THE COMPANIONS AND FOLLOWERS OF COLUMBUS.
The Era of Spanish Discovery—Reasons for its Rapid
Development—Ojeda’s First Voyage—Fighting the Caribs—Indians and
Cannon—Pinzon’s Discovery of Brazil—A Rough Reception—Bastides the
Humane—A New Calamity—Ships leaking like Sieves—Economical
Generosity of King Ferdinand—Ojeda’s Second Voyage—The disputed
Strong-Box—Ojeda Entrapped—Swimming in Irons—Condemned
Abroad—Acquitted at Home—A Triumphant Client, but a Ruined Man—A
Third Voyage—Worthy La Cosa—Rival Commanders—A Foolish Challenge.
In the following pages the enterprises of certain Spanish and Portuguese
voyagers less known to fame than those recently under notice, but still
great names in the history of maritime discovery, will be recorded. Not
merely had the examples of such men as Columbus and Vasco da Gama stirred
up a spirit of adventure unparalleled before or perhaps since, but, as
Washington Irving shows us,(52) the conquest of Granada and the end of the
Peninsular war with the Moorish usurpers, had deprived the Spanish of a
sphere of action which had occupied them almost incessantly during the
eight centuries preceding. The youth of the nation, bred up to daring
adventure and heroic achievement, could not brook the tranquil and regular
pursuits of common life, but panted for some new field of romantic
enterprise. The treaty of Columbus with Ferdinand and Isabella was, in a
sense, signed with the same pen that had subscribed to the capitulation of
the Moorish capital; while not a few of the cavaliers who had fought in
that memorable war now crowded the ships of the discoverers, firmly
believing that a grand new field of arms had opened to them.
Alonzo de Ojeda, a native of New Castile, was one of this numerous class.
He had fought against the Moors when a youth, and had accompanied Columbus
on his second voyage when only twenty-one years of age. One of his
relatives, a Dominican friar, was one of the first inquisitors of Spain,
and was an intimate of the Bishop Fonseca, who had the chief management of
the affairs of the Indies, which then included all the countries as yet
known in the New World. Ojeda, therefore, was naturally and easily
introduced to the Bishop’s notice, who took him under his special
protection. When he had accompanied Columbus he had taken with him a small
Flemish painting of the Holy Virgin, presented to him by Fonseca, and this
he had always carried with him as a protecting charm, invoking it at all
times of peril; while to its possession he attributed his hitherto
wonderful immunity from harm. When Columbus returned from his third
voyage, with the news of rich discoveries, especially of the
pearl-fisheries of Paria, Ojeda had no difficulty in obtaining from the
Bishop, who was one of the worst enemies of poor Columbus, a commission
authorising him to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of
discovery. It does not appear that the sanction of the King and Queen was
asked on this occasion. The means were readily supplied by merchants of
Seville. Among his associates were several men who had just returned with
Columbus, principal among whom was a bold Biscayan, Juan de la Cosa by
name. Amerigo Vespucci, the man from whose first name the title of America
is derived, a broken-down Florentine merchant, accompanied the expedition.
It does not appear that he had any interest in the voyage, or even
position on board ship. Ojeda sailed from Spain on the 20th May, 1499.
After touching at the Canaries, he made, for those days, a rapid voyage to
America. In twenty-four days from leaving the islands he reached the New
World, at a part of the coast considerably south of that discovered by
Columbus, and after a little passed the mouths of several large rivers,
including those of the Orinoco and Esquivo, rivers which freshen the
sea-water for many miles outside. They afterwards touched at the island of
Trinidad, of the inhabitants of which Vespucci gives a number of details.
He tells us that they believed in no religious creed, and therefore
neither prayed nor offered sacrifice. Their habitations were practically
caravanserai, built in the shape of bells (meaning, doubtless, with
bell-shaped roofs), each holding from six hundred to over a thousand
inhabitants. He adds that every seven or eight years the inhabitants were
obliged to change their residences, from the maladies engendered by such
close packing. They ornamented themselves with beads and ornaments made
from the bones of fishes, with white and green stones strung together as
necklaces, and with the feathers of tropical birds. They buried their dead
in caverns or sepulchres, always leaving a jar of water and something to
eat by the head of the corpse, as do some tribes to-day.
At Maracapana, on the mainland, the natives were friendly, and brought
quantities of fish, venison, and cassava bread. They anxiously besought
the Spaniards to aid them in punishing their enemies, the cannibals of a
distant isle, and Ojeda seems to have rather liked the proposition. Taking
seven of the natives on board his vessels to act as guides, he set sail in
quest of these cannibal islands, which are believed to have been the
Caribbees. After seven days he ran his vessels in near the shore of one
which the guides indicated to be the habitation of their cruel foes, and a
number of painted and befeathered warriors were seen on the shore, well
armed with bows and arrows, darts, lances, and bucklers. “This show of
war,” says Irving, “was calculated to rouse the martial spirit of Ojeda.
He brought his ships to anchor, ordered out his boats, and provided each
with a paterero or small cannon. Besides the oarsmen, each boat contained
a number of soldiers, who were told to crouch out of sight in the bottom.
The boats then pulled in steadily for the shore. As they approached, the
Indians let fly a cloud of arrows, but without much effect. Seeing the
boats continue to advance, the savages threw themselves into the sea, and
brandished their lances to prevent their landing. Upon this the soldiers
sprang up in the boats and discharged the patereroes. At the sound and
smoke of these unknown weapons the savages abandoned the water in
affright, while Ojeda and his men leaped on shore and pursued them. The
Carib warriors rallied on the banks, and fought for a long time with that
courage peculiar to their race, but were at length driven to the woods at
the edge of the sword, leaving many killed and wounded on the field of
battle.” Next day a larger number of the savages gathered on the beach,
but, after a desperate fight, were routed, their houses burned, and many
taken prisoners, which was probably Ojeda’s principal object in attacking
them. Many similar experiences followed, but in all cases, as might be
expected, the Spaniards came out conquerors, scarcely any of their men
being even seriously wounded. At one place over a thousand Indians came
off in canoes or swam from shore, so that in a little while the vessel’s
decks were crowded. While they were gazing in wonder at all they saw on
board, Ojeda ordered the cannon to be discharged, at the unaccustomed
sound of which they “plunged into the water like so many frogs from a
bank.”
Ojeda returned to Cadiz in June, 1500, his ships packed with slaves. But
the commercial results of the voyage, after allowing for expenses, were so
small that only about 500 ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five
adventurers. Nino, another adventurer, who had once served as pilot with
Columbus, made a voyage at the same period in a bark of only fifty tons,
returning two months before Ojeda, with a large number of the finest
pearls and some gold. The amount of pearls paid into the royal treasury
was so large that it drew suspicion instead of favour upon Nino and one of
his associates, and the first was actually thrown into prison on the
accusation of having kept the larger part of the spoil. But nothing could
be proved against him, and he was eventually set free.
The year 1499 was also marked by a most important discovery, that of the
great kingdom of Brazil. It was reserved for Vicente Yanez Pinzon, in an
otherwise disastrous voyage, to first cross the equinoctial line, and on
the 28th of January, 1500, to sight the Cape, now known as that of St.
Augustine, which he, however, first named _Santa Maria de la Consolacion_,
because its appearance relieved him from much doubt and anxiety. Soon
after he had taken formal possession of the territory in the name of
Spain, an affray with the Indians occurred. In a general assault the
latter killed eight or ten Spaniards, and the crews retreated to their
boats, disputing every inch of ground. The Indians pursued them into the
water, surrounded the boats, and seized the oars. In spite of a desperate
defence they succeeded in overpowering the crew of one of the boats, and
carried it off. “With this,” says Irving, “they retired from the combat,
and the Spaniards returned defeated and disheartened to their ships,
having met with the roughest reception that the Europeans had yet
experienced in the New World.” Pinzon revenged himself, not on these
savages, but on a quiet and hospitable tribe found on some beautiful
islands off the mouth of the great Amazon River. Thirty-six of the poor
natives were carried off, to be sold afterwards as slaves.
Off the Bahamas Pinzon’s little squadron of four vessels encountered a
terrific hurricane, and two of them went down with all hands in sight of
the remaining two, the crews of which were powerless to help. The third
was driven out to sea, and the fourth was so battered by the furious waves
that her crew abandoned her in their boats. A few inoffensive Indians were
found ashore, and fearing that they might spread the tidings that a mere
handful of shipwrecked Spaniards were on the island, it was seriously
proposed to put them to death, when fortunately the vessel which had been
driven away returned, and it was later found that the other had ridden out
the storm uninjured. They speedily made sail for Spain, and arrived at
Palos in safety. Pinzon had as much as he could do to prevent the
merchants who had supplied goods for the voyage—at an advance of a hundred
per cent. or so—from seizing and selling the vessels and cargoes. But a
royal edict prevented this, and he was able to satisfy them in the end,
after incurring much loss to himself.
The Pinzon family were subsequently ennobled by the Emperor Charles V.
When Washington Irving visited Palos he found numerous branches of the
descendants enjoying excellent circumstances, and living in an almost
patriarchal manner.
In the year 1500, Rodrigo de Bastides, a wealthy Sevillian notary,
inflamed with the hopes of rapid wealth, fitted out two caravels, and
associated with him the veteran pilot, Juan de la Cosa, already mentioned.
The first honourably distinguished himself by his constant humanity to the
natives, and the voyage was successful, commercially speaking, for on the
South American coasts and islands they collected a very large amount of
gold and pearls, but an unforeseen misfortune arrived. They found their
vessels leaking most seriously, for their hulls had been pierced in
innumerable places by marine worms. It was with difficulty that they could
keep afloat until they reached an inlet on the coast of Hispaniola, where
they plugged and patched up their ships, and again put to sea for Cadiz.
Storm succeeded storm; the worms were again at work, and the leaks broke
out afresh. They were obliged to return to the inlet, where they landed
the most profitable and valuable parts of their cargoes, and the vessels
foundered with the remainder. Distributing his men into three bands, they
started for San Domingo by different routes, each party being provided
with trinkets and Indian trading goods. Francisco de Bobadilla, the enemy
and successor of Columbus, was then Governor of San Domingo. He believing,
or pretending to believe, that the adventurers were carrying on an illicit
trade with the natives, arrested Bastides and threw him into prison,
afterwards sending him for trial to Spain. He sailed in the same fleet in
which Bobadilla embarked for Spain, and which was for the most part
wrecked. The ship of Bastides was one of the few to outlive the storm; it
arrived at Cadiz in September, 1502. Bastides was, of course, acquitted of
the charges brought against him, and the voyage had been so lucrative
that, notwithstanding all losses, he was enabled to pay a handsome tribute
to the crown and retain a large amount for himself. Ferdinand and Isabella
granted Bastides and La Cosa an annual revenue for life, to be derived
from the proceeds of the province of Uraba, which he had discovered.
“Such,” says Irving, “was the economical generosity of King Ferdinand, who
rewarded the past toils of his adventurous discoverers out of the expected
produce of their future labours.” It is doubtful whether either at any
time derived benefit from these grants.
Alonzo de Ojeda had gained nothing by his first voyage, but had earned an
honourable reputation as an explorer. His patron the Bishop recommended
him in 1502 once more to the royal favour, and a grant was made to him of
a considerable tract of land in Hispaniola, and the government of the
province of Coquebacao, which territory he had discovered. Four vessels
were fitted out, and, to pass over minor details, reached a part of the
South American coast called by the natives Cumana, where the idea struck
Ojeda that he should want furniture and utensils for his new colony, “and
that it would be better to pillage them from a country where he was a mere
transient visitor, than to wrest them from his neighbours in the territory
where he was to set up his government.” This scheme was carried into
immediate execution, Ojeda ordering his men not to destroy the habitations
of the Indians, nor to commit bloodshed. His followers, however, did not
implicitly obey his instructions, and seven or eight natives were killed
and many more wounded in the skirmish which took place. Many of their
dwellings were fired. A large number of hammocks, quantities of cotton,
and utensils of various kinds, fell into the victors’ hands, and they
captured several females, some of whom were afterwards ransomed for gold,
and others carried off. The place was found destitute of provisions, and
Ojeda was forced to send one of his vessels to Jamaica for supplies.
Ojeda at length arrived at Coquibacao, landing at a bay supposed to be
that now known as Bahia Honda, where he found a Spaniard who had been
living among the natives some thirteen months, and had acquired their
language. Ojeda determined to form his settlement there, but the natives
seemed disposed to defend their country, for “the moment a party landed to
procure water they were assailed by a galling shower of arrows, and driven
back to the ships. Upon this Ojeda landed with all his force, and struck
such terror into the Indians that they came forward with signs of amity,
and brought a considerable quantity of gold as a peace-offering, which was
graciously accepted.” The construction of the fortress was at once
commenced, and although interrupted by the attack of a neighbouring
cacique, who was, however, easily defeated, Ojeda’s men completed it
speedily. It contained a magazine of provisions, dealt out twice a day,
and was defended by cannon. The treasure gained in trade, or by robbery,
was deposited in a strong box with double locks.
Meantime provisions were becoming scarce, while the vessel which had been
despatched to Jamaica for supplies did not appear. “The people, worn-out
with labours and privations of various kinds, and disgusted with the
situation of the settlement, which was in a poor and unhealthy country,
grew discontented and factious. They began to fear that they should lose
the means of departing, as their vessels were in danger of being destroyed
by the marine worms. Ojeda led them forth repeatedly upon foraging parties
about the adjacent country, and collected some provisions and booty in the
Indian villages. The provisions he deposited in the magazine, part of the
spoil he divided among his followers, and the gold he locked up in the
strong box, the keys of which he took possession of, to the great
displeasure of the supervisor and his associate Ocampo. The murmurs of the
people grew loud as their sufferings increased. They insinuated that Ojeda
had no authority over this part of the coast, having passed the boundaries
of his government, and formed his settlement in the country discovered by
Bastides. By the time Vergara arrived from Jamaica the factions of this
petty colony had risen to an alarming height. Ocampo had a personal enmity
to the governor, arising probably from some feud about the strong box; and
being a particular friend of Vergara, he held a private conference with
him, and laid a plan to entrap the doughty Ojeda. In pursuance of this the
latter was invited on board the caravel of Vergara, to see the provisions
he had brought from Jamaica; but no sooner was he on board than they
charged him with having transgressed the limits of his government, with
having provoked the hostility of the Indians, and needlessly sacrificed
the lives of his followers, and above all, with having taken possession of
the strong box, in contempt of the authority of the royal supervisor, and
with the intention of appropriating to himself all the gains of the
enterprise. They informed him, therefore, of their intention to convey him
a prisoner to Hispaniola, to answer to the governor for his offences.”
Ojeda was entrapped, and scarcely knew what to do. He proposed to Vergara
and Ocampo that they should return to Spain with such of the men as were
tired of the enterprise, and they at first agreed with this, and promised
to leave him the smallest of the vessels, and a third of the provisions
and spoils. They even engaged to build him a row boat before leaving, and
commenced the work; but the ship carpenters were invalids, and there were
no caulkers, and the two conspirators soon changed their minds, and
resolved to take him prisoner to Hispaniola. He was put in irons, and the
vessels set sail, having on board the whole of the little community, as
well as that strong box of gold and treasure, the disputed possession of
which was at the bottom of most of this trouble.
[Illustration: OJEDA’S ATTEMPTED ESCAPE.]
Arrived off the desired coast, Ojeda made a bold struggle for liberty. He
was a strong man and a good swimmer, so one night he let himself down
quietly into the sea, and made an attempt to reach the land. But, while
his arms were free, his feet were shackled with heavy iron, sufficient in
itself almost to sink him. He had not got far when he was obliged to shout
for help, and the unfortunate governor was brought back half drowned to
his unrelenting partners. They delivered him a prisoner into the hands of
the authorities, but held fast to the strong box, taking from it, Ojeda
afterwards stated, whatever they thought proper, without regard to the
royal supervisor or the royal rights. Ojeda was tried in the city of San
Domingo, where the chief judge gave a verdict against him, depriving him
of all his effects, and brought him in debt to the crown. He afterwards
appealed to the crown, and after some time was honourably acquitted by the
Royal Council, and his property ordered to be restored. “Like too many
other litigants,” says Irving, “he finally emerged from the labyrinths of
the law a triumphant client, but a ruined man.” Costs had swallowed his
all, and for years we know little of his life.
In 1508 he was in Hispaniola, “as poor in purse, though as proud in
spirit, as ever.” About this period there was a great excitement in Spain
concerning the gold mines of Veragua, first discovered by Columbus, and
described in glowing terms by subsequent voyagers. King Ferdinand should
in honour have given Bartholomew, the brother of Christopher Columbus, the
command of any expedition sent out to that country, but he appears to have
thought that the family had received reward enough, and more than enough,
already, so the claims of Ojeda were advanced by his friend the Bishop
Fonseca, and the king lent a favouring ear. There was, however, a rival
candidate in the field, one Diego de Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier of
noble birth and considerable means, and the king compromised matters by
granting both equal “patents and dignities which cost nothing, and might
bring rich returns.” He divided the territory they were to explore
equally; and this is all, for they were to furnish their own ships and
supplies. Poor Ojeda had no means whatever, but at this juncture he
fortunately met the veteran Juan de la Cosa in Hispaniola, and that hardy
old navigator had managed to fill his purse in the course of his cruising.
La Cosa had, as we know, sailed with Ojeda long before, and had a great
admiration of his courage and talents, so in the spirit of a true sailor
he now offered assistance to his old comrade, and it was arranged that he
should go to Spain, and if necessary should fit out the required vessels
at his own expense.
Juan de la Cosa, soon after reaching Spain, was appointed lieutenant,
under Ojeda, and he thereupon freighted a ship and two brigantines, in
which he embarked with about two hundred men. “It was,” says Irving, “a
slender armament, but the purse of the honest voyager was not very deep,
and that of Ojeda was empty.” Nicuesa was able to start in much more
gallant style, with four large vessels and two brigantines.
The rival armaments arrived at San Domingo at about the same time, Nicuesa
having done a stroke of business on the way by capturing a hundred natives
from one of the Caribbee Islands. “This was deemed justifiable in those
days even by the most scrupulous divines, from the belief that the Caribs
were anthropophagi, or man-eaters; fortunately the opinion of mankind in
this more enlightened age makes but little difference in atrocity between
the cannibal and the kidnapper.” It need hardly be said that Ojeda was
overjoyed at the sight of his old comrade, although he was mortified to
note the superiority of Nicuesa’s armament to his own. He, however,
looking about him for the means of increasing his strength, was so far
fortunate that he succeeded in inducing a lawyer, the Bachelor Martin
Fernandez de Enciso, who had saved two thousand castillanos (somewhat over
the same number of pounds sterling), to invest his money in the
enterprise. Ojeda promised to make him Alcalde Mayor, or Chief Judge, and
the prospect of such dignity dazzled the notary. It was arranged that the
latter should remain in Hispaniola to beat up recruits and supplies, and
with them he was to follow in a ship purchased by himself.
“Two rival governors,” says Irving, “so well matched as Ojeda and Nicuesa,
and both possessed of swelling spirits, pent up in small but active
bodies, could not remain long in a little place like San Domingo without
some collision. The island of Jamaica, which had been assigned to them in
common, furnished the first ground of contention; the province of Darien
furnished another, each pretending to include it within the limits of his
jurisdiction. Their disputes on these points ran so high that the whole
place resounded with them.” Nicuesa was the better talker, having been
brought up at court, while Ojeda was no great casuist. He was, however, an
excellent swordsman, and always ready to fight his way through any
question of right or dignity, and he challenged Nicuesa to single combat.
Nicuesa was no coward, but as a man of the world, saw the folly of such a
proceeding, so he slyly proposed that they should each deposit five
thousand castillanos—just to make the fight interesting—and to constitute
a prize for the winner. This rather checked poor Ojeda, who had not a
dollar he could call his own; but his cool and discreet friend Cosa had a
considerable amount of trouble with him afterwards, before he could bring
him to reason. The character of Cosa, as we shall see hereafter, was a
very noble one. He was Ojeda’s best counseller and truest friend.