In The Midst Of These Disputes, Roderic Enriquez De Colmenares Arrived
With Two Ships, Having On Board Provisions, Military Stores, And Seventy
Men.
This captain had met with a great storm at sea, and had put into the
port of Santa Maria, which the Indians call Gayra, 50 or 60 leagues from
Carthagena.
On the boats going on shore for water, the cacique came
forwards with twenty of his people, dressed in a kind of cotton cloaks,
though the natives of that part of the coast usually go naked. He advised
them not to take water from the place where they were, saying that it was
not good, and offered to shew them another river of better water. But on
coming to it, they could not get their boats to the place, owing to a
heavy surf, and returned to the first place. While filling their casks,
about seventy armed Indians rushed suddenly upon them, and before the
Spaniards could stand to their defence, forty-five of them were wounded by
poisoned arrows. The wounded men swam off to the ships, as the Indians had
staved their long-boat, and all of them died save one. Seven of the
Spaniards saved themselves in a large hollow tree, intending to swim off
at night; but those on board supposing them all killed, sailed away much
dejected, for Uraba, to inquire after Nicuessa. Finding no person on the
east side of the bay, where they thought to have found either their own
men or those belonging to Hojeda, Colmenares suspected they were all dead,
or had gone to some other place; but he thought fit to fire off some
cannon, that they might hear him if still in the neighbourhood; besides
which he made fires at night, and smokes by day on some of the adjacent
high rocks.
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