He Had Scarcely Fixed In This Place When He Found All The
Inhabitants Of The Country To Be A Race
Of barbarous savages, from whom he
could only expect all the injury they could possibly do him and his colony.
In this situation, he dispatched one of his ships under Enciso to
Hispaniola, with orders to bring him as large a reinforcement of men as
possible, and immediately set to work in constructing entrenchments to
secure his remaining people against the natives. Provisions growing scarce,
so that his people could not subsist, be found himself soon obliged to
make excursions into the country in order to obtain a supply; but he was
unsuccessful in this measure, and had the misfortune to lose many of his
men by the arrows of the Indians, which were poisoned with the juice of a
stinking tree which grows by the sea side. By these disasters, his new
colony was speedily reduced to a very wretched situation; starved if they
remained within their works, and sure to meet death if they ventured out
into the country. While in this state of absolute despair, they were
surprised one day by seeing a ship entering the port. This was commanded
by Bernard de Talavera, no better than a pirate, who, flying from justice,
had taken shelter in this place, to him unknown. Hojeda was in too great
extremity to be nice in his inquiries into the character of Talavera, but
readily bought his cargo, and treated him so well in other respects, that
Talavera entered into his service.
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