_How Cortes sent out a captain, named Francisco de las Casas against
Christobal de Oli, on receiving intelligence that this officer had
made common cause with Diego Velasquez, and had renounced all
further obedience to him._
In order to render this chapter quite intelligible to the reader I must
recur to prior events. I mentioned above that Cortes fitted out an
armament for the Honduras and Higueras, the command of which he
intrusted to Christobal de Oli. It was not long before our general
received intelligence of the unfortunate termination of this expedition,
as far as regarded himself. When, therefore, he learnt that Oli had made
common cause with Diego Velasquez, and had determined to act independent
of him, he became very pensive. But, as he was remarkably spirited, and
not accustomed to joke in matters of this kind, he at once determined
either to march against Oli in person, or to send out an officer against
him on whom he could place implicit reliance, as he had previously
declared to his majesty.
About this time there had arrived in Mexico a cavalier, named Francisco
de las Casas. As he was a man in whom he could confide, being also
related to him, he resolved to send him against Oli. For this purpose he
fitted out a small armament, consisting of five vessels, well provided
with cannon and other ammunition. On board of this fleet he embarked one
hundred men, among whom were several of the veteran Conquistadores, as
for instance, Pedro Moreno Medrano, Juan Nunez de Mercado, Juan Vello,
and many others, whose names I will not mention, as they died on their
way thither.
Francisco de las Casas received full powers from Cortes to seize Oli and
throw him into chains. He set sail from Vera Cruz with very favorable
weather, and arrived in a short time in the bay of Triunfo de la Cruz,
where Oli had founded a town of the same name, and in front of which his
vessels lay at anchor. As Francisco de las Casas on entering the bay had
hoisted a white flag, Oli scarcely knew what to think at first, but
thought at all events it was better to be upon his guard, and ran out
two of his smallest vessels, well-armed with a strong body of men, in
order to prevent Las Casas from entering into the harbour and landing
his troops, though he was as yet quite ignorant who the new comers were.
Las Casas, who was a man of great courage and determination, immediately
lowered his boats, on board of which he placed one of the falconets and
the most active of his men, well armed with muskets and crossbows, being
resolved, he said, to land his troops some how or other. A severe
conflict now ensued, in which Las Casas bored one of Oli's vessels into
the ground, killed four of his men and wounded several others.
Christobal de Oli, seeing that matters were growing very serious,
thought it advisable on his part to stay hostilities, in order to gain
time to assemble all his troops about him; for he had, a few days
previously, despatched two companies to the river Pechin against a
certain Gil Gonsalez de Avila, who had begun to subdue the country
there. He therefore sent word to Las Casas that he was desirous of
making terms of peace with him; to which Las Casas so far consented that
he staid hostilities for the present, and lay out at sea with his
vessel for the night, in order to effect a landing in some other bay.
How much more fortunate it would have been for him if he had acted
according to the letter which was secretly thrust into his hand during
the engagement! In this letter namely, several of Oli's men who favoured
Cortes advised Las Casas by all means to land his troops without delay;
that they would all run over to his side and deliver up Oli a prisoner
to him. Fortunately for Oli, and unfortunately for Las Casas, a furious
north wind, which is the most dangerous of all on this coast, arose
during the night, and the whole of his vessels were wrecked; thirty of
his men were drowned, and all the ammunition and stores went to the
bottom. Las Casas and the rest of his men, after wandering about the
country for two days benumbed with wet and cold, without a morsel of
food to eat, were all taken prisoners by Oli's troops.
Christobal de Oli, it may be imagined, was excessively rejoiced that
things had thus terminated so unexpectedly in his favour, and he exulted
greatly in having the person of Las Casas in his power. He immediately
took the latter's troops into his service, and compelled them to take a
solemn oath never to desert him, but to oppose Cortes if he should come
with an army against him; not until they had promised all this did he
set them at liberty. Las Casas alone he kept a prisoner.
Shortly upon this the detachment also returned which had been sent
against Gil Gonsalez de Avila. This man had arrived in the country with
the appointment of governor of Golfo Dulce, and he had already founded,
at about four miles distance from the bay of the same name, a town which
he called San Gil de Buena Vista. The country bounding on the river
Chipin was at that time inhabited by a very warlike people; and as by
far the greater part of Gil Gonsalez's troops were suffering from ill
health, the latter had only been able to throw a feeble garrison into
the town of Buena Vista. Christobal de Oli had been duly apprized of
this, and ordered the town to be attacked; but his troops could not so
easily get possession of the place as they expected. Avila's small body
of men defended themselves most vigorously, and eight of the soldiers,
with a cousin of his, were killed. Christobal de Oli was both rejoiced
and proud to have taken prisoners the chief commanders of two separate
armaments; and as he bore the character of being an excellent soldier,
which, indeed, no one could deny, and it was of importance to him that
the success of his arms should be made known through the islands, he
immediately sent information of his good fortune to the governor of
Cuba.
After this victory he marched his troops towards the interior of the
country to a large township named Naco, which lay in a very populous
district. It was upon this occasion that Naco was completely destroyed,
and the whole of the surrounding country laid waste, and this I relate
from eyewitness, as I subsequently visited these parts myself, when I
accompanied Cortes on his expedition to the Honduras, of which a full
account will be given in the proper place.
From Naco, Oli sent out a strong detachment to forage the country, under
the command of Briones, who had been one of the first to advise Oli to
declare his independence of Cortes. This Briones was of a turbulent
disposition, besides being very passionate, and had only the upper half
of his ears left, having had the bottom halves, as he asserted, cut off
by the enemy, while he, with several other officers, was obstinately
defending some fortification. He terminated his life in a miserable
manner, for he was subsequently hung at Guatimala for creating a
sedition among the troops. Some time after Briones had been sent out by
Oli to a distant part of the country with a considerable body of his
troops, he received intelligence that he had deserted, with the whole of
the men under his command, and was marching in the direction of New
Spain; this news was indeed found to be perfectly correct.
This circumstance, Las Casas and Avila thought, presented to them a most
favorable opportunity to rid themselves of Oli, who still continued to
treat both of them as prisoners of war, though they were allowed to go
at large, for Oli depended too much upon his own personal courage to
fear anything from them. The whole of the adherents of Cortes secretly
joined Las Casas and Avila, and they agreed upon a certain signal to
fall upon Oli and stab him to death under the cry of "In the name of the
emperor and of Cortes, down with the tyrant!" Everything had been
arranged in the best possible manner for this purpose, and Las Casas, on
one occasion said to Oli: "Senor captain, do grant me my liberty and
allow me to return to New Spain, in order that I may render an account
to Cortes of the unfortunate termination of this expedition? I promise
you to become mediator between yourself and Cortes, and to procure for
you the government, with the chief military command of this country, and
I will myself see the appointment drawn up in due form. What can you
gain by detaining me a prisoner, for I am only a hindrance to you in all
your undertakings?" To this Oli replied, "That he was perfectly
contented with things as they were, and that he was delighted to have a
man of his worth about him."
"But have at least then," continued Las Casas, "some thought for your
own personal safety, for I might get it into my head some day or other
to put you to death!"
As Las Casas said all this in a joking humour, he took no notice of it,
and continued as little on his guard as ever.
One evening Las Casas, Avila, Juan Nunez de Mercado, and other soldiers
of Cortes' party were invited to sup with Oli. The first two, as
prisoners of war, were not allowed to carry arms, but had concealed on
their persons large knives, which were ground very sharp. The whole of
the company had already laid aside their cloaks to seat themselves at
table, and stood around Oli, discoursing on Cortes' good fortune and the
conquest of the strong city of Mexico. As Christobal de Oli was thus
quite off his guard, not in the least suspecting that there was any
design upon his life, Las Casas, on a sudden, seized forcibly hold of
his beard and stabbed him in the neck with his knife. Upon this the
other conspirators fell in a body upon him, and gave him so many stabs,
that he fell to the ground; but as he was a man of enormous muscular
power he regained his consciousness, while the conspirators were sitting
at table enjoying their suppers, and assembling all his strength he
started up from the floor with the cry of: "_My friends, assist your
captain!_" and then ran out to hide himself in the woods until his
adherents should have rallied round him. And, indeed, a great part of
his troops instantly assembled for this purpose; but Las Casas cried out
to them: "In the name of the emperor and of Cortes I command you to fall
upon the tyrant! His tyranny is no longer to be borne!"
As soon as these names were mentioned no one durst stir a finger in
Oli's defence; on the contrary, every one quietly submitted and
immediately obeyed Las Casas' commands, by hurrying off in search of Oli
to bring him in a prisoner. He then made known that any one who knew of
Oli's concealment and neglected to give information of it should suffer
death.
By this means it was soon discovered where Oli lay concealed, and after
he had been brought in a prisoner, a criminal suit was commenced against
him in due form, and sentence of death being passed on him he was
decapitated by order of these two officers, Las Casas and Avila on the
market-place at Naco.
Thus miserably did Christobal de Oli end his days by listening to the
advice of bad men, and forgetting how greatly he was indebted to Cortes,
who had appointed him quartermaster-general, and had bestowed upon him
lucrative commendaries. He had always proved himself a man of great
courage, and was recently married to a Portuguese lady, named Filipa de
Araujo, by whom he had a daughter.
As soon as Las Casas and Avila had got rid of their common enemy they
assembled all the troops; they divided the command equally between
themselves, and continued on the best terms with each other. Las Casas
soon after founded the town of Truxillo, which he so called from his
native place of Truxillo in Estremadura; and Avila despatched a small
body of troops to the town which he had previously founded, called Buena
Vista, in order to see what condition the colony was in. The command of
this small detachment he gave to an officer named Armenta, with orders
not to make any changes there, if at least he found everything in the
same condition as when he left it; but to await his return from New
Spain, whither he would immediately repair to beg Cortes for a fresh
supply of troops. Las Casas likewise determined to proceed with Avila to
Mexico, in order that they might jointly give Cortes an account of every
circumstance that had transpired.
I must, however, close this chapter here, for I shall have to return to
these occurrences in the proper part of my history; I have merely to
observe, that Cortes did not receive intelligence of what I have just
related till some considerable time after.