XVI
IN THE DOMAIN OF THE DRAGONS
1515
BALBOA faithfully complied with his promise to render the governor an accurate account of the land's resources, giving him, within a few days' time, a list of the mountains, rivers, and ravines where he had found gold in the virgin state; a statement of the colony as he had governed it; his discovery of the South Sea and the route thither; a description of the pearl islands and their wealth; and, finally, the names of the caciques, more than twenty in number, with whom, through force of arms or diplomacy, he had made treaties of peace.
Having obtained this invaluable information from his rival, Pedrarias threw off the mask of friendship which he had assumed for the purpose, and immediately ordered a judicial investigation into his conduct as the self-elected governor of Darien without sanction of royal authority. This scrutiny was conducted by Espinosa, as the only lawyer in the colony, and as he was completely dominated by Pedrarias, his findings were exactly in accordance with his desires. Very soon the unfortunate Balboa was involved in a legal net from which he could not extricate himself until he had parted with more than ten thousand ounces of gold—the greater part of his fortune. Much of his wealth, however, was absorbed by the wily Quevedo, who, as bishop, exerted his influence in favor of the accused, after having received from him a share in his enterprises, considerable gold, and a drove of Indian slaves.
The scope of the inquiry, too, did not satisfy Pedrarias, for the inexperienced lawyer went too largely into the discoveries and invaluable services of Balboa to the crown, instead of confining himself to his arbitrary acts in expelling Enciso and indirectly causing the death of Nicuesa. The result was that through the remonstrances of the bishop and the intercession of Doña Isabel—"upon whom the discoverer never ceased to lavish costly presents, which he mingled with all the politeness and attentions of the most refined courtier"—the governor was induced to cease his persecutions for a while. It had been his intention to send his rival to Spain, loaded with chains and charged with crimes that would compel his conviction before the highest court; but the bishop represented to him that to do so would be the surest way to advance Balboa's interests instead of defeating his ambitions. The king was already aware of his great discoveries, for the world was ringing with the fame of his achievements, so he could not but be rewarded and received with highest honors.
Pedrarias reluctantly abandoned the prosecution openly, but in secret gathered much information from Balboa's enemies which he later used to his injury, and set afloat reports which destroyed his effectiveness and impaired his popularity. He was, in reality, digging the ground from beneath his own feet, as well as undermining Balboa's reputation, for a condition of affairs had developed which demanded all the energies of both leaders in its correction. It was brought about by the governor's recklessness and inexperience, which, combined, had plunged the colony into dreadful calamities.
In the fleet with Pedrarias a vast amount of provisions had been brought to Darien, which with economy would have lasted many months. At first the colonists revelled in abundance; then it was discovered that one ship-load of supplies had been spoiled by sea-water, and soon after another, which had been deposited in a hut on shore, was destroyed by fire. In a short time, in fact, the colonists found themselves face to face with famine, the ravages of which, combined with the evils of the tropical climate, produced a pestilence. In the course of a month no less than seven hundred persons perished, all of them cavaliers who had come with Pedrarias from Spain. A ship-load of the survivors fled the colony, going to Cuba, and a few broken-hearted adventurers reached their homes in Spain, which they had mortgaged for arms and equipments they never had occasion to use. Those who remained at Darien were soon reduced to the last extremity of hunger and despair. They wandered through the streets of Antigua begging for food, and once-wealthy cavaliers of proudest lineage might have been seen bartering their rich ornaments and vestments for a few mouthfuls of cassava bread. Some, who had never before labored with their hands, hired themselves out as wood-cutters or burden-bearers, merely to sustain existence, while others, in the pangs of starvation, fed on grass and the leaves of trees.
One day, says the historian, "a noble knight rushed into the main street of Antigua crying aloud that he was dying of hunger, and, in sight of the whole population, fell, and rendered up his soul. So many perished daily that it was impossible to give them Christian burial, and carts were used for carrying away the dead, as in times of pestilence."
Pedrarias himself was taken with a fever, and, with his wife, was carried to a salubrious spot among the hills, where he soon recovered. Thence he sent orders for the old soldiers to set out, under his second in command, Juan de Ayora, to visit the caciques with whom Balboa had negotiated treaties when on his journey to the sea. This he did with an eye to the occupation of the territory, in order to represent at court that, while his rival might have discovered certain provinces, with their inhabitants, he was the first to occupy and colonize beyond the region of the coast. But Ayora, though he had with him a greater number of soldiers than Balboa had ever commanded in one body, conducted himself with such a reckless disregard for the rights of the natives—seizing the women and children, and putting many Indians to the torture—that the caciques united against and drove him from their territory; so the expedition ended in disaster.
Balboa, meanwhile, was kept inactive at Antigua, and his adherents—for he still had many favorably disposed towards him, who would gladly have followed wherever he led—were not slow in pointing out to Pedrarias the contrast between the old times and the new. "Before you and your minions came," said they, "Antigua del Darien was tranquil within and without. Under the command and control of Vasco Nuñez, she reigned as queen of the isthmus, and gave laws to twenty Indian nations. Our town was well ordered, more than two hundred huts had been erected, the people were cheerful and happy, amusing themselves on their feast-days by jousting with reeds, the soil was cultivated, and all the caciques so pacific that a single Castilian might cross from sea to sea, fearless of violence or insult; whereas at present many Spaniards are dead, the rest dismayed and broken-spirited, and the Indians in insurrection. All this has been caused by the process against Vasco Nuñez. Had he been allowed to proceed in his discoveries, the truth respecting the promised treasures of Dobaybe would ere this have been revealed; the Indians would still have been peaceful, the soil yielding its abundance, and the Castilians content. Give us again Vasco Nuñez as a leader, for he alone can pacify the Indians; he alone knows the secrets of the land."
The jealous and irritable Pedrarias was greatly incensed by the sneers and reproaches of Balboa's friends. "So they want that rebel and that assassin to lead them against Dobaybe? Inasmuch as there could not be another expedition so likely to be defeated as one against that province, thither shall he go—and may the devil catch him by the way, say I."