Chapter XXVII: Revolt of the Cakchiquels (5)

[VIII-6] In popular parlance, _acogerse á santuario_, or
_acogerse á sagrado_, or _tomar iglesia_, the protection
afforded criminals who sought refuge in a church or other
sacred asylum. As we shall often meet with the custom in this
history I will state briefly what it was. It is well known
that from the earliest times, in both heathen and Jewish
societies, the right of asylum, or right of sanctuary, has
existed, in degrees more or less modified by time, down to
the present day. In Spanish-America it was in vogue as late
as a quarter of a century ago. Originally the idea implied
the right of appeal from the judgment of men to the justice
of God. The Creator himself, it is said, set the example
by placing a mark on Cain, the first murderer, that none
might kill him; and Moses and Joshua, under divine sanction,
established cities of refuge, whither certain involuntary
offenders might flee and find safety. Later, the founders of
cities offered asylum to outlaws for the purpose of increasing
the population. To this custom is attributed in a measure the
existence, or at least the importance, of Athens, Thebes, and
other cities. Instead of making the whole city an asylum, a
certain locality was sometimes assigned for that purpose;
thus tradition says that one of the first acts of Romulus
preparatory to building his city was to set apart Palatine
Hill as a place of refuge. Sacred groves were asylums; also
temples to the gods, and religious houses. Notably the groves
of the Grecians, and the Erechtheium of Athens, the temple
of Artemis at Ephesus, and that of Apollon at Miletus. With
the advent of Christianity, to increase their influence, the
clergy secured this privilege for their churches. In the time
of Constantine all Christian churches afforded refuge, and
Theodosius II. included in this right all houses belonging to
the church, with their courts and gardens. In France and Spain
not only the church and its surroundings afforded protection,
but all chapels, cloisters, abbeys, monasteries, cemeteries,
tombs, crosses, and in short all religious monuments.
Frequently a stone bench, called the stone of peace, was
placed for refugees within the church near the altar. The
priests assured the people that they would be visited by
dire calamities if they violated this right. Gradually,
however, the practice diminished. Though the culprit must
not be forcibly dragged from the church, he might be enticed
thence, or starved out, or smoked out. Then the more abhorred
criminals, as heretics and murderers, were denied protection;
and the number of places was reduced. Clement XIV., in 1772,
limited the number to one or two in each town, though no one
sheltered by the roof of a church might be torn thence without
an order from the ecclesiastical judge. The right of churches
to extend protection over minor offenders was recognized long
after it became the custom for the clergy to deliver rank
offenders for punishment. The superstition was respected, as
we have seen, in the wilds of the New World by the distempered
colonists of Darien. Nor was England free from it; to this day
there are places in France, and in Scotland, Holyrood abbey
and palace, where a debtor may not be arrested. For a good
treatise on right of sanctuary, and on immunity of religious
persons and places, see _Vazquez_, _Chronica de Gvat._, 288
et seq.

[VIII-7] Peter Martyr, dec. ii. cap. iv., thinks Valdivia
carried away 300 pounds of gold. In the words of his
quaint English translator:—'This pound of eight ounces, the
Spanyardes call Marcha, whiche in weight amounteth to fiftie
pieces of golde called Castellani, but the Castilians call
a pound Pesum. We conclude therefore, that the summe hereof,
was xv. thousande of those peeces of gold called Castellani.
And thus is it apparent by this accompt, that they receiued of
the barbarous kings a thousande and fyue hundred poundes, of
eight ounces to the pounde: all the whiche they founde readie
wrought in sundry kindes of ouches, as cheynes, braselets,
tabletes, and plates, both to hang before their brestes, and
also at their eares, and nosethrils.

[VIII-8] Quintana thinks the amount was too small, or that it
never reached him; for as events unfolded Pasamonte proved
himself no less friendly to Enciso than hostile to Vasco
Nuñez. It seems never to occur to a Spaniard that a public
officer could refuse a bribe. As it was, Pasamonte did favor
Vasco Nuñez.

[VIII-9] We shall see everywhere, from Darien to Alaska,
Indian towns and provinces frequently called by the name of
the ruling chief. For instance, adventurers and geographers
who knew only the chief's name, called his village Careta's
village, or Careta; his country, Careta's country, or Careta.
Maiollo, 1519, writes on his map, where the province of Careta
should be, _aldea de machin_; and adjacent north-west, _P.
scatozes_. Vaz Dourado, _Munich Atlas_, nos. x. and xi., 1571,
labels the province _careta_; De Laet, 1633, gives _Careta_;
Jefferys, 1776, _Pta Carata_; and Kiepert, 1858, _Pto
Carreto_. Alcedo mentions the river _Careti_. 'De la Provincia
y Gobierno del Darien y Reyno de Tierra-Firme: nace en las
montañas del N. y sale al mar en la Ensenada de Mandinga.'

[VIII-10] Map-makers give—Vaz Dourado, _comogra_, De Laet,
_Comagre_, and _Pta de Comagre_, 'which according to
Keipert,' says Goldschmidt, _Cartography Pac. Coast_, MS. i.
67; 'as near as I can determine, is now _P. Mosquitos_.'

[VIII-11] Peter Martyr, dec. ii. cap. iii., says this building
measured 150 by 80 paces. See _Bancroft's Native Races_, i.
758.

[VIII-12] 'Estas palabras célebres,' says Quintana,
'conservadas en todas las memorias del tiempo, y repetidas
por todos los historiadores, fueron el primer anuncio que los
españoles tuvieron del Perú.' _Vasco Nuñez de Balboa_, 13. To
which I would remark, first, that it is not certain Panciaco
referred to Peru; and secondly, that vague allusions of a
similar kind were made to Columbus, which historians apply to
Peru.

[VIII-13] This on the authority of Herrera. Gomara places the
king's fifth at 20,000 ducats, and Bernal Diaz at 10,000 pesos
de oro.

[VIII-14] The strange story of Aguilar is given by _Gomara_,
_Hist. Mex._, 21-22; _Torquemada_, i. 371; _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yucathan_, 24-9; and by _Herrera_, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. v.
He was kept seven years in this captivity.

[VIII-15] The name is variously rendered _Dabaybe_, _Dabaibe_,
_Davaive_, _Daibaba_, _Abibe_, _Abibeja_, and _d'abaibe_.
'Auch der Rio Atrato wurde nicht selten _Rio Dabeyba_ genannt.
Das 'D' im Anfang dieses Namens ist nur eine Abbreviatur
von 'de,' und das Wort sollte wohl eigentlich: _d'Abaibe_
geschrieben werden.' _Kohl_, _Beiden ältesten karten_,
125. Maps mark the region, Colon and Ribero, _dabaybe_, at
the southern extremity of the gulf, and De Laet gives the
_Montanas de Abibe_.

[VIII-16] The Atrato discharges through several channels, one
of which was called the Rio del Darien; one the Rio Grande de
San Juan; one the Rio de las Redes, from the snares or nets
found there for taking wild beasts; one the Rio Negro, from
the color of its water. Often the Spaniards had scoured these
parts in search of food and gold.

[IX-1] Galvano says 290, which for him is quite near the mark.
Oviedo places the number at 800, which probably was intended
to include the natives afterward added.

[IX-2] The Spaniards must have had quite accurate information
from the natives as to the trend of the southern coast, though
there was then little communication between the northern
and southern seaboards. But, without such knowledge, Balboa
naturally would have undertaken the ascent of the river
Atrato, which flows directly from the south, rather than have
sailed some distance to the north-west before attempting to
cross. The direct march to the gulf of San Miguel, from which
course a deviation would have almost doubled the distance,
is another evidence of his having obtained the most reliable
information before or during the march.

[IX-3] Enciso, _Suma de Geographia_, 57, calls the country
'tierra rasa y buena de muchos mãtenimientos y caças.'
'Experience had proved that moving a body of men sufficient
to act as a protecting force and to carry the necessary
provisions was attended with great risk and great delay.'
_Gisborne's Survey of Darien_, in _London Geog. Soc., Jour._,
xxvii. 193. 'Mr Hopkins was lately prevented by the Indians
from ascending the Chepo river towards Mandinga, or San Blas
Bay; and Dr Cullen was stopped likewise by the aborigines
while endeavoring to ascend the Paya river.... _Climate_ and
_natives_ are at present the only serious impediments to a
regular survey.' _Fitz-Roy's Isth. Cent. Am._, in _London
Geog. Soc., Jour._, xx. 161. 'The Panama railroad, a most
stupendous work, considering the excessively swampy nature
of the country over which it has been carried.' _Cullen's
Darien_, 95. For obstacles overcome in surveying and
constructing the Panamá railway, see _Otis' Isthmus Panama_,
15-36. The climate inclines 'to the wet extreme, for two
thirds of the year, the Rains beginning in _April_.' _Defence
of the Scots Settlement at Darien_, 64. On the Atrato 'the
trees approach to the very edge of the stream, which their
branches overhang. The trees are frequently concealed by
dense masses of vines which entirely envelope them, and in
certain lights present plays of color comparable only to
those of the richest velvet.... But like the plumes and velvet
of the funeral pageant, they serve but to conceal and adorn
corruption. Behind them stretches, far away, the pestiferous
swamp, through the dreary wilds of which even the birds refuse
to sport; and whose silence is broken only by the sighing of
the breeze, or the sullen growl of the roving tiger. Venomous
reptiles often fall into the boats from the branches overhead;
wasps' nests are frequent and troublesome; natural levees
of soft mud stretch along the banks. Floods are common, and
the houses are built on stilts.' _Trautwine_, in _Franklin
Inst., Jour._, xxvii. 220-4. In 1853, Carl Scherzer, a German
naturalist, travelling in Costa Rica with a civil engineer and
a force of thirty-two men, attempted to make a survey for a
road from Angostura to Limon Bay; but on account of scarcity
of provisions, illness, and the difficulties of the route,
they failed in their purpose; and after having penetrated to
within eight leagues of their destination, they were obliged
to return, having travelled only ten leagues in two weeks.
See _Wagner and Scherzer_, _Costa Rica_, 358-407. In December
of the same year, a party under J. C. Prevost, of H. M. S.
_Virago_, set out with fourteen days' provisions from the gulf
of San Miguel for Caledonia Bay, on the opposite side of the
Isthmus. Their route was essentially that of Vasco Nuñez on
his return. As he ascended the Sabana River, the attention of
Captain Prevost was attracted by the débris on the overhanging
branches, which marked the height of water attained during
certain seasons. The dense foliage was enlivened by birds
of gay plumage; brilliant flowers carpeted the ground; and
the chattering monkeys, which they shot in great numbers,
furnished the guides food. The country even then was as wild
as when traversed by Vasco Nuñez; the natives, however, had
exchanged their wooden weapons for fire-arms. Swamps and
hills alternate, and 'dense was the forest we had cut our way
through.' The flora then changed, and 'instead of the small
underwood, we came on almost impenetrable thickets of the
prickly palm or aloe, rather more than six feet in height,
through which we with great difficulty cut our way.' They
crossed 'deep ravines, whose steep and slippery sides caused
many a tumble.' The attempt was finally abandoned. Returning,
on arriving at one of their ranchos or encampments, where had
been left three sailors to guard the provisions, they found
the men murdered and the camp sacked. 'So toilsome was our
journey,' says Captain Prevost, 'that we spent fifteen days in
performing a distance of little more than twenty-six miles,
having to force our slow and laborious path through forests
that seemed to stretch from the Pacific to the Atlantic
shores. The trees, of stupendous size, were matted with
creepers and parasitical vines, which hung in festoons from
tree to tree, forming an almost impenetrable net-work, and
obliging us to hew open a passage with our axes every step
we advanced.' _London Geog. Soc., Jour._, xxiv. 249. Nothing
could more aptly illustrate the difficulties surmounted by the
Spaniards than this narrative of failure, by a British officer
of the nineteenth century, who operated under conditions
far more favorable than those so successfully overcome by a
company of ill-accoutred and poorly fed adventurers more than
three hundred years before. With the material before me, these
illustrations could be greatly multiplied; but I have given
enough to show that the transit of the Isthmus, by a small
party of Europeans, over an unknown or unexplored route, is
even to-day esteemed a desperate undertaking.

[IX-4] _Carta dirigida al Rey por Vasco Nuñez de Balboa desde
Santa María del Darien_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_,
iii. 368.

[IX-5] A strategy which continues through the centuries. 'The
Indians, although offering no direct hostility, abandoned
their villages at our approach.' _Gisborne's Survey of
Darien_, _London Geog. Soc., Jour._, xxvii. 193.

[IX-6] Among the dogs which accompanied the expedition
was one, the property of the commander, whose pedigree and
physical and metaphysical traits and mighty deeds are minutely
recorded by contemporary historians. His name was Leoncico,
little lion, descendant of Becerrico, of the Island of San
Juan. He was in color red with black snout, of medium size and
extraordinary strength. In their foragings Leoncico counted
as one man, and drew captain's pay and share of spoils.
Upon these conditions his master frequently loaned him; and
during the wars of Darien he gained for Vasco Nuñez more than
one thousand pesos de oro. He was considered more efficient
than the best soldier, and the savages stood in the greatest
terror of him. He readily discriminated between wild and
tame Indians. When a captive was missing from the fields, and
Leoncico was told, 'He is gone; seek him!' the dog tracked the
poor fugitive, and did not harm him if he returned quietly,
but if the Indian resisted, the dog would destroy him. The
hero of many a conflict, he was covered with wounds; but like
Cæsar he escaped the wars to meet his death by treacherous
hands. He was poisoned. See _Oviedo_, iii. 9-10.

[IX-7] Again a general difference occurs in an important date,
and, according to my custom, I am governed by the authorities
I deem most reliable. Oviedo follows the expedition from day
to day, noting places and dates; and he says, iii. 10: 'Y un
mártes, veynte é cinco de septiembre de aquel año de mill é
quinientos y trece, á las diez horas del dia,' at 10 o'clock
in the morning. So Gomara also writes, _Hist. Ind._, 77: 'Vio
Valboa ala mar del Sur a los veynte y cinco del Setiembre
del año de treze;' and Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 109:
'Llegaron á la cumbre de las más altas sierras á 25 dias de
Setiembre de dicho año de 1513;' and Herrera, i. x. i.: 'A
veynte y cinco de Setiembre, deste año, de donde la mar se
parecia.' Careful writers following these first authorities
also name the day correctly, as Humboldt, _Exam. Crit._, i.
319, who says: 'Vasco Nuñez de Balboa vit la Mer du Sud, le 25
septembre 1513, du haut de la Sierra de Quarequa;' and Acosta,
_Compend. Hist. Nueva Granada_, 50: 'Esto pasó el dia 25 de
setiembre del año de 1513 poco antes de medio dia y forma una
de las épocas notables en el descubrimiento de la América;'
and Quintana, _Vidas de Españoles Célebres_, 'Balboa,' 20: '25
de setiembre;' and Chevalier, _L'Isthme de Panama_, 15: 'Le
vingt-cinquième jour, le 25 septembre;' and Campbell, _Hist.
Span. Am._, 23: 'the 25th of _Septembre_;' and Helps, _Span.
Conq._, i. 361: '25th of September;' etc. In the face of
which, Irving, _Columbus_, iii. 198, shows gross carelessness
when he writes 'the 26th of September.' To support him he has
Ramusio, who, _Viaggi_, iii. 29, falls into a mistake of Peter
Martyr's, 'alli ventisei adunque di Settembre,' and Du Perier,
_Cen. Hist. Voy._, 139, and, to copy his error, Dalton,
_Conq. Mex. and Peru_, 43, and a host of others. Not quite
so often mentioned as Columbus' voyages is this discovery
of Vasco Nuñez, though nearly so. After Oviedo and Las Casas
probably Peter Martyr gives the best original account. Herrera
copied from all before him. The following popular accounts
are most of them meagre and unreliable:—_Nouvelles An. des
Voy._, cxlviii. 11-12; _Goodrich's Man upon the Sea_, 201-8;
_Voyages, New Col._, i. 180-6; _World Displayed_, i. 153-9;
_Monson's Tracts_, in _Churchill's Voy._, iii. 372; _March y
Labores_, _Marina Española_, i. 413-50; _Dufey_, _Résumé Hist.
Am._, i. 75-86; _Gottfriedt_, _Newe Welt_, 239-41; _Juarros_,
_Guat._, 122; _Montanus_, _Nieuwe Weereld_, 66-72; _Ogilby's
Am._, 69-72; _Norman's Hist. Cal._, 10-11; _Patton's Hist.
U. S._, 11; _Pim's Gate of Pacific_, 99; _Hazlitt's Gold
Fields_, 3; _Roberts' Nar. Voy._, xx.; _Isth. Panama_, 5;
_Humboldt_, _Essai Pol._, i. 17; _Lallement_, _Geschichte_,
i. 25; _Bidwell's Panamá_, 23-7; _Andagoya's Nar._, 19;
_Galvano's Discov._, 123-4; _Cavanilles_, _Hist. España_, v.
290-1; _Greenhow's Mem._, 22; _Farnham's Adv._, 119; _Fédix_,
_L'Orégon_, 67-8; _Span. Emp. in Am._, 23; _Burney's Discov.
South Sea_, i. 8-9; _Niles' S. Am. and Mex._, 14-15; _Kerr's
Col. Voy._, ii. 67-8; _Colton's Jour. Geog._, no. 6, 84;
_Douglas' Hist. and Pol._, 44; _Holmes' Annals Am._, i. 32-3;
_Inter-Oceanic Canal and Monroe Doct._, 11; _Hesperian_,
ii. 27-33; _Lardner's Hist. Discov._, ii. 40-1; _Harper's
Mag._, xviii. 469-84; _Macgregor's Prog. Am._, i. 10-11;
_Mofras_, _L'Orégon_, i. 88-9; _Ovalle_, _Hist. Rel. Chile_,
in _Pinkerton's Col._, xiv. 142-4; _Mesa y Leompart_, _Hist.
Am._, i. 88-94; _Mavor's Am. Hist._, xxiv. 52-5; _Holinski_,
_Cal._, 62-4; _Benzoni_, _Hist. Mondo Nvovo_, 47-8; _Morelli_,
_Fasti Novi Orbis_, 15; _Rivera_, _Hist. Jalapa_, i. 20.

[IX-8] The testimonial with the sixty-seven names attached,
as given by Oviedo, iii. 11-12, is as follows:—'Diré aqui
quién fueron los que se hallaron en este descubrimiento con el
capitan Vasco Nuñez, porque fué servicio muy señalado, y es
passo muy notable para estas historias, pues que fueron los
chripstianos que primero vieron aquella mar, segund daba fée
de ello Andrés de Valderrábano, que allí se halló, escribano
real é natural de la villa de Sanct Martin de Valdeiglesias,
el qual testimonio yo vi é lei, y el mismo escribano me lo
enseñó. Y despues quando murió Vasco Nuñez, murió aqueste con
él, y tambien vinieron sus escripturas á mi poder y aquesta
decia desta manera:' Los cavalleros é hidalgos y hombres de
bien que se hallaron en el descubrimiento de la mar del Sur,
con el magnífico y muy noble señor el capitan Vasco Nuñez de
Balboa, gobernador por Sus Altezas en la Tierra Firme, son
los siguientes: 'Primeramente el señor Vasco Nuñez, y él fué
el que primero de todos vido aquella mar é la enseñó á los
infrascriptos. Andrés de Vera, clérigo; Françisco Piçarro;
Diego Albitez; Fabian Perez; Bernardino de Morales; Diego de
Texerina; Chripstóbal de Valdebuso; Bernardino de Cienfuegos;
Sebastian de Grijalba; Françisco de Ávila; Johan de Espinosa;
Johan de Velasco; Benito Buran; Andrés de Molina; Antonio
de Baracaldo; Pedro de Escobar; Chripstóbal Daça; Françisco
Pesado; Alonso de Guadalupe; Hernando Muñoz; Hernando Hidalgo;
Johan Rubio de Malpartida; Álvaro de Bolaños; Alonso Ruiz;
Françisco de Luçena; Martin Ruiz; Pasqual Rubio de Malpartida;
Françisco Gonçalez de Guadalcama; Françisco Martin; Pedro
Martin de Palos; Hernando Diaz; Andrés Garçia de Jaen; Luis
Gutierrez; Alonso Sebastian; Johan Vegines; Rodrigo Velasquez;
Johan Camacho; Diego de Montehermoso; Johan Matheos; Maestre
Alonso de Sanctiago; Gregorio Ponçe; Françisco de la Tova;
Miguel Crespo; Miguel Sanchez; Martin Garçia; Chripstóbal
de Robledo; Chripstóbal de Leon, platero; Johan Martinez;
Valdenebro; Johan de Beas Loro; Johan Ferrol; Johan Gutierrez
de Toledo; Johan de Portillo; Johan Garçia de Jaen; Matheo
Loçano; Johan de Medellin; Alonso Martin, asturiano;
Johan Garçia Marinero; Johan Gallego; Françisco de Lentin,
siciliano; Johan del Puerto; Françisco de Arias; Pedro de
Orduña; Nuflo de Olano, de color negro; Pedro Fernandez de
Aroche.' Andrés de Valderrábano, escribano de Sus Alteças en
la su córte y en todos sus reynos é señorios, estuve pressente
é doy fée dello, é digo que son por todos sessenta y siete
hombres estos primeros chripstianos que vieron la mar del Sur,
con las quales yo me hallé é cuento por uno dellos; y este
era de Sanct Martin de Valdeiglesias.

[IX-9] Herrera calls the second Blas de Atiença, but that name
is not in Oviedo's list. Irving refers to Herrera, but fails
to reproduce him correctly in his text. Compare _Oviedo_, iii.
11-12; _Herrera_, i. x. ii.

[IX-10] The form of taking possession, or the declaration of
proprietary rights to the lands seized by Europeans, as we
have seen, differs with different discoverers, and with the
same discoverer at different times. Sometimes mass was said;
sometimes a cross was erected; sometimes prayer was offered,
of which the following is said to have been the prescribed
form used by Columbus, Vasco Nuñez, Cortés, and Pizarro:
Domine Deus æterne et omnipotens, sacro tuo verbo cœlum, et
terram, et mare creâsti; benedicatur et glorificetur nomen
tuum, laudetur tua majestas, quæ dignita est per humilem
servum tuum, ut ejus sacrum nomen agnoscatur, et prædicetur
in hac altera mundi parte. But always this seizure, whether
by Spanish, English, French, or Dutch, and by whatsoever other
formalities attended, was accompanied by a loud proclamation,
before God and man, of the deed then and there consummated.
This proclamation was made with drawn sword, by the commander
of the party taking possession, and sometimes attended by
the throwing of earth toward the four cardinal points, as
was common, and is now in Spanish America, in giving judicial
possession in granting lands, and planting the royal standard.
All present were called upon to witness the act, which was
done for and in the name of the sovereign authority recognized
by the party. Then the notary, or, if none were present, a
clerk, or a person or persons appointed to act as such, took
down in writing what had been done, and each member of the
party signed it. Examples might be multiplied indefinitely.
We have seen what Columbus did in one or two instances, and
how Vasco Nuñez conducted himself on the mountain overlooking
Panamá Bay. That which I have just given in the text is a
literal translation of Balboa's address to the four corners
of the Pacific Ocean as reported by _Oviedo_, iii. 11-12. At
the beginning the meaning of the orator is clear enough, but
toward the latter part he lapses into verbiage. It is likely
that he had in view, while taking possession of that sea or so
much of it as his sovereigns should at any future time please
to claim, the papal bull which divided the heathen world
between Spain and Portugal, and a desire to avoid all words
and acts which might prejudice the Spanish claim. A lengthy
account is given of the taking possession of the province of
Paque, on the Pacific shore of the Isthmus, west of Panamá,
in 1519, by Pedrarias Dávila. The party was standing at the
head of an inlet, two notaries, a clergyman, several captains,
soldiers, and seamen, beside the commander, being present.
First, Pedrarias called on the notaries and all present to
witness the acts he was about to perform. Then he took in
his right hand a white silk flag, on which was represented
the image of the Virgin Mary, and holding it aloft all knelt;
the trumpet sounded, and in loud tones the commander offered
the following prayer: 'Oh! mother of God, quiet the sea, and
render us worthy of being and of moving under thy protection.
May it please thee that under it we may discover these seas,
and lands of the southern sea, and convert the people thereof
to our holy Catholic faith.' Following the prayer was a long
speech by Pedrarias, declaring possession after the usual
form, similar to that employed by Vasco Nuñez, interspersed
with divers acts in consummation of what he said. He declared
the possession previously taken renewed, especially the
'possession _vel casi_ of all the coast of the new land and
of the southern sea, and of all the ports and inlets and
coves and roadsteads ... being as I am, in the name of their
highnesses and as their lieutenant-general in the said coast
of the said southern sea, from the stones of the rivers to
the leaves of the forests, eating the grass and drinking the
waters, and razing, devastating, and cutting the woods of the
said coast, upon the said site and province of Paque.' As a
token of possession and seizure thereof, civilly, naturally,
and bodily, he continued: 'I raise this royal standard of the
said Queen Doña Juana and King Don Cárlos, her son, our lords,
which is of red damask having thereon painted and stamped the
royal arms of their highnesses the said kings, our lords;' the
trumpeters were then ordered to sound; after which, in concert
with Pedrarias, all said, 'Castilla del Oro and Tierra Firme,
and new land, and southern sea, and coasts thereof, and island
and islands, and all land and provinces that may be therein,
for the most high and most illustrious Queen Doña Juana, our
lady, and the King Don Cárlos, her son, our lord; and after
them for their successors to Castile.' 'All of which new lands
and southern sea and coast thereof and the whole Tierra Firme
and kingdoms of Castilla del Oro, and all thereunto annexed
and appertaining, and all that has been or may be hereafter
discovered therein, is and must be of the royal crown of
Castile, and you must testify how I, Pedrarias Dávila, in the
name of the said kings, our lords, and of their successors
to the royal crown of Castile, cut trees, and mow the grass
in said land, and enter the water of the said southern sea,
corporeally and standing on my feet therein, and stamp the new
land and waters of the said southern sea.' Again the trumpets
were sounded, and again Pedrarias reiterated in a loud voice
his claims; and he called upon the notaries to witness as
further proof of their possession that four ships had been
built and navigated on the southern sea. Another flourish of
trumpets, and by way of doxology three times repeated, 'Viva
la muy alta é muy poderosa reyna doña Juana,' etc., concluded
the ceremony. _Testimonio de un acto de posesion que tomó el
Gobernador Pedrárias Dávila_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_,
_Col. Doc._, ii. 549-56. Although the custom was universal
from the beginning, Philip II. deemed best to decree, in
1568, that all captains or others discovering any island or
mainland should, on landing, take possession in the king's
name. _Recop. de Indias_, ii. 7.

[IX-11] Colon gives _g. de san migel_; Agnese, _G. de S.
miguell_; Vaz Dourado, _Saö migell_; Mercator, _S. Miguel_;
Hondius, in _Drake's World Encompassed_, _Michael_; _Ogilby's
Am._, _G. S. Miguel_; Jacob Colom, _G. del S. Miguel_;
Jefferys, _G. de St. Miguel_, and emptying into it _R. Canty_,
_R. Savanas_, _R. Congo_.

[IX-12] It was not for some years after this discovery that
the name Pacific was applied to any part of the ocean; and
for a long time after parts only of it were so termed, this
part of it retained the original name of South Sea, so called
because it lay to the south of its discoverer. The lettering
of the early maps is here significant. All along from this
time to the middle of the seventeenth century, the larger
part of the Pacific was labeled _Oceanus Indicus Orientalis_,
or _Mar del Sur_, the Atlantic, opposite the Isthmus, being
called _Mar del Norte_. Sometimes the reporters called the
South Sea _La Otra Mar_, in contradistinction to the _Mare
Oceanus_ of Juan de la Cosa, or the _Oceanus Occidentalis_
of Ptolemy, as the Atlantic was then called. Indeed, the
Atlantic was not generally known by that name for some time
yet. Schöner, in 1520, terms it, as does Ptolemy in 1513,
_Oceanus Occidentalis_; Grynæus, in 1532, _Oceanus Magnus_;
Apianus, appearing in the Cosmography of 1575, although
thought to have been drawn in 1520, _Mar Atlicum_. Robert
Thorne, 1527, in _Hakluyt's Voy._, writes _Oceanus Occiden._;
Bordone, 1528, _Mare Occidentale_; Ptolemy, 1530, _Occean
Occidentalis_; Ramusio, 1565, _Viaggi_, iii. 455, off Central
America, _Mar del Nort_, and in the great ocean, both north
and south, _Mar Ociano_; Mercator, 1569, north of the tropic
of cancer, _Oceanius Atlanticvs_; Hondius, 1595, _Mar del
Nort_; _West-Indische Spieghel_, 1624, _Mar del Nort_; De
Laet, 1633, _Mar del Norte_; Jacob Colon, 1663, _Mar del
Nort_; Ogilby, 1671, _Oceanus Atlanticum_, _Mar del Norte_,
and _Oceanus Æthiopicus_; Dampier, 1699, _the North or
Atlantick Sea_. The Portuguese map of 1518, _Munich Atlas_,
iv., is the first upon which I have seen a name applied
to the Pacific; and there it is given, as I have elsewhere
remarked, as _Mar visto pelos Castelhanos_, Sea seen by the
Spaniards. On the maps of Baptiste Agnese, Vallard de Dieppe,
Diego Homem, and others, is the name _Mar del Sur_, but the
lettering is small, and seems applied only to the waters
between Peru and Guatemala. We have noticed on the globe of
Martin Behaim, 1492, a multitude of islands, scattered and in
groups, situated between the coast lines of western Europe
and eastern Asia. In that part of the globe where the north
Pacific Ocean should be represented, are the words _Oceanus
orientalis Indie_. On the globe of Johann Schöner, 1520,
the two continents of America are represented with a strait
dividing them at the Isthmus. The great island of _Zipangri_,
or Japan, lies about midway between North America and Asia.
North of this island, and in about the same locality as on
the globe of Behaim, are the words _Orientalis Oceanus_, and
to the same ocean south of the equator the words _Oceanus
Orientalis Indicus_ are applied. Diego Homem, in 1558, marks
out upon his map a large body of water to the north-west of
_Terra de Florida_, and west of Canada, and labels it _Mare
leparamantium_. Neither Maiollo nor Vaz Dourado gives a name
to either ocean. Colon and Ribero call the South Sea _Mar
del Svr_. In _Hakluyt's Voy._ we find that Robert Thorne, in
1527, wrote _Mare Australe_. Ptolemy, in 1530, places near the
Straits of Magellan _Mare pacificum_. Ramusio, 1565, _Viaggi_,
iii. 455, off Central America, places _Mar del Sur_, and off
the Straits of Magellan, _Mar Oceano_. Mercator places in his
atlas of 1569 plainly, near the Straits of Magellan, _El Mar
Pacifico_, and in the great sea off Central America _Mar del
Zur_. On the map of Hondius, about 1595, in _Drake's World
Encompassed_, the general term _Mare Pacificvm_ is applied to
the Pacific Ocean, the words being in large letters extending
across the ocean opposite Central America, while under it in
smaller letters is _Mar del Sur_. This clearly restricts the
name South Sea to a narrow locality, even at this date. In
Hondius' Map, _Purchas_, _His Pilgrimes_, iv. 857, the south
Pacific is called _Mare Pacificum_, and the central Pacific
_Mar del Sur_.

[IX-13] In his _Novus Orbis_, i., De Laet inserts a map on
which he places _Tumaco_ to the north of Chiapes. North of
Tumaco is Quareca. The northern cape of _G. de S. Miguel_ he
calls _Pta de Garachine_. Debouching here is the _R. de
Congos_. See _Goldschmidt's Cartography Pac. Coast_, MS. ii.
5.

[IX-14] Colon and Ribero mark the group _y: de perlas_ and
_y∴a de plas_; Vaz Dourado, _I∴ de perollas_; _West-Indische
Spieghel_, _I Perles_; De Laet, _Ias de Perlas_; Jacob
Colom, _I de Perlas_; Jefferys, _I del Rey or Perlas_,
_Toboga, I_. Keipert in 1858 calls the group _Archipielago
de las Perlas_, and the largest, that which Balboa called
Isla Rica, _I. S. Miguel_; others of the group he calls
_I. St. Elmo_, _I. Galera_, _I. Pajaros_, _I. Chapera_, _I.
Contradora_, _I. Pacheca_, _I. Saboga_, _I. Bayoneta_, _I.
Pedro Gonzales_, and _I. S. José_. 'Da die Haupt-Insel mehrere
guten Schutz gewährende Ankerplätze hatte, so wurde sie bald
das Rendezvous und der Ausgangs-Punkt der Flotten, die vom
Golfe von Panama zur Entdeckung des Westens (Nicaragua) und
des Südens (Peru) ausliefen. Auch war ihre Anhöhe stets für
alle von Panama auslaufenden Flotten ein Merkzeichen zur
Orientirung.' _Kohl_, _Beiden ältesten karten_, 104.

[IX-15] Sabana. See note 3, this chapter.

[IX-16] It is impossible from the rambling narratives which
constitute the groundwork of Central American history to
locate with certainty these two villages. Thus of Pocorosa
Vasco Nuñez, in a letter to the king, says, 'Está un cacique
que se dice Comogre y otro que se dice Pocorosa, estan tan
cerca de la mar el uno como el otra;' and of Tubanamá, 'Hase
de hacer otra fuerza en las minas de Tubanamá, en la provincia
de Comagre.' _Carta por Vasco Nuñez_ in _Navarrete_, _Col. de
Viages_, iii. 366, 369.

[IX-17] A hundred thousand castellanos, Gomara says. 'Passo
muchos trabajos y hambre, traxo sin las perlas, mas de cien
mil castellanos de buen oro, y esperança, tornando alla, de
auer la mayor riqueza, que nũca los nacidos vieron, y con esto
estaua tan vfano, como animoso.' _Hist. Ind._, 82.

[X-1] According to Oviedo, iii. 4, 'hermano de Johan Arias
Dávila, que despues fué el primero conde de Puñoenrostro.'

[X-2] Though it was never popularly so designated. 'Gobernar á
Castilla del Oro en la Tierre Firme,' write the chroniclers;
but in his instructions the king says, _Navarrete_, _Col.
de Viages_, iii. 343, 'é agora la mandamos llamar _Castilla
Aurifia_.' Oviedo, iii. 4, gives Pedrarias a broad domain,
from Cape de la Vela to Veragua, and from ocean to ocean;
'señalándole por gobernaçion desde el Cabo de la Vela hasta
Veragua, y desde estos limites, que son en la costa del Norte,
corriendo la tierra adentro háçia la parte austral, todo
aquello que oviesse de mar á mar, con las islas que en ello
concurriessen.'

[X-3] 'Caicedo and Colmenares reached Spain in May, 1513; the
date of Pedrarias' appointment is July 27, 1513, so that it
is very probable, especially since Enciso and his complaints
reached the court of Spain before these deputies, that the
appointment of a governor was settled before they arrived.'
_Helps' Span. Conq._, i. 373. See _Título de Capitan general
y Gobernador de la provincia del Castilla del Oro en el
Darien, expedido por el Rey-Católico á Pedrarias Dávila_, in
_Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 337.

[X-4] The Licenciado Zuazo, in a letter to M. De Xevres,
_Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 304-32, places the
cost of the outfit at 40,000 ducats; Las Casas, _Hist. Ind._,
iv. 138, at 54,000 ducats; 'y lo que en aquel tiempo se hizo
y suplió con 54,000 ducados es cierto que hoy no se supliera
con 158,000 castellanos.' Balboa in his letter to the king,
16th October, 1515, implies that the cost was 40,000 pesos de
oro. _Navarrete_, iii. 377.

[X-5] Herrera, i. x. vii., and Pascual de Andagoya, _Relacion
de los sucesos de Pedrarias Dávila_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de
Viages_, iii. 393, say 1,500 men and nineteen ships; Gomara,
_Hist. Ind._, 84, seventeen ships; Galvano, _Discov._, 125,
seven ships. Peter Martyr, iii. v., places the number of
ships at seventeen, with 1,200 men assigned; but affirms that
surreptitiously or otherwise 1,500 sailed, and 2,000 remained
behind pensive and sighing who gladly would have gone at their
own cost. Oviedo, who, one would think, should know, as he was
of the number, testifies in one place, iii. 22, to twenty-two,
'naos é carabelas,' and 2,000 men, and in another place, iv.
473, to seventeen or eighteen.

[X-6] Icazbalceta, in _Dic. Univ._, i. 429, says that she was
cousin-german to the marchioness, who was a great favorite
with Queen Isabella.

[X-7] Appointed to succeed Juan de Caicedo 'que iba proveido
en el oficio de Veedor de las fundiciones del oro de la
Tierra Firme.' _José Amador de los Rios_, _Vida de Oviedo_,
in _Oviedo_, i. xxii. Caicedo died in Seville before sailing.
The duties of the office were to assay and stamp the gold and
take charge of the king's fifth. Oviedo was also _escribano
general_ or chief notary of Tierra Firme.

[X-8] Or as Oviedo, iii. 22, has it, 'con título de obispo de
Sancta Maria de la Antigua é de Castilla del Oro.'

[X-9] Gonzalo Fernandez writing from Santo Domingo the 25th
of October, 1537, to the Council of the Indies, _Pacheco_
and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 522-9, says that this order
proved inoperative, 'pues que los que lo habian de ejecutar
lo disimulaban,' since those who should have executed it
dissembled. For a time, however, no lawyer was allowed to
plead in the Indies, the alcalde mayor speaking on both sides,
and finally deciding according to the evidence; 'sentenciaba
por aquel por quien en el pleito habia mejor hablado.'

[X-10] _Instruccion dada por el Rey á Pedrarias Dávila para su
viage á la provincia de Castilla del Oro, que iba á poblar y
pacificar con la gente que llevaba_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de
Viages_, iii. 342-55; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Gen._, iv. 139-42;
_Herrera_, ii. i. xiii.

[X-11] Helps, _Span. Conq._, i. 385, and Irving, iii. 230,
say 12th April. Robertson, _Hist. Am._, i. 207, stigmatizes
Ferdinand for elevating Pedrarias, and abasing Vasco Nuñez;
in which the learned historian is wholly wrong. We who know
the merits of Vasco Nuñez may be disposed to excuse his
faults, but the king could not do otherwise, from a ruler's
standpoint, than depose the unknown adventurer guilty of
unlawful excesses.

[X-12] Five or six months later Pedrarias instituted formal
proceedings to prove his insubordination. The people murmured
against that hasty justice, and attributed it to some former
displeasure of the governor against the man. _Oviedo_, iii.
25. Part of the vessels returned to Spain; several of the old
and worm-eaten were sunk in Urabá Gulf; one foundered at sea,
on the voyage back, the crew escaping to Española. _Oviedo_,
iv. 471-3; _Herrera_, ii. i. vii.; _Andagoya's Nar._, 1-3;
_Ramusio_, _Viaggi_, iii. 208.

[X-13] It was a desperate game Vasco Nuñez had been playing;
and although success up to this time had been varied, it was
sure in the end to be against him. According to the Licenciado
Zuazo, _al muy ilustre señor Monsieur de Xevres_, in _Pacheco_
and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 312-13, Pasamonte was guilty
of double-dealing, now receiving Balboa's presents and writing
the king in his favor, and at another time seconding the
persistent efforts of Enciso against him.

[X-14] _Capitulo de casta escrita por el Rey-Católico
á Pedrarias Dávila, sobre los medios de facilitar la
comunicacion entre la costa del Darien y la mar del sur, y que
para continuar en él los descubrimientos se hagan alli tres
ó cuatro carabelas_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii.
355-7.

[X-15] _Carta de Vasco Nuñez_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de
Viages_, iii. 375. Oviedo enumerates the following chiefs with
whom Balboa had made peace: Careta, Ponca, Careca, Chiapes,
Cuquera, Juanaga, Bonanimana, Tecra, Comagre, Pocorosa,
Buquebuca, Chuyrica, Otoque, Chorita, Pacra, Thenoca,
Tubanamá, Teaoca, Tamaca, Tamao and others. The Licenciado
Zuazo says, _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 315,
that Vasco Nuñez with his judicious policy had won over about
thirty caciques.

[X-16] From the most high and mighty Catholic defender of the
Church, always triumphant and never vanquished, the great King
Don Fernando, the fifth of that name, King of the Spains, of
the two Sicilies, and of Jerusalem, and of the Indies, isles
and firm land of the ocean sea, tamer of barbarous peoples;
and from the very high and puissant lady, the Queen Doña
Juana, his dearest and most beloved daughter, our sovereigns;
I, Pedrarias Dávila, their servant, messenger, and captain,
notify and make known to you as best I can, that God, our
Lord, one and triune, created the heavens and the earth, and
one man and one woman, from whom you and we and all mankind
were and are descended and procreated, and all those who
shall come after us. But from the multitudes issuing out of
that generation during the five thousand and more years since
the world was made, it became necessary that some should go
one way and some another, dispersing over many kingdoms and
provinces, as in one alone they could not sustain nor preserve
themselves.

All these peoples God, our Lord, gave in charge to one
person, called Saint Peter, that he should be prince, lord,
and superior over all men in the world, whom all should obey,
and that he should be the head of all the human lineage,
wheresoever man might live or be, and of whatever law, sect,
or belief; and to him is given the whole world for his kingdom
and lordship and jurisdiction. And although he was ordered to
place his chair in Rome, as the most suitable spot whence to
rule the world, yet was he also permitted to be and place his
chair in any other part of the world, and judge and govern
all peoples, Christians, and Moors, and Jews, and Gentiles,
of whatever sect or belief they might be. And him they called
Pope, that is to say, Admirable, Supreme, Father, and Keeper,
because he is father and keeper of all men. And this Saint
Peter was obeyed and held in reverence as lord, and king,
supreme in the universe, by those who lived in that time,
likewise others who after him were elected to the pontificate
were so esteemed, and so it has continued until now and will
continue to the end of the world.

One of the pontiffs who succeeded as prince and lord of the
world, to the chair and dignity aforesaid, made a donation of
these isles and firm land of the ocean sea to the said King
and Queen, our sovereigns, and to their successors, with all
therein contained, as it appears in certain writings made
therefor, which you can see if desirable. So that by virtue
of said donation their highnesses are kings and lords of
these isles and firm land, and as such have been recognized,
and obeyed, and served by the inhabitants of almost all the
islands to whom notification has been made, who still obey
and serve them as subjects should; and of their free will,
without resistance, immediately, without delay, as soon as
informed of the aforesaid, they obeyed and recognized the
learned men and friars who were sent by their highnesses to
preach and teach our holy Catholic faith; doing this of their
free and spontaneous will, without pressure or condition of
any kind; and they became Christians and are now, and their
highnesses received them gladly and benignantly, and ordered
that they should be treated in every respect as their own
subjects and vassals; and you are held and obliged to do
likewise. Therefore, as best I may, I pray and require you
well to understand what I have told you; to take the time
which may be necessary to comprehend it and to deliberate
upon it; and to recognize the Church as Supreme Mistress of
the Universe, and the Supreme Pontiff, called Pope, and the
King and Queen in his place as monarchs and supreme sovereigns
of these isles and firm land, by virtue of the donation
aforesaid, and to consent and allow these religious fathers
to explain and preach to you as aforesaid. If thus you do,
you will do well, and do that which you are held and bound to
do, and their highnesses, and I in their name, will receive
you with all love and charity; and your wives, and children,
and property will be freely left to you without lien, that
you may do with them and with yourselves, whatever you may
please. You will not be compelled to turn Christians, except
when informed of the truth you desire to be converted to our
holy Catholic faith, like almost all the inhabitants of the
other isles. And besides this their highnesses will grant you
many privileges and exemptions, and do you many favors. But if
you do not thus, or maliciously delay to do it, I certify to
you that with the help of God I will invade your lands with
a powerful force, and will make war upon you in all parts,
and in every manner in my power, and will subject you to the
yoke and obedience of the Church and their highnesses; and I
will take your persons, and those of your wives and children,
and will make them slaves, and as such will sell them and
dispose of them as their highnesses shall order; and I will
take your property, and I will do you all possible harm and
evil, as to vassals who do not obey or recognize their lord,
but who resist and oppose him. And I protest that the deaths
and damage which from such conduct may result will be at your
charge and not at that of their highnesses, nor at mine, nor
at that of the gentlemen who come with me. And now to that
which I have said I require the notary here present to give
me a certificate. Episcopus Palentinus, comes; F. Bernardus,
Trinopolitanus episcopus; F. Thomas de Matienzo; F. Al.
Bustillo, magister; Licenciatus de Sanctiago; El Doctor
Palacios Rubios; Licenciatus de Sosa; Gregorius, licenciatus.
The original in _Oviedo_, iii. 28-9. To the astute Enciso
belongs the honor of first reading this _requerimiento_ to the
savages in America. The place was the port of Cenú; and when
the lawyer had finished, the chief, whose name was Catarapa,
and his people laughed at him; these benighted barbarians
laughed at the learned bachiller, and said that the Pope must
have been drunk when he did it, for he was giving what was not
his; and that the King who asked and took such a grant must be
a crazy one, since he asked for what was another's. 'Dixeron
q̃ el papa deuiera estar borracho quãdo lo hizo; pues daualo
q̃ no era suyo, y q̃ el rey q̃ pedia & tomaua tal merced
deuia ser algun loco pues pedia lo que era & de otros.' _Enciso_,
_Suma de Geografia_, 56. A copy of this precious document was
filed in the _Casa de Contratacion_, at Seville. _Memorial
que dió el bachiller Enciso_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_,
_Col. Doc._, i. 442-7. Herrera, i. vii. xiv., gives the text
of the _requerimiento_ made for Ojeda and others in 1508.
See also _Real Cédula_, in _Doc. Inéd._, i. 111-2; _Zamora
y Coronado_, _Bib. Leg. Ult._, iii. 21-31; _Juan y Ulloa_,
_Voy._, i. 114-20; _Acosta_, _Hist. Compend. Nueva Granada_,
23-6, where is also given the text of Nicuesa's requisition;
_Las Casas_, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 154-6; _Helps' Span. Conq._, i.
242; _Carta dirigida al Rey por Vasco Nuñez_, in _Navarrete_,
_Col. de Viages_, iii. 375-86.

[X-17] I follow the _Novus Orbis_ of De Laet, who places
Pocorosa and S. X. (Santa Cruz) north and west of Comagre;
although Oviedo, iii. 37, says, 'el puerto de Sancta Cruz que
es en tierra del caçique Comogre.' It is often impossible to
reconcile the self-contradictions of a writer, to say nothing
of the conflicting statements of the several chroniclers.
Oviedo usually places the native towns and provinces where
most convenient for his narrative.

[X-18] I do not know that it is necessary here to catalogue
Ayora's crimes. One which the Licenciado Zuazo mentions,
_Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 315-16, if
sufficiently pluralized, will answer for all. Met one day, on
approaching a village, by natives bearing presents of venison,
fowl and fish, wine and maize, who thought the white tiba to
be their friend, Vasco Nuñez, Ayora seized the cacique and his
chief men, tortured them with fire and dogs until all their
gold was given up, and then burned them alive. 'This infernal
hunt lasted several months,' says Oviedo.

[X-19] 'Los quales luego fueron vendidos en almoneda é
herrados, é los mas dellos se sacaron de la tierra por mar,
é los llevaron á otras partes.' _Oviedo_, iii. 39. 'Poi mandò
ancora lui altri Capitani per quella Costa, come fu Bartolomeo
Vrtado in Achla, e saltato in terra, sotto colore di pace,
pigliò tutti gl'Indiani, che potè, e gli vendè per ischiaui.'
_Benzoni_, _Hist. Nvovo Mondo_, 49.

[X-20] _Carta al Rey_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii.
376. Oviedo states that Pedrarias sent a ship after Ayora
to Santo Domingo, but before it reached that port Ayora had
sailed for Spain, where, soon afterward, he died, leaving the
bishop, the alcalde mayor, and the governor responsible for
his crimes. Even if this were true, these functionaries may
have winked at Ayora's escape.

[X-21] Theodore de Bry and Benzoni give graphic engravings
of the cutting and roasting and eating of Spaniards. Says
the latter, 'Quegli, che pigliauano vini, spetialmente il
Capitani, legategli le mani e i piedi, gettatigli in terra,
colauano loro dell'oro in bocca, dicendo, mangia, mangia
oro Cristiano.' _Hist. Nvovo Mondo_, 49. Nor has Las Casas
failed to improve the subject, as may be seen in the curious
illustrations and extreme denunciations of his _Regionvm
Indicarum devastatorum_, 18-22 et seq.

[X-22] _Herrera_, ii. i. ii.; _Peter Martyr_, iii. 6. Oviedo,
iii. 46, asserts that Panciaco joined Pocorosa in the attack
on Santa Cruz, and that not a single Spaniard escaped.
Andagoya, in _Nar._, 12, says that all were killed save one
woman, whom Pocorosa kept several years as his wife. She
was finally killed through jealousy by an Indian woman who
reported her to have been eaten by a crocodile while bathing.

[X-23] Oviedo calls this place Tamao.

[X-24] This was the site of old Panamá. Aboriginally fish in
large quantities were dried there. 'Que es provincia adonde
los ayres son buenos quando vienen dela mar,' says Herrera,
ii. ii. x., 'y malos quando procedẽ de tierra.' In _Purchas_,
_His Pilgrimes_, iv. 883, is written, 'It might haue had
a better seate, and more wholesome, and to the purpose for
the trafficke of the South Sea, not going very farre from
whence the Citie now stands.' See _Juan_ and _Ulloa_, _Voy._,
i. 99; _Heylyn's Cosmog._, 1085; _Lloyd_, in _London Geog.
Soc., Jour._, i. 85; _Findlay's Direct._, i. 213; _Griswold's
Panama_, 11; _Viagero Univ._, xii. 303-30; _Andagoya's Nar._,
23. Ambiguously Gomara writes, _Hist. Ind._, 254, 'Deste golfo
a Panama ay mas de cinquenta, que descubrio Gaspar de Morales
Capitan de Pedrarias de Auila.' Still more indefinite is
Benzoni, _Hist. Mondo Nvovo_, 81, 'Questa prouincia di Panama
soleua essere habitata da molti popoli Indiani, e per tutti
quei siu mi v'era abbondanza d'oro; ma gli Spagnuoli hanno
consumato ogni cosa.'

[X-25] It may be the same as Poncra; from the authorities it
is impossible with certainty to determine.

[X-26] Peter Martyr speaks of four attempts to gain the golden
temple. The first attained a distance up the river of forty
leagues, the second of fifty leagues, and the third of eighty
leagues. Again they crossed the river and proceeded by land,
'but oh! wonderful mischance, the unarmed and naked people
always overcame the armed and armored.' Jacobo Álvarez Osorio,
a friar of the priory of Darien, spent many years in search
of the province of Dabaiba.

[X-27] Balboa says eighty. _Carta_, in _Pacheco_ and
_Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 530.

[X-28] Gomara, _Hist. Ind._, 84, gives the island or the
chieftain yet another name, 'y diose buena maña en la ysla
de Terarequi a rescatar perlas.' Oviedo, iii. 16, calls the
island Toe.

[X-29] Writing the king, Vasco Nuñez tells the tale somewhat
differently. 'No sooner had they arrived at Isla Rica,' he
says, 'than entering a village they captured all the Indians
they could. The cacique prepared for war, but retired for
several days, during which time the Christians burned half
the houses with all the provisions. Afterward the cacique
peaceably returned with fifteen or sixteen marks of pearls
and four thousand pesos in gold. Then he took the Spaniards
to the place where they obtained the pearls, and made his
people gather them, and remain at peace. Notwithstanding all
this the captain without conscience gave away as slaves all
the men and all the women whom he brought away from the Rich
Island.' The statement may be taken with allowance as from
a man smarting under wrong; and it is not a little amusing
to see how suddenly tender becomes the conscience of the
ingenuous Vasco, who never stole anything from the natives,
or burned their houses, or made them slaves!

[X-30] Erroneously supposed by some to be the origin of the
word Peru.

[X-31] Some of the pearls were of extraordinary size and
beauty. One, in particular, attained no small celebrity.
It was pear-shaped, one inch in length, and nine lines in
its largest diameter. Vasco Nuñez describes it as weighing
'ten tomines'—a _tomin_ is about one third of a drachm—'very
perfect, without a scratch or stain and of a very pretty color
and lustre and make; which, in truth,' artlessly intimating
what would be his course under the circumstances, 'is a jewel
well worthy of presentation to your Majesty, more particularly
as coming from these parts. It was put up at auction and
sold for 1,200 pesos de oro to a merchant, and finally fell
into the hands of the governor.' Oviedo, iii. 49, says it
weighed 31 carats. Subsequently it was presented through
Doña Isabel to the queen, and was valued in Spain at 4,000
ducats. Pedrarias is further charged with divers misdemeanors.
_Carta del Adelantado Vasco Nuñez de Balboa_, October 16,
1515, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, ii. 526, and
_Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 375; _Ovalle_, _Hist. Rel.
Chile_, in _Pinkerton's Voy._, xiv. 146-7.