De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2) by Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt

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During this discussion Vasco was joined on the eighth day of the
calends of January and the last day of the year 1513, by the men he
had left behind with Pochorroso. The slaves whom the southern caciques
had lent them, carried their gold-mining tools.

The day of the Nativity of Our Lord was given to rest, but the
following day, the Feast of the Protomartyr St. Stephen, Vasco led
some miners to a hill near Tumanama's residence because he thought
from the colour of the earth that it contained gold. A hole a palm and
a half in size was made, and from the earth sifted a few grains of
gold, not larger than a lentil, were obtained.

Vasco had this fact recorded by a notary and witnesses, in order to
establish the authenticity of this discovery, as he called it, of a
_toman_ of gold. In the language of bankers, a _toman_ contains twelve
grains. Vasco consequently deduced, as the neighbouring caciques
alleged, that the country was rich, but he could never prevail upon
Tumanama to admit it. Some said that Tumanama was indifferent to such
unimportant fragments of gold, others claimed that he persisted in
denying the wealth of his country for fear the Spaniards, to satisfy
their desire for gold, might take possession of the whole of it. The
cacique saw only too well into the future; for the Spaniards have
decided, if the King consents, to establish new towns in his country
and that of Pochorroso; these towns will serve as refuges and
storehouses for travellers going to the South Sea, and moreover both
countries are favourable for growing all kinds of fruits and crops.

Vasco decided to leave this country, and to blaze for himself, a new
trail through a land of which the earth tints and the shells seemed
to him to indicate the presence of gold. He ordered a little digging
below the surface of the earth to be done, and found a peso, weighing
a little more than a grain. I have already said in my First Decade,
addressed to Your Holiness, that a peso was worth a castellano of
gold. Enchanted with this result, he overwhelmed Tumanama with
nattering promises to prevent the cacique from interfering with any of
the Spaniards' allies in that neighbourhood. He also besought him to
collect a quantity of gold. It is alleged that he had carried off all
the cacique's women, and had practically stripped him to check his
insolence. Tumanama also confided his son to Vasco in order that the
boy might learn our language in living with the Spaniards, and become
acquainted with our habits and be converted to our religion. It may
be that the boy's education may some day be of use to his father, and
secure him our favour.

The immense fatigues, the long watches, and the privations Vasco had
endured ended by provoking a violent fever, so that on leaving this
country he had to be carried on the shoulders of slaves. All the
others who were seriously ill, were likewise carried in hammocks,
that is to say, in cotton nets. Others, who still had some strength,
despite their weak legs, were supported under the armpits and carried
by the natives. They finally arrived in the country of our friend
Comogre, of whom I have lengthily spoken above. The old man was dead
and had been succeeded by that son whose wisdom we have praised. This
young man had been baptised, and was called Carlos. The palace of this
Comogre stands at the foot of a cultivated hill, rising in a fertile
plain that tends for a breadth of twelve leagues towards the south.
This plain is called by the natives _savana_. Beyond the limits of the
plain rise the very lofty mountains that serve as a divide between the
two oceans. Upon their slopes rises the Comogre River which, after
watering this plain, runs through a mountainous country, gathering to
itself tributaries from all the valleys and finally emptying into the
South Sea. It is distant about seventy leagues to the west of Darien.

Uttering cries of joy, Carlos hastened to meet the Spaniards,
refreshing them with food and agreeable drinks, and lavishing generous
hospitality upon them. Presents were exchanged, the cacique giving
Vasco twenty pounds of worked gold, at eight ounces to the pound,
and Vasco satisfying him with equally acceptable presents, such as
hatchets, and some carpenters' tools. He likewise gave Carlos a robe
and one of his own shirts, because of the extremity to which he was
reduced. These gifts elevated Carlos to the rank of a hero among
his neighbours. Vasco finally left Comogra and all its people after
admonishing them that, if they wished to live in peace, they must
never rebel against the rule of the Spanish King. He also urged them
to use their best endeavours to collect gold for the _Tiba_, that is
to say, the King. He added that in this way they would secure for
themselves and their descendants protection against the attacks of
their enemies, and would receive an abundance of our merchandise.

When everything had been satisfactorily arranged, Vasco continued his
march towards the country of Poncha, where he met four young men sent
from Darien to inform him that well-laden ships had just arrived from
Hispaniola; he had promised that, in returning from the South Sea, he
would march by some way through that country. Taking with him twenty
of his strongest companions he started by forced marches for Darien,
leaving behind the others who were to join him. Vasco has written that
he reached Darien the fourteenth day of the calends of February in the
year 1514, but his letter[2] is dated Darien, the fourth day of the
nones of March, as he was unable to send it sooner no ship being ready
to sail. He says that he has sent two ships to pick up the people he
left behind, and he boasts of having won a number of battles without
receiving a wound or losing one of his men in action.

[Note 2: Unfortunately neither this letter or any copy of it is
known to exist.]

There is hardly a page of this long letter which is not inscribed with
some act of thanksgiving for the great dangers and many hardships he
escaped. He never undertook anything or started on his march without
first invoking the heavenly powers, and principally the Virgin Mother
of God. Our Vasco Balboa is seen to have changed from a ferocious
Goliath into an Elias. He was an Antaeus; he has been transformed into
Hercules the conqueror of monsters. From being foolhardy, he has
become obedient and entirely worthy of royal honours and favour. Such
are the events made known to us by letters from him and the colonists
of Darien, and by verbal reports of people who have returned from
those regions.

Perhaps you may desire, Most Holy Father, to know what my sentiments
are respecting these events. My opinion is a simple one. It is evident
from the military style in which Vasco and his men report their deeds
that their statements must be true. Spain need no longer plough up the
ground to the depth of the infernal regions or open great roads or
pierce mountains at the cost of labour and the risk of a thousand
dangers, in order to draw wealth from the earth. She will find riches
on the surface, in shallow diggings; she will find them in the
sun-dried banks of rivers; it will suffice to merely sift the earth.
Pearls will be gathered with little effort. Cosmographers unanimously
recognise that venerable antiquity received no such benefit from
nature, because never before did man, starting from the known world,
penetrate to those unknown regions. It is true the natives are
contented with a little or nothing, and are not hospitable; moreover,
we have more than sufficiently demonstrated that they receive
ungraciously strangers who come amongst them, and only consent to
negotiate with them, after they have been conquered. Most ferocious
are those new anthropophagi, who live on human flesh, Caribs or
cannibals as they are called. These cunning man-hunters think of
nothing else than this occupation, and all the time not given to
cultivating the fields they employ in wars and man-hunts. Licking
their lips in anticipation of their desired prey, these men lie in
wait for our compatriots, as the latter would for wild boar or deer
they sought to trap. If they feel themselves unequal to a battle, they
retreat and disappear with the speed of the wind. If an encounter
takes place on the water, men and women swim with as great a facility
as though they lived in that element and found their sustenance under
the waves.

It is not therefore astonishing that these immense tracts of country
should be abandoned and unknown, but the Christian religion, of which
you are the head, will embrace its vast extent. As I have said in
the beginning, Your Holiness will call to yourself these myriads of
people, as the hen gathers her chickens under her wings. Let us now
return to Veragua, the place discovered by Columbus, explored under
the auspices of Diego Nicuesa, and now abandoned; and may all the
other barbarous and savage provinces of this vast continent be brought
little by little into the pale of Christian civilisation and the
knowledge of the true religion.

BOOK IV

I had resolved, Most Holy Father, to stop here but I am consumed, as
it were, with an internal fire which constrains me to continue my
report. As I have already said, Veragua was discovered by Columbus.
I should feel that I had robbed him or committed an inexpiable crime
against him were I to pass over the ills he endured, the vexations and
dangers to which he was exposed during these voyages. It was in the
year of salvation 1502 on the sixth day of the ides of May that
Columbus sailed from Cadiz with a squadron of four vessels of from
fifty to sixty tons burthen, manned by one hundred and seventy men.[1]
Five days of favourable weather brought him to the Canaries; seventeen
days' sailing brought him to the island of Domingo, the home of the
Caribs, and from thence he reached Hispaniola in five days more, so
that the entire crossing from Spain to Hispaniola occupied twenty-six
days, thanks to favourable winds and currents, which set from the east
towards the west. According to the mariners' report the distance is
twelve hundred leagues.

[Note 1: This was the fourth voyage of Columbus.]

He stopped in Hispaniola for some time, either of his own accord or
with the Viceroy's[2] assent. Pushing straight to the west, he left
the islands of Cuba and Jamaica towards his right on the north, and
discovered to the south of Jamaica an island called by its inhabitants
Guanassa.[3] This island is incredibly fertile and luxuriant. While
coasting along its shores, the Admiral met two of those barques dug
out of tree trunks of which I have spoken. They were drawn by naked
slaves with ropes round their necks. The chieftain of the island, who,
together with his wife and children, were all naked, travelled in
these barques. When the Spaniards went on shore the slaves, in
obedience to their master's orders, made them understand by haughty
gestures that they would have to obey the chief, and when they
refused, menaces and threats were employed. Their simplicity is such
that they felt neither fear nor admiration on beholding our ships and
the number and strength of our men. They seemed to think the Spaniards
would feel the same respect towards their chief as they did. Our
people perceived that they had to do with merchants returning from
another country, for they hold markets. The merchandise consisted of
bells, razors, knives, and hatchets made of a yellow and translucent
stone; they are fastened in handles of hard and polished wood. There
were also household utensils for the kitchen, and pottery of artistic
shapes, some made of wood and some made of that same clear stone; and
chiefly draperies and different articles of spun cotton in brilliant
colours. The Spaniards captured the chief, his family and everything
he possessed; but the Admiral soon afterwards ordered him to be set at
liberty and the greater part of their property restored, hoping thus
to win their friendship.

[Note 2: This direct violation of his orders was due to his wish
to trade one of his vessels, which was a slow sailer, for a quicker
craft.]

[Note 3: Guanaya or Bouacia, lying off the coast of Honduras.]

Having procured some information concerning the country towards the
west, Columbus proceeded in that direction and, a little more than ten
miles farther, he discovered a vast country which the natives call
Quiriquetana, but which he called Ciamba. There he caused the Holy
Sacrifice to be celebrated upon the shore. The natives were numerous
and wore no clothing. Gentle and simple, they approached our people
fearlessly and admiringly, bringing them their own bread and fresh
water. After presenting their gifts they turned upon their heels
bowing their heads respectfully. In exchange for their presents, the
Admiral gave them some European gifts, such as strings of beads,
mirrors, needles, pins, and other objects unknown to them.

This vast region is divided into two parts, one called Taia and the
other called Maia.[4] The whole country is fertile, well shaded, and
enjoys delightful temperature. In fertility of soil it yields to
none, and the climate is temperate. It possesses both mountains and
extensive plains, and everywhere grass and trees grow. Spring and
autumn seem perpetual, for the trees keep their leaves during the
whole year, and bear fruit. Groves of oak and pine are numerous, and
there are seven varieties of palms of which some bear dates, while
others are without fruit. Vines loaded with ripe grapes grow
spontaneously amid the trees, but they are wild vines and there is
such an abundance of useful and appetising fruits that nobody bothers
to cultivate vineyards. The natives manufacture their _machanes_, that
is to say swords, and the darts they throw, out of a certain kind
of palm-wood. Much cotton is found in this country as well as
mirobolanes, of various kinds, such as doctors call _emblicos_[5] and
_chebules_; maize, yucca, ages, and potatoes, all grow in this country
as they do everywhere on the continent. The animals are lions, tigers,
stags, deer, and other similar beasts. The natives fatten those birds
we have mentioned, as resembling peahens in colour, size, and taste.

[Note 4: This is the first mention of the word _Maya_. The traders
whom Columbus met were doubtless Mayas, coming from some of the
great fairs or markets. For the second time, he brushed past the
civilisation of Yucatan and Mexico, leaving to later comers the glory
of their discovery.]

[Note 5: _Myrobolanos etiam diversarum specierum, emblicos puta et
chebulos medicorum appellatione_.]

The natives of both sexes are said to be tall and well proportioned.
They wear waist-cloths and bandolets of spun cotton in divers colours,
and they ornament themselves by staining their bodies with black and
red colours, extracted from the juice of certain fruits cultivated for
that purpose in their gardens, just as did the Agathyrsi. Some of them
stain the entire body, others only a part. Ordinarily they draw upon
their skin designs of flowers, roses, and intertwined nets, according
to each one's fancy. Their language bears no resemblance to that of
the neighbouring islanders. Torrential streams run in a westerly
direction. Columbus resolved to explore this country towards the
west, for he remembered Paria, Boca de la Sierpe, and other countries
already discovered to the east, believing they must be joined to the
land where he was; and in this he was not deceived.

On the thirteenth day of the calends of September the Admiral left
Quiriquetana. After sailing thirty leagues, he came to a river, in the
estuary of which he took fresh water. The coast was clear of rocks and
reefs, and everywhere there was good anchorage. He writes, however,
that the ocean current was so strong against him that in forty days'
sailing it was with the greatest difficulty he covered seventy
leagues, and then only by tacking. From time to time, when he sought
towards nightfall to forestall the danger of being wrecked in the
darkness on that unknown coast, and tried to draw near to land, he was
beaten back. He reports that within a distance of eight leagues he
discovered three rivers of clear water, upon whose banks grew canes as
thick round as a man's leg. The waters of these streams are full of
fish and immense turtles, and everywhere were to be seen multitudes of
crocodiles, drinking in the sun with huge yawning mouths. There were
plenty of other animals of which the Admiral does not give the names.
The aspect of this country presents great variety, being in some
places rocky and broken up into sharp promontories and jagged rocks,
while in others the fertility of the soil is unexcelled by that of
any known land. From one shore to another the names of the chiefs and
principal inhabitants differ; in one place they are called caciques,
as we have already said; in another _quebi_, farther on _tiba_. The
principal natives are sometimes called _sacchus_ and sometimes _jura_.
A man who has distinguished himself in conflict with an enemy and
whose face is scarred, is regarded as a hero and is called _cupra_,
The people are called _chyvis_, and a man is _home_. When they wish to
say, "That's for you, my man," the phrase is, "_Hoppa home_."

Another great river navigable for large ships was discovered, in the
mouth of which lie four small islands, thickly grown with flowers and
trees. Columbus called them Quatro Tempore. Thirteen leagues farther
on, always sailing eastwards against adverse currents, he discovered
twelve small islands; and as these produced a kind of fruit resembling
our limes, he called them Limonares. Twelve leagues farther, always
in the same direction, he discovered a large harbour extending three
leagues into the interior of the country, and into which flows an
important river. It was at this spot that Nicuesa was afterwards lost
when searching for Veragua, as we have already related; and for this
reason later explorers have named it Rio de los Perdidos. Continuing
his course against the ocean current, the Admiral discovered a number
of mountains, valleys, rivers, and harbours; the atmosphere was laden
with balmy odours.

Columbus writes that not one of his men fell ill till he reached a
place the natives call Quicuri,[6] which is a point or cape where the
port of Cariai lies. The Admiral called it Mirobolan because trees of
that name grew there spontaneously. At the port of Cariai about two
hundred natives appeared, each armed with three or four spears; but
mild-mannered and hospitable. As they did not know to what strange
race the Spaniards belonged, they prepared to receive them and asked
for a parley. Amicable signs were exchanged and they swam out to our
people, proposing to trade and enter into commercial relations. In
order to gain their confidence, the Admiral ordered some European
articles to be distributed gratuitously amongst them. These they
refused to accept, by signs, for nothing they said was intelligible.
They suspected the Spaniards of setting a trap for them in offering
these presents, and refused to accept their gifts. They left
everything that was given them on the shore.[7] Such are the courtesy
and generosity of these people of Cariai, that they would rather give
than receive.

[Note 6: Quiribiri. Columbus arrived there on September 25th.]

[Note 7: Suspicion and mistrust were mutual, for Columbus thought
the natives were practising magic when they cast perfumes before them,
as they cautiously advanced towards him; he afterwards described them
as powerful magicians.]

They sent two young girls, virgins of remarkable beauty, to our men,
and gave it to be understood that they might take them away. These
young girls, like all the other women, wore waist-cloths made of
bandelets of cotton, which is the costume of the women of Cariai. The
men on the contrary go naked. The women cut their hair, or let it grow
behind and shave the forehead; then they gather it up in bands of
white stuff and twist it round the head, just as do our girls. The
Admiral had them clothed and gave them presents, and a bonnet of red
wool stuff for their father; after which he sent them away. Later all
these things were found upon the shore, because he had refused their
presents. Two men, however, left voluntarily with Columbus, in order
to learn our language and to teach it to their own people.

The tides are not very perceptible on that coast. This was discovered
by observing the trees growing not far from the shore and on the river
banks. Everybody who has visited these regions agrees on this point.
The ebb and flow are scarcely perceptible, and only affect a part of
the shores of the continent, and likewise of all the islands. Columbus
relates that trees grow in the sea within sight of land, drooping
their branches towards the water once they have grown above the
surface. Sprouts, like graftings of vines, take root and planted in
the earth they, in their turn, become trees of the same evergreen
species. Pliny has spoken of such trees in the second book of his
natural history, but those he mentions grew in an arid soil and not in
the sea.

The same animals we have above described exist in Cariai. There is,
however, one of a totally different kind, which resembles a large
monkey, but is provided with a much larger and stronger tail. Hanging
by this tail, it swings to and fro three or four times, and then jumps
from tree to tree as though it were flying.[8] One of our archers shot
one with his arrow, and the wounded monkey dropped onto the ground
and fiercely attacked the man who had wounded it. The latter defended
himself with his sword and cut off the monkey's arm, and despite its
desperate efforts, captured it. When brought in contact with men, on
board the ship, it gradually became tame. While it was kept chained,
other hunters brought from the swamps a wild boar which they had
pursued through the forests, desiring to eat some fresh meat. The men
showed this enraged wild boar to the monkey, and both animals bristled
with fury. The monkey, beside itself with rage, sprang upon the boar,
winding its tail about him, and with the one arm its conqueror had
left him, seized the boar by the throat and strangled it. Such are the
ferocious animals and others similar, which inhabit this country.
The natives of Cariai preserve the bodies of their chiefs and their
relatives, drying them upon hurdles and then packing them in leaves;
but the common people bury their dead in the forest.

[Note 8: Possibly the _simia seniculus_.]

Leaving Cariai and sailing a distance of twenty leagues the Spaniards
discovered a gulf of such size that they thought that it must have a
circumference of twelve leagues. Four small fertile islands, separated
from one another by narrow straits, lie across the opening of this
gulf, making it a safe harbour.

We have elsewhere called the port, situated at the extreme point, by
its native name of Cerabaroa; but it is only the right coast upon
entering the gulf bears that name, the left coast being called
Aburema. Numerous and fertile islands dot the gulf, and the bottom
affords excellent anchorage. The clearness of the water makes it
easily discernible, and fish are very abundant. The country round
about is equal in fertility to the very best. The Spaniards captured
two natives who wore gold necklaces, which they called guanines. These
collars are delicately wrought in the form of eagles, lions, or other
similar animals, but it was observed that the metal was not very pure.
The two natives, brought from Cariai, explained that both the regions
of Cerabaroa and Aburema were rich in gold, and that all the gold
their countrymen required for ornaments was obtained from thence by
trading. They added that, in six villages of Cerabaroa, situated a
short distance in the interior of the country, gold was found; for
from the earliest times they had traded with those tribes. The names
of those five villages are Chirara, Puren, Chitaza, Jurech, and
Atamea.

All the men of the province of Cerabaroa go entirely naked, but they
paint their bodies in different ways, and they love to wear garlands
of flowers on their heads, and bands made from the claws of lions and
tigers. The women wear narrow waist-cloths of cotton.

Leaving this harbour and following along the same coast, a distance
of eighteen leagues, the Spaniards came upon a band of three hundred
naked men, upon the bank of the river they had just discovered. These
men uttered threatening shouts and, filling their mouths with water
and the herbs of the coast, spat at them. Throwing their javelins,
brandishing their lances and machanes, which we have already said were
wooden swords, they strove to repel our men from the coast. They were
painted in different fashions; some of them painted the whole body
except the face, others only a part. They gave it to be understood
that they wished neither peace nor trading relations with the
Spaniards. The Admiral ordered several cannon-shots to be fired, but
so as to kill nobody, for he always showed himself disposed to use
peaceable measures with these new people. Frightened by the noise, the
natives fell on the ground imploring peace, and in this wise trading
relations were established. In exchange for their gold and guanines
they received glass beads and other similar trifles. These natives
have drums and sea-shell trumpets, which they use to excite their
courage when going into battle.

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