Vasco Nuñez de Balboa

by Frederick A. Ober

This the crafty old governor said to himself, by-the-way, and not to others; nor did he reveal his intentions until after the expedition had departed, when it was found to be badly equipped and lacking in many particulars which the careful Balboa, had he been unhampered, would have supplied. He was rejoiced to be actively employed once more, and especially in the search for that mysterious temple and its golden treasure, which had, so far, eluded the Spaniards; but he was disappointed in having to share the command with Luis Carillo, a friend of the governor and a man of small capacity. His veterans also were outnumbered by the recent arrivals, who were more enthusiastic than prudent, and knew nothing of Indian warfare.

Having ascertained that in his former enterprise in search of Dobaybe he had made a mistake in advancing by land, Balboa resolved to approach it by water, and, embarking his force in canoes, entered a large and unexplored river at the head of the gulf. It ran through a swamp infested with vampires and alligators, and also—according to reports of the Indians—the abode of a monstrous dragon which, with its progeny, had been brought there by a hurricane. From what the Indians told the Spaniards they inferred that these monsters were harpies, for they had the faces of men or women, the claws of vultures or eagles, and huge, leathery wings. They were so monstrous that only the largest trees could support them when they alighted, and so fierce and powerful that whenever they espied a man on the ground they would swoop down like a hawk, and, seizing him in their claws, bear him off to their dens in the mountains. Those who had been there affirmed that these dens were littered with the bones of such unfortunates as had been torn to pieces and devoured by the dragons, who seemed to have established themselves as the self-constituted guardians of the golden temple and its idol.

It is doubtful if Balboa believed this tale of the dragons; but if so he did not let it daunt him, and pushed on through the dismal morass by means of the noisome stream that traversed it. Suddenly, on turning a bend of the river, the Spaniards found themselves face to face with an immense swarm of savages in canoes, who proceeded, with howls and yells, to surround them. At the same time they let fly clouds of darts and arrows, by which many soldiers were killed or wounded, while many more were drowned by the vicious savages plunging into the water and overturning the canoes. The two commanders were wounded: Balboa slightly, and Carillo, who was pierced through the breast by a lance, so badly that he shortly died.

The Indians forced Balboa to retreat to shore, where he beat them back, but was compelled to return to Darien through the inundated forests swarming with noxious reptiles, and without having obtained even a glimpse of Dobaybe. The dangers and horrors of that retreat exceeded anything that the brave soldier had previously experienced; and it was his first defeat! His partisans attributed it to the fact that he had not been given absolute command; but those of Pedrarias taunted him with cowardice and weakness, two qualities which, as those acquainted with his life know full well, were not a part of his nature. But he began to fear his evil star had risen above the horizon, and he was downcast, if not dispirited, while in proportion as he was depressed rose the spirits of the rancorous old governor. He exulted greatly in the misfortunes of Balboa, even at the expense of his soldiers, the loss of life being as nothing, in his eyes, compared with the pleasure he experienced by his enemy's downfall.

His rejoicing, however, was of short duration, for soon after Balboa's return Pedrarias received a letter from King Ferdinand, commanding him to consult with his "faithful servant, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa," on all affairs of importance, for, as he would see by the enclosed credentials, he had constituted him adelantado of the great South Sea, and governor of the provinces of Coyba and Panama. He was, however, to be subordinate in authority to Pedrarias, "who, on his part, was charged so to favor and advance the pretensions and enterprises of that chief as might prove to him the esteem in which the king held his person. The court doubtless intended thus to reconcile the respect due to the character and authority of the governor with the gratitude and rewards earned by Balboa; however, that which seemed so easy at court, was impossible in the Darien, where so many passions were constantly in collision."

Pedrarias, in fact, should never have been appointed to control the territory of Darien, which so manifestly belonged to Balboa as supreme executive; but, having made that appointment—unfit and ill-advised as it was—in order to "save face," the king thought to reward the discoverer, and at the same time placate the usurper with the honors of a captain-generalcy. That they were empty and valueless, Pedrarias knew full well, for the rich regions lay within the boundaries of Balboa's territory, while his own government included only the country contiguous to the gulf, which was devoid of intrinsic riches, unhealthy, and impoverished.

For these reasons the choleric Pedrarias, when he received the royal order, fumed and raved, declaring to this wife that never should that rebel and assassin, Vasco Nuñez, be so highly honored at cost to himself. He would withhold the letter, and if possible keep the intelligence secret; but he found this to be impossible, for Balboa's friends at court communicated to him what had been ordered by the king, and he forthwith demanded his rights. In this demand he was joined by the bishop, who denounced this interference with the evident intention of the king as an outrage upon the rights of his friend, and the rebellious governor was quickly brought to terms.

At a council of officials called by Pedrarias sometime in the latter part of the year 1515, Balboa was invested with his titles and dignities, and thenceforth was always addressed as "Adelantado." But the wily old governor had neatly turned the tables on his rival by bestowing upon him, in fact, the empty honors, and reserving to himself the substantial emoluments of office, since he had forced from him a stipulation that he would not enter upon the actual government of his provinces without his permission!

Even the concession he was compelled to make sufficed to fan the smouldering fires of the governor's jealousies to a flame, and he was more than ever convinced that in the person of Balboa he had a deadly rival and insidious foe, who should be removed from his path at whatever cost. It was at this juncture, while the friends of the discoverer were flocking about him with rejoicings, and he himself was openly exultant, that there arrived in the gulf a vessel consigned to him, freighted with arms and ammunition, and containing seventy adventurers, evidently intended for a secret expedition. It was, in fact, commanded by one of his former comrades, Andres Garabito, who had been sent by him to Cuba, several months before, with orders to raise a force and procure an armament for a projected expedition to the Pacific coast.

It may have been Balboa's intention to proceed over the mountains with this armed band and seize upon the government of which he had been deprived by stratagem; but this is unlikely, as the movement was made before he had received the royal title to it. The mere fact, however, that a mysterious ship was off the coast and holding secret communication with the adelantado, was sufficient to rouse the old governor's passions, and in a transport of fury he ordered him to be seized and imprisoned in a wooden cage.