To these distressing straits was the country reduced when a new claimant to the government presented himself, in the person of Pedro de los Rios. Invested with the same power and authority over Castilla del Oro as his predecessor, he thought himself entitled to jurisdiction also over Nicaragua, since it had been occupied and settled under the same auspices. He had deferred his departure from Panamá till Pedrarias should have been securely entangled in the meshes of his residencia, and therefore unable to object. But the latter was desirous to see him leave, in the hope that a change in his own favor might be effected, perhaps by some friendly ingulfing wave, some devoted assassin, or some native treachery; for the road was new and Rios inexperienced. As a proof of his friendly interest in the project Pedrarias counselled him to invest heavily in merchandise, which must pay a large profit. Such advice was not to be disregarded, and, as circumstances would have it, the gubernatorial trader was received with open arms by the sorely pressed settlers of Nicaragua. But Rios had not the foresight which characterized Fiscal Moreno's proceedings in Honduras, two years before, and on presenting his claims to the supreme office the colonists returned a cold stare. They saw nothing in his commission which expressly included Nicaragua within Castilla del Oro, and although much afflicted by the avaricious and oppressive measures of Salcedo, they determined to support a governor whom they might call their own rather than submit to one residing at such a distance, and evidently intent on enriching himself and Panamá at their expense.
It is not improbable that the cause for the change lay partly with Pedrarias, whose emissaries hoped by this means to embroil the new aspirant with his proposed subjects. Salcedo was strong enough, however, with his own troops to dictate terms to his rival, and he peremptorily ordered him to leave the province within three days, under a penalty of ten thousand pesos. Rios had too much respect for his portly person to expose it to profane usage. Still he would have lingered had not the threatened fine urged him away. As it was, in the flurry of departure he even forgot his gout, with which he was just then severely stricken, and his groans were not resumed till the vessel had turned prow for Panamá. He carried one consolation, however, to soothe his ruffled spirit; he had made these boorish colonists pay tenfold for his cargo of merchandise. After all, the trip had not proved unprofitable, and he laughed within himself at the thought. On his way back he stopped at Brusélas, in the gulf of Nicoya, where a friendly reception was accorded him. Informed of this, Salcedo with vindictive jealousy sent a troop of sixty horse under Garabito to destroy the hospitable town.
The rankest despot could hardly deport himself with more capricious severity than these petty upstart lieutenants in the Indies. Salcedo was evidently a fitting successor to Pedrarias, as far as displaying his jealousy, greed, and cruelty; but he lacked some of the commanding characteristics which had so often enabled the latter to weather the storm raised by his tyrannous impulses. His rule was to be brief and ignoble. One of his last acts, which bore the relieving stamp of a public measure, was to order Gabriel de Rojas to explore Rio San Juan, the outlet of the lake, and to found there a settlement.
This order was disregarded, for just then came the rumor that Pedrarias was about to return as governor. This sufficed to bring the general dissatisfaction with Salcedo to an issue. At first he treated the news as absurd; but, when the report came that Pedrarias was actually on the way with a royal commission, he resolved to collect his scattered followers and make his escape. The step was fatal, as it encouraged the still wavering Estete with his friends to pronounce in favor of the expected chief. The officials of Salcedo were arrested, which rendered the executive powerless to act, and his horses were seized, so that he might not escape a reckoning. So ominous became the demonstration against the deposed governor, that he abandoned the building which had hitherto given him shelter, and sought the protecting walls of the church. There he remained, closely guarded by the rebels, till Pedrarias arrived. Several persons had remonstrated with Estete with regard to these arbitrary proceedings, based as they were on a mere report from Panamá; but this officer, who had everything to gain by the movement if the report proved true, declared that Pedrarias should be supported even if he came without a royal Commission. In any case it would be suicidal now to restore the relentless Salcedo to power.[XXI-9]
All doubts were solved by the arrival of the old governor at Leon in March, 1528, and the timely turncoats were liberally rewarded; Estete receiving the command of Leon, and Diego de Tejorina that of Granada. Immediately on receipt of his appointment Pedrarias had hastened to Nicaragua, leaving an agent at Panamá to finish his residencia, and to collect the property and effects which had been attached. In connection with the new government the king had appointed Licenciado Castañeda alcalde mayor, and Diego de la Tobilla treasurer, both of whom arrived eight months later.[XXI-10]
IMPRISONMENT OF SALCEDO.
Salcedo's case claimed the first attention of the new ruler, and claims and charges began to pour in, the chief accusation being that he had stationed spies to watch for the arrival of Pedrarias and native assassins to despatch him. An investigation was ordered, to embrace also the question whether Salcedo had royal authority for his entry into the territory. The accused denied the charges, of course, and protested that he had come merely to pacify the country, in accordance with his instructions. He demanded liberty to depart for Honduras, where the king required his presence as governor. Any other person might have felt awed by a demand coupled so plausibly with the royal name, but Pedrarias had too often mocked even the direct commands of his sovereign to care for indirect requirements. He flaunted in the face of the accused the royal order lately received forbidding him to meddle in Nicaraguan affairs, and declared that since he had done so there was every prospect for a residencia. The order for it might arrive at any moment, and he must give bonds to answer the claims against him. The bonds not being forthcoming he was placed under restraint, and on his attempting to escape, close confinement was imposed.
Ten weary months Salcedo lay in durance. Finally Treasurer Tobilla and Osorio, afterward bishop, intervened and brought about a peaceful settlement. But the conditions extorted from him as the price of liberty were so humiliating that shame and vexation preyed upon his mind, and destroyed his health, already weakened by imprisonment. He was obliged to renounce his claims to the south, and promise to confine himself to a triangular section of territory bounded on the east and west by Cape Gracias á Dios and Puerto de Caballos.[XXI-11] The three envoys of Pedrarias, whom he had sent to Española to answer false charges, and who had returned acquitted, were to be compensated, and he must give security for twenty thousand pesos to appear in case a residencia should be instituted against him. On Christmas eve, 1528, the prison doors opened before him, and the once dashing Salcedo tottered forth, pale and emaciated, weighed down with infirmities of body and mind, an object of pity even to the down-trodden Indians. It had been a game of rogue against rogue, and Pedrarias as usual was the winner. Salcedo felt that he deserved little sympathy, either from the oppressed colonists or from the cruelly treated natives, and within ten days he set out for the shielding precincts of his own government.
EXPLORATION OF THE RIVER SAN JUAN.
Pedrarias had long before this taken steps to secure for himself the large tracts of country which he intended to extort from his prisoner, chiefly because they were reported to be rich in gold. For this there were also additional motives. The report of mineral wealth in the province had induced the king to inquire regarding the desirability of erecting smelting works, and similar measures, and although the avaricious old governor required no incentive to gold-hunting, yet the communication was welcomed as a good pretence for his preparations. The already projected expedition by Rojas to the river outlet of the lake was therefore ordered to proceed, reinforced to more than one hundred and fifty men, but the chief command was intrusted to Estete, with instructions to explore the country, particularly for minerals, to take possession for Pedrarias, and to found settlements on the river and along the sea-shore, as desired by the king. On the river, where it receives the waters of the lake, was formed the settlement of Nueva Jaen, flushed at first with brilliant anticipations of a vast entrepôt trade and a flourishing colony, but doomed to speedy abandonment. From the mouth of the San Juan the party followed the coast northward, blazing their way with branding-iron and sword, and finding good mines at Cape Gracias á Dios, as rumored. There they established another colony, of which Rojas was left in charge, while Estete returned to Leon.