Chapter IV: Part 4

"We were absent thirteen months on this voyage, exposing
ourselves to awful dangers, discovering a very large country
of Asia, and a great many islands, the largest of them all
inhabited. According to the calculations I have made with
the compass, we have sailed about five thousand leagues....
We discovered immense regions, saw a vast number of people,
all naked, and speaking various languages, numerous wild
animals, various kinds of birds, and an infinite quantity of
trees, all aromatic. We brought home pearls in their
growing state, and gold in the grain; we brought two stones,
one of emerald color, the other of amethyst, which was very
hard, at least half a span long, and three fingers thick.
The sovereigns esteem them most highly and have preserved
them among their jewels. We brought home also a piece of
crystal, which some jewelers say is beryl, and, according to
what the Indians told us, they had a great quantity of the
same. We brought fourteen flesh-colored pearls, with which
the queen was highly delighted. We brought many other stones
which appeared beautiful to us; but of all these we did not
bring a large number, as we were continually busied in our
investigations and did not tarry long in any place.

"When we arrived at Cadiz we sold many slaves, two hundred
then remaining to us, the others having died at sea. After
deducting the expense of transportation we gained only about
five hundred ducats, which, having to be divided into
fifty-five parts, made the share of each very small.
However, we contented ourselves with life, and rendered
thanks to God that during the whole voyage, out of
fifty-seven Christian men, which was our number, only two
had died, they having been killed by Indians. I have had two
quartan agues since my return; but I hope, by the favor of
God, to be well soon, as they do not continue long now and
are without chills. I have passed over many things worthy of
being remembered, in order not to be more tedious than
necessary, all of which are reserved for the pen, and in the
memory.

"They are fitting out three ships for me here, that I may
go on a new voyage of discovery, and I think they will be
ready by the middle of September. May it please our Lord to
give me health and a good voyage, as I hope again to bring
very great news and discover the island of Trapobana, which
is between the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Ganges.
Afterwards I intend to return to my country and seek repose
in the days of my old age.... I have resolved, most
excellent Lorenzo, that as I have thus given you an account
by letter of what has occurred to me, to send you two plans
and descriptions of the world, made and arranged by my own
hand and skill. There will be a map on a plain surface, and
the other a view of the world in a spherical form, which I
intend to send you by sea, in care of one Francesco Lotti, a
Florentine, who is here. I think you will be pleased with
them, particularly the globe, as I made one, not long since,
for these sovereigns, and they esteem it highly. I could
have wished to come with them personally; but my new
departure for making other discoveries will not permit me
that great pleasure....

"I suppose your excellency has heard the news brought by the
fleet which the King of Portugal sent two years ago to make
discoveries on the coast of Guinea. I do not call such a
voyage as that one of discovery, but only a visit to
discovered lands; because, as you will see by the map, their
navigation was continually within sight of land, and they
sailed round the whole southern part of the continent of
Africa, which is proceeding by a way spoken of by all
cosmographical authors. It is true that the navigation has
been very profitable, which is a matter of great
consideration here in this kingdom, where inordinate
covetousness reigns.

"I understand they passed from the Red Sea and extended
their voyage into the Persian Gulf, to a city called
Calicut, which is situated between the Persian Gulf and the
river Indus. More lately, the King of Portugal has received
from sea twelve ships very richly laden, and he has sent
them again to those parts, where they will certainly do a
profitable business, if they arrive in safety.

"May our Lord preserve and increase the exalted state of
your excellency, as I desire.

"AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

"_July 18th, 1500_."

Respecting the letter in which the so-called first voyage is described, the same great authority, Mr. Fiske, from whom we have already quoted, says: "The perplexity surrounding the account of the first voyage of Vespucius is chiefly due to the lack of intelligence with which it has been read. There is no reason for imagining dishonesty in his narrative, and no reason for not admitting it as evidence on the same terms upon which we admit other contemporary documents." Perhaps we may be allowed to claim the same privilege for the foregoing letter; yet another historian, the amiable biographer of Columbus, Mr. Irving, while freely quoting from it, in his account of the voyage made with Alonzo de Ojeda, by imputation discredits it, and loses no occasion to disparage its author.

In order that nothing may be lacking, for the purpose of forming an accurate estimate of Vespucci's character and doings, Mr. Irving's account of the Ojeda voyage, somewhat condensed, is presented in the succeeding chapter. In constructing this story he, to use his own words, "collated the narratives of Vespucci, Las Casas, Herrera, and Peter Martyr, and the evidence given in the lawsuit of Diego Columbus, and has endeavored as much as possible to reconcile them." That he did not altogether succeed is the opinion of Mr. Fiske, who says, rather caustically, that "from its mixing the first and second voyages of Vespucci [the account] is so full of blunders as to be worse than worthless to the general reader."

However this may be, the story is interesting, and in a sense valuable, as it corroborates the statements of one to whom Mr. Irving was not favorably inclined.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] The river was the Orinoco, the currents caused by which set with great force in the direction given by Vespucci.

VIII

WITH OJEDA THE FIGHTER

1499

Those who have read the _History of Columbus_ will doubtless remember the character and exploits of Alonzo de Ojeda. He was about twenty-one years of age when he accompanied Columbus on his second voyage (1493); he had, however, already distinguished himself by his enterprising spirit and headlong valor, and his exploits during that voyage contributed to enhance his reputation. He returned to Spain with the Admiral, but did not go with him on his third voyage, in 1498. He had a cousin-german of his own name, Padre Alonzo de Ojeda, a Dominican friar, who was a great favorite with the Spanish sovereigns, and on intimate terms with Don Juan Rodriguez Fonseca, who had the chief management of affairs in the Indies.

Through the good offices of this cousin, young Alonzo was introduced to Fonseca, to whose especial favor and patronage he was warmly recommended. While Ojeda was lingering about the court, letters were received from Columbus giving an account of the events of his third (1498) voyage, accompanied by charts descriptive of his route, specimens of pearls, gold, etc., in order to impress the sovereigns with the great value of his most recent discovery. The Admiral had good and sufficient reasons for making the most of this discovery, as his enemies in Spain and in the West Indies were seeking to belittle his great deeds, hence his indiscretion in placing the proofs of his achievement in the hands of his implacable foe, Bishop Fonseca. He could not return at that time, owing to the terrible condition of affairs in Hispaniola, which demanded his continued presence there--as narrated in his _Life_.

The tidings he sent caused a great sensation among the maritime adventurers of Spain; but no one was more excited by them than Alonzo de Ojeda, who, from his intimacy with Fonseca, had full access to the charts and correspondence of Columbus, and who immediately conceived the project of making a voyage in the route thus marked out by the Admiral, and of seizing upon the first fruits of discovery which he had left ungathered. This scheme met with ready encouragement from Fonseca, who, as has heretofore been shown, was opposed to Columbus and willing to promote any measure that might injure or molest him. The bishop accordingly granted a commission to Ojeda, authorizing him to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of discovery, with the proviso merely that he should not visit any territories appertaining to Portugal, or any of the lands discovered in the name of Spain previous to the year 1495. The latter part of this provision appears to have been craftily worded by the bishop, so as to leave the coast of Paria and its pearl fisheries open to Ojeda, they having been recently discovered by Columbus in 1498.

The commission was signed by Fonseca alone, in virtue of general powers vested in him for such purposes; but the signature of the sovereigns did not appear on the instrument, and it is doubtful whether their sanction was sought on the occasion. He knew that Columbus had recently remonstrated against a royal mandate issued in 1495, permitting voyages of discovery by private adventurers, and that the sovereigns had in consequence revoked that mandate wherever it might be deemed prejudicial to the stipulated privileges of the Admiral.... Having thus obtained permission to make the voyage, the next consideration with Ojeda was to find the means. He was a young adventurer, a mere soldier of fortune, and destitute of wealth; but he had a high reputation for courage and enterprise, and hence had no difficulty in finding moneyed associates among the rich merchants of Seville, who, in that age of discovery, were ever ready to stake their property upon the schemes of roving navigators. With such assistance he soon equipped a squadron of four vessels, at Port St. Mary, opposite Cadiz.

Among the seamen who engaged with him were several who had just returned from accompanying Columbus in his voyage to this very coast of Paria. The principal associate of Ojeda, and one on whom he placed great reliance, was Juan de la Cosa, who went with him as first mate, or, as it was termed, chief pilot. This was a bold Biscayan who may be regarded as a disciple of Columbus, with whom he had sailed on his second voyage, when he coasted Cuba and Jamaica, and he had also accompanied Rodrigo de Bastidas, in his expedition along the coast of Terra Firma. The hardy veteran was looked up to by his contemporaries as an oracle of the seas, and was pronounced one of the most able mariners of the day. He may be excused, therefore, if in his harmless vanity he considered himself on a par even with Columbus.

Another conspicuous associate of Ojeda on this voyage was Amerigo Vespucci, _a Florentine merchant, induced by broken fortunes and a rambling disposition to seek adventures in the New World_. Whether he had any pecuniary interest in the expedition, and in what capacity he sailed, does not appear. His importance has entirely arisen from subsequent circumstances--from his having written and published a narrative of his voyages, and from his name having eventually been given to the New World.

Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on May 20, 1499, and, having touched for supplies at the Canaries, took a departure from Gomera, pursuing the route of Columbus in his third voyage, being guided by the chart he had sent home, as well as by the mariners who had accompanied him on that occasion. At the end of twenty-four days he reached the continent of the New World, about two hundred leagues farther south than the part discovered by Columbus, being, as it is supposed, on the coast of Surinam. Hence he ran along the coast to the Gulf of Paria, passing the mouths of many rivers, but especially those of the Esquivo and the Orinoco. These, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, unaccustomed as yet to the mighty rivers of the New World, poured forth such a prodigious volume of water as to freshen the sea for a great extent. They beheld none of the natives until they arrived at the island of Trinidad, on which island they met with traces of the recent visit of Columbus. Vespucci, in his letters, gives a long description of the people of this island and of the coast of Paria, who were of the Carib race, tall, well-made, and vigorous, and expert with the bow, the lance, and the buckler. His description in general resembles those which have frequently been given of the aboriginals of the New World; there are two or three particulars, however, worthy of citation. [Here follows the narrative of Vespucci, as given in the preceding chapters, pages 82-124.]

After touching at various parts of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria, Ojeda passed through the strait of the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's Mouth, which Columbus had found so formidable, and then steered his course along the coast of Terra Firma, landing occasionally until he arrived at Curiana, or the Gulf of Pearls. From hence he stood to the opposite island of Margarita, previously discovered by Columbus, and since renowned for its pearl fishery. This, as well as several adjacent islands, he visited and explored, after which he returned to the main-land, and touched at Cumana and _Maracapana_, where he found the rivers infested with alligators resembling the crocodiles of the Nile. Finding a convenient harbor at Maracapana, he unloaded and careened his vessels there, and built a small brigantine. The natives came to him in great numbers, bringing abundance of venison, fish, and cassava bread, and aiding the seamen in their labors. Their hospitality was not certainly disinterested, for they sought to gain the protection of the Spaniards, whom they reverenced as superhuman beings.

When they thought they had sufficiently secured their favor, they represented to Ojeda that their coast was subject to invasion from a distant island, the inhabitants of which were cannibals, and carried their people into captivity, to be devoured at their unnatural banquets. They besought Ojeda, therefore, to avenge them upon these ferocious enemies. The request was gratifying to the fighting propensities of Alonzo de Ojeda, and to his love of adventure, and was readily granted. Taking seven of the natives on board of his vessels, therefore, as guides, he set sail in quest of the cannibals. After sailing for seven days he came to a chain of islands, some of which were peopled, others uninhabited, and which are supposed to have been the Caribbee Islands. [Then ensues Vespucci's account of the fight, with the substitution of Ojeda as captain in command.]

His crew being refreshed, and the wounded sufficiently recovered, Ojeda made sail and touched at the island of Curaçao, which, according to the accounts of Vespucci, was inhabited by a race of giants, "every woman appearing a Penthesilia, and every man an Antei." As Vespucci was a scholar, and as he supposed himself exploring the regions of the extreme East, the ancient realm of fable, it is probable his imagination deceived him, and construed the formidable accounts given by the Indians of their cannibal neighbors of the islands into something according with his recollections of classic fable. Certain it is that the reports of subsequent voyagers proved the inhabitants of the island to be of the ordinary size.

Proceeding along the coast, he arrived at a vast, deep gulf, resembling a tranquil lake, entering which he beheld, on the eastern side, a village, the construction of which struck him with surprise. It consisted of twenty large houses, shaped like bells, and built on piles driven into the bottom of the lake, which in this part was limpid and of but little depth. Each house was provided with a draw-bridge, and with canoes, by which the communication was carried on. From these resemblances to the Italian city, Ojeda gave to the bay the name of the Gulf of Venice, and it is called at the present day Venezuela, or Little Venice. The Indian name was _Coquibacoa_. [In this connection Irving quotes freely from Vespucci's account of the Lake Dwellers, and also gives entire his description of the Spaniards' entertainment by Indians of the interior.]

Continuing to explore this gulf, Ojeda penetrated to a port or harbor, to which he gave the name of St. Bartholomew, supposed to be the same at present known by the original Indian name of _Maracaibo_.... The Spaniards brought away with them several of the beautiful and hospitable females of this place, one of whom, named by them Isabel, was much prized by Ojeda, and accompanied him on a subsequent voyage. Leaving the friendly port of Coquibacoa, Ojeda continued along the western shores of the Venezuelan gulf, and standing out to sea, doubling Cape Maracaibo, he pursued his voyage from port to port, and promontory to promontory, of this unknown continent, until he reached that long stretching headland called Cape de la Vela, or Cape of the Sail. There the state of his vessels--and perhaps the disappointment of his hopes at not meeting with abundant sources of immediate wealth--induced him to abandon all further voyaging along the coast, and, changing his course, he stood across the Caribbean Sea for Hispaniola. The tenor of his commission forbade his visiting that island; but Ojeda was not a man to stand upon trifles when his interests or inclinations prompted him to the contrary. He trusted to excuse the infraction of his orders by the alleged necessity of touching at the island to calk and refit his vessels and to procure provisions; but his true object is supposed to have been to cut dye-wood, which abounds in Hispaniola.

Columbus, at that time, held command of the island, and, hearing of this unlicensed intrusion, despatched Francesco Roldan, the quondam rebel, to call Ojeda to account. The contest of stratagem and management that took place between these two adroit and daring adventurers has already been detailed. Roldan was eventually successful, and Ojeda, being obliged to leave Hispaniola, resumed his rambling voyage. He at length arrived at Cadiz, in June, 1500, his ships crowded with captives, whom he sold as slaves. So meagre, however, was the result of this expedition that we are told [by Vespucci] that when all the expenses were deducted but five hundred ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five adventurers. What made this result the more mortifying was that a petty armament, which had sailed some time after that of Ojeda, had returned two months before him rich with the spoils of the New World.

The successful armament alluded to was that of Pedro Niño, who had sailed with Columbus on his first voyage and on his third. With a caravel of only fifty tons, and a crew of thirty-three men, he sailed from Palos in June, 1499, returning in April, 1500, with a richer cargo of pearls than any other that had been brought from the new country. He had steered directly for the Pearl Coast, and at or near Cumana and Margarita, had amassed a fortune from the sea.

In this connection it should be mentioned, that the country adjacent to the Pearl Coast, opposite Cumana, was known to the natives as _Amaraca-pan_; that the name _Amaraca_ occurs frequently in this region, as (_A_)_mar-aca-ibo_, the great gulf where the Lake-Dwellers live. It is regarded only as a coincidence that a name so nearly like that which was bestowed upon the continent by Europeans should be found applied to portions of that continent by the aborigines; but some enthusiasts have undertaken to show that it was from this native appellation the cartographers and cosmographers derived the first "America" placed upon the maps.

IX

CANNIBALS, GIANTS, AND PEARLS

1499-1500

Besides the letter written by Vespucci to Lorenzo de Medici, he sent an account of the second voyage to his friend Soderini, in which are some incidents not mentioned in the first, with very little repetition of others. He wrote:

"We set out from the port of Cadiz, three ships in company,
on the 18th of May, and steered directly for the Cape de
Verdes, passing within sight of the Grand Canary, and soon
arriving at an island called De Fuego, or Fire Island,
whence, having taken wood and water, we proceeded on our
voyage to the southwest. In forty-four days we arrived at a
new land, which we judged to be a continent, and a
continuation of that mentioned in my former voyage. It was
situated within the torrid zone, south of the equinoctial
line, where the south pole is elevated five degrees and
distant from said island, bearing south, about five hundred
leagues. Here we found the days and nights equal on the
27th of June, when the sun is near the tropic of Cancer.

"We did not see any people here, and, having anchored our
ships and cast off our boats, we proceeded to the land,
which we found to be inundated by very large rivers. We
attempted to enter these at many points, but from the
immense quantity of water brought down by them we could find
no place, after hard toiling, that was not over-flowed. We
saw many signs of the country's being inhabited, but as we
were unable to enter it we concluded to return to the ships
and make the attempt on some other part of the coast. We
raised our anchors accordingly, and sailed along southeast
by east, continually coasting the land which ran in that
direction. We found the currents so strong on this part of
the coast that they actually obstructed our sailing, and
they all ran from the southeast to the northwest. Seeing our
navigation was attended with so many inconveniences, we
concluded to turn our course to the northwest; and having
sailed some time in this direction we arrived at a very
beautiful harbor, which was made by a large island at the
entrance, inside of which was a very large bay. While
sailing along parallel with the island with a view of
entering the harbor, we saw many people on shore, and, being
much cheered, we manoeuvred our ships for the purpose of
anchoring and landing where they appeared. We might have
been then about four leagues out at sea. While proceeding on
our course for this purpose, we saw a canoe quite out at
sea, in which were several natives, and made sail on our
ships in order to come up with and take possession of them,
steering so as not to run them down. We saw that they stood
with their oars raised--I think either through astonishment
at beholding our ships, or by way of giving us to understand
that they meant to wait for and resist us; but as we neared
them they dropped the oars and began to row towards the
land.

"Having in our fleet a small vessel of forty-five tons, a
very fast sailer, she took a favorable wind and bore down
for the canoe. When the people in it found themselves
embarrassed between the schooner and the boats we had
lowered for the purpose of pursuing them, they all jumped
into the sea, being about twenty men, and at the distance of
two leagues from the shore. We followed them the whole day
with our boats, and could only take two, which was for them
an extraordinary feat; all the rest escaped to the shore.
Four boys remained in the canoe who were not of their tribe,
but had been taken prisoners by them, and brought from
another country. We were much surprised at the gross
injuries they had inflicted upon these boys, and, having
been taken on board the ships, they told us they had been
captured in order to be eaten. Accordingly, we knew that
those people were cannibals, who eat human flesh.

"We proceeded with the ships, taking the canoe with us
astern, and following the course which they pursued,
anchored at half a league from the shore. As we saw many
people on the shore, we landed in the boats, carrying with
us the two men we had taken. When we reached the beach all
the people fled into the woods, and we sent one of the men
to negotiate with them, giving them several trifles as
tokens of friendship--such as little bells, buttons, and
looking-glasses--and telling them that we wished to be their
friends. He brought the people all back with him, of whom
there were about four hundred men and many women, who came
unarmed to the place where we lay with the boats. Having
established friendship with them, we surrendered the other
prisoner and sent to the ships for the canoe, which we
restored. This canoe was twenty-six yards long and six feet
wide, made out of a single tree and very well wrought. When
they had carried it into a river near by, and put it in a
secure place, they all fled, and would have nothing more to
do with us, which appeared to us a very barbarous act, and
we judged them to be a faithless and evil-disposed people.
We saw among them a little gold, which they wore in their
ears.

"Leaving this place, we sailed about eighty leagues along
the coast and entered a bay, where we found a surprising
number of people, with whom we formed a friendship. Many of
us went to their village, in great safety, and were received
with much courtesy and confidence. In this place we procured
a hundred and fifty pearls (as they sold them to us for a
trifle) and some little gold, which they gave us
gratuitously. We noticed that in this country they drank
wine made of their fruits and seeds, which looked like beer,
both white and red; the best was made from acorns, and was
very good. We ate a great many of these acorns and found
them a very good fruit, savory to the taste and healthy to
the body. The country abounded with means of nourishment,
and the people were well disposed and pacific.

"We remained at this port seventeen days, with great
pleasure, and every day some new tribe of people came to see
us from inland parts of the country, who were greatly
surprised at our figures, at the whiteness of our skins, at
our clothes, at our arms, and the form and size of our
ships. We were informed by them of the existence of another
tribe, still farther west, who were their enemies, and that
they had great quantities of pearls. They said that those
which they had in their possession were some they had taken
from this other tribe in war. They told us how they fished
for pearls, and in what manner they grew, and we found that
they told us the truth--as your excellency shall hear.

"Sailing along the coast again, and finding an island about
fifteen leagues from it at sea, we resolved to see if it
were inhabited. We found on this island the most bestial and
filthy people that were ever seen, but at the same time
extremely pacific, so that I am able to describe their
habits and customs. Their manners and their faces were
filthy, and they all had their cheeks stuffed full of a
green herb which they were continually chewing, as beasts
chew the cud, so that they were scarcely able to speak. Each
one of them wore, hanging at the neck, two dried
gourd-shells, one of which was filled with the same kind of
herb they had in their mouths, and the other with a white
meal, which appeared to be chalk-dust. They also carried
with them a small stick, which they wetted in their mouths
from time to time and then put in the meal, afterwards
putting it into the herb with which both cheeks were filled,
and mixing the meal with it. We were surprised at their
conduct, and could not understand for what purpose they
indulged in the strange practice.

"As soon as these people saw us, they came to us with as
much familiarity as if we had been old friends. Walking with
them along the shore, and wishing to find some fresh water
to drink, they made us to understand by signs that they had
none, and offered us some of their herbs and meal; hence we
concluded that water was very scarce in this island, and
that they kept these herbs in their mouth in order to allay
their thirst. We walked about the island a day and a half
without finding any living water, and noticed that all they
had to drink was the dew which fell in the night upon
certain leaves that looked like asses' ears. These leaves
being filled with dew-water the islanders use it for their
drink, and most excellent water it was; but there were many
places where the leaves were not to be found.

"They had no victuals or roots, such as we found on the
main-land, but lived on fish, which they caught in the sea,
of which there was an abundance, and they were very expert
fishermen. They presented us with many turtles, and many
large and very good fish. The women did not chew the herb as
the men did, but carried a gourd with water in it, of which
they drank. They had no villages, houses, or cottages,
except some arbors which defended them from the sun, but not
from the rain; this appearing needless, for I think it very
seldom rained on that island. When they were fishing out at
sea, they each wore on the head a very large leaf, so broad
that they were covered by its shade. They fixed these leaves
also in the ground on shore, and as the sun moved turned
them about, so as to keep within the shadow. The island
contained many animals of various kinds, all of which drank
the muddy water of the marshes.

"Seeing there was no gain in staying there, we left and went
to another island, which we found inhabited by people of
very large stature. Going into the country in search of
fresh water, without thinking the island inhabited (as we
saw no people), as we were passing along the shore we
remarked very large footprints on the sands. We concluded
that if the other members corresponded with the feet they
must be very large men. While occupied with these
conjectures, we struck a path which led us inland, and after
we had gone about a league we saw in a valley five huts or
cottages which appeared to be inhabited. On going to them we
found only five women, two quite old, and three girls, all
so tall in stature that we regarded them with astonishment.
When they saw us they became so frightened that they had not
even courage to flee, and the two old women began to invite
us into the huts, and to bring us many things to eat, with
many signs of friendship. They were taller than a tall man,
and as large-bodied as Francisco of Albizzi, but better
proportioned than we are. While we were consulting as to the
expediency of taking the three girls by force and bringing
them to Castile to exhibit as wonders, there entered the
door of the hut thirty-six men, much larger than the women,
and so well made that it was a pleasure to look at them.
They put us in such perturbation, however, that we would
much rather have been in the ships than have found ourselves
with such people. They carried immense bows and arrows, and
large-headed clubs, and talked among themselves in a tone
which led us to think they were deliberating about attacking
us.

"Seeing we were in such danger, we formed various opinions
on the subject. Some were for falling upon them in the hut,
others thought it would be better to attack them in the
field, and others that we should not commence the strife
until we saw what they wished to do. We agreed, at length,
to go out of the hut and take our way quietly to the ships.
As soon as we did this they followed at a stone's-throw
behind us, talking earnestly among themselves, and I think
no less afraid of us than we were of them; for whenever we
stopped they did the same, never coming nearer to us. In
this way we at length arrived at the shore, where the boats
were waiting for us. We entered them, and as we were going
off in the distance they leaped forward and shot many arrows
after us; but we had little fear of them now. We discharged
two arquebuses at them, but more to frighten them than
injure, and on hearing the report they all fled to the
mountain. Thus we parted from them, and it appeared to us
that we had escaped a perilous day's work. These people were
quite naked, like the others we had seen, and on account of
their large stature I called this island the Island of
Giants. We proceeded onward in a direction parallel with the
main-land, on which it happened that we were frequently
obliged to fight with the people, who were not willing to
let us take anything away.

"When we had been at sea about a year, our minds were fully
prepared for returning to Castile, as we had then but little
provision left, and that little damaged, in consequence of
the great heat through which we had passed. From the time we
left Cape de Verde until then we had been sailing
continually in the torrid zone, having twice crossed the
equinoctial line (as before stated), having been five
degrees beyond it to the south, and then fifteen degrees
north of it. Being thus disposed for our return, it pleased
the Holy Spirit to give us some repose from our great
labors.

"Going in search of a harbor, in order to repair our ships,
we fell in with a people who received us with friendship,
and we found that they had a great quantity of Oriental
pearls, which were very good. We remained with them
forty-seven days and procured from them one hundred and
nineteen marks of pearls, in exchange for mere trifles of
our merchandise, which I think did not cost us the value of
forty ducats. We gave them nothing whatever but bells,
looking-glasses, beads, and brass plates; for a bell one
would give all he had.

"We learned from them how and where they fished for these
pearls, and they gave us many oysters in which they grew. We
procured one oyster in which a hundred and thirty pearls
were growing, but in others there were less number. The one
with the hundred and thirty the queen took from me, but the
others I kept to myself, that she might not see them. Your
excellency must know that if the pearls are not ripe and
loose in the shell they do not last, because they are soon
spoiled. Of this I have seen many examples. When they are
ripe they are loose in the oyster, mingled with the flesh,
and then are good. Even the bad ones which they had, which
for the most part were rough, were nevertheless worth a
considerable sum.

"At the end of forty-seven days we left these people, in
great friendship with us, and from the want of provisions
went to the island of Antilla [meaning Hispaniola], which
was discovered some years before by Christopher Columbus.
Here we obtained many supplies and stayed two months and
seventeen days. We passed through many dangers and troubles
with the Christians, who were settled in this island with
Columbus (I think through their envy), the relation of
which, in order not to be tedious, I omit. We left there on
the 22d of April, and, after sailing a month and a half,
entered the port of Cadiz, where we were received with much
honor on the 8th day of June. Thus terminated, by the favor
of God, my second voyage."

X

FAMOUS FELLOW-VOYAGERS

1497-1500

Though Amerigo Vespucci was on occasions intimately associated with Christopher Columbus, conversed with him, corresponded, and had much to do with the outfitting of his ships, it cannot be shown that the two ever went on a voyage together. Some have asserted that the Florentine accompanied the Genoese on his second voyage, in 1493, but such is not the case. From the friendship that existed between the two, it would doubtless have been gratifying to both could they have explored the New World in company, for each was a complement of the other, and much might have resulted from their conjoined efforts.

Still, while the great Admiral himself was not favored by the presence of Vespucci on any of his voyages, it chanced that several of those who were with him at different times afterwards accompanied his rival, either as captains or pilots of his expeditions. Notable among these was Vicente Yañez Pinzon, one of the noble family that came to the rescue of Columbus when in straits at Palos, and furnished the funds with which the impecunious navigator provided and equipped the vessel he had promised his sovereigns to contribute. The Pinzons actually provided and manned this vessel, the _Niña_, though Columbus had the credit of it, and Vicente Yañez was its captain throughout the first voyage to America, in 1492-1493.

The eldest of the three brothers, who "risked their lives and fortunes with Columbus in his doubtful enterprise," the first voyage to the unknown hemisphere, was Martin Alonzo, who commanded the _Pinta_. He ran counter to the commands of Columbus when off the coast of Cuba, and as a result fell into disgrace with the Spanish sovereigns, and died of chagrin soon after the first voyage was over. Columbus seemed to consider himself released from any obligations to the Pinzons, owing to the defection of Martin Alonzo, and they never received a single maravedi for their assistance at the most critical juncture of the Admiral's fortunes. As captain of the _Niña_, Vicente Yañez, the younger brother, stood by Columbus loyally, all through the voyage, and after the wreck of the flag-ship, off the north coast of Haiti, took his commander aboard the little caravel and brought him safely back to Spain.

He seems to have received no recognition from Columbus, either for his pecuniary aid or loyal support to him in time of disaster, and after the voyage was accomplished he sank out of sight for a while, to emerge again in 1494 or 1495. About that time, says a learned historian, "Ferdinand and Isabella began to feel somewhat disappointed at the meagre results obtained by Columbus. The wealth of Cathay and Cipango had not been found; the colonists who had expected to meet with pearls and gold growing on bushes were sick and angry; Friar Boyle was preaching that the Admiral was a humbug, and the expensive work of discovery was going on at a snail's pace. Meanwhile, Vicente Yañez Pinzon and other bold spirits were grumbling at the monopoly granted to Columbus, and begging to be allowed to make ventures themselves.

"Now, in this connection, several documents preserved in the archives of the Indies at Seville are very significant. On April 9, 1495, the sovereigns issued their letter of credentials to Juan Aguado, whom they were about sending to Hispaniola to inquire into the charges against Columbus. On that very day they signed the contract with Berardi [Vespucci's partner], whereby the latter bound himself to furnish twelve vessels, four to be ready at once, four in June, and four in September. On the next day they issued the decree throwing open the navigation to the Indies and granting to all native Spaniards, on certain prescribed conditions, the privilege of making voyages to the newly found coasts.

"On the 12th they instructed Fonseca to put Aguado in command of the first four caravels, ... and it started off in August. The second squadron of four, which was to have been ready in June, was not yet fully equipped in December, when Berardi died. Then Vespucci, representing the house of Berardi, took up the work, and sent the four caravels to sea February 3, 1496. They were only two days out when a frightful storm overtook and wrecked them, though most of the crews were saved. The third squadron of four caravels was, I believe, that which finally sailed May 10, 1497. While it was getting ready, Vicente Yañez Pinzon returned from the Levant, whither he had been sent on important business by the sovereigns in December, 1495. Columbus, who had returned to Spain in June, 1496, protested against what he considered an invasion of his monopoly, and on June 2, 1497, the sovereigns issued a decree which for the moment was practically equivalent to a revocation of the general license accorded to navigators by the decree of April 10, 1495. Observe that this revocation was not issued until after the third squadron had sailed. The sovereigns were not going to be balked in the little scheme which they had set on foot two years before, and for which they had paid out, through Vespucci, so many thousand maravedis. So the expedition sailed, with Pinzon chief in command and Solis second; with Ledesma for one of the pilots, and Vespucci as pilot and cosmographer."

In the foregoing the historian accounts for the sailing of Pinzon and Vespucci in company, on that "debatable voyage" described in chapter VI. In the year 1499 both Pinzon and Vespucci were to sail--though in separate fleets--for the coasts of the continent which Columbus had accidentally revealed in his voyage of 1498. Vespucci was to coast its northern shores, while Pinzon, with a confidence born of successive ventures on the ocean, was to strike farther southward than any had done before him (in the western hemisphere), cross the equinoctial line, and reveal to the knowledge of civilized man the great river, afterwards called the Amazon, and the country of Brazil. The fleet in which Vespucci took passage left Spain in the month of May, 1499, that commanded by Pinzon left in December; and it is still a moot question whether the first or the second was the first to arrive on the coast of Brazil. But Pinzon sailed beyond Vespucci on that voyage, though he was to be surpassed, the next year, in the generous rivalry that existed for making the "farthest south."

Another companion of Vespucci worthy of note is the man called by Las Casas the best pilot of his day, Juan de la Cosa. He had been with Columbus on his first voyage, as owner and pilot of the _Santa Maria_, and also on his second, and may have had good grounds for believing himself as good a navigator as the Admiral, while as a cosmographer he was probably his superior. The historian, Peter Martyr, asserts that La Cosa and another pilot, Andres Morales, "were thought to be more cunning in that part of cosmography which teacheth the description and measurement of the sea" than any others in the world. In truth, the first map of importance made within a decade of the discovery of 1492 was that produced by La Cosa, in the summer of 1500, after his return from the voyage (his third to the New World) with Ojeda and Vespucci. It is thought that he embodied in that map the results of Vespucci's voyage of 1497-1498, as communicated to him during their intimate companionship of thirteen months. La Cosa, the Biscayan pilot, was a man cast in the same generous mould as Vespucci, and shared none of the narrow notions of Columbus. His great regard for Columbus is shown in the vignette to his map, which represents the giant Christopher (the "Christ-bearer") carrying the infant Jesus on his shoulders. Beneath this vignette is the legend, "Juan de la Cosa made this map, in the port of Santa Maria [near Cadiz], year 1500." It is the best map that had been put forth up to that date, and for a long time thereafter remained as a guide to mariners.

His services were in great request at that time, and in the month of October, 1500, he was engaged by Rodrigo Bastidas, a lawyer of Seville, to pilot a small expedition he had fitted out to search for gold and pearls. This was the expedition in which Vasco Nuñez de Balboa first embarked for the New World, and which was so profitable that the leaders returned (though their vessels had sunk at their anchors in a harbor of Haiti) with sufficient pearls to give them each a fortune. If they had been content to live at ease in Spain, they might have done so during the remainder of their days; but both Bastidas and La Cosa were lured back to the coast of Terra Firma by the prospect of further enrichment, and there they came to untimely ends.

La Cosa was created _alguazil mayor_ of the territory he and Vespucci had coasted, and finding Ojeda in want--both of money and an opportunity to display his prowess as a fighter--he generously shared his fortune with him and fitted out a fleet containing a ship and two small brigantines. Thenceforth, as fate willed it, the great-hearted pilot and the fiery cavalier were inseparable until cut down by death. In the month of November, 1509, they set sail from Santo Domingo with their three vessels and three hundred men. La Cosa piloted the little fleet into a safe harbor, as he knew the coast well from two previous visits to Terra Firma, but he endeavored to induce Ojeda to attempt a settlement farther on towards the Isthmus of Darien, as the Indians of this region were very ferocious and used poisoned arrows.

Ojeda, however, would not be turned from his purpose, which was to acquire a large number of slaves, either by stratagem or force. After the monks who accompanied his command had read a requisition to the savages, requiring them to submit gracefully and be converted, if they did not wish to incur the vengeance of the King of Spain, the Pope of Rome, and their emissaries there assembled, finding them obdurate, Ojeda gave the command to attack. The Indians, by this time, had assembled in great force, and if they understood the message (which was not likely, as it was in Spanish, a language they had never heard before) they manifested no inclination to heed its warnings. They brandished their spears, shot their arrows, and yelled defiance to the invaders. This was more than the rash Ojeda could endure, and he dashed headlong at the naked enemy without waiting for his men to follow.

Only the gallant La Cosa was with him at first, continually remonstrating with his friend for his temerity, but fighting bravely at his side. The old pilot was a man of peace, but he was destined to die a violent and a horrible death. While pressing forward in advance of their men, the retreat of Ojeda and La Cosa was cut off by the wily savages, who had pretended to retire to the hills, whence they soon returned in great force. La Cosa took refuge in a hut, where he gallantly defended himself until a poisoned arrow pierced his breast and he fell to the ground. One companion survived, to whom he said, as he felt the chill of death creeping over him, "Brother, since God hath protected thee from harm, sally out and fly; and if ever thou shouldst see Alonzo de Ojeda, tell him of my fate."

Thus expired Juan de la Cosa, former companion of Columbus and Vespucci, able pilot, skilled cartographer, loyal till death to the man who had led him into the forest where he met that fatal arrow.

It is claimed by some that Vespucci and La Cosa made two voyages together, in the years 1505 and 1507, but this is doubtful. After their return from the voyage of 1499-1500 they separated, Amerigo to take service with the King of Portugal, and La Cosa, upon the completion of his chart and after his return from the Bastidas expedition of 1500-1501, settling down to the enjoyment of his fortune. The third famous member of the trio, Alonzo de Ojeda, obtained authority from the king to colonize Coquibacoa, on the coast of Terra Firma, and received in addition a grant of land six leagues square in the island of Hispaniola.

The former venture had not been considered a success, but the merchants of Seville and Cadiz were persuaded to once more try their fortunes with the brave cavalier Ojeda, and fitted out for him a fleet of four large vessels. In command of these he set sail, in the year 1502, and after touching at Cumana, where he pillaged the Indians and took many prisoners, he proceeded to Coquibacoa. Finding the place unsuited for a settlement, he went farther westward and attempted a colony at Bahia Honda, building there a fortress and huts for his people. The Indians were hostile at first, but gold was found in abundance--so much of it, in fact, that the adventurers began to quarrel over it, and soon came to blows. Ojeda, as usual, was foremost in the fight that followed, and, as his company turned against him, he was entrapped on one of the caravels and placed in irons. Then the entire company sailed for Hispaniola, intending to submit the cause of their dissension, which was their strong-box full of gold, to the courts of that island for a decision. They arrived at a port on the western coast of Hispaniola, and in the night the manacled Ojeda slipped overboard into the water, intending to swim ashore and make his escape. The fetters on his feet were heavy, however, though his arms were free, and he was nearly drowned before his companions, hearing his cries for help, pulled him out of the water and again confined him in the hold of the vessel.

Taken to the city of Santo Domingo, he was placed on trial for attempting to defraud the government, and the decision was against him. He was not only deprived of his lands, but was stripped of everything he owned. For several years thereafter he roamed about the island, and made occasional voyages, but as a penniless, rather than an influential, adventurer. His good friend, the "ungodly bishop," Fonseca, was still in power, but inaccessible through the great distance that separated them. One happy day, however, Ojeda met La Cosa, who was then in the enjoyment of a considerable fortune, and who, with the reckless generosity for which sailors are proverbial, placed all his means at his disposal. He went to Spain, where he saw the bishop, secured a fleet (as already mentioned), and in it sailed for Santo Domingo, where he was met by his partner, and together the soldier and the sailor set out for Terra Firma.

Before they left the island, however, Ojeda must needs plunge himself into another difficulty by picking a quarrel with a rival discoverer, Nicuesa, whom he challenged to fight a duel. It seems that King Ferdinand had granted territory in Terra Firma to both these men; and, though there was certainly room enough and to spare in that vast region, they began to dispute over their perspective boundaries before they had staked them out. The hot-headed Ojeda was a skilled swordsman, but Nicuesa was artful enough to avoid an encounter, in which there was little doubt he would be killed, by insisting that each contestant should deposit five thousand castellanos with an umpire before engaging in the fight. As this was a larger sum than poor Ojeda could raise--which, of course, Nicuesa knew full well--the irate cavalier was obliged to sail without having obtained satisfaction.

This was the expedition that ended so disastrously, as narrated in a previous chapter. The Spaniard who was charged with La Cosa's last message to Ojeda was the only survivor of seventy who had followed the rash commander in his headlong attack. What had become of Ojeda himself none of the survivors could tell, for several days passed without news of him. His body was not to be found among the slain, and no one who knew him believed that the Indians could have captured him alive. He had fought like a tiger to reach and defend his friend La Cosa, but had been borne back by the thronging savages, and since then nothing had been heard of him. The woods and shore were searched by scouts, and he was finally found extended on some mangrove roots on the borders of the forest. He was in such an exhausted state that he could not speak, but, intrepid to the last, still clung to his buckler, and in his right hand grasped the good sword with which he had cut his way through the savage hordes.