While these expeditions were directed to the east side of Panamá Bay, other captains were equally active on the west side.
Gonzalo de Badajoz embarked at Antigua for the South Sea in March, 1515, with one hundred and thirty men.[XI-1] Landing at Nombre de Dios, where no white man had touched since Nicuesa's departure, a dismal spectacle was there presented. The dismantled fort stood surrounded by tenantless dwellings, whose walls were once the silent witnesses of despair; while crosses, heaps of stone, and dead men's scattered bones, seemed to tell how restless were these adventurers even in their last resting. The most impassive of all that callous company was struck by a momentary shudder as he gazed on these ghastly portents of his own probable fate; and they would have turned back on the spot had not their leader hurried the ships away beyond their reach.
ADVENTURES OF BADAJOZ.
The versatile adventurer quickly recovers himself, however, and what is more wonderful is the indifference with which sanguinary recitals often repeated are soon received. The homely adage that familiarity breeds contempt is nowhere more strikingly true than in our own intercourse with danger, pain, and death. It is not altogether a Hibernicism to say that men get used to these things, even to hanging. And when the oft-repeated disasters are distant, and only the survivors with their prizes are present, the terrible tale makes still less impression. That colony after colony in the New World occupation should be swept away or divided by death, and divided yet again, ten times, or twenty times cut in twain; or that expedition after expedition should return to Antigua, leaving half or two thirds of its number rotting on the heated plain, or scattered in the mountains furnishing food for carrion-birds, and yet new colonists continue to come out, and new expeditions continue to be organized by those willing to take the same even chances of never returning, shows an ignorance, or indifference, or both, to which fear of consequences is as inaccessible as ever was the feeling of love to Narcissus.
The mission of Badajoz was the usual one. He was to cross the Isthmus at its narrowest part, take possession of the country, and gather in its treasures. We all know what this implied. Were any but civilized Christians so to do it would be called murder, robbery, treachery, violation, and the rest.
Totonagua was the first victim on this occasion. His dominions were of great extent and thickly peopled, the village where he resided standing on the mountains opposite Nombre de Dios. Surprised by night he surrendered gold to the value of six thousand pesos. Tataracherubi, a wealthy cacique on the southern side, was similarly relieved of gold to the value of eight thousand pesos. Seeing the Spaniards so deeply in love with gold, Tataracherubi told them of a chief named Natá, some distance to the south-west, very rich and with few fighting men. Thirty men under Alonso Perez de la Rua were deemed ample for the adventure, but after a night's march the Spaniards found themselves, as morning broke, in the midst of a cluster of villages belonging to a numerous and warlike people. Retreat was impossible, and not a moment was to be lost. Rushing for the principal village they seized the leading cacique, Natá,[XI-2] and were masters of the situation. For when the savages pressed them hard in the fight that followed, and would have slain them all, they threatened Natá with instant death if he did not cause his men to lay down their arms. Natá obeyed. Presently Badajoz joined Perez, and the chief was released to collect for his captors gold in value to fifteen thousand castellanos. After remaining at Natá two months the conquerors surprised the village of Escoria, ten leagues to the southward, and secured gold[XI-3] to the value of nine thousand pesos. Westward from Escoria lived Biruquete[XI-4] and a blind neighbor, who were relieved of six thousand pesos worth of gold. In the vicinity were the villages of Taracuri, Pananome, Tabor, and Chirú, where the Spaniards obtained another considerable quantity of gold.
Gonzalo de Badajoz was gathering a rich harvest. Thus far his accumulations reached eighty thousand castellanos, equivalent to more than half a million of dollars at the present day. It was not a disagreeable way of making money. It was quite honorable stealing in the eyes of the plunderers themselves, although the stupid savages never could wholly make out the right of it. In addition to gold there were always plenty of women for slavery, and so the adventurers who for these benefits had staked their lives were happy.
THE CACIQUE PARIS.
Elated by their successes, the conquerors continued the good work. Not far from Chirú were the dominions of a cacique called by the Spaniards Parizao Pariba, subsequently abbreviated into Paris.[XI-5] Advised of their approach Paris fled to the mountains with all his people and treasure. Badajoz sent a message threatening to put the dogs upon his track unless he returned. Paris returned word that he was exceedingly occupied and hoped the Spanish captain would excuse his coming. He begged him, however, to accept an accompanying gift from his women, and wished him a prosperous journey out of the country. The gift so carelessly presented was carried by four principal men in baskets made of the withes of palm-leaves and lined with deerskins. In dimensions they were about one and a half by two feet, and three inches in depth. The contents consisted of fabricated gold, breast-plates, bracelets and ear-rings, valued, as the Spaniards affirmed, at forty or fifty thousand castellanos.