But In The Course Of This
History, As A Vigilant Pilot Proceeds Cautiously Among Shoals And
Quicksands By The Help Of The Line, So I, In My Progress To The Haven Of
Truth, Shall Expose The Errors And Misrepresentations Of Gomara:
Yet if I
were to point out every error he has committed, the chaff would much
exceed the grain.
I have brought this history to a conclusion, in the loyal city of
Guatimala, the residence of the royal audience, this 26th of February 1572.
SECTION I.
Expedition of Hernandez de Cordova, in 1517.
I left Castille in the year 1514, along with Pedro Arias de Avila, then
appointed to the government of Tierra Firma, and arrived with him at
Nombre de Dios. A pestilence raged in the colony at our arrival, of which
many of the soldiers died, and most of the survivors were invalids. De
Avila gave his daughter in marriage to a gentleman named Vasco Nunez de
Balboa, who had conquered that province; but becoming afterwards
suspicious that Balboa intended to revolt, he caused him to be beheaded.
As troubles were likely to take place in this colony, several of us who
were men of good families, asked permission from Avila to go over to Cuba,
which had been lately settled under the government of Diego Velasquez. He
readily granted this request, as he had brought more soldiers from Spain
than were needed in his province, which was already subdued. We went
accordingly to Cuba, where we were kindly received by Velasquez, who
promised to give us the first lands that fell vacant; but, after waiting
three years, reckoning from the time of leaving Spain, and no settlements
offering, an hundred and ten of us chose Francisco Hernandez de Cordova
for our captain, a wealthy gentleman of Cuba, and determined to go on a
voyage of discovery under his command. For this purpose, we bought two
vessels of considerable burthen, and procured a bark on credit from
Velasquez, who proposed as a condition, that we should make a descent on
the islands called Los Guanages, between Cuba and Honduras, to seize a
number of the inhabitants as slaves, in order by their sale to repay the
expence of the bark: But when this proposal was made known to the soldiers,
we unanimously refused, as it was unjust, and neither permitted by God nor
the king to make slaves of freemen. Velasquez assented to the justice of
our objections, and gave us all the assistance in his power in regard to
provisions. We accordingly laid in a store of hogs at three crowns each,
there being no oxen or sheep at that time in Cuba, and a quantity of
cassava bread, as flour was not to be had for biscuits. With these sorry
provisions, and some trifling toys and ornaments to barter with the
Indians, we assembled at a port named Agaruco, on the north side of Cuba,
eight leagues from the town of St Christopher, the inhabitants of which
removed two years afterwards to the Havanna. Our chief pilot was Antonio
de Alaminos of Palos, and two others named Comacho de Triana, and Juan
Alvarez. We got also a priest, named Alonso Gonzales to go with the
expedition; and appointed a soldier named Bernardino Iniguez as veedor,
to take care of his majesties rights in case of procuring any gold during
the voyage.
Having provided ourselves in necessaries as well as we could, and
recommended ourselves to God and the Holy Virgin, we sailed from the port
of Agaruco on the 8th of February 1517. In twelve days we passed Cape St
Antonio in the land of a tribe of savages called Guanatareyes, after
which we sailed to the westwards at random, being entirely ignorant of the
shallows, currents, or prevailing, winds in these seas. We were in most
imminent danger during our voyage for two days and two nights in a violent
storm; but the wind subsided, and in twenty-one days after leaving Cuba,
we came to a coast which had never been before discovered. On nearing the
shore, we saw a large town about two leagues inland, which we named Grand
Cairo, as it exceeded any of the towns in Cuba. Our bark was sent forwards
to examine the coast. Five canoes came off to us on the morning of the 4th
March. These boats of the Indians resemble troughs, being hollowed out of
a single trunk of a tree, and many of them are large enough to contain
fifty men. We invited the people by signs to come on board, and above
thirty of them came aboard Cordovas ship without shewing the smallest
apprehension, where they were treated with such provisions as we had, and
each of them received a string of green glass beads. Having examined the
vessels with much admiration, they went to the shore, promising by signs
to return next day with a greater number of canoes, in order to bring us
all on shore. All these Indians had close cotton dresses, having a narrow
cloth round their waists, being more decent than the natives of Cuba,
where the women only use this piece of dress. Next day the same chief came
off with twelve large canoes, inviting our captain to go on shore,
repeating frequently con-escotoch, con-escotoch, which we understood to
mean, come to our town, and from this circumstance we named the place
Punta de Cotoche. We resolved to accept the invitation, but using the
precaution to go in a body at one embarkation, as we saw many Indians on
shore. We therefore hoisted out our own boats, and in them and the canoes
and our own small bark, we proceeded to the land. After landing, we halted
to consider what we should do, and as the cacique still urged us by signs
to accompany him, we marched on in good order, fifteen of our men being
armed with cross-bows and ten with muskets. As we were passing some thick
woods, the cacique suddenly called aloud to a body of Indians which he had
posted there in ambush, who immediately sallied out, pouring in a flight
of arrows, by which fifteen of our soldiers were wounded.
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