It being to the interests of those colonists who were expecting a rich cargo of slaves to be brought back by Ocampo, from his punitive expedition, to hinder the departure of Las Casas and, if possible, to wreck his plans for colonising, divers means were invented to accomplish this object. A rumour was started that his five-hundred-dollar vessel was in a bad condition and unseaworthy; the authorities decided that this point must be investigated, so several persons were named to examine the boat and report on her condition. They did so, and promptly reported that the vessel was not merely unseaworthy, but was in such a state that no repairs would make her so, and that the only course was to dismantle her. Thus Las Casas beheld his five hundred dollars vanish and himself a fixture in Hispaniola.
Meanwhile Ocampo had reached the Pearl Coast and, feigning to come directly from Spain with merchandise and to be entirely ignorant of the murder of Ojeda and the friars, he succeeded in luring the cacique Gil Gonzalez close to his ship, when a naked sailor dived overboard, grappled with the cacique in his canoe and finally stabbed and killed him. A landing was then made and the country raided with the usual accompaniment of murders, torturings, and capturing of the natives, many of whom were carried on board the vessels and sent back to Hispaniola, to be sold as slaves. Ocampo, with others of his followers who remained [pg 158] behind, founded a town, half a league up the Cumaná River, which he named New Toledo.
The arrival of the slave cargo at Hispaniola where Las Casas was still engaged in altercations with the authorities, threw him into a terrible rage. He protested vehemently before the Audiencia against the deliberate and open violation of the royal commands, whose contents had been publicly proclaimed, and he threatened to return forthwith to Spain and lay the case before the King, from whom he would obtain the punishment of the authors of the outrage and their condemnation to pay all the expenses of Ocampo's armada, which had been illegally charged to the Royal treasury.
Nobody doubted that he was capable of executing his threat, and, since it was known that he enjoyed the protection of the all-powerful Flemings and was something of a favourite with the young King himself, the members of the Consulta and some of the principal men in the colony decided, after many discussions, that it would be well to appease the clerigo's wrath and come to some arrangement with him for their mutual benefit. It was then proposed to form a company, in which there should be twenty-four shareholders, each of whom should contribute an identical sum and derive an equal profit from the undertaking on the Pearl Coast. Six of the shares should be assigned to the Crown, six to Las Casas and his fifty knights of the Golden Spur, three to Admiral Diego Columbus, one to each of the four auditors of the Audiencia, [pg 159] and the remaining five to the treasurer Pasamonte and the other officials of the Audiencia.
This scheme was submitted to Las Casas, who must by that time have been well-nigh in despair, and, although it very materially changed his original plan, it offered the only possible means for carrying out his intentions, so he agreed to the formation of the company. The agreement upon which the company was based gave to Las Casas Ocampo's armada with several brigantines and barques and all their contents, and he was to choose amongst the three hundred followers of Ocampo one hundred and twenty, who should constitute the armed force of the new colony, under the latter's command. This arrangement, so it was pretended, would leave Las Casas free to dedicate all his efforts to the conversion of the Indians. The last article of the agreement was almost comical. It provided that when Las Casas himself should denounce any Indians as cannibals, the Spaniards should be bound to declare war against them and make slaves of them.
He afterwards wrote concerning the articles of agreement as follows:
“Great was the blindness or ignorance—if indeed it was not malice—of those gentlemen to believe that the clerigo would ever fulfil those horrible and absurd conditions, knowing him to be a good Christian, not covetous, and ready to die to liberate and help in saving those people from the condition in which they were held.”
With his armada well equipped, and a plentiful [pg 160] supply of provisions and merchandise for trading purposes on board, Las Casas finally sailed from Hispaniola in July, 1521, directing his course first to the island of Mona, where a quantity of cassava bread was to be taken on board, and from thence to Puerto Rico, where he expected to collect his original colonists. On his arrival there, not one however, was found to join the expedition, as they had long since dispersed throughout the island or had joined marauding expeditions to capture Indians. This defection must have caused Las Casas great disappointment, for he had assembled these men with great care in Spain, choosing only such as he thought from their good character to be adapted for his ideal colony. The change which their new and strange surroundings had operated in these peaceful, simple folk was not unnatural; loosed from all the anchors that held them to habits of industry and probity, they found themselves caught in new currents; cupidity was awakened by the gold-fever that infected all the colonists, the pious projects with which they left Spain under the guidance of their apostolic leader were easily abandoned when the influence of his enthusiasm was withdrawn, and they took to the freebooting ways and easy morals of the colonists with whom they were thrown. Las Casas had neglected to realise that they were not angels.
On arriving at that part of the Pearl Coast called Cumaná, it was found that Ocampo's colony of New Toledo was already in the throes of discontent from hunger and disease; his men had begun by pressing [pg 161] the Indians into service, with the result that all the natives abandoned the country, leaving the Spaniards to starve. When it became known that those who chose might return to Hispaniola, every man of them declared he would go, so Las Casas was left with a few of his friends and some who were in his pay. Ocampo showed sincere regret and much sadness at abandoning his old friend, for whom, in spite of their differences, he had a sincere admiration, in such a plight. He took leave of him with many demonstrations of affection, and joining his men sailed away to Hispaniola.
Las Casas was now in his long-desired territory, but the material for starting his colony was sadly reduced.