade the fair fame of noble and successful genius because more credit may have been given by some than is justly due, or by affecting to disbelieve whole narratives and whole histories because portions of them are untrue or too highly colored, I have no sympathy. Books have been written to prove, what no one denies, that centuries before Columbus other Europeans had found this continent, and that thereby the honor of his achievement is lessened—of which sentiment I fail to see the force. So far as the Genoese, his works, and merits are concerned, it makes no whit difference were America twenty times before discovered, as elsewhere in this volume has been fully shown.

Prescott was a more exact writer than Irving, though Prescott was not wholly above the amiable weakness of his time. In the main he stated the 243 truth, and stated it fairly, though he did not always tell the whole truth. The faults of his heroes he would speak, though never so softly; he seldom attempted entirely to conceal them. He might exaggerate, but he neither habitually practised nor openly defended mendacity. Prescott would fain please the Catholics, if it did not cost too much. Irving would please everybody, particularly Americans; but most of all he would make a pleasing tale; if truthful, well; if not, it must on no account run counter to popular prejudice. The inimitable charm about them both amply atones in the minds of many for any imperfections. Since their day much new light has been thrown upon the subjects treated by them, but not enough seriously to impair the value of their works. In their estimates of the characters of Ferdinand and Isabella, relatively and respectively, these brilliant writers are not alone. They copied those who wrote before them; and those who came after copied them. It has been the fashion these many years, both by native and foreign historians, to curse Ferdinand and to bless Isabella, to heap all the odium of the nation and the times upon the man and exalt the woman among the stars. This, surely, is the more pleasant and chivalrous method of disposing of the matter; but in that case I must confess myself at a loss what to do with the facts.

None but the simple are deceived by the gentle Irving when he insinuates "she is even somewhat bigoted;" by which expression he would have us understand that the fascinating queen of Castile was but little of a bigot. Again: "Ferdinand was a religious bigot; and the devotion of Isabella went as near to bigotry as her liberal mind and magnanimous spirit would permit"—that is to say, as the plan of Mr Irving's story would permit. Quite as well as any of us Irving knew that Isabella was one of the most bigoted women of her bigoted age, far more bigoted than Ferdinand, who dared even dispute the pope when his Holiness interfered too far in attempting to thwart his ambitious plans. She was, indeed, so deeply dyed a bigot as to allow her ghostly confessor to overawe her finest womanly instincts, her commonly strict sense of honor, justice, and humanity, and cause her to permit in Spain the horrible Inquisition, the most monstrous mechanism of torture ever invented in aid of the most monstrous crime ever perpetrated by man upon his fellows, the coercion and suppression of opinion. Fair as she was in all her ways, and charming—fair of heart and mind and complexion, with regular features, light chestnut hair, mild blue eyes, a modest and gracious demeanor—she did not scruple, for the extermination of heresy, to apply to such of her loving subjects as dared think for themselves the thumb-screw, the ring-bolt and pulley, the rack, the rolling-bench, the punch, the skewer, the pincers, the knotted whip, the sharp-toothed iron collar, chains, balls, and manacles, confiscation of property and burning at the stake; and all under false accusations and distorted evidence. She did not hesitate to seize and put to death hundreds of wealthy men like Pecho, and appropriate to her own use their money, though her exquisite womanly sensibilities might sometimes prompt her to fling to the widows and children whom she had turned beggars into the street a few crumbs of their former riches. This mother, who nursed children of her own and who should not have been wholly ignorant of a mother's love, turned a deaf ear to the cries of Moorish mothers as they and their children were torn asunder and sold at 244 the slave mart in Seville. Thousands of innocent men, women, and children she cruelly imprisoned, thousands she cast into the fiery furnace, tens of thousands she robbed and then drove into exile; but it was chastely done, and by a most sweet and beautiful lady. We can hardly believe it true, we do not like to believe it true, that when old Rabbi Abarbanel pleaded before the king for his people, "I will pay for their ransom six hundred thousand crowns of gold," Isabella's soft, musical voice was heard to say, "Do not take it," her confessor meanwhile exclaiming "What! Judas-like, sell Jesus!" Besides, thrice six hundred thousand crowns might be secured by not accepting the ransom. And yet this was the bright being, and such her acts by Prescott's own statements, cover them as he will never so artfully, whose practical wisdom, he assures us, was "founded on the purest and most exalted principle," and whose "honest soul abhorred anything like artifice." Isabella was unquestionably a woman of good intentions; but with such substance the soul-burner's pit is paved.

Prescott throws all the odium of the Inquisition on Torquemada, and I concur. The monk's mind was the ashy, unmelting mould in which the woman's more plastic affections were cast. But then he should be accredited with some portion of the virtues that adorned the character of Isabella, for he was the author of many of them. To be just, if Isabella is accredited with her virtues, she must be charged with her crimes. And if the queen may throw from her shoulders upon those of her advisers the responsibility of iniquity permitted under her rule, why not King Ferdinand, who likewise had men about him urging him to this policy and to that? True, we excuse much in woman as the weaker, and very justly so, which we condemn in the man of powerful cunning. But Isabella was not exactly clay in the hands of those about her; or if so, then praise her for her imbecility, and not for any virtue. But she could muster will and spirit enough of her own upon occasion—witness her threat to kill Pedro Giron with her own hand rather than marry him, and the policy which speaks plainly her sagacity and state-craft in the selection of Ferdinand, and in the strict terms of her marriage contract which excluded her husband from any sovereign rights in Castile or Leon. Most inconsistently, indeed, in reviewing the administration of Isabella, at the end of three volumes of unadulterated adulation Prescott gives his heroine firmness enough in all her ways; independence of thought and action sufficient to circumscribe the pretensions of her nobles; and she "was equally vigilant in resisting ecclesiastical encroachment;" "she enforced the execution of her own plans, oftentimes even at great personal hazard, with a resolution surpassing that of her husband." When, however, she signed the edict for the expulsion of the Jews, the excuse was that "she had been early schooled to distrust her own reason." But why multiply quotations? The Ferdinand and Isabella of Prescott is full of these flat contradictions.

We all know that when carried away by feeling women are more cruel than men; so Isabella under the frenzy of her fanaticism was, if possible, more cruel than Ferdinand, whose passions were ballasted by his ambitions. Her feelings were with her faith; and her faith was with such foul iniquity, such inhuman wrong as should cause her euphemistic apologists to blush for resorting to the same species of subterfuge that makes heroes of Jack Sheppard and Dick Turpin. 245 Again, murder and robbery for Christ's sake suits the devil quite as well as when done for one's own sake. And here on earth, to plead in a court of justice good intentions in mitigation of evil acts nothing extenuates in the eyes of any righteous judge. Therefore there is little to choose between those of whom it may be said—Here is a man who perfidiously robs, tortures, and murders his fellow-beings by the hundred thousand in order to glorify himself, and extend and establish his dominions; and, Here is a woman who perfidiously robs, tortures, and murders her fellow-beings by the hundred thousand in order to glorify herself, her priest, her religion, and extend and establish the dominions of her deity. At the farthest, and in the minds of the eloquent biographers themselves, the relative refinement and nobility of the two characters must turn wholly upon one's conception of the relative refinement and nobility of earthly selfishness and heavenly selfishness.

What can we say then, if we make any pretensions to fairness in portraying historical personages, in excuse for Isabella that cannot as rightfully be said in excuse for Ferdinand? For even he, whom sensational biographers array in such sooty blackness in order that the satin robes of Isabella may shine with whiter lustre, has been called in Spain the wise and prudent, and in Italy the pious. Of course there were differences in their dispositions and their ambitions, but not such wide ones as we have been told. He was a man, with a man's nature, cold, coarse, stern, and artful; she a woman, with a woman's nature, warm, refined, gentle, and artful. He was foxlike, she feline. Opposing craft with craft, she jealously guarded what she deemed the interests of her subjects, and earnestly sought by encouraging literature and art, and reforming the laws, to refine and elevate her realm. He did precisely the same. In all the iniquities of his lovely consort Ferdinand lent a helping hand; man could do nothing worse; and all the world agree that Ferdinand was bad. And yet, in what was he worse than she? Both were tools of the times, incisive and remorseless. To the ecclesiastical tyranny of which they were victims they added civil tyranny which they imposed upon their subjects. Ferdinand was the greatest of Spain's sovereigns, far greater than Charles, whose fortune it was to reap where his grandfather had planted. It was Ferdinand who consolidated all the several sovereignties of the Peninsula, save Portugal, into one political body, weighty in the affairs of Europe. He was ambitious; and to accomplish his ends scrupled at nothing. There was no sin he dared not commit, no wrong he dared not inflict, provided the proximate result should accord with his desires. He was less bound by superstition than the average of the age; he was thoughtful, powerful, princely. Both were personages magnificent, glorious, who achieved much good and much evil, the evil being as fully chargeable to the times, which placed princes above promises and religion, above integrity and humanity, as to any special depravity innate in either of them. And what was the immediate result of it; and what the more distant conclusion; and how much after all were Spaniards indebted to these rulers? First Spain enwrapped in surpassing glories! Spain the mistress of the world, on whose dominions the sun refuses to go down. Fortunate Ferdinand! Thrice amiable and virtuous Isabella! And next? Do we not see that these brilliant successes, these gratified covetings are themselves the seeds of Spain's abasement? Infinitely 246 better off were Spain to-day, I will not say had she not driven out her Moors and Jews, but had she never known the New World. How much soever of honor Isabella may have brought upon herself by her speculations in partnership with the Genoese, for the self-same reason, resulting in the great blight of gold and general effeminacy that followed, Spain's posterity might reasonably anathematize her memory could they derive any comfort therefrom.

In regard to that much-lauded act of Isabella's in lending her assistance to Columbus when Ferdinand would not, there is this to be said. First, no special praise is due her for assisting the Genoese; and secondly, she never assisted him in the manner or to the extent represented. Santángel and the Pinzons were the real supporters of that first voyage. Isabella did not pawn her jewels; she did not sell her wardrobe, or empty her purse. But if she had, for what would it have been? It makes a pleasing story for children to call her patronage by pretty names, to say that it was out of pity for the poor sailor, that it was an act of personal sacrifice for the public good, that it was for charity's sake, or from benevolence, for the extension of knowledge or the vindication of some great principle—only it is a very stupid child that does not know better. Clearly enough the object was great returns from a small expenditure; great returns in gold, lands, honors, and proselytings—a species of commercial and political gambling more in accordance with the character as commonly sketched of the "cold and crafty Ferdinand," whose measureless avarice and insatiable greed not less than his subtle state-craft and kingly cunning would have prompted him to secure so great a prize at so small a cost, than with the character of an unselfish, heavenly-minded woman. And were it not for the danger of being regarded by the tender-minded as ungallant, I might allude to the haggling which attended the bargain, and tell how the queen at first refused to pay the sailor his price, and let him go, then called him back and gave him what he first had asked, more like a Jew than like even the grasping Ferdinand.

In conclusion, I feel it almost unnecessary to say that Columbus, Isabella, and all those bright examples of history whose conduct and influence in the main were on the side of humanity, justice, the useful, and the good, have my most profound admiration, my most intelligent respect. All their faults I freely forgive, and praise them for what they were, as among the noblest, the best, the most beneficial to their race—though not always so, nor always intending it—of any who have come and gone before us. And I can hate Bobadilla, Roldan, and others of their sort, all historical embodiments of injustice, egotism, treachery, and beastly cruelty, with a godly hatred; but I hope never to be so blinded by the brightness of my subject as to be unable to see the truth, and seeing it, fairly to report it. 247

CHAPTER V.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE INDIES.
1492-1526.

Columbus the Rightful Ruler—Juan Aguado—Francisco de Bobadilla—Nicolás de Ovando—Santo Domingo the Capital of the Indies—Extension of Organized Government to Adjacent Islands and Main-land—Residencias—Gold Mining at Española—Race and Caste in Government—Indian and Negro Slavery—Cruelty to the Natives—Spanish Sentimentalism—Pacification, not Conquest—The Spanish Monarchs always the Indian's Friends—Bad Treatment due to Distance and Evil-minded Agents—Infamous Doings of Ovando—Repartimientos and Encomiendas—The Sovereigns Intend them as Protection to the Natives—Settlers Make them the Means of Indian Enslavement—Las Casas Appears and Protests against Inhumanities—The Defaulting Treasures—Diego Colon Supersedes Ovando as Governor—And Makes Matters Worse—The Jeronimite Fathers Sent Out—Audiencias—A Sovereign Tribunal is Established at Santo Domingo which Gradually Assumes all the Functions of an Audiencia, and as such Finally Governs the Indies—Las Casas in Spain—The Consejo de Indias, and Casa de Contratacion—Legislation for the Indies.

We have seen how it had been first of all agreed that Columbus should be sole ruler, under the crown, of such lands and seas as he might discover for Spain. We have seen how, under that rule, disruption and rebellion followed at the heels of mismanagement, until the restless colonists made Española an angustiarum insula to the worthy admiral, and until their majesties thought they saw in it decent excuse for taking the reins from the Genoese, and supplanting him by agents of their own choosing. The first of these agents was Juan Aguado, who was merely a 248 commissioner of inquiry. With him, it will be remembered, Columbus returned to Spain after his second voyage, leaving his brother Bartolomé in command. The admiral was permitted to try again; but on reaching the seat of his government he was unable to quiet the disturbances which had increased during his absence. Rebellion had almost reached the dignity of revolution, and stronger than the government were factions whose leaders openly defied the governor-general, viceroy, and admiral of the ocean sea. That their Majesties were greatly grieved at this, I do not say; or that they were displeased that the rebels, or revolutionists, of Española should refer their troubles to them. But this is certain, that after another fair trial Columbus was obliged to give it up, and to see himself displaced by a person far worse than himself. Perhaps it is true that a knave was better for the office than an honest man.

Not that Francisco de Bobadilla may be lawfully accused of dishonesty; the sovereigns seemed competent to take care of themselves where their revenue was concerned. And yet he was certainly influenced in his conduct by no sense of right or of humanity. He was a man of narrow mind, of ignoble instincts and mean prejudices. He was popular for a time with the colonists because he was like them, and because he reduced the royal share of the product of the mines from a third to an eleventh, and permitted the dissolute to idle their time and illtreat the natives; and because he released those whom the admiral had imprisoned, and enabled Columbus to pay his debts—for which last mentioned measure I have no fault to find with him.

It was the 21st of March, 1499, that Bobadilla was authorized to proceed against offenders at Española, but he did not leave Spain until July, 1500, reaching Santo Domingo the 23d of August. The enchaining of the illustrious discoverer by an infamous agent, and for no crime, excited universal disgust throughout 249 Christendom; and yet their Majesties seemed in no haste to depose him; for it was not until the 3d of September, 1501, in answer to the persistent remonstrances of Columbus, that a change was made, and the government given to Nicolas de Ovando, who sailed from Spain the 13th of February following, and arrived at Santo Domingo the 15th of April, 1502; so that Bobadilla was in office on the island over a year and a half, long enough to sow the seeds of much iniquity.

Ovando was a knight of the order of Alcántara, of neither massive mind nor commanding mien. But his firm and fluent speech lent strength to his slight figure and fair complexion, and a courteous manner made amends for a vanity which in him assumed the form of deep humility. He was well known to their Majesties, having been one of the companions of Prince Juan, and it was thought would make a model governor. Ample instructions, both written and verbal, were given him before sailing. The natives should be converted, but their bodies should not be enslaved or inhumanly treated. They must pay tribute, and gather gold, but for the latter they should be paid wages. There was to be a complete change of soldiers and officials at Española, that the new government might begin untainted by the late disorders. Neither Jews nor Moors might go to the Indies, but negro slaves, born into the possession of Christians, were to be permitted passage. For any loss resulting from Bobadilla's acts, full restitution must be made the admiral, and henceforth his rights of property must be respected. Columbus might always keep there an agent to collect his dues, and he was to be treated with consideration. The idle and profligate were to be returned to Spain. Except the provinces given to Ojeda and Pinzon, Ovando's jurisdiction was made to extend over all the Indies, that is to say, over all the New World dominions of Spain, islands and firm land, with the capital at Santo Domingo, and subordinate 250 or municipal governments in the more important localities. All mining licenses issued by Bobadilla were to be revoked; of the gold thus far collected one third should be taken for the crown, and of all thereafter gathered one half. Supplementing these instructions with much paternal advice consisting of minor moralities and Machiavelisms, their Majesties bade their viceroy God speed and sent him forth in a truly royal fashion.

There were no less than thirty ships and twenty-five hundred persons comprising the expedition. Of the company were Alonso Maldonado, newly appointed alcalde mayor,[V-1] and twelve Franciscans, with a prelate, Antonio de Espinal. Las Casas was present; and Hernan Cortés would have been there but for an illness which prevented him. There were seventy-three respectable married women, who had come with their husbands and children, and who were to salt society at their several points of distribution. It was evident as the new governor entered his capital, elegantly attired, with a body-guard of sixty-two foot-soldiers and ten horsemen, and a large and brilliant retinue, that the colonization of the New World had now been assumed in earnest by the sovereigns of Spain. Nor was Ovando disposed to be dilatory in his duty. He at once announced the residencia[V-2] of Bobadilla, and put Roldan, ci-devant 251 rebel, and later chief judge, under arrest. He built in Española several towns to which arms and other privileges were given, founded a hospital, removed 252 Santo Domingo to a more healthful site on the other side of the river, and established a colony at Puerto de Plata, on the north side of Española, near Isabela.

Distant eight leagues from Santo Domingo were the mines where the twenty-five hundred thought immediately to enrich themselves. For several days after landing the road was alive with eager gold hunters drawn from all classes of the community; cavalier, hidalgo,[V-3] and laborer, priest and artisan, honest men and villains, whose cupidity had been fired by the display of precious metal lately gathered, and who were now hurrying forward with hard breath and anxious eyes under their bundle of necessities. But there was no happy fortune in store for these new-comers. The story then new has been oft repeated since: expecting to fill their sacks quickly and with ease, and finding that a very little gold was to be obtained only by very great labor, they were soon on their way back to the city, where many of them fell into poverty, half of them dying of fever.

Poor fools! they did not know; their countrymen, those that were left from former attempts, did not tell them, though Roldan's men, Bobadilla's men knew well enough, and in truth the remnant of Ovando's men were not slow to learn, that the wise man, the wise and villainous man from Spain, did not work or die for gold, or for anything else, when there were savages that might be pricked to it by the sword. 253

During this earliest period of Spanish domination in America, under successive viceroys and subordinate rulers, by far the most important matter which arose for consideration or action was the treatment of the aborigines. Most momentous to them it was, certainly, and of no small consequence to Spain. Unfortunately, much damage was done before the subject was fairly understood; and afterward, evils continued because bad men were always at hand ready to risk future punishment for present benefits. Spain was so far away, and justice moved so slowly, if it moved at all, that this risk was seldom of the greatest.

The sovereigns of Spain now found themselves called upon to rule two races in the New World, the white and the red. And it was not always easy to determine what should be done, what should be the relative attitude of one toward the other. As to the superiority of the white race there was no question. And among white men, Spaniards were the natural masters; and among Spaniards, Castilians possessed the first rights in the new lands the Genoese had found for them.

All was plain enough so far. It was natural and right that Spaniards should be masters in America. Their claim was twofold; as discoverers, and as propagandists. But in just what category to place the red man was a question almost as puzzling as to tell who he was, and whence he came. Several times the question arose as to whether he had a soul, or a semi-soul, and whether the liquid so freely let by the conquerors was brute blood, or of as high proof as that which ran in Castilian veins. The savages were to be governed, of course; but how, as subjects or as slaves? Columbus was strongly in favor of Indian slavery. He had participated in the Portuguese slave-trade, and had found it profitable. Spaniards enslaved infidels, and why not heathens? Mahometans enslaved Christians, and Christians Mahometans. Likewise Christians enslaved Christians, 254 white as well as black, though it began to be questioned in Spain whether it was quite proper to enslave white Christians.

The negro slave-trade was at this time comparatively a new thing. It was one of the proximate results of fifteenth-century maritime discovery. The Portuguese were foremost in it, organizing for the purpose a company at Lagos, and a factory at Arguin, about the middle of the century, Prince Henry receiving his fifth. Europe, however, offered no profitable field for African slave labor, and but for the discovery of America the traffic probably never would have assumed large proportions. Public sentiment was not in those days averse to slavery, particularly to the enslavement of the children of Ham. And yet neither Isabella nor Ferdinand was at all disposed, in regard to their New World possessions, to follow the example of Portugal on the coast of Africa. Though they had scarcely made personal the application that the practice was one of the chief causes of Rome's ruin, yet they seemed instinctively opposed to it in this instance. They did not want these creatures in Spain, they had no use for them. In regard to the ancient custom of enslaving prisoners of war, particularly the detested and chronically hostile Moors, it was different. This New World had been given them for a higher purpose. Its natives were not the enemies of Spain; they were innocent of any offence against Spain. It was better, it was more glorious, there was higher and surer reward in it, to Christianize than to enslave. This the clergy constantly urged; so that in Spain the passion for propagandism was greater than the passion for enslaving.

Columbus must have been aware of this when in 1495 he sent by Torres, with the four ship-loads of Indian slaves, the apology to their Majesties that these were man-eating Caribs, monsters, the legitimate prey of slave-makers wherever found. Peradventure 255 some of them might be made Christians, who when they had learned Castilian could be sent back to serve as missionaries and interpreters to aid in delivering their countrymen from the powers of darkness. This was plausible, and their Majesties seemed content; but when Columbus pressed the matter further, and requested that arrangements should be made for entering extensively into the traffic, they hesitated. Meanwhile the Genoese launched boldly forth in the old way, not only making slaves of cannibals but of prisoners of war; and whenever slaves were needed, a pretence for war was not long wanting. Thereupon, with another shipment, the admiral grows jubilant, and swears by the holy Trinity that he can send to Spain as many slaves as can be sold, four thousand if necessary, and enters upon the details of capture, carriage, sale, and return cargoes of goods, with all the enthusiasm of a sometime profitable experience in the business. Further than this he permits enforced labor where there had been failure to pay tribute, and finally gives to every one who comes an Indian for a slave.

Then the monarchs were angry. "What authority from me has the admiral to give to any one my vassals!" exclaimed the queen. All who had thus been stolen from home and country, among whom were pregnant women and babes newly born, were ordered returned. And from that moment the sovereigns of Spain were the friends of the Indians. Not Isabella alone but Ferdinand, Charles, and Philip, and their successors for two hundred years with scarcely an exceptional instance, stood manfully for the rights of the savages—always subordinate however to their own fancied rights—constantly and determinately interposing their royal authority between the persistent wrong-doing of their Spanish subjects, and their defenceless subjects of the New World. Likewise the Catholic Church is entitled to the highest praise for her influence in the direction of humanity, and 256 for the unwearied efforts of her ministers in guarding from cruelty and injustice these poor creatures. Here and there in the course of this narrative we find a priest carried away by the spirit of proselytism commit acts of folly and unrighteousness; and men announcing as church measures proceedings which when known in the mother country received the prompt condemnation of the church. These men and measures I shall not be backward to condemn. But it is with no small degree of pleasure that I record thus early in this history the noble attributes of the self-sacrificing Christian heroes who while preaching their faith to the savage endeavored to bridle as best they could the cupidity and cruelty of the Spanish adventurers who accompanied them.

After the first invasions, in various quarters, aggressive warfare on the natives, even on obdurate heathen nations, was prohibited. In the extension of dominion that followed, the very word 'conquest' was forbidden to be employed, even though it were a conquest gained by fighting, and the milder term 'pacification' was substituted.[V-4] Likewise, after the first great land robberies had been committed, side by side with the minor seizures was in practice the regulation that enough of the ancient territory should be left each native community to support it comfortably in a fixed residence. The most that was required of the Indians was to abolish their ancient inhuman practices, put on the outward apparel of civilization, and as fast as possible adapt themselves to Christian customs, paying a light tax, in kind, nominally for protection and instruction. This doing, they were to be left free and happy. Such were the wishes of crown and clergy; for which both strove steadily 257 though unsuccessfully until the object of their solicitude crumbled into earth.[V-5] 258

For the soldier, the sailor, the cavalier, the vagabond, the governor, and all their subordinates and associates, all the New World rabble from viceroy to menial willed it otherwise, the New World clergy too 259 often winking assent. However omnipotent in Spain, there were some things in America that the sovereigns and their confessors could not do. They could not control the bad passions of their subjects when beyond the reach of rope and dungeon. That these evil proclivities were of home engendering, having for their sanction innumerable examples from church and state, statesmen and prelates would hardly admit, but it is in truth a plausible excuse for the excesses committed. The fact is that for every outrage by a subject in the far away Indies, there were ten, each of magnitude tenfold for evil, committed by the sovereigns in Spain; so that it is by no means wonderful that the Spaniards determined here to practise a little sinfulness for their own gratification, even though their preceptors did oppose wickedness which by reason of their absence they themselves could not enjoy.

Though the monarchs protested earnestly, honestly, and at the length of centuries, their subjects went their way and executed their will with the natives. Were I to tell a tenth of the atrocities perpetrated by Christian civilization on the natives of America, I could tell nothing else. The catalogue of European crime, Spanish, English, French, is as long as it is revolting. Therefore, whenever I am forced to touch upon this most distasteful subject, I shall be as brief as possible.

Passing the crimes of Columbus and Bobadilla, the sins of the two being, for biographical effect, usually placed upon the latter, let us look at the conduct of Ovando, who, as Spanish provincial rulers went in those days, was an average man. He ruled with vigor; and as if to offset his strict dealings with offending Spaniards, unoffending Indians were treated with treachery and merciless brutality.

Rumor reaching him that Anacaona, queen of Jaraguá, meditated revolt, he marched thither at the head of two hundred foot-soldiers and seventy horsemen. The queen came out to meet him, and escorted 260 him with music and dancing to the great banqueting-hall, and entertained him there for several days. Still assured by evil tongues that his hostess intended treachery, he determined to forestall her. On a Sunday afternoon, while a tilting-match was in progress, Ovando gave the signal. He raised his hand and touched his Alcántara cross—a badge of honor it was called, which, had it been real, should have shrivelled the hand that for such a purpose touched it. On the instant Anacaona and her caciques were seized and a mock trial given them; after which the queen was hanged, the caciques tortured and burned, and the people of the province, men, women, and children, ruthlessly and indiscriminately butchered. Those who escaped the massacre were afterward enslaved. For intelligence, grace, and beauty Anacaona was the Isabella of the Indies, and there was no valid proof that she meditated the slightest injury to the Spaniards.

The natives of Saona and Higuey, in revenge for the death of a chief torn in pieces by a Spanish bloodhound, rose to arms, and slew a boat's crew of eight Spaniards. Juan de Esquivel with four hundred men was sent against them, and the usual indiscriminate hanging and burning followed. It is stated that over six hundred were slaughtered at one time in one house. A peace was conquered, a fort built; fresh outrages provoked a fresh outbreak; and the horrors of the extermination that followed Las Casas confessed himself unable to describe. A passion arose for mutilation, and for prolonging agony by new inventions for refining cruelty. And the irony of Christianity was reached when thirteen men were hanged side by side in honor of Christ and his apostles. Cotubano, the last of the five native kings of Española, was taken to Santo Domingo, and hanged by order of Ovando. In Higuey were then formed two settlements, Salvaleon and Santa Cruz. To take the places in the Spanish service of the Indians thus slain in Española, forty thousand natives of the Lucayas Islands were 261 enticed thither upon the pretext of the captors that they were the Indians' dead ancestors come from heaven to take their loved ones back with them. Española was indeed their shortest way to heaven, though not the way they had been led to suppose. When tidings of Ovando's doings reached Spain, notably of his treatment of Anacaona, Queen Isabella was on her death-bed; but raising herself as best she was able, she exclaimed to the president of the council, "I will have you take of him such a residencia as was never taken."

Both the Spaniards and the Indians, as we have seen, were averse to labor. To both it was degrading; to the latter, killing. And yet it was necessary that mines should be worked, lands cultivated, and cattle raised. Else of what avail was the New World?

The colonists clamored, and the crown was at a loss what to do. In her dilemma there is no wonder the queen appeared to equivocate; but when in December, 1503, she permitted Ovando to use force in bringing the natives to a sense of their duty, though they must be paid fair wages and made to work "as free persons, for so they are," she committed a fatal error. The least latitude was sure to be abused. Under royal permission of 1501 a few negro slaves from time to time were taken to the Indies. Las Casas urged the extension of this traffic in order to save the Indians. Ovando complained that the negroes fled and hid themselves among the natives, over whom they exercised an unwholesome influence; nevertheless in September, 1505, we find the king sending over more African slaves to work in the mines, this time about one hundred. From 1517, when importations from the Portuguese establishments on the Guinea coast were authorized by Charles V., the traffic increased, and under the English, particularly, assumed enormous proportions. This unhappy confusion of races led to a negro insurrection at Española in 1522. 262

We come now to some of the results of the temporizing policy of Spain—always a bad one when the subject is beyond the reach of the ruling arm—in regard to the Indians. For out of a desire to avoid the odium of Indian slavery, and yet secure the benefits thereof, grew a system of servitude embodying all the worst features of absolute bondage, with none of its mitigations.

It will be remembered that during his second voyage Columbus made war on the natives of Española, and after sending some as slaves to Spain, imposed a tribute on the rest; on some a bell-measure of gold, and on others an arroba[V-6] of cotton, every three months. So severe was this tax that many could not meet it, and in 1496 service was accepted in place of tribute. This was the beginning in the New World of the repartimiento,[V-7] or as it shortly afterward became the 263 encomienda, system, under which the natives of a conquered country were divided among the conquerors, recommended to their care, and made tributary to them. 264

The theory was that the Indians were the vassals of Spain, no more to be imposed upon than other Spanish subjects. The sovereigns wishing to stimulate discovery, pacification, and settlement, were willing to waive their right to the tribute due the crown in favor of enterprising and meritorious persons, who had taken upon themselves the hardships incident to life in 265 a new country. At first in certain instances, but later to an extent which became general, they settled this tribute upon worthy individuals among the conquerors and colonists and their descendants, on condition that those who thus directly received a portion of the royal revenue should act the part of royalty to the people placed temporarily in their care. They were to be as a sovereign lord and father, and not as a merciless or unjust taskmaster. They were to teach their wards the arts of civilization, instruct them in the Christian doctrine, watch over and guide and guard them, and never to restrict them in the use of their liberties, nor impose burdens on them, nor in any way to injure or permit injury to befall them. And for this protection they were neither to demand nor receive more than the legal tribute fixed by the royal officers, and always such as the natives could without distress or discomfort pay. What the system was in practice we shall have ample opportunity of judging as we proceed in this history. Suffice it to say here that to the fatherly-protection part of their compact the colonists paid little heed, but evaded the law in many ways, and ground the poor savages under their iron heel, while the crown by ordering, and threatening, earnestly but vainly sought to carry out in good faith and humanity what they deemed a sacred trust.

First, repartimientos of lands were authorized by the sovereigns. This was in 1497, and nothing was then said about the natives. But after dividing the land it was but a step to the dividing of the inhabitants. With the shipment of six hundred slaves in 1498, and an offer to their Majesties of as many more as they could find sale for, Columbus wrote asking permission to enforce the services of the natives until settlement should be fairly begun, say for a year or two; but without waiting for a reply he at once began the practice, which introduced a new feature into repartimientos. Then to all who chose to take 266 them, to Roldan and his followers, to the worst characters on the island, among whom were the late occupants of Spanish prisons, the vilest of humankind, was given absolute dominion over these helpless and innocent creatures. Having paid nothing for them, having no pecuniary interest in them, they had no object in caring whether they were fed or starved, whether they lived or died, for if they died there were more at hand upon the original terms.

Under Bobadilla the infamy assumed bolder proportions. Columbus had apportioned to certain lands certain natives to labor for the benefit of Spaniards, but they worked under their cacique. Natives were forced by Spaniards to work mines, but only under special monthly license. Bobadilla not only permitted the exaction from the natives of mining and farming labor, but all restrictions were laid aside, and from working their own soil they became mere labor-gangs to be driven anywhere. Before sailing for the New World Ovando had been charged by the sovereigns with the exercise of extreme moderation in levying tributes and making repartimientos. Those who came with him not only failed in mining, but neglected to plant, as did likewise the natives, thinking thereby the quicker to rid themselves of the invaders. Hence famine, engendering new diseases, was at hand for both white men and red. Then the Indians were systematically parcelled among the Spaniards, to one fifty, to another one hundred, and the repartimiento unfolded into the encomienda. Columbus and Bobadilla had each endeavored to fasten Indian slavery upon the New World, but this legalizing by Ovando what had been illegally done by them, was the heaviest blow in that direction. "To you is given an encomienda of Indians with their chief; and you are to teach them the things of our holy Catholic faith," was the thin subterfuge by which this foul act was accomplished.

In 1508 was sent to Santo Domingo as treasurer-general 267 Miguel de Pasamonte to supersede Bernardino de Santa Clara, who had received the office of treasurer from Ovando. Santa Clara loved display and lacked honesty. Using freely the king's money he bought estates, and gave feasts, in one of which the salt-cellars were filled with gold-dust. This folly reaching the king's ears, Gil Gonzalez Dávila, of whom we shall know more presently, was sent to investigate the matter, and found Santa Clara a defaulter to the extent of eighty thousand pesos de oro. His property was seized and offered at auction. Ovando, with whom Santa Clara was a favorite, stood by at the sale, and holding up a pineapple offered it to the most liberal bidder, which pleasantry was so stimulating that the estate brought ninety-six thousand pesos de oro, more than twice its value. Afterward the plan was adopted of having three locks upon the government's strong-box, the keys to which were carried by the three chief treasury officials.[V-8] Pasamonte was an Aragonese, in the immediate service of Ferdinand, with whom he corresponded in cipher during his residence in the Indies. A very good repartimiento of Indians was ordered by the king to be given the faithful Pasamonte. In 1511 Gil Gonzalez Dávila was made contador of Española, and Juan de Ampues factor; to each were given two hundred Indians, and they were ordered to examine the accounts of the treasurer, Pasamonte. For the faithful must be kept faithful by the strictest watching; such was Spanish 268 discretion, whether in the management of men or women.

The removal of Ovando was delayed by the death of Isabella in 1504, and of Columbus in 1506. After persistent importunities Diego Colon, son of the admiral, was permitted in 1508 to plead in the courts of Spain his claim, as his father's successor, to the viceroyalty of the Indies. His marriage, meanwhile, with María de Toledo, a lady of high birth and connection, assisted in opening the eyes of the law to the justness of his demands, fully as much as did any argument of counsel. Ovando was recalled and Diego authorized to take his place.

The new governor, accompanied by his wife, his brother Fernando, his uncles Bartolomé and Diego, and a retinue brilliant with rank and beauty, landed at Santo Domingo in July, 1509. Although Ferdinand had withheld the title of viceroy, Diego evidently regarded his appointment nothing less than a viceroyalty, although the two mainland governors, Alonso de Ojeda and Diego de Nicuesa, for the provinces east and west of Urabá, remained independent of him.

Diego's administration was but little if any improvement on those of his predecessors. He possessed neither the ability nor the prudence of Ovando. He had intended equity and honesty in his rulings, and exceptional kindness to the natives; notwithstanding which he began by granting repartimientos to himself, his wife, and kindred, and giving the best of the remainder to his favorites. So that the now standard evils of favoritism and cruelty were in no wise mitigated. Not only were the Indians no better used than formerly, but falling into the errors of his father in the management of men Diego's weak government soon found opposed to it a faction at whose head was the powerful Pasamonte. Charges of a serious nature against the son of the Genoese so frequently reached 269 Spain that in 1511 the king found it necessary to establish at Santo Domingo a sovereign tribunal to which appeals might be made from the decisions of the governor. This tribunal which at first was only a royal court of law, superior to any other colonial power, was the germ of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo by which the greater part of the Indies, islands and firm land, were governed for a period subsequent to 1521. It was at first composed of three jueces de apelacion, or judges of appeal, Marcelo de Villalobos, Juan Ortiz de Matienzo, and Lúcas Vazquez de Aillon. These licenciados, having brought with them instructions from Spain, and also orders on Diego Colon for partitions of land and two hundred Indians each, in 1511 were ready to rule. They were empowered to hear and determine appeals from the governor, his tenientes and alcaldes mayores, and from any other judges that had been or should be appointed either by the colonial governor or by the crown, appeal from their decision being only to the Council of the Indies in Spain. Although from its creation clothed with many of the powers of an audiencia, it did not all at once possess that title, but gradually assumed it.[V-9] By decree of September 14, 1526, we find the emperor ordering that in the city of Santo Domingo there should reside the Audiencia y Chancillería Real, "como está fundada," as at present constituted. It was to consist of a president; four oidores, who were also alcaldes del crímen, or criminal 270 judges; a fiscal, a prosecuting officer in this case; an alguacil mayor, or high sheriff; a teniente de gran canciller, or deputy grand chancellor, and other necessary officers. Indeed, beside some of the other officers, a president had already been provided in 1521, in the person of Luis de Figueroa, bishop of Concepcion. Francisco de Prado was appointed fiscal in 1523, at which time the salaries of the oidores were raised, as they had been deprived of the right of holding Indians. All appeals from the jueces de residencia, where the amount involved was less than six hundred pesos de oro, were thereafter referred to this tribunal. Alonso de Zuazo took his seat among the oidores in 1526. To the audiencia of Santo Domingo was given for its district the West India Islands; and on the mainland the governments of Venezuela, Nueva Andalucía, Rio de Hacha, and Guayana, or el Dorado, this district being bounded by those of the audiencias of the Nuevo Reino de Granada, Tierra Firme, Guatemala, Nueva España, and the provinces of Florida. The president was empowered to make such ordinances as he should deem essential to the good government and defence of the island, just as was done, within their jurisdiction, by other governors of Indian provinces. He might fill vacancies in the various subordinate offices until the pleasure of the king should be known, and he might do generally all things pertaining to the executive power. In these matters the oidores were forbidden to interfere; nor could the president exercise judicial functions, but must nevertheless sign with the judges all sentences. In other respects this tribunal was on an equal footing with others of its class.[V-10] 271

Meanwhile the most disturbing question in the colony was that of labor. To govern the few Spaniards at Española, under the arbitrary system of Spain, was 272 a small matter; but to divide among them lands, agricultural and mineral, and laborers in such a way as to satisfy at once the colonists and the many tender and 273 enlightened consciences in Spain, in such a way as to prevent the utter ruin either of colonial enterprise or of the natives themselves, was indeed a difficult task.

In 1509 possession had been taken of Jamaica by Juan de Esquivel, and toward the end of 1511[V-11] the governor of Española had sent Diego Velazquez to occupy Cuba, which was done without the loss of a Spaniard. Ojeda and Nicuesa having failed in colonizing Darien, the mainland in that vicinity was offered by the king in 1514 to the adelantado, Bartolomé Colon, but he was then too ill to accept the charge, and died not long after. In April, 1515, Diego Colon embarked for Spain; and we find him attempting his vindication at court, when Ferdinand died, the 23d of January, 1516. Cardinal Jimenez, who held the reins of Spanish government for a time, refused to decide between the governor and treasurer; but in 1520 the emperor directed Pasamonte to molest Diego no more. Then affairs at Española became more intolerable than ever, and in 1523 Diego was divested of authority by the Council of the Indies, the sovereign tribunal at Santo Domingo furnishing 274 ample information of a condemnatory character. Diego succeeded, however, in having a commission appointed to examine the matter more carefully, but this tended only to further complications; and the last days of the son, which ended in 1526, were not more happy than those of the father had been.[V-12]

A steadily growing character, impressing itself more and more upon the affairs of the Indies as time went by, was that of Bartolomé de las Casas. Born at Seville in 1474, he conned his humanities at Salamanca, making little stir among the Gamaliels there, but taking the bachelor's degree in his eighteenth year. After a residence of about eight years in the Indies, having come with Ovando in 1502, he was admitted to priestly orders, from which time he takes his place in history. He was a man of very pronounced temperament and faculties, as much man of business as ecclesiastic, but more philanthropist than either; possessed of a burning enthusiasm, when once the fire of his conviction was fairly kindled, he gave rest neither to himself nor to his enemies. For every evil-minded man who came hither was his enemy, between whom and himself was a death-struggle. The Apostle of the Indies he was sometimes called, and the mission he took upon himself was to stand between the naked natives and their steel-clad tormentors. In this work 275 he was ardent, ofttimes imprudent, always eloquent and truthful, and as impudently bold and brazen as any cavalier among them all. Nor was he by any means a discontented man. He sought nothing for himself; he had nothing that man could take from him except life, upon which he set no value, or except some of its comforts, which were too poor at best to trouble himself about. His cause, which was the right, gave breadth and volume to his boldness, beside which the courage of the hare-brained babbler was sounding brass.

When the attention of the church was first seriously drawn toward the amelioration of the condition of the Indians, which was in 1511, there were at Española some thirteen Dominicans, living with their vicar, Pedro de Córdoba, according to the strictest rules of the order, and likewise several Franciscans, among whom was Antonio de Espinal. The Dominicans began their protest by a sermon denouncing the course of the colonists, and when ordered to retract, they repeated their charges with still greater emphasis. The colonists sent agents to Spain to have the contumacious monks displaced, and among them Espinal; for the Franciscans, as much in a spirit of opposition to the Dominicans as to find favor with the laity, showed a leaning toward the repartimiento system, though they could not decently defend it. The Dominicans sent Antonio Montesino, he who had preached the distasteful sermon, all the Dominicans present having signed approval of it. To consider the matter, a junta was summoned in Spain, which pronounced the Indians a free people, a people to be Christianized, and not enslaved; they were innocent heathen, not infidel enemies like the Moors, or natural-born slaves like the negroes. Ferdinand and Fonseca were both earnest in obtaining this verdict, for so had said the king's preachers. Meanwhile Montesino encountering Espinal in Spain, won him over to the side of humanity. But all the same the 276 repartimientos were continued, for they were fatherly protection only in theory, and the colonists went on scourging the poor red men.

In the occupation of Cuba, Pánfilo de Narvaez was named by Velazquez his lieutenant, and sent forth to subjugate other parts of the island. With Narvaez went Las Casas, who put forth almost superhuman exertions in vain to stay the merciless slaughter of the helpless and innocent. A warm friend of Las Casas was Velazquez' alcalde, Pedro de Rentería, who in the division of the spoils joined Las Casas in accepting a large tract of land, and a proportionate repartimiento of Indians. This was before Las Casas had seriously considered the matter, and he was at first quite delighted with his acquisition. But the enormity of the wrong coming upon him, his conversion was as decisive as that of St Paul. Like the Dominicans of Española, Las Casas began by preaching against repartimientos. In 1515 he sailed for Spain in company with Montesino, leaving his charge with certain monks sent over from Española by the prelate Córdoba. These Dominican brothers did what they could, but to such straits were the savages driven after the departure of Las Casas that to escape the bloodhounds and other evils set upon them by the Spaniards thousands of them took refuge in suicide. When Diego Colon arrived in 1509 there were left in Española forty thousand natives. A repartidor was appointed in the person of Rodrigo de Alburquerque to repartition the Indians, but when he arrived in 1514 there were but thirteen thousand left to divide. After proclaiming himself with great pomp, Alburquerque plainly intimated that bribery was in order, that he who paid the most money should have the best repartimiento. Afterward the Licentiate Ibarra, sent to Española to take the residencia of the alcalde Aguilar, was authorized to make a new partition. Large numbers of natives were given to the king's favorites in Spain, and the evil grew apace. 277 Nor were affairs at Española mended by sending out so frequently new officials with new and conflicting powers.

Whatever hopes the monks may have derived from Ferdinand's benign reception, death cut short the proposed relief. Fonseca, now bishop of Búrgos, with coarse ribaldry dismissed the subject; but when Las Casas applied to the regent, Cardinal Jimenez, an earnest and active interest was manifest. Las Casas, Montesino, and Palacios Rubios were directed to present a plan for the government of the Indies, which resulted in sending thither three Jeronimite Fathers, Luis de Figueroa, Alonso de Santo Domingo, and Bernardino Manzanedo, monks of the order of St Jerome, being selected because they were free from the complications in which those of St Francis and St Dominic already found themselves involved in the New World. The Jeronimites were ordered to visit the several islands and inform themselves regarding the condition of the Indians, and adopt measures for the formation of native settlements. These settlements or communities were to be governed each by a cacique, together with an ecclesiastic; and for every two or three settlements a civil officer, called an administrator, having supreme power in the settlements, was to be appointed. The cacique, after obtaining the consent of the ecclesiastic, should inflict no higher punishment on his subjects than stripes; none should be capitally punished except under regular process of law. The matters of education, labor, tribute, mining, and farming were then treated, in all which the welfare of the natives was carefully considered, although the repartimiento system remained. Las Casas was named Protector of the Indians with a salary of one hundred pesos de oro. Zuazo, a lawyer of repute, was sent with the most ample powers to take a residencia of all the judges in the New World, and against his decisions there was to be no appeal. 278

The Jeronimites set out wrapped in mighty determinations. They would not even sail in the same ship with Las Casas, wishing to be wholly free. In this they were right; but unfortunately, on arriving among the wrangling colonists, and having the actual issues thrust upon them, they found themselves by no means infallible. Their measures were tame, and they soon found the Protector arrayed against them. The result was their open defence of the repartimiento system, as the only one by which Spain could colonize the Indies. The burden should be laid as lightly as possible on the shoulders of the natives, but they must be made to work. Las Casas set out in 1517 to enter his complaints at court, closely followed by an emissary of the Jeronimites to represent their side of the question; but they arrived in Spain only to find the regent dying. Had Charles V. remained in Flanders, and had the life of Cardinal Jimenez been spared to Spain and the New World a few years longer, it is certain that the cruelties to the Indians would many of them have been prevented, and it is doubtful if negro slavery would ever have been introduced into America.

Though the change of rulers which now occurred seriously clogged the wheels of government in Spain, the affairs of the Indies seemed directly to suffer little inconvenience therefrom. It was indeed a great change, Isabella and Ferdinand gone, Columbus and Jimenez also; and the presence of this young Charles, undemonstrative, thoughtful, cautious, even when a boy, and enveloped in a Flemish atmosphere that shut out all that was most beautiful in Spain, even Castile's liquid language, made it seem strange there even to Spaniards, made it seem a long, long time since the Moors were beaten and America discovered. The Indies, however, were far away, and so little understood by the Flemings that they did not trouble themselves much about them. 279

Las Casas was fortunate in winning the favor of the Flemish chancellor, Selvagius, but as in the two previous cases, scarcely was the friendly footing established when the great man died, and the bishop of Búrgos, whose influence in the government of the Indies had fallen low of late, was again elevated. All the measures that Las Casas had proposed to Selvagius fell to the ground—all save one, the only bad one, and one concerning which Las Casas afterward asserted that he would give all he possessed on earth to recall it; it was the introduction of negro slaves to relieve the Indians.

If the Jeronimite Fathers accomplished no great things in the Indies, they at least did little harm. Small-pox attended the herding of the natives in settlements, but it never prevailed to the extent represented. The fact that Fonseca held an encomienda of eight hundred Indians, the Comendador Conchillos one of eleven hundred, Vega one of two hundred, and other influential men at court other numbers, may have had something to do with the hostility manifested in that quarter toward Las Casas, who was unflinching to the end in denouncing the system as unjust, unchristian, and inhuman.

The office of Indian distributor was most important, and one in which the vital interests of the colonists were involved. It should have been filled by one of high integrity who would hold aloof from contaminating influences. Such was not Ibarra, who became offensively meddlesome in the affairs of the common council, and died under suspicious circumstances not long after, Lebron being sent out to take his place. When the Jeronimites countenanced negro slavery to relieve the Indians, the colonists were benignant; when they undertook civil service reform, some of them became furious, especially Pasamonte, who had been enriching himself as fast as possible while his patron lived, but who had now sunk into 280 insignificance. The favorites of the Flemish ministers, such as Rodrigo de Figueroa, to whom was given charge of the Indian settlements, were now the recipients of the fat offices; and the fact of their being Flemish favorites was sufficient to array the colonists against them. It was not long before they succeeded in having the residencia of Figueroa ordered, and Lebron installed as overseer of Indians in his place. In 1518, Jimenez who sent the Jeronimites being dead and Fonseca once more manager, the monks were recalled to Spain, and the affairs of Española and of the Indies were left with the audiencia of Santo Domingo, acting in conjunction with the Consejo de Indias[V-13] in Spain, the Casa de Contratacion 281 having more especial charge of commercial matters. 282

Many schemes for the benefit of the Indians filled the mind of Las Casas, who continued to labor for 283 them indefatigably. One, originating with Pedro de Córdoba, was to set apart on the mainland one hundred leagues as a place of refuge for the savages, into which no Spaniards but priests might enter. This 284 measure was opposed by Fonseca, who said: "The king would do well, indeed, to give away a hundred leagues without any profit to himself." After this Las Casas spent some time travelling through Spain and inducing Spaniards to emigrate to the Indies, but little that was beneficial came of it. Succeeding finally in enlisting the sympathies of the king's preachers in behalf of the Indians, a plan for founding a colony on the Pearl Coast was carried, and notwithstanding Oviedo appeared in opposition to his brother chronicler by offering a larger royalty, a grant of two hundred and sixty leagues was signed in May, 1520. Failing as a colonist, Las Casas retired for a time to the Dominican convent at Santo Domingo. After many years spent as missionary and preacher in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru, he was appointed bishop of Chiapas, where in the progress of this history we shall again meet him.

Certain attention which the Indies were now receiving may be mentioned here. Some little attention was paid by the ever-watchful government to the welfare of society in these distant parts. The wearing of rich apparel in Española was forbidden by the king in 1523. The appellations of certain of the islands were undergoing change, so that in due time their aboriginal names were restored to Cuba and Jamaica, the authorities thereby evincing a good taste which rulers and explorers of other nations might well have profited by at a later period. In 1515 six loaves of sugar and twenty cassia fistula were taken by Oviedo to Spain. In 1517 the pope made bishops in the Indies inquisitors; and when in 1521-2 the bulls of Leo X. and Adrian VI. ordered the Franciscans to prepare for mission work in the New World, liberal concessions were made to friars going thence. After the death of Pedro de Córdoba, who had been appointed inquisitor of the Indies, authority became vested in the audiencia of Santo Domingo. Desirous of stimulating emigration, the emperor in 1522 granted 285 further privileges to settlers in the Indies. Colonists were ordered to take their families to the New World under severe penalties for neglect. Licenses were revised, and regulations concerning the going to the New World of the religious orders as well as of all others were made to the utmost extent favorable, but friars found in the New World without a license must be sent forthwith to Spain. Then laws were made attempting to regulate the method of making war on Indians; and in 1523 it was decreed that idols should be destroyed and cannibalism prevented. Provision was made for the annual payment of thirty thousand maravedís for the support of a preceptor of grammar. And because of the heavy expenses of living, the emperor permitted the salaries of New World officials to be increased. The tribunals were likewise reorganized to fit the emergency and facilitate business. Directions were issued how gold chains should be made and dye-woods cut. It seemed to the emperor necessary in 1526 to issue orders facilitating the arrest of dishonest mercantile agents in the Indies, and to send Padre de Bobadilla, a provincial of the order of La Merced, to look after the baptism of the Indians. And as to the question of negroes, vexatious from the beginning, the emperor in 1523 revoked for a time the permission given in 1511 to send negroes as slaves to the Indies; and it was again ordered in 1526 that Indian slaves then in Spain should be returned to their country and treated as vassals.[V-14]

CHAPTER VI.
THE GOVERNMENTS OF NUEVA ANDALUCÍA AND CASTILLA DEL ORO.
1506-1510.

Tierra Firme Thrown open to Colonization—Rival Applications—Alonso de Ojeda Appointed Governor of Nueva Andalucía, and Diego de Nicuesa of Castilla del Oro—Hostile Attitudes of the Rivals at Santo Domingo—Ojeda Embarks for Cartagena—Builds the Fortress of San Sebastian—Failure and Death—Nicuesa Sails for Veragua—Parts Company with his Fleet—His Vessel is Wrecked—Passes Veragua—Confined with his Starving Crew on an Island—Succor—Failure at Veragua—Attempts Settlement at Nombre de Dios—Loss of Ship Sent to Española for Relief—Horrible Sufferings—Bibliographical Notices of Las Casas, Oviedo, Peter Martyr, Gomara, and Herrera—Character of the Early Chroniclers for Veracity.

The voyages of Bastidas and Columbus completed the discovery of a continuous coast line from the gulf of Paria to Cape Honduras. In 1506 Juan Diaz de Solis, a native of Lebrija, and Vicente Yañez Pinzon took up the line of discovery at the island of Guanaja, where the admiral had first touched, and proceeding in the opposite direction sailed along the coast of Honduras to the westward, surveyed the gulf of Honduras and discovered Amatique Bay, but passed by without perceiving the Golfo Dulce which lies hidden from the sea. The object still was to find the much-desired passage by water to the westward. Continuing northerly along Yucatan, and finding the coast trending east rather than west, they abandoned the undertaking and returned to Spain. Meanwhile Juan Ponce de Leon was enriching himself by the pacification 290 of Puerto Rico, preparatory to invading the mainland to the northward in search of the fountain of youth; in which sapient attempt he lost his money, and not long afterward his life, unfortunately never finding the liquid immortality that bubbled somewhere in the jungles of Florida.

And now ten years had elapsed since Cabot and Columbus first saw the western continent, the former in 1497, the latter in 1498, and although several attempts had been made, as yet there was no European settlement on any part of it. It was not that the thirst for western spoils was by any means assuaged; but Ferdinand was busy, and the experiences of Ojeda and Columbus on the mainland were not encouraging to the most chivalrous cupidity. Returned, however, from his Neapolitan wars in 1507, his disaffected nobles somewhat quieted, and the disputes attending Isabella's succession allayed, the king began to look about him. By the queen's testament he inherited one half the revenues of the Castilian colonies. And the king wanted money. It is a royal weakness. Then he remembered what Columbus had reported of the rich coast of Veragua; and although the licenses hitherto granted for private voyages had not proved very lucrative, and expenditures at Santo Domingo were too near receipts to be satisfactory, no better way seemed feasible than to throw open to colonization the mainland, or tierra firme, as the discovered portion of the continent now began to be called.[VI-1] 291 Further than this, Ferdinand was well aware that if he would retain his western possessions he must occupy them; for stimulated by the success of Portugal and 292 Spain, France, England, Holland, and Sweden had all awakened to oceanic enterprise. He had before this commissioned Ojeda to watch the inroads of the English at the north, and directed Pinzon to have an eye on the Portuguese and the pope's partition line at the south; now he was resolved to break the territory into kingdoms and provinces, and apportion them for government to such of his subjects as were able and willing to colonize at their own cost.

When the intention of the king was known, two dashing cavaliers appeared and asked for the government of the rich coast of the Tierra Firme. One was Diego de Nicuesa, a native of Baeza, well-born and an accomplished courtier, having been reared by Enrique Enriquez, chief steward and uncle of the king. He came to the Indies first with Ovando. The other was Alonso de Ojeda, then in Santo Domingo, and already famous in New World annals, making his first appearance there with Columbus in his second voyage, and having already achieved two notable voyages to Paria, or the Pearl Coast, one in 1499 with Juan de la Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci, and one in 1502, with García de Ocampo and Juan de Vergara. The last had been made in four ships, and for the purpose of colonizing; instead of which disputes arose, and the fiery commander was seized and carried in shackles to Española. There he was tried, 293 and a decision rendered against him, which however was overruled on appeal to the Council of the Indies; but he came out of his difficulties stripped of all his possessions.

The candidates were much alike, each being a fair type of the Spanish cavalier. Both were small in stature, though none the less men of prowess. Symmetrical in form, muscular, active, and skilful in the use of weapons, they delighted in tilting matches, feats of horsemanship, and in all those pastimes which characterized Spanish chivalry at the close of the Mahometan wars. The school in which Ojeda had studied experience, as page to the duke of Medina Celi, who appeared in the Moorish wars at the head of a brilliant retinue, was in no wise inferior to that of his rival. Their accomplishments were varied, though not specially in the direction of colonizing new countries. Not only was Nicuesa a fine musician, playing well the guitar, and having some knowledge of ballad literature, but he could make his horse prance in perfect time to a musical instrument. As for Ojeda, there was little, in his own opinion, he could not do. The more of recklessness and folly in the exploit the better he could perform it. Once at Seville, while Isabella was in the cathedral tower, out from which ran a beam, at a height so great that from it men on the ground looked like pygmies, to show the queen of what metal he was made, he mounted this beam, balanced himself, then tripped lightly as a rope-dancer to the end of it, wheeled, and lifting one foot poised himself on the other at this fearfully dizzy height, where almost a breath would dash him to destruction; then, returning, he stopped at the wall and placing one foot against it threw an orange to the top of the tower.

With such distinguished ability on either side, it was difficult to determine between them. Who so suitable to baffle miasma, poisonous reptiles, and wild beasts while dressing the institutions of Spain 294 for the wilderness of America, as the graceful and witty Nicuesa! What a glorious missionary Ojeda would make! So moderate, so wise, so gentle, so just, both! Nicuesa had money, a necessary commodity to him who would colonize at his own cost. But then Ojeda had influence; for Fonseca was his friend, and an inquisitor his cousin. Yet Nicuesa was not without advocates at court; money alone was a powerful argument. When, finally, the veteran pilot, Juan de la Cosa, threw his experience and earnings upon the side of Ojeda, to whom he was devotedly attached, and offered himself to embark in the adventure, the king concluded to let them both go; and then it was that he divided Tierra Firme between them, making the gulf of Urabá[VI-2] the dividing point. The eastern or South American portion was called Nueva Andalucía, and of this Alonso de Ojeda was appointed governor; the western division, extending from the gulf of Urabá, or Darien, to Cape Gracias á Dios, was named by the king Castilla del Oro,[VI-3] or Golden Castile, and the command given to 295 Diego de Nicuesa. The island of Jamaica, whence they expected to draw their supplies, was to be held in common by the two governors. Were it not so much more delightful to bargain with new suitors who have money, than to reward old servants who have none, a fine sense of decency might have prompted the monarch to give Castilla del Oro to the adelantado, Bartolomé Colon, who had assisted in discovering, and in an attempt to colonize the country, and who had little to show for his many and valuable services to Spain. But Diego Colon was determined they should not have Jamaica, and so sent thither Juan de Esquivel, as we have seen, to hold it for the governor of Santo Domingo.

The mainland governors were each appointed for four years, during which time supplies were free from duties. Their outfit, with four hundred settlers and two hundred miners each, might be obtained from Santo Domingo. They were given the exclusive right to work for ten years all mines discovered by them on paying into the royal treasury for the first year one tenth of the proceeds, the second year one 296 ninth, the third one eighth, the fourth one seventh, the fifth one sixth, and for the remaining five years one fifth. The king conditioned, moreover, that each governor should build two forts for the protection of the colonists, to whom the lands in the vicinity of which were to belong.

It so happened that the doughty little governors met at Santo Domingo, while making their final preparations. Swelling with new dignities, active and mettlesome, each desirous of obtaining as many recruits as possible, it was not long before they came into collision. First they quarrelled about Jamaica; as a supplement to which Ojeda stoutly swore that should he there encounter Juan de Esquivel, his head should pay the penalty. Then their partition line became a bone of contention, both claiming the Indian province of Darien.[VI-4] The geography of the coast was at that time but little known; their dominions toward the south were limitless, and for aught they knew larger than Spain. Although both the commanders were small corporally, in feeling they were large, and required much room. The breach thus opened was in no wise lessened by the superior success of Nicuesa, who with a deeper purse, and a government famous for its wealth, drew off recruits from his less fortunate rival. Five large caravels and two brigantines, flying the flag of Castilla del Oro, rode in the harbor. All were well equipped and liberally provisioned; and already Nicuesa mustered nearly eight hundred men and six horses, while Ojeda at his best could muster but three hundred men in two small ships and two brigantines.[VI-5]

297

Nettled at every turn he made about the little town, Ojeda, who was a better swordsman than logician, at length proposed to settle all scores by single combat. "Agreed," replied Nicuesa, who was equally brave yet less passionate, "but for what shall we fight? Match me with five thousand castellanos, and I am your man." Finally old Juan de la Cosa interfered to prevent bloodshed; the river Darien, or Atrato, was made the dividing line, and measures were taken to hasten departure before the fire of hot Ojeda should blaze out again.

But Ojeda was not without his little triumphs. There dwelt at this time at the capital of the Indies a lawyer, known as the Bachiller[VI-6] Martin Fernandez de Enciso, who during a successful practice of many years had accumulated some two thousand castellanos. Tempted by the offer of being made alcalde mayor[VI-7] 298 of the new government, he was induced by the impetuous Ojeda to embark his entire fortune in the adventure. It was arranged that the bachiller should remain at Santo Domingo for some time after the departure of Ojeda, in order to obtain further recruits and fit out another ship, and then follow the governor to Nueva Andalucía.

Of Ojeda's party was Francisco Pizarro; and flitting restlessly from one heterogeneous group to another, enviously watching preparations in which circumstances prevented their participating, were other dominant spirits waiting opportunity, notably Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, tied by debt to distasteful agriculture, and Hernan Cortés, fortunately forbidden to embark by illness.

Ojeda was the first to sail, embarking November 10, 1509. Nicuesa would have weighed anchor at the same time, but was prevented by his creditors; for his success in securing followers was attended by so copious a drain of purse that not only his money but his credit was gone.

Favorable winds wafted Ojeda quickly to Cartagena, where he landed and proclaimed in loud and vaunting tones his manifesto.[VI-8] A shower of poisoned darts was the reply; a mark of disrespect from his new subjects which set the governor's blood boiling. Breathing a short prayer to the virgin, Ojeda seized a lance, and charging the natives at the head of his followers scattered them in the forest, and rashly pursued 299 them. These were no effeminate islanders; the women fought side by side with the men, who were equal to those of Veragua, with the additional advantage of envenomed arrow-points, which, with the occasional shelter their forests afforded, made them more than a match for the Spaniards.[VI-9] This Ojeda had all to learn, and to pay dearly for the knowledge. Of seventy of his best and bravest who followed him four leagues inland but one returned. Even his staunch and veteran friend, Juan de la Cosa, after vainly attempting to dissuade his self-willed colleague from his purpose, placed himself by his side and died there. Ojeda fought like a tiger until his men were scattered and killed, and he was left wounded and alone in a marshy thicket, where several days after a fresh party from the ships found him half-dead. When warmed into life and returned to the harbor he saw entering it Nicuesa's fleet he hid himself, afraid to meet his rival in that plight. Told of this by Ojeda's men, as supplemental to their dismal tale, Nicuesa's anger was aroused at the unjust suspicion. "Tell your commander," he exclaimed, "that Diego de Nicuesa is a Christian cavalier who makes no war on a prostrate foe; that not only shall past feuds be buried, but he promises never to leave this spot until the deaths of Juan de la Cosa and his comrades are avenged." He was as good as his word. Landing four hundred men, he surprised an Indian village, put men, women, and children to the sword, and secured large booty.

After Nicuesa had departed on his way, Ojeda cast off from that ill-fated shore his ships, and brought them to the gulf of Urabá, where on its eastern side, near the entrance, he built a fortress, the beginning of his capital city, and called it San Sebastian[VI-10] 300 in honor of the arrow-martyred saint, whose protection he craved from the venomous darts of his subjects. From San Sebastian, Ojeda despatched to Santo Domingo one of his vessels with the gold and captives he had taken, at the same time urging Enciso to hasten his departure, and send supplies. Meanwhile Ojeda's temper, which was as sharp and fiery as Damascus steel, made little head-way against tangled marshes and poisoned arrows. Persisting in his high-handed policy, he could do nothing with the natives, food being as difficult to obtain as gold, and his ranks rapidly thinned.

While harassed by hunger and watching anxiously the coming of Enciso and the return of their ships, the colonists descried one day a strange sail. On reaching San Sebastian it proved to be a Genoese vessel which, while loading with bacon and cassava bread at Cape Tiburon, had been piratically seized by one Bernardo de Talavera and a gang of vagabonds from Santo Domingo, who escaped with their prize and had come to Nueva Andalucía to seek fortune under the wise and happy rule of Governor Ojeda. To buy the cargo was the work of a moment, for the pirates were very ready to sell; and, indeed, had they not been, the governor would have compelled them. The poison was in his blood, which was now hot with fever, and he was in no mood for ceremony. But the relief thus obtained was only 301 temporary. Day by day the food supply diminished. The colonists were reduced in number from three hundred to three score. And with bodily ailment came as usual mind-distempers, wranglings, ruin, and despair. Where now was the valiant Ojeda? Humiliated to the dust, as well before the savages as before the Spaniards.

Yet he would not yield to fate without another effort, wasted and weak as he was. Giving Pijano command of the fortress, Ojeda took passage in the freebooter's ship and sailed for Santo Domingo. But his patroness, the virgin, had indeed deserted him. Shipwreck met him at Cuba, whence he crossed to Jamaica. Talavera and his gang, after the most extraordinary exertions, likewise reached Jamaica, but only to be seized by order of Diego Colon and hanged. Ojeda said nothing to Esquivel about striking off his head, but humbly took the kindly extended aid. Proceeding to Española in a caravel he found Enciso gone, and himself a bankrupt invalid. Pride, which seldom deserts a Spanish cavalier, gave way. Reduced to penury, broken-hearted, he died, begging as proof of his humility to be buried under the monastery portal, that all who entered should tread upon his grave. Farewell, daring, dashing, irrational Ojeda!

Let us now look after Nicuesa. When from the discomfited Ojeda the gallant governor of Castilla del Oro last parted, he coasted westward toward Veragua, where he purposed to plant his colony. The better to survey the seaboard, he took a small caravel, and ordered Lope de Olano, his lieutenant, to attend him with two brigantines, while the larger vessels kept farther from the shore. Thus they proceeded until reaching the Indian province of Cueba, where a port was discovered into which flowed a small stream called Pito. There they landed and said mass,[VI-11] and therefore named the place Misas. 302

Leaving there the largest ships in charge of a relative named Cueto, who was to receive word when to follow, Nicuesa pressed forward toward Veragua with a caravel carrying sixty men, Lope de Olano still attending in a brigantine with thirty men. A storm arising not long after, the latter took advantage of this and the darkness of the night to separate from him, impelled partly by a conviction that they were on the wrong course, partly by ambitious projects. After waiting two days in vain for his companion Nicuesa continued westward. In the search for Veragua he attempted to follow a chart drawn by Bartolomé Colon, though his pilots Diego de Ribero and Diego Martin, both of whom had been with Columbus, assured him that he had passed the place. The storm increasing, Nicuesa ran his vessel into the mouth of a large river; but when attempting to proceed after the storm he found himself caught in a trap, and his vessel on the bar amidst the breakers, the water having subsided. Unable to move the ship in either direction, its destruction was inevitable, and the men set about saving themselves. A rope was stretched to the shore at the cost of a life; and scarcely had the last person reached land when the vessel went to pieces.

Behold, then, the courtly Nicuesa, so lately the proud commander of a fleet, by this sudden freak of fortune cast upon an inhospitable shore, his whereabouts unknown to himself or to those in the ships, and his almost naked followers destitute of food, save one barrel of flour and a cask of oil flung them by the surly breakers! His mind was moreover ill at ease concerning Olano, whose reputation was none of the best, and who Nicuesa thought might have joined him had he been disposed. The ship's boat fortunately drifted ashore, and in it Nicuesa placed Diego de Ribero and three seamen, ordering them to keep him company along the shore, and render assistance in crossing streams and inlets. Already faint with 303 hunger, they began their march. But whither? Still westward, but not toward Veragua. Each weary footstep carried them farther and farther from their destination. It was not a pleasant journey feeling their way through tropical forests, with such impediments as tangled jungles, hot malarious mudbeds, craggy hills and treacherous streams to block their way. Some of the party had no shoes, some no hat; sharp stones cut their feet, thorny brambles tore their flesh, and their half-clad bodies were exposed alternately to burning sun and drenching rain. They were soon glad to get shell-fish and roots to eat with their leaves. One day an arrow from an overhanging height struck dead Nicuesa's page, but fortunately the savages retired without pressing their advantage. Nicuesa's dog, seeing murder in his hungry master's eye, took to his heels and was never afterward seen. Yet greater misfortunes awaited the Spaniards. After crossing an inlet in the boat one evening, they rested for the night, and in attempting to resume their march next morning found themselves upon an island. Calling for Ribero, he was missing. Nor was the boat anywhere to be seen. It could not be possible that he had left them to die on that circumscribed and barren spot. Loudly they called, searching every inlet, and sweeping the horizon with terror-lighted eyes. It was true; they were abandoned!

It is curious to witness the effect of despair on different minds, of the near approach of that hateful means for our final suppression. Some will fight the monster; others succumb, sinking into drivelling imbecility; others calmly abandon themselves to the inevitable, even the ludicrous aspect of the case coming home to some of them, looking grimly cheerful. As elsewhere, both fools and philosophers were found among Nicuesa's crew. Some prayed and confessed, with divers degrees of accompaniment, from low lamentation to frantic raving; some cursed; some nursed their horror in sullen silence. 304

I shall not attempt to describe Nicuesa's sufferings while on this island. Suffice it to say that on a scanty diet of roots and shell-fish with brackish water many died, while others wished themselves dead; for the former might rot in peace, but the latter yet living swarmed with impatient vermin. And there was little satisfaction in effort, when drinking only increased thirst, and eating but kept alive despondency. Truly it was a good thing, a grand thing to adventure life to capture wild lands and rule one's fellows!

Thus weeks passed. Then like a ray shot from the Redeemer's throne a sail was seen. Men wasted to the last extremity shook off death's grip and roused themselves, stretching their long lank necks, their bony chins and glazed eyes toward the approaching vessel, which soon came to anchor before the island. Ribero was not a villain after all. Satisfied that Veragua was behind them, but unable to convince Nicuesa, Ribero won over to his views the three boatmen, left the island during the night, retraced their course and reached Veragua. There they found the colonists, with Olano bearing rule, who on the information of Ribero could scarcely do less than send his governor succor.[VI-12]

Leaving here Nicuesa, let us inquire concerning the other portions of his scattered colony. Two months having elapsed since the departure of the governor from the port of Misas, and hearing nothing from any one, Cueto, in whose charge the fleet was left, became uneasy, and taking a small vessel, set out in search of his commander. The only tidings he could gain were from a letter found on an island, wrapped in a leaf and fastened to a stick, which informed 305 him that Nicuesa was well and still journeying westward. Returning to Misas, Cueto with the entire fleet sailed for Veragua; but so badly worm-eaten were the ships that he was obliged to come to anchor at the mouth of the River Chagre,[VI-13] which from the ravenous alligators that swarmed there was called by the Spaniards Lagartos. There portions of the cargoes were landed; and while attempts were made to repair the ships, one of the pilots, Pedro de Umbría, was sent in quest of the lost governor. Meanwhile Lope de Olano arrived.

Evidently the lieutenant did not in his heart desire his captain's return. For although in reciting to his comrades the circumstances of the storm, and the disappearance of the governor, with such variations as suited his purpose, with tears which would have done honor to the crocodiles thereabout, he made no effort to find Nicuesa. He affected to believe him dead. "And now, gentlemen," he said, "let no more mention be made of him if you would not kill me."

The fleet now proceeded to Belen, where the usual catalogue of disasters attends the disembarkation. Four men are drowned. The worm-eaten ships are dismantled, broken in pieces, and of the fragments huts are made on the site formerly occupied by Bartolomé Colon. Olano, after some opposition, is formally proclaimed lieutenant-governor. Raids follow; 306 but the quibian, grown wise by experience, retires with his people, and leaves the Spaniards to shift for themselves. There being nothing to steal, they starve. Disease and disaffection follow; Olano is not happy.

Wrathful, indeed, was Nicuesa on reaching Belen. Against Olano his indignation was extreme. He charged him with wilful desertion, with felonious destruction of the ships, and with gross mismanagement. He had ruined all. Branding him as a traitor he ordered his arrest; and when some feeble attempts were made by the others to mitigate the governor's displeasure, he broke forth on them. "It well becomes you," he exclaimed, "to ask pardon for him, when you should be begging mercy for yourselves!"

But of what use were oaths and bickerings? Of his gallant company half were dead, and the less fortunate remainder lived only to suffer yet awhile before following. Of all the men who came from Spain, proud Nicuesa lost the most, having most to lose. Of all New World woes, Nicuesa's woes were greatest; the half of what thus far has been words cannot tell, and the worst part is yet to come.

Now that the rich Veragua was reached, the Golden Castile of greedy anticipations, what then? The gold with which to load the ships was wanting; the ships with which to bear away that gold were almost all destroyed. The fertile soil was marshy, the spicy air malarious, the redundant vegetation yielded little food for man. Sallow-faced skeletons of men clamored their distress. Death was busy enough, so Olano's life was spared, though his badge of office was exchanged for fetters. Even foragers perished for want of food; every member of one band died from eating of a putrescent Indian. The governor grew peevish; his generous temper was soured by misfortune. The colonists complained of his harsh treatment and indifference to their sufferings. And they said to him: "The fates are against us here; let us abandon this 307 place." "Oh, very well!" snarled Nicuesa. Leaving Alonso Nuñez, with the dignified title of alcalde mayor, and a few men to harvest some grain planted by Olano, the colonists embarked in two brigantines and a caravel, built of fragments of the broken ships, to seek some healthier spot. After sailing eastward some twenty leagues, a Genoese sailor named Gregorio addressed the governor: "I well remember, when with the admiral in this vicinity we entered a fine port where we found food and water." After some search the place was found, the Portobello of Columbus, and an anchor dropped there by the admiral was seen protruding from the sand. Landing for food, the Spaniards were attacked and twenty killed; indeed, they could scarcely wield their weapons so weak were they. Faint and disheartened they continued their way about seven leagues farther, when approaching the shore Nicuesa cried out: "Paremos aquí en el nombre de Dios!" Here let us stop in God's name! They found anchorage, the place being the Puerto de Bastimentos of Columbus. The companions of Nicuesa, however, ready in their distress to seize on any auspice, took up the cry of their commander and applied the words Nombre de Dios[VI-14] to the harbor which they then entered, and which name to this day it bears.

Here another attempt was made to locate the government of Castilla del Oro. Disembarking, Nicuesa 308 took formal possession, erected a fortress, and began again his necessary though suicidal policy of foraging. The natives retired. The malarious atmosphere wrapped the strangers in disease and death. The caravel was sent back to Veragua, and Alonso Nuñez and the remnant of the colony brought away. The vessel was then sent to Española for supplies, but neither ship nor crew were ever afterward heard from. Meanwhile Nicuesa and the remnant of his luckless company made a brave stand, but all of no avail. Long since fate had decreed their destruction. It was not possible in their present condition to live. Reptiles as food became a luxury to them; the infected sunlight dried up their blood; despair paralyzed heart and brain; and to so dire extremity were they finally reduced that they were scarcely able to mount guard or bury their dead.[VI-15]

In my bibliographical notices thus far I have had occasion to make mention more particularly of original documents referring to individual episodes. I will now say a few words concerning the early chroniclers, Las Casas, Oviedo, Peter Martyr, and Gomara, and of the later and more general writer, Herrera. On these, the corner-stones of early Spanish American annals, the fabrics of all who follow them must forever rest. 309

The lives of Las Casas and Oviedo constitute in themselves no small portions of their respective histories. Both came to the New World, and each took an active and prominent part in many of the matters of which he wrote. They were nearly of an age; the former being born at Seville in 1474, and the latter at Madrid in 1478; but Oviedo did not come to America until 1514, being with Pedrarias Dávila when he went to govern Darien, while Las Casas took up his residence under Ovando at Española in 1502. Las Casas was an ecclesiastic whose life was devoted to befriending the Indians, and he did not leave America for the last time until 1547, after half a century of most humane service; Oviedo was a cavalier who sought to better his broken fortunes by obtaining through his influence at court the office of veedor de las fundiciones del oro de la Tierra Firme, supervisor of gold-melting for Tierra Firme, which office he held throughout his connection with the affairs of the continental Indies, until 1532. Both were influential men at court, Las Casas being quite intimate with young Charles, while Oviedo had been mozo de cámara, or page to Prince Juan. Both made frequent trips between Spain and America; Oviedo crossed the Atlantic twelve times, Las Casas even more.

Las Casas was as able an annalist as he was reformer. His greatest work, Historia de las Indias, was begun in his fifty-third year, and completed in 1561, five years before his death. It was extensively copied and used in manuscript, but was not printed until 1875-76. Though consisting of five volumes, it comprises but three decades, or books, and brings the history of the New World down only to 1520. It was the author's original intention to have continued his work through six decades, which would have brought it down to 1550, and hence have included his important experiences in Guatemala, Chiapas, and Mexico. Next to the general history of the Indies stands the Apologética Historia, comprising a description of the country and the customs of the people, and written to defend the natives against the accusation that they lacked system in their societies, not having reason to govern themselves. His first printed work was issued in Mexico in 1546; it was entitled Cancionero Spiritual, and was dedicated to Bishop Zumárraga. At Seville, in 1552, was published, in one volume 4to, Breve relacion de la destruccion de las Indias Occidentales, and other tracts of a similar nature; such as his Controversy with Sepúlveda; his Thirty Propositions; Remedies for the Reformation of Indies; Rules for Confessors; a treatise proving the sovereign empire and universal authority which the kings of Castile and Leon have over the Indies, etc. This collection was put in print in Latin, French, Italian, German, and Dutch, some of the translations appearing in several editions. The Controversy with Sepúlveda was issued separately. Juan Antonio Llorente printed at Paris in 1822 a Coleccion de las Obras del Obispo de Chiapa, 2 vols. 8vo, which was published the same year in French, under title of Œuvres de Don Barthélemi de las Casas. The collection comprises several of his less important works; the French translation is remarkably free, the author being at times quite lost sight of, and several new pieces of doubtful origin are added. As a writer, Las Casas is honest, earnest, and reliable, except where his enthusiasm gets the better of him. His learned opponent and arch-enemy, Sepúlveda, pronounces him most subtle, most vigilant, and most fluent, compared with whom the Ulysses of Homer was inert and stuttering. 310 He was not only a thorn in the flesh of evil-doers, but by his persistent and stinging effrontery he often exasperated mild and benevolent men. But whatever his enemies may say of him, and they are neither few nor silent, true it is that of all the men who came to the Indies he almost alone leaves the furnace with no smell of fire upon him.

Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés was of the noble family of Oviedo in Asturias. In early childhood, before entering the service of Prince Juan, he was with the duke of Villa Hermosa. While watching the fall of Granada he met Columbus, and afterward witnessed his triumph at Barcelona. After the death of his young master in 1497, who in fact was of his own age, Oviedo went to Italy, where art and science were enlivened by war, serving under Frederico of Naples, and sometimes jewel-keeper to Queen Juana. Married at Madrid, in 1502, to the beautiful Margarita de Vergara, whom he lost in childbirth ten months after, he plunged into the excitement of war, serving as secretary to Córdoba in the French campaign. Marrying again, he hovered about the court until, in his thirty-sixth year, his dwindling fortunes sent him with Pedrarias to Darien, in the capacity before mentioned. His doings there will be told in the text of this history; suffice it to say here that most of his time there was spent in broils with the governor, beside which he had to endure the loss of his wife and child, imprisonment, and the dangerous wound of an assassin's knife. But, obtaining at last the appointment of Pedro de los Rios in place of Pedrarias, and for himself the governorship of Cartagena, which office, however, he never exercised, after three years' further residence in Tierra Firme, this time in Nicaragua, he returned to Spain in 1530, spent two years in arranging his notes, resigned his veeduría, and received the appointment of Cronista general de Indias. In the autumn of 1532 he went to Santo Domingo, and although appointed the following year alcalde of the fortress of Santo Domingo, the remainder of his life was passed chiefly in literary work. After an eventful life of seventy-nine years he died at Valladolid in 1557, while engaged in the preparation for the press of the unpublished portion of his history. Throughout the whole of his career Oviedo seems to have devoted every spare moment to writing. Even before he was appointed royal chronicler he was an indefatigable collector of material. He was well acquainted with the prominent persons of his time, and few expeditions were made without adding to his store. Want of discrimination in the use of authorities is more prominent in his writings than want of authorities. Of twelve literary efforts but one, beside those relating to America, found its way into print. He formed the plan of writing about the New World long before he first crossed the ocean, and actually began his history, according to José Amador de los Rios, before 1519, keeping open the general divisions for additions to the day of his death. After his return from the second voyage to Darien he wrote at the request of the king, and chiefly from memory, as his notes were at Santo Domingo, De la Natural Hystoria de las Indias, printed at Toledo in 1526. This work was republished by Barcia, Historiadores Primitivos, i., translated into Italian by Ramusio, Viaggi, iii., and garbled by Purchas in His Pilgrimes, iv. 5. This, it must be borne in mind, is totally distinct from the Historia General y Natural de las Indias, Islas y Tierra-Firme del Mar Océano, por el Capitan Gonzalo 311 Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, primer cronista del Nuevo Mundo, and which alone admits the author to the first rank as a historian. The General History was originally divided into three parts, containing in all fifty books. The first part, comprising nineteen books, with the preface and ten chapters of the fiftieth book—not 20, 21, or 22 books as different bibliographers state—was published during the author's life at Seville in 1535, under the title Historia General, etc., and republished at Salamanca in 1547 as Hystoria General. This rare issue contains in several places a few columns of additional matter which have not escaped my attention. An Italian version of the same parts was published by Ramusio in his Viaggi, iii.; the first ten books were translated into French and published as Histoire Naturelle, etc., Paris, 1556; the twentieth book, or the first of the second part, was published separately at Valladolid in 1557 as Libro XX., etc. Thirteen chapters of Book XLII., relating to Nicaragua, were published in French by Ternaux-Compans, Histoire du Nicaragua, in his second series of Voyages, iii., Paris, 1840. Finally, the fifty books complete were beautifully and accurately printed at Madrid in four folio volumes, with plates, by the Real Academia de la Historia in 1851-55. The editor, José Amador de los Rios, gives in an introduction the best notice of the life and writings of the author extant. Oviedo was not a learned man like Peter Martyr, and it is doubtful if a further insight into the books of the day would have made him any wiser; yet a man who could dictate the natural history of a new country without his notes cannot be called illiterate. He knew Latin and the modern languages; but his familiarity with Latin was not sufficient to prevent an unpleasant parade of it. Nor did he possess the genius or practical sagacity of Las Casas; yet his extraordinary opportunities were not wholly wasted, nor did life at court, political quarrels, or gold-gathering at any time wholly stifle his ambition to achieve the useful in letters. Oviedo was a fair example of the higher type of Spaniard of that day; he was intelligent, energetic, brave; but cold, unscrupulous, and cruel. And this is true, without going full length with Las Casas in his fiery fanaticism when he says:—"Oviedo should regret what he has written of the Indians; he has borne false witness against them; and has calumniated them in every way.... He should have inscribed on his title-page, 'This book was written by a conqueror, robber, and murderer of the Indians, whole populations of whom he consigned to the mines, where they perished'.... His work is as full of lies as of pages." To which sentiment I by no means subscribe. Probably no kind of work, however thoroughly and conscientiously done, is more open to criticism, is more certain to be criticised on every side, than contemporaneous history from facts for the first time gathered, and from many and conflicting witnesses. Ternaux-Compans says well:—"Oviedo n'est pas exempt des préjugés de son temps contre les Indiens, mais après tout, ce qu'il dit se rapproche plus de la vérité que les peintures fantastiques de l'évêque de Chiapa, qui veut retrouver l'âge d'or même chez les nations les plus féroces." Both of these authors, Las Casas and Oviedo, wrote in the heat of the engagement of the abnormal and ill-understood scenes passing under their immediate notice. What they wrote was certainly true to them; it is our business to analyze and sift, and make their records true to us. In the showy criticisms of these and a kindred class of authors we see generally something 312 brought in about style and arrangement. The latter is always bad, and the index worse than none; but critics should find something better to do than find fault with the words and their arrangement of these old fighting chroniclers. Of course their style is bad, abominable; but who cares for style in them? One wants only the facts. Their books are not made to be read, but to be used. Rios seems to entertain a proper appreciation of the matter when he writes:—"Mas ya fuera porque procurase dar á su lectura aquella diversidad, tantas veces por él apetecida, ya porque la misma fatiga é irregularidad con que recibia los datos, le impidiese someterlos á un plan maduro é inalterable; es lo cierto que la crítica de nuestros dias, al par que aprecia y agradece tan interesantes inquisiciones, echa de menos cierta cohesion y armonia en la exposicion de las costumbres de los indios, no hallando mayor enlace en la narracion de los descubrimientos y conquistas, que ni se refieren siempre en órden cronológico, ni guardan entre sí la conveniente relacion para que pueda comprenderse sin dificultad su influencia recíproca."

While the Protector of the Indians and the First Chronicler of the New World were thus gathering and recording historical data in the several parts of America, one of the most learned men of Europe, Pietro Martire d'Anghiera, or latinized Anglerius, commonly called Peter Martyr, was collecting similar facts in Spain, and recording them, copiously diluted with the philosophy of the day, in the form of ten-year epochs, constituting in the end a series of decades. The duchy of Milan was the early home of this chronicler, and 1457 the year of his birth. His family was of noble descent, and originally of Anghiera. Going to Rome in 1477 to finish his education, he became so conspicuous for learning and eloquence that ten years later the Spanish ambassador invited him to try his fortune at the court of the Spanish sovereigns. By them he was graciously received, especially by Isabella, who wished to occupy him in the instruction of the young nobles of Castile. The ardent Italian must have a taste of war, however, before settling into permanent sagedom; so he fought before Baza, and laid not down the sword till the city of the Alhambra fell. Then he became a priest, and turned toward pursuits more in keeping with his natural bent and erudition. He opened various schools of learning, which youth of quality made it the fashion to attend. Having risen into high consideration at court, in 1501 he was sent by the crown on missions to Venice and Cairo, in which he acquitted himself creditably, and wrote on his return the De Legatione Babylonicâ, an account of Lower Egypt in three books. On Ferdinand's death he was appointed by Jimenez ambassador to the Sultan Selim, but refused the honor on account of his age; and afterward he did not find Charles less inclined to acknowledge his merits. During the three years following his return from Egypt he was appointed prior of the cathedral of Granada, and by the pope apostolic prothonotary, and in 1518 he took his seat in the Council of the Indies. His life was one of rare industry, in which he gathered and disseminated much knowledge, and which gained him the respect of princes; his death occurred in 1526, in the 69th year of his age, and he was buried in his cathedral at Granada. Peter Martyr is the author of at least two great works, viewed historically. They are written in Latin, of anything but Ciceronian ring, for patristic is to the patrician Latin as the 'Frenche of Stratford atte 313 Bowe' is to the French of Paris. Of these his two notable works the chief is De Orbe Novo, an account of the New World and its wonders, in eight decades, or books. The first, and the first three, of these decades were published at different times during the author's life, but the eight decades complete did not appear before 1530, when they were printed at Alcalá under the title De Orbe Novo Petri Martyris ab Angleria Mediolanensis Protonotarii Cæsaris senatoris decades. Three of the decades translated into English by R. Eden were printed in 1555, and reprinted in 1577, with another decade added by R. Willes. The best complete edition of the eight decades, in their original Latin, next appeared in Paris, published by R. Hakluyt, 1587. Indeed, beside the edition of 1530, this is the only complete original edition of the De Orbe Novo. In 1612 appeared the work entire in English, the result of the 'Industrie and painefull Trauaile of M. Lok Gent.' This has been included in a supplement to Hakluyt's Voyages, London, 1812. Beside these important editions, partial translations, extracts, and compilations have appeared at various times and in various languages. In 1534, at Venice, in Italian, were published, in three several parts, summaries of the history of the Indies taken from Peter Martyr, Oviedo, and others. The other of the two works alluded to is a collection of Peter Martyr's letters, in Latin, which brim with notices of contemporary events, and run from 1488 to his death. Two editions of these collected letters were published, the first at Alcalá in 1530, the second at Amsterdam, by the Elzevirs, in 1670. The title runs thus—Opus Epistolarum Petri Martyris Anglerii Mediolanensis, etc.; a translation of the letters has never been published. So confused, misdated, and interposed are the epistles that Hallam expressed his disbelief in any connection whatever between actual and ostensible dates and service. But the De Orbe Novo may be regarded equal in authority to the relations of the eye-witnesses Las Casas and Oviedo. Peter Martyr was the first of the chroniclers to write and to publish on the New World, his decades beginning to appear about the time Oviedo first went to the Indies. Immediately Columbus set foot on shore, on his return from the first voyage, the eloquent and philosophic scholar began to question him and those who came with him, and to write, and he never ceased writing until death stopped him. There was so much for a man of his mind to think and talk about. For a time after this marvellous discovery the learned and intelligently curious lived in a ferment concerning it. It was to some extent the revolutionizing of science and philosophy. The lines of tradition were snapped; the cosmos had lost its continuity. Peter Martyr, a grave man of broad and deep capabilities; well situated for procuring information, meeting daily, many of them at his own table, those who had returned from the Indies—discoverers, conquerors, explorers, sailors, priests, and cavaliers—having access to the official letters, diaries, charts, and relations of these men, his account, I say, should be as reliable and as valuable as that of one who had actually mingled in the scenes described. In some respects it should be more so, able as he was to see with a hundred eyes instead of two, and to determine disputes more coolly and equitably. It is true his, records are marred by the haste with which they were written, and by the admitted lack of correction or revision by the author; order and method are nowhere present; mistakes and contradictions are frequent. But 314 we have the raw material, which is far better than any elaboration. Las Casas was the first of the chroniclers to visit the Indies, and the last of the three thus far named to begin to write and publish history, which was in 1552. Oviedo began to write at about the date the history of Las Casas terminates. It was four years after the death of Peter Martyr that Oviedo was appointed official chronicler of the New World. The general relations of the three historians were antagonistic; from which their writings may all the better be brought to harmonize with truth. Of the hundreds who have made their criticisms on the writings of Peter Martyr I will mention but two. Says Las Casas, Hist. Ind., i. 32: "De los cuales cerca destas primeras cosas á ninguno se debe dar más fe que á Pedro Martir;" and Muñoz remarks, Hist. Nuevo Mundo, xiii.: "Merece indulgencia por el candor con que lo confiesa todo, por su ningun afan en publicar sus borrones, y principalmente porque tal qual es la obra de las décadas contiene muchísimas especies que no se hallan en otra parte alguna, y estas escritas con la conveniente libertad por un autor coetáneo, grave, culto, bien instruido de los hechos, y de probidad conocida."

Of much less importance than the preceding are the writings of Francisco Lopez Gomara, particularly his history of the Indies, which is an imitation rather than a genuine original, and of which too much has been made, notwithstanding Muñoz pronounces it the first history worthy the name. Although Icazbalceta, a high authority on the subject, gives the name Gómara, or Gómora, with the accent on the first syllable as the Peninsular pronunciation, with the remark that it is commonly called Gomára in Mexico, I have not thought best to depart from an almost universal usage. Bustamante goes out of his way to signify an accent where it would naturally fall, writing Gomára. Born in Seville in 1510, of an illustrious family—it seems exceptional to find any man of note in Spain whose family was not illustrious—and educated at the university of Alcalá, he became a doctor of both civil and canonical law, and filled for a time the chair of rhetoric. From the military life designed for him by his parents he was driven by literary tastes into the priesthood; and in 1540, upon the return of Cortés from his last visit to Mexico, he became chaplain and secretary to the marquis. From this some have inferred and erroneously stated that he spent four years in America prior to publishing his history. At Saragossa in 1552-3 appeared his La Historia General de las Indias, in two folio parts, the first general, and dealing chiefly with Peru, the other devoted to Mexico. The book was popular; and in 1553 from Medina del Campo issued another folio edition; and another from Saragossa the year following, with this difference as to the last, however, that its second part was treated as a separate work and entitled Cronica de la nueua España con la conquista de Mexico, y otras cosas notables: hechas por el Valoroso Hernando Cortes, while the first part appropriated the original title of Historia General, etc. Then appeared an edition at Antwerp, 1554, and one in which the date, 1552, is evidently spurious. The author seems to have handled government affairs too roughly; for in 1553 we find the book suppressed by royal decree, which, however, was not fully enforced, and was revoked in 1729. Barcia printed a mutilation of the two works in his Hist. Prim., ii., in 1749, and the two were again published, in a correct form, in Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, xxii., Madrid, 1852. A somewhat singular case occurred in Mexico in 1826, 315 when was issued, in 2 volumes 8vo, Historia de las Conquistas de Hernando Cortés, escrita en Español por Francisco Lopez de Gomára, traducida al Mexicano y aprobada por verdadera por D. Juan Bautista de San Anton Muñon Chimalpain Quauhtlehuanitzin, Indio Mexicano. Publílcala para instruccion de la juventud nacional, con varias notas y adiciones, Carlos María de Bustamante, which being interpreted, at best is confused. It says that the work, written in Spanish by Gomara, was translated into the Mexican language, and there leaves it. On turning over the leaves we find the book printed in Spanish, and not in Nahuatl, as we were led to suppose. Nor does a lengthy preface by Bustamante make the matter clear in every respect. Turning to other sources, and by comparing all information, we finally learn that Bustamante and others once believed in the existence, somewhere, of a history of Mexico, by the learned and noble native Chimalpain. Probably it lay hidden in some one of the libraries or government offices about Mexico. Boturini spoke of various historical manuscripts written by Domingo de San Anton Muñon Chimalpain, some in Castilian, and some in Nahuatl. Note, in passing, the difference in the name, here Domingo, and in the title Juan Bautista. Clavigero, Leon Pinelo, Beristain, and Antonio de Leon y Gama also vaguely mentioned some work or works by Chimalpain. Bustamante claimed, at first, to have found the Mexican history of Chimalpain in manuscript, and obtained contributions of money from various sources to enable him to print a translation of it, with notes. But before the translation was fairly issued in Spanish, the editor was obliged to confess himself mistaken as to its being an original work; it was only Gomara rendered into Mexican by the learned Indian, and now translated back again into Spanish by Bustamante, the text much marred by the double transformation, but enriched by notes from both editors. There are men so uncharitable as to say that Don Carlos María Bustamante never found Chimalpain's translation, because Chimalpain never made one. I do not know. Any one of three or four ways was possible. Bustamante may have found the alleged translation of Chimalpain, and while translating into Spanish what he believed an original work, may have discovered it to be Gomara; it may have been then in type or printed, or too far advanced to stop; or it may be Bustamante, having received the money, felt bound to go on with the work, and concluded to trust to his own and Chimalpain's notes to satisfy those concerned and the public; or Bustamante may have perpetrated a deliberate fraud. This last, although he is openly accused of it by his countrymen high in authority, I can scarcely believe to be the true solution of the mystery, and rather lean to the first possibility; but I must say that Bustamante committed a serious mistake in not admitting this frankly, if true. Gomara's history was translated into Italian, and published at Rome, one edition, 4to, in 1555, and one in 1556; and at Venice, one in 8vo, 1565, one in 4to, 1566, and in 8vo again, in 1576. In French, at Paris, six editions in 8vo, 1569, 1578, 1580, 1584, 1587, and 1597, the last five reprints of the first, except slight augmentations in the last three. London furnished an English translation by Henry Bynneman, in 4to, in 1578. The prologue warns all persons against translating the book into Latin, as he was engaged thereat himself; but his Latin version never appeared. Gomara wrote well. His style is better than that of any predecessor; but while his opportunities were 316 great, for he had culture, leisure, and access to the knowledge and material of Cortés, it is painfully apparent that his desire was greater to please the master than to present a plain unvarnished tale.

And now, after a century of writing and discussions, comes Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas as royal historiographer to gather, arrange, and embody in one general history all knowledge available at that time. It was a work needing attention; for if it were further postponed much information then obtainable would be lost. He was born in Cuéllar in 1549, and although the father bore the name of Tordesillas and the mother of Herrera, for the sake of euphony, distinction, or other unknown vagary, the son took the name of his mother, a thing not unusual then or now in Spain. At an early age we find him in Italy holding the position of secretary to Vespasiano Gonzaga, viceroy of Naples, upon whose death Herrera was so well recommended to Philip II. that, in 1596, he was made chief historiographer for the Indies. Honored also with the title of historiographer of Castile and Leon, he fulfilled the duties of both offices through portions of the reigns of the three Philips, II., III., and IV. He was likewise nominated for the first vacant place among the secretaries of state, but died before that vacancy occurred, in the 76th year of his age. As an historian Herrera has made a respectable place for himself, but his reputation rests principally, though not wholly, for he wrote much, on his Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas i Tierra Firme del Mar oceano ecrita por Antonio de Herrera coronista mayor de sv M:^d d las Indias y sv coronista de Castilla, 4 vols. folio, Madrid, 1601-15. On the elaborately engraved title-page of the first volume is added, En quatro Decadas desde el Año de 1492 hasta el de 1531, which refers only to the first two volumes, as the whole four volumes consist of 8 decades, comprising general events to 1554. The first two volumes were printed in 1601, and reprinted at Valladolid in 1606; the second two volumes appeared in 1615. The work was freely translated; the first decade appearing in French, at Paris, in 1659, and with the second decade the year following, the remaining decades in 1671. A most vile translation into English was made by John Stevens and published in London, in 6 volumes, the first two in 1725 and the last four in 1726, new editions of which appeared in 1740 and 1743. There were two reprints in Spanish; one in Antwerp, in 1728, by Verdussen, without maps and otherwise faulty; and one in Madrid, 1728-30, with notes, corrections, and index by Barcia, and therefore better than the first edition, in fact the best extant. At the end of the second volume of the first edition, and as a prefix to the first volume of the Barcia edition, should appear the Description de las Indias Occidentales, with maps, translations of which were made in Latin, Dutch, and French. An attempt was made to carry on Herrera's history, and it was continued for three decades, from 1555 to 1584, by Pedro Fernandez del Pulgar, the chronicler who succeeded Solis, but it was not deemed of sufficient importance to print. The original manuscript is in the Royal Library at Madrid. Herrera was quite a voluminous writer, being author of a general history during the reign of Philip II.; of a history of Scotland and England during the life of Mary Stuart; of Portugal, and the conquest of the Azores; of France from 1585 to 1594, and of moral and political tracts, and historical, political, and ecclesiastical translations. But though all his works were highly 317 prized for their erudition, none attained the celebrity of his History of the Indies. Even to-day he may be called chief among historians of Spanish-American affairs; not for his style, bald, and accurately prolix; nor for his method, slavishly chronological, and miserably failing in the attempt to do several things at once; but because of his massed material. His position as state historiographer gave him, of course, access to everything, and he made use of his opportunity to an extent then exceptional. At a later period in the art of history-writing his work must have been regarded as crude even for early times. But from one who lived when piety and patriotism were ranked as the highest virtues, higher than truth, integrity, or humanity, the more searching philosophy cannot be expected. Beside the faults of style and arrangement there are evidences everywhere of inexperience and incompetent assistance. Now that we have before us many of the sources of Herrera's material we can see that his notes were badly extracted, and compiled in a bungling manner; so much so that in addition to the ordinary errors, from which to some extent the most carefully executed work cannot be expected to be wholly free, there are many and serious discrepancies and contradictions for which there is no excuse, the cause being simply carelessness. Yet, for all that, Herrera's is not only the most complete, but one of the most reliable of the New World chronicles, and for this the writer merits the gratitude not alone of his countrymen but of the world.

Before closing this note, I will give clearly my opinion regarding the credibility of the early chroniclers, including in that category for the present purpose all the early writers, conquerors as well as historians, such as Columbus and Cortés, Bernal Diaz, Solis, Torquemada, Boturini, and the Anonymous Conqueror; for I have been assailed by those who, to gain cheap notoriety in refuting them, have attributed to me doctrines which I have nowhere expressed or held. They who cannot build for themselves seem to think it gravely incumbent on them to demolish any structure another may rear, and with one scurrile sweep they would wipe out the work of twenty years. They are correct enough to this extent, that, if ever a building is found so frail as to fall under their attacks, it does not deserve to stand. Hence we find it the fashion in certain quarters, under cover of criticism, to repudiate the early writings, in so far at least as they interfere with cherished theory or dogmatic opinion. Spain had lately emerged from the Moorish wars with great glory, they say, and Spaniards in the New World, so long as it remained with them to tell the story, would not be in the least behind their brethren at home in this new field of fiery exploits. Hence, for their accounts, naked barbarians were gorgeously apparelled, and surrounded by stately pageantry; art, science, and literature wholly mythical were given them, and cities equal, at least, to the average of civilization were built. Instance the Tenochtitlan, the Tezcuco, the Tlacopan of Cortés and his contemporaries, which must have been pure fictions. Else where are the vestiges of the walls and gardens and palaces? There are no ruins of splendid cities, they continue with the effrontery of ignorance, no remains of aqueducts, stone carvings, and tumuli. There are some fine ruins in Central America and Yucatan, they admit, displaying no mean advancement in architectural art; but they must have been 318 the work of Egyptians, or Phœnicians, or some other foreigners, because they resemble the ruins standing among those nations, and because no aboriginal people capable of such performance exist in America to-day. There was no human sacrifice in Mexico, because bigoted ecclesiastics in those days were apt to invest with religious significance every hieroglyph, statue, and consecrated stone. One, more virulent than the rest, himself of Indian origin and apparently jealous lest other aboriginals should outshine his Cherokee ancestry, and knowing little either of the Mexicans or their conquerors, denies the existence of a Nahua or Maya civilization and denounces every one who differs in opinion with him, on the ground that all American societies of which he knew aught were formed on one skeleton, a most earthy, red, and ignoble one, and that the conquerors, not understanding this social structure, could not correctly describe it, and therefore their statements are not to be relied on.

I can only say that I have studied these chronicles some score of years, that I have studied the monumental and literary remains of the nations conquered, that, apart from the modern writings of both those who believe and those who disbelieve, I have instituted comparisons and weighed evidence with no more desire to reach one conclusion than another, except always to arrive at the right one; and that in my own mind I am well enough satisfied as to about the measure of truth that should be accorded the respective writers of early New World annals. Others, my assistants and friends, equally earnest and unbiassed, equally desirous of reaching only the truth, and for whose convictions I entertain the highest respect, have devoted many years to the same research and with similar results. It is not my purpose, nor has it ever been, to appear as the champion of the sixteenth-century chroniclers. It is not my province to champion anything. It is a matter of profound indifference to me what these or those are proven to be, whether angels of light or devils of darkness; it is a matter of lively apprehension with me that I should estimate men and nations at their value, and deduce only truth from statements fair or false. While I entertain a distinct conception of the status of the Aztecs and Quichés relatively to other nations of the globe, I have no theory concerning the origin of the Americans, or the origin of their civilization—except that it seems to me indigenous rather than exotic; nor should I deem it wise in me to husband a doctrine on this or any other palpably unprovable proposition.

I am not prepared by any means to accept as truth all that has been said by priest and soldier. No one is readier than I to admit their frequent attempted deceptions. Navigators the world over have been notoriously untrue in regard to their discoveries, giving strange lands strange sights, stocking barren shores with boundless wealth in pearls, and gems, and precious metals, peopling the ocean with monsters, and placing islands, straits, continents, and seas wherever the gaping savans at home would have them. Many of these stories are false on their very face, being contrary to nature and to reason. Some of them are unintentional falsehoods, the off-float from imaginations warped by education, and now morbidly excited under new conditions. By bodily suffering and perils the mind was now and then reduced to the border of insanity; at which times the miracles, the visions, and the supernatural interpositions they record were real to them. But the 319 best of the early writers wilfully lied in some things, and held it serving God to do so.

Although the temptation and tendency was to exaggerate, to make the New World conquest equal or superior to any Old World achievement; although assertions were at the first not open to contradiction, and the sailors and soldiers of those times, returned from foreign parts, were no more celebrated for telling the truth than those of our own day, yet in the main and as a whole the writings of the Spaniards earliest in America are unquestionably true. Most of the several phases of error and misstatement are easily enough detected, the events described being either impossible or opposed to preponderant and superior evidence. For example, when Las Casas, who was conscientious and in the main correct, asserts that Manicaotex opposed Columbus at the head of 100,000 warriors in Española, we may safely put it down as exaggeration simply from our general knowledge, gained from other sources, of the aboriginal population of these islands and the adjoining continent. Here was a multitude of witnesses, European and American, whose verbal or written statements were usually subordinate to substantial facts, unknown to each other, and giving their evidence at widely different times and places. Often the conquerors fell out and fought each other to the death, writing to Spain lengthy epistles of vindication and vilification, many of which have been preserved; so that where one extolled himself and his achievements, there were a dozen to pull him down. Thus from a mass of contradictory statements, on either side of which the less penetrating are apt to linger, to the patient and laborious investigator unfold the clearest truths. He who habitually practises deceit is sure somewhere to expose himself; and the taking of evidence does not proceed far before the examiner can tell the witness more than he himself knows or remembers of the scenes through which he has passed. The native witnesses, living at the time of the Conquest and subsequently, were likewise naturally inclined unduly to magnify the glories of their ancestors and of their nation; yet to verify their statements they point to the monuments and material remains then and now existing, to manuscripts, huge piles of which it was the infamous boast of the fanatical conquerors to have burned, but of which enough have been preserved to authenticate all the more important parts of their stories; they also refer to tradition, which is worth as much, and no more, than that of other nations.

Blank assertions similar to those advanced against the New World chroniclers might with equal reason and effect be brought forward to overthrow the early records of any nation. Christ and Confucius may be denied, Homer and Shakespeare, but that does not prove they never lived. That Columbus made his seamen swear that no doubt Cuba was Zipangu, does not prove that there was in those days no Japan. Because Drake's chaplain chose to tell the most monstrous and wilful falsehoods respecting the climate, metals, and inhabitants of California; because Cook, Meares, and Vancouver sailed by the mouth of the Columbia, superciliously scourging those who had spoken of it, this does not prove the non-existence of Marin County, or of the River of the West. In such ways as these neither the truth of the one statement nor the falsity of the other is established. But, as I have observed, before us is abundant evidence, palpable and incontestable, 320 that the early writings on America are for the most part true; and if, in the following pages, it does not clearly appear which are true and which false, then has the author signally failed in his effort. I do not in the least fear the overthrow of the general veracity of these writers until there come against them enemies more powerful with more powerful weapons than any that have yet appeared. How senselessly speculative their reasonings! Because the natives of the present day cannot tell who or whence were the authors of the carvings, or the builders of the structures upon whose ruins they have gazed since childhood, these works must forsooth have been done by foreign visitors. Europeans now and then may have found their way to America, but I find no evidence of such visits before the time of Columbus except by the Northmen; no one knows of such, nor can know until more light appears. The material relics, I fancy, will always prove a stumbling-block to those who would reject American aboriginal civilization.

That different conquerors, teachers, and travellers of various creeds and nationalities, in various pursuits, in different lands and at various times, together with native testimony, hieroglyphic writings, and traditions, to say nothing of carvings in stone and other monumental remains, should all combine, with satanic inspiration, to perpetrate upon the world one grand and overwhelming fraud is so preposterously ridiculous that the marvel is how there could be found, outside the walls of a lunatic asylum, a single individual with cool impudence enough to ask men to believe it. And yet there are several such, and they find believers. So charmed by the sound of their own voice are these captious cavillers, that they apparently do not deem it possible for such things to exist in this enlightened age as pedantic ignorance and literary fanaticism, of which they are bright examples. They do not seem to know that the petty and puerile theories which they would pass upon the simple as startling conceptions, original with themselves, are as old as the knowledge of the continent. They do not consider that before taking the first step toward proving origin, migration, or kinship by analogy, they must first dispose of the universal relationship of man, the oneness of human nature, human needs, and human aspirations, and then show how men first came upon this earth, and which was land and which water then and since. But those who thus array themselves against American aboriginal civilization and the early Spanish writers on the New World do not pretend to offer counter evidence, or to refute with reason; they rely chiefly on flat contradiction. I have yet to find among them all any approach to reasonable propositions or logical argument. They have nothing on which to base argument, neither fact nor plausible supposition. Their hypotheses are as chimerical as their deductions are false. They would have the world exercise a far more irrational credulity in accepting their hollow negations, than in believing every word of the most mendacious chronicler. And when they come to deny the presence of a native civilization upon the Mexican table-land, they betray lamentable ignorance both of the facts of history and of the nature of civilization. 321

CHAPTER VII.
SETTLEMENT OF SANTA MARÍA DE LA ANTIGUA DEL DARIEN.
1510-1511.

Francisco Pizarro Abandons San Sebastian—Meets Enciso at Cartagena—He and his Crew Look like Pirates—They are Taken back to San Sebastian—Vasco Nuñez de Balboa—Boards Enciso's Ship in a Cask—Arrives at San Sebastian—The Spaniards Cross to Darien—The River and the Name—Cemaco, Cacique of Darien, Defeated—Founding of the Metropolitan City—Presto, Change! The Hombre del Casco Up, the Bachiller Down—Vasco Nuñez, Alcalde—Nature of the Office—Regidor—Colmenares, in Search of Nicuesa, Arrives at Antigua—He Finds Him in a Pitiable Plight—Antigua Makes Overtures to Nicuesa—Then Rejects Him—And Finally Drives Him Forth to Die—Sad End of Nicuesa.

When Alonso de Ojeda left San Sebastian for Española, he stipulated with Francisco Pizarro, who for the time was commissioned governor, that should neither he himself return, nor the bachiller Enciso arrive within fifty days, the colonists might abandon the post and seek safety or adventure in other parts.

And now the fifty days had passed; wearily and hungrily they had come and gone, with misery an ever present guest; and no one having come, they dismantled the fortress, placed on board the two small brigantines left them the gold they had secured—trust Francisco Pizarro for scenting gold, and getting it—and made ready to embark for Santo Domingo. But though only seventy remained, the vessels could not carry them all; and it was agreed that they should wait awhile, until death reduced their number to the capacity of the boats. 322

Nor had they long to wait; nor would their grim attendant let them put to sea without him. He had been so long domiciled with them, and had become so useful in settling disputes, adjusting accounts, and the like, that he was one of them, and one, indeed, with all the companies which attempted colonization on these pestilential shores. As they coasted eastward in search of food before steering across for Española, a squall struck the vessels, overturning one of them and sending all on board to swift destruction. Entering with the other the harbor of Cartagena, Pizarro found there the tardy Enciso hunting his colony.

Now the bachiller, beside possessing great learning, was a man of experience, all the way from Spain; a man of keen intelligence and practical sagacity, his wits sharpened by the narrow-minded legal bigotry of a sixteenth-century Spanish lawyer. He must be of exceedingly ready wit who could deceive the bachiller. It was scarcely to be expected a man of his kidney should credit the stories of Ojeda's visit to Santo Domingo, of the deputy governorship, and of the late disaster; though honest Pizarro on this occasion told only the truth, and his companions vouched for it with all the feeble force of their high-keyed husky voices. If Ojeda had gone to Santo Domingo more than fifty or seventy days before, would not the bachiller have seen him there? Indeed, to a less erudite judge than Enciso, a band of robbers on the high seas, with an abundance of gold and no bread, would call up suspicions rather of foul play than honest adventure. And back they must go. The functions of high judge should begin here and now. Was not this Nueva Andalucía? With the horrors of San Sebastian still fresh in their minds, the thought of returning there was repugnant in the extreme, and the poor wretches begged the lawyer to let them go to Española, or join Nicuesa. No. Enciso had staked his whole earthly possessions 323 on the delightful prospect of domination, and these should not escape him. They were just the clay for his fashioning; men for whom the law was made. Whipping out his commission, which at once deposed Pizarro, the bachiller drove them back into their boat, and all embarked for San Sebastian. But scarcely had they turned the Punta de Caribana,[VII-1] when the bachiller's well-stored ship struck upon rocks and broke in pieces, those on board barely escaping with their lives. Thus the worthy bachiller was beggared; the savings from life-long pettifoggings were swept away within the hour. Still his original stock in trade, egotism and arrogance, was left unimpaired.

NUEVA ANDALUCÍA

View larger image

Making their way along the shore to San Sebastian, the Spaniards found their fort demolished and their houses, some thirty in number, burned. In a feeble way they began to forage again, but even Enciso saw that it was useless. The absence of food, the poisoned arrows, and the poisoned air were too much for the bravest long to contend with. "Let us leave this accursed spot," they all cried. "Whither 324 would you go?" demanded the lawyer. One of them said:—"Once when I coasted this gulf with Rodrigo de Bastidas, along the western shore we found the country fertile and rich in gold. Provisions were abundant; and the natives, though warlike, used no poisoned arrows. Through this land of which I speak flows a river called by the natives Darien."

All eyes were turned upon the speaker. It was the hombre del casco, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a fine specimen of the Spanish cavalier, at that time about thirty-five years of age. He was taller than Ojeda, though perhaps not stronger; there was not about him the assurance of breeding and position that Nicuesa bore; nor were there present in his features those marks of greed and brutality plainly discernible in the face of Francisco Pizarro, who stood not far from him. Strong and comely in every part, apparently, of body and mind, one to be observed with intuitive respect in a society of this kind, one to be approached with ease, but with due care; frank and manly, with a firm and winning eye and manner, yet there was about him noticeable something between shyness and reticence. Indeed, the standing of this person, since his sudden and altogether informal appearing as one of the present company had been somewhat dubious, and he seemed to regard it good taste to hold himself rather in the background. For all this there was that innate superiority about him over every one present, not excepting the erudite judge or the subsequently cunning conqueror of Peru, that could not always remain concealed, particularly amid constantly recurring vital issues.

Of the invariable poor but noble family, a native of Jerez de los Caballeros, Vasco Nuñez was reared in the service of Pedro Puertocarrero, the deaf lord of Moguer. Drawn with the crowd to the New World, upon the abrupt termination of the voyage of Bastidas, he obtained a repartimiento of Indians, and applied himself to agriculture at Salvatierra, 325 a town of Española. Becoming embarrassed by debts, and disgusted with the plodding life of a farmer, he determined to try fortune in the new colony of Alonso de Ojeda. But how to escape his creditors was the question. Debtors were prohibited by edict from leaving the island. The town of Santo Domingo at this time swarmed with insolvent adventurers anxious to engage in new adventure, and the strictest watch was kept on them by the authorities. An armed escort accompanied every departure until well out at sea, to bring back discovered stowaways. For all this Vasco Nuñez determined to sail with Enciso. Now mark the budding of genius! Taking a large cask, such as was used in shipping stores, he ensconced himself therein, and caused it to be headed up, placed upon a wagon, and driven from his farm to the landing, where it was placed with the other stores, and finally carried on board the ship. The vessel put to sea; the tender returned to port; to the creditors was left the farm of Vasco Nuñez, while the late owner was forever safe beyond their reach.[VII-2]

When, like Aphrodite from her circling shell, the serio-comic face of the bankrupt farmer appeared emerging from the provision cask, the bachiller was disposed to treat the matter magisterially, and threatened to land the refugee from justice on the first deserted island. But as the learned judge could not be held accountable as a party to the fraud, and as he thereby gained a valuable recruit, his judicial sensitiveness was finally mollified, and he assigned to the stowaway the ordinary duties of a soldier. Nevertheless the mildly murderous threat of the lawyer was not lost upon the farmer.

Into the hearts of the desponding colonists at San Sebastian the words of Vasco Nuñez infused new life. No time was lost in making ready; and crossing the gulf, they found the country and river as he 326 had said. Near this river of Darien,[VII-3] for so the Atrato and country thereabout was then called, stood the village of the cacique, Cemaco, a brave and upright ruler.

Enciso, who is no less valiant than wise and conscientious, determines to make this place judicially his own. Cemaco, who believes himself the legal owner, objects. Whereupon is invoked that admirable provision, the ultimate appeal; and the man of the long robe and the man of no robe at all, each after his fashion, prepare for war. Sending his women and children up the river, Cemaco posts himself with five hundred warriors before the village. Enciso, in whose person are united the combined essences of Christendom, civil, ecclesiastical, and military, concentrates all his forces, human and divine, to hurl upon the presumptuous savage. First, as is his wont in legal battles, to every soldier he administers the oath that he will not flinch before the enemy; then he invokes the powers above to aid him in the approaching contest, vowing that if victory shall be his and the town shall fall into his hands he will name it in honor of the virgin and build and dedicate a church within the town in honor of her sacred image, Antigua of Seville. Moreover, he promises that he will make a pilgrimage to her holy shrine if she will give him the victory over Cemaco; and with 327 these preparations the battle begins. The half-starved Spaniards fight like fiends. Cemaco for a time maintains his position with firmness; but the awe-inspiring appearance of the strangers, their ship, their shining armor, their beards, the whiteness of their skin, the wonderful sharpness of their weapons, and the solemn thunder and smoke of their fire-arms soon scatter to the forest his terror-smitten people. To the unbounded joy of the conquerors the town is found rich in gold and cotton, and the adjacent fields afford abundance of provisions.

This is something like reward for toilsome missionary labors. Along the river banks, secreted in caves, are found golden ornaments to the value of ten thousand castellanos.[VII-4] The virgin's share and the king's share are set aside, and the remainder of the spoils divided among the band. Thus Cemaco's village becomes the seat of government in Tierra Firme; and to it, as the lawyer promised the virgin, is given the name of Santa María de la Antigua del Darien.[VII-5]

In good truth fortune had at length smiled upon the colonists. Captives taken in the skirmishes which followed the pitched battle were made to gather gold and work in the fields. The bachiller began a rigorous rule with a full sense of the responsibilities resting upon him as representative of the crown of Spain and of his own importance before his soldiers, and as a hero in the great work of pacification. This view of his own merits appeared to him by no means diminished after his recent success. Though small in 328 number, this colony should be mighty in law. Poor Ojeda! How happy he might have been in the position now occupied by this mummified bundle of quiddities.

Settling themselves in Cemaco's houses, the Spaniards began to look about. First in order after his lawless raid, in the eyes of Enciso, was law. The bachiller, as we have ere this surmised, was one of those super-wise and self-opinioned men who to achieve a fall have only to attain a height. Very little law was here needed, very little government; but Enciso was a lawyer and a ruler, and little of it would not suffice him. His first edict was the prohibition of private traffic with the natives. This measure, though strictly legal, could scarcely be called politic. The hundred or so ragged piratical wretches cast on this rich and feebly defended shore wanted few decrees; and the fewer laws their ruler made for them the fewer would be broken. But, necessary or not, the alcalde mayor must issue orders, else he is no alcalde mayor. Hence other regulations followed, equally unpopular, until the colonists began to consider how best they might make a plug which should stop this great running to waste of law. Though convinced that Enciso was planning to get the gold as well as the government all into his own hands, and employ the colonists as tools wherewith to mine, and hold the savages in check, so inbred is Spanish loyalty, that even the reckless members of this crude commonwealth hesitated before committing any overt act which might forever outlaw them from their country. Better employ his own weapon against the bachiller, for law is safer than hemp for hanging even lawyers.

There was about Vasco Nuñez a plain directness of thought and purpose the very opposite of those engendered of the law's entanglements. Ever since his fortunate suggestion to cross from San Sebastian to Darien he had been regarded as the savior of the 329 colony; and now he thought he saw open a way of deliverance from their present trouble, and so he told them. "The gulf of Urabá," said he, "separates Nueva Andalucía from Castilla del Oro. While on the eastern side we belonged to the government of Alonso de Ojeda; now that we are on the western, we are subject only to Diego de Nicuesa." Before this simple logic the bachiller was dumfoundered. Of what value was legal lore that could be so easily overturned by an illiterate adventurer? In vain he feebly argued that wherever was Ojeda's colony, Ojeda's deputy was master. The people were against him; and the opinion of the people concerning him was expressed by Vasco Nuñez when some time afterward he wrote the king regarding persons of that cloth in infant settlements: "Most powerful sire," he said, "there is one great favor that I pray your royal highness to do me, since it is of great importance to your service. It is for your royal highness to issue an order that no bachiller of laws, or of anything unless it be of medicine, shall come to these parts of Tierra Firme, under a heavy penalty that your highness shall fix; because no bachiller ever comes hither who is not a devil, and they all live like devils, and not only are they themselves bad, but they make others bad, having always contrivances to bring about litigations and villainies. This is very important to your highness' service in this a new country."[VII-6] 330

So the lawyer was deposed, and the cavalier elevated. Enciso gracelessly yielded his clear authority; and after much wrangling among the ill-assorted fraternity, a municipality was decided upon, and two alcaldes[VII-7] were chosen, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and Martin Zamudio. The office of regidor[VII-8] fell among others to one Valdivia. Subsequently additional officials were chosen.

Government without law, however, proved no less ineffectual than law without government. Disaffections and altercations continued. In the administration of justice, Balboa was accused of favoring his friends and frowning upon his enemies. Some repented having crossed the gulf; some desired the restoration of Enciso; some suggested that as they were now within the jurisdiction of Nicuesa, it was his right to rule, or to name their ruler.

While these strifes were raging, the inhabitants of Antigua were startled one day by the report of a gun coming from the direction of San Sebastian. Thinking perhaps Ojeda had returned, or sent supplies, they built fires on the adjacent heights in order to attract attention. Presently two ships approached, and 331 anchored before the town. They proved to be vessels belonging to Nicuesa, freighted at Española with supplies for the colony of Castilla del Oro, and commanded by Rodrigo Enriquez de Colmenares. Thrown by stress of weather upon the coast of Santa Marta,[VII-9] he had there lost a number of his men; after which he entered the gulf of Urabá, hoping to find information of Nicuesa.

A quick observer and a faithful officer, Colmenares soon understood the position of affairs, and took prompt measures to secure to his governor such advantages as might accrue from profitless contentions. By a judicious distribution of articles greatly needed by the colonists, attended by wise counsels, he gained their confidence, and partly healed their feuds; so that before sailing he prevailed on them to send two ambassadors to treat with Nicuesa concerning the affairs of their settlement. The two envoys chosen were Diego de Albites, and an aspiring lawyer, hitherto overshadowed by the august presence of Enciso, called the bachiller Diego del Corral, and they were directed to accompany the ships of Colmenares in the brigantine belonging to the settlement of Antigua.

It was about the middle of November, 1510, when Colmenares entered the gulf of Urabá. Unable to gather any tidings of Nicuesa, he continued his voyage westward, searching the inlets along the coast. He would nevertheless have passed Nombre de Dios had he not seen some of Nicuesa's men in their boat, at one of the islands, seeking food. The wildest joy greeted the new arrival. It was to the colony of Castilla del Oro as a reprieve from death. Gazing sadly on the sallow faces and emaciated forms before them, the miserable wreck of Nicuesa's gallant company now reduced to sixty souls, listening to their tales of wretchedness, tears of honest sympathy fell from the eyes of the hardy sailors. 332 With difficulty could be recognized in the leader of the hapless troop the once gay and courtly Nicuesa. Colmenares gave the sufferers food and comforted them. He told Nicuesa of Ojeda's failure, of the settlement at Antigua, and how Enciso and his company, having found a spot rich in gold and well provisioned, had fallen to quarrelling among themselves about the government, and had finally sent messengers to him, the rightful ruler, for the healing of their disputes.

To Nicuesa these words were as fresh oil in an expiring lamp. But in his enfeebled state, the sudden change from blank despair to brilliant hope played havoc with his discretion. After brief thanksgiving for deliverance, his mind became excited by dreams of boundless wealth and empire. He ordered a feast, at which he presided with insensate levity. Toward the ambassadors from the gulf he assumed a haughty arrogance, claiming supreme authority relative to all matters at Antigua, and stoutly swearing that the gold taken from his subjects of Darien should be disgorged.

Colmenares had marked the effect of Nicuesa's altered temper on his followers. He saw that disaffection was rife, and that the governor held control by a feeble thread. Showing Nicuesa the madness of his course, he explained the importance of attaching the remnant of Ojeda's colony to his own, and pointed out their strength and his weakness; he received in reply only insolent rebukes.

Meanwhile the ambassadors Albites and Corral, men whose wits were about them, were not pleased with this foretaste of Nicuesa's rule; nor did intercourse with Nicuesa's men tend in any wise to diminish their unfavorable impressions. One night they visited Lope de Olano, who for his sins was chained to a rock and made to grind corn. "Behold my condition," he exclaimed. "I have ever served my governor faithfully. I saved him from perishing, when I 333 had but to delay his rescue to become myself the governor. This is my reward. You men of Antigua may draw your own conclusions." By others the ambassadors were informed that the chief officers of the new government were already selected: Vasco Nuñez was to be stripped of all authority, and Zamudio, as a relative of Olano, could scarcely hope to fare better. Those who had trafficked with the natives were to be severely punished. It was enough. Stealing away, they hastened back to Antigua. "A pretty mess you have made of it, with your infernal bickerings," they said to the assembled confederates. "Nicuesa will give you more of law than Enciso, and more of arbitrary rule than Vasco Nuñez and Zamudio ten times over." A few days after a messenger, one Juan de Caicedo, arrived from Nicuesa, and informed them, for their further comfort, that the governor was detained at one of the islands capturing natives, but would be with them shortly. Perceiving that his tidings were not hailed with transports of joy, and being himself embittered against Nicuesa, as were indeed almost all his followers, Caicedo swung round upon his bearings and laughed at them. "Silly señores! free and rich, you call in a cormorant to swallow your substance and yourselves." And now, as usual when folly comes home, curses flowed freely on themselves and others. The prospect of losing their gold touched them. What should they do?

Once more Vasco Nuñez offers a pertinent suggestion. "You were dissatisfied with Enciso, and questioned many of my acts. Now you fear a governor possessing all the bad qualities of your former rulers, with, perhaps, few of their redeeming traits. If calling Nicuesa was an error, is not receiving him a greater one?" Struck by the suggestion, the colonists drop their differences and unite as one man against Nicuesa, each taking a solemn oath never to serve under him. Sentries are then stationed to give notice of his approach, and measures taken to prevent his 334 landing. After eight days pleasantly passed kidnapping among the islands, the ill-fated governor enters the harbor and comes to anchor, little dreaming of the reception that awaits him. On shore before the town he observes a company of armed men, assembled, as he supposes, to give him welcome. As he prepares to disembark, the public procurator[VII-10] advances and, to his astonishment, in a loud voice warns him on pain of death not to place foot on shore, but instantly to abandon these parts and return no more.

The colony at Antigua was at this time comparatively strong and well-conditioned; Nicuesa's followers were few, weak, and disaffected. For him to enforce authority was not possible. His mind had dwelt fondly of late on his rising fortunes, and this hostile reception was a terrible disappointment, for it was the last earthly resource. To return to the broken camp at Nombre de Dios would be to enter again the jaws of death; if he could not remain here, he certainly could not depart.

Recovering in a measure, as from a heavy blow, the governor requested permission to land, promising solemnly to enter into any stipulations concerning the government which the colonists should deem just. His proposals were drowned by the shouts of the rabble; and he was warned, as he valued his life, to approach no nearer the shore. Nicuesa continued his expostulations till nightfall, when he retired with his ship a little farther from land. Returning next morning, he renewed his importunities. A change had apparently taken place in the minds of the people, for he was now permitted to land with his page. Balboa received the governor courteously, conducted him to his house, and made him a guest for the night. The affairs of the government 335 were discussed, and an amicable understanding was arrived at by the two leaders. It was nothing less, in fact, than that one of them should be first, and the other second, in Castilla del Oro. On the following day a portion of the crew on board Nicuesa's ship was permitted to land; and Vasco Nuñez now endeavored to reconcile his comrades to the rule of the governor. It was too late. Sedition is more easily raised than allayed. Not only was Zamudio jealous of his colleague, but he well knew that under the proposed regime the odium of all the opposition would fall on him. Drawing round him the rougher element, he reminded the colonists of their oath, and pictured to them the poverty and restraint under the proposed government. So successful was he in exciting bad blood, that Nicuesa was glad to escape insult and violence by retiring to his ship. Thus encouraged, Zamudio resolved to press a final issue by capturing the governor, and dictating terms to him. The next day accordingly he placed his men in ambush near the landing, and with one companion, Pedro Macaz, appeared before the ship. Hailing the commander, he assured him that all was well, and that he now might safely venture on shore. Nicuesa fell easily into the trap. Joining the conspirators, he walked unsuspiciously with them toward the spot where the gang lay concealed. When near it Zamudio changed his tone to one of harsh insolence, "Señor Nicuesa," he said, "why do you persist in remaining here contrary to our wishes? Your presence is our ruin. We can neither accept you, nor abandon this place. You must depart instantly, or die. Take your choice." Meanwhile his minions sprang forward. Nicuesa saw it all at a glance. He was fleet of foot, and this was his only hope. So flinging off dignity, he eluded their clutches, dashed off at the top of his speed along the shore, and outstripping his pursuers, turned into the forest to hide.

When Vasco Nuñez saw the desperate plight to 336 which Nicuesa was reduced, all the generous impulses of his nature were aroused. He hated himself for the part he had played, and cursed the sordid ambition which thus unjustly humiliated so chivalrous a gentleman. More in earnest than ever, he sought out Nicuesa in the wood; and then endeavored to excite the sympathies of the colonists, and even to intimidate them; but all was of no avail. Those there were who well knew they had gone too far ever to be forgiven.

Satan now wholly possessed Zamudio. No fiend could ever invent and execute a more dastardly measure than was now proposed. With sixty men he entered the forest, seized Nicuesa, and made him swear instantly to sail for Spain, touching no port till he should reach Cádiz. Then, as if in mockery, he took from him his only serviceable ship, placed him into the old brigantine, now rotten and unsafe, which had been in use at Veragua, and sent him forth with seventeen men and a few devoted members of his household. It was in March, 1511, that the so lately proud and gallant Nicuesa was thus driven from Antigua, and neither he nor any of that ill-fated company was ever afterward heard from![VII-11] 337

CHAPTER VIII.
FACTIONS AND FORAGINGS IN DARIEN.
1511-1513.

The Garrison at Nombre de Dios—Subtle Diplomacies—Vasco Nuñez Assumes Command—Enciso, his Life and Writings—The Town and the Jail—Rights of Sanctuary—Valdivia's Voyage—Zamudio's Mission—Expedition to Coiba—Careta Gives Vasco Nuñez his Daughter—Ponca Punished—Jura, the Savage Statesman—Visit of the Spaniards to Comagre—Panciaco Tells Them of a Southern Sea—The Story of Valdivia, Who is Shipwrecked and Eaten by Cannibals—Vasco Nuñez Undertakes an Impious Pilgrimage to the Golden Temple of Dabaiba—Conspiracy Formed by the Natives to Destroy Antigua—Fulvia Divulges the Plot—Darien Quieted—Vasco Nuñez Receives a Royal Commission—Serious Charges—Vasco Nuñez Resolves to Discover the Southern Sea before He is Prevented by Arrest.

Thus far the first decade of disaster along Tierra Firme; thus far the discovery of Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1501; the ineffectual attempt of Columbus at Veragua in 1502; the failure of the impetuous Ojeda, and the death of the veteran pilot, Juan de la Cosa; the founding of Nombre de Dios and Antigua; the destruction of the superb armament of Diego de Nicuesa, and the sad fate of its commander. Meanwhile we behold evolved from the factions of Antigua two notable characters, Francisco Pizarro and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. We will now further observe society in Darien, and the attempts of the Spaniards to govern themselves and pacify their neighbors.

When Diego de Nicuesa embarked to assume command at Antigua, he left in the fortress of Nombre de Dios a small garrison under Gonzalo de Badajoz, with Alonso Nuñez de Madrid as alcalde. Their provisions 338 falling low, and expected relief failing them, like ill-mannered wolves they fell to fighting over the little remaining food, and but for the opportune arrival of Colmenares, civilization at Nombre de Dios would soon have found a miserable ending. To the proposal to join their countrymen at Antigua, they eagerly assented, and embarked without delay in the two brigantines sent for the purpose. Lope de Olano was released, and subsequently rose high in the esteem of Balboa. Thus the settlement of Antigua, after the departure of the hapless Nicuesa, comprised all that was left of the two colonies of Nueva Andalucía and Castilla del Oro, and numbered about two hundred and fifty men.[VIII-1]

The final disappearance of the two commanders by no means allayed the discords of the colony. Factions assumed broader dimensions than ever. A band of two hundred and fifty bears, after accomplishing the duties of the day, would sensibly stretch themselves under the welcome covert; but intellectual and moral beasts are, by reason of their superiority, doomed to the eternal curse of government; nor does it make much difference as to the quality or quantity of the herd; fools will fight for domination all the same.

Zamudio, followed by the gang that had driven out Nicuesa, claims preëminence as a reward for his villainies. Enciso, the learned and disinterested representative of the higher orders of mastership, earthly and heavenly, never fails to keep the high and holy law spread before these misguided men. Vasco Nuñez keeps his own counsel; but he feels within himself that neither Zamudio nor Enciso shall rule Antigua. All he need do is to continue as hitherto to turn against his opponents their own weapons. The lawyer he vanquishes with law; the ruffian, by giving him a rope wherewith to hang himself. In the present instance, like a skilful tactician, he separates his antagonists and opposes one to the other. Calling 339 Zamudio aside, he makes evident to him the necessity, if he would continue a municipal government, of withholding all power from the bachiller. Having no intention of relinquishing the sweets of office, for which he has risked so much, Zamudio lends a willing ear. The lawyer must be quieted, but lawfully. High-handed measures may be employed, but only exceptionally. The law is too useful a weapon to be flung aside by intelligent knaves. So the two alcaldes put their heads together and frame charges to fit the occasion. Enciso is accused of wilful usurpation of authority, of assuming the duties and exercising the functions of alcalde mayor without license from the king—grave charges, truly, emanating from so scrupulous a society. The lawyer's skill at pleading avails him nothing. He is convicted, his property confiscated, and himself cast into prison.[VIII-2] He is not long kept in confinement, however, but is set free on giving a promise immediately to leave the country.[VIII-3] Thus one of the two ambitious Cæsars is out of the way; but how dispose of the other? Again 340 Vasco Nuñez draws Zamudio aside and expresses a fear that the enraged bachiller, once in Spain, will stir up the king against them, and enter false statements before the tribunal of the Indies regarding the quality of justice dispensed by the alcaldes of Antigua. "Would it not be well," continues Balboa, "for one of us to accompany the bachiller? and thus, while misrepresentations may be promptly refuted, we may at the same time secure our government upon a more substantial basis." Zamudio sees this necessity, and is finally induced to accept the commission. Thus Vasco Nuñez is left to reign alone; and every effort is made by him firmly to secure his government. While cementing his friends, he conciliates his enemies; above all he strives to deal justly by everybody, and with fair success. By caring for their comfort and exercising strict impartiality in the division of spoils, he wins the hearts of the fighting men. Even Oviedo, who was not friendly to Balboa, says: "No chieftain who ever went to the Indies equalled him in these respects." And yet, beneath the accumulating honors the recipient sits not wholly at ease. "No one need hope to rule this land," writes Vasco Nuñez to the king, "and sit or sleep; for if he sleep, he will never wake. Day and night I think only of your Majesty's interests. In every battle I lead my men, and with truthful example, and kind treatment of the natives, seek to bring into favor your Majesty's government in these parts." 341

It must not be supposed that the settlers were idle all this time, or that the natives, or their gold, were neglected. The town had grown in size and importance since the driving out of Cemaco. Streets had been regularly laid out round a plaza,[VIII-4] or public square, common to all Spanish towns, and a church and religious houses established, for priests had come hither with the rest.

While Enciso made ready for departure, Bachiller Corral, Captain Badajoz, and others, enemies of Balboa, improved the time by secretly making specifications of both the alcaldes' errors, and by instigating others to assist in criminating the rulers. These charges were to be delivered to the king by Enciso. Hearing of it, the alcaldes seized the ringleaders and confined them in a pen,[VIII-5] the municipal jail, situated in the middle of the plaza. But the prisoners escaped from the cage to the Franciscan monastery, and, claiming the protection of the sanctuary,[VIII-6] they were finally discharged. 342

Valdivia, the regidor, was Balboa's friend; before leaving the Salvatierra plantation they had been warmly intimate. Supplies were needed, and Enciso and Zamudio required passage to Spain. Taking, therefore, a small vessel, and placing in Valdivia's hands a large amount of gold,[VIII-7] Vasco Nuñez sent him to Española, with instructions to buy the good opinion of Diego Colon the governor, and Pasamonte[VIII-8] the king's treasurer, and bring back recruits. The regidor was fairly successful. He set forth the wealth of Tierra Firme, and the important services of Vasco Nuñez in glowing colors, and obtained from the governor a commission authorizing Balboa to act as his lieutenant in those parts. He begged for his friend 343 Pasamonte's influence with the king; but Enciso was active there with opposing influence.

Meanwhile Balboa was haunted by thoughts not of the happiest. He well knew how precarious was his tenure of position. Nicuesa's wrongs were ever before him. Though not the chief criminal in that affair, he knew he was criminal enough. Yet before the deed was done, and since, he had striven to make amends. "Once, twice, three times," writes he to the king, "have I sent aid to Nicuesa's men, and saved them when dying at the rate of five and six a day." Then, too, he must confess having treated poor Enciso somewhat shamefully; and the bachiller was stronger where there was more strength in the law; while Zamudio was not the same before the king as before his Antigua ruffians. There remained only one course. Action was the word. If he would play the great man, and rule others, he must bestir himself to something nobler than political strife and demagogy at Antigua. Gold would help him; he thoroughly appreciated the weakness of officials in that direction; but a notable adventure, a great discovery, were better. At all events, upon whatever he should decide, he must act immediately, before being deprived of his present modicum of authority.

First of all, he would begin his career of greatness by assuming to be great. One is never nearer the truth than when one puts on humility and curses one's self for an ass. Without offensive ostentation he assumed becoming forms of dignity, took upon himself the title of governor, appointed officers, and drilled soldiers in the tactics of Indian warfare.

Some twenty leagues westerly from Antigua, adjoining the lands of Cemaco, was an Indian province called Coiba, of which Careta[VIII-9] was chief. The governor, 344 being informed that Careta was rich in gold and maize, despatched thither a small company under Pizarro, whom he had made captain. They were hardly on the march before Cemaco was encountered, at the head of four hundred men, all fired, like their chief, with ever-living rage. Never for an hour since the strangers landed to seize their homes had the eyes of the savages been removed from them. It was hopeless to fight, naked as they were; yet for what had they to live, with houses and lands and all their property taken from them? The mode of warfare, too, was against the natives; they did not fight here, as at San Sebastian, with poisoned arrows shot from behind rocks and trees, but engaged in hand-to-hand conflict, opposing their defenceless bodies to the steel weapons of the Spaniards, on whose coats of mail their darts and clubs fell harmless. A fight ensued nevertheless, and fiercely it was waged. It is somewhat difficult to believe Herrera when he says that Pizarro had with him but six men, who, when the four hundred closed with them, eviscerated one hundred and fifty savages, and put the remainder to flight. Hastening back to Antigua, leaving one man wounded on the field, Pizarro stood before the governor exhausted and bleeding. Balboa's anger at the desertion overpowered for a moment his admiration for the desperate courage displayed by the little band, and turning to Pizarro, he said sharply, "Go instantly and bring me Francisco Hernan, and, as you value your life, never again leave one of my soldiers alive upon a field of battle." Pizarro departed, and soon returned with his disabled comrade. Balboa immediately placed himself at the head of a hundred men, and started in pursuit of Cemaco, determined to extirpate 345 the tribe; but, after ascending the river for some distance and finding no enemy, he abandoned pursuit. Scarcely had he returned, when the two brigantines sent to Nombre de Dios for the remainder of Nicuesa's men made their appearance at Antigua. They brought no news of Nicuesa, greatly to the disappointment of Balboa, who would now gladly have fortified himself in a less elevated position, and placed Antigua under the banner of the lawful governor of the territory.

Fresh accounts of the wealth of Coiba, by this arrival, soon dispelled the governor's misgivings, and turned his thoughts in other directions. It seems that as the vessels were returning from Nombre de Dios, they touched the shore of Coiba; and while there were greeted by two painted savages in plain Castilian. The riddle was solved when the men told them they were gentlemen renegades, escaped from Nicuesa's colony for fear of punishment for misdemeanor. After long and dangerous wanderings in the wilderness, they had thrown themselves, half-dead, upon the mercy of Careta, who received them with gentle courtesy, bestowing food and every kindness, which they were now ready to requite by betraying to the Spaniards the cacique's treasures, for he was very rich.

To this act of treachery the Spanish yielded a prompt compliance, and were ready for the adventure on the instant. Owing to their present weak condition Colmenares advised delay, and arranged that one of the miscreants should go with them to Antigua, while the other remained with Careta in readiness to betray him at the proper time. Nor had the governor the least scruple in availing himself of this villainy. With one hundred and thirty men he marched on Coiba, directing the two brigantines to meet him there. Acting under the direction of the fugitive whom he had made his confidant and counsellor, Careta went out to meet the Spaniards, brought them to his village, and entertained them to the best of his 346 ability. Balboa began with the modest request for maize to fill his ships. Careta answered, that owing to war with his ever hostile neighbor, Ponca, he had this year planted nothing, and hence had no surplus. Careta's Spanish friend assured his countrymen that this was false, that the savage had abundance. It was enough. A heathen had lied to a Christian. Let the nation be anathema!

Bidding the chief a friendly farewell, with thanks for his hospitality, the Spaniards took their departure as if for Antigua; but about midnight they returned, attacked the village on three sides, slaughtered the inhabitants, burned the houses, loaded the brigantines with booty, and carried Careta and his family prisoners to Antigua. "Why should you do this?" asked Careta. "How have I wronged you? Take my gold, but restore me to my country. And as a pledge of my good faith, there is my daughter who shall remain a hostage in your hands. Take her and let us be friends." The proposal pleased the governor, not less from the advantage of the alliance, than from the influence thrown over him by the charms of the dusky maiden, for she was very beautiful, and had already given her heart to the Christian chieftain. And thus according to the usage of her people she became his wife, though not wedded after the Spanish fashion; and Vasco Nuñez ever cherished her with fond affection.

Before dismissing the new allies with presents to their homes, care was taken to excite their admiration by showing them the arms and implements of civilization, and unfolding to them the doctrines of the true faith. These doctrines must have appeared in strange contrast to the blood-thirsty deeds of the Spaniards.

A joint expedition against Ponca, in which Balboa participated with eighty men, overran that chieftain's domain with great damage to him, and with some gain to the Spaniards in provisions and gold.

Adjoining Careta's lands, on the seaboard to the 347 west, were those of Comagre,[VIII-10] whose nation numbered ten thousand souls, and mustered three thousand warriors. Balboa visited him peaceably, upon the arrangement of a friendly interview by a native jura, or official, a deserter from Careta's council, who had become offended with his master, and joined Comagre. The jura was a statesman in a rude way, and a diplomat. He knew of the Spaniards, of their fearful doings, and of their alliance with Careta; and being an honest, well-meaning savage withal, he thought to avert disaster by interposing friendly relations.

With a train of attendants, Comagre met his distinguished guest, and with much ceremony conducted him to the palace,[VIII-11] which for size, durability, and rude excellence, far exceeded anything the Spaniards had seen in the New World. Among the numerous descendants of Comagre, for he was much married, were seven sons, remarkable for their valor, and nobleness of demeanor. The eldest, Panciaco, united with a haughty bearing exceptional sagacity. He saw at once the superiority of steel weapons; he saw that the Spaniards coveted gold; and he thought he saw an easy way open for purchasing their good-will. Collecting four thousand ounces of the metal finely wrought, he presented it with seventy slaves to the Spaniards, and watched the effect. The king's fifth was first solemnly set aside. Then they began to divide the remainder of the gold among themselves; and in this division arose a dispute which made Panciaco's lip curl in scorn as he watched them weighing the stuff. Louder grew their altercations, which were followed by blows. Overcome at length by disgust, Panciaco darted forward and struck the scales a violent blow which sent their precious contents flying. "Why quarrel for such a trifle!" he exclaimed. "Is it for this 348 you leave your country, cross seas, endure hardships, and disturb the peace of nations? Cease your voracious brawl and I will tell where you may obtain your fill of gold. Six days' march across yon mountain will bring you to an ocean sea, like this near which we dwell, where there are ships as large as yours, and cities, and wealth unbounded."

Forgetting in the matter the manner of the discourse, the Spaniards listened with eager attention. "How say you?" said Vasco Nuñez. "What proof have you of this?" "Listen to me," replied Panciaco. "You Christians seem to prize this metal more than body, life, or soul; more than love, hate, revenge. Some mysterious virtue it must possess to charm men so! We who can not translate its subtle power, love better friends, and sweet revenge. My father has an ancient enemy, Tubanamá, who lives beyond the mountains fronting the other sea. From time immemorial our people have fought his people; many have been killed on either side, and many enslaved. Could we for once bring low this hated Tubanamá, no sacrifice would be too dear. Be yours the gold; give us revenge. The path is difficult, the enemy fierce. One thousand Spaniards are none too many successfully to cope with him. Prepare your army. I myself will accompany you with all the warriors of our nation; bind me fast; keep me in close custody; and if my words prove false, hang me to the nearest tree."[VIII-12] Vasco Nuñez pondered. The area of his destiny seemed suddenly to have enlarged. If this the young man had said were true, and he might tap the mystery, and bring to the light of nations this other side of Tierra Firme, the temporary governor of a handful of heterogeneous colonists might achieve everlasting fame as one of the world's great discoverers, 349 and realize the dream of Columbus, to rule the Aurea Chersonesus of King Solomon. To him who can execute comes opportunity. "God has revealed the secrets of this land to me only," he piously writes the 20th of January, 1513, "and for this I never shall cease to thank him." But whence were to come the requisite one thousand men? After closely interrogating Comagre, Careta, and other chieftains concerning the tramontane regions, the Spaniards returned to Darien; but not until many of the natives had renounced idolatry and received baptism at the hands of the priests. There they found Valdivia returned from Santo Domingo, after an absence of six months, with a small store of provisions, and what was of the highest consequence to Vasco Nuñez at this juncture, the commission from Diego Colon as governor of Antigua.

To guard against the scarcity of food which had thus far been one of the chief causes of failure in every attempt to colonize Tierra Firme, the governor had this year caused to be planted a large tract adjacent to Antigua, the labor of course being performed by captives. "Food has been our great necessity rather than gold," said Vasco Nuñez in a letter to the king. But a hurricane, followed by inundation, destroyed the crop, and Valdivia was again sent with the caravel to Santo Domingo for provisions. In a letter to Diego Colon, the governor set forth in extravagant terms his further knowledge of the country, dwelling upon the information received of a great sea to the southward, and begging assistance in raising a thousand men for its discovery. Gold to the value of fifteen thousand pesos[VIII-13] was, by this departure, remitted the king's officers as the royal share for the last six months. Large sums were also sent by private persons to their friends and creditors in Española and Spain. But all to no end. For when near Jamaica, 350 the vessel was struck by a squall, carried westward, and thrown on some rocks off Yucatan. Ship and cargo were all lost. Twenty men, without water, or food, or sail, or oars, in an open boat, escaped with bare life.

And now comes another tale of wretchedness which might well grace the annals of Acheron. In their helpless condition they are carried by the currents for thirteen days; one third of their number die of thirst, and the survivors drift to a yet more horrible fate. Thrown on the Maya shore, they are seized by savages, placed in a pen, and well fed. After their sufferings at sea, this is not so bad; but one day Valdivia and four others are taken to the temple and sacrificed, and their roasted limbs eaten in honor of the gods; over which prospect for themselves the survivors are uncomfortable, and nerved by desperation, they break cage and escape to the forest, where they wander naked and starving until life is a burden. Then they cast themselves at the feet of Ahkin Xooc, cacique of Jamancana, neighbor and enemy of the Maya lord. He and his successor, Taxmar, make them serve as beasts of burden until two only are left alive, Gonzalo Guerrero, sailor, and Gerónimo de Aguilar, friar. In an interchange of captives, the sailor becomes the property of Nachan Kan, chief of Chetumal. Bold and buoyant-hearted, he rises to barbaric distinction, becomes a great general, marries a princess, and in after years, when opportunity offers, declines return to civilized life. The friar is rescued by Cortés, in 1519, in which connection we shall again meet him.[VIII-14]

Cannibals are horrible things; but their teeth were hardly so sharp as Spanish steel, which, in following the law of survival common to the animal kingdom, was sacrificing freely about Antigua at this time. 351 "Thirty caciques have already been slain in the attempted pacification of this country," writes Vasco Nuñez to Diego Colon, "and now that I am obliged to penetrate still further in search of food, I must kill all who fall into my hands; otherwise our colony can not exist while waiting relief." In pursuance of this humane measure, early in 1512—it was toward the close of 1511 that Valdivia had sailed for Española—the governor organized an expedition against Dabaiba,[VIII-15] a rich province some thirty leagues to the southward.

Startling stories were told of this place. At a temple lined with gold, slaves were sacrificed for the gratification of the gods, who returned in miracles the favors of their worshippers; so that Dabaiba became as Mecca in the wilderness. Of course, it was an outrage against heaven that the heathen gods should have so much gold and glory; though hunger and avarice lent as much assistance, perhaps, as piety, in instigating the contemplated raid.

Selecting one hundred and sixty men, Vasco Nuñez embarked in two brigantines for the mouths of the river.[VIII-16] There he divided his force, sending one third, under Colmenares, up the channel San Juan, while with the remainder he ascended the Rio de las Redes, the more direct route to Dabaiba, as he had been informed. But the eye of Cemaco, in restless hate, was still upon them. Rousing the country, he induced the caciques along the river to retire, and leave wasted fields to the invaders, a measure which defeated the expedition. Nevertheless, the Spaniards 352 secured, a short distance up the river, two canoe-loads of plunder, valued at seven thousand pesos, but on reaching the gulf they were overturned in a storm, and the boatmen drowned. Balboa then proceeded to the Rio San Juan and joined Colmenares, after which the entire party ascended the Negro channel for six leagues, and captured a town of five hundred houses, governed by a cacique named Abenamechey, one of whose arms a Spaniard cruelly struck off after he had been made prisoner. Leaving there half the men in charge of Colmenares, with the remainder Balboa continued his ascent of the stream, until, on entering a small branch, he found himself within the domain of Abibeiba, whose people built their houses in the branches of palm trees, making the ascent by ladders drawn up at night for safety. A supply of stones was kept in the houses for artillery purposes. When they saw the Spaniards coming, the people ran like squirrels for their houses, and drawing up after them the ladders, fancied themselves in security.

Approaching the tree in which lived the chief, Balboa hailed him and ordered him down. "What brings you hither to molest me?" demanded the chief. "Go your way. I know you not as friends or foes. I have no gold. I desire only to be left in peace." The Spaniards answered by applying the axe to the tree, and when the chief saw the chips fly, while his stone showers fell harmless upon the mail-coated men below, he capitulated, and the village descended to earth.

After further foraging and fighting with varied success, the governor returned to Antigua, leaving Bartolomé Hurtado with thirty-one men in possession of the country. Of these more than half fell sick, and Hurtado incautiously despatched them for Antigua with twenty-four captives in charge. They had not proceeded more than three leagues before Cemaco was upon them with one hundred warriors; and of the Spaniards only two escaped to carry the news to 353 Hurtado, who hastened to Antigua with the further intelligence that five caciques, namely, Abibeiba of the high-tree house, Abenamechy of the severed arm, Dabaiba of the golden temple, Abraiba and Cemaco of Darien, had confederated with five thousand men to exterminate the Spaniards. The rumor was lightly regarded until Vasco Nuñez was informed by one of his mistresses, Fulvia he called her, that her brother had notified her to withdraw from the town on a certain night, so that she might not fall in the massacre intended. Love overruling duty, Fulvia thus divulged the secret. She saved the settlement, but she lost her country.

Poor heart of woman touched with love! Vasco Nuñez induced Fulvia to lure thither her brother, who thereupon was seized and forced to confess the plot. Furthermore, he told Balboa that then at work in his fields were forty men long pledged to assassinate him, but as he had always appeared before them armed and armored, and on a caparisoned horse, which was their greatest terror, they had feared to attack him. The rendezvous of the conspirators was Tichirí, not far distant. With seventy men, by a circuitous route, Balboa marched on the encampment, while Colmenares with an equal force ascended the river in canoes, guided by the traitress Fulvia's traitorous brother. Attacked thus unexpectedly from opposite sides, the confederates were thrown into confusion; many were killed and many taken prisoners. The chief general was honored by being shot to death with arrows, while the others were hanged. Cemaco escaped. So sudden and bold and severe was this blow, that, while Antigua existed, the savages never recovered from it, and the wooden fortress which Balboa immediately built as a guard against future surprise was scarcely necessary.

The natives being thus pacified, the Spaniards were at liberty to evolve fresh projects. Gold and grain in the vicinity of Antigua were well-nigh exhausted, 354 and new fields must be found. The time for Valdivia's return had elapsed; and doubts respecting the integrity of the regidor were entertained by Vasco Nuñez, with fears for the safety of his treasure. Unable to endure the suspense he resolved on visiting Spain and pleading his own cause before the king. But the colony demurred. Friends declared his presence necessary, while enemies saw danger in his absence. It was finally arranged that Colmenares and Caicedo, both worthy men who had been faithful to Nicuesa as long as Nicuesa had been faithful to himself, and faithful to Vasco Nuñez, should take the only remaining vessel fit for service and embark for Spain in the general interests of the colony. The reasoning by which the mistrustful populace arrived at this agreement was, that if Balboa went he would secure all the advantages to himself, or never return; while Colmenares, who left large property in lands and laborers, and Caicedo, a genuine Spanish wife to whom he was devotedly attached, would be sure to return.

Again the governor wrote Pasamonte soliciting his favor; not forgetting, in addition to the king's fifth, a valuable present in gold for the king's treasurer. The commissioners sailed from Darien in October, 1512, and reached Spain the May following.

Meanwhile times at Antigua ran their varying course. At first nothing of interest occurred; and such were the composite elements of this society that inactivity invariably resulted in spontaneous combustion. Again it centred round the ruling powers. "Who is this Vasco Nuñez that he should lord it over us? a renegade! an absconding debtor! he of the cask!" The immediate cause of the outbreak was the investiture of Hurtado, an unpopular person, with authority; and the more specific charges were partiality in the division of spoils, and the unlawful assumption of powers pertaining to a royally appointed ruler. 355

The new faction was led by one Alonso Perez de la Rua, who for fancied insult pawed the earth and bellowed vengeance. The agitation becoming troublesome Perez was arrested and placed in confinement. The insurgents rushed to arms and demanded the release of their leader, and this being denied they prepared to rescue him by force. The governor placed himself at the head of his adherents, and the two parties prepared for battle. At this juncture peaceful measures were interposed by a third party, consisting of those who had taken no active part in the disputes, and embracing many respectable colonists. Perez was released; but the gnawings of hate continuing he roused his party and made prisoner Hurtado, who in his turn was given liberty at the hands of the conciliators.

Chivalry having had its brief day, avarice came in for a share of public attention. Among the yet undivided plunder was gold obtained in the late Atrato River raids, equivalent in value to ten thousand castellanos. Of this the disaffected demanded immediate division.

The governor well knew that in their present mood it was beyond the power of man to satisfy them. Though omniscient justice distributed this treasure, new troubles would grow out of it. He determined therefore to adopt a non-committal policy, retire from the scene, and freely give them the opportunity, for which they were so ready, to shed blood. Quitting the town at night, ostensibly on a hunting tour, he remained away for several days, leaving them to their destruction. The result was as he had anticipated. Finding themselves free the rioters elevated to the command Perez of the wounded honor, and Bachiller Corral. Then breaking into the public plunder-house, they brought out the gold and placed it in the hands of their leaders for distribution. Proof that the division was fair lay in the fact that every one was dissatisfied. Each, rating his own services superior to most and inferior to none, thought he received too little and 356 another too much. They began to suspect their mistake. A dim perception of the infelicities that mix with the rapturous sweets of governing entered their stolid brains. Balboa's party quickly assumed the ascendency, and thrusting the ringleaders of the insurgents into prison they awaited the return of the governor.

"Your highness must know," writes Vasco Nuñez of this affair to the king, January 20, 1513, "that some days ago little differences occurred here, because the alcaldes, filled with envy and falsehood, attempted to arrest me. Failing in this they brought against me false accusations and false witnesses. Hereof I complain to your highness, for if these men go unpunished, no governor that your highness may hereafter send will be free from this evil. That your highness may know the truth in the matter, and of my great and loyal services in these parts of the Indies and Tierra Firme, I have appointed two judges to investigate my conduct, and report to your majesty all that I have done. I hope," concludes the modest cavalier, "that your majesty will read all this, and reward my great services according to their value."

About this time there arrived at Antigua two vessels, in command of Cristóbal Serrano, sent by Diego Colon, with one hundred and fifty men and provisions for the colony. But what gave Vasco Nuñez the greatest joy was a royal commission, signed by Pasamonte, the treasurer, investing him with the supreme command of the colony. Thus established in authority, and being of a generous temper, the governor at the solicitations of their friends readily pardoned the rebels and set them at liberty.

Another communication, however, which Vasco Nuñez received by this arrival, caused him no little anxiety. This was a letter from Zamudio informing him of his failure to conciliate the royal favor. As 357 had been feared, the bachiller Enciso, burning under a sense of injuries, had denounced the alcaldes before the Council of the Indies, and aroused the king's wrath by a recital of Nicuesa's banishment and probable death. The Council had decreed that Enciso should be indemnified, and that Vasco Nuñez should be summoned to court to answer graver charges. Moreover, Zamudio with difficulty escaped the arrest imposed on him by the Council.

This was as wormwood in Balboa's cup of joy. Yet it was not wholly unexpected; it was not wholly unmerited. There was one redeeming feature about it; the intelligence was private. He was still master of himself; ay, and governor of the colony. Might not some signal service be made to cover his transgressions, and win for him the royal favor? There was that mysterious sea to the southward, reported by Panciaco. The very thing, were men and means at hand for its achievement. Means! There was no time to talk of means; the next arrival would bring a warrant for his arrest. Do it without means, and so gain glory the more. Where was the true Spanish cavalier who would hesitate in such an emergency? Why, the very danger itself was a fascination. He would do it or die! 358

CHAPTER IX.
DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
1513.

Departure of Vasco Nuñez from Antigua—Careta's Welcome—Difficulties to be Encountered—Treacherous Character of the Country—Historical Bloodhounds—Ponca Reconciled—Capture of Quarequá—First View of the Pacific from the Heights of Quarequá—The Spaniards Descend to Chiapes—Take Formal Possession of the South Sea—Form of Taking Possession—The Names South Sea and Pacific Ocean—Further Discoveries—Perilous Canoe Voyage—Gold and Pearls in Profusion—Tumaco Pacified—The Pearl Islands—The Return—Teoca's Kindness—Ponca Murdered—Pocorosa Pacified—Tubanamá Vanquished—Gold, Gold, Gold—Panciaco's Congratulations—Arrival at Antigua.

Revolving matters in his mind, plans quickly unfolded. Winning for the project a few staunch friends, Vasco Nuñez selected with great care one hundred and ninety men.[IX-1] More could have been taken, but he had determined on a rapid march of discovery rather than pacification and occupation. Hence he preferred only tried men, those inured to fatigue, men resolute and reckless, with heart and head hard, and sinews of steel. He also provided from among his captives and the neighboring nations one thousand natives, to serve as warriors and beasts of burden. These, might live or die, as it should happen: no great matter what became of them. A pack of bloodhounds completed the company.

The men were armed with crossbows, swords, arquebuses and targets, and provisions for the expedition were placed on board a brigantine and ten large 359 canoes. Before embarking, the hazardous nature of the enterprise was made known to the soldiers. Wealth and glory awaited success; the reward of failure, death; opportunity was then offered for any one to withdraw without prejudice or injury.

Sailing with his little armament from Antigua on the first day of September, 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa followed the coast of Darien north-westward to Careta's province, where the expedition disembarked on the fourth day. The chieftain's dusky daughter, whom the governor continued to regard with great affection, was still a bond of friendship between this nation and the Spaniards. Careta added to their stock of provisions and furnished them with guides; and some of his warriors joined the expedition, in the hope of witnessing the downfall of their enemies beyond the mountains. The boats were left in charge of a guard; and after invoking divine favor the expedition was ready to move.

I know the tendency of the historian, warmed by his theme, to magnify merit, and the obstacles it overcomes; and I have elsewhere said as much. While I endeavor to confine myself to the plain words of a simple story, those who have sat at ease, sipping iced champagne, during a delightful ride of three or four hours across this sometime terrible neck, may find in this chapter expressions appearing strong. But I do assure the reader that it is difficult to magnify in the present instance. Vasco Nuñez now stood on the northern coast, opposite the gulf of San Miguel, which, breaking the shore of Panamá Bay, narrows the isthmus of Darien to a width of fifty miles.[IX-2] But 360 such is the infamous character of the country, that even modern efforts to penetrate the unexplored interior from either side have met disaster and ruin.[IX-3] 361 Inaccessible forests filled with noxious reptiles and wild beasts, tangled jungles through which man must cut his way foot by foot; rugged mountains, slippery slopes, and rocky precipices, over and round which the weary traveller threads his way under a blooming tropical canopy; frequent and sudden rains and inundations; treacherous morasses, and the malarious exhalations from putrid vegetation, unite with warlike savages to render this spot one of the most difficult on the globe to explore. Add to these obstructions the weight of heavy armor and cumbrous weapons, and some conception may be formed of a military march through an equatorial wilderness.

No wonder Vasco Nuñez scrutinized his company before starting. "I beg your very royal Highness," he had written before this to the king, "to give me men from Española; for such as come from Castile are for my purpose worthless, bringing loss not only on themselves but others."[IX-4] Born amidst the clash of arms in chivalrous Spain, broken to adversity at Española, and many of them toughened at Santa Marta, Veragua, and Antigua, the present band mustered the survivors of daring expeditions whose bones strewed the shores of Tierra Firme.

View larger image

The Spaniards began their march on the 6th of September. The second day brought them to the lands of Ponca, who having been warned of their approach had retired from the path.[IX-5] But other thoughts than 362 those of plunder and petty warfare now filled the mind of Vasco Nuñez; and, preferring to leave no enemy in his rear, while resting in the cacique's comfortable quarters he made overtures of friendship to the chief, who straightway returned from his hiding, and gave gold, together with valuable information concerning the southern sea and the route thither in return for beads, mirrors, hawk-bells, and axes. For none knew better than the courteous governor how to kindle friendship in the savage breast, and make it profitable. The gold which Ponca gave consisted of finely wrought ornaments from beyond the mountains, and ten pounds of the metal from his own mines. He described a certain summit from which this 363 southern sea might easily be seen, gave information of the nations to be encountered by the Spaniards, and furnished them with guides for the secret passes.

Roused by this encouragement, and leaving here the sick and wayworn, the Spaniards were on their southward march again the 20th of September. Between the several provinces were no beaten paths, across the rivers no bridges; so great were the impediments to their progress, and so much more time was consumed than had been anticipated, that food began to fail.

Making their way amid these difficulties, they came to the foot of the high mountains where terminated their pacified territory, and where they must prepare to dispute the way with native sovereigns of the soil. Ascending the mountains, they encountered on the 24th a cacique named Porque, lord of the province of Quarequá, the ruler of these parts, whose arrogance, fed by his successes, had kept full pace with them. At the head of a thousand warriors, Porque appeared before Vasco Nuñez, demanded the object of his visit, and threatened to kill every man who should put foot within his dominions. The Spaniards nevertheless continued slowly to advance, keeping well together. Amazed at their temerity, and indignant at the seeming indifference to his threat, Porque swept down upon them with flourish of weapons and terrific yells, confident of easy victory. But as well might he have spent his unleavened force against the eternal hills.

Waiting until the whole swarm was well within reach, Vasco Nuñez gave the order to charge. Shouting the inspiriting war-cry, Santiago, y á ellos! the Spaniards sprang upon them. The fire-arms were discharged, the bloodhounds[IX-6] let loose, and striking the 364 cruel steel into the naked bodies of the enemy, he was literally hewn in pieces. Vainly, in wild confusion, the savages struggled to escape; the flash of fire, the thundering noise, the sulphurous smoke, bereft them of their senses, making easy work for the sharp iron which entered unresisted their vitals, until six hundred lay dead upon the ground, Porque among the number. Many prisoners were taken; the survivors escaped to the hills. In the village of Quarequá was found much needed food, and some gold. So toilsome had been the march that eighteen days had passed since leaving Careta's town. And here Vasco Nuñez rested for the night, nursing his wounded, and cheering the sick and down-hearted. The guides whom Ponca had furnished, and who had proved of incalculable service to the explorers, were dismissed to their home with presents, and with hearts made glad by the destruction of Porque. So rolls round the planet inexorable nature, detested death giving hourly joy to universal life.

The 25th[IX-7] of September, 1513, a day ever memorable in the annals of the Pacific States, dawned brightly over the sierra of Quarequá. The village in which the Spaniards had made their quarters was situated on an elevated plateau, and near it rose the reputed mountain whose summit had for ages gazed 365 on the mysterious southern sea. At an early hour Vasco Nuñez was astir, to prepare with thrilling anticipations for the ascent. But sixty-seven, out of the one hundred and ninety Spaniards who within the month had embarked upon this enterprise at Antigua, possessed sufficient strength for the present effort. Departing from the town, their way at first lay through a tangled forest, which fringed the mountain base, and whose dense foliage hid from view the more distant objects. As they mounted upward into a cooler, drier atmosphere, the vegetation became more stunted, yet the undergrowth was still so thick that the soldiers had to cut a passage with their sabres. Emerging at length into an open space near 366 the summit, a bare eminence was pointed out by the guides, whence the view was said to be unobstructed, and the sea distinctly visible.

Viewed prosaically, there was nothing astounding in ascending a hill and taking a look at the ocean. It had been often done elsewhere; it had been often done here. Nor was there any peculiar difference between sea and land here and sea and land elsewhere. But there was that to the minds of the impetuous and impressible Spaniards, there is that to our own minds, in first things and first views of things, our first view, our country's first awakening, that stirs the soul and sets faster beating the heart. Reduced to words, the sentiment is the pleasure the mind derives from improving surprises; it is the joy of development, the ecstasy of evolution.

If such be commonly the case, how much more reason had Vasco Nuñez de Balboa to be impassioned on this occasion. Behind him was ignominy, perhaps chains and death; before him was glory, immortal fame. And it was meet in him that this ordinarily trivial act should be consummated with a ceremony becoming to one of civilization's great achievements.

Ordering a halt, Vasco Nuñez advanced alone. His should be the first European eye to behold what there was to behold, and that without peradventure. With throbbing heart he mounted the topmost eminence which crowned these sea-dividing hills. Then, as in the lifting of a veil, a scene of primeval splendor burst on his enraptured gaze, such as might fill with joy an archangel sent to explore a new creation. There it lay, that boundless unknown sea, spread out before him, far as the eye could reach, in calm, majestic beauty, glittering like liquid crystal in the morning sun. Beneath his feet, in furrowed prospect, were terraces of living green, sportive with iridescent light and shade; waving plains and feathered steeps white-lined with flowing waters, here dashing boisterously down the hill-side, yonder winding silent through the 367 sighing foliage to the all-receiving sea. In that first illimitable glance time stood back, the mists lifted, and eternity was there. What wonder if to this Spanish cavalier, in that moment of triumphant joy, visions of the mighty future appeared pictured on the cerulean heights, visions of populous cities, of fleets and armies, of lands teeming with wealth and industry. And to Spain should all these blessings and advantages accrue; to Spain through him.

Dropping on his knees, he poured forth praise and thanksgiving to the author of that glorious creation for the honor of its discovery. The soldiers then pressed forward, gazed enchanted likewise, and likewise assumed the attitude of prayer; for however ungodly were their lives, these cavaliers were always fond of praying.

"There, my friends," exclaimed Balboa, rising and pointing to the prospect before him, "there is the realization of your hopes, the reward of your labors. You are the first Christians to look upon that sea, or to tread its luxuriant shores. The words of the chivalrous Panciaco concerning the Southern Sea are more than verified; please God so may we find them regarding the riches of its shore. All are yours, I say, yours the glory of laying this celestial realm at your sovereign's feet; yours the privilege of bringing to the only vile thing in it the cleansing properties of our holy faith. Continue, then, true to me, and I promise you honor and wealth to your fullest desire." A shout of approbation, such as the rabble are ever ready with before success, was followed by pledges of fidelity and fair service, to be broken upon the first occasion. And if we may believe old Peter Martyr, who enjoyed this triumph of progress almost as much as the discoverers themselves, Hannibal from the summit of the Alps, pointing to his soldiers the delicious fields of Italy, displayed no grander conception of his high achievements, past and future, than did Balboa at this moment. A cross was erected, round 368 which stones were heaped; the trees were blazoned with the sovereign's name; the Te Deum laudamus and Te Dominum confitemur was solemnly chanted by the company; after which Balboa in a loud voice called on all present to witness that he then and thereby, for and in the name of the sovereigns of Spain, took possession of this Southern Sea, with all its islands and firm lands, and all shores washed by its waters. The notary was ordered to draw up a certificate in accordance, to which each present affixed his name.[IX-8]

Because the strangers seemed to delight in it, the savages assisted in the cross-raising and in carrying stones, though they saw nothing in the surroundings to become so excited about. Meanwhile the Spaniards 369 wondered how far the water extended, what nations inhabited its borders, what the commerce and religion of those nations, and what would be the effect of the discovery on Spain, on the world, on their own fortunes.

Descending the mountains on its seaward side they were met by a cacique, called like his province, Chiapes, who ordered them back if they sought not death. The policy of Vasco Nuñez here was peace. Hostile entanglements at this juncture he knew would sooner or later result in the destruction of his party. It must be a peace, however, based on fear and respect, seldom to be achieved among savages except by slaughter. Overtures of friendship were accordingly instituted by a sudden and vigorous onslaught with fire-arms, cross-bows, and bloodhounds, during which Chiapes took to his heels, midst thunder, smoke, and consternation; in consequence of which he was all the more happy when the men of Quarequá sought him out, and told him that these supernatural visitors who held the elements at their command were easily propitiated with gold. Tremblingly he appeared and laid at the feet of Vasco Nuñez five hundred pounds of the metal, glad that the favor of the gods might be bought so cheaply. The Quarequá guides were now dismissed with presents, and by them orders were sent the Spaniards resting at their town to follow the advance party.

The object of Vasco Nuñez was to approach the verge of the ocean and touch the water he had seen. For this purpose he despatched, in different directions, three parties of twelve men each, under Francisco Pizarro, Alonso Martin de Don Benito, and Juan de Escaray to search an opening to the seaside through the dense foliage that concealed it. It is not a little singular that two days should elapse, and that the explorers suffered severely for want of water before any one could find the beach, though they were all the time so near it. 370 Alonso Martin's party came first to an inlet, on the shore of which were two canoes, the open bay being still hidden. Desirous of being first in something, however small, Martin sprang into one of the boats which was barely floating on the incoming tide, and cried to his companions, who had thrown themselves down under the cooling leaves—"I call on you all to witness that I am the first Spaniard to sail upon these waters." "And I the second," exclaimed another, rushing for the other boat.[IX-9] Returning to Chiapes, Martin reported to Vasco Nuñez, who immediately began preparations to take more formal possession of the Southern Sea.

On the 29th of September, St Michael's day, Vasco Nuñez with twenty-six men set out for the border of the sea, accompanied by Chiapes with a numerous train. Arriving there they found the tide out, and seated themselves upon a grassy slope beneath the overhanging foliage, waiting the return of the waters. Presently, when the sand was covered to the depth of one or two feet, all arose, and Vasco Nuñez, armed and armored cap-a-pie, drew his sword and, taking from the hand of an attendant a banner, on one side of which were pictured the virgin and child and on the other the arms of Castile and Leon, marched into the water, and waving aloft his banner cried in a loud voice: "Long live the high and powerful monarchs Don Fernando and Doña Juana, sovereigns of Castile, and of Leon, and of Aragon, in whose name, and for the royal crown of Castile, I take and seize real and corporeal actual possession of these seas and lands, and coasts and ports and islands of the south, with all thereto annexed; and kingdoms and provinces which belong to them, or which may hereafter belong to them, in whatever manner and by whatever right and title acquired, now existing or which may exist, ancient and modern, in times past and present and to 371 come, without any contradiction. And if any other prince or captain, christian or infidel, of whatever law or sect or condition he may be, pretends any right to these lands and seas, I am ready and prepared to contradict him, and to defend them in the names of the present and future sovereigns of Castile, who are the lords paramount in these Indies, islands and firm land, northern and southern, with their seas, as well in the arctic pole as in the antarctic, on either side of the equinoctial line, within or without the tropics of cancer and capricorn, according to what more completely to their majesties and their successors belongs and is due, for the whole and any part thereof; as I protest in writing shall or may be more fully specified and alleged on behalf of their royal patrimony; now and in all time while the earth revolves, and until the universal judgment of all mankind."[IX-10] To which grandiloquent 372 harangue there came no reply; no armed Poseidon appeared to dispute possession; only the mighty ocean dashed from its face the blinding glare of this new doctrine, heaved its bosom in long glassy swells, and gently growled its perplexity to the sympathizing beach.

The followers of Vasco Nuñez, however, even if all did not comprehend better than the sea what their 373 leader had said, swore with loud acclamations to defend the claim of the sovereign who would thereby have so much more land to bestow, and to follow their gallant leader to the riches and honor he had so freely promised them. Andrés de Valderrábano, the notary of the expedition, was then called upon to draw up a certificate of the act of taking possession, to which all present subscribed their names. This being the day of St Michael,[IX-11] the archangel, the gulf before them was called El golfo de San Miguel, which name it bears to this day. Tasting the water they found it salt, which proved it a true ocean sea that they had found; then they cut crosses on the trees in honor of the holy trinity, and with longings satisfied and hearts singing their high hopes, the party returned to Chiapes, richer, according to their pretensions, by one Pacific Ocean,[IX-12] ten thousand 374 islands, and twenty-five hundred leagues of continental seaboard.

The grand event being so happily consummated, the Spaniards thought that, before returning to Antigua, they might indulge in a little exploration. Luckily the powerful Chiapes was not only their friend, but he could furnish them a goodly list of enemies having an abundance of gold and pearls. Under his direction they crossed a large river, fell upon a chieftain called Cocura, and returned to Chiapes with six hundred and fifty pesos. Then they decided to explore an arm of the gulf, which involved a short but dangerous canoe voyage. In vain Chiapes protested against the project. "Our God will protect us," replied the devout Vasco Nuñez, as with eighty Spaniards, and a dusky band under Chiapes, he stepped into the canoes, the 17th of October. Soon they found themselves in a sea so tempestuous that they were glad to escape upon an island whose uncertain soil threatened every moment to dissolve beneath their feet. There they remained up to their waists in water all that night. Fortunately before morning the waters of the gulf 375 subsided, else the discoverers of the Pacific Ocean never would have returned to tell their tale. Daybreak presented a dismal spectacle. Some of the canoes were split, others embedded in the sand; and all the provisions and clothing had been swept away. But to such hardships these men were inured. Since leaving Spain they had lived chiefly on maize bread, wild herbs, fruit, roots, sometimes fish, seldom meat. This was their best diet. In times of scarcity, which were frequent, they were glad to get reptiles, insects, or anything that would sustain life. They had no salt; and their only drink was river water, frequently putrid and unwholesome. Yet while life lasted, the brain worked inexhaustible resources. In the present emergency, for example, when both sea and land proved treacherous, they by no means yielded to despair. Stripping the glutinous bark from certain young trees which they found, they bruised it with stones, added to it fibrous sea-plants reduced in like manner, and, after binding their broken boats firmly with cords, they calked the seams with the mixture. Again they committed themselves to the mercy of the sea, and after two days of hazardous navigation, half naked and half starved, they ran into a small creek which flowed through a province called Chitarraga, and landed about midnight near an Indian village governed by a cacique named Tumaco.[IX-13]

Carrying the village, though not without resistance, Vasco Nuñez, as usual, sought the friendship of the fleeing Tumaco, who was induced to return, bringing gold valued at six hundred and fourteen pesos, and a basin of pearls, two hundred and forty of which were of extraordinary size. This was indeed something worthy of an oriental India, thought the Spaniards, as their hearts danced enraptured over the beautiful baubles. Tumaco could not understand what power 376 his gift possessed that it should so charm these heavenly strangers. To him the oyster which he could eat was seemingly worth more than the pearl which he could not eat; for in roasting the bivalve he had spoilt pearls enough to make him rich in the eyes of any potentate in Christendom. When once he knew that pearls were wealth, Tumaco became eager to show the Spaniards how much he had at his command, and set his men to fish; and in four days they returned with twelve marks' weight, or ninety-six ounces of pearls. Six Spaniards accompanied them to see whence came the gems, and they showed the natives how to open oysters without heat, which discolored the pearl. Likewise gold hereabout was plentiful and lightly esteemed.

Vasco Nuñez endeavored to gain all the information possible concerning the nature and extent of the sea-coast. He was told by Tumaco that the ocean and the mainland extended southward without end; that far distant in that direction dwelt a great nation whose riches were immense, who navigated the ocean in ships, and employed beasts of burden. In order the better to describe these animals, Tumaco moulded in clay a figure of the llama, which seemed to the eyes of the Spaniards a species of camel. "And this," says Herrera, "was the second intimation Vasco Nuñez had of Peru, and of its wealth." Nor did Francisco Pizarro, who was present, fail to hold these things in remembrance.

Balboa now felt his mission accomplished. Had the new sea and its border been made for him it could not have pleased him better. Columbus had found a new continent; he had found a new sea; and wealth on this south side seemed illimitable. But before returning he deemed it prudent to supplement his deed of possession by the enactment of that ceremonial on the shore of the main ocean, for his exploits had hitherto been confined to the gulf of San Miguel. 377 Applying to Tumaco for the requisite means, an immense canoe was produced, the barge of state, with oarsmen, and oars inlaid with aljófar, an inferior kind of pearl; and Vasco Nuñez called on the notary to write it down, that boats on this Southern Sea were propelled by oars inlaid with pearl, so that his sovereigns might thereby place a greater value on it and on his own great services.

In pursuance of this plan, on the 29th of October, the Spaniards embarked in Tumaco's barge, and, proceeding to the shore of the main ocean, landed near an island called by the natives Crucraga, but to which Vasco Nuñez gave the name of San Simon. Here with banner and buckler, with drawn sword and high-sounding declamation, and amidst the lordly waves which had rolled their unimpeded course from far beyond the ever lifting horizon, the vaunting cavalier again affirmed ownership, swearing to defend he knew not what against he knew not whom; but "herein," according to Herrera, "he used all the formalities that could be imagined, for he was brave, subtle, diligent, and of a generous temper, a commander fit for mighty enterprises."

As they were about to depart, the men of Chitarraga directed the attention of Balboa to a group of small low islands rising from the sea five leagues distant. A powerful chieftain governed there, who, crossing to the mainland, made fearful havoc among the seaboard villages; and would the Spaniards please go and kill him, for at the largest island, Toe, were the most beautiful pearls in all that region. The Spaniards would go there or elsewhere for pearls and gold if they only had the time, and a favorable sea, but Vasco Nuñez would not permit himself to be led away into further fascinations on this visit. He nevertheless gave names to the islands, calling the largest Isla Rica, and the group Islas de las Perlas,[IX-14] 378 or Pearl Islands, assuring Tumaco, meanwhile, that he would return some day and avenge him his injuries.

Once more back at Chitarraga, Vasco Nuñez made ready his departure for Antigua. He proposed to cross the mountains by a different route from that by which he came. The sick and disabled he would leave with Chiapes, now the firm friend of the Spaniards, who were to kill his enemies and not him. This chieftain and a son of Tumaco asked permission to accompany the party as far as Teaochoan, an adjoining province. Accordingly, on the 3d of November, they embarked in canoes, and guided by the young cacique of Chitarraga, proceeded to the upper end of the gulf and entered a large river,[IX-15] so inconstant as to overflow its banks in places, narrowing elsewhere between rocky confines, and rushing forward tumultuously under the overhanging foliage to the sea. By and by the youthful chieftain brought the boats to land. Disembarking, the Spaniards pacified the province in their usual way, the ruler, Teoca, chief of Teaochoan, being glad to save his life by paying one hundred and sixty ounces of gold and two hundred large pearls. Indeed, so effectually had Vasco Nuñez succeeded, by a judicious use of fire-arms and fair words, and some trifling presents, in winning the affections of the South Sea savages, that in taking leave of Chiapes and the Chitarraga youth at Teoca's town, they wept. It was indeed affecting; and soon Teoca, although the last to be robbed, caught himself paying the strangers the same briny tribute of his esteem.

After three days of rest the party proceeded, and reaching the base of the mountains they began to scale 379 them. A supply of dried fish and maize, with men of burden and guides, had been secured, and they were accompanied by Teoca's son, who had instructions to attend to all requirements of the strangers, and not to leave them without the permission of their commander. It was well for the company that they had a leader thoughtful and efficient; that instead of zealous guides, and willing men to bear the burdens, there were not lurking foes or treacherous friends with whom to deal—not one of them otherwise would have reached Antigua. For, toiling up the steep ascent under a burning sun, they soon found themselves without water, the springs upon which they had depended having failed. One by one the men yielded their strength and threw themselves upon the ground, victims of despair. Teoca's son assisted and encouraged them, and finally brought them all in safety to a cool, sequestered valley where were life-restoring waters.

Was it their way of giving thanks for the late escape from death, now to plan the death of others? While resting in the refreshing shade, Balboa asked his guide about a certain Poncra, a hideous despot, as rich as he was repulsive, of whom he had heard much. "We are now within his lands," the young chief replied. "Over the brow of yonder hill is situated his village." Then was detailed a story of this man's wickedness which sent a thrill of pleasing horror to the heart of every Spaniard present. Instantly all was excitement; and those so lately the readiest to faint were now the readiest to fight. Marching forward they entered the village only to find the vulture flown. Finely wrought gold to the value of three thousand pesos was found there to reconcile them to his absence. Scouts soon discovered his retreat, however, and partly by threats and partly by promises of safety, this lump of deformity was induced to give himself up with three of his principal men. No sooner was it known that the hated Poncra was prisoner in the hands of the Spaniards, than the neighboring 380 chieftains flocked in and begged his extermination. "Whence came your gold?" demanded Balboa of the unhappy man. "I know not," replied Poncra. "My forefathers left it me. We place no value on the unwrought metal." Although torture was applied, nothing further could be elicited. The bystanders clamored loudly for his death, charging him with infamous crimes, revolting to humanity. In an evil moment Vasco Nuñez yielded. The bloodhounds were let loose, and loud acclamations rent the air as the quivering flesh was torn from the limbs of the four unfortunate wretches, and they were made, as Ogilby says, "a Breakfast to the Spanish Doggs." Vasco Nuñez de Balboa gained the approval of the crowd; but throughout all time, wherever the name of the illustrious discoverer of the Southern Sea is spoken, this infamous act of treachery shall stain it. The praises of the savages, however, were profuse; "and there he remained thirty days," says Gomara, "receiving and ruling like a king." And very prettily Balboa commemorates his outrage by calling the place Todos Los Santos.

While resting here, the Spaniards were joined by the comrades who had been left at Chiapes. Throughout all this region the strangers were treated as invincible and superhuman. Passing through the domain of a chief named Bononiama, they were not only received as friends, coming as they did from Chiapes, but were presented with gold to the value of two thousand pesos, and the chief accompanied them to Poncra's village, that he might behold the wonderful leader of these wonderful men. Poncra's successor came forward in answer to overtures of peace; and on the first of December the Spaniards continued their journey, weighted down with spoils. Five days brought them to a small depopulated town whose chief, Buquebuca, had fled because he had not the means, he said, fitly to entertain such illustrious visitors. He was permitted to purchase their favor by 381 delivering up the gold in his possession, including some finely wrought plates.

Following a path northward from Buquebuca's they were hailed from a cliff near by. "Our King Chioriso sends greeting, O mighty men! and presents this offering, begging your assistance in vanquishing an enemy too powerful for him." The gift was certainly persuasive, being no less than thirty large gold medals or plates worth fourteen thousand pesos. Balboa scarcely knew what to do, nevertheless he graciously received it, and sent in return three axes, some gilt beads, and several pieces of leather and cloth, making the recipient to his own thinking the richest potentate in savagedom. Balboa furthermore promised to assist him at some future time in his wars. The country through which they were now passing was exceptionally rugged, and the men of burden were quite exhausted when on the 13th of December they arrived at the village of Pocorosa. Several of the soldiers had also fallen seriously ill from fatigue, and it was accordingly decided to tarry here for thirty days. The chief, as usual, had fled at their approach, but was brought back to purchase friendship of the Spaniards with slaves and gold.

Pocorosa informed the Spaniards that not far from there[IX-16] lived the famous Tubanamá, of whom Panciaco had spoken when first directing the attention of the Spaniards to the South Sea. He was reputed the richest as well as the strongest chieftain of these mountains, and was the terror of the neighboring nations. Balboa felt it more than ever his duty to overthrow Tubanamá, kill some of his men, steal a few of his women, and relieve him of his gold. But to do this he must have a thousand soldiers, so he 382 had been told. Casting his eye over his little band of bruised and wayworn men, he thought how one mistake might swallow all his past successes, and sighed; then he slept on it, and when after a few days' rest the question was adventured, enough were eager for the raid. The result was that seventy Spaniards, and a squad of Pocorosa's warriors, after a rapid march, fell on Tubanamá about midnight and brought him away prisoner, Ogilby says with eighty concubines. The men of Pocorosa, and chiefs of adjoining tribes, began to revile him, and begged of Vasco Nuñez his immediate death. He had done worse things than Poncra, they said, and had beside spoken ill of the Spaniards, threatening to drag them to death by the hair of their head if ever they came within his reach. Vasco Nuñez pondered. For some time past he had entertained a plan of establishing in this vicinity a military post for the protection of commerce between the seas, and also of gold-mining. Was it better to kill this chief as an enemy, or let him live as a friend, and assist to keep the others friendly? He chose the latter course. But first he must temper the proposed friendship by trial. "Infamous tyrant," he thundered at the trembling prisoner, "now shalt thou suffer for thine abominations. Thou shalt be made to feel the power of the Christians, and the same doom which thou before thy naked slaves didst promise them, shall now be meted thee." He then motioned the attendants as if to remove him for execution. The unhappy cacique denied the accusations and begged for his life. Balboa apparently overcome by his entreaties slowly relented, and finally ordered the captive released. The overjoyed chieftain could not do enough for his deliverer. He stripped his women of their ornaments, and, collecting all articles within his reach fabricated of the coveted metal, presented the Spaniards with thirty marks of gold, and his subjects soon brought in sixty marks more. Enjoining Tubanamá to gather gold, and ever 383 remain true to the Spaniards, Balboa returned in triumph to Pocorosa's town, with a long train of enslaved captives. About this time Vasco Nuñez fell sick; and no wonder when we consider the strain on mind and body during the past four months. First in every action, bearing exposure and privation in common with the poorest soldier, with the responsibility of the adventure resting wholly on him, he was a fit subject for fever. But his indomitable spirit never forsook him, and causing himself to be carried on a litter he still directed movements, as they resumed their march.

Weary, ragged, but exultant, the party at length reached the village of Comagre. Panciaco was overjoyed to see them. The old chief was dead, and the young man filled his father's place. He could not do enough for Vasco Nuñez, for whom his affection seemed to grow in proportion as he was permitted to do him service. Panciaco had given the strangers gold and slaves; he had entertained them royally, had told them of the Southern Sea and the way to reach it, all his words proving true. Now he was permitted to entertain and nurse the emaciated Spaniards, and this he did with lavish generosity, watching Vasco Nuñez through his sickness with the affection of a brother. He was permitted to give them more gold, and did so. The Spaniards graciously received these benefits; and in return for obligations too vast for requital, the generous cavalier, the chivalrous discoverer of the great South Sea, gave his friend and benefactor a linen shirt and some worthless trinkets. His parting words were "Gather and send me more gold, Panciaco." The chief, however, before the party left, had embraced Christianity and received baptism.

It was the 14th of January that the party left Comagre. A short and easy march brought them to Poncra's village, where fortune wreathed in smiles still attended the commander, now free from illness and loaded with gold. Vasco Nuñez here was met 384 by four Spaniards from Antigua who had come to report the arrival of two vessels from Española with provisions and reinforcements. Leaving the greater part of his company to follow at their leisure, Balboa with twenty men pressed forward, and after a hearty greeting from Careta at his village, embarked in the brigantine which there awaited him, and arrived the 19th of January, 1514.

His entry into the settlement was a triumph. All the people came to welcome him, and he was conducted to the public square midst loud acclaims. And when he told them of his successes, of the wealth-bound sea, and the treasures he had obtained, they were wild with exultation. Beside gold, to the value of more than forty thousand pesos,[IX-17] the Spaniards had brought eight hundred Indian slaves, and a large quantity of pearls, cotton cloth, and Indian weapons. All the nations on the route, both in going and in coming, had been subjugated without the loss of a battle and without the loss of a man. Thus terminated one of the grandest and most successful achievements of the Spaniards in the New World.

The remainder of the company soon arrived, and the spoils were thereupon distributed in equitable allotments, wherein also those participated who had remained at home. Beside the royal share, two hundred of the largest and most beautiful pearls were set apart by Vasco Nuñez and his companions as a present for the king, and one of their number, Pedro de Arbolancha, an intelligent man and trusty friend of the governor, was chosen as envoy to proceed immediately to Spain and proclaim this important discovery. By him Vasco Nuñez sent the sovereign a letter detailing his brilliant achievement, and requesting the royal appointment as governor of the region by 385 him discovered, with the means to prosecute further adventures on that coast. "And in all his long letter," says Peter Martyr, "there is not a single leaf written which does not contain thanks to Almighty God for delivery from perils, and preservation from many imminent dangers." This letter was dated at Antigua the 4th of March, and a few days after Arbolancha took his departure.

Meanwhile Balboa was unremitting in his efforts to advance the prosperity of the growing colony. Having so long suffered the miseries and inconvenience of a meagre supply of food, particular attention was turned to agriculture. Indian corn was produced in great quantities, and seeds of various kinds from Spain were planted, yielding fruit in abundance. Society became more settled and factions were at rest; for who could stand before Vasco Nuñez? Memories of home bloomed anew. Old-time amusements were again enjoyed; national holidays were regarded, and jousts and tournaments were held, if not with as rich display as formerly, yet with heartiness and merrymaking. Two of the pacified caciques became discontented and rebelled, but were soon quieted by a few men under Diego Hurtado. Another captain, Andrés Garabito, was sent to explore the country for the shortest and best route between the seas. Peace everywhere reigned; and with a profusion of food and gold already in store, with high anticipations regarding the future; with wealth, and dominion, and honor, and brilliant hopes, and multitudes of heathen for slaves, ought not these pirates to have been supremely happy? 386

CHAPTER X.
PEDRARIAS DÁVILA ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT OF DARIEN.
1514-1515.

How the Discovery of a Southern Sea was Regarded in Spain—The Enemies of Vasco Nuñez at Court—Pedrarias Dávila Appointed Governor—Departure from Spain and Arrival at Antigua—Arbolancha in Spain—Pedrarias Persecutes Balboa—The King's Requirement of the Indians—Juan de Ayora Sent to Plant a Line of Fortresses between the Two Seas—Which Work He Leaves for Wholesale Robbery—Bartolomé Hurtado Sent to Bring in the Plunder—Disastrous Attempts to Violate the Sepulchres of Cenú—Expedition of Tello de Guzman to the South Sea—The Site of Panamá Discovered—The Golden Temple of Dabaiba Once More—Gaspar de Morales and Francisco Pizarro Visit the South Sea.

In Spain the tidings of Balboa's discovery created little less sensation than had that of Columbus twenty-two years before. The hypothesis still obtaining that America was eastern Asia, to what new manifestations was not this Southern Sea to lead? Coupled with the belief was the concurrent testimony of all the native peoples, that along its shores were wealth and industry, gold, pearls, and civilization, hope-inspiring of replenished coffers to Ferdinand, and to zealous churchmen of increase of souls. At last, said the wise men, the opulent kingdoms of the eastern Indies which have so long eluded our grasp are opened to us.

Unfortunately for Vasco Nuñez, success came late; for prior to the arrival of his messenger in Spain there had been laid a train of events which threatened his ruin. Fanned to a yet redder reality by the argumentative winds of the Atlantic, Enciso's wrath glowed 387 hot as he pictured to the king in only too truthful colors the quality of justice administered in his name to his subjects of Antigua. And the bachiller became really happy as he rolled the story of Nicuesa's wrongs, a sweet morsel, under his tongue, to the utter demolition of his enemies. Zamudio and Vasco Nuñez were condemned, as we have seen, and the king determined to send out a new governor who should investigate and punish.

Out of the many applying was chosen a gentleman of Arias in Segovia, Pedro Arias de Ávila, called by Spanish contemporaries Pedrarias, and by English historians Dávila. He was large of frame, pronounced in mind and temper, and coarse-grained throughout, the grizzled hair surrounding his dark features like the selfish and unholy nature that environed his swarthy soul. Whence it would appear that he was elderly for so rude a mission, which was true; but being an officer in good repute, well born and highly connected,[X-1] and with no lack of fire and stubbornness remaining, his age was not reckoned so much against him. The nicknames El Galan and El Justador were significant of a gay and courtly youth, as that of Furor Domini, given him by the monks of the New World, was of a virulent old age. He was rich, at least his friends were, so that money was at his command. Fonseca favored the appointment—a habit the bishop had of looking kindly on those whose petitions were backed by gold. And so Ferdinand made him governor and captain-general of Castilla del Oro, which was now ordered to be called Castilla Aurífica.[X-2]

Several causes united to favor Pedrarias at this 388 juncture. The arrival at court of Caicedo and Colmenares, commissioned by the settlers of Antigua to report the rumors concerning a sea to the south, and solicit aid for an expedition in that direction, renewed speculation and inspired enthusiasm.[X-3] The envoys were graciously received, and presented by Bishop Fonseca to the king, who listened with attention to their recitals. "They often sojourned with me," says old Peter Martyr, "and their countenances declare the intemperateness of the air of Darien; for they are yellow like those afflicted with the jaundice," or as Oviedo expresses it, "as yellow as the gold they went to seek," "and also swollen," continues the former, "the cause whereof they ascribe to the hunger endured in times past." The air of mystery enfolding the region, no less than the gold displayed by persons coming thence, threw over the enterprise a charm which brought to the standard of Pedrarias hundreds of eager applicants. Then there was the sudden breaking-up of the Italian expedition under Gonsalo de Córdoba. The French victory at Ravenna, which threatened King Ferdinand's Neapolitan possessions, had roused the chivalry of Spain, and when the standard of the Gran Capitan was raised at Seville, thither flocked youthful cavaliers and veteran soldiers burning to enlist under the banner of so great a leader in so glorious a cause. But the king, envious of the popularity of his general, in a fit of jealousy countermanded the expedition, thus filling the streets of Seville with purposeless men, many of whom had sold or pawned their birthright for means to procure an outfit, and who now preferred any adventure, however desperate, rather than return in humiliation to their homes. Therefore they hailed with rapture 389 this New World enterprise where gold as well as glory might be won. Moreover, the success of Portugal in India, with which Spain's in the west compared unfavorably, and which had engendered both fear and envy, oiled the wheels of government and unlocked the royal strong-box, so that the ducats of Pedrarias were increased in number to fifty thousand, "an enormous sum in those days," as Quintana observes, "in the expenditure of which was manifest the interest and importance attached to the enterprise."[X-4] Arms and ammunition were drawn from the royal arsenal; and in place of the heavy iron armor which had proved oppressive in tropical latitudes, were substituted wooden bucklers and coats of quilted cotton, proof sufficient against the weapons of the natives. The fleet numbered about nineteen sail, with accommodations for twelve hundred men. These were soon enrolled, while as many more offering themselves had of necessity to be refused. Subsequently, by permission of the Council of the Indies, the number was increased to fifteen hundred.[X-5]

Pedrarias was accompanied by his wife, Isabel de Bobadilla, an estimable lady, niece to the Marchioness de Moya.[X-6] The other members of his family, consisting of four sons and four daughters, were left in Spain. Among the officers were several nobles; and his followers consisted, as was usual in these mad 390 migrations, of persons of every caste, not alone the young and naturally thoughtless, but, if we may credit Peter Martyr, "no small number of covetous old men" were of the company. They were mostly officials, cavaliers and ecclesiastics, however, for governing, fighting, and preaching offered the chief attractions; and very few artisans, agriculturists, or colonists of value in constructing a permanent and prosperous commonwealth. Under the new government a young man from the schools of Salamanca, called the Licenciado Gaspar de Espinosa, was appointed alcalde mayor; Bachiller Enciso, alguacil mayor; Alonso de la Puente, treasurer; Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, the historian, veedor or inspector;[X-7] Diego Marquez, contador, and Juan de Tabira, factor. The fighting men were, first, the governor's lieutenant, Juan de Ayora, an hidalgo of Córdova, and brother of the chronicler, Gonzalo de Ayora. Next, captains of hundreds, Luis Carrillo, Francisco Dávila, Antonio Tello de Guzman, Diego de Bustamante, Gonzalo de Badajoz, Diego Albites, Contreras, Gamarra, Villafañe, Atienza, Meneses, Gonzalo Fernandez de Llago, Francisco Compañon, Francisco Vazquez Coronado de Valdés, Juan de Zorita, Francisco Hernandez, Gaspar de Morales, cousin of the governor, and a nephew of the governor, likewise named Pedrarias, captain of artillery, and others. Several of these names became notable, and we shall meet them hereafter. Chief of the spiritual army, under the title of Bishop of Darien,[X-8] was Juan de Quevedo, the first prelate to come to Tierra Firme; and with him was a company of Franciscan friars. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, then but little more than a youth, afterward the chronicler of the Mexican conquest, came with 391 the expedition, and also Pascual de Andagoya, Hernando de Soto, discoverer of the Mississippi, Benalcázar, who afterward conquered Quito, and Diego de Almagro, one of the pacificators of Peru. It was, in truth, a brilliant company. Juan Serrano was chief pilot, he who was subsequently killed with Magellan, the discoverer of the strait that now bears that name.

Cemaco's village, still bearing the name of Santa María de la Antigua del Darien, was by royal ordinance raised to the title and dignity of a city, with metropolitan prerogatives, ecclesiastical as well as civil. Lengthy instructions were provided the governor by the Council of the Indies. He was charged to see that his people were properly clad, comfortably but not extravagantly; to prohibit the sale or use of cards and dice; to punish murder, theft, and blasphemy; to tolerate no lawyer or any ecclesiastical or professional or unprofessional practitioner of the law in the colony;[X-9] to take no important step without consulting the bishop and other royal officials—an injudicious measure which broke society into factions; to render justice quickly and in accordance with the laws of Spain; to be a bright and shining light to the heathen in all truth and fair honesty; and, last of all, by no means to forget the king's share of the spoils taken in the exercise of said virtues.[X-10] The new governor was furthermore charged to strip from Vasco Nuñez de Balboa all semblance of authority, and to bring him to a strict account for his misdeeds. The survivors of poor Nicuesa's followers were to be treated with special leniency, even to the remitting of the king's 392 fifth on their accumulations. All this, it will be remembered, was before the discovery of the South Sea became known in Spain; and that discovery remained still unrevealed when, on the 11th of April, 1514, after an ostentatious review in the plaza of Seville, the fleet sailed away in grand glee from San Lúcar.[X-11] After touching at some of the islands for the purpose of capturing Caribs for slaves, and also at Santa Marta in order to ascertain the fate of eleven Spaniards said to have been left there by Rodrigo de Colmenares, the armament reached Darien in safety. Significant of the coming rule was an incident which occurred during one of the landings. A servant of Pedrarias, named San Martin, had failed in respect toward Ayora, the governor's lieutenant, while ashore. Informed of it, Pedrarias ordered Ayora to return immediately and hang the offender to the first tree, which was done.[X-12]

Scarcely had the vessels of Pedrarias disappeared from the shore of Spain, when the tardy envoy of Vasco Nuñez arrived at court, and craved audience of the king. Pedro de Arbolancha had unfortunately delayed his departure from Darien for two months after the return of the South Sea discoverers. On this point of time turned the destinies of Vasco Nuñez and of the New World. Pedrarias would scarcely have been made governor; Pizarro would probably never have become the conqueror of Peru, and Vasco Nuñez might possibly have reached Mexico before Cortés. 393

Arbolancha was conducted into the royal presence. He displayed his treasures and told his tale. The sovereign's heart was touched at the soldier's recital. Those pearls! They would make the darkest deeds resplendent in righteousness. And that new Southern Sea! Surely it would wash away far deeper stains than any which sullied the hands of its gallant discoverer. Oh! that this man had sooner come; for then the many thousand ducats spent on old Pedrarias might not have been out of their box. What this costly armament was sent out to do, a handful of roving Spaniards had done, under the leadership of a condemned man, against whom the royal wrath up to this moment had burned. And in this achieving there had been neither much bloodshed nor any cost to Spain; the current formulas for securing possession had been observed, and even the king's fifth and the king's present were not forgotten. In such performance there was manifest no mean mind; any further thought for the punishment of so meritorious a cavalier could not be entertained; and King Ferdinand resolved that Vasco Nuñez should not go unrewarded. So rides success triumphant, even sagacious royalty bending its stiff neck before it.[X-13]

Meanwhile Pedrarias entered Urabá Gulf and anchored his fleet before Antigua. Not knowing in what temper the redoubtable chieftain of the town might receive a successor, Pedrarias despatched an officer to acquaint the colonists with his presence, and with the nature of his commission. Landing, the messenger asked of the first men he met for their leader. He was pointed where some native workmen were thatching a small cottage under the direction of a man clad in cotton jacket and drawers and pack-thread 394 shoes. Now silk and brocade was the covering this petty officer had provided himself withal to flaunt it in Italy, while this cotton-clad fellow looked more like a common laborer than the governor of a Spanish colony. Nevertheless the officer knew his duty and approached the man in cotton respectfully. "I come from Don Pedrarias de Ávila," said he, "lately appointed governor of Darien."

It was sudden; like death, which, even when expected, seems abrupt. How swiftly in his brain revolved probabilities and possibilities. With self-possession and courteous dignity, however, he answered presently: "Say to Don Pedrarias that he is welcome to Antigua."

Next day, which was the 30th of June, Pedrarias disembarked. The landing, where he formed his brilliant retinue, preparatory to the entry into the metropolis, was a league from the town. On one side the governor held by the hand his wife, Doña Isabel, and on the other, arrayed in episcopal robes, walked the bishop of Darien, while dignitaries, officers, cavaliers, and adventurers followed in the line of march. Near Antigua they were met by the sallow-faced colonists, who, though ragged, were rich both in experience and in gold.

The two leaders met with great courtesy; Vasco Nuñez was reverent, Pedrarias gracious. Then all went forward to the town, the friars chanting their Te Deum laudamus for delivery from ocean perils. Vasco Nuñez conducted Pedrarias and the officers to his own dwelling, while the remainder of the company were distributed among the colonists. And soon a New World repast was spread before the new-comers, consisting wholly of native products, maize bread, esculent roots, fish, and fruit, and to drink water.

And now begins a game played by malevolent craft on one side, and honorable frankness on the other, 395 which is unapproached by any of the New World trickeries and treacheries. For whatever his faults, whatever the pitfalls his tumultuous destiny had spread for him, Vasco Nuñez was by nature single-hearted and chivalrous, whereas Pedrarias Dávila was almost satanic in jealousy and cold hatred.

Seeking an early interview, the latter assumes an air of friendship, praises Vasco Nuñez for his abilities, congratulates him on his successes, and speaks of the high appreciation of the king. And as the object of both is only the welfare of the colony, will he not kindly write down what he has done and what he is just now intending to do? Thrown from his guard by this semblance of sincerity, Vasco Nuñez consents, and writes not only what will enable Pedrarias to profit by his experience, but, as the governor hopes, to occasion his overthrow. For the old man is not slow to perceive, on arriving at Antigua and learning of the wonderful discovery, that he is now and must be in reality second in these parts where so lately he was appointed first. Dropping the mask, he institutes charges, and orders Vasco Nuñez to stand trial for his life.

As alcalde mayor, the investigation must be brought before the licentiate Espinosa, and he, in conformity with royal instructions, had to be associated with the bishop Quevedo. Though inexperienced, Espinosa is honest. As for the prelate—does not the accused pray devoutly, and pay liberally? and does he not send the good bishop gifts of slaves, and share with him several lucrative enterprises? Go to! He of the cask is not so great a simpleton after all. He forces even Doña Isabel to smile upon him. He is acquitted. The enraged Pedrarias then hurls civil processes at him, until he is nearly ruined. Enciso meanwhile manufactures fresh guilt relative to the affair of Nicuesa. It is of no use; for the bishop fattens. Pedrarias now swears he will send the fellow to Spain for trial. This does not suit 396 Quevedo. "What madness," drawls the bishop, "to send a successful man to court. Know you not that ere this all Europe is ringing his praises? Better keep him within your grasp; become reconciled, then crush him under your protecting wing." Never is more diabolical mercy solicited for a friend. The governor perceives more than the prelate intends, and immediately arrays his villainy in friendship's smiling garb.

Amid such profitless pastime, too often the chief occupation of rulers, the so lately hilarious fifteen hundred were becoming hungry. The provisions they had brought were exhausted. Looking at the five hundred old settlers, the remnant of other fifteen hundred, the unseasoned opened speculation as to their own similar contraction. And straightway they began to die; twenty a day, until seven hundred were buried in their brocades. Sending under a strong guard some provisions to a secret spot, at a distance from the town, Pedrarias repaired thither and fed himself.

Immediate occupation alone could save the survivors. Taking advantage of Balboa's plans, Pedrarias determined to appropriate to himself the benefits of his discovery. Luckily, on hearing of the late discovery, the king had written to establish a line of posts from sea to sea,[X-14] to make settlements, selecting therefor healthy sites, where was good water; also to build a town on the shore of San Miguel Gulf, and three or four caravels likewise, giving them in charge of skilful captains for the prosecution of new discoveries in that direction. Accordingly, at once to plant the line of posts and circumvent any efforts of Vasco Nuñez in that direction, Juan de Ayora with four hundred 397 men was despatched across the mountains from Careta.

We have found Balboa's policy in his treatment of the natives severe enough, but that which was now to be inaugurated makes his conduct seem humane in comparison. Whatever harsh measures circumstances at times seemed to him to render necessary, the fact remains that on his return from the South Sea expedition he left the nations friendly.[X-15] In all their bloody pacifyings, probably not one of the New World commanders so nearly observed the wishes of their Catholic majesties as Vasco Nuñez.

Among the rules respecting the natives was one directing how war should be made, and what the savages must do in order to save themselves and their lands. The formula drawn at an earlier date by a conclave of Spanish jurists and divines, by which Nicuesa, Ojeda, and others were to take possession of territories, was superseded by a Requirement of the Indians furnished Pedrarias by his sovereign, a translation of which I give in full below.[X-16] This requirement, 398 which heralded to the heathen the name of Christ and European civilization in terms ridiculous 399 and distasteful enough, was mild and logical in its intention as compared with the horrors attending its execution. In the instructions accompanying the requerimiento, Pedrarias had been charged never to wage war unless the Indians were the aggressors, nor until they had been summoned to obedience once, twice, three times. This the governor told his lieutenant, but Pedrarias likewise told Ayora to send him food and gold without delay. It was seldom difficult to excite savages to acts of aggression, and as for reading to the natives the requerimiento, as required by law, that might be done by the notary at his convenience, but never so as to interfere with the advantages of a sudden surprise or preliminary butchery. In a word, the requirement was no less void in practice than absurd in theory.

The first action of Ayora was evidence of this. Ever since the union of Vasco Nuñez and Careta's daughter, equivalent with the natives to a marriage, the most friendly relations had existed between the Spaniards and Careta's people. Not only did the cacique present his respects in person to Pedrarias, but many times he sent food to the famishing colonists. It seems incredible that creatures in human form, to say nothing of European or Christian men, should repay such kindness by sudden, unprovoked attack, such as surprising peaceful villages by night, firing the 400 houses, and murdering some of the slumberers while taking captive others, all being attended by wanton cruelty and pillage. Yet such was the fate of Careta, Panciaco, and other friends and allies of Vasco Nuñez. From the accident of conquest, captives for slaves had become one of the objects of conquest.

View larger image

After this brilliant achievement at Careta, Ayora passed on to a small port which he named Santa Cruz,[X-17] where he planted the initial settlement of the line which was to extend from sea to sea. Leaving there eighty men, he marched southward, robbing 401 and murdering as he went. "The caciques were tortured to make them disclose their gold," writes Oviedo. "Some they roasted, others they threw to the dogs, others were hanged."[X-18]

If not for the church, then for himself the good bishop of Darien was interested in the spoils of God's enemies everywhere. In Ayora's maraudings he had special interest; and no intelligence reaching Antigua for some time concerning them, Quevedo suggested to Pedrarias that a messenger be sent to ascertain his lieutenant's progress. Bartolomé Hurtado, once the friend of Vasco Nuñez, but anxious now before the new powers to wipe out that stain, was accordingly sent to bring in the plunder.

On the way, to please Pedrarias, Hurtado sought to excel Ayora in rapine; but that was impossible. In returning with the plunder, however, he stopped at Careta's village and asked for men to carry burdens to Antigua, and this was readily granted by the chief, anxious as he still was for the friendship of the Spaniards. After honorably discharging his trust with regard to Ayora and Pedrarias, in manner becoming a Christian and a cavalier, he selected from Careta's men six of the finest specimens and presented them as slaves to the governor; to the worthy bishop he gave other six; and to Espinosa four. After thus going the rounds among the high officials, the remainder were branded and sold into slavery at public sale.[X-19] Hurtado was forgiven his former humanity. 402

Entering the dominions of Tubanamá, Juan de Ayora planted there another fortress which he left in charge of Meneses. But instead of continuing his labors across the Isthmus, as ordered, he determined to give himself wholly up to robbery, and escape the country before his offences should be fully known. Following this plan he soon found himself overloaded with booty; and, leaving his captains to overrun the land at pleasure, he returned with his captives, gold, and provisions to Antigua. The gold, he said, must remain untouched, for future division. The provisions were deposited with the governor, and the captives distributed among the royal officers, who had been sent hither at the king's cost, to see among other things that the natives were not enslaved. Yet Ayora was ill at ease. His dreams and meditations were not pleasant; he knew that there must be a day of reckoning when his atrocities became known. The villain determined to escape before the return of the captains. Making ready with his men, he watched his opportunity, and seizing one of the ships lying at the anchorage, not unknown to the governor however, as many think, he escaped with his booty. Peter Martyr, while acknowledging a long acquaintance with Ayora, says that "in all the turmoyles and tragicall affayres of the Ocean, nothing hath so muche displeased me, as the couetousnesse of this man, who hath so disturbed the pacified minds of the Kinges." And "if Juan de Ayora had been punished for his many injuries to the peaceable caciques," wrote Vasco Nuñez subsequently to the king, "the other captains would not have dared to commit like excesses."[X-20]

The chronicles continue in about the same strain. Shortly after Ayora, Francisco Becerra came in from the hunt with gold to the value of seven thousand pesos 403 de oro, and with over one hundred captives, by the judicious distribution of which official inquiry was not only quieted, but Becerra obtained a new commission. He was sent with one hundred and eighty men and three pieces of artillery to Cenú, to avenge the death of forty-eight men lost by Francisco de Vallejo some time before. It was here that Enciso once attempted to violate the native sepulchres in search of golden ornaments. Becerra went with the determination to spare neither age nor sex; but, on landing, the party was decoyed into ambush and every man of them slain by the poisoned arrows of the enemy, a native servant-boy of Becerra alone escaping to carry the news to Antigua.

Since the whole region was in arms the eighty men at Santa Cruz found it every day more difficult to sustain life by stealing. Wherever the savages could catch them they repaid their cruelties in kind, cutting off the limbs with sharp stones, or pouring melted gold down their throats, crying "Eat! Eat gold, Christians! take your fill of gold!"[X-21]

Growing yet bolder, Pocorosa collected a large force and captured the fort, five Spaniards only escaping to Antigua.[X-22] Thus within six months after establishing Santa Cruz, not a vestige of the settlement remained.

Antonio Tello de Guzman was sent with one hundred men to continue the work abandoned by Ayora. Departing from Antigua early in November, 1515, he 404 proceeded to the province of Tubanamá[X-23] and found the fortress, in command of Captain Meneses, besieged by the savages, and the garrison reduced to the last extremity. The place was abandoned, and Meneses marched southward with Guzman into the provinces of Chepo and Chepauri. There they were met by several caciques combined to oppose them; but the savages were persuaded to think better of it. Chepo presented his visitors with a large amount of gold and feasted them. While seated at dinner a young cacique rushed in greatly excited and denounced the host as a usurper, who had defrauded him of his inheritance. "Reinstate me," he urged, "and I will give you twice the gold Chepo has given." The argument was irresistible. Chepo was hanged; seven of his principal men were given to the dogs, and the adjudicators received gold to the value of six thousand pesos. Then they went their way.

As they approached the seaboard they heard a place much spoken of which the natives called Panamá. It must be that gold or pearls were there, the Spaniards thought; for how otherwise could any place be famous? On reaching it, however, they were disappointed to find only a collection of fishermen's huts, the word panamá, in the aboriginal tongue, signifying "a place where many fish are taken."[X-24] Resting here with part of his company, Tello de Guzman despatched Diego de Albites with eighty men to the rich province of Chagre, ten leagues distant; and this captain plumes 405 himself, and we permit him in God's name, that he did not murder the sleepy savages when, roused at dead of night, they gazed with stolid astonishment on their strange visitors, and promptly paid twelve hundred pesos for the privilege to be left alive. Acquiring so much so easily, Albites deemed it only proper to demand more, and handing another large sack to the cacique, he told him to fill it with gold. "I can fill your sack with stones from the brook," was the reply, "but I cannot make gold, neither have I any more." Even for this the good Albites did not cast him to the dogs, but took his departure for Pacora,[X-25] where joined by Guzman the entire company returned to Tubanamá.

View larger image

Thus far the expedition of Tello de Guzman had been prosperous, and more important than he himself imagined, for his was the first visit of Spaniards to the site of the afterwards renowned city of Panamá. Hence to Antigua, however, the march was distressing. Elated by his success at Santa Cruz, Pocorosa 406 appeared at Tubanamá; with an increased force. Hoisting as banners the bloody raiment of slain Christians, the savages brandished their gory pennons on every hillside, crying, "Behold the fate of the accursed, who leave their homes to mar the peace of unoffending nations." All along down the mountain and over the burning plain of Darien to the very threshold of Antigua, the Spaniards fought a hidden foe, who never offered pitched battle, but so harassed them that ofttimes they were on the point of throwing away their heavy plates of gold, and lying down to die from thirst, hunger, and exhaustion. Nevertheless they arrived at Antigua with many slaves and much treasure.

All this time Vasco Nuñez was left in the background; and while such dastardly doings were in order it was as well for every honorable man to remain unoccupied. It was hard, however, to remain idle; and in an evil moment, at the earnest solicitations of the old comrades who had no confidence in any other leader, he consented to take part in another expedition to Dabaiba, in search of the gold and the golden temple there. It was a desperate undertaking, as the former adventure had proved, but the colony was an Ixion's wheel that kept the government ever moving.

When two hundred men were ready, and the question of leadership arose, Pedrarias named Luis Carrillo; but there were those who would not go except under Vasco Nuñez. Then it occurred to the governor to divide the leadership in such a way that if the expedition proved successful his own captain should have the credit, and if a failure, the blame should fall upon his enemy. And so it was arranged, to the infinite disgust of Balboa, who plainly saw the governor's purpose, and would have declined could he have done so without prejudice to his friends. Embarking in June, 1515, and ascending the Atrato 407 for some distance, the expedition was suddenly surrounded by hostile canoes which darted simultaneously from beneath the foliage overhanging either bank. The Spaniards were taken at a disadvantage; for beside attacking them with wooden lances the savages, who were more expert upon the water than the Spaniards, dived under and overturned their canoes, to the destruction of one half the expedition. Among the lost was Luis Carrillo. The one hundred survivors found their way back to Antigua with no small difficulty.

One might think that this would be enough of the golden temple for the present. But not so. These men were not Castilians if danger and defeat acted otherwise than as stimulants to new adventure. Furthermore, like the honors of the arena which are magnified by the difficulties of their attainment, the mysterious dominion so stubbornly defended must hold great treasure, and in the inflamed minds of the Spaniards the savage pantheon of Dabaiba had risen into a lofty edifice glittering with gold and gems, and situated in a region rich and beautiful beyond comparison. And Juan de Tabira, the factor, was confident he could capture it, as likewise was Juan de Birues the inspector. They would build three light brigantines; and with these, and a small fleet of canoes, and, say one hundred and sixty men, bid defiance to the demon host of Dabaiba. This they did, Tabira commanding. The cost fell heavy on the factor, but the king's chest helped him out, if Herrera speaks truly.

As hitherto, the invaders were attacked, but the savages were easily beaten off. Not so the goddess of the golden temple, who sent such a flood as uprooted trees, overturned the factor's vessel, and drowned among others both Tabira and Birues. Francisco Pizarro being of the party was asked to assume command and continue up the river, but he declined, and further efforts in that direction were abandoned.[X-26] 408

Rumors arriving from Spain of the recognition by the India Council of the services and merits of Vasco Nuñez, Pedrarias hastened to move men to the southern seaboard, lest he should see his enemy placed in power there. For this mission were chosen the governor's cousin, Gaspar de Morales, and Francisco Pizarro, to whom were given sixty men.[X-27] They were told to cross the mountains by the shortest route, and, taking possession of the Pearl Islands found and named by Vasco Nuñez, to gather the fruit thereof. The object of the Europeans in attacking the islanders was, of course, to extend the boundaries of their enlightened, just, and humane civilization, and bring the benighted heathen to a knowledge of the Christian religion. True, they might gather a little gold, or pick up such pearls as fell in their way, for the laborer is worthy of his hire.

On reaching the seashore, Morales quartered half of his men, under Peñalosa, on a cacique named Tutibrá, and the remainder on the neighboring chieftain, Tunaca. Chiapes and Tumaco, still loyal to the Spaniards, joined them there. Every requisite, food, boats, and men, was provided by the savages with alacrity, for they who should despoil their ancient enemy were welcome.

One day, just before dark, Morales and Pizarro with thirty Spaniards and a large company of natives embarked in a fleet of canoes, but so boisterous was the sea that they were unable to reach the islands before the next day. Landing on one of the smaller islands and meeting but slight resistance, the invaders passed over to Isla Rica, as it was called by Vasco Nuñez, the largest of the group, where dwelt the terrible king, who made the caciques of the mainland 409 tremble, and who now, nothing daunted, came forward at the head of his warriors and fought the strangers bravely. And notwithstanding Castilian gunpowder, steel, and bloodhounds heaping in lifeless masses before his eyes his best and bravest, the stubborn king fought on as if he knew not how to yield. Finally Chiapes and Tumaco spoke to him, and showed how vain resistance was, how valuable the friendship of the strangers. Believing this, the island monarch submitted, and brought the Spaniards to the spacious palace, as the old chroniclers called his house, and set before them a basket of large and lustrous pearls to satisfy their avaricious souls. In return the king was made passing rich by a present of a few cheap hand-mirrors, some hawk-bells and hatchets, and exhibited almost as foolish a delight over his trinkets as did the Europeans over theirs. "Commend me to the friendship of these gods," cried the king, as he sought his swarthy other self behind the mirror, and jingled the hawk-bells, so much more beautiful than pearls, and tried the keen edge of his hatchet on the skull of a slave standing by. Embracing Morales he led him to a tower which crowned the dwelling, and commanded a view of the isle-dotted ocean on every side. "Behold," he said, "the infinite sea extending beyond the sunbeams; behold these islands on the right hand and on the left. All are mine; all abound in pearls, whereof you shall have as many as desired if you continue my friend." He also spoke of the nations of the distant mainland whose mighty power was evidenced by the ships which he had sometimes seen.

Morales readily promised eternal friendship, stipulating only that one hundred marks of pearls should be annually paid the king of Castile, and to this assented the king of Dites,[X-28] as the natives called Isla Rica. In order, so far as possible, to render insignificant 410 the achievement of Vasco Nuñez, Morales had been instructed to take possession of the South Sea for the king of Spain in the name of Pedrarias. This was now done. The name of Isla de Flores was substituted for that of Isla Rica, and the holy rite of baptism was administered to the king, who received the name Pedro Arias.[X-29]

The good fortune of Morales now forsook him. On returning to the mainland he found that the country was in arms, owing to the excesses of Peñalosa, who was a relative of Isabel, wife of Pedrarias. The villain had repaid the hospitality of Tutibrá by outrages on his women, and the chieftains had in consequence confederated for the protection of their homes. In revenge for this Morales spread fire and sword throughout that region. On one occasion eighteen caciques, called to a friendly council, were treacherously seized and given to the dogs; at another time seven hundred savages are said to have been slain within an hour. But in burning the village of a cacique named Birú,[X-30] on the eastern side of the gulf, the Spaniards were repulsed, and in attempting to cross the mountains to Darien they lost their way, and after considerable wandering and suffering found themselves back at the starting-point. Again they essayed the transit, a handful of men amidst infuriated hosts. In retaliation for night attacks, and darts showered by day from cliffs and thickets, the Europeans strewed their path with murdered and mutilated captives to the 411 number of one hundred, hoping to intimidate the enemy, who was only the more maddened thereby. Thus, midst this bloody disturbance, which in ferocity far exceeded anything of which wild beasts are capable, this band of Spanish marauders escaping their just deserts, managed with great tribulation to reach their settlement, still clinging to the gold and pearls.[X-31]

To Gaspar de Morales Vasco Nuñez pays the same encomiums as to the other captains of Pedrarias. "Be it known to your Majesty," he writes, "that during this excursion was perpetrated the greatest cruelty ever heard of in Arabian or Christian country, in any generation. And this it is. This captain and the surviving Christians while on their journey took nearly one hundred Indians of both sexes, mostly women and children, fastened them with chains, and afterward ordered them to be decapitated and scalped." But "being cousin and servant of the governor," adds Oviedo, he suffers "neither pain nor punishment." 412

CHAPTER XI.
DARIEN EXPEDITIONS UNDER PEDRARIAS.
1515-1517.

Gonzalo de Badajoz Visits the South Sea—What He Sees at Nombre de Dios—His Dealings with Totonagua—And with Tataracherubi—Arrives at Natá—The Spaniards Gather much Gold—They Encounter the Redoubtable Paris—A Desperate Fight—Badajoz Loses his Gold and Returns to Darien—Pedrarias on the War-path—He Strikes Cenú a Blow of Revenge—Acla Founded—The Governor Returns Ill to Antigua—Expedition of Gaspar de Espinosa to the South Sea—The Licentiate's Ass—Robbery by Law—Espinosa's Relation—A Bloody-handed Priest—Espinosa at Natá—He Courts the Acquaintance of Paris—Who Kills the Ambassadors—Hurtado Surveys the Southern Seaboard to Nicoya—Panamá Founded—An Aboriginal Tartarus—Return of Espinosa's Expedition.

While these expeditions were directed to the east side of Panamá Bay, other captains were equally active on the west side.

Gonzalo de Badajoz embarked at Antigua for the South Sea in March, 1515, with one hundred and thirty men.[XI-1] Landing at Nombre de Dios, where no white man had touched since Nicuesa's departure, a dismal spectacle was there presented. The dismantled fort stood surrounded by tenantless dwellings, whose walls were once the silent witnesses of despair; while crosses, heaps of stone, and dead men's scattered bones, seemed to tell how restless were these adventurers even in their last resting. The most impassive of all that callous company was struck by a momentary shudder as he gazed on these ghastly 413 portents of his own probable fate; and they would have turned back on the spot had not their leader hurried the ships away beyond their reach.

The versatile adventurer quickly recovers himself, however, and what is more wonderful is the indifference with which sanguinary recitals often repeated are soon received. The homely adage that familiarity breeds contempt is nowhere more strikingly true than in our own intercourse with danger, pain, and death. It is not altogether a Hibernicism to say that men get used to these things, even to hanging. And when the oft-repeated disasters are distant, and only the survivors with their prizes are present, the terrible tale makes still less impression. That colony after colony in the New World occupation should be swept away or divided by death, and divided yet again, ten times, or twenty times cut in twain; or that expedition after expedition should return to Antigua, leaving half or two thirds of its number rotting on the heated plain, or scattered in the mountains furnishing food for carrion-birds, and yet new colonists continue to come out, and new expeditions continue to be organized by those willing to take the same even chances of never returning, shows an ignorance, or indifference, or both, to which fear of consequences is as inaccessible as ever was the feeling of love to Narcissus.

The mission of Badajoz was the usual one. He was to cross the Isthmus at its narrowest part, take possession of the country, and gather in its treasures. We all know what this implied. Were any but civilized Christians so to do it would be called murder, robbery, treachery, violation, and the rest.

Totonagua was the first victim on this occasion. His dominions were of great extent and thickly peopled, the village where he resided standing on the mountains opposite Nombre de Dios. Surprised by night he surrendered gold to the value of six thousand pesos. Tataracherubi, a wealthy cacique on the 414 southern side, was similarly relieved of gold to the value of eight thousand pesos. Seeing the Spaniards so deeply in love with gold, Tataracherubi told them of a chief named Natá, some distance to the south-west, very rich and with few fighting men. Thirty men under Alonso Perez de la Rua were deemed ample for the adventure, but after a night's march the Spaniards found themselves, as morning broke, in the midst of a cluster of villages belonging to a numerous and warlike people. Retreat was impossible, and not a moment was to be lost. Rushing for the principal village they seized the leading cacique, Natá,[XI-2] and were masters of the situation. For when the savages pressed them hard in the fight that followed, and would have slain them all, they threatened Natá with instant death if he did not cause his men to lay down their arms. Natá obeyed. Presently Badajoz joined Perez, and the chief was released to collect for his captors gold in value to fifteen thousand castellanos. After remaining at Natá two months the conquerors surprised the village of Escoria, ten leagues to the southward, and secured gold[XI-3] to the value of nine thousand pesos. Westward from Escoria lived Biruquete[XI-4] and a blind neighbor, who were relieved of six thousand pesos worth of gold. In the vicinity were the villages of Taracuri, Pananome, Tabor, and Chirú, where the Spaniards obtained another considerable quantity of gold.

Gonzalo de Badajoz was gathering a rich harvest. Thus far his accumulations reached eighty thousand castellanos, equivalent to more than half a million of 415 dollars at the present day. It was not a disagreeable way of making money. It was quite honorable stealing in the eyes of the plunderers themselves, although the stupid savages never could wholly make out the right of it. In addition to gold there were always plenty of women for slavery, and so the adventurers who for these benefits had staked their lives were happy.

Elated by their successes, the conquerors continued the good work. Not far from Chirú were the dominions of a cacique called by the Spaniards Parizao Pariba, subsequently abbreviated into Paris.[XI-5] Advised of their approach Paris fled to the mountains with all his people and treasure. Badajoz sent a message threatening to put the dogs upon his track unless he returned. Paris returned word that he was exceedingly occupied and hoped the Spanish captain would excuse his coming. He begged him, however, to accept an accompanying gift from his women, and wished him a prosperous journey out of the country. The gift so carelessly presented was carried by four principal men in baskets made of the withes of palm-leaves and lined with deerskins. In dimensions they were about one and a half by two feet, and three inches in depth. The contents consisted of fabricated gold, breast-plates, bracelets and ear-rings, valued, as the Spaniards affirmed, at forty or fifty thousand castellanos.

View larger image

So much treasure so royally presented only excited their cupidity the more. Thanking the savages, Badajoz retired with his men, but as soon as Paris returned to the village, he surprised it at night and obtained as much more gold as had already been sent. This greediness resulted in their ruin. Paris sent out upon the road one of his principal men who 416 was instructed, when captured, to pass himself off as belonging to an adjoining village, three leagues distant, and to say that it was well stocked with gold. He was on his way to the river to fish, but would show them his town. The strategy succeeded. Badajoz sent a portion of the men under his guidance to bring in the treasure. Meanwhile Paris had raised an army of four thousand warriors, and the invaders being now divided, as had been designed, he fiercely attacked and almost exterminated one part before the other could join it. The Spaniards fought until 417 seventy of their number were slain, whereupon they abandoned the treasure, cut their way through the savages, and fled to the territory of Chame.[XI-6] Thence they crossed to an island occupied by Tabor, and afterward to Taboga Island, where they remained for thirty days recruiting their strength for the desperate attempt to reach Darien. This they finally accomplished, but Perez de la Rua lost his life immediately on returning to the mainland. Since they failed to bring home the gold of which their stories were full, we may each of us believe them according to our faith.

The year 1515 was now drawing toward its close. It had been clouded with more than one disaster, and Pedrarias was anything but pleased. Himself a fighting man as well as civil officer, he determined to show his young captains what an old man could do in the field; for whatever his general character, and it was detestable enough, Pedrarias was not a coward. His first blow was to be directed against the Cenú people, toward whom he had not felt kindly since the slaughter of the two companies under Vallejo and Becerra. What right had these savages to kill Spaniards? And yet were his purpose known of entering within range of those poisoned arrows he would have few followers to the wars. An expedition of three hundred men was therefore organized ostensibly against Pocorosa, and with this he coasted westward until after night-fall, when he ordered the pilots to turn back and make for Cenú, whose tristful shore the next morning saw them close approaching. Anchoring, Hurtado was sent with two hundred men to fire the village and do what killing was convenient. He managed to cut in pieces a few women and children as they escaped the flames, and secure some captives for slaves, but the poisoned arrows soon terminated 418 the sport, and the expedition turned again toward the province of Pocorosa.

The purpose of the governor was to found at least two posts of the line ordained by the king, but which his captains had failed to establish. Pedrarias resolved that the termini of the intended line on either ocean should be at once selected and town-building begun. Coasting westward in search of a site he came to a pleasant port, northward of Careta, beyond which extended a dry and fertile plain with timber suitable for ship-building, and from which led a now well-known route across the Isthmus. The natives called the place Acla,[XI-7] that is to say, 'Bones of Men.' There the governor began to build a wooden fort with such enthusiasm as not only to direct the laborers, but to assist them with his hands, until excess of zeal brought on a fever which rendered it necessary for him to be carried bedridden to Antigua. Gabriel de Rojas was left in command of the unfinished enterprise, and Gaspar de Espinosa with a stout force was permitted to try the fortunes of war on that permanent object of the spoiler, Pocorosa.

It seems that the youthful magistrate on finding his official duties spiritless without the mellow growl and inane wit of pettifogger or pundit, had laid aside the long-robe and buckled on the sword, this being in his opinion the more significant emblem in the arbitration 419 of Indian affairs. And as the highest wisdom is that which adapts learning to the duties of the day, the licentiate would not be bound by the mechanical restrictions which governed the illiterate cavaliers in their encounters with the natives. There are some whom travel improves but little, though like Haddad Ben Ahab, they should climb to the top of the world's wall and look down the other side. Our juvenile judge was not one of these. Bonum est fugienda adspicere in alieno malo, was his motto. It is good to note in the misfortunes of others what we should avoid, for so Publius Syrus has said. He would go to the wars as a warrior, not plodding his way wearily over mountain and through morass, like a common foot-soldier, but he would enter the domain of the enemy mounted, and in a manner becoming a general and a judge. Athena went to war mounted on a lion, Alexander on a horse, Espinosa on—an ass. History gives the licentiate this honor, and as an honest man I cannot deny it him; he was the first to cross the Isthmus on an ass. Some horses had of late been brought to Antigua, which were employed to a very limited extent in the wars of Tierra Firme and also on the present occasion; but the alcalde mayor preferred to bestride an ass; it was a more judicial beast, not say surer-footed or more safe. Moreover, it was staid, and not liable to rush recklessly into battle. There was another advance. Several pieces of artillery were dragged across the Isthmus in this expedition.

When the savages first beheld the conquering hero borne triumphantly through crowds of admiring spectators, they fell back dumbfounded. They knew the force of Spanish steel; bloodhounds they knew, and arquebuses vomiting fire and hurling thunderbolts. But what was this? Its eyes were not fiery, nor its nostrils distended, nor its teeth flesh-tearing. Its countenance betokened mildness, and mind-absence, such as attend benevolent contemplation; there was in it 420 nothing of that refined lust or voracious piety which characterized the faces of the Spaniards. And surely Apollo was in error when he gave Midas such ears because he could not appreciate music. For listen to its notes. Ah, that voice! When Sir Balaam lifted up his voice the savages fled in terror. Tremblingly they returned and enquired for what the creature was asking. The Spaniards replied that he was asking for gold; and during the campaign his musical beast brought the licentiate more gold than did ever Leoncico earn for Vasco Nuñez. And throughout that region the learned licentiate became known to the natives by the noble animal that he bestrode, so much so that those who entered the Spaniard's camp to see the general used to announce their object by braying like an ass, an appeal to which the chief officer ever obligingly responded.

As alcalde mayor it was the duty of Espinosa at all times and in all places to administer the law. For so God and the king had commanded; so he had sworn to do. Now it was often somewhat inconvenient to rob and murder at pleasure, even under the liberal provisions of the king's Requirement, according to the governor's ideas of business. Therefore it was deemed wise and prudent to issue an edict from the imperial city of Antigua declaring all Americans in arms against the Europeans to be outlaws, doomed to slavery, mutilation, or death. Those who had taken part in the destruction of Santa Cruz should be burned; and it was quite remarkable in so young a jurist how quickly he determined, no matter how distant the evidence, whenever the destruction of a people, while promoting the sovereignty of law, would at the same time yield profit to the lawgiver.

The judge had not proceeded far upon his new circuit before he met Badajoz, who was returning dejectedly to Antigua, suffering from the effects of excessive cupidity. Informed of the immense treasure 421 Badajoz had failed to bring back, Espinosa wrote Pedrarias for more men that he might go and gather it. Badajoz claimed the command as a right; but Pedrarias said, "Not so; Espinosa is alcalde mayor; furthermore, Captain Badajoz brings back neither slaves nor gold wherewith to purchase favor." With this the licentiate received one hundred and thirty additional men under Gerónimo Valenzuela. So great was becoming the abhorrence of the colonists for these hazardous and unholy adventures that this captain, in conformity to his instructions, scuttled his ship on reaching Acla, in order to deprive the men of the means for returning to Antigua.

Cæsar's Commentaries on the Gallic wars are not more minute in detail than the narration[XI-8] of incidents during this expedition as given by Espinosa to the governor. The licentiate was exceedingly careful in every instance, first of all to propitiate the law by observing its smallest letter, such as reading and expounding the king's Requirement, and never to rob or kill the natives except in the name of the king of Spain, and the rights of man. His judicial conscience thus quieted, he went to work with a will.

The provinces of Pocorosa and Comagre were at this time almost depopulated, and the licentiate could with difficulty obtain food for the men or exercise for his arms. On the approach of the Spaniards, the poor remnants of these once happy nations fled affrighted to their hiding-places. This the learned licentiate ruled ipso jure a declaration of hostilities; 422 in a word, if the law could not be twisted to fit the occasion, the chief guardian of the law, himself turned law-breaker and spoiler, was as ready to throw overboard the law as was the most lawless cavalier. Whole nations, I say, were declared outlaws by the honorable chief judge, because they would not come forward and embrace slavery of their own free will. If any fugitives were particularly hard to catch, that was proof of participation in the Santa Cruz affair, and they were burned according to law.

The caprice of the law, however, does not exhibit the pretensions of civilization and Christianity in these parts in their grossest absurdity. In the outrageous raids under Pedrarias, the most revolting crimes were committed in the name of religion. The itching palm of Quevedo, the bishop, has been more than once referred to; and now we see his dean actually enter the field of inhumanity in person against the unhappy natives. The licentiate writes: "We proceeded on our way about one league and a half to Poquina's land, where the Indians set fire to their huts and ran away. I sent the dean with one squad, and Ojeda with another, and they brought back some Indians, the number whereof will appear in the distribution. I gave Chiarna some of these Indians, and that overpaid him for the provisions he had furnished us." Unfortunately this is not the only instance we are doomed to encounter in this history, of a priest disgracing the faith by placing himself beside bloodhounds and bloody-minded men, and joining a hunt, in Christ's name, to bring innocent men and women and children to slavery and death.

After sending to Santa Cruz in the hope of finding provisions from Antigua, "we went to the province of Tamame," continues Espinosa, "whence I sent all the captains to explore the Rio Grande,[XI-9] on both banks, as I had been informed that Pocorosa's people were there hiding. Some Indians were caught, as 423 will appear in the distribution, five of whom were burnt to ashes, on confessing their participation in the murders of Santa Cruz." Indeed, "I used to send men after the Indians, and justice was done upon all those who had participated in the Santa Cruz outrage, either by hanging or burning, and two were shot off from the cannon's mouth the more to frighten them."

Crossing the Cordillera by way of Tubanamá and Chepo to Panamá, where he hoped to obtain food, but found only some huts and one woman, Espinosa passed on to Chirú, sending out his captains in every direction for plunder. At Chame the Spaniards found only four Indians; and as the chief had furnished corn to Badajoz, they did not molest him. The cacique of Chirú was captured with his women and gold, by Hurtado, but appearing peaceable he was liberated, and made the custodian of some slaves, and ornaments for the mass, for a church was to be organized on the shores of Pacific. Chirú sent Espinosa iguanas to eat, and chicha, fish, deer, and salt, and was given some hammocks in return.

After this the Spaniards charged on Natá one night, securing one hundred captives, and gold to the value of fifteen hundred castellanos. The cacique escaped, and rallying his warriors prepared to attack the Spaniards; but when the natives saw the horses they fled in terror, fearing that they would be torn in pieces by them. As it was, the horsemen pursued the fugitives and hewed them down in great numbers. Espinosa marvelled at the multitudes of people he here encountered, and at the number of their villages. He found also an abundance of maize, fish, and deer, and there were geese and turkeys. Four months' supply of corn was at once secured for the army; and for better protection during the sojourn palisades were erected.

One morning while the licentiate was reposing in his lodge, Natá with one attendant rushed unceremoniously into his presence, desperation depicted in 424 their countenances, and with empty quivers in their hands. "You are too strong for me," cried the chief. "You have taken my warriors, my wives, my children; do with me as you please." Espinosa received him kindly, returned him his wives and children, and told him to bring his people from their hiding-places and fear nothing. The gold which had been taken from Badajoz was then demanded of him, but Natá denied having any of it, saying that Paris had kept it all. Being well established here the Spaniards proceeded against the neighboring provinces. The people fled, but were compelled by hunger to return. Among the captives taken some were employed in planting, and if any became unruly they were hanged. Others assisted in building a little chapel, for the zealous dean had now sheathed his bloody sword to preach through an interpreter the glad tidings of good-will to man, and many were baptized.

Meanwhile a deputation composed of the natives of Natá was sent to the cacique Paris, demanding his allegiance to the king of Spain, and the restoration of the gold taken from Badajoz. Paris replied by hanging all the ambassadors, save two, by whom he sent back word that every Christian caught within his territories would be treated in like manner. The licentiate prepared immediately to march against the redoubtable chieftain.

On the 29th of July, 1516, every member of the army was confessed by the priest. Vows were made to Our Lady of Antigua, "and in the name of God," says the licentiate, "we began our journey." Hurtado had been sent with fifty men to Escoria, and the ruler of that province together with Chirú and Natá was forced to accompany the expedition against Paris.[XI-10] 425 The inhabitants melted before the invaders, and it was with difficulty that men could be captured for guides. The Spaniards had not advanced far before they learned that a council had been held by the chiefs confederated for self-protection, to determine whether the gold taken from Badajoz should be returned. Some were in favor of restoring it; but others objected that, this being given up, as much more would be demanded, and since fight they must in either case, it was agreed to do so before surrendering the treasure. It so happened that Diego Albites with eighty men was marching in advance, and coming to a rivulet he espied some Indians hidden under the bank and undertook to capture them. Instantly the country was alive with savages; Albites found himself surrounded by four thousand of the enemy, wholly cut off from the main body. The Spaniards fought desperately for six hours, and would have been destroyed had not Espinosa appeared and let loose upon the assailants the bloodhounds and the horsemen. Twenty caciques and a host of warriors were slain, and many of the Spaniards were badly wounded. "That night we slept upon the battle-field," says Espinosa, "and next day I threw up a protection of palisades and sent out in search of the cacique Paris." The cunning chief had burned his village and fled, thus leaving the invaders neither gold nor provisions. Albites went out to forage, with instructions to fire a cannon in case of danger. Nine times that night the licentiate heard the report of a gun, and was not a little alarmed for the safety of the captain. Great was his joy, therefore, when early in the morning Valenzuela appeared with reinforcement of one hundred men from Antigua and informed the licentiate that it was he who had fired the guns while in search of the commander's camp.

Espinosa having now three hundred men felt himself strong enough to prosecute discovery according 426 to the full tenor of his instructions, which were to explore the coast westward as far as practicable. As a first step he sent a detachment of eighty men under Valenzuela into the province of Guararí, near the seashore, in search of trees for canoes. Meanwhile the treasure lost by Badajoz must if possible be found before abandoning these parts. Companies were sent out in various directions under Albites, Hurtado, and Pedro de Gamez, between whom arose no small rivalry for securing the honor of the capture. Their purpose was to seize the caciques and wring from them the secret by torture. At length Gamez came upon the scent, and followed it into the province of Quema. He was even so fortunate as to capture the chief, but for want of an interpreter nothing definite could be learned. He nevertheless reported favorably to Espinosa, who ordered Albites and Hurtado to go to his assistance. Under the gentle persuasion of the rack Quema disclosed the place where part of the gold, some thirty thousand castellanos, was hidden, but denied any knowledge of the remainder. With this gold and other plunder, the three captains rejoined their commander, who had passed on to Guararí.

Two canoes being completed, each capable of carrying seventy men, and three smaller ones having been brought by Pablo Mejía from Chirú, they were placed in charge of Bartolomé Hurtado, who with eighty or ninety men coasted south and westward, while Espinosa with the remainder of the company followed by land. The rain fell in torrents, and the worthy licentiate was soon tired of wading through the thick mud; and so, after four days' march to a small port called Huera,[XI-11] in the province of Vera, a council was held which arranged that Hurtado should continue the survey with one hundred men, in boats, while the land party should return to Quema and search for the remainder of the Badajoz treasure.

View larger image

The first province at which Hurtado landed was 427 called Guanata, whence the inhabitants had fled, and where by reason of continuous rains the Spaniards rested seven days. Securing guides they then passed on to an island, called by the natives Caubaco, or Cebaco,[XI-12] three days distant. Hurtado was acquiring experience, and found it better to treat these wild people gently. This policy succeeded, and, although his landing was at first opposed, he and the islanders soon became the best of friends. Their ruler was absent on the mainland, fighting; and when he returned his subjects introduced the strangers with such warmth that he at once extended his good-will, giving Hurtado a golden armor valued at one thousand castellanos. Indeed, he proved most affable and accommodating, willing to acknowledge the king of Spain, accept Christianity, or anything they desired; so much so that the Spaniards called him Cacique Amigo. An expedition was organized against the inhabitants of a neighboring island, named by the Spaniards Isla de Varones, in which they were joined by Pequeari, brother of Cebaco, with nine canoes. These islanders were found entrenched in a log fortress, surrounded by a ditch, and so difficult to carry that the assailants were repeatedly thrown back 428 and must have failed but for their artillery. Seven leagues to the westward was an island called Cabo,[XI-13] where the Spaniards found a little gold. Thence they kept along the mainland, but the inhabitants were so fierce they dared not land. Some boatmen told them, however, that through the lands of the adjoining provinces, Torra and Tabraba, the distance to the North Sea was but three days' journey. And here they met with rumors of a rich and powerful nation to the westward, with double faces and rounded feet—an allusion probably to the table-land civilization. There are people with the former characteristic even to-day, and among our superior European culture.

Hurtado explored the coast as far as the gulf of Nicoya,[XI-14] about one hundred and forty leagues from Natá. In the vicinity of the Golfo Dulce,[XI-15] the people were called Chiuchires. The beauty and fruitfulness of the country proved a constant temptation to the Spaniards to land and dispute possession with the owners, who appeared along the shore with drum and trumpet to frighten the visitation. But such was not Hurtado's purpose, nor his ability; from Nicoya he returned to join Espinosa.

After due deliberation it was determined at Antigua that the fishing station of Panamá[XI-16] should be 429 the site of the chief city, the terminal post of the transcontinental line on the shore of the South Sea. And after the return of Hurtado, which was early in 1517, Espinosa proceeded, under present instructions from Pedrarias, to place an establishment there. Its first commander was Hernan Ponce, who had just returned with Hurtado from the Nicoya expedition.[XI-17]

During the absence of Hurtado, Espinosa had proceeded to Quema in his search for Paris, and the gold that Badajoz had lost, but he was soon obliged to leave that province on account of the scarcity of provisions. Two days' journey inland brought the Spaniards to a village governed by a cacique called Chiracona, who was accused of having been instrumental in the defeat of Badajoz, and who now held in his possession two of the baskets of gold. Into this province, famous for the bravery of its men and the beauty of its women, and also as being haunted by tuyraes, or devils, Diego de Albites was sent forward with sixty men, the remainder of the company following at a slower march while feeding on reed roots. "By God's will," says the pious licentiate, "the cacique was captured with his women and children." Chiracona at first denied the impeachment, but when tortured he promised to produce the gold.

The poor fellow really knew nothing of the treasure, but he saw that it was necessary for him to confess something if he would live. And under the pressure his wits quickened. According to tradition the rendezvous of devils was a mountain fastness, ten leagues distant, into which Tartarean retreat no man 430 had ever ventured. "If," thought the sadly battered Chiracona, "these infernal Christians can be enticed thither, there will be a happy end of them." But when he told them of the beauty and fertility of the place, and of the vast stores of wealth the ages had garnered there, a woman of Escoria, whom the chaste licentiate regarded with tender favor, besought her master not to enter that dangerous recess, for she had heard say that Chiracona sought only the destruction of the Spaniards, confident that the earth would open to swallow them. But the licentiate replied, "Have no misgivings, amiga mia; Christians fear not devils; devils fear Christians, and fly before them." And so Pedro de Gamez was sent with seventy men to the abode of the devils. The night following there was a terrible earthquake: both heathen and Christian believed his hour had come; and as Chiracona rode in his house the oscillating earth, as in a canoe he rode the billowy ocean, he smiled to think how well his plan was working.

Next day Gamez returned without the gold; whereat both white men and red were disappointed, the former because the treasure was not forthcoming, the latter because the Spanish had returned unharmed, since this would beside require Chiracona to invent some new pastime for their greedy avarice. The Spaniards remained at this place two months, living on supplies forced from Chiracona, and urging upon him Christianity, allegiance to Spain, and the delivery of the gold. Finding him obdurate on all these points, they gave him to the dogs and went their way. Paris being heard of at Quema, Diego de Albites was sent thither, but was unsuccessful in the primary object of his mission. The 2d of January, 1517, all passed into Escoria, whence Albites was despatched on a three days' journey to the northward to capture a cacique named Tabraba. He was successful, and secured gold to the value of four thousand castellanos.

Espinosa now made ready for returning to the 431 North Sea. It filled him with indignation to witness the ingratitude of the few caciques whose lives he had spared. Natá apostatized, burned the Spaniards' palisades, destroyed their growing grain, and joined a hostile confederacy. The people of Chirú and elsewhere retired, thus adding insult to the failure to supply articles for plunder. While passing through Tubanamá, Espinosa overthrew a chief named Chamna, who had been hostile to Vasco Nuñez. In Comagre he found Serrano, sent again to scourge that almost desolate province. Half famished the Spaniards arrived at Acla, and were overjoyed to find Vasco Nuñez, who gave them food and provided them a vessel in which to return to Antigua.

The alcalde mayor's were the mightiest stealings of them all. Herrera estimates the returns of gold at eighty thousand pesos, and two thousand captives for slaves. After giving the king his fifth, and the governor and officials each a liberal share, there was enough distributed among the soldiers to make each esteem himself rich. Then followed days and nights of glorious debauch, in which, beside women and wine, gambling was conspicuous. A second distribution of capital was speedily effected under the auspices of the goddess unfathomable. It was paltry to bet less than a peso on any game, while a slave was a common wager. The governor, his council, and the soldiers took jovial parts in the exercise, and it is said that Pedrarias at one sitting played away a hundred slaves. It was of great avail, indeed, with such servants and subjects, for the king to forbid playing-cards to be sent to the New World, and for the Council of the Indies to restrict a twenty-four hours' loss at play to ten castellanos. 432

CHAPTER XII.
THE FATE OF VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA.
1516-1517.

Affairs at Antigua—Different Qualities of Pacification—Complaints of Vasco Nuñez to the King—A New Expedition Planned—Vasco Nuñez Made Adelantado and Captain-General of the South Sea—Pedrarias Keeps Secret the Appointment—Reconciliation of Balboa and Pedrarias—Betrothal of Doña María—Vasco Nuñez Goes to Acla—Massacre of Olano—The Municipality of Acla Established—Materials for Ships Carried across the Mountains—Difficulties, Perils, and Mortality—Balboa at the Pearl Islands—Prediction of Micer Codro, the Astrologer—Rumored Arrival of a New Governor at Antigua—Meditated Evasion of New Authority—The Infamy of Garabito—Vasco Nuñez Summoned by Pedrarias to Acla—His Journey thither—Trial and Execution.

During Espinosa's absence in the south, affairs at Antigua were exceptionally dull. The illness of the governor, unfortunately, was not fatal. Business had approached its end, for the fighting men were away, and the thrifty arts offered few attractions to piratical adventurers. So low was the colony at one time reduced that the Casa de la Fundicion, or melting-house, was closed and public fasts were appointed—a homœopathic policy, in truth, for a starving community. But for the feud between Pedrarias and Vasco Nuñez, which in that infamous environment was easily kept alive, little would have occurred worthy of record.

It should be no fault of the governor if the cavalier was not ruined. His choicest schemes were marred by incompetent and evil-minded men. He was vilified 433 at court, and in the colony every indignity possible was laid upon him. The observant reader must already have drawn a contrast in the respective quality of enterprise pursued by these men. Whatever may have been the immediate results, whatever the wrongs and cruelties inflicted by either, in the one case there was the lofty aim of discovery and peaceful occupation; in the other, no higher object than plunder was apparent. Balboa had not time for much gold-gathering; the captains of Pedrarias had time for nothing else.

Excepting the raid of the alcalde mayor, the expeditions planned by Pedrarias were not remarkable for their success. Nor did Balboa scruple to rail at the old governor in consequence. "All the enterprises of Pedrarias met with such ill success," says Benzoni, "that Balboa laughed at him and mocked him, whereat the governor became irate, and serious contentions resulted."

Balboa was now in the prime of manhood, approaching forty, and had during the past few years developed from a careless rambler into a thoughtful ruler, with a New World fame second only to its first discoverer. "Behold," says Peter Martyr, "this rash royster turned into a politic captain, a violent Goliah transformed to Heliseus, and from Anteus to Hercules the conqueror of monsters." And of all monsters he might encounter by sea or land, old man Pedrarias was the most monstrous. It was exasperating beyond endurance to an ardent and chivalrous nature like Balboa's, thus to have his glories reaped and his energies placed in circumscription by a superlatively selfish person of far inferior natural abilities, made by mistake his political superior. And he never ceased to strike back with all the force at his command. By every departure he appealed to the royal authorities in Spain, laying before them vivid accounts of outrages on the natives, perversion of the laws, and 434 gross mismanagement of the colony. "Most powerful sovereign," he wrote the king, "I, a true and law-abiding servant, sensible of the many obligations I am under to do loyal service for benefits bestowed—and may your Majesty live long to grant me more—humbly desire to undeceive your Majesty regarding the governor, Pedrarias Dávila, that your Majesty may order such provisions as may be deemed best." He urged Oviedo, when about to depart for Spain, to place before the Council of the Indies the true condition of things. And again he writes, "I beseech your Majesty not to regard me as a calumniator, or as stating aught in malice, but that you will order an investigation, that you may know all I have said is true." He still entertained hopes that the report of Arbolancha, accompanied by the presents, would be graciously received, and that his successes would atone for past irregularities.

While awaiting the results of these endeavors, he determined to make an expedition to the South Sea, without permission or aid from Pedrarias, and to extend his discoveries there in either direction. In pursuance of this purpose, and with the coöperation of the small remnant of those who had sworn fealty on the heights of Quarequá, he secretly despatched to Cuba for men and arms, a small vessel in charge of Andrés Garabito. Having thus set in motion the wheels of his fate, he awaited developments.

We have seen how King Ferdinand received Arbolancha, how the royal heart was touched by the discoveries and pearls of the generous cavalier. And we must confess the monarch's dilemma. The establishing of Pedrarias' government had cost him much money, and the very qualities which achieved desperate adventure tended to loosen the bonds of allegiance. But Vasco Nuñez had manifested no disposition to throw off royal authority; furthermore, it 435 had become a principle of colonial economics, that the services of successful commanders should be paid for out of their future gains. How then could any sovereign expect the extension of his dominions, if successful adventure was defrauded of its right? It was therefore determined that the reward of Vasco Nuñez should be the title of adelantado of the Southern Sea, and captain-general of the provinces of Coiba and Panamá, but subject to the supervision of Pedrarias as superior officer.

The royal despatches conferring this appointment reached Antigua early in 1515, prior to the departure of Espinosa. Pedrarias, of course, was at the same time informed of the fact. His mortification was only exceeded by his dastardly resolve. Take from Castilla del Oro its southern seaboard and the government was not worth the having, even though the jurisdiction of Antigua did extend nominally over the whole. The north coast was already stripped, and the climate was such as no European could long endure; while in the south wealth and dominion awaited romantic adventure. All despatches arriving at Antigua had to pass through the governor's hands. Those for Vasco Nuñez on this occasion were withheld.

Pedrarias well knew that some excuse would be necessary for his conduct; and he began to look about for one. It was unlawful in the provinces for any governor or captain-general to exercise the functions of office while undergoing his residencia. New charges against the former governor of the colony must therefore be invented, and litigious persecution renewed. By collusion with the judge this investigation, as the law then required, could be continued indefinitely. Still better, the alcalde mayor, who was the person most proper in this instance to take the residencia, might be allured from his friendship for the discoverer by the offer of a military command after proceedings had been instituted, for it was well 436 known that the licentiate's vanity was not less than his cupidity.

Believing himself prepared, the governor summoned his council, revealed the secret, and urged that the commission should be withheld. All agreed save Bishop Quevedo, who had real friendship for Vasco Nuñez, and who saw more honor for Spain and for the Church in the elevation of the free-handed cavalier, than in the military raid of the alcalde mayor. And so seeing, he grew zealously virtuous, and began to storm about it. Outnumbered in the council, he mounted his pulpit and hurled invectives at his opponents. "Can it be," he cried, "that the execrable passions of envious and designing men may thus subvert the royal design, and withhold the just reward of eminent service?" Furthermore, he threatened to spread the bare facts before the authorities in Spain.

Pedrarias quailed. He had not anticipated the violent opposition of the prelate, and he feared the rising strength of his adversary, now that the royal favor and a royal commission were known to have been granted him. Vasco Nuñez might have his office, but the old man swore it should be the death of him. For he would lay around him such snares and pitfalls as would surely prove his destruction in the end. Pedrarias would be the power; and play upon this braggart as he would upon a pipe for devils to dance by.

The public acknowledgment of dignities, attended by the congratulations of friends and the discussion of southern projects in which alone interest now centred, raised in popularity and importance the new governor, to the overshadowing of the old one. But once more the destiny of Vasco Nuñez is to turn on the bad advice of a friend. Thrown upon himself, his own sound judgment had ever been sufficient, but the counsels of piety or erudition were as quicksand under 437 his feet. Quevedo induced him, for the sake of peace and in order to enter without delay upon his South Sea schemes, to waive in favor of Pedrarias some portion of the rights the king had granted him. Espinosa and others were accordingly permitted to overrun the southern provinces at pleasure. This was a mistake.

Thus reconciled, in appearance at least, Pedrarias himself would fain have had rest, if it had been permitted by his evil nature, which still demanded its daily bitter pabulum.

Scarcely were these pacific fictions consummated when the vessel of Andrés Garabito returned from Cuba with men and supplies for the projected expedition of Vasco Nuñez. Arriving off the coast of Darien Garabito despatched a messenger to Balboa, informing him of his return, and asking orders. It soon reached the ears of Pedrarias that a suspicious-looking craft, armed and equipped as if on some illicit mission, lay hidden in a small bay some six leagues distant. He was furthermore informed that the captain of this vessel was in secret communication with Vasco Nuñez, and that preparations were being made for some mysterious undertaking. Pedrarias became both frightened and furious. He called to mind the fate of Nicuesa. Alarm for his own safety was mingled with ire and envious regrets for ever having yielded even in appearance to any recognition of this upstart's titles and honors. He ordered the instant arrest of Balboa, and even threatened to confine him for safe keeping in the large wooden cage stationed in the middle of the plaza.

The fears of Pedrarias were calmed, however, by the cooler heads; the nature and purpose of the intended expedition were explained; no lurking treason was discovered, no plot against the peace of Antigua or sinister designs upon the person of its governor were found; and having bound himself to new and more stringent restrictions, Vasco Nuñez was 438 set at liberty, and the precarious friendship ostensibly renewed.[XII-1]

About this time the bishop of Darien was seized with a luminous idea. Through his pertinacious devotedness the worthy prelate had twice rescued his friend from a life of independence and honor, and had twice consigned him to the mercies of an insidious enemy. He had prevented Pedrarias from sending him in chains to Spain, which would have sounded his renown and enlisted for him sympathy throughout Christendom; he had persuaded him to relinquish his rights to such an extent as to place his fortune at the disposal of an inveterate foe. I do not say Quevedo was an Ahithophel; yet the machinations of all his enemies could not bring upon Vasco Nuñez the evils consummated by this one friend. Nevertheless, the present conception happily brought forth, and malice and suspicion will forever give place to confiding affection.

Four blooming daughters Pedrarias had left in Spain. The health of the governor seemed to be yielding before the combined influence of temper and climate. Who could be a more fitting successor in the government, and who a more suitable son-in-law? Let Balboa take to wife Doña María, eldest daughter of Pedrarias, and so bind the North Sea to the South 439 by cords of love. Such was the plan of the prelate. Vasco Nuñez, nothing loath, assented, for the daughter was as amiable as the father was malicious. Doña Isabel was not the mother to look coldly on so gallant a proposal; as for the daughter, then dreaming her maiden days away in a convent at Seville, her own consent to the betrothal was a question which gave parents little concern in those days; the chief difficulty was the splenetic father. Approaching the governor, not without misgivings, Quevedo said: "Time passes, Señor Pedrarias, and with time, all flesh. Those who shall take our places follow close at our heels. A powerful rival converted into a firm ally is double compensation, and the father of four daughters has not the opportunity every day to refuse a governor for a son-in-law. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a man of no mean parts, well-born and famous, asks your daughter in marriage. Grant him his desire, and so heal discord and fortify your declining years."

Notwithstanding the obvious advantages, Pedrarias hesitated. It was no easy matter at once to purify the poisoned stream of thought. But the offer was too tempting to be declined, although Pedrarias would have much preferred for his adviser a Thrasybulus, who counselled Periander to cut off the tallest heads if he would maintain his power. The old man, still hugging his suspicions, signed the marriage contract, and ordered fair Doña María to appear and accept marital honors. But even the gift of the daughter was like the gifts of Medea—envenomed.

Now surely might Vasco Nuñez walk the firm earth, his fortune ascendant. Adelantado, captain-general of the Southern Sea, son-in-law of Pedrarias, and in favor with the royal authorities, though Ferdinand, poor king, was dead. The clouds which had so long obscured Balboa's rising fame were by this masterly invocation of the bishop forever dissipated. There was no longer any fear from the unclean ghosts of 440 entombed mistakes, while his good deeds would shine with steadier and ever-increasing lustre. He might now prosecute adventure to the uttermost of his ambition, while his friend and counsellor, the bishop, carried the happy tidings of reconciliation to court.[XII-2]

The year 1516 was advancing toward its middle term. Vasco Nuñez craved permission from his father-in-law—for betrothal was equivalent to marriage so far as the political aspect of the case was concerned—to proceed to Acla and continue the business there begun, which was indeed none other than part of his original scheme. Pedrarias assented, placing every requisite at the command of his dear son. The South Sea expeditions had drained the 441 colony of most of its available men, yet so esteemed was Vasco Nuñez that all who were at Antigua eagerly flocked to his standard. Fernando de Argüello, a notary, formerly the opponent of Nicuesa, but always a partisan of Vasco Nuñez, having accumulated wealth placed it at the disposal of his friend, and soon after Balboa embarked with eighty men.

Arrived at Acla he found the post destroyed and the comandante Olano, the successor of Gabriel de Rojas, together with twelve soldiers, had been massacred by the men of Careta, in retaliation for the act of Hurtado which consigned one hundred of their number to slavery. For this outrage the people of the province were declared outlaws. Balboa immediately organized a municipality, appointed an alcalde and a regidor, laid out a new town, and began to build. Each citizen, either in person or by slaves, was required to plant sufficient for his sustenance. Requiring more men, Balboa accompanied Espinosa to Antigua, early in 1517, and returned with two hundred recruits. The restoration of Acla was intended only as preliminary to further South Sea discoveries; but this accomplished, an obstacle interposed itself, at first glance insurmountable. In order to navigate the new ocean ships were necessary. The short voyages hitherto undertaken in native canoes had been perilous in the extreme. Herein lay the difficulty. The cordillera here rises abruptly from the northern side of the Isthmus, undulating gently on the opposite side toward the Southern Sea. On the northern slope grew trees suitable for ship-building; on the southern side vegetation was more diminutive. But of what avail were trees on the border of one ocean, for the purposes of navigation on the other?

The true standard of greatness is in the application of means to ends. The magnitude of the means has no more to do with it than the results, which may or may not prove successful. With a few hundred Spaniards, and such savages as could be whipped 442 into the service, Vasco Nuñez dared conceive and execute the project of building ships on one side of a chain of mountains for use on the other side; to navigate his vessels in pieces or sections, on the backs of Indians, over hills and swamps, and that under a sun so hot, in an atmosphere so poisoned, and through vegetation so rank and tangled as successfully to have defied the efforts of science for centuries thereafter. "No living man in all the Indies," testifies the moderate Herrera, "dared attempt such an enterprise, or would have succeeded in it, save Vasco Nuñez de Balboa."

The plan of Vasco Nuñez was to prepare his timber as near as possible to some navigable point on one of the many streams flowing into the South Sea, which are generally torrents on the mountain-side, but which become broad and calm before reaching the ocean. The stream chosen for the purpose was called the Rio de las Balsas,[XII-3] or River of the Rafts. Carpenters and builders are sent out in search of trees suitable for the purpose, and the preparation of the timber is begun. With fifty men Francisco Compañon 443 passes over the cordillera and selects a place upon the river, twenty-two leagues from Acla, from which to launch the ships. Likewise on the summit of the sierra, twelve leagues from Acla, he builds a fort, to serve as a half-way house for rest and protection, beside stations established at other points. All is bustle and activity at Acla and in the neighboring forests; some are felling trees, some measuring and hewing timber; some preparing anchors, rigging, and stores. "In all labors," says Las Casas, "Vasco Nuñez took the foremost part, working with his own hands and giving aid and encouragement everywhere."

Materials for four brigantines being at length prepared, the herculean task of transportation across the mountains is next to be performed. Thirty negroes have been secured from Antigua, but these are not a tenth part of the force required. Squads of soldiers are therefore sent out in every direction, and natives are driven in to the number of several thousand. Upon their naked backs the heavy timbers are laid, and goaded forward by merciless overseers, among whom is the black African as well as the white European, they are forced through the marshy thicket and up the rocky steep until they sink exhausted beneath their burden. Unused to labor, ill-fed, made desperate by their distress, some attempt escape, but the bloodhound is quickly on their track; some kill themselves, but more sink lifeless under their heavy loads. All along those terrible leagues the newly cut path is strewed with dead savages, and soon the air is rank from putrid carcasses. "More than five hundred Indians perished in the transportation of these ships," affirmed Bishop Quevedo before the court of Spain, and Las Casas says the deaths were nearer two thousand in number.[XII-4] To take the places 444 of the dead, recruits are caught in the forest; the work goes bravely on, and the stupendous feat is finally accomplished. The wild bank of the Balsas was strewed with materials for this new sea navigation. But on putting the pieces together it is found that after all the toil there is timber enough for only two vessels instead of four; the rest has been lost by the way. And this is not the worst of it. That which has been brought over at such cruel cost, cut near the coast and hewed green as it was, is so full of worms that it cannot be used. All must be thrown away and the work begun anew.[XII-5]

Timber is sought nearer at hand this time, and with fair success. Vasco Nuñez now divides his force into three parties, and sends one to hew timber, one to bring supplies from Acla, and a third to forage on the natives. Again they are ready with new materials to begin construction, when the heavens suddenly darken and drop such a deluge on them that they are obliged to take refuge in trees. Part of the timber is swept away, and part buried in mud. To add to their misfortunes, foraging fails; hunger pinches; and "when Vasco Nuñez himself was forced to feed on roots," says Las Casas, always with an eye to his protégés, "it may well be imagined to what extremity six hundred Indian captives were reduced."

It now looks very dark to Vasco Nuñez, and he begins to consider if it were not better to move on, one way or the other, than to die there. But these misgivings are only for a moment. No, it is not better. Throwing a bridge of floating withe-tied logs across the river he sends over Compañon with a 445 strong company, and tells him never to return except with food. Hurtado he despatches to Antigua for more men, and goes himself to Acla for necessary effects. In all which he is successful; and he is successful finally in floating two brigantines upon the Balsas. There is no such thing as failure this side of death.

What a bright vision it is that greets him as he drops down into the sea, his own sea that he had found and well-nigh lost again! Heaven is indeed beautiful if it be anything fairer. Silver and gold and pearl are the sunshine, land, and sky; while the sea, the murmuring, gladdening, majestic sea; it would inspire a brute with nobility, one sight of it!

Dreams and realities! Wild as had been the dreams of these ignorant and voracious men, dreams with their Indies and Araby isles, they fell far short of reality. How could they dream of a Montezuma empire waiting expectantly to welcome the destroyer, or of an Inca faction so evenly balanced that so light a hell-flake as a Pizarro might turn it?

Selecting Isla Rica, the largest of the Pearl Islands, as a rendezvous and place of settlement, Balboa discharged his vessels there and sent them back to bring from the Balsas the remainder of the company, together with materials for two more ships, which were in due time completed, making four in all. More supplies were brought from Acla, and journeys between the two seas were from this time frequent. Meanwhile, after pacifying the Pearl Islands, he embarked with one hundred men for a cruise eastward. After sailing twenty leagues a shoal of whales so frightened the sailors that they anchored for the night near the shore, and embraced the opportunity to kill a village of Indians for having put to death Bernardo Morales and his men in a former expedition. The wind being contrary the fleet next morning returned to the Pearl Islands.

Thus haply launched upon the tide of glorious adventure, 446 with full freedom in the south, and in harmony with superior powers, what could fortune offer more satisfactory or secure? But fickle the goddess, and malignant the while, keeping alive suspicion and envy where only honor and good-will should be. It happened about this time that as one of Balboa's captains was setting out on his return to the South Sea, rumor reached Acla that Lope de Sosa, a native of Córdova, then acting governor of the Canary Islands, had been appointed to supersede Pedrarias. At one time such a prospect would have been hailed with delight by Vasco Nuñez, but now that his fortunes were so happily linked with those of his ancient enemy he could desire no change.

One evening while in friendly conversation with the vicar, Rodrigo Perez, and the notary, Valderrábano—for on these Pearl Islands now were all the paraphernalia of spiritual and temporal rulership—upon the probable effect of a change of governors on South Sea affairs Vasco Nuñez remarked, "It may be possible that Lope de Sosa has ere this received his commission, and that even now he is at Antigua, in which case my lord Pedrarias is no longer governor, and all our toilsome undertakings will profit us nothing. In order therefore to know best how to proceed in this emergency I am of opinion that it would be well to send some faithful messenger to Acla for our further necessities; and if the new governor has come, we will furnish our ships, and pursue our enterprise as best we can, trusting to his future approval. But if my lord Pedrarias is still in power, he will allay our fears, and we will then set out upon our voyage, which I trust in God will succeed according to our wishes." I beg the reader to remember these words, and say if in them is hidden the venom of treason to the father-governor when morbid acrimony decides them criminal. I do not say that at this juncture Vasco Nuñez would not have disregarded any whimsical malevolence on the part of his future father-in-law which might stand 447 in the way of his high purposes. I think he would have done so. But that he saw no necessity for so doing, and never dreamed of disobedience or disloyalty, I am very sure.

As his ill-fate would have it, just when Vasco Nuñez was concluding his remarks on this subject, a sentinel on guard in front of the general's quarters stepped up under the awning to shelter himself from a passing shower. This fellow, whose sense of smell was so acute that he could detect disloyalty though hidden in a barrel of salt, found here at once a mare's nest. Of course his general was talking treason; he had often been suspected, and now he openly admitted that if affairs planned in Spain or at Antigua did not suit him, he would sail away and leave all emperors and governors in the lurch. And if he alone might have the disclosing of this villainy his fortune was made.

A story is told of one Micer Codro, a Venetian astrologer, who followed his stars to the Indies and there interpreted nature for a consideration. For up and down the world the devil used to lead him with the faintest thread of comet-light. While at the height of his power in Darien, the horoscope of Vasco Nuñez was cast by this philosopher, and his fate foretold with all the precision characterizing the profession. Directing the attention of his auditor to a particular star he said: "When you behold that star at yonder point, know that your fate approaches; your fortune then will be in jeopardy, and your life in peril. But if you escape that danger, wealth and renown such as have fallen to the lot of no captain in all the Indies will be yours." Amidst the bustling activities of life Vasco Nuñez had well-nigh forgotten the words of the soothsayer. But while waiting the progress of his plans at the Pearl Islands, he chanced to take a stroll upon the beach one night in company with his friends. The air was clear of moisture, and the heavens ablaze with stars which seemed by their own light multiplied. Nor was this gorgeous firmament more glorious than 448 the hopes which then thrilled the breast of the cavalier. While in careless conversation his eye was suddenly arrested by the star of his destiny which hung portentous in the exact spot designated by Micer Codro. The prediction of the astrologer at once flashed upon him. "But surely," he thought, "the worthy fellow read carelessly, or else possesses little knowledge of his art, for my time of peril has passed. I will, however, accept the saving clause of his prediction, and now achieve the fame and wealth whereof he spake." Then with a smile he turned to his companions. "Have a care of soothsayers," he said gayly. "You all know Micer Codro. According to his prediction I stand this moment on the verge of demolition. But I defy thee, fate! See there those ships, and this wealth-bordered sea; see here this good right arm, this stout heart, and you, my friends, three hundred faithful men. Does this look like collapse?"

Notwithstanding the rumor of a new governor at Antigua, this South Sea enterprise ought to be prosecuted at all hazard. By authority both of the king and of his representative in Darien the expedition had been undertaken. Money had been spent and infinite toil; life had been adventured—the lives of Spaniards, that is to say, for a thousand or two dead savages were scarcely to be regarded in the account. And now it behooved them to give no new king or new governor the opportunity of ruining their hopes by countermanding the expedition.

It was finally arranged that Andrés Garabito, Luis Botello, Andrés de Valderrábano, and Fernando Muñoz should proceed to Acla, and as they drew near the town the party should halt; one of them should enter at night alone, and, proceeding to the house of Vasco Nuñez, should ascertain from the servant to be found there if Pedrarias was superseded; and if the new governor had arrived the party would withdraw unobserved, return to the South Sea, and proclaim Vasco Nuñez governor of Tierra Firme, at the same 449 time giving him a paper purporting to be his commission. Thus would his command be deceived into the belief that he was legal ruler, and so follow his bidding without question. This was a glance toward treason; it was as bad as treason; but neither now nor ever was it treason. The projected stratagem was dangerous, and wholly useless, and most unfortunate, as the result proved; complicating affairs and aiding his enemies in casting over him that cloud of suspicion which ultimately involved him in ruin.

Likewise the agents for this errand were unhappily chosen. Garabito was the deadly enemy of Balboa, though the latter did not know it. Worse than that, far more dastardly and damnable than enemy, he was a treacherous friend. Balboa had often shown him favors, and placed implicit confidence in him, as the prominence given him in this delicate mission plainly indicated. Within a friendly, even fawning exterior, lurked deadly hate. It originated thus: While Vasco Nuñez was yet under the cloud of the governor's displeasure, Garabito had attempted improper intimacy with Careta's daughter, Balboa's wife after the Indian fashion. One word from her protector, one glance from his eye—for the miscreant saw perdition in it—was sufficient to check his presumption; but Garabito never forgot it, and awaited only his revenge. While on the Balsas he had even written Pedrarias that it was Balboa's purpose, on reaching the ocean, to throw off allegiance to him, and to every one but the king. He further affirmed that Vasco Nuñez cared nothing for his daughter, loved only the Indian girl, and never intended to ratify his betrothal obligation. Though Garabito knew well enough he deserved hanging for this, and might even achieve that infamy, yet he understood both himself and Pedrarias, and he knew these lies would fatten on the old man's soul.

When Garabito arrived at Acla, instead of doing as he had been told, he set about to perform a little 450 drama which should at once precipitate revenge and free him from the odium of traitorous friendship. Mingling with the gossips of the town, he talked mysteriously about South Sea affairs, threw out insinuations, and dropped dark hints concerning Vasco Nuñez and the government. By such means he succeeded in causing himself to be arrested; and when brought before the magistrate for examination, no torture was required to draw from him all he knew, and more. An abstract of the evidence taken in this investigation, together with the letters and papers of Garabito, was forwarded to Pedrarias.

When Vasco Nuñez embarked from Antigua on this enterprise, it was stipulated that he should return at the expiration of eighteen months. The time having expired, he wrote Pedrarias requesting its extension, giving as a reason for requiring it the extraordinary difficulties under which he had labored, and the attendant delays. He requested Fernando de Argüello, who had a large pecuniary interest at stake, to gain further time, if possible, as otherwise their expenditure and toil would all be lost. In answer to the application of Argüello, Pedrarias said little; but within the caldron the black stuff simmered.

This inopportune revival of the ancient feud between the governors excited no small stir at Antigua. And when tidings of Garabito's arrest were received, and the character of his testimony was made known, the friends of Vasco Nuñez entertained fears for his safety. It made little difference whether what this villain had said was true or false—though no one believed that Vasco Nuñez contemplated anything criminal—old man Pedrarias with his malignity aroused was a fiend incarnate. Argüello wrote Balboa that the governor would neither grant nor deny an extension of time, and the notary advised him to put to sea at once, and place himself beyond the rancorous caprice of Pedrarias. He further informed him that in the 451 event of a rupture he could appeal to the Jeronimite Fathers, at Santo Domingo, who would see justice done him. Unfortunately, this letter was intercepted and sent to Pedrarias.

The conflagration which sweeps a city is often kindled by a spark. The South Sea discoverer entertained a harmless ruse, justifiable, in his opinion, as tending to settle the minds of his men and ensure their more perfect obedience in hazardous enterprise; he harbored at the most the intention of placing himself for no unlawful purpose beyond the call of the new governor until he had consummated his long cherished schemes, and not of deceiving the old governor, to whom, if still in power, his messengers were to disclose all his fears, in the belief that his necessities would certainly be relieved. These trivial thoughts, flung distorted by Garabito into the inflammable breast of Pedrarias, were more than sufficient to light a flame beyond the power of man to extinguish. On former occasions the enmity had been rather of a political than a personal nature; now it enters the private chambers of the affections, and beside crimes plotted against the ruler, the father is to be wounded and insulted. And his hate becomes unto death, murderous.

With the several pretended disclosures of Garabito before him, his mind ran quickly back over the career of Vasco Nuñez, his ill treatment of Enciso, his expulsion of Nicuesa, his irregularities while in office, the king's order to call him to a reckoning, the brilliant discoveries intervening, the failure to convict him of crimes, the king's favor, and at last the nearer and to be hoped final reconciliation. Warmer yet within him glowed the thought of these things, as his mind dwelt upon the letters disparaging to himself which Vasco Nuñez had sent the king, and recalled once more what Garabito had said concerning the repudiation of both himself and his daughter. He talked with Bachiller Corral, who had been 452 once arrested by Vasco Nuñez for improper conduct, and to the royal treasurer, Alonso de la Puente, whom Vasco Nuñez had once offended by demanding the payment of a debt, he read the letter of Fernando de Argüello, and then ordered the arrest of the writer.

He communed with his heart in his rage and was glad. And he wrote his son-in-law a letter, his dear son-in-law, a friendly, fatherly letter, requesting his presence at Acla for the purpose of consultation over affairs affecting their mutual interests. This letter was despatched by messengers urged to the greatest haste, that the friends of Vasco Nuñez might not have time to warn him of his danger. "Once within my grasp," muttered the old man, "he never shall escape me." That he might not embark on some lengthy voyage or otherwise delay his coming, Pedrarias ordered Francisco Pizarro to place himself at the head of as large a force as he could muster, and immediately to find and arrest his former comrade and commander, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, and bring him under safe guard to Acla.

Now the dissembling letter of Pedrarias, so the chroniclers tell us, was placed in the hands of Vasco Nuñez while yet the star of his destiny hovered, impatient of flight, about the spot whereon it was to determine his fate; which proves to any reasonable mind, beyond peradventure, several things; item, that the heavenly lights are fingered by Omnipotence for individual import; item, that Micer Codro knows the stars; item, that the stars know Micer Codro; item, parva momenta in spem metumque impellere animos.

Conscious of no wrong, Vasco Nuñez suspected no treachery, and on receipt of the letter he set out at once with the returning messengers to grant his father-in-law the desired interview, leaving his command at the Pearl Islands in charge of Francisco Compañon. As they journeyed toward Acla he interrogated his companions concerning the affairs of the colony. At 453 first they were cautious in their replies, and made evasive answers; but the prompt and cordial manner in which Vasco Nuñez responded to the summons of Pedrarias carried conviction of his integrity. Further than this, they had long known Vasco Nuñez as a gallant cavalier and a genial friend, and they resolved, come what might, he should not fall into the clutches of his enemy without a word of warning from them. Enjoining secrecy, they told him all; that current opinion considered not only his liberty but that his life was in jeopardy.

Balboa would not believe it. Pedrarias might be very angry, though he had written in so friendly a strain; it was his nature to be suspicious and treacherous; he could not help it; he was martyr to a hate wherein he was created, and not unlike that of Acrisius who quarrelled with his twin brother Proetus before they were born. There might be some difficulty in pacifying Pedrarias, but as for fearing him, the idea was preposterous. Even though he had meditated treason against the governor, which he had not, he was not guilty of any criminal act; and surely a man cannot be hanged for his meditations. Of course he would go forward.

As he descended the mountains and drew near Acla, Vasco Nuñez was met by the force sent out by the governor. As the leader advanced to make the arrest, his old friend and patron cast on him a reproachful look and exclaimed, "How is this, Francisco Pizarro? You were not wont to come out in this manner to receive me!" He offered no opposition, however, and made no remonstrance when the irons were put upon him and he was led away to prison at Acla.

History presents few sadder pictures than the closing scenes in the career of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. And as we look at it, our sorrow waxes hot with indignation over the triumph of wrong. Occasionally, in the hostile encounters of men, justice seems to 454 abandon the arena, leaving iniquity master of the field; at which times the spectator burns for the power which Omnipotence declines to exercise.

The game here played was for a valuable life. On one side was a singularly morbid hate, envenomed and pitiless, united with unscrupulous treachery and hypocrisy, which in an old man of ability, breeding, and position, was hideous beyond expression. On the other side were recognized talents of so exceptional an order as to make the possessor the most popular man in the colony. This is what kept his irascible adversary on nettles. Vasco Nuñez was the hero of this conquest. He was to Pedrarias as Loki to Baldur, or as Hyperion to a satyr; and in their strangely assorted friendship they were more unequally yoked than in their enmity they were divided. He was the mirror in which by comparison the governor most clearly saw his own infirmities. Like Othello he was of that free and open nature which thinks men honest that but seem so. His faults were those of the times rather than of the man. He was as ambitious as Achilles, but it was a laudable ambition as times went. He was neither voracious nor avaricious; cruel he unquestionably was, but not wantonly so; he gathered gold, but he scattered it open-handedly. He coveted fame; and in those days neither equity nor humanity were essential to greatness. I do not regard him as greedy of office; he loved power, but he loved adventure more. Of course, in principle, the robber life he led was wrong, though sanctioned by philosophers and divines, and Vasco Nuñez aspired to belong to neither class. He was an illiterate cavalier, honest and religious, ready to accept the theories of the day if they did not too greatly interfere with his desires. Neither his loyalty nor his religion was sufficient to be of great injury to him; although, if we may credit Peter Martyr, he never attempted any adventure without the invocation of the deity and all the saints. Among his comrades he had ever 455 at command a light artillery of wit; in logical argument he was not equal to his archenemy, but in action he was the inferior of no man. A natural and perfect leader, he was out of place as second. Conception and execution were one with him; he could not be bound by another's ideas. Latent in him were inexhaustible resources, known to exist, even by himself, only as occasion required them. Only with emotions of pride might any Spaniard regard his frank intrepidity, chivalrous bearing, and affable, generous disposition. In cruelty, subtlety, and base cunning Pedrarias was his superior, but not in war, or statesmanship, not to mention honorable enterprise. Throughout his entire career, whatever Vasco Nuñez touched by himself was a success; there was no chance about it, but simply energy and ability, temperate courage and common sense. His final overthrow was accomplished not by fair and open opposition, but by means most foul and damnable. Some might say that in this contemplated assumption of authority he was, like Icarus, flying too near the sun; yet, in truth, it was no sun, but fires infernal that melted the wax of his wings. His trial, to which let us now pass, was a judicial assassination.

Old man Pedrarias could scarcely conceal his exultation in thus having, as he imagined, outwitted his prisoner. He could with difficulty refrain from feasting his eyes upon him; nay, he would not, and arraying his features in fatherly concern, he repaired to the prison. Gently he accosted Balboa, assuring him that he had been forced to this step against his will, that the treasurer, Puente, was the accuser, and that he, the governor, was in duty bound to investigate all charges, particularly accusations made by a royal officer. "But be not cast down, my son," said the venerable hypocrite, "neither give way to fear; for the more clearly your actions are brought to light, the brighter will shine your eminent and loyal services." 456

Going his way, Pedrarias threw himself with all his strength into the prosecution, or rather, I should say, persecution. The laws of Spain, transported to the colonies and administered by passionate and unprincipled men, were capable of almost any construction desired, and hence were as often used to cloak villainy as to punish crime. The law was ever on the side of him who possessed the power to enforce it. All the accusations of former trials were in this instance brought together, and old charges, long since obliterated by royal forgiveness, were renewed. To the oft-told tales of Enciso's imprisonment and Nicuesa's death, were added misdeeds conjectured or invented by the listening sentinel, Garabito, and the rest. Arguello's letter was offered in evidence, and all his enemies had their fling at him. The licentiate, Espinosa, before whom the case was brought, was now a firm adherent of the governor. He had been paid his price in the South Sea command, and the downfall of Balboa would open for him further empire in that quarter.

All is going well; Pedrarias is content. The prisoner's chains are doubled. A little torture now applied might be pleasing in effect. Dropping the mask, Pedrarias enters the prison. "So, villain! you thought to escape me," he cried. "Your governor has become your tool, your plaything; his daughter an idle jest, jilted for a savage strumpet. Thank God! your days are numbered."

Balboa at first made no reply, did not even manifest surprise. He had seen, soon after the trial began, that his judges thirsted for his blood, and that he was foredoomed. Finally he spake. "I am here at your bidding. Since last we pledged friendship I have toiled faithfully in your behalf, and mine. I have suffered many hardships, and have overcome obstacles deemed insurmountable by most men. Never for a moment have I entertained one thought disloyal to my betrothed or you. For the truth of this I refer 457 you to my actions, and call God to witness. If I am guilty, as you say, why am I here? Think you, with four good ships and three hundred devoted men at my command, with fortune beckoning me from every direction, that had I harbored treason I would not have spread my sails and sought a land unknown, beyond all fear of capture? You know, my lord Pedrarias, that I am innocent."

It was patent to all that Vasco Nuñez was to be sacrificed to the insatiable hate of the hoary-headed governor. Even Espinosa was becoming tired of it, and would have discharged the accused, had it not been for Pedrarias and Puente, who insisted on what they called a verdict in accordance with the law and evidence. Under such pressure Espinosa was forced to adjudge the prisoner guilty. The penalty was death. Vasco Nuñez claimed the right of appeal to the Council of the Indies, which was denied him; to the Jeronimite Fathers, which was also denied. Espinosa became alarmed; he shrank from having on his soul the blood of this man, so gallant a cavalier, so eminent a discoverer; he never really desired more than to drive him into obscurity, and he begged the governor that the petition for appeal might be granted. "No," said Pedrarias, "if he has sinned, let him suffer."

With horror the colonists heard that Vasco Nuñez was condemned to be beheaded. Four of his friends were to suffer with him, Andrés de Valderrábano, Luis Botello, Fernando Muñoz, and Fernando de Argüello.

It was a dismal day at Acla, the chroniclers tell us, that on which five brave men were doomed to die, not for any crime, but as victims of a ferocious, savage-hearted old man. At an early hour the dull strokes of the carpenter's hammer were heard in the plaza where the scaffold rose. Troops of men gathered on the streets and talked of the coming execution, wondering if there would be an attempt at rescue. But 458 Pedrarias had taken care of that. Were the heavenly powers a-dreaming that they should without interference permit this horrible crime? Alas! these very men had just as iniquitously slain their innocent thousands. Why should we pity them? And the same oft-invoked Omnipotence had permitted the ghastly work to be done in his name. Of what avail is it to wonder?

Heavily chained, and surrounded by a strong guard, the men were brought forth. First came Vasco Nuñez. His step and bearing were not those of a malefactor. Fire flashed from his eye and indignation flushed his cheek as he beheld the preparations for his ignominy. But this renowned and honored chieftain, even while marching to the scaffold, was less to be pitied than Pedrarias, who from behind a screened window was this moment feasting his eyes upon the victim. Before the prisoner walked the town-crier, who, as he approached the middle of the square, exclaimed in a loud voice, "Behold the usurper, a man recreant to his trust, and disloyal to his king. Let death be ever the doom of traitors." "'Tis false!" cried Vasco Nuñez. "Never have I been disloyal or untrue. To infamous treachery and wrong I yield my life, and not to justice."[XII-6] 459

The sacrament having been previously administered, and having made confession, Vasco Nuñez, with his usual firm step and calm demeanor, mounted the scaffold. Raising his eyes to heaven he called on God to witness his innocence. Then with a rapid farewell glance at heaven's light and earth's beauty, at the eager upturned faces of his friends, he placed his head upon the block, and in a moment more it was rolling trunkless on the platform!

Valderrábano, Botello, and Muñoz each suffered in turn. Argüello remained. A last attempt was made to move Pedrarias. "It cannot be," was the reply. "Rather than one of them should live, I myself will die." It was dark before the last dull heavy stroke told the crowd that the sickening work was done. With the death of the offender justice is satisfied; not so vengeance. By order of Pedrarias the head of Vasco Nuñez was placed upon a pole, and displayed in the market-place.

Time, which throws a misty cloud between the present and the past, and strips the hideousness from many iniquitous deeds, drops no friendly mantle over the horrors of that day at Acla. One century after another rolls by, and the colors on the canvas deepen; the red gore dripping from the scaffold becomes redder, the black heart of Pedrarias blacker, and the generous qualities and brilliant achievements of Vasco Nuñez shine yet brighter. 460

CHAPTER XIII.
DECLINE OF SPANISH SETTLEMENT ON THE NORTH COAST.
1517-1523.

Dishonesty the Best Policy—Pedrarias Stigmatized—His Authority Curtailed—Quevedo in Spain—He Encounters Las Casas—The Battle of the Priests—Oviedo Enters the Arena—Business in Darien—The Interoceanic Road Again—Its Termini—Pedrarias and Espinosa at Panamá—The Licentiate Makes Another Raid—The Friars of St Jerome have their Eye on Pedrarias—The Cabildo of Antigua Shakes its Finger at Him—Continued Attempts to Depopulate the North Coast—Albites Builds Nombre de Dios—Lucky Licentiate—Arrival and Death of Lope de Sosa—Oviedo Returns and Does Battle with the Dragon—And is Beaten from the Field.

For the villainous adjudging of Vasco Nuñez, Gaspar de Espinosa received his place on the South Sea. And when true tidings reached Pedrarias of the appointment of Lope de Sosa as his successor, the grizzly old governor did exactly that for which he pretended to have beheaded Vasco Nuñez. Striking corollaries from the historical propositions of the preceding chapter.

That Pedrarias was not at once deposed may seem strange to us. He was deposed, however; but slipping south he sought new fields, as we shall presently see; and by the intercession of powerful friends at court he managed to retain rulership for a term of years. Then, too, the changes. It was troublesome and expensive for royalty to establish subordinate governments in the Indies; and as nearly all of Spain's New World governors, and, indeed, officials and subjects, were wrong in some particular, there 461 was not always encouragement to make a change. Yet Spain and all Christendom were indignant over the infamous doings at Acla. The friars of St Jerome instantly clipped the wings of the cormorant, by ordering him in the kings name "to resolve upon nothing by himself, but to follow the advice of the cabildo[XIII-1] of Darien; and, moreover, to send to Española all the gold taken from Cacique Paris." This was of little practical avail, however. Royalty might issue edicts; but those appointed to enforce them seemed to turn to corruption on entering the atmosphere of the Indies.

Some said, if the good bishop had been there, Vasco Nuñez had not died. But according to Micer Codro it was scarcely among the possibilities for the inauspicious friend of Balboa to have been present at the right moment. Associated with the alcalde mayor and the governor in magisterial authority, the bishop could without doubt have diverted the quarrel from such gory channels; for there was always enough of the temporal in his spiritual polities to give his influence weight in balancing power. It was a wolfish flock. The bishop complained of it to the king; and on the other hand the royal officers complained of the bishop. Both were right. It was impossible too severely to censure such acts as were constantly perpetrated by the officials of Castilla del Oro, and although Quevedo had gone to Spain on the more pleasing errand of love and reconciliation, he found it convenient occasionally to say a word to the king in his own defense, and not without influence on the imperial ear. Once the royal officials wrote the king that the bishop neglected the conversion of the Indians, favored Vasco Nuñez against the government, and 462 discouraged colonization by speaking ill of the country; and again that the bishop was a source of constant disturbance, and praying that a provisor, talented and upright, be appointed to superintend sacred affairs.[XIII-2]

Before the sovereign, Quevedo spoke disparagingly of both Pedrarias and Vasco Nuñez; the prelate alone was perfect. But beside the genuine ring of Las Casas, the base metal of Quevedo's composition sounded flat. The protector-general was at this time busy at once with his colonization scheme and his impeachment of the Jeronimite Fathers, who, although meaning well, were slack in exacting the right as measured by apostolic zeal.

On one occasion, in the royal antechamber at Molin del Rey, while waiting for the bishop of Badajoz, one of the king's preachers, with whom he had an engagement to dine, Quevedo was bluntly accosted by Las Casas. "I understand, my lord, that you are the bishop of Darien. I too am interested in the Indies, and it is my duty to offer you fellowship." "Ah! Señor Casas," rudely replied Quevedo. "And from what text will you preach us a sermon to-day?" "I have ready two sermons," retorted the always armed Protector, "which, if you would listen to them, might prove to you of higher import than all the moneys which you bring from the Indies." "You are beside yourself! You are beside yourself!" was all the bishop could stammer as his host appeared and withdrew him from the merciless shots of Las Casas. But Quevedo was not to escape so easily. Presenting himself after dinner at the house of the king's preacher, Las Casas tortured his enemy into yet hotter dispute. Young Charles hearing of it ordered the battle of the priests to be continued before him. This was the first audience by the prince in matters relative to the Indies. 463 Brought into the royal presence Quevedo thanked God for the honor, pronounced the first governor of Darien a bad one, the second much worse, and the savages in a deplorable condition. Las Casas following charged the fault as much to royal officers and clergy as to hidalgos and lesser subjects.

Soon after this discussion Quevedo presented two memorials, one against Pedrarias Dávila, and the other for restricting the power of governors in general, and of the military, and for the better protection of the natives. He pledged himself to name a ruler for Castilla del Oro, meaning Diego Velazquez, then governor of Cuba, who would expend from his own private means fifteen thousand ducats in the service of the colony. Within a few days thereafter Quevedo was seized with an illness which terminated in his death; Charles was summoned to accept the imperial crown, and for a time little attention was paid to the affairs of the Indies.[XIII-3]

Another political agency appeared in Spain about this time. Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, first chronicler of the New World, who, as we have seen, came with Pedrarias to Tierra Firme as superintendent of gold-melting and acting notary-general, becoming disgusted with both the governor and the bishop departed from that shore in October, 1515. Scarcely had Oviedo arrived at Madrid when he received word of King Ferdinand's death, which was a severe blow, as he had hoped through the influence of his former patrons to reorganize the government of Castilla del Oro and place it on a better basis. Proceeding to Flanders he laid the matter before the ministers, and was referred to Cardinal Jimenez, who listened and did nothing. There the matter rested until the death of the cardinal, when Oviedo again 464 appeared at court and succeeded in obtaining the appointment of Lope de Sosa to succeed Pedrarias in the government of Castilla del Oro. Satisfied thus far in his attempts to benefit the colonists at Antigua, he solicited for himself the government of Santa Marta. The appointment was conferred; but being refused one hundred knights of Santiago, who were deemed indispensable to the subjugation of the country, he declined the office. Like Quevedo, he aroused the enmity of Las Casas, through his opposition to the schemes of the fiery philanthropist in the management of the natives. Nevertheless Oviedo obtained many beneficial decrees for Darien. The duties of the governor were defined anew; royal officials were forbidden to trade; the royal assayer was required to give bonds; orders were issued regulating the gold-melting house; duties were abolished for four years; the export duty on gold was reduced nearly one half for a term of five years.

A business paralysis succeeded the dark days at Acla. Little was done in 1518 in the way of new adventure, though Pedrarias had enough to occupy himself withal, in keeping his own head on his shoulders. More than one lofty scheme was cut short by the stroke that laid lifeless Vasco Nuñez. The young and hardy scarcely dared achieve prominence; the old and imbecile could not; even the ferocious genius of Francisco Pizarro lay dormant all through his fiery youth, and past early impatient manhood, unknown even to himself.

Made captain-general of the South Sea, not long after the catastrophe at Acla, Espinosa was unable at once to take command in person of the force at Isla Rica. Though the licentiate was of a mild, obedient disposition, it was not without misgivings that Pedrarias permitted him to assume so important a trust, the most dangerous for purposes of revolt of any within the government of Castilla del Oro; for instruments 465 employed in the accomplishment of base purposes are not apt to inspire the greatest confidence. But Espinosa was not a mere rover; he was an anchored judge already high in colonial office, whose robberies and murders, however unjust and lawless, were of a quasi judicial nature; moreover he was popular with the soldiers, for his legal decisions by no means interfered with popular rights in pillage and licentiousness. Indeed, when Pedrarias afterward contemplated absence, the people of Antigua begged that Espinosa might be left there to govern them, but this excited the jealousy of the governor, who refused the petition.[XIII-4]

The much talked of interoceanic chain of posts, with a commercial city at either end, was not yet an accomplished fact. As the breadth, coast-trends, and configuration of the country became better known, Acla was found situated too far to the eastward. The narrowest part of the Isthmus had been ascertained, as also the most practicable route for a road, requiring a north-coast seaport somewhere opposite Panamá, which had long since been decided upon as the best site for a city on the southern seaboard. Hernan Ponce de Leon, temporarily stationed there, had abandoned the place, so that both termini of the proposed road must be founded anew. The point selected on the north coast was Nombre de Dios.

Before Espinosa was ready for his South Sea command, positive information of the appointment of Lope de Sosa reached Antigua. It now behooved both Pedrarias and the licentiate to look to their footing, for it was not unlikely to fare hard with them in their coming residencias. It might be as well, after all, for these astute and subtle minds to fall back upon the idea of Vasco Nuñez—indeed, the cavalier's ideas seemed better than any of their own—of withdrawing beyond the possibly too restraining influences 466 of superior authority, and establishing themselves in freer latitudes. The north coast offered no further attractions in any event. Give them the South Sea, and Sosa might have the north, and die there at his convenience. For it was assuredly the abode of death.

Pedrarias accordingly determined to make the southern seaboard his future base of operations, and to convey thither as much as possible of what he esteemed valuable. To this end he embarked from Acla, and laid before the council at Antigua a proposal to abandon that site, and remove the capital to Panamá. The plan was not regarded with favor, as he neither expected nor desired it to be; for, if Panamá was made the capital, Sosa's government would be there, and might seriously interfere with his projects. Two advantages were, however, gained by making the proposal. By opening the question it unsettled the minds of residents at Antigua, and enabled Pedrarias with less difficulty to enlist recruits, and it could not afterward be said that he had sought to abandon the government, having offered to carry it with him. Nevertheless, he could not part with the people and their council without a fling at them; so, one night he summoned the cabildo to appear at his house, and took from them their insignia of office, leaving the municipality to manage as best it might during his absence. Returning to Acla, he ordered Espinosa to summon the forces stationed in the province of Pocorosa, and unite with them all the available troops of the colony. With these, and such provisions and articles of trade and use as they could lay their hands upon, the governor and the alcalde mayor set out across the cordillera for the Southern Sea.

Pedrarias was not altogether satisfied with the site of his proposed Pacific city. On either side of the old fish-drying station thick tangled woods rose from marshy bottoms; so that, while the spot called 467 Panamá was obviously malarious, there seemed at hand no better one.[XIII-5] At the Pearl Islands affairs were found as Vasco Nuñez had left them. Compañon had proved faithful to his trust. More acts of possession were now inflicted on this thrice-gulped wilderness, one on the mainland, January 27, 1519, and one two days after, on the Isla Rica of Vasco Nuñez, called by Pedrarias as Morales had christened it, Isla de las Flores.[XIII-6] Taking the ships Balboa had built, the governor and Espinosa embarked the forces, and proceeded to the island of Taboga,[XIII-7] where Badajoz had been three years before, opposite and some five leagues distant from the proposed settlement.

Pedrarias and Espinosa had now at their command about four hundred men, most of whom were opposed to city-building as detrimental to the nobler profession of plundering. But calming their fears in this regard, Pedrarias sought to secure their interest in his scheme by partitioning the lands adjacent to Panamá, and giving to each man a section. Foraging expeditions were sent out at once, and the soldiers were encouraged to make captures, and so secure laborers for their lands and means for the indulgence of their lusts. Thus every settler soon had from forty to ninety slaves, who did not live long, however. Nor were the colonists at Antigua forgotten in this division, to the end that by offering superior inducements here, the northern coast might the sooner be depopulated. 468

The formal act of founding the city of Panamá was consummated August 15, 1519; the public notary certifying that Pedrarias Dávila founded then and there a city, the name whereof was Panamá, and that in the name of God, and of the queen, Doña Juana, and of Don Cárlos, her son, he would defend the same against all opposers.[XIII-8]

Not the least important or successful among the foraging expeditions at this time sent out from Panamá was one under Espinosa, who with a hundred and fifty men embarked in one of the brigantines in search of the gold that Badajoz had lost. Ah! that gold; the Spaniards could scarcely sleep for thinking of it. But now the licentiate should judicially recover it; then might Panamá have rest.

Dropping westward a few leagues, Espinosa anchored at the mouth of a small river flowing through the province of Cutara, called after the son of the late Paris who now ruled that province. Ascending the river in canoes the Spaniards surprised by night the village, and no opposition being offered, the robbers took such plate, provisions, cotton cloth, and Indian weapons as they could lay their hands on. It then occurred to the more ghoulish of the company to search the death-chamber of the cacique Paris, whose body was then lying in state. And there, to their unutterable joy and thankfulness, round the corpse were not only the golden plates before captured, but piles of vessels and ornaments of the same blessed 469 metal. By this desecration, gold to the value of forty thousand castellanos was secured, which made glad the heart of the old governor at Panamá. And who shall say the learned licentiate was not an humane and pious man, a just judge and good Christian withal, when after taking the trouble to drive the inhabitants of that village captives to the sea, he liberated them all at the entreaty of the youthful cacique, who had followed them wildly wailing, and faithfully promising a ransom of as much more gold as had been already taken? On the way back the licentiate stopped at the landing of the cacique Biruquete, of whom he bought a cargo of maize, without paying for it. Lest the treasure should fall into improper hands, half of it was buried at Panamá by Pedrarias and Espinosa; with the remainder the worthy couple set out immediately for Antigua, where the latter paid over the king's share, and then made preparations for a voyage of discovery along the coast, toward the north-west.

It occurred to Pedrarias that while Espinosa was absent from Darien with the men and ships making discoveries, it would be well for him to visit Spain and place his declining power on a firmer basis. But in order to leave he must have permission from the chief authority, or else lay down his office and submit to a residencia. Since the Jeronimite Fathers had made the cabildo of Antigua their agent to watch Pedrarias, and if possible keep him within the bounds of humanity and decency, he applied to it for permission to leave the country, and was refused. It was very hard, he said, that the king's governor should be thus subject to check by a vulgar town council; but the friars at Santo Domingo must be obeyed.

Since he could not go to Spain Pedrarias wrote the royal authorities there, setting forth what he had done at Panamá, soliciting a South Sea government for himself, and the removal of the municipality and cathedral of Antigua to the new city. Again, midst 470 much storming, he applied for leave, saying he had been chosen procurador in Castile; and again he was refused permission. Then he dissembled, spoke softly, and said he loved the councilmen as his children, but nothing availed.

An act of this council, passed during his absence, greatly exasperated him, as tending to show a disregard for his authority. This was the granting of a request by Diego de Albites to plant a colony on the coast of Veragua. Fearing that the friars might impose upon him further restrictions he abruptly broke off all conference with the council of Antigua, and proceeded to Panamá.

There he found the soldiers and colonists more than ever dissatisfied. Provisions were scarce, and there was fever among them, and they said, Espinosa among the rest, if they were to become citizens, they would prefer the pure air of Spain to this pest-hole. "Very well," replied the governor, "let the gold be unearthed, and that with all the rest returned to the people of Paris, as the Jeronimite Fathers have ordered, and let us return to Castile. I assuredly can live there without hunger." A threat from Pedrarias to do a righteous act was uncommon and terrifying. The disaffected were silenced; and while Pedrarias yielded so far as to agree to the search for a more favorable country to the westward, it was at the same time determined that the building of Panamá should be proceeded with.

Meanwhile the cabildo of Antigua proceeded as best it could with the establishing of a northern seaport. By several successful raids on the north coast, toward Veragua, Diego de Albites had accumulated wealth, and with wealth ambition more vaulting. During the war between Vasco Nuñez and Pedrarias he pictured to himself political dissolution, and sent to Spain Andres Niño, a pilot, and two thousand castellanos to purchase for him a South Sea government. Better skilled in navigation than in diplomacy Niño returned 471 without the office and without the money. At another time, while left in command at Acla during Vasco Nuñez' absence at the South Sea, Albites slipped cable and sailed for Española, where he applied for authority to build a town at Nombre de Dios or establish a colony on the coast of Veragua. Referred by the friars to Pedrarias, as an excuse for his absence he enlisted sixty men, loaded his ships with much-needed provisions, and returned to receive the thanks of the governor whom he had sought to circumvent. For this faithful service he received permission from Pedrarias to make an incursion into the province of Veragua, which greatly offended Vasco Nuñez; and when Albites returned successful from this raid the cabildo at Antigua granted him permission to establish a settlement not only in that province, but at Nombre de Dios, to Pedrarias' extreme annoyance.[XIII-9]

It was in 1517 that Albites returned to Antigua from Veragua, Chagre, and Nombre de Dios with much gold and many slaves. According to Herrera he attempted an expedition to Veragua in 1518, but was driven back to Nombre de Dios, where he founded a city. Andagoya is correct, however, when he places the settlement of Nombre de Dios in the latter part of 1519, though it was not by order of Pedrarias as he affirms. Embarking from Antigua in a brigantine and caravel, Albites touched at the isle of Bastimentos, and coasted westward a few leagues, raiding upon the natives for gold with meagre results. One of the ships becoming leaky he returned to Bastimentos, where it foundered. Thence he was conveyed by the cacique in canoes to Nombre de Dios, and at once set about building a town.

Two opposite posts being thus established, a road 472 was constructed from sea to sea, "through the mountains overgrown with thick woods never touched from all eternity," as Peter Martyr expresses it. At great labor and cost both to the crown and to the colonists, a way wide enough for vehicles was cut through the thickets; trees were felled and thrown into the marshes, obstructing rocks torn from their beds, and bridges made where necessary.[XIII-10] Thus was opened through primeval shades a passage for the blessings and the curses of that Atlantic civilization which was to illuminate the Pacific.

This same year the lucky licentiate and alcalde mayor, Gaspar de Espinosa, was gaining further renown as discoverer and treasure-seeker. With Juan de Castañeda as pilot, he coasted one hundred and eighty leagues toward the north-west, touching at Huistá, Natá, Chirú, Chame, and other posts, and returned to Panamá well laden with maize and other provisions, and gold to the value of thirty-three thousand castellanos. During this exploration he entered a gulf to which he gave the name Culebras,[XIII-11] from the many snakes of various colors seen there.

A stroke of better fortune than he deserved likewise befell Pedrarias not long after. In May, 1520, Lope de Sosa, with three hundred men, arrived and anchored in the harbor of Antigua. Pedrarias, who was there at the time, immediately made preparations to receive him with becoming ceremony. Having given orders concerning his disembarkation, the new governor entered his cabin to dress. While there he was seized with a sudden illness, from which he shortly 473 after expired. With mournful pomp and outward demonstration of grief Pedrarias conveyed the body to the church and buried it before the altar. Juan Alonso de Sosa, the son, and all the followers of the late governor were treated with that show of distinction which the old courtier could so well assume. Juan Rodriguez de Alarconcillo, who came as alcalde mayor, and before whom the residencia of the outgoing governor would have been taken, was favored with marked consideration. By way of prudence, some time before the anticipated arrival of his judge Pedrarias had sent his wife to Spain with all his gold and pearls.

Sosa's appointment to supersede Pedrarias was one of the reformatory measures which the chronicler Oviedo claims to have effected while in Spain.[XIII-12] For himself he had obtained, besides the offices of veedor and escribano-general, those of collector of chamber penalties and regidor perpetuo of Antigua. Orders were issued, furthermore, to all New World governors to furnish him a truthful report of all their acts, so that he might complete the General History of the Indies already begun. He was also appointed receiver of the property of Vasco Nuñez and his accomplices which had been confiscated to the king. He arrived at Antigua with his wife and two children soon after Sosa.

But the heart of the scholar was not in the coarse cunning of Darien politics; he became discontented, irritable, and while commanding the respect of the colonists he was not popular with them. They did not want reform so much as plunder. Pedrarias was his enemy, as he was the enemy of every well-meaning 474 man of ability. The deaths first of a boy and then of his wife did not tend to sweeten his disposition. "Many times would I have returned to Spain," he exclaims, "had not need and shame prevented me."

The powers of the governor having been enlarged by means of the veedor, Oviedo's was the first head on which they were visited. The principal quarrel was over the depopulation of the northern coast. The veedor protested in the king's name, but the governor, now lord of all, was determined to execute his cherished project while he possessed the power. There was no longer any need of a north-coast capital; Pedrarias would make Panamá his metropolis. Before introducing further changes, however, it was necessary that his residencia should be taken. But this, with his experience, need be nothing more than an arraignment and trial of himself. At his request the licentiate Alarconcillo published the residencia for thirty days, during which time the governor continued to exercise the functions of office; no one appeared against him, and a certificate of the proceeding was sent to Spain. Pedrarias then took up his permanent abode at Panamá.

Not long afterward the veedor and contador were obliged to visit Panamá to weigh some gold and receive the royal share, since the governor would no longer send the metal to Antigua. The contador took up his residence there, but Oviedo returned to Antigua, more than ever determined to stand by that city. Seeing which Pedrarias was satisfied he could no more effectually ruin his adversary than by permitting him to have his own way. Besides, it were as well to stop the tongue and pen of one who could make and unmake governors. So when next Oviedo complained Pedrarias answered, "Señor Veedor, since you know so well how to achieve such desirable results, accept from me what power I possess, and govern Antigua according to your pleasure."

After some hesitation Oviedo accepted the proposal, 475 and presented his credentials to the municipal council in November, 1521. Opening his administration with the enthusiasm of a novice, he straightway set about correcting abuses. He forbade blasphemy, keeping mistresses, and selling or eating meat on Saturday. He prohibited gambling, and burned all the cards in the public square. A dishonest notary was required to make restitution fourfold and be suspended from office for one year. Indian women must no longer be employed as beasts of burden, and Indian children must not be sold and bought as slaves. Certain more practicable provisions, however, saved Antigua, for a time, from the effects of a morality which standing alone would have killed any colony in the Indies. The new ruler bought for small sums the houses of those leaving, and sold them to new-comers at cost. He erected a market, opened mines, built ships, and sent out expeditions to smooth the ruffled plumage of the savage. He made of old iron five hundred hatchets, which were sold to the Indians; and when they became dulled, their owners not knowing how to sharpen them, he placed on board a vessel three large grindstones, covered so that the uncivilized might not steal the secret, and proceeded along the coast grinding such implements as the Indians brought, and charging therefor a sum equal to the original cost, which was cheerfully paid. It is claimed that more than seven thousand castellanos were thus secured during one voyage.

A greater prosperity followed these measures than pleased Pedrarias. But by revoking the many decisions of his deputy that came up on appeal from dissatisfied colonists, the governor was enabled to render Oviedo's position one of little power.

The staff of officials was increased by yet another alcalde mayor, the licentiate Sancho de Salaya, for the South Sea government particularly, who arrived at Antigua in a caravel from Spain, the 1st of July, 1522. With him came Rodrigo Perez, the friend of 476 Vasco Nuñez, vicar when sent in chains to Spain, but returned arch-deacon.[XIII-13]

About this time a rebellion broke out on the Rio Grande San Juan, caused by outrages perpetrated by the bachiller Corral and Martin Estete during a foraging expedition. Heedless of the warning of Oviedo, Martin de Murga, visitador of the Indians, in company with three Spaniards and ten friendly Indians, paid a visit to Bea, the cacique of this province, who slew the entire party. Juan de Escaray with forty men was sent against the revolted chieftain.

Soon after some christianized Indians came down from the mountains, eight leagues distant, and reported outrages on them by the cacique Corobari. Thirty-five men were sent to capture him, and when brought in, Salaya sentenced him to be burned; after which the licentiate proceeded to Panamá. Several spies caught near Antigua about the same time confessed under torture to an insurrection contemplated by the cacique Guaturo, who had joined Bea. It was his plan to fire the town and slay the inhabitants. Oviedo in person, with forty men, proceeded against the new rebel, who, with several of the conspirators, was captured and hanged. This was the last of the wars of Antigua.

At length it pleased Pedrarias to depose Oviedo, and appoint in his place the bachiller Corral, who had shortly before incurred the anger of the chronicler, and had by him been sent in chains to Spain, on the charge of having there a wife while living himself in the Indies. The ubiquitous bachiller re-appeared at Antigua, however, almost in a twinkling. Of course, the chronicler was very indignant. The revocation was read in council; whereupon Oviedo laid his staff of office on the chair which he had occupied as president, and took his seat among the members, saying, "This is my place, given me by the emperor; here 477 will I henceforth serve their Majesties, as in duty bound, and here only." Accompanying the revocation was a decree from Pedrarias, authorizing the city of Antigua to elect a representative to a general assembly, to be convened at Panamá for the purpose of providing measures important to the province, and to elect procuradores de córtes, or members of Congress to send to Spain. Pedrarias preferred Espinosa to represent Antigua, for obvious reasons; but instead of sending a delegate to the junta at Panamá, the people of Antigua chose their own representative in the person of Oviedo. While waiting for a vessel Oviedo occupied himself by presenting charges against Pedrarias before the new alcalde mayor, Alarconcillo, who had ordered a second residencia of the governor, and also one of Espinosa. For this pastime he not only narrowly escaped paying with his life, at the hand of an assassin, but Pedrarias ordered his late lieutenant's own residencia to be taken, and even placed him in irons until bonds should be given. The trial was passed without further damage than a fine of twenty castellanos for sending Corral to Spain. Another attempt being made at murder, Oviedo on the 3d of July, 1523, stole away, embarking ostensibly for Nombre de Dios, but bearing off, he directed his course toward Cuba and Jamaica, and thence sailed to Spain. Verily, these were the days of dissimulation. 478

CHAPTER XIV.
GIL GONZALEZ IN COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA.
1519-1523.

Andrés Niño and his Spice Islands—Fails to Obtain Authority to Discover—Applies to Gil Gonzalez Dávila—Agreement with the King—Royal Order for the Ships of Vasco Nuñez—Pedrarias Refuses to Deliver Them—Gil Gonzalez Transports Ships across the Mountains—Embarks from the Pearl Islands—Gil Gonzalez Proceeds by Land and Niño by Sea—Visit to Nicoya—And to Nicaragua—The Captain-general Converts many Souls—And Gathers much Gold—Fight with Diriangen—Nicaragua Apostatizes—The Spaniards Terminate the Discovery and Hasten to their Ships—Niño's Voyage to Fonseca Bay—Return to Panamá.

The pilot Andrés Niño was an enterprising fellow, not to be put down by any slight frown of fortune. He had lately seen service with Vasco Nuñez, and would, God willing, follow the fantasy thence engendered. If two thousand castellanos could not buy a small slice of dominion on the North Sea, he would try the South. And in the mind of Niño, as with other navigators of that day, the undiscovered South assumed fantastic shape. There was the originally created strait, actual though invisible, leading to the Spice Islands hard by. Why should not one pilot as well as another sail through that strait to those fragrant shores, even though the voyage must be begun by crossing a little strip of cordillera?

Such was New World geography in 1519, when the inspired pilot found himself in Spain, soliciting the Council of the Indies for the ships of Vasco Nuñez, in which to make his voyage to the Moluccas; for, if so 479 be he might get there for the asking, it would save him much trouble. Niño had come under the patronage of Alonso de la Puente, the royal treasurer, and accompanied by Andrés de Cereceda; but the persuasive eloquence of the worthy pilot was wanting in the soft, seductive tones that come from the ring of precious metals, and a second time Bellerophon fell to earth.

It happened that the contador of Española, Gil Gonzalez Dávila,[XIV-1] was then at the court of Spain; and it was suggested to Niño, who seemed to have exhausted all his resources, that if he could engage that gentleman's interest in the enterprise, it would be equivalent to its accomplishment. For he was a man of no small influence, springing from a good family of Ávila, and having been formerly attached to the household of the all-potential bishop of Búrgos. Possessed of exceptional ability and integrity, he had been sometimes sent by the government on missions of importance and trust, and was engaged in one of them when first we met him at Santo Domingo, investigating the affairs of the defaulting treasurer, Santa Clara. His energy was of the substantial cast, authoritative, robust, and direct. He seldom made mistakes, either in men or measures; and seemingly was strongest when standing at ease. Neither so bold as Vasco Nuñez, nor so cunning as Pedrarias, nor so cruel as Pizarro, nor so learned as Espinosa, he was a man of deeper and broader experience than any one of them, with a more evenly balanced mind, a cooler, sounder judgment, not always a warrant for greater success than with a more senseless recklessness, but on the whole much safer as a colleague, and more reliable as a friend. He was not a man easily diverted by hollow schemes, however brilliant or high-soaring; but when Niño laid before him his plans, he saw at once that they were 480 eminently practical. There were the ships, and there the undiscovered sea, of which was already known that its shores abounded in gold and pearls, guarded by naked and almost weaponless men—this, and little more. What more was wanted? It did not require a Periander to tell the accomplished contador that this was no ordinary opportunity. Fonseca, who had always retained a warm interest in his protégé, heartily approved the plan, and the details were soon arranged with Niño. Gil Gonzalez was to be captain-general of the expedition; to him was given the habit of Santiago, and he was recommended to the newly appointed governor of Castilla del Oro, Lope de Sosa. Niño was to be a partner in the enterprise, with the position of pilot. Cereceda was chosen contador of the discovery.[XIV-2]

A royal order[XIV-3] was issued at Barcelona the 18th of June, 1519, directing the governor of Castilla del Oro to deliver to Gil Gonzalez the vessels built by Vasco Nuñez, and authorizing an expedition for South Sea discovery, the expense of which was to be borne largely by the crown. With this cédula Lope de Sosa promised faithfully to comply.

During the year following the execution of these documents Andrés Niño so bestirred himself, that his 481 captain-general was enabled to land at Acla with two hundred men, prior to the arrival at Antigua of Lope de Sosa. Pedrarias was incensed that any one should presume to intermeddle in Tierra Firme affairs. Gil Gonzalez nevertheless despatched to him with the royal order Juan de Sauce, who duly delivered it in the presence of the notary Martin Estete.[XIV-4]

It is worth witnessing the reception by this arch-hypocrite of a royal command. "And forthwith the said lieutenant-general," writes the notary, "took the said cédula of his Highness in his hands, and kissed it, and placed it on his head, and said that he would obey it, and that he did obey it with the utmost reverence he could and ought, as a letter and commandment of his king and natural lord, whom may it please God our Lord to let live and reign during many and long years, with increase of kingdoms and seignories; and, as to the fulfilment thereof, that his lordship would see to it, and answer and provide thereupon as might be conducive to his Highness' service."

In which pathetic demonstration no one who knew Pedrarias could doubt that he never for a moment intended to do as he had said. Rather than tamely 482 admit a new and dangerous rival, high in reputation and royal favor, some risk might be run. And so he at first agreed, then delayed, interposing technicalities and pretexts, and finally refused to deliver the ships, alleging as an excuse that they were private property, and claimed as such by individuals. In vain the captain-general urged that this was not a question of rights of property, but of royal command, which to disobey was dangerous. Pedrarias stood his ground; and fortune sustained him in the death of Sosa, who, had he lived, would have made all well for the expedition. But in Gil Gonzalez the old governor found his match; for the captain-general was no less decided than he, and far quicker in resources.

What Gil Gonzalez did was to copy the magnificent performance of Vasco Nuñez, under the circumstances scarcely less creditable in the imitation than in the original. After strengthening his command by recruits from the officers and men of the Pedrarias government, among whom were the treasurer Puente and the contador Diego Marquez, he dismantled his ships, packed up the sails and cordage, and taking from the hulls the iron, and such of the timbers as better suited the purpose than those freshly cut, which were also necessary, he secured the services of some Indians, and transported his vessels across the sierra to the same Rio Balsas used by Balboa. There he constructed and launched four vessels, but lost them all before reaching the mouth of the river.[XIV-5] The party, reduced in number more than one half since leaving Acla,[XIV-6] now crossed in canoes to the Pearl Islands.

A letter directed to Pedrarias in this emergency was productive of no results. Gil Gonzalez again requested possession of the vessels of Vasco Nuñez; his 483 messenger brought back a surly verbal refusal. The captain-general then presented himself in person before the governor and demanded at least men for the building of new ships. Pedrarias dared not offer further opposition; and in time four small and poorly equipped vessels lay at the Pearl Islands ready for sea.[XIV-7] "In all my experience while in the service of your Majesty," writes Gil Gonzalez to the king, "I have nowhere been handled so roughly as in crossing Tierra Firme with the men I had brought from Castile, having to support them for two years, and spend my goods and jewels on them, and build the ships twice over."[XIV-8]

Embarking the 21st of January, 1522, having on board a few horses, with arms and articles for traffic, Gil Gonzalez struck westward, and after sailing one hundred leagues he was obliged to beach three of his vessels to save them from the worms, while the fourth returned to Panamá for pitch and other articles for repairs. New water-casks had likewise to be made, as those on board were failing through the rotting of the hoops.[XIV-9] Leaving the ships in charge of Andrés 484 Niño, with orders to follow the coast for eighty or a hundred leagues, and there in some safe harbor to await him, Gil Gonzalez with one hundred men and four horses continued his way by land. Poor food, a hot sun, with heavy rains and softened ground, made the journey excessively irksome. The wading of rivers while the body was heated brought upon the commander a cramp, so that he had to be carried. Thus they trudged for many days, gathering gold, and christianizing the country, meeting no resistance.

Presently they came to what they called an island, ten leagues in length by six in breadth, "formed by the branches of a river," which was no island, however, but the peninsula which forms the western side of the Golfo Dulce.[XIV-10] Here in a huge wooden shed, as high as a tower, which the chroniclers please to call a palace, dwelt the ruler of that land, who was invited to retire while the strangers took possession in the upper part, the lower being flooded. For a fortnight they sheltered themselves from the falling waters. One night the palace posts began slowly to sink into the softened earth. The outlook was not encouraging. Their only shelter was sinking, and with it they were being submerged. They saved themselves, however, by cutting through the roof, and thus made their way out, bearing the commander on their shoulders. They 485 were then obliged to take to trees, and to dwell in them for several days, the commander's quarters being a blanket stretched between two branches. During the flood were lost many weapons and much plunder.

After this they proceeded, sometimes going inland for food, but groping along the shore as best they might. Once when obliged to seek the ocean ten leagues away, they descended a river on rafts, one of which floated out to sea in the dark, but was brought to shore next morning by a lucky breeze and some expert swimming. Finally, after visiting and robbing a number of petty chieftains, and securing gold to the value of forty thousand pesos, they came to a gulf[XIV-11] which Gil Gonzalez called San Vicente, and where to his great joy he found Andrés Niño with the ships.

Owing to his lameness Gil Gonzalez would have embarked by sea, sending Niño with the land party; but the men lost courage at the prospect of remaining on shore without their leader, because the caciques were becoming more powerful. He accordingly bound Niño by oath to explore the coast with two ships, slowly and by day only, and reckon the distance sailed, leaving the other two vessels with the gold in San Vicente Gulf, while he himself plunged boldly inland, determined to subjugate the people, peaceably, if possible, otherwise by force.

Among the caciques whom Gil Gonzalez met was one most powerful living near the northern end of the gulf, named Nicoya, who gave a friendly reception as a friend, and presented him with gold to the value of fourteen thousand castellanos. When told of God, and of the bliss of heaven and the pains of hell, Nicoya very sensibly preferred the former place, and permitted himself, his wives and subjects, to the 486 number of over six thousand souls, to be baptized. Furthermore he gave up six golden idols, each of a span in length, "For being now a Christian," said he, "I shall have nothing more to do with them." Which emblems of perdition the Spaniards did by no means scruple to take.

Nicoya was a great chief, but there was a mightier than he, fifty leagues to the northward, whose name was Nicaragua, of whom Nicoya said: "He is wise as well as valiant, and your little army will quickly melt before his warrior host."

It will be observed that the peaceful policy adopted in this expedition had thus far proved successful beyond that of any other similar attempt in the Indies. The sword remained sheathed, and it was found profitable as well as humane to keep it so. Hence these gentle robbers walked the land triumphant. The truth is, for the times Gil Gonzalez was an honest man. He tells large stories about baptizing, as we shall see; but we are accustomed to some degree of exaggeration where proselyting is concerned, and Gil Gonzalez really believed that the Christianity he gave Nicoya paid him well for his gold. Beside being honest, Gil Gonzalez was humane; he did not delight in blood. Let us doublemark these traits, for they are rare hereabouts.

How different was this from the usual form with which the captains of Pedrarias introduced themselves to savagism, may be seen in the approach by Gil Gonzalez to a people of doubtful temper. When within one day's march of Nicaragua's town he despatched to that chieftain an embassy of six Indians and two interpreters to notify him of his proximity and character. "Tell him," said Gonzalez, "that a captain cometh, commissioned to these parts by the great king of the Christians, to tell all the lords of these lands that there is in the heavens, higher than the sun, one lord, maker of all things, and that those believing and obeying him shall at death ascend to 487 that loftiness, while disbelievers shall be driven into the fire beneath the earth. Tell him to be ready to hear and accept these truths, or else to prepare for battle."

Nicoya spoke the truth when he pronounced Nicaragua a wise man. There is great advantage in possessing an intellect unclouded by learning. He was both wise and honest enough to manifest amazement when messengers brought to him things amazing. "Tell those who sent you," said Nicaragua, "that I know not their king and therefore cannot do him homage; that I fear not their sharp swords, but love peace rather than war; gold has little value, they are welcome to what I have. In regard to the religion they teach I will talk with them, and if I like it I will adopt it." Of the two messages, that of the savage was far the more logical and sensible.

Next day when within one league of the town the Spaniards were met by four of Nicaragua's principal men, who told them that the king awaited their coming in peace. On entering the town they were received by Nicaragua, who assigned them lodgings in the public square, and placed all the surrounding houses at their disposal.

After the presentation of gifts, which, voluntary or forced, was always first in order, and which in this instance consisted on one side of gold to the value of fifteen thousand castellanos, and on the other of a shirt, a red cap, and a silken dress, attention was turned to spiritual affairs. To a lengthy harangue on what the savage must do and not do in order to attain Christian salvation, Nicaragua replied: "I see no harm in it. We cannot, however, give up our war-paint and weapons, our gay decorations and dances, and become women!"

Before accepting baptism[XIV-12] Nicaragua desired to 488 ask Gil Gonzalez a few questions. "You who know so much of the maker and of the making of this world, tell me," said he, "of the great flood; and will there be another? In the universal end, will the earth be overturned, or will the sky fall and destroy us? Whence do the sun and moon obtain their light, and how will they lose it? How large are the stars; how are they held in the sky, and moved about? Why are the nights made dark, and the winters cold; why did not the Christian's God make a better world; what honor is due him; and what rights and duties has man, under whose dominion are the beasts? Whither goes the soul which you hold to be immortal when it leaves the body? Does the Pope never die; and is the great king of Spain a mortal; and why do the Christians so love gold?" These and other questions of like import the savage asked, and Gil Gonzalez answered them. There was no question that brave and pious Gil Gonzalez could not answer. And Peter Martyr says that "Cereceda, the king's treasurer, witnessed the manner in which Gonzalez answered the questions of Nicaragua." Strange to say, the savage was not satisfied. Doubtless Gil Gonzalez could have made himself better understood by a Christian. "Came these men hither from heaven?" whispered Nicaragua to the interpreter. "They came from heaven," was the reply. "But how?" asked Nicaragua, "directly down, like the flight of an arrow, or riding a cloud, or in a circuit like a bent bow?" The interpreter could not tell.

Nicaragua finally consented to have the idols in his temple removed, and the Christian's cross placed in their stead. A specimen of the worship they had adopted was then given them with great solemnity. Upon a high mound, whose summit was reached by steps, Gil Gonzalez had planted the cross on 489 first entering the town. A procession headed by the Spanish and the native leaders now marched solemnly about the town, and ascended the steps of the mound[XIV-13] on their knees, chanting their hymns of praise the while. Proceeding to the temple, they erected there an altar, and jointly placed upon it the sacred emblem, in token the one of giving and the other of receiving the true faith. Such was the conquest and conversion of Nicaragua, unique and spiritual.

Nicaragua's town stood on a large fresh-water sea,[XIV-14] into which Gil Gonzalez rode his horse and took possession, drinking of the water. It was barely three leagues from the South Sea; but there was no connection, and a canoe sent out upon it could discover no current. "The pilots I had with me," writes the commander in his narrative of the expedition, "certify that it opens into the North Sea; and if so it is a great discovery, as the distance from one sea to the other is but two or three leagues of very level road."[XIV-15] One other matter claimed the attention of the discoverer at this juncture; which was to ascertain whether the invaders of Mexico, whose conquest was known at Panamá prior to the sailing of this expedition, had carried their operations so far south as this point. After close inquiry among the natives Gil Gonzalez was satisfied that they had not.[XIV-16] 490

April of this year, 1522, was now at hand, and Gil Gonzalez, well satisfied thus far, must determine what next to do. Before he was aware of it, baptism had become the rage in all that region. His stay at Nicaragua had been for eight days. Then he went forward north-westwardly six leagues into the next province, and found there a cluster of six towns, of two thousand inhabitants each, all the towns being less than two leagues apart. These people, jealous lest Nicaragua should secure to himself all the efficacies of the mysterious rite, came forward in multitudes to receive it, freely giving the Spaniards gold and food and slaves.

Yet farther before the visitors spread their fame, until a powerful cacique, called Diriangen, came in great state from some distance to meet them. To make the most imposing appearance possible, when within a short distance of the Spaniards Diriangen halted, and arranged his train. Five hundred unarmed men advanced, each carrying one or two turkeys, whose gay plumage made brilliant the spectacle. After them came ten banner-men, their flags yet furled. Then followed seventeen women nearly covered with plates of gold; after which were five trumpeters; and lastly, the chief men of the nation, bearing on their shoulders a palanquin richly adorned with colored cloths and feathers, in which sat the potentate. The cortége then moved forward and entered the village where the Spaniards were encamped, drawing up in perfect order before the commander's quarters. The 491 litter was placed on the ground, the ten white banners were unfurled, and the trumpeters blew a shrill melody. Presently Diriangen ordered the musicians to cease, and approaching Gil Gonzalez he touched his hand. Then turning to the women, he ordered the gold to be presented, including two hundred golden hatchets, which amounted altogether in value to eighteen thousand castellanos. The five hundred Indians now came forward, and after severally touching the hand of the commander, presented the fowls to him. "For what purpose," asked Gil Gonzalez of the chieftain, "have you come so far to meet me?" Diriangen answered: "Having learned that a wonderful people, bearded and riding upon beasts, had arrived in this land, I come that with my own eyes I may behold them, and offer such hospitality as is in my power." Gil Gonzalez thanked the chieftain courteously, presented him some European articles, and after further conversation asked him if he did not wish to become a Christian, and a subject of the king of Spain. Diriangen intimated that it would give him great pleasure to accept both of these flattering proposals, but that he first desired to confer with his women and priests; he would return answer within three days.

Now Diriangen was a wily lord, who cared not a jot for the king of Spain, or for his religion. He wished to see this spectacle, and he was willing to pay royally for admission to it. The faith his fathers had held was sufficient for him, and he preferred ruling himself rather than being subject to another. He believed he could vanquish that little company; at all events he would try. With these reflections he bid the Spaniards a warm adieu, mounted his litter, and was carried away. This was on the 14th of April.

Three days after, while the clergyman of the expedition was absent at a neighboring town whither he had gone mounted on the best horse and attended by two valiant men, to preach, and the Spaniards were taking their mid-day siesta, Diriangen came down upon 492 them with three thousand[XIV-17] men, armed with flint-toothed swords, lances, and arrows, and mailed in coats of wadded cotton, and was within a cross-bow shot of them before the alarm was given. Gil Gonzalez sprang upon one of the three remaining horses, and shouted to his men to rally in front of his dwelling, which faced the square. He then placed one third of his force in the rear of the house, fearful lest the enemy should fire it, for it contained all their gold. By this time the square was filled with Diriangen's warriors, who gave immediate battle, hand to hand. The swift death-blows of the Spaniards seemed to carry no special terror with them, and for a time it was extremely doubtful how the fight would turn. The Indians brought six Spaniards to the ground, and captured one, whom, however, they manifested no disposition to kill. Finally, upon a charge of the commander and the two other horsemen with their lances, the enemy gave way and were driven out of the town. Gil Gonzalez recklessly pursued, until wearied with killing, and alone, he turned, when there fell on him a shower of stones and darts which hurried him back to his people. Diriangen had kept in the background during the battle, and disappeared immediately it was over. None of the Spaniards were lost. The captive was recovered; the priest returned in safety, and the Indians were finally permitted to carry off their dead. Luckily Gil Gonzalez had taken the precaution to increase the number of bearded men by cutting hair from the heads of Spaniards and fixing it to the chins of twenty-five young natives of his company.

After due consultation it was decided to terminate the exploration at this point and return to Panamá. They had obtained a large amount of gold, and had baptized many. The results from the conversions, however, would have been far more pleasing to the Spaniards had not so many of the Indians apostatized 493 before their back was fairly turned. As the Spaniards entered the province of Nicaragua, on the way to their ships, a plan of that sapient ruler was revealed to Gil Gonzalez, none other than to repeat the experiment of Diriangen. Immediately sixty Spaniards, all who were at present sound, formed into a hollow square, so as to act defensively and offensively while marching, having the invalids and treasure in the centre, and at each corner a horseman and an arquebusier. As they passed by Nicaragua's town the natives cried out to the carriers, who had been lent the Spaniards by Nicaragua, to throw down their loads. To this the Spaniards made no reply; but when the natives attempted by force to accomplish their purpose, Gil Gonzalez hurried forward the weakest of his force, and placed himself with seventeen men in the rear. A desultory fight was kept up for some distance, during which the cargo-bearers managed to throw down their loads and escape, to the unutterable disgust of the Spaniards, who were thus obliged to carry them. Gaining nothing by this, but rather losing, the natives made peace. Nicaragua, by his messengers, disclaimed any agency in the attack, but the Spaniards had recognized some of his principal men among the assailants. At length they reached the gulf of San Vicente in safety, eight days after the return of the party discovering by sea. Niño had coasted three hundred and fifty leagues north-westerly, reaching, according to some estimates, the very southern limit of Cortés' conquests. Hardly any details, however, are given beyond the statement that he discovered a large bay which Gil Gonzalez named Fonseca, in honor of his friend and patron the bishop of Búrgos. To an island within this bay he gave the name of his own niece, Petronila.[XIV-18] Returning, the expedition reached Panamá, June 25, 1523, 494 with gold in value to 112,000 pesos, half of which was of inferior quality. According to his reckoning Gil Gonzalez had coasted six hundred and fifty leagues, travelling by land three hundred and twenty-four leagues, and converting to Christianity thirty-two thousand souls.[XIV-19] 495

CHAPTER XV.
SPANISH DEPREDATIONS ROUND PANAMÁ BAY.
1521-1526.

European Settlement on the West Coast of America—Progress of Panamá—Laws Respecting Spanish Settlements in America—Final Abandonment of Antigua—Administration of the South Sea Government—Piracy upon Principle—Pascual de Andagoya Explores Southward—Conquers Birú—Return to Panamá—Colonies of Veragua and Chiriquí—The Chieftain Urracá Takes up his Abode in the Mountains and Defies the Spaniards—Pizarro, Espinosa, Pedrarias, and Compañon in vain Attempt his Overthrow—Building of Natá—Compañon as Governor—Hurtado Colonizes Chiriquí—Conspiracy—Capture and Escape of Urracá—Several Years more of War.

At length we find on the Pacific seaboard a European settlement, in the aboriginal fishing-station of Panamá the germ of a Spanish city, the first on the western side of the American continent from Patagonia to Alaska, the first on the Isthmus which remains to the present day. And there was much about it which the befogged but in many respects far-seeing adventurers of the time could foretell. There was wealth on this shore, but to what extent they knew not, as Peru stood yet unrevealed. Unless some strait should be found, or some narrower thread of Tierra Firme offering superior advantages, Panamá would become the great entrepôt of South Sea traffic; but wild as were their speculations in some respects, in others the imagination was as far behind the facts. Even in their wildest dreams they had not seen resting on their broad-stretching beach ships from the north and the south, and the far western east, laden 496 with the wealth of half a world, and in the streets of their sun-beaten city gold and silver stacked in bricks; and spices, and precious merchandise waiting transportation over the cordillera to Nombre de Dios, where cargoes of European goods in like manner waited carriage southward.

To the importance of this city, even at this early day, the Council of the Indies was by no means blind; and beside the regulations[XV-1] of a general nature regarding 497 settlement and city-building which began now to be enacted, Panamá was the recipient of special royal favors.

498

We have seen how Pedrarias, by fair means and foul, labored to depopulate Antigua; and it was a good work, though at the time he was not fully aware 499 of it. Fortune had favored him in many ways of late, and the rewards of his rascalities were truly gratifying. Not to mention the deaths of Vasco Nuñez and Lope de Sosa, the successes of Espinosa and other gold-hunting captains, or the discomfiture of Gil Gonzalez, it was a fine stroke of policy making the licenciado Alarconcillo his lieutenant at Antigua; for the fraudulent residencias taken by him, under the artful management of the governor's wife in Spain, did Pedrarias and Espinosa good service at court. Nor was there any practical inconvenience to the governor in the royal orders prohibiting complex legal proceedings, that the truth might be simply and inexpensively arrived at in cases of dispute, and permitting appeals from Castilla del Oro to the audiencia of Santo Domingo; for the one gave his power a wider range, while the other could be easily regulated so as to work him no prejudice. Las Casas likewise had failed in his effort to displace Pedrarias, the privileges granted in Tierra Firme limiting him to territory outside of the jurisdiction of this governor.

The abandonment of Antigua began in 1521, and was consummated in September, 1524, Diego Ribero, the last survivor, being massacred with his entire family by his own Indians, who afterward burned the town. Thus the streets wherein had been acted so many stirring scenes were vacant, and the country, after a struggle of fifteen years and the loss of thousands of lives, lapsed into its original savagism. By royal decree issued at Búrgos September 15, 1521, Panamá was made a city, and received royal privileges 500 and a coat of arms, in further ennoblement.[XV-2] The regidores should enjoy the title of veinticuatros, as in Seville and Córdova. For the first ten years the city had to pay only a tithe on gold; the eleventh year, one ninth; the twelfth, one eighth, and so on to the fifteenth when the usual fifth would be due. Hitherto the currency consisted of pieces of gold cut into various weights; now silver and copper money were employed.

The first regidores of Panamá were Gonzalo de Badajoz, Rodrigo Enriquez de Colmenares, Rogel de Loris, Pascual de Andagoya, Martin Estete, Benito Hurtado, Luis de la Rocha, and Francisco Gonzalez. The alcalde mayor, Hernando de Salaya, was made lieutenant of Pedrarias in Panamá, with a salary of 150,000 maravedís, Espinosa having turned his attention almost exclusively to military matters. The royal officers formerly at Antigua as a rule held their places in Panamá. These were Alonso de la Puente, the treasurer; Diego Marquez, the contador; Miguel Juan de Ribas, factor. To some of these Pedrarias was obliged to give repartimientos as an inducement to move.

More difficulty was experienced in having the episcopal see transferred to Panamá, but it was 501 finally accomplished; the royal order to move it, with the clergy and paraphernalia of the church as well as the vecinos and the hospital, bearing date the same as the order making Panamá a city, namely, September 15, 1521. On the death of the first bishop of Darien, Juan de Quevedo, a successor was appointed in the person of Fray Vicente de Peraza. Salaya and the Archdeacon Perez came out together in 1522; Peraza came later, Salaya being commissioned to superintend ecclesiastical affairs until the bishop's arrival. And when he did arrive he appeared in no haste to move, and was still at Antigua in 1524. There, finally, Pedrarias went and exercised upon him his softest blandishments. The governor could make himself quite pleasing to one who did not know him. The bishop had not been long in Panamá before his eyes were opened, and then, indeed, forever closed; for one day, while the bishop and the governor were at cards, they had a quarrel, during which the latter was treated badly with words, and soon after the bishop died. Then with Salaya the governor employed sharp words, saying, if he did not mind he would cut off his head. "More than one head you have wrongfully cut off," Salaya retorted, "but he who cuts off my head must have a better head than mine, and that you have not." Then they were friends again. Nevertheless Salaya died. Both these men were poisoned; suspicion pointed to Pedrarias, though he was never formally charged with the crime.

For the building of churches in Castilla del Oro, the king gave large alms; his annual donation to the hospital was three hundred pesos,[XV-3] while the royal 502 treasury covered the cost of an organ and a clock for the Panamá cathedral. About the time of the removal, Francisco de Lizaur, procurador of the new settlement for providing the Indians as well as the Spaniards with food, procured an order requiring the governor to attend to planting; likewise barter must be opened with the natives, and negro slaves were not allowed to accompany expeditions. The boundaries of the municipality extended about forty-five leagues in every direction from the three leagues of city lands in the centre.

The natives of the New World, and they alone, were expected to support the new city, and through Panamá to send great wealth to Spain. The object of the Spaniards was not agriculture, except to save themselves from hunger; nor even mining, except as they could force the natives to dig; it was unadulterated robbery, with only the lame excuses of civilization and Christianity, and Panamá was but a pirates' nest.

By no means the worst of the band was Pascual de Andagoya, who but for the bad company he kept might have been pronounced an honest man. He assisted Pedrarias, and acted as the forerunner of Pizarro, but when it came to wholesale infamies he had no zeal for them.

A faithful retainer of the governor, he was in 1522 sent by him to explore the southern coast beyond the limits of the discovery of Vasco Nuñez. Landing at the gulf of San Miguel, Andagoya visited a province called Chochama, where he was informed that during the periods of the full moon, a fierce people infested its shore, driving the inhabitants from their fisheries, slaying them if they resisted, and spreading terror 503 generally. This people came from a province called Birú, which name was corrupted by the Spaniards into Pirú, and finally into the Peru of Francisco Pizarro. Chochama begged Andagoya to protect his subjects from this scourge, and having obtained reinforcements from Panamá, Andagoya set out in company with his host and his warriors for the dreaded region. Ascending a large river for twenty leagues, the Spaniards found a number of villages and caciques, and on the outskirts of the province, near the junction of two rivers, they discovered a strong native fortress, well garrisoned, which on being attacked was defended with skill and bravery. But superior tactics soon prevailed, and after a struggle the stronghold was reduced and the inmates were brought to terms.

The subjugation of Birú being thus effected, Andagoya continued his voyage, the ships keeping well off shore, while the commander reconnoitred the coast in canoes navigated by friendly Indians. It happened one day, while thus employed, that his boat was caught in the surf and overturned. He was saved by the brave efforts of one of the natives whose cause he had espoused; but a rheumatic fever which followed determined him to abandon the discovery, and on the following day he turned his face toward Panamá, where he arrived in safety with a few captives.[XV-4] 504

Permission was then given to Juan Basurto to continue the discovery of Andagoya; but his sudden death cut short the preparations, and there the matter rested until taken up by Francisco Pizarro.

Leaving for the moment affairs to the southward, let us return to the western side of Panamá Bay. There was a cacique named Urracá, whom the Spaniards sought to kill, whose domain was the sierra of Veragua, and whose crime was the love of liberty. Indeed so villainously depraved was this savage that he would not accept Spanish salvation and domination when offered him in return for his gold; he even thought to kill the good men who invaded his territory to kill him. Urracá was fierce and strong; his mountains were rugged, and his home almost inaccessible to the hostile invader. Therefore he must be approached with caution, and his capture intrusted only to picked men. As he was reported rich, and worth the trouble, two companies were fitted out against him, one by water under Espinosa, and one by land under Francisco Pizarro. The former embarked at Panamá in two vessels, and, after touching at the island of Cebaco, passed over to the mainland of Veragua and began his march on the redoubtable mountaineer. Urracá was not afraid of him, and after placing the women, the children, and the aged of his people in safety, with his warriors he marched boldly out against the enemy. He first encountered the Indian vanguard of Espinosa, and falling on them slew them to a man. Then he fiercely attacked the horsemen, of whom there were two or three, and the foot-soldiers, fighting with such determination that but for Hernando de Soto, who with thirty men had been sent forward by Pizarro to seek a pass, the licentiate would have been cut to pieces. Pizarro, 505 who was near at hand, had not reached the place without hard fighting. And now Urracá defied them all. With every advantage of a rugged and well-known country on his side, he rallied his men and attacked the combined force with such desperate energy that when night came the Spaniards endeavored to withdraw secretly to the open plain. To this Urracá objected. He permitted them to break up camp, it is true, and to begin their march; but, when within the darkest pass, he was on them again like a trap, and from the black craggy defile they could not move, except against the lances and war-clubs that hemmed them in. With morning the question faced them, whether they should die there or escape? And thus the captains placed the matter before the men. Summoning all their strength, they threw their united force against the living obstructions at the opening toward the sea, and, treading down the enemy, escaped to their ships, and spreading sail directed their course toward Panamá. But it would not do to return empty-handed. So landing at Borrica they plundered the town, and took the inhabitants captive, though the licentiate finally released the women. While Espinosa with the main body of his troops proceeded to Natá, Francisco Compañon with fifty men surprised by night a peaceful village in the neighborhood. It was palisaded, and the Spaniards were repulsed. Hiding themselves, they waited until the inhabitants had come forth in the morning, and had scattered themselves about the fields. At a signal they sprang upon them. The poor natives ran for shelter from the merciless steel, and arriving at the gateway in a body they so blocked it as to be easily butchered. Those not killed were carried captives to Natá.

The native village of Natá was situated on an open plain, most beautiful, with a fertile soil and wholesome air. We have seen how on former occasions it had attracted the attention of the Spaniards. They 506 had long desired to found there a settlement, and, the present expedition having proved a failure, Espinosa sent messengers to Pedrarias asking permission to remain and form a colony. The governor acquiesced, but ordered Espinosa with the ships to Panamá, leaving at Natá only fifty men under Compañon.

The new seaport lay nearer to Urracá than the island of Cebaco, although Espinosa began his march against this province at a point on Azuero Peninsula, opposite the island, more than thirty leagues from Natá, by sea.

It was near enough, at all events, for the wary Urracá to follow the Spaniards with his vindictive eye. The chieftain, by his emissaries, knew when Espinosa landed there, what he and the others did, when they went away, and how many remained. Peeping in on Compañon he thought he could manage fifty men. He would try it. Collecting his forces he made preparations to attack the Spaniards by night. On approaching their quarters he came to a house at some distance from the others, in which three men were sleeping. One of them the savages killed with a spear; one they captured; the third eluded them until he had secured his arms, when he sprang up and shouted as if to some companions near. Single-handed he then attacked them and put them to flight; after which he released his captive comrade, and the two sought their commander. Compañon immediately sent messengers to Pedrarias, informing him of the attack.

It was not praiseworthy on the part of Urracá to allow his multitude of brave warriors to be defeated by a single Spaniard; probably he never knew how easily he was beaten; and now confederating with his neighbors he confined the Spaniards so closely in their quarters that they began to suffer for food. The opportune arrival of Hernando Ponce de Leon with forty men, and shortly afterward of the governor himself with one hundred and fifty men, placed Compañon at ease again. 507

It is true; the old governor is in the field again! War, at home or abroad, is his natural element. This bold mountain chieftain must be put down; and who so fitting to do it, who so capable, as the governor? Appointing Francisco Pizarro as second in command, with his entire available force, among which are some horses and small cannon, Pedrarias sallies forth.

Urracá is ready to receive him. He has joined forces with a neighbor named Exquegua, and awaits the Spanish governor just beyond the strongest pass. He hopes a second time to entangle the enemy amongst the craggy steeps to him so familiar. The fox enters the trap. The governor must choose either to fight at great disadvantage, or retire and leave the country to its aboriginal lord. Urracá is powerful, sagacious, and brave. Occupying in his retreat the most elevated part of the cordillera where it cuts Veragua, and being about midway between the two oceans, he can draw supplies and reinforcements from either side. So pernicious is the influence he exerts that he can prevent the pacification of western Castilla del Oro: hence the importance of his extermination.

The old governor harangues his army. After the stale fashion of Xerxes and the Scipios he sneers at the enemy, and praises his own men. It is not common to hear Pedrarias praise any one. "You see the necessity of this chieftain's death," he concludes; "let it never be said of Spaniards that they left alive a rich heathen." A charge is then ordered. The battle lasts till nightfall. It is renewed the next day and the day following. Before such unparalleled obstinacy the Spaniards grow faint. Even the fire-belching cannon, with its reverberating roar and its balls sweeping down men, splitting rocks and trees, and tearing up the earth, confounds them but for a moment. For five days the engagement continues, much of the time in a desultory manner, the Spaniards fighting from under cover like the Indians. 508

Urracá at length resorts to stratagem. Withdrawing his forces as if in abandonment of the fight, he retires toward the river Atra, the rendezvous of the confederates from both sides of the cordillera. Pedrarias follows, thinking in some open spot to scatter the foe and kill them. Seeing which, Urracá calls to him several wise warriors, and instructs them to play the part of men of the country, and when captured by the Spaniards to direct them to their ruin. Through this ruse Diego de Albites falls into ambush, at one time with forty men, at another with sixty, narrowly escaping destruction.

Determined never to abandon the country until his purpose is accomplished, Pedrarias sends out parties against the villages of the confederates individually. Two caciques, Bulaba and Musa, are captured, but on accepting terms of peace are set at liberty. Urracá avoids another general engagement, and Pedrarias returns to Natá. The lands and captives are divided among such soldiers as are willing to remain as colonists under Diego de Albites, who is left there as the governor's lieutenant. Sixty elect to remain, who begin to build and plant. Thus is established the town and settlement suggested by Espinosa, which is called Natá after the cacique, and which name it still retains, and next after Panamá on the Pacific seaboard, Natá assumes importance as a Spanish settlement.

All the same it is exceedingly hard on the poor aboriginal, drudgery or death. Those enslaved under the fatherly-protection system endeavor by every means to escape; failing in which, if they do not kill themselves, they soon die from hard treatment. Urracá never ceases narrowly to watch the Spaniards, attacking them as opportunity offers. Albites retaliates with frequent incursions; but unable to overthrow Urracá he finally makes peace with him. This displeases Pedrarias, who thereupon recalls Albites and appoints Francisco Compañon governor of Natá. Under the 509 new regime hostilities are yet more vigorously pressed, but in almost every instance to the discomfiture of the Spaniards.

Beyond the domain of Urracá, toward the west, in Veragua, was the province of Chiriquí. Thither Pedrarias sent Benito Hurtado to establish a colony. The country being thinly populated was easily taken and held. Indeed, the caciques of Chiriquí, Vareclas, and Burica, the chief rulers within an area of one hundred leagues, obeyed without resistance, and for two years the colony of Chiriquí was unmolested. But the more submissive the people, the more exacting the conquering race. The crushing weight of servitude becoming unbearable, the men of Chiriquí at length rose to arms. They were joined in a general revolt by Urracá. Unable to vanquish this chieftain, Compañon determined to capture him by fair means or foul. Overtures were begun by presents and fair promises, and at length, under the most solemn assurances of liberty and safety, Urracá was induced to visit the governor at Natá. No sooner had he entered the town than he was seized and ironed. I am disposed to praise the perfidious Compañon for not burning his captive, or giving him to the dogs; he only sent him, in violation of his sacred pledge, a prisoner to Nombre de Dios, with the intention of shipping him off to Spain. Before the sailing of a ship, however, the brave cacique managed to burst his fetters and escape. Breathing vengeance he roused the mountains, organized a yet more powerful confederation, and marched against Natá. Long and bloody warfare ensued, with alternate success. One of the most disastrous conflicts occurred early in 1527, in an expedition against a rebel chief named Trota, under Captain Alonso de Vargas, with forty soldiers, principally men newly arrived from Spain. The protestations of some of Trota's adherents, who entered the camp with humble mien but active eyes, induced 510 the captain, at the recommendation of a veteran comrade, to send Pocoa, an allied chief and guide, with offers of peace. The fellow was no sooner out of sight than he cast the olive branch to the winds, and joining cause with Trota, advised him to seize so advantageous an opportunity for glory and revenge, when the force before him was weak and inexperienced and the commander ailing. Four days later five hundred warriors fell upon the camp, led by Pocoa in a glittering breastplate of gold. Although taken by surprise, the soldiers fought desperately, but the numbers were overwhelming, and Vargas succumbed with half his men. This blow was one more incentive for the Spaniards to exert themselves in retaliation and conquest. The country adjacent to the settlement being open and level, horses and cannon could be used with advantage; while on the other hand, to make up for lack of skill, were numbers, drawn from a great distance around, with the protecting mountains in which to nurse declining energies. Thus for nine years the war continued, until the chieftain Urracá, yielded up his life, though not, after all, to arquebuse or bloodhound: he died in bed, among his own people, but lamenting, with the last breath, his inability to drive out the detested Christians. 511

CHAPTER XVI.
THE WARS OF THE SPANIARDS.
1523-1524.

Oviedo in Spain—He Secures the Appointment of Pedro de los Rios as Governor of Castilla del Oro—Pedrarias Determines to Possess Nicaragua—He Sends thither Córdoba, who Founds Brusélas, Granada, and Leon—And Carries a Ship across the Land from the Pacific to Lake Nicaragua—He Makes a Survey of the Lake—Informed of Spaniards Lurking thereabout—Development of the Spanish Colonial System—Gil Gonzalez Escapes with his Treasure to Española—Despatches Cereceda to Spain with Intelligence of his Discovery—Sails from Santo Domingo to the Coast of Honduras—Arrives at Puerto Caballos—Founds San Gil de Buenavista—Encounters Hernando de Soto—Battle—Cristóbal de Olid Appears—Founds Triunfo de la Cruz.

Scarcely were the fair provinces of the Southern Sea brought under the yoke of the Spaniards, when the conquerors began contending among themselves. For it must be confessed that neither their culture nor their religion prevented them from behaving very much like the wild beasts and the wild men to whom they regarded themselves superior. In following these disputes we will now accompany, in a second visit to Spain, the author and veedor, and withal the maker of governors, Fernandez de Oviedo, whom we left in July, 1523, fleeing the wrath of Pedrarias.

At Cuba the veedor was entertained by Diego Velazquez, the governor; at Española he was invited by Diego Colon to take passage with him for Seville, where he arrived in November. After presenting himself to the Council of the Indies, at Búrgos, he went to Vitoria, where the court was residing. Vested 512 with full power to act for the city of Antigua, Oviedo set forth the affairs of the colony, entered his complaints against Pedrarias, and urged the appointment of a new governor. In this measure he was opposed by the bachiller Corral, whom he had made an effort to send in chains to Spain, and by Isabel, wife of Pedrarias. Through their influence he was involved in litigation which lasted two years; and for his treatment of the bachiller he was fined one hundred thousand maravedís, which he was obliged to pay. But in the end the veedor triumphed in displacing Pedrarias, and in securing the appointment of Pedro de los Rios, of Córdova, as governor of Castilla del Oro, and of the licenciado Juan de Salmeron as alcalde mayor and judge of residencia.

The prospect of speedy displacement in office, no less than the success of Gil Gonzalez at the freshwater sea, determined Pedrarias to secure a footing in Nicaragua before the arrival of the new governor of Castilla del Oro. No one knew better than himself that by the customs of discovery and occupation, which were now fast becoming laws, he had not the slightest right there, having neither contributed to the discovery of Gil Gonzalez, nor even sanctioned it. As an act preliminary to taking possession of this discovery, Pedrarias despatched thither his lieutenant, Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba—not he who discovered Yucatan, though of the same name—and captains Gabriel de Rojas, Francisco Compañon, and Hernando de Soto, who embarked from Panamá in 1524.

View larger image

Landing at the gulf of Nicoya Córdoba founded a settlement at Urutina, on the east side, which he called Brusélas, but which existed only three years, being dismantled by order of Diego Lopez Salcedo in 1527. Thence Córdoba proceeded northward thirty leagues, to Nequecheri, on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, where he founded a city to which he gave the name Granada, building there a fortress and a church. 513 In the province of Nagrando[XVI-1] he established another city which he called Leon. While at Granada Córdoba drew one of his brigantines ashore, and taking it apart conveyed the pieces overland to Nicaragua Lake. After rebuilding he made a circuit round the shore of the Freshwater Sea, and discovered its outlet in the Rio San Juan, though he did not descend the stream, on account of the rocks and rapids. With 514 this leader had come many friars and religious men, some of whom were quite expert in performing miracles, and by this means was excited among the natives a furor for baptism scarcely inferior to the lively manifestation under the swift instructions of Captain Gil Gonzalez. Córdoba sent Pedrarias a full account of his proceedings thus far. He also informed him that a band of Spaniards was lurking thereabout, though as yet he had not encountered them, but he had sent Hernando de Soto to learn who they were.

The colonial system of Spain as it unfolded in the New World seemed at this time to assume the form of a political tripod whose three props were the subjugator, the sovereign, and the executive vicegerent, each contributing to the support of the others, though in a manner oppugnant and contradictory. It was something wholly new in the polities of nations for royalty thus to delegate so much and so varied power at such a distance; and royalty was troubled for itself in consequence, and regarded with jealousy and mistrust such of its servants as it was obliged to confide in. Ashamed of his suspicions, the sovereign attempted to cover them by the application of chicane to a system of balancing, placing one agent to watch another, and counteracting the power of one deputy by the power of another deputy. The discoverer on returning from his perilous voyage must wear away the remainder of his life importuning for the promised recompense; and often he was compelled to lose beside his services the costs advanced by himself. The conqueror must be frowned upon in the moment of his triumph, lest he should forget himself, or rather forget his master. He, without whose adventurings the monarch's realm could scarcely find enlargement, must immediately on the attainment of new territory be diverted by the intrusion of some professional governor, who between law, selfishness, and despotism usually managed to defeat 515 the aims of both king and conqueror, and attain his own end in ruin and disgrace. Thus it was on Española, and thus it is again on Tierra Firme. Had Columbus been less incompetent as the beginner in this colonization, and as governor; had he with wise statesmanship founded one New World colony on firm and liberal principles, the whole Spanish-American colonial system during the following three centuries might have been something quite different. Had the monarch found on trial that his deputies were trustworthy, he would have trusted them. Had he not, they would have compelled him. As it was they compelled him to treat them as unreliable and unjust, as indeed they were, that is to say such of them as were competent. While the monarch was far less blamable than his representatives, while as a rule he sought with honest and pious purpose the best welfare of his subjects, civilized and savage, it seemed his fate thus far to keep the colonies always in a ferment, every man's hand against his neighbor, and under such poisonous and perverting stimulus, that the vilest elements attained success, while the noblest were consumed to cinders. Witness Christopher Columbus and Bartolomé his brother as against Bobadilla and Ovando; Vasco Nuñez beside Pedrarias; and now Pedrarias and Gil Gonzalez.

Upon the return to Panamá in June, 1523, of Andrés Niño and Gil Gonzalez, from their discovery of Nicaragua, Pedrarias undertook, as we have seen, at once to secure for himself every benefit of their adventure. And this without a shadow of right or reason. The pilot and the contador had acted under authority direct from the king; they had imperilled their lives and had exhausted their private fortunes; while the governor had not only contributed nothing, but actually disobeyed the king in refusing to deliver the ships of Vasco Nuñez, and in withholding men and means for the expedition. A grand achievement 516 had been consummated by a handful of men, poorly equipped and in small unseaworthy vessels, whose consequent sufferings were in a measure caused by the inherent wickedness of the governor, now the first of all to clutch at the gold. He would have the honor of paying the king's fifth into the royal treasury, for he could make it advantageous for himself.

Gil Gonzalez would cheerfully have turned over the treasure to the king's officers, for his blood was up, and he wished to return immediately and chastise the impudent caciques, Diriangen and Nicaragua. But, when under his letters patent he demanded aid for that purpose, the governor promised it only on condition that he went as his lieutenant, and that the war should be conducted in his name. This the contador refused to do. Pedrarias then said that he would undertake the further pacification of Nicaragua on his own account, and plant a colony, perhaps, at the gulf of Fonseca; that a southern expedition which he had planned would be directed north, in view of the superior attractions appearing in the reports of the late discoveries. Upon this Gil Gonzalez determined to hasten from Panamá with the king's gold, which had been melted down by the assayer, and lay the matter before the audiencia at Santo Domingo, thence going to Spain if necessary.

There was a caravel lying at Nombre de Dios, which Gil Gonzalez purchased for one thousand castellanos, and stealing from Panamá he escaped with the gold, and set sail for Española just as Pedrarias in hot pursuit appeared upon the shore with a requisition and order of arrest.

The royal authorities at Santo Domingo listened with favor to their former contador; on comparing his actions with his instructions they found that he had acquitted himself creditably. They deemed it unnecessary for him to go to Spain, and thought he could better serve the king by continuing his important discovery. He might proceed at once to the 517 eastern shore of Tierra Firme, and search for the strait communicating with the Freshwater Sea, or its outlet, which was sure to exist; or, failing in that, enter the territory, pass over to the Freshwater Sea by land, found there a colony and build a town. To this end the audiencia promised to aid him in raising three hundred men and fifty horses, which, with the ship he had brought from Nombre de Dios, would give him a fair equipment. Distributing, therefore, the royal share of the treasure[XVI-2] among five ships lying at Santo Domingo, according to the royal regulations, Gil Gonzalez despatched by Antonio de Cereceda, treasurer of the Nicaraguan expedition, the famous letter which I have so frequently quoted, and a map of the coast from Panamá to the Gulf of Fonseca, made with great care by the pilots of the expedition. In this letter, after giving an account of the discovery and presenting his plans, the writer begs the sovereign that his pay as captain be made over to his wife at Seville, for the support and education of his children; that the limits of his discovery may speedily be defined, and other conquerors and rulers forbidden to intrude; that letters patent may be granted him with the title of Admiral of the Freshwater Sea, together with a tenth of the king's revenue within the territory. Were it not that his majesty might deem it a desire on the part of the discoverer to call attention to himself he could tell much more; but this he would say of five things done by him, namely—no other Spaniard ever before discovered so many leagues on foot with so few men 518 so poorly equipped; no man ever converted so many souls to Christ in so short a time; no discoverer as yet had brought so much gold; none had fought so many Indians without the loss of a man; and, finally, no one before him had ever returned from a voyage of discovery without having lost to the adventurers the cost of the outfit. Cereceda and the letter were graciously received by the emperor, who ordered Gil Gonzalez to continue his discoveries.

View larger image

But without waiting instructions from Spain Gil Gonzalez had hastened to occupy what he had discovered, before others should arrive to dispute possession with him. He sailed from Santo Domingo in the spring of 1524[XVI-3] for the eastern coast of Nicaragua, 519 intending to cross to the Freshwater Sea, by way of its outlet, and thereby avoid collision with the governor at Panamá; but he steered too far to the right, and struck the continent on the north side of Honduras, about twenty leagues east of Golfo Dulce. Obliged by a storm to throw overboard some horses to save his ship, he gave the name of Caballos[XVI-4] to the port from which he had under the circumstances to turn away. From this point he was driven by the wind westward to Golfo Dulce. Finding himself in a strange mountainous country, and at a loss whither to proceed, he deemed it safe in any event to take possession and plant there a colony, and to this he gave the name San Gil de Buenavista. Leaving there a portion of his men he coasted eastward, to a point between capes Honduras and Camarones, and although still far from his destination he disembarked the troops and marched southward in search of his Freshwater Sea.

Continuing on this course Gil Gonzalez in due time approached the territory of Nicaragua, but only to encounter Hernando de Soto, sent by Córdoba to ascertain who were the rival settlers. Gil Gonzalez first learned of the presence of Córdoba in that quarter while passing through the valley of Olancho. There was but one way to settle rival claims under such circumstances, the old brutal way, practised by both savage and civilized from the beginning, and in vogue to-day among our most Christian and cultured nations—the weaker must give way to the stronger.

The two companies met at a place called Toreba. The savage method of warfare was adopted. Just 520 before dawn, as Soto lay wrapped in slumber, Gil Gonzalez, with a portion only of his command, crept into the enemy's camp, and raising the war-cry, "San Gil! kill the traitors!" began a furious onslaught upon his countrymen. Soto commanded the superior force, and although taken at a disadvantage he was soon disputing for the victory with every prospect of success. The engagement lasted some time, and several Spaniards on both sides were killed. At length Gil Gonzalez, fearing defeat, cried out, "Peace! peace, Señor capitan, in the emperor's name!" And although Soto was urged by his associates to follow up the advantage, he ceased hostilities and prepared for an amicable adjustment of differences.

Thus matters remained for several days. But Gil Gonzalez had no intention of abandoning the field, as his actions and words implied. He only wished to gain time and bring up the remainder of his force. This effected, he again suddenly sprang upon the enemy, and after a short but severe engagement drove him from the field, securing his treasure, to the value of one hundred and thirty thousand castellanos.[XVI-5]

Satisfied with this success, and unprepared to meet a superior force under Córdoba, Gil Gonzalez disarmed the enemy, and retired to Puerto Caballos, where he was informed that a fleet had arrived from Mexico in command of Cristóbal de Olid, one of the captains of Hernan Cortés.

After the defeat of Soto, Córdoba took measures to strengthen his position at Leon, building there a strong fortress. Cristóbal de Olid, of whom I shall speak presently, founded a settlement on the north coast of Honduras, fourteen leagues east of Puerto Caballos, to which he gave the name of Triunfo de la Cruz.[XVI-6] Thus for the territory now embraced within 521 the boundaries of Nicaragua and Honduras, there appeared three claimants—Gil Gonzalez, who, under the auspices of the crown, claimed for himself as the discoverer; Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba, who claimed for Pedrarias; and Cristóbal de Olid, who claimed for Cortés and himself. 522

CHAPTER XVII.
COLONIZATION IN HONDURAS.
1524-1525.

Cortés in Mexico—Extension of his Conquests—Fears of Encroachments on the Part of Spaniards in Central America—Cristóbal de Olid Sent to Honduras—Touching at Habana, He is Won from Allegiance to Cortés—Triunfo de la Cruz Founded—Olid as Traitor—Meeting with Gil Gonzalez—The Wrath of Cortés—Casas Sent after Olid—Naval Engagement in Triunfo Harbor—Casas Falls into the Hands of Olid, Who is soon Captured by the Captive—Death of Olid—Return of Casas to Mexico—Trujillo Founded—Interference of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo.

While certain of the Spaniards were settling themselves in possession of the Isthmus and parts of Central America, others were engaged in like manner elsewhere. Among the latter was Hernan Cortés, who sailed from Cuba, in 1519, for the conquest of Mexico, which was accomplished in 1521. So great was the glory of this achievement, complete details of which will be given in a later volume of this work, that fresh hordes flocked to the banner of its hero, whose further efforts toward conquest in different directions were little more than triumphal marches. On nearly every side his captains found rich provinces and populous settlements which promised flattering rewards in tributes, plantations, and submissive slaves; or their ears were filled with reports of still greater cities, still richer territories, further on. From such substance rumor blew its gaudy bubbles, which danced in iridescent hues and ever increasing size before the eyes of the conquerors, 523 luring them on into the depths of mysterious regions beyond. Insatiate, a world apiece would scarcely satisfy them now.

Of the several points toward which expeditions were sent out from the Mexican capital by its conqueror, the southern regions seemed in some respects the most alluring. Information came to Cortés of the high culture of the inhabitants in that quarter, of their manifold wealth, their palaces and great cities, all magnified by mystery and distance. Further than this, the possibility, nay, the certainty that Spaniards moving northward from the Panamá region would soon be in possession there if not forestalled, made delay seem dangerous. Hence it was that Oajaca and Chiapas were quickly made to open their portals; and now the redoubtable Pedro de Alvarado, second only to Cortés himself, was entering Tehuantepec to rend the veil which enfolded the Quiché kingdom, and to disclose the splendor of Utatlan.

Likewise the northern seaboard to the south of Yucatan claimed attention. This could scarcely now be called an undiscovered country, for Spaniards as well as natives poured into the conqueror's ears the sure truth of what might be expected. There were pilots whose course had led them along the coast of Hibueras, or Honduras,[XVII-1] and who charmed their hearers with tales of gold so abundant that fishermen used nuggets for sinkers. In this there was nothing startling to Cortés, however, for since his first entry into Mexico he had received such information touching this Honduras country, particularly two provinces, that were but one third true, "they would far exceed Mexico in wealth, and equal her in the size of towns, in the number of inhabitants, and in culture."[XVII-2]

These reports could not be disregarded. An expedition 524 to this region would also be able to meet that of Alvarado, and crowned with success the two could then carry conquest onward, till sullen ocean, east, and west, and south, alone might bar the progress of their arms. Great would be also the reward in wealth and souls. Another wish, the discovery of a strait, ruled Cortés with equal strength. It was now known how short a distance lay between the two oceans, and this long narrow strip of intervening land might in some one of its many inlets hide the passage, though it was toward the north that the conquistador looked chiefly for it. The subject had been specially commended to him by the emperor. "Knowing the desire of your Majesty," writes Cortés, "to discover the secret of this strait, and the great benefit which your royal crown will derive therefrom, I shall leave all other interests and gains to follow this course."[XVII-3] As an earnest of his intention Cortés had begun to build vessels at Zacatula, on the South Sea, as early as 1522, and with these he would explore the coast northward till the passage was found, or proved not to exist. In the North Sea also fleets were prepared to coast northward to Newfoundland, and southward to the Isthmus.

The expeditions were all delayed, the first by conflagration, the others by incidents at Pánuco which for a time diverted all available forces. The latter difficulty over, Cortés reverted to his pet project, and the Atlantic fleet, which had been for several months at considerable expense waiting orders for sailing south, was now reinforced to muster six vessels fully equipped, with nearly four hundred Spaniards and thirty horses.[XVII-4]

So important an expedition called for a lieutenant not only brave and able, but trustworthy. Amongst 525 the three or four thus esteemed by the great conqueror was Cristóbal de Olid,[XVII-5] before mentioned, who, owing to his prominent position under Governor Velazquez of Cuba, had been appointed captain under Cortés when he set out for the subjugation of Montezuma's empire. His devotion, courage, and ability had made him a favorite, and at the fall of Mexico he had been rewarded with an ample share of the treasures and encomiendas. While lacking in sincerity and depth of thought, and being less fit for the council, he possessed qualities which made him an admirable executive officer. He was at this time about thirty-seven, of powerful physique and stentorian voice, which contributed not a little to his success as a leader.[XVII-6]

Several of the old campaigners, but lately ensconced in snug plantations where they were enjoying a post-bellum repose, were called to aid Olid. This they did, though not always consenting with cheerful faces. Among the number was Captain Briones, a turbulent fellow, who had brought some scars from the wars in Italy, and, after airing his profane vocabulary as commander of brigantines during the siege of Mexico, had nursed a hatred against Cortés for services that he fancied to have been ill paid.[XVII-7] Two priests were added to the expedition.

Olid was instructed to direct his course to Cape Hibueras, and after founding a fortified settlement to despatch the three largest vessels to Cuba for supplies, while the three smaller, under command of Hurtado de Mendoza, the cousin of Cortés, were to search for a strait as far as Darien, exploring first the gulf thereabout, 526 that is the Bahía de la Ascension, as the instructions read, from which "many pilots believe a strait to lead into the other sea." The fleet left San Juan de Chalchiuhcuecan, the present Vera Cruz, January 11, 1524, for Habana, where an agent of Cortés was then purchasing additional arms, horses, and stores for Olid.[XVII-8]

Let traitors beware of treachery. Cortés had been untrue to Governor Velazquez: by what law of compensation could he expect subordinates to be true to him? Scarcely was the fleet adrift before Briones was whispering his commander treason. And when on landing at Habana the Cuban governor, with all the hatred of foiled ambition, joined the foes of Cortés to work upon the fidelity of his captain, Olid was shaken. "Mexico by right is mine," argued the governor. "It is I who am your rightful chief, and I absolve you from the miscreant you follow. Strike out from him, as did he from me; I will furnish men and money, and the king shall know of your conduct and reward it."[XVII-9]

Ere the fleet left Cuba Olid had decided on his course. He had learned prudence, however, under his wily chief, and resolved to do nothing decisive, until he found himself strong enough, and had learned whether the country was worth the risk.[XVII-10] On landing, 527 therefore, some fourteen leagues east of Caballos, the 3d of May, he not only took possession in the name of Cortés, but appointed the officials named by him. The papers of possession, however, bore Olid's name.[XVII-11] To the town here founded was given the name of Triunfo de la Cruz, from the day of landing.[XVII-12]

Olid was not long in openly declaring his intentions. Most of his company acquiesced; a few did not. These latter to the number of three score, under an officer named Valenzuela, after robbing the town during the absence of the men in the interior, seized one of the vessels and set sail for Mexico, but only to meet shipwreck and starvation at Cozumel Island.[XVII-13] All thoughts of searching for a strait had been abandoned, and Olid determined to hasten forward, make himself acquainted with the country, and secure possession. It was not many days before he came upon the bands of Spaniards whom we have seen there fighting each other, and Olid's presence among them tended in no wise to lessen complications.

Gil Gonzalez was not in condition to meet so powerful an opponent as Olid, especially with a threatening avenger in the near west; and so he thought it prudent to retire until he might secure to his own interests at least one side by an alliance. Nor was Olid just then strong enough openly to brave a well known Spanish leader. He therefore met the advances made him by Gil Gonzalez in a friendly spirit, and sought by artful letters to lull suspicions regarding his true motives.

Surely they were not in vain, the lessons he had learned under the astute Cortés. Watching an opportunity, 528 when Gil Gonzalez had confidingly divided his forces, he sent Briones, his maestre de campo, to surprise them in detail, while he himself prepared with another body to descend in two caravels on the coast settlements. Early next morning, as Olid awoke pluming himself over his well laid plans, a page rushed in, announcing, "Two sails in the offing, señor capitan!" Olid hastened to the shore not without misgivings that this might be a Mexican expedition, bearing perhaps his injured chief.

It so happened that while the renegade Olid was at Habana, the royal factor, Salazar, had arrived there en route for Mexico to assume office, and learned only too clearly what was brewing. Nor was he the only one to carry the news. Cortés heard it with distended nostrils, and the characteristic swelling of his veins[XVII-14] indicated the anger which the next moment found utterance. "Villain! whom I have reared, and honored, and trusted; by God and St Peter he shall rue it!"[XVII-15] Unable to enter in person upon the determined chastisement, the general sent Francisco de las Casas, a resolute man of no mean ability, married to a cousin-german[XVII-16] of his, and therefore regarded with greater confidence. He relied also on the many warm adherents in the rebel camp who could require no very strong appeal to return to their leader. For this reason four vessels, two of them quite small,[XVII-17] and 529 one hundred and fifty men were deemed a sufficient force to subjugate the usurper.

As the fleet approached Triunfo a boatman was captured who gave information of the state of affairs, and on entering the harbor Casas hoisted a flag of peace with the hope that friendly overtures might bring about a revolution of sentiment, among a portion of the rebels, in favor of his chief. Olid, however, who had at once suspected the character of the arrival, knew the danger of a parley, particularly since the greater part of his force was absent. Brave and resolute, he ordered his two caravels to be manned, and opened fire to prevent a landing. Finding his overtures disregarded Casas replied with equal spirit, covering at the same time the operations of the boats which he sent off. It was an original spectacle in these parts, Spaniards fighting Spaniards, in regular naval engagement; and as the hissing projectiles flew out from the smoke over the still waters, followed now and then by a crash, the noise of battle reverberating over the forest-clad hills, the dusky spectators who lined the shore should have been exceedingly grateful for this free exhibition of the wisdom and power of European civilization that had come so far to instruct them in such a fashion.[XVII-18] Presently, amidst the boom of cannon and dimly belching flames, cries of distress were heard, followed not long after by shouts of victory. Olid's gunners had found their 530 match. One of his caravels was sinking, and the attacking boats were approaching the second. Hurriedly sounding the recall he sought the shore, with the loss of a few men,[XVII-19] sending meanwhile a boat to the victor with a proposal for truce, on condition that no landing should be effected till the negotiations for surrender were completed. Casas consents; and Ares dons the mask of Pallas. The first act of Olid on sighting the fleet had been to despatch a messenger to his lieutenant Briones, summoning him in all haste to his assistance. Time might now be gained by parley. But to the same lieutenant went another messenger from Casas with the most alluring promises for active or passive aid. And in this Casas was so far successful that Olid waited in vain for succor, while his opponent, under further prospect of support in the camp itself, lay confidently at anchor waiting the dawn.[XVII-20]

It was a golden chain of treachery thus lengthening itself from the capital of the Indies through Mexico and into the wilderness of Central America; Velazquez revolts from Diego Colon, Cortés from Velazquez, Olid from Cortés, and Briones from Olid. But what avails the cunning of man against the gods! That night a storm burst upon the harbor, and within an hour the late victor found himself, with the loss of his vessels and some forty men, upon the shore swearing allegiance to the enemy.[XVII-21] Buffeted to exhaustion by the waves, and without arms, Casas was thus fished in by the exultant Olid.

The next step was to secure the fleeing Gil Gonzalez, 531 who was surprised at Choloma and brought to headquarters,[XVII-22] which had meanwhile been removed to Naco, a fertile and salubrious valley about twenty leagues from Caballos, occupying a central position and abundantly supplied with means of subsistence.

Olid was a generous jailer. He was haunted by none of the suspicious fear which resorted to manacles and shackles. Casas and Gil Gonzalez were treated rather as guests than as prisoners; they were given seats at Olid's own table, and allowed to share in every conviviality. They enjoyed in fact every liberty, except that of crossing the limit fixed for their movements. Finding the host so lenient Casas began to plead also for release. He wished to present himself before Cortés and justify his conduct. Olid of course would not consent. "You are too pleasant a companion for me to lose," he smilingly said to his captive. "Ah, well! your worship," Casas replied, "pray God I prove not so pleasant as some day to kill you." The prisoners had not failed to improve the opportunities which their trusting host provided, and finding that Briones held out as a rebel, they gained sufficient confidence to form a conspiracy. On a certain evening seats at table were secured for two accomplices, while near at hand were others awaiting the appointed signal. Ever a most agreeable companion, on this occasion Casas outdid himself; and had not Olid been of so unsuspecting a nature he would have seen through the veil of affectation that enveloped the conversation. When the table was cleared and the attendants had withdrawn, the conspirators exchanged glances; whereupon one of them, Juan Nuñez de Mercado, passed behind 532 Olid, and seizing his head pulled it back, while Casas, who was seated beside him, rose and grasping him by the beard, began to slash at his throat with a pocket knife,[XVII-23] crying, "Tyrant! the earth shall no longer endure thee." Gil Gonzalez was instantly on the other side of Olid stabbing him in the breast. Yet with all their advantage they made slovenly work of it, cutting up the old hero. He was a powerful man, and in a moment had recovered himself and was hurling his assailants right and left. He called to his guard, but these were quickly secured by the conspirators. Olid made his escape, however, and sought a thicket where he fell, fainting from loss of blood. The conspirators shouted lustily, affirming that he was dead, and called on all present, in the name of the emperor and of Cortés, to rally round Casas.[XVII-24] None cared to refuse.

Meanwhile Cristóbal de Olid, one of the proudest of Mexico's proud conquerors, felt that the knives of these assassins had been too much for him. He who had so many times faced death for mighty cause must now die of dastardly blows inflicted by countrymen. True, he was a rebel. But so was his master. And who of those present would not cast off any allegiance the moment their interests demanded it? The cold grasp of death was on him. Of what avail at this moment were the hardships endured, and the infamies so lately inflicted in the crushing of Montezuma and his people? Crawling to an Indian hut he begged shelter and secrecy, offering all his wealth for these favors, and for yet another, that a priest should be summoned. How many of this race had begged of him, and begged in vain! The owner of the hut went out upon his mission. It was almost impossible that the dying conquistador should not thereby be discovered, but to die unshriven was death thrice 533 over. Closely upon the priest's heels like thirsting bloodhounds followed the assassins, who, now that their noble quarry was stricken, plucked up the courage to cut off his head by law. Dragging forth the dying man, a court was formed, which that night declared him traitor, and doomed him to death. As if to favor them, life lingered with the prisoner until morning, when he was brought into the plaza, his eyes half closed in death, to receive his sentence. There and then the hideous mockery was completed; and as the head was severed not one voice was heard, not one hand moved in sympathy for the gallant soldier who had so often led his men to victory, and whose hand had been as free to give as was his voice to cheer.[XVII-25]

Being now master of the situation, Casas made some necessary changes among the officials to insure the fruits of victory. Triunfo having proved unsafe, it was decided to form a settlement in a more secure harbor. Nearly four score enrolled themselves as settlers and a municipality was appointed, with the recommendation to select a site at Puerto de Caballos, if found suitable, and to name the town Trujillo, after the native town of Casas.[XVII-26] Eager to relieve the anxiety of Cortés and to consult with him, Casas did not stay to see this carried out, but selecting Juan Lopez de Aguirre, originally treasurer, as his lieutenant, aided by the new alcaldes, Mendoza and Medina, the latter also contador, he set out on his return to Mexico. A large number accompanied him, leaving but a little more than a hundred adherents of 534 Cortés in the province.[XVII-27] Among those who went was Gil Gonzalez, too dangerous a man to leave behind, who must appear before Cortés and arrange with him as to what share in the province he might keep, if any. Meanwhile his men appear to have been left in possession of the Nito district.[XVII-28] The route taken led through Guatemala, the later highway to Mexico. On the road they came upon Briones, who fancied that his desertion of Olid entitled him to consideration on the part of Olid's enemy. But nobody liked the man, and regarding him, furthermore, as dangerous to the peace of Honduras, they took the precaution of hanging him.

Lieutenant Aguirre conducted his party to Caballos, as instructed, but the site did not meet with general approval, and a vessel arriving with a glowing description of Puerto de Honduras, it was decided to go there. The vessel was chartered and Aguirre went on board with nearly forty men, a number of native servants, and the stores and other articles which the party proceeding by land could not conveniently carry. When the land expedition reached the port no vessel was there. An anxious search being instituted for the possible evidence of a shipwreck, an inscription by Aguirre was found bidding the men not to grieve; he had sailed on for supplies 535 and would soon return. The mockery of this message was only too apparent, and bitterly did they denounce the deserters who had carried off not only treasure and effects, but abandoned them on a strange shore with but scanty armament. The horses were now their main reliance. Although poorly provided they remained, and electing Alcalde Medina to the captaincy, proceeded on May 18, 1525, to found Trujillo and install officers.[XVII-29]

One morning, not long after, a caravel was seen approaching, and eagerly the officials set out to meet her. But it was not theirs. The audiencia of Santo Domingo had heard of the threatened collision of rival factions in Honduras, and of the fuel Casas was bringing to the flame. They were desirous that their authority should be felt in these parts. They would bend the spirit of these turbulent governors. On this occasion Fiscal Pedro Moreno, a better trader than judge, had been sent by the grand tribunal to Honduras to order away Casas, to enjoin Córdoba and Alvarado not to meddle, to impose on Olid and Gil Gonzalez the authority of the audiencia, with injunctions to peaceably occupy only that part of which they had been the first to take possession, and to surrender to the fiscal the royal fifth. To cover the expenses of the commission the chartered caravel had been loaded, for account of the crown, with arms and stores, which were to be distributed among the needy colonists at a profit. If the adventure proved successful the judges might make a part of the profit their own; if unfortunate, who so well fitted to bear the loss as the sovereign!

Medina related to Moreno the troubles of the colonists, including the desertion of Aguirre, and appealed to him for redress. He also asked for arms. Moreno offered to relieve the wants of the colony 536 only on condition that it should transfer allegiance from Cortés to the audiencia, as agents for the emperor, and accept for captain Juan Ruano, one of Olid's officers, as had been done by Gil Gonzalez' men.[XVII-30] Pressed by necessity the colonists acquiesced. One of the first acts in connection with the transfer was to change the name Trujillo to Ascension. After a kidnapping raid on a neighboring pueblo, Moreno departed with about forty slaves, promising soon to return with a force strong enough to hold the province.[XVII-31] Hardly had his sails disappeared when the colonists restored the standard of Cortés, and sent Ruano to follow his patron, with the reminder that his moderation and efforts in their behalf had alone saved his neck. 537

CHAPTER XVIII.
MARCH OF CORTÉS TO HONDURAS.
1524-1525.

Doubts concerning Casas—Cortés Tired of Inaction—Determines to Go in Person to Honduras—Sets out with a Large Party—Arrives at Goazacoalco—The Gay Army soon Comes to Grief—The Way Barred by Large Rivers and Deep Morasses—Scarcity of Provisions—Sufferings of the Soldiers—The Trick of the Merchant-cacique—Killing of the Captive Kings—Apotheosis of a Charger—Fears of Rebellious Spaniards Dissipated on Nearing Nito.

Inordinate covetings had never been characteristic of Cortés; but when a man attains eminence in wealth, power, or fame, it seems natural, it is rather expected, that he should become sordid, grasping, callous to human sympathy, indifferent to noble sentiment, the slave of avarice and ambition. Greed constitutes no small part of grandeur.

Northward from the Mexican capital were limitless lands; Cortés could not tell how much there might be to the west; hence one would think he might well leave to his countrymen in the south something for their pains; that he might even give his captains independent governments without diminution of his manliness.

But insignificant to Cortés as was this Honduras country, and petty as were the bickerings of its occupants, they were nevertheless objects of solicitude to the great chief. No sooner had Casas left the Chalchiuhcuecan shore, than Cortés began to doubt the wisdom of his course in sending one servant after 538 another. The more he reflected on the popularity of Olid and the number of his men, the comparatively untried ability of his opponent, and the reputed wealth of the country, the more he feared for the result, and wished to be present there in person.[XVIII-1] Not to mention the itching palm for power, this desire was increased by the petty espionage to which the imperial officers subjected his every movement. He longed to roam with kindred spirits in the wilds of the south, wherein native tradition located stately cities and treasure-filled palaces. He longed to meet a worthy foe. As he nursed the dream, the glow increased within him at the prospect of penetrating unknown regions, overcoming toil and danger, and discovering something new, something startling; perchance he might find the long-sought strait.

A hint in this direction was sufficient to rouse the anxiety of friends and enemies alike. He was the guiding spirit of all undertakings, and the protecting shield. All would return to chaos were he to withdraw; and the still wavering natives who respected and feared Malinche, as Cortés was called by the Mexicans, above any host of soldiers, might rise and overwhelm them.

So urgent and general were the representations to this effect that he yielded, or pretended to yield.[XVIII-2] But the spirit of the Castilian explorer once aroused could not be repressed. He felt that he had been too long idle, so he wrote his sovereign, and must do 539 something in the service of his Majesty.[XVIII-3] Preparations were accordingly resumed under pretence that a disaffection in the Goazacoalco region required his personal attention.

He set out from Mexico in the latter part of October, 1524,[XVIII-4] leaving the government in charge of men whose flattery had blinded him to their insidious designs. The party consisted of about one hundred horsemen, half of them with extra animals, some forty archers and arquebusiers, and three thousand native warriors and servants,[XVIII-5] the latter chiefly under the leadership of the three deposed sovereigns, Quauhtemotzin the last emperor of Mexico, Tetlepanquetzal king of Tlacopan, and Cohuanococh king of Tezcuco, and five or six captive caciques, whom it was regarded unsafe to leave behind.[XVIII-6]

Among the leading officers in the train were the alguacil mayor, Sandoval, Ocampo, Ircio, Saavedra, Grado, and a number who acted as household officials and gentlemen in waiting to the leader. There were also a retinue of pages, youths of good family, among them young Montejo, later conqueror of Yucatan, and a number of musicians, jugglers, tumblers, and 540 clowns.[XVIII-7] Cortés had a natural bent for pomp, the pomp that gracefully adorns the truly great. The church was represented by a clergyman and three friars; chief among interpreters was Marina, the Mexican maiden, whose clear head and devoted heart had more than once saved the Castilian invaders, and preserved their leader to her love.

The march was directed to Espíritu Santo, the place of review, not far above the mouth of the Goazacoalco. On the way the party was made the object of a series of demonstrations, and the settlers of Goazacoalco, including the 'true historian,' Bernal Diaz, came forth in procession, with fireworks and masquerade, to conduct the mighty conqueror under triumphal arches and amid salvos to his quarters. The joy was mingled with misgivings, however, for the small force and still smaller equipment awakened a fear that a levy might be made. This proved only too true, and while some joined of their own will, dazzled by the lustre of the leader's name, others, happy with a repartimiento of Indians, who existed only to attend their wants, were not so quick to fall into line.[XVIII-8] The chiefs of the neighborhood were summoned to give information, and showed a surprising acquaintance with the country as far south even as the domain of Pedrarias. They also prepared a map on cloth, depicting minutely the different rivers, mountains, and pueblos on the route to Nito,[XVIII-9] some of them ravaged by Spaniards, and now deserted. The manuscript representation of this vast region, filled with great cities and rich provinces, determined Cortés to advance toward Honduras direct, and abandon 541 the idea once entertained of going through Guatemala.[XVIII-10] Both the map and the imagination failed, however, adequately to picture the vast morasses and miry sloughs alternating with and bordering the countless rivers which served for highways to the natives. The lithe, unencumbered Indian could not clearly grasp the difficulties herein presented to the heavy cavalry, for in his light canoe he could speed along the mighty streams, pass up the tributary branches, and penetrate far and wide by means of the more shallow creeks into the primeval forests.

After a week's stay the expedition advanced. Tumbler and fiddler led in the van a merry dance, perhaps to death; in the rear was a herd of swine, kept at a safe distance, however, lest its presence should too greatly tempt the appetite of the hungry soldiers. The artillery of four guns, a quantity of small arms, ammunition, and stores were sent by a vessel to Rio Tabasco, to be followed by two small caravels from Medellin laden with provisions. From this point it was intended to let one of them follow the coast, west of Yucatan, still regarded as an island, so as to be able to furnish supplies when called upon by the land force which also expected to follow the shore. The rainy season was not yet over, and the very brooks had swollen into rushing rivers. Two streams, nine and eighteen leagues respectively from Espíritu Santo, had to be crossed in canoes, the horses swimming,[XVIII-11] and beyond flowed a still wider watercourse which required a bridge of nine hundred and thirty-four paces in length. The difficulties of the march may be understood from the statement that while traversing Copilco province, fully fifty bridges had to be constructed within a distance of twenty leagues.[XVIII-12] It 542 was a rich department with half a score of head pueblos, and having an abundance of provisions they were ordered to send tribute in kind to Espíritu Santo. After crossing a steep range a wide tributary of Rio Tabasco was reached,[XVIII-13] where the troops were cheered by the arrival of a score of canoes laden with provisions from one of the vessels. Natives of the province also appeared in obedience to a summons, and assisted in crossing the river and in opening a path along the thickly wooded bank to the capital of Cihuatlan[XVIII-14] province, twelve leagues up the river. As they approached it the guides and sappers suddenly disappeared in the close-knit jungle. A few steps further the path opened at the junction of a tributary river, and on the several banks was disclosed a large pueblo, silent as the grave; but the smoke yet curling from the ruins showed that it had only recently been abandoned. In the nearest suburb, which contained some two hundred houses, they remained for nearly three weeks. Meanwhile a bridge of three hundred paces was built across a marsh, and expeditions were sent out in vain search for reliable guides, and to explore the neighborhood.[XVIII-15]

The next objective point was Chilapan, capital of a province bearing the same name; this they also found burned and deserted, but well provided with food. The crossing of the river here, which detained the army for over a week, was effected on rafts, but despite the care taken the rushing torrent played havoc with the baggage. Beyond this lay a marshy tract only six leagues in extent, but so troublesome as to detain them two days. The horses suffered severely, sinking many times up to the ears, as Cortés expresses it, and endangering the safety of the men in their struggles, so much so that three 543 Spaniards were lost, beside a number of Indians.[XVIII-16] After a week's rest at the ruined yet well-stocked Tamacaztepec, they made another marshy journey of three days before reaching Iztapan, a fine large pueblo on the banks of the Usumacinta, burned and deserted like the preceding. The Cihuatlatecs had, it seems, in their wild scamper spread the most blood-curdling stories of the fierceness and cruelty of the Spaniards. The timidity of the natives was proving inconvenient, and guides were sent out to assure the inhabitants of the peaceful intent of the invaders. The caciques were encouraged to tender submission in person, and were rewarded with presents, accompanied by a grandiloquent discourse about "the greatest prince on earth," and the mission he had given Cortés to remedy evils, bestow benefits, and point the way to salvation.[XVIII-17]

A week's rest was taken, during which half a dozen Spaniards were sent up the river in canoes to receive the submission of chiefs, not to mention the accompanying presents that were to indicate the wealth of the district. Three soldiers were also sent down the stream, to Tabasco, with orders for the fleet to sail to Ascension Bay,[XVIII-18] after sending boats with provisions and stores to Acalan. It was to follow the shore so as to be near the army, if possible, for "it is believed," writes Cortés, "though not for certain, that the natives pass through the Bay of Términos to the other sea, leaving Yucatan an island." One of the three soldiers bearing the instructions was Francisco de Medina, an ill-tempered, violent, but able man, 544 with some knowledge of the country and the language, who had managed to ingratiate himself with his chief so far as to be commissioned to share the command of the fleet with the actual captain, Simon de Cuenca, one of Cortés' mayordomos. On reaching the vessels at Xicalanco he assumed an overbearing manner, and quarrelled with Cuenca about the command till it came to blows. Perceiving the state of affairs the natives watched their opportunity, attacked and killed the crew, pillaged the vessels, and burned them to remove the evidence. The news spread until it reached the capital, although in a distorted form, which gave the impression that Cortés and all his force had perished. The anxiety became so great that Ordaz, one of the favorite officers of Cortés, set out among others to ascertain the truth of the report. Following the coast by water, he reached the scene of the slaughter, and received such evidence as to lead him to declare that the great leader must indeed be dead. Obsequies in his honor were accordingly held at Mexico, after which but a trusting few entertained hopes of ever seeing him again.[XVIII-19]

Proceeding to Tatahuitlapan Cortés found the place partly burned, and deserted by all save a score of native priests, who inspired by duty had resolved to stay and die with the idols as ordained by the oracle. To show their impotence the images were destroyed, while the keepers were exhorted to devote themselves to the veneration of the cross, to whose merciful inspiration 545 they owed their safety. It was a sacred duty with Cortés to erect the Christian emblem in all pueblos and camping-places, and where ceiba-trees grew they were fashioned into crosses which, blooming anew, stood as living symbols of the saving faith. On the crosses were fastened notices of the expedition. In this region exists to-day a village called Las Tres Cruces, from three crosses said to have been left by Cortés. The place is barely thirty miles from the famous ruins of Palenque, yet no allusion is made by the conquerors to the stupendous structures, the matchless palaces, and the curious sculptures there existing. Once the object of admiration and worship to countless pilgrims from far-off districts, the city now lay wrapped within the secure folds of dense forests, and only tradition spoke of her past glories. Perhaps it was well for the fortune-hunters, at least, that vegetation had obliterated the highways which in times past must have led to the shrine of the 'tree of life' from the malarious lowlands of the Usumacinta region, for a sight of such grandeur might have awakened hopes never to be realized, and prompted expeditions ending only in disaster.

They now struck across to Huetecpan,[XVIII-20] higher up the river, and, after wading through a slough, plunged into a forest whose close growth shut out the very light of heaven.[XVIII-21] Here they groped for two days along the sappers' path, till they found themselves back on the route already traversed. Pressed by the troubled leaders the guides cried out that they were lost. This admission was not without danger, for the provisions were exhausted, and the men filled with gloomy forebodings, which found vent with many in curses on their leader for having brought them to such a pass. They demanded that the swine be slaughtered, but the mayordomo, who had prudently 546 let the drove fall behind, intimated that the alligators had eaten them. They must be content with the scanty sustenance of roots and berries. Meanwhile Cortés had recourse to his maps and compass, and determined on a north-east course as the most likely to lead to his destination. This calculation proved correct, and although the place was in ruins, there was enough of food to bury gloom in feasting. Soldiers being sent in search of guides, found a little beyond the river a lake where the inhabitants had taken refuge in canoes and on islands. Finding themselves discovered the natives came fearlessly forth, stating that the Spanish boat expedition from Iztapan had reassured them, so much so that a brother of the cacique had joined the party with four armed canoes for convoy. The boats being recalled, brought evidence of the submission tendered by four or five pueblos in a cargo of honey and other delicacies, with a little gold. Similar contributions flowed from different pueblos whose inhabitants came to gaze at the bearded men.[XVIII-22]

Explorers were sent forward as on previous occasions, to report on the road, but finding it comparatively easy for some distance they neglected to examine the remainder,[XVIII-23] and misled the army as to the nature of the route. Beyond lay a large province bounded by the Laguna de Términos, the broad Usumacinta, and the ranges of Vera Paz, a low-lying country abounding in morasses, miasmatic inlets, and winding rivers tributary to the Términos. The fertility of this naturally irrigated tract, not inaptly known as Acalan, 'land of boats,' was evident in the rank growth of the vegetation, and the great variety of products. No roads existed, but 547 the numerous streams provided a series of highways which the enterprising natives had not failed to utilize in carrying their surplus products to arid and less rich provinces, especially to the north-east and south, and in bringing back slaves and compact treasures. It was quite natural for a people engaged in traffic to choose as ruler the richest trader, and such a one was the present, Apochpalon[XVIII-24] by name. To him were sent a number of Spaniards and Indians[XVIII-25] with a reassuring message and an invitation to meet Cortés.

After a three days' march over a rough mountain track, the army suddenly found the path obstructed by a deep channel five hundred paces wide, with slimy borders. The passage was shown to be practicable only by means of a bridge which required patient labor, since the depth of water and mud proved to be fully six fathoms. Great was the dismay, for there were hardly any provisions left, and to recross the mountain was a formidable task under the circumstances. The murmurs of the worn-out soldiers were loud enough at the first sight of the obstruction, and when Cortés with his usual audacity gave orders to build a bridge, they rose almost into mutiny. The leader had been in worse troubles however. He knew every trait of a Spanish soldier's character, and he was versed in blandishments. He showed the futility of retreat, since apart from the mountain road, so long and severe, freshets must by this time have washed away the means of recrossing rivers, and no provisions were left in the deserted pueblos. Before them, on the other hand, lay a land of plenty, seamed with gold. He would guarantee the completion of the bridge within five days, or, this failing, he would follow their wishes. Wily Cortés! Could he induce them to begin the work, he would trust his wits to secure its completion. But the men 548 remained sullen. They would die of hunger before the bridge was finished. Hibueras would never be reached. "Very well," said Cortés, "be spectators, I will build the bridge with the aid of Indians alone." Brief persuasion was needed with the latter, for the chiefs were in the tyrant's hands, and their word was law to their followers. Timber was felled, and with the aid of rafts the piling began. Shamed by this measure the Spaniards joined in the work, and to cheer them the solitary musician who had not fainted beneath the hardships of the march was ordered to play some cheering airs. But the men cried, "Peace! we want bread, not music." The gnawings of hunger could not be appeased with empty sound.

While some thus worked diligently on the bridge, others went in search of roots and berries, but with poor success. Overcome by famine and fatigue numbers lay down to die, while, to add to the catalogue of horrors, several of the Indian guides were seized by native auxiliaries and cooked. Among the victims to the adventure thus far, says Torquemada, was Fray Juan de Tecto, who, exhausted by hunger, leaned his head against a tree and surrendered his spirit.[XVIII-26]

Before the expiration of a week the bridge was completed, a painful work indeed for fainting men, ill-furnished with the means, to perform within so short a time. It was composed, says Cortés, of a thousand trees, nine to ten fathoms long, the smallest almost as thick as a man, besides a quantity of small timber, secured with wooden pegs and withes. For years this and several other 'bridges of Malinche' remained a source of utility and wonder to the natives, who declared that nothing was impossible to the white man.[XVIII-27] Hunger and toil were for the moment forgotten in congratulations over the completion of 549 the structure, but their joy was of short duration. Hardly had the rear of the army crossed the bridge when the van came to a slough which surpassed in difficulties any yet encountered. The horses sank almost out of sight, and it was only by the united efforts of the army that the beasts, on which their success so greatly depended, were finally extricated. This trouble over they were cheered by the arrival of Bernal Diaz, who had been absent foraging. It was not always that he returned so well laden, for now he had one hundred and thirty loads of maize and a quantity of fowl and other provisions. Sometimes he could find nothing; sometimes what he found he hid, lest with the starving army he himself should starve. He was sure it would be snatched from his hands the moment he entered camp; and so it was on the present occasion; the soldiers pounced upon and devoured it like famished wolves. During the scramble were seized also the stores intended for the officers, so that the general himself could not obtain a crumb. Fortunately Bernal Diaz had with his usual foresight placed in cache a portion of these very provisions, and suspecting this Cortés so petted and praised the old soldier[XVIII-28] that he had no longer the heart to withhold the food.

With Bernal Diaz came also messengers from the cacique bringing presents, including a little gold, and offering the hospitality of his realm. The following day Tizapetlan was reached, where food had been prepared. There the expedition remained a week. The attentive natives were awed no less by the number of the invaders than by their strange appearance. The horses were a perpetual source of wonder, and offerings of roses were made to allay the anger displayed 550 by their fierce pawing. The merchant-chief had thought it prudent to be obsequious to men so formidable; but, when he saw how food disappeared before them, and how greedily every valuable was appropriated, he trembled with apprehension. If they were content to stay and feast for a week in one of his miserable border towns, how long might they not tarry in the central cities of the richer districts? To rid the province of the cormorants, the cacique pretended to have died, directing his son to lead them quickly in upon the lands of a neighbor. After the funeral rites and interchange of presents, the young man addressed the Spaniards. "You would reach the settlements of your countrymen in Honduras. They are quite near; hardly eight days distant is Nito, where are floating houses, and bearded men on giant deer."

This he could affirm, for there was an Acalan factory, and at its head Apochpalon's own brother, who had told him of these things. This news was more to the cacique's purpose than any artifice, and eagerly the expedition hurried to Teotilac,[XVIII-29] five or six leagues off, guided thither by the dutiful young chief over a circuitous route.[XVIII-30]

The ruler of Teotilac was by no means pleased to find thrown upon him this hungry host; and he revealed to Cortés the trickery of Apochpalon. Thereupon Cortés ordered the dead man immediately to appear. Two days later, accordingly, the sovereign-cacique arrived, looking most sheepish. He proffered innumerable excuses, and tendered as amends the hospitality of the capital. The offer was too tempting not to procure his forgiveness. 551

One of the two temples serving for army headquarters at Teotilac was occupied by a goddess, whose fierce passions could be appeased only with the blood of beautiful virgins. To insure the genuineness of the vestal offering, so that a mistake might not render it fruitless, girls were selected in infancy and brought up in strictest seclusion within the temple walls, till came the time for yielding their fair forms to the sacrifice. Cortés sought to impress on the people the absurdity of so atrocious a superstition, and destroyed the idol.

This place is remarkable for one incident which concerned the safety of the Spaniards, according to their account, and left an indelible impression on the natives of New Spain. Among those who followed the expedition as hostages, as we have seen, were three deposed kings, two of whom were now accused of treachery, Quauhtemotzin, and Tetlepanquetzal. These patriots were criminal in the eyes of the Spaniards; they had dared to regard the invaders as the enemies of their country, and bitterly to oppose them. It seemed now convenient to Cortés that they should die, and excuse was not wanting for killing them. Suffering every hardship of the march, the royal captives had found some consolation in observing how heavily it bore on their keepers, toiling, starving, discontented, blundering along an unknown and dangerous route. But this was not their only feeling. Quauhtemotzin, the sovereign, the general, the tactician, could not fail to observe the disparity between his followers and the hated white men. The latter were reduced in strength by famine and hardships, in the midst of a strange country, far from relief, while the Mexicans, if also weakened, and not so well armed, were tenfold more numerous, and more at home in these wilds. Inspired by a deeply rooted devotion to their traditions, to their princes, to their country, the merest whisper of revenge, of 552 freedom, could not fail to find response. Yes, sweet was the thought of revenge; equally sweet the prospect of a triumphal return to Mexico, there to be greeted as a liberator ordained to restore the ancient grandeur of Montezuma's court; finally, perhaps, to be exalted by a grateful people to the pantheon of the gods, a dream so worthy the soldier and patriot, how oft may it not have smiled upon his fancy! What more natural, what more commendable indeed, than projects for the liberation not alone of the auxiliary host, but of their country and kindred? Treachery had been used to reduce them, and treachery must be met with treachery. This was justifiable, although the Indians probably weighed not the moral aspect of the question. As for the risk, one blow, one death, was preferable to the daily death which they were suffering on this journey. Yes, they must take advantage of the opportunity presented, and while the Spaniards were engrossed by the difficulties of some mountain pass, or engulfed in some morass, fall upon them, especially upon the feared Cortés, and then, with the prestige of victors, return to Mexico, where their compatriots would meanwhile, under advice, have risen simultaneously against the now disorganized and squabbling colonists, reduced as they were in numbers.[XVIII-31]

How long the plot had been brewing is not stated, but during the stay at Teotilac Cortés was startled by a revelation from a prominent Mexican,[XVIII-32] who gave 553 him a paper with the names of the conspirators in hieroglyphics. Several were seized, and under separate examination confessed to the existence of the plot, although disclaiming for themselves of course any actual participation.[XVIII-33] Quauhtemotzin was also questioned, and admitted, says Bernal Diaz, that the hardships and dangers had aroused rebellious sentiments among the Indians, but claimed that he was not the author, and judging from his own feelings he regarded the whole thing as mere talk. A quick secret trial was held, and the sentence of death by hanging pronounced against Quauhtemotzin and Tetlepanquetzal,[XVIII-34] who were dragged forth during the stillness of the night to a ceiba-tree, where they met their fate. Cortés was present at the execution, and to him Quauhtemotzin addressed himself, writes Bernal Diaz. "Malinche, many a day have I suspected the falsity of thy words, and that thou hadst destined this end to my life. Why dost thou kill me without 554 justice? God will demand of thee thy answer!" Tetlepanquetzal calmly expressed himself content to die with his royal companion, and together they listened to the exhortations of the friars, dying like true Christians.[XVIII-35] The execution took place during the carnival days preceding shrove-tide, and appears to have created no excitement either among Indians or Spaniards.[XVIII-36]

Most Spanish authorities are of course inclined to uphold the act as a necessary punishment for a proven crime. Yet certain men, like Torquemada, a champion of the natives, and modern Mexican writers, side with the Indians in stamping it as a foul murder, carried out merely to be rid of the kings whose presence was becoming a burden to the conquerors. Others, like Bernal Diaz, soften the deed into a mistake, based on insufficient evidence, and prompted by a desire to smother a conspiracy which some imaginary spirits had conjured.[XVIII-37] But Cortés would hardly have removed so valuable a hostage without good reason. 555 The reason being admitted, and this to some extent even by native records, the precarious situation of the Spaniards demanded that Cortés should take measures commensurate with the apparent danger.[XVIII-38] 556

Many of the natives, particularly those now encountering the Spaniards for the first time, regarded the discovery of the conspiracy with superstitious awe. The idea of treachery by an accomplice did not seem to so occur to them, but with mysterious shaking of the head they pointed to the compass and chart. Instruments which had so unaccountably, and better than any guide, pointed out the road and saved the army from destruction, could of course reveal a simple conspiracy. Nothing could be hidden from the owner of that needle. Conscious, perhaps, of some stray unfriendly thought, many hastened to Cortés to protest their devotion. "Look into the mirror, and you will find it so," they said, alluding to the compass, yet quaking the while lest a suspicion should there 557 stand depicted. Apochpalon was so affected that he hastened to tender allegiance and to burn idols. So convenient a belief was not to be disturbed, and the natives were allowed to nurse it.

The army now proceeded to Izancanac,[XVIII-39] the populous capital of Acalan, conducted by Apochpalon in person. He was mounted on a horse, and the first apprehensions over, he strode his steed with childish delight. The soldiers were treated with sumptuous hospitality, and Cortés was gratified with presents of gold and women. Meanwhile, to facilitate the further march, the road was improved, a bridge built, and guides were provided, besides an advance corps laden with provisions. In return for all this Apochpalon asked merely for a letter to prove to other white comers that he had been faithful.

There was every inducement to prolong the stay at Izancanac, served and feasted as they were, but the nearness of the Spanish settlements, as alluringly depicted by the calculating Apochpalon, was an incentive for all to proceed. Laden with rations for a week, they departed on the first Sunday in Lent from the fair province of Acalan, over which, the protective letter notwithstanding, the withering influence of Spaniards was soon to fall. On the third day they entered the prairie-studded province of the Mazatecs,[XVIII-40] so called from the abundance of deer. These animals were here regarded with veneration, and the consequent immunity from pursuit had made them not only numerous, but tame. The soldiers, being restrained by no scruples of native superstition, could not resist the temptation of a chase over the verdure-clad fields, and soon a score of deer were added to the larder. The following day they came to a frontier fortress, built on a rock, and bounded on 558 one side by a lake, on the other by a river, and with only one means of access. Besides this natural strength it was protected by a double stockade with moats, surmounted by towers, and the houses were also provided with shot-holes. The place was in fact impregnable, and every precaution was taken to meet the resistance for which the attack of some lately captured scouts had prepared them. Cautiously they advanced toward the entrance. Not a sound, not a movement. An ambuscade must have been formed, since no gate barred the entry. But within reigned silence, and it was only on reaching the plaza that some chiefs appeared with humble obeisance. This was one of the asylums erected by the Mazatecs for refuge against the wild Lacandones. But what availed walls and arms against the irresistible bearded men who controlled the lightning. Them the inhabitants dared not resist. They had fled to mountain fastnesses, leaving their wealth of provisions and arms at the disposal of the invaders, with the sole request that the place be not destroyed. The chiefs were reassured, and after replenishing their stores the Spaniards proceeded for seven leagues to a larger and similar pueblo called Tiac, situated on a plain, within a stockade, each of its three wards being provided with separate palisades. The caciques of this and several other pueblos of the province, each independent and quarrelsome, sent messengers with presents and offers of allegiance, but could not be prevailed upon to come in person with their people. The guides here obtained gave the cheering information that the white men were not far off, and conducted them to Ahuncahuitl, the last pueblo of this province, also fortified, and amply provisioned, so much so that rations were taken for the five days' march which intervened before reaching the province of the Itzas.[XVIII-41]

Four nights were spent in the mountains, in which 559 was a bad pass, called Alabastro from the appearance of the rock. They now came to a small lake with an island pueblo, from which the inhabitants fled as the soldiers waded over.[XVIII-42] The following day they were surprised to behold the gleaming walls and lofty temples of a large pueblo, situated on an isle several miles from shore, in a large sheet of water, which Cortés assumed to be an arm of the sea.[XVIII-43] But his ordeal was not yet over. It was the lake now known as Peten, and the pueblo was Tayasal,[XVIII-44] the capital of the Itzas, which recalled in a measure to the old conquerors the first and never to be forgotten view of the famous queen city enthroned in the lake of Mexico.

The natives had taken to their canoes on the approach of the Spaniards, and heeded no signs or appeals, but with the aid of a dog a solitary boatman 560 was captured. A friendly message was now despatched to the canek inviting him to a conference, and offering hostages. It was not long ere six large canoes approached the shore, and some thirty persons stepped fearlessly forth. At their head came one whose commanding figure and quiet dignity announced the ruler. A flowing white robe disclosed an elaborately tattooed skin, relieved by an embroidered maxtli. The braided hair was surmounted by a head-dress of feathers, and the face, also tattooed with black lines, was further ornamented with gold pendants in nose and ears. He bade Cortés welcome, and expressed himself secure in his company without the proffered hostage.

It was the hour for mass, and with a view both to please him and to teach a pious lesson, the ceremony was held with chant and instrumental accompaniment. The faith was thereupon explained by a friar, with so good an effect that the chief promised to destroy his idols and venerate the cross till teachers should arrive to give him full instruction. As an earnest of his intention presents were produced, consisting chiefly of provisions, with a few strings of red shells highly valued by the natives, and other trinkets; and though the gold was small in quantity, yet it encouraged Cortés to give in return a shirt, a velvet cap, and some cutlery. News had reached the island city of the doings of the Europeans, not only at Naco and Nito, but in Tabasco, where the natives some years before had been conquered in three battles. Cortés hastened to assure the canek that he saw before him the hero of those famed encounters, and finding that an impression had been produced, he warmed with a description of the power and grandeur of the greatest prince on earth. The canek was not merely impressed but awed, so much so that he at once tendered allegiance.

With new guides the main body proceeded round the lake southward, while Cortés entered the canoes 561 with a score of archers to visit the island city. The officers sought to dissuade him from risking his person in the hands of a perhaps treacherous enemy, but the general did not wish to be surpassed in fearlessness and confidence.[XVIII-45] He was greatly admired by the islanders who thronged round his mailed followers with mingled curiosity and awe. On leaving he commended to their care a black horse which had been disabled by a wound in the leg. Ignorant of the treatment required by the animal, and eager to do reverence to the strange charge, they are said to have offered it flowers and fowl, on which diet it died. The grief of the Itzas was equalled only by their fear. What would the white chief say when he returned? Nothing now remained but to do homage to the carcass. They had seen the flash of the fire-arm as the mounted hunter chased the deer on the prairie, and fancied that this as well as the report issued from the horse. What more appropriate apotheosis of a charger than into a god of thunder? As Tziminchac it was accordingly adored. The bones were kept as sacred relics while an effigy sejant of the animal, formed of masonry, attracted direct worship.[XVIII-46]

The next resting-place of the army was at Tlecan, a deserted pueblo some seven leagues from Tayasal, where the Spaniards stayed for four days and provided themselves with a week's rations. Six leagues further a halt was made at a hamlet, in honor of the virgin's festival.[XVIII-47] Nine leagues beyond, a rugged pass was entered in which the rough sharp stones tore from the horses feet their very shoes. The next station bore the name Ahuncapun where a two days' 562 halt was made. Five leagues beyond lay Tachuytel, after which began an eight league ascent of the roughest mountains yet encountered, called de Pedernales, Mountain of Flints. The horses could hardly move a step without slipping, and cutting their legs and bodies most dangerously. On any other occasion the sight of suffering among the prized animals, the chief reliance of the army, would have touched the men deeply, but now they were too much absorbed by their own sufferings to think of them. Many of the soldiers were also becoming disabled, and the provisions were giving out in the midst of the mountains, which in many places offered not even a root. Days passed by in slow and toilsome advance; none could tell how much longer this long journey would last. A heavy rain added to their torment, and past sufferings were forgotten in the present. Many fell from exhaustion and hunger, or slipped from the rocks into the abyss; and so extreme was the need, says Herrera, that one confessed to having eaten of the brains and entrails of three men who had died of hunger.[XVIII-48]

View larger image

Cortés did his utmost to encourage the men. With pike in hand he would lead the march over the difficult parts of the road; he cheered and consoled them, and divided what he had with the sick and famished. This energy, this sympathy and generosity did wonders and animated the men to repress their murmurs. Finally, after twelve days of toil, says Cortés, the terrible flint road ended; but it had cost the lives of several men, and sixty-eight horses had fallen over the cliffs, or had been fatally disabled, while the rest did not recover from the strains and bruises for three months.[XVIII-49] Now the men began to 563 breathe easier, but, as once before, the dawning joy was abruptly checked by a formidable obstacle. They found themselves on the banks of a wide river whose waters tore by with a rapidity that made even rafting impracticable. While the soldiers stood gazing in mute despair at the barriers behind and in front, praying for deliverance, Cortés sent out parties to search for an outlet, and soon reports were brought of a ford. It was as a reprieve from death. Te Deum was solemnly chanted, and tough old soldiers shed tears of joy. When the nature of the passage was observed, it seemed indeed as if heaven had decreed a miracle in their behalf. The ford, two thirds of a league wide, consisted of a smooth ledge 564 stretching across the whole river, and intersected by over twenty channels, through which the water rushed with deafening roar. But even the channels could not be crossed without bridges, and fully two days were spent in felling timber for the twenty passages.[XVIII-50]

It was Easter eve[XVIII-51] when the ford was crossed by the infantry, followed by the disabled horses. Again came a check to their joy. Tenciz, the pueblo at which they now arrived, a league beyond the ford, had been evacuated, and nearly all the supplies carried off. For over ten days the men had eaten hardly anything but palm-cabbage, and very little of that, owing to the trouble in obtaining it.[XVIII-52] Fortunately, some natives were found who guided a foraging party back across the river a day's journey into the Tahuytal province, where an abundance of provisions was obtained, and which furnished the army with good cheer during the five days' stay at Tenciz, and with some rations for the journey into Acuculin province.

The guides here obtained ran away, and the Spaniards had to advance with the aid of native maps alone. The route was level, and eleven leagues were easily covered in two days by crossing two rivers. This brought them to a small settlement of Acalan traders, who had been driven from Nito by the Spanish excesses, and found refuge here. Soon after the capital of the province was reached, but it was deserted and almost devoid of provisions. This was most discouraging, and to advance without guides appeared dangerous. Notwithstanding the scanty sustenance obtained from palm-cabbage, cooked with pork, and 565 unsalted, a week was spent in searching for guides. Finally a boy was found who led them a day's journey to a river in Taniha province, evidently Rio Sarstoon. Following the stream downward for a couple of days they came to Otulizti pueblo, where the natives reported that Nito lay only two suns away. In proof of this assertion two women were brought who had served the Spaniards there. Hunger and fatigue were forgotten in the rejoicing over this news, and the men impatiently begged to be led onward.

But there was need for prudence, since nothing was known about the condition of affairs in Honduras, and the troops were not at present in a position to meet a well-equipped foe, particularly if led by the redoubtable Olid. Sandoval was accordingly sent forward with a few chosen men to reconnoitre. It was not far to the shore of the Amatique Bay, beyond which lay the object of their journey. The bay was skirted till they reached the wide stream which forms the outlet of Golfo Dulce. Here they captured a trader's canoe, and then hid themselves to see what next should happen. It was not long before a canoe approached with four white men, who were outflanked and secured. They proved to be soldiers of Gil Gonzalez stationed at Nito, to which site the old settlement at San Gil de Buenavista had been transferred.[XVIII-53] On the whole the account of affairs was cheering to Sandoval, the main point being that the province was quiet, and thoroughly devoted to Cortés, although without a regular governor since the departure of Casas. A messenger was at once despatched to relieve the anxiety of the general, and the soldier to whom the commission was intrusted reaped a rich harvest from his overjoyed chief and comrades. 566

CHAPTER XIX.
CORTÉS IN HONDURAS.
1525-1526.

He is Master of all the Miseries there—Miasma and Deep Distress—Exertions of Cortés in Behalf of the Colonists—A Vessel Appears with Provisions—Cortés Sends out Foragers—He Seeks a better Locality—Sandoval at Naco—Others Settle at Caballos—Cortés at Trujillo—Vessels Sent to Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica—Troubles in Mexico—Cortés Irresolute—Starts for Mexico—Is Driven back by a Storm—Pacification of adjacent Pueblos—Cortés Sends Presents to Córdoba—Shall Cortés Make himself Master of Nicaragua?—Arrival of Altamirano—Return of Cortés to Mexico.

Cicero says that a man's best adviser is himself. A wise man can find no better counsellor than his own cool, impartial judgment. Cortés was a wise man, and he could calmly judge. Had he counselled with himself before setting out on this adventure? He had led into Honduras, amidst great sufferings, an army. The end of his perilous march brought to him no great achievement, no great reward. There was no Olid to punish; Casas was not a traitor. Might not the proud conqueror with more advantage have remained at home? The assurance of a ready welcome, instead of a campaign against a formidable rebel, was a relief to the way-worn soldiers; but what thought the commander of it? It is not satisfying to a sane man's pride to beat the air, or charge on a windmill. A traitor to crush, or a fair city to conquer, would have been refreshing pastime to Cortés at this juncture.

In advance of the army, and almost alone, he set 567 out for Nito. If he entered not as a conqueror with sword in hand, he had at least the satisfaction of being welcomed as a savior. Malaria was there, and had so reduced the settlement that the frown of the natives loomed over it like Erinnyan phantoms. There were but three score Spaniards with a few women,[XIX-1] the greater number so reduced by fever and other ailments as hardly to be able to move, and all suffering from poor and insufficient food—zapotes, vegetables, and fish. Without sufficient arms and without horses, they did not venture abroad to forage, and seeing that death would surely overtake all if they remained, the able-bodied men under the leadership of Diego Nieto were repairing a vessel in which to depart.[XIX-2] The disappearance of the four men captured by Sandoval created no small alarm. Were they after all to be overwhelmed by avenging natives? Amidst such troubles no wonder that the appearance of Cortés was greeted as a descent from heaven, and that even men wept as they thronged round to kiss his hand.

The army was not a little surprised at the destitution of the famed Honduras. While ministering consolation, Cortés sent out bands of foragers. One of the parties ascended the Rio Yasa,[XIX-3] and coming to a deserted hamlet, six leagues from the mouth, took refuge from the rain. But it was not long before a band of Indians set upon them, and badly wounded they were driven to the boats, glad to escape with life. Another party found a path leading to a well-provided pueblo called Lequela, but it was eighteen leagues away, and too far for carriers. A third division met with better success.[XIX-4] 568

Meanwhile a vessel appeared in the harbor, having on board thirty Spaniards, beside the crew, and laden with a dozen horses, over seventy hogs, and provisions. It seemed a miracle. And the whole equipment Cortés bought for four thousand pesos.[XIX-5] Welcome as this was to the starving settlement, the sudden change in diet cost the lives of several persons. The site of Nito being so unhealthy and ill-provided, it was resolved to abandon the place, and Sandoval was sent with the greater number of soldiers, settlers, and Indians, to the fertile valley of Naco, Olid's abandoned headquarters, twenty leagues off, on the road to which several well-supplied pueblos offered good halting-places.

With the newly arrived vessel, a repaired caravel and a brigantine, built from some wrecks, Cortés prepared to take the remainder of the party by sea to a better locality. But first he would ascend the wide outlet lately crossed for food, for in this direction some captives assured him he would find rich settlements.[XIX-6] Exploration also impelled him to this quarter, for it was reported that when Gil Gonzalez first arrived here he had detached a vessel for the examination of this entrance; which had traversed two fresh-water gulfs; but the ascent of a tributary beyond had been prevented by strong currents and warlike natives.[XIX-7]

Manning the new brigantine with forty chosen Spaniards and a number of Indians, and attended by boats, Cortés ascended the Rio Dulce, and speedily entered a sheet of water some twelve leagues in circumference, without settlements. Continuing south-west, he went through a long passage into another larger sheet of water lying amidst lofty ranges and most bewitching 569 scenery. Inspired by the wild grandeur around him, he already fancied himself the laurel-crowned discoverer of the long-sought strait. But the dream was brief, for the water proved to be a gulf, some thirty leagues in circumference, and called Apolochic in the vernacular. Leaving the vessel at its western end, near the mouth of a stream, he proceeded with most of the men, under a local guide, over a rough route intersected by innumerable creeks. After a march of twelve leagues, during which only one village of any importance was seen, he came to a pueblo in which loud singing with instrumental accompaniment indicated a festival. Waiting till a late hour, when all was quiet, he fell upon the sleeping natives, and but for the excited exclamation of a soldier the place would have been taken without a blow. As it was, the cacique had time to rally, and in the melée which followed he with several others lost his life. Forty captives were here secured. Cortés was now guided to a larger pueblo, called Chacujal, eight leagues further, and again resorted to a night attack, but did not gain the place without considerable resistance. By morning the Indians had fled. The buildings, particularly the temples, resembled very much those of Mexico, but the language differed as well from the Mexican as from that of the pueblos hitherto met with. Among the captives was an Indian from the Pacific slope, who reported that only three-score leagues intervened between Nito and his country, where Alvarado was conquering.

The place was abundantly provided with cotton goods, maize, the much-needed salt, and other articles, and since it lay near the Polochic River, which entered the gulf twenty leagues from where the vessel lay, messengers were sent to bring it as far up the stream as possible to receive supplies. Meanwhile four rafts were made, and loaded each with forty fanegas of maize, besides beans, cocoa, and other provisions. These operations occupied nearly three weeks, during 570 which time none of the natives could be induced to return and aid in the work.[XIX-8] Cortés now embarked with ten men on the rafts, sending the rest down by land. The current carried them rapidly past the winding banks, with their alternate forest and prairie land, relieved here and there by hamlets and plantations, half hidden amidst cocoa groves and fruit-trees. Nothing unusual occurred till night, when Cortés, who occupied the last raft, was startled by cries of alarm from the one before him, followed by Indian yells. It was too dark to distinguish anything, but the men prepared for what might come. The next moment the raft struck violently against a projecting rock, and a shower of arrows fell. Several warriors now attempted to board, but they either miscalculated the distance, or were pushed overboard by the crew. The Indians had foreseen the opportunity which the rock would afford for an attack, but the rafts escaped them, although most of the Spaniards were wounded, including the general, and half a cargo was damaged. So rapid was the current that the twenty leagues were made by morning. More supplies were obtained from other settlements, and on returning to Nito after an absence of five weeks, sufficient food was brought to fairly supply the fleet.

The whole colony, including Gonzalez' men, now embarked in the three vessels and proceeded to San Andrés Bay, or Caballos, where a number of Sandoval's soldiers had just arrived. The site seemed to be all that could be desired, "with the best port on the entire coast from the Pearl Islands to Florida," with fine indications of gold in the tributary rivers, and with a beautiful and well-settled neighborhood. A colony 571 was accordingly founded there under the name of Natividad de Nuestra Señora, from the day of founding, and fifty settlers were left, chiefly Gonzalez' men and late arrivals from Spain, Diego de Godoy being appointed commander, with the necessary officials. A church was also built and placed in charge of a clergyman. Soon, however, the unhealthiness of the site became apparent, and half the settlers died. The Indians grew insolent and refused supplies, and threatened the destruction of the settlement. Cortés thereupon permitted the colonists to join the prosperous establishment at Naco. Here the Indians had been gradually reassured and conciliated by Sandoval, whose armed incursions had already reduced a number of pueblos of considerable size and wealth.[XIX-9]

Cortés had meanwhile sailed to Trujillo, where the delighted colonists rushed into the water to carry the renowned chief ashore. His first and characteristic act was to enter the church and give thanks for safe arrival.[XIX-10] Then came the exercise of clemency for which he was humbly besought by the late adherents of Olid. Matters had been going smoothly since Ruano was exiled, and the general was too prudent to stir up animosity. With some slight reconstruction, therefore, the orders and arrangements of Casas were confirmed. An impulse was given to the town, and with the enforced aid of native laborers lots were cleared and buildings erected.

The four vessels now in port were not allowed to lie idle. One was despatched to Mexico with the invalids, and with letters for the officials, wherein Cortés commended their zeal for the government, and promised soon to return. Juan de Ávalos, his cousin, was placed in command, and ordered to pick up at Cozumel Island the party of Spaniards left there 572 by Valenzuela. This was done, but on approaching Cuba the vessel was wrecked at Cape San Antonio, with the loss of the captain, two friars, and over thirty others. Of the rest only fifteen survived to reach Guaniguanico.[XIX-11] Of the other vessels, the new brigantine was sent to Española to report to the oidores concerning the overland expedition and the state of affairs in Honduras, and to represent that the kidnapping raid by Moreno was creating trouble among the natives. The authorities ordered the captives to be returned.[XIX-12] The two remaining vessels were despatched to Cuba and Jamaica with the plate and jewels of Cortés to purchase provisions, live stock, and plants wherewith to improve the colony.

One of these ships, in touching at Cuba, found there a vessel from Santo Domingo, destined by the oidores for Mexico to gain positive information about the rumored death of Cortés, and to report on measures against the disorders that might follow. Learning that the conqueror was alive and in Honduras, the messenger of the oidores resolved at once to change the route to Honduras, where his cargo of horses and stores would also find a readier market.

Licenciado Zuazo, the most honorable and trusted of the administrators appointed by Cortés over Mexico, had been arrested by his colleagues for opposing their nefarious plans, and sent out of the way to Cuba. These men had not only seized on the administrative power for their own advancement, to the neglect of public welfare, but, believing the mighty conqueror and his companions in arms to be dead, they had laid hands on their estates, and were persecuting their 573 friends and whosoever ventured to protest. The country was in a most critical condition. Anarchy and spoliation were the order of the day. The colonists were arrayed in opposition to each other, and the Indians found every encouragement for rising against their white oppressors and blotting them out of existence.

All this was reported by Zuazo in a letter to Cortés, with the most earnest pleading for his immediate return, ere it was too late.[XIX-13] Cortés was at first furious; then he melted into tears at the thought of the desolation wrought by his enemies and at the inhuman persecution of his followers. "It serves me right," he said, in a calmer moment, "to be thus treated for placing trust in strangers and ignoring tried comrades."[XIX-14] The news reached him at an unfavorable time. The iron will and nerve which had carried the leader through the hardships of the march, had begun to yield to the insidious influence of the fever-infected bottom-lands of the Amatique Bay, assisted perhaps by disappointment at finding the first aspect of Honduras so far below his hopes. The letter served to rouse his bodily as well as mental energies, though not to that point of clear and prompt determination which had hitherto characterized his acts. He was irresolute. Honduras had been little explored, and the indication of gold near Caballos, though small, led him still to dwell on the stories of richer districts to the south. He feared to abandon 574 a yet promising field, after the efforts lavished on it, and in view of the eager advance of his southern rival, him of Panamá.

The fortunate predictions of a soldier-astrologer in Mexico would not have made him disinclined, in his present frame of mind, to encourage similar counsellors; but no Sabean was at hand to interpret the scintillating oracles. The friars were directed to appeal to the supreme throne, and for three days services were held, with processions, and masses, and prayers for divine direction. Already during the progress of these appeals, Cortés felt a dawning inspiration in a renewed courage to face the treacherous sea, and stronger inclination to trust the development of the province to another. He would return to Mexico. Hernando Saavedra, his cousin, was appointed captain-general of Honduras,[XIX-15] and Sandoval was directed to proceed with his company from Naco to Mexico, by the Guatemala route already opened by Casas. He himself embarked on the government vessel, but at the moment of departure the wind failed, and hearing of a tumult among the colonists he landed to restore order. The unruly spirits appear to have been disappointed office-seekers, to whom the obscurity of official existence in a border province seemed a most ungracious return for their long toil. The general calmed the leading rioters by taking them on board to receive their reward in Mexico. Two days later he set sail, only to meet another check in the breakage of the main lateen yard just outside the harbor. After three days spent in repairs he again departed, with a good wind, but this soon increased to a gale, and fifty leagues from port the mast went overboard and obliged him to return for a third time.

Surely, this was a warning from providence not to proceed. He must have misunderstood the inspiration, and would seek more correct advice. Upon one 575 thing he was determined, not again to trust himself to the billows. The last tossings had cured him of nautical aspirations, and threatened indeed to cure him of all others, for his already weakened body was left in so racked a condition as to bring him near to death. Bernal Diaz describes him as a mere shadow of his former self, and states that a Franciscan robe had been prepared to shroud his body, and by its saving virtues to assist the soul through purgatory.[XIX-16] But, although the conqueror of Mexico had filled the measure of his great achievements, the cup of honors and of disappointments was not yet full. Masses had again been said to sanctify as inspiration his changing resolve. The vessel proceeded, however, bearing a trusted servant[XIX-17] with letters for a number of friends in Mexico, and with orders revoking the power granted to the usurping governors in favor of more reliable men. A number of Mexican chiefs accompanied the messenger to testify that Cortés still lived. They were to proceed to Pánuco after landing the servant in some obscure haven above Vera Cruz, whence he was to proceed alone and in disguise to Mexico, so as to elude any watching enemies. Sandoval was recalled, greatly to the disappointment of his party, who rose almost in open mutiny at being kept away from their estates in Mexico, which were by this time exposed to ruin in hands of strangers and usurpers.[XIX-18]

An additional excuse for the determination to remain may have been found in the hostile attitude 576 of two provinces, Papayeca and Chapagua, some seven leagues from Trujillo.[XIX-19] Some time before this Saavedra had been sent to explore the valley above, and following it for some thirty leagues found a fertile district with a series of flourishing pueblos. A score of caciques appeared to offer their allegiance to Cortés, and into Trujillo flowed provisions and presents. The above-named provinces alone held aloof, pleading not without reason former maltreatment and the kidnapping of tribal members by Fiscal Moreno. No excuses could, however, be regarded as valid in refusing allegiance, and Saavedra marched against them. The people retired to the hills; but three of the Chapagua caciques being captured and peremptorily given a fixed term in which to repeople their towns, the submission of this province was speedily effected. Papayeca was now entered, and Pizacura, one of the two principal caciques, was captured. He threw the blame of resistance on his more powerful colleague, Mazatl, offering if released to secure and hang him, and thus bring the people over. Once free, the cacique cast the promise to the winds as readily as any Spaniard. Mazatl was captured, nevertheless, and given the alternative of repeopling the towns or dying. The chief disdainfully rejected an offer to purchase life with what he regarded as the enslavement of his people, and calmly accepted death.

This severity was thought to be prudent, and it certainly had the effect of bringing the inhabitants back to all the pueblos save the capital. Here Pizacura held forth, supposing, no doubt, that since his escapade no pardon was to be expected. He was soon captured, however, together with over a hundred followers. The latter were enslaved for their obstinacy, while he, with two other caciques, and a youth who 577 appears to have been the true chief of the province, were kept as prisoners.[XIX-20]

This success, as well as the comparatively kind treatment of the natives, tended greatly to promote the pacification of the country, and the name of Cortés became feared and respected far and wide.[XIX-21] One instance of this was the arrival of a deputation from the Gulf Islands, appealing to his power and clemency for protection against a slaving party which was raiding Guanaja. Cortés at once despatched a caravel which brought in the vessel with its slaves, destined for the mines of Cuba and Jamaica. The commander, Rodrigo de Merlo, exhibited a license for his expedition, so that severe measures could not well be taken, but means were found to persuade the captain to settle at Trujillo with his crew. The kidnapped islanders were restored to their grateful friends. They sent in their allegiance and received letters of protection, together with a number of swine which soon multiplied on the islands.[XIX-22]

Another instance of the influence of Cortés' name was afforded by the entry, from Nicaragua into Olancho[XIX-23] province, of an expedition under Gabriel de Rojas, consisting of sixty men with twenty horses. The natives resisted, no doubt, whereupon Rojas began to enslave and pillage. A deputation arriving at Trujillo to implore protection, Sandoval was instructed to interfere on behalf of the natives, as subjects of Cortés.[XIX-24] His force was insufficient, it 578 seems, to drive out the intruders, but Rojas nevertheless retired by order of Córdoba.[XIX-25]

One reason for this withdrawal was that Córdoba could not afford to place himself in hostile attitude to any neighbor. One of the acts of Moreno during his arbitrary proceeding in Honduras had been to urge upon him to transfer his allegiance and province to the audiencia. This prompting found a willing ear. Blind to the accumulative evidence of failure, and untaught by disappointment, Córdoba allowed the few instances of successful revolt to overshadow every failure. He looked upon the force around him, and measuring the distance between himself and the grim Pedrarias, his dread grew fainter as the leagues increased; meanwhile hope kept whispering, might he not also become another Cortés, borne aloft by fame, or at least a Velazquez safe upon his usurped island? He wavered, and yielded. In maturing his plans for a step so full of risk, he resolved to learn further from Moreno what authority he possessed, and perfect arrangements with him. Pedro de Garro[XIX-26] was accordingly sent with a party of forty men to Honduras, bearing also petitions to the emperor and audiencia, and with instructions to explore the best route to a port in that province through which supplies and war material might be procured. Sandoval, on hearing of their approach, captured them, together with their retinue of beautiful women and numerous servants, but allowed a few under escort to proceed to Trujillo. Cortés received them with good-will, and as a proof thereof ordered four pack animals to be sent laden with horseshoes, mining tools, and other 579 articles, as a present to Córdoba. But he could not countenance the overthrowal of a chief by a subordinate officer; for had not his present expedition been made to punish a similar attempt? He wrote him accordingly, advising fidelity to Pedrarias, and promising his aid in procuring supplies through Honduras, since Panamá, was regarded as too distant.[XIX-27]

This intercourse had served to enlighten Cortés in regard to the condition and resources of the country to the south and south-west. He had learned that it was fertile and populous, filled with flourishing towns, and giving great promise of mineral wealth; facts confirmed by the splendid retinue of Garro and the demand for mining implements. Perhaps in this very country lay the rich provinces which had stirred his imagination, even before the fall of Mexico, and for which he had come in search this long way. Should he allow an interloper to deprive him of what his fancy had claimed all these years, and what had enticed him to superhuman efforts? But a valid excuse was needed for seizing a province already held by another, a king's lieutenant like himself. Cortés was too astute, however, not to find a way to prevent so rich a prize from eluding him. Was it out of friendship for a stranger that he had sent valuable presents to Córdoba, and offered to forward supplies through Honduras? No, he knew where to sow in order to reap. He had also written, as he admits, to some officers in Nicaragua whom he knew, and what subtle poison may not have been diffused by craftily worded advice. Córdoba understood the hint for himself, and was confirmed in his resolve. But his fellow-soldiers had also a word to say. The idea of risking life and fortune for the ambitious plans of a captain who was little, 580 if anything, more than themselves, was by no means to the liking of all the officers. Several objected, and since it was now too late to retreat Córdoba must even persuade them by arms. Civil war threatened, and the news was not long in reaching Trujillo. Indeed, it seems that the rebel leader, on finding what a tempest he had invoked, sent to tender allegiance to Cortés.[XIX-28] And then the latter reasoned with himself. Could he, an imperial officer, stand calmly by and see his Majesty's interests sacrificed and his subjects, his countrymen, slaughtered? No, certainly not; and he congratulated himself upon the success of his plans. Here was the longed-for pretence, cast in his way by fortune. He must pounce upon the prize while the claimants were absorbed in contention.[XIX-29] The first step was to direct a large force of natives to open a road to Nicaragua, and Sandoval received orders to prepare for the expedition.[XIX-30]

Again it seemed as if the great leader had misinterpreted the signs of providence.

His messenger to Mexico had safely arrived, and with prudent management a reaction had been started in favor of Cortés; the evidence that he was alive was half the battle; but his enemies, though checked, were not overthrown, and believing that everything depended upon his presence it was decided to recall him. The commission was intrusted to his cousin, Fray Diego Altamirano, an ex-soldier who had doffed the helmet for a Franciscan cowl, and a man of honor and business talent.[XIX-31] He fell like a bomb-shell on the manifold projects of Cortés for conquest and 581 aggrandizement, which, if encouraged by one success, might have borne the victor triumphantly southward, perhaps to the realms of the Incas. Altamirano was not a man to let the stern present be obscured by the glowing fancies of enthusiasm. His visions turned alone toward Mexico, and his coloring was reserved for painting the sad condition of its affairs. This he did, boldly, yet with loving discreetness, and convinced his kinsman that return to Mexico was absolutely necessary to save himself, his friends, and the country from ruin. He also insisted that in order to succeed in controlling followers he must assert his dignity, and impose on the vulgar by an intimidating and awe-inspiring pomp. The familiarity grown out of the fellowship of the camp and the toil of the march might answer in a border province, but not in the well-settled districts of New Spain, or at the court of Mexico. More dignity should be assumed at once; here and now must he teach his followers the distance between the governor and the subject, and demand reverence as his due. There was not much need for exhortation in this respect, for pomp came naturally to Cortés. Readily, therefore, did he mount the gubernatorial seat with its imposing dais, and receive with a complacent smile the señoría[XIX-32] from the lips of the deeply bowing suite. In church, even, he occupied the higher level of the raised sitial,[XIX-33] while abroad the cannon belched forth in his honor.[XIX-34]

His distrust of the sea remained, and he determined to return through Guatemala. The laborers, therefore, were taken from the Nicaragua road to prepare the way for him;[XIX-35] but finally the pilots convinced 582 him that at this season of the year the winds and currents were favorable, while the land route must be long and full of obstacles. He accordingly embarked in three vessels with twenty Spanish followers and their horses, and some two hundred Indians under Prince Ixtlilxochitl, setting sail April 25, 1526.[XIX-36] Sandoval joined him, but his company went overland. Saavedra remained as his lieutenant, with instructions to maintain native loyalty by good treatment, and to promote settlement. The general's yet wavering confidence in the sea received another shock off the very coast of New Spain, whence a gale drove him back and compelled him to seek refuge in Cuba. On the 16th of May he again set sail, and landed a week later near the present Vera Cruz. The news of his arrival spread rapidly, and soldiers, colonists, and natives hastened forward in throngs to bear the beloved leader, the mighty Malinche, in triumph to the island city which he had won and refounded. Doubts were dissipated and past disappointments forgotten as he gazed once more on the scenes of his brilliant achievements, and drank the plaudits of the multitude.[XIX-37] 584

CHAPTER XX.
PEDRARIAS REMOVES TO NICARAGUA.
1525-1527.

Córdoba Meditates Revolt—Soto and Compañon Object—Their Flight—Pedrarias Nurses his Wrath—Secret Motives for his Departure for Nicaragua—Córdoba Loses his Head—The Governor Covets Honduras, and Comes to Blows—The Indians Follow the Example—Bloody Scenes—Pedrarias Interrupted in his Reverie—Pedro de los Rios Succeeds as Governor at Panamá—His Instructions and Policy—Residencia of Pedrarias—Triumphant Result.

With the departure of Cortés in drooping plumes, his pretentious projects for dominion in the south received a check, and the portentous clouds which had before loomed over Honduras again darkened the sky, extending over the adjoining lake province, there to threaten Córdoba's bright visions of independence. One can hardly blame the lieutenant for indulging his imagination with the alluring prospects of power, wealth, and fame, when kept in subjection on the one side by so unlovable a master as Pedrarias, and when prompted on the other by the powerful audiencia of Santo Domingo to cast off the unrighteous allegiance. With his mind thus predisposed, Córdoba saw clearly that Nicaragua could not permanently pertain to the jurisdiction of Panamá. It was a distinct province, conquered and abandoned by Gil Gonzalez, and now brought into resubjection by his own efforts and talents. If any one disputed his position he could point to the authorization of the audiencia. True, the fleet and men, the means and influence, used in effecting the reconquest pertained to his late chief. What of 585 that? The ships did not belong to Pedrarias; the old governor had taken them in direct disobedience to the orders of the king. As for the money and the men, all had been obtained by vile indirection, and might as well be made to serve one traitor as another. But he was no traitor to the king who responded to the will of the king's audiencia.

There was much in common between the revolts of Olid and Córdoba, but the motives of the leaders differed. The former, bold, brave, and in the main true, had felt aggrieved that so broad a portion of the earth should fall to the lot of one man, whose pretensions thereto grew out of his accidental position as commander, while he, a captain who had shared every danger and hardship in the grand conquest, must be content forever to serve. The sole command of a small portion of disputed territory he had deemed a recompense small enough beside the imperial reward of his commander. Hernandez de Córdoba viewed matters from a somewhat different stand-point, though with an abundance of plausible excuses. He was an instrument chosen by Pedrarias to wrest a fair domain from the rightful conqueror. In this selection Pedrarias had been governed by his usual narrow policy. Throughout his whole career he could not abandon the vain attempt to accomplish great results by small means, and noble results by base means.

With such incentives and precepts Córdoba found little difficulty in disposing of the moral obstacles to his scheme, and on turning toward the material he saw nothing insurmountable, since most of the men were favorably disposed. In this there was nothing strange, for Córdoba was generous and confiding, and by the side of Pedrarias such qualities shone with double lustre. As a first step he called on the settlers, particularly of Leon and Granada, to petition the king for his appointment as independent governor.[XX-1] 586 None objected save a dozen men headed by the captains Soto and Compañon. Loyalty had probably nothing to do with their opposition, but rather jealousy. They would not risk their liberty and prospects to raise so much above themselves a fellow officer who could never be in their eyes more able and deserving than themselves.

The remonstrances of these few persons were not to be regarded, however, and retreat for Córdoba was in any case too late. Soto, the first to object, was cast into the fortress of Granada, but Compañon, with a few faithful comrades, broke open the prison and liberated him. The little band, well armed and mounted, then took the field against Córdoba and openly bade him defiance. Córdoba recognized that prompt action was indispensable, and set forth in pursuit. Though Soto and Compañon failed to gain more adherents, as they had expected, they nevertheless took a stand near Granada against the usurper's formidable force, warning him that all their efforts, in case of attack, would be concentrated on killing him.[XX-2] The lieutenant hesitated. He well knew the determined character of his late officers, and pictured himself the target of their unerring missiles. The golden visions of his hopes became dimmer. He would like to be a governor, but he did not wish to be killed; and not possessing the spirit of greatness, he readily found an excuse for returning whence he came, while Soto with his gallant ten thought it profitable to acquaint Pedrarias and receive from him the reward of loyal servants. The journey back to Panamá was not easy, with its rugged mountains, impetuous streams, and pathless forests, while hostile natives, venomous animals, and gnawing hunger added to the hardships serious danger; nevertheless they would undertake it, and make a portion of their way by sea. Soon after starting they found their horses 587 an encumbrance rather than an aid, and therefore they abandoned them. Barefooted and dilapidated they reached the town of Fonseca,[XX-3] in Chiriquí, where Hurtado, the founder, relieved them, and provided a canoe in which to pursue the journey.

After the departure of Soto southward, the good Hurtado pondered over the situation. The rebel Córdoba, in common with Soto and the others, he held in low esteem. If with his small force he could not conquer him, he believed he could frighten the man greatly; at all events, here was an opportunity to gain favor with Pedrarias. He accordingly armed all the able-bodied men at his command and marched against the rebels, leaving the sick and helpless to ward off famine and the natives as best they might. After waiting some time in vain for the return of Hurtado, the abandoned remnant deserted the post and set out in search of him, directing their steps toward the gulf of Nicoya.

In the mean time Soto and his party reached Natá and sent their report to Panamá. Rage in the breasts of some men consumes both body and soul; but such was the nature of Pedrarias that the essence of his life appeared to be drawn from inexhaustible wells of vindictive spleen. Although approaching the time when most men die, the castigation of a traitorous lieutenant was too choice a morsel to intrust to another; and so, belting in his wrath, he prepared at once to march against him. To this he was impelled also by a desire to forestall any attempt on the part of the conqueror of Mexico, whose projects were even then casting a portentous shadow over the smiling shores of the Freshwater Sea. A still deeper impulse, however, was the looming spectre of a new governor, with orders for a residencia, which once instituted might prevent his departure. 588

To defray the expenses of the expedition Pedrarias was obliged not only to employ his own fortune but to borrow large sums from the house-holders and merchants. This he did, agreeing to share with them the profits of the adventure. He was shrewd enough to conceal how much a prospective successor and residencia had to do with his departure; and believing that the object was solely to secure for the benefit of Panamá, from a strange invader and rebel, the gold-seamed Nicaragua with its budding colonies and trade, the people were quite eager to aid him in so promising and loyal a scheme. Panamá and Natá had already been drained of able-bodied men by the expeditions under Pizarro and Almagro which were to yield such brilliant results, and Pedrarias was obliged to draw upon Acla and Nombre de Dios for soldiers. This additional levy so nearly depopulated the province that its four cities together could hardly muster occupants enough for 'a mediocre hamlet,' as Oviedo expresses it. A large number of Indians were also taken. The departure of the fleet took place in January, 1526.

Córdoba had not been comfortable since Soto's escape. The more he pondered the shorter to his mind grew the distance between himself and the grim Pedrarias. In his fear he bethought himself of Cortés, and sent to offer him the province on condition that he should retain the command as his lieutenant; for it was far better to be subject to the magnanimous conqueror of Anáhuac, whose name would prove a safeguard against his old master, while his distant residence in Mexico might leave a lieutenant almost wholly independent. This scheme received an encouraging acceptance, as we have seen, only to be abandoned before the urgent appeals from Mexico.

The more than peculiar conduct of Córdoba on meeting Soto has prepared us for almost any pusillanimity 589 on his part. Either a blind reliance in Cortés made him careless, or the arrival at Leon of the hoary-headed Pedrarias was unexpectedly sudden; it seems at any rate that he did not even attempt to defend himself. Probably the settlers had become disgusted with his want of courage and failed to support him. All we learn is that he and his friends humbly met the governor and sought to deny their guilt, pleading, as in the case of Vasco Nuñez, that had mutinous intentions been entertained they would not thus have dared to come forward unarmed, but would have fled or defended themselves. The case was too clear, however, and Pedrarias never forgave: the head of Córdoba was required as a lesson to similar aspirants.[XX-4]

Having thus removed his rebellious subordinate, Pedrarias looked about to secure the permanent government of the province and extend his jurisdiction as best he might. If Nicaragua belonged to Castilla del Oro, as he of course maintained, so must the eastern and north-eastern extension of this region, as far at least as the gulf of Honduras, clearly the natural boundary. The efforts of Gil Gonzalez to secure Honduras showed that he had also regarded this province as pertaining to Nicaragua. But above all, was not the dreaded Cortés away, and was not his lieutenant, Saavedra, in command of a mere handful of men? What more convincing evidence of his right could there be? But even under these circumstances caution was necessary, and he resolved to secure at first only the adjoining border territory. With this object captains Hurtado and Rojas were sent to occupy Olancho Valley. The natives had too vivid a recollection of the former invasion under Rojas to feel 590 safe, and hastened to Trujillo with their complaints. Saavedra, who saw the danger of countenancing encroachments from such a quarter, sent two envoys[XX-5] to demand the immediate withdrawal of the Nicaraguan troops. Pedrarias was not unprepared for this, and smooth and evasive was his answer. For the sake of peace he would come to an understanding with Cortés regarding his pretensions in that quarter, and submit the whole matter to the decision of the audiencia. Meanwhile there must be no fighting or attempted overreaching among countrymen.

The tone and manner of the old courtier would have convinced more experienced men than the Honduras envoys, and with satisfied hearts they turned to bear the peaceful message to their chief. Pedrarias gained his point. He never entertained the idea of writing to Cortés or submitting any question to the audiencia.

Fresh instructions were at once despatched to Hurtado and Rojas, and while the envoys were lulling Saavedra into fancied security they fell upon his adherents in Olancho, routed them, and secured their effects. The victors then proceeded northward with a view to occupy Natividad and secure for their chief a much needed port on the North Sea, through which to receive supplies and maintain communication with Spain and the Islands, for the Panamá route was too long and costly. Informed of their movements Saavedra sent a force to intercept them. The captains were not just then prepared to resist so strong a body, and like their master they resorted to fair words, both sides promising to return peaceably home. But neither believed in these assurances, and each resolved to watch the other. Rojas, for that matter, proceeded on the march to Natividad, while Hurtado returned to Olancho to protect his interests there. The Trujillo party pursued the latter, and a fight ensued wherein they proved victorious, after losing two men. These broils 591 the natives observed, and saw therein their opportunity. They attacked Natividad, and the Spaniards, driven forth after a fight in which several fell, took refuge in a natural stronghold, there to remain until aid could arrive.[XX-6]

Rojas appears to have learned of this uprising in time to retreat to Olancho; but here also the caciques had mustered in force[XX-7] to avenge the injuries which Pedrarias' soldiers were inflicting. Ordered by them to bring in maize and material for houses, they seized the opportunity to introduce within the bundles a quantity of arms. These were to serve the natives who remained in or near the camp waiting the approach of their regularly armed compatriots. All prepared, the word was given, and stealthily the dusky foe crept upon the unsuspecting Spaniards. Living in the midst of treachery, it seems impossible that they should have allowed themselves to be thus lulled. Suddenly forest, hill, and dale were alive with Indians, and the silence was broken by a piercing yell as the first victim met his fate. The signal was taken up, and from thousands came the avenging shriek, reverberating along the wooded slopes and rolling back upon the doomed band. Resistance seemed to avail them little. Sixteen were slain; a few escaped to a friendly cacique, named Guatucanola; and twenty horses were lost. The settlement was sacked and burned. Among the fallen were Captain Hurtado, who had rendered so many eminent services as explorer, leader, and founder, and Juan de Grijalva, a man who, as captain of a Cuban expedition, had achieved the honor of discovering the Mexican mainland, and who might even have gained the glory of that brilliant conquest but for his fine sense of honor and other manly qualities. Often a too strict integrity impedes the path to greatness. At all events, these 592 qualities lost him the favor of his master and governor, Velazquez, and despite his faithful services, his courage and talent, he was sent forth in disgrace, to die ignobly in this wilderness.[XX-8]

Rojas arrived soon after and sought to restore peace, but the natives were too strong for him, and for years they held their ground. Saavedra charged Pedrarias with being the cause of the disaster, and not without reason, for the treacherous conduct of his captains had encouraged the uprising. Quarrels and recriminations followed, but without any attempt on the part of Saavedra to take active steps against the Nicaraguan invaders. Finding his adversary so tame, the old governor felt emboldened to take the step he had so long been meditating, to secure possession of the remainder of Honduras. To this effect he despatched Captain Diego de Albites and Sebastian de Benalcázar, regidores of Leon, with Notary Espinosa, to demand the submission of Saavedra and the cabildo of Trujillo to his jurisdiction. The envoys were hardly on their way, however, before tidings came from Panamá which sent Pedrarias in all haste back to the Isthmus, leaving the government in the joint charge of several of his most trusted officers, among whom Martin Estete figured as lieutenant-general.[XX-9]

The new governor of Castilla del Oro, Pedro de los Rios, had arrived with his fleet at Nombre de Dios July 30, 1526,[XX-10] attended, as was common in such cases, by many followers, among whom were Licenciado Juan de Salmeron, alcalde mayor; Bachiller Diego de Corral; Diego Gutierrez de los Rios, a nephew, and 593 Egas, the half-brother of the governor. Oviedo was also of the party, bearing as his reward for procuring the change of rule the appointment of captain-general and governor of the province of Cartagena. The day following the arrival the new officials were sworn in, and within four weeks they had taken up their residence at Panamá. The jurisdiction of Rios covered the same territory as had that of Pedrarias, excepting Paria and Veragua. As usual, he had been particularly enjoined to look to the good treatment of the Indians and promote the formation of towns on healthy sites. In all matters of importance he was to consult with the alcalde mayor, as a man learned in the law, and a faithful servant of the king. The governor was empowered to settle all disputes and punish all crimes according to his judgment and the laws of the country, and with regard to thieves and robbers he was recommended to go even somewhat beyond the law. This was a power admirably suited for a reformer as Rios came heralded, but the rising rejoicings of the people at the removal of the old governor began quickly to calm on finding, as Oviedo says, that in the place of one hydra head cut off two others had appeared.[XX-11]

Pedro de los Rios was quite a different man from Pedrarias; indeed we shall scarcely again in this history meet the equal of the old governor of Darien. Though possessing more bulk of body the new governor lacked the strength of mind of the old one; he lacked the cunning, indomitable energy, and the vindictive pertinacity of Pedrarias. He loved gold, however, in which predilection he was joined by his wife, who even surpassed him in this respect. In accordance with royal orders, among his first acts were to seize the effects and estates of Pedrarias, including his encomiendas, to secure control of the Pearl Islands and their revenues, and to hold all 594 until the residencia of the outgoing governor was taken. Pedrarias knew that his authority at Panamá was lost, but he did not like to lose his property. It was a pecuniary disaster alone that could have taken him from Nicaragua at this critical moment.

The news of his coming was brought by a vessel laden with kidnapped Nicaraguans, to be sold by auction in the Panamá market. He himself reached Natá in December, and after writing to Rios made his appearance at the capital February 3, 1527. Three days later the residencia was proclaimed by Salmeron.

Not knowing who the judges might be, Pedrarias had taken the precaution to petition the India Council for power of appeal in any decision which might be rendered against him. And this had been granted, with the order to pay at once any judgment under ten thousand maravedís, and to make a deposit which should cover all amounts of larger claims. Further than this, he had taken with him to Nicaragua, and had left there, those who might most trouble him in his residencia. The greater part of the aggrieved were thus out of the way, and their opportunity lost.

He had also despatched Enciso to Spain, to represent his interests at court and neutralize the machinations of his enemies. The result was the arrival of a cédula from the king just in time to provide that no questions were to be raised in the present residencia touching matters disposed of by the pretended investigations under Alarconcillo. This reduced still further the complaints against Pedrarias, and as he at once made overtures to his judge, sparing neither money nor humility, and as he still had influence, his feebly presented crimes were lightly regarded. Oviedo deemed himself exceedingly ill used in these proceedings, and loudly chronicles his complaints. After presenting a long list of claims, which were denied, the historian was glad to escape assassination at the hand of his 595 ancient enemy.[XX-12] Charges of course were sent to Spain,[XX-13] citing instances of abuse of power, and of private frauds. Among the more serious accusations was the embezzling of royal moneys, which had helped to swell a remittance of seventy thousand pesos de oro, sent secretly to a safe receptacle in Spain. So pressing and puzzling were these charges that the India Council held repeated consultations on the case.

But Pedrarias had not been idle. He had requested his powerful relatives to hold forth to the king himself, to the best advantage, the many valuable services he had rendered in Africa as well as in the Indies. The words of the agent Enciso were likewise powerful, and made these records stand out resplendent, backed as they were with the dazzling treasures of the Pearl Islands.[XX-14] Not only was Pedrarias acquitted and reinstated in his rights and possessions, but new favors were showered on him. Yet the government of Panamá could not be restored to him; indeed the crown itself had not been so blinded as some of its satellites to the many evils that had characterized the government of Pedrarias in Castilla del Oro. At all events it was considered timely to allow the oppressed province to recover from the selfish tyranny of his rule under a more fatherly supervision. His shrewd foresight and usual good fortune were paving a new way, however. It so happened that Gil Gonzalez, the rightful claimant to Nicaragua, died about the time that Pedrarias sent in to the king a glowing report on the resources of this province, together with promises of great revenues. Not only was he now entitled to the first consideration for the post of governor, but it was 596 probably considered advantageous to the royal purse that a man of such natural proclivities for extortion should be given a field where watchful energy alone was needed to develop untold wealth. Again was the star of Pedrarias emerging from behind the Hyperborei Montes, but with lustre dimmed by clouds rising, this time in the direction of Honduras. 597

CHAPTER XXI.
RIVAL GOVERNORS IN HONDURAS AND NICARAGUA.
1526-1530.

Colonial Policy—Salcedo Displaces Saavedra in the Government of Honduras—Saavedra's Escape—Pedrarias' Envoys Trapped—Salcedo Invades Nicaragua—His Cruelty and Extortion—Distress among the Colonists—Rios also Presents Claims, but is Discomfited—Pedrarias Follows Triumphant—Salcedo's Ignominious Fate—Estete's Expedition—Slave-hunting Profits and Horrors—Gladiatorial Punishment of Revolted Natives—Pedrarias' Schemes for Aggrandizement—He Grasps at Salvador and Longs for Peru—Both Elude Him—Further Mortification and Death—Character of the Conquerors.

One of the chief causes which gave rise to the disputes of rival leaders for the occupancy of Nicaragua and Honduras was the policy which governed the Council of the Indies in regard to the colonial possessions of Spain. Gradually the discovery of Columbus had assumed gigantic proportions, and the indefinite and unknown limits to the territories which had been given to the first governors were becoming more fixed and determined. The immense extent of the discovery and the vast dominions which had been allotted to each colony was then first ascertained. It was deemed wise and prudent by the court of Spain that such broad possessions should be divided into smaller states, and governed by many, rather than that the whole should be under the jurisdiction of a few arrogant viceroys. Thus checks could be more easily placed on individuals, and the distant provinces of the New World could be more readily held in subjection. With this in view it was that Hernandez de Córdoba 598 had been urged by the audiencia to throw off allegiance to Pedrarias, and that the enterprises not only of Gil Gonzalez but of Olid had been encouraged by the Spanish government.[XXI-1]

But a resort to arms as a method for settling their differences was by no means desired; and when the emperor became aware that hostilities had broken out among the colonists of Honduras and Nicaragua he peremptorily forbade any Spaniard to draw his sword against another, under penalty of his severe displeasure. The better to curb the encroaching conquerors on either side, and to further his policy, he resolved to appoint new governors for these provinces; and thus it was that Pedrarias, owing in a great measure to his wife and to family influence, had obtained the long desired lake region, even before the result of his residencia was known; while Honduras was given as early as 1525[XXI-2] to Diego Lopez de Salcedo, regardless of the great efforts and means expended by Cortés in its colonization, wholly from his own resources.[XXI-3]

Salcedo was at this time residing in Española, and on receiving the appointment, together with instructions to inquire into the late trouble and punish the guilty, he at once prepared to set out. The audiencia 599 also took the instructions to heart, and, regarding Cortés as implicated, they seized one of his ships at Santo Domingo, with its cargo of merchandise.[XXI-4] Salcedo found the settlers at peace on reaching Trujillo. Saavedra and Alcalde Figueroa set the example to the other officials in doing reverence to the new ruler, who was solemnly inaugurated on the 27th of October, 1526.[XXI-5] The first act under the new régime was to make an investigation into the late political disturbances, and the result was the arrest of Saavedra, regidores Garnica and Vega, and two settlers named Martin Cortés and Morales, who were placed on a vessel for transmission to the judges in Española. Their safe-keeping was intrusted to Diego Morillo, who was installed with a staff of justice, to give him greater authority. But the emblem of the law failed to impose upon the prisoners, who were in this respect hardly less imbued with the spirit of the times than Pedrarias and his followers. They had too wholesome a fear of the quality of mercy dispensed by the pompous rulers at Santo Domingo, and determined to make an effort for liberty. The mainland had barely been lost to sight when they appealed to the master's sympathy. Their argument was sufficiently weighted to be convincing, and the shackles were not only transferred to Morillo, but he was relieved of all his effects. The vessel's course was thereupon changed to Cuba, where the mutineers dispersed in search of wider spheres of operations.[XXI-6]

Shortly after Salcedo's installation the three envoys of Pedrarias arrived at Trujillo. Finding a royal governor instead of the intruder Saavedra, they did not venture to present their demands for the submission of the province, but sought instead to regain 600 Nicaragua and warn their master. Salcedo had them arrested, however, as concerned in the disorders in Nicaragua and Olancho, and turned the tables by declaring Pedrarias an arraigned culprit, answerable to the residencia judge at Panamá, and Nicaragua as falling within the jurisdiction of Honduras, instead of pertaining to Castilla del Oro. He intended, in fact, to take possession at once, and in this course he was encouraged by petitions from the anti-Pedrarias faction of that province. The limits of Salcedo's government had not been fixed, and what more natural than to base on the claims of Cortés and Gonzalez the pleasing illusion that Nicaragua must belong to his jurisdiction? An additional excuse was to be found in the late political disturbances in that province, which it behooved him as a royal officer to stop. The captive envoys should accompany him as guides and hostages.

Preparations were soon concluded, and Salcedo departed with nearly one hundred and fifty horsemen, leaving the small remnant at Trujillo under command of Francisco de Cisneros.[XXI-7] He sent forward Alonso de Solis, one of his captains, and a priest, with instructions to report to him the condition of the Indians throughout the district; whether they were friendly or otherwise; and what were their feelings in regard to the Christian faith which they had previously professed to adopt. Solis speedily came back with the information that bands of Spaniards were prowling about the Olancho Valley. Salcedo advanced upon them, and a skirmish ensued in which two men were lost. Suspecting that Albites and his companions might be connected with this untoward check, he sent them back to Trujillo with instructions for their immediate transmission to Santo Domingo, on the charge of inciting native revolts and other disorders. These charges were not 601 sustained, however, and the prisoners soon returned fully exonerated.

Still another check came to dampen the ardor of the party, and Treasurer Castillo, among others, urged the abandonment of the expedition; but the fair shores of the Freshwater Sea had taken too deep a hold upon Salcedo's fancy, strewn as they were by rumor with much gold. No; he knew his duty as royal officer, and would extend his beneficent rule to this region. As for his losses and disappointments, he would look to that universal source of redress, the natives. Caciques were summoned to furnish Indians for carrying burdens and gathering food, and soldiers went forth to enforce the order. A number of those suspected of complicity in the disturbances at Natividad were hanged and others enslaved, to be eventually sent out of the country and sold. Great were their woes. Those who lost their relatives or near friends fled to the mountains, preferring starvation and death to the cruel oppression of the strangers. This feeling extended also to the district of Comayagua, and created a distrust which was at once magnified into revolt. The Spaniards immediately fell upon them, and a terrible havoc ensued. The natives resorted to the passive retaliation of withdrawing supplies, and even of destroying the crops, so as to leave the Spaniards without food, and compel them to devour horses and dogs. This heightened the feeling against them, and even the carriers were made to suffer so severely that many threw off their loads and sought to escape, only to be overtaken and slaughtered. The panic spread, and tribes distant from the scene burned their villages and fields to seek refuge in the mountains, lest they should be exposed to similar outrages on Salcedo's return.

In Nicaragua the rumor of these doings had impelled the natives to assume a threatening attitude, so that when the Spanish party finally arrived at the city of Leon they were hailed as saviors. This 602 helped to pave the way for Salcedo, and when he submitted his commission to Martin Estete, the officer in charge, and to the municipal body, they gave one glance at the sturdy forces by his side and then recognized it as valid. The new governor was sworn in May 7, 1527. Once in undisputed possession the humanity of Salcedo underwent a change. He would no longer carry panic into native villages by means of raiding parties; nay, he would even relieve the Indians from the oppression of their present masters, the late subjects of Pedrarias, and place them under the experienced control of his friends and followers. Without more ado the choice repartimientos were transferred to the hands of himself and his adherents, with not even an attempted excuse to the late holders. Such high-handed proceedings created general dissatisfaction, not only among the despoiled settlers but also among the enslaved, who were regarded as cattle, and treated with a severity paralleled only by the Honduras atrocities. More spirited, however, than the former victims, they retaliated with sullen stubbornness, and refused to gather gold or perform agricultural labor. The distress increased, and many could not procure the common necessaries of life. The rupture between the two races developed into open warfare, in which rights, grievances, and passion often figured only as minor impulses by the side of the cravings of hunger.[XXI-8]

To these distressing straits was the country reduced when a new claimant to the government presented himself, in the person of Pedro de los Rios. Invested with the same power and authority over Castilla del Oro as his predecessor, he thought himself entitled to jurisdiction also over Nicaragua, since it had been occupied and settled under the same auspices. He 603 had deferred his departure from Panamá till Pedrarias should have been securely entangled in the meshes of his residencia, and therefore unable to object. But the latter was desirous to see him leave, in the hope that a change in his own favor might be effected, perhaps by some friendly ingulfing wave, some devoted assassin, or some native treachery; for the road was new and Rios inexperienced. As a proof of his friendly interest in the project Pedrarias counselled him to invest heavily in merchandise, which must pay a large profit. Such advice was not to be disregarded, and, as circumstances would have it, the gubernatorial trader was received with open arms by the sorely pressed settlers of Nicaragua. But Rios had not the foresight which characterized Fiscal Moreno's proceedings in Honduras, two years before, and on presenting his claims to the supreme office the colonists returned a cold stare. They saw nothing in his commission which expressly included Nicaragua within Castilla del Oro, and although much afflicted by the avaricious and oppressive measures of Salcedo, they determined to support a governor whom they might call their own rather than submit to one residing at such a distance, and evidently intent on enriching himself and Panamá at their expense.

It is not improbable that the cause for the change lay partly with Pedrarias, whose emissaries hoped by this means to embroil the new aspirant with his proposed subjects. Salcedo was strong enough, however, with his own troops to dictate terms to his rival, and he peremptorily ordered him to leave the province within three days, under a penalty of ten thousand pesos. Rios had too much respect for his portly person to expose it to profane usage. Still he would have lingered had not the threatened fine urged him away. As it was, in the flurry of departure he even forgot his gout, with which he was just then severely stricken, and his groans were not resumed till the vessel had turned prow for Panamá. He carried one 604 consolation, however, to soothe his ruffled spirit; he had made these boorish colonists pay tenfold for his cargo of merchandise. After all, the trip had not proved unprofitable, and he laughed within himself at the thought. On his way back he stopped at Brusélas, in the gulf of Nicoya, where a friendly reception was accorded him. Informed of this, Salcedo with vindictive jealousy sent a troop of sixty horse under Garabito to destroy the hospitable town.

The rankest despot could hardly deport himself with more capricious severity than these petty upstart lieutenants in the Indies. Salcedo was evidently a fitting successor to Pedrarias, as far as displaying his jealousy, greed, and cruelty; but he lacked some of the commanding characteristics which had so often enabled the latter to weather the storm raised by his tyrannous impulses. His rule was to be brief and ignoble. One of his last acts, which bore the relieving stamp of a public measure, was to order Gabriel de Rojas to explore Rio San Juan, the outlet of the lake, and to found there a settlement.

This order was disregarded, for just then came the rumor that Pedrarias was about to return as governor. This sufficed to bring the general dissatisfaction with Salcedo to an issue. At first he treated the news as absurd; but, when the report came that Pedrarias was actually on the way with a royal commission, he resolved to collect his scattered followers and make his escape. The step was fatal, as it encouraged the still wavering Estete with his friends to pronounce in favor of the expected chief. The officials of Salcedo were arrested, which rendered the executive powerless to act, and his horses were seized, so that he might not escape a reckoning. So ominous became the demonstration against the deposed governor, that he abandoned the building which had hitherto given him shelter, and sought the protecting walls of the church. There he remained, closely guarded by the rebels, till Pedrarias arrived. Several persons had remonstrated 605 with Estete with regard to these arbitrary proceedings, based as they were on a mere report from Panamá; but this officer, who had everything to gain by the movement if the report proved true, declared that Pedrarias should be supported even if he came without a royal Commission. In any case it would be suicidal now to restore the relentless Salcedo to power.[XXI-9]

All doubts were solved by the arrival of the old governor at Leon in March, 1528, and the timely turncoats were liberally rewarded; Estete receiving the command of Leon, and Diego de Tejorina that of Granada. Immediately on receipt of his appointment Pedrarias had hastened to Nicaragua, leaving an agent at Panamá to finish his residencia, and to collect the property and effects which had been attached. In connection with the new government the king had appointed Licenciado Castañeda alcalde mayor, and Diego de la Tobilla treasurer, both of whom arrived eight months later.[XXI-10]

Salcedo's case claimed the first attention of the new ruler, and claims and charges began to pour in, the chief accusation being that he had stationed spies to watch for the arrival of Pedrarias and native assassins to despatch him. An investigation was ordered, to embrace also the question whether Salcedo had royal authority for his entry into the territory. The accused denied the charges, of course, and protested that he had come merely to pacify the country, in accordance with his instructions. He demanded liberty to depart for Honduras, where the king required his presence as governor. Any other 606 person might have felt awed by a demand coupled so plausibly with the royal name, but Pedrarias had too often mocked even the direct commands of his sovereign to care for indirect requirements. He flaunted in the face of the accused the royal order lately received forbidding him to meddle in Nicaraguan affairs, and declared that since he had done so there was every prospect for a residencia. The order for it might arrive at any moment, and he must give bonds to answer the claims against him. The bonds not being forthcoming he was placed under restraint, and on his attempting to escape, close confinement was imposed.

Ten weary months Salcedo lay in durance. Finally Treasurer Tobilla and Osorio, afterward bishop, intervened and brought about a peaceful settlement. But the conditions extorted from him as the price of liberty were so humiliating that shame and vexation preyed upon his mind, and destroyed his health, already weakened by imprisonment. He was obliged to renounce his claims to the south, and promise to confine himself to a triangular section of territory bounded on the east and west by Cape Gracias á Dios and Puerto de Caballos.[XXI-11] The three envoys of Pedrarias, whom he had sent to Española to answer false charges, and who had returned acquitted, were to be compensated, and he must give security for twenty thousand pesos to appear in case a residencia should be instituted against him. On Christmas eve, 1528, the prison doors opened before him, and the once dashing Salcedo tottered forth, pale and emaciated, weighed down with infirmities of body and mind, an object of pity even to the down-trodden Indians. It had been a game of rogue against rogue, 607 and Pedrarias as usual was the winner. Salcedo felt that he deserved little sympathy, either from the oppressed colonists or from the cruelly treated natives, and within ten days he set out for the shielding precincts of his own government.

Pedrarias had long before this taken steps to secure for himself the large tracts of country which he intended to extort from his prisoner, chiefly because they were reported to be rich in gold. For this there were also additional motives. The report of mineral wealth in the province had induced the king to inquire regarding the desirability of erecting smelting works, and similar measures, and although the avaricious old governor required no incentive to gold-hunting, yet the communication was welcomed as a good pretence for his preparations. The already projected expedition by Rojas to the river outlet of the lake was therefore ordered to proceed, reinforced to more than one hundred and fifty men, but the chief command was intrusted to Estete, with instructions to explore the country, particularly for minerals, to take possession for Pedrarias, and to found settlements on the river and along the sea-shore, as desired by the king. On the river, where it receives the waters of the lake, was formed the settlement of Nueva Jaen, flushed at first with brilliant anticipations of a vast entrepôt trade and a flourishing colony, but doomed to speedy abandonment. From the mouth of the San Juan the party followed the coast northward, blazing their way with branding-iron and sword, and finding good mines at Cape Gracias á Dios, as rumored. There they established another colony, of which Rojas was left in charge, while Estete returned to Leon.

Their pathway thither had been stained sanguine by the most abominable cruelty against the natives, in the form of wholesale enslavement and wanton bloodshed, and this in face of the repeated and stringent orders from the king for their good treatment.[XXI-12] 608 Of what avail were orders which suited not the taste of Master Pedrarias! On setting out for Cape Gracias á Dios, Estete received from the chest, in which it was kept under three locks by order of the crown, the branding-iron, which was intended to be used only on rebels and criminals, and pursuing his circuitous route, he captured and branded indiscriminately all natives who fell into his hands, and sent them as slaves to Pedrarias at Leon. Captives were secured by iron collars around the neck, chained together in gangs, and forced to carry heavy burdens. When one fell from exhaustion, in order to save time and trouble, his head was severed from the body, and this released the collar so that the others might pass on.[XXI-13]

This and other kidnapping expeditions, made chiefly in the interest of Pedrarias, fairly glutted Leon and Granada with captives; but if they could not be used here there was another means of utilizing them. The native population of the Isthmus, as we have seen, had already been so greatly reduced by the ever dripping sword, by the hardly less speedy measures of relentless taskmasters, and by the flight of panic-stricken border tribes, that the settlers found it difficult to fill the constantly occurring gaps in their labor gangs. A slave market had accordingly been opened at Panamá, where natives were sold by auction. Its origin was with Pedrarias, and with a fatherly regard for his former government he felt it a duty to sustain an institution so useful to the colonists and so comforting to his coffers. A regular trade thereupon 609 sprang up in Indian slaves, and several ship-loads were taken down to Panamá about this time by different persons.[XXI-14]

The supply of unfortunates was drawn not only from the outlying districts, but from the very centre of the lake settlements, and their capture assisted the sword and lash to no small extent in decimating the population. When Gil Gonzalez first entered the country it was densely populated, and the city of Managua alone contained forty thousand souls, it was said. A few years of Spanish rule sufficed to turn whole tracts of flourishing country into uninhabited wilds, leaving here and there only small communities of terrorized natives groaning under extortionate and cruel masters. On appealing to their idols they were assured that a flood could be called forth, but in it would perish Indians as well as Spaniards. Such was the comfort derived from their religion. Although they had not courage enough to adopt this remedy, women widely formed the resolution not to perpetuate a race foredoomed to slavery and cruel death.

At first, when numbers still gave self-reliance, they ventured to renew the hostilities which under Salcedo had led to such bloody results. Soon after Estete's departure for Cape Gracias a general revolt broke out. In the districts of Leon and Granada bloodshed was averted, but in the interior the slaughter of natives was great, and if the Spaniards lost comparatively few, the loss was increased by the horrors of cannibalism.[XXI-15] Among the victims were Alonso Peralta, the royal treasurer, an hidalgo named Zurita, and two brothers of the name of Ballas, who in 1528 set out from the city of Leon to visit the Indians that had been allotted to them respectively. None ever returned; all were slain by their vassals. Pedrarias 610 despatched a band of soldiers, who captured eighteen caciques supposed to be implicated in the murders.

The Indians becoming daily more bold and troublesome a new method of striking them with terror was invented. As in the introduction of Christianity to the natives diplomacy was frequently made to take the place of logic, so in war and punishment a refined cruelty, in the exercise of which the aged Pedrarias Dávila stood unexcelled, was deemed the most effectual means of pacification. The governor of Leon determined on a grand spectacle, modelled somewhat after the gladiatorial exhibitions of Rome. An inclosure was made in the public square of the town, and on a fixed day the Indian chieftains were brought forth. One of them was led into the arena and given a stout stick or club with which to defend his life against the dogs to be let loose. At first five or six young and inexperienced animals were set upon him, which he could easily keep at bay with his stick. After witnessing this sport until it grew tame, and just as the unfortunate captive began to rejoice in the hope that through his skill and bravery his life was saved, two fierce bloodhounds rushed in, seized him by the throat, brought him to the ground, tore into shreds the flesh, and devoured the entrails, assisted by the still yelping whelps. On the authority of Oviedo, an eye-witness, this horrible scene was repeated seventeen times. Pedrarias ordered the dead bodies to be left on the ground as a warning to others, but soon the stench became insupportable, and the Indians were allowed to remove them.[XXI-16]

Thus did the effort to open a transcontinental route by way of San Juan not only fail, but it carried a host of evils with it, as we have seen. Pedrarias was not content, however, to abandon to Panamá so fruitful a project without another struggle, and since the strip of land between Leon and Caballos was well 611 suited for a road, he prepared to open one. But orders came from the king forbidding the work. The Isthmus was regarded as sufficient for present traffic, and it was also feared that too many lives would be lost in constructing the new road.

One of the objects of Pedrarias in connection with the undertaking was to secure possession of the western territory wrested from Salcedo, and in this, at any rate, he resolved not to be defeated. Estete was accordingly despatched northward with a strong force, accompanied by Rojas. He was first to explore the northern lakes to determine their outlet, and then to occupy the district between Golfo Dulce and the South Sea, north of Fonseca Bay. This province, known as Salvador, had already been conquered by Alvarado, the lieutenant of Cortés; but Pedrarias knew that the settlers left in possession were not numerous, and that the king would be more apt to favor the annexation of the province to the adjoining small government of Nicaragua than to the distant and too extensive New Spain. Besides, Honduras had claimed it, and that claim was now his. Estete advanced into the heart of Salvador and occupied the town there founded by Alvarado. Few as they were the settlers refused to recognize the authority of the Nicaraguan governor, and his lieutenant retired to the town of Perulapan, upon which he bestowed the high-sounding title of Ciudad de los Caballeros, together with a batch of officials who were to aid him in the congenial task of oppression and enslavement. His sway was not of long duration, however, for Jorge de Alvarado, then in charge of the Guatemalan government, receiving notice of the intrusion, came down upon his settlement and compelled him to evacuate the province in hot haste, with the loss of half his force, which deserted to the enemy.[XXI-17] 612

Pedrarias' schemes for aggrandizement were evidently not succeeding according to his desire, and he grieved at the thought of the many heavy ducats lost on this last expedition. It was the more deplorable in view of the failure to direct through Nicaragua the transcontinental traffic, which would have yielded so rich a harvest for himself. But above all hovered a deeper grief than any of these. Peru, with its glittering wealth, was now dawning on the world, and none would have been more dazzled by the sight than Pedrarias, had not the agonizing fact intruded itself that he had been tricked out of these very treasures, or at least a large share of them.

When the first expedition was organized for this conquest by Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque, Pedrarias, then governor at Panamá, had stipulated for a fourth interest, in return for which he bestowed the weighty sum of his patronage. But the opening events proved to be less flattering than he had expected, and when demands came for pecuniary aid toward the enterprise, he shrank from the prospect, and allowed himself to be bought off for the paltry consideration of one thousand pesos de oro. Soon came glowing reports, however, and bitter were his denunciations of the folly which had permitted so rich a prize to escape him; and deep his feeling rankled against the late partners, whom he never ceased to suspect of duplicity and of having beguiled him with misrepresentation.

While he was thus brooding, it happened that Nicolás de Ribera arrived in Nicaragua, commissioned by the Peruvian conquerors to procure reinforcements. He sought in particular to win for this purpose Hernando de Soto, Hernan Ponce, and Francisco Compañon, all men of means, who had two vessels on the stocks, nearly finished and available for the voyage. By revolving before their eyes, in kaleidoscopic harmony, a few specimens of the Inca's treasures, illustrated by tales no less alluring, he secured the 613 active sympathy not only of these men, but of a crowd of beggared adherents.

Not least dazzled was Pedrarias. Indeed, he could not sleep for the visions that crowded upon his brain. Finally the idea struck him that he might here retrieve his folly by securing an interest in the vessels and reinforcements, and obtain a fair proportion of that gold-enameled region, perhaps the whole. Pizarro and Almagro had already prepared the way, and it might even be his fortune to secure the results of their victories. In order to lull the Peruvian emissaries he promised to do everything to aid Pizarro and Luque; as for Almagro, he had been deceived by him, and deceit his confiding nature could not endure. He thereupon entered secretly into negotiation with the owners of the vessels, but overreached himself by demanding the lion's share in command as well as returns. Feeling himself in duty bound to spare his own purse, he looked about for victims to furnish means, and bethought himself of Ribera's vessel. An alguacil was sent to seize it, but Ribera received timely warning and escaped, after prevailing on Ponce, Soto, and their adherents, to sail away to Panamá and there arrange with Pizarro for a liberal share in the conquest, leaving behind the foiled Pedrarias.[XXI-18]

The governor's mortification was increased by local troubles, as might be expected from his arbitrary rule and irascible temper, which had now reached octogenarian crabbedness. A most distasteful feature had been the arrival of Alcalde Mayor Francisco de Castañeda, appointed by the king to take charge of the judicial affairs of the province. This division of authority was intolerable, and, on the pretence that disorders must result where different persons exercised judicial and gubernatorial powers, he urged his friends in Spain to obtain for him the privilege to appoint and 614 remove at pleasure alcaldes mayores and lieutenants. Meanwhile he made an effort to exercise this power, alleging the possession of a royal cédula authorizing him to do so; but Castañeda, who was not so easily imposed upon, challenged him to produce the document, and this not being done, he added to his chagrin by ignoring him.

There was little likelihood of any arbitrary powers being conferred on the governor, for complaints of abuses were fast pouring in against him, headed by the influential ayuntamiento of Leon. A grave charge was peculation. When Rodrigo del Castillo surrendered his office to the formally appointed treasurer he took the opportunity to inform the king that large sums in gold had been taken from the Indians by Córdoba. All this the governor had laid hands upon without any accounting therefor to the crown. He had also managed to appropriate the confiscated estate of Córdoba, and to defraud a host of others, besides perpetrating outrages and cruelties of every description.[XXI-19]

In the midst of the brewing troubles, in the year 1530,[XXI-20] this Timur of the Indies died at Leon, nearly ninety years of age. His body was buried in the same church with his victim Hernandez de Córdoba, and his spirit went to meet the spirit of Vasco Nuñez, and the spirits of the hundreds of thousands of slaughtered savages whose benighted souls he had sent on before.[XXI-21] Not that he quailed at the thought. By this time his mind had become so fixed in some 615 incomprehensible mould of logic that there was no disturbing it. Further than this he knew he could not escape the inevitable.

A disposition so ready to find solace is to be envied, the more so since it forms a redeeming feature. No man is, for that matter, wholly depraved, nor are any faultless. In the worst there is much that is good; in the best much evil. And the difference between the best and the worst is, in the eye of the Creator, much less than in the eye of the creature. For a period of sixteen years, during the most important epoch in the history of Darien, an irascible old man, cruel and vindictive, plays a prominent part. His name is infamous, and so it deserves to be. Some of his misdeeds may be attributed to inherent wickedness, others to infirmities of temper; but many to peculiar conditions incident to the colonization of a new country, and to the teachings of the times. Spanish colonists of the sixteenth century, reared under the influences of excessive loyalty, and suddenly withdrawn from the presence of their august sovereign to distant parts, were like children for the first time freed from the arbitrary rule of injudicious parents. While the safeguards of society were removed, and free scope thus given to passion, there yet remained their religious belief, the fruit of early teachings. That strange fanaticism which blended avarice and deeds diabolical with pretended zeal for the glory of God, not only permitted but demanded blood and vengeance. Under the circumstances, therefore, the wonder is, not that we find so much that is wicked in these Spanish adventurers, but that men so taught and conditioned display so many qualities noble and magnanimous. Farewell Pedrarias! Few there are who came to these parts of whom so much of evil, so little of good, may be truthfully said. And thou Death, almighty leveller! who by thy speedy compensation has brought this rusty, crusty old man, these several centuries, 616 and for all the centuries time shall tell, to be no better than Vasco Nuñez, than Córdoba, than the meanest of the multitude of savages he has vilely slain, we praise thee![XXI-22] 617

CHAPTER XXII.
MARCH OF ALVARADO TO GUATEMALA.
1522-1524.

Rumors in Mexico concerning the Country to the South-eastward—Pacification in that Quarter—The Chiefs of Tehuantepec and Tututepec—At the Gate of Guatemala—Summary of Aboriginal History—Allegiance and Revolt—Preparing of an Expedition—Delayed by the Troubles at Pánuco—A Second Army Organized—The March—Subjugation of Soconusco—The Taking of Zapotitlan.

Some time before Olid entered Honduras the attention of Alvarado was directed toward Guatemala. Lying between Mexico and Nicaragua, this country was one of the first links in Cortés' chain of projected conquests; it was the foreground in the glowing picture which rumor had painted of the regions to the south. Here were the greatest of cities and the finest of palaces, maintained by a people as numerous and cultured as any in Anáhuac. A vast table-land, with an Italian climate, made bright with meandering streams, studded with verdure-fringed lakes, produced in abundance the choicest of products, while the mountains and river-beds, in the ardent imagination of the conquerors, at least, were veined with gold. Soft sensuous pearls were distributed by an equally lavish fancy along the shore bathed by the southern sea.

On first touching the borders of New Spain vague stories had reached Cortés to this effect, and while captive Montezuma still held sway at Tenochtitlan he had sought further information. The reports poured into his ears served only to magnify the mystery 618 and render the allurement irresistible. As soon, therefore, as the contest with the empire was over he despatched two small parties southward, and once again the drama of Vasco Nuñez was performed, once more was discovered and claimed the boundless ocean, emblem of infinity, incentive to ever greater deeds, to ever grander discoveries, "for within it," writes Cortés to the emperor, "must be found islands rich in gold and pearls, and precious stones and spices, and many other secrets and wonderful things, as men of experience and learning affirm."[XXII-1]

There was more than speculation in this statement, for the explorers returned with native envoys bearing gold and pearls and other specimens of riches. Nor had they failed, in accordance with the Catholic doctrine of appropriation, as I have intimated, to take possession of the new shores in the names of their Catholic majesties, the king and queen of Spain, and to erect the cross, emblematic of their religion. With doubled impulse the conquerors now advanced along the new route opened, and speedily the vast provinces of Michoacan and Oajaca were overrun. About the same time Pilot Andrés Niño had stretched the limit of discovery by sea from the gulf of Nicoya to very near this parallel,[XXII-2] disclosing to the world the vastness of the sea baptized with the blood of Magellan, and by him endowed with a new name.

Native envoys were meanwhile entering into Mexico to lay homage and rich gifts at the feet of the bearded white chief. Made happy in return with Castilian trumpery and the gracious condescension of the demi-gods, they went back to pour into the ears of their princes the tales impressed upon them by the strangers, of the power and grandeur of their king, and of the kindness and vast benefits to be derived from a submissive alliance with them. Among the first of the meek and friendly spirits to act upon 619 these reports was the lord of Tehuantepec. Less credulous was his neighbor of Tututepec, who had great wealth, and by no means relished the idea of throwing open his gates to rapacious invaders. He expostulated with his neighbor, saying that the course meditated would be ruinous to them all. The two chieftains had quarrelled before on a less momentous issue than the present, and it was quite easy for them to quarrel now, and fight. If the silly lord of Tehuantepec wished to throw away himself and all his belongings, it were better they should fall into a neighbor's hands than to strangers; so he of Tututepec attacked him and pressed him hard, until the ruler of Tehuantepec called to Cortés for help.

In answer to this request Pedro de Alvarado was sent to his aid. Leaving Mexico early in 1522, with a strong force, he swept southward like a whirlwind, and within a few weeks entered the doomed capital of Tututepec, captured the chieftain and his heir, and held them subject to heavy ransom. Nor was this all. There were rich mines thereabout, so he was told; and at the sea, into which he entered with brandished sword to take possession, his eyes feasted on lustrous pearls. This sealed the fate of the ocean-bordered realms, and permanent footholds were established, to serve as nuclei for radiating conquest, and as retreats for booty-laden raiders. It was on this occasion that Soconusco was peaceably occupied by the Spaniards.[XXII-3] Still more dazzling was the confirmation received of the wonderful kingdoms of the Quichés and the Cakchiquels, hitherto invested by distance with the charm of mystery, but now by proximity disclosing glimpses of no mean splendor. He found himself, in fact, not far from the border, and guides being at hand, he resolved to send two soldiers to investigate, with instructions to spy out the land and speak of their king and their religion. 620

And thus are opened the portals of Guatemala,[XXII-4] a region within whose parallels centuries rocked the cradle of American civilization, now disclosed by monuments the most imposing of any on the continent. The history of their origin is hidden in the remote past, of which only an occasional glimpse is permitted the investigator. A mighty Maya empire looms forth under the name of Xibalba, founded perhaps by Votan, the culture-hero, and centring round the famous Palenque. A golden age was followed by long struggles with a growing power, which brought about its downfall toward the beginning of our era. The Nahuas now rise into prominence, but some five centuries later disaster falls also on them, and a general breaking-up ensues, leading to mighty migrations and the formation of smaller independent nations, such as the Toltecs, Chichimecs, and Quichés. After this even tradition ceases to speak, save in alluding vaguely to a later foreign immigration. With this come also certain Toltecs, who, after the downfall of their empire in the more northerly Anáhuac, seek here an asylum where once again may bloom the culture that, cradled in this very region, now returns with invigorating elements. Mingling with the natives, they stir anew the progress paralyzed by civil wars, infuse fresh spirit into tottering institutions, and, combining with the aboriginal culture, develop the new era apparent in the art relics of this western plateau.

A series of struggles soon ensues, out of which rises in the twelfth or thirteenth century the Quiché empire. Subordinate tribes gradually acquire sufficient strength, however, to cast off a yoke which has 621 grown burdensome, and foremost among the new nations figure the Cakchiquels, who in the early part of the fifteenth century are dividing domination with the Quichés. The Cakchiquels themselves divide soon after, the northern and weaker branch forming the Zutugils, their respective capitals being Patinamit and Atitlan. These, with their former masters, are the three rival monarchies of Guatemala in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Quichés, who govern at Utatlan, nevertheless maintain a certain preëminence, both in political standing and culture. There are, besides, a number of minor independent peoples only too eager to stimulate enmity between the leading powers, and to ally themselves with that which is likely to favor their own interests. This condition of things, so favorable to foreign intrigue, has not escaped the attention of the ambitious Aztecs, who are already masters of the Soconusco border province. Their agents are in fact scattered throughout the country, laying plans for further conquests, when the Spaniards step in to lay their iron hand upon the country, which here as in other parts they find too well prepared for them by ambition and misrule.

Nor do we fail to find foreshadowed here, as elsewhere upon the pages of history, the momentous event. There were startling occurrences, such as conflagrations and locust ravages; there was a ball of fire, which for many evenings rose in the east and followed the path of the sun; and there were other like omens. When the troubled priests went to seek an explanation from the oracular black stone at Cahbaha, their awe was increased by finding it broken in twain. In 1520 cholera swept the Cakchiquel country, followed in 1521 by the small-pox, which, after desolating Mexico, fell upon these southern provinces and carried off half the population, including the two kings and the flower of the nobility, leaving gaunt famine in its trail by way of remembrance. Amid such presages it was that the news came of the achievements of the 622 white men in Montezuma's realms, of their wonderful war enginery and invincible prowess. Less awed by these reports, the Quichés, who had probably suffered less from epidemics, prepared to resist the prospective invasion with the same determination that they had formerly shown against the Aztecs; but the Cakchiquels were more broken in power and spirit, and more inclined to welcome the new-comers, particularly since the Quichés were again becoming dangerous.[XXII-5]

Thus stood affairs when the two messengers of Alvarado appeared at Patinamit. On their arrival at the capital they were peaceably received. When admitted into the presence of King Belehe Qat[XXII-6] they were asked if they had been sent by Malinche,[XXII-7] and whether they had come on great sea monsters similar to those that had been seen off the coast the year before,[XXII-8] and whether they were accustomed to tell the truth; whereupon they made answer that they had come from the emperor of the world, and from his invincible captain, who, though no god,[XXII-9] had found his way hither to show them the path to paradise. Their journey had been by land, they said, and they would by no means lie, their truthfulness being as unvarying as the polar star. Then one of them[XXII-10] drew an enormous carac with six masts, and, Peter Martyr adds, as many decks, which was indeed a fair specimen of Spanish veracity. The Indian nobles gazed in wonder 623 at the enormous vessel, with its sails, and spars, and countless ropes, and thought it must indeed be a true representation, since there were so many adjuncts.

At length the king spoke. "How is it that the Spaniards are so invincible, being no larger than other men?" "In the God of heaven our strength lies!" came the answer; "He whose holy law we proclaim, he gives us victories, lending us courage sharp like iron, and intelligence powerful like caged thunder, and beasts withal, which are in themselves a host." And the diplomatic Apelles drew a colossal horse, of fierce aspect, mounted by a man. The spectators were awe-stricken. Right willingly now would the king enter into an alliance with these wonderful beings. He would supply them with fifty thousand warriors if they would overthrow the neighboring foes who were devastating his land. Alas! for ready friendship, the humble offer of vassalage, and open hand; peaceful policy or bold defiance alike led to the oppressor's yoke. The embassadors were dismissed, promising to report the ruler's wishes to their commander, and gayly they went their way, accompanied by five thousand slaves, laden with the products and manufactures of the land, with cacao, maize, and poultry, besides raiment, and vases, and jewelry to the value of twenty thousand pesos de oro.[XXII-11]

On receiving this earnest of advantage Alvarado hastened back to impart the news to his chief and to assist him in plans for conquest. It was determined to advance at once by sea and land. A force of forty Spaniards, mostly carpenters and seamen, was despatched to Zacatula, on the Pacific coast, to engage in ship-building, as an aid to proposed conquest and colonization. We find, moreover, that during this 624 same year, 1522, two Spanish envoys, with certain natives of Mexico and of the province of Soconusco, were sent to Utatlan and Guatemala,[XXII-12] and on their return they met Cortés at Tuxpan,[XXII-13] on his way back from Pánuco, where he had been engaged in pacification. About one hundred[XXII-14] embassadors accompanied these messengers, sent by the rulers of those cities to tender friendship and service to the king of Spain. Nothing could be more courteous and dignified than the bearing of Cortés while accepting this allegiance, as he terms it, and the costly offerings of gold ware, rare plumes, and feathered tapestry brought by the Indian envoys; and again were produced and presented with imposing mien the gewgaws of Spain. Especial favor and kind treatment, the embassadors were assured, should be extended to these princes and their subjects, inasmuch as this tender of friendship was voluntary and in good faith. An appropriate display of warlike power was made before the visitors, who were then dismissed.[XXII-15]

About the beginning of 1523, however, rumors reached Cortés that these allies were scarcely to be relied on, and that the settlers in Soconusco were 625 molested by inroads from the southern provinces.[XXII-16] Although the truth of the reports was doubtful, Cortés deemed it not adverse to his interests to regard them as true, for there were advantages in the conquest of rich provinces which peaceful possession could not give.[XXII-17].

The subjugation of the districts being thus resolved on, naturally the leadership fell to Alvarado, who had already taken some steps in that direction, as we have seen. He had probably stronger claims upon Cortés than any captain in the Mexican conquest, having shared with him, as second in command, many desperate battles and many brilliant triumphs. Perhaps more so than with any of the others, his character was apparent on the surface: reckless, impetuous, merciless, lacking in veracity if not in common honesty, he was still zealous and courageous; and with his native dexterity, and past experiences under Grijalva and Cortés, he may now be called an able commander. If less staid and regular than Olid, his loyalty was regarded as above suspicion. At all events, the general could not himself undertake the work, and the best proxy was this captain.[XXII-18]

Preparations were begun early in 1523. A force was quickly organized, but operations were diverted by the inopportune arrival at Pánuco of the adelantado Francisco de Garay, who endeavored to supplant Cortés in that quarter. Alvarado was therefore despatched against the interloper, and it was not until the 6th of December that the expedition set out for Guatemala. It was a gallant array, as finally formed, the very flower of New Spain chivalry, one hundred 626 and twenty horsemen, three hundred infantry, of whom one hundred and thirty were cross-bowmen and arquebusiers, and over twenty thousand picked native warriors.[XXII-19] Spiritual guides were present in the persons of two friars and two army chaplains.[XXII-20] And it 627 was a proud moment for Alvarado as he marched out of the Mexican capital the chief commander of that brilliant company, the panoplies of the cavalry glittering high above the flashing helmets of the infantry, while the long sombre line of swarthy allies was broken here and there by the colored insignia and gaudy plumes of some great chieftain. For a little way Cortés himself rode beside his subordinate and friend, reiterating his instructions, charging him specially to render punctually his report, and such a one as would be acceptable to his majesty. Nor was the parting devoid of pleasure, for one would be rid of sometimes unpleasant interference in affairs at the capital, while the other would be independent of any superior.[XXII-21]

It was about the middle of the dry season; and the time of year, the weather, and the condition of the roads all were favorable, so that the southward march promised to be an easy one. After turning aside to quell an insurrection in the mountains of Tehuantepec[XXII-22] Alvarado continued his course, and on the 12th of January, 1524, wrote to Cortés from Tehuantepec city, where he had been received in all friendship and with reiterated expressions of allegiance. He then entered the province of Soconusco, upon whose people the Spanish yoke seemed to rest a little heavy.

The shadows which flit behind substantial record in Soconusco's history represent the people as independent 628 for ages and in the usual state of chronic warfare with their neighbors,[XXII-23] by reason whereof they became so weakened as to fall under the sway of the Olmecs, who oppressed them almost beyond endurance. Numbers indeed abandoned their homes, leaving many tracts nearly depopulated. Under Aztec domination, however, they regained somewhat their strength, and when the Europeans came the district was quite populous and advanced in civilization. And now, when the purposes of the Spaniards were made known to them, they turned and joined the nations of Guatemala confederated for resistance.

At no great distance from the Tehuantepec border Alvarado first encountered serious opposition, and before the Guatemalan border was reached many patriots had been punished and many freemen made slaves. The subjugation of the Soconuscans was decided by a pitched battle at Tonalá a town of fifty thousand inhabitants,[XXII-24] where a large army under a Quiché prince was defeated.[XXII-25] At the border of Guatemala proper the army entered, early in February, the dense forests of Zapotitlan,[XXII-26] now Costa Cuca and Costa Grande. For three days they marched in the shadow of lofty evergreens, through uninhabited wilds, skirting 629 pestiferous swamps or plunging into snake-infested canebrakes; now hacking their way through thickets, now fording high-banked streams or scaling rugged hill-sides, while painted macaws screamed at them, and poisonous insects left their sting. Amidst the customary prayings and cursings they struggled forward, and finally emerged from the forest and entered cultivated lands.

View larger image

Messengers had been sent forward summoning the provinces in due form to allegiance. And now were captured three natives, believed to be spies from the city of Zapotitlan,[XXII-27] who were despatched with a second requirement, to which there was no response. The Spaniards then advanced along a broad open 630 highway, and soon after entered a narrower road, which they found barricaded; whereupon they pitched camp in an open plain near by. On a height beyond a deep ravine, through which flowed a river,[XXII-28] stood the city, bathed in the bright rays of the setting sun, like a beautiful maiden arrayed for the sacrifice. Between the plain and the city the ground was thickly covered with plantations of cacao, which would materially impede the action of cavalry.

The Spaniards had not long to wait attack. In the dusk of evening a small band sprang from cover and slew a number of the allies. The cavalry were thereupon ordered to sweep the plain. They came upon a large force, and a skirmish ensued in which some of the horses were injured. Alvarado's blood was now up, and he ordered an immediate march on the city. No serious opposition was encountered until the army came to the ravine, spanned by a narrow, rudely built wooden bridge, the crossing of which was fiercely contested by a large body of warriors. The artillery was accordingly brought into action and did efficient service. The doomed natives fought well, rallying again and again under the frightful havoc of the guns, until a great breastwork was formed of their slain. At length the cavalry, under cover of a heavy fire, succeeded in forcing a way across the stream and began to climb the height to a bench overlooking the ravine. The infantry followed. The passage was made in the midst of the fiercest attacks; but Alvarado protected his rear with consummate skill, and soon he had the satisfaction of drawing up his troops on the open ground above, safe from molestation. In the streets of the city, which the army now entered, the natives made another desperate effort to save themselves; but without avail. Those terrible guns! those terrible horses! that life-compelling steel, falling 631 with a force and precision worthy the death-dealing enginery of the gods! For half a league beyond the town the allies were permitted to pursue and slay, after which the victors took up their quarters in the abandoned market-place, where for two days they rested and reconnoitred.[XXII-29] 632

CHAPTER XXIII.
CONQUEST OF GUATEMALA BEGUN.
February-March, 1524.

Overtures of Kicab Tanub to the Lords of the Zutugils and Cakchiquels—Death of the Quiché King—Tecum Umam his Successor—Gathers a Great Army—Intrenches Himself at Zacaha—Passage of Palahunoh by the Spaniards—A Skirmish—A Bloody Engagement—Quezaltenango Established—The Army Advances on Xelahuh—The City—Battle of Xelahuh—Tecum Umam Slain—Forcible Proselyting.

As we may well imagine, the presence of the conquering army created a profound sensation throughout the whole Quiché dominion. They were a warlike people, rulers and subjects, and proud withal. It is stated that while Alvarado was yet in Soconusco, Kicab Tanub, king of Utatlan, had endeavored to bring the lord of the Zutugils and the lord of the Cakchiquels into a combination which he was forming for purposes of defence against the approaching army. But they haughtily declined the overtures; one because the Quiché king had secretly aided a rebellious vassal of his, and the other because he felt sufficiently powerful to defend his gates against all comers. The ruler of the Cakchiquels,[XXIII-1] indeed, declared openly for the Spaniards, while the king of the Zutugils was so insulting in his rejection of the proposed confederation that King Kicab Tanub was deeply humiliated. His chagrin, added to the anxieties 633 attending preparations for defence, brought on a fever, from which he died in a few days. He was succeeded by his son, Tecum Umam.

Meanwhile all the forces of the kingdom were placed under arms, and a general muster of allies and tributaries was appointed to be held at Totonicapan. Thither marched Tecum Umam at the head of sixty thousand warriors, and he was soon joined by a still larger force. With this army he occupied the table-land on which stood the strong city of Xelahuh,[XXIII-2] and which overlooked the ravines of the Tziha and the Olintepec. Ten lords governed this city, and with all their armies brilliantly equipped they went to the assistance of the Quiché monarch. Never since the days of the great Kicab[XXIII-3] had there been seen on the Central American plateau a military display so imposing. Redoubtable warriors were there, made fierce of aspect by the skins of wild beasts, the lion, the jaguar, and the bear, and a vast array of fighting men, two hundred thousand and more,[XXIII-4] while conspicuous above them all in military splendor was the Quiché king and the royal retinue. On one side of the elevated plain was Zacaha, a line of fortifications commanding the defile through the mountains by which the invading army had to enter. The place was now strengthened by throwing up round many of the hills stone walls, along the sides of which a ditch was carried, set with poisonous stakes. A number 634 of military machines were constructed, such as towers on wheels, and catapults for hurling missiles, which would have done honor to the man-killing profession of any European nation of that day. There King Tecum Umam intrenched himself and awaited the incoming army.

And to this inland plateau, in the very heart of the Quiché country, Alvarado was now with difficulty making his way through a narrow gorge of the sierra, leaving the people of Zapotitlan quite subdued. After crossing two rapid rivers a steep ascent six leagues in length was begun, leading to Palahunoh, as the pass was called. It was indeed a rugged way, more in the nature of a height to be scaled than an opening in a chain of mountains. So severe were the struggles with nature and Satan, to whom these stubborn soldiers ascribed most ills, that their former troubles seemed to them as pastime now. The place was so steep and rough that it was with the utmost difficulty the horses, plunging and struggling, could make their way up. It was impossible to accomplish the whole distance in one day, and the panting and foot-sore army, too exhausted to proceed farther,[XXIII-5] was ordered to encamp when half the ascent had been made. The next day through similar efforts they reached the summit, where a woman and a dog were found sacrificed, in token of defiance and challenge to war, as the interpreters explained.

During the descent to the plain, at no great distance, in a narrow part of the pass, a strong breastwork 635 of undefended palisades was discovered, quite incomprehensible to the Spaniards, as a few men properly disposed could have held the place against any invading army.

The nature of the ground was still so unfavorable for cavalry that Alvarado sent forward the infantry, and presently the enemy was encountered. A body of three or four thousand fell upon the allies and threw them into confusion. The cross-bowmen, however, came to their support, and soon the entire infantry were engaged in the contest, which was carried on along the hill-tops and down the slopes until the ravine of Olintepec River was reached. There the Spaniards were drawn into an ambuscade, formed by over six thousand warriors from Utatlan, from whom they received some wounds.[XXIII-6] The troops were soon collected on the other side of the ravine, however; but none too soon, for presently was seen advancing with bold front a detachment of the grand army, thirty thousand strong, as if to annihilate them at one blow. Fortunately the ground here was level and favorable for the cavalry. The horses being greatly fatigued, Alvarado determined to wait till the last moment before charging. After permitting the enemy to amuse themselves with the allies during a brief breathing space, their confidence momentarily increasing, the commander at length gave the order to the impatient horsemen, who swept forward instantly like an avalanche, and as if the hills indeed had fallen on them the affrighted Quichés scattered. Mad Ajax among the defenceless sheep took not more lives than did each Spaniard on that day. Like sheep the poor natives scattered, and like sheep they were pursued and slaughtered.[XXIII-7]

A league farther brought the thirsty troops to some 636 springs, but the period of refreshment was short. At hand was a yet more formidable native force, led by Prince Ahzumanche, one of the highest among the relatives and officers of the king.

The engagement which followed was exceptionably bloody. The Quichés approached over the extensive plains, and when they had arrived at a position favorable for the Spaniards to make the attack the horsemen charged upon them. But the Quichés were better on their guard than before. Recovered from their panic, and animated by the example of their leader, they displayed greater bravery this time, standing the shock unflinchingly,[XXIII-8] fighting foot to foot, or banded two and three together, endeavoring by their own strength to overthrow the horses, seizing them by mane and tail, and trying to pull them down, and laying hold of the riders to unhorse them. The Spaniards were indeed closely beset, and for a time it seemed by no means certain that victory would finally declare for them. But what naked power could long withstand the steady fire of arquebuse and cross-bow, the steady fall of sword-blow and lance-thrust!

Relaxing their efforts for a moment, the natives were charged by the cavalry with deadly result, and were trampled under foot by hundreds, and speedily routed. For a league they were followed with great havoc, till they took refuge in a stronghold of the sierra. By pretending flight, however, Alvarado drew them from their position to the open plain, and then wheeled and fell upon them. The carnage for a time was dreadful; the ground was covered with the mangled bodies of the dead and dying, and the waters of the Olintepec ran crimson with blood. And henceforth the stream was called Xequiqel, that is to say, River of Blood.[XXIII-9] 637

Among the fallen was Prince Ahzumanche, and a number of the nobility and chiefs. The contest being over, the army encamped for the night at the springs before mentioned. The loss to the Spaniards, as usual, was insignificant.[XXIII-10]

Let us pause for a moment to review the position of the invaders. They had surmounted with irresistible progress the coast range, had crossed the summit, fought their way down the corresponding slopes, and were within a league of Xelahuh, the great stronghold of the Quichés, on their western confines. All the defences to it had been won, the Zacaha fortifications had been carried, passive nature's majestic guardianship had been overcome, and human opposition had proved futile. Far behind them stood the deadly forest through which they had struggled; over the golden-edged hills, the rugged steep by which they had made their way hither. Around them now were open pine woods,[XXIII-11] and at their feet the wide cultivated plains of the table-lands on which the sun shed its uninterrupted rays. Dotted with towns and parti-colored with maize-fields and orchards, silver-threaded by streams, the landscape displayed before the Spaniards the picture of a paradise. And this beautiful realm now lay helpless in the conqueror's grasp, its very air[XXIII-12] becoming traitorous by refreshing and invigorating 638 the invaders, bracing their nerves and inspiring their hearts to new enterprise.

At dawn the Spanish camp was astir; and while the voices of Christian priests chanting praises to God for past victories floated over the hideous battle-field, Christian soldiers were buckling on their armor for the further butchering of helpless human beings who had done them no harm. A hermitage and a town were established at Zacaha, the former under the charge of Friar Francisco Martinez de Pontaza,[XXIII-13] whose memory was ever after fragrant in those parts, the latter under the direction of Juan de Leon Cardona.[XXIII-14] The natives of the subjugated neighborhood finally came in and helped to swell the numbers of the town, which was called Quezaltenango.[XXIII-15]

These measures taken,[XXIII-16] the army advanced on Xelahuh,[XXIII-17] only to find it abandoned. The inhabitants, terror-stricken at the success of the invaders, had fled to the mountains. Alvarado took up his quarters in the deserted city, where for six days he remained, resting and reconnoitring.[XXIII-18] 639

Tecum Umam was an ambitious prince and a brave commander. With no small concern he had seen defeated one after another the forces sent against the foe, and he now resolved to take the field in person. About noon on the seventh day of their sojourn at Xelahuh the Spaniards saw converging to that point from every quarter dense masses of warriors.[XXIII-19] Well aware that his great strength lay in the cavalry, Alvarado with a large part of his force[XXIII-20] hastened to occupy an open plain, three leagues in length, at no great distance from the city. Tecum Umam was shrewd enough to comprehend the manœuvre, and before the last Spaniard was a bow-shot from camp the Quiché army in two principal divisions was upon them. Alvarado had divided his cavalry into two bodies, commanded respectively by Pedro Puertocarrero and Hernando de Chaves, who were directed to assail at different points one of the opposing bodies when well in position, while the infantry, commanded by himself, were to engage with the other. The onset was terrible. Through and through the dense columns rush the horsemen, heedless alike of the flint-tipped arrow, the javelin with fire-hardened point, and the slung pebble. Resistance was not possible. Plunged through and hurled to earth, crushed beneath the horses' hoofs, the broken ranks of this division sought the protection of the other. Thus half of Tecum's last hope was lost, while the other half was fast dwindling. Early in the combat the Quiché king had recognized 640 the conspicuous figure of the mounted Spanish commander, and as Tecum now saw his forces broken by the cavalry, he determined upon one last desperate effort. Gathering around him a few chosen warriors, he threw himself in person upon Alvarado, and with his own hand so wounded his horse that the Spaniard was obliged to fall back and mount another. A second and a third time the undaunted warrior assailed his superior foe, till pierced by Alvarado's lance he fell, staining with his life-blood the ground he had fought so bravely to defend.

It was not often that the heavenly powers deigned to help the poor natives in their dire struggle with the steel-clad Europeans, as was so frequently the case with the Spaniards. The gods usually prefer fighting on the strongest side; but here we find an exception. It is my duty to relate, as a truthful historian, that during the mortal combat between these two leaders an eagle with great pinions was observed by the Quiché army circling round and round the Spanish commander, ever and anon swooping down upon him, and with beak and claw attacking him about the head. It was the nagual, the guardian spirit of Tecum Umam. But less strong than Alvarado's lance, it was discomfited at the moment of the monarch's death, and disappeared from the sight of the vanquished Quichés.[XXIII-21]

Contrary to the usual course pursued by natives in warfare, the fall of their commander did not immediately disperse the Quiché warriors, but seemed rather to enrage them; for the moment after there fell upon the Spaniards such a blinding tempest of javelins as would have delighted the Spartan Dieneces. It was but for a moment, however; it was their last expiring effort, for soon the cavalry came thundering on their flanks, dispersing and slaying after the usual fashion. For two leagues along the plain they were pursued by 641 the horsemen, who then turned and rode back, repeating the carnage over the same field. The slaughter was particularly bloody at a stream on one side of the plain, and the commander proudly refers to it in his despatch.[XXIII-22] The infantry captured a vast multitude which had taken refuge from the insatiate horsemen on a hill near by.

Thus ended another day in the annals of the grand extermination, a day dark indeed for the noble Quiché nation, but of which European progress and propagandizing might well be proud.[XXIII-23]

By this crushing defeat the Quichés were humbled and their confidence in their deities, not to say themselves, was weakened. Though in great grief at the loss of their chief and the triumph of the Spaniards, an opportunity was given them through the preaching of the priests Torres and Pontaza to embrace the religion of their conquerors. Four captive chieftains[XXIII-24] of Xelahuh were baptized and received their liberty. Christian raiment with swords was then given them and they were entertained at the table of Alvarado.[XXIII-25] After this they were sent out as missionaries to their affrighted brethren, bringing quite a number to a knowledge of the Savior. They also aided in erecting a more suitable hermitage at Zacaha, and in building houses for the Donatís.[XXIII-26] Nay 642 more; in their growing enthusiasm they suggested that the place where Tonatiuh had gained his crowning victory, and over which still hung the odor of corruption and blood, the blood of their slain countrymen, should be called by the name of Espíritu Santo. 643

CHAPTER XXIV.
DOWNFALL OF THE QUICHÉ NATION.
April, 1524.

Utatlan, Capital of the Quichés—Its Magnificence—The Royal Palace and Pyramidal Fortifications—Private Apartments and Gardens—Plan to Entrap the Spaniards—A Feast Prepared—The Enemy Invited—The Treachery Discovered—Masterly Retreat of Alvarado—The Quiché King and Nobles Entrapped—They are Made to Gather Gold—And are then Destroyed—Utatlan Burned and the Country Devastated—Subjugation of the Quichés Complete.

Upon the central plateau, near the present town of Santa Cruz del Quiché, stood Utatlan,[XXIV-1] the ancient capital of the Quiché nation. It was surrounded by a deep ravine, and could be entered only at two points. To one of these entrances over thirty stone steps led up an almost perpendicular cliff; to the other a narrow artificial causeway, connected at one point by a bridge which could be easily destroyed. The city was further strengthened by the grim fortress of Atalaya, four stories in height, and the pyramidal fortification of El Resguardo,[XXIV-2] one hundred and twenty feet high. In wealth and splendor Utatlan, in which twenty generations of the present dynasty had reigned, vied with the city of the Aztec kings 644 and the gardened capital of the Incas. In its centre stood the royal palace, surrounded by the imposing residences of the nobles, and beyond, the humbler dwellings of the common people. The palace was one of the most magnificent structures of Central America. It was built of hewn stone of various colors, mosaic in appearance, and its colossal dimensions, and elegant and stately architectural form, excited mingled awe and admiration.[XXIV-3]

Within the lofty portals the quarters of the household guards, surrounding a spacious barrack yard, were first presented to view. Dusky warriors, lancers, and archers, clad in wildly picturesque garbs of dappled tiger-skins or sombre bear-hides, in brilliant plumes and polished arms, with silent tread measured the well paved court. In the principal apartments near at hand the various arms and paraphernalia of battle lay ready for immediate use, while on the walls hung hard-won trophies of war. Next lay the residence of the unmarried princes, and beyond this the palace proper, containing besides the apartments of the monarch the council-chamber, with the gorgeous throne canopied with costly tapestry of feather work of rare designs and wrought with cunning skill; also the royal treasury, the hall of justice, and the armory. Three separate suites of rooms, for morning, afternoon, and night, were each day occupied by the monarch, and all these more private apartments looked out upon delightful gardens, with trees, and flowers, and fruits, and in their midst menageries and aviaries, with rare and curious collections. Beyond lay the separate palaces of the monarch's queens and concubines, with their baths, and gardens, and miniature lakes; and lastly the maidens' college, in which were reared and educated the female offspring of royal blood. 645

And all this was but one pile of buildings, the largest, it is true; but there were others of no mean pretensions, the residences of the nobles and of the wealthy trading class. Of a truth Utatlan was a fine city, and a strong and noble one. And must it now be yielded to the spoiler? Is there no hope? None. Then perish all, for who would live with king and country gone; and with its occupants, also this fair capital which so long has harbored kings. Ah! if this strong trap could but be baited, and the white foxes enticed thereto and strangled. Rare thought! It were worth dying a dozen times to see these braggarts but once die. And so the Quiché cunning ones determined. In general council it was agreed that the Spaniards should be invited to a feast, and while there the city should be burned and brought down upon their heads!

By the death of Tecum Umam his son Oxib Quieh[XXIV-4] succeeded to the throne. His situation was not an enviable one. The best troops, in fact the very flower of the nation, had been destroyed or scattered. His father, with numbers of the first men of the land, had fallen, without having in a single instance gained a battle or baffled the foe. Their puny efforts were as gnats stinging or destroying a band of wild boars.

Yet the grandson of the great Kicab Tanub would not abandon the field without a struggle. The council might burn the city if they chose. And though their hopes and the prospects of success were great, the king and his nobles relaxed none the less their efforts to raise fresh troops. Should the plan fail, they would again take the field. Not only did Oxib Quieh draw all the forces possible from his own provinces, but he adopted every means to smooth the differences that existed between himself and the neighboring provinces. By these exertions at length a strong league was formed, and again the natives in 646 formidable numbers were ready to do battle for their gods and their country at the proper moment.

These preparations completed, an embassy with presents of gold was despatched to greet the conqueror, to sue for peace, and to tender their king's submission as vassal to the king of Spain. Alvarado was also invited to the court of Utatlan, where the king was waiting to offer in person his allegiance and entertain with all due honor the redoubtable Spaniard. Alvarado graciously accepted both the presents and the invitation, and made presents in return, and on the following day set out with his army to pay the promised visit. It was quite natural on both sides, the invitation and the acceptance. Here were war and a conquered country; here the conquered with overtures of peace; and so the Spaniards marched into the trap without suspicion.

But as they passed along the narrow causeway and came to the bridge, certain soldiers[XXIV-5] fancied they saw where it had been recently weakened. When the attention of Alvarado was called to it he made no alarm, nor did he turn a moment from his course. He relished the flavor of such an adventure, and grasping his sword the tighter he commanded the strictest caution and the closest observation. On entering the city the suspicions of the Spaniards were confirmed. The men were armed; the women and children had been withdrawn; there were few provisions at hand and little valuable merchandise in the storehouses; in many buildings throughout the city brush and firewood had been deposited, while the anxiety displayed in the uneasy deportment of the natives themselves could not be disguised. It was observed, too, that the streets were so narrow and the houses so compact that it would be impossible for the cavalry to move; and lastly, the Quezaltenango allies who accompanied the Spaniards obtained 647 and brought to Alvarado positive information of the intentions of the Quiché chiefs.[XXIV-6]

Not only are prompt measures now necessary, but they must be such as will not arouse the suspicions of a most suspicious foe, whose keen eyes are watching every movement. Without formally summoning a council Alvarado moves in holiday mien among his officers, dropping here a hint and laying there a stern command; meanwhile, outwardly undisturbed, he rides forward into the nest of nobles awaiting him and greets them with a frank smile amid renewed protestations of friendship. This done he looks about for the disposal of the horses. They are worshipful brutes, in some respects the equals and even the superiors of men; they are not given to feasting like men, but they must not be forgotten at the feast. Their greatest delight will be to feed upon the open plain; he will conduct them there and return without delay. Greatly disconcerted the nobles press the Tonatiuh to immediate entertainment, which even now awaits him; under the direction of the soldiers they will provide the best care for the noble animals. By no means, Alvarado intimates; the horses will never forgive him if he neglects them on so important an occasion. Thus all the Spaniards return over the causeway, and the weakened bridge, and with a feeling of intense relief reach the plain in safety.

Now for a sweet morsel of revenge. While gathering grass for the horses the soldiers are fired on from the ravines and thickets, and one Spaniard, a servant of the commander, is killed. The king and his nobles, who remain near the city entrance, on witnessing the outrage from this distance are distressed, and take measures to prevent hostile demonstrations on the part of their people. Alvarado pretends to regard it all as 648 of no moment, and continues his attitude of confidence and cordiality with the chiefs. It is unfortunate, this accident of the servant; but after what has happened probably the feast had better be postponed. As a further mark of friendship and esteem, will Oxib Quieh and his companions look in upon the camp of the Spaniards? Poor boy! So easily caught, and in a trap, a steel one, quite different from the bungling bridge-drop at Utatlan. Now may all men open their eyes and judge as gods, for these present must die!

The mask is thrown aside, and the avenger in his wrath stands revealed. Oxib Quieh and his caciques are seized and charged with their treacherous intentions. Their condemnation is a matter predetermined, but execution is delayed a little that the tiger may sport with his prey. Little gold has been gathered on this expedition, and it may be well to put upon the scene in Guatemala the grand drama of Montezuma not long since performed at the Mexican capital. The prisoners shall have their lives if they gather much gold. This done, they shall have their lives if they gather more gold. And when the kingdom is stripped of its gold and the Spaniards become impatient, a great fire is built, into which those of the prisoners who are not hanged are thrown alive; and the smoke ascends to heaven as grateful incense to their god.[XXIV-7] 649

Notwithstanding these merciless lessons, during which three of the Quiché kings, of three several generations in direct line of succession, had been sacrificed, hostilities were speedily renewed. A fierce attack was made on all sides, the natives issuing in great numbers from the many ravines which intersected the neighboring ground, and the assault was obstinately maintained for some time; but the artillery[XXIV-8] committed such dreadful destruction, opening through their dense masses lanes strewn with mutilated bodies and torn-off limbs, that they speedily recognized the futility of their attempts, and fled back to the gulches. Keeping ever to inaccessible ground, and avoiding open engagement,[XXIV-9] they harassed the army incessantly, by cutting off stragglers and inflicting harm in any way that they were able. At length Alvarado determined upon the plan of burning their city and devastating the country; and he sent to the friendly king of the Cakchiquels, requesting a contingent of troops to assist him in dislodging the Quichés from their fastnesses. Four thousand warriors were at once sent[XXIV-10] by the submissive lord, with 650 which additional force, and the energetic measures he pursued, Alvarado carried on the process of subjection with effect. The warlike Quichés, their city burned,[XXIV-11] their crops destroyed, hunted from one retreat to another, driven from their lands, at length were forced to yield. Alvarado received their overtures with generosity. He pardoned the repentant in his great mercy, and promised them their lives, at the same time ordering them to return and occupy their lands. He moreover released two captive sons of the royal line and put them in possession of their father's realm, the leading monarch being named Sequechul.[XXIV-12]

Thus was terminated for a time the struggle of the Quichés for independence—a struggle that ceased only with the destruction of their principal nobility and all the bravest warriors of the nation. To their obstinate valor the conqueror himself bears testimony,[XXIV-13] and recognizing the difficulties of his position, and how man of himself can do so little, he begs Cortés to order in the Mexican capital a procession of all the clergy, so that the virgin might help him. And further, would he "please take care to inform his Majesty how we are serving him with our persons and means, and at our own cost, in order that his Majesty may reward 651 us?" Nor did the lieutenant fail to report that his majesty's interests had been carefully attended to, all captives taken in the war having been branded and reduced to slavery.[XXIV-14] The royal fifth of these captive Quichés had been delivered to the treasurer, Baltasar de Mendoza, who sold them at auction for the better security of the revenue. 652

CHAPTER XXV.
THE CAKCHIQUELS AND ZUTUGILS MADE SUBJECTS OF SPAIN.
April-May, 1524.

March to the Cakchiquel Capital—With a Brilliant Retinue King Sinacam Comes forth to Meet the Spaniards—Description of Patinamit—Occupation of the Cakchiquel Capital—Expedition against Tepepul, King of the Zutugils—The Cliff City of Atitlan—A Warm Battle—Entry into the Stronghold—Reconciliation and Return to Patinamit—Love Episode of Alvarado.

The lieutenant-general was now ready to advance, and on the 11th of April, 1524, he left Utatlan for Patinamit, the capital of the Cakchiquels.[XXV-1] The weak and yielding Sinacam,[XXV-2] king of the Cakchiquels, had already sent with his troops a present of gold to Alvarado, and renewed his assurances of allegiance. He now prepared to meet him with such stately pomp as would be sure to gratify his future master. By this means he hoped his tottering throne might be secured to him. Servility and profuse hospitality would surely win their hearts, he thought; and then, with the powerful strangers on his side, he might laugh at his enemies. 653 As the Spanish army approached his capital he issued forth with native pageantry to meet it. He was borne aloft by his nobles on a litter, beneath a canopy which dazzled the eye with blazing ornaments of gold and changing hues of quetzal feathers, and round him were the members of the royal family in litters scarcely less conspicuous than his own, while a large body of warriors, with their plumed head-dresses and warlike apparel, marched in the rear and on either side. Alvarado's greeting was not of that unalloyed cordiality which Sinacam had hoped. The Spaniard was suspicious. He had but just escaped destruction, and the late danger had taught him discretion. What he had observed on the march had not tended to inspire confidence or promote peace of mind. All along the route despoiled corpses of slain Indians had met his sight, and the ground was discolored with human blood. Large bands of armed warriors were everywhere seen, and it was evident that the whole country was in arms. But fear was no part of Alvarado's character; therefore, when the king came near, he calmly dismounted, approached him with courteous mien, and with expressions of esteem placed in his hands a rare and curious piece of silver jewelry; then he asked with sombre brow, "Why dost thou seek to do me harm, when I come to do thee good?" Informed of the meaning of the words so seriously addressed to him, and conscious of his own faithful intentions, Sinacam, with calm yet somewhat severe dignity thanked him first for the present, replying, "Quiet thy heart, great captain, scion of the sun, and trust in my love." It was then explained to Alvarado that the warlike demonstrations he had discovered were directed against a rebellious vassal, who, with the aid of the kings of the Quichés and the Zutugils, had revolted and attempted to make himself a ruler.[XXV-3] 654

Alvarado professed to be satisfied, and permitted himself to be escorted by the monarch to the capital.[XXV-4] Patinamit,[XXV-5] like Utatlan, was situated in a naturally 655 impregnable position. It occupied an elevated plain, surrounded by ravines, the side of which nearest the city was perpendicular to a depth of five or six hundred feet. Across this chasm, at one point only, could entrance into the capital be gained, by means of a narrow causeway, which was closed by two gateways of stone,[XXV-6] one on each side of the city wall. This isolated plateau was about three miles long and two broad. The chronicler Fuentes describes the remains of this city with much minuteness, leaving vivid impressions of its former grandeur. On one edge of the natural platform, according to that writer, were the ruins of a magnificent building one hundred paces square, of extremely well hewn stone. In front of this edifice extended a plaza, on one side of which were the remains of a splendid palace, and in close proximity the foundations of many residences. 656 The city was divided by a ditch running north and south, more than eight feet deep, and surmounted by concrete breastworks three feet high. This was the dividing line between the dwellings of the nobles and those of the commoners. The streets were straight and wide, and extended in the direction of the four cardinal points. To the west was a mound dominating the city, on the summit of which stood a round building five to six feet high, resembling the breastwork of a well. Around this the judges held courts; but before their sentences could be executed they had to be confirmed by the sacred oracular stone, which was preserved in a shrine in a deep gulch. It is described as of a black diaphanous material, more precious than the ordinary building material. In its gloomy transparency the demon made visible the judgments that were to be passed. If no manifestation occurred, the accused was released; otherwise the sentence was carried into effect on the same mound where the judges sat in deliberation. This oracle was consulted also in matters of war.[XXV-7]

King Sinacam's reception of the guests in this his capital and court fully equalled his promises. Sumptuously lodged, and bountifully supplied with all the luxuries the land could produce, Alvarado himself admits that they could not have met kinder treatment in their own land.[XXV-8] For eight days the Spaniards feasted,[XXV-9] and in return Sinacam succeeded in obtaining the aid of his powerful friends against his hostile neighbors. Frequent conversations were held relative to the subjugation of the Zutugils, and to 657 insure this happy consummation Sinacam expatiated on the contemptuous pride of Tepepul, king of Atitlan,[XXV-10] and his further wickedness in not tendering allegiance to the Teules.[XXV-11] It seems that the Zutugil ruler had incurred the hatred of Sinacam by giving assistance to his rebellious vassal, Acpocaquil,[XXV-12] and making nocturnal incursions into the Cakchiquel territory by means of canoes. These outrages were prompted partly by his reliance on the impregnable position of his city, situated on the hanging cliffs above Lake Atitlan, seven leagues from Patinamit. Alvarado required little persuasion to engage in his favorite pastime of gold-hunting and blood-letting. He was well aware of the supercilious nature of Tepepul, and had already determined to visit him in person. While at Utatlan he had sent four messengers to the court of Atitlan, bearing the usual requirement; but the haughty monarch, instead of paying the respect due to so important a demand, put the messengers to death. This ruffled Alvarado, though it did not dishearten him. "I think," he writes to Cortés respecting this city, "that with the help of our Lord we shall soon bring it to the service of his Majesty."[XXV-13]

Alvarado would help King Sinacam, but first he would like some money for travelling expenses. This reasonable request could not be refused; not only was the treasure house of Patinamit emptied, but the entire district, so far as possible, was stripped of its gold, jewels, and whatever the Spaniards regarded as 658 desirable.[XXV-14] After this the Spaniards were ready to pass into the next district and levy like tribute, with or without bloodshed.

In order to proceed with regularity, Alvarado again sent envoys to Atitlan, demanding that Tepepul should cease hostilities against the Cakchiquels, who were the allies of the Teules, and again the ruler displayed his contempt by putting to death the messengers.[XXV-15] Thereupon Alvarado set out with sixty cavalry, one hundred and fifty infantry, and a large body of Cakchiquels, commanded by their chiefs.[XXV-16] Meeting no opposition he advanced with thirty horse to the height above the lake, and descended over difficult ground to a level plain that lay in front of a fortified rock in the water. This was approachable only by means of a narrow causeway, intersected at different points by wooden bridges. Near by the enemy were now discovered drawn up in two bodies, each eight thousand strong. They advanced at once to the attack, armed with lances, bows and arrows, and other weapons, protected, moreover, by cotton corselets.[XXV-17] As the rest of his forces were not far behind, Alvarado did not hesitate to charge, and when the infantry 659 soon came up the engagement became general. For some time it was most obstinately maintained, and numbers of the Spanish soldiers were wounded. The cavalry, however, succeeded as ever in breaking the enemy's lines, relieving the hard-pressed foot-soldiers, who thereupon rallied and renewed their efforts so vigorously as soon to send the enemy rushing for the stronghold. The pursuing horsemen arrived at the causeway as soon as the fugitives; here they were obliged to dismount, as the place was impassable for horses; yet they followed the Indians so closely that no time was given to destroy the bridges, and the Spaniards entered the fort with them. The infantry soon came up, and though the Zutugils struggled desperately to maintain their position, the volleys of the arquebusiers made such havoc in their ranks that at last they plunged into the lake and swam to a neighboring island, whence many of them escaped before the tardy arrival of three hundred Cakchiquel canoes.

That evening, after sacking all the houses on the rock, Alvarado pitched his camp in a field of maize. On the following morning he implored divine protection and marched against Atitlan. He found the city abandoned, his capture of what they regarded as an impregnable stronghold in the lake having so discomfited the Zutugils that they dared not contend with him for their city. At mid-day he took up position in the capital, and at once set about to overrun and devastate the country; but it was so rugged that the men could with difficulty move, and he was obliged to content himself with destroying some plantations of maize and cacao.[XXV-18] He succeeded in making a few captives, three of whom were despatched to King Tepepul with the usual demand of submission, accompanied by threats in case of refusal. Perceiving the necessity, the Zutugil monarch gracefully yielded, 660 whereupon the conqueror became gracious. He complimented the Zutugils for their bravery, pardoned their offences, and exhorted them to remain faithful, and to make no more war on such of their neighbors as were the recognized subjects of the king of Spain. To give efficacy to his words he built a strong fort in a suitable position, and left in it four hundred and eighteen men, Spaniards and Mexican allies, under the command of Héctor de Chaves and Alonso del Pulgar. Then he returned to Patinamit.[XXV-19]

Within three days the lords of the lake district presented themselves, with presents of gold and raiment. They expressed joy at becoming vassals of his majesty of Spain, for wars and woes should thenceforth be unknown among them. The Spanish commander was extremely affable as he presented his visitors with some glass trinkets, of great value in their eyes, and dismissed them with every demonstration of affection.[XXV-20]

Perhaps one reason why the play of Helen of Troy was not oftener performed by the Spanish conquerors in America was on account of the cheapness of women there. There might be lacking gold, or pearls, or provender, but seldom was a people found so poor that they could not furnish the army a liberal supply of 661 pretty slave girls. Less is found in the chronicles of this kind of traffic than of the traffic in gold and the traffic in pearls. The merchandise of morality, or rather of immorality, was less portable than the other kinds. Women were to use and throw away; gold would keep; while pearls were usually a staple article in the Spanish nation.

Now the pious Alvarado, next to his delectable master Cortés the most pious pirate in all the Indies, had tasted every iniquity condemned in his most holy scriptures except that invented and acted by the sweet psalmist of Israel. He had severally broken every commandment of the decalogue, then he had put them together and had broken them in every conceivable combination. But while maidens were so plump and plenty he had never felt the desire, like good King David, to go after the wife of any Uriah the Hittite. But while enjoying the luxurious hospitality of the Cakchiquel capital, with a world to give for a new sensation, Alvarado's eye fell on the beautiful Suchil,[XXV-21] wife of King Sinacam. In some respects it was the Israelitish tale reversed, for Sinacam was by no means a poor man in respect of women, nor was Suchil his only ewe lamb. The susceptible heart of the dashing commander was smitten by the graces of this queen, and he resolved to possess her. Being a conqueror, with a king for a slave, he might have obtained his desire by the simple demand; but in those days there was something sacred in royalty, even in heathen and captive royalty. Sinacam was now an acknowledged subject of Spain, and as such possessed rights; besides, that was not the way set forth by the bright exemplar of his faith.

Upon some pretext, therefore, Sinacam was arrested and put in irons. Gold was then demanded, and yet 662 more gold. It was the old method of making the penalty supply the place of guilt and condemnation. Then Suchil was seized, I do not say unwillingly, for the Spanish commander was fair and fascinating, and the Cakchiquel queen was after all but a woman. Above all things on earth, or beyond the earth, Sinacam regarded her—and for her restoration he offered more jewels, and pretty maidens, ay, the daughters of chieftains, by the hundred. Alvarado refused the prayer but not the offering. When love had cooled he released the king and went his way.[XXV-22] 663

CHAPTER XXVI.
EXPEDITION TO SALVADOR.
1524.

Campaign against Itzcuintlan—A Rough March—The Town Surprised—Desperate Defence—Alvarado Determines to Explore still farther South—Crossing the River Michatoyat—The Spaniards Come to Atiquipac, Tacuylula, Taxisco, Nancintlan, and Pazaco—The Towns Deserted—Poisoned Stakes and Canine Sacrifice—Enter Salvador—Moquizalco and Acatepec—Battles of Acajutla and Tacuxcalco—Blood-thirstiness of this Conqueror—Entry into Cuzcatlan—Flight of the Inhabitants—Return to Patinamit.

While receiving at Patinamit, after the Zutugil campaign, the fealty of numerous chieftains of the southern coast provinces, Alvarado was told that the district of Itzcuintlan[XXVI-1] defied him. And with their refusal to accept the benefits of Christian civilization certain irritating expressions of contempt were reported to have been uttered by the ruler of the province. Chiefs of other tribes who wished to pass through it, in order to tender allegiance to the Spaniards, were deterred and insulted, and the conqueror was challenged to enter the land.[XXVI-2] Somewhat ruffled by these bold proceedings, the impetuous commander marched against Itzcuintlan with all his available force, Spanish horse and foot, and a large body of Quichés and 664 Cakchiquels.[XXVI-3] It was a very rough country through which he had to pass. Roads there were none, other than mere tracks through the thick woods, for intercourse with Itzcuintlan had been almost entirely closed, owing to incessant war; but these circumstances favored a secret entrance into the hostile territory. For three days they forced their way through an uninhabitable tract almost closed to man by tropical undergrowth, which required constant application of axe and knife, so that one day they were unable to proceed more than two leagues. On reaching the province it was found covered with thick plantations alternating with swamps. Such ground being no place for horses, the arquebusiers took the front, and advanced upon the town from three different quarters. It was raining heavily at the time, a shower preliminary to the season of rain, and the sentinels had retired, so that the surprise was complete.[XXVI-4] Unable to arm or unite, the inhabitants fled to the woods to escape the swords of the conquerors. In the fort, however, which commanded the town, a considerable body of warriors had gathered, who offered a determined resistance, wounding many Spaniards and causing great loss to the Indian auxiliaries. After five hours of unavailing attempts to gain possession of the stronghold, the enraged Alvarado set fire to the place. The brave defenders appear to have escaped, thanks to the heavy rain and the proximity of the surrounding woods. Indeed, according to Alvarado's own 665 statement, he did no harm beyond burning the town.[XXVI-5] The subjection of the district was not yet accomplished, however, and messengers were sent to the ruler with the usual summons and threats. If they persisted in keeping aloof and refusing to submit, their lands and cornfields would be devastated, and they and their children made slaves. This menace had the desired effect; the cacique and his chiefs submitted and swore obedience, and during the eight days Alvarado remained in this place a number of the surrounding towns sent in their allegiance. But the restless spirit of both leader and men was not to be satisfied with the subjugation of one province only. The lieutenant-general had heard exciting accounts of immense cities and wonderful palaces, and discovery was almost as attractive to him as pacification. He had already informed Cortés that it was his intention to winter fifty or one hundred leagues beyond Guatemala. As an additional incentive he had received positive information that a march of twenty-five days from Guatemala would bring him to the end of the land: if that should prove to be the case he was confident of finding soon the famous strait, for which so many were searching.[XXVI-6] Besides the strait he desired also to find a harbor where he could construct vessels for exploring the coast at a later date. Already a great soldier, he desired to become also a great discoverer. Even the rainy season, which has just set in, should not deter him, though his difficulties would be greatly increased thereby.

Starting southward, then, from Itzcuintlan, the first difficulty encountered by the army was the River 666 Michatoyat,[XXVI-7] which could be crossed only by bridging. The first town reached was Atiquipac,[XXVI-8] where the Spaniards were amicably received, but at sunset the people abandoned their homes and fled to the mountains.[XXVI-9] 667 There was no time to be wasted with them, for the roads might at any time be rendered impassable by the rains, and so the army pushed forward after branding a few unfortunates as slaves,[XXVI-10] the commander taking every precaution in the disposition of his forces for the security of baggage and the protection of the auxiliaries. The next town reached was Tacuylula, standing to-day under the same name. The reception here was similar to the former, except, perhaps, that the natives detected the quality of their visitors more quickly than did the people of Atiquipac. Within an hour they had all fled.[XXVI-11]

From Tacuylula they advanced to Taxisco, where, according to Alvarado's report, the inhabitants appeared friendly.[XXVI-12] They passed the night in the town, with every precaution against attack, for it was strong and populous, and the Spaniards were under no little apprehension of an assault. They were unmolested, however, and left on the following morning for the town of Nancintlan.[XXVI-13] For better security the commander placed ten horsemen in the rear and an equal number in the centre with his baggage, while with the remainder of the cavalry he led the van. He had advanced between two and three leagues when a fierce assault was made upon his rear, wherein a number 668 of his Indian allies were killed, and, what he deplored still more, a great quantity of his baggage, stores, and material was carried off.[XXVI-14]

This was a grave loss, and the commander immediately sent his brother, Jorge Alvarado, with forty or fifty of the cavalry to attempt a recapture. On arriving at the scene of the late disaster this officer fell in with a large body of warriors[XXVI-15] and put them to flight, but recovered none of the lost effects. In the mean time the army arrived at Nancintlan, and Jorge Alvarado having returned with little or nothing accomplished, Puertocarrero[XXVI-16] was sent back with a detachment of foot-soldiers. The second attempt was as unsuccessful as the first. The fact is, the country was all in arms; the natives had retired to mountain fastnesses, whence they issued forth to attack as occasion offered. Nancintlan had also been abandoned, save by the principal men who were detained as prisoners. During the eight days' stay[XXVI-17] here, Alvarado sought in vain to induce the people to return, and, as he could delay his march no longer, out of pure spite the dastardly commander burned the town and his prisoners.[XXVI-18]

The Spaniards now advanced to the neighboring 669 town of Pazaco.[XXVI-19] The lieutenant-general had already received an invitation from the chiefs, with protestations of friendship, which could hardly have been sincere, for as the Spaniards approached the town their advance was interrupted by short poisoned stakes, ingeniously hidden in the ground.[XXVI-20] The roads, also, were found to be closed near the town, with all possible impediments to an advance. As they entered the place, the spectacle of a canine sacrifice, a ceremonial significant of hatred and defiance, met their gaze.[XXVI-21] Nor were hostilities long delayed. At a signal the natives suddenly appeared, shouting their shrill war-cries, and threw upon the Spaniards so heavy a discharge of arrows, lances, and stones, that it was with difficulty they held their ground. Slowly but surely, however, Spanish weapons and coats of mail prevailed, and the Indians, unable to stand before them, fled to the surrounding heights, amidst the attendant horrors of pursuit.[XXVI-22]

The army thereupon passed across the La Paz River[XXVI-23] into what is now the state of Salvador, first entering Moquizalco,[XXVI-24] and then they went to Acatepec. 670 Both of these towns received the strangers hospitably, but the inhabitants soon fled, overcome by terror at the cruelties committed. Angered by this continual desertion, Alvarado ordered the Indians to be pursued, and as many of them as could be seized were branded as slaves. He then hastened forward, directing his march to Acajutla.[XXVI-25] On arriving within half a league of the town he encountered a mighty host drawn up in battle array to oppose him, their ranks extending over a wide plain that lay before the city. 671 It was indeed an inspiriting sight for an Indian fighter. Times had been somewhat tame for the last few days, but here was the promise of rare sport, indeed. Alvarado, who was in advance with the cavalry, approached to within a cross-bow shot, and then halted for his infantry to come up. As he ran his experienced eye over the forests of spears, and marked the magnitude of the hostile array, he felt that all his coolness and all his skill would be required to save his army that day. War plumes waved from the heads of thousands, and battle devices were scattered as far as the eye could reach, while the feathered banners floating above the parti-colored bands threw over all an air of peculiar brilliance.[XXVI-26] The foe had chosen, too, an advantageous position. In their rear thick woods offered easy refuge in case of need. Yet already, before they were his own, Alvarado began to plan that none should escape him. He stood there like a hunter overlooking a band of antelope, and thinking how he could best secure them all. Of what advantage was it to Charles, or Cortés, or even to these panting wolves themselves, that this ill fated multitude to the last man should die?

View larger image

As the remainder of his forces[XXVI-27] came up, Alvarado advanced a little nearer to the enemy. The Indians manifested no inclination to leave their position; they appeared to be awaiting attack. Alvarado then feigned retreat, which the army performed in perfect order, though in apparent haste,[XXVI-28] the commander himself having charge of the rear. The result was as he anticipated. The duped natives eagerly pursued; at 672 last, they thought, these beings maledict are afraid. And they flew at them with wild demonstrations of joy at the expected victory, making in their onset such a roar as would have appalled any but veteran troops. In their blind enthusiasm they grappled and struggled with the retiring cavalry, seizing the horses' tails and the riders' stirrups. Their arrows rattled thick like hailstones against the metal armor of the soldiers, or with angry hiss passed them by, reaching to the farthest end of the Spanish army. For some time this movement continued over the level plain, on which no obstacle interposed to prevent its successful achievement.[XXVI-29] After thus drawing the enemy away from the friendly wood, and to such ground as best suited the purpose, the order was given; the Spanish army wheeled and fell on the unprepared foe like a storm of Sodom. Sennacherib's hosts before Jerusalem met no more complete destruction than the army of warriors before Acajutla that day. Incased in cumbersome cotton armor, they could not flee, and when overthrown by the charging horsemen they could not rise again.[XXVI-30] As they lay helpless on the ground the infantry and auxiliaries would cut and pierce them as if they had been swine, following as zealously as possible the example of Alvarado, who, severely wounded[XXVI-31] and out of humor, vented his malignant spleen upon these home-defenders. Ah! war is a glorious thing; and grand that civilization which refines and ennobles war! 673

The revenge of the chivalrous commander was ample; not one of all that multitude of warriors was left alive upon the field.[XXVI-32] When the extermination was finished the victorious army entered Acajutla, and remained there five days caring for their wounded, of whom there was a great number; then they passed on to Tacuxcalco.[XXVI-33] Pedro Puertocarrero had been sent forward to reconnoitre, and succeeded in capturing two spies, who reported that the warriors of this town and its dependencies were assembled in large numbers to oppose their advance, whereupon the scouting party proceeded until they arrived within sight of the enemy. Gonzalo de Alvarado, who led the van, his brother being ill of his wound, presently came up with forty of the cavalry, and drew up in order, waiting for the main body to arrive. The commander, though still suffering severely, mounted a horse as best he could and issued his orders. The Indians were drawn up in one solid phalanx; he would assail them on three sides at once. Thirty of the cavalry, under the command of Gonzalo de Alvarado, were to attack the right, his brother Gomez was ordered to lead twenty more against the left, while Jorge[XXVI-34] was to charge the front with the rest of the forces.

These arrangements made, he took his post on elevated ground above the battle field. Even his stout heart sank somewhat within him as he viewed the scene. One portion of the plain was covered with a forest of tall spears,[XXVI-35] and the compact body of foemen 674 told him that they were even more numerous than the army he had defeated a few days before.[XXVI-36] His apprehensions were in no wise lessened as he watched his forces draw near the enemy and observed how immovable they stood, and without sign of fear. But what seemed to him most strange was that his own men hesitated to charge. He afterward ascertained that between the opposing lines lay a narrow meadow which the Spaniards mistook for a swamp, and delayed their onset until they had assured themselves of the firmness of the ground. Presently the stirring cry of Santiago! was heard, and Alvarado's heart swelled within him: his passion for human blood appears to increase with the slaughter of his tens of thousands, and the lately gay and gallant cavalier is becoming a monster delighting in carnage and butchery, killing men for the mere pleasure of it. With a feeling of fierce delight the wounded man now watched his army break into the Indian columns. He marked the rout and bloody pursuit, and noticed with satisfaction how the plain became streaked with dead bodies in the track of the fugitives and pursuers, which ghastly line was soon over a league in length.

Taking possession of the town, the Spaniards remained in it for two days, and then moved on to Mihuatlan.[XXVI-37] All the towns and villages hereabout were found deserted; the natives seemed to have discovered that there was no chance of success in the field, and no escape from oppression when once their liberty was lost. At Atecuan[XXVI-38] the commander was met by envoys from Atlacatl, the king of Cuzcatlan, bearing proffers of friendship, which were received with satisfaction, for the delay and fatigue of battle with the reward of empty towns, however pleasurable, 675 seemed profitless.[XXVI-39] So far, indeed, Alvarado seems to have effected little with respect to the actual conquest of the country. His line of march was marked by heaps of slain, by burned cities and deserted villages,[XXVI-40] but as for native subjects of his Majesty, or Christian converts, or colonies, or any permanent advantages, they were few. If, now in the very heart of the country, he could gain a faithful ally, a second Sinacam, pacification might become more permanent and profitable. To this end he directed his march toward Cuzcatlan,[XXVI-41] the capital of that country, a large and beautiful city, inhabited by a considerable population, and, according to the report of the conquerors, hardly second to Patinamit.

Although the Indians along the road manifested their friendliness by supplying the Spaniards with fruits and fresh provisions in abundance, and although they were cordially welcomed into the city by the chiefs, yet on taking up their quarters the whole population rushed to arms, and a few hours after the city was deserted.[XXVI-42] All efforts at reconciliation on the part of Alvarado were unavailing. Summons to obedience and menaces were equally disregarded, and a formal requirement was sent, coupled with the 676 usual conditions; but no reply came. Then the invaders tried force, but for once they were baffled. For fully seventeen days the most strenuous exertions were made to subdue them, during which time several sanguinary encounters occurred, wherein a number of Spaniards were wounded and eleven horses killed, the auxiliaries suffering severely. Thus even the occupation of the capital failed to secure the primary object of the invasion.

Alvarado now perceived that with the present force he never would be able to subjugate these Cuzcatecs, and he saw that his position was becoming critical. The rainy season was now well upon him, the roads were becoming bad, and every day would render retreat more difficult. The return march extended over several hundred miles, and he could not expect to meet with much hospitality or assistance. He decided, therefore, to return to Guatemala. But before he set out he would make legally secure his claim upon the vassalage of the Cuzcatecs. With this view he instituted a process against them in the form prescribed by law, and summoned them to surrender. As no attention was paid to his proclamation, proceedings were closed after the legal time had expired and sentence was passed. They were pronounced traitors and their chiefs condemned to death.[XXVI-43]

This solemn ceremony ended,[XXVI-44] Alvarado was ready to depart from the country, though not till he had branded all he could lay hands upon. He was somewhat 677 chagrined at his failure to draw the Cuzcatecs into the fold; but he would return again. Indeed, this was imperative, for the Cuzcatlan campaign had been quite unproductive[XXVI-45] in securing either wealth or dominion. From Itzcuintlan to Cuzcatlan there was scarcely a town that would not require a second subjugation. An additional cause of vexation lay in the statement of natives that no strait existed toward the south.[XXVI-46] On the other hand he was gratified to learn of great cities beyond, built of stone and lime, and inhabited by dense populations, and he promised himself due compensation from them for his present disappointment. Of his homeward march particulars are unnecessary. That the way was difficult and that the soldiers suffered much we may be sure.[XXVI-47] Pinched by hunger, drenched by rain, midst the lightning and the thunder, they beat their way back over the soft soaked ground, braving the heavens and the earth which seemed to have risen against them. At night, if no deserted town afforded shelter, the worn-out men, after partaking of scanty fare and shivering in wet clothes round feeble camp fires, threw themselves upon the swampy ground to sleep. Yet with all their sufferings they did not scruple to destroy fields, burn such villages as fell in their way, and so reduce others to the same sad plight as themselves. Sweet to us are the misfortunes of others! 678

CHAPTER XXVII.
REVOLT OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.
1524-1525.

Return of the Allies to Mexico—Founding of the City of Santiago—The Cakchiquels Oppressed beyond Endurance—They Flee from the City—Difficulty in again Reducing Them to Subjection—Reinforcements from Mexico—Campaign against Mixco—Capture of that Stronghold—Fight with the Chignautecs—Superhuman Valor of a Cavalryman—Conquest of the Zacatepec Valley—Expedition against the Mames—Defeat of Can Ilocab—Entry into Huehuetenango—Siege of Zakuléu—Surrender of Caibil Balam.

Pedro de Alvarado with his army arrived at Patinamit from his southern campaign some days previous to the 28th of July, 1524.[XXVII-1] The Mexican allies were soon dismissed and returned to their homes, bearing despatches to Cortés. The general was greatly pleased with the tidings from his lieutenant, and sent him two hundred more Spanish soldiers, to aid in the colonization of those parts.

Almost immediately after their return to the capital of the Cakchiquels the Spaniards proceeded to appropriate the territory and make preparations for its government. A Spanish city was founded at Patinamit under the name of Ciudad del Señor de Santiago.[XXVII-2] 679

The ceremonies were conducted with great pomp. According to Remesal, on the 25th of July, St James' day, the army was drawn up in battle-array to the sound of fife and drum. The morning was unusually fine, and the sun flashing its rays upon burnished armor added splendor to the scene. The cavalry were specially conspicuous for the brilliancy of their dress and ornaments. After repeated volleys by the arquebusiers mass was celebrated by Juan Godinez, the chaplain, and all joined devoutly in the service. With due ceremony the new town was dedicated to their patron Santiago.

The municipal officers were then appointed by Alvarado. The first alcaldes were Diego de Rojas and Baltasar de Mendoza. Four regidores were nominated, whose names were Pedro Puertocarrero, Hernan Carrillo, Juan Perez Dardon, and Domingo 680 de Zubiarreta,[XXVII-3] while Gonzalo de Alvarado was elected alguacil mayor.[XXVII-4]

The municipality having thus been formed,[XXVII-5] the Spaniards for the next three days devoted themselves to festivities and rejoicing. On the 12th of August[XXVII-6] there was an enrolment of colonists, of whom a list of one hundred has been preserved.[XXVII-7] To the sacred patron was also built and dedicated a church, of which 681 Juan Godinez was left in charge, and one Reynosa sacristan with a salary of sixty dollars a year. The surrounding lands were then distributed in encomiendas. In making these grants Alvarado must have entertained some misgivings as to their validity and as to his future position and authority in the conquered provinces, for in a despatch to Cortés he complains that according to reports meeting him on his return from the southern campaign the king had appointed a governor other than himself of the new territory, and upbraids Cortés for not having duly reported his services to his Majesty, at the same time begging him to do so.[XXVII-8]

That the Cakchiquel nobles should regard with indignation this arbitrary disposal of their lands and vassals was but natural. They had already observed that friend and foe were much the same in the hands of the voracious Spaniards, whose aggressive and outrageous action now convinced them that the friendly bearing of their king had gained for their nation no more, nay less, consideration than that vouchsafed the conquered Quichés, who had fought manfully for independence. So it was, in truth, with regard to all the conquerors in America, though not so expressed in words: those who fought for their rights must die or suffer enslavement because they offered opposition to the spoilers; those who did not fight were contemptible things, unworthy a white man's consideration. Believing in their promises, the Cakchiquels had received the Spaniards and had accepted their sovereign; but they were not prepared to go so far as to surrender themselves, their wives and little ones, their lands and their religion. Death might be the result of revolt; judging from what they had seen it probably would be; nevertheless they would revolt and die. How high the high hand of the taskmasters had been raised we know not; but we know that within a few short months after Alvarado's return and the 682 founding of his unstable city[XXVII-9] the Cakchiquels rose to a man against the tyrants. The crowning grievance also is known. Exaction after exaction had been made. The temples and palaces of Patinamit had been forced to contribute their gold and silver ornaments until there was nothing left. Then a large amount of gold[XXVII-10] was demanded of the king and nobles within a stated time, which it was out of their power to supply. In their efforts to obtain the so much desired yellow substance from auriferous streams they brought in glittering pyrites, mistaking them for gold.[XXVII-11] Alvarado, furious with rage, summoned the king and his courtiers before him. "Why," he passionately exclaimed, "have you not brought the gold and silver that I demanded of you? If I receive not soon all the gold and all the silver of your towns, you shall have the choice of being hanged or burned alive!" Then with a brutality that Caligula might have gloried in he tore with his own hand from the nostrils of Sinacam and two princes at his side the golden ornaments they wore as badges of their high rank.[XXVII-12] This indignity cut the unhappy natives to the heart, and bending their disgraced heads, bitter tears mingled with the blood which fell at the feet of the Christian. "It is my will," added Alvarado, "that the gold and silver be here within five days. Woe betide you if you bring it not!" and with a coarseness that equalled his heartlessness he dismissed them from his presence. 683