Panquiaco, chief of about ten thousand Indians, among whom were three
thousand warriors. Having heard of the valor and enterprise of the
Castilians, this chief desired to enter into treaty and friendship with
them; and a principal Indian, a dependent of Careta, having presented
himself as the agent in this friendly overture, Vasco Nuñez, anxious
to profit by the opportunity of securing such an ally, went with his
followers to visit Comogre. No sooner was the cacique apprised of this
visit than he sailed forth at the head of his principal vassals, and his
seven sons, all still youths and the offspring of different wives, to
receive the Spaniards. Great was the courtesy and kindness with which he
treated his guests, who were lodged in different houses in the town, and
provided with victuals in abundance, and with men and women to serve
them. What chiefly attracted their attention was the habitation of
Comogre, which, according to the memorials of the time, was an edifice of
a hundred and fifty paces in length and fourscore in breadth, built on
thick posts, surrounded by a lofty stone wall, and on the roof an attic
story, of beautifully and skilfully interwoven wood. It was divided into
several compartments, and contained its markets, its shops, and its
pantheon for the dead; for it was in the corpses of the cacique's
ancestors that the Spaniards first beheld these ghastly remains, dried
and arranged as above described.
The honors of the hospitality were confided to the eldest son of Comogre,
a youth of more sagacity and intelligence than his brothers; he one day
presented to Vasco Nuñez and to Colmenares, whom, from their manner and
appearance, he recognized as chiefs of the party, sixty slaves, and four
thousand pieces of gold of different weight. They immediately melted the
gold, and, having separated a fifth for the King, began to divide it
among themselves; this division begat a dispute that gave occasion to
threats and violence, which being observed by the Indian, he suddenly
overthrew the scales in which they were weighing the precious metal,
exclaiming: "Why quarrel for such a trifle? If such is your thirst for
gold that for its sake you forsake your own country and come to trouble
those of strangers, I will show you a province where you may gather by
the handful the object of your desire; but to succeed, you ought to be
more numerous than you are, as you will have to contend with powerful
kings, who will vigorously defend their dominions. You will first find a
cacique who is very rich in gold, who resides at the distance of six suns
from hence; soon you will behold the sea, which lies to that part,"
and he pointed toward the south; "there you will meet with people who
navigate in barks with sails and oars, not much less than your own, and
who are so rich that they eat and drink from vessels made of the metal
which ye so much covet."
These celebrated words, preserved in all the records of the times, and
repeated by all historians, were the first indications the Spaniards
had of Peru. They were much excited on hearing them, and endeavored
to extract from the youth further information of the country he had
mentioned; he insisted on the necessity of having at least a thousand
men, to give them a chance of success in its subjugation, offered to
serve them himself as their guide, to aid them with his father's men, and
to put his life in pledge for the veracity of his words.
Balboa was transported by the prospect of glory and fortune which opened
before him; he believed himself already at the gates of the East Indies,
which was the desired object of the government and the discoverers of
that period; he resolved to return in the first place to the Darien to
raise the spirits of his companions with these brilliant hopes, and
to make all possible preparations for realizing them. He remained,
nevertheless, yet a few days with the caciques; and so strict was the
friendship he had contracted with them that they and their families were
baptized, Careta taking in baptism the name of Fernando, and Comogre that
of Carlos. Balboa then returned to the Darien, rich in the spoils of
Ponca, rich in the presents of his friends, and still richer in the
golden hopes which the future offered him.
At this time, and after an absence of six months, arrived the magistrate
Valdivia, with a vessel laden with different stores; he brought likewise
great promises of abundant aid in provisions and men. The succors,
however, which Valdivia brought were speedily consumed; their seed,
destroyed in the ground by storms and floods, promised them no resource
whatever; and they returned to their usual necessitous state. Balboa then
consented to their extending their incursions to more distant lands, as
they had already wasted and ruined the immediate environs of Antigua,
and he sent Valdivia to Spain to apprise the admiral of the clew he
had gained to the South Sea, and the reported wealth of those regions.
Valdivia took with him fifteen thousand pieces of gold, which belonged
to the King as his fifth, and a charge to petition for the thousand men
which were necessary to the expedition, and to prevent the adventurers
being compelled to exterminate the tribes and caciques of the Indians,
for otherwise, being so few in number, they would be driven, to avoid
their own destruction, to the slaughter of all who would not submit
themselves. This commission, however, together with the rich presents in
gold sent by the chiefs of the Darien to their friends, and Valdivia,
with all his crew, were no doubt swallowed by the sea, as no trace of
them was ever afterward discovered.
To the departure of Valdivia succeeded immediately the expedition to the
gulf and the examination of the lands situated at its inner extremity.
There lay the dominions of Dabaibe, of whose riches prodigious reports
were spread, especially of an idol and a temple represented to be made
entirely of gold. There Cemaco, and the Indians who followed him, had
taken refuge, and had never lost either the wish or the hope of driving
away the invading horde who had usurped their country.
Balboa marched against them by land with sixty men, and Colmenares went
by water with as many more to take the enemy by surprise. The former did
not find Cemaco; but Colmenares was more fortunate, for he surprised the
savages in Tichiri. He commanded the general to be shot with arrows in
his presence, and sentenced the lords to be hanged. And so terrified were
the Indians by this example that they never durst in future elevate their
thoughts to independence.
It was now deliberated to send new deputies to Spain to acquaint the King
with the state of the colony, and on the road to touch at Espanola to
entreat for necessary aid in case Valdivia might have perished on the
voyage, which event had no doubt taken place. It is said that Balboa
required this commission for himself, either ambitious of gaining favor
at court or apprehensive that the colony at Darien might inflict upon him
punishment due to usurpation; but his companions would not consent to his
quitting them, alleging that, in losing him, they should feel deserted
and without a guide or governor; he only was respected, and followed
willingly by the soldiers; and he only was feared by the Indians. They
suspected that, if they permitted of his departure, he would never
return to share those labors and troubles which were from time to time
accumulating upon them, as had already happened with others. They elected
Juan de Caicedo, the inspector, who had belonged to the armament of
Nicuesa, and Rodrigo Enriquez de Colmenares, both men of weight and
expert in negotiation and held in general esteem. They believed that
these would execute their charge satisfactorily, and that both would
return, because Caicedo would leave his wife behind him; and Colmenares
had realized much property, and a farm in the Darien, pledges of
confidence in and adhesion to the country. It being thus impossible
for Balboa to proceed to Spain, in protection of his own interests
he manoeuvred for gaining at least the good graces of the treasurer,
Pasamonte; and probably it was on this occasion that he sent him the rich
present of slaves, pieces of gold, and other valuable articles, of which
the licentiate Zuazo speaks in his letter to the Senor de Chieves. At the
same time the new procurators took with them the fifth which belonged to
the King, together with a donative made him by the colony; and, happier
than their predecessors, they left the Darien in the end of October, and
reached Spain the end of May in the year following.
Soon after this departure, a slight disturbance happened, which, though
at first it threatened to destroy the authority of Vasco Nuñez, served in
fact to strengthen it. Under pretence that Bartolome Hurtado abused the
particular favor of the Governor, Alonzo Perez de la Rua, and other
unquiet spirits, raised a seditious tumult; their object was to seize
ten thousand pieces which yet remained entire, and divide them at their
pleasure. After some contests, in which there were many arrests and a
great display of animosity, the malcontents plotted to surprise Vasco
Nuñez and throw him into prison. He knew it, and quitted the town as
if going to the chase, foreseeing that, when these turbulent men had
obtained possession of the authority and the gold, they would so abuse
the one and the other that all the rational part of the community would
be in haste to recall him. And thus it was; masters of the treasure,
Rua and his friends showed so little decency in the partition that the
principal colonists, ashamed and disgusted, perceiving the immense
distance that existed between Vasco Nuñez and these people, seized the
heads of the sedition, secured them, and called back Balboa, whose
authority and government they were anxious again to recognize.
In the interim, two vessels, laden with provisions and carrying two
hundred men, one hundred fifty of whom were soldiers commanded by
Cristoval Serrano, arrived from Santo Domingo. They were all sent by the
admiral, and Balboa received from the treasurer Pasamonte the title of
governor of that land; that functionary conceiving himself authorized to
confer such a power, and having become as favorable as he had formerly
been the reverse. Exulting in his title and his opportune success,
and secure of the obedience of his people, Vasco Nuñez liberated his
prisoners, and resolved to sally forth into the environs and to occupy
his men in expeditions and discoveries; but, while engaged in making his
preparations, he received, to embitter his satisfaction, a letter from
his friend Zamudio, informing him of the indignation which the charges of
Encisco, and the first information of the treasurer, had kindled against
him at court. Instead of his services being appreciated, he was accused
as a usurper and intruder; he was made responsible for the injuries and
prejudices of which his accuser loudly complained; and the founder and
pacificator of the Darien was to be prosecuted for the criminal charges
brought against him.
This alloy, however, instead of subduing his spirit, animated him to new
daring and impelled him to higher enterprises. Should he permit another
to profit by his toils, to discover the South Sea, and to ravish from him
the wealth and glory which were almost within his grasp? He did,
indeed, still want the thousand men who were necessary to the projected
expedition, but his enterprise, his experience, and his constancy
impelled him to undertake it even without them. He would, by so signal
a service, blot out the crime of his primary usurpation, and, if death
should overtake him in the midst of his exertions, he should die
laboring for the prosperity and glory of his country, and free from the
persecution which threatened him. Full of these thoughts and resolved on
following them, he discoursed with and animated his companions, selected
one hundred ninety of the best armed and disposed, and, with a thousand
Indians of labor, a few bloodhounds, and sufficient provisions, he set
sail in a brigantine with ten canoes.
He ascended first to the port and territory of Careta, where he was
received with demonstrations of regard and welcome suitable to his
relations with that cacique, and, leaving his squadron there, took his
way by the sierras toward the dominion of Ponca. That chief had fled,
as at the first time, but Vasco Nuñez, who had adopted the policy most
convenient to him, desired to bring him to an amicable agreement, and, to
that end, despatched after him some Indians of peace, who advised him
to return to his capital and to fear nothing from the Spaniards. He was
persuaded, and met with a kind reception; he presented some gold, and
received in return some glass beads and other toys and trifles. The
Spanish captains then solicited guides and men of labor for his journey
over the sierras, which the cacique bestowed willingly, adding provisions
in great abundance, and they parted friends.
His passage into the domain of Quarequa was less pacific; whose chief,
Torecha, jealous of this invasion and terrified by the events which had
occurred to his neighbors, was disposed and prepared to receive the
Castilians with a warlike aspect. A swarm of ferocious Indians, armed in
their usual manner, rushed into the road and began a wordy attack upon
the strangers, asking them what brought them there, what they sought
for, and threatening him with perdition if they advanced. The Spaniards,
reckless of their bravadoes, proceeded, nevertheless, and then the chief
placed himself in front of his tribe, dressed in a cotton mantle and
followed by the principal lords, and, with more intrepidity than fortune,
gave the signal for combat. The Indians commenced the assault with loud
cries and great impetuosity, but, soon terrified by the explosions of the
crossbows and muskets, they were easily destroyed or put to flight by the
men and bloodhounds who rushed upon them. The chief and six hundred men
were left dead on the spot, and the Spaniards, having smoothed away
that obstacle, entered the town, which they spoiled of all the gold and
valuables it possessed. Here also they found a brother of the cacique and
other Indians, who were dedicated to the abominations before glanced at;
fifty of these wretches were torn to pieces by the dogs, and not without
the consent and approbation of the Indians. The district was, by these
examples, rendered so pacific and so submissive that Balboa left all his
sick there, dismissed the guides given him by Ponca, and, taking fresh
ones, pursued his road over the heights.
The tongue of land which divides the two Americas is not, at its utmost
width, above eighteen leagues, and in some parts becomes narrowed a
little more than seven. And, although from the port of Careta to the
point toward which the course of the Spaniards was directed was only
altogether six days' journey, yet they consumed upon it twenty; nor is
this extraordinary. The great cordillera of sierras which from north to
south crosses the new continent, a bulwark against the impetuous assaults
of the Pacific Ocean, crosses also the Isthmus of Darien, or, as may be
more properly said, composes it wholly, from the wrecks of the rocky
summits which have been detached from the adjacent lands; and the
discoverers, therefore, were obliged to open their way through
difficulties and dangers, which men of iron alone could have fronted and
overcome. Sometimes they had to penetrate through thick entangled woods,
sometimes to cross lakes, where men and burdens perished miserably; then
a rugged hill presented itself before them; and next, perhaps, a deep and
yawning precipice to descend; while, at every step, they were opposed by
deep and rapid rivers, passable only by means of frail barks, or slight
and trembling bridges; from time to time they had to make their way
through opposing Indians, who, though always conquered, were always to be
dreaded; and, above all, came the failure of provisions--which formed
an aggregate, with toil, anxiety, and danger, such as was sufficient to
break down bodily strength and depress the mind.
At length the Quarequanos, who served as guides, showed them, at
a distance, the height from whose summit the desired sea might be
discovered. Balboa immediately commanded his squadron to halt, and
proceeded alone to the top of the mountain; on reaching it he cast an
anxious glance southward, and the Austral Ocean broke upon his sight[1].
Overcome with joy and wonder, he fell on his knees, extending his arms
toward the sea, and with tears of delight offered thanks to heaven for
having destined him to this mighty discovery. He immediately made a sign
to his companions to ascend, and, pointing to the magnificent spectacle
extended before them, again prostrated himself in fervent thanksgiving
to God. The rest followed his example, while the astonished Indians were
extremely puzzled to understand so sudden and general an effusion of
wonder and gladness. Hannibal on the summit of the Alps, pointing out to
his soldiers the delicious plains of Italy, did not appear, according
to the ingenious comparison of a contemporary writer, either more
transported or more arrogant than the Spanish chief when, risen from the
ground, he recovered the speech of which sudden joy had deprived him,
and thus addressed his Castilians: "You behold before you, friends, the
object of all our desires and the reward of all our labors. Before you
roll the waves of the sea which has been announced to you, and which no
doubt encloses the immense riches we have heard of. You are the first who
have reached these shores and these waves; yours are their treasures,
yours alone the glory of reducing these immense and unknown regions to
the dominion of our King and to the light of the true religion. Follow
me, then, faithful as hitherto, and I promise you that the world shall
not hold your equals in wealth and glory."
All embraced him joyfully and all promised to follow whithersoever he
should lead. They quickly cut down a great tree, and, stripping it of its
branches, formed a cross from it, which they fixed in a heap of stones
found on the spot from whence they first descried the sea. The names of
the monarchs of Castile were engraven on the trunks of the trees, and
with shouts and acclamations they descended the sierra and entered the
plain.
They arrived at some bohios, which formed the population of a chief,
called Chiapes, who had prepared to defend the pass with arms. The noise
of the muskets and the ferocity of the war-dogs dispersed them in a
moment, and they fled, leaving many captives; by these and by their
Quarequano guides, the Spaniards sent to offer Chiapes secure peace
and friendship if he would come to them, or otherwise the ruin and
extermination of his town and his fields. Persuaded by them, the cacique
came and placed himself in the hands of Balboa, who treated him with much
kindness. He brought and distributed gold and received in exchange beads
and toys, with which he was so diverted that he no longer thought of
anything but contenting and conciliating the strangers. There Vasco Nuñez
sent away the Quarequanos, and ordered that the sick, who had been left
in their land, should come and join him. In the mean while he sent
Francisco Pizarro, Juan de Ezcarag, and Alonzo Martin to reconnoitre the
environs and to discover the shortest roads by which the sea might be
reached. It was the last of these who arrived first at the coast, and,
entering a canoe which chanced to lie there, and pushing it into the
waves, let it float a little while, and, after pleasing himself with
having been the first Spaniard who entered the South Sea, returned to
seek Balboa.
Balboa with twenty-six men descended to the sea, and arrived at the
coast early in the evening of the 29th of that month; they all seated
themselves on the shore and awaited the tide, which was at that time on
the ebb. At length it returned in its violence to cover the spot where
they were; then Balboa, in complete armor, lifting his sword in one hand,
and in the other a banner on which was painted an image of the Virgin
Mary with the arms of Castile at her feet, raised it, and began to march
into the midst of the waves, which reached above his knees, saying in a
loud voice: "Long live the high and mighty sovereigns of Castile! Thus in
their names do I take possession of these seas and regions; and if any
other prince, whether Christian or infidel, pretends any right to them, I
am ready and resolved to oppose him, and to assert the just claims of my
sovereigns."
The whole band replied with acclamations to the vow of their captain,
and expressed themselves determined to defend, even to death, their
acquisition against all the potentates in the world; they caused this act
to be confirmed in writing, by the notary of the expedition, Andres de
Valderrabano; the anchorage in which it was solemnized was called the
Gulf of San Miguel, the event happening on that day.
[Footnote 1: Balboa had his first view of the Pacific from this "peak in
Darien" September 25th.]
CHRONOLOGY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY
EMBRACING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THIS VOLUME
A.D. 1438-1516
JOHN RUDD, LL.D. A.D. 1438-1516
Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals
following give volume and page.
Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of
famous persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page
references showing where the several events are fully treated.
A.D.
1438. Gutenberg commences printing with movable type[1]. See "ORIGIN AND
PROGRESS OF PRINTING," viii, i.
All Europe ravaged by the plague; it is aggravated in England and France
by a direful famine.
1439. Death of Albert II; Ladislaus III, King of Poland, ascends the
Hungarian throne.
Pope Eugenius removes his council from Ferrara to Florence; here is
signed a treaty for the ostensible union of the Latin and Greek churches.
A standing army voted by the States-General of France.
1440. Frederick III elected Emperor of Germany.
"JOHN HUNYADY REPULSES THE TURKS." See viii, 30.
1441. Hadji Kerai separates from the Golden Horde; he establishes the
independent khanate of Crim Tartary, or the Crimea.
1442. Alfonso V of Aragon takes the city of Naples; the whole kingdom
submits to him; his rival, René of Anjou, returns to Provence.
First modern importation of negro slaves into Europe. See "DISCOVERY OF
THE CANARY ISLANDS AND THE AFRICAN COAST," viii, 276.
1443. Rising of the Albanians, under Scanderbeg, against the Turks.
1444. Battle of Varna; defeat of the Hungarians by the Turks and death
of Ladislaus III, King of Poland and Hungary. John Hunyady assumes the
government in Hungary during the minority of Ladislaus Posthumus.
On the request of Frederick IV of Germany the Dauphin employs a part of
the French army against Switzerland; battle of St. Jacob's; for ten hours
1,600 Swiss resist 30,000 veterans; the Swiss perish; 10,000 of the
victors are slain.
1445. Corinth destroyed by the Turks.
1447. Election of Pope Nicholas V, founder of the Vatican Library. See
"REBUILDING OF ROME," viii, 46.
Grammar-schools founded in London, England.
1448. Amurath II, or Murad, defeats Hunyady at Cassova.
1449. War between France and England renewed; Normandy conquered by the
French; Rouen is surrendered.
1450. Rebellion of Jack Cade in England. He was slain and his head stuck
on London bridge.
Milan surrenders to Francesco Sforza (Stormer, _i. e._, of cities),
the natural son of a peasant who became a great _condottiere_. He is
proclaimed duke.
1451. Guienne conquered by the French from the English. Ghent revolts
against Philip, Duke of Burgundy.
1453. End of the Eastern empire. See "MAHOMET II TAKES CONSTANTINOPLE,"
viii, 55.
Submission of Ghent to the Duke of Burgundy after its forces had been
defeated at Gaveren.
Battle of Castillon; defeat of the English; loss of all the English
conquests in France, except Calais; end of the Hundred Years' War.
Emperor Frederick III creates Austria a duchy.
1454. Mental aberration of Henry VI of England; the Duke of York
protector.
Publication of the first-known printing with movable type. See "ORIGIN
AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING," viii, i.
Venice by a treaty with Turkey secures trade privileges in Greece.
1455. Beginning of the contest for the crown of England. See "WARS OF THE
ROSES," viii, 72.
1456. Battle of Belgrade; victory of Hunyady over the Turks. Athens
conquered by the Turks.
1457. Church of the Unitas Fratrum organized in Bohemia. Francis Foscaro,
being deposed as doge of Venice after a reign of thirty-four years, dies
of grief on hearing the bells rung to celebrate the election of his
successor.
At Mainz is published the Book of Psalms, the earliest work printed with
its date.