CASTILLA DEL ORO.
1527-1537.
ADMINISTRATION OF PEDRO DE LOS RIOS—HE IS SUPERSEDED
BY THE LICENTIATE ANTONIO DE LA GAMA—BARRIONUEVO'S
REIGN—A PROVINCE IN NUEVA ANDALUCÍA GRANTED TO PEDRO
DE HEREDIA—HE SAILS FOR CARTAGENA—CONFLICTS WITH THE
NATIVES—TREASURE UNEARTHED—THE DEVIL'S BOHÍO—PROSPERITY OF THE
SETTLEMENT—ALONSO HEREDIA SENT TO REBUILD SAN SEBASTIAN—IS
OPPOSED BY JULIAN GUTIERREZ—CAPTURE OF GUTIERREZ—THE GOLDEN
TEMPLE OF DABAIBA ONCE MORE—EXPEDITIONS IN SEARCH OF THE
GLITTERING PHANTOM, FRANCISCO CÉSAR AND OTHERS—AUDIENCIA
ESTABLISHED AT PANAMÁ—MALEADMINISTRATION—COMPLAINTS OF THE
COLONISTS—DESTITUTION IN THE PROVINCE—BISHOPS OF CASTILLA DEL
ORO—MIRACULOUS IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN—BIBLIOGRAPHICAL.
[Sidenote: PEDRO DE LOS RIOS.]
Mention has already been made of the appointment of Pedro de los Rios
as governor of Castilla del Oro in place of Pedrarias Dávila, of the
arrival of his fleet at Nombre de Dios in 1526, and of the death of
Pedrarias at Leon in 1530. The new governor was instructed that the
conversion of the natives rather than their conquest should be his main
purpose; they were to be treated indeed as vassals of the crown but not
as slaves; and his Majesty the emperor Charles V. was pleased to declare
that in the foundation of new colonies he had less regard for his own
aggrandizement than for the spread of the holy Catholic faith. Pedro
de los Rios was a man unfit to govern a community of wild and turbulent
adventurers in a strange and half-settled territory. Instead of pursuing
the right course at the right moment, he seemed to go out of his way to
commit blunders. As occurred at his meeting with Salcedo in Nicaragua,
when the mere threat of a fine made him beat a hasty retreat to Panamá,
he was often found wanting in the hour of trial. His lack of ambition
and ever-present regard for his own personal ease and safety, caused
his administration to prove tame and uneventful.
The _auri sacra fames_ was a vice so prevalent among the rulers of
Castilla del Oro that it is but a tiresome iteration again to allude
to it; but Rios' thirst for riches far surpassed the greed of all his
predecessors. His avarice was only exceeded by that of his wife, who,
as Oviedo tells us, held him under complete control and governed the
province through the governor. He appropriated all that he could lay
hands on, whether public or private property, and his malefeasance
in office soon became so notorious as to attract the attention of the
emperor. He was enjoined from crossing the boundaries of his province,
ordered to surrender to the royal treasurer the Pearl Islands, the
revenues of which, it will be remembered, were placed under his control
by the crown, and to give all needful aid to Francisco Pizarro and Diego
de Almagro in the prosecution of their exploring expeditions.
But it was no part of the policy of Rios to build up other territories
at the expense of his own, and his neglect of these instructions,
united with the malign influence of the crafty Pedrarias, whom the
slender-witted Rios never ceased to persecute, soon wrought his
downfall.[II‑1] Such, finally, were the complaints laid before the
council of the Indies, that some time before the expiration of his three
years' term of office, the licentiate Antonio de la Gama was sent to
take his residencia, and the governor, dissatisfied with the result,
proceeded to Spain and demanded justice. His cause came up before the
council of the Indies, Oviedo acting as attorney for the city of Panamá,
and Pedro de los Rios was fined, despoiled of office, ordered home, and
forbidden ever to return to the Indies.[II‑2] His wife, whom he had left
behind, refused to make the journey to Spain without the company of her
husband, and as he declined to return for her, she remained at Panamá
to the day of her death.
After the condemnation of Rios in 1529, the licentiate refused to
surrender his badge of office, retaining his post as governor for about
five years. Notwithstanding some complaints of his summary method of
dealing with judicial matters, a few even going so far as to say that if
Rios chose to return he might do so with impunity, the general verdict
of the colonists was in his favor, and during his administration many
public improvements were made. An inordinate craving for wealth was,
as usual, the cause of his removal,[II‑3] and in the spring of 1534
he was superseded by Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo, a soldier who
had gained some distinction at Cartagena. Barrionuevo had received his
commission nearly two years before, and set sail from Spain in command
of a force of two hundred men, furnished at the expense of the crown.
He was ordered to touch at Española, where the governor was instructed
to furnish all needed supplies; and the expedition arrived at Nombre de
Dios with ranks somewhat thinned by disease, and by casualties incurred
through rendering assistance in quelling an Indian revolt in Santo
Domingo.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: NUEVA ANDALUCÍA.]
Amidst the throng of adventurers who, dazzled by marvellous reports
of the wealth of the incas and of the fabled treasures of Dabaiba,
petitioned the emperor for grants of territory south of Castilla del
Oro was Pedro de Heredia, who had already done good service at the
settlement of Santa Marta and elsewhere in the Indies. To him was
assigned in Nueva Andalucía a province whose limits extended from the
River Atrato to the Magdalena, and from the North Sea to the equator.
Sailing from Spain in 1532 with three vessels and about one hundred
men, he landed at a port then called Calamari, but to which he gave
the name of Cartagena.[II‑4] It was hereabout that Ojeda's command was
annihilated in 1509, and here that Nicuesa avenged the defeat of his
late rival by putting to the sword the people.
After a brief rest the Spaniards marched inland and came ere long to
a town where they met with stout resistance. The natives made good use
of their poisoned arrows and clubs of hard wood, man, matron, and maid
fighting side by side, and though all destitute of clothing or any
defensive armor, confronted the fire-arms and swords of the Europeans
without flinching. A few prisoners were taken during the skirmish,
one of whom, on the return of the party to Cartagena, offered to act
as guide to some of the largest towns in that vicinity, thinking that
his captors must surely be there overpowered and exterminated. On the
way they were attacked by a large body of natives who, after a sharp
contest, were driven into a neighboring stronghold, enclosed with
several thickly planted rows of trees. In hot pursuit the Spaniards
followed, and forced their way into the enclosure side by side with the
fugitives. Fresh bands of Indians soon arrived and, turning the scale,
drove out the invaders, and in the plain beyond, where was room for the
use of artillery and cavalry, even here pressed them so hard that they
held their ground with difficulty. During the fight Heredia, becoming
separated from his men, was surrounded, and would surely have been
killed had not one of his soldiers forced his way through the enemy's
ranks, and thrusting his sword through the body of one, and cutting the
bowstring of another, held the foe in check till others could come to
his assistance. Finally the savages were driven back, leaving their town
in the hands of the captors, who found there provisions and a little
gold.
Returning to Cartagena, Heredia fell in with a vessel newly arrived from
Española with troops on board that raised his command to one hundred
foot and as many horse. Thus reënforced, he penetrated the province
as far as the town of Cenú, in the valley of a river which still bears
that name. Here was found in two boxes or chests gold to the value of
20,000 pesos, and in a place which went by the name of "El bohío del
diablo,"[II‑5] a pit with three compartments, each about two hundred and
fifty feet in length, was a hammock supported by four human figures, and
containing gold to the value of 15,000 pesos, amid which, according to
Indian tradition, his sable majesty was wont to repose. In a sepulchre
near by, gold-dust was unearthed to the amount of 10,000 pesos.
Well satisfied with the results of his expedition Heredia returned to
head-quarters, and was soon afterward joined by a fresh reënforcement
of three hundred men. The tidings of his success soon attracted numbers
of dissatisfied colonists from Castilla del Oro, and toward the close
of the sixteenth century Cartagena became a place of considerable
note,[II‑6] the fleet that supplied the New World with the merchandise
of Spain touching there on the way to Portobello. The latter was but
a small village, tenanted chiefly by negroes, and possessing, next to
Nombre de Dios, the most sickly climate of all the settlements in Tierra
Firme. So deadly were the exhalations from its rank and steaming soil
that a small garrison maintained there to guard the fleet was changed
four times a year. Notwithstanding its unwholesome atmosphere an annual
fair was held there lasting forty days, during which time its streets
were crowded with merchants from every quarter of the Indies. Not many
years afterward the Peruvian herder, climbing the mountain side in quest
of his stray llama, discovered the silver-mines of Potosí,[II‑7] and
the place became, for a few weeks in the year, the most redundant mart
of commerce in the world. A fleet, freighted with all that was required
to supply the real and artificial wants of an opulent community, called
there once a year, and as soon as it appeared in sight the treasures
of the mines and pearl-fisheries were conveyed by land from Panamá to
Cruces, and thence down the Rio Chagre to Portobello.
[Illustration: CASTILLA DEL ORO.]
[Sidenote: SAN SEBASTIAN.]
When the conquest and exploration of his territory had been partially
effected, Pedro de Heredia despatched his brother Alonso to the gulf
of Urabá to rebuild there the town of San Sebastian.[II‑8] The site
selected was some leagues south of the ruins of the settlement which
Ojeda had founded, and where his lieutenant Francisco Pizarro and his
band suffered from hunger and pestilence before Vasco Nuñez led them to
the South Sea. On a spot distant about half a league from the eastern
shore of the gulf, among some hillocks near which were groves of tall
cocoa-nut palms,[II‑9] the settlement was founded, sorely against the
will of Julian Gutierrez, who, having married the sister of the cacique
Urabá, had accumulated a fortune by bartering for gold such cheap
baubles as the natives most preferred.[II‑10] Inciting the natives
to harass Heredia's party at every opportunity, Gutierrez proceeded
to build a fort on the banks of the Rio Caiman, at no great distance
from San Sebastian. In this enterprise he was joined by a number
of malecontents from Castilla del Oro, who had been on the point of
embarking for Peru, but were persuaded to take service under Gutierrez.
Chief among them was one Francisco César, who soon afterward figures
prominently in the history of Cartagena.
Heredia at once marched with all his forces against Gutierrez, and bid
him withdraw from the limits of his province. The latter replied that
he was acting under instructions from the governor of Castilla del Oro
and could not neglect his orders. Heredia pretended to be satisfied
with this answer and withdrew his troops, but returning after nightfall
stormed the enemy's camp and put most of the garrison to the sword.
Gutierrez and his Indian wife were carried captives to Cartagena.
César with a few of the survivors escaped to the woods and afterward
took service under Heredia. News of the disaster soon reached Panamá,
whereupon Barrionuevo immediately crossed over to Nombre de Dios,
took ship for Cartagena, procured the release of his lieutenant, and
concluded an arrangement with Pedro de Heredia by which the Atrato was
made the southern boundary of Castilla del Oro.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE GOLDEN TEMPLE OF DABAIBA.]
In the vicinity of a temple in the valley of the Cenú River the
colonists of San Sebastian discovered numerous tombs, some of them of
such ancient date that their contents betokened the lapse of centuries.
Here the natives buried their caciques in a sitting posture, side by
side with their favorite wives, best trusted servants, and dearest
friends; and in the vaults which contained the remains were placed all
their gold, gems, and armor. This, perchance, may have been the golden
temple of Dabaiba, the quest of which had already cost the lives of
so many Spaniards, and was yet to cost the lives of hundreds more as
they pursued this glittering phantom far south toward the verge of
the province. South-east of the gulf of Urabá lay the territory of the
cacique Dabaiba, whose name is still applied to the sierra that skirts
the bank of the Atrato, forming a western spur of the cordillera.
Between the gulf and the town of the cacique was a forest ten or twelve
leagues in length, dense with palm-trees, and matted with tropical
undergrowth, through which flowed to the sea mountain streams, dammed
in places with fallen trees, and covering the neighborhood with vast
tracts of lagoon and marsh land. Through this region the natives, with
their light portable canoes, made their way with little difficulty, but
to the Spaniard with his heavy armor and cumbersome accoutrements the
forest was almost impervious. Beyond it lay a rugged and broken country
in which roads were unknown and where the tortuous bed of a mountain
torrent afforded for a brief space during the dry season the only means
of access to the realms of the Indian chief. The sierra of Dabaiba had
for many years barred the progress of Spanish exploration and conquest,
but there, if report were true, lay hidden stores of gold that outshone
even the riches of an Atahualpa or a Montezuma. Closely guarded indeed
must be the treasure that could escape the keen scent of the Spaniard,
and great the obstacles that could stay his path when in search of his
much loved wealth.
The first to attempt the conquest of this territory was Francisco César,
now a captain of infantry, and one whose skill and gallantry had gained
for him the confidence of his men. Starting from San Sebastian in 1536,
in command of eighty foot and twenty horse, he travelled southward
through a pathless wilderness. Ten months the party journeyed, and
arriving at length at the Guaca[II‑11] Valley were suddenly attacked
by an army of twenty thousand natives. While thus surrounded and cut
off from all hope of retreat, there appeared above them in the heavens
the image of Spain's patron saint. Three hours thereafter the enemy
was routed, and the Spaniards proceeded at once to look for gold. After
much tedious search, a crumbling sepulchre was discovered, wherein was
hidden treasure to the value of thirty thousand castellanos. The remnant
of César's band then returned to San Sebastian, accomplishing their
homeward journey in seventeen days.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: HEREDIA'S EXPEDITION.]
Less fortunate was Pedro de Heredia, who in the same year organized
an expedition to invade the realms of the cacique Dabaiba and to
gain possession of his treasures. At the head of two hundred and ten
mail-clad men, Heredia set out from San Sebastian, and directed his
course along the banks of the Atrato. He soon arrived at the verge
of the forest through which he must cut his way as best he could,
with frequent and vexatious delays for the felling of trees and the
construction of rafts to bridge the marshy ground, impassable else for
man or beast. Rain fell in torrents; poisonous snakes and swarms of
wasps and mosquitoes haunted the gloomy solitudes. No fires could be
kindled, and famine and pestilence soon became familiar guests in the
Spanish camp. Some natives who served as guides were accused of having
purposely led them astray. They answered: "We go from the river to
the mountains in three days, while you and your horses require as many
months."
When the storm cleared away a detachment of Spaniards was sent in
advance to reconnoitre, the rest remaining in camp to await their
report. After a few days' march they arrived at a spot where the
smoke of expiring embers and the skins of animals indicated a recent
encampment of savages. After diligent search huts were discovered
built amidst the boughs of the forest-trees, the natives thus securing
themselves from venomous reptiles. After a slight resistance two of the
natives were captured, and from their information the party brought back
news to their comrades that they were travelling in a wrong direction.
Heredia and his men, too much dispirited to make any further effort,
turned their faces homeward and arrived at San Sebastian empty-handed
and in sorry plight, the return journey occupying forty days, and the
entire expedition about three months.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: FRANCISCO CÉSAR'S EXPEDITION.]
The survivors of the two Spanish companies soon became clamorous
for fresh adventure, and in 1538 Francisco César, with Heredia's
permission, equipped a force about equal in number to his first command,
resolved this time to penetrate at all hazard the fastnesses of the
mysterious sierra. After leaving San Sebastian, César marched along
the coast in the direction of the Rio Verde, thence turning eastward
toward the cordillera. The party suffered severely, and on arriving
at the Guaca Valley mustered but sixty-three men capable of bearing
arms. Nevertheless César advanced boldly on the first town which fell
in his way after ascending the sierra. The inhabitants, assured by
interpreters that the invaders had no hostile intent, brought forth an
abundant supply of roots, corn, fruit, and such other provisions as they
possessed. The horses were treated with special care, and homage was
paid to them as to superior beings.
While the Spaniards were enjoying here a few days of repose the chief
of the district, Nutibara by name, quietly assembled an army of two
thousand men, thinking to crush this presumptuous little band, for no
tidings had yet reached him of the dread prowess of the strangers. A
stubborn conflict ensued, terminated only by the death of Quinunchú,
brother of Nutibara, who fell by the hand of César. Santiago on his
white horse again appeared in behalf of his followers, and to him was
ascribed the glory of the carnage that followed. The conquerors soon
ascertained that the country for many leagues around was rising in arms
against them, and having now secured treasure to the value of forty
thousand ducats they returned by forced marches to San Sebastian.[II‑12]
News of César's expedition was soon carried to Cartagena, whence in
December 1537 the licentiate Juan de Badillo set forth to explore
further the region south of the gulf of Urabá. A force of three hundred
and fifty men was collected, with five hundred and twelve horses, a
number of Indians and negroes, and ample stores of provisions and
munitions of war. Francisco César was second in command, and the
treasurer Saavedra one of the captains. Starting from the port of Santa
María near the mouth of the Atrato they arrived, with no adventure
worthy of note, at the valley of Los Pitos[II‑13] where was a fort
defended by a large force of natives. Saavedra, leading an attack on
this stronghold at the head of sixty men, was beaten back, and César,
coming to his support about nightfall, posted his men in readiness to
renew the assault at daybreak. The defenders, perceiving their design,
determined to anticipate them, and fell on the Spaniards unawares, but
after some sharp fighting were repulsed.
Badillo then continued his march through the Guaca Valley, arriving
at the domains of the chief Quinachi. It was here that César, on his
first expedition, had unearthed treasure to the value of thirty thousand
castellanos, and hence one reason for selecting this route. In June the
expedition arrived at the valley of Norí,[II‑14] with ranks somewhat
thinned by famine and by ceaseless encounters with the natives. Meeting
with a friendly cacique they questioned him as to the whereabouts of
the great treasure of Dabaiba. He replied: "There is no treasure, for
they have no need of any; but when they want gold to purchase food or
redeem a captive, they pick it up in dry weather from under the rocks
in the river-beds." Exploring parties were sent in all directions, but
with little success. They could not scale the steep sierra or cross
the treacherous marshes, and they were constantly harassed by bands
of Indians. Acosta relates that one detachment sent out toward the
mountains in a westerly direction passed underneath a village, built
amidst the overhanging boughs of forest-trees, whence the natives plied
them with arrows, rocks, hot water, and lighted fagots.
The cacique of Norí, anxious to be rid of the Spaniards, presented
Badillo with gold to the value of two thousand pesos, and offered to
conduct him to an auriferous region, then known as the Buritica Valley.
After a six days' march they came to a native stronghold, which was
captured after a sharp struggle, the chieftain, with his young wife,
being taken captive. The latter was released on payment of a large
ransom, accompanied with a promise from her husband to act as guide to
a spot where rich mines were known to exist. With a heavy iron collar
round his neck, and fastened by chains between four stalwart soldiers,
the cacique led the way till he came to the verge of a precipice, whence
he threw himself headlong, dragging with him his guards. Unhappily the
fall did not prove fatal, and the Spaniards, though sorely hurt, had
yet life enough left to drag their bruised victim into the presence of
Badillo, who at once ordered his slaves to burn him alive.
Want, sickness, and the ceaseless hostility of the natives had now
spread havoc in the Spanish ranks. Many who had come in search of wealth
had found a grave; and the survivors, worn with hardship and disgusted
with the meagre results of their long-protracted toil, threatened to
abandon the expedition and set their faces homeward. The discontent was
greatly increased by the death of Francisco César, a much loved and well
trusted officer, and one who, had fortune cast his lot in a wider or
nobler sphere of action, might have become one of the foremost captains
of his age. Nevertheless, the march was continued, and on Christmas-eve,
after a journey lasting one year and three days, the expedition arrived
at the province of Calí, in the valley of the Cauca River. Here the
soldiers well nigh broke out into open mutiny. Badillo confronted them
with drawn sword, exclaiming: "Let him return who chooses; I will go
forward alone till fortune favors me." Nevertheless the men crowded
around him still clamoring to be led back to Urabá, whereupon he ordered
a division to be made of the spoil, hoping thus to put them in better
heart. To complete his discomfiture it was found that the treasure-chest
had disappeared. This last was a heavy stroke, for the worthy licentiate
was of course suspected of the theft. Alone and broken-hearted he stole
away to Popayan, some twenty leagues to the south in the same valley.
Thence he made his way to Panamá, was there arrested, and after being
sent a prisoner to Cartagena, the city from which he had departed in
pursuit of fame and riches, ended his days at Seville, before his trial
was concluded, friendless and a pauper.
The charge of peculation against Badillo proved to be unfounded, for
the chest containing two thousand six hundred castellanos was afterward
discovered.
The share of each foot-soldier was ascertained to be five castellanos,
from which it would appear that the Spaniards lost about half their
number before arriving at Calí. The remainder of the band followed the
course of the Cauca River northward as far as the Indian province of
Umbrá, where most of them took service under one Jorge Robledo, who made
further explorations on the right bank of the Cauca in the mountainous
region which now bears the name of Antioquia.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE AUDIENCIA OF PANAMÁ.]
In 1533[II‑15] the audiencia real y chancillería of the city of Panamá
was established, the _personnel_ of which included a president,
four oidores, a fiscal, a relator, two secretaries, and for local
government two alcaldes and three ministers of justice. The territory
under the jurisdiction of the audiencia originally included Peru with
the exception of the port of Buenaventura, but was afterward bounded
by Costa Rica, Cartagena, and the two oceans, and was divided into
the three provinces of Castilla del Oro, Darien, and Veragua, all of
which were included under the one name of Tierra Firme. During the
administration of Pedrarias, as we have seen, an interdict was passed
forbidding lawyers and magistrates to reside in Castilla del Oro, and
the minions of the governor decided civil cases always in favor of
the party who paid the heaviest bribe. There was no appeal but to the
governor himself except in cases where the amount exceeded five hundred
pesos. A transcript of proceedings might in such cases be sent to the
audiencia of Española, which at that time held jurisdiction over the
inferior courts of Castilla del Oro. Some few years after the demise of
Pedrarias the prohibition was removed, when there fell upon the fated
land an avalanche of lawyers. "A magistrate," writes Oviedo to the
emperor, "is worse than a pestilence, for if the latter took your life
it at least left your estate intact." After the establishment of the
audiencia of Panamá certain changes were made, but they were of little
benefit to the community, for in 1537 we find the alcalde mayor holding
the threefold office of presiding judge and attorney both for plaintiff
and defendant, "passing sentence," as Oviedo says, "on him whom he least
favored."[II‑16] The government of the three provinces was in fact
little else than a legalized despotism. Complaint was sometimes made
to the emperor, but the colonists soon found that the complainant was
only made to suffer the more for his presumption. "Only that an ocean
lay between Charles and his downtrodden subjects," exclaims Vazquez,
"nineteen out of twenty would have thrown themselves at his feet to pray
for justice."
The corruption extended to the municipal officers, and the provinces
became rapidly impoverished. To make matters worse, multitudes of
vagrants, the scum of the Spanish population, had for years been
swarming into the New World settlements. At one time the hospitals
and churches of Panamá were insufficient to shelter the hordes of
poverty-stricken and houseless vagabonds that crowded the city. As they
would not work, many were near starving.
Charles knew little of all this, if indeed he cared. As an instance of
his ignorance as to the true condition of affairs in Tierra Firme, it
may be mentioned that on the appointment of Fray Vicente de Peraza as
the second bishop of Castilla del Oro, he was enjoined by the monarch to
render aid to the faithful Pedrarias Dávila in securing the conversion
and proper treatment of the natives. It is probable that the good bishop
worked a little too conscientiously in the cause of the savage to suit
the taste of Pedrarias, for as it has already been stated, he died of
poison supposed to have been administered by that worthy ruler.
[Sidenote: BISHOP BERLANGA'S BOX.]
Of Fray Tomás de Berlanga, who filled the episcopal chair a few years
after Peraza's decease,[II‑17] it is stated that during his return
voyage to Spain, in 1537, being overtaken by a heavy storm, he arrayed
himself in his pontifical robes, and kneeling with the rest of the
company chanted a litany to the virgin. In response there appeared on
the waves what seemed at first a small boat, but proved to be a box
containing, as was supposed, merchandise. The gale moderated and the
captain readily assented to the bishop's proposition that if the box
contained a saint's image or other sacred thing, it should become the
property of the prelate, but if it held anything of monetary value
it should be claimed by the former. Soon the sea was calm; the box
was opened, and there, sure enough, was the image of Our Lady of the
Immaculate Conception. On his arrival in Spain Berlanga placed the
image in the convent of Medina de Rioseco, where he afterward founded
a similar institution, chanting his first mass there on the 19th of
January 1543.[II‑18]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: CASTELLANOS, SIMON, PIEDRAHITA.]
With the trio of travellers and observers, Benzoni, Acosta, and Thevet,
may be classed Juan de Castellanos, whose _Elegías de Varones Ilustres
de Indias_ recount not only the glories of the military, ecclesiastic,
and civil conquerors who figured in the early annals of the region
extending over the Antilles, the Isthmus, and the northern part of
South America, but give special histories of the New Granada provinces.
Himself one of the horde which came over from Spain for glory and
plunder, he had as cavalry soldier taken active part in a number of
the expeditions so graphically described. With the acquisition of a
fortune came a sense of the injustice exercised in its accumulation,
and remorse perhaps for ill-treatment of the Indians, mingled largely
with discontent at the poor recognition of his services, caused him to
join the church. He received the appointment of _canónigo tesorero_ at
Cartagena, but resigned it after a brief tenure for the curacy of Tunja,
erroneously assumed by some writers to be his birthplace. Here he found
ample time to seek solace by unlocking the gates of a natural eloquence,
and letting forth the remembrances of glorious deeds and events. The
gown is forgotten, and the old soldier dons again in fancy the rusty
armor, though he modestly, too modestly, refrains from intruding
himself. It is in prose that he first relates his story, but finding
this too quiet for his theme of heroes and battles, he transposes the
whole into verse, a work of ten years.
His is not the artificial refinement of the epic writer, whose form he
follows from a love of rhythm, but merely versified narrative, with a
generally honest adherence to fact, though form and metre suffer:
Iré con pasos algo presurosos,
Sin orla de poéticos cabellos
Que hacen versos dulces, sonorosos
A los ejercitados en leerlos;
Pues como canto casos dolorosos,
Cuales los padecieron muchos dellos,
Parecióme decir la verdad pura
Sin usar de ficcion ni compostura.
The ease and variety of the lines indicate the natural poet, however,
and even when form departs the sentences retain a certain elegance.
The first part was published as _Primera Parte de las Elegías_, etc.,
Madrid, 1589, 4o, used by De Bry in his eighth part on America, and
given in the fourth volume of _Biblioteca de Autores Españoles_,
1850. The second and third parts, provided with maps and plans, and
dedicated, like the first, to King Philip, remained in manuscript in
the library of the Marqués del Carpio—_Pinelo_, _Epitome_, ii. 590—till
issued by Ariban, together with the first part, in 1857, as a special
volume of the above _Biblioteca_. A fourth part, perhaps the best
and most important, as it must have recorded the latest and freshest
recollections of Castellanos, was used by Bishop Piedrahita for his
history, and has since disappeared. He found the original with Consejero
Prado, and refers to "las otras tres partes impressas." _Hist. Conq.
Granada_, preface.
The three published parts are divided into elegies, eulogies, and
histories, according to the theme, though Castellanos evidently
stretches a point to obtain so many subjects under the first heading,
inscribing them, as a rule, 'to the death' of some noted captain. The
subdivision forms octave stanzas of the Italian form, undecasyllabic
triple measure, in feminine rhyme, of triple alternating lines, with a
finishing couplet. Toward the end a continuous and chiefly blank verse
is used. The facility for versification in Spanish can hardly find
a better illustration than these sustained triplets of double rhyme,
which reflect no small credit on Castellanos' patience and power of
expression. The usual faults of writers of his age are, of course, to
be found; incredulity, pedantry, and contradiction, chiefly due to the
readiness with which he accepted statements from chroniclers and from
participants in the events related. His own versions may, Muñoz' slurs
notwithstanding, be regarded as faithful recitals, so far, at least, as
memory and military ardor permitted, while everywhere are to be found
clear, vivid descriptions of battles, scenes, and people.
An ambition with the monks and missionaries who assisted to develop the
conquest was to become chroniclers of general history, of expeditions,
or of provinces, and as brethren of the hood abounded narratives were
numerous enough to form the most perfect record of events that could
be desired; but the deplorable fact remains that so few have been
preserved, in print or manuscript. New Granada, which includes the
southern part of the Isthmus, was long without a public chronicle.
The conqueror Quesada had prepared one, and Medrano had left a history
just begun, which Aguado completed in two volumes, but neither saw the
light, and Castellanos' poetical record was published only in part. They
existed in manuscript, however, and with them for guide, Pedro Simon
was encouraged to undertake the task anew. Born at La Parilla in 1574
he had early joined the Franciscan order, and came to New Granada 30
years later as teacher and missionary, rising in 1623 to the office of
provincial. The same year he began the history for which he had during
several years been gathering material and experience. Three stout folio
volumes were speedily completed, each divided into seven historiales;
but of these only the _Primera Parte de las Noticias historiales de
las Conquistas de tierra firme_, Cuenca, 1627, relating to Venezuela,
came to be published; the other two, on Santa Marta, and on the region
adjoining Darien, remaining in manuscript at Bogotá, whence Muñoz
obtained a copy for the Madrid Academy. The published volume opens with
a dissertation on geographic knowledge among the ancients, and on the
origin of the Indians, and proceeds with the discovery and naming of
America. The Isthmus receives at first considerable attention, as one
of the earliest explored portions, but soon the narrative concentrates
upon the conquest and settlement of Venezuela, devoting a considerable
space to the custom and condition of the natives, but entering very
little upon religious affairs. The work is decidedly the most important
history of the province for the sixteenth century, and the failure
to publish that of the other provinces is highly to be regretted. The
simple, verbose style is that common to the convent chroniclers of the
period, and the only serious fault is in giving too ready credence to
statements.
Simon's non-success with the printer gave the rank of leading historian
of the province to Bishop Lucas Fernandez Piedrahita, who wrote 50
years later. A creole of Bogotá by birth, his whole career as priest
and prelate is bound up with his native country. While yet a student
he gave evidence of a literary taste by writing comedies, of which no
traces remain however. His ability procured rapid advancement in the
church. While governor of the archdiocese, till 1661, he incurred the
enmity of a visitador and was obliged to appear in Spain for trial,
but passed the ordeal, and received in compensation the bishopric of
Santa Marta. It was while waiting the slow progress of the trial that
he found time to write the _Historia General de las Conqvistas del
Nvevo Reyno de Granada_, 1688. In 1676 he was promoted to the see of
Panamá, where he died, 1688, at an age of over 70 years, revered for his
extreme benevolence and sanctity. In the preface to the volume, just
then passing through the press, Piedrahita admits that it is merely
a reproduction of _Quesada's Compendio_, and of the fourth part of
_Castellanos' Elegías_, both now lost, and the text shows indeed but
little of the research, speculation, and variety manifest in Simon,
whom he excels however in beauty and clearness of style. He confines
himself more to the special history of New Granada than Simon, and
instead of learned dissertations on America in general, he devotes the
first two of the 12 books to an account of native customs and ancient
history. He then takes up the conquest and settlement of the provinces
in question and carries the history to 1563. The first title is bordered
with cuts of Indian battle scenes, and the portraits of seven leading
kings and caciques, while that of the first libro has 12 minor chiefs
in medallions. The title-page of the third libro, again, which begins
the conquest, bears the likenesses of 12 Spanish captains. At the close
of the work is promised a continuation, but this never appeared.
A modern publication covering the same field and period as the
preceding is Joaquin Acosta's _Compendio Histórico del Descubrimiento
y Colonizacion de la Nueva Granada en el siglo decimo sexto_. Paris,
1843. Lacking in critique it nevertheless fills the want of a popular
chronologic review, and exhibits considerable labor. Acosta was an
officer of engineers in the Colombian service who had taken an active
part in scientific investigations, and written several archæologic
essays.