iv. 138, at 54,000 ducats; 'y lo que en aquel tiempo se hizo

y suplió con 54,000 ducados es cierto que hoy no se supliera con 158,000 castellanos.' Balboa in his letter to the king, 16th October, 1515, implies that the cost was 40,000 pesos de oro. _Navarrete_, iii. 377.

[X-5] Herrera, i. x. vii., and Pascual de Andagoya, _Relacion de los sucesos de Pedrarias Dávila_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 393, say 1,500 men and nineteen ships; Gomara, _Hist. Ind._, 84, seventeen ships; Galvano, _Discov._, 125, seven ships. Peter Martyr, iii. v., places the number of ships at seventeen, with 1,200 men assigned; but affirms that surreptitiously or otherwise 1,500 sailed, and 2,000 remained behind pensive and sighing who gladly would have gone at their own cost. Oviedo, who, one would think, should know, as he was of the number, testifies in one place, iii. 22, to twenty-two, 'naos é carabelas,' and 2,000 men, and in another place, iv. 473, to seventeen or eighteen.

[X-6] Icazbalceta, in _Dic. Univ._, i. 429, says that she was cousin-german to the marchioness, who was a great favorite with Queen Isabella.

[X-7] Appointed to succeed Juan de Caicedo 'que iba proveido en el oficio de Veedor de las fundiciones del oro de la Tierra Firme.' _José Amador de los Rios_, _Vida de Oviedo_, in _Oviedo_, i. xxii. Caicedo died in Seville before sailing. The duties of the office were to assay and stamp the gold and take charge of the king's fifth. Oviedo was also _escribano general_ or chief notary of Tierra Firme.

[X-8] Or as Oviedo, iii. 22, has it, 'con título de obispo de Sancta Maria de la Antigua é de Castilla del Oro.'

[X-9] Gonzalo Fernandez writing from Santo Domingo the 25th of October, 1537, to the Council of the Indies, _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 522-9, says that this order proved inoperative, 'pues que los que lo habian de ejecutar lo disimulaban,' since those who should have executed it dissembled. For a time, however, no lawyer was allowed to plead in the Indies, the alcalde mayor speaking on both sides, and finally deciding according to the evidence; 'sentenciaba por aquel por quien en el pleito habia mejor hablado.'

[X-10] _Instruccion dada por el Rey á Pedrarias Dávila para su viage á la provincia de Castilla del Oro, que iba á poblar y pacificar con la gente que llevaba_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 342-55; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Gen._, iv. 139-42; _Herrera_, ii. i. xiii.

[X-11] Helps, _Span. Conq._, i. 385, and Irving, iii. 230, say 12th April. Robertson, _Hist. Am._, i. 207, stigmatizes Ferdinand for elevating Pedrarias, and abasing Vasco Nuñez; in which the learned historian is wholly wrong. We who know the merits of Vasco Nuñez may be disposed to excuse his faults, but the king could not do otherwise, from a ruler's standpoint, than depose the unknown adventurer guilty of unlawful excesses.

[X-12] Five or six months later Pedrarias instituted formal proceedings to prove his insubordination. The people murmured against that hasty justice, and attributed it to some former displeasure of the governor against the man. _Oviedo_, iii. 25. Part of the vessels returned to Spain; several of the old and worm-eaten were sunk in Urabá Gulf; one foundered at sea, on the voyage back, the crew escaping to Española. _Oviedo_, iv. 471-3; _Herrera_, ii. i. vii.; _Andagoya's Nar._, 1-3; _Ramusio_, _Viaggi_, iii. 208.

[X-13] It was a desperate game Vasco Nuñez had been playing; and although success up to this time had been varied, it was sure in the end to be against him. According to the Licenciado Zuazo, _al muy ilustre señor Monsieur de Xevres_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 312-13, Pasamonte was guilty of double-dealing, now receiving Balboa's presents and writing the king in his favor, and at another time seconding the persistent efforts of Enciso against him.

[X-14] _Capitulo de casta escrita por el Rey-Católico á Pedrarias Dávila, sobre los medios de facilitar la comunicacion entre la costa del Darien y la mar del sur, y que para continuar en él los descubrimientos se hagan alli tres ó cuatro carabelas_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 355-7.

[X-15] _Carta de Vasco Nuñez_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 375. Oviedo enumerates the following chiefs with whom Balboa had made peace: Careta, Ponca, Careca, Chiapes, Cuquera, Juanaga, Bonanimana, Tecra, Comagre, Pocorosa, Buquebuca, Chuyrica, Otoque, Chorita, Pacra, Thenoca, Tubanamá, Teaoca, Tamaca, Tamao and others. The Licenciado Zuazo says, _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 315, that Vasco Nuñez with his judicious policy had won over about thirty caciques.

[X-16] From the most high and mighty Catholic defender of the Church, always triumphant and never vanquished, the great King Don Fernando, the fifth of that name, King of the Spains, of the two Sicilies, and of Jerusalem, and of the Indies, isles and firm land of the ocean sea, tamer of barbarous peoples; and from the very high and puissant lady, the Queen Doña Juana, his dearest and most beloved daughter, our sovereigns; I, Pedrarias Dávila, their servant, messenger, and captain, notify and make known to you as best I can, that God, our Lord, one and triune, created the heavens and the earth, and one man and one woman, from whom you and we and all mankind were and are descended and procreated, and all those who shall come after us. But from the multitudes issuing out of that generation during the five thousand and more years since the world was made, it became necessary that some should go one way and some another, dispersing over many kingdoms and provinces, as in one alone they could not sustain nor preserve themselves.

All these peoples God, our Lord, gave in charge to one person, called Saint Peter, that he should be prince, lord, and superior over all men in the world, whom all should obey, and that he should be the head of all the human lineage, wheresoever man might live or be, and of whatever law, sect, or belief; and to him is given the whole world for his kingdom and lordship and jurisdiction. And although he was ordered to place his chair in Rome, as the most suitable spot whence to rule the world, yet was he also permitted to be and place his chair in any other part of the world, and judge and govern all peoples, Christians, and Moors, and Jews, and Gentiles, of whatever sect or belief they might be. And him they called Pope, that is to say, Admirable, Supreme, Father, and Keeper, because he is father and keeper of all men. And this Saint Peter was obeyed and held in reverence as lord, and king, supreme in the universe, by those who lived in that time, likewise others who after him were elected to the pontificate were so esteemed, and so it has continued until now and will continue to the end of the world.

One of the pontiffs who succeeded as prince and lord of the world, to the chair and dignity aforesaid, made a donation of these isles and firm land of the ocean sea to the said King and Queen, our sovereigns, and to their successors, with all therein contained, as it appears in certain writings made therefor, which you can see if desirable. So that by virtue of said donation their highnesses are kings and lords of these isles and firm land, and as such have been recognized, and obeyed, and served by the inhabitants of almost all the islands to whom notification has been made, who still obey and serve them as subjects should; and of their free will, without resistance, immediately, without delay, as soon as informed of the aforesaid, they obeyed and recognized the learned men and friars who were sent by their highnesses to preach and teach our holy Catholic faith; doing this of their free and spontaneous will, without pressure or condition of any kind; and they became Christians and are now, and their highnesses received them gladly and benignantly, and ordered that they should be treated in every respect as their own subjects and vassals; and you are held and obliged to do likewise. Therefore, as best I may, I pray and require you well to understand what I have told you; to take the time which may be necessary to comprehend it and to deliberate upon it; and to recognize the Church as Supreme Mistress of the Universe, and the Supreme Pontiff, called Pope, and the King and Queen in his place as monarchs and supreme sovereigns of these isles and firm land, by virtue of the donation aforesaid, and to consent and allow these religious fathers to explain and preach to you as aforesaid. If thus you do, you will do well, and do that which you are held and bound to do, and their highnesses, and I in their name, will receive you with all love and charity; and your wives, and children, and property will be freely left to you without lien, that you may do with them and with yourselves, whatever you may please. You will not be compelled to turn Christians, except when informed of the truth you desire to be converted to our holy Catholic faith, like almost all the inhabitants of the other isles. And besides this their highnesses will grant you many privileges and exemptions, and do you many favors. But if you do not thus, or maliciously delay to do it, I certify to you that with the help of God I will invade your lands with a powerful force, and will make war upon you in all parts, and in every manner in my power, and will subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and their highnesses; and I will take your persons, and those of your wives and children, and will make them slaves, and as such will sell them and dispose of them as their highnesses shall order; and I will take your property, and I will do you all possible harm and evil, as to vassals who do not obey or recognize their lord, but who resist and oppose him. And I protest that the deaths and damage which from such conduct may result will be at your charge and not at that of their highnesses, nor at mine, nor at that of the gentlemen who come with me. And now to that which I have said I require the notary here present to give me a certificate. Episcopus Palentinus, comes; F. Bernardus, Trinopolitanus episcopus; F. Thomas de Matienzo; F. Al. Bustillo, magister; Licenciatus de Sanctiago; El Doctor Palacios Rubios; Licenciatus de Sosa; Gregorius, licenciatus. The original in _Oviedo_, iii. 28-9. To the astute Enciso belongs the honor of first reading this _requerimiento_ to the savages in America. The place was the port of Cenú; and when the lawyer had finished, the chief, whose name was Catarapa, and his people laughed at him; these benighted barbarians laughed at the learned bachiller, and said that the Pope must have been drunk when he did it, for he was giving what was not his; and that the King who asked and took such a grant must be a crazy one, since he asked for what was another's. 'Dixeron q̃ el papa deuiera estar borracho quãdo lo hizo; pues daualo q̃ no era suyo, y q̃ el rey q̃ pedia & tomaua tal merced deuia ser algun loco pues pedia lo que era & de otros.' _Enciso_, _Suma de Geografia_, 56. A copy of this precious document was filed in the _Casa de Contratacion_, at Seville. _Memorial que dió el bachiller Enciso_, in _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 442-7. Herrera, i. vii. xiv., gives the text of the _requerimiento_ made for Ojeda and others in 1508. See also _Real Cédula_, in _Doc. Inéd._, i. 111-2; _Zamora y Coronado_, _Bib. Leg. Ult._, iii. 21-31; _Juan y Ulloa_, _Voy._, i. 114-20; _Acosta_, _Hist. Compend. Nueva Granada_, 23-6, where is also given the text of Nicuesa's requisition; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Ind._, iv. 154-6; _Helps' Span. Conq._, i. 242; _Carta dirigida al Rey por Vasco Nuñez_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 375-86.

[X-17] I follow the _Novus Orbis_ of De Laet, who places Pocorosa and S. X. (Santa Cruz) north and west of Comagre; although Oviedo, iii. 37, says, 'el puerto de Sancta Cruz que es en tierra del caçique Comogre.' It is often impossible to reconcile the self-contradictions of a writer, to say nothing of the conflicting statements of the several chroniclers. Oviedo usually places the native towns and provinces where most convenient for his narrative.

[X-18] I do not know that it is necessary here to catalogue Ayora's crimes. One which the Licenciado Zuazo mentions, _Pacheco_ and _Cárdenas_, _Col. Doc._, i. 315-16, if sufficiently pluralized, will answer for all. Met one day, on approaching a village, by natives bearing presents of venison, fowl and fish, wine and maize, who thought the white tiba to be their friend, Vasco Nuñez, Ayora seized the cacique and his chief men, tortured them with fire and dogs until all their gold was given up, and then burned them alive. 'This infernal hunt lasted several months,' says Oviedo.

[X-19] 'Los quales luego fueron vendidos en almoneda é herrados, é los mas dellos se sacaron de la tierra por mar, é los llevaron á otras partes.' _Oviedo_, iii. 39. 'Poi mandò ancora lui altri Capitani per quella Costa, come fu Bartolomeo Vrtado in Achla, e saltato in terra, sotto colore di pace, pigliò tutti gl'Indiani, che potè, e gli vendè per ischiaui.' _Benzoni_, _Hist. Nvovo Mondo_, 49.

[X-20] _Carta al Rey_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, iii. 376. Oviedo states that Pedrarias sent a ship after Ayora to Santo Domingo, but before it reached that port Ayora had sailed for Spain, where, soon afterward, he died, leaving the bishop, the alcalde mayor, and the governor responsible for his crimes. Even if this were true, these functionaries may have winked at Ayora's escape.

[X-21] Theodore de Bry and Benzoni give graphic engravings of the cutting and roasting and eating of Spaniards. Says the latter, 'Quegli, che pigliauano vini, spetialmente il Capitani, legategli le mani e i piedi, gettatigli in terra, colauano loro dell'oro in bocca, dicendo, mangia, mangia oro Cristiano.' _Hist. Nvovo Mondo_, 49. Nor has Las Casas failed to improve the subject, as may be seen in the curious illustrations and extreme denunciations of his _Regionvm Indicarum devastatorum_, 18-22 et seq.

[X-22] _Herrera_, ii. i. ii.; _Peter Martyr_, iii. 6. Oviedo,