Chapter XIV: Part 14

Such is my fate, that the twenty years of service through which I have passed with so much toil and danger, have profited me nothing, and at this very day I do not possess a roof in Spain that I can call my own; if I wish to eat or sleep, I have nowhere to go but to the inn or tavern, and most times lack wherewith to pay the bill. Another anxiety wrung my very heartstrings, which was the thought of my son Diego, whom I had left an orphan in Spain, and stripped of the honour and property which were due to him on my account, although I had looked upon it as a certainty, that your Majesties, as just and grateful Princes, would restore it to him in all respects with increase. I reached the land of Cariay, where I stopped to repair my vessels and take in provisions, as well as to afford relaxation to the men, who had become very weak. I myself (who, as I said before, had been several times at the point of death) gained information respecting the gold mines of which I was in search, in the province of Ciamba; and two Indians conducted me to Carambaru, where the people (who go naked) wear golden mirrors round their necks, which they will neither sell, give, nor part with for any consideration. They named to me many places on the sea-coast where there were both gold and mines. The last that they mentioned was Veragua, which was about five-and-twenty leagues distant from the place where we then were. I started with the intention of visiting all of them, but when I had reached the middle of my journey I learned that there were other mines at so short a distance that they might be reached in two days. I determined on sending to see them. It was on the eve of St. Simon and St. Jude, which was the day fixed for our departure; but that night there arose so violent a storm, that we were forced to go wherever it drove us, and the Indian who was to conduct us to the mines was with us all the time. As I had found every thing true that had been told me in the different places which I had visited, I felt satisfied it would be the same with respect to Ciguare, which according to their account, is nine days’ journey across the country westward: they tell me there is a great quantity of gold there, and that the inhabitants wear coral ornaments on their heads, and very large coral bracelets and anklets, with which article also they adorn and inlay their seats, boxes, and tables. They also said that the women there wore necklaces hanging down to their shoulders. All the people agree in the report I now repeat, and their account is so favourable that I should be content with the tithe of the advantages that their description holds out. They are all likewise acquainted with the pepper-plant. According to the account of these people, the inhabitants of Ciguare are accustomed to hold fairs and markets for carrying on their commerce, and they showed me also the mode and form in which they transact their various exchanges. Others assert that their ships carry guns, and that the men go clothed and use bows and arrows, swords, and cuirasses, and that on shore they have horses which they use in battle, and that they wear rich clothes and have most excellent houses.[202] They also say that the sea surrounds Ciguare, and that at ten days’ journey from thence is the river Ganges. These lands appear to have the same bearings with respect to Veragua, as Tortosa has to Fontarabia, or Pisa to Venice. When I left Carambaru and reached the places in its neighbourhood, which I have above-mentioned as being spoken of by the Indians, I found the customs of the people correspond with the accounts that had been given of them, except as regarded the golden mirrors: any man who had one of them would willingly part with it for three hawks’-bells, although they were equivalent in weight to ten or fifteen ducats. These people resemble the natives of Española in all their habits. They have various modes of collecting the gold, none of which will bear comparison with the plans adopted by the Christians.

All that I have here stated is from hearsay. This, however, I know, that in the year ninety-four I sailed twenty-four degrees to the westward in nine hours, and there can be no mistake upon the subject, because there was an eclipse; the sun was in Libra and the moon in Aries. What I had learned by the mouth of these people I already knew in detail from books. Ptolemy thought that he had satisfactorily corrected Marinus, and yet this latter appears to have come very near to the truth. Ptolemy places Catigara at a distance of twelve lines to the west of his meridian,[203] which he fixes at two degrees and a third above Cape St. Vincent, in Portugal. Marinus comprises the earth and its limits in fifteen lines, and the same author describes the Indus in Ethiopia as being more than four-and-twenty degrees from the equinoctial line, and now that the Portuguese have sailed there they find it correct. Ptolemy says also that the most southern land is the first boundary, and that it does not go lower down than fifteen degrees and a third. The world is but small; out of seven divisions of it the dry part occupies six, and the seventh only is covered by water.[204] Experience has shown it, and I have written it with quotations from the Holy Scripture, in other letters, where I have treated of the situation of the terrestrial paradise, as approved by Holy Church; and I say that the world is not so large as vulgar opinion makes it, and that one degree from the equinoctial line measures fifty-six miles and two-thirds; and this may be proved to a nicety. But I leave this subject, which it is not my intention now to treat upon, but simply to give a narrative of my laborious and painful voyage, although of all my voyages it is the most honourable and advantageous. I have said that on the eve of St. Simon and St. Jude I ran before the wind wherever it took me, without power to resist it; at length I found shelter for ten days from the roughness of the sea and the tempest overhead, and resolved not to attempt to go back to the mines, which I regarded as already in our possession. When I started in pursuance of my voyage it was under a heavy rain, and reaching the harbour of Bastimentos I put in, though much against my will. The storm and a rapid current kept me in for fourteen days, when I again set sail, but not with favourable weather. After I had made fifteen leagues with great exertions, the wind and the current drove me back again with great fury, but in again making for the port which I had quitted, I found on the way another port, which I named Retrete, where I put in for shelter with as much risk as regret, the ships being in sad condition, and my crews and myself exceedingly fatigued. I remained there fifteen days, kept in by stress of weather, and when I fancied my troubles were at an end, I found them only begun. It was then that I changed my resolution with respect to proceeding to the mines, and proposed doing something in the interim, until the weather should prove more favourable for my voyage. I had already made four leagues when the storm recommenced, and wearied me to such a degree that I absolutely knew not what to do; my wound reopened, and for nine days my life was despaired of. Never was the sea seen so high, so terrific, and so covered with foam; not only did the wind oppose our proceeding onward, but it also rendered it highly dangerous to run in for any headland, and kept me in that sea which seemed to me as a sea of blood, seething like a cauldron on a mighty fire. Never did the sky look more fearful; during one day and one night it burned like a furnace, and emitted flashes in such fashion that each time I looked to see if my masts and my sails were not destroyed; these flashes came with such alarming fury that we all thought the ship must have been consumed. All this time the waters from heaven never ceased, not to say that it rained, for it was like a repetition of the deluge. The men were at this time so crushed in spirit, that they longed for death as a deliverance from so many martyrdoms. Twice already had the ships suffered loss in boats, anchors, and rigging, and were now lying bare without sails.

When it pleased our Lord, I returned to Puerto Gordo, where I recruited my condition as well as I could. I then once more attempted the voyage towards Veragua, although I was by no means in a fit state to undertake it. The wind and currents were still contrary. I arrived at nearly the same spot as before, and there again the wind and currents still opposed my progress; once more I was compelled to put into harbour, not daring to encounter the opposition of Saturn[205] with such a boisterous sea, and on so formidable a coast; for it almost always brings on a tempest or severe weather. This was on Christmas-day, about the hour of mass. Thus, after all these fatigues, I had once more to return to the spot from whence I started; and when the new year had set in, I returned again to my task: but although I had fine weather for my voyage, the ships were no longer in a sailing condition, and my people were either dying or very sick. On the day of the Epiphany, I reached Veragua in a state of exhaustion; there, by our Lord’s goodness, I found a river and a safe harbour, although at the entrance there were only ten spans of water. I succeeded in making an entry, but with great difficulty; and on the following day the storm recommenced, and had I been still on the outside at that time, I should have been unable to enter on account of the bar. It rained without ceasing until the fourteenth of February, so that I could find no opportunity of penetrating into the interior, nor of recruiting my condition in any respect whatever; and on the twenty-fourth of January, when I considered myself in perfect safety, the river suddenly rose with great violence to a considerable height, breaking my cables and the supports[206] to which they were fastened, and nearly carrying away my ships altogether, which certainly appeared to me to be in greater danger than ever. Our Lord, however, brought a remedy as He has always done. I do not know if any one else ever suffered greater trials.

On the sixth of February, while it was still raining, I sent seventy men on shore to go into the interior, and, at five leagues’ distance they found several mines. The Indians who went with them, conducted them to a very lofty mountain, and thence showing them the country all round, as far as the eye could reach, told them there was gold in every part, and that, towards the west, the mines extended twenty days’ journey; they also recounted the names of the towns and villages where there was more or less of it. I afterwards learned that the cacique Quibian, who had lent these Indians, had ordered them to show the distant mines, and which belonged to an enemy of his; but that in his own territory, one man might, if he would, collect in ten days as much as a child could carry. I bring with me some Indians, his servants, who can bear witness to this fact. The boats went up to the spot where the dwellings of these people are situated; and, after four hours, my brother returned with the guides, all of them bringing back gold which they had collected at that place. The gold must therefore be abundant, and of good quality, for none of these men had ever seen mines before; very many of them had never seen pure gold, and most of them were seamen and lads. Having building materials in abundance, I established a settlement, and made many presents to Quibian, which is the name they gave to the lord of the country. I plainly saw that harmony would not last long, for the natives are of a very rough disposition, and the Spaniards very encroaching; and, moreover, I had taken possession of land belonging to Quibian. When he saw what we did, and found the traffic increasing, he resolved upon burning the houses, and putting us all to death; but his project did not succeed, for we took him prisoner, together with his wives, his children, and his servants. His captivity, it is true, lasted but a short time, for he eluded the custody of a trustworthy man, into whose charge he had been given, with a guard of men; and his sons escaped from a ship, in which they had been placed under the special charge of the master.

In the month of January the mouth of the river was entirely closed up, and in April the vessels were so eaten with the teredo, that they could scarcely be kept above water. At this time the river forced a channel for itself, by which I managed, with great difficulty, to extricate three of them after I had unloaded them. The boats were then sent back into the river for water and salt, but the sea became so high and furious, that it afforded them no chance of exit; upon which the Indians collected themselves together in great numbers, and made an attack upon the boats, and at length massacred the men. My brother, and all the rest of our people, were in a ship which remained inside; I was alone, outside, upon that dangerous coast, suffering from a severe fever and worn with fatigue. All hope of escape was gone. I toiled up to the highest part of the ship, and, with a quivering voice and fast-falling tears, I called upon your Highnesses’ war-captains from each point of the compass to come to my succour, but there was no reply. At length, groaning with exhaustion, I fell asleep, and heard a compassionate voice address me thus:—“_O fool, and slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God of all! what did He do more for Moses, or for David his servant, than He has done for thee? From thine infancy He has kept thee under His constant and watchful care. When He saw thee arrived at an age which suited His designs respecting thee, He brought wonderful renown to thy name throughout all the land. He gave thee for thine own the Indies, which form so rich a portion of the world, and thou hast divided them as it pleased thee, for He gave thee power to do so. He gave thee also the keys of those barriers of the ocean sea which were closed with such mighty chains; and thou wast obeyed through many lands, and gained an honourable fame throughout Christendom. What did the Most High do for the people of Israel, when He brought them out of Egypt? or for David, whom from a shepherd He made to be king in Judæa? Turn to Him, and acknowledge thine error—His mercy is infinite. Thine old age shall not prevent thee from accomplishing any great undertaking. He holds under His sway the greatest possessions. Abraham had exceeded a hundred years of age when he begat Isaac; nor was Sarah young. Thou criest out for uncertain help: answer, who has afflicted thee so much and so often, God or the world? The privileges promised by God, He never fails in bestowing; nor does He ever declare, after a service has been rendered Him, that such was not agreeable with His intention, or that He had regarded the matter in another light; nor does He inflict suffering, in order to make a show of His power. His acts answer to His words; and He performs all His promises with interest. Is this the usual course? Thus I have told you what the Creator has done for thee, and what He does for all men. Even now He partially shows thee the reward of so many toils and dangers incurred by thee in the service of others._”

I heard all this, as it were, in a trance; but I had no answer to give in definite words, and could but weep for my errors. He who spoke to me, whoever he was, concluded by saying,—“_Fear not, but trust; all these tribulations are recorded on marble, and not without cause._” I arose as soon as I could; and at the end of nine days there came fine weather, but not sufficiently so to allow of drawing the vessels out of the river. I collected the men who were on land, and, in fact, all of them that I could, because there were not enough to admit of one party remaining on shore while another stayed on board to work the vessels. I myself should have remained with my men to defend the buildings I had constructed, had your Highnesses been cognizant of all the facts; but the doubt whether any ships would ever reach the spot where we were, as well as the thought, that while I was asking for succour I might bring succour to myself, made me decide upon leaving. I departed, in the name of the Holy Trinity, on Easter night, with the ships rotten, worm-eaten, and full of holes. One of them I left at Belem, with a supply of necessaries; I did the same at Belpuerto. I then had only two left, and they in the same state as the others. I was without boats or provisions, and in this condition I had to cross seven thousand miles of sea; or, as an alternative, to die on the passage with my son, my brother, and so many of my people. Let those who are in the habit of finding fault and censuring, ask, while they sit in security at home, “Why did you not do so and so under such circumstances?” I wish they now had this voyage to make. I verily believe that another journey of another kind awaits them, if there is any reliance to be placed upon our holy faith.

On the thirteenth of May I reached the province of Mago,[207] which is contiguous to that of Cathay, and thence I started for the island of Española. I sailed two days with a good wind, after which it became contrary. The route that I followed called forth all my care to avoid the numerous islands, that I might not be stranded on the shoals that lie in their neighbourhood. The sea was very tempestuous, and I was driven backward under bare poles. I anchored at an island, where I lost, at one stroke, three anchors; and, at midnight, when the weather was such that the world appeared to be coming to an end, the cables of the other ship broke, and it came down upon my vessel with such force that it was a wonder we were not dashed to pieces; the single anchor that remained to me, was, next to the Lord, our only preservation. After six days, when the weather became calm, I resumed my journey having already lost all my tackle; my ships were pierced with worm-holes, like a bee-hive, and the crew entirely paralysed with fear and in despair. I reached the island a little beyond the point at which I first arrived at it, and there I stayed to recover myself from the effects of the storm; but I afterwards put into a much safer port in the same island. After eight days I put to sea again, and reached Jamaica by the end of June; but always beating against contrary winds, and with the ships in the worst possible condition. With three pumps, and the use of pots and kettles, we could scarcely with all hands clear the water that came into the ship, there being no remedy but this for the mischief done by the ship-worm. I steered in such a manner as to come as near as possible to Española, from which we were twenty-eight leagues distant, but I afterwards wished I had not done so, for the other ship which was half under water was obliged to run in for a port. I determined on keeping the sea in spite of the weather, and my vessel was on the very point of sinking when our Lord miraculously brought us upon land. Who will believe what I now write? I assert that in this letter I have not related one hundredth part of the wonderful events that occurred in this voyage; those who were with the Admiral[208] can bear witness to it. If your Highnesses would be graciously pleased to send to my help a ship of above sixty-four tons, with two hundred quintals of biscuits and other provisions, there would then be sufficient to carry me and my crew from Española to Spain. I have already said that there are not twenty-eight leagues between Jamaica and Española; and I should not have gone there, even if the ships had been in a fit condition for so doing, because your Highnesses ordered me not to land there. God knows if this command has proved of any service. I send this letter by means of and by the hands of Indians; it will be a miracle if it reaches its destination.

This is the account I have to give of my voyage. The men who accompanied me were a hundred and fifty in number, among whom were many calculated for pilots and good sailors, but none of them can explain whither I went nor whence I came. The reason is very simple. I started from a point above the port of Brazil, and while I was in Española, the storm prevented me from following my intended route, for I was obliged to go wherever the wind drove me; at the same time I fell very sick, and there was no one who had navigated in these parts before. However, after some days, the wind and sea became tranquil, and the storm was succeeded by a calm, but accompanied with rapid currents. I put into harbour at an island called Isla de las Bocas, and then steered for terra firma; but it is impossible to give a correct account of all our movements, because I was carried away by the current so many days without seeing land. I ascertained, however, by the compass and by observation, that I moved parallel with the coast of terra firma. No one could tell under what part of the heavens we were, nor at what period I bent my course for the island of Española. The pilots thought we had come to the island of St. John, whereas it was the land of Mango, four hundred leagues to the westward of where they said. Let them answer and say if they know where Veragua is situated. I assert that they can give no other account than that they went to lands, where there was an abundance of gold, and this they can certify surely enough; but they do not know the way to return thither for such a purpose; they would be obliged to go on a voyage of discovery as much as if they had never been there before. There is a mode of reckoning derived from astronomy which is sure and safe, and a sufficient guide to anyone who understands it. This resembles a prophetic vision. The Indian vessels do not sail except with the wind abaft, but this is not because they are badly built or clumsy, but because the strong currents in those parts, together with the wind, render it impossible to sail with the bowline,[209] for in one day they would lose as much way as they might have made in seven; for the same reason I could make no use of caravels, even though they were Portuguese latteens. This is the cause that they do not sail unless with a regular breeze, and they will sometimes stay in harbour waiting for this seven or eight months at a time; nor is this anything wonderful, for the same very often occurs in Spain. The nation of which Pope Pius writes[210] has now been found, judging at least by the situation and other evidences, excepting the horses with the saddles and poitrels and bridles of gold; but this is not to be wondered at, for the lands on the sea-coast are only inhabited by fishermen, and moreover I made no stay there, because I was in haste to proceed on my voyage. In Cariay and the neighbouring country there are great enchanters of a very fearful character. They would have given the world to prevent my remaining there an hour. When I arrived they sent me immediately two girls very showily dressed; the eldest could not be more than eleven years of age and the other seven, and both exhibited so much immodesty, that more could not be expected from public women; they carried concealed about them a magic powder; when they came I gave them some articles to dress themselves out with, and directly sent them back to the shore. I saw here, built on a mountain, a sepulchre as large as a house, and elaborately sculptured, the body lay uncovered and with the face downwards; they also spoke to me of other very excellent works of art. There are many species of animals both small and large, and very different from those of our country. I had at the time two boars, that an Irish dog would not dare to face. An archer had wounded an animal like an ape, except that it was larger, and had a face like a man’s; the arrow had pierced it from the neck to the tail, which made it so fierce that they were obliged to disable it by cutting off one of its arms and a leg; one of the boars grew wild on seeing this and fled; upon which I ordered the _begare_ (as the inhabitants called him) to be thrown to the boar, and though the animal was nearly dead, and the arrow had passed quite through his body, yet he threw his tail round the snout of the boar, and then holding him firmly, seized him by the nape of the neck with his remaining hand, as if he were engaged with an enemy. This action was so novel and so extraordinary, that I have thought it worth while to describe it here. There is a great variety of animals here, but they all die of the barra.[211] I saw some very large fowls (the feathers of which resemble wool), lions, stags, fallow-deer, and birds.

When we were so harassed with our troubles at sea, some of our men imagined that we were under the influence of sorcery, and even to this day entertain the same notion. Some of the people whom I discovered were cannibals, as was evidenced by the brutality of their countenances. They say that there are great mines of copper in the country, of which they make hatchets and other elaborate articles, both cast and soldered; they also make of it forges, with all the apparatus of the goldsmith, and crucibles. The inhabitants go clothed; and in that province I saw some large sheets of cotton very elaborately and cleverly worked, and others very delicately pencilled in colours. They told me that more inland towards Cathay they have them interwoven with gold. For want of an interpreter we were able to learn but very little respecting these countries, or what they contain. Although the country is very thickly peopled, yet each nation has a very different language; indeed so much so, that they can no more understand each other than we understand the Arabs. I think, however, that this applies to the barbarians on the sea-coast, and not to the people who live more inland. When I discovered the Indies, I said that they composed the richest lordship in the world; I spoke of gold and pearls and precious stones, of spices, and the traffic that might be carried on in them; and because all these things were not forthcoming at once I was abused. This punishment causes me to refrain from relating anything but what the natives tell me. One thing I can venture upon stating, because there are so many witnesses of it, viz., that in this land of Veragua I saw more signs of gold in the two first days than I saw in Española during four years, and that there is not a more fertile or better cultivated country in all the world, nor one whose inhabitants are more timid; added to which there is a good harbour, a beautiful river, and the whole place is capable of being easily put into a state of defence. All this tends to the security of the Christians, and the permanency of their sovereignty, while it affords the hope of great increase and honour to the Christian religion; moreover the road hither will be as short as that to Española, because there is a certainty of a fair wind for the passage. Your Highnesses are as much lords of this country as of Xeres or Toledo, and your ships that may come here will do so with the same freedom as if they were going to your own royal palace. From hence they will obtain gold, and whereas if they should wish to become masters of the products of other lands, they will have to take them by force, or retire empty-handed, in this country they will simply have to trust their persons in the hands of a savage.

I have already explained my reason for refraining to treat of other subjects respecting which I might speak. I do not state as certain, nor do I confirm even the sixth part of all that I have said or written, nor do I pretend to be at the fountain-head of the information. The Genoese, Venetians, and all other nations that possess pearls, precious stones, and other articles of value, take them to the ends of the world to exchange them for gold. Gold is the most precious of all commodities; gold constitutes treasure, and he who possesses it has all he needs in this world, as also the means of rescuing souls from purgatory, and restoring them to the enjoyment of paradise. They say that when one of the lords of the country of Veragua dies, they bury all the gold he possessed with his body. There were brought to Solomon at one journey six hundred and sixty-six quintals of gold, besides what the merchants and sailors brought, and that which was paid in Arabia. Of this gold he made two hundred lances and three hundred shields, and the entablature which was above them was also of gold, and ornamented with precious stones: many other things he made likewise of gold, and a great number of vessels of great size, which he enriched with precious stones. This is related by Josephus in his Chronicle “de Antiquitatibus”; mention is also made of it in the Chronicles and in the Book of Kings. Josephus thinks that this gold was found in the Aurea; if it were so, I contend that these mines of the Aurea are identical with those of Veragua, which, as I have said before, extends westward twenty days’ journey, at an equal distance from the Pole and the Line. Solomon bought all of it,—gold, precious stones, and silver,—but your Majesties need only send to seek them to have them at your pleasure. David, in his will, left three thousand quintals of Indian gold to Solomon, to assist in building the Temple; and, according to Josephus, it came from these lands. Jerusalem and Mount Sion are to be rebuilt by the hands of Christians, as God has declared by the mouth of His prophet in the fourteenth Psalm. The Abbé Joaquim said that he who should do this was to come from Spain; Saint Jerome showed the holy woman the way to accomplish it; and the emperor of Cathay has, some time since, sent for wise men to instruct him in the faith of Christ. Who will offer himself for this work? Should any one do so, I pledge myself, in the name of God, to convey him safely thither, provided the Lord permits me to return to Spain. The people who have sailed with me have passed through incredible toil and danger, and I beseech your Highnesses, since they are poor, to pay them promptly, and to be gracious to each of them according to their respective merits; for I can safely assert, that to my belief they are the bearers of the best news that ever were carried to Spain. With respect to the gold which belongs to Quibian, the cacique of Veragua, and other chiefs in the neighbouring country, although it appears by the accounts we have received of it to be very abundant, I do not think it would be well or desirable, on the part of your Highnesses, to take possession of it in the way of plunder; by fair dealing, scandal and disrepute will be avoided, and all the gold will thus reach your Highnesses’ treasury without the loss of a grain. With one month of fair weather I shall complete my voyage. As I was deficient in ships, I did not persist in delaying my course; but in everything that concerns your Highnesses’ service, I trust in Him who made me, and I hope also that my health will be re-established. I think your Highnesses will remember that I had intended to build some ships in a new manner, but the shortness of the time did not permit it. I had certainly foreseen how things would be. I think more of this opening for commerce, and of the lordship over such extensive mines, than of all that has been done in the Indies. This is not a child to be left to the care of a step-mother.

I never think of Española, and Paria, and the other countries, without shedding tears. I thought that what had occurred there would have been an example for others; on the contrary, these settlements are now in a languid state, although not dead, and the malady is incurable, or at least very extensive: let him who brought the evil come now and cure it, if he knows the remedy, or how to apply it; but when a disturbance is on foot, every one is ready to take the lead. It used to be the custom to give thanks and promotion to him who placed his person in jeopardy; but there is no justice in allowing the man who opposed this undertaking, to enjoy the fruits of it with his children. Those who left the Indies, avoiding the toils consequent upon the enterprise, and speaking evil of it and me, have since returned with official appointments,—such is the case now in Veragua: it is an evil example, and profitless both as regards the business in which we are embarked, and as respects the general maintenance of justice. The fear of this, with other sufficient considerations, which I clearly foresaw, caused me to beg your Highnesses, previously to my coming to discover these islands and terra firma, to grant me permission to govern in your royal name. Your Highnesses granted my request; and it was a privilege and treaty granted under the royal seal and oath, by which I was nominated viceroy, and admiral, and governor-general of all: and your Highnesses limited the extent of my government to a hundred leagues beyond the Azores and Cape Verde islands, by a line passing from one pole to the other, and gave me ample power over all that I might discover beyond this line; all which is more fully described in the official document.

But the most important affair of all, and that which cries most loudly for redress, remains inexplicable to this moment. For seven years was I at your royal court, where every one to whom the enterprise was mentioned, treated it as ridiculous; but now there is not a man, down to the very tailors, who does not beg to be allowed to become a discoverer. There is reason to believe, that they make the voyage only for plunder, and that they are permitted to do so, to the great disparagement of my honour, and the detriment of the undertaking itself. It is right to give God His due,—and to receive that which belongs to one’s self. This is a just sentiment, and proceeds from just feelings. The lands in this part of the world, which are now under your Highnesses’ sway, are richer and more extensive than those of any other Christian power, and yet, after that I had, by the Divine will, placed them under your high and royal sovereignty, and was on the point of bringing your majesties into the receipt of a very great and unexpected revenue; and while I was waiting for ships, to convey me in safety, and with a heart full of joy, to your royal presence, victoriously to announce the news of the gold that I had discovered, I was arrested and thrown, with my two brothers, loaded with irons, into a ship, stripped, and very ill-treated, without being allowed any appeal to justice. Who could believe, that a poor foreigner would have risen against your Highnesses, in such a place, without any motive or argument on his side; without even the assistance of any other prince upon which to rely; but on the contrary, amongst your own vassals and natural subjects, and with my sons staying at your royal court? I was twenty-eight years old[212] when I came into your Highnesses’ service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is not grey; my body is infirm, and all that was left to me, as well as to my brothers, has been taken away and sold, even to the frock that I wore, to my great dishonour. I cannot but believe that this was done without your royal permission. The restitution of my honour, the reparation of my losses, and the punishment of those who have inflicted them, will redound to the honour of your royal character; a similar punishment also is due to those who plundered me of my pearls, and who have brought a disparagement upon the privileges of my admiralty. Great and unexampled will be the glory and fame of your Highnesses, if you do this, and the memory of your Highnesses, as just and grateful sovereigns, will survive as a bright example to Spain in future ages. The honest devotedness I have always shown to your majesties’ service, and the so unmerited outrage with which it has been repaid, will not allow my soul to keep silence, however much I may wish it: I implore your Highnesses to forgive my complaints. I am indeed in as ruined a condition as I have related; hitherto I have wept over others;—may Heaven now have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me. With regard to temporal things, I have not even a blanca for an offering; and in spiritual things, I have ceased here in the Indies from observing the prescribed forms of religion. Solitary in my trouble, sick, and in daily expectation of death, surrounded by millions of hostile savages full of cruelty, and thus separated from the blessed sacraments of our holy Church, how will my soul be forgotten if it be separated from the body in this foreign land? Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice! I did not come out on this voyage to gain to myself honour or wealth; this is a certain fact, for at that time all hope of such a thing was dead. I do not lie when I say that I went to your Highnesses with honest purpose of heart, and sincere zeal in your cause. I humbly beseech your Highnesses, that if it please God to rescue me from this place, you will graciously sanction my pilgrimage to Rome and other holy places. May the Holy Trinity protect your Highnesses’ lives, and add to the prosperity of your exalted position.

Done in the Indies, in the island of Jamaica, on the seventh of July, in the year one thousand five hundred and three.

CUARTO VIAGE DE COLON.

_Carta que escribió D. Cristóbal Colon, Virey y Almirante de las Indias, á los Cristianísimos y muy poderosos Rey y Reina de España, nuestros Señores, en que les notifica cuanto le ha acontecido en su viage; y las tierras, provincias, ciudades, rios y otras cosas maravillosas, y donde hay minas de oro en mucha cantidad, y otras cosas de gran riqueza y valor._

Serenísimos y muy altos y poderosos Príncipes Rey é Reina, nuestros Señores: De Caliz pasé á Canaria en cuatro dias, y dende á las Indias en diez y seis dias, donde escribia. Mi intencion era dar prisa á mi viage en cuanto yo tenia los navíos buenos, la gente y los bastimentos, y que mi derrota era en el Isla Jamaica; y en la Isla Dominica escribí esto: fasta allí truje el tiempo á pedir por la boca. Esa noche que alli entré fué con tormenta y grande, y me persiguió despues siempre. Cuando llegué sobre la Española invié el envoltorio de cartas, y á pedir por merced un navío por mis dineros, porque otro que yo llevaba era inavegable y no sufria velas. Las cartas tomaron, y sabrán si se las dieron la respuesta. Para mí fué mandarme de parte de ahí, que yo no pasase ni llegase á la tierra: cayó el corazon á la gente que iba conmigo, por temor de los llevar yo lejos, diciendo que si algun caso de peligro les viniese que no serian remediados allí, antes les sería fecha alguna grande afrenta. Tambien á quien plugo dijo que el Comendador habia de proveer las tierras que yo ganase. La tormenta era terrible, y en aquella noche me desmembró los navíos: á cada uno llevó por su cabo sin esperanzas, salvo de muerte: cada uno de ellos tenia por cierto que los otros eran perdidos. ¿Quién nasció, sin quitar á Job, que no muriera desesperado? que por mi salvacion y de mi fijo, hermano y amigos me fuese en tal tiempo defendida la tierra y los puertos que yo, por la voluntad de Dios, gané á España sudando sangre? E torno á los navíos que así me habia llevado la tormenta y dejado á mí solo. Deparómelos nuestro Señor cuando le plugo. El navío Sospechoso habia echado á la mar, por escapar, fasta la isola la Gallega; perdió la barca, y todos gran parte de los bastimentos: en el que yo iba, abalumado á maravilla, nuestro Señor le salvó que no hubo daño de una paja. En el Sospechoso iba mi hermano; y él, despues de Dios, fue su remedio. E con esta tormenta, así a gatas, me llegué á Jamaica: allí se mudó de mar alta on calmería y grande corriente, y me llevó fasta el Jardin de la Reina sin ver tierra. De allí, cuando pude, navegué á la tierra firme; adonde me salió el viento y corriente terrible al opósito: combati con ellos sesenta dias, y en fin no le pude ganar mas de setenta leguas. En todo este tiempo no entré puerto, ni pude, ni me dejó tormenta del cielo, agua y trombones y relámpagos de continuo, que parecia el fin del mundo. Llegué al cabo de Gracias á Dios, y de allí me dió nuestro Señor próspero el viento y corriente. Esto fue á doce de Setiembre. Ochenta y ocho dias habia que no me habia dejado espantable tormenta, á tanto que no vide el sol ni estrellas por mar; que á los navíos tenia yo abiertos, á las velas rotas, y perdidas anclas y jarcia, cables, con las barcas y muchos bastimentos, la gento muy enferma, y todos contritos, y muchos con promesa de religion, y no ninguno sin otros votos y romerías. Muchas veces habian llegado á se confesar los unos á los otros. Otras tormentas se han visto, mas no durar tanto ni con tanto espanto. Muchos esmorecieron, harto y hartas veces, que teniamos por esforzados. El dolor del fijo que yo tenia allí me arrancaba el ánima, y mas por verle de tan nueva edad de trece años en tanta fatiga, y durar en ello tanto: nuestro Señor le dió tal esfuerzo que él avivaba á los otros, y en las obras hacia el como si hubiera navegado ochenta años, y él me consolaba. Yo habia adolescido y llegado fartas veces á la muerte. De una camarilla, que yo mandé facer sobre cubierta, mandaba la via. Mi hermano estaba en el peor navío y mas peligroso. Gran dolor era mio, y mayor porque lo truje contra su grado; porque por mi dicha, poco me han aprovechado veinte años de servicio que yo he servido con tantos trabajos y peligros, que hoy dia no tengo en Castilla una teja; si quiero comer ó dormir no tengo, salvo al meson ó taberna, y las mas de las veces falta parar pagar el escote. Otra lastima me arrancaba el corazon por las espaldas, y era D. Diego mi hijo, que yo dejé en España tan huérfano y desposesionado de mi honra é hacienda; bien que tenia por cierto que allá como justos y agradecidos Principes le restituirian con acrescentamiento en todo. Llegué á tierra de Cariay, adonde me detuve á remediar los navíos y bastimentos, y dar aliento á la gente, que venia muy enferma. Yo que, como dije, habia llegado muchas veces á la muerte, allí supe de las minas del oro de la provincia de Ciamba, que yo buscaba. Dos indios me llevaron á Carambaru, adonde la gente anda desnuda y al cuello un espejo de oro, mas no le querian vender ni dar á trueque. Nombraronme muchos lugares en la costa de la mar, adonde decian que habia oro y minas; el postrero era Veragua, y lejos de allí obra de veinte y cinco leguas: partí con intencion de los tentar á todos, y llegado ya el medio supe que habia minas á dos jornadas de andadura: acorde de inviarlas á ver vispera de San Simon y Judas, que habia de ser la partida: en esa noche se levantó tanta mar y viento, que fue necesario de correr hácia adonde él quiso; é el indio adalid de las minas siempre conmigo. En todos estos lugares, adonde yo habia estado, fallé verdad todo lo que yo habia oido: esto me certifico que es así de la provincia de Ciguare, que segun ellos, es descrita nueve jornadas de andadura por tierra al Poniente: allí dicen que hay infinito oro, y que traen corales en las cabezas, manillas á los pies y á los brazos dello, y bien gordas; y dél, sillas, arcas, y mesas las guarnecen y enforran. Tambien dijeron que las mugeres de allí traian collares colgados de la cabeza á las espaldas. En esto que yo dijo, la gente toda de estos lugares conciertan en ello, y dicen tanto que yo seria contento con el diezmo. Tambien todos conocieron la pimienta. En Ciguare usan tratar en ferias y mercaderías: esta gente así lo cuentan, y me amostraban el modo y forma que tienen en la barata. Otrosi dicen que las naos traen bombardas, arcos y fiechas, espadas y corazas, y andan vestidos, y en la tierra hay caballos, y usan la guerra, y traen ricas vestiduras, y tienen buenas cosas. Tambien dicen que la mar boxa á Ciguare, y de allí á diez jornadas es el rio de Gangnes. Parece que estas tierras estan con Veragua, como Tortosa con Fuenterabía, ó Pisa con Venecia. Cuando yo partí de Carambaru y llegué á esos lugares que dije, fallé la gente en aquel mismo uso, salvo que los espejos del oro: quien los tenia los daba por tres cascabeles de gabilan por el uno, bien que pesasan diez ó quince ducados de peso. En todos sus usos son como los de la Española. El oro cogen con otras artes, bien que todos son nada con los de los Cristianos. Esto que yo he dicho es lo que oyo. Lo que yo sé es que el año de noventa y cuatro navegué en veinte y cuatro grados al Poniente en término de nueve horas, y no pudo haber yerro porque hubo eclipses: el sol estaba en Libra y la luna en Ariete. Tambien esto que yo supe por palabra habialo yo sabido largo por escrito. Tolomeo creyó de haber bien remedado á Marino, y ahora se falla su escritura bien propincua al cierto. Tolomeo asienta Catigara á doce lineas lejos de su Occidente, que él asentó sobre el cabo de San Vicente en Portugal dos grados y un tercio. Marino en quince líneas constituyó la tierra é términos. Marino en Etiopia escribe al Indo la línea equinocial mas de veinte y cuatro grados, y ahora que los Portugueses le navegan le fallan cierto. Tolomeo diz que la tierra mas austral es el plazo primero, y que no abaja mas de quince grados y un tercio. E el mundo es poco: el enjuto de ello es seis partes, la séptima solamente cubierta de agua: la experiencia ya está vista, y la escribí por otras letras y con adornamiento de la Sacra Escriptura con el sitio del Paraiso terrenal, que la santa Iglesia aprueba: digo que el mundo no es tan grande como dice el vulgo, y que un grado de la equinoccial está cincuenta y seis millas y dos tercios: pero esto se tocará con el dedo. Dejo esto, por cuanto no es mi propósito de fablar en aquella materia, salvo de dar cuenta de mi duro y trabajoso viage, bien que él sea el mas noble y provechoso. Digo que víspera de San Simon y Judas corrí donde el viento me llevaba, sin poder resistirle. En un puerto excusé diez dias de gran fortuna de la mar y del cielo: allí acordé de no volver atras á las minas, y dejelas ya por ganadas. Partí, por seguir mi viage, lloviendo: llegué á puerto de Bastimentos, adonde entré y no de grado: la tormenta y gran corriente me entró allí catorce dias; y despues partí, y no con buen tiempo. Cuando yo hube andado quince leguas forzosamente, me reposó atras el viento y corriente con furia: volviendo yo al puerto de donde habia salido fallé en el camino al Retrete, adonde me retruje con harto peligro y enojo y bien fatigado yo y los navíos y la gente: detúveme allí quince dias, que así lo quiso el cruel tiempo; y cuando creí de haber acabado me fallé de comienzo: allí mudé de sentencia de volver á las minas, y hacer algo fasta que me viniese tiempo para mi viage y marear; y llegado con cuatro leguas revino la tormenta, y me fatigó tanto á tanto que ya no sabia de mi parte. Allí se me refrescó del mal la llaga: nueve dias anduve perdido sin esperanza de vida: ojos nunca vieron la mar tan alta, fea y hecha espuma. El viento no era para ir adelante, ni daba lugar para correr hácia algun cabo. Allí me detenia en aquella mar fecha sangre, herbiendo como caldera por gran fuego. El cielo jamas fue visto tan espantoso: un dia con la noche ardió como forno: y así echaba la llama con los rayos, que cada vez miraba yo si me habia llevado los masteles y velas; venian con tanta furia espantables que todos creiamos que me habian de fundir los navíos. En todo este tiempo jamas cesó agua del cielo, y no para decir que llovia, salvo que resegundaba otro diluvio. La gente estaba ya tan molida que deseaban la muerte para salir de tantos martirios. Los navíos ya habian perdido dos veces las barcas, anclas, cuerdas, y estaban abiertos, sin velas.