BOOK X

AND EPILOGUE TO THE DECADE

TO INIGO LOPEZ MENDOZA, COUNT OF TENDILLA, VICEROY OF GRANADA

I have been prompted by the letters of my friends and of high

personages to compose a complete chronicle of all that has happened

since the first discoveries and the conquest of the ocean by Columbus,

and of all that shall occur. My correspondents were lost in admiration

at the thought of these discoveries of islands, inhabited by unknown

peoples, living without clothes and satisfied with what nature gave

them, and they were consumed by desire to be kept regularly informed.

Ascanio, whose authority never allowed my pen to rest, was degraded

from the high position he occupied when his brother Ludovico[1] was

driven by the French from Milan. I had dedicated the first two books

of this decade to him, without mentioning many other treatises I had

selected from my unedited memoirs. Simultaneously with his overthrow I

ceased to write, for, buffeted by the storm, he ceased to exhort me,

while my fervour in making enquiries languished; but in the year 1500,

when the Court was in residence at Granada, Ludovico, Cardinal of

Aragon, and nephew of King Frederick, who had accompanied the Queen

of Naples, sister of King Frederick, to Grenada, sent me letters

addressed to me by the King himself, urging me to select the necessary

documents and to continue the first two books addressed to Ascanio.

The King and the Cardinal already possessed the writings I had

formerly addressed to Ascanio. You are aware that I was ill at the

time, yet, unwilling to refuse, I resolved to continue. Amongst the

great mass of material furnished me at my request by the discoverers,

I selected such deeds as were most worthy to be recorded. Since you

now desire to include my complete works amongst the numerous volumes

in your library, I have determined to add to those of my former

writings by taking up the narrative of the principal events between

the years 1500 and 1510, and, God giving me life, I shall one day

treat them more fully.

[Note 1: His downfall was greeted with rejoicing throughout Italy.

In Venice the joy-bells rang and the children danced and sang a

_canzone_ in Piazza San Marco

_Ora il Moro fa la danza

Viva San Marco e il re di Franzia_.

Milan fell a prey to Louis XII., and all northern Italy passed under

the French yoke. The Pope rewarded the bearer of the news with a

present of one hundred ducats, and at once seized Cardinal Ascanio's

palace with its art treasures. The Cardinal was captured near Rivolta

by the Venetians, who delivered him to the French. He was kept in the

citadel of Bourges until 1502, when he was released at the request of

the Cardinal d'Amboise to take his place in the conclave which elected

Pius III. He died in 1505; and his former enemy, Guiliano della

Rovere, reigning as Pope Julius II., erected the magnificent monument

to his memory which still stands in Santa Maria del Popolo.]

To complete the decade, I had written a book which remained

unfinished, treating of the superstitions of the islanders; this new

book, which will be called the tenth and last, I wish to dedicate to

you, without rewriting my work or sending you my draft. Therefore,

if on reading the ninth book you come across promises which are not

realised, do not be astonished; it is not necessary to be always

consistent.[2]

[Note 2: _Non semper oportet stare pollicitis_.]

Let us now come to our subject. During these ten years many

explorers,[3] have visited various coasts, following for the most part

in the track of Columbus. They have always coasted along the shore of

Paria, believing it to be part of the Indian continent. Some heading

to the west, others to the east, they have discovered new countries

rich in gold and spices, for most of them have brought back necklaces

and perfumes obtained in exchange for our merchandise, or by violence

and conquest. Despite their nakedness, it must be admitted that in

some places the natives have exterminated entire groups of Spaniards,

for they are ferocious and are armed with poisoned arrows and sharp

lances with points hardened in the fire. Even the animals, reptiles,

insects, and quadrupeds are different from ours, and exhibit

innumerable and strange species. With the exception of lions, tigers,

and crocodiles, they are not dangerous. I am now speaking of the

forests of the district of Paria and not of the islands, where, I

am told, there is not a single dangerous animal, everything in the

islands speaking of great mildness, with the exception of the Caribs

or cannibals, of whom I have already spoken and who have an appetite

for human flesh. There are likewise different species of birds, and in

many places bats[4] as large as pigeons flew about the Spaniards as

soon as twilight fell, biting them so cruelly that the men, rendered

desperate, were obliged to give way before them as though they had

been harpies. One night, while sleeping on the sand, a monster issued

from the sea and seized a Spaniard by the back and, notwithstanding

the presence of his companions, carried him off, jumping into the sea

with his victim despite the unfortunate man's shrieks.

[Note 3: Labastidas, Pinzon, Hojeda, Vespucci, Las Casas, and

others.]

[Note 4: Vampire bats, which haunt the Venezuelan coast in large

numbers.]

It is the royal plan to establish fortified places and to take

possession of this continent, nor are there wanting Spaniards who

would not shrink from the difficulty of conquering and subjugating

the territory. For this purpose they petitioned the King for his

authorisation.

The journey, however, is long and the country very extensive. It

is claimed that the newly discovered country, whether continent or

island, is three times larger than Europe, without counting the

regions to the south which were discovered by the Portuguese and which

are still larger. Certainly the Spain of to-day deserves the highest

praise for having revealed to the present generation these myriad

regions of the Antipodes, heretofore unknown, and for having thus

enlarged for writers the field of study. I am proud to have shown them

the way by collecting these facts which, as you will see, are without

pretension; not only because I am unable to adorn my subject more

ornately, but also because I have never thought to write as a

professional historian. I tell a simple story by means of letters,

written freely to give pleasure to certain persons whose invitations

it would have been difficult for me to refuse. Enough, however, of

digressions, and let us return to Hispaniola.

The bread made by the natives is found, by those who are accustomed to

our wheat bread, to be insufficiently nourishing and therefore they

lose their strength. The King consequently issued a recent decree,

ordering that wheat should be sown in different places and at

different seasons. The harvest produced nothing but straw, similar to

twigs, and with little grain; although what there is, is large and

well formed. This also applies to the pastures where the grass grows

as high as the crops; thus the cattle become extraordinarily fat, but

their flesh loses its flavour; their muscles become flabby, and they

are, so to say, watery. With pigs it is just the contrary; for they

are healthy and of an agreeable flavour. This is due doubtless to

certain of the island's fruits they greedily devour. Pork is about

the only kind of meat bought in the markets. The pigs have rapidly

increased, but they have become wild since they are no longer kept

by swineherds. There is no need to acclimatise any other species of

animal or birds in Hispaniola.

Moreover, the young of all animals flourish on the abundant pasturage

and become larger than their sires. They only eat grass, not barley

or other grain. Enough however of Hispaniola; let us now consider the

neighbouring islands.

Owing to its length, Cuba was for a long time considered to be a

continent, but it has been discovered to be an island. It is not

astonishing that the islanders assured the Spaniards who explored it

that the land had no end, for the Cubans are poor-spirited people,

satisfied with little and never leaving their territory. They took no

notice of what went on amongst their neighbours, and whether there

were any other regions under their skies than the one they inhabited,

they did not know. Cuba extends from east to west and is much longer

than Hispaniola, but from the north to the south it is, in proportion

to its length, very narrow, and is almost everywhere fertile and

agreeable.

There is a small island lying not far off the east coast of

Hispaniola, which the Spaniards have placed under the invocation of

San Juan.[5] This island is almost square and very rich gold mines

have been found there, but as everybody is busy working the mines of

Hispaniola, miners have not yet been sent to San Juan, although it is

planned so to do. It is gold alone of all the products of Hispaniola

to which the Spaniards give all their attention, and this is how

they proceed. Each industrious Spaniard, who enjoys some credit, has

assigned to him one or more caciques (that is to say chiefs) and

his subjects, who, at certain seasons in the year established by

agreement, is obliged to come with his people to the mine belonging to

that Spaniard, where the necessary tools for extracting the gold are

distributed to them. The cacique and his men receive a salary, and

when they return to the labour of their fields, which cannot be

neglected for fear of famine, one brings away a jacket, one a shirt,

one a cloak, and another a hat. Such articles of apparel please them

very much, and they now no longer go naked. Their labour is thus

divided between the mines and their own fields as though they were

slaves. Although they submit to this restraint with impatience, they

do put up with it. Mercenaries of this kind are called _anaborios_.

The King does not allow them to be treated as slaves, and they are

granted and withdrawn as he pleases.[6]

[Note 5: Porto Rico.]

[Note 6: The system of repartimientos. Consult the writings of Las

Casas on this subject.]

When they are summoned, as soldiers or camp-followers are drafted by

recruiting agents, the islanders fly to the woods and mountains if

they can, and rather than submit to this labour they live on whatever

wild fruit they find. They are a docile people, and have completely

forgotten their old rites, complying without reasoning, and repeating

the mysteries they are taught. The Spanish gentlemen of position

educate sons of caciques in their own houses, and these lads easily

learn the elements of instruction and good manners. When they grow

up and especially if their fathers are dead, they are sent back to

Hispaniola, where they rule their compatriots. As they are devout

Christians, they keep both Spaniards and natives up to their duties,

and cheerfully bring their subjects to the mines. There are gold mines

found in two different districts, of which the first, called San

Cristobal, is about thirty miles from the town of Dominica. The other,

called Cibaua, is about ninety miles distant. Porto Real is situated

there.

Great revenues are drawn from these countries, for gold is found both

on the surface and in the rocks, either in the form of ingots or of

scales which are sometimes small but generally of considerable weight.

Ingots weigh 300 pounds, and sometimes even more, for one has been

found which weighed 310 pounds.[7] You have heard it said that this

one was brought, just as it was found, to the King of Spain, on board

the ship on which the governor Bobadilla embarked for Spain. The ship,

being overloaded with men and gold, was wrecked and sunk with all it

contained. More than a thousand witnesses saw and touched this ingot.

When I speak of pounds I do not mean precisely a pound, but a weight

equal to a golden ducat of four ounces, which is what the Spaniards

call a _peso_ or castellano of gold. All the gold found in the

mountains of Cibaua is transported to the blockhouse of La Concepcion,

where there are founderies for receiving and melting the metal. The

royal fifth is first separated, after which each one receives a share

according to his labour. The gold from the mines of San Cristobal goes

to the founderies of Bona Ventura; the amount of gold melted in these

founderies exceeds 300 pounds of metal. Any Spaniard who is convicted

of having fraudulently kept back a quantity of gold not declared to

the royal inspectors, suffers confiscation of all the gold in his

possession. Contentions frequently occur among them, and if the

magistrates of the island are unable to settle them, the cases are

appealed to the Royal Council, the decisions of that tribunal being

without appeal in the King's dominions of Castile.

[Note 7: Las Casas describes the finding of this nugget by an

Indian girl, who accidentally turned it up while idly prodding

the ground with a sharp instrument. He gives its weight as 3600

castellanos, equivalent to thirty-five pounds. The vessel which was

to carry it to Spain was wrecked in a violent storm, just outside the

harbour, and the famous nugget was lost. _Las Casas, his Life, his

Apostolate, and his Writings_, cap. iii.]

At the present time the members composing this tribunal are all

distinguished noblemen of illustrious blood, whom I will enumerate

in the order in which they sit in judging a case. The first place is

occupied by Antonio Rojas, Archbishop of Granada, who is your kinsman;

he is a veritable Cato, unable to condone his own offences or those of

his relatives. His life is austere and he cultivates literature. He

holds the first place in the Council, or in other words, he is the

President thereof. The other members of the Council rank by seniority,

according to the order in which they were appointed. All are doctors

or designates or holders of some decoration. The designates are those

who are called in Spanish licenciates. All are nominated by the King.

The Dean of the Assembly is Pedro Oropesa; next to him comes Ludovico

Zapato; then, in regular order, Fernando Tellez, Garcias Moxica,

Lorenzo Carvajal; Toribio Santiago sits next to the last-named, and

after him come Juan Lopez, Palacios Rivas, and Ludovico Polanco.

Francisco Vargas, who is likewise royal treasurer, sits next, and the

two last places are held by priests, Sosa and Cabrero, both doctors of

Canon law. The counsellors do not judge criminal cases, but all civil

suits are within their cognisance.

Let us now return to the new countries, from which we have wandered.

These countries are very numerous, diversified, and fertile; neither

Saturn nor Hercules nor any hero of antiquity who set out for the

discovery or conquest of unknown lands, excelled the exploits of our

contemporary Spaniards. Behold, how posterity will see the Christian

religion extended! How far it will be possible to travel amongst

mankind! Neither by word of mouth nor by my pen can I express my

sentiments concerning these wondrous events, and I, therefore, leave

my book without an ending, always counting upon making further

researches and collecting documents for a more detailed description in

my letters, when I shall be at leisure to write.

For I am not ignorant that our Admiral, Columbus,[8] with four ships

and a crew of seventy men furnished him by the sovereigns, has

explored during the year 1502 the country extending about one hundred

and thirty leagues west between Cuba and the continent; an island rich

in fruit trees, which is called Guanassa. The Admiral always followed

the coast towards the east, hoping by this manoeuvre to regain the

waters of Paria, but in this he was disappointed. It is claimed that

the western coasts have also been visited by Vincent Yañez, of whom

I have previously written, Juan Diaz Solis de Nebrissa and sundry

others, but I have no precise information on this point.[9] May God

grant me life, that you may some day learn more upon this subject. And

now you farewell.

[Note 8: This refers to the fourth voyage of Columbus; consult

_Storia del Fernando Columbo_; Navarrete, i., 314, 329, 332; ii., 277,

296; iii., 555, 558. Also the _Lettera rarissima_, written by Columbus

from Jamaica, July 7, 1503, to the Catholic sovereigns; Washington

Irving, _Columbus and his Companions_.]

[Note 9: Consult Gaffarel, _Les Contemporains de Colomb_;

Vespucci, _Quatuor Navigationes_.]

The Second Decade

BOOK I

PETER MARTYR, OF MILAN, APOSTOLIC PROTONOTARY AND ROYAL COUNSELLOR TO

THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF LEO X

Most Holy Father,[1] Since the arrival at the Spanish Court of

Galeazzo Butrigario of Bologna sent by Your Holiness, and Giovanni

Accursi of Florence, sent by that glorious Republic, I have

unceasingly frequented their company and studied to please them,

because of their virtues and their wisdom. Both take pleasure in

reading various authors and certain books which have fallen by chance

into their hands, works treating of the vast regions hitherto unknown

to the world, and of the Occidental lands lying almost at the

Antipodes which the Spaniards recently discovered. Despite its

unpolished style, the novelty of the narrative charmed them, and

they besought me, as well on their own behalf as in the name of Your

Holiness, to complete my writings by continuing the narrative of all

that has since happened, and to send a copy to Your Beatitude so that

you might understand to what degree, thanks to the encouragement of

the Spanish sovereigns, the human race has been rendered illustrious

and the Church Militant extended. For these new nations are as a

_tabula rasa_; they easily accept the beliefs of our religion and

discard their barbarous and primitive rusticity after contact with our

compatriots. I have deemed it well to yield to the insistence of

wise men who enjoyed the favour of Your Holiness; indeed, had I not

immediately obeyed an invitation in the name of Your Beatitude, I

should have committed an inexpiable crime. I shall now summarise in

a few words the discoveries by the Spaniards of unknown coasts, the

authors of the chief expeditions, the places they landed, the hopes

raised, and the promises held out by these new countries.

[Note 1: Giovanni de' Medici, elected in 1513, assumed the title

of Leo X. He was keenly interested in the exploration and discoveries

in America, and unceasingly urged his nuncios to keep him supplied

with everything written on these subjects.]

The discovery of these lands I have mentioned, by the Genoese,

Christopher Columbus, was related in my Ocean Decade, which

was printed without my permission[2] and circulated throughout

Christendom. Columbus afterwards explored immense seas and countries

to the south-west, approaching within fifteen degrees of the

equinoctial line. In those parts he saw great rivers, lofty

snow-capped mountains along the coasts, and also secure harbours.

After his death the sovereigns took steps to assume possession of

those countries and to colonise them with Christians, in order that

our religion might be propagated. The royal notaries afforded every

facility to every one who wished to engage in these honourable

enterprises among whom two were notable: Diego Nicuesa de Baëcca, an

Andalusian, and Alonzo Hojeda de Concha.

[Note 2: Peter Martyr's friend, Lucio Marineo Siculo, was

responsible for this premature Spanish edition published in 1511.

An Italian edition of the First Decade was printed by Albertino

Vercellese at Venice in 1504.]

Both these men were living in Hispaniola where, as we have already

said, the Spaniards had founded a town and colonies, when Alonzo

Hojeda first set out, about the ides of December, with about three

hundred soldiers under his command. His course was almost directly

south, until he reached one of those ports previously discovered and

which Columbus had named Carthagena, because its island breakwater,

its extent, and its coast shaped like a scythe reminded him of

Carthagena. The island lying across the mouth of the port is called by

the natives Codego, just as the Spaniards call the island in front of

Carthagena, Scombria. The neighbouring region is called Caramairi, a

country whose inhabitants, both male and female, are large and well

formed, although they are naked. The men wear their hair cut short to

the ears, while the women wear theirs long. Both sexes are extremely

skilful bowmen.

The Spaniards discovered certain trees in the province which bear

fruits that are sweet, but most dangerous, for when eaten they produce

worms. Most of all is the shade of this tree noxious, for whoever

sleeps for any length of time beneath its branches, wakens with a

swollen head, and almost blind, though this blindness abates within a

few days. The port of Carthagena lies four hundred and fifty-six miles

from the port of Hispaniola called Beata, where preparations are

generally made for voyages of discovery. Immediately on landing,

Hojeda attacked the scattered and defenceless natives. They had been

conceded to him by royal patent because they had formerly treated some

Christians most cruelly and could never be prevailed upon to receive

the Spaniards amicably in their country. Only a small quantity of

gold, and that of poor quality, was found amongst them; they use the

metal for making leaves and disks, which they hang on their breasts as

ornaments. Hojeda was not satisfied with these spoils, and taking some

prisoners with him as guides, he attacked a village in the interior

twelve miles distant from the shore, where the fugitives from the

coast-town had taken refuge. These men, though naked, were warlike;

they used wooden shields, some long and others curved, also long

wooden swords, bows and arrows, and lances whose points were either

hardened in the fire or made of bone. Assisted by their guests, they

made a desperate attack on the Spaniards, for they were excited by the

misfortunes of those who had sought refuge with them, after having

lost their wives and children, whose massacre by the Spaniards

they had witnessed. The Spaniards were defeated and both Hojeda's

lieutenant, Juan de la Cosa,[3] the first discoverer of gold in the

sands of Uraba, and seventy soldiers fell. The natives poisoned their

arrows with the juice of a death-dealing herb. The other Spaniards

headed by Hojeda turned their backs and fled to the ships, where they

remained, saddened and depressed by this calamity, until the arrival

of another leader, Diego de Nicuesa, in command of twelve ships. When

Hojeda and Cosa sailed from Hispaniola, they had left Nicuesa in the

port of Beata still busy with his preparations. His force numbered

seven hundred and eighty-five soldiers, for he was an older man

than Hojeda, and he had greater authority; hence a larger number of

volunteers, in choosing between the two leaders, preferred to join the

expedition of Nicuesa; moreover it was reported that Veragua, which

had been granted to Nicuesa by the royal patent, was richer in gold

than Uraba, which Alonzo de Hojeda had obtained.

[Note 3: Such was the sad end of the pilot of Columbus. The oldest

map of the New World, now preserved at Madrid, was the work of this

noted cartographer.]

As soon as Nicuesa landed, the two leaders after conferring together,

decided that the first victims should be avenged, so they set out that

same night to attack the murderers of Cosa and his seventy companions.

It was the last watch of the night, when they surprised the natives,

surrounding and setting fire to their village, which contained more

than one hundred houses. The usual number of inhabitants was tripled

by the refugees who had there taken shelter.

The village was destroyed, for the houses were built of wood covered

with palm-leaves. Out of the great multitude of men and women, only

six infants were spared, all the others having been murdered or burnt

with their effects. These children told the Spaniards that Cosa and

the others had been cut into bits and devoured by their murderers. It

is thought indeed that the natives of Caramairi are of the same origin

as the Caribs, or cannibals, who are eaters of human flesh. Very

little gold was found amongst the ashes. It is in reality the thirst

for gold, not less than the covetousness of new countries, which

prompted the Spaniards to court such dangers. Having thus avenged the

death of Cosa and his companions, they returned to Carthagena.

Hojeda, who was the first to arrive, was likewise the first to

leave, starting with his men in search of Uraba, which is under his

jurisdiction. On his way thither he came upon an island called

La Fuerte, which lies halfway between Uraba and the harbour of

Carthagena. There he landed and found it inhabited by ferocious

cannibals, of whom he captured two men and seven women, the others

managing to escape. He likewise gathered one hundred and ninety

drachmas of gold made into necklaces of various kinds. He finally

reached the eastern extremity of Uraba. This is called Caribana,

because it is from this country that the insular Caribs derive their

origin, and have hence kept the name.[4] Hojeda's first care was to

provide protection, and to this end he built a village defended by a

fort. Having learned from his prisoners that there was a town twelve

miles in the interior, called Tirufi, celebrated for its gold mines,

he made preparations for its capture. The inhabitants of Tirufi were

ready to defend their rights, and Hojeda was repulsed with loss and

disgrace; these natives likewise used poisoned arrows in fighting.

Driven by want, he attacked another village some days later, and was

wounded by an arrow in the hip; some of his companions affirm that he

was shot by a native whose wife he had taken prisoner. The husband

approached and negotiated amicably with Hojeda for the ransom of

his wife, promising to deliver, on a fixed day, the amount of gold

demanded of him. On the day agreed upon he returned, armed with

arrows and javelins but without the gold. He was accompanied by eight

companions, all of whom were ready to die to avenge the injury done to

the inhabitants of Carthagena and also the people of the village. This

native was killed by Hojeda's soldiers, and could no longer enjoy the

caresses of his beloved wife; but Hojeda, under the influence of the

poison, saw his strength ebbing daily away.

[Note 4: The place of origin of the Caribs is disputed, some

authorities tracing them to Guiana, others to Venezuela, others to the

Antilles, etc.]

At this juncture arrived the other commander, Nicuesa, to whom the

province of Veragua, lying west of Uraba, had been assigned as a

residence. He had sailed with his troops from the port of Carthagena

the day after Hojeda's departure, with Veragua for his destination,

and entered the gulf called by the natives Coiba, of whom the cacique

was named Caeta. The people thereabouts speak an entirely different

language from those of Carthagena and Uraba. The dialects of even

neighbouring tribes are very dissimilar.[5] For instance, in

Hispaniola, a king is called _cacique_, whereas in the province of

Coiba he is called _chebi_, and elsewhere _tiba_; a noble is called in

Hispaniola _taino_, in Coiba _saccus_, and in other parts _jura_.

[Note 5: _La Bibliothèque Américaine_ of Leclerc contains a list

of the different works on American languages. Consult also Ludwig,

_The Literature of American Aboriginal Languages_.]

Nicuesa proceeded from Coiba to Uraba, the province of his ally

Hojeda. Some days later, being on board one of the large merchant

vessels called by the Spaniards caravels, he ordered the other ships

to follow at a distance, keeping with him two vessels with double sets

of oars, of the type called brigantines. I may here say that during

the rest of my narrative it is my intention to give to these

brigantines as well as to the other types of ships the names they bear

in the vulgar tongue. I do this that I may be more clearly understood,

regardless of the teeth of critics who rend the works of authors. Each

day new wants arise, impossible to translate with the vocabulary left

us by the venerable majesty of antiquity.

After Nicuesa's departure Hojeda was joined by a ship from Hispaniola

with a crew of sixty men commanded by Bernardino de Calavera, who had

stolen it. Neither the maritime commander, or to speak more plainly

the Admiral,--nor the authorities had consented to his departure. The

provisions brought by this ship somewhat restored the strength of the

Spaniards.

The complaints of the men against Hojeda increased from day to day;

for they accused him of having deceived them. He alleged in his

defence, that by virtue of the powers he held from the King he had

directed the bachelor Enciso, who was chief justice and whom he had

selected because of his great legal abilities, to follow him with a

shipload of stores; and that he was much astonished that the latter

had not long since arrived. He spoke the truth, for at the time of

his departure, Enciso had already more than half completed his

preparations. His companions, however, who considered they had been

duped, did not believe in the sincerity of his affirmations about

Enciso, and a number of them secretly planned to seize two brigantines

belonging to Hojeda, and to return to Hispaniola. Upon discovering

this plot, Hojeda decided to anticipate their plan and, leaving

Francisco Pizarro, a nobleman[6] who commanded the forts he had built,

he took some of his men and went on board the ship we have mentioned.

His intention was to go to Hispaniola, not only to recover from the

wound in his hip, but also to learn the causes of Enciso's delay. He

promised his companions to return in less than fifty days. Out of the

three hundred there only remained about sixty men, for the others had

either perished of hunger or had been slain by the natives. Pizarro

and his men pledged themselves to remain at their posts until his

return within fifty days bringing provisions and reinforcements. When

the established time elapsed, finding themselves reduced by famine,

they boarded the brigantines and abandoned Uraba.

[Note 6: Pizarro was far from being a nobleman, his mother being a

peasant woman and his father the captain Gonzalo Pizarro.]

During their journey to Hispaniola a tempest overtook them on the high

seas, which wrecked one of the brigantines with all its crew; and

the survivors relate that they distinctly saw, circling round the

brigantine, a gigantic fish which smashed the rudder to pieces with a

blow of its tail. Gigantic sea monsters certainly do exist in those

waters. Without a rudder and buffeted by the storm, the brigantine

sank not far from the coast of the island, named La Fuerte, which lies

half way between Uraba and Carthagena. The remaining brigantine which

outrode the storm, was repulsed from the island by the natives who

rushed from every direction armed with bows and arrows.

Pursuing his course, Pizarro encountered by chance the bachelor Enciso

between the bay of Carthagena and the country called Cuchibacoa, which

lies at the mouth of the river the Spaniards have named Boiugatti or

cathouse, because it was there they first saw a cat, and _boiu_ means

_house_ in the language of Hispaniola.

Enciso had one vessel laden with all kinds of provisions, foodstuffs,

and clothing, and he was followed by a brigantine. He it was whose

ship Hojeda had awaited with impatience. He had left Hispaniola on

the ides of September, and four days later had recognised the lofty

mountains Columbus had first discovered in this region and which they

had named La Sierra Nevada, because of their perpetual snows. On the

fifth day out he passed the Boca de la Sierpe. Men who went on board

his brigantine told him that Hojeda had returned to Hispaniola, but

thinking they lied, Enciso ordered them by virtue of his authority

as a judge, to return to the country whence they had come. They

obediently followed Enciso, but nevertheless implored him at least to

grant them the favour of allowing them to return to Hispaniola or to

conduct them himself to Nicuesa, promising in exchange for his good

services twenty-six drachmas of gold; for though they were in want of

bread, they were rich in gold. Enciso was deaf to their entreaties,

and affirmed that it was impossible for him to land anywhere but at

Uraba, the province of Hojeda, and it was thither, guided by them,

that he directed his course.

Listen, however, to what happened to this judge, and perhaps, Most

Holy Father, you will find it worth remembering. Enciso anchored off

the coast of Caramairiana in the harbour of Carthagena, celebrated for

the chastity and grace of its women, and the courage of both sexes of

the inhabitants. As he approached to renew his supply of water and to

repair the ship's boat, which had been damaged, he ordered some men to

land. They were at once surrounded by a multitude of natives, all of

whom were armed and who, for three days, watched their labours most

attentively, fairly besieging them. During this time neither the

Spaniards nor the natives engaged in hostilities, although they

remained face to face during three entire days, both on their guard

and watching one another. The Spaniards continued their work, the

soldiers protecting the carpenters.

During this period of suspense, two Spaniards went to fill a vessel

with water at the river's mouth, and, more quickly than I can write

it, a native chief and ten soldiers surrounded them, pointing their

arrows on them but not shooting, contenting themselves with glaring

at them ferociously. One of the Spaniards fled, but the other stood

trembling in his tracks, and by invectives called back his companion.

He spoke to the enemy in their own tongue, which he had learned from

one of the captives captured elsewhere, and they, surprised at hearing

their language in the mouth of a stranger, were mollified and answered

with gentle words. The soldier assured them that he and his friends

were merely strangers passing through, and he was astonished that they

drove the ships from the coast, along which they were sailing. He

accused them of inhumanity, and threatened them with dire misfortunes

did they not abandon their design; for he assured them that unless

they not only laid down their arms but received the Spaniards with

honour, other armed strangers, more numerous than the sands, would

arrive and ravage their country. Enciso was informed that two soldiers

had been seized by natives, but suspecting a trap he ordered his

soldiers to carry their shields to protect themeselves from the

poisoned arrows and, hastily forming them in order of battle, he led

them towards those who held the prisoners. A sign from the soldier,

begging him to stop, caused him to call a halt, and, at the same time,

the other soldier whom he summoned told him that everything was going

on well and that the Indians desired peace, since they had discovered

that they were not the men who had sacked the village on the opposite

coast, destroyed and burned another village in the interior, and

carried off prisoners. This alluded to Hojeda's troops. The natives

had come intending to avenge this outrage, but they had no intention

of attacking innocent men, for they declared it was infamous to attack

anyone who did not attack them. The natives laid down their bows and

arrows, and received the Spaniards amicably, giving them salted fish

and bread. They also filled their barrels with a certain brew made

from native fruits and grain, which was almost as good as wine.

After concluding a peace with the people of Caramairi who, in response

to the summons of their cacique, assembled in a great crowd, Enciso

left for Uraba, passing by the island La Fuerte. He had one hundred

and fifty new soldiers on his ship, to replace those who were dead. He

carried twelve horses and swine, both male and female, for propagating

the species in that region. He was provided with fifty cannon and a

good supply of lances, shields, swords, and other fighting material.

Nothing, however, of all he brought saw service; for as he was about

to enter the port, the captain of the ship who was acting as pilot,

drove it upon a sandy reef and the unfortunate vessel was overwhelmed

by the waves, and shattered. Its entire contents were lost. What a

pitiful sight! Of all the provisions they only saved twelve barrels

of flour, a few cheeses, and a small quantity of biscuit. All their

animals were drowned, and the men, almost naked, with some of their

weapons, were saved by the brigantine and the ship's boat. Thus from

one misfortune to another they were reduced to extreme peril of their

lives, and thought no more about gold.

Behold them, therefore, alive and safe in view of the land they had

desired with their whole hearts. It was necessary, first of all, to

find some means of subsistence, for men do not live on air, and as

they had nothing of their own, they took what belonged to others. One

happy resource lightened their misfortunes; for they found a palm

grove not far from the coast, between which and the neighbouring

swamps there wandered herds of wild swine. They lived, therefore, for

some time on the flesh of these animals, which are said to be smaller

than ours and have such a short tail it appears to have been cut off.

Their feet are also different from those of our wild boars, for the

hind feet have only one toe and no hoof. Their flesh is much more

succulent and wholesome than that of our wild boars.

The Spaniards likewise ate fruits and roots of a variety of palms,

called cabbage palms, such as are eaten in the interior of Andalusia,

and of whose leaves brooms are made in Rome. Besides this they found

other fruits in the country, though most of them, even the plums, were

not yet ripe and were somewhat hard and red in colour. I assume that

these were the variety I ate in the month of April in Alexandria,

where they grew on trees, which the Jews, who are versed in the Mosaic

law, claim to be the cedar of Lebanon. They are edible and sweet

though not without a trace of bitterness, resembling the fruit of

crab-apple trees. The natives plant this tree in their gardens in

place of peach, cherry, and other similar trees, and cultivate it with

the greatest care. In size, the character of its trunk and its leaves,

it closely resembles the jujube tree.

When the wild boar gave out, the Spaniards were obliged to take

thought for the future, so they marched their troops into the

interior. The inhabitants of Caribana country are very skilful in the

use of bows and arrows. The troop of Enciso consisted of a body of a

hundred men.[7] They encountered three naked savages who, without the

slightest fear, attacked them. The natives wounded four with poisoned

arrows and killed some others, after which, their quivers being

exhausted, they fled with the rapidity of the wind, for they are

extremely agile. In their flight they hurled insults at the Spaniards,

and they never shot an arrow that failed to hit its mark. Much

depressed and inclined to abandon the country, the Spaniards returned

to their point of departure, where they found the natives had

destroyed the blockhouse built by Hojeda, and burned the village

of thirty houses as soon as Francisco Pizarro and his companions,

deserted by Hojeda, abandoned it.

[Note 7: The text continues somewhat irrelevantly: _dico centum

pedites, etsi me non lateat constare centuriam ex centum viginti

octo militibus, ut decuriam ex quindecim. Licet tamen de gente nuda

scribenti, nudis uti verbis interdum_.]

Their exploration of the country convinced the Spaniards that the

eastern part of Uraba was richer and more fertile than the western.

They therefore divided their forces and, with the assistance of a

brigantine, transported one half of their people thither, the other

half remaining on the eastern coast. The gulf is twenty-four miles

long, growing narrower as it penetrates inland. Many rivers flow into

the Gulf of Uraba, one of which, called the Darien,[8] they say, is

more fortunate than the Nile.

[Note 8: The name _Darien_ applies to the eastern part of the

isthmus of Panama, extending from the Gulf of San Miguel to that of

Uraba. The river bearing the same name forms a large estuary in the

Gulf of San Miguel.]

The Spaniards decided to settle upon its green banks where fruit trees

grow. The river bed is narrow and its current sluggish. The people

along the banks were much amazed to see the brigantine, so much larger

than their own barques, under full sail. Getting rid of their women

and non-fighting men, and donning their fighting equipment, about five

hundred of them advanced against the Spaniards, taking up a position

upon a lofty hillock. The Spaniards, commanded by Enciso, who was

judge in the name of Hojeda, prepared for the conflict. First

kneeling, general and soldiers together prayed God to give them the

victory. They bound themselves by a vow to make votive offerings of

gold and silver to the statue of the Blessed Virgin, known in Seville

by the name of Santa Maria della Antigua, vowing to make a pilgrimage

to her sanctuary, to name in her honour the village they might found,

and to build a church sacred to her or to transform the house of the

cacique into a church. They also took a vow not to retreat before the

enemy.

At a given signal they cheerfully armed themselves; carrying their

shields on their left arms, brandishing their halberds, they charged

upon the enemy who, being naked, could not resist the attack for long,

and consequently fled, their cacique, Zemaco, at their head. Promptly

taking possession of the village, our men found an abundance of native

food and assuaged their immediate hunger. There was bread made of

roots and bread made of grain, such as we have described in our first

book; also fruits bearing no resemblance to any of ours and which they

preserve, much as we do chestnuts and similar fruits.

The men of this country go naked, the women cover the middle of their

body with cotton draperies from the navel downwards. Winter's rigours

are unknown. The mouth of the Darien is only eight degrees distant

from the equator, thus the difference in length between night and day

is hardly noticeable. Although the natives are ignorant of astronomy

they had remarked this fact. Moreover, it is of small importance

whether these measures are or are not different from those they give,

for in any case the differences are insignificant.

The next day, the Spaniards ascended the river and about a mile

distant they found very dense forests and woods, in which they

suspected the natives were either hiding or had their treasure

concealed. They searched the thickets carefully; keeping always

on their guard against a surprise they moved under cover of their

shields. Nobody was found in the thickets, but there was a quantity of

gold and effects, coverlets woven of silk and of cotton, such as the

Italians call _bombasio_ and the Spanish _algodon_; utensils, both

of wood and terra-cotta, gold and copper ornaments and necklaces,

amounting in all to about one hundred and two pounds. The natives

procure these gold necklaces, which they themselves work with great

care, in exchange for their own products, for it usually happens that

a country rich in cereals is devoid of gold. On the other hand, where

gold and other metals are common, the country is usually mountainous,

rocky, and arid; it is by exchanging products that commercial

relations are established. The Spaniards derived satisfaction and

encouragement from two sources: they had found plenty of gold, and

chance had led them into an agreeable and fertile region. They

immediately summoned their companions, who had been left on the

eastern shore of the Gulf of Uraba, to join them. Nevertheless, some

people allege that the climate is not very healthy, since the country

consists of a deep valley, surrounded by mountains and swamps.

BOOK II

You are aware, Most Holy Father, of where those Spaniards under the

command of Hojeda had resolved to settle, having received from the

Spanish sovereigns authorisation to colonise the vast regions of

Uraba. Leaving for a moment these colonists let us return to Nicuesa,

who was in command of the great province of Veragua.

I have already related how he had overstepped the limits of the

jurisdiction of his partner and friend Hojeda, and had sailed with one

caravel and two brigantines for Veragua. The largest of these vessels

had been left behind with orders to follow him, but this proved a most

unfortunate inspiration, for Nicuesa lost sight of his companions

in the darkness and, sailing too far, went beyond the mouths of the

Veragua for which he was looking. Lopez de Olano, a Catalonian, who

was in command of one of the largest of the vessels, learned from the

natives while he followed in the track of Nicuesa that his commander

had left the Gulf of Veragua to the east. He therefore promptly turned

about and sailed to meet the commander of another brigantine which had

likewise got out of its course during the night. This brigantine was

commanded by Pedro de Umbria. Rejoicing at thus meeting, the two

captains consulted as to what they should do, trying to imagine what

course Nicuesa could have taken. On reflection they thought that he

(Nicuesa), being chief commander of the expedition, must have had

different indications concerning the exact location of Veragua than

they, who were simple volunteers, and only sought to rejoin their

leader. They laid their course towards Veragua, and at a distance of

sixteen miles found a river, discovered by Columbus and called by him

Los Lagartos, because a number of these animals, called in Spanish

_lagartos_, in Latin _lacertos_[1] were found there. These creatures

are as dangerous to men and to other animals as are the crocodiles of

the Nile. At that place they met their companions who had anchored

their large vessels after receiving the leader's orders to proceed.

Much disturbed by the possible consequences of Nicuesa's blunder, the

ships' captains consulted together and decided to adopt the opinion of

the captains of the brigantines which had coasted along very near to

the shores of Veragua; they therefore sailed for that port. Veragua is

a local name given to a river which has rich gold deposits; and from

the river, the name extends to the entire region. The large vessels

anchored at the mouth of the river and landed all the provisions by

means of the ships' boats. Lopez de Olano was chosen governor in place

of Nicuesa who was thought to be lost.

[Note 1: Lizards, by which are doubtless meant alligators.]

Acting upon the advice of Lopez and other officers, the ships rendered

useless by age were abandoned to be destroyed by the waves; this

decision was likewise adopted to encourage serious projects of

colonisation by cutting off all hope of escape. With the more solid

timbers and with beams cut from the trees, which in that neighbourhood

sometimes attain an extraordinary height and size, the Spaniards built

a new caravel to provide for unforeseen wants.

When the captain of one of the brigantines, Pedro de Umbria, reached

Veragua, a catastrophe befell. Being a man of irritable disposition,

he resolved to separate from his companions and seek a region where he

might establish himself independently. He selected twelve sailors and

departed in the largest ship's boat belonging to one of the greater

vessels. The tide rolls in on that coast with as dreadful roarings as

those which are described as prevailing at Scylla in Sicily, dashing

themselves against the rocks projecting into the sea, from which they

are thrown back with great violence, causing an agitation which the

Spaniards call _resacca_.[2] Umbria's boat was caught in a whirlpool

like a mountain torrent which, despite his efforts, dashed him into

the sea and sunk his barque before the eyes of his companions. Only

one Spaniard, who was a skilful swimmer, succeeded in saving himself

by clutching a rock which rose slightly above the waters, and there

held out against the raging tempest. The next day when the sea had

abated and the tide had left the reef dry, he rejoined his companions,

and the eleven others perished. The other Spaniards did not venture to

take to their barques but landed direct from the brigantines.

[Note 2: Meaning the undertow of surf.]

After a stop of a few days they ascended the river, and found some

native villages, called in the language of the country _mumu_. They

set to work to construct a fort on the bank, and as the country round

about seemed sterile, they sowed, as in Europe, a valley of which the

soil seemed apt for cultivation. While these things were happening in

Veragua, one of the Spaniards, who was stationed on a high rock which

served as a lookout, casting his eyes to the west, cried "A sail! a

sail!" As the ship approached it was seen to be a barque under full

sail. The newcomers were joyfully welcomed. The boat turned out to be

a barque belonging to the caravel of Nicuesa, which could only carry

five persons; but as a matter of fact there were only three men on

board. These men had stolen the barque because Nicuesa had refused to

believe them when they assured him that he had passed beyond Veragua,

leaving that place behind him to the east. Seeing that Nicuesa and his

men were perishing of hunger, they resolved to try their fortunes in

that barque, and to attempt to discover Veragua by themselves, and

they had succeeded. They described Nicuesa as wandering aimlessly,

after having lost his caravel in a storm, and that he was practically

lost among salt marshes and desert coasts, being destitute of

everything and reduced to a most miserable plight, since for seventy

days he had eaten nothing but herbs and roots and drunk nothing but

water, of which indeed he had not always enough. This all came about

because, in seeking Veragua, he persisted in his course towards the

west.

The country had already been reconnoitred by that great discoverer

of vast regions, Christopher Columbus, who had given it the name of

_Gracias à Dios_; in the native tongue it was called _Cerabaro_. The

river which the Spaniards call San Mateo divides it into two portions,

and it is distant about one hundred and thirty miles from western

Veragua. I do not give the native names of this river or of other

localities, because the explorers who have returned to Spain do not

themselves know them. The report of these three sailors prompted Pedro

de Olano, one of Nicuesa's two captains and his deputy judge, to send

one of the brigantines piloted by the same sailors, to find and bring

back Nicuesa. Upon his arrival, Nicuesa ordered Olano, who had been

appointed governor pending his return, to be put into irons, and

imprisoned, accusing him of treason for having usurped the authority

of governor and not having concerned himself sufficiently, while

enjoying the command, about the disappearance of his chief. He

likewise accused him of negligence in sending so late to search for

him.

In like manner Nicuesa reproached everybody in arrogant terms, and

within a few days he commanded that they should make ready to depart.

The colonists begged him not to decide hastily, and to wait at least

until the crops that they had sown were harvested, as the harvesting

season was now at hand. Four months had now passed since they had

sown. Nicuesa refused to listen to anything, declaring they must leave

such an unfortunate country as quickly as possible. He therefore

carried off everything that had been landed at the Gulf of Veragua,

and ordered the ships to sail towards the east. After sailing sixteen

miles a young Genoese, called Gregorio, recognised the vicinity of

a certain harbour, to prove which he declared that they would find

buried in the sand an anchor which had been abandoned there, and under

a tree near to the harbour, a spring of clear water. Upon landing they

found the anchor and the spring, and gave thanks for the excellent

memory of Gregorio, who, alone amongst the numerous sailors who had

sailed these seas together with Columbus, remembered anything about

these particulars. Columbus had named this place Porto Bello.

Hunger induced them to land at several places, and everywhere their

reception by the natives was hostile. The Spaniards were now reduced

by famine to such a state of weakness that they could no longer fight

against natives, even naked ones, who offered the least resistance.

Twenty of them died from wounds of poisoned arrows. It was decided to

leave one half of the company at Porto Bello, and with the other half

Nicuesa continued his voyage eastwards. Twenty-eight miles from Porto

Bello and near a cape which Columbus had formerly called Marmor, he

decided to found a fort, but the want of food had too much reduced

the strength of his men to permit this labour. Nicuesa nevertheless

erected a small tower, sufficient to withstand the first attacks of

the natives, which he called Nombre de Dios. From the day he had left

Veragua, not only during his march across the sandy plains but also

because of the famine which prevailed while he was constructing the

tower, he lost two hundred of the men who still survived. Thus it was

that, little by little, his numerous company of seven hundred and

eighty-five men was reduced to about one hundred.

While Nicuesa, with a handful of wretched creatures, struggled in

this manner against ill fortune, rivalry for the command broke out in

Uraba. A certain Vasco Nuñez Balboa[3] who, in the opinion of most

people, was a man of action rather than of judgment, stirred up

his companions against the judge Enciso, declaring that the latter

possessed no royal patents giving him judicial powers. The fact of his

being chosen by Hojeda to act as governor was not enough. He succeeded

in impeding Enciso in his functions, and the colonists of Uraba chose

some of their own men to administer the colony; but dissension was not

long in dividing them, especially when their leader Hojeda did not

return. They thought the latter dead, of his wound, and disputed among

themselves as to whether they should not summon Nicuesa to take his

place. Some influential members of the council who had been friends of

Nicuesa and could not endure the insolence of Vasco Nuñez thought they

ought to scour the country in search of Nicuesa; for they had heard it

reported that he had abandoned Uraba on account of the barrenness of

the soil. Possibly he was wandering in unknown places like Enciso and

other victims of wrecks; therefore they should not rest until they had

discovered whether he and his associates still lived.

[Note 3: Balboa was of a noble family of Xeres de los Caballeros,

and was born in 1475. He came to Hispaniola in 1500, where he suffered

extreme poverty. He went on board Enciso's vessel as a stowaway.]

Vasco Nuñez, who feared to be deposed from his command on the arrival

of Nicuesa, treated those who still believed that the latter lived, as

foolish. Moreover, even were the fact proven, they had no need of him,

for did they not possess as good a title as Nicuesa? Opinions were

thus divided, when the captain of two large vessels, Roderigo de

Colmenares, arrived bringing a reinforcement of sixty men, a quantity

of foodstuffs, and clothing.

I must recount some particulars of the voyage of Colmenares. It was

about the ides of October in the year 1510 that Colmenares sailed from

Beata, the port of Hispaniola, where expeditions are usually fitted

out. The nones of November he reached the coast of that immense

country of Paria, between the port of Carthagena and the district of

Cuchibacoa, discovered by Columbus. He suffered equally during this

voyage from the attacks of the natives and from the fury of the sea.

Being short of water, he stopped at the mouth of the river called by

the natives Gaira, which was large enough for his ships to enter. This

river has different sources on a lofty snow-covered mountain, which

Roderigo's companions declared to be the highest they had ever seen.

This statement must be true, since the snow lay upon a mountain which

is not more than ten degrees distant from the equator. A shallop was

sent ashore at the Gaira to fill the water barrels, and while the

sailors were engaged in this task they saw a cacique accompanied by

twenty of his people approaching. Strange to behold, he was dressed in

cotton clothing, and a cloak, held in place by a band, fell from

his shoulders to the elbow. He also wore another trailing tunic of

feminine design. The cacique advanced and amicably advised our men

not to take water at that particular place, because it was of poor

quality; he showed them close at hand another river of which the

waters were more wholesome. The Spaniards repaired to the river

indicated by the cacique, but were prevented by the bad state of the

sea from finding its bottom, for the sands fairly bubbled as it were,

which indicated that the sea was full of reefs. They were obliged,

therefore, to come back to the first river, where at least they could

safely anchor. Here the cacique disclosed his treacherous intentions,

for while our men were engaged in filling their barrels, he fell

upon them, followed by seven hundred naked men, armed in the native

fashion, only he and his officers wearing clothing. He seized the

barque, which he smashed to pieces, and in a twinkling the forty-seven

Spaniards were pierced with arrow-wounds, before they could protect

themselves with their shields. There was but one man who survived, all

the rest perishing from the effects of the poison. No remedy against

this kind of poison was then known, and it was only later that the

islanders of Hispaniola revealed it; for there exists an herb in

Hispaniola of which the juice, if administered in time, counteracts

the poison of the arrows. Seven other Spaniards escaped the massacre,

and took refuge in the trunk of a gigantic tree hollowed by age, where

they concealed themselves till night. But they did not for that reason

escape, for at nightfall the ship of Colmenares sailed away, leaving

them to their fate, and it is not known what became of them.

Lest I should weary you if I related all the particulars, Most Holy

Father, I omit mention of the thousand perilous adventures through

which Colmenares finally reached the Gulf of Uraba. He anchored off

the eastern coast, which is sterile, and from that point he rejoined

his compatriots on the opposite bank several days later. The silence

everywhere amazed him; for he had expected to find his comrades in

those parts. Mystified by this state of things, he wondered whether

the Spaniards were still alive or whether they had settled elsewhere;

and he chose an excellent means for obtaining information. He loaded

all his cannon and mortars to the muzzle with bullets and powder, and

he ordered fires to be lighted on the tops of the hills. The cannon

were all fired together, and their tremendous detonation made the very

earth about the Gulf of Uraba shake. Although they were twenty-four

miles distant, which is the width of the gulf, the Spaniards heard the

noise, and seeing the flames they replied by similar fires. Guided

by these lights Colmenares ordered his ships to cross to the western

shore. The colonists of Darien were in a miserable plight, and after

the shipwreck of the judge Enciso it was only by the greatest efforts

they had managed to exist. With hands raised to heaven and eyes

overflowing with tears of mingled joy and sadness, they welcomed

Colmenares and his companions with what enthusiasm their wretched

state allowed. Food and clothing were distributed to them, since they

were almost naked. It only remains, Most Holy Father, to describe the

internal dissensions which broke out among the colonists of Uraba over

the succession to the command, after they had lost their leaders.

BOOK III

The chief colonists of Uraba and all the friends of order decided to

recall Nicuesa from wherever he was, and as the judge, Enciso, was

opposed to this measure, they deprived him of the brigantine he had

built at his own expense. Contrary to his will and against that of

Vasco Nuñez, the adventurer, they decided to go in search of Nicuesa

in order that he might settle the dispute about the commandership.

Colmenares, whom I have mentioned above, was commanded to search along

those coasts where it was thought Nicuesa wandered abandoned. It was

known that the latter had left Veragua, because of the sterility of

the soil. The colonists instructed Colmenares to bring Nicuesa back as

soon as he could find him and to assure him they would be grateful to

him if, on his arrival, he succeeded in calming the dissensions which

rent the colony. Colmenares accepted this mission, for he was a

personal friend of Nicuesa, and boldly announced that the provisions

he had brought were intended as much for Nicuesa as for the colonists

of Uraba. He, therefore, fitted out one of his ships and the

brigantine, which had been taken from Enciso, loading them with a

part of the provisions he had brought. He coasted carefully along the

neighbouring shores, and finally came upon Nicuesa engaged in building

his tower on Cape Marmor.

Nicuesa was the most wretched of men, reduced to a skeleton, covered

with rags. There remained barely sixty of the seven hundred and more

companions who had started with him, and the survivors were more to

be pitied than the dead. Colmenares comforted his friend Nicuesa,

embracing him with tears, cheering him with words of hope for a change

of fortune and speedy success. He reminded him that the best element

of the colonists of Uraba wished for his return, because his authority

alone could quiet the dissensions which raged. Thanking his friend, as

became the situation, Nicuesa sailed with him for Uraba.

It is a common thing to observe amongst men that arrogance accompanies

success. After having wept and sighed and poured out complaints for

his miseries, after having overwhelmed his rescuer, Colmenares, with

thanks and almost rolled at his feet, Nicuesa, when the fear of

starvation was removed, began, even before he had seen the colonists

of Uraba, to talk airily of his projects of reform and his intention

to get possession of all the gold there was. He said that no one had

the right to keep back any of the gold, without his authorisation, or

that of his associate Hojeda. These imprudent words reached the ears

of the colonists of Uraba, and roused against Nicuesa the indignation

of the partisans of Enciso, Hojeda's deputy judge, and that of Nuñez.

It therefore fell out that Nicuesa, with sixty companions, had

hardly landed, so it is reported, before the colonists forced him to

re-embark, overwhelming him with threats. The better intentioned of

the colonists were displeased at this demonstration, but fearing a

rising of the majority headed by Vasco Nuñez, they did not interfere.

Nicuesa was therefore obliged to regain the brigantine, and there

remained with him only seventeen of his sixty companions. It was the

calends of March in the year 1511 when Nicuesa set sail, intending to

return to Hispaniola and there complain of the usurpation of Vasco

Nuñez and the violent treatment offered the judge, Enciso.

He sailed in an evil hour and no news was ever again heard of that

brigantine. It is believed the vessel sank, and that all the men were

drowned. However that may be, Nicuesa plunged from one calamity into

another, and died even more miserably than he had lived.

After the shameful expulsion of Nicuesa, the colonists consumed the

provisions Colmenares had brought, and soon, driven by hunger, they

were forced to plunder the neighbourhood of the colony like wolves of

the forest. A troop of about one hundred and thirty men was formed

under the leadership of Vasco Nuñez, who organised them like a band

of brigands. Puffed up by vanity, he sent a guard in advance, and had

others to accompany and follow him. He chose Colmenares[1] as his

associate and companion. From the outset of this expedition he

determined to seize everything he could find in the territory of the

neighbouring caciques, and he began by marching along the shore of

the district of Coiba, of which we have already spoken. Summoning the

cacique of that district, Careca, of whom the Spaniards had never had

reason to complain, he haughtily and threateningly ordered him to

furnish provisions for his men. The cacique Careca answered that it

was impossible, because he had already at different times helped

the Christians and consequently his own provisions were well-nigh

exhausted. Moreover, in consequence of a long-drawn-out war with a

neighbouring cacique called Poncha, he was himself reduced to want.

The adventurer admitted none of these reasons, and the wretched Careca

saw his town sacked. He himself was put in irons and brought with his

two wives, his sons and all his familia to Darien.[2] In the house of

Careca they found three of Nicuesa's companions, who, when his ships

were at anchor, during his search for Veragua, had deserted him

because they feared to be tried for certain crimes. As soon as the

fleet sailed away, they took refuge with Careca who received them

amicably. Eighteen months had elapsed since that time, so they were

as naked as the natives, but plump as the capons women fatten in dark

places, for they had lived well at the cacique's table during that

period; nor did they concern themselves about _meum_ and _tuum_, or

as to who gave and who received, which is the cause of the crimes of

violence that shorten human life.

[Note 1: The memoir of Colmenares on this expedition is contained

in Navarrete's _Coleccion de Viajes_, tom. iii., pp. 386-393. Also

Balboa's letter to King Ferdinand in the same volume.]

[Note 2: Balboa's description of his treatment of the natives,

which he penned to the King, is just the contrary. He prides himself

on having won their friendship, and ascribes to their affection for

him his success in discovering the treasures and secrets of the

country.]

These Spaniards nevertheless preferred to return to a life of

hardship. Provisions were brought from the village of Careca to the

people left behind at Darien, for the first consideration was to stave

off the famine that was imminent. Whether before or afterwards I am

not certain, but in any event it was shortly after the expulsion of

Nicuesa that quarrels broke out between the judge, Enciso, and Vasco

Nuñez, each being supported by his own partisans. Enciso was seized,

thrown into prison, and all his goods sold at auction. It was alleged

that he had usurped judicial functions never granted him by the King

but merely by Hojeda, who was supposed to be dead, and Vasco Nuñez

declared that he would not obey a man on whom the King had not

conferred authority by a royal patent. He allowed himself, however, to

be influenced by the entreaties of the better colonists and modified

his severity, even releasing Enciso from his chains and permitting him

to go on board a ship which would carry him to Hispaniola. Before the

vessel sailed, some of the better people of the colony sought out

Enciso and implored him to come on shore again, promising to effect a

reconciliation with Vasco Nuñez and to reinstate him in his position

of judge. Enciso refused and left; nor are there wanting people who

whispered that God and His Saints had themselves shaped events to

punish Enciso for Nicuesa's expulsion, which he had counselled.

Be that as it may, these discoverers of new countries ruined and

exhausted themselves by their own folly and civil strife, failing

absolutely to rise to the greatness expected of men who accomplish

such wonderful things. Meanwhile it was decided by common agreement

among the colonists to send their representatives to the young

Admiral,[3] son and heir of Columbus, the first discoverer, who was

viceroy of Hispaniola, and to the other government officials of the

island. These envoys were to solicit reinforcements and a code of laws

for the new colonies. They were to explain the true situation, the

actual poverty of the colonists, the discoveries already made, and all

that might still be hoped for, if the officials would only send them

supplies. Vasco Nuñez chose for this office one of his adherents,

Valdivia, the same who had prosecuted the suit against Enciso.

Associated with him was a Catalonian, called Zamudio. It was agreed

that Valdivia should return with provisions from Hispaniola, when his

mission was accomplished, and that Zamudio should proceed to Spain

and see the King. Both left the same time as Enciso, but it was the

latter's intention to present a memorial to the King contradicting the

representations of Valdivia and Zamudio. Both these men came to see me

at Court, and I will elsewhere recount what they told me.

[Note 3: Diego, son of Christopher Columbus and his wife, Doña

Moñiz de Perestrello. He was married to Doña Maria de Toledo.]

During this time the wretched colonists of Darien liberated the

cacique of Coiba, Careca, and even agreed to serve as his allies

during a campaign against the cacique called Poncha, who was a

neighbour of Careca on the continent. Careca agreed to supply the

Spaniards with food, and to join them with his family and subjects.

The only arms these natives used were bows and poisoned arrows, as we

have already described was the case amongst those in the eastern part

beyond the gulf. As they have no iron, they use in hand-to-hand combat

long wooden swords, which they call _machanas_. They likewise use

pointed sticks hardened in the fire, bone-tipped javelins, and other

projectiles. The campaign with Poncha began immediately after they had

sown their fields as well as they could. Careca acted both as guide

and commander of the vanguard. When his town was attacked Poncha

fled, and the village and its surroundings were sacked. Thanks to the

cacique's provisions, nothing was to be feared from hunger, but none

of these supplies could be taken to the colonists who remained behind,

for the distance between Darien and Poncha's village was more than a

hundred miles, and everything had to be carried on men's backs to the

nearest coast where the ships, which had been brought by the Spaniards

to Careca's village, were lying. A few pounds of wrought gold, in the

form of divers necklaces, were obtained; after ruining Poncha, the

Spaniards returned to their ships, deciding to leave the caciques of

the interior in peace and to confine their attacks to those along the

coast.

Not far distant, in the same direction from Coiba, lies a country

called Comogra, whose cacique is named Comogre, and against him the

Spaniards delivered their next attack. His town stands at the foot of

the other side of the neighbouring mountain chain, in a fertile plain

some twelve leagues in extent. A relative of one of Careca's principal

officers, who had quarrelled with him, had taken refuge with Comogre.

This man was called Jura, and acted as intermediary between the

Spaniards and Comogre, whose friendship he secured for them. Jura was

very well known to the Spaniards ever since Nicuesa's expedition,

and it was he who had received those three deserters from Nicuesa's

company in his own house during their stay. When peace was concluded,

the Spaniards repaired to the palace of Comogre, which lies some

thirty leagues distant from Darien, but not in a direct line, for the

intervening mountains obliged them to make long detours. Comogre had

seven sons from different women, all handsome children or young men,

wearing no clothes. His palace was formed of beams cut from the trees,

and securely fastened together. It was further strengthened by stone

walls. The Spaniards estimated the dimensions of this palace at one

hundred and fifty paces the length and eighty paces the breadth. Its

ceilings were carved and the floors were artistically decorated. They

noticed a storehouse filled with native provisions of the country,

and a cellar stacked with earthenware barrels and wooden kegs, as in

Spain, or Italy. These receptacles contained excellent wine, not of

the kind made from grapes, for they have no vineyards, but such as

they make from three kinds of roots and the grain they use for making

bread, called, as we have said in our first book, yucca, ages, and

maize; they likewise use the fruit of the palm-trees. The Germans,

Flemings and English, as well as the Spanish mountaineers in the

Basque provinces and the Asturias, and the Austrians, Swabians, and

Swiss in the Alps make beer from barley, wheat, and fruits in the same

manner. The Spaniards report that at Comogra they drank white and red

wines of different flavours.

Attend now, Sovereign Pontiff, to another and horrifying sight. Upon

entering the cacique's inner apartments the Spaniards found a room

filled with bodies suspended in cotton ropes. They inquired the motive

of this superstitious custom, and were informed that they were the

bodies of the ancestors of Comogre, which were preserved with great

care, according to the rank they had occupied in life; respect for the

dead being part of their religion. Golden masks decorated with stones

were placed upon their faces, just as ancient families rendered homage

to the _Penates_. In my first book I explained how they dry these

bodies by stretching them on grid-irons with a slow fire beneath, in

such a way that they are reduced to skin and bone.

The eldest of the seven sons of Comogre was a young man of

extraordinary intelligence. In his opinion it was wiser to treat those

Spanish vagabonds kindly, and to avoid furnishing them any pretext

for the violent acts they had committed on neighbouring tribes. He

therefore presented four thousand drachmas of wrought gold and seventy

slaves to Vasco Nuñez and Colmenares, as they were the leaders.

These natives sell and exchange whatever articles they need amongst

themselves, and have no money. The Spaniards were engaged in the

vestibule of Comogre, weighing his gold and another almost equal

quantity they had obtained elsewhere. They wished to set aside the

fifth belonging to the royal treasury; for it has been decided that

the fifth part of all gold, silver, and precious stones shall be set

aside for the King's agents. The remainder is divided according to

agreement. Several disputes arose among the Spaniards regarding their

shares. The eldest son of Comogre, the wise youth, who was present,

struck the scales with his fist and scattered the gold in all

directions, and calling our men's attention he spoke in choice

language as follows:

"What thing then is this, Christians? Is it possible that you set

a high value upon such a small quantity of gold? You nevertheless

destroy the artistic beauty of these necklaces, melting them into

ingots. [For the Spaniards had their smelting instruments with them.]

If your thirst of gold is such that in order to satisfy it you disturb

peaceable people and bring misfortune and calamity among them, if you

exile yourselves from your country in search of gold, I will show you

a country where it abounds and where you can satisfy the thirst that

torments you. But to undertake this expedition you need more numerous

forces, for you will have to conquer powerful rulers, who will defend

their country to the death. More than all others, the King Tumanama

will oppose your advance, for his is the richest kingdom of all.

It lies six suns distant from ours [they count the days by suns];

moreover you will encounter Carib tribes in the mountains, fierce

people who live on human flesh, are subject to no law, and have no

fixed country. They conquered the mountaineers for they coveted the

gold mines, and for this reason they abandoned their own country.

They transform the gold they obtain by the labour of the wretched

mountaineers into wrought leaves and different articles such as those

you see, and by this means they obtain what they want. They have

artisans and jewellers who produce these necklaces. We place no

more value on rough gold than on a lump of clay, before it has been

transformed by the workman's hand into a vase which pleases our taste

or serves our need. These Caribs also make artistic potteries which we

obtain in exchange for the products of our harvests, as for example

our prisoners of war, whom they buy for food, or our stuffs and

different articles of furniture. We also furnish them with the

supplies they need; for they live in the mountains. Only by force of

arms could this mountain district be penetrated. Once on the other

side of those mountains," he said, indicating with his finger another

mountain range towards the south, "another sea which has never been

sailed by your little boats [meaning the caravels] is visible. The

people there go naked and live as we do, but they use both sails and

oars. On the other side of the watershed the whole south slope of the

mountain chain is very rich in gold mines."

Such was his speech, and he added that the cacique Tumanama, and all

the mountaineers living on the other slope of the mountain, used

kitchen and other common utensils made of gold; "for gold," he said,

"has no more value among them than iron among you." From what he had

heard from the Spaniards he knew the name of the metal used for swords

and other arms. Our leaders were amazed at that naked young man's

discourse which, thanks to the three deserters who had been during

eighteen months at the court of Careca, they understood. They took a

decision worthy of the moment and, abandoning their wrangling over the

gold-weighing, they began to joke and to discuss amiably the words and

information of the young cacique. They asked him amicably why he had

told them that story, and what they should do in case reinforcements

did arrive. The son of Comogre reflected for a moment, as does an

orator preparing for a serious debate, even thinking of the bodily

movements likely to convince his hearers, and then spoke again as

follows, always in his own language:

"Listen to me, Christians; we people who go naked are not tormented by

covetousness, but we are ambitious, and we fight one against the other

for power, each seeking to conquer his neighbour. This, therefore, is

the source of frequent wars and of all our misfortunes. Our ancestors

have been fighting men. Our father, Comogre, likewise fought with his

neighbouring caciques, and we have been both conquerors and conquered.

Just as you see prisoners of war amongst us, as for instance those

seventy captives I have presented to you, so likewise have our enemies

captured some of our people; for such are the fortunes of war. Here

is one of our servants who was once the slave of the cacique who

possesses such treasures of gold, and is the ruler beyond the

mountains; there this man dragged out several years of a wretched

existence. Not only he, but many other prisoners as well as freemen,

who have traversed that country and afterwards come amongst us, know

these particulars as far back as they can remember; nevertheless

to convince you of the truth of my information and to allay your

suspicions, I will myself go as your guide. You may bind me, and you

may hang me to the first tree if you find I have not told you the

exact truth. Summon, therefore, a thousand soldiers, well armed for

fighting, in order that, by their help, and assisted by the warriors

of my father Comogre armed in their style, we may shatter the power of

our enemies. In this way you will obtain the gold you want, and our

reward for guiding and helping you will be our deliverance from

hostile attacks and from the fear under which our ancestors lived; and

which destroys our enjoyment of peace."

After speaking thus the wise son of Comogre kept silence; and the love

of gain and the hope of gold fairly made our men's mouths water.

BOOK IV

The Spaniards remained several days in that place, during which they

baptised the cacique Comogre, giving him the name of Charles, after

the Spanish prince, and likewise all his family with him. They then

rejoined their companions at Darien, promising, however, to send the

soldiers his son desired to assist him in crossing the sierra and

reaching the southern ocean. Upon their arrival at their village they

learned that Valdivia had returned six months after his departure but

with very few stores, because his ship was a small one. He did bring,

however, the promise of speedy reinforcements and provisions. The

Admiral-Viceroy and the other government officials of Hispaniola

admitted that they had thus far taken little thought for the colonists

at Darien, because they supposed the judge, Enciso, had already sailed

with a well-freighted ship. They assured the colonists that for the

future they would have care for their needs. For the time being they

had no vessel larger than the one they had lent to Valdivia and which

sufficed to relieve their present wants.

This caravel was, in fact, a caravel in name only, and because of

its form, but not in its capacity. The provisions Valdivia brought

sufficed only for the needs of the moment, and within a few days after

his arrival the miseries of famine once more began, chiefly because

a waterspout burst from the mountain top, accompanied by terrible

lightnings and thunders, and washed down such an amount of rubbish

that the harvests, planted in the month of September before the

campaign against the cacique Comogre began, were either swept away or

completely buried. They consisted of the grain for bread-making, which

is called in Hispaniola maize, and in Uraba _hobba_. This maize is

harvested twice yearly, for the cold of winter is unknown in this

country, because of its proximity to the equator. Bread made of hobba

or maize is preferable to wheaten bread for those who live in this

region, because it is more easily digested. This is in conformity

with physical laws, since, as cold diminishes, less inward heat is

generated.

Their hopes of a harvest being thus defeated, and knowing that the

neighbouring caciques had already been stripped of their provisions

and gold, the Spaniards were forced to penetrate into the interior in

search of food. At the same time they sent to inform the officials in

Hispaniola of their distress, and also of Comogre's revelations to

them about the southern ocean. It was desirable that the King of

Spain should send a thousand soldiers with whom they might cross the

mountains separating the two seas. Valdivia was sent back with these

letters, and he was charged to deliver to the King's fiscal agent in

Hispaniola the royal fifth due to the treasury, represented by three

hundred pounds of gold, at eight ounces to the pound. This pound is

called a _marc_ in Spanish, and is composed of fifty gold pieces,

called castellanos. The weight of each castellano, a Castilian coin,

is called a peso, and the entire sum, therefore, amounted to fifteen

thousand castellanos. The castellano is a coin somewhat inferior to

one thirtieth of a pound, but its value exceeds that of a golden

ducat. This coin is peculiar to Castile, and is not minted in any

other province. It may be concluded, therefore, from the sum assigned

for the royal fifth, that the Spaniards had taken from the caciques

fifteen hundred pounds of gold, at eight ounces to the pound. They

had found this metal worked into divers shapes: necklaces collars,

bracelets, small plaques to be worn on the breast, and ear or nose

rings.

On the third day of the ides of January, Anno Domini 1511, Valdivia

set sail on the little caravel with which he had just returned. In

addition to the instructions sent by Vasco Nuñez and the gold destined

for the royal fisc, which we have mentioned, his friends had confided

to him their treasure for their relatives in Spain. I shall relate

in proper time what happened to Valdivia, but for the present let us

return to the colony at Uraba.

After Valdivia's departure the colonists, driven to desperation by

hunger, resolved to explore the outline of the gulf, of which the most

remote extremity is about eighty miles distant from the entrance. This

extremity is called by the Spaniards Culata.[1]

[Note 1: The southern end of the gulf still bears the name _Culata

del golfo_.]

Vasco Nuñez embarked with about one hundred men on board a brigantine

and in some native barques dug out of tree trunks, called by the

islanders of Hispaniola canoes, and by the people of Uraba, _uru_. The

river flows into the gulf at that place from the east and is ten times

larger than the Darien. Up this river the Spaniards sailed for a

distance of thirty miles or a little more than nine leagues, and

turning to the left, which is towards the south, they came upon a

native village, whose cacique was called Dobaiba. In Hispaniola their

kings are called caciques and in Uraba, _chebi_, with the accent on

the last vowel. It was learned that Zemaco, cacique of Darien, who had

been defeated by the Spaniards in open battle, had taken refuge with

Dobaiba. The latter, counselled, as it was thought, by Zemaco, fled,

and thus evaded the Spanish attack. The place was deserted, though a

stock of bows and arrows, some pieces of furniture, nets, and several

fishing boats were found there. These districts being marshy and low

are unsuitable both for agriculture and plantations of trees, so there

are few food products, and the natives only procure these by trading

what fish they have in excess of their wants with their neighbours.

Nevertheless seven thousand castellanos of gold were picked up in the

deserted houses, besides several canoes, about a hundred bows and

parcels of arrows, all the furniture, and two native barques or uru.

In the night-time bats swarmed from the marshes formed by this

river, and these animals, which are as big as pigeons, tormented

the Spaniards with their painful bites. Those who have been bitten

confirmed this fact, and the judge Enciso who had been expelled, when

asked by me concerning the danger of such bites, told me that one

night, when he slept uncovered because of the heat, he had been bitten

by one of these animals on the heel, but that the wound had not been

more dangerous than one made by any other non-poisonous creature.

Other people claim that the bite is mortal, but may be cured by being

washed immediately with sea-water; Enciso also spoke of the efficacy

of this remedy. Cauterisation is also used, as it is employed for

wounds caused by native poisoned arrows. Enciso had had experience

in Caribana, where many of his men had been wounded. The Spaniards

returned to the Gulf of Uraba only partly satisfied, for they had

brought back no provisions. Such a terrible tempest overtook them in

that immense gulf on their return voyage, that they were obliged to

throw everything they had stolen from those wretched fishermen into

the sea. Moreover the uru, that is to say, the barques, were lost and

with them some of the men on board.

While Vasco Nuñez was exploring the southern extremity of the gulf,

Roderigo Colmenares advanced, as had been agreed, by way of the river

bed towards the mountains along the eastern coast. At a distance of

about forty miles, that is to say, twelve leagues from the river's

mouth, he came upon some villages built on the river bank; the chief,

that is to say, chebi, was named Turvi. Colmenares remained with that

cacique, while Vasco Nuñez, who had meanwhile returned to Darien,

marched to meet him. When the men of the two companies had been

somewhat recuperated by the provisions which Turvi furnished, their

leaders continued their march together. About forty miles distant they

discovered an island in the river, which was inhabited by fishermen,

and as they found wild cinnamon trees there, they named the island

Cannafistula. There were some sixty villages in groups of ten houses

each on this island, and the river on the right side was large enough

both for the native boats and for the brigantines. This river the

Spaniards named Rio Negro.

Fifteen miles from its mouth they found a village composed of five

hundred scattered houses, of which the chebi or cacique was called

Abenamacheios. All the houses were abandoned as soon as the Spaniards

approached; and while they were pursuing the natives the latter

suddenly turned, faced them, and threw themselves upon our soldiers

with the desperation of men driven from their homes. They fought with

wooden swords, sticks with hardened points and sharp javelins, but not

with arrows; for the river population of the west side of the gulf

do not use arrows in fighting. These poor creatures, being, in fact,

naked, were easily cut to pieces, and in the pursuit, the cacique

Abenamacheios and some of his principal chiefs were captured. A

foot-soldier, who had been wounded by the cacique, cut off his arm

with one blow of his sword, though this was done against the will of

the commanders. The Christians numbered altogether about one hundred

and fifty men, and the leaders left one half of them in this village,

continuing their way with the others in nine of the barques which I

have called uru.

Seventy miles distant from Rio Negro and the island of Cannafistula,

the Spaniards, passing by several streams on the right and left which

swelled the principal river, entered another under the guidance of a

native chief who took charge of the boats. The cacique of the country

along its banks was called Abibaiba.

All the region was swampy and the chief house of the cacique was

built in a tree. Novel and unaccustomed dwelling place! The country,

however, has such lofty trees that the natives may easily build houses

among their branches. We read something of this kind in different

authors who write of certain tribes who, when the waters are rising,

take refuge in these lofty trees and live upon the fish caught in

their branches. They place beams among the branches, joining them so

firmly that they resist the strongest winds. The Spaniards believe the

natives live thus in the trees because inundations are frequent, for

these trees are so tall that no human arm could reach them with a

stone. I no longer feel surprised at what Pliny and other writers

record about trees in India which, by reason of the fertility of the

soil and the abundant waters, attain such a height that no one could

shoot an arrow over them. It is, moreover, commonly believed that the

soil of this country and the supply of water are equal to that of

any other land under the sun. The above-named trees were found by

measuring to be of such a size that seven or eight men, with extended

arms, could hardly reach around them. The natives have cellars

underground where they keep stores of the wines we have before

mentioned. Although the violence of the wind cannot blow down their

houses or break the branches of the trees, they are still swayed about

from side to side, and this movement would spoil the wine. Everything

else they require, they keep with them in the trees, and whenever the

principal chiefs or caciques breakfast or dine, the servants bring up

the wine by means of ladders attached to the tree trunks, and they are

just as quick about it as our servants who, upon a level floor, serve

drinks from a sideboard near the table.

Approaching the tree of Abibaiba a discussion began between him and

the Spaniards; the latter offering him peace and begging him to come

down. The cacique refused and begged to be allowed to live in his own

fashion. Promises were succeeded by threats, and he was told that if

he did not come down with all his family they would either cut down or

set fire to the tree. A second time Abibaiba refused, so they attacked

the tree with axes; and when the cacique saw the chips flying he

changed his mind and came down, accompanied by his two sons. They

proceeded to discuss about peace and gold. Abibaiba declared that he

had no gold, and that as he had never needed it, he had taken no

pains to get it. The Spaniards insisting, the cacique said: "If

your cupidity be such, I will seek gold for you in the neighbouring

mountains and when I find it I will bring it to you; for it is found

in those mountains you behold." He fixed a day when he would return,

but neither then nor later did he reappear.

The Spaniards came back, loaded with the supplies and the wines of

the cacique, but without the gold they had counted upon. Nevertheless

Abibaiba, his subjects, and his sons gave the same information

concerning the gold mines and the Caribs who live upon human flesh,

as I have mentioned, as did those at Comogra. They ascended the river

another thirty miles and came to the huts of some cannibals but found

them empty, for the savages, alarmed by the approach of the Spaniards,

had taken refuge in the mountains, carrying everything they possessed

on their backs.

BOOK V

While these things were happening on the banks of this river, an

officer named Raia, whom Vasco Nuñez and Colmenares had left in

charge of the camp at Rio Negro in the territory of the cacique

Abenamacheios, driven either by hunger or fatality ventured to

explore the neighbourhood with nine of his companions. He went to the

neighbouring village belonging to the cacique Abraibes, and there Raia

and two of his companions were massacred by that chief, the others

succeeding in escaping. Some few days later Abraibes, sympathising

with his relative and neighbour Abenamacheios, who had been

driven from his house and had had his arm cut off by one of our

foot-soldiers, gave the latter refuge in his house, after which he

sought out Abibaiba, the cacique who lived in a tree. The latter,

having been driven from his abode, also avoided attack by the

Spaniards and wandered in the most inaccessible regions of the

mountains and forests.

Abraibes spoke in the following words to Abibaiba: "What is this that

is happening, O unfortunate Abibaiba? What race is this that allows

us, unfortunates that we are, no peace? And for how long shall we

endure their cruelty? Is it not better to die than to submit to

such abuse as you have endured from them? And not only you, but our

neighbours Abenamacheios, Zemaco, Careca, Poncha, and all the other

caciques our friends? They carry off our wives and sons into captivity

before our very eyes, and they seize everything we possess as though

it were their booty. Shall we endure this? Me they have not yet

attacked, but the experience of others is enough for me, and I know

that the hour of my ruin is not far distant. Let us then unite

our forces and try to struggle against those who have maltreated

Abenamacheios and driven him from his house, and when these first are

killed the others will fear to attack us, or if they do so, it will be

with diminished numbers, and in any case it will be more endurable for

us." After exchanging their views, Abibaiba and Abraibes came to an

understanding and decided upon a day for beginning their campaign. But

events were not favourable to them. It so happened by chance that,

on the night previous to the day fixed for the attack, thirty of the

soldiers who had crossed the sierra against the cannibals were sent

back to relieve the garrison left at Rio Negro, in case of attack, and

also because the Spaniards were suspicious. The caciques rushed into

the village at daybreak with five hundred of their warriors armed

in native fashion and shouting wildly. They were ignorant of the

reinforcements that had arrived during the night. The soldiers

advanced to meet them, using their shields to protect themselves; and

first shooting arrows and javelins and afterwards using their native

swords, they fell upon their enemies. These native people, finding

themselves engaged with more adversaries than they had imagined, were

easily routed; the majority were killed like sheep in a panic. The

chiefs escaped. All those who were captured were sent as slaves to

Darien, where they were put to work in the fields.

After these events, and leaving that region pacified, the Spaniards

descended the river and returned to Darien, posting a guard of thirty

men, commanded by an officer, Hurtado,[1] to hold that province.

Hurtado descended the Rio Negro to rejoin his leader, Vasco Nuñez, and

his companions. He was using one of those large native barques and had

with him twelve companions, a captive woman, and twenty-four slaves.

All at once four uru, that is to say, barques dug out of tree trunks,

attacked him on the flank, and overturned his boat. The Spaniards had

been tranquilly sailing along without dreaming of the possibility of

an attack, and their barque being suddenly overturned all those whom

the natives could catch were massacred or drowned, except two men, who

grasped some floating tree trunks and, concealing themselves in the

branches, let themselves drift, unseen by the enemy, and thus managed

to rejoin their companions.

[Note 1: _Furatado quodam decurione. Licet decurione more romano

non sint addicti præcise quindecim milites quos regat, centurionique

centum viginti octo, centuriones tamen ultro citroque centenarium

numerum, et ultro citroque denum, decurionem est consilium appellare;

nec enim hos servant ordines hispani ex amussim, cogimurque nomine

rebus et magistratibus dare_. Thus Peter Martyr for the second time

vindicates his knowledge of Roman military terms and his usage of

them. His explanation is extraneous to the narrative.]

Warned of the danger by those two men who had escaped death, the

Spaniards became suspicious of everything. They were alarmed for their

safety, and remembered that they only escaped a similar calamity at

Rio Negro because they had received the reinforcement of thirty men on

the night before the attack. They held frequent councils of war, but

in the midst of their hesitations they reached no decision. After

careful investigation they finally learned that five caciques had

fixed a day for the massacre of Christians. These five were: Abibaiba,

who lived in the swampy forest; Zemaco, who had been driven from his

home; Abraibes and Abenamacheios, the river chiefs; and Dobaiba, the

cacique of the fishermen, living at the extremity of the gulf called

Culata. This plan would have been carried out, and it was only by a

miracle, which we are bound to examine with leniency, that chance

disclosed the plot of the caciques. It is a memorable story and I will

tell it in a few words.

This Vasco Nuñez, a man of action rather than of judgment, was an

egregious ruffian, who had obtained authority in Darien by force

rather than by consent of the colonists; amongst the numerous native

women he had carried off, there was one of remarkable beauty. One of

her brothers, who was an officer much favoured by the cacique Zemaco,

often came to visit her. He likewise had been driven out of his

country, but as he loved his sister warmly, he spoke to her in

conversation in the following words:

"Listen to me, my dear sister, and keep to yourself what I shall tell

you. The insolence of these men, who expelled us from our homes, is

such that the caciques of the country are resolved no longer to submit

to their tyranny. Five caciques [whom he named one after another] have

combined and have collected a hundred uru. Five thousand warriors on

land and water are prepared. Provisions have been collected in the

province of Tichiri, for the maintenance of these warriors, and the

caciques have already divided amongst themselves the heads and the

property of the Spaniards."

In revealing these things to his sister, the brother warned her to

conceal herself on a certain day, otherwise she might be killed in the

confusion of the fight. The conquering warrior gives no quarter to

those whom he vanquishes. He concluded by telling her the day fixed

for the attack. Women generally keep the fire better than they do a

secret,[2] and so it fell out that this young woman, either because

she loved Vasco Nuñez or because in her panic she forgot her

relatives, her kinsmen, and neighbours as well as the caciques whom

she betrayed to their death, revealed the same to her lover, omitting

none of the details her brother had imprudently confided to her.

Vasco Nuñez sent this Fulvia to invite her brother to return, and he

immediately responded to his sister's invitation. He was seized and

forced to confess that the cacique Zemaco, his master, had sent those

four uru for the massacre of the Spaniards, and that the plot had been

conceived by him. Zemaco took upon himself the task of killing

Vasco Nuñez, and forty of his people whom he had sent as an act of

friendship to sow and cultivate Vasco's fields, had been ordered by

him to kill the leader with their agricultural tools. Vasco Nuñez

habitually encouraged his labourers at their work by frequently

visiting them, and the cacique's men had never ventured to execute his

orders, because Vasco never went among them except on horseback, and

armed. When visiting his labourers he rode a mare and always carried a

spear in his hand, as men do in Spain; and it was for this reason that

Zemaco, seeing his wishes frustrated, had conceived the other plot

which resulted so disastrously for himself and his people.

[Note 2: Literally, _Puella vero, quia ferrum est quod feminæ

observant, magis quam Catonianam gravitatem_.]

As soon as the conspiracy was discovered, Vasco Nuñez, assembling

seventy men, ordered them to follow him, without however telling any

one either his destination or his intentions. He first rode to the

village of Zemaco, some ten miles distant, where he learned that

Zemaco had fled to Dabaiba, the cacique of the marshes of Culata. His

principal lieutenant (called in their language _sacchos_, just as

their caciques are called chebi) was seized, together with all his

other servants, and carried into captivity. Several other natives of

both sexes were likewise captured. Simultaneously Colmenares embarked

sixty soldiers in the four uru and set out up the river to look for

Zemaco. The young woman's brother served as guide. Arriving at the

village of Tichiri, where the provisions for the army had been

collected, Vasco Nuñez took possession of the place and captured

the stores of different coloured wines, as we have already noted at

Comogra, and different kinds of native stores. The sacchos of Tichiri,

who had acted in a manner as quartermaster of the army, was captured

together with four of the principal officers, for they did not expect

the arrival of the Spaniards. The sacchos was hanged on a tree that he

had himself planted, and shot through with arrows in full view of

the natives, and the other officers were hanged by Colmenares on

scaffolds, to serve as an example to the others. This chastisement of

the conspirators so terrified the entire province that there was not

a person left to raise a finger against the torrent of Spanish wrath.

Peace was thus established, and their caciques bending their necks

beneath the yoke were not punished. The Spaniards enjoyed some days of

abundance, thanks to the well-filled storehouse they had captured at

Tichiri.[3]

[Note 3: This pitiful story of native treachery is frequently

repeated, and explains the enslavement, the downfall, and in parts,

the extermination of the American tribes. Everywhere they betrayed one

another to the final undoing of all.]

BOOK VI

In the general assembly convoked shortly afterwards, the colonists

unanimously decided to send an envoy to Hispaniola to ask for

reinforcements and for the appointment of a judge. The same envoy

would go on to Spain where he would first explain to the Admiral and

his officers and afterwards to the King, all that had happened, and

would seek to persuade his Majesty to send the thousand soldiers the

son of Comogre had declared would be necessary for the expedition

across the mountains to the South Sea. Vasco Nuñez sought to be chosen

for this mission, but his companions refused him their votes, and his

adherents would not allow him to go; not only because they would have

felt themselves abandoned, but because they suspected that once out of

it, Vasco would not return to such a furnace of calamities, following

the example of Valdivia and Zamudio, whom they had sent off in

the month of January, and who, they thought, had no intention of

returning. In this latter they were wrong, as we shall show in the

proper place, for those men were dead.