Part 22

They then went to the house of the governor, where he kept his property, papers, and the letters he had received from the king appointing him governor of the province, as well as the acts by which his authority had been recognised. They forced open some chests, extracted all the documents contained in them, and took possession of everything. They also opened a chest, locked with three keys, containing the public indictments against officers charged with crimes referred to the king for final sentence. They took also his goods, stuffs, provisions, oil, steel, and iron, besides a number of other things. Most of these things disappeared, everything being looted. They denounced him as a tyrant, and abused him in every way. The remainder of his property was bestowed upon such as professed to be attached to him, who took them under pretext of deposit; but these so-called friends of the deposed governor really helped the insurgents. His property was said to be worth over 100,000 castellanos,[358] according to the value current then; he had also ten brigantines.

[358] A gold coin formerly in use in Spain. During the reign of the Catholic kings it was worth 490 maravedis of silver, equal to about 4_s._ 9_d._ The value of these coins afterwards fluctuated. This sum is undoubtedly grossly exaggerated.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTY-FIFTH.

_How the population assembled before the house of Domingo de Irala._

THE following day the officers published in the streets, by sound of drum and trumpet, that all the people should assemble in front of the house of Captain Domingo de Irala. Their friends and partisans having gone there armed, a libel was read by the public crier in a loud voice. It stated that the governor had ordered them all to be deprived of their possessions and to be treated as slaves: and that they, in the general interests of liberty, had laid hands on his person. When this libel had been read they called out, "Sirs, cry, Liberty, liberty, long live the king!" And this was accordingly done by their friends. After these proceedings they inveighed against the governor, and many said, "Come what may, let us kill this tyrant who wished to ruin and destroy us."

When the fury of the population had somewhat calmed down, they elected Domingo de Irala as deputy-governor and captain general of the whole province. This man had already been elected once before in the place of Francisco Ruiz, once Don Pedro de Mendoza's deputy. Ruiz had been in truth a good deputy-governor; but against all justice, and from envy and malice, he was deposed and Domingo de Irala elected in his stead. Someone having said to the supervisor, Alonso Cabrera, that they had acted badly in that case, because Francisco Ruiz had colonized the country and been at great pains to maintain it, he answered that they had acted thus because Ruiz would not do what they wished, but that Domingo de Irala, whose rank was less than their own, would always do what they bade him; and for this reason all the officers elected him. They appointed Pero Diaz del Valle alcalde mayor, because he was a friend of Domingo de Irala, and gave the insignia of alguazil to a certain Bartolomé de la Marilla, a native of Truxillo, a friend of Nuflo de Chaves, and to Sancho de Salinas, a native of Cazalla.

Then the officers and Domingo de Irala made it known that they intended fitting out a new expedition to the country discovered by the governor, to search for gold and silver, and sending it, when found, to His Majesty, in order that they might be pardoned the crime they had committed. Should they not succeed in finding gold, they would not return, as they feared punishment; yet it might happen that they found so much of the precious metal that the king, in return for it, would make them a present of the country. By such means as these they cajoled the people. However, everybody knew enough of their misdeeds and their past and present conduct to decline consenting to the proposed expedition. And since then the majority of the people began to remonstrate against the imprisonment of the governor. Then the officers and newly-appointed magistrates began to maltreat those who showed discontent at the governor's imprisonment. They imprisoned them, deprived them of all their possessions, and tormented them in every way. When these people took refuge in the church, in order to avoid being arrested, they stationed watchmen at the door, so that no provisions might reach them. They punished those who attempted to relieve them, disarmed all the inhabitants and harassed them by every means in their power. They, moreover, said in public that they would kill any persons who might show discontent at the governor's imprisonment.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTY-SIXTH.

_Of the tumults and disturbances that took place in the country._

FROM that time tumults and dissensions frequently arose among the people. Those that were of the party of the king denounced the rebel officers and their partisans as traitors. These, fearing the inhabitants, went armed day and night; they built stockades and other works for their defence, barricaded the streets, and withdrew into five or six houses. The governor was confined in a small room in the house of Garcia Vanegas, so as to have him in their midst. The alcalde and alguazils daily searched the houses immediately surrounding that in which the governor was held a captive, for fear lest an attempt might be made to enter them by means of mines. When the officers saw two or three men of the governor's party talking together, they would immediately raise the alarm, enter the place in which governor Nuñez was confined, lay their hands on their daggers, and swear that if an attempt were made to rescue him they would cut off his head and throw it to his would-be deliverers. They appointed four men, whom they considered the bravest of their band, to stand ready armed with poniards, and made them swear that on the first attempt to rescue him in the name of His Majesty they would immediately enter and behead him. These men were posted so near the governor that he could hear them talking and sharpening their daggers. These executioners were Garcia Vanegas, Andres Hernandez, _el romo_, besides others.

Not only was the arrest of the governor the cause of general tumult and dissension, there were also many private disputes and lawsuits in consequence of the edicts which had followed. Some said that the officers and their friends were traitors, and had done wrong in arresting Alvar Nuñez; that they had caused the ruin of the country as then appeared, and even now appears to be the case. Others took the contrary view; and they killed, wounded, and maimed one another. The officers and their friends said that the partisans of the governor and those who wished him set at liberty were traitors, and should be punished as such; they forbade suspected persons from talking together. Whenever they saw two men together in the streets they drew out an act of inquest, and arrested them in order to know what they were saying; and if three or four collected together, they fell upon them with their weapons. They had placed sentries on the roof of the house in which the governor was confined, in two sentry-boxes, that they might overlook the whole town and adjacent country. Their spies, too, reported what was being done and said in the town. At night, thirty armed men patrolled the streets, arresting anybody they met, demanding to know whither they were going, and for what purpose. As the tumults and disorders increased, the officers and their partisans became harassed, and begged the governor to give an order to the people to keep the peace and not revolt; and if necessary to fix a penalty for disobedience to this order. The officers drafted this order for him to sign, but when he had signed it they were advised not to publish it, because they pretended that everybody had been in favour of his arrest. For this reason the order was not published.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTY-SEVENTH.

_How the governor was kept in prison._

WHILE these events were happening the governor was very ill in bed, and for the sake of his health chains were fastened round his feet; by his pillow a candle burned, for the prison was dark, no light being admitted, and so damp that the grass grew under his bed; he had the candle because he might want it at any moment. To crown his miseries, they had searched among the whole population for the man most evilly disposed towards him, and they found one named Hernando de Sosa, whom the governor had punished for striking an Indian chief. This man was placed on guard in the same room with him. The prison closed with two sliding doors furnished with padlocks; the officers and their partisans watched him day and night armed to the teeth; and there were upwards of one hundred and fifty of them, all paid with his property.

Notwithstanding this strict watch kept upon him, every night, or every third night, an Indian woman who brought him his supper conveyed him a letter written by one of his friends, informing him of all that happened outside his prison. They begged him to say what he wished them to do, three parts of the people being determined to die with the Indians in order to deliver him. They had feared to do this because of the threats of the officers to kill him should an attempt at a rescue be made. Seventy of those guarding him were ready to join them and make themselves masters of the principal entrance of the prison. They promised to defend him till the arrival of his friends. The governor opposed this project, because it could not easily be accomplished without the slaughter of a large number of Christians. Besides, when once the scheme had been put into execution, the Indians would have put an end to the Christians and brought about the final ruin of the country. For these reasons he dissuaded them from their purpose.

The Indian woman who brought him a letter every third night, and took back an answer, passed through the midst of the guards, who stripped her naked, examined her mouth and ears, and cut off her hair, for fear of her concealing anything. They even searched her in parts which modesty compels me not to mention. This woman, as I have stated, passed the guard quite naked, and having come to where the governor was, handed the gaoler what she brought, and then sat down on his bed, for the room was small. She then began to scratch her foot, and while engaged in this way, drew forth a letter which she handed to the governor behind the back of the gaoler. This letter, written on very thin paper, was deftly rolled up and covered with black wax; this was concealed under the lesser toes, and attached to these by two black threads. In this way she brought the letters and the necessary paper for him to write his answer, and a little powder made of a certain black stone of the country, which, moistened with a little saliva or water, made ink. The officers and their friends suspected her, for they had learned that the governor knew what was passing outside the prison, and what they were doing. In order to be sure of this, they chose four of the more youthful of their party to seduce the Indian woman--not a difficult task, for these women are not sparing of their charms, and consider it an affront to deny their favours to anyone; they say, moreover, that they have received them for that purpose. These four youths accordingly intrigued with her and gave her many presents; but they could never make her divulge her secret during the whole of their intercourse, which lasted eleven months.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH.

_How the insurgents ravaged the land and took possession of the property of the inhabitants._

WHILE the governor was in this situation, the officers and Domingo de Irala gave public permission to all their friends and partisans to go into the villages and huts of the Indians and take by force their wives, daughters, hammocks, and other of their possessions, a thing contrary to the service of His Majesty and the peace of the country. While this was going on they would scour the country, strike the Indians blows with sticks, carry them off to their houses, and oblige them to labour in their fields without any remuneration. When the Indians came and complained to Domingo de Irala and the officers, these answered that it was no affair of theirs, which pleased the Christians, because they knew that this answer was given to suit their pleasure and secure their support, for they might say that they had full liberty to do what they liked. These replies and bad treatment caused the country to be deserted. The natives withdrew to the mountains, and concealed themselves in places where the Christians could not find them. A large number were Christians, together with wives and children. When they left the settlement they lost the religious teaching of the monks and clergy, the governor having paid great attention to their religious instruction. A few days after his arrest they destroyed the caravel which he had made to send advice to His Majesty of all that was passing in the province; for the insurgents hoped to get the people to undertake a voyage of discovery in that country, where the governor had already partly explored; they thought they might obtain gold and silver there, and that they would have the honour of rendering important service to the king.

There being no justice in the land, the inhabitants and colonists suffered many wrongs from the officers and magistrates appointed by the insurgents. They were imprisoned and deprived of their property; at least fifty of them became so indignant that they retreated into the interior towards the coast of Brazil, with the intention of finding means of proceeding to Spain and informing His Majesty of all the wrongs, misdeeds, and disturbances passing in the land. Many others were overtaken and kept in prison a long time; their arms and all their possessions were taken away and distributed among their friends and partisans, in order to engage their support for the party in power.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTY-NINTH.

_How the monks left the country._

WHILE this sad state of things was going on without hope of remedy, the monks--friar Bernardo de Armenta[359] thinking the moment opportune for putting into execution their long-conceived project of departing (having already attempted it, as I have said before), spoke about it to the officers and to Domingo de Irala, in order that they should give them permission and the necessary help to reach the coast of Brazil. These officers consented, in order to give them satisfaction because they had opposed the governor, who had hindered their taking the route they wished. Permission was accordingly granted to them, and the necessary help to go to Brazil. They took with them some Spaniards and Indian women, to whom they were teaching Christianity.

[359] The name of the other monk is omitted in the text. It was probably Alonzo Lebron; cf. _supra_, pp. 100, 136.

During his captivity the governor had asked the insurgents several times to let him appoint a deputy to rule the province in the name of His Majesty, in order to terminate the tumults and disorders that were of such constant occurrence, and restore justice and tranquillity in the land. After making this nomination he would have liked to go before the king and render an account of all that had passed, and the actual position of affairs. The officers answered, however, that by his arrest his authority had lost all its force, and that the person they had nominated as governor would serve the purpose. Every day they entered his prison and threatened to put an end to his life. The governor replied that, should they decide upon doing this, he begged, and even if necessary he required, them in God's name and the king's to send him a clergyman to confess him. They said that if they gave him a confessor it would be Francisco de Andrada, or another native of Biscay (who were concerned in the insurrection), and if he would have neither of them, he should have none at all, because the others were their enemies and his supporters. In fact, they had arrested Antonio d'Escalera, Rodrigo de Herrera, and Luis de Miranda, because they had said, and were still saying, that the arrest of the governor was a great sin, and contrary to the service of God and His Majesty, and would bring ruin upon the land. The priest, Luis de Miranda, had been imprisoned with the Alcalde mayor for more than eight months without seeing sun or moon all that time. And the insurgents would never consent that any other of the clergy except those we have named should confess him.

A gentleman[360] named Anton Bravo, eighteen years of age, having been heard to say one day that he would form a scheme to release the governor from prison, the officers and Domingo de Irala had him arrested, and applied the torture to him, to find pretext for punishing and ill-treating others whom they hated. They offered him his liberty if he would incriminate others whom he had named in his evidence. These were all taken and disarmed. Anton Bravo was publicly bastinadoed in the street, proclaimed a traitor, and accused of being unfaithful to His Majesty by trying to deliver the governor from prison.

[360] In original, hidalgo, from _hijo de algo_, _i.e._, a person of good birth.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTIETH.

_How they tortured those who were not on their side._

THIS was the cause of many other cruel torturings to find out if the persons accused had concerted measures for the release of the governor from prison. They sought to know who were the persons concerned in the scheme, how he was to be delivered, and if the ground were mined. Many were deprived of the use of their limbs by these tortures. Inscriptions having been found on the walls, which said, "Thou shalt die for thy king and thy law," the officers, Domingo de Irala, and the magistrates, took steps to find out who were the authors, swearing and threatening to punish them, and they arrested a number of persons, whom they put to the torture.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTY-FIRST.

_How they wished to kill a sheriff who had made them a requisition._

AFFAIRS being in the state I have described, a certain Pedro de Molina, a native of Guadix, and judge of that town, having been witness of the misfortunes and troubles that were taking place in the country, determined, in His Majesty's interests, to enter the stockaded enclosure where Domingo de Irala and his officers were residing, and in the presence of all, doffing his cap, he asked Martin de Ure, the notary, to read to the officers a requisition that the evils, murders, and injustice occasioned by the arrest of the governor might cease. He demanded that Alvar Nuñez should be set free, and that he should be allowed to invest some fitting person, with his authority, to govern the province in the name of His Majesty, and maintain peace and justice. The notary at first refused to read it because the insurgents were present, but at length he took it, and said to Pedro de Molina that if he wished it read he must pay him his fee. Pedro de Molina drew his sword and handed it to him. The notary declined the sword as a pledge for payment. Then Pedro de Molina took off his woollen hood and gave it to him, saying: "Read it, I have no better pledge to offer." Martin de Ure took the hood and the requisition, and threw them both down at his feet, declaring that he would not notify it to those gentlemen. Thereupon Garcia Vanegas, the deputy-treasurer, addressed some insulting words to Pedro de Molina, threatening to have him beaten to death, and that he deserved it for daring to speak in that way. Pedro de Molina then went out, raising his cap, considering himself fortunate in escaping without further ill-treatment.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTY-SECOND.

_How the insurgents gave the Indians permission to eat human flesh._

THE officers and Domingo de Irala, wishing to gain favour among the natives, gave them permission to kill and eat their Indian enemies. Many of those who availed themselves of this license were converted Christians. The insurgents had adopted this expedient, unbecoming to the service of God and His Majesty, and horrible to all who knew of it, in order to prevent the Indians from leaving the country, and attaching them to their party. They told them the governor was a bad man, inasmuch as he would not authorise their killing and eating their enemies, and that he had been arrested on that account, and that they now gave them free permission to do this.

In spite of all their efforts, the officers and Domingo de Irala, seeing that the tumults and quarrels would not cease, but were daily on the increase, decided to remove the governor from the province, while those who took this step chose to remain where they were and not return to Spain; they only desired to expel him and some of his friends. The partisans of the governor, on hearing this resolution, were much excited. They said that since the officers had usurped the power of deposing the governor and arresting him, and had given their supporters to understand that they would go with him to Spain, to explain their conduct to His Majesty, they must keep their promise, and if they all refused to go, that two, at all events, should accompany him, and that the other two might remain in the province. So they arranged it in that way, and, in order to take him to Spain, they equipped one of the brigantines which he had built for exploring and conquering the country. This gave rise to serious altercations, owing to the discontent that prevailed at seeing they were about to take Alvar Nuñez from the province. The officers resolved upon arresting the leaders of the malcontents, but durst not carry out their intention. In this dilemma they had again recourse to the governor, conjuring him to put an end to all the scandals and disorders; that if his friends would give their word not to attempt his release, that they on their side, and their magistrates, would promise not to arrest anybody, or do any injury to anybody, and would set those free whom they had arrested, and they swore it. As the governor had now been in prison a long time, and nobody had seen him, it was suspected and feared that they had secretly murdered him. They were accordingly asked to allow two monks and two gentlemen to enter his prison and see him, so that they might certify the people he was still alive. The officers promised they would do this three or four days before it was time for him to embark, but they broke their word.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTY-THIRD.

_How the insurgents had to write to His Majesty and send him a report._