1510-1511.
francisco pizarro abandons san sebastian—meets enciso at cartagena—he and his crew look like pirates—they are taken back to san sebastian—vasco nu?ez de balboa—boards enciso's ship in a cask—arrives at san sebastian—the spaniards cross to darien—the river and the name—cemaco, cacique of darien, defeated—founding of the metropolitan city—presto, change! the hombre del casco up, the bachiller down—vasco nu?ez, alcalde—nature of the office—regidor—colmenares, in search of nicuesa, arrives at antigua—he finds him in a pitiable plight—antigua makes overtures to nicuesa—then rejects him—and finally drives him forth to die—sad end of nicuesa.
when alonso de ojeda left san sebastian for espa?ola, he stipulated with francisco pizarro, who for the time was commissioned governor, that should neither he himself return, nor the bachiller enciso arrive within fifty days, the colonists might abandon the post and seek safety or adventure in other parts.
and now the fifty days had passed; wearily and hungrily they had come and gone, with misery an ever present guest; and no one having come, they dismantled the fortress, placed on board the two small brigantines left them the gold they had secured—trust francisco pizarro for scenting gold, and getting it—and made ready to embark for santo domingo. but though only seventy remained, the vessels could not carry them all; and it was agreed that they should wait awhile, until death reduced their number to the capacity of the boats. 322
nor had they long to wait; nor would their grim attendant let them put to sea without him. he had been so long domiciled with them, and had become so useful in settling disputes, adjusting accounts, and the like, that he was one of them, and one, indeed, with all the companies which attempted colonization on these pestilential shores. as they coasted eastward in search of food before steering across for espa?ola, a squall struck the vessels, overturning one of them and sending all on board to swift destruction. entering with the other the harbor of cartagena, pizarro found there the tardy enciso hunting his colony.
now the bachiller, beside possessing great learning, was a man of experience, all the way from spain; a man of keen intelligence and practical sagacity, his wits sharpened by the narrow-minded legal bigotry of a sixteenth-century spanish lawyer. he must be of exceedingly ready wit who could deceive the bachiller. it was scarcely to be expected a man of his kidney should credit the stories of ojeda's visit to santo domingo, of the deputy governorship, and of the late disaster; though honest pizarro on this occasion told only the truth, and his companions vouched for it with all the feeble force of their high-keyed husky voices. if ojeda had gone to santo domingo more than fifty or seventy days before, would not the bachiller have seen him there? indeed, to a less erudite judge than enciso, a band of robbers on the high seas, with an abundance of gold and no bread, would call up suspicions rather of foul play than honest adventure. and back they must go. the functions of high judge should begin here and now. was not this nueva andalucía? with the horrors of san sebastian still fresh in their minds, the thought of returning there was repugnant in the extreme, and the poor wretches begged the lawyer to let them go to espa?ola, or join nicuesa. no. enciso had staked his whole earthly possessions 323 on the delightful prospect of domination, and these should not escape him. they were just the clay for his fashioning; men for whom the law was made. whipping out his commission, which at once deposed pizarro, the bachiller drove them back into their boat, and all embarked for san sebastian. but scarcely had they turned the punta de caribana,[vii-1] when the bachiller's well-stored ship struck upon rocks and broke in pieces, those on board barely escaping with their lives. thus the worthy bachiller was beggared; the savings from life-long pettifoggings were swept away within the hour. still his original stock in trade, egotism and arrogance, was left unimpaired.
nueva andalucía
administration of enciso.
making their way along the shore to san sebastian, the spaniards found their fort demolished and their houses, some thirty in number, burned. in a feeble way they began to forage again, but even enciso saw that it was useless. the absence of food, the poisoned arrows, and the poisoned air were too much for the bravest long to contend with. "let us leave this accursed spot," they all cried. "whither 324 would you go?" demanded the lawyer. one of them said:—"once when i coasted this gulf with rodrigo de bastidas, along the western shore we found the country fertile and rich in gold. provisions were abundant; and the natives, though warlike, used no poisoned arrows. through this land of which i speak flows a river called by the natives darien."
vasco nu?ez de balboa.
all eyes were turned upon the speaker. it was the hombre del casco, vasco nu?ez de balboa, a fine specimen of the spanish cavalier, at that time about thirty-five years of age. he was taller than ojeda, though perhaps not stronger; there was not about him the assurance of breeding and position that nicuesa bore; nor were there present in his features those marks of greed and brutality plainly discernible in the face of francisco pizarro, who stood not far from him. strong and comely in every part, apparently, of body and mind, one to be observed with intuitive respect in a society of this kind, one to be approached with ease, but with due care; frank and manly, with a firm and winning eye and manner, yet there was about him noticeable something between shyness and reticence. indeed, the standing of this person, since his sudden and altogether informal appearing as one of the present company had been somewhat dubious, and he seemed to regard it good taste to hold himself rather in the background. for all this there was that innate superiority about him over every one present, not excepting the erudite judge or the subsequently cunning conqueror of peru, that could not always remain concealed, particularly amid constantly recurring vital issues.
of the invariable poor but noble family, a native of jerez de los caballeros, vasco nu?ez was reared in the service of pedro puertocarrero, the deaf lord of moguer. drawn with the crowd to the new world, upon the abrupt termination of the voyage of bastidas, he obtained a repartimiento of indians, and applied himself to agriculture at salvatierra, 325 a town of espa?ola. becoming embarrassed by debts, and disgusted with the plodding life of a farmer, he determined to try fortune in the new colony of alonso de ojeda. but how to escape his creditors was the question. debtors were prohibited by edict from leaving the island. the town of santo domingo at this time swarmed with insolvent adventurers anxious to engage in new adventure, and the strictest watch was kept on them by the authorities. an armed escort accompanied every departure until well out at sea, to bring back discovered stowaways. for all this vasco nu?ez determined to sail with enciso. now mark the budding of genius! taking a large cask, such as was used in shipping stores, he ensconced himself therein, and caused it to be headed up, placed upon a wagon, and driven from his farm to the landing, where it was placed with the other stores, and finally carried on board the ship. the vessel put to sea; the tender returned to port; to the creditors was left the farm of vasco nu?ez, while the late owner was forever safe beyond their reach.[vii-2]
when, like aphrodite from her circling shell, the serio-comic face of the bankrupt farmer appeared emerging from the provision cask, the bachiller was disposed to treat the matter magisterially, and threatened to land the refugee from justice on the first deserted island. but as the learned judge could not be held accountable as a party to the fraud, and as he thereby gained a valuable recruit, his judicial sensitiveness was finally mollified, and he assigned to the stowaway the ordinary duties of a soldier. nevertheless the mildly murderous threat of the lawyer was not lost upon the farmer.
into the hearts of the desponding colonists at san sebastian the words of vasco nu?ez infused new life. no time was lost in making ready; and crossing the gulf, they found the country and river as he 326 had said. near this river of darien,[vii-3] for so the atrato and country thereabout was then called, stood the village of the cacique, cemaco, a brave and upright ruler.
battle of antigua.
enciso, who is no less valiant than wise and conscientious, determines to make this place judicially his own. cemaco, who believes himself the legal owner, objects. whereupon is invoked that admirable provision, the ultimate appeal; and the man of the long robe and the man of no robe at all, each after his fashion, prepare for war. sending his women and children up the river, cemaco posts himself with five hundred warriors before the village. enciso, in whose person are united the combined essences of christendom, civil, ecclesiastical, and military, concentrates all his forces, human and divine, to hurl upon the presumptuous savage. first, as is his wont in legal battles, to every soldier he administers the oath that he will not flinch before the enemy; then he invokes the powers above to aid him in the approaching contest, vowing that if victory shall be his and the town shall fall into his hands he will name it in honor of the virgin and build and dedicate a church within the town in honor of her sacred image, antigua of seville. moreover, he promises that he will make a pilgrimage to her holy shrine if she will give him the victory over cemaco; and with 327 these preparations the battle begins. the half-starved spaniards fight like fiends. cemaco for a time maintains his position with firmness; but the awe-inspiring appearance of the strangers, their ship, their shining armor, their beards, the whiteness of their skin, the wonderful sharpness of their weapons, and the solemn thunder and smoke of their fire-arms soon scatter to the forest his terror-smitten people. to the unbounded joy of the conquerors the town is found rich in gold and cotton, and the adjacent fields afford abundance of provisions.
this is something like reward for toilsome missionary labors. along the river banks, secreted in caves, are found golden ornaments to the value of ten thousand castellanos.[vii-4] the virgin's share and the king's share are set aside, and the remainder of the spoils divided among the band. thus cemaco's village becomes the seat of government in tierra firme; and to it, as the lawyer promised the virgin, is given the name of santa maría de la antigua del darien.[vii-5]
in good truth fortune had at length smiled upon the colonists. captives taken in the skirmishes which followed the pitched battle were made to gather gold and work in the fields. the bachiller began a rigorous rule with a full sense of the responsibilities resting upon him as representative of the crown of spain and of his own importance before his soldiers, and as a hero in the great work of pacification. this view of his own merits appeared to him by no means diminished after his recent success. though small in 328 number, this colony should be mighty in law. poor ojeda! how happy he might have been in the position now occupied by this mummified bundle of quiddities.
settling themselves in cemaco's houses, the spaniards began to look about. first in order after his lawless raid, in the eyes of enciso, was law. the bachiller, as we have ere this surmised, was one of those super-wise and self-opinioned men who to achieve a fall have only to attain a height. very little law was here needed, very little government; but enciso was a lawyer and a ruler, and little of it would not suffice him. his first edict was the prohibition of private traffic with the natives. this measure, though strictly legal, could scarcely be called politic. the hundred or so ragged piratical wretches cast on this rich and feebly defended shore wanted few decrees; and the fewer laws their ruler made for them the fewer would be broken. but, necessary or not, the alcalde mayor must issue orders, else he is no alcalde mayor. hence other regulations followed, equally unpopular, until the colonists began to consider how best they might make a plug which should stop this great running to waste of law. though convinced that enciso was planning to get the gold as well as the government all into his own hands, and employ the colonists as tools wherewith to mine, and hold the savages in check, so inbred is spanish loyalty, that even the reckless members of this crude commonwealth hesitated before committing any overt act which might forever outlaw them from their country. better employ his own weapon against the bachiller, for law is safer than hemp for hanging even lawyers.
vasco nu?ez assumes command.
there was about vasco nu?ez a plain directness of thought and purpose the very opposite of those engendered of the law's entanglements. ever since his fortunate suggestion to cross from san sebastian to darien he had been regarded as the savior of the 329 colony; and now he thought he saw open a way of deliverance from their present trouble, and so he told them. "the gulf of urabá," said he, "separates nueva andalucía from castilla del oro. while on the eastern side we belonged to the government of alonso de ojeda; now that we are on the western, we are subject only to diego de nicuesa." before this simple logic the bachiller was dumfoundered. of what value was legal lore that could be so easily overturned by an illiterate adventurer? in vain he feebly argued that wherever was ojeda's colony, ojeda's deputy was master. the people were against him; and the opinion of the people concerning him was expressed by vasco nu?ez when some time afterward he wrote the king regarding persons of that cloth in infant settlements: "most powerful sire," he said, "there is one great favor that i pray your royal highness to do me, since it is of great importance to your service. it is for your royal highness to issue an order that no bachiller of laws, or of anything unless it be of medicine, shall come to these parts of tierra firme, under a heavy penalty that your highness shall fix; because no bachiller ever comes hither who is not a devil, and they all live like devils, and not only are they themselves bad, but they make others bad, having always contrivances to bring about litigations and villainies. this is very important to your highness' service in this a new country."[vii-6] 330
so the lawyer was deposed, and the cavalier elevated. enciso gracelessly yielded his clear authority; and after much wrangling among the ill-assorted fraternity, a municipality was decided upon, and two alcaldes[vii-7] were chosen, vasco nu?ez de balboa and martin zamudio. the office of regidor[vii-8] fell among others to one valdivia. subsequently additional officials were chosen.
government without law, however, proved no less ineffectual than law without government. disaffections and altercations continued. in the administration of justice, balboa was accused of favoring his friends and frowning upon his enemies. some repented having crossed the gulf; some desired the restoration of enciso; some suggested that as they were now within the jurisdiction of nicuesa, it was his right to rule, or to name their ruler.
colmenares comes.
while these strifes were raging, the inhabitants of antigua were startled one day by the report of a gun coming from the direction of san sebastian. thinking perhaps ojeda had returned, or sent supplies, they built fires on the adjacent heights in order to attract attention. presently two ships approached, and 331 anchored before the town. they proved to be vessels belonging to nicuesa, freighted at espa?ola with supplies for the colony of castilla del oro, and commanded by rodrigo enriquez de colmenares. thrown by stress of weather upon the coast of santa marta,[vii-9] he had there lost a number of his men; after which he entered the gulf of urabá, hoping to find information of nicuesa.
a quick observer and a faithful officer, colmenares soon understood the position of affairs, and took prompt measures to secure to his governor such advantages as might accrue from profitless contentions. by a judicious distribution of articles greatly needed by the colonists, attended by wise counsels, he gained their confidence, and partly healed their feuds; so that before sailing he prevailed on them to send two ambassadors to treat with nicuesa concerning the affairs of their settlement. the two envoys chosen were diego de albites, and an aspiring lawyer, hitherto overshadowed by the august presence of enciso, called the bachiller diego del corral, and they were directed to accompany the ships of colmenares in the brigantine belonging to the settlement of antigua.
it was about the middle of november, 1510, when colmenares entered the gulf of urabá. unable to gather any tidings of nicuesa, he continued his voyage westward, searching the inlets along the coast. he would nevertheless have passed nombre de dios had he not seen some of nicuesa's men in their boat, at one of the islands, seeking food. the wildest joy greeted the new arrival. it was to the colony of castilla del oro as a reprieve from death. gazing sadly on the sallow faces and emaciated forms before them, the miserable wreck of nicuesa's gallant company now reduced to sixty souls, listening to their tales of wretchedness, tears of honest sympathy fell from the eyes of the hardy sailors. 332 with difficulty could be recognized in the leader of the hapless troop the once gay and courtly nicuesa. colmenares gave the sufferers food and comforted them. he told nicuesa of ojeda's failure, of the settlement at antigua, and how enciso and his company, having found a spot rich in gold and well provisioned, had fallen to quarrelling among themselves about the government, and had finally sent messengers to him, the rightful ruler, for the healing of their disputes.
to nicuesa these words were as fresh oil in an expiring lamp. but in his enfeebled state, the sudden change from blank despair to brilliant hope played havoc with his discretion. after brief thanksgiving for deliverance, his mind became excited by dreams of boundless wealth and empire. he ordered a feast, at which he presided with insensate levity. toward the ambassadors from the gulf he assumed a haughty arrogance, claiming supreme authority relative to all matters at antigua, and stoutly swearing that the gold taken from his subjects of darien should be disgorged.
colmenares had marked the effect of nicuesa's altered temper on his followers. he saw that disaffection was rife, and that the governor held control by a feeble thread. showing nicuesa the madness of his course, he explained the importance of attaching the remnant of ojeda's colony to his own, and pointed out their strength and his weakness; he received in reply only insolent rebukes.
meanwhile the ambassadors albites and corral, men whose wits were about them, were not pleased with this foretaste of nicuesa's rule; nor did intercourse with nicuesa's men tend in any wise to diminish their unfavorable impressions. one night they visited lope de olano, who for his sins was chained to a rock and made to grind corn. "behold my condition," he exclaimed. "i have ever served my governor faithfully. i saved him from perishing, when i 333 had but to delay his rescue to become myself the governor. this is my reward. you men of antigua may draw your own conclusions." by others the ambassadors were informed that the chief officers of the new government were already selected: vasco nu?ez was to be stripped of all authority, and zamudio, as a relative of olano, could scarcely hope to fare better. those who had trafficked with the natives were to be severely punished. it was enough. stealing away, they hastened back to antigua. "a pretty mess you have made of it, with your infernal bickerings," they said to the assembled confederates. "nicuesa will give you more of law than enciso, and more of arbitrary rule than vasco nu?ez and zamudio ten times over." a few days after a messenger, one juan de caicedo, arrived from nicuesa, and informed them, for their further comfort, that the governor was detained at one of the islands capturing natives, but would be with them shortly. perceiving that his tidings were not hailed with transports of joy, and being himself embittered against nicuesa, as were indeed almost all his followers, caicedo swung round upon his bearings and laughed at them. "silly se?ores! free and rich, you call in a cormorant to swallow your substance and yourselves." and now, as usual when folly comes home, curses flowed freely on themselves and others. the prospect of losing their gold touched them. what should they do?
once more vasco nu?ez offers a pertinent suggestion. "you were dissatisfied with enciso, and questioned many of my acts. now you fear a governor possessing all the bad qualities of your former rulers, with, perhaps, few of their redeeming traits. if calling nicuesa was an error, is not receiving him a greater one?" struck by the suggestion, the colonists drop their differences and unite as one man against nicuesa, each taking a solemn oath never to serve under him. sentries are then stationed to give notice of his approach, and measures taken to prevent his 334 landing. after eight days pleasantly passed kidnapping among the islands, the ill-fated governor enters the harbor and comes to anchor, little dreaming of the reception that awaits him. on shore before the town he observes a company of armed men, assembled, as he supposes, to give him welcome. as he prepares to disembark, the public procurator[vii-10] advances and, to his astonishment, in a loud voice warns him on pain of death not to place foot on shore, but instantly to abandon these parts and return no more.
the colony at antigua was at this time comparatively strong and well-conditioned; nicuesa's followers were few, weak, and disaffected. for him to enforce authority was not possible. his mind had dwelt fondly of late on his rising fortunes, and this hostile reception was a terrible disappointment, for it was the last earthly resource. to return to the broken camp at nombre de dios would be to enter again the jaws of death; if he could not remain here, he certainly could not depart.
ill-treatment of nicuesa.
recovering in a measure, as from a heavy blow, the governor requested permission to land, promising solemnly to enter into any stipulations concerning the government which the colonists should deem just. his proposals were drowned by the shouts of the rabble; and he was warned, as he valued his life, to approach no nearer the shore. nicuesa continued his expostulations till nightfall, when he retired with his ship a little farther from land. returning next morning, he renewed his importunities. a change had apparently taken place in the minds of the people, for he was now permitted to land with his page. balboa received the governor courteously, conducted him to his house, and made him a guest for the night. the affairs of the government 335 were discussed, and an amicable understanding was arrived at by the two leaders. it was nothing less, in fact, than that one of them should be first, and the other second, in castilla del oro. on the following day a portion of the crew on board nicuesa's ship was permitted to land; and vasco nu?ez now endeavored to reconcile his comrades to the rule of the governor. it was too late. sedition is more easily raised than allayed. not only was zamudio jealous of his colleague, but he well knew that under the proposed regime the odium of all the opposition would fall on him. drawing round him the rougher element, he reminded the colonists of their oath, and pictured to them the poverty and restraint under the proposed government. so successful was he in exciting bad blood, that nicuesa was glad to escape insult and violence by retiring to his ship. thus encouraged, zamudio resolved to press a final issue by capturing the governor, and dictating terms to him. the next day accordingly he placed his men in ambush near the landing, and with one companion, pedro macaz, appeared before the ship. hailing the commander, he assured him that all was well, and that he now might safely venture on shore. nicuesa fell easily into the trap. joining the conspirators, he walked unsuspiciously with them toward the spot where the gang lay concealed. when near it zamudio changed his tone to one of harsh insolence, "se?or nicuesa," he said, "why do you persist in remaining here contrary to our wishes? your presence is our ruin. we can neither accept you, nor abandon this place. you must depart instantly, or die. take your choice." meanwhile his minions sprang forward. nicuesa saw it all at a glance. he was fleet of foot, and this was his only hope. so flinging off dignity, he eluded their clutches, dashed off at the top of his speed along the shore, and outstripping his pursuers, turned into the forest to hide.
when vasco nu?ez saw the desperate plight to 336 which nicuesa was reduced, all the generous impulses of his nature were aroused. he hated himself for the part he had played, and cursed the sordid ambition which thus unjustly humiliated so chivalrous a gentleman. more in earnest than ever, he sought out nicuesa in the wood; and then endeavored to excite the sympathies of the colonists, and even to intimidate them; but all was of no avail. those there were who well knew they had gone too far ever to be forgiven.
sad fate of nicuesa.
satan now wholly possessed zamudio. no fiend could ever invent and execute a more dastardly measure than was now proposed. with sixty men he entered the forest, seized nicuesa, and made him swear instantly to sail for spain, touching no port till he should reach cádiz. then, as if in mockery, he took from him his only serviceable ship, placed him into the old brigantine, now rotten and unsafe, which had been in use at veragua, and sent him forth with seventeen men and a few devoted members of his household. it was in march, 1511, that the so lately proud and gallant nicuesa was thus driven from antigua, and neither he nor any of that ill-fated company was ever afterward heard from!
