While Meditating Upon This Project, A Boat Came Into The Port
With Four Men, Who Reported That Nicuessa Had Been
Stranded on an unknown
coast, and after marching a great way by land with incredible fatigue, was
now not far
Off, but that he and his followers were in a very miserable
condition. On hearing this melancholy account, Olano relented, and
immediately sent back the boat with provisions and refreshments, which
came very opportunely to save Nicuessa and his men from starving, which
they certainly must have done without this seasonable relief. Yet this did
not in the least soften his resentment against Olano for deserting him,
whom he would have hanged, if he had not been afraid of irritating the men,
and instead of that he put him in irons, threatening to send him to Spain
in that condition. The authority, however, did not remain long in his
hands; for, endeavouring to establish a settlement on the Bethlehem
river, he was so straitened for provisions, that he was obliged to leave a
part of his men there, and to sail with the rest to Porto Bello; but, not
being allowed by the Indians to land there, he was obliged to proceed four
or five leagues farther to the port which Columbus named Bastimentos.
Immediately on entering he exclaimed, Paremos aqui en el nombre de Dios,
Let us stay here in the name of God. He immediately landed and began to
erect a fortress, which was named Nombre de Dios, from the above
mentioned expression. He had not been long here till he found himself as
much straitened for provisions as at Bethlehem, on which account he sent
one of his ships to St Domingo to request assistance from the governor.
Scarcely was this vessel out of the port, before that with Colmenares
arrived from the river Darien, with the invitation to take the command of
the Spanish colony at that place. Colmenares and his men were so
astonished to see the miserable condition of Nicuessa and seventy of his
people, who were all that remained with him at Nombre de Dios, that they
shed tears. They were lean, ragged, and barefooted, and excited pity by
the recital of the intolerable distresses they had undergone, and the
numbers of their companions who had already died.
Colmenares did all he could to comfort Nicuessa, telling him that the
people of Darien wished him to come and assume the government of that
colony, which was situated in a fine country abounding in provisions, and
which did not want gold. Nicuessa began to recover his spirits, by the
seasonable supply of provisions, and the comfortable intelligence brought
by Colmenares, and gave thanks to God for this merciful relief. But he
soon forfeited the reputation for prudence which he had formerly enjoyed
among the colonists of Hispaniola; as, forgetting the miserable condition
from which he was so recently relieved, and not considering that the
people of Darien had submitted to his authority of their own free will, he
foolishly declared in public that he would take all their gold from them
on his arrival, and would even punish them for encroaching on his province.
This news soon spread abroad, and heaven had the imprudence to send a
caravel before him to Darien, having a desire to examine some islands
which lay in the way thither. That same night, Olano, who still remained a
prisoner, conversed with some of the people who came from Darien, to
incense them against Nicuessa; and when Nicuessa was embarking, he said to
some of those who were in his confidence, "Nicuessa fancies he will be as
well received by Hojedas men, as by us after his shipwreck at Veragua, but
he will probably find a considerable difference." James Albetes and the
bachelor Corral were in the caravel which went before, and gave notice to
the colonists at Darien of the threats which Nicuessa had made, of taking
away their gold and punishing them; saying that his misfortunes had
rendered him peevish and cruel, abusing all who were under his authority.
From the little islands which he had stopped to explore, Nicuessa sent one
Juan de Cayzedo to acquaint the colony at Darien of his approach; and this
man being privately his enemy, still farther exasperated the people
against him, so that they came to a resolution not to admit him into the
colony. This resolution was principally forwarded by Balboa, who secretly
advised all the principal people to exclude him, yet declared in public
that he was for receiving Nicuessa, and even got the public notary to give
him a certificate to that effect[1].
After spending eight days among these islands, where he took a few Indians
for slaves, Nicuessa made sail for Darien. On coming to the landing-place,
he found many of the Spaniards on the shore waiting his arrival; when, to
his great surprise, one of them required him in the name of all the rest,
to return to his own government of Nombre de Dios. Nicuessa landed next
day, when the people of Darien endeavoured to seize him, but he was
extraordinarily swift of foot, and none of them could overtake him. Balboa
prevented the colonists from proceeding to any farther extremities,
fearing they might have put Nicuessa to death, and even persuaded them to
listen to Nicuessa, who entreated them, since they would not receive him
as their governor, that they would admit him among them as a companion;
which they peremptorily refusing, he even requested them to keep him as a
prisoner, for he would rather die than go back to starve at Nombre de Dios.
In spite of every thing he could urge, they forced him to embark in an old
rotten bark, with about seventeen of his men, ordering them to return to
Nombre de Dios, on pain of being sunk if they remained at Darien. Nicuessa
and his people accordingly set sail, but were never seen more, and no one
knew what became of them.
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