The Voyages Of Pedro Fernandez De Quiros Part 8

The following day, the Camp Master being on sh.o.r.e, he proposed to the soldiers to clear a place which was close to a large stream, and to found a settlement. The soldiers were not pleased with the place, which appeared to be unhealthy, and for this reason some of the married men went on board to inform the Adelantado of the determination of the Camp Master, and to ask leave to go on sh.o.r.e and settle in one of the native villages, where the houses were ready built and the place already used. Others represented that there was no better place than the one selected, and that if the natives had not settled there, it was a token of their bad disposition. If not, they could do what seemed best.

The Adelantado agreed to this, and went on sh.o.r.e. As the unmarried men were of the same opinion as the Camp Master, they at once got out axes, wood knives, and spades, and began to cut down trees with smooth trunks, lofty and tufted, but with very diverse leaves. The Adelantado was not at all pleased at the decision, for it was his intention to form the settlement on a bare point near the entrance of the bay, where he went with the Camp Master and the soldiers. All came with the opinion that the land was like Andalusia, that the natives had many farms, and for a settlement that the place was as good as it was agreeable.

The soldiers cut down the trees with good will, brought poles with which they built huts, and branches of palms to roof them. Their former work and troubles, and the gift they had left behind, were forgotten, as well as the small store they then had. They did not remember their country, nor that they had left the province of Peru, so rich and extensive, where there is no man who is poor in hopes. They would overcome all the difficulties of which they were told, and which were before their eyes, for their G.o.d and their King. The spirit and valour of Spaniards could do all, for neither labour nor ill fortune could daunt them, nor could dangers, however terrible and fearful they might be. So they built their houses and set up their tents, each one doing the best he could, as a beginning of what they would have to perform in parts where they would live and end with honour and fame. The Devil was able to work so well with some of them, that they kept in mind the delights of Lima; and this sufficed to rob the rest of their lofty thoughts, and thus to abate that constancy which it is necessary to preserve and maintain in such affairs.

The Adelantado did not disembark, but gave his orders for the good government of his people from the ship. But the soldiers, to whom a limit to what they are permitted to do seldom or ever seems good, began to complain of an order which the Adelantado had given. It had reference to the good treatment of the natives, their houses and property. Those were not wanting who said that they did not want to have a division but a moderate profit, that it was sufficient that they had been brought to that coast, and that all belonged to them. In other ways they noted and reminded themselves of what they had spent and left behind, and of what they had suffered, and of their hopes. Hence complaints arose, and too surely they began to lose their love and loyalty point by point.

CHAPTER XII.

In which a particular account is given of this bay, the natives, the port, the villages and food, with what else was seen.

This bay, to which the Adelantado gave the name of "Graciosa,"

for so it is, has a circuit of 40 1/2 leagues. It runs N.N.E. and S.S.W., and is at the western end of the island, on its north side, and south of the volcano. Its mouth is half a league wide, and there is a reef on the east side, but the entrance is very open. The bay is formed by an island to the westward, which is very fertile and well peopled, both on the sh.o.r.e and inland. We called it our garden, "Huerta." [55] It is separated from the large island by a short s.p.a.ce, full of rocks and reefs, with some small channels, so that only boats and canoes can pa.s.s. The port is at the bottom of the bay, where there is a very copious stream of clear and excellent water, which, at the distance of a musket shot, runs under some rocks and so enters the sea. The settlement was formed on the banks of this stream and of the sea. To the east of the stream, at the distance of an arquebus shot, there is a moderate-sized river. The port is in 10 20' S., and 1,850 leagues from Lima. There are breezes from the S.E., which do little harm. The bottom is mud, with 40, 30, and 20 fathoms, and anchorage close to the sh.o.r.e. In all this bay there is no place for a ship to anchor except in the port, and in the first, which we left because it was small. Over all the rest there is foul ground owing to rocks. There is another spring on a beach of clean sand, of excellent water, and a river and stream, which flow near the houses of Malope, and there enter the sea.

In this country there are many pigs, which they roast whole over stones. There are fowls like those of Castille, many of them white. They fly up into the trees and breed there; also partridges, like those of Castille, or of another kind very like them.

There are large wild pigeons, grey, with white necks, small doves, herons, black and white, ducks, swallows, and other birds which I do not know. Of reptiles I only saw some black lizards, and ants, but no mosquitos: a new thing in such a low lat.i.tude.

There are many kinds of fish. The natives fish with three-p.r.o.nged poles which they have, large, and many of them. The line appears to be of fibre, with floats of light wood, and sinkers of stone.

They have many plantains, of seven or eight kinds. Some are reddish, and as broad as the width of a hand; others of the same colour, but very small and tender, even when ripe. Some have the rind green, and the pulp not so green. There are others very large, twisted with one turn, which are of a delicious taste and smell. Each bunch has many plantains.

There are great numbers of cocoa-nut trees and very large sweet canes. There are also almonds with three sides, and the pulp of each one contains as much as four almonds of Castille, the taste being delicious. There are some very beautiful pines of the size of a man's head, with the kernels the size of a Spanish almond. The trees on which they grow have few leaves, and those they have are large. There is another kind of very good nuts, which grow in very large and long bunches on small trees with round leaves, and each one, with its rind, will be of the size and shape of a date. There is also the large fruit which we praised much at the first islands, and the nuts and chestnuts like the others. There is another fruit which they called a pippin. It grows on a tall and large tree, and another kind which is not so good, the way of growing being like that of pears. As we did not go all over the land, nor were there all the year round, it is not known what other fruits there may be.

There are three or four kinds of roots, all in abundance, which form their bread, and they eat them roast or boiled. One of them has a sweet taste, the other two p.r.i.c.k a little when eaten. A soldier ate one raw, from which a great nausea resulted, but he was none the worse. Of these roots the natives make a great quant.i.ty of biscuits, dried either in the sun or by fire. They keep them in baskets of palm leaves. This food is sustaining. It has the drawback of being rather heating, but much is eaten of it, and of the roots roasted and boiled, and in pots.

There is plenty of fibre, which throughout the east is used as cord.

There are large and red amaranths, greens, and a sort of calabash, plenty of sweet basil with a very strong smell, and several kinds of red flowers beautiful to look at, which the natives are very fond of. They have no smell. They train them on small trees, and have them in small pots near their houses.

There is plenty of ginger, which grows without being sown. There is also a great quant.i.ty of a tall branching shrub called indigo, from which the indigo dye is made. There are aloe trees, much demajagua, [56] from which they make their cords and nets, as well as from the cocoa-nuts, though not so much.

There are sh.e.l.ls like the curious ones that are brought from China, and pearl oyster-sh.e.l.ls, some large and others small.

In our settlement, on the banks of the stream, there was a tree which the natives wound in the trunk, and there comes out a liquor of a sweet smell, which is very like turpentine, and with this, or another mixed with it, they fill their calabashes. The natives make bags and purses of palm very well worked, and large sheets or mats which serve as sails for their canoes. They weave a fabric--I do not know from what it is woven--on some small looms they make, which serve for mantles, with which the women are clothed.

I have already said that the natives are black and tawny, and they are like the people we have among ourselves of those colours. They make great use of a root which is also used in the East Indies, called betel, and in the Philippines buhio. It is a cordate-shaped leaf of the size of a hand, more or less, its smell, taste, and colour like a clove. They put lime with it, apparently got from sh.e.l.ls, and fruit the size of acorns, which grows on wild palms. They spit out the first chewing, and keep the pulp that is left. It is well spoken of as wholesome, and strengthening to the stomach, as well as good for the teeth.

Their villages consist of twenty houses, more or less, and they build them round, of boards one over the other, on a single frame of stout wood. They have two lofts, to which they ascend by ladders, with roofs of interlaced palms, like hen lofts in Castille. They are all open, half the height of a man, and surrounded by a wall of loose stones, with an opening instead of a door. The eaves do not reach to the boards of the roof, and serve as a shelter. In each village there is a long house, used as an oracle, with human figures in half relief, badly carved, and another long house, which appeared to be for the community. In the centre of them there were barbacoas of cane. There are ten or twelve of these villages on the sea sh.o.r.e, and in each one or two wells, curiously lined with stones, with steps such as are in use among us, by which they go down, and the opening has its covering of boards. On the sh.o.r.e there are some yards encircled by stones where, when the sea rises, they fish with a certain contrivance, having a pole worked like a pump-handle.

They have some large and beautiful canoes, with which they navigate to a distance, for the small ones only serve to go for short distances from their homes. They are flat-bottomed, made of a single tree from stem to stern. They have their hatchway in the middle, out of which they take the water which comes in by the mast. They fix a frame of crossed sticks, very securely fastened with cords, from which comes an outrigger with a cross plank, which steadies the canoe, and prevents it from capsizing. In this way one such vessel will serve for thirty or more men with their things. The sail is large, and made of matting, wide above and narrow below. The canoes are good sailers and weatherly. Our frigate succeeded in getting one, and hoisted her up, under the bowsprit.

They have their cultivated patches, and fruit gardens well ordered. The soil is black, spongy, and loose. The parts that are sown are first well cleared. The temperature is the same as that of other lands in the same lat.i.tude. There was some thunder and lightning, and many showers, but not much wind.

The Adelantado gave the name of Santa Cruz to the island. It appeared to have a circ.u.mference of 100 leagues. All the part which I saw runs almost east and west. It is well covered with trees. The land is not very high, though there are hills, ravines, and some beds of reeds. It is clear of rocks, and those that do exist are close to the land. It is well peopled all along the sea sh.o.r.e; but I cannot give an account of the interior, as I never explored it.

CHAPTER XIII.

How the trouble among the soldiers began with a paper and signatures; what the Adelantado said on the subject to certain soldiers; of some complaints that were made, and some disgraceful things that occurred.

As has been said, the Adelantado did not land because no house had been built for him. So that he was in the ship, while the Camp Master was on sh.o.r.e and had charge of the ordering of things there. Our people began to seek for food, and whenever a leader with twelve or fifteen soldiers went to the villages of the natives (which were numerous and near our settlement), or to their cultivated patches, they always came back with from six to twelve pigs, many cocoa nuts and plantains, and everything else that the island supplies. They found the natives submissive and inclined to peace; for though it is true that at first they took to flight, afterwards they remained quietly in their houses, with their wives and children. They themselves brought supplies to near the camp. They were not allowed to enter, lest they should see how small were our numbers. The same was done by them as regards the ship, and their solicitude seemed to show that they were friends.

Malope also conducted himself in the same way, and from the goodwill that was shown by all, it seemed to us that the friendship with them was firmly established. It arrived at such a pitch that the Captain Don Lorenzo was able to make an agreement with the natives that they would come to help us to build the houses, praying that their own might be left to them, and showing much feeling when they were pulled down. One day, when they came the Vicar went out to them, and many with him. He made a cross with two poles, ordering all present to show reverence to it. Presently the natives did the same, and went with it to their village in procession.

Things being in this condition, there began to arise among the soldiers opinions very different from those of the Adelantado. They said that the land was wretched and very poor, that there was nothing in all the country, and that the position of the settlement was bad. They were dissatisfied with everything. What yesterday appeared very good to them now seemed very bad; guided by their fancies, and forgetful of the obligations of those who follow the banner of their King. At last a doc.u.ment was prepared with several signatures, in which the Adelantado was asked to take them away from that place and find a better one for them, or to take them to the islands he had talked about. The Adelantado had notice of the paper and signatures, through the gossip and the post which the Devil always has ready to carry tales. He fell ill at the trouble of seeing such a bad beginning to what he had hoped would have a good end. Seeing, however, into what disorder things were falling, he went on sh.o.r.e. Meeting one of those who had signed the paper, he said: "Is your worship a ringleader of the party? Do you not know that it is little less than mutiny to sign that paper?" The man replied, with the paper in his hand: "Here is what we want, and if anything else has been said it is a lie." A soldier put forth another argument, and the Adelantado said: "Silence, for you have cause to hold your tongues." He then went on board again, and ordered the Pilot of the galeot to go on sh.o.r.e, where he was received by certain of the soldiers. It is reported that he said to them that they should leave that land, and that in less than thirty days he would take them to a better one.

In the midst of these troubles our church was built, for which there was a charitable promise in the future of 10,000 ducats; and each day the priest said ma.s.s in it.

They had to seek for food, and they cut much fibre to make ropes, collecting all they could get from the natives. Meanwhile the signing of the paper proceeded, and it was considered certain that there would be eighty signatures. Those who asked men to sign did not forget to make the most of the island, and to remind them of their hardships and hard work. Some of the men answered that there was the need to work everywhere, and that the work in that land was of a kind which was quite suitable to them.

The deaths of the natives took place in the following way. One of them, being in friendship with us, a soldier shot him in the neck, of which wound he presently died. The other, being in conversation, four soldiers called him apart, and killed him with stabs. These things were done with the object of inducing the natives to make war upon us, and thus produce a scarcity of provisions, so as to make it the desire of all to leave the island. Also it was thought that the natives attacking, the camp would have to be strengthened, the Adelantado would be applied to for the artillery, and he being disarmed they would remain strong. It was said that they wanted to kill some of us, I know not who, but certain persons were followed, with the object of taking their offices and giving them to friends of the disaffected. It was also said that it was intended to give a false alarm at night, and, when those who were loyal to the Adelantado came out of their houses, to set upon them.

It was made public that, one night, a troop of armed malcontents came to enter a house where some loyal men were watching, and after they had pointed arquebuses at their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, they turned back and went into a tent. There they tried the beds, and, not finding the owners in them, who from fear had fled into the woods, they only terrified their wives. At another place they tried the place in a bed by driving a sword into it, and not feeling anything they went away. This was related by the people themselves. But as the stories wanted evidence, nothing was done. I say myself that a soldier said to me that others had asked him whether he wished to return to Peru; that he had answered in the affirmative, and seeing what his wishes were, they asked him to sign the paper they showed him, to be presented to the Adelantado. As soon as he had signed they said to him: "Now that you have signed you must have your weapons ready, and if you see the Adelantado and the Camp Master opposed, take the side of the Camp Master, and act like a good soldier. Point with your arquebus and fire. You are not told to kill unless," etc. The same thing was said on another occasion: "It is a pity, for at night I am disturbed lest they should not kill as many men as they want to kill."

Among the various proposals of the malcontents there was one that they should make gimlet holes in the ships, because it was not desirable that news should be taken to Peru, for the islands would not be found, even if search was made for them they would not be discovered, and thus either all would go or none. To this a well-intentioned person answered that the coming had been for the good of the people of those parts, and that if the King was not informed, so that succour might be sent, the service could not be performed. This honourable answer so enraged the other that he raised his arm in anger, and said that "they would not be converted, a flock of sheep, and as they have been until now, so they will continue to be henceforward; but we are not going to die here when we can be saved." The other, continuing the conversation, said: "I should be fortunate if the Lord granted that I should be the means of one soul being saved; how much more when there are so many here to be saved." This plan of returning to Peru was so fixed in their minds, that they did not even like the Chief Pilot to go out to sea on the important business of his calling; saying, that if he went with the sailors he would not come back again. This had such an effect on the mind of the Adelantado, that he had all the sails unbent, and put them under guard. This was not the only false testimony that was borne; for another lie was told of another person. It was a small thing to take life, so long as they could gain their ends. But it was seen by experience that attempts against truth and innocence profit little, because the author of them is soon discredited. I can well say that the harm they intended me has been pardoned. A friend said to one of them: "Is your worship one of those who wish to leave this land?" The reply was: "What can we do here?" The other answered: "What we came to do! and if all others went away, I should remain to do my duty; and the friend who should deny this ought to be answered, without further ado, with a dagger in his blood."

This confused time was good for each one to declare his good will if he had it. Discontented and vacillating soldiers, when they saw no firmness, felt that the door was open for them to try the minds of others, and find out who was resolved and who was not. One said in public: "the Camp Master is my c.o.c.k; all are afraid of him. What he orders is obeyed. Now things are ripening. Before long we shall see something, and before long we shall have liberty." It was also said that the clothes of Dona Isabel were intended to last two years. Another said that he might think himself fortunate who could take his wife by the hand. Another said: "Such and such could stay, but we intend to go, let it give pain to whom it might pain, for in my kingdom I may rule." Such like nonsense would lead to death. It was also said: "We carry such a one as pilot, who is not known to the world. He will take us to the deserts of Chile, and with that we shall be contented, and we will go to Potosi." In short, each word that was said was mutinous and insubordinate. Well was this tower of confusion built up over the ashes of vindictiveness, vanity, and disordered ambition and avarice, the pests of such an enterprise. This it is to want understanding and prudence. Will it not bring ruin? Further on we shall see.

CHAPTER XIV.

How the Adelantado went on sh.o.r.e, and what happened, and what he said to the Camp Master; and the transaction between the Vicar and the Chief Pilot.

Seeing that there was so much disorder, the Adelantado determined to go on sh.o.r.e, where he met several soldiers with swords in their hands. He asked them why they carried them so, and one replied that it was because there was war. The Camp Master came to the Adelantado, and said: "It is well that your Lordship has come. It seems to me that these bellicose men go and come with complaints, and refer me to your Lordship; and if your Lordship does not apply a remedy, all those will be found some morning hanging from a tree"; and he pointed with his finger. To this the Adelantado answered with great patience, and showing much sorrow. The Camp Master replied: "They are rascals who would not dare to take a crumb from a cat. Apart from your Lordship, whom I hold to be above my head (this with his hat in his hand), I do not care for any of them, from the smallest to the biggest, and I look upon them as the dirt under my feet, and none of them merits notice except myself, for I am a gentleman. All who are here, except your Lordship, want to go away and leave this land, but I must obey and serve your Lordship; G.o.d knows that if it had not been for me the honour of your Lordship would have been in the dust; and last night they would have killed all those who were in two of the houses if I had not prevented them. One is the house of such an one, and as to the other I will keep silence." They told me that he said more. I am not any longer informed about it. They can do what they like. On this day a soldier took the liberty to address the General. The Camp Master was present, and he quarrelled with the man. The Adelantado, seeing this, and considering the liberties that had been taken on other days, said: "Now they lose respect for me." The man was respectable, and was on the side and held the views of his chief, and would have stood by him, and for the honour of the King. But the Adelantado took him by the arm, and said: "This is not the time!"

The General paid several visits to the camp, to see if his presence would smooth matters. One day he met the Camp Master, and said to him: "For all that is happening the fault is your worship's, for you give the soldiers wings, and they suffer misrepresentation." The Camp Master answered: "The false statements are on board the ship, and I show no favour to the soldiers, but I make them respect your Lordship and obey you as governor."

On another occasion the Camp Master took the hand of the Adelantado, and complained of what Dona Isabel had said of him. The Adelantado was more annoyed this time than on others. The Camp Master went away, and the Adelantado went to the corps du garde. He laid down on a chest, and showed much feeling. They had to help him to raise his feet on to it. Presently, the Chief Pilot and some others came, saying that he should not be troubled, and that all were his servants and would follow him. Having rested a little, he went on board, and repeated what he had said to the Camp Master. With arms in his hand the General came for me, and told me, that the Camp Master had said also what a thing it was not to have come provided, as was reasonable, and they had deceived him in not having brought two hundred axes and three hundred wood knives; for they had come to a land where neither G.o.d nor the King would be served by their arrival, and if this people were taken to another part it would be a great advantage. These things about the Camp Master I relate partly from the reports of others, for I do not myself remember them all very well.

The next time the Adelantado went on sh.o.r.e was to arrange and mark out with the Camp Master a site for a stockade to be used as a fort. Touching this, and the ground for sowing, and other matters relating to the administration of the settlement, he had to give his attention and to hear much folly. There were questions of entails, t.i.tles, relationships, and ownerships; such demands, replies and settlements; such wasting of time and breaking of heads. In fine, they did not trust each other. On this day two arquebusiers left the camp, and the ball of one of them went whizzing over the Chief Pilot, who was on board the Capitana. The other ball pa.s.sed over the frigate, and I know not at what birds they were aiming.