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.
[Sidenote: QUARRELS WITH THE GOVERNOR.]
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 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 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.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: ADELANTADO AND CAPTAIN-GENERAL.]
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 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 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.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: QUEVEDO AS MEDIATOR.]
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 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 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.
[Sidenote: BALBOA'S BETROTHAL.]
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 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
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 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.
[Sidenote: SOUTH SEA EXPEDITION.]
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 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 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."
[Sidenote: CARRIES SHIPS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS.]
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 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 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?
[Sidenote: AT THE PEARL ISLANDS.]
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, 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 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.
[Sidenote: MICER CODRO, THE ASTROLOGER.]
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 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 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.
[Sidenote: TREACHEROUS MESSENGERS.]
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.
[Sidenote: GARABITO'S INFAMY.]
When Garabito arrived at Acla, instead of doing as he had been told,
he set about to perform a little 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 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 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 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.
[Sidenote: THE ARREST.]
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 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 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.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: HYPOCRISY AND CUNNING.]
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."
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 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."
[Sidenote: THE SENTENCE.]
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
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]
[Sidenote: THE EXECUTION.]
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.