andrés ni?o and his spice islands—fails to obtain authority to discover—applies to gil gonzalez dávila—agreement with the king—royal order for the ships of vasco nu?ez—pedrarias refuses to deliver them—gil gonzalez transports ships across the mountains—embarks from the pearl islands—gil gonzalez proceeds by land and ni?o by sea—visit to nicoya—and to nicaragua—the captain-general converts many souls—and gathers much gold—fight with diriangen—nicaragua apostatizes—the spaniards terminate the discovery and hasten to their ships—ni?o's voyage to fonseca bay—return to panamá.
the pilot andrés ni?o was an enterprising fellow, not to be put down by any slight frown of fortune. he had lately seen service with vasco nu?ez, and would, god willing, follow the fantasy thence engendered. if two thousand castellanos could not buy a small slice of dominion on the north sea, he would try the south. and in the mind of ni?o, as with other navigators of that day, the undiscovered south assumed fantastic shape. there was the originally created strait, actual though invisible, leading to the spice islands hard by. why should not one pilot as well as another sail through that strait to those fragrant shores, even though the voyage must be begun by crossing a little strip of cordillera?
such was new world geography in 1519, when the inspired pilot found himself in spain, soliciting the council of the indies for the ships of vasco nu?ez, in which to make his voyage to the moluccas; for, if so 479 be he might get there for the asking, it would save him much trouble. ni?o had come under the patronage of alonso de la puente, the royal treasurer, and accompanied by andrés de cereceda; but the persuasive eloquence of the worthy pilot was wanting in the soft, seductive tones that come from the ring of precious metals, and a second time bellerophon fell to earth.
character of gil gonzalez.
it happened that the contador of espa?ola, gil gonzalez dávila,[xiv-1] was then at the court of spain; and it was suggested to ni?o, who seemed to have exhausted all his resources, that if he could engage that gentleman's interest in the enterprise, it would be equivalent to its accomplishment. for he was a man of no small influence, springing from a good family of ávila, and having been formerly attached to the household of the all-potential bishop of búrgos. possessed of exceptional ability and integrity, he had been sometimes sent by the government on missions of importance and trust, and was engaged in one of them when first we met him at santo domingo, investigating the affairs of the defaulting treasurer, santa clara. his energy was of the substantial cast, authoritative, robust, and direct. he seldom made mistakes, either in men or measures; and seemingly was strongest when standing at ease. neither so bold as vasco nu?ez, nor so cunning as pedrarias, nor so cruel as pizarro, nor so learned as espinosa, he was a man of deeper and broader experience than any one of them, with a more evenly balanced mind, a cooler, sounder judgment, not always a warrant for greater success than with a more senseless recklessness, but on the whole much safer as a colleague, and more reliable as a friend. he was not a man easily diverted by hollow schemes, however brilliant or high-soaring; but when ni?o laid before him his plans, he saw at once that they were 480 eminently practical. there were the ships, and there the undiscovered sea, of which was already known that its shores abounded in gold and pearls, guarded by naked and almost weaponless men—this, and little more. what more was wanted? it did not require a periander to tell the accomplished contador that this was no ordinary opportunity. fonseca, who had always retained a warm interest in his protégé, heartily approved the plan, and the details were soon arranged with ni?o. gil gonzalez was to be captain-general of the expedition; to him was given the habit of santiago, and he was recommended to the newly appointed governor of castilla del oro, lope de sosa. ni?o was to be a partner in the enterprise, with the position of pilot. cereceda was chosen contador of the discovery.[xiv-2]
a royal order[xiv-3] was issued at barcelona the 18th of june, 1519, directing the governor of castilla del oro to deliver to gil gonzalez the vessels built by vasco nu?ez, and authorizing an expedition for south sea discovery, the expense of which was to be borne largely by the crown. with this cédula lope de sosa promised faithfully to comply.
during the year following the execution of these documents andrés ni?o so bestirred himself, that his 481 captain-general was enabled to land at acla with two hundred men, prior to the arrival at antigua of lope de sosa. pedrarias was incensed that any one should presume to intermeddle in tierra firme affairs. gil gonzalez nevertheless despatched to him with the royal order juan de sauce, who duly delivered it in the presence of the notary martin estete.[xiv-4]
reception of a cédula.
it is worth witnessing the reception by this arch-hypocrite of a royal command. "and forthwith the said lieutenant-general," writes the notary, "took the said cédula of his highness in his hands, and kissed it, and placed it on his head, and said that he would obey it, and that he did obey it with the utmost reverence he could and ought, as a letter and commandment of his king and natural lord, whom may it please god our lord to let live and reign during many and long years, with increase of kingdoms and seignories; and, as to the fulfilment thereof, that his lordship would see to it, and answer and provide thereupon as might be conducive to his highness' service."
in which pathetic demonstration no one who knew pedrarias could doubt that he never for a moment intended to do as he had said. rather than tamely 482 admit a new and dangerous rival, high in reputation and royal favor, some risk might be run. and so he at first agreed, then delayed, interposing technicalities and pretexts, and finally refused to deliver the ships, alleging as an excuse that they were private property, and claimed as such by individuals. in vain the captain-general urged that this was not a question of rights of property, but of royal command, which to disobey was dangerous. pedrarias stood his ground; and fortune sustained him in the death of sosa, who, had he lived, would have made all well for the expedition. but in gil gonzalez the old governor found his match; for the captain-general was no less decided than he, and far quicker in resources.
what gil gonzalez did was to copy the magnificent performance of vasco nu?ez, under the circumstances scarcely less creditable in the imitation than in the original. after strengthening his command by recruits from the officers and men of the pedrarias government, among whom were the treasurer puente and the contador diego marquez, he dismantled his ships, packed up the sails and cordage, and taking from the hulls the iron, and such of the timbers as better suited the purpose than those freshly cut, which were also necessary, he secured the services of some indians, and transported his vessels across the sierra to the same rio balsas used by balboa. there he constructed and launched four vessels, but lost them all before reaching the mouth of the river.[xiv-5] the party, reduced in number more than one half since leaving acla,[xiv-6] now crossed in canoes to the pearl islands.
a letter directed to pedrarias in this emergency was productive of no results. gil gonzalez again requested possession of the vessels of vasco nu?ez; his 483 messenger brought back a surly verbal refusal. the captain-general then presented himself in person before the governor and demanded at least men for the building of new ships. pedrarias dared not offer further opposition; and in time four small and poorly equipped vessels lay at the pearl islands ready for sea.[xiv-7] "in all my experience while in the service of your majesty," writes gil gonzalez to the king, "i have nowhere been handled so roughly as in crossing tierra firme with the men i had brought from castile, having to support them for two years, and spend my goods and jewels on them, and build the ships twice over."[xiv-8]
the voyage north-westward.
embarking the 21st of january, 1522, having on board a few horses, with arms and articles for traffic, gil gonzalez struck westward, and after sailing one hundred leagues he was obliged to beach three of his vessels to save them from the worms, while the fourth returned to panamá for pitch and other articles for repairs. new water-casks had likewise to be made, as those on board were failing through the rotting of the hoops.[xiv-9] leaving the ships in charge of andrés 484 ni?o, with orders to follow the coast for eighty or a hundred leagues, and there in some safe harbor to await him, gil gonzalez with one hundred men and four horses continued his way by land. poor food, a hot sun, with heavy rains and softened ground, made the journey excessively irksome. the wading of rivers while the body was heated brought upon the commander a cramp, so that he had to be carried. thus they trudged for many days, gathering gold, and christianizing the country, meeting no resistance.
presently they came to what they called an island, ten leagues in length by six in breadth, "formed by the branches of a river," which was no island, however, but the peninsula which forms the western side of the golfo dulce.[xiv-10] here in a huge wooden shed, as high as a tower, which the chroniclers please to call a palace, dwelt the ruler of that land, who was invited to retire while the strangers took possession in the upper part, the lower being flooded. for a fortnight they sheltered themselves from the falling waters. one night the palace posts began slowly to sink into the softened earth. the outlook was not encouraging. their only shelter was sinking, and with it they were being submerged. they saved themselves, however, by cutting through the roof, and thus made their way out, bearing the commander on their shoulders. they 485 were then obliged to take to trees, and to dwell in them for several days, the commander's quarters being a blanket stretched between two branches. during the flood were lost many weapons and much plunder.
after this they proceeded, sometimes going inland for food, but groping along the shore as best they might. once when obliged to seek the ocean ten leagues away, they descended a river on rafts, one of which floated out to sea in the dark, but was brought to shore next morning by a lucky breeze and some expert swimming. finally, after visiting and robbing a number of petty chieftains, and securing gold to the value of forty thousand pesos, they came to a gulf[xiv-11] which gil gonzalez called san vicente, and where to his great joy he found andrés ni?o with the ships.
owing to his lameness gil gonzalez would have embarked by sea, sending ni?o with the land party; but the men lost courage at the prospect of remaining on shore without their leader, because the caciques were becoming more powerful. he accordingly bound ni?o by oath to explore the coast with two ships, slowly and by day only, and reckon the distance sailed, leaving the other two vessels with the gold in san vicente gulf, while he himself plunged boldly inland, determined to subjugate the people, peaceably, if possible, otherwise by force.
nicoya.
among the caciques whom gil gonzalez met was one most powerful living near the northern end of the gulf, named nicoya, who gave a friendly reception as a friend, and presented him with gold to the value of fourteen thousand castellanos. when told of god, and of the bliss of heaven and the pains of hell, nicoya very sensibly preferred the former place, and permitted himself, his wives and subjects, to the 486 number of over six thousand souls, to be baptized. furthermore he gave up six golden idols, each of a span in length, "for being now a christian," said he, "i shall have nothing more to do with them." which emblems of perdition the spaniards did by no means scruple to take.
nicoya was a great chief, but there was a mightier than he, fifty leagues to the northward, whose name was nicaragua, of whom nicoya said: "he is wise as well as valiant, and your little army will quickly melt before his warrior host."
it will be observed that the peaceful policy adopted in this expedition had thus far proved successful beyond that of any other similar attempt in the indies. the sword remained sheathed, and it was found profitable as well as humane to keep it so. hence these gentle robbers walked the land triumphant. the truth is, for the times gil gonzalez was an honest man. he tells large stories about baptizing, as we shall see; but we are accustomed to some degree of exaggeration where proselyting is concerned, and gil gonzalez really believed that the christianity he gave nicoya paid him well for his gold. beside being honest, gil gonzalez was humane; he did not delight in blood. let us doublemark these traits, for they are rare hereabouts.
how different was this from the usual form with which the captains of pedrarias introduced themselves to savagism, may be seen in the approach by gil gonzalez to a people of doubtful temper. when within one day's march of nicaragua's town he despatched to that chieftain an embassy of six indians and two interpreters to notify him of his proximity and character. "tell him," said gonzalez, "that a captain cometh, commissioned to these parts by the great king of the christians, to tell all the lords of these lands that there is in the heavens, higher than the sun, one lord, maker of all things, and that those believing and obeying him shall at death ascend to 487 that loftiness, while disbelievers shall be driven into the fire beneath the earth. tell him to be ready to hear and accept these truths, or else to prepare for battle."
nicaragua.
nicoya spoke the truth when he pronounced nicaragua a wise man. there is great advantage in possessing an intellect unclouded by learning. he was both wise and honest enough to manifest amazement when messengers brought to him things amazing. "tell those who sent you," said nicaragua, "that i know not their king and therefore cannot do him homage; that i fear not their sharp swords, but love peace rather than war; gold has little value, they are welcome to what i have. in regard to the religion they teach i will talk with them, and if i like it i will adopt it." of the two messages, that of the savage was far the more logical and sensible.
next day when within one league of the town the spaniards were met by four of nicaragua's principal men, who told them that the king awaited their coming in peace. on entering the town they were received by nicaragua, who assigned them lodgings in the public square, and placed all the surrounding houses at their disposal.
after the presentation of gifts, which, voluntary or forced, was always first in order, and which in this instance consisted on one side of gold to the value of fifteen thousand castellanos, and on the other of a shirt, a red cap, and a silken dress, attention was turned to spiritual affairs. to a lengthy harangue on what the savage must do and not do in order to attain christian salvation, nicaragua replied: "i see no harm in it. we cannot, however, give up our war-paint and weapons, our gay decorations and dances, and become women!"
before accepting baptism[xiv-12] nicaragua desired to 488 ask gil gonzalez a few questions. "you who know so much of the maker and of the making of this world, tell me," said he, "of the great flood; and will there be another? in the universal end, will the earth be overturned, or will the sky fall and destroy us? whence do the sun and moon obtain their light, and how will they lose it? how large are the stars; how are they held in the sky, and moved about? why are the nights made dark, and the winters cold; why did not the christian's god make a better world; what honor is due him; and what rights and duties has man, under whose dominion are the beasts? whither goes the soul which you hold to be immortal when it leaves the body? does the pope never die; and is the great king of spain a mortal; and why do the christians so love gold?" these and other questions of like import the savage asked, and gil gonzalez answered them. there was no question that brave and pious gil gonzalez could not answer. and peter martyr says that "cereceda, the king's treasurer, witnessed the manner in which gonzalez answered the questions of nicaragua." strange to say, the savage was not satisfied. doubtless gil gonzalez could have made himself better understood by a christian. "came these men hither from heaven?" whispered nicaragua to the interpreter. "they came from heaven," was the reply. "but how?" asked nicaragua, "directly down, like the flight of an arrow, or riding a cloud, or in a circuit like a bent bow?" the interpreter could not tell.
nicaragua finally consented to have the idols in his temple removed, and the christian's cross placed in their stead. a specimen of the worship they had adopted was then given them with great solemnity. upon a high mound, whose summit was reached by steps, gil gonzalez had planted the cross on 489 first entering the town. a procession headed by the spanish and the native leaders now marched solemnly about the town, and ascended the steps of the mound[xiv-13] on their knees, chanting their hymns of praise the while. proceeding to the temple, they erected there an altar, and jointly placed upon it the sacred emblem, in token the one of giving and the other of receiving the true faith. such was the conquest and conversion of nicaragua, unique and spiritual.
the freshwater sea.
nicaragua's town stood on a large fresh-water sea,[xiv-14] into which gil gonzalez rode his horse and took possession, drinking of the water. it was barely three leagues from the south sea; but there was no connection, and a canoe sent out upon it could discover no current. "the pilots i had with me," writes the commander in his narrative of the expedition, "certify that it opens into the north sea; and if so it is a great discovery, as the distance from one sea to the other is but two or three leagues of very level road."[xiv-15] one other matter claimed the attention of the discoverer at this juncture; which was to ascertain whether the invaders of mexico, whose conquest was known at panamá prior to the sailing of this expedition, had carried their operations so far south as this point. after close inquiry among the natives gil gonzalez was satisfied that they had not.[xiv-16] 490
april of this year, 1522, was now at hand, and gil gonzalez, well satisfied thus far, must determine what next to do. before he was aware of it, baptism had become the rage in all that region. his stay at nicaragua had been for eight days. then he went forward north-westwardly six leagues into the next province, and found there a cluster of six towns, of two thousand inhabitants each, all the towns being less than two leagues apart. these people, jealous lest nicaragua should secure to himself all the efficacies of the mysterious rite, came forward in multitudes to receive it, freely giving the spaniards gold and food and slaves.
diriangen.
yet farther before the visitors spread their fame, until a powerful cacique, called diriangen, came in great state from some distance to meet them. to make the most imposing appearance possible, when within a short distance of the spaniards diriangen halted, and arranged his train. five hundred unarmed men advanced, each carrying one or two turkeys, whose gay plumage made brilliant the spectacle. after them came ten banner-men, their flags yet furled. then followed seventeen women nearly covered with plates of gold; after which were five trumpeters; and lastly, the chief men of the nation, bearing on their shoulders a palanquin richly adorned with colored cloths and feathers, in which sat the potentate. the cortége then moved forward and entered the village where the spaniards were encamped, drawing up in perfect order before the commander's quarters. the 491 litter was placed on the ground, the ten white banners were unfurled, and the trumpeters blew a shrill melody. presently diriangen ordered the musicians to cease, and approaching gil gonzalez he touched his hand. then turning to the women, he ordered the gold to be presented, including two hundred golden hatchets, which amounted altogether in value to eighteen thousand castellanos. the five hundred indians now came forward, and after severally touching the hand of the commander, presented the fowls to him. "for what purpose," asked gil gonzalez of the chieftain, "have you come so far to meet me?" diriangen answered: "having learned that a wonderful people, bearded and riding upon beasts, had arrived in this land, i come that with my own eyes i may behold them, and offer such hospitality as is in my power." gil gonzalez thanked the chieftain courteously, presented him some european articles, and after further conversation asked him if he did not wish to become a christian, and a subject of the king of spain. diriangen intimated that it would give him great pleasure to accept both of these flattering proposals, but that he first desired to confer with his women and priests; he would return answer within three days.
now diriangen was a wily lord, who cared not a jot for the king of spain, or for his religion. he wished to see this spectacle, and he was willing to pay royally for admission to it. the faith his fathers had held was sufficient for him, and he preferred ruling himself rather than being subject to another. he believed he could vanquish that little company; at all events he would try. with these reflections he bid the spaniards a warm adieu, mounted his litter, and was carried away. this was on the 14th of april.
three days after, while the clergyman of the expedition was absent at a neighboring town whither he had gone mounted on the best horse and attended by two valiant men, to preach, and the spaniards were taking their mid-day siesta, diriangen came down upon 492 them with three thousand[xiv-17] men, armed with flint-toothed swords, lances, and arrows, and mailed in coats of wadded cotton, and was within a cross-bow shot of them before the alarm was given. gil gonzalez sprang upon one of the three remaining horses, and shouted to his men to rally in front of his dwelling, which faced the square. he then placed one third of his force in the rear of the house, fearful lest the enemy should fire it, for it contained all their gold. by this time the square was filled with diriangen's warriors, who gave immediate battle, hand to hand. the swift death-blows of the spaniards seemed to carry no special terror with them, and for a time it was extremely doubtful how the fight would turn. the indians brought six spaniards to the ground, and captured one, whom, however, they manifested no disposition to kill. finally, upon a charge of the commander and the two other horsemen with their lances, the enemy gave way and were driven out of the town. gil gonzalez recklessly pursued, until wearied with killing, and alone, he turned, when there fell on him a shower of stones and darts which hurried him back to his people. diriangen had kept in the background during the battle, and disappeared immediately it was over. none of the spaniards were lost. the captive was recovered; the priest returned in safety, and the indians were finally permitted to carry off their dead. luckily gil gonzalez had taken the precaution to increase the number of bearded men by cutting hair from the heads of spaniards and fixing it to the chins of twenty-five young natives of his company.
results of the expedition.
after due consultation it was decided to terminate the exploration at this point and return to panamá. they had obtained a large amount of gold, and had baptized many. the results from the conversions, however, would have been far more pleasing to the spaniards had not so many of the indians apostatized 493 before their back was fairly turned. as the spaniards entered the province of nicaragua, on the way to their ships, a plan of that sapient ruler was revealed to gil gonzalez, none other than to repeat the experiment of diriangen. immediately sixty spaniards, all who were at present sound, formed into a hollow square, so as to act defensively and offensively while marching, having the invalids and treasure in the centre, and at each corner a horseman and an arquebusier. as they passed by nicaragua's town the natives cried out to the carriers, who had been lent the spaniards by nicaragua, to throw down their loads. to this the spaniards made no reply; but when the natives attempted by force to accomplish their purpose, gil gonzalez hurried forward the weakest of his force, and placed himself with seventeen men in the rear. a desultory fight was kept up for some distance, during which the cargo-bearers managed to throw down their loads and escape, to the unutterable disgust of the spaniards, who were thus obliged to carry them. gaining nothing by this, but rather losing, the natives made peace. nicaragua, by his messengers, disclaimed any agency in the attack, but the spaniards had recognized some of his principal men among the assailants. at length they reached the gulf of san vicente in safety, eight days after the return of the party discovering by sea. ni?o had coasted three hundred and fifty leagues north-westerly, reaching, according to some estimates, the very southern limit of cortés' conquests. hardly any details, however, are given beyond the statement that he discovered a large bay which gil gonzalez named fonseca, in honor of his friend and patron the bishop of búrgos. to an island within this bay he gave the name of his own niece, petronila.[xiv-18] returning, the expedition reached panamá, june 25, 1523, 494 with gold in value to 112,000 pesos, half of which was of inferior quality. according to his reckoning gil gonzalez had coasted six hundred and fifty leagues, travelling by land three hundred and twenty-four leagues, and converting to christianity thirty-two thousand souls.
