Children's Stories in American History
by Henrietta Christian Wright · English · Gutenberg #42345 · 387,302 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Children's Stories in American History
Author: Henrietta Christian Wright
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Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILDREN'S STORIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY ***
CHILDREN'S STORIES
IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
[Illustration: A MAMMOTH HUNT]
CHILDREN'S STORIES
IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
BY
HENRIETTA CHRISTIAN WRIGHT
_Illustrated by J. Steeple Davis_
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1885
COPYRIGHT, 1885, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
TROW'S
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,
NEW YORK.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
ANCIENT AMERICA, 1
CHAPTER II.
THE MOUND-BUILDERS, 5
CHAPTER III.
THE RED MEN, 14
CHAPTER IV.
THE NORTHMEN, 27
CHAPTER V.
COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, 38
CHAPTER VI.
THE CABOTS, 61
CHAPTER VII.
AMERICUS VESPUCIUS, 65
CHAPTER VIII.
PONCE DE LEON, 71
CHAPTER IX.
VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA, THE DISCOVERER OF THE
PACIFIC OCEAN, 76
CHAPTER X.
CABECA DE VACA, 85
CHAPTER XI.
HERNANDO CORTEZ AND THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, 103
CHAPTER XII.
PIZARRO AND THE CONQUEST OF PERU, 114
CHAPTER XIII.
FERDINAND DE SOTO, THE DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI, 172
CHAPTER XIV.
VERRAZANO, 199
CHAPTER XV.
JACQUES CARTIER, 210
CHAPTER XVI.
THE HUGUENOTS, 228
CHAPTER XVII.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 254
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE STORY OF POCAHONTAS, THE INDIAN PRINCESS, 259
CHAPTER XIX.
THE SETTLEMENT OF MAINE, AND DISCOVERY OF LAKE
CHAMPLAIN, 269
CHAPTER XX.
HENRY HUDSON AND THE KNICKERBOCKERS, 292
CHAPTER XXI.
THE PILGRIMS AND THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND, 300
CHAPTER XXII.
LA SALLE, 316
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE STORY OF ACADIA, 331
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE STORY OF PONTIAC, 337
CHAPTER XXV.
THE REVOLUTION, 348
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
A MAMMOTH HUNT, _Frontispiece._
FACING PAGE
THE TEACHING OF AN INDIAN CHILD, 14
YOUNG COLUMBUS, 38
VESPUCIUS LANDING TO CHASTISE THE CANNIBALS, 65
BALBOA IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN SEA, 79
THE MESSENGERS OF MONTEZUMA, 103
DE SOTO, 172
JACQUES CARTIER FINDS NEWFOUNDLAND INHOSPITABLE, 210
SMITH SAVED BY POCAHONTAS, 259
THE HALF-MOON IN THE HUDSON, 292
THE DRIVING OUT OF THE ACADIANS, 331
THE STORY OF PONTIAC'S PLOT, 337
CHAPTER I.
ANCIENT AMERICA.
Many ages ago in North America there was no spring or summer or autumn,
but only winter all the time; there were no forests or fields or
flowers, but only ice and snow, which stretched from the Arctic Ocean to
Maryland. Sometimes the climate would grow a little warmer, and then the
great glaciers would shrink toward the north, and then again it would
grow cold, while the ice crept southward; but finally it became warmer
and warmer until all the southern part of the country was quite free
from the ice and snow, which could then only be seen, as it is now, in
the Polar regions.
Ages and ages after this, grass and trees began to appear, and at last
great forests covered the land, and over the fields and through the
woods gigantic animals roved--strange and terrible-looking beasts,
larger than any animal now living, and very fierce and strong. Among
these were the mammoth and mastodon, which were so strong and ferocious
that it would take hundreds of men to hunt and kill them. These great
animals would go trampling through the forests, breaking down the trees
and crushing the grass and flowers under their feet, or rush over the
fields in pursuit of their prey, making such dreadful, threatening
noises that all the other animals would flee before them, just as now
the more timid animals flee from the lion or rhinoceros. Sometimes they
would rush or be driven by men into swamps and marshes, where their
great weight would sink them down so deep into the mud that they could
not lift themselves out again, and then, they would die of starvation or
be killed by the arrows of the men who were hunting them.
Besides these mammoths and mastodons there were other animals living in
North America at that time, very different from those that are found
here now.
These were the rhinoceros, as large as the elephant of to-day, five
different kinds of camels, thirty different kinds of horses, some of
which had three toes, and some four, on each foot; and then there were a
great many smaller animals which we no longer find here. Monkeys swung
in the branches of the trees, just as they do now in other parts of the
world, and great, strange birds went flying through the air and built
their nests in the trees which, ages ago, crumbled away to dust.
But at last all these curious animals vanished from the forests of North
America--all, that is, except the reindeer, which is still found in the
far north--and the only reason we have for knowing that they really
lived here is that their bones have been found in the soil.
Among mountains far from the sea are often found the shells of
sea-animals, and the imprints of fishes in the rocks, and so we know
those animals must once have lived there, and in the same way when the
bones of the mammoth and mastodon, and camel and rhinoceros, are found,
we also know that they must have lived here too, although it was so long
ago that nobody knows very much about it.
Among these bones have been found human bones also, and tools, and
arrow-heads of flint; so it is supposed that there was a race of people
living in North America at the same time. But who these people were, or
where they came from, or whither they went, we shall probably never
know, for they have vanished as utterly from the New World as have the
fairies and nymphs and giants from the Old World, and will always remain
a mystery.
CHAPTER II.
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
About two thousand years ago there lived a very curious people in North
America known as the Mound-builders. Where they came from no one knows,
but it is supposed that they were either descendants of people from
Japan, who had been driven across the Pacific by storms, and washed on
the western coast of America, or that they originally came from Asia by
the way of Behring Strait. Many people suppose them to have been the
descendants of the Shepherd Kings, who journeyed from Central India to
Egypt about the time of the building of the Tower of Babel; they were
called the Shepherd Kings because they were shepherds, and came down
into Egypt driving their flocks before them. Here they conquered the
country and made themselves kings; they built many wonderful temples,
and founded Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, in honor to their great
god, the Sun, whom they worshipped, under the name of Osiris; Isis, the
moon, being their chief goddess. It was supposed that Osiris dwelt in
the body of the sacred bull Apis, and therefore this bull was adored as
a god. He lived in a splendid temple, the walls of which shone with gold
and silver, and sparkled with gems and precious stones brought from
India and Ethiopia; it was the duty of the priests to wait upon him with
the greatest care, and he was always fed from golden dishes. At the time
of the rising of the Nile there was always a festival to Apis, when he
was displayed to the people covered with the richest and finest
embroidered cloths, and surrounded by troops of boys singing songs to
him. If he lived twenty-five years he was drowned in a sacred fountain,
but if he died before that time all Egypt went into mourning, which
continued until a new Apis was found. The successor must be a perfectly
black calf, with a square white spot on the forehead, the figure of an
eagle upon the back, a crescent on the side, and a beetle on the tongue.
Of course these marks were made by the priests, but the people did not
know that, and supposed that the soul of Apis had passed into this calf,
which they received with great joy.
The Egyptians worshipped many other animals besides the sacred bull; the
dog, wolf, hawk, crocodile, and cat were all considered gods, and any
one who might kill one of these animals, even by accident, was punished
with death. When a cat died every one in the family cut off his
eyebrows, and when a dog died the whole head was shaven. And if on their
journeys the Egyptians found the dead body of a cat or dog, they always
brought it home and embalmed it with great care. The reason why the
Egyptians reverenced these animals was, that they believed that the soul
of man, after his death, passed into the bodies of different animals,
and that after three thousand years it would return and inhabit a human
form again, so, of course, they did not look upon a cat or dog as we do,
merely as an animal to be petted or used, but they thought that in this
animal dwelt the soul of some human being, and hence it was sacred to
them. One of the great gods of Egypt was the River Nile; and no wonder
that they worshipped it, as it was to them the means of life. It never
rains in Egypt, and the land would be like a desert were it not for the
overflowing of the Nile. Once a year this great river, swollen by the
waters that have poured into it from the lake country above, overflows
its banks, watering the country on either side of it, and leaving, when
it recedes, a deposit of rich mud upon the land; then the people sow and
plant, sure of a good harvest. Up and down the Nile Valley extends a
chain of rocky mountains, and these the Egyptians used as places of
burial. The tombs, or catacombs, as they are called, are ornamented with
pictures and sculptures which may be seen to this day. The subjects of
these paintings were always taken from life. People were represented
planting, sowing, and reaping, spinning, weaving, sewing, washing,
dressing, and playing. Even the games of children were shown in these
tombs, and the balls and dolls and toys with which they played. Would
you not feel strange to stand in one of these catacombs and see the
figure of a doll carved in the rock, and to know that it is the tomb of
some little Egyptian girl who died three thousand years ago? The games
which children play to-day are not new, and when you have a game of ball
or top or leap-frog, when you play with your dolls, or sit down and tell
each other fairy stories, you are only doing the same thing that the
little Egyptian and Grecian boys and girls did thousands of years ago;
it makes them seem like real children to think that, doesn't it?
But different as the Egyptian religion was from ours, there was one
thing which they believed which we also believe in, the resurrection of
the dead; and as to-day we symbolize this belief by pictures of the
lily, the egg, the butterfly, and other objects, so the Egyptians used
the lotus, which bloomed on the waves of the Nile, opening every morning
and closing every night, as the symbol of the resurrection, and we find
this flower, carved in stone, used as an ornament all throughout Egypt.
Of all the works of the ancient Egyptians, the greatest are the
pyramids, the tombs of the kings; these were mostly built during the
reigns of the Shepherd Kings.
After a long time, perhaps five or six hundred years, the ancient
inhabitants of Egypt drove out the Shepherd Kings. It is supposed then
that they crossed back to Asia, wandering through that country from the
south to the north, spending some time in Siberia, where they built
mounds like those in our own country, then crossing Behring Strait they
reached North America, wandered down the Mississippi Valley, building
mounds and temples, journeyed through Mexico, where are found some of
the most remarkable of these remains, and so on across the Isthmus of
Panama into Peru, where at the time of the conquest of that country by
the Spaniards the sun and moon were worshipped as gods, just as had been
done in Egypt thousands of years before, and where was found a
magnificent temple of the sun, the inside walls of which were covered
almost entirely of gold. So you see the reason why it is thought that
_perhaps_ the mound-builders were descendants of the Shepherd Kings is
that these mounds and temples are like those found in the old world. In
Mexico and Peru all the great buildings were made in the pyramidal form,
while, as I have said, in Siberia have been found mounds like those in
the United States.
Some of the most curious of these mounds are found in the State of Ohio.
One, in the form of a serpent, with the tail ending in a triple coil, is
very curious. It is about a thousand feet long and extends along a bluff
which rises above Brush Creek, in Adams County, Ohio. The neck of the
serpent is stretched out and slightly curved over, and in its mouth is
another mound in the form of an egg.
Many of these mounds, from their shapes, it is thought, were used for
fortifications, and sometimes they are at regular spaces apart, which
shows they may have been used for sending signals across the country.
They were made almost entirely of earth, but sometimes brick and stone
were used. Sometimes they were built very high, and on the tops of these
highest mounds have been found pieces of burned wood, showing that they
were probably used as places of worship, and that the priests offered up
burnt-offerings and sacrifices there. The mounds are sometimes in the
form of animals and men. In those that were used as places of worship
human bones have been found, and with them many things which show that
the Mound-builders must have known some of the arts which the tribes who
lived in America at the time of its discovery by the Europeans knew
nothing of; among these things are carvings in stone, pottery, articles
of ornament in metal, silver and copper tools, such as axes, chisels,
and knives, beside beads, bracelets, carved pipes, models in clay of
birds, quadrupeds, and human faces, etc.
Is it not strange to think of this race of people who lived here in our
own America so many years ago? We would like to know how they lived,
what they looked like, and what language they spoke, but we cannot even
guess. We only know that ages after the time of the Mammoth and
Mastodon, this curious race, coming doubtless from the East, entered the
Mississippi Valley; that they settled there and built those wonderful
mounds at least two thousand years ago, if not longer; that finally they
disappeared, and we should never have known of them but for the works
they have left.
CHAPTER III.
THE RED MEN.
When America was first discovered by the whites, all the country along
the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida was peopled by a dark-skinned
people different from any known to Europeans. They were tall, with black
or hazel eyes, and straight, black hair. Some of them were mild and
friendly toward the whites, but others were very warlike and hated the
white men for coming to live in their own woodland homes. They never
lived very long in one place, but roamed about here and there, living by
hunting, fishing, and sometimes planting corn, beans, pumpkins, etc.
Their houses, or wigwams, as they called them, were made of bark, or
skins, or matting, stretched on poles driven in the ground, and an
Indian village was simply a great many tents in one spot, in the largest
of which the chief always lived. These little villages were nothing
like those which you would see now, scattered up and down the Atlantic
coast, where all kinds of people live together; but each village was the
home of one particular family or tribe of Indians, and it was very much
as if you and all your brothers and sisters, your uncles, aunts,
cousins, nephews, nieces, grandmothers, grandfathers,
great-grandmothers, great-grandfathers, and everybody else who was the
least bit in the world relation to you, lived altogether in one little
town by yourselves. Each tribe took some animal for its symbol, or
_totem_, as they called it, such as the turtle, bear, or wolf, and they
believed that the spirit of the animal chosen watched over them and
protected them. Like the ancient Egyptians, they believed that the soul
of man passed at his death into the body of some other man or of some
animal, and they drew signs from the flight of the birds and the shapes
of the clouds. They worshipped the sun, which they said was the symbol
of the Great Spirit, and they believed that the moon could weave charms.
They believed also that the wind and the stars, the streams and the
lakes, the great trees and the beautiful flowers, all had spirits. And
little Indian boys and girls never went to school as you do, to learn
about history and geography, but their school was out in the shady woods
at their mother's feet, where they sat and listened to the beautiful
stories of Hiawatha, the son of the West Wind, who had been sent among
them to clear their rivers, forests, and fishing-grounds, and to teach
them the arts of peace; of his wife, Minnehaha, Laughing Water, who sat
by the doorway of her wigwam, plaiting mats of flags and rushes when
Hiawatha came to woo her; of Minnehaha's father, the old arrow-maker,
who made arrow-heads of jasper and chalcedony, and of the brave,
beautiful, and gentle Chibiabos, the best of all musicians, who sang so
sweetly that all the warriors and women and children crept at his feet
to listen, and who made from hollow reeds flutes so mellow and musical
that at the sound the brook ceased to murmur in the woodland, the birds
stopped singing, the squirrel ceased chattering, and the rabbit sat up
to listen. And the bluebird and robin and whippoorwill begged Chibiabos
that he would teach them to sing as sweetly, but he could not, for he
sang of the things they could not understand, of peace and love and
freedom and undying life in the Islands of the Blessed.
[Illustration: THE TEACHING OF AN INDIAN CHILD].
And then, too, the Indian mothers would tell their children the story of
Wabun, the East Wind, who brought the morning to the earth, and chased
away the darkness with his silver arrows, whose cheeks were crimson with
the sunrise, and whose voice awoke the deer and the hunter; and yet,
although the birds sang to him, and the flowers sent up their perfume to
greet him, and "though the forests and rivers sang and shouted at his
coming," still he was not happy, for he was alone in heaven. But one
morning while the villages were still sleeping, and the fog lay on the
rivers, Wabun, looking downward, saw a beautiful maiden walking all
alone in a meadow, gathering water-flags and rushes. And each day after
that the first thing he saw was the maiden's eyes, which looked like two
blue lakes among the rushes, and he loved the beautiful maiden and
wooed her with the sunshine of his smile, and whispered to her in the
gentle breezes which sang through the trees, and at last he drew her to
him and changed her to a star, and then he was no longer sad, but happy,
for he was no longer alone in heaven, but with him was his bride, the
beautiful Wabun-Annung, the Morning Star.
And then the story of Kabibonokka, the North Wind, who dwelt among the
icebergs and snow-drifts in the land of the White Rabbit; the North
Wind, who in autumn "painted all the trees with scarlet and stained the
leaves with red and yellow," and who drove the birds down to the land of
the South Wind, ere he froze the rivers and lakes and ponds and sent the
snow-flakes through the forest.
And the story of Shawondassee, the South Wind, who dwelt in the land of
summer, who sent the bluebirds and the robins and the swallows; and the
smoke from his pipe
"Filled the sky with haze and vapor,
Filled the air with dreamy softness,
Gave a twinkle to the water,
Touched the rugged hills with smoothness,
Brought the tender Indian Summer
To the melancholy north-land."
And the South Wind had also his trouble, for he loved a maiden whom he
saw one day standing on the prairies, clothed in bright green garments,
and with hair like sunshine; but he did not try to woo the maiden, but
only sighed and sighed, until one morning behold he saw that her yellow
hair had grown white, and the air seemed full of snow-flakes which rose
from the earth and were wafted away by the wind; for, after all, it was
not a maiden that the South Wind had loved, but only a prairie
dandelion, whose petals had turned to down and floated away. Do you not
think these Indian children learned pleasant things in their school?
There was one story which they liked very much, and which you may also
hear. It was the Legend of the Red Swan, and it told of an Indian
warrior, who with his three brothers went out to shoot, and each one
said that he would kill no other animal except the kind he was used to
killing. The warrior had not gone far before he saw a bear, which he
shot, although he should not have done so, as he was not in the habit of
killing bears. But as he was skinning the dead bear, the air all around
him turned red, and he heard a strange noise in the distance; he
followed the noise and found it came from a beautiful red swan, which
was sitting far out in a lake, and whose plumage glittered in the sun
like rubies, and although the Indian warrior tried very hard to shoot
the swan with his magic arrows, still he could not kill it, for it rose
and flapped its wings and flew slowly away toward the setting sun.
All these stories and many others, of war and hunting and bravery, did
these dusky children of the Western World listen to eagerly. And when an
Indian boy wished to excel his friends and become their leader, he did
not take his books and study algebra or geometry or Latin, for they had
no such books; he did not even try to be best in a game of cricket or
ball, or to be a good oarsman, but he would train his eye so he could
shoot a bird on the wing so far up in the sky that one could scarcely
see it; he would train his muscle so that he could fight hand to hand
with bears and wild-cats if need be; he would learn to find the trail of
an enemy through the deep forest, guided only by the bent twigs or
broken leaves, and he would be able to send his arrow straight through
the heart of the deer which bounded over the precipices and mountains.
And the little Indian girls would learn of their mothers how to prepare
skins of animals and make moccasins and garments out of them; how to
ornament belts and leggings with shells and beads and feathers; how to
plant corn and cook the food. And do you want to know how the Indian
babies were taken care of? They were fastened so tightly in their queer
little cradles that they could not move. The cradles were made in such a
manner that they could be carried on the mother's back, or hung in a
tree, or placed on the ground. If the Indian babies grew tired of being
left all alone in this way, no one minded them; they might cry and cry,
but no one paid any attention, for their mothers believed in teaching
them patience in this way.
The Indians were very fond of games; they used to play ball and have
famous ball matches on the ground in summer and on the ice in winter;
and then they had races and liked shooting at targets, just as you do
now. The game of lacrosse, which is played so much in Canada, is an
Indian game, as is also tobogganing and snow-shoeing.
In the winter the Indians travelled from place to place on their
snow-shoes; these were made of maple-wood and deer's hide, and fastened
on the feet by pieces of deer's hide, and upon these curious shoes the
Indians could travel very fast, sometimes forty miles a day, when
hunting the deer and moose. Each tribe of Indians had its own peculiar
kind of snow-shoe, and one Indian meeting another in the forest could
tell by the totem tattooed on the breast and by the pattern of the
snow-shoe to what tribe he belonged, and whether he were friend or foe.
They used to travel by water in their graceful birch-bark canoes; these
were made by stripping off the bark from a birch tree and fastening it
whole around the frame of cedar. Some of the canoes were very long and
could carry ten or twelve men. Every little Indian boy and girl could
manage his canoe with the greatest ease, either sitting or standing, and
long hours they spent in them, paddling on the lakes and fishing in the
shadow of the mountains.
The Red Men were a very poetical people, and the names which they gave
to their mountains and lakes and rivers were often very fanciful. Many
of these we have kept, as Mississippi, the Father of Waters; Minnehaha,
Laughing Water; Canadarauga, The Smile of the Great Spirit; Housatonic,
Winding Waters; Horicon (the Indian name for Lake George), Silver Water;
Ohio, Fair to Look Upon, etc.
The names of the months were also very poetical and pretty; the Indians
did not divide the years into months, but moons, and instead of saying
last month, or next month, they would say at the time of the last moon,
or the next moon, and their weeks were called from the changes in the
moon, when it was new or quarter or full. April was the Moon of Bright
Nights; May, the Moon of Leaves; June, the Moon of Strawberries;
September, the Moon of Falling Leaves; November, the Moon of Snow-shoes,
etc.
And besides they had their own names for all the wonderful and curious
things in the heavens; thus the Milky Way was the Pathway of Ghosts; the
Northern Lights, the Death Dance of the Spirits; the Rainbow was the
Heaven of the Flowers, where they all blossomed again after fading on
the earth, and the shadows on the moon were the body of an old woman who
had been thrown there by her grandson.
Their picture-writing was very curious and interesting. The legend
relates that Hiawatha taught the Indians this art, so that they might be
able to remember their history better, and also be able to send messages
to one another. In this picture-writing the Great Spirit, Gitche Manito,
was painted as an egg, with four points, extending north, south, east,
and west, which meant that the Great Spirit was everywhere. Mitche
Manito, the Evil Spirit, was represented as a great serpent; Life was
shown by a light circle, Death by a black circle; a straight line meant
the Earth, and a bow above it the Sky; foot-prints going toward a wigwam
meant an invitation, but uplifted red hands were a sign of war.
The Indians also knew, or thought they did, what all the cries of the
different animals meant, and they believed that these animals could
understand them if they spoke to them. The bear was the favorite animal
among the Indians and was used most frequently as a totem, and they had
a belief that there was a very large bear living somewhere in the woods,
naked all over except a spot of white hair on its back, which was more
ferocious than any common bear, and they used to frighten their children
by saying, "Hush, the naked bear will hear you, be upon you, and devour
you." And the little Indian boys and girls were just as afraid of this
naked bear as you are afraid of ghosts and hobgoblins and witches. It is
true they never actually saw the naked bear, but then neither have you
ever seen a ghost.
The Indians were a very warlike people, the different tribes were almost
always at war, and sometimes for years at a time. In preparing for
battle they used to paint their bodies in very bright colors, called
war-paint, and dress their heads with feathers; then all the warriors of
the tribe would assemble for a feast, which was followed by a war-dance.
A painted post would be driven into the ground, and the Indians would
dance in a circle around it, brandishing their hatchets and screaming
and shouting in a hideous manner. The night would be spent in this way,
and then the Indians would take off their finery and go silently through
the woods to the place where they knew the enemy to be. They did not
fear death, as they believed that a brave warrior went as soon as he
died to the Happy Hunting Grounds, where he would live forever, and they
always buried the dead man's weapons with him, as it was supposed he
would need them there.
CHAPTER IV.
THE NORTHMEN.
In the far north there is an island so cold and dreary that from time
immemorial it has been called Iceland--the land of ice and snow and
frosts. Here are no spreading forests or fields of flowers, but only
here and there hardy evergreens and a few pale blossoms, that come,
perhaps, just to show how beautiful the place might become if only the
short Icelandic summer lasted as long as the sunny months farther south.
All around the rocky, frozen shores break the white waves of the
Northern Ocean, and in the summer one may see the great icebergs sailing
past, and hear the voices of the birds that have come northward for a
little visit.
In the winter the days are so short and the cold is so intense that the
children are almost shut off from out-door life, and are glad to take up
with in-door games and plays. But they are very happy in spite of this,
for they are a healthy, sturdy race, and like the ice and cold and snow.
In the long winter evenings they gather around the fire and listen to
the old stories that have been told in their land for hundreds of years,
the stories of Odin and Thor and Baldur, for long, long ago the religion
of the Northmen was very different from what it is now. Then they
believed not in one god but many, of whom Odin was the chief, who dwelt
in Valhalla, the Northmen's heaven. And no one could enter there who had
not died fighting, which made the Norse heroes very anxious to die in
battle. Perhaps you will remember this god better when you hear that one
of the days of the week is named after him, for Wednesday means Woden's
day, and Woden was only another name for Odin. Thursday is also named
after one of the Norse gods, the great Thor, called the thunderer, who
held a mighty hammer in his hand which no one else could lift, and of
whom every one was afraid. But of all their gods the people loved best
Baldur, the beautiful; they called him the fair white god, and not only
was he beloved by the people but all things in nature loved him and had
promised never to harm him, all things, that is, excepting the
mistletoe. One day there was a great company gathered together, and they
all agreed to shoot arrows at Baldur just to prove that nothing could
hurt him; so they shot arrows of oak and hemlock and pine, and they
threw great stones at him, but he remained unharmed amid it all, for all
things loved him and refused to do him injury; and Baldur smiled upon
the people and they raised their hands above their heads and vowed that
they would worship him forever. And now entered Hoerder, an evil spirit,
who had found out the secret of the mistletoe; he asked permission to
shoot an arrow at Baldur, and took up one made of the mistletoe, the one
thing in the world that could harm the beautiful god. Hoerder took aim
and the arrow sped on its way, and thus died Baldur the beautiful, by
the hand of Hoerder the evil one. And the people mourned for him, and
all things in nature wept over the death of the fair white god. And when
hundreds of years had passed away, and the people had ceased to believe
in Odin and Thor they still loved the memory of Baldur; and when they
listened to the story of Christ and his death on the cross, they said He
was like the beautiful one who had been slain by Hoerder; so the
priests, to please the people, twined the cross with mistletoe, and to
this day at Christmastime little English children, descendants of the
fierce Norse rovers, gather the mistletoe, together with the holly and
evergreen, and all bright and beautiful things, and deck the churches
with them in honor of the birth of Him who came to destroy evil, and to
bring peace on earth and good-will to men. And thus the name of Baldur
lives, for the memory of the good can never die, but lives forever in
the heart, even as the stars forever shine in heaven.
Besides the old stories of their gods, the people of these North
countries have many other tales they relate of things which actually
happened. Living so near the ocean, they were, of course, great sailors,
and often went off on long voyages, which lasted sometimes a year or
two. In the old histories of Iceland we read that Erik the Red, as he
was called, being unjustly treated by his neighbors, resolved to leave
Iceland and seek a home elsewhere. So he gathered his friends together
and took ship and sailed away boldly toward the west. No one then knew
that there was any land west of Iceland, so many of his friends expected
never to see him again. But Erik was a brave sailor and kept sailing on
and on, still westward, until one day he did see land, and then steering
southward along the coast he found a place where he might land safely.
Here he stayed the whole winter, calling the place Erik's Island; then
he looked around for a spot suitable to live in always, and, having
found one, a little village was built, and there he remained two years.
When he went back to Iceland he told the people of the new land he had
found, and called it Greenland, as he thought that name would sound
pleasant to them, and they would be eager to go there and live, and so
they were, and Erik soon sailed away again toward Greenland, taking with
him this time twenty-five ships filled with people and food and all
things they might need in a new country; and having reached the little
village which Erik had begun they landed in safety and were soon busy
making new homes for themselves in that western Greenland which had been
discovered by the bold rover Erik the Red.
This happened about eight hundred years ago. A short time after, Biarni,
another brave Icelander, resolved to go to Greenland too. So he set
sail, and for three days they went on briskly with a fair wind; then
arose a most fearful storm, before which they were driven for many days,
they knew not whither. At length the storm ceased, and sailing westward
another day they saw land different from any they had ever seen before,
for it was low and level and had no mountains. The sailors anxiously
asked if this were Greenland, but Biarni said no, it could not be. Then
they turned the ship about and sailed toward the North for two days, and
again they saw land, but it was still low and level, and they thought
this could not be Greenland; so they kept sailing northward for three
days more, and then they came to a land that was mountainous and covered
with ice; this land they sailed quite around, proving it to be an
island; they were almost discouraged, but kept on four days more, and
then at last Greenland came in sight. Erik and his companions listened
with great interest to the stories which Biarni told of the strange new
lands he had seen, but they were all too busy to go in search of them;
and so it came about that for many years the places which we now call
Cape Cod, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland remained unknown to all of the
Northmen except Biarni and his brave followers.
Finally, Leif the Lucky, son of Erik the Red, determined to go in search
of the strange lands seen by Biarni. He bought Biarni's ship, and taking
thirty-five men with him, started off on one of those perilous voyages
so dearly loved by the Norsemen. The first land he saw was the
mountainous, icy island round which Biarni had sailed, and which Leif
named Helluland, meaning the land of broad stones; then he sailed
farther south and came to a land low and level and covered with wood,
which they called Markland, the land of woods; now they went still
farther south for two days and then touched at an island, probably
Nantucket, and sailing through a bay between this island and the
mainland, they passed up a river and landed. Here they built rude huts
and prepared to pass the winter. It was about the middle of autumn, and
finding there wild grapes growing, they called the country Vinland. Leif
and his people were much pleased with the pleasant climate and fruitful
soil of the new country, and stayed there contentedly all winter. The
next spring they loaded their ships with timber and returned to
Greenland. In the meantime Erik the Red had died, and Leif, on his
return, succeeded him in command of the Greenland colony and made no
more voyages.
But the next year Thorvald, Leif's brother, went to Vinland and spent
the winter, and the following summer sailed away down the coast as far
as the Carolinas, coming back, however, in the autumn to Vinland. The
next summer, while coasting around Cape Cod, they saw on the sandy
shore of the bay three small elevations; these proved to be three boats
made of skin, with three men under each; they seized all the men but
one, who ran away with his boat, and they killed all those they had
taken. Immediately, from a small bay, hundreds of small skin boats were
seen coming toward them all filled with these strange people. Thorvald
told his men to set up their battle-shields and guard themselves as well
as possible, but to fight little against them, which they did, and the
Skraellings, as they called them, shot at the Norsemen for a time, but
at last fled away; but they had wounded the brave Thorvald with an arrow
so that he died, and his companions becoming discouraged returned the
next spring to Greenland, after an absence of three years.
But Vinland was now well known, and there were many voyages made there,
chiefly for the timber, of which there was a great want in Greenland.
The children of Erik the Red were always ready to go on these voyages,
for they inherited their father's bold and roving disposition. There is
one story which tells of a voyage to Vinland made by Freydis, Erik's
daughter, a cruel, hard-hearted woman, who, during the voyage, killed
her husband's brothers and seized the ship; but for this she was
punished by Leif on her return. Then there is another story of Gudrid, a
beautiful woman who had married Thorstein, Erik's youngest son, who died
while getting ready to go to Vinland. Gudrid married after this a man by
the name of Thorfinn, who took her to Vinland to live, and here was born
their son Snorri, who was perhaps the first white child born in America.
While they were in Vinland, Thorfinn and his companions had many battles
with the natives, or Skraellings, and once Freydis, being with them,
fought fiercely, killing many natives with her own hand. After spending
three years in Vinland, Thorfinn and Gudrid went to Iceland, and
remained there the rest of their lives, and the little boy, Snorri,
lived and grew to manhood, and among his descendants was the great
Danish sculptor, Thorwaldsen.
There are many other tales of these visits of the Vikings to the New
World, but they cannot be written here; but you must remember that
hundreds of years before anything was known of America to the rest of
Europe, the bold Norse sea-kings came here--Erik the Red, Leif the
Lucky, Biarni, Thorvald, and Thorfinn--and that Greenland, Newfoundland,
Cape Cod, Nova Scotia, and Rhode Island were well known to the Northmen
at a time when the rest of the world had never dreamed of a country
lying on the other side of the great Atlantic.
CHAPTER V.
COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
If you will look at your map you will see on the western shore of Italy
a city which has become celebrated as the birthplace of a great man. It
is called Genoa, the Superb, and in this city was born, over three
hundred years ago, the man who was to make it immortal. Genoa is a
beautiful city. It looks from the sea like a great picture. Its
churches, palaces, promenades, and gardens stretch in terraces from the
Mediterranean up to the slopes of the Apennines, and behind are seen the
ice-covered peaks of the Alps. It has a mild and healthy climate, and on
the mountains around grow grain, grapes, oranges, figs, almonds,
chestnuts, etc. The streets of the city are mostly narrow, irregular,
and sometimes so steep that carriages cannot be used in them, although
there are a few that are straight and handsome. Genoa is famed for
its palaces and for its great works of sculpture and painting. But its
narrow, crooked streets are, after all, the most interesting thing about
it, for in them Columbus, when a boy, walked and played. Of course,
having been born near the sea, he was naturally very fond of it, and
doubtless spent many hours standing on the wharves watching the ships
enter and leave the harbor, and while yet a boy he determined that he
would be a sailor and spend his life on the great sea which he loved so
well. At ten years of age he was sent by his father to the university of
Pavia to study navigation and other things, as it was considered
necessary that seamen should be well educated, although at that time
very few people, even among the nobles, knew how to write. He stayed in
Pavia nearly four years, and then returned to Genoa and entered his
father's workshop. But here he remained but a short time, for at the age
of fourteen he went to sea in a vessel under command of his granduncle,
Colombo. For twenty years he followed the sea, during which time he was
in many battles, always appearing brave, and often encouraging his
sailors by his example. During this time he visited nearly all the ports
that were then known, but still he was not satisfied.
[Illustration: YOUNG COLUMBUS.]
You must remember that at that time no one knew the real shape of the
earth; they had no idea that it was round, but supposed it to be a flat
plane, with the ocean lying around its edges. What strange things might
be found on the other side of the ocean they did not know. Some said
that this ocean, which they called the "Sea of Darkness," and which was
supposed to stretch away to the end of the world, had many large islands
lying in it, one of which had been visited by some bishops who were
flying from the Moors, and who built seven large cities there--one for
each bishop; but that, having burned their ships, they could not send
back any tidings to the world they had left. A great many people
believed this, and there were even some ships sent out to try and find
the island, but of course they never did.
Another story which they were very fond of telling was, that a giant
called Mildum had actually seen in the western sea an island of gold,
with walls of crystal, and offered to swim to it with a ship in tow; but
a storm came up, and the giant went ashore and died, and no one ever
found the golden island.
But there were some things which made it seem as though there really
might be land somewhere out in the Atlantic. For instance, Columbus'
brother-in-law had seen a piece of curiously carved wood which had been
washed ashore in a westerly gale, and an old pilot had picked up a
carved paddle very far west of Portugal. These things were very unlike
anything that the Europeans had ever seen before, and they of course
supposed that they must have been made by some unknown race of men.
Then, besides, cane-stalks of tropic growth had been washed on the
Madeiras, and great pine-trees on the Azores; and once, strangest thing
of all, two drowned men, of different dress and looks from any they had
ever known, had been found on the island of Flores. All these had come
from the West--that great, curious, unknown West! Can you not imagine
how the little children would go down to the shore and look across the
sea, and wonder and wonder what lay beyond it? They had heard such
strange stories of giants and monsters and cruel beasts, who were said
to live away off there out of the sight of land, and it all seemed so
curious to them. They could not believe that there was really land out
beyond that blue sea, on which sometimes they could not even see a sail.
It only looked to them like a great empty stretch of water, and they
felt just as you would feel if you looked up to the sky some cloudless
day. You would see nothing but the empty blue stretching away and away
and away.
Would you not laugh if some one said to you, "Come, let us take a boat
and sail away into the sky, and find a new country that some one says is
there?"
Well, in those days, almost every one thought it was just as silly to
suppose there was land on the other side of the Atlantic.
But there were some people who really believed there was land lying
across the great sea, and one of those persons was Columbus.
He was a very wise man, and had learned all that was then known of
geography, and he felt sure from many things that the earth was round in
shape, and that if he sailed west across the Atlantic, he would come to
land. He did not dream of finding a new country, but he thought that the
world was much smaller than it really is, and that by sailing westward
he would come to India much sooner than by going the usual way.
At that time India was a very important country. Very rare and beautiful
things were brought from there, such as silks, gold, pearls, ivory,
diamonds, rare woods, and many other costly and useful things. Great
companies of men were all the time going and coming overland to and from
India, and it took a long time, and was a very expensive way of going.
The merchants travelled part of the way on horses and part of the way on
camels, and the long caravan would go winding across the desert, and
through mountain passes, over the plains, guided by the stars, or
resting at night around great fires; and if you could see such a sight
now you would think it was a great gypsy camp. Then, oftentimes, people
who wished to travel to India, or to the places on the way thither,
would join these caravans, as it was much the cheaper and safer way, and
so there would be found every kind of people travelling together--Jews,
Arabs, Spaniards, Dutch, and many others--all on their way to obtain
those wonderful and beautiful things from the East; if you had lived at
that time, and had started on a journey to India, it would have been as
different from such a journey now as you can imagine. Then, after
leaving Europe you would have travelled all the way on the back of a
camel; and although these caravans sometimes moved during the day,
resting at night, still, much the greater part of the travelling, owing
to the heat of the sun, was done in the night-time. About ten o'clock at
night you would have heard the sound of the trumpets. This was to tell
you that the caravan was about to move on. Then the tents were folded
up, the camels loaded with the merchandise, the travellers mounted on
their horses or camels, and about midnight, after the third blast from
the trumpets, the march would begin. Great kettles of burning pitch
would send their flames flashing over the desert, and the men and beasts
travelled onward through the night by this ruddy gleam. Sometimes, in
the earlier part of the journey, the line of march would lay along the
sea, and then the thunder of its waves would be heard mingling with the
songs of the slaves and the bells of the camels. Riding across a desert
is much like sailing across the sea. There is very little variety. You
see the same thing day after day. In sailing, you see the sea and sky,
and occasionally a ship's sail; in journeying across a desert you see
the sand and sky, sometimes an Arab or two looking wonderingly at the
caravan before darting off to their hidden retreats, and more often only
the bones of camels and elephants scattered on either side of the route,
and dazzling the sight with their white gleam. The only thing that would
break in upon the sameness would be the stops at the springs for water
and rest, when the sacks of food and wine were unpacked from the camels,
and the travellers would alight and stay until the heat of the day was
past.
Of course, you little American boys and girls have never travelled in
this way, but it was the usual way at that time, and much labor and time
and money it cost; and so it was considered that it would be a great
gain to the world if people could find a shorter way of going to India,
and this was one reason why Columbus wished to see if the world were
really round. For, of course, if it were round, India, they said, must
be right on the other side of the Atlantic. You see they had no idea
that this big America lay in the way between them and India. They
thought that, at the most, there were only some large islands there.
And so Columbus thought it all over and decided to try for himself, and
see if he could reach India by sailing across the ocean. But he was to
have many disappointments before he started off. In the first place,
very few people thought as he did about the shape of the earth, and the
different countries were unwilling to risk men and money in an
undertaking which they were sure would amount to nothing. Columbus
tried to obtain help from his own people; first, from the republic of
Genoa, then from the republic of Venice, and the court of Portugal, and
for seven years he tried to get help from Ferdinand and Isabella, the
king and queen of Spain. And at last, after ten years of waiting and
seeking, the wished-for help came. Isabella, queen of Spain, listened to
Columbus' plans, and liked them so much that she said she would send the
expedition out at the expense of her own kingdom of Castile, and, if
necessary, would pawn her jewels to get enough of money; but this last
she did not have to do.
It was hard work to find sailors willing to go on this long voyage
across the unknown seas, and many of the men had to be forced into the
service; but after three months' delay the expedition was ready, and on
August 3, 1492, the three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the
Nina, left the port of Palos on the most wonderful voyage that has ever
been undertaken--the voyage which ended in the discovery of the great
New World.
And so Columbus sailed away toward the sun setting. In about a month he
reached and passed the Canary Islands, the farthest known land. This was
on Sunday, September 6, 1492. And then the voyage really began. The day
passed, and, as the sky and the sea grew dark, the sailors became
terrified, and when at last night fell, and they lost sight of the land
which bordered the great sea of darkness, they wept from fear, and said
they should never return to their homes. Columbus had a hard time to
quiet their fears, but finally they grew calm and listened to his
descriptions of the beautiful country toward which they were sailing.
And so they went on, sometimes hopeful and sometimes despairing, and
once they made a plot to throw Columbus overboard and then turn the
ships about and go home, but happily this was not carried out. As they
advanced, the oldest sailors were deceived by frequent signs of land. On
the 26th they entered into a region where the air was soft and balmy,
and fields of sea-weed began to appear. "This day and the day after,"
said Columbus, "the air was so mild that it wanted but the song of the
nightingales, to make it like the month of April in Andalusia."
One evening, just as the sun was going down there came a cry of
"_Land!_" from the Pinta, which was leading the other ships. Columbus
had promised a reward to him who should first see land, and Martin
Alonzo Pinzon, who was ahead in the Pinta, now claimed the reward. He
said that he saw land in the west; they all looked and saw a dark,
cloudy mass about twenty-five leagues away. Columbus and the sailors
knelt and sang _Gloria in Excelsis Deo_; but in the morning, when they
looked again for the hoped-for land, they saw nothing but the wide sea
stretching away as far as the eye could see. The land which Martin
Pinzon had seen from the stern of the Pinta had been but a cloud, which
had disappeared in the night.
But Columbus sailed on with hope and faith in his heart. Again and again
they thought they saw land, and again and again they were disappointed;
but at last they saw land-birds flying around, a piece of carved wood
was picked up by the Pinta, and the Nina secured a branch of thorn with
red berries, which was drifting by, and Columbus felt sure that they
were near their journey's end. The men were called to evening prayer,
and the vesper hymn to the Virgin floated out over the waves of the
Atlantic, the first time probably that a Christian hymn had ever been
sung upon that darkening sea. Then Columbus ordered a double watch to be
set. "We shall see land in the morning," said he. He spent the entire
night on the deck; no one slept; they were all too much excited at the
prospect of seeing land. Can you not imagine how rejoiced Columbus must
have been to think that at last his long and weary voyage was nearly
over, and that he had been right in saying that the world was round, and
that there was land across the ocean? Ah! no one can understand how he
felt, for no one before or since ever started out on such a voyage as
that. A voyage across the great, mysterious, unknown sea, which was
supposed to extend to the ends of the earth, and on whose farther
borders demons and terrible beasts were thought to live.
At ten o'clock that night Columbus, looking wistfully seaward, saw a
light; he called to two of the sailors, one of whom saw the light and
one did not. At two o'clock the next morning, being Friday, October 12,
1492, the Pinta fired a gun, the signal for land. Rodrigo Triana, a
sailor of the Pinta, was the first who saw the New World. The ships lay
to, and all waited impatiently for morning.
The day broke, and the New World lay before them. About six miles away
they saw an island thickly covered with trees and with crowds of natives
running up and down its shores. At sunrise the small boats were lowered,
and Columbus, bearing the royal standard of Castile, and Martin Pinzon
and his brother, each bearing a flag with a green cross, were rowed to
the shore to the sound of music. Columbus first stepped on the beach,
the others followed, and all knelt and kissed the ground with tears and
thanks to God. Then Columbus rose, shook out the gorgeous red and gold
flag of Spain, and drawing his sword, took possession of the island in
the name of the crown of Castile, calling it San Salvador.
The wondering natives looked on in silence; they thought their visitors
were gods who had come down from heaven, whereas the Spaniards thought
they had never seen a place so much like heaven as this beautiful
island. Birds of gorgeous plumage hovered above them, while others made
the place sweet with their music. The air was soft and pleasant, and
flowers and fruits were abundant. After their long sea voyage they found
it a most pleasant spot, and would gladly have remained there for a long
time.
But Columbus did not consider that his work of discovery was yet done.
Some of the natives, who wore ornaments of gold, told him of a country
in the south from which it had come; so Columbus, taking seven of the
natives with him, started off to find this land of gold, which he
supposed to be Cipango (Japan). He did not find the gold which he
sought, but he did find something else--the island of Cuba--which he
first thought was Cipango, but afterward concluded it was the mainland
of India. He then sailed on, discovering the island of Hayti, which he
thought was Ophir, that land of gold from which had been brought the
gold and jewels for Solomon's Temple. He called this island Hispaniola,
or Little Spain, and, building a fort there of the timbers of the Santa
Maria, and leaving in it thirty-nine men, he sailed for Spain, in the
Nina, taking with him several natives. Martin Pinzon had in the meantime
started off gold-hunting, on his own account, in the Pinta.
During the voyage back to Spain a fearful storm arose, and it was
thought that the ship must go down; of course, if this happened the
people in Europe would never know what had become of Columbus and his
sailors; so he wrote an account of his voyage and discoveries, and,
sealing it up in a cask, threw it overboard. But the storm at last
ceased and they reached the Azores in safety, where the crew attended
mass and gave thanks for their preservation. In March, six months from
the time of their sailing, the Nina entered the harbor of Palos.
Columbus was received with great honors by Ferdinand and Isabella. He
was allowed to sit in their presence while he told the story of his
wonderful adventures. The Spanish are a people very fond of romances and
tales of daring, but never before had they listened to such a story as
this. A story that told them that Spain would forever stand in history
as the discoverer of a new world. No fairy tale was so marvellous as
this. Aladdin's wonderful lamp and the vale of diamonds in the Arabian
Nights were not to be compared to the riches of this new country, where
the sands of every river sparkled with gold, where the stones and rocks
shone with its glittering light, where the walls of the houses were
studded with jewels, and where the poorest native wore ornaments that
kings might envy. And in addition to these dazzling splendors they spoke
of the mild and healthful climate, of the rare and delicious fruits that
grew so abundantly, of the beautiful flowers, of the birds with sweetest
songs and the most gorgeous plumage, of the rivers whose waters were
health-giving, and of a wonderful fountain which gave immortal youth to
all who might drink of it.
And so Columbus had no difficulty in fitting out a second expedition;
men were eager to go, eager for gold, and, what was perhaps better,
eager for glory; they did not have to be pressed into the service this
time. In September, 1493, Columbus sailed from Cadiz with a fleet of
seventeen ships and fifteen hundred men. But he had left his good
fortune behind him; never again would such bright skies bend above him;
never again would he sail under such benignant stars; henceforth his
life was to be saddened by disappointment, and made bitter by the envy
and hatred of those whom he had served.
Many of the men who took ship with him on this second voyage were led to
do so from the love of gold, and when they reached the New World and did
not find the gold they sought, they grew angry and mutinous and
quarrelsome, throwing the blame on Columbus, who, they said, had
deceived them. It was not pleasant to govern such a lot of unruly,
discontented men; but Columbus was a man who never flinched in the face
of danger, no matter of what kind; he kept on his way in spite of the
murmurings of his men, and was rewarded by the discovery of the Windward
Islands, Jamaica and Porto Rico--then he founded a colony in Hayti, and
leaving his brother, Bartolommeó, to govern it, sailed for Spain,
reaching Cadiz about three years after his departure from it.
Here he soon cleared himself of the complaints made against him, and
silenced those who were jealous of his fame. Once, while sitting at
table, a courtier said that, after all, it was not such a great thing to
have discovered the new world, any one else could have done it. For
answer Columbus asked him to make an egg stand on its end; the courtier
tried, but could not do it. Columbus then struck the egg on the table,
breaking the shell a little, and then stood it on the table.
"Any one can do that," said the courtier.
"When I have shown you the way," replied Columbus.
The courtier was silent, he knew well what Columbus meant.
And now there was to be still another voyage made. In 1498 Columbus
left Spain with six ships, and sailed across the Atlantic, taking a
route more southerly than he had before done. This time he discovered
the mouth of the Orinoco, which he, still supposing that the country he
had discovered to be Asia, thought was the river Gihon, which rose in
the garden of Eden. He then skirted along the coast of South America,
passing the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, and then turned toward
Hispaniola, where he hoped to recruit his health. He found the colony in
a sad state, and while trying to restore peace he again became the
object of jealousy and malice. A commissioner named Francisco de
Bobadilla was sent from Spain to settle the trouble, and his first act
was to put Columbus and his brother in chains and send them to Spain.
"Are you taking me to death, Vallejo?" asked Columbus, sadly, when the
officer came to lead him from his cell.
The officers of the ships wanted to take off his chains, but Columbus
replied, "I will wear them as a memento of the gratitude of princes."
When he arrived in Spain, the people were very indignant at the
treatment which he had received; and the king, in order to quiet them,
said that he had not ordered Columbus to be put in chains. But the real
reason why he had allowed him to be thus insulted was that he was
disappointed at finding that the New World, after all, was not rich in
gold and silver, and after nine months of waiting Columbus only saw a
new governor appointed over Hispaniola, and no notice taken of his
injuries. One more voyage and then Columbus' work would be over. In 1502
he received command to sail in search of a passage leading westward from
the Gulf of Mexico, which was then supposed to be a sea. He believed he
should find a strait somewhere near where the isthmus of Panama now is,
and that by passing through this strait he would reach the continent of
Asia. On his way out he stopped at his colony at Hispaniola, where he
hoped to refit, but was refused permission; he sailed along the south
side of the Gulf of Mexico, but did not find the strait for which he was
looking, and after much suffering from famine and other hardships, he
returned home. Here he lay sick for some months; his old friend Queen
Isabella was dead, and King Ferdinand refused to give him any reward for
his long and faithful service. He was seventy years old, poor, and in
ill health. To quote his own words, he had "no place to go to except an
inn, and often with nothing to pay for his food." And so the discoverer
of the New World, suffering, neglected, deserted by those he had spent
his life in serving, died while repeating the Latin words, "Lord, into
thy hands I commend my spirit." They are the last words of a great man;
a man who lived a noble life, and who met death as bravely and
fearlessly as he met the unknown terrors which lay in his way when he
sailed for the first time across the great "sea of darkness." Seven
years after his death the people, for very shame's sake, placed a marble
tomb over his remains, with the inscription:
"A Castilla y a Leon,
Nuevo mondo dió Colon."
("To Castile and Leon, a new world gave Colon.")
Afterward his remains were taken to St. Domingo and placed in a
cathedral in that city. And nearly two hundred years later they were
removed with great pomp to the cathedral at Havana, where they rest
within sound of the waves of the sea, in that beautiful city, where the
air is indeed "like the spring in Andalusia," balmy and soft, perfumed
with flowers, and made musical with the songs of birds.
CHAPTER VI.
THE CABOTS.
About the time of the discovery of America, there was living-in England
an old man, who loved the sea better than anything else in the world. He
was not an Englishman, but a Venetian, and many years before he had left
his home in beautiful Venice to seek a home in England. The name of this
old man was John Cabot, and he was considered one of the greatest
sailors living. He had guided his ships among the islands of the
Mediterranean, and had sailed up the Atlantic coast to the British
Isles, and then, not satisfied, he had gone on into the frozen regions
of the North, and had sat by Iceland firesides listening to the tales of
the Norsemen and their wonderful voyages across the sea to a New World.
And while he listened he thought what a fine thing it would be if he too
should sail away some day to visit this strange country; so after
returning to England, he asked permission of the king to fit out some
ships and go on a voyage of discovery. He had heard of the voyage of
Columbus, and he thought that by sailing far to the north he might find
new lands as rich and beautiful as those which Columbus had discovered.
So about the year 1494, or 1497, he sailed from England, taking with him
his son Sebastian.
Very different was their voyage from that of Columbus; keeping ever to
the north, the waters of the Atlantic showed them no genial skies, or
islands adorned with waving forests and beautiful flowers, but instead,
they found fog and mist, cold, chilling winds, and great, glittering
icebergs. The first land seen by them was Cape Breton, which they called
Prima Vista, meaning _first seen_. They found the country cold and
dismal, covered with ice and snow. As this new land was no farther north
than England, they were surprised to see instead of green meadows, shady
trees, and flowing rivers, only fields of snow, and while they knew the
birds were singing in England, they saw here great white bears, which
prowled around seeking their prey.
Cabot did not remain long in America, he soon sailed again for England,
which he reached three months from the time he had left. His voyage is
important, as he was the first European, after the Northmen, to touch
the _mainland_ of North America.
On his return he was received with great honor by the king. He went
about dressed in silk and velvet, and everywhere great crowds would
follow him and point him out as the Great Admiral.
In 1498 Sebastian Cabot sailed with another expedition from England and
reached the coast of Labrador. He tried to find a northwest passage to
Asia, but the climate was so cold that he gave up the idea and sailed
down the coast as far as Virginia, claiming the whole country for the
King of England. He made still another voyage and explored Hudson's Bay,
but the accounts which he gave of the country were not very pleasing,
and no Englishman was willing to leave his own pleasant home to seek
another in the New World, and for many, many years after this the
English paid little heed to the great continent which Cabot had
discovered.
Sebastian Cabot lived to be an old man, and was always greatly honored
by the English. He was called the Great Seaman, and as long as he lived
he loved the ocean over whose waters he had sailed to honor and
fortune.
CHAPTER VII.
AMERICUS VESPUCIUS.
As soon as it became known in Europe that there really was land across
the Atlantic, all the nations wished to send ships and men to gather the
gold which they supposed to be there. The Spaniards, of course, thought
that they had the best right to the new country, but the English and
French sent out expeditions, and soon there arose a great quarrel as to
whom the New World should belong. One of the most interesting voyages
made at that time was that of Americus Vespucius. Like Columbus, he was
an Italian, having been born in the beautiful city of Florence, but at
the time of the discovery of the western world he was living in Spain.
Vespucius sailed across the sea, and in the summer of 1499 (the year
after Columbus discovered the Orinoco), he landed on the coast of
Venezuela. Here he saw a queer little village which looked as if some
children had been trying to build a "make-believe" Venice. The village
was built on piles driven into the water, and the houses, which were of
such a shape that they looked like big bells, could only be entered by
means of drawbridges. Each house had its own bridge, and when the owner
wished he could draw the bridge up and no one could get in, and there he
was just as safe as a turtle when it shrinks into its shell.
[Illustration: VESPUCIUS LANDING TO CHASTISE THE CANNIBALS]
Vespucius and his men had never seen anything like it before and looked
at the funny little place in astonishment. But as soon as the natives
saw the Spaniards, they drew up all their bridges and disappeared; in a
few minutes, however, Vespucius saw twenty-two canoes filled with these
savages coming toward his boats; as soon as they got near enough they
began shooting arrows at the Spaniards, and then Vespucius, seeing that
they did not mean to be friendly, ordered the guns to be fired. The
Indians were terribly frightened by the noise and smoke of the guns;
they had never seen such things before, and very soon they rowed back
to the shore, and Vespucius sailed on farther south. When he landed next
he found a more friendly tribe of Indians; they were at first afraid of
the Spaniards, and ran away when they saw them coming. Vespucius and his
men went into the wigwams and found that the Indians had fires burning,
upon which young alligators were roasting. By and by the Indians, seeing
that the Spaniards meant no harm, came back and treated their guests so
kindly that Vespucius stayed there nearly two weeks, visiting, in the
meantime, some of their villages which were built back from the sea. The
natives grew very fond of him, and hundreds of them followed him back to
his ship, but when he ordered the cannon fired they all jumped back into
the water and swam away. But Vespucius did not mean to harm them, so he
called them back, and then the Indians and Spaniards exchanged presents
and Vespucius sailed away. He still kept to the coast of Venezuela, and
sailing northwest entered the bay of Cremana. Here he found the natives
friendly and remained with them more than a month, and they begged him
to help them kill their enemies, who lived on an island in the sea, and
who were a very great and powerful tribe, and came every year and took
away many of their number whom they killed and ate. Vespucius promised
to help them, and taking seven of them with him as guides, he started
off for the island.
As soon as the cannibals saw him coming they gathered on the shore ready
for fight. They were covered with war-paint and feathers, and armed with
arrows, lances and clubs. At first it seemed that the Spaniards would be
beaten, as the Indians pressed around them so closely they could not use
their swords, but finally the cannibals were driven back. Vespucius then
tried to make friends with them, but they would not do so, and after a
two days' fight he conquered them, burned their town, and sailed away
with two hundred and fifty of them whom he sold for slaves on reaching
Spain. This seems a very cruel act now, but in those times it was
thought to be quite right to sell captives taken in war, and so
Vespucius only did what he thought was perfectly fair.
When Vespucius got back to Spain, he wrote a letter to a friend of his
in Florence, giving an account of his voyage and the lands he had
visited. This letter was published a year or two afterward, and as it
was the first printed account of a visit to the _mainland_ of the New
World, it was read with much wonder and interest by the people who
wanted to learn all they could of the strange lands beyond the ocean.
No one knows just how it happened that the new country was called
America. Some of Vespucius' friends thought that the New World ought to
be called after him, but it was well known that the honor of the great
discovery belonged to Columbus alone. At any rate it came about that
after reading Vespucius' book, people began talking about the land of
Americus Vespucius, and finally it came to be called the land of
Americus, or America. But although the great country itself is not named
after Columbus, yet mountains, rivers, and towns bear his name, and in
poetry and songs, the United States, the greatest American country, is
often called Columbia; while in South America, one of the principal
divisions is called the United States of Colombia. All of which shows
that the people of the New World are very ready to honor its great
discoverer.
CHAPTER VIII.
PONCE DE LEON.
Once upon a time there was an old man who had found life so fair a thing
that he wished to live forever, and to be forever young. He was born in
Spain, and his childhood and youth and early manhood were so happy that
when he grew old he was sad and wanted to bring the lost years back. Of
course he could not do that; new summers may come and new winters, but
the years themselves never come back any more than do the same clouds,
or the same sunset, or the same rainbow. But de Leon, for that was the
old man's name, did not believe this. When a child he had read many
stones and romances in which wonderful things were done. He had all a
Spaniard's love for adventure, and he believed there were things on the
earth and in the earth which possessed strange power over the life of
man. As he grew older he was taught to ride and fence, and many other
things which it was considered necessary for a Spanish gentleman to
know, but all the time he was dreaming over these marvellous things he
had heard. When he became a man he entered the army, and was always a
brave soldier, and eager for adventure of every sort. He sailed with
Columbus on his second voyage, and afterward was made governor of the
island of Porto Rico.
Here in his island home he was not happy, although he had power, and
wealth, and fame, for he sighed for the years that were gone, and
dreaded the time to come when life would be no longer pleasant, for he
was growing old and must die.
And then he heard such a wonderful story, that while he listened, it
seemed as if the years of his childhood came back and smiled upon him.
Among the natives of Porto Rico it was believed that somewhere among the
Bahama Islands there was a fountain of eternal youth; and that whoever
should bathe in this fountain, and drink of its waters, would find his
lost youth again and be forever young. The Spaniards believed this
story as well as the Indians, and when de Leon heard it he determined to
go in search of the wonderful fountain. As he was very rich, this was
not a hard thing to do; he bought three ships and fitted them out with
men, and started off. He sailed for some time among the Bahamas, looking
for the magic fountain, and one day, Easter Sunday, March 27, 1512, he
came in sight of an unknown shore. He thought he had discovered another
island more beautiful than any of the rest. Never before had he seen
anything so delightful as this new land; the ground was covered with the
most gorgeous flowers, and above, great trees spread out their green
boughs and waved them in the soft air, and sweet-voiced birds sang among
the fragrant blossoms. It seemed as if he had sailed into a world where
there was nothing but beauty, the native home of bird and blossom, the
land of eternal summer. De Leon named the new country Florida, partly
because he discovered it on Easter Sunday, which is called by the
Spaniards Pascua Florida (flowery Easter), and partly because it was
indeed a Land of Flowers. After a few days he landed a little north of
the place where the city of St. Augustine now stands, and took
possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. He then
began again his search for the wonderful fountain, feeling sure that
here where the flowers forever bloomed, and the birds ceased not to
sing, he should drink the waters of immortal youth. But though he
wandered through the forest, sailed up the silent, shady rivers, and
searched eagerly along the coasts, never, save in his dreams, did he
hear the music of the fountain, or see its waters shining in the
sunlight.
He returned to Porto Rico, and the king made him governor of the new
country and sent him back there to found a colony. But when he landed he
found that the Indians were all ready for war; there was a dreadful
battle, many of the Spaniards were killed, and the rest had to go back
to the ships for safety. De Leon himself was mortally wounded by a
poisoned arrow, and was taken to Cuba, where he died; and although many
people still believed that the wonderful fountain would some day be
found, it never was, for the flowers that close at night will open again
in the morning, and the little stream that starts from the mountain and
goes down to the sea, will have its waters carried back by the clouds to
the mountains again, but the years that we leave behind us come not
again, they have gone away forever with the daisies and buttercups and
violets that shone in the meadow last year.
CHAPTER IX.
VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA, THE DISCOVERER OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
Among the many adventurers who found their way to the New World after
its discovery was one named Balboa. He was a very bold, brave man,
always ready for adventure and eager for gold and fame, as were all the
Spaniards of that time. But Nunez de Balboa, besides being bold and
brave, was also very cruel when he had the chance, and sometimes
dishonest. Whenever he could he robbed the Indians of their gold, and
often cruelly murdered them; and if he thought he could steal from his
fellow-soldiers and friends, he was ready to do that, too. So,
altogether, he was a man not very much liked among the people with whom
he lived in Hispaniola, and because of this, and also because he owed a
great deal of money that he did not wish to pay, he thought it would be
a fine thing to run away and let his friends get back the money they had
lent him as best they might.
There were always ships touching and leaving Hispaniola, and Balboa
thought nothing would be easier than to go on one of these ships some
fine day and sail away to some new place where he would have better
chances for borrowing and stealing than where he was so well known. But
he found it much harder to get away from Hispaniola than he had thought.
Either he had no money to pay for his passage, or the captain would not
take such a troublesome character on his ship, or the people whom he
owed would not let him go without their money, or all three of these
reasons together, for at any rate at the last moment he slipped on board
a vessel that was just going to sail, and hid himself in a big empty
cask, and had to lie there hardly daring to breathe lest he should be
heard and put on shore again. But every one was busy trying to get the
ship under way, and no one thought of looking into empty casks to see if
there were men hiding there, and it was not until they were far, far
from land that Balboa ventured to put his trembling head out of the cask
and look fearfully around. All the sailors and passengers crowded
around, very much surprised to see a man's head sticking out of what
they had supposed to be an empty cask, and the captain was very angry
indeed at the cheat that had been practised upon him, and vowed he would
stop the ship at the first desert island he came to and put Balboa
ashore and leave him there to starve to death.
And then the bold runaway quite lost his brave heart and fell upon his
knees and begged with tears that the captain would not treat him so
cruelly, quite forgetting that he himself had often done things just as
cruel, and the captain, moved by the wretched man's tears and prayers,
or perhaps because there was no desert island in sight, or even a
passing ship that might be hailed to take the runaway back, said that he
might finish the voyage with them. Balboa thanked the captain and
promised good behavior, but in his heart he was very angry because of
the threat to put him on a desert island, and determined to be
revenged on the captain if possible.
[Illustration: BALBOA IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN SEA.]
Before very long his chance came. A terrible storm came up and the
vessel was dashed to pieces upon a strange coast. Encisco, the captain,
felt very glad now that he had kept Balboa on the ship, for, although
the country was unknown to the captain and his crew, it was not unknown
to Balboa. He had been there before, and said that he knew of an Indian
village not far away, where they could find food and shelter. Encisco
was very glad to hear this, and they all started off under the
leadership of Balboa to find the river Darien, on which the Indian
village stood.
They had been wrecked on the coast of Darien, and although neither
Encisco nor any of his men had ever been there before, yet other
Spaniards had, and had treated the natives cruelly and unjustly, as was
their usual way of dealing with them. So when Encisco and his followers
tried to march through this strange country they found it very hard
work, as the natives attacked them at all times, day and night, killing
some, wounding others, and keeping them all from getting food. But
Balboa was a skilful leader and knew how to deal with Indians, and after
a time they reached the village, though weary and foot-sore and almost
starved.
Balboa's boldness made him very much admired by some of the shipwrecked
sailors, and soon a large party of them, attracted by his stories of
bravery and adventure, declared that they would much rather have him for
a captain than Encisco. This was just what Balboa wanted, and as his
party grew larger and larger, and Encisco's friends fewer and fewer,
Balboa at last declared that Encisco should no longer govern the little
colony, as he himself was much more fit to be governor. Most of the
party agreed to this, and so Balboa became governor, and a very cruel,
bloody tyrant he proved. All the Indians around feared and hated him,
and even his own men could not love him, and only respected his courage.
One day the son of an Indian chief came to Balboa and told him that some
days' journey away there lay a great sea, and on the other side of it a
country so rich that the people ate and drank out of gold and silver
dishes. The Spaniards in those days were ready to believe anything that
the Indians said, and if Balboa had heard that the new sea was full of
golden islands, and that the clouds rained diamonds and rubies into its
depths, and that its waves threw pearls and corals on its beach, he
would almost have believed it all; and when he heard this wonderful news
he immediately gathered his men together and started off to find the new
sea.
Again they had to fight tribe after tribe of Indians, who constantly
tried to make them turn back, but the Spaniards pushed on, and after a
hard journey, which took them quite across the Isthmus of Darien, came
one day to a high mountain, from whose top the guide said the great sea
could be seen.
Balboa ordered all his men to stay below, while he climbed up the
mountain alone, as he wished to be the first Spaniard to look upon the
great ocean that so many brave adventurers had tried to find. So Balboa
went alone up on the mountain peak, and, looking down on the other
side, saw a vast body of water stretching away and away. The Indian's
story had been true. Here was a great new ocean that no European had
ever looked upon before. Balboa looked north and south and west, and saw
only this blue sea, shining and peaceful, as if its waves had gone to
sleep.
Balboa knelt down on the mountain-top and thanked God that he had been
permitted to make this great discovery, and then he beckoned to his
followers, who came rushing up and stood looking in wonder at the great
sight beneath them.
The men piled up heaps of stone in token that they had taken possession
of the country and ocean, and as they went down the slopes of the
mountain, Balboa carved the name of Ferdinand upon the trunks of trees.
Then twelve men were sent on ahead to find the shortest path to the
shore, and Balboa, cruel as ever, gave orders that all the natives they
should meet should be tortured and killed unless they would tell them
where their stores of gold were hidden. The twelve men went on, and
reaching the shore, saw two Indian canoes that had been washed up on the
beach by the waves, and as the tide crept up and floated them off, two
of the men--Alonzo Martin and Blaze de Atienza--stepped into them, thus
being the first Spaniards to sail upon the new ocean which Balboa had
named the South Sea. A few days after, Balboa arrived at the shore, and
wading into the water, waved his sword solemnly, and took possession of
all the great ocean, and the islands that might be in it, and the
countries that bordered it, in the name of the King of Spain, and vowed
to defend them against all other European adventurers.
This was in the year 1513, one year after the discovery of Florida. And
so Spain claimed the Pacific as well as the Atlantic coast of North
America.
The news of this great discovery at once made Balboa famous. All over
Europe men talked of the bold man who had been the means of adding still
more glory to the Spanish name, and as a reward for his services, the
king made him Adelantado, or chief ruler, over all the great sea he had
discovered.
But among the Spaniards in Darien, Balboa was very much feared, and now
that he was in such great favor at the Spanish court, every one dreaded
that he would be more cruel and heartless than before, because he had so
much more power. And besides, his companions were jealous of his fame,
and thought that the honor of discovering the South Sea belonged quite
as much to them as to him, quite forgetting that but for his courage and
perseverance they would have turned back long before the sea came in
sight.
The man who disliked and feared Balboa the most was Peter Anias, the
Governor of Darien, and about five years after the great discovery, he
managed to get Balboa into his power, and ordered him to be beheaded.
This was done, and thus perished one of the greatest of the Spanish
discoverers.
CHAPTER X.
CABECA DE VACA.
And now that Florida had been discovered, and the great South Sea added
to the possessions of the Spanish crown, it was thought it would be a
wise thing to settle as much of the New World as possible, so that when
all its treasures were found they would already be in the hands of the
Spaniards and there would be no trouble about it. And so many
expeditions were sent out from Spain. These expeditions always had two
objects in view. First, to get what gold and silver might be found in
America, and second, to find a short passage to the East. People had
never given up believing that there must be a short way of getting from
the eastern coast of America to India, and ship after ship was sent to
seek the strait which was supposed to lead across the continent. For,
important as the discovery of a new world seemed, it was considered
just as important to find a short way to the East, and when once the
passage was found, to sail through it with Spanish ships and make its
wealth a part of Spain. Very wonderful stories were told of the
countries in the East--of Cathay, and Mangi, and Cipango--which had been
visited by the great traveller, Marco Polo, and the man who could find
the shortest way thither, would, of all men, receive the highest honor
from the King of Spain. And so every one who sailed from Spain looked
first toward America and then beyond it to the East. And no wonder, for
these countries were richer than Mexico and Peru, more fertile than
Florida, and more beautiful than Fairyland itself. There was nothing in
the world that one might want that could not be found within the borders
of these lands. For ages and ages this kingdom had been ruled by the
great race of Kublai Khan, and these monarchs had no other thought than
to make their kingdom the most beautiful and glorious of the whole
earth. They had built great cities, and strong forts, and extensive
highways; it was said that within the Province of Mangi alone were
twelve thousand cities, all within a short distance of one another.
Chief of these cities was Quinsai, which covered a hundred miles of
ground. On one side of it was a river, and on another side a lake, and
through it flowed clear, winding streams spanned by twelve thousand
beautiful bridges, which were so lofty that ships passed under them with
ease. The streets were wide and bordered with palm trees, and fragrant
flowers bloomed all the year round in the gardens and parks. All the
dwellings were of marble, and the temples and palaces were ornamented
with precious stones. Warehouses of stone stood in different parts of
the city, filled with costly merchandise, silks and velvets, and cloth
of gold, and all manner of rare articles made of gold and silver and
mother-of-pearl, curiously and beautifully beaten and engraved. And
crystal fountains kept the air pure and fresh, and great birds with gold
and silver wings flew lazily from tree to tree, and one could not tell
whether the city was more beautiful by day, when the sun shone down
upon it and brightened the marble roofs and charming gardens, or by
night, when the moon and stars were reflected in the lakes and rivers,
and when the fountains glistened white in the moonlight, and the great
squares and lofty palaces were illumined with a million crystal lamps.
Most beautiful of all the palaces was that of the king, which stood in
the centre of the city on a hill overlooking all the country round. It
was so large that it covered ten acres, and its wide, lofty corridors,
beautified with groups of magnolia and palm, seemed like magnificent
avenues stretching from one palace to another.
Within the enclosure were groves of pine and oak and many rare trees,
and gardens filled with choicest flowers, and lakes on which swans
floated, and in whose waters rainbow-hued fishes darted hither and
thither. The palace itself was of the purest white marble, its roof was
wrought in gold and supported by hundreds of pillars of pure gold,
wonderfully adorned in azure arabesque, and having the capitals studded
with precious stones; and all the air was sweet with perfumed fountains,
and everywhere it was continual summer from the abundance of flowers and
the songs of birds.
And the king and all his people enjoyed their beautiful city as much as
possible, for they were so rich they had to work very little, and spent
the greater part of every day in pleasant amusements. At any hour one
might see pleasure parties on the lakes and rivers, which were always
covered with gilded boats, and barges with silken awnings, under which
tables were prepared for banquets. And everywhere through the city were
scattered inviting bowers, where the people sat when tired with walking,
and watched the long procession of elegant chariots, luxuriously fitted
up with cushions of silks and velvet and drawn by richly caparisoned
horses. And besides these every-day amusements there were a great many
days held sacred to the gods, when there were great feasts lasting ten
or twelve days, and when ten thousand guests were entertained at a
time.
And the health and comfort of the people were provided for as well as
their amusement, for there were elegant marble baths, and a number of
fine hospitals for the care of the sick, and a wonderful system of
lighting the houses and palaces, so that the night seemed almost turned
into day again, and a well-trained fire-department, always ready to act
at any moment, and in fact, everything that could be done to make the
people healthy and happy, and to protect their lives and property, was
done. And all the children went to school in the public parks and
gardens, for in that beautiful climate it never rained or was cold, and
so there was no need of school-houses, and the boys and girls studied
botany, and geology, and astronomy out of doors, and no doubt found it
very pleasant.
And Marco Polo, summing up his description of the wonderful place, says,
"And this city, for the excellence thereof, hath the name of the city of
Heaven; for in the world there is not the like, or a place in which are
found so many pleasures, that a man would think he were in Paradise."
And all the other countries ruled by the great Khan were as rich as
Mangi. In Armenia were tens of thousands of beautiful cities filled with
works of art, and out in the open country were wonderful hot springs
which cured all manner of diseases, and on the top of one of the high
mountains Noah's ark still rested. And Cathay also held many rich towns.
Among them, Cambalu, where the king had a marble palace with a roof of
gold, as in Quinsai. And here, ten thousand soldiers guarded the palace,
and the royal stables, wherein stood five thousand elephants. Great
public roads led out from Cambalu to all the other cities in the empire,
and along these roads were stationed post-houses where the king's
messengers could find rest and refreshment, and where there were elegant
apartments in which the king himself might rest when on his journey
through the empire. All the king's errands were done by swift
messengers, who ran from one post-house to another. These messengers
wore belts from which hung gold and silver bells, and as soon as one
station was reached, the letters and messages were given to another
messenger and carried on to the next station, and so on, the tinkling of
the bells notifying the waiting messenger to be in readiness. And so,
not a moment was lost; the messengers ran swiftly over the fine roads,
scarcely noticing, in their haste, the beautiful scenery or the many
works of art that adorned the way, which led through deep, shady
forests, and wide, pleasant meadows, and over the numerous rivers and
canals, spanned by lofty bridges built of rare stone and costly marble,
and ornamented with rows of polished columns and great stone lions, and
curiously graven images of gods, and men, and animals.
The roads extended from one great city to another, joining the most
distant places together, and the Khan spent a summer in one place and a
winter in another, and every city tried to outshine the rest. In the
summer months the Khan spent much of his time in his palace at Ciandu,
which was as magnificent as Cambalu. Here the palace extended over
sixteen miles, and ten thousand white horses stood in the king's
stables.
All this country was guarded by soldiers, who were like the sands of the
sea for number, and the great generals were held in such esteem by the
king that they were allowed to live in the most magnificent style. They
all sat in golden chairs, and rode on milk-white horses, and travelled
in gorgeous chariots, or in beautiful barges with silk and velvet
awnings to keep off the heat of the sun. And so mighty was the Khan, and
so great were his generals, that all the other countries round were very
glad to live peaceably, and try in every way to please such a powerful
monarch. The riches of this country were beyond description; mountains
of turquoises reached to the clouds; the lakes were full of pearls;
everywhere were gold and silver mines; the rivers sparkled with gold,
and the valleys were rich in diamonds. And everywhere, too, there was an
abundance of choice fruits and nuts, and rare spices which grew in the
gardens all the year round, so there was no lack of them summer or
winter. And the people dressed in the richest stuffs, silk and velvet,
and cloth of gold, embroidered with pearls and turquoises and diamonds.
And in Cipango, too, which lay east of Mangi, out in the sea, could be
found the same magnificence. Here were palaces and temples, with roofs
covered with golden plates and floors paved with gold and silver, and
here also the people were rich and prosperous and happy.
And when the news of all this wealth reached Europe it was at once
determined to seek those far lands, and, if possible, to bring the gold
and pearls and diamonds to Spain and France, and other European
countries, and many expeditions were sent out; but none of them ever
reached Cathay, for all the American Continent and the great Pacific
Ocean lay in the way, and the short passage to the East was never seen
except in the dreams of some daring adventurers. But it was years and
years before men gave up searching for it. France and Spain sent many
men to look for it, and if they did not find Cathay they at least found
many curious and wonderful things in America, and so it came about,
after a while, that America itself was pretty well known, and many
attempts were made to settle it. Spain tried very hard to establish her
colonies in the New World, and expedition after expedition was sent
across the sea. With one of these expeditions sailed Cabeca de Vaca, a
Spanish nobleman, and his account of the trials and misfortunes of the
settlers shows how very difficult it was to establish a Spanish colony
in America.
The expedition was commanded by Narvaez, who landed his men at Tampa
Bay, two days before Easter, 1528. They immediately determined to leave
the coast and go into the interior of the country in search of gold,
although De Vaca tried very hard to persuade the captain to remain near
the ships. But here the Indians were not friendly, and the country
farther away was said to be rich in gold; and so a short time after
landing, a part of them started off to find the gold region which the
Indians said was up in the Appalachian Mountains. But they found
travelling through this strange country very hard work. Soon after their
arrival at Tampa Bay they had angered the Indians by burning the bodies
of some chiefs that they had found in a little village, and the natives
now tried in every way to show their hatred. They refused to act as
guides, and the Spaniards had to toil through swamps and rivers and
forests, often losing their way and always in danger of attack from the
Indians. At length their food gave out, and then they had to depend upon
the fruit that could be found, and so at last, when they reached the
little Indian village of Apalachen, they were quite heart-sick, and glad
to find shelter and rest. They found no one in the village excepting
women and children; all the men had fled to the woods. The village was
built in the midst of a great swamp, and although it held some maize and
other provisions, they soon found there was no gold there, and that all
their long journey had been in vain. And then, too, the Indians kept
lurking around, and not only attacked them and burned the wigwams in
which they were living, but made it very unsafe for the Spaniards to
leave shelter at all. A man could not lead his horse to water without
being in danger of death, and as this kept growing worse and worse, they
decided to leave Apalachen and go back to the sea. But many days and
nights passed, and the sea seemed as far off as ever. They were without
food, and had to depend upon getting maize from the Indians, and as this
could only be done by force, many battles were fought and many lives
were lost, and besides this trouble many fell sick and died from
starvation and hardship. But, hard as it was to go on, it would have
been harder still to remain, for that would mean certain death at the
hands of the Indians; so they toiled on, discouraged and hopeless, and
at the end of fifteen days found themselves at last at the sea-coast.
But it was not Tampa Bay, and no Spanish ships appeared in sight on
which they might embark and sail back to Spain again. And the men, quite
worn out, laid down on the sands in despair, and doubted if they should
ever see their homes and friends again.
But after a little while their courage came back, and they tried to
think of some way of getting back to the ships or of reaching some
Spanish settlement. It was impossible to think of travelling by land,
and at length they decided that they would have to make boats and put
out to sea with them. But how hard it seemed to undertake boat-making
without tools and materials! It was thought impossible at first to do
more than make some large rafts, but by and by they discovered that
their spurs and cross-bows and stirrups could be beaten out into nails
and axes and saws and other tools, and that cordage could be made from
the manes and tails of the horses, and that the seams could be caulked
with palmetto fibre and pitched with pine rosin; and, in fact, with time
and patience, they managed to build five very good boats, living in the
meantime on horse flesh and shell-fish and the maize which they could
get from the Indians. When at last they were ready to start, forty of
the men had already died of sickness and hunger besides those that had
been killed by the Indians. They kept along the coast for some weeks,
hoping to reach a Spanish settlement on the western coast of the Gulf
of Mexico, but they could not find this place, and as it was not safe to
land anywhere else on account of the Indians, they had a most wretched
voyage, suffering from cold and hunger and drenched with rain, and
finally separated from one another by a fearful storm which drove the
boats far apart.
De Vaca's boat was thrown upon an island, and so hard was it to get it
off again into the sea that the men had to take off their clothing and
wade into the water to dig the boat out of the sand, and in doing this
many of them lost their lives; for no sooner did the boat touch the
water than it was upset in the surf, and not only were some of the men
drowned, but everything in the boat was lost, and De Vaca and his
friends found themselves on this strange island with no boat or food or
clothing. But, as it happened, the Indians on this island were kind and
pitiful. They built fires to warm the sufferers and gave them food, and
when after a few days, they were joined by some men from the other
boats, they found that their sufferings had been no worse than their
friends', for all had met with the same hard fate. They stayed here
many months, and one after another of the company died, until only De
Vaca and three others were left.
These four remained many years among the Indians, wandering from one
tribe to another, always trying to hear of some Spanish settlement where
they might meet friends. Sometimes the Indians were kind to them, but
oftener they were treated very cruelly. Several times it happened that
they were taken captive and held as slaves, and then their lives would
have been most miserable, had it not been that the Indians grew to
respect them because they knew so many things that they themselves were
ignorant of. De Vaca and his companions really thought that they had the
power of curing disease by making the sign of the cross, or repeating
_pater nosters_, and, as in some cases the sick got well, the Indians
grew to reverence the white men and hold them in great esteem. But De
Vaca and his friends could not grow fond enough of the Indians to be
willing to remain among them. Their thoughts were always with the land
of their birth, and so they pushed on through the unknown country,
living on roots and nuts and the fruit of the prickly pear, suffering
from the cold and heat, from which they had no clothing to protect them,
and always in danger of death from hostile Indians. In this way they
travelled through forests and swamps, across prairies and deserts, over
mountains and rivers, for six years, and at last their courage was
rewarded. They came one day to the sea, and they found there a Spanish
settlement. Their countrymen, who had come there for gold and emeralds,
received them with great kindness, and listened with wonder to the story
of their wanderings. De Vaca learned that they were now on the coast of
the Gulf of California, and that they had travelled from Tampa Bay,
through the country bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and through Mexico
itself to the sea coast on the other side, having passed over more
territory in North America than any other travellers had yet done.
De Vaca and his three friends returned to Spain as speedily as possible,
where they were received as heroes of adventure, whose romantic story
passed from place to place, and instead of discouraging others, only
made them the more eager to visit those strange lands themselves, for
every one felt sure that if he had been in De Vaca's place he would
surely have discovered the gold and silver and precious stones that were
supposed to be hidden away in the everglades of Florida, or in the
mountains of Apalachen, or in the rivers and valleys of Mexico.
CHAPTER XI.
HERNANDO CORTEZ AND THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO.
High on the table-land of Mexico there was once a beautiful city which
was built partly around the shores of a lake and partly on islands
within the lake. It had broad streets and fine buildings, and its
temples were among the most beautiful in the world, the principal one,
that which was devoted to the worship of the sun, being ornamented with
gold and silver and precious stones; here and there were great public
squares around which splendid temples were built, and in the centre of
the city in one of these great squares stood the temple of the god of
war. The people who lived in this city were Aztecs, a tribe of Indians
very different from those of the Atlantic coast. They worshipped the sun
and the moon, and, above all, they worshipped the terrible god of war,
in whose honor they burned the bodies of the enemies they captured in
battle. The temples were attended by priests, who were held in great
honor by the people, and in every temple there were little boys who were
being trained to the priesthood. On great festival days the priests and
boys and all the people would form a grand procession and march all
around the city, singing and playing on instruments. The lake on which
the city was built was one of the finest in the world, and the Aztecs
were fond of building floating gardens on its waters; these gardens were
very beautiful, with flowers of all kinds, and vegetables were also
cultivated in them. The palaces of the king and nobles were built of
stone and of great size, and very elegant, being ornamented sometimes
with gold and silver. The Aztecs were a very powerful people, and all
the nations around them were afraid of them and acknowledged the Aztec
king as theirs; and everywhere from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico
were great roads leading from the city down to the coasts, so that the
king could send messages at any time from one part of his kingdom to
another; all over the country outside the city were great fields, where
cotton, corn, wheat, sugar, coffee, and other things were raised. The
Aztecs did not dress in skins, as did the Indians farther north, but
they wove cotton into cloth and made garments of that. They also had a
written language and wrote their history down in books. The name of the
king was Montezuma, and all his people loved and worshipped him as a
god, and when he looked over the city and saw the turrets and spires of
the palaces and temples glittering in the sunlight, and the floating
gardens, filling the lakes with beauty and fragrance, and the fields
rich with harvest, and the green forests, stretching away to the base of
the great volcano whose snowy peak shone in the golden light of the sun,
he felt that his was, indeed, a great and fair kingdom, beautiful and
strong and happy.
But the riches of this great city had been heard of across the sea, and
the Spaniards, as ever eager for gold, resolved to make its wealth their
own. So an army was sent from Cuba to conquer Mexico, and Hernando
Cortez was made its leader. Cortez was a brave soldier, but a cruel and
treacherous man. In the year 1519 he landed his troops at Tabasco on the
southern coast of Mexico; he found the natives prepared for war, but
they were soon glad to fly from the Spaniards, leaving many of their
number killed. Cortez then went on to Vera Cruz, where Montezuma had
sent messengers to meet him; these messengers brought with them
magnificent presents of gold and jewels which they gave to the
Spaniards, at the same time trying to persuade them to go away from
their country. But Cortez would not go away; he said he was going to the
City of Mexico to see Montezuma himself, as the King of Spain had
ordered him to do, and for fear his soldiers would not go with him, he
burned all his ships so they could not go back to Cuba if they wanted
to.
[Illustration: THE MESSENGERS OF MONTEZUMA.]
The Aztecs returned to Montezuma and told him that the Spaniards were on
their way to his city. Montezuma did not know what to do; for although
he was a good and kind king, he was not a great soldier. He sent other
messengers and more presents, and commanded Cortez to go back, but
Cortez pressed on. Now among the Aztecs there was a tradition that,
hundreds of years before, their country had been visited by a glorious
stranger from the East, a child of the sun, who had taught them how to
till the ground, and all the arts of peace and war; and he lived with
them many years, and they loved him and worshipped him as a god, and the
stranger was very beautiful to look upon, with hair like the sunlight
and eyes as bright as the stars, and his skin was as white as the snow
which glistened on the tops of the volcanoes. And one day he called the
Indians around him and told them that he must go away forever, but that
some time in the years to come a race would come from the East, children
of the sun like himself, and that they would demand the Aztec Kingdom
for their own, and that it would do no good for the Indians to fight
these strangers, for they were the children of the sun and could conquer
all before them; and so saying, the stranger from the East vanished
from their sight, and they saw him no more, though they mourned for him
many days; for he had gone into the mysterious West, whence the sun goes
at night, for all things that come from the East find a home at last in
the land of the sunsetting, but save the sun himself, nothing ever comes
back from that land, but all things remain forever hidden by the shadows
which lie on its borders.
And so when Montezuma heard that the Spaniards, who were fair-skinned
and light, compared with the Indians, were resolved to come on to his
city, he thought that perhaps they might be the children of the sun, and
if so, it would be of no use to try and repel them; and when at last
Cortez came up to the city, he went out to meet him and gave him a
courteous welcome.
The Spaniards were rejoiced when they saw the beautiful city, for they
thought that its splendid palaces and treasures would soon be theirs.
Montezuma led Cortez into the city and gave him a large and elegant
building for his quarters, and to every soldier in the army magnificent
presents were made. The army was quartered in the great central square,
near the temple of the god of war; it was in the winter, and for a month
Cortez remained quiet; he and his soldiers were allowed to go about, and
were even permitted to enter the temples and examine the altars and
shrines, where the Mexicans offered up human beings every day as
sacrifices to their gods. But the thing that interested the Spanish
general most were the vast treasures of gold and silver, the huge
storehouses filled with provisions, and the great arsenals filled with
bows and arrows. He saw that the Aztecs were well prepared for war, and
began to grow a little alarmed for his own safety. He knew that by
lifting his finger Montezuma could fill all the squares with armed
soldiers, and prevent the Spaniards from leaving the city, and he knew
also that the Indian warriors were no longer afraid of his men, as they
were at first, when they thought them immortal; so thinking over all
these things, Cortez resolved upon a bold plan. He knew that if he could
get possession of Montezuma the people would be afraid to make war on
him; so, one day, he asked Montezuma into his quarters, and then refused
to let him go out again, saying that he would kill him if the people
should attack the Spaniards.
Cortez was now obliged to leave Mexico for a short time to oppose a
force that had been sent against him from Cuba. While he was gone,
Alvarado, the general he left in command, attacked the Mexicans one day
when they were celebrating a great feast, and killed five hundred of
their priests and leaders. The Aztecs became furious, and attacked the
palace where Alvarado and his men were, and they would soon have
conquered the Spaniards had not Cortez come back just in time.
Cortez tried to make peace, but the Mexicans would not listen to him. In
a few days the fighting began all over the city, and the streets were
stained with the blood of tens of thousands. Then Cortez compelled
Montezuma to go upon the top of the palace, in front of the great
square, and ask his people to make peace with the Spaniards. The Aztecs
worshipped Montezuma as a god, and when they saw him standing on the
palace roof, they dropped their weapons on the ground, and every head
was bowed with reverence. But when he asked them to make peace with the
Spaniards, they grew very angry and immediately began fighting again.
Montezuma was wounded twice by their arrows, which so alarmed the
Aztecs, that they stopped fighting again; but soon the battle
re-commenced, and in a few days Cortez was compelled to leave the city.
In the meantime, Montezuma had died in the Spanish camp; the Spaniards
had treated him kindly toward the end, and had nursed his wounds, but he
refused to take any food, and died at last from a broken heart. Cortez
now saw that there would have to be a great battle fought, so he made
ready his men. On the morning of the battle he looked out from his camp
and saw the Mexican soldiers extending as far as the eye could reach; he
trembled when he saw this great army of men, knowing that his own troops
were few, but he resolved to conquer or die. Without giving his men
time to think, he began to attack the enemy; at first the Aztecs gave
way, but others came in their stead, for the whole valley was lined with
armed Indians. The Spaniards gave up hope, and prepared to die, but just
then, Cortez advanced to the Mexican standard-bearer and snatched the
sacred standard from his hand. The Mexicans believed that on this
standard depended the fate of every battle, and that if it were
captured, there was no use in fighting any longer. Cortez knew this, and
when they saw it in his hands, they threw down their arms and fled to
the mountains, and thus the Spaniards won the battle.
And so Cortez conquered Mexico, and all its vast wealth passed into the
hands of the Spaniards; its fertile valleys and rich plains, its
beautiful capital and prosperous villages, its great mines of gold and
silver, its thousands and thousands of inhabitants, all became the
property of the King of Spain, a man who cared nothing for the conquered
people, but thought only of the great wealth that had so unjustly become
his. The gold and silver mines of Mexico were then the richest in the
world, and the conquered Aztecs were obliged to work in these mines as
slaves, but the gold and silver was no longer used to ornament their
temples and palaces; it was sent across the sea to Spain, who thought
more of gold than she did of honor or justice.
It was in the year 1521 that Cortez conquered Mexico, and for three
hundred years it was ruled by Spain; at the end of that time it became
again free. The Mexicans of to-day are partly Indians and partly Spanish
in race, but there are some who remember with pride that they are the
descendants of the ancient Aztecs, and they point to the ruins of the
great temples, which may still be seen in the new Capital, as an
instance of the wealth and power of their nation when the Aztecs ruled
from ocean to gulf, and when from mountain peak to lowest valley every
heart beat with pride in thinking of the glory of the kingdom which
Montezuma called his own.
CHAPTER XII.
PIZARRO AND THE CONQUEST OF PERU.
Francisco Pizarro was a little Spanish boy who was very poor and very
miserable. Living in a beautiful valley where the climate was agreeable,
and where one might gather grapes and chestnuts and oranges at will, it
might have been quite possible for him to be poor and happy, too, but
there were many things about Francisco's lot that were harder to bear
than poverty. Many other children dwelt in this pleasant valley, some of
them as poor and wretched and ragged as Francisco, and others who were
rich and well clothed and happy. Not far from the little hut that was
Francisco's home was a stately castle, where a great duke lived, and the
little boy would often go and stand by the stone wall that enclosed the
grounds, and wonder how it would seem to live in that splendid mansion,
and be allowed to walk in its beautiful parks. Once in a while, when
the gates were opened to let in a crowd of gaily-dressed visitors, or
when the duke, at the head of a laughing party, went forth on a merry
hunting expedition, he would catch a glimpse of the velvet lawns and
shady trees and gorgeous flowers, and could see children dressed in
dainty garments, and sometimes wearing beautiful jewels, playing on the
grass or swinging under the trees. And Francisco would look and look
with eyes big with wonder till the gay party had passed and the gates
swung back in his face, and he was left out there in the dusty road
alone. And then he would turn and watch the hunting party until the
brilliant scene faded quite away in the distance, and he was once more
left alone. It always seemed to him that no matter how gay or happy this
bit of the world might seem, it always ended in his being left outside
of that gray stone wall, alone and hungry and ragged, and that in fact
these glimpses of another, happier life were only after all just like
his dreams, which were sure to fade away when morning came. He could not
help sighing sometimes and wishing that the dream would go on for him
just as it did for the other children inside the stone wall. Once it did
go on just a moment or two, for one day as he stood dejectedly by the
gates, they opened, and a beautiful child came out who spoke to him
kindly. He was dressed in a suit of velvet, and his long hair fell in
curls over his shoulders, and in his cap was a little pearl ornament
which fastened a bird's wing. And Francisco, as he looked at the wing,
thought he had never in his life seen anything so wonderful, for the
feathers were soft like velvet, but glowed and burned in the sunlight
like the rubies in the ring on the child's hand.
He raised his hand and touched the lovely object, and the wearer of the
cap, being as kind-hearted as he was beautiful, began to tell Francisco
the story of the wing--how it had been given to him by a great soldier,
who had brought it from a long way off, farther than he himself had ever
been; farther than the mountains or the sea even.
Francisco wondered at this, and when the child passed on he stood still
thinking a long time; it seemed so strange to hear that there were other
places and countries besides this quiet little valley where he had
always lived. Then he went back to his work, disagreeable work it was,
very, for he had to watch the swine and keep them from straying off; but
that night his dreams were brighter than ever, for he dreamed that he
had visited those strange lands that he had heard of from the child, and
that he had found enough treasures there to make him rich and great. The
morning came and the dream was gone, but it left behind a thought that
did not go away. And always after the boy Francisco carried with him the
resolve to make his dream come true. But for many years there seemed no
hope of anything beyond the mean life he was living, and sometimes he
quite despaired. He was very proud and ambitious, too, and his lowly lot
in life seemed all the more bitter when he compared it with that of the
more fortunate boys who had good comfortable homes and could go to
school. He thought that he should have a good home and go to school
too, for his father was a man of wealth and of good birth; but his
mother was only a peasant, and it was with her he had always lived, and
the poor woman could not afford to bring up her child in comfort, or
even to have him taught to read and write. And so Francisco grew to be a
big boy, and still watched the pigs from morning till night, and still
sighed restlessly to get away from his distasteful life, and find one
fairer and nobler.
One day, when he was quite a big lad, a stranger came to the little
valley; he was an old, weather-beaten sailor, and had sailed across
distant seas and journeyed through many strange lands, and at night,
when the peasant boys were through with their day's work, they all
gathered around him and listened to his tales of the great world that
lay beyond the mountains that shut in their quiet little valley, just as
the stone wall shut in the duke's palace.
Francisco listened with the others, but his heart beat wildly, for, as
the old man talked, it seemed that he was again in the land of his
dreams. And no wonder, for the sailor's stories were very wonderful and
quite true, for he was one of the men that sailed across the ocean with
Columbus on his first great voyage. He had seen with his own eyes that
far-off, beautiful land, where the air was always soft as the spring in
the valleys, and where the flowers bloomed forever, and the trees bore
delicious fruits; he had heard the reports of its mountains of gold and
mines of precious stones, and rivers whose waves tossed gleaming pearls
upon the beach. And it was all true, and all this wealth and beauty lay
there waiting for bold hearts and brave hands to claim and keep, for the
people of that far country were only poor savages, knowing nothing of
the value of the gold and gems they wore, and were so ignorant that they
thought the Spaniards were the children of some great god, and were
ready to fall down and worship their beauty and strength and courage.
And the old man talked till the stars came out, and the moon had climbed
far up the sky, for never before had there been told such wonderful news
as this, for all the stories of the fabulous wealth of the East had
come true at last, and no one could doubt any more. By and by, as the
days passed, the sailor told other stories of other countries, where the
soldiers of Spain were winning great victories, and although his words
were forgotten by most of the boys, yet Francisco and one or two others
thought of them often and pondered over them, and thought what a fine
thing it must be to be a soldier fighting for honor and glory. And as
time went on they talked more and more about this, and at last they
resolved to leave their old miserable life behind them forever, and go
out into the world and seek their fortune. But they had to be very
careful and secret, for they meant to run away; the summer was gone and
the autumn had come to the valley before the three boys found a chance
to carry out their plan, and one morning when Francisco and his friends
were called to go to their distasteful work, they did not answer, for
they were far on their way up the mountains, and had said farewell to
the valley forever. It was pleasant travelling through the hospitable
country roads, and after they had gone so far that they had no fear of
being overtaken, they went on merrily enough. Francisco's heart was the
lightest and bravest. He had most detested his old life, and now he most
rejoiced that it was past.
So the boys journeyed on and crossed the mountains and passed through
the fertile valleys and then climbed other mountains, and everywhere the
kind country folk gave them food and drink and shelter, and the young
travellers thought they had never had grapes and chestnuts and goat's
milk taste as good before, as they ate and drank under the trees by the
road-side or in some peasant's cottage; and by and by the journey was
over, and they were in Seville. And now the runaways found they were out
in the world indeed. No one in all that great, splendid city cared in
the least whether they lived or died, whether they suffered from hunger
or thirst, or whether they had a place to lay their heads at night. But
they kept brave hearts, got what they could to eat, slept where they
could at night, and spent the days in wandering through the streets and
getting acquainted with the life of a great city. And although they were
not sure where bread and cheese were to come from and where they were to
lie down at night, still the wonderful sights of this new life, the
magnificent houses, splendid palaces, costly dresses, and, above all,
the companies of mounted soldiers that were continually parading the
streets, all drove thoughts of home from their minds, and they did not
regret in the least that they had exchanged the village of Truxillo for
the glitter and show of Seville.
In a few days Francisco decided that he would join the army and go to
Italy, where the Spaniards were then fighting, and as the king wanted
all the soldiers he could get, and as he was large and well developed
for his age, he had no trouble in enlisting in one of the regiments, and
when he put on the gaudy uniform and began to live in camp, he felt,
indeed, that his old life was over and that Francisco Pizarro was quite
a different person from the ragged little urchin that tended pigs at
Truxillo.
But there was one sad thing about it, and that was the parting from his
two friends, for Pizarro's regiment sailed very soon for Italy, and it
was with great sorrow that he said farewell to the two companions who
had shared the excitement and danger of his escape from home. However,
the noise of war soon drove sad thoughts from his mind, and so eagerly
did he enter into his new life that he soon became one of the best
soldiers in the regiment, and so renowned for bravery that by the time
the war was over and the army ready to return to Spain he had been made
a lieutenant. This only made him more ambitious, and as he found life in
the city very stupid for the next few years, because there was no
fighting to be done, he was very glad when he heard one day that a great
expedition was to be sent out to America, and that any one who was brave
and daring might join it and so have a chance of gaining riches and
fame. He hastened to Cadiz at once, and as his courage and bravery were
well known, had no trouble in being made one of the company; and when,
in a few days, the ships left Cadiz and started on their long voyage
across the Atlantic, Pizarro thought with great joy that he was on his
way to those strange lands at last, and that perhaps his old dreams
might come true.
The voyage was a stormy one, but at last they came safely to Hispaniola,
and there Pizarro learned, what all newly-arrived Spaniards were not
slow to learn, that of all restless, roving lives, those of Spanish
adventurers were the most so. They were never content to remain in one
place, but went hither and thither in their mad search for gold, always
hoping to find something better, and always ready to risk their lives
for the sake of bettering their fortunes. And so, no sooner had Pizarro
become a little acquainted with the country at Hispaniola than he
straightway caught the mad fever for moving on to some new place; and as
there were constant reports of the wealth of the countries of Central
America and Mexico, he decided that those places would suit him better
than Hispaniola, and he accepted an offer to go to Darien, meaning to
explore the country and see for himself what riches it contained.
At that time Balboa was also living in Darien, and Pizarro was one of
the company who went with him across the isthmus to discover the
Pacific. In this expedition Pizarro noted the country well, and was
rejoiced to see the gold and gems which were bestowed upon him by the
friendly chiefs, and when he returned to Darien he was very willing to
become the leader of an expedition that the governor of the colony was
fitting out, to conquer lands on the Pacific. The party reached the
ocean in safety, and Pizarro immediately resolved to get all the
treasure he could before any other Spaniards should have a chance to
come there. On his former visit he had heard from the natives that there
were great quantities of pearls to be found on some islands lying out
from the land, and now he at once called part of his men together, and
leaving the rest on the shore, started out in canoes to reach the
islands. The sea was heavy, and the canoes were capsized more than once,
but they reached the islands at last, only to find that the natives were
thronging the beach ready to drive them off as quickly as they should
land. But Pizarro was not to be driven back, and after a hard fight, the
Indians retreated to the woods and left the Spaniards in peace. They
began their search for pearls at once, and found them in such quantities
that Pizarro named the spot the "Isle of Pearls," and after gathering a
great store of these precious gems, and securing also a great deal of
gold, he went back to Darien with his treasures and reported that the
country was as rich as Cathay or Mexico.
The governor of Darien, on hearing this news, thought it would be a very
good plan to move his capital from Darien across the isthmus so that he
would be nearer the riches of the land, and in a short time the greater
part of the colony were living in Panama, and eagerly watching for
opportunities of gathering gold and gems.
Here Pizarro lived like a great man. He had a fine house and a long
train of Indian servants, and flocks, and fields, and was looked upon as
a rich man and a brave soldier. But he was not quite satisfied. Often,
as he walked in his broad fields, he would look toward the north, where
lay the land of Montezuma, the land that Cortez had conquered, thus
winning for himself lasting honor and glory, besides great wealth,
greater than Pizarro could ever expect to gain in his quiet home in
Panama. And then he sometimes looked southward, too, and wondered what
lay there beyond the blue, misty horizon. It could not be possible, he
thought, that Cortez and Balboa had made all the great discoveries;
perhaps there were other lands away there in the south as rich and great
as Mexico. Perhaps it might be his good fortune some day to discover an
empire as boundless and wonderful as that of Montezuma. So he pondered,
day after day, over what the future might bring, and always listened
eagerly for tales of the lands to the southward, where lay the great
ocean that Balboa had discovered. And one day a visitor came to his
home, who told him just what he wanted to hear, that there _was_ a very
great and powerful empire far south of Panama, and that with a good band
of resolute soldiers, and a brave leader, it might be easily conquered.
And as Pizarro listened he resolved that he would be the leader if he
could only find men enough to follow him on his perilous undertaking.
Very wonderful things did the traveller tell of this new country, for a
very wonderful country it was, and as Pizarro heard the accounts of its
wealth and prosperity, it seemed to him that the old stories of Cathay
and the realms of Kublai Khan were actually true. And, indeed, this
country that lay to the south, protected on one side by the ocean, and
on the other by its giant, snow-capped mountains, was more like the old
dreams of Cathay than any land that had yet been seen by the Europeans.
The empire of Peru, like that of the Aztecs, had existed for hundreds
and hundreds of years, and its ruler, the mighty Inca, like the great
Montezuma, was a descendant of the Sun. He was therefore held in great
reverence by his subjects, as a child of their great god. For the sun
was the principal deity of the Peruvians. In his honor were built the
most splendid temples that the world has ever seen. In Cuzco, the
capital of Peru, was a temple of the sun that was so magnificent it was
called the "Place of Gold." The walls were covered with solid plates of
burnished gold, and on one side was the image of the sun, made of purest
gold, its face glittering with diamonds and emeralds and rubies, and the
long golden rays reaching from the ceiling to the floor.
In Cuzco, also, was the Temple of the Moon, adorned with silver, and
with an image representing the goddess of night; and all the service of
the temples was of the purest gold and silver, curiously wrought and
beaten, and the great altars were ornamented with great golden lilies
set with pearls and diamonds, and the lamps were brilliant with pendant
emeralds and rubies and sapphires.
The Peruvian empire extended from Cuzco to Quito, and everywhere
throughout the dominion were splendid cities, in which were great
palaces and temples, all glittering with gold and silver, and all
showing the wealth and power of the Inca. These cities were connected by
great public roads that led from one end of the empire to the other,
and it is said that in no country in the world were there such fine
highways as those in Peru. The roads were very wide and covered with a
substance that hardened and became very smooth and even, so the
messengers could run easily, and on either side were massive walls,
built of great blocks of stone, while inside the walls ran clear streams
of water, bordered with beautiful trees. The principal road ran from
Cuzco to Quito, straight on through mountains which had been cut away,
and over rocky precipices, across which suspension bridges were thrown,
and through valleys that had been filled up to the level with lime and
stones. A day's journey apart on the roads stood the king's palaces,
beautifully furnished and fitted up with everything that a traveller
might need, and so pleasant was travelling in this country that a long
journey seemed only a succession of pleasant trips through delightful
forests and amid grand mountain scenery. And all day long, up and down
these roads, passed the servants of the Inca, carrying messages and
burdens from one part of the empire to the other, and all over the
country the people were busy and happy, working for the emperor whom
they loved and revered. There were no poor people in Peru, for the Inca
owned all the land and mines and palaces, and he gave to each family
enough to support them comfortably, while they in return worked for him,
and for the weak and sick, who could not care for themselves. The men
worked in the gold and silver mines, and on the public roads, and built
the temples and palaces, and tilled the fields, and raised the sheep,
the wool from which was spun and woven by the women into beautiful
cloth, dyed with rare colors, and interwoven sometimes with threads of
gold and silver. And although some of the laws were very strict, yet for
the most part they were just and merciful; and so the whole empire
seemed liked one great family, of which the Inca was the loved and
trusted head.
On great festival days the great public squares in the cities were
thronged with the people who came in from the country to take part in
the celebration. And there were many festival days during the year, and
so the Peruvians had a great deal of pleasure, for on a holiday no one
ever thought of working. The reason of this was that most of the
festivals were of a religious nature, and it would have been considered
a sin not to observe them. The most splendid festival of all the year
was the Feast of the Sun. This was always held at Cuzco, and from every
part of the empire the people came flocking to the capital, and for days
and days before, the roads were filled with travellers on their way to
the great feast. The celebration began with the dawn, and as soon as it
became light the inhabitants began to pour into the great central
square, or to throng the balconies and housetops which overlooked it.
All the city was gorgeously decorated, flags and banners floated from
the columns and roofs of the temples and palaces, and rich cloths of
dazzling hues, embroidered in gold and silver and precious stones, hung
from the windows and balconies, while everywhere were great urns of gold
and silver and stone, filled with flowers, and rare shrubs and plants
brought from the surrounding country. On this day the Inca appeared in
his greatest glory and state. Clad in a robe of the softest and most
beautiful material, embroidered with leaves and flowers of gold, and
with a collar of emeralds around his neck, wearing on his head a
glittering diadem from which floated the gorgeous plumes of some rare
tropical bird, he appeared in the midst of his people seated on a throne
of solid gold, and surrounded by all his great nobles, whose magnificent
appearance added still more glory to his own. His litter was borne by
courtiers wearing coronets of gold and silver, and near him sat the
principal men of his kingdom, whose litters were carried by soldiers
dressed in rich and showy uniforms. Behind the Inca and his nobles came
the soldiers, wearing helmets of skin studded with jewels, and clothed
in white or blue tunics, the officers bearing the royal standards of the
country, which were embroidered with gold and silver, and close beside
the Inca walked a standard-bearer holding the imperial banner, upon
which was wrought a rainbow, the symbol of royalty; and as the great
procession advanced into the square amid waving of banners and nodding
plumes and to the sound of warlike music, the people all fell on their
knees and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Inca, the child of
the sun. And then all was silent, for they awaited the coming of the god
whose day they celebrated, but as soon as his first rays touched the
snowy heights of the lofty Cordilleras, a great shout of joy went up
from the multitude, who welcomed with hymns of praise the coming of the
mighty god. Then the Inca would rise from his throne, and raising high
in the air a golden, jewelled goblet, pour out a libation to the sun,
after which the procession wound slowly to the temple, where sacrifices
were offered of sheep and birds and flowers, and sometimes, when there
had been a great victory in battle, even young maidens and beautiful
children were offered up, and then after many other ceremonies the
people left the temples and passed the rest of the day in singing and
eating and drinking, and all kinds of merry-making. There were many
other festival days, but the Feast of the Sun was the greatest, and was
held in summer when the days were longest and the god remained for many
hours above the horizon.
And it was these happy and contented Peruvians that Pizarro had
determined to conquer, and it was their beautiful country that he meant
to take possession of. But much as he desired to do this, it would have
been impossible without the aid of two good friends, who helped him with
money and influence. One of these friends was a bold cavalier by the
name of Almagro; the other was a very rich priest named Luque; and it
was agreed between the three that Almagro should get the ships ready and
enlist the men, that Luque should furnish the money, and that Pizarro
should command the expedition and conquer Peru, and then divide the
riches of the conquered country equally between his two partners. By
this arrangement the hardest part of the work fell to Pizarro; but he
did not mind that at all, and, in fact, would have been dissatisfied had
it been otherwise, while, on the contrary, Almagro and Luque were
equally willing to remain in Panama; and so everybody was satisfied, and
the preparations began at once.
Only the bravest and strongest men were chosen, and when the little
company assembled, they only numbered one hundred and twelve; but this
did not discourage Pizarro, for he was determined to be discouraged at
nothing, and on the 17th of November, 1524, after an imposing service in
the cathedral, where Luque blessed the commander and his soldiers, and
bade them God-speed, the little fleet sailed from Panama and started
southwest on its voyage of conquest.
But many misfortunes happened to Pizarro before he saw the coast of
Peru. The way was new and strange, and he did not know how far off Peru
was, and he landed many times along the coast in hope of finding a path
that would lead to the great empire, but found instead only marshes and
deserts and tangled underbrush, where his men were bitten by poisonous
serpents, and where they suffered from hunger and thirst and disease;
and years passed, and all that he knew of the coveted land he heard
from some Indians dwelling along the coast, who wore heavy golden
ornaments, and said that a great and rich country lay back from the sea,
governed by a mighty ruler. But this news only made Pizarro more eager
than ever to carry out his plan. Almagro had come from Panama with men
and provisions, or long before the whole party would have died of hunger
and disease, and then Pizarro sent him back for more men, feeling sure,
from a visit that he had paid to an Indian village near the coast, that
he was near Peru; but the Governor of Panama refused to let Almagro
return, and instead sent an order for Pizarro and his party to come
back, as he would no longer allow them to risk money and life in an
undertaking that promised nothing but failure. It was three years since
Pizarro had first sailed from Panama. Many of his men had died, while
the rest had suffered cruelly from hunger and exposure, and when they
heard that the governor had ordered them to return home they were very
willing to do so, and were glad enough to give up the idea of
conquering Peru. But Pizarro himself would not give up. He was angry and
indignant that the governor should command him to give up his plan at
the very moment that success seemed certain, and he said that he would
stay in spite of the governor's orders. Then he drew a line in the sand
and stepped across it, and said that all the men who were willing to
stay with him and go on to Peru should step across the line, too. At
first no one moved; the danger seemed so great and the thought of home
so pleasant; but at last, Luiz, the pilot, who had always trusted in
Pizarro's luck, stepped across the line, and others followed until
thirteen were standing by Pizarro's side. They were few in number, but
their hearts were brave, and the bold leader knew that their courage was
equal to his own.
Then the rest of the company returned home to Panama, and Pizarro and
his little band were left alone on the Island of Gallo without even a
ship to take them on their journey. The island was not fit to stay upon,
as it offered neither food, nor shelter from the frequent storms that
burst over it, and Pizarro thought the better plan would be to leave it
at once. So he gave orders for the men to build a raft, and in a few
hours they had finished a large, strong one, upon which they placed
their arms and stores, and then stepping cheerfully upon it themselves,
pushed away from the island out into the sea. A few days' sailing in
this way brought them to another island, larger and pleasanter than the
Island of Gallo, and here Pizarro decided to land and wait for the
arrival of the ships which he knew Almagro would send to his aid. The
Indians were friendly, and the island was well watered with clear,
running streams. The men built huts of logs and bark beside one of these
pleasant streams, and for a time they were very comfortable. Wild
cocoa-nuts, pheasants, and rabbits were abundant, and furnished
strengthening food, and if the pleasant weather had continued they would
have been quite content with their situation; but, after a few weeks,
tempests began to blow over the island, beating down their huts and
drenching the men to the skin. And even when it did not rain they
suffered so much from the intense heat of the sun and from the swarms of
mosquitoes and other poisonous insects, that they were almost in
despair, when, after seven months of waiting, the ship that Almagro sent
appeared in sight. The vessel brought provisions, but no soldiers, for
those the governor refused to send, and so, without waiting for further
help, Pizarro started with the ship and eleven of his brave companions,
and with a fearless heart turned southward again.
In three weeks he reached the Gulf of Guayaquil which washes the shores
of a lovely and fertile country, and pointing across the waters, the
Indian interpreters that Pizarro had brought from the North, told him
that there lay a part of the great empire of Peru, which he had so long
been seeking. Here he found, the next morning, a large and prosperous
town, very different from any he had yet seen on the South American
coast. This town, the name of which was Tumbez, was within the Inca's
dominions, and was therefore as fine and wealthy as many of those
farther from the coast. Pizarro was surprised to see such magnificent
temples and palaces, such fine houses and well-kept roads, and, above
all, such intelligent and fine-looking people. They came flocking down
to the shore to see the curious ship that the strangers had come in, and
the Spaniards noticed that they wore garments of finely woven material,
and were adorned with rings, bracelets, and chains of gold, and wore
large and brilliant gems in their ears. Pizarro made friends with the
Indians by means of his interpreters, and sent a message to the governor
of the town, asking for provisions and for leave for one of his men to
visit the town.
Both of these wishes were granted; the governor sent immediately a large
store of bananas, pineapples, and other fruits, besides meats and fish,
with permission to Pizarro to send one of his men to visit the town. The
governor also sent one of the chief men to welcome the strangers, and
thus Pizarro saw for the first time one of the nobles of the empire he
had come to conquer. He saw at once that these people were very
different from the savages of the West Indies, or Atlantic coast, and
that this courteous stranger, with his noble bearing and rich dress,
belonged to a far higher race than the half-clothed Indians of Panama.
So he resolved to be as friendly as possible with these people, and not
let them imagine for a moment that he had come on a hostile errand. He
received the nobleman very politely and invited him to dinner, and on
his departure, gave him handsome presents. But the next morning, when
the Spaniard Molino went on shore, Pizarro told him to notice carefully
everything about the town, its size and wealth and means of defence, for
he was more determined than ever to be called the Conqueror of Peru.
Molino was accompanied by a negro servant who carried some presents for
the governor, and as the Indians had never seen a negro before, they
looked at him very curiously, and tried to rub the black off with their
fingers. And they also looked very curiously at the white man, for he
was as strange to them as the negro; and they thought that the people
from beyond the sea, with their white skin and fair hair, must belong
to a great and wonderful race. Molino was well received by the governor,
whom he found living in a fine mansion, guarded by soldiers in handsome
uniforms, and attended by servants in livery, who served his meals upon
golden dishes. Everywhere the Spaniard saw riches and prosperity, and
his account of the splendid temples and palaces made Pizarro's heart
beat high with hope. The next day he sent another Spaniard, Candia, to
visit the town, and his report was as satisfactory as that of Molino.
Pizarro was satisfied that he had reached the empire of Peru at last,
and taking a friendly farewell of the inhabitants of Tumbez, sailed
along down the coast to see still more of this marvellous country.
Everywhere he landed he was delighted to find the country as rich and
prosperous as at Tumbez, and at length turned his vessel homeward, well
supplied with provisions for the voyage, and with a large quantity of
gold and jewels, which he intended to show his friends in Panama in
proof that he had really discovered the land of his dreams. Stopping at
Tumbez again, he left Molino, and one or two more of his men there, and
taking two of the inhabitants with him, sailed away, carrying the good
wishes of the people with him, and with high hope of a speedy return.
But on his arrival at Panama he found the governor still unwilling to
let another fleet be fitted out for the conquest of Peru, and Almagro,
and Luque, and Pizarro, after talking it over, decided that the best
thing to do would be to get permission of the king himself, and then the
governor could not hinder them. So Pizarro sailed off to Spain, which he
reached safely after a quick voyage, and as his name was now well known
in Spain, the emperor sent for him to come to court, so that he might
hear his adventures.
Spain was at that time the greatest country in the world; the emperor,
Charles V., son of Ferdinand and Isabella, ruled over Spain, Germany,
and the Netherlands; a Spanish adventurer had discovered the Pacific
Ocean and added its shores and islands to the possessions of the mother
country; Cortez had conquered Mexico and made it a Spanish province,
and everywhere the Spanish name was renowned for wealth and power; and
Pizarro, when he arrived at the court of Charles V., knew well that he
would meet there some of the most famous soldiers and adventurers in the
world, and he felt very proud of the honor done him, and rejoiced to
think that in the future his own name would shine as brightly as those
of the famous men he was about to meet. The emperor received him kindly
and listened attentively while he told of his visit to Peru and
described its wealthy cities and intelligent inhabitants; and when he
added that the principal cities, which he had not seen, were even richer
and finer than those near the coast, the emperor readily gave his
consent to his returning there with ships and men and everything
necessary for the conquest of such a great empire. And then Pizarro
showed the king and his nobles the chests of gold, and caskets of
precious stones, and beautifully dyed and woven cloths, and the llamas
and Indians he had brought with him, and they all exclaimed in wonder at
the sight, and Cortez said that just such riches had he found in
Mexico, and doubted not that this new land was as wealthy as the country
of Montezuma. And so no time was lost in fitting out a fleet, and while
this was being done Pizarro took the time to go to Truxillo and see his
old home again. He found all the country people ready to welcome him and
do him honor, for he was known throughout Spain as a bold soldier and
adventurer, and he entered his old village with very different feelings
from those he had when he ran away, barefoot and ragged, some thirty
years before. The old castle was still there, and little peasant boys
still watched the pigs out in the fields; but with him all was
different.
His father and mother were dead, and his four younger brothers were very
desirous of going to America with him and seeking their fortunes in that
wonderful country; and as he consented to this they all went with him to
Seville, where the fleet was being fitted out, and when the ships
started across the Atlantic the bold commander knew that he had four
men, at least, that he could trust to the end, and who would never
desert him, no matter how hard his fortune might be.
Panama was reached without any mishap, and then all was bustle and
confusion until ships and men were ready for the start. Three vessels
were bought, and with about one hundred and eighty soldiers, some thirty
horses, and a good supply of arms and ammunition, the little fleet was
at last ready, and after a solemn religious service in the cathedral the
company embarked, and Pizarro found himself at last on his way to
conquer Peru.
It was in the winter of 1531, seven years since the time of his first
voyage to the South; then he was ignorant of the country and its
dangers, but now he knew the coast, years of experience had taught him
how to overcome its dangers, and above all, he had friends in the
inhabitants of Tumbez, who would welcome him gladly, and who were ready
to believe that he was as great and powerful as he wished them to think.
It did not trouble him at all that he meant to repay their kindness and
trust with treachery and murder.
In two weeks they came to a pleasant landing-place some distance north
of Tumbez, and after sending the ships back to Panama they began
marching southward. The way was often difficult, and they had to cross
rivers and pass through swamps and thickets, but Pizarro always led them
on, cheering his men and hoping for better things. On their way they
passed an Indian village, which they captured without resistance from
the natives, who fled in dismay from the sight and sound of the guns;
here they found a great many large emeralds, as well as much gold and
silver, and a good store of corn and other food, and after plundering
the village they went on with light hearts, cheered with the prospect of
still greater wealth and good fortune in the near future. The character
of the country now changed and they found themselves passing through
beautiful groves, and over roads bordered with trees bearing delicious
fruits; and so they went pleasantly along until they reached the gulf of
Quayaquil and saw once more the domes and towers of Tumbez. But now
Pizarro did not come as a friend, but as a foe, and his only thought
was to take possession of Tumbez and rob it of its wealth. There was a
tribe of Indians living on the island of Puna, just opposite Tumbez, who
were bitter enemies of the people of that city, and as soon as these
Indians saw the arrival of the Spaniards on the other side of the bay,
they sent a party over to ask Pizarro and his followers to come over to
the island and stay with them. Pizarro knew that these people were
unfriendly to those of Tumbez, and he thought it would be a good plan to
make friends of them, so they would help him when he attacked the city;
so he accepted the chief's offer, and in a little while the Indians had
built some large rafts upon which the whole party was taken over to the
island of Puna, whose chief stood on the shore to welcome them. Here
they were given pleasant quarters and entertained with choice fruits and
vegetables, and very glad indeed were they to have this chance of
resting after their long and weary march.
But one day one of the Indian interpreters that Pizarro had brought with
him came to him and said that the natives of the island were planning
to attack him. This at once raised Pizarro's anger, and as several men
that he sent around to spy upon the Indians came back and said that the
story was true, he immediately ordered his men to fall upon the natives,
and in a short time every village on the island was plundered by the
Spaniards, and great numbers of the inhabitants slain. And then Pizarro
decided to go at once to Tumbez; so he sent the rafts ahead loaded with
booty, and getting as many boats as he could, embarked for the mainland.
But during all these days of fighting the people of Tumbez had made up
their minds that the Spaniards had come back as foes instead of friends,
and as soon as the rafts came to shore they seized the plunder and
dragged the men to the woods and murdered them; then, in great alarm
lest they should suffer worse things at the hands of the Spaniards than
the natives of Puna had, they gathered together all the valuables they
could carry and fled to the woods, and when Pizarro came to Tumbez he
found its streets deserted, its treasures carried off, and many of its
handsome buildings utterly destroyed. And so he was able to take
possession of the city without losing a single man in battle, and when
after a few days his scouts came in bringing the runaway chief with
them, Pizarro decided to pardon the chief for killing the Spaniards who
had been on the rafts, and to let him collect his people again and live
peaceably in his city as before.
He did this because he intended to go at once to the capital of Peru,
and he thought in case any disaster happened to his army it would be
well to have the chief of Tumbez friendly to him. The chief was very
glad to gather his people together again, and promised eternal
friendship to Pizarro; and so one bright day the Spanish army marched
out of Tumbez and took its way toward Cuzco.
Before leaving the coast, Pizarro had been joined by Hernando de Soto,
the same bold cavalier who afterward spent so many weary years in trying
to find on the shores of the Mississippi an empire as rich as Mexico or
Peru, and as he had brought with him soldiers and horses, he promised
to be of great use to Pizarro. Their way now led through pleasant
valleys and thriving villages, and everywhere Pizarro found himself
warmly greeted by the natives; often in the larger towns the governors
entertained him with splendid banquets, and many times he lodged in the
very palaces that were prepared for the Inca's visits. Pizarro made
friends with all the Indians they met, as he thought it best to leave no
enemy between him and the coast, and so they marched comfortably day
after day, until they had nearly reached the lofty ranges of the
Cordilleras. While stopping at one of the largest towns that they had
yet seen, Pizarro heard that, some distance ahead, a large Peruvian army
was collected. Fearing that he might be attacked if he went further, he
sent De Soto on ahead to find out if the Inca meant to receive him as a
friend. After many days De Soto returned to the camp accompanied by a
Peruvian noble, a brother of the Inca, who came with a greeting from the
emperor and some presents of fruits, corn, emeralds, and vases of gold
and silver. The noble bearing of the messenger and his splendid costume
and heavy ornaments of gold made a deep impression upon the mind of
Pizarro, and he saw at once that in all his dealing with the Inca he
would have to treat him with the respect due to his great rank and
power; so he received the messenger very courteously, and expressed
great pleasure at seeing a brother of the great Inca. The messenger said
that the Inca had sent him to Pizarro to say that he welcomed the
Spaniards to his land and invited them to visit him at his camp. Pizarro
replied that he would surely visit the Inca, and after receiving a
present of a red cap and some glass beads, the nobleman went away. But
Pizarro felt sure that the Inca had only sent him to find out how large
the Spanish army was, and he listened a little nervously to De Soto's
account of the cities he had seen, all well fortified, and able to hold
out a long time against a besieging army. And then De Soto told of the
riches and greatness of Cuzco, the capital, and said that an Indian
noble had described to him its magnificent palaces and temples, whose
walls were covered with gold and silver and precious stones; and at this
Pizarro determined there was no time to be lost, and set out immediately
for Caxamalca, where the Inca held his camp.
Caxamalca was built near a beautiful river that flowed through the
valley below, and its great stone fortresses and lofty temples, its
palaces and towers, its beautiful gardens and wide, well-paved streets,
and its large public square with its fountains and flowers, all showed
Pizarro, on his arrival there, that he had come into a land whose people
knew well how to be comfortable in peace as well as to defend themselves
in war. He at once marched his soldiers into the great square, where he
pitched his tents as if resolved to stay. The Inca's army lay upon the
slopes of the mountains three miles from Caxamalca, and there was great
excitement and wonder among the troops, as Indians from the town came
into camp describing the appearance of the Spanish soldiers. The
Peruvians had indeed looked with surprise and awe upon these invaders,
whose white faces and long, brown hair, and glittering armor, were so
different from anything they had ever seen before. And the greatest
wonder of all was the fact that many of these strangers rode upon
curious animals that were eager to rush into battle, and that the riders
guided often with a word or motion, showing that the creatures
understood human speech. These were the horses that Pizarro had brought,
and they were well calculated to inspire the Peruvians with terror, for
as the cavalry charged fiercely in battle, the innocent natives thought
that the horse and man all formed one animal; and once, when a man fell
from his horse, the Indians ran screaming away, saying that the strange
animal had broken all to pieces. Even when they had grown more
accustomed to seeing them their fear did not lessen, for the
intelligence of the horse and his power to understand his master's
speech always seemed like something half-human to the Peruvians, who had
never seen horses before. The arms of the Spaniards seemed very terrible
too; the flash and smoke and noise of the guns seemed to them like
something supernatural, like the lightning or thunder, and frightened
them so that at the first sound they were ready to throw down their
weapons and fly.
Pizarro knew all this very well, and the next morning after his arrival
at Caxamalca, when he sent to the Inca's camp to ask if the Spaniards
were welcome to Peru, the men he chose were De Soto, and his brother
Hernando, and they both rode on powerful milk-white horses, and had with
them an escort of forty horsemen, all clad in glittering armor and with
brilliant trappings on their steeds. The party rode rapidly along, and
as they came to the river that separated them from the Inca's camp,
dashed boldly into the stream and came swiftly up to the line of
Peruvian warriors that stood waiting to receive them and conduct them to
the presence of the emperor. They found the monarch seated on a golden
throne, surrounded by richly attired nobles, and attended by the most
beautiful women in the court. All the courtiers and attendants stood
with bowed heads, for no one might raise his eyes in the presence of the
Inca.
The Spaniards stood for some moments in silence, and then Hernando
Pizarro told the Inca, through an interpreter, that he and his
countrymen were the subjects of a mighty monarch across the sea, who had
sent them to ask the Inca to be his friend. The Inca did not reply to
this speech in person, but one of his nobles came forward and said that
the emperor bade them welcome, and the next day would visit the Spanish
chief at Caxamalca. The Spaniards had to be content with this, as it
soon became evident that the Peruvians had no intention of saying any
more. De Soto now thought he would show the Inca some of the good
qualities of his horse, for he well knew that the splendid animal had
attracted his attention, so he wheeled his horse round and round and put
him through many difficult exercises, the horse responding intelligently
to all his commands, and finally brought him down close to the Inca's
throne. The Peruvians were much impressed by these exercises, as was
likewise the Inca, but no one showed it by word or manner; when De Soto
had finished, the party of Spaniards were invited to a banquet, where
they were served by beautiful women, who brought them fruits on golden
dishes and drink in golden goblets studded with emeralds.
And then they went back to Caxamalca to report the result of their
visit, and when the soldiers heard of the thousands and thousands of
Peruvians who lay camping out on the mountain slopes, ready to defend
the Inca and their country with their lives, and when they remembered
that all over the great empire were other thousands willing to take the
places of those who should fall, then, indeed, the conquest of Peru
began to look like a very serious matter, and many a Spanish soldier
wished himself back in Panama.
The next day the camp was astir at an early hour with preparations for
the Inca's visit, for Pizarro had formed a very bold plan in the night,
and all his soldiers knew it, and had pledged themselves to help him
carry it out. He knew that there would be very little use in fighting
pitched battles with the Peruvians, as there were thousands of them to
every soldier he had, so he decided to overcome the enemy by the same
trick that Cortez had used in conquering Mexico.
The Peruvians, like the Mexicans, held the person of their emperor
sacred, and Pizarro knew that if he could get possession of the Inca,
the Indians would be afraid of attacking him for fear of injuring their
monarch. He would be safe as long as he held the Inca captive, for the
Peruvians would understand that any harm done to him would be visited
upon the Inca.
There was another reason, too, why this seemed a good plan. The Inca had
a brother who was left part of the kingdom by his father's will, but
Atahualpa, the present Inca, had dethroned his brother, Huascar, and now
unlawfully held his dominions, and Pizarro knew that the imprisonment of
Atahualpa would be the means of making Huascar his friend, and as
Huascar was really the lawful king of a large part of Peru, and had many
faithful and loving subjects among its people, it would be a good thing
for the Spaniards to be able to count him among their friends.
It was on Saturday, November 16, 1532, that this bold deed was to be
done. Pizarro concealed his soldiers in different places and kept only
his officers around him, in order to deceive Atahualpa the better, and
when all was ready, and the watchword, "Santiago," was agreed upon as a
signal, he waited impatiently for the appearance of the Inca. It almost
seemed as if something warned the emperor to keep away from Caxamalca,
for he kept putting off his visit from hour to hour, and even at one
time sent word that he would not come till the next day; but Pizarro
replied that he would not take his supper until his visitor came, and
whether from fear of offending the Spaniards, or because he thought
there was no use in putting off the visit, Atahualpa finally gave the
order for the camp to move, and was soon on his way to the town.
He sat upon his golden throne, with his jewelled diadem upon his head,
and with the royal standard, the rainbow-hued banner, carried before
him. His litter was borne by the great nobles, all richly dressed, and
before the throne, and for a long distance behind, marched company
after company of Peruvian soldiers. As they entered the great square of
Caxamalca a Spanish monk came forward and saluted the emperor with great
respect.
Atahualpa looked upon the fair faces and glittering armor of the Spanish
soldiers, and then upon the white robes of the priest and the gilded
cross he held in his hand, and turning to his attendants, said
impressively: "These strangers are the messengers of the gods; be
careful of offending them."
The priest now made a long speech, in which he told the Inca that the
Pope, as head of the Christian church, had given the empire of Peru to
the king of Spain, and that it was the will of God that the Peruvians
should all become Christians and cease to worship the Sun.
The Inca listened to this speech very patiently and asked the
interpreter where the priest had learned all that strange news. The
priest answered that he had learned it all from the Bible he held in his
hand. Atahualpa then took the Bible, and, after looking at it curiously,
held it up to his ear as if expecting to learn its secrets in that
manner; but as he heard nothing, he threw it angrily from him and
exclaimed haughtily, "I am very willing to be a friend of the king of
Spain, but not his vassal; the Pope must be a very extraordinary man to
give away a country that does not belong to him. I shall not change my
religion, and if the Christians adore a God who died upon a cross, I
worship the Sun, who never dies."
At these defiant words the priest turned angrily to Pizarro and made a
sign. And then shouting "Santiago," the terrible war-cry of the
Spaniards that had so often urged them on to victory, Pizarro seized the
Inca and called upon his soldiers to come forth from their
hiding-places. In a moment the place was alive with the excited
Spaniards, guns were fired, and the terrified Peruvians, startled at
this unexpected attack, were trampled under the horses' hoofs and
blinded by the smoke, and although the Inca's guard tried in vain to
protect him, they were all killed or wounded, and of the remaining
Peruvians--men, women, and children--very few who had entered the
square left it alive, but nearly all were murdered by the relentless
Spaniards. Then the gates were closed and guarded, and the Inca was
taken to Pizarro's tent, where his robe and jewels were taken from him,
and after being clothed in a plainer dress he was invited to take supper
with Pizarro.
Then the conqueror told his prisoner his true reason for coming to Peru,
and Atahualpa heard it all with bowed head and sad face, and remembered,
as he listened, the old legend of his race--how from across the seas
fair-haired men were to come, bringing sorrow and destruction to the
children of the Sun. The old prophecy had come true, and the last Inca
of Peru was a prisoner in the hands of a strange man, with white skin
and long brown hair. Pizarro slept well after his easy victory, happy in
the thought that that day's work had made his name immortal, for never
before in the history of the world had there been such a brilliant
conquest as this. Even the name of Cortez would now stand second to his
own.
The next morning Pizarro saw that the remainder of the Inca's army were
making hasty preparations for departure, and in a short time scarcely a
sign remained of the vast host that had been scattered over the slopes
of the mountains. As Pizarro's object was simply to get all the
treasures he could, he did not take any prisoners, but let the
disheartened Peruvians go whither they would, and devoted himself to
obtaining all the gold and jewels that could be found in Caxamalca or on
the bodies of the slaughtered Indians. The Inca at once noticed the
Spaniards' love of gold, and told Pizarro if he would give him his
freedom he would give him a large room full of silver, and gold enough
to fill half a room. Pizarro's eyes glistened at this proposal, which he
at once accepted, and the Inca hastily sent some of his servants to
Cuzco to order the people to bring the gold and silver from the temples
and palaces. Day after day messengers arrived bringing the precious
metals--vases, basins, goblets, table-service and temple-service, all of
purest gold, besides golden fountains, birds, fruits, and vegetables,
all carved out of the metal in the curious way known to the Indians.
Two thousand men were employed in bringing this treasure, and every day
Atahualpa's heart grew lighter, for he thought each night brought him
nearer freedom.
But one day messengers came to the city from the Inca's brother Huascar,
saying that if Pizarro would set him free from the prison where
Atahualpa had confined him, he would give the conqueror twice as much
gold as the Inca had promised him. Somehow this news reached Atahualpa,
and in great fear lest Pizarro should accept his brother's offer, he
sent Indians to kill him as he was on his way to Caxamalca. This roused
Pizarro's anger, for he had meant to get the gold from both brothers,
and then decide to give the kingdom to the one who would be likely to
trouble him the least. So when the news of Huascar's death came to him,
and he knew he would not get the gold that he had been promised, he
determined that the Inca should suffer for his loss. At the same time he
heard that the Peruvians were gathering an army under one of their most
skilful generals, and intended attacking the Spaniards and rescuing the
Inca. No time was to be lost. Pizarro called a council of his chief men,
and it was decided that the Inca must be put to death and the army march
at once to Cuzco. Atahualpa could not believe the terrible news when it
was brought to him; in vain he pointed to the glittering piles of gold
that his faithful subjects had brought for his ransom; in vain he
reminded Pizarro of his promise. The conqueror of Peru thought nothing
of his honor, but only of the gold that he might find in the Inca's
stately palaces, and Atahualpa learned to his cost what it meant to
trust in a Spanish soldier's plighted word; for, although all the
officers declared that the Inca must die, it was Pizarro himself who
acted as one of the judges at the trial, and it was his voice that
condemned him to death.
He was sentenced to be burned to death, and at night after the trial was
over he was led out to the centre of the square and bound to the stake.
The Spanish soldiers stood round with torches in hands, watching
intently the face of the doomed monarch, whose bearing was as proud and
dignified as it had been when he first came to the Spanish camp
surrounded by thousands of his faithful subjects.
After the fagots had been piled up around him, the same priest who had
first urged him to become a Christian, came to him and said that if he
would be baptized he might be strangled instead of burned. As this would
be a much easier death, Atahualpa consented, and the priest baptized
him.
And then they killed him as he stood there alone, with his hands
clasped, and his eyes lifted toward the heavens from which the great god
had vanished many hours before, and so perished Atahualpa, the last of
the children of the Sun, and the empire of the Incas was at an end.
Pizarro now determined to march at once to Cuzco, and in order to
appease the Peruvians, who were horrified and angry at the murder of
Atahualpa, a younger brother of the emperor was crowned Inca, although
Pizarro meant to keep the real power in his own hands. But it would be
safer for the Spaniards to march through the country if they had the
person of an Inca in their power, and the young Toparca had a mild and
gentle nature, and Pizarro could easily rule him.
De Soto was sent ahead to spy out danger, and although his party, as
well as his main army, was attacked once or twice by Peruvians, the
Spaniards had only to charge upon them with their fiery horses, when the
Indians would break ranks at once and fly in terror to the woods, and so
with but little adventure Cuzco was reached at last, and Pizarro found
himself in the capital of the great empire he had conquered.
Toparca having died on the way to Cuzco, another brother, Manco, was
crowned Inca, with great ceremony, in the midst of thousands of
assembled Peruvians, and a treaty of peace was entered into between
Manco and Pizarro, and eternal friendship was sworn between them; but
although this satisfied the Peruvians, Manco was really kept under guard
and was closely watched all the time. And now began the plunder of
Cuzco, and its beautiful temples and royal palaces were soon despoiled
of all their treasures; it was found when the gold and jewels had been
divided that each soldier in the Spanish army was a rich man, and that
the king's portion was immense.
But Cuzco was too far from the sea-coast to be a suitable capital for
the new kingdom that Pizarro meant to found, and after its stores of
gold and silver had been divided among the soldiers, the conqueror
proposed to move the capital from Cuzco to some place nearer the coast,
and as there was no large town near the sea that suited him, he gave
orders that a new city should be built, with palaces, temples, and
churches, and all things as fine and beautiful as could be found
anywhere else in Peru. The workmen were soon at work, and thousands of
Peruvians were daily employed in building the bridges and walls and
towers that were to grace this new capital, whose foundations were laid
in January, 1535, and which Pizarro named "The City of the Kings," and
which is now known as Lima.
But it was only a few years that Pizarro lived to enjoy all his glory
and prosperity, for he had many bitter enemies among the Spaniards. His
old friend Almagro had been very dissatisfied at his share of the
treasures that had been found in Peru, and had even tried to take Cuzco
away from Pizarro, and become ruler of Peru himself. There is no doubt
that Pizarro was unfaithful to his promise to divide the spoils equally
with Almagro and Luque; but Luque was dead, and Almagro was obliged to
take whatever Pizarro would give him, and when he attempted to obtain
more by force, he was taken prisoner by Hernando Pizarro and put to
death. But he left a son, Diego, who resolved to revenge his father's
murder. He had many friends in the city, for his father had been very
popular among the forces that he led against Pizarro, and a plan was
laid to attack Pizarro as he was returning from church on Sunday and
kill him. But on the Sunday appointed, Pizarro did not go to church; he
had heard of the plot and remained at home. Diego and his friends were
not to be baffled, however; they went at once to Pizarro's palace, and
forcing their way to his private room, attacked him before his friends
could come to his rescue. Pizarro fought bravely for his life, but the
odds were against him, and in a few moments he fell dead at the feet of
the man whose father had been his old friend, and whose help and trust
had been the chief means of his conquering the empire of Peru.
CHAPTER XIII.
FERDINAND DE SOTO, THE DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Ferdinand de Soto, who was with Pizarro in Peru, was born in Spain, and
the first years of his life were spent in a gloomy castle where it was
so quiet, that he often grew lonely and wished that he had some
playfellow besides the birds or his dog or horse. His parents were so
poor that they could not afford to send him to school, and so he grew to
be a big boy before knowing how to read or write; but his family were of
noble blood, the noblest in Spain; and although they could not send him
to school, still they had him taught to ride and fence, as it was
thought disgraceful for a Spanish nobleman not to have these
accomplishments. And so the boy learned to ride daringly, and at the age
of twelve could use his sword as easily as any other Spanish boy of his
age; and in the meantime, in the halls of the dark old castle, he
listened eagerly to the tales he heard of the wonderful land which
Columbus had discovered, and he resolved that when he became a man he
would go himself across the sea and bring back gold and refurnish up the
old castle and make it once more a place fit for noblemen to live in.
When he learned to read he stored his mind with stories of adventure and
romance, and he said that he, too, would go into the world some day and
win honor and fame; and so the days passed; the sun brightened the
castle walls in the daytime and the shadows hung over them at night, and
through sunlight and shadow the boy dreamed on of the years to come when
he would be a knight and a soldier and gain glory and wealth under the
flag of Spain.
[Illustration: DE SOTO.]
One day a very wealthy Spanish nobleman named Don Pedro de Avila rode up
to the castle and asked to see Ferdinand. Ferdinand at this time was an
unusually handsome youth, tall and graceful, and remarkable for his
strength and agility. He excelled all his friends in fencing and riding,
and all those active amusements which the Spanish youth delighted in.
Don Pedro had noticed the handsome boy, and as he had no son of his own
he offered to adopt him and educate him; so Ferdinand left his home and
was sent to a Spanish university, where he spent six years, during which
time he became renowned for his skill in the chivalric entertainments
which were all the time going on in Spain. He took the prizes at all the
tournaments, and was everywhere praised and admired. Don Pedro became
very proud of him and treated him as though he were his own child.
Don Pedro had a daughter, Isabella, who was very beautiful, and her
father wished her to marry some rich nobleman, so that she might have a
high position at the Spanish court; but while her father was away in
Darien, where he had been appointed governor, Isabella fell in love with
Ferdinand de Soto and promised to marry him. When Don Pedro came back
and De Soto asked permission of him to marry his daughter he was very
angry, and from that time he became De Soto's bitterest enemy. He was
going back to Darien again, and thinking it would be a fine thing if De
Soto were to go with him and get killed by the Indians, he offered to
give him a handsome outfit and appoint him captain of a company of
soldiers if he would go. De Soto was very poor, his parents were dead,
and he thought he might win honor and wealth by going with Don Pedro, so
he accepted his offer.
At the time that he left Spain, De Soto was nineteen years of age; he
was away fifteen years, during which time he heard only once or twice
from Isabella; he wrote to her many times and she answered his letters,
but her father always destroyed the letters. During the years that he
was away De Soto did indeed become rich and famous; he had left Spain a
poor boy, and he returned a wealthy and honored man. Without his help
Pizarro would never have been able to conquer Peru, and the fame of the
great soldier De Soto was talked of from one end of Spain to the other.
In the meantime Don Pedro had died, and as soon as De Soto reached
Spain he married Isabella. For two years they lived in Seville in
princely style, but at the end of that time De Soto found that his money
was fast melting away, so he resolved to go on another expedition and
gather more gold. He asked permission of the king to conquer Florida,
where it was believed there was much gold, and offered to fit out the
expedition at his own expense. The king consented, and De Soto began his
preparations.
As soon as it became known that De Soto was raising an army for the
conquest of Florida, all the young noblemen of Spain flocked eagerly
around his standard. He accepted only those who were strong and able to
endure hardship, for he knew that he had a very difficult task before
him. Such an army had never before left Spain; the gallant and daring
soldiers were nearly all wealthy and well-born. They wore costly armor
and all their outfit was of the richest description. Everything was
provided to make the expedition a success. Arms and provisions, chains
for the Indians whom they expected to make slaves, bloodhounds for
hunting runaways, and cards for the young nobles to amuse themselves
with. Twelve priests went with them to convert the natives and keep up
religious services. Ten ships left the harbor of San Lucar, with flags
flying, bugles pealing, and cannon thundering over the water, and thus
De Soto, under sunny skies and with bright hopes, sailed for the
summerland of De Leon.
They stopped at Cuba, where De Soto left his wife to govern the colony
during his absence, and then sailing through the Gulf they entered Tampa
Bay and landed. Here they heard that there was a large Indian town six
miles away, and De Soto decided to march there; but when they reached
the village they found it entirely deserted. Not an Indian was to be
seen. It was quite a large village; the houses were made of timber,
thatched with palm leaves; many of them were large, having many rooms;
they had useful articles of furniture, some of which were very elegantly
carved and ornamented with gold. The dresses of the women were very
beautiful and trimmed with shells and embroidery and richly colored;
there were exquisite shawls and mantillas woven by hand from the bark of
the mulberry tree, and the walls of some of the houses were hung with
tapestry of prepared buckskin, while the floors were covered with
carpets of the same material. The buckskin had been tanned so that it
shone like satin, and was as soft as silk, and it made the rooms look
very luxurious and elegant.
All this was very different from the Indian homes De Soto had seen in
Darien, and he did not doubt that here he should find a kingdom as rich
as Peru. He took possession of the village, and he and his soldiers
lived in the houses. One or two of the Indians came back and were taken
captive, and from them De Soto learned that Ucita, the Indian chief, was
a mortal foe to all Spaniards because he had been so badly treated by
Narvaez, a cruel Spaniard who had been there before De Soto's arrival.
Narvaez had treated Ucita most wickedly. He had caused his mother to be
torn to pieces by bloodhounds; like Don Pedro in Darien, he had hunted
down women and girls with his bloodhounds, and had cut infants in pieces
and thrown them to the dogs, and once, in a fit of anger, he had caused
Ucita's nose to be cut off. Ucita remembered all these things, and when
De Soto sent to him and offered his friendship, the Indian chief
replied:
"I want none of the speeches and promises of the Spaniards. Bring me
their heads, and I will receive them joyfully."
Thus De Soto had to suffer for the crimes of Don Pedro and Narvaez.
While he had been in Darien he had always treated the Indians kindly,
but he knew how cruelly other Spaniards had acted toward them, so he
expected a great deal of trouble here. The Indians thought all Spaniards
were alike, and it was a long time before he could make Ucita believe
that he meant him no harm. He sent him presents again and again, and
whenever an Indian was taken captive by his soldiers De Soto treated him
kindly and sent him back to the tribe with presents. At last Ucita
seemed to be touched by the kindness of De Soto, who then felt he could
continue his march without leaving a powerful enemy behind. Ucita did
not say he would be his friend, but then he showed a more friendly
spirit, and the Spaniards felt he would not attack them. Ucita was a
brave and noble man, generous to his friends and merciful to his
enemies; but the Spaniards had treated him so inhumanly that it is no
wonder he did not at first believe in De Soto's offers of friendship.
In the meantime a Spaniard had been brought into camp who had been taken
prisoner by the Indians when Narvaez was in Florida. This man's name was
Juan Ortiz, and he had been with the Indians ten years, so he knew their
language and habits. When he was first taken prisoner he had been very
cruelly treated and at last was bound to the stake to be burned; as the
flames crept around him he cried aloud with pain and terror, and the
chief's daughter, a very beautiful princess about sixteen years of age,
could not endure the sight of his agony; she threw her arms around her
father's neck and begged with tears that Ortiz might be saved. Ortiz was
about eighteen years of age, tall, and very handsome, and the sight of
his great beauty and the pleadings of the princess Ulelah at last
touched her father's heart. Ortiz was spared, but for some time after
his life was miserable, as the Indians treated him very cruelly; but at
last his lot became easier, and at this time he was treated as a friend
by the tribe. Of course De Soto was very glad to meet Ortiz, as he would
be very useful in dealing with the natives.
Ortiz told De Soto of a very powerful chief who lived about a hundred
miles from Ucita, and offered to lead him there; the Spaniards thought
there might be gold there, and they joyfully set off under the command
of Gallegos, De Soto remaining behind. The Indians they met told them of
a place where there was so much gold that the warriors had shields and
helmets made of it; but very few of the Spaniards believed this; they
thought it was a trick of the Indians to get them away from the country.
In a few days De Soto followed Gallegos with the rest of the army, and
they began to work their way through dense forests and swamps, and
thickets, and through mud and water, losing their way and harassed by
the Indians, in this mad hunt for gold.
One day, while they were travelling along the banks of a river, they saw
a canoe with six Indians in it coming toward them; the Indians landed
and three of them came up to De Soto, and, bowing very low, said to him:
"Do you come for peace or for war?"
"I come for peace," replied De Soto, "and seek only a peaceful passage
through your land. I need food for my people and canoes and rafts to
cross the river, and I beg you to help me."
The Indians said that they themselves were in want of food, as there had
been a terrible sickness the year before, and that many of their tribe
had died and others had gone away for fear of the pestilence, thus
leaving the fields uncultivated. They also said that their chieftain was
a young princess and they had no doubt she would receive them kindly and
do everything for them. Having said this, the chiefs returned to the
other side of the river.
And now the Spaniards, looking across the river, saw that there was a
great stir in the village opposite. First, a very large and
beautifully-decorated canoe appeared upon the banks, followed by several
other canoes also very beautiful; then a gorgeous palanquin, borne by
four men, was seen coming toward the river; the palanquin stopped at the
banks, and from it a graceful girl, very finely dressed, entered the
state canoe. She sat down upon the cushions in the end of the canoe,
over which was stretched a canopy; she was followed by eight female
attendants who entered the canoe after she had sat down. Then the six
men who had just been to see De Soto entered a large canoe which was
rowed by a number of other Indians. The canoe in which the princess sat
was fastened to this one, and then they started, followed by several
other canoes in which were the most noted warriors of the tribe.
The Spaniards were charmed with the beautiful young princess. Her
attendants brought with them a chair of state upon which she took her
seat after bowing to De Soto, and then they began a conversation by
means of the interpreter, Juan Ortiz. The princess said that it was
true the pestilence had left the tribe very poor, but that she would do
everything she could to provide them with food; she offered half of her
house to De Soto, and half the houses in the village to the soldiers,
and said that by the next day there would be rafts and canoes ready to
take the Spaniards across the river.
De Soto was much touched by the kindness of the princess and promised to
be her friend forever. Then the princess rose and placed a large string
of costly pearls around De Soto's neck, and he in return presented her
with a gold ring set with a ruby; and then, with promises of help on the
morrow, the princess and her people returned to the village.
The next day the princess had the rafts made and the Spanish army
crossed the river; while crossing four horses were carried away by the
swift stream and drowned, for which the Spaniards grieved very much, as
these horses had been of great service to them in their journey. When
they arrived at the village they found very pleasant quarters awaiting
them; as there were not houses enough to hold all the soldiers, some
wigwams had been built in a beautiful mulberry grove just outside the
village, and the Spaniards were delighted to stop a while with these
friendly Indians.
The mother of the princess was a widow living some miles down the river,
and De Soto wished to see her, and, if possible, make a friend of her,
so the princess, as soon as she heard this, sent twelve of her
chieftains to invite her mother to visit her; but the queen refused to
come, and said that her daughter had done wrong to receive the
Spaniards. This made De Soto all the more desirous to make the queen his
friend, so he sent thirty of his men to see her, with large presents and
offer of friendship. The princess sent one of her relatives to guide the
party; he was a young man about twenty years old, very handsome, and
with fine manners. He was dressed in a suit of soft deerskin which was
trimmed with embroidery and fringe, and wore a head-dress made of
feathers of various colors; he carried in his hand a beautiful bow,
highly polished, so it shone like silver, and at his shoulder hung a
quiver full of arrows. The Spaniards were delighted with the fine
appearance of their guide, who indeed looked worthy to serve the
charming princess, and the party left the village in high spirits.
The guide led them along the banks of the river, under the shade of fine
old trees; after a walk of some miles they stopped for their noon-day
meal, seating themselves in the shade of a beautiful grove through which
they were passing. The young guide, who had been very pleasant and
talkative all the way, now suddenly became very quiet. He took the
quiver from his shoulder and drew out the arrows one by one; they were
very beautiful arrows, highly polished and feathered at the end; he
passed them to the Spaniards, who admired them very much, and while they
were all busy looking at them, the young Indian drew out a very long,
sharp arrow shaped like a dagger. Finding that no one was looking at
him, he plunged the arrow down his throat, and almost immediately died.
The Spaniards were much shocked and could not imagine why this had
happened, but they afterward found out that the young guide was a great
favorite with the queen, and that knowing she did not want to see the
Spaniards, who, he thought, might perhaps seize her and carry her away,
and not daring to disobey the princess, whom he loved and respected, he
had chosen this way to free himself from his trouble.
The other Indians did not know where the mother was, so the Spaniards
returned without seeing her. De Soto was much disappointed at this, and
tried again to find her place of retreat, but without success. In the
meantime the Spaniards had heard from the Indians that there were great
quantities of white and yellow metal in their country, and they thought
it must be gold and silver; but when the Indians brought it into camp,
they found that the gold was copper and the silver mica, and they were
again disappointed.
The princess now told De Soto that about three miles away there was a
village which was once the capital of the kingdom, and that there was a
great sepulchre there, in which all their chieftains and great warriors
were buried, and that immense quantities of pearls had been buried with
them. De Soto, with some of his officers, and some of the Indian chiefs,
visited this place and found it to be a large building three hundred
feet long and over a hundred feet wide, covered with a lofty roof; the
entrance was ornamented with wooden statues, some of them twelve feet
high, and there were many statues and carved ornaments in the inside. By
the side of the coffins were small chests, and in these had been placed
such things as it was thought the dead chieftains would need in the
spirit world. When an Indian died his bow and arrows were always buried
with him, as it was supposed he would need them in the "happy
hunting-grounds," and, besides, many other things, as you already know.
In these chests the Spaniards found more pearls than they had ever
dreamed of. It is said that they carried away from this place fourteen
bushels of pearls, and the princess told them if they would visit other
villages they would find enough pearls to load down all the horses in
the army. The Spaniards were delighted and proposed to De Soto that they
should make a settlement there, but he was determined to go further on
in search of gold.
He had noticed that for some time the Indians had not been so friendly
as they were at first; some of his soldiers had ill-treated the
natives--although he had given strict orders that they should not--and
now he felt sure that the princess meant to escape from the village, and
that her tribe would begin a warfare with his army. So he thought the
safest thing to do would be to compel the princess to go with him when
he marched away. He knew that the Indians would not harm him if she were
with him, as they would be afraid of harming her, too; so he told her it
was necessary for her to go with him. The princess did not like this
plan at all, but she said nothing, and in a few days De Soto began his
march accompanied by the Indian princess, in her beautiful palanquin,
which was attended by a large number of her chieftains, all handsomely
dressed, and wearing their gorgeous head-dresses with their nodding
plumes. For some days they travelled through the forests, when one day,
as they were passing through a very thick wood, the princess suddenly
leaped from her palanquin and disappeared among the trees. She had made
this plan with her warriors, and De Soto never saw or heard of her
again.
It is very sad to think that a friendship which began so happily should
have ended thus, and had De Soto acted differently, the princess would
always have remembered him as a noble man; as it was, she must have been
sorry she ever trusted him at all. Had he told her that he wished to
leave her village, and to part with her and her people as friends, she
would, no doubt, have let him go in peace; but by carrying her off he
made her his enemy forever. His only excuse is that he thought it would
really be safer both for his men and hers to make her go with him.
The Spaniards continued their journey, and in a few days came to a large
Indian village. The young chief received De Soto kindly, as he had
heard he did not come to make war. He took him to his own house and gave
his men pleasant quarters, and they remained there two weeks. The
Indians told them that there were copper and gold farther on, and some
Spaniards went to find it, but were again disappointed. However, there
were pearls in the rivers, and some very beautiful ones were obtained.
Many of these pearls which the Indians had were of little value, as they
had bored holes through them with a red-hot iron so they might string
them for necklaces and bracelets. De Soto was presented with a string of
pearls six feet in length, with every pearl as large as a hazelnut,
which would have been of immense value, had not the beauty of the pearls
been dimmed by the action of fire. The Indians obtained the pearls by
laying the oysters on hot coals, and as the heat opened the shells the
pearls could be taken out. To please De Soto, the chief ordered his men
to do this in his presence, and from some of the largest, ten or twelve
pearls were taken about the size of peas. De Soto left this pleasant
Indian village and again commenced his march, and now came many dark
and sad days. The Indians he met after this were mostly hostile, and
there were many dreadful battles in which De Soto lost men and horses.
They journeyed summer and fall and winter, passed through dense forests
where the horses could scarcely move, and marched over barren tracts of
country where they could get no supplies; they suffered from hunger and
sickness, and many died on the weary march, but De Soto would not turn
back, he was still determined to find gold. At length, when they were
almost worn out with travelling for days through a region more dismal
than any they had passed through, uninhabited, and filled with tangl
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