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. There was a story current in the West Indies,
that when the Spaniards came afterwards to settle the island of Cuba, they
found inscribed on the bark of a large tree, "Here the unfortunate
Nicuessa finished his life and miseries."
[1] We learn from the history of the conquest of Mexico, by Bernal Diaz
del Castillo, one of the conquerors, that the government of the
province of Tierra Firma, in which Darien and Nombre de Dios were
situated, was afterwards granted by the court of Spain to Pedro Arias
de Avila, in 1514, who gave his daughter in marriage to Vasco Nugnez
de Balboa; yet caused him afterwards to be beheaded; on suspicion that
he intended to revolt.
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