"Thou seemest to fancy's eye
An animated blossom born in air;
Which breathes and bourgeons in the golden sky,
And sheds its odors there."
Sutermeister.
Notwithstanding his native resolution, and an indifference to danger
that amounted to recklessness, Luis did not find himself alone with the
Haytians without, at least, a lively consciousness of the novelty of his
situation. Still, nothing occurred to excite uneasiness, and he
continued his imperfect communications with his new friends,
occasionally throwing in a remark to Sancho, in Spanish, who merely
wanted encouragement to discourse by the hour. Instead of following the
boat of the Santa Maria, on board which the ambassador had embarked, the
canoe pushed on several leagues further east, it being understood that
Luis was not to present himself in the town of Guacanagari, until after
the arrival of the ships, when he was to rejoin his comrades stealthily,
or in a way not to attract attention.
Our hero would not have been a true lover, had he remained indifferent
to the glories of the natural scenery that lay spread before his eyes,
as he thus coasted the shores of Espanola. The boldness of the
landscape, as in the Mediterranean, was relieved by the softness of a
low latitude, which throws some such witchery around rocks and
promontories, as a sunny smile lends to female beauty. More than once
did he burst out into exclamations of delight, and as often did Sancho
respond in the same temper, if not exactly in the same language; the
latter conceiving it to be a sort of duty to echo all that the young
noble said, in the way of poetry.
"I take it, Senor Conde," observed the seaman, when they had reached a
spot several leagues beyond that where the launch of the ship had put to
shore; "I take it for granted, Senor Conde, that your Excellency knoweth
whither these naked gentry are paddling, all this time. They seem in a
hurry, and have a port in their minds, if it be not in view."
"Art thou uneasy, friend Sancho, that thou puttest thy question thus
earnestly?"
"If I am, Don Luis, it is altogether on account of the family of
Bobadilla, which would lose its head, did any mishap befall your
Excellency. What is it to Sancho, of the ship-yard-gate, whether he is
married to some princess in Cipango, and gets to be adopted by the Great
Khan, or whether he is an indifferent mariner out of Moguer? It is very
much as if one should offer him the choice between wearing a doublet and
eating garlic, and going naked on sweet fruits and a full stomach. I
take it, Senor, your Excellency would not willingly exchange the castle
of Llera for the palace of this Great Cacique?"
"Thou art right, Sancho; even rank must depend on the state of society
in which we live. A Castilian noble cannot envy a Haytian sovereign."
"More especially, since my lord, the Senor Don Almirante, hath publicly
proclaimed that our gracious lady, the Dona Isabella, is henceforth and
forever to be queen over him," returned Sancho, with a knowing glance of
the eye. "Little do these worthy people understand the honor that is in
store for them, and least of all, his Highness, King Guacanagari!"
"Hush, Sancho, and keep thy unpleasant intimations in thine own breast.
Our friends turn the head of the canoe toward yonder river's mouth, and
seem bent on landing."
By this time, indeed, the natives had coasted as far as they intended,
and were turning in toward the entrance of a small stream, which, taking
its rise among the noble mountains that were grouped inland, found its
way through a smiling valley to the ocean. This stream was neither broad
nor deep, but it contained far more than water sufficient for any craft
used by the natives. Its banks were fringed with bushes; and as they
glided up it, Luis saw fifty sites where he thought he could be content
to pass his life, provided, always, that it might possess the advantage
of Mercedes' presence. It is scarcely necessary to add, too, that in all
these scenes he fancied his mistress attired in the velvets and laces
that were then so much used by high-born dames, and that he saw her
natural grace, embellished by the courtly ease and polished accessories
of one who lived daily, if not hourly, in the presence of her royal
mistress.
As the canoe shut in the coast, by entering between the two points that
formed the river's mouth, Sancho pointed out to the young noble a small
fleet of canoes, that was coming down before the wind from the eastward,
apparently bound, like so many more they had seen that day, to the Bay
of Acul, on a visit to the wonderful strangers. The natives in the canoe
also beheld this little flotilla, which was driving before the wind
under cotton sails, and by their smiles and signs showed that they gave
it the same destination. About this time, too, or just as they entered
the mouth of the stream, Mattinao drew from under a light cotton robe,
that he occasionally wore, a thin circlet of pure gold, which he placed
upon his head, in the manner of a coronet. This, Luis knew, was a token
that he was a cacique, one of those who were tributary to Guacanagari,
and he arose to salute him at this evidence of his rank, an act that was
imitated by all of the Haytians also. From this assumption of state,
Luis rightly imagined that Mattinao had now entered within the limits of
a territory that acknowledged his will. From the moment that the young
cacique threw aside his incognito, he ceased to paddle, but, assuming an
air of authority and dignity, he attempted to converse with his guest in
the best manner their imperfect means of communication would allow. He
often pronounced the word, Ozema, and Luis inferred from the manner in
which he used it, that it was the name of a favorite wife, it having
been already ascertained by the Spaniards, or at least it was thought to
be ascertained, that the caciques indulged in polygamy, while they
rigidly restricted their subjects to one wife.
The canoe ascended the river several miles, until it reached one of
those tropical valleys in which nature seems to expend her means of
rendering this earth inviting. While the scenery had much of the freedom
of a wilderness, the presence of man for centuries had deprived it of
all its ruder and more savage features. Like those who tenanted it, the
spot possessed the perfection of native grace, unfettered and uninvaded
by any of the more elaborate devices of human expedients. The dwellings
were not without beauty, though simple as the wants of their owners; the
flowers bloomed in midwinter, and the generous branches still groaned
with the weight of their nutritious and palatable fruits.
Mattinao was received by his people with an eager curiosity, blended
with profound respect. His mild subjects crowded around Luis and Sancho,
with some such wonder as a civilized man would gaze at one of the
prophets, were he to return to earth in the flesh. They had heard of the
arrival of the ships, but they did not the less regard their inmates as
visitors from heaven. This, probably, was not the opinion of the more
elevated in rank, for, even in the savage state, the vulgar mind is far
from being that of the favored few. Whether it was owing to this greater
facility of character, and to habits that more easily adapted themselves
to the untutored notions of the Indians, or to their sense of propriety,
Sancho soon became the favorite with the multitude; leaving the Count of
Llera more especially to the care of Mattinao, and the principal men of
his tribe. Owing to this circumstance, the two Spaniards were soon
separated, Sancho being led away by the _oi polloi_ to a sort of square
in the centre of the village, leaving Don Luis in the habitation of the
cacique.
No sooner did Mattinao find himself in the company of our hero, and that
of two of his confidential chiefs, than the name of Ozema was repeated
eagerly among the Indians. A rapid conversation followed, a messenger
was despatched, Luis knew not whither, and then the chiefs took their
departure, leaving the young Castilian alone with the cacique. Laying
aside his golden band, and placing a cotton robe about his person, which
had hitherto been nearly naked, Mattinao made a sign for his companion
to follow him, and left the building. Throwing the buckler over his
shoulder, and adjusting the belt of his sword in a way that the weapon
should not incommode him in walking, Luis obeyed with as much confidence
as he would have followed a friend along the streets of Seville.
Mattinao led the way through a wilderness of sweets, where tropical
plants luxuriated beneath the branches of trees loaded with luscious
fruits, holding his course by a foot-path which lay on the banks of a
torrent that flowed from a ravine, and poured its waters into the river
below. The distance he went might have been half a mile. Here he reached
a cluster of rustic dwellings that occupied a lovely terrace on a
hill-side, where they overlooked the larger town below the river, and
commanded a view of the distant ocean. Luis saw at a glance that this
sweet retreat was devoted to the uses of the gentler sex, and he doubted
not that it formed a species of seraglio, set apart for the wives of the
young cacique. He was led into one of the principal dwellings, where the
simple but grateful refreshments used by the natives, were again offered
to him.
The intercourse of a month had not sufficed to render either party very
familiar with the language of the other. A few of the commoner words of
the Indians had been caught by the Spaniards, and perhaps Luis was one
of the most ready in their use; still, it is highly probable, he was
oftener wrong than right, even when he felt the most confident of his
success. But the language of friendship is not easily mistaken, and our
hero had not entertained a feeling of distrust from the time he left the
ships, down to the present moment.
Mattinao had despatched a messenger to an adjacent dwelling when he
entered that in which Luis was now entertained, and when sufficient time
had been given for the last to refresh himself, the cacique arose, and
by a courteous gesture, such as might have become a master of ceremonies
in the court of Isabella, he again invited the young grandee to follow.
They took their way along the terrace, to a house larger than common,
and which evidently contained several subdivisions, as they entered into
a sort of anteroom. Here they remained but a minute; the cacique, after
a short parley with a female, removing a curtain ingeniously made of
sea-weed, and leading the way to an inner apartment. It had but a single
occupant, whose character Luis fancied to be announced in the use of the
single word "Ozema," that the cacique uttered in a low, affectionate
tone, as they entered. Luis bowed to this Indian beauty, as profoundly
as he could have made his reverence to a high-born damsel of Spain;
then, recovering himself, he fastened one long, steady look of
admiration on the face of the curious but half-frightened young creature
who stood before him, and exclaimed, in such tones as only indicate
rapture, admiration, and astonishment mingled--
"Mercedes!"
The young cacique repeated this name in the best manner he could,
evidently mistaking it for a Spanish term to express admiration, or
satisfaction; while the trembling young thing, who was the subject of
all this wonder, shrunk back a step, blushed, laughed, and muttered in
her soft, low, musical voice, "Mercedes," as the innocent take up and
renew any source of their harmless pleasures. She then stood, with her
arms folded meekly on her bosom, resembling a statue of wonder. But it
may be necessary to explain why, at a moment so peculiar, the thoughts
and tongue of Luis had so suddenly resorted to his mistress. In order to
do this, we shall first attempt a short description of the person and
appearance of Ozema, as was, in fact, the name of the Indian beauty.
All the accounts agree in describing the aborigines of the West Indies
as being singularly well formed, and of a natural grace in their
movements, that extorted a common admiration among the Spaniards. Their
color was not unpleasant, and the inhabitants of Hayti, in particular,
were said to be very little darker than the people of Spain. Those who
were but little exposed to the bright sun of that climate, and who dwelt
habitually beneath the shades of groves, or in the retirement of their
dwellings, like persons of similar habits in Europe, might, by
comparison, have even been termed fair. Such was the fact with Ozema,
who, instead of being the wife of the young cacique, was his only
sister. According to the laws of Hayti, the authority of a cacique was
transmitted through females, and a son of Ozema was looked forward to,
as the heir of his uncle. Owing to this fact, and to the circumstance
that the true royal line, if a term so dignified can be applied to a
state of society so simple, was reduced to these two individuals, Ozema
had been more than usually fostered by the tribe, leaving her free from
care, and as little exposed to hardships, as at all comported with the
condition of her people. She had reached her eighteenth year, without
having experienced any of those troubles and exposures which are more or
less the inevitable companions of savage life; though it was remarked by
the Spaniards, that all the Indians they had yet seen seemed more than
usually free from evils of this character. They owed this exception to
the generous quality of the soil, the genial warmth of the climate, and
the salubrity of the air. In a word, Ozema, in her person, possessed
just those advantages that freedom from restraint, native graces, and
wild luxuriance, might be supposed to lend the female form, under the
advantages of a mild climate, a healthful and simple diet, and perfect
exemption from exposure, care, or toil. It would not have been difficult
to fancy Eve such a creature, when she first appeared to Adam, fresh
from the hands of her divine Creator, modest, artless, timid, and
perfect.
The Haytians used a scanty dress, though it shocked none of their
opinions to go forth in the garb of nature. Still, few of rank were seen
without some pretensions to attire, which was worn rather as an
ornament, or a mark of distinction, than as necessary either to usage or
comfort. Ozema, herself, formed no exception to the general rule. A
cincture of Indian cloth, woven in gay colors, circled her slender
waist, and fell nearly as low as her knees; a robe of spotless cotton,
inartificially made, but white as the driven snow, and of a texture so
fine that it might have shamed many of the manufactures of our own days,
fell like a scarf across a shoulder, and was loosely united at the
opposite side, dropping in folds nearly to the ground. Sandals, of great
ingenuity and beauty, protected the soles of feet that a queen might
have envied; and a large plate of pure gold, rudely wrought, was
suspended from her neck by a string of small, but gorgeous shells.
Bracelets of the latter were on her pretty wrists, and two light bands
of gold encircled ankles that were as faultless as those of the Venus of
Naples. In that region, the fineness of the hair was thought the test of
birth, with better reason than many imagine the feet and hands to be, in
civilized life. As power and rank had passed from female to female in
her family, for several centuries, the hair of Ozema was silken, soft,
waving, exuberant, and black as jet. It covered her shoulders, like a
glorious mantle, and fell as low as her simple cincture. So light and
silken was this natural veil, that its ends waved in the gentle current
of air that was rather breathing than blowing through the apartment.
Although this extraordinary creature was much the loveliest specimen of
young-womanhood that Luis had seen among the wild beauties of the
islands, it was not so much her graceful and well-rounded form, or even
the charms of face and expression, that surprised him, as a decided and
accidental resemblance to the being he had left in Spain, and who had so
long been the idol of his heart. This resemblance alone had caused him
to utter the name of his mistress, in the manner related. Could the two
have been placed together, it would have been easy to detect marked
points of difference between them, without being reduced to compare the
intellectual and thoughtful expression of our heroine's countenance,
with the wondering, doubting, half-startled look of Ozema: but still the
general likeness was so strong, that no person who was familiar with the
face of one could fail to note it on meeting with the other. Side by
side, it would have been discovered that the face of Mercedes had the
advantage in finesse and delicacy; that her features and brow were
nobler; her eye more illuminated by the intelligence within; her smile
more radiant with thought and the feelings of a cultivated woman; her
blush more sensitive, betraying most of the consciousness of
conventional habits; and that the expression generally was much more
highly cultivated, than that which sprung from the artless impulses and
limited ideas of the young Haytian. Nevertheless, in mere beauty, in
youth, and tint, and outline, the disparity was scarcely perceptible,
while the resemblance was striking; and, on the score of animation,
native frankness, ingenuousness, and all that witchery which ardent and
undisguised feeling lends to woman, many might have preferred the
confiding _abandon_ of the beautiful young Indian, to the more trained
and dignified reserve of the Castilian heiress. What in the latter was
earnest, high-souled, native, but religious enthusiasm, in the other was
merely the outpourings of unguided impulses, which, however feminine in
their origin, were but little regulated in their indulgence.
"Mercedes!" exclaimed our hero, when this vision of Indian loveliness
unexpectedly broke on his sight. "Mercedes!" repeated Mattinao;
"Mercedes!" murmured Ozema, recoiling a step, blushing, laughing, and
then resuming her innocent confidence, as she several times uttered the
same word, which she also mistook for an expression of admiration, in
her own low, melodious voice.
Conversation being out of the question, there remained nothing for the
parties but to express their feelings by signs and acts of amity. Luis
had not come on his little expedition unprovided with presents.
Anticipating an interview with the wife of the cacique, he had brought
up from the village below, several articles that he supposed might suit
her untutored fancy. But the moment he beheld the vision that actually
stood before him, they all seemed unworthy of such a being. In one of
his onsets against the Moors, he had brought off a turban of rich but
light cloth, and he had kept it as a trophy, occasionally wearing it, in
his visits to the shore, out of pure caprice, and as a sort of ornament
that might well impose on the simple-minded natives. These vagaries
excited no remarks, as mariners are apt to indulge their whims in this
manner, when far from the observations of those to whom they habitually
defer. This turban was on his head at the moment he entered the
apartment of Ozema, and, overcome with the delight of finding so
unexpected a resemblance, and, possibly, excited by so unlooked-for an
exhibition of feminine loveliness, he gallantly unrolled it, threw out
the folds of rich cloth, and cast it over the shoulders of the beautiful
Ozema as a mantle.
The expressions of gratitude and delight that escaped this
unsophisticated young creature, were warm, sincere, and undisguised. She
cast the ample robe on the ground before her, repeated the word
"Mercedes," again and again, and manifested her pleasure with all the
warmth of a generous and ingenuous nature. If we were to say that this
display of Ozema was altogether free from the child-like rapture that
was, perhaps, inseparable from her ignorance, it would be attributing to
her benighted condition the experience and regulated feelings of
advanced civilization; but, notwithstanding the guileless simplicity
with which she betrayed her emotions, her delight was not without much
of the dignity and tone that usually mark the conduct of the superior
classes all over the world. Luis fancied it as graceful as it was
_naive_ and charming. He endeavored to imagine the manner in which the
Lady of Valverde might receive an offering of precious stones from the
gracious hands of Dona Isabella, and he even thought it very possible
that the artless grace of Ozema was not far behind what he knew would be
the meek self-respect, mingled with grateful pleasure, that Mercedes
could not fail to exhibit.
While thoughts like these were passing through his mind, the Indian girl
laid aside her own less enticing robe, without a thought of shame, and
then she folded her faultless form in the cloth of the turban. This was
no sooner done, with a grace and freedom peculiar to her unfettered
mind, than she drew the necklace of shells from her person, and,
advancing a step or two toward our hero, extended the offering with a
half-averted face, though the laughing and willing eyes more than
supplied the place of language. Luis accepted the gift with suitable
eagerness, nor did he refrain from using the Castilian gallantry of
kissing the pretty hand from which he took the bauble.
The cacique, who had been a pleased spectator of all that passed, now
signed for the count to follow him, leading the way toward another
dwelling. Here Don Luis was introduced to other young females, and to
two or three children, the former of whom, he soon discovered, were the
wives of Mattinao, and the latter his offspring. By dint of gestures, a
few words, and such other means of explanation as were resorted to
between the Spaniards and the natives, he now succeeded in ascertaining
the real affinity which existed between the cacique and Ozema. Our hero
felt a sensation like pleasure when he discovered that the Indian beauty
was not married; and he was fain to refer the feeling, perhaps justly,
to a sort of jealous sensitiveness that grew out of her resemblance to
Mercedes.
The remainder of that, and the whole of the three following days, were
passed by Luis with his friend, the cacique, in this, the favorite and
sacred residence of the latter. Of course our hero was, if any thing, a
subject of greater interest to all his hosts, than they could possibly
be to him. They took a thousand innocent liberties with his person:
examining his dress, and the ornaments he wore, not failing to compare
the whiteness of his skin with the redder tint of that of Mattinao. On
these occasions Ozema was the most reserved and shy, though her look
followed every movement, and her pleased countenance denoted the
interest she felt in all that concerned the stranger. Hours at a time,
did Luis lie stretched on fragrant mats near this artless and lovely
creature, studying the wayward expression of her features, in the fond
hope of seeing stronger and stronger resemblances to Mercedes, and
sometimes losing himself in that which was peculiarly her own. In the
course of the time passed in these dwellings, efforts were made by the
count to obtain some useful information of the island; and whether it
was owing to her superior rank, or to a native superiority of mind, or
to a charm of manner, he soon fancied that the cacique's beautiful
sister succeeded better in making him understand her meaning, than
either of the wives of Mattinao, or the cacique himself. To Ozema, then,
Luis put most of his questions; and ere the day had passed, this
quick-witted and attentive girl had made greater progress in opening an
intelligible understanding between the adventurers and her countrymen,
than had been accomplished by the communications of the two previous
months. She caught the Spanish words with a readiness that seemed
instinctive, pronouncing them with an accent that only rendered them
prettier and softer to the ear.
Luis de Bobadilla was just as good a Catholic as a rigid education, a
wandering life, and the habits of the camp would be apt to make one of
his rank, years, and temperament. Still, that was an age in which most
laymen had a deep reverence for religion; whether they actually
submitted to its purifying influence or not. If there were any
free-thinkers, at all, they existed principally among those who passed
their lives in their closets, or were to be found among the churchmen,
themselves; who often used the cowl as a hood to conceal their
infidelity. His close association with Columbus, too, had contributed to
strengthen our hero's tendency to believe in the constant supervision of
Providence; and he now felt a strong inclination to fancy that this
extraordinary facility of Ozema's in acquiring languages, was one of its
semi-miraculous provisions, made with a view to further the introduction
of the religion of the cross among her people. Often did he flatter
himself, as he sat gazing into the sparkling, and yet mild eyes of the
girl, listening to her earnest efforts to make him comprehend her
meaning, that he was to be the instrument of bringing about this great
good, through so young and charming an agent. The admiral had also
enjoined on him the importance of ascertaining, if possible, the
position of the mines, and he had actually succeeded in making Ozema
comprehend his questions on a subject that was all-engrossing with most
of the Spaniards. Her answers were less intelligible, but Luis thought
they never could be sufficiently full; flattering himself, the whole
time, that he was only laboring to comply with the wishes of Columbus.
The day after his arrival, our hero was treated to an exhibition of some
of the Indian games. These sports have been too often described to need
repetition here; but, in all their movements and exercises, which were
altogether pacific, the young princess was conspicuous for grace and
skill. Luis, too, was required to show his powers, and being exceedingly
athletic and active, he easily bore away the palm from his friend
Mattinao. The young cacique manifested neither jealousy nor
disappointment at this result, while his sister laughed and clapped her
hands with delight, when he was outdone, even at his own sports, by the
greater strength or greater efforts of his guest. More than once, the
wives of Mattinao seemed to utter gentle reproaches at this exuberance
of feeling, but Ozema answered with smiling taunts, and Luis thought
her, at such moments, more beautiful than even imagination could draw,
and perhaps with justice; for her cheeks were flushed, her eyes became
as brilliant as ornaments of jet, and the teeth that were visible
between lips like cherries, resembled rows of ivory. We have said that
the eyes of Ozema were black, differing, in this particular, from the
deep-blue, melancholy orbs of the enthusiastic Mercedes; but still they
were alike, so often uttering the same feelings, more especially
touching matters in which Luis was concerned. More than once, during the
trial of strength, did the young man fancy that the expression of the
rapture which fairly danced in the eyes of Ozema, was the very
counterpart of that of the deep-seated delight which had so often beamed
on him, from the glances of Mercedes, in the tourney; and, at such
times, it struck him that the resemblance between the two was so strong
as, after some allowance had been made for dress, and other sufficiently
striking circumstances, to render them almost identical.
The reader is not to suppose from this, that our hero was actually
inconstant to big ancient love. Far from it. Mercedes was too deeply
enshrined in his heart--and Luis, with all his faults, was as
warm-hearted and true-hearted a cavalier as breathed--to be so easily
dispossessed. But he was young, distant from her he had so long adored,
and was, withal, not altogether insensible to admiration so artlessly
and winningly betrayed by the Indian girl. Had there been the least
immodest glance, any proof that art or design lay at the bottom of
Ozema's conduct, he would at once have taken the alarm, and been
completely disenthralled from his temporary delusion; but, on the
contrary, all was so frank and natural with this artless girl; when she
most betrayed the hold he had taken of her imagination, it was done with
a simplicity so obvious, a _naivete_ so irrepressible, and an
ingenuousness so clearly the fruit of innocence, that it was impossible
to suspect artifice. In a word, our hero merely showed that he was
human, by yielding in a certain degree to a fascination that, under the
circumstances, might well have made deeper inroads on the faith even of
men who enjoyed much better reputations for stability of purpose.
In situations of so much novelty, time flies swiftly, and Luis himself
was astonished when, on looking back, he remembered that he had now been
several days with Mattinao, most of which period had actually been
passed in what might not inaptly be termed the seraglio of the cacique.
Sancho of the ship-yard-gate had not been in the least neglected all
this time. He had been a hero, in his own circle, as well as the young
noble, nor had he been at all forgetful of his duty on the subject of
searching for gold. Though he had neither acquired a single word of the
Haytian language, nor taught a syllable of Spanish to even one of the
laughing nymphs who surrounded him, he had decorated the persons of many
of them with hawk's-bells, and had contrived to abstract from them, in
return, every ornament that resembled the precious metal, which they
possessed. This transfer, no doubt, was honestly effected, however,
having been made on that favorite principle of the free trade theorists,
which maintains that trade is merely an exchange of equivalents;
overlooking all the adverse circumstances which may happen, just at the
moment, to determine the standard of value. Sancho had his notions of
commerce as well as the modern philosophers, and, as he and Luis
occasionally met during their sojourn with Mattinao, he revealed a few
of his opinions on this interesting subject, in one of their interviews.
"I perceive thou hast not forgotten thy passion for doblas, friend
Sancho," said Luis, laughing, as the old seaman exhibited the store of
dust and golden plates he had collected; "there is sufficient of the
metal in thy sack to coin a score of them, each having the royal
countenances of our lord the King, and our lady the Queen!"
"Double that, Senor Conde; just double that; and all for the price of
some seventeen hawk's-bells, that cost but a handful of maravedis. By
the mass! this is a most just and holy trade, and such as it becomes us
Christians to carry on. Here are these savages, they think no more of
gold than your Excellency thinks of a dead Moor, and to be revenged on
them, I hold a hawk's-bell just as cheap. Let them think as poorly as
they please of their ornaments and yellow dust, they will find me just
as willing to part with the twenty hawk's-bells that remain. Let them
barter away, they will find me as ready as they possibly can be, to give
nothing for nothing."
"Is this quite honest, Sancho, to rob an Indian of his gold, in exchange
for a bauble that copper so easily purchaseth? Remember thou art a
Castilian, and henceforth give _two_ hawk's-bells, where thou hast
hitherto given but _one_."
"I never forget my birth, Senor, for happily the ship-yard of Moguer is
in old Spain. Is not the value of a thing to be settled by what it will
bring in the market? ask any of our traders and they will tell you this,
which is clear as the sun in the heavens. When the Venetians lay before
Candia, grapes, and figs, and Greek wine, could be had for the asking in
that island, while western articles commanded any price. Oh, nothing is
plainer than the fact that every thing hath its price, and it is real
trade to give one worthless commodity for another."
"If it be honest to profit by the ignorance of another," answered Luis,
who had a nobleman's contempt for commerce, "then it is just to deceive
the child and the idiot."
"God forbid, and especially St. Andrew, my patron, that I should do any
thing so wicked. Hawk's-bells are of more account than gold, in Hayti,
Senor, and happening to know it, I am willing to part with the precious
things for the dross. You see I am generous instead of being avaricious,
for all parties are in Hayti, where the value of, the articles must be
settled. It is true, that after running great risks at sea, and
undergoing great pains and chances, by carrying this gold to Spain, I
may be requited for my trouble, and get enough benefit to make an honest
livelihood. I hope Dona Isabella will have so much feeling for these,
her new subjects, as to prevent their ever going into the shipping
business--a most laborious and dangerous calling, as we both well know."
"And why art thou so particular in desiring this favor in behalf of
these poor islanders, and that, too, Sancho, at the expense of thine own
bones?"
"Simply, Senor," answered the knave, with a cunning leer, "lest it
unsettle trade, which ought to be as free and unencumbered as possible.
Here, now, if we Spaniards come to Hayti, we sell-one hawk's-bell for a
dobla in gold; whereas, were we to give these savages the trouble to
come to Spain, a dobla of their gold would buy a hundred hawk's-bells!
No--no--it is right as it is; and may a double allowance of purgatory be
the lot of him who wishes to throw any difficulties in the way of a
good, honest, free, and civilizing trade, say I."
Sancho was thus occupied in explaining his notions of free trade--the
great mystification of modern philanthropists--when there arose such a
cry in the village of Mattinao, as is only heard in moments of extreme
jeopardy and sudden terror. The conversation took place in the grove,
about midway between the town and the private dwellings of the cacique;
and so implicit had become the confidence the two Spaniards reposed in
their friends, that neither had any other arms about his person, than
those furnished by nature. Luis had left both sword and buckler, half an
hour earlier, at the feet of Ozetna, who had been enacting a mimic hero,
with his weapons, for their mutual diversion; while Sancho had found the
arquebuse much too heavy to be carried about for a plaything. The last
was deposited in the room where he had taken up his comfortable
quarters.
"Can this mean treachery, Senor?" exclaimed Sancho. "Have these
blackguards found out the true value of hawk's-bells, after all, and do
they mean to demand the balance due them?"
"My life on it, Mattinao and all his people are true, Sancho. This
uproar hath a different meaning--hark! is not that the cry of
'Caonabo!'"
"The very same, Senor! That is the name of the Carib cacique, who is the
terror of all these tribes."
"Thy arquebuse, Sancho, if possible; then join me at the dwellings
above. Ozema and the wives of our good friend must be defended, at every
hazard!"
Luis had no sooner given these orders, than he and Sancho separated, the
latter running toward the town, which, by this time, was a scene of wild
tumult, while our hero, slowly and sullenly, retired toward the private
dwellings of the cacique, occasionally looking back, as if he longed to
plunge into the thickest of the fray. Twenty times did he wish for his
favorite charger and a stout lance, when, indeed, it would not have been
an extraordinary feat for a knight of his prowess to put to flight a
thousand enemies like those who now menaced him. Often had he singly
broken whole ranks of Christian foot-soldiers, and it is well known that
solitary individuals, when mounted, subsequently drove hundreds of the
natives before them.
The alarm reached the dwelling of Mattinao before our hero. When he
entered the house of Ozema, he found its mistress surrounded by fifty
females, some of whom had already ascended from the town below, each of
whom was eagerly uttering the terrible name of "Caonabo." Ozema herself
was the most collected of them all, though it was apparent that, from
some cause, she was an object of particular solicitude from those around
her. As Luis entered the apartment, the wives of Mattinao were pressing
around the princess; and he soon gathered from their words and
entreaties, that they urged her to fly, lest she should fall into the
hands of the Carib chief. He even fancied, and he fancied it justly,
that the rest of the females supposed the seizure of the cacique's
beautiful sister to be the real object of the sudden attack. This
conjecture in no manner lessened Luis' ardor in the defence. The moment
Ozema caught sight of him, she flew to his side, clasping her hands, and
uttering the name of "Caonabo," in a tone that would have melted a heart
of stone. At the same time, her eyes spoke a language of hope,
confidence, and petition that was not necessary to enlist our hero's
resolution on her side. In a moment, the sword of the young cavalier was
in his hand, and the buckler on his arm. He then assured the princess of
his zeal, in the best manner he could, by placing the buckler before her
throbbing breast, and waving the sword, as in defiance of her enemies:
no sooner was this pledge given, than every other female disappeared,
some flying to the rescue of their children, and all endeavoring to find
places of concealment. By this singular and unexpected desertion, Luis
found himself, for the first time since they had met, alone with Ozema.
To remain in the house would be to suffer the enemy to approach unseen,
and the shrieks and cries sufficiently announced that, each moment, the
danger grew nearer. Luis accordingly made a sign for the girl to follow
him, first rolling the turban into a bundle and placing it on her arm,
that it might serve her, at need, as a species of shield against the
hostile arrows. While he was thus employed, Ozema's head fell upon his
breast, and the excited girl burst into tears. This display of weakness,
however, lasted but a moment, when she aroused herself, smiled through
her tears, pressed the arm of Luis convulsively, and became the Indian
heroine again. They then left the building together.
Luis soon perceived that his retreat from the house had not been made a
moment too soon. The family of Mattinao had already disappeared, and a
strong party of the invaders was in full view, rushing madly up the
grove, silent, but evidently bent on seizing their prey. He felt Ozema,
who clung to his arm, tremble violently, and then he heard her
murmuring--
"Caonabo--no--no--no!"
The young Indian princess had caught the Spanish monosyllable of
dissent, and Luis understood this exclamation to express her strong
disinclination to become a wife of the Carib chief. His resolution to
protect her or to die, was in no manner lessened by this involuntary
betrayal of her feelings, which he could not but think might have some
connection with himself; for, while our hero was both honorable and
generous, he was human, and, consequently, well disposed to take a
favorable view of his own powers of pleasing. It was only in connection
with Mercedes, that Luis de Bobadilla was humble.
A soldier almost from childhood, the young count looked hastily around
him for a position that would favor his means of defence, and which
would render his arms the most available. Luckily, one offered so near
him, that it required but a minute to occupy it. The terrace lay against
a precipice of rocks, and a hundred feet from the house, was a spot
where the face of this precipice was angular, throwing forward a wall on
each side to some distance, while the cliff above overhung the base
sufficiently to remove all danger from falling stones. In the angle were
several large fragments of rock that would afford shelter against
arrows, and, there being a sufficient space of greensward before them,
on which a knight might well display his prowess when in possession of
this position, our hero felt himself strong, if not impregnable, since
he could be assailed only in front. Ozema was stationed behind one of
the fragments of the fallen rocks, her person only half concealed,
however, concern for Luis, and curiosity as related to her enemies,
equally inducing her to expose her head and beautiful bust.
Luis was scarcely in possession of this post, ere a dozen Indians were
drawn up in a line at the distance of fifty yards in his front. They
were armed with bows, war-clubs, and spears. Being without other
defensive armor than his buckler, the young man would have thought his
situation sufficiently critical, did he not know that the archery of the
natives was any thing but formidable. Their arrows would kill,
certainly, when shot at short distances, and against the naked skin, but
it might be questioned if they would penetrate the stout velvet in which
Luis was encased, and fifty yards was not near enough to excite undue
alarm. The young man did not dare to retreat to the rocks, as a clear
space was indispensable for the free use of his good sword, and to that
weapon alone he looked for his eventual triumph.
It was, perhaps, fortunate for our hero that Caonabo himself was not
with the party which beleaguered him. That redoubtable chieftain, who
had been led to a distance in pursuit of the flying females, under a
belief that she he sought was among them, would doubtless have brought
the matter to an immediate issue by a desperate charge, when numbers
might have prevailed against courage and skill. The actual assailants
chose a different course, and began to poise their bows. One of the most
skilful among them drew an arrow to the head, and let it fly. The
missile glanced from the buckler of the knight, and struck the hill
behind him, as lightly as if the parties had been at their idle sports.
Another followed, and Luis turned it aside with his sword, disdaining to
raise his shield against such a trifle. This cool manner of receiving
their assaults caused the Indians to raise a shout, whether in
admiration or rage, Luis could not tell.
The next attack was more judicious, being made on a principle that
Napoleon is said to have adopted in directing discharges of his
artillery. All those who had bows, some six or eight, drew their arrows
together, and the weapons came rattling on the buckler of the assailed
in a single flight. It was not easy to escape altogether from such a
combined assault, and our hero received one or two bruises from glancing
arrows, though no blood followed the blows. A second attempt of the same
nature was about to be made, when the alarmed girl rushed from her place
of concealment, and, like the Pocahontas of our own history, threw
herself before Luis, with her arms meekly placed on her bosom. As soon
as she appeared, there was a cry of "Ozema"--"Ozema," among the
assailants, who were not Caribs, as all will understand who are familiar
with the island history, but milder Haytians, governed by a Carib chief.
In vain Luis endeavored to persuade the devoted girl to withdraw. She
thought his life in danger, and no language, had he been able to exert
his eloquence on the occasion, could have induced her to leave him
exposed to such a danger. As the Indians were endeavoring to obtain
chances at the person of Luis without killing the princess, he saw there
remained no alternative but a retreat behind the fragment of rock. Just
as he obtained this temporary security, a fierce-looking warrior joined
the assailants, who immediately commenced a vociferous explanation of
the actual state of the attack.
"Caonabo?" demanded Luis, of Ozema, pointing toward the new-comer.
The girl shook her head, after taking an anxious look at the stranger's
face, at the same time clinging to our hero's arm, with seductive
dependence.
"No--no--no--" she said, eagerly. "No Caonabo--no--no--no."
Luis understood the first part of this answer to mean that the stranger
was not the Carib chief; and the last to signify Ozema's strong and
settled aversion to becoming his wife.
The consultation among the assailants was soon ended. Six of them then
poised their war-clubs and spears, and made a rush for the citadel of
the besieged. When they were within twenty feet of his cover, our hero
sprang lightly forward on the sward to meet his foes. Two of the spears
he received on his buckler, severing both shafts with a single blow of
his keen and highly-tempered sword. As he recovered from the effort,
with an upward cut he met the raised arm of the club-man most in
advance. Hand and club fell at his feet with the skilful touch. Making a
sweep with the weapon in his front, its point seamed the breasts of the
two astonished spears-men, whose distance alone saved them from more
serious injuries.
This rapid and unlooked-for execution struck the assailants with awe and
dread. Never before had they witnessed the power of metal as used in
war; and the sudden amputation of the arm struck them as something
miraculous. Even the ferocious Carib fell back in dismay, and Luis felt
hopes of victory. This was the first occasion on which the Spaniards had
come to blows with the mild inhabitants of the islands they had
discovered, though it is usual with the historians to refer to an
incident of still latter occurrence, as the commencement of strife, the
severe privacy which has ever been thrown over the connection of Don
Luis with the expedition, having completely baffled their slight and
superficial researches. Of course, the efficiency of a weapon like that
used by our hero, was as novel to the Haytians as it was terrific.
At this instant a shout among the assailants, and the appearance of a
fresh body of the invaders, with a tall and commanding chief at their
head, announced the arrival of Caonabo in person. This warlike cacique
was soon made acquainted with the state of affairs, and it was evident
that the prowess of our hero struck him as much with admiration as with
wonder. After a few minutes, he directed his followers to fall back to a
greater distance, and, laying aside his club, he advanced fearlessly
toward Luis, making signs of amity.
When the two adversaries met, it was with mutual respect and confidence.
The Carib made a short and vehement speech, in which the only word that
was intelligible to our hero, was the name of the beautiful young
Indian. By this time Ozema had also advanced, as if eager to speak, and
her rude suitor turned to her, with an appeal that was passionate, if
not eloquent. He laid his hand frequently on his heart, and his voice
became soft and persuasive. Ozema replied earnestly, and in the quick
manner of one whose resolution was settled. At the close of her speech,
the color mounted to the temples of the ardent girl, and, as if
purposely to make her meaning understood by our hero, she ended by
saying, in Spanish--
"Caonabo--no--no--no!--Luis--Luis!"
The aspect of the hurricane of the tropics is not darker, or more
menacing, than the scowl with which the Carib chief heard this
unequivocal rejection of his suit, accompanied, as it was, by so plain a
demonstration in favor of the stranger. Waving his hand in defiance, he
strode back to his people, and issued orders for a fresh assault.
This time, a tempest of arrows preceded the rush, and Luis was fain to
seek his former cover behind the rocks. Indeed, this was the only manner
in which he could save the life of Ozema; the devoted girl resolutely
persevering in standing before his body, in the hope it would shield him
from his enemies. There had been some words of reproach from Caonabo to
the Carib chief who had retreated from the first attack, and the air was
yet filled with arrows, as this man rushed forward, singly, to redeem
his name. Luis met him, firm as the rock behind him. The shock was
violent, and the blow that fell on the buckler would have crushed an arm
less inured to such rude encounters; but it glanced obliquely from the
shield, and the club struck the earth with the weight of a beetle. Our
hero saw that all now depended on a deep impression. His sword flashed
in the bright sun, and the head of the Carib tumbled by the side of his
club, actually leaving the body erect for an instant, so keen was the
weapon, and so dexterous had been the blow.
Twenty savages were on the spring, but they stopped like men transfixed,
at this unexpected sight. Caonabo, however, undaunted even when most
surprised, roared out his orders like a maddened bull, and the wavering
crowd was again about to advance, when the loud report of an arquebuse
was heard, followed by the whistling of its deadly missives. A second
Haytian fell dead in his tracks. It exceeded the powers of savage
endurance to resist this assault, which, to their uninstructed minds,
appeared to come from heaven. In two minutes, neither Caonabo nor any of
his followers were visible. As they rushed down the hill, Sancho
appeared from a cover, carrying the arquebuse, which he had taken the
precaution to reload.
The circumstances did not admit of delay. Not a being of Mattinao's
tribe was to be seen in any direction; and Luis made no doubt that they
had all fled. Determined to save Ozema at every hazard, he now took his
way to the river, in order to escape in one of the canoes. In passing
through the town, it was seen that not a house had been plundered; and
the circumstance was commented on by the Spaniards, Luis pointing it out
to his companion.
"Caonabo--no--no--no--Ozema!--Ozema!" was the answer of the girl, who
well knew the real object of the inroad.
A dozen canoes lay at the landing, and five minutes sufficed for the
fugitives to enter one and to commence their retreat. The current flowed
toward the sea, and in a couple of hours they were on the ocean. As the
wind blew constantly from the eastward, Sancho soon rigged an apology
for a sail, and an hour before the sun set, the party landed on a point
that concealed them from the bay; Luis being mindful of the admiral's
injunction, to conceal his excursion, lest others might claim a similar
favor.