out with him had found, instead of gold, only a grave in the forest.
Some who returned were suffering from fevers and wounds received in
conflicts with the Indians; but notwithstanding, it was declared that
the expedition of Balboa to the shores of the great Southern Sea was the
most successful of any that had ever been made in America. And when the
plunder was displayed: gold by the thousand pieces, pearls by the
hundred, brought in by scores and scores of captives who would serve in
the future as slaves, the transports of the people knew no bounds. He
was hailed as "Conqueror of the Mountains, Pacificator of the Isthmus,
and Discoverer of the Austral Sea." Bringing with him more than forty
thousand ounces of gold, innumerable cotton robes, and eight hundred
Indians of service--possessor, in short, of all the secrets of the land,
and full of auspicious hopes for the future--he was considered by the
colonists of Darien as a being privileged by Heaven and fortune.
Congratulating themselves on possessing such a chief, the Antiguans
conceived themselves invincible and happy under his guidance and
government.
"They compared the constant prosperity the colony had enjoyed, the
splendid prospects before them, the certainty of success attending his
expeditions, with the unfortunate enterprises of Ojeda, of Nicuesa, and
even of Columbus, who could never gain a firm footing on the American
continent; and this glory was yet enhanced when the virtues and talents
of him who had obtained it were taken into consideration.... Among all
these eulogiums none were so hearty as those which were given to his
care and affection for his companions. Affecting no military discipline,
but behaving more like their equal than their chief, he visited the sick
and wounded individually, and condoled with them as a brother; when any
one sank on the road from fatigue, he was himself, instead of deserting,
the first to raise and encourage him. He would often go out with his
cross-bow in search of game to appease the hunger of those who were
unable to seek food for themselves; he himself would carry it to them,
and by this care and kindness he so gained their hearts that they would
follow him willingly whithersoever he chose. The remembrance of these
excellent qualities survived for many years; and the historian Oviedo,
who cannot be charged with lavishing his praises on the conquerors of
Terra Firma, wrote, in 1548, that in conciliating the love of the
soldier, no captain of the Indies had hitherto done better than, if any
had done so well as, Vasco Nunez de Balboa in Darien."
The rich spoils, including the forty thousand ounces of gold and the
pearls, were fairly divided between the soldiers and the settlers, as
the latter had held possession of Antigua as a base of supplies and
operations while the former were actively engaged in the field, and had
thus contributed their share towards the success of the expedition. The
"king's fifth" was religiously set apart, in the first place, and soon
an opportunity offered for sending it to Spain, in charge of a soldier
who had accompanied him when the South Sea was discovered, Pedro de
Arbolancha. As he was an intimate friend of Balboa, who had proven
himself a trusty companion in the midst of great vicissitudes he was
despatched as an envoy to the court, not only with letters to the king
containing a full account of the great discovery, but in charge of the
sovereign's fifth and a donative of the largest and most precious
pearls.
If he could have set out immediately after the return of the expedition,
all might have gone well with Balboa's schemes of conquest and
government; but his ship was delayed until the first part of March, and
in the meanwhile events were shaping in Spain which imperilled not only
the fortunes, but the life of the great leader. Balboa's former
messengers, Caicedo and Colmenares, had arrived in Spain during his
absence from Antigua, bearing to the king the tidings communicated by
the cacique Comogre, and a request for reinforcements to the extent of a
thousand men. Their testimony as to Balboa's unswerving loyalty to the
crown, and the vast significance of the intelligence they brought
respecting the existence of an ocean beyond the mountains, turned the
tide of sentiment at court in his favor, and excited the swelling
ambition of King Ferdinand. The sovereign had already listened favorably
to the complaints of Enciso and other enemies of Balboa, and had issued
an order for his arrest, even going to the extent of threatening to
imprison his friend Zamudio on account of the zeal he displayed in his
defence. But the more recent information placed him in a new light. The
enormity of his offence was lessened by the great service he had
rendered the crown. He was no longer regarded as a fugitive from
justice, an absconding debtor, who had seized the government of Darien
by force and caused the death of its real proprietor Nicuesa. He had
made for himself a new name, and around his head already shone the halo
of the great discoverer.
But again, the sovereign was involved in a complication which arose from
the conflicting accounts from Darien. That there was dissension there,
that the colony was threatened with extinction through the quarrels of
unscrupulous men, he was well assured. The leader of those men, he had
also been assured, was none other than Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
Accompanying the reports of dissension in the colony had come, as well,
most convincing proofs of its prospective value to the crown in the
richness of its resources. "And as the adventurers who went to America
dreamed of nothing but gold--as gold was the object of their pursuit--as
it was gold which they took forcibly from the Indians--and gold alone by
which the latter purchased their friendship--gold which resounded in
their letters and despatches to court--and gold which at court was
become the sole subject of conversation and desire--the Darien, which
appeared so rich in this coveted metal, lost its first name of New
Andalusia, and was commonly called, and even named in the despatches,
the 'Golden Castile.'"
Though it was mainly owing to Balboa's efforts that the isthmus won its
new appellation, Golden Castile, and though he had in a measure
retrieved himself, yet the king was unwilling to intrust him with its
government. Casting about for some one to represent the crown with
dignity and credit, he selected a cavalier who had served with
distinction in the wars against the Moors, Don Pedro Arias de Avila,
more commonly known as Pedrarias. He was an elderly man, who had won a
reputation in his youth as a jouster in the tournaments, and who,
beneath a chivalrous and courtly demeanor, concealed a nature narrow,
mean, and warped by prejudice. He had certainly no qualifications for
the office of governor; but he possessed the patronage of the powerful
Bishop Fonseca, who then ruled the colonial affairs of Spain, and that
sufficed to land him in the executive chair at Darien.
He sailed from Spain about the middle of April, 1514, and entering the
Gulf of Uraba the last of June, cast anchor before the town of Antigua
del Darien. His fleet was composed of five large vessels, and contained
a gallant company, with everything needed for conquest and colonization.
Balboa had asked the king for only a thousand soldiers, but Pedrarias
sailed with a company of two thousand, some of them cavaliers of
distinction, many wealthy hidalgos, and all well provided with arms,
equipment, and money. They had heard the exaggerated reports from
Darien, of gold that was caught in nets, which might be obtained almost
without effort from the waters of every mountain stream, and were eager
to join the fortunate adventurers under Balboa.
The king himself thought so well of the venture that he had expended
upon the armada more than fifty thousand ducats, and had sent out with
Pedrarias a number of friars, over whom was placed his favorite preacher
Juan de Quevedo. He was consecrated as bishop of Antigua del Darien,
which was elevated to the dignity of a metropolitan city, as capital of
the Golden Castile. While the sovereign provided for the spiritual
interests of the colony in this manner, at the same time he ordained
that no lawyers should be permitted to practise there, as experience had
shown they were detrimental to the welfare of new settlements. In spite
of this inhibition, however, one lawyer went out to Darien as alcalde
mayor, or chief judge, where he fully justified the king's apprehensions
regarding men of his profession. His name was Gaspar de Espinosa, and
though he knew little of the law, he knew enough to make a deal of
mischief in the colony, and eventually became a tool in the hands of
Pedrarias, by which he effected the downfall of his enemies, among whom
he soon reckoned Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
The fleet swarmed with cavaliers and men of distinction, but there was
only one lady of importance aboard the flag-ship, the wife of Governor
Pedrarias, Dona Isabel de Bobadilla, a distant relative of royalty and
formerly a favorite at Queen Isabella's court. So attached was she to
the crusty old cavalier, her husband, that, notwithstanding she was
mother of several children, she chose to abandon them all and accompany
the governor to his capital in the wilderness. Needless to say, she was
a lady of grace and refinement, and deserved better of fate than to be
wedded to a sanguinary monster such as Pedrarias soon proved himself to
be. She has left no record of her sorrows; but they must have been
great, since the crimes she was compelled to witness were frequent, and
revolting even to the hardened soldiery of Darien.
XV
PEDRARIAS, THE SCOURGE OF DARIEN
1515
At the time of the fleet's arrival at Darien, the town of Antigua
consisted of about two hundred huts thatched with straw, with five
hundred white men and fifteen hundred Indians composing its population.
It was badly situated, in a deep valley between high hills which cut off
the salutary sea-breeze, but the soil was rich, and, owing to the
exertions and example of Balboa, gardens of fruits and vegetables were
already numerous and well tilled.
Since his return from the sea beyond the mountains, Balboa had devoted
himself assiduously to the improvement of the colony: erecting huts for
dwellings, extending the area of cultivated ground, and devising means
for inspiriting the lonely inhabitants of this isolated post in the
wilderness. The demands upon his time were constant and pressing, for
he was looked up to as the savior of the colony, while the simple
natives regarded him almost as a father, and came to him for advice on
all occasions. Having heard nothing from Spain since the sailing of
Arbolancha, the arrival of Pedrarias and his fleet took him by surprise;
but it did not destroy his balance. If he had but known that, at that
very time, his messenger was being received at court, and that the old
king, charmed by the story of discovery, the pearls and the gold,
already repented of the slight he had put upon him, Balboa might have
assembled his veterans and prevented the landing of Pedrarias. They were
only one-fourth the number of the new arrivals, but every man was a
seasoned soldier, and there would have been little doubt as to the
result of an encounter.
But fate played Vasco Nunez false again, for Arbolancha had passed
Pedrarias on the ocean and arrived in Spain too late to change the
decision of the king, who then regretted that he had not rewarded Balboa
with the governorship of Darien. He was the governor, in fact, elected
to office by the votes of his adoring comrades; but Pedrarias came with
royal authority, and Balboa bowed to the decree of the king.
There was doubt in the mind of Pedrarias as to the nature of his
reception by Balboa; for he knew himself as a usurper, who had come out
to reap the rewards of another, so he sent an envoy to announce his
arrival and ascertain the sentiment ashore. This emissary, says the old
chroniclers, expected to find the governor of the Golden Castile seated,
of course, on a golden throne and lording it over a horde of captive
slaves. What, then, was his astonishment to find the redoubtable Vasco
Nunez de Balboa, Conqueror of the Mountains, and Pacificator of the
Indians, overseeing a group of natives who were engaged in thatching his
humble hut with straw! He wore no robe of state, but merely a cotton
shirt over one of linen, cotton _pantolones_, or wide trousers, and
hempen sandals, called _alpargatas_, on his feet.
He looked up from his work as the messenger approached, and, seeing that
he was a stranger, saluted him with courtly dignity. Without manifesting
emotion of any sort, he received the message, to which he replied:
"Convey to Don Pedrarias de Avila my congratulations on his safe
arrival, of which I am rejoiced to hear, and say also that I am ready,
with my companions, to receive and to serve him who cometh in the name
of the king."
The news soon spread that a new governor had arrived, and, hastily
arming themselves, some of Balboa's comrades began to assemble around
their chieftain, imploring him not to allow his authority to be usurped,
even by an emissary from the king. Their leader seemed absorbed in his
work, to which he had returned after the departure of the envoy; but his
thoughts were busy over the problem with which he was so suddenly
confronted. Though outwardly calm, he was deeply disturbed by the action
of the sovereign he had so loyally served, upon whom he had thrust
inestimable blessings--who thus requited all he had done with insult and
rebuke. But finally, in answer to the clamors of his friends, he slowly
said: "Nay, nay, my comrades. Though doubtless we are strong enough to
repel Pedrarias and his carpet knights, who come to harvest with their
swords the crops we have planted with ours, and watered with our blood,
yet will we not oppose him, for he comes with authority from our
sovereign. And, I understand, there is with him fair Mistress Bobadilla,
erstwhile a companion of our late queen, who is now with God in glory.
So it behooves us, caballeros, to receive them gallantly, as if, indeed,
we were glad to do so, and to place at their disposal the best we
have--which, God knows, is poor enough."
Thus saying, Balboa strode within his house, and when he emerged again
he had on his complete suit of armor; but his good sword was in its
scabbard, and in his hand only the wand of office. Likewise unarmed were
his battle-scarred followers, though clad in armor which was no longer
bright and shining, but rusty, dented, and battered by blows from many a
weapon wielded by arm of savage foe. These veterans suffered in
appearance by contrast with the foppish cavaliers who landed from the
fleet, nearly two thousand in number, brave in their glistening armor
and confident from their numerical superiority. When they saw them,
however, they smiled significantly, being well assured that they could
defeat them in open encounter, and by no means afraid to essay it.
"They are our guests and our brothers, remember," remarked Balboa, as
the veterans seemed disposed to murmur at his lack of precaution. "They
come as we once came, hopeful, and expectant of wealth. Think, then, of
the disappointment in store for them, and not of their arrogance. And,
too, forget not the governor's lady. Ah, here they come! We must be at
the boats to greet them, comrades. Into line! March!" The bugle sounded,
the drum beat, and the veterans went to meet Pedrarias at the shore.
As the boat touched ground a plank was thrown out and across it walked
Pedrarias, followed by his wife, the bishop, and the alcalde, behind
them a train of cavaliers who formed a body-guard and led the way to the
town, preceded by the veterans of Darien. Balboa doffed his helmet, and
extended a hand to assist Dona Isabel ashore, as he said: "Thy servants
greet and welcome thee, lady. To serve thee we are here; but we regret
we have so little to offer one who deserves so much." And to the
governor: "Don Pedrarias de Avila, thou art welcome, coming in the
king's name, whose hand I kiss, whose orders I shall ever obey."
Dona Isabel was a tall and stately woman, scarcely past her prime, and
still retaining some of the beauty for which she was famous when at
Isabella's court. She was not insensible to the gallant bearing of the
handsome cavalier Balboa, whose straight and stalwart frame was in
decided contrast to her husband's misshapen body, and his frank
countenance grateful to her gaze, after long acquaintance with the
sinister face of Pedrarias. That she smiled graciously on Balboa at the
end of his speech, and perhaps showed pleasure at his flattery, was not
to be wondered at; but old Pedrarias noted these things with a twinge of
ignoble jealousy, and frowned at his host instead of smiling.
"Where is the palace?" he growled at Balboa, as they approached his
straw-thatched hut and halted at the door. "This is not a fit habitation
for my wife to dwell in, let alone a domicile for the executive."
"That I freely grant, your excellency, and it vexes me that it be so,"
replied his host, with a smile and deprecatory wave of the hand. "But
such as it is, I trust you and your noble lady will accept and avail of
it, until we can erect a better, which we will do without delay."
They entered without another word, and seating themselves at the table,
which Balboa caused to be spread with as great a variety as the
settlement afforded, gazed at the meagre banquet with amused disgust.
For, though there was an abundance of food, it consisted entirely of
vegetarian products, such as maize and cassava bread, wild roots and
fruits; and as for drink, there was no beverage except water from the
river.
The frown upon the governor's face deepened to a scowl, but his wife
broke into a merry laugh, in which she was joined by the bishop, who
said: "So, Senor Caballero, this is the best you can afford in this
so-called land of plenty? Faith, I had heard we were but to open our
mouths and luscious fruits would fall into them; while as for gold, we
could kick it up in the streets, as it were."
Balboa was presiding at the table with a gracious dignity that, in the
eyes of Dona Isabel, made ample amends for the lack of provand. An
amused smile crept over his face, but he answered, gravely: "Needs it be
said, your lordship, that this is the _best_ we can afford? Would that
it were not, for the sake of such distinguished guests as this day I am
honored with; but, the truth to tell, we have not been compelled to fast
on Fridays, merely, for meats of any sort have been hardly to be found.
As for gold--well, my last remittance to the king was no less than fifty
thousand ounces; but we did not by any means find it easy of
acquisition, let me assure you. It is to be found far in the forest
only, and must be won chiefly by toil, the sword, and the shedding of
blood, your lordship."
"Then, perchance, many lives have been needlessly sacrificed?" It was
the Dona Isabel who asked the question, and her host's bronzed cheeks
flushed darkly as he slowly answered, "Gracious lady, doubtless there
have been!" He said no more, either in explanation or extenuation of his
deeds, for a flood of disagreeable memories surged over him and choked
his utterance. Admiring his frankness, but pitying his evident distress,
Lady Isabel hastily added, "And pearls, brave sir--rumor hath it that
they have been also found, since we sailed from Spain."
"In sooth have they," replied Balboa. "And I have a necklace of them
that, though they have been slightly injured by the Indian mode of
piercing them, are good to behold. He then called a servant, who, in
obedience to his whispered order, went into another room and soon
returned with the pearls.
"By your leave, lady, let me show you these," said Balboa to Dona
Isabel, who, at sight of the pearls, exclaimed outright, in pure ecstasy
of delight: "Why, they are the most perfect and beautiful in all the
world! None like these have I seen, even at the court of my queen."
"But, I trust, some time these may be seen at the court of the king, my
lady, and that you may wear them there!"
"Why--how can that be?" asked Dona Isabel, in surprise.
"If his excellency will allow me, and if you, fair lady, will accept
from me, these baubles, then are they yours," rejoined Balboa, rising
from his seat and bowing, with his hand upon his heart.
"No, no," she exclaimed, hastily, but yet fondling the necklace
admiringly, "it cannot be."
"Ay, but it can," said her husband, gruffly, his small, black eyes
twinkling with avarice. "As I take it, this gift to thee, Isabel, comes
from a portion due the crown, and hence belongs to me as well as to
thee--if so be the king himself doth not lay claim to it, forsooth."
"Nay, nay; not so!" exclaimed Balboa, the hot blood rising to his brow,
his eyes sparkling with anger. "The king hath had his fifths, justly
apportioned before we took our shares, and a donative besides. These
pearls are--that is, they were--_my_ pearls, and if I chose to bestow
them upon the Dona Isabel, your excellency, as her husband, has only the
right to refuse them, and that, too, without questioning my motive or my
ownership of these pearls."
"Our host, the gallant cavalier, is right," interposed the bishop. "He
hath, in a most magnificent manner, done honor to thee, Don Pedro, and
to thy wife, by despoiling himself of treasure that must have cost him
dear, and presenting it to the Lady Isabel. It ill becomes thee, Pedro,
to receive this precious gift so sourly. Verily," he added, with a sigh,
"it is a gift worthy of acceptance by the Church!"
"I have reserved for thee and for the Church a tithe of the gold that
was apportioned me, good father," declared Balboa.
"And for me what hast thou?" demanded Pedrarias.
"My services, your excellency, which are potential gold and pearls! For
the wilderness contains much which has not yet been revealed, and which
I have not had time to seek."
"Since that be so, suppose you, to-morrow, give me an account of your
stewardship: an exact statement concerning the country and the savages,
which I may send to the king."
"It shall be forthcoming, your excellency; but not to-morrow, I fear,
since much have I to do, as well as much to write. Within the week will
I have it ready for your perusal."
"Be it so, then, and see to it that the report is comprehensive as to
the regions of gold and the great South Sea, which, I understand, you
claim to have discovered."
"Which, of a truth, I _did_ discover," answered Balboa, indignantly,
"Many had sought it, as you should know, but none had found it, or the
way thereto, until I, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, showed the way. Mayhap I be
deprived of fortune and of life, but of the honor, the immortal glory,
of that discovery, none shall rob me!"
"There lives no man who could, perhaps none so base as to desire to,"
exclaimed Dona Isabel. Her voice trembled, not alone with indignation
but with fear; for at her side sat the one man base enough to do such a
thing, and that man was her husband. Pedrarias was possessed of a
crabbed disposition that made him envy every man who had done something
worthy of renown, and hate him who stood in the pathway of his own
ambition. Hence he hated Balboa with a bitter, unreasoning hatred, and,
as his wife had divined, was already scheming to deprive him of his
laurels.
This conversation, at the frugal repast spread by Balboa for his guests,
will show the trend of occurrences at and during the first week after
the arrival of Pedrarias. He landed at Darien already prejudiced against
its original settlers, and especially their leader, whom he was not
satisfied to have superseded, but determined to degrade, bring to ruin,
and if possible to an ignominious ending. The plot of this story will
henceforth contain five principal characters: Pedrarias, Balboa, Bishop
Quevedo, Espinosa the lawyer, and Dona Isabel. The governor and Balboa
were soon at open enmity, the former persistently seeking to circumvent
the latter, assisted by the lawyer, and sometimes opposed by the bishop,
but frequently foiled by Dona Isabel, who was at heart the persecuted
victim's only friend.
XVI
IN THE DOMAIN OF THE DRAGONS
1515
Balboa faithfully complied with his promise to render the governor an
accurate account of the land's resources, giving him, within a few days'
time, a list of the mountains, rivers, and ravines where he had found
gold in the virgin state; a statement of the colony as he had governed
it; his discovery of the South Sea and the route thither; a description
of the pearl islands and their wealth; and, finally, the names of the
caciques, more than twenty in number, with whom, through force of arms
or diplomacy, he had made treaties of peace.