Days of the Discoverers

tin! who is that u

Cucaruch

o a paste with a cudgel (os moliesen las costillas a puros palos)!" observed a pale, sharp-fac

so much of late that the comparison jum

always doing such things. If he happened to think of fl

rywhere in the newly conquered cities of Granada were their magnificent domes and lofty muezzin towers, often seeming like the airy minarets of a mirage. The next instant Alonso de Ojeda had walked out upon a twenty-foot timber projecting into space two hundred feet above the pavement,

aking his arrangements for his second voyage, and he had desired Juan de la Cosa to meet him at Seville. As the pilot stood waiting for th

e itself before the new hero. Here were Diego Colón, a quiet-looking youth, the youngest brother of the Admiral; Antonio de Marchena the astronomer, a learned monk; Juan Ponce de León, a nobleman f

pulling something small out of his doublet, "I have a sure talisman in this little picture of the Virgin. The Bishop gave it to me, and I always car

uires to be. There was no place among the youths whose fathers had given him charge of their military training, for a lad with a grain of physical cowardice. Ojeda moreover had a quick temper and a

ching along the streets of the temporary capital, "now that the Moors are vanquished what won't they do in the Indies! I think the gold

gster indifferently. Then he slipped away as some companions of

ou were not with us. My faith-" the speaker w

sed, with cool unconcern. "Why can't y

. But that young gallant Ojeda! A fine young fellow, and as devoted as he is brave." Juan de la Cosa had conc

fleet carried nearly fifteen hundred persons,-three hundred more than had been arranged for, but the enthusiasm in Spain was boundless. It carried also the embittered hatred of Fonseca. The Bishop, having been the Queen's confessor, naturally became head of the Department of the Indies in order to forward with all zeal the conversion of the native races. But when he tried to assert his authority over the Admiral and a

feared. Half Castile and Aragon had come to see the expedition off. The young cavaliers' heads were filled with visions of rich dukedoms and

the Admiral had seen none of these in any of the islands he had visited. In fact the people had no domestic animal whatever except their strange dumb dogs. The cavali

ideal field for a man of spirit and high heart. How glorious a conquest would it be to

ests on board did not. It was not, he suggested, always easy to convert stubborn heathen. A pig was a sm

y a blow that knocked his legs out from under him and landed him

ried, leaping to his

of desperation that it had bolted straight into the group as a pig will, and was now galloping away, pursued by a great variety of maledic

lder of whatever condition, to laugh and be instantly run through. Fortunately most of those on the wharf had been too mu

t happy. It may have been Ojeda's treasured talisman which saved him from several sudden deaths during the following weeks, but Juan de la Cosa privately believed it was partly the memory of the pig. The young man

y men of the garrison and destroyed their fort. Colón was obliged to remodel all his plans at a moment's notice. Instead of finding a colony well under way, and in control of the wild tribes or at least friendly with them, he found the wreck of a luckless attempt at settlement, and the kindly n

ms. In March a substantial little town had been built, with a church, granary, market-square, an

ng in the sun, banners flying, pennons fluttering, drums and trumpets sounding, they presented a sight which should have brought ambassadors from any monarch of the Indies who heard of their approach. But although a multitude of savages came from the forest to see, no signs o

road for the little army, which was named in their honor El Puerto de los Hidalgos, the Gentlemen's Pass. When they reached the top of this steep defile and could look down upon the land beyond they saw a vast and magnificent plain, covered with forests of beautiful trees, blossoming meadows and a network of clear lakes and rivers, and dott

his own reasons and his own aims in coming to this land of promise, nothing went exactly according to anybody's plans. The Admiral was soon convinced that in Hispaniola at least no civilized capital existed. To their amazement and amusement the Spaniards found that the sa

by a deep ditch. Gold dust, nuggets, amber, jasper and lapis lazuli had been found in the neighborhood, and it was the Admiral's intention to send miners there as soon as possible, protected by the fort, which he called San Tomás. Ojeda happened to be in command of the garrison, in the absence of his superior, when Caonaba came down from his mountains with an immense force of hostile tribes. The young lieutenant in his rude eyrie, perched on a hill surrounded by the enemy, held off ten thousand savages under the Carib chief for more than a month. Finally the chief, whose people had never been trained in warfare after the European fashion, found them deserting by hundreds, tired of the monotony of the siege. Ojeda did not merely stand on

le the rest of you starve," and he gave the birds a toss into the air from the open window an

few more such com

t, gave him information of this plot, and the danger was seen by Colón's acute mind to be desperate indeed. He had only a small force, torn by jealousy and private quarrels, and a defensive fight at this stage of his enterprise would almost surely be a losing one. The territory of Cao

was crossing the plaza one day with a basket of fruit, when Al

ove if I had Caonaba's head in this b

hios. Then he grew thoughtful. "Wait a moment, Pedro," he said. "Will

in the young man's bearing, and tactfully led the conve

with a half smile. "It has been my

Admiral did not scatter his compliments b

ear it,"

distinct surprise. It seemed only yesterday that this youngster had been a little monkey of a page i

r is killed or captured, they seem to lose their heads completely. I think that with a do

his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Go, if you will

o Caonaba's territory and come back alive, he was that man. He knew that he himsel

onaba would not in his mountain camp have any such army as when he surrounded the fort, for then he commanded whole tribes of allies. In case of coming to

ad sent him with a present. Would he not consent to make a visit to the colony, with a view of becoming the Admiral's ally an

e finally agreed to accompany Ojeda and his handful of Spaniards back to the coast. But when they were ready to start, the

s horse. The chief's eyes glittered as he saw the polished steel of the ornaments Ojeda produced. He knew that nothing could so impress his wild followers with his power and greatness as his ability to conquer all fear of the terrible animals always seen in t

strat

ld put on the gift the Spanish

rough the forest the two disappeared from the view of the Carib army altogether. Ojeda's own men closed in upon him, bound Caonaba hand and

ntered he promptly rose to his feet. They had many conversations together, and Caonaba, who evidently rather admi

o

and his character is typical of the young Spanish cavalier of the age just following the discovery of America. T

nte

ES

e here, white

ou bend

ts before you,

oss, the cr

e sunlight, ra

ighty oars

our anchors, ch

nge and m

bring you, feathers

he sunshine

ild you, food and

are in all t

hten us, white

be friends

the sea-birds,

the sea-w

us in the mines

unt us with

free, are we

our narrow ha

eft us, white m

forbid our

freedom, far bey

have captu

nte