and in April the vessels were so eaten with the teredo, that they could
scarcely be kept above water. At this time the river forced a channel for
itself, by which I managed, with great difficulty, to extricate three of
them after I had unloaded them. The boats were then sent back into the
river for water and salt, but the sea became so high and furious, that
it afforded them no chance of exit; upon which the Indians collected
themselves together in great numbers, and made an attack upon the boats,
and at length massacred the men. My brother, and all the rest of our
people, were in a ship which remained inside; I was alone, outside,
upon that dangerous coast, suffering from a severe fever and worn with
fatigue. All hope of escape was gone. I toiled up to the highest part of
the ship, and, with a quivering voice and fast-falling tears, I called
upon your Highnesses’ war-captains from each point of the compass to
come to my succour, but there was no reply. At length, groaning with
exhaustion, I fell asleep, and heard a compassionate voice address me
thus:—“_O fool, and slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God of
all! what did He do more for Moses, or for David his servant, than
He has done for thee? From thine infancy He has kept thee under His
constant and watchful care. When He saw thee arrived at an age which
suited His designs respecting thee, He brought wonderful renown to thy
name throughout all the land. He gave thee for thine own the Indies,
which form so rich a portion of the world, and thou hast divided them
as it pleased thee, for He gave thee power to do so. He gave thee also
the keys of those barriers of the ocean sea which were closed with such
mighty chains; and thou wast obeyed through many lands, and gained an
honourable fame throughout Christendom. What did the Most High do for the
people of Israel, when He brought them out of Egypt? or for David, whom
from a shepherd He made to be king in Judæa? Turn to Him, and acknowledge
thine error—His mercy is infinite. Thine old age shall not prevent thee
from accomplishing any great undertaking. He holds under His sway the
greatest possessions. Abraham had exceeded a hundred years of age when
he begat Isaac; nor was Sarah young. Thou criest out for uncertain help:
answer, who has afflicted thee so much and so often, God or the world?
The privileges promised by God, He never fails in bestowing; nor does
He ever declare, after a service has been rendered Him, that such was
not agreeable with His intention, or that He had regarded the matter in
another light; nor does He inflict suffering, in order to make a show of
His power. His acts answer to His words; and He performs all His promises
with interest. Is this the usual course? Thus I have told you what the
Creator has done for thee, and what He does for all men. Even now He
partially shows thee the reward of so many toils and dangers incurred by
thee in the service of others._”
I heard all this, as it were, in a trance; but I had no answer to give
in definite words, and could but weep for my errors. He who spoke to
me, whoever he was, concluded by saying,—“_Fear not, but trust; all
these tribulations are recorded on marble, and not without cause._” I
arose as soon as I could; and at the end of nine days there came fine
weather, but not sufficiently so to allow of drawing the vessels out of
the river. I collected the men who were on land, and, in fact, all of
them that I could, because there were not enough to admit of one party
remaining on shore while another stayed on board to work the vessels. I
myself should have remained with my men to defend the buildings I had
constructed, had your Highnesses been cognizant of all the facts; but
the doubt whether any ships would ever reach the spot where we were, as
well as the thought, that while I was asking for succour I might bring
succour to myself, made me decide upon leaving. I departed, in the name
of the Holy Trinity, on Easter night, with the ships rotten, worm-eaten,
and full of holes. One of them I left at Belem, with a supply of
necessaries; I did the same at Belpuerto. I then had only two left, and
they in the same state as the others. I was without boats or provisions,
and in this condition I had to cross seven thousand miles of sea; or, as
an alternative, to die on the passage with my son, my brother, and so
many of my people. Let those who are in the habit of finding fault and
censuring, ask, while they sit in security at home, “Why did you not do
so and so under such circumstances?” I wish they now had this voyage to
make. I verily believe that another journey of another kind awaits them,
if there is any reliance to be placed upon our holy faith.
On the thirteenth of May I reached the province of Mago,[207] which is
contiguous to that of Cathay, and thence I started for the island of
Española. I sailed two days with a good wind, after which it became
contrary. The route that I followed called forth all my care to avoid the
numerous islands, that I might not be stranded on the shoals that lie
in their neighbourhood. The sea was very tempestuous, and I was driven
backward under bare poles. I anchored at an island, where I lost, at
one stroke, three anchors; and, at midnight, when the weather was such
that the world appeared to be coming to an end, the cables of the other
ship broke, and it came down upon my vessel with such force that it was
a wonder we were not dashed to pieces; the single anchor that remained
to me, was, next to the Lord, our only preservation. After six days,
when the weather became calm, I resumed my journey having already lost
all my tackle; my ships were pierced with worm-holes, like a bee-hive,
and the crew entirely paralysed with fear and in despair. I reached the
island a little beyond the point at which I first arrived at it, and
there I stayed to recover myself from the effects of the storm; but I
afterwards put into a much safer port in the same island. After eight
days I put to sea again, and reached Jamaica by the end of June; but
always beating against contrary winds, and with the ships in the worst
possible condition. With three pumps, and the use of pots and kettles, we
could scarcely with all hands clear the water that came into the ship,
there being no remedy but this for the mischief done by the ship-worm. I
steered in such a manner as to come as near as possible to Española, from
which we were twenty-eight leagues distant, but I afterwards wished I had
not done so, for the other ship which was half under water was obliged
to run in for a port. I determined on keeping the sea in spite of the
weather, and my vessel was on the very point of sinking when our Lord
miraculously brought us upon land. Who will believe what I now write?
I assert that in this letter I have not related one hundredth part of
the wonderful events that occurred in this voyage; those who were with
the Admiral[208] can bear witness to it. If your Highnesses would be
graciously pleased to send to my help a ship of above sixty-four tons,
with two hundred quintals of biscuits and other provisions, there would
then be sufficient to carry me and my crew from Española to Spain. I have
already said that there are not twenty-eight leagues between Jamaica and
Española; and I should not have gone there, even if the ships had been in
a fit condition for so doing, because your Highnesses ordered me not to
land there. God knows if this command has proved of any service. I send
this letter by means of and by the hands of Indians; it will be a miracle
if it reaches its destination.
This is the account I have to give of my voyage. The men who accompanied
me were a hundred and fifty in number, among whom were many calculated
for pilots and good sailors, but none of them can explain whither I
went nor whence I came. The reason is very simple. I started from a
point above the port of Brazil, and while I was in Española, the storm
prevented me from following my intended route, for I was obliged to go
wherever the wind drove me; at the same time I fell very sick, and there
was no one who had navigated in these parts before. However, after some
days, the wind and sea became tranquil, and the storm was succeeded by
a calm, but accompanied with rapid currents. I put into harbour at an
island called Isla de las Bocas, and then steered for terra firma; but
it is impossible to give a correct account of all our movements, because
I was carried away by the current so many days without seeing land. I
ascertained, however, by the compass and by observation, that I moved
parallel with the coast of terra firma. No one could tell under what
part of the heavens we were, nor at what period I bent my course for
the island of Española. The pilots thought we had come to the island of
St. John, whereas it was the land of Mango, four hundred leagues to the
westward of where they said. Let them answer and say if they know where
Veragua is situated. I assert that they can give no other account than
that they went to lands, where there was an abundance of gold, and this
they can certify surely enough; but they do not know the way to return
thither for such a purpose; they would be obliged to go on a voyage of
discovery as much as if they had never been there before. There is a
mode of reckoning derived from astronomy which is sure and safe, and a
sufficient guide to anyone who understands it. This resembles a prophetic
vision. The Indian vessels do not sail except with the wind abaft,
but this is not because they are badly built or clumsy, but because
the strong currents in those parts, together with the wind, render it
impossible to sail with the bowline,[209] for in one day they would lose
as much way as they might have made in seven; for the same reason I could
make no use of caravels, even though they were Portuguese latteens. This
is the cause that they do not sail unless with a regular breeze, and they
will sometimes stay in harbour waiting for this seven or eight months at
a time; nor is this anything wonderful, for the same very often occurs
in Spain. The nation of which Pope Pius writes[210] has now been found,
judging at least by the situation and other evidences, excepting the
horses with the saddles and poitrels and bridles of gold; but this is not
to be wondered at, for the lands on the sea-coast are only inhabited by
fishermen, and moreover I made no stay there, because I was in haste to
proceed on my voyage. In Cariay and the neighbouring country there are
great enchanters of a very fearful character. They would have given the
world to prevent my remaining there an hour. When I arrived they sent
me immediately two girls very showily dressed; the eldest could not be
more than eleven years of age and the other seven, and both exhibited so
much immodesty, that more could not be expected from public women; they
carried concealed about them a magic powder; when they came I gave them
some articles to dress themselves out with, and directly sent them back
to the shore. I saw here, built on a mountain, a sepulchre as large as a
house, and elaborately sculptured, the body lay uncovered and with the
face downwards; they also spoke to me of other very excellent works of
art. There are many species of animals both small and large, and very
different from those of our country. I had at the time two boars, that
an Irish dog would not dare to face. An archer had wounded an animal
like an ape, except that it was larger, and had a face like a man’s; the
arrow had pierced it from the neck to the tail, which made it so fierce
that they were obliged to disable it by cutting off one of its arms and
a leg; one of the boars grew wild on seeing this and fled; upon which I
ordered the _begare_ (as the inhabitants called him) to be thrown to the
boar, and though the animal was nearly dead, and the arrow had passed
quite through his body, yet he threw his tail round the snout of the
boar, and then holding him firmly, seized him by the nape of the neck
with his remaining hand, as if he were engaged with an enemy. This action
was so novel and so extraordinary, that I have thought it worth while
to describe it here. There is a great variety of animals here, but they
all die of the barra.[211] I saw some very large fowls (the feathers of
which resemble wool), lions, stags, fallow-deer, and birds.
When we were so harassed with our troubles at sea, some of our men
imagined that we were under the influence of sorcery, and even to this
day entertain the same notion. Some of the people whom I discovered were
cannibals, as was evidenced by the brutality of their countenances. They
say that there are great mines of copper in the country, of which they
make hatchets and other elaborate articles, both cast and soldered;
they also make of it forges, with all the apparatus of the goldsmith,
and crucibles. The inhabitants go clothed; and in that province I saw
some large sheets of cotton very elaborately and cleverly worked, and
others very delicately pencilled in colours. They told me that more
inland towards Cathay they have them interwoven with gold. For want of
an interpreter we were able to learn but very little respecting these
countries, or what they contain. Although the country is very thickly
peopled, yet each nation has a very different language; indeed so much
so, that they can no more understand each other than we understand the
Arabs. I think, however, that this applies to the barbarians on the
sea-coast, and not to the people who live more inland. When I discovered
the Indies, I said that they composed the richest lordship in the world;
I spoke of gold and pearls and precious stones, of spices, and the
traffic that might be carried on in them; and because all these things
were not forthcoming at once I was abused. This punishment causes me to
refrain from relating anything but what the natives tell me. One thing
I can venture upon stating, because there are so many witnesses of it,
viz., that in this land of Veragua I saw more signs of gold in the two
first days than I saw in Española during four years, and that there is
not a more fertile or better cultivated country in all the world, nor
one whose inhabitants are more timid; added to which there is a good
harbour, a beautiful river, and the whole place is capable of being
easily put into a state of defence. All this tends to the security of the
Christians, and the permanency of their sovereignty, while it affords the
hope of great increase and honour to the Christian religion; moreover
the road hither will be as short as that to Española, because there is a
certainty of a fair wind for the passage. Your Highnesses are as much
lords of this country as of Xeres or Toledo, and your ships that may
come here will do so with the same freedom as if they were going to your
own royal palace. From hence they will obtain gold, and whereas if they
should wish to become masters of the products of other lands, they will
have to take them by force, or retire empty-handed, in this country they
will simply have to trust their persons in the hands of a savage.
I have already explained my reason for refraining to treat of other
subjects respecting which I might speak. I do not state as certain, nor
do I confirm even the sixth part of all that I have said or written,
nor do I pretend to be at the fountain-head of the information. The
Genoese, Venetians, and all other nations that possess pearls, precious
stones, and other articles of value, take them to the ends of the world
to exchange them for gold. Gold is the most precious of all commodities;
gold constitutes treasure, and he who possesses it has all he needs in
this world, as also the means of rescuing souls from purgatory, and
restoring them to the enjoyment of paradise. They say that when one of
the lords of the country of Veragua dies, they bury all the gold he
possessed with his body. There were brought to Solomon at one journey
six hundred and sixty-six quintals of gold, besides what the merchants
and sailors brought, and that which was paid in Arabia. Of this gold he
made two hundred lances and three hundred shields, and the entablature
which was above them was also of gold, and ornamented with precious
stones: many other things he made likewise of gold, and a great number of
vessels of great size, which he enriched with precious stones. This is
related by Josephus in his Chronicle “de Antiquitatibus”; mention is also
made of it in the Chronicles and in the Book of Kings. Josephus thinks
that this gold was found in the Aurea; if it were so, I contend that
these mines of the Aurea are identical with those of Veragua, which, as
I have said before, extends westward twenty days’ journey, at an equal
distance from the Pole and the Line. Solomon bought all of it,—gold,
precious stones, and silver,—but your Majesties need only send to seek
them to have them at your pleasure. David, in his will, left three
thousand quintals of Indian gold to Solomon, to assist in building the
Temple; and, according to Josephus, it came from these lands. Jerusalem
and Mount Sion are to be rebuilt by the hands of Christians, as God has
declared by the mouth of His prophet in the fourteenth Psalm. The Abbé
Joaquim said that he who should do this was to come from Spain; Saint
Jerome showed the holy woman the way to accomplish it; and the emperor
of Cathay has, some time since, sent for wise men to instruct him in
the faith of Christ. Who will offer himself for this work? Should any
one do so, I pledge myself, in the name of God, to convey him safely
thither, provided the Lord permits me to return to Spain. The people who
have sailed with me have passed through incredible toil and danger, and
I beseech your Highnesses, since they are poor, to pay them promptly,
and to be gracious to each of them according to their respective merits;
for I can safely assert, that to my belief they are the bearers of the
best news that ever were carried to Spain. With respect to the gold
which belongs to Quibian, the cacique of Veragua, and other chiefs in
the neighbouring country, although it appears by the accounts we have
received of it to be very abundant, I do not think it would be well or
desirable, on the part of your Highnesses, to take possession of it
in the way of plunder; by fair dealing, scandal and disrepute will be
avoided, and all the gold will thus reach your Highnesses’ treasury
without the loss of a grain. With one month of fair weather I shall
complete my voyage. As I was deficient in ships, I did not persist in
delaying my course; but in everything that concerns your Highnesses’
service, I trust in Him who made me, and I hope also that my health will
be re-established. I think your Highnesses will remember that I had
intended to build some ships in a new manner, but the shortness of the
time did not permit it. I had certainly foreseen how things would be. I
think more of this opening for commerce, and of the lordship over such
extensive mines, than of all that has been done in the Indies. This is
not a child to be left to the care of a step-mother.
I never think of Española, and Paria, and the other countries, without
shedding tears. I thought that what had occurred there would have been
an example for others; on the contrary, these settlements are now in a
languid state, although not dead, and the malady is incurable, or at
least very extensive: let him who brought the evil come now and cure
it, if he knows the remedy, or how to apply it; but when a disturbance
is on foot, every one is ready to take the lead. It used to be the
custom to give thanks and promotion to him who placed his person in
jeopardy; but there is no justice in allowing the man who opposed this
undertaking, to enjoy the fruits of it with his children. Those who
left the Indies, avoiding the toils consequent upon the enterprise,
and speaking evil of it and me, have since returned with official
appointments,—such is the case now in Veragua: it is an evil example, and
profitless both as regards the business in which we are embarked, and
as respects the general maintenance of justice. The fear of this, with
other sufficient considerations, which I clearly foresaw, caused me to
beg your Highnesses, previously to my coming to discover these islands
and terra firma, to grant me permission to govern in your royal name.
Your Highnesses granted my request; and it was a privilege and treaty
granted under the royal seal and oath, by which I was nominated viceroy,
and admiral, and governor-general of all: and your Highnesses limited the
extent of my government to a hundred leagues beyond the Azores and Cape
Verde islands, by a line passing from one pole to the other, and gave me
ample power over all that I might discover beyond this line; all which
is more fully described in the official document.