Vasco Nunez de Balboa Part 7

In the estimation of Vasco Nuez de Balboa, this h.o.a.rd of gold was of small account, as he expected and intended to add to it at least ten times that amount. Whatever happened, he was not willing to risk his life in defence of it, and learning that the mutineers intended to throw him into prison, provided they could secure his person, he hastily withdrew from the scene of strife, giving out that he was going hunting in the forest.

"Friend Hurtado," he said to his lieutenant, "I foresee that when those scoundrels get possession of that bone of contention, the ten thousand castellanos in our treasury, they will so abuse one another in the division of it that the sober-minded members of our community will be only too glad to recall me to restore order. Hence, let them have it. I had hoped to send it to our lord the king--and in truth I yet shall do so; but let them first have the fingering of it. Meanwhile, friend Bartholomew, we will go hunting, you and I, for it is better, methinks, to slay the beasts of the forest, which may aid in sustaining us, than our own countrymen--which we shall certainly have to do if we remain."

This was the purport of a conversation the shrewd Balboa held with Hurtado and his immediate followers, and his wisdom and foresight were soon clearly shown by the manner in which his scheme worked itself out.

Alonzo Perez and his rabble seized the treasury, which he had left purposely unguarded, and with great hilarity proceeded to share among themselves the ten thousand pieces of gold. The result was what the crafty Balboa had foreseen, for a furious dispute broke out at once, and from words the mutineers came to blows.

There were still many adherents of Balboa in the community, but they had been awed into silence by the rabble. When the latter began quarrelling among themselves, however, and some of them even cried out, boldly, that their self-exiled governor had always been fair in the apportionment of the spoils, while Perez was extremely partial to himself, the friends of Balboa ventured to proclaim their own opinions.

"Who won this gold," they said, "but our own Vasco Nuez by his enterprise and valor? Knowing him as we do, we say he would have shared it with the brave and deserving. [Probably meaning themselves.] But these men have seized upon it by unfair and factious means, and would squander it upon their minions. Out upon them, say we! Let us seize the ringleaders of this foul conspiracy and cast them into prison. Then we will send for our gallant governor and reinstate him in authority."

As most of the soldiers were absent with Balboa and Colmenares, and the mutineers were really in the minority, the temperate members of the community easily accomplished their purpose by seizing Perez, Corral, and other ringleaders and placing them in irons. They were confined in the fortress, where they had leisure to reflect upon their intemperate behavior, while a special committee of reputable citizens, appointed amid loud acclamations, was sent in search of the fugitive governor.

As may be supposed, they did not have great difficulty in finding him, for he had kept in touch with the proceedings through his scouts, and had not penetrated the forest so far that he could not be readily recalled. He was discovered in camp, surrounded by his faithful soldiers, and the whole company seemed in high spirits over their success in the chase. Wigwams had been built beneath the wide-spreading branches of umbrageous trees, and hammocks swung in which Balboa and Hurtado were lazily reclining--the time being in the heat of the day, when the delegates approached them with the proffer of reinstatement.

They had travelled fast and far, since early morning, and, having provided no refreshments for the journey, were faint, thirsty, and hungry. They looked longingly at the rude table made of palm-leaves spread upon the ground, and supplied with every kind of food and drink known to the colony. Indian cooks were busy at a barbecue over a camp-fire, the savory odors from which were simply maddening to the hungry delegates. They saw other Indians engaged in tapping the wild palms and ladling out calabashes full of palm-wine, while others still were preparing foaming chicha for their masters.

Now, the throat of the committee's spokesman was dry, and his tongue also, so that when he essayed to speak his voice entirely failed him, and he looked helplessly at his companions. Perceiving the condition of the delegates, Balboa, who had been watching them narrowly from the corner of his eye, hastily leaped from his hammock and exclaimed: "Not a word, Don Pedro, not a word, until you and your friends have slaked your thirst with draughts of our native wine. Cruel it was of me to keep you standing there, while this _desayuno_ [breakfast] was being prepared, at which you must sit down, though it be so humble and poor of quality.

Nay, I insist," he added, as the committee hesitated. "I know not your mission, _caballeros_; but, certes, you are faint and hungry, perchance thirsty also, so sit down, and answer not. Hither, mozos, with the calabashes of chicha and wine. Give my _compaeros_ to drink, without delay."

The delegates gratefully accepted the food and drink so liberally profferred, and when they were refreshed the spokesman began his speech again: "Your excellency, we have come to ask you to return. The government goes ill without you--in truth, there is no government at all."

"Ha? But what of Don Alonzo and the Bachelor Corral?"

"They are in the calaboose, your excellency, and in irons."

"So? But how long will they remain, if I return. And what of the gold?"

"They will remain there at your excellency's pleasure; and the gold shall be collected and returned to the treasury."

"_Bueno_--good, very good. But how long, think ye, gentlemen, will ye continue in this chastened frame of mind? Not a month, not a week, before some low-born sons of Belial will provoke an outbreak against the authority of Vasco Nuez de Balboa, and declare he hath no authority to govern. If I go, gentlemen, to Darien, then it must be under a pledge that ye all will unitedly stand by me, and sustain me in every effort for the public weal. What say ye?"

"We will, we will, your excellency. Only return!"

XI

BALBOA STRENGTHENS HIS ARM

1512

Balboa stretched himself in his hammock, and looking at the delegates through half-closed eyes, as though he would resume his siesta, rejoined: "Gentlemen, I do not wish to return! But here is Don Bartolome, who might be induced to act in my place. Let him go with you and a.s.sume the reins of government."

The delegates looked the confusion they felt, but said nothing, though Hurtado hastily exclaimed, "No, no; I care not to do so."

"Neither care I," said Balboa. "For what do I get by returning? Only the semblance of a shadow of authority. All the labors, all the insults attending the office; but never a _gracias_, _seor_--never a thank you, sir, get I. But here--ah, here I have my liberty. I ask no man whether I shall come or shall go. Here I can live free from restraint--I and my merry men. What say, compaeros, shall we return?"

"Never, no never!" came in a chorus from the soldiery.

"We are content here, are we not? The forest gives us sustenance--as ye see, gentlemen; it gives us shelter. Now that I am no longer compelled to hunt the red savage, and only the wild beast when I choose, rest and happiness have come to me."

The committee consulted together for the s.p.a.ce of five or ten minutes, then the spokesman said, with a new note in his voice and a twinkle of triumph in his eyes: "Your excellency, we have a letter for you, which I herewith deliver. We know not what it contains, for, as you may witness, the seal is still unbroken; but from what tidings we have received from some high in authority at Hispaniola, we divine it refers to the great displeasure of his majesty, the king, as respects your doings at Darien.

Here is the letter, your excellency."

Balboa took the letter without remark, and broke the seal. As he read, a serious expression came over his face, and he frowned severely, seeing which the delegates nudged one another and chuckled inwardly. He had good cause, in truth, to frown, for the letter was from his friend at court, Zamudio, whom he had sent to Spain to plead his cause. It informed him of the king's indignation, kindled by the charges against him lodged at court by the lawyer Enciso, by whom he was accused of being an intruder and usurper at Darien. He was held responsible for all the disasters to the colony, and though in reality its founder, and pacificator of the savages, he was to be prosecuted on criminal charges, and might consider himself fortunate if he escaped with his life.

Such was the tenor of the letter, and such the purport of the information the committee had received before they left the settlement.

This being so, it behooved Balboa to comport himself more in accordance with his changed position in the eyes of the committee, and after he had finished reading the letter he said: "This is an important communication, gentlemen, and to answer it properly I shall be compelled to return to Darien. If, then, it be your minds still to support me, we will soon set forth. But only on that understanding shall I go."

"We shall support you," answered the spokesman. "But let it be understood, however, that our support is given only as between you and other subjects of his majesty, the king. Should there be conflict of authority, as between you, Vasco Nuez de Balboa, and his majesty, there will be no question which direction we should take."

"Nor would I, as a loyal subject of his majesty, ask more of you,"

rejoined Balboa, fervently. "Soldiers, companions, we will depart.

Prepare for the march to town. Mozos, bring hither the wine and the chicha. Gentlemen, before we start let us drink to the health of his majesty. Long live the king!"

Then a wild scene ensued. Mingling promiscuously--cavaliers, soldiers of the ranks, and civic functionaries--the company all joined in drinking the health of their sovereign. They seized the br.i.m.m.i.n.g calabashes, and, lifting them to their lips, drank deeply to the toast, "Long live the king."

"Now fill again!" shouted one of the delegates. "Here's to the health of his majesty's most loyal subject, Vasco Nuez de Balboa. May he live long as governor of Darien!"

"_Viva! viva!_" shouted the excited soldiery. "Long life to our governor!"

"And to his loyal supporters, these our friends," added Balboa, grimly smiling, and waving his right hand towards the delegates. "May they remain loyal--for the s.p.a.ce of a week, and may they never have to choose between his majesty and myself, his most devoted subject and servant!"

The wine was soon gone, to the dregs, and with this as the parting toast the company broke camp and set out for town, where a new surprise awaited Balboa, in the arrival of two s.h.i.+ps from Santo Domingo. They were laden with provisions and brought a reinforcement of two hundred soldiers and settlers, sent by the admiral, Don Diego Columbus. At the same time arrived, by the hands of the fleet's captain, a commission for Balboa as governor and captain-general. This had come from Miguel de Pasamonte, the royal treasurer of Hispaniola, a favorite of the king, sent out as a check upon the ambition of Don Diego, of whom his majesty was extremely jealous.

In this manner did fate seem to play at cross-purposes with Vasco Nuez de Balboa, sending him tidings by one messenger of the king's disfavor, and by another of his esteem; though, to tell the truth, Pasamonte had a.s.sumed his majesty's approbation of his act, without right to do so. He had received from Balboa a large sum of gold, by a previous remittance, and this was the manner in which he requited the favor.

"Gold is most powerful, of a truth," whispered Balboa to himself, smiling the while, as he thought of the t.i.tle it had won from Miguel de Pasamonte. "If, now, I could get to the king the ten thousand golden castellanos which I have recovered from those robbers, Perez and Corral, methinks such a donative might purchase exemption from the penalties which his majesty seems disposed to place upon me for my presumption in setting poor old Nicuesa adrift and sending Enciso back to Spain. Ha, I have it! I will myself go to court with the gold in my hand, and beard the royal lion in his den. Ten thousand pieces I have; at least ten thousand more may be raked and sc.r.a.ped in the colony, and, moreover, these shall be, to the king, but an earnest of much more to come."

Full of his new project, Balboa broached it to his counsellors without delay, but to his surprise they would not hear of it, neither would any person whatever in the colony. "No, no," they all exclaimed. "You shall not leave us, Vasco Nuez. You are not alone our governor, but our guide and leader. You, only, are respected by the soldiers, feared by the savages, and we cannot do without you. Stay here with us you must; but we will send deputies to acquaint the king with the condition of the colony, to entreat the necessary military aid, and to plead your cause as though it were yourself in person, Vasco Nuez."

They proved their sincerity by electing two deputies, one of them Juan de Caicedo, who had been inspector on the unfortunate Nicuesa expedition, and the other Rodrigo de Colmenares, "both men of weight, expert in negotiation, and held in general esteem." It was believed that they would satisfactorily execute their commission, and that both would return, since Caicedo left a wife behind him at Darien, and Colmenares had acquired much property, including a farm which he tilled with Indian labor, when not engaged in military operations. Balboa gladly relieved him from command of the fort at Tichiri, and rejoiced that he could send one who would so well represent his cause at court. By him he forwarded letters to the king, containing most extravagant accounts of the country's riches, not forgetting to mention the famed temple of Dobaybe, filled with gold, and the tales the Indians told respecting the gathering of gold in nets. He showed this precious epistle to the colonists, and they were all so greatly impressed with it that, one and all, they contributed gold to the extent of their h.o.a.rdings, which, added to the amount sent by the government to the king, represented a goodly sum.

Balboa's commissioners left Darien del Antigua about the end of October, 1512, and arrived in Spain, after a long and tempestuous voyage, in the early part of 1513. Had they been the only messengers from that isolated colony on the isthmus, all might have gone well with its governor; but, unfortunately for him, as we know, his enemies had preceded them and spread broadcast the most pernicious tales respecting the doings of the gallant adventurer, Vasco Nuez de Balboa.

Leaving them for a time, while the ferment is working that eventuated in the downfall of Balboa, let us continue in his company until he has accomplished that great achievement due to his heroic efforts, and with which fame has inseparably linked his name--the discovery of the Pacific Ocean.

By the information conveyed through his friend at court, Zamudio, he was a.s.sured that lawyer Enciso had obtained a judgment against him in which he was condemned for costs and damages to a large amount. This was not all, for the king was very much incensed, and had issued a summons for him to repair to Spain without delay, there to stand trial on criminal charges respecting the outrageous treatment of Nicuesa, which had probably caused his death.

It will be admitted that Vasco Nuez was then in a terrible predicament, and that there seemed no way out of it save by a desperate venture, by which he might perhaps retrieve his fortunes, win fame, and recover the lost favor of the king. Fortunately for him, the news conveyed by Zamudio's letter had been informal, and in advance of tidings direct from the throne, so there was still time for action. When the authoritative summons should come, it would be too late; hence he could not await the reinforcements so anxiously expected from Spain, and must accomplish whatever he did before their arrival. Thus the intrepid Balboa was thrown directly upon his own resources, and resolved to set forth without the a.s.sistance from his sovereign which he had every right to expect in an undertaking so vast and venturesome as his.

Desultory and apparently aimless as had been his doings. .h.i.therto, Balboa had never for a moment lost sight of that grand scheme he had formed for exploring beyond the mountains and revealing the existence, if possible, of the great "southern sea." Cacique Comogre's son had a.s.sured him that he would need at least a thousand men to a.s.sist him, and acting upon this sage advice he had waited for reinforcements before attempting the great adventure. But now, if he waited longer, he might forever lose the opportunity, for with the reinforcements from Spain would also come the order for his arrest and transportation, or at least his dismissal from office. What he did, then, must be done quickly as well as effectually, and he lost no time in perfecting his plans.

"While another and less intrepid spirit might have been overwhelmed by the prospects before him, Balboa was animated to new daring, and impelled to yet higher enterprises. Should he permit another to profit by his toils, to discover the great South Sea, and to ravish from him the wealth and glory which were almost within his grasp? No, a thousand times no! He had won the information at risk of his life; he would realize the profit of it, even at the risk of his life. At least, no other man should avail of it, to cheat him of his dues. He did, indeed, still want the thousand men who were necessary to the projected expedition; but his enterprise, his experience, and his constancy impelled him to undertake it, even without them. He would thus, by so signal a service, blot out the original crime of his primary usurpation, and if death should overtake him in the midst of his exertions, he would die laboring for the prosperity and glory of his native land, and freed from the persecutions which then threatened him."[3]

As he would be obliged to absent himself from the colony for a long period, he made every effort to weld the various elements into a civic body that should work harmoniously and resist the disintegrating forces from within as well as from without. His first step was to set free the ringleaders of the late insurrection, which done, and a.s.sured of their co-operation, he proceeded to select his soldiers. There was no lack of volunteers when it became noised about that Balboa was to set out on the grand expedition to which all the others had been in a sense merely preliminary, and he was at greater trouble to reject than to accept those who offered for the service. Desiring none but the most dauntless spirits, he put every man applying to the severest tests. In the first place, they must be capable of enduring fatigue and hunger; in the second, they must be unflinchingly courageous, for the route of march would lie through regions occupied by hostile Indians who were said to be cannibals and gave no quarter.