Colmenares did all he could to comfort Nicuessa, telling him that the people of Darien wished him to come and assume the government of that colony, which was situated in a fine country abounding in provisions, and which did not want gold. Nicuessa began to recover his spirits, by the seasonable supply of provisions, and the comfortable intelligence brought by Colmenares, and gave thanks to God for this merciful relief. But he soon forfeited the reputation for prudence which he had formerly enjoyed among the colonists of Hispaniola; as, forgetting the miserable condition from which he was so recently relieved, and not considering that the people of Darien had submitted to his authority of their own free will, he foolishly declared in public that he would take all their gold from them on his arrival, and would even punish them for encroaching on his province. This news soon spread abroad, and heaven had the imprudence to send a caravel before him to Darien, having a desire to examine some islands which lay in the way thither. That same night, Olano, who still remained a prisoner, conversed with some of the people who came from Darien, to incense them against Nicuessa; and when Nicuessa was embarking, he said to some of those who were in his confidence, "Nicuessa fancies he will be as well received by Hojedas men, as by us after his shipwreck at Veragua, but he will probably find a considerable difference." James Albetes and the bachelor Corral were in the caravel which went before, and gave notice to the colonists at Darien of the threats which Nicuessa had made, of taking away their gold and punishing them; saying that his misfortunes had rendered him peevish and cruel, abusing all who were under his authority. From the little islands which he had stopped to explore, Nicuessa sent one Juan de Cayzedo to acquaint the colony at Darien of his approach; and this man being privately his enemy, still farther exasperated the people against him, so that they came to a resolution not to admit him into the colony. This resolution was principally forwarded by Balboa, who secretly advised all the principal people to exclude him, yet declared in public that he was for receiving Nicuessa, and even got the public notary to give him a certificate to that effect199.
After spending eight days among these islands, where he took a few Indians for slaves, Nicuessa made sail for Darien. On coming to the landing-place, he found many of the Spaniards on the shore waiting his arrival; when, to his great surprise, one of them required him in the name of all the rest, to return to his own government of Nombre de Dios. Nicuessa landed next day, when the people of Darien endeavoured to seize him, but he was extraordinarily swift of foot, and none of them could overtake him. Balboa prevented the colonists from proceeding to any farther extremities, fearing they might have put Nicuessa to death, and even persuaded them to listen to Nicuessa, who entreated them, since they would not receive him as their governor, that they would admit him among them as a companion; which they peremptorily refusing, he even requested them to keep him as a prisoner, for he would rather die than go back to starve at Nombre de Dios. In spite of every thing he could urge, they forced him to embark in an old rotten bark, with about seventeen of his men, ordering them to return to Nombre de Dios, on pain of being sunk if they remained at Darien. Nicuessa and his people accordingly set sail, but were never seen more, and no one knew what became of them. There was a story current in the West Indies, that when the Spaniards came afterwards to settle the island of Cuba, they found inscribed on the bark of a large tree, "Here the unfortunate Nicuessa finished his life and miseries."
The admiral Don James Columbus was much blamed for not endeavouring to give succour to these adventurers, although the grants which they had received of separate governments were in direct contradiction to his just rights. His enemies made use of this to his prejudice at the court of Spain, which was always jealous of him, and listened therefore with much complacency to every complaint that was proffered against him. He on the other hand, was very sensible of the disposition of the court, and used every means he could think of to secure his rights in these countries, pursuant to the agreement which had been made with his father. In this view, having learnt that the court was desirous of discovering and colonizing the great island of Cuba, although there were no accounts of any rich mines in that country, he resolved to be beforehand with the court, and sent a body of men there at the beginning of the year 1511, under a confidential person; that having a lieutenant there of his own, the court might have no pretence for granting it away to new undertakers, as they had done that part of the continent which was discovered by his father, and even the island of Jamaica, which last, however, he had recovered. For this purpose, he made choice of James Velasquez, who was the wealthiest and best beloved of all the Spanish inhabitants of Hispaniola, and was besides a man of experience, and of a mild and affable temper, who knew well how to maintain his authority. As soon as it was known in Hispaniola that Velasquez was going to establish a settlement in Cuba, abundance of people resolved to bear him company, some of them from attachment to his person, and others because they were involved in debt. All these rendezvoused at the town of Salvatierra de la Zavana, at the western extremity of Hispaniola, whence they proposed to embark for Cuba.
Before proceeding with the transactions of Velasquez, it may be proper to give some description of the island of Cuba, from the Spanish writers. Cuba is within the tropic of Cancer, from 20° to 21° of N. latitude. It is 230 leagues in length, from Cape St Antonio to Cape Mayci. Its breadth between Cape Cruze and port Manati is forty-five leagues, whence it narrows to about twelve leagues between Matamano and the Havanna. Most of the island is flat, and full of woods and forests; but from the eastern point of Mayci, there are exceedingly high mountains for thirty leagues. Beyond these to the westwards, and in the middle of the island, there are many hills, but not very high. Many fine rivers run down the sides of these hills, both to the north and south, which are full of fish, especially skates and olaves, which ascend the streams a great way from the sea. On the south of Cuba there are a prodigious number of small islands, which were named the Queens Garden, by the admiral Don Christopher Columbus. There are other small islands on the north side, though not so numerous, which Velasquez named the Kings Garden. About the middle of the south side, a considerable river, named Cauto by the natives, runs into the sea, containing vast numbers of alligators, the banks of which river are very agreeable. The island is wonderfully well wooded, insomuch that people may travel almost 230 leagues, or from one end of the island to the other, always under their shelter. Among these are sweet-scented red cedars of such astonishing size, that the natives used to make canoes of one stick hollowed out, large enough to contain fifty or sixty persons, and such were once very common in Cuba. There are such numbers of storax trees, that if any one goes up to a height in the morning, the vapours arising from the earth smell strongly of storax, coming from the fires made by the natives in the evening, which are now drawn up from the earth by the rising sun. Another kind of tree produces a fruit called xaquas, which being laid by four or five days, though gathered unripe, become full of a liquor like honey, and richer than the finest pears. There are great quantities of wild vines, which climb very high on the trees; these bear grapes, from which wine has been made, which is somewhat sharp. Such is their universal abundance all over the island, that the Spaniards used to say there was a vineyard in Cuba 230 leagues in length. Some of the trunks of these vines are as thick as a mans body. The whole island is very pleasant, more temperate and healthy than Hispaniola, and has safer harbours for ships, made by nature, than any that have been constructed by art in other countries. On the southern coast is that of St Jago, which is in form of a cross, and Xaquas, which is hardly to be matched in all the world. Its entry is not above a cross-bow shot in breadth, and the interior part is 10 leagues in circumference, having three little islands to which ships may be fastened by means of stakes, where they are safe from every wind that blows, being everywhere shut in by high mountains as in a house. In this harbour the Indians had pens in which they shut up the fish. On the north side there are likewise good harbours, the best of which was formerly called Carenas, but now Havanna, which is so large and safe that few can be compared to it. Twenty leagues east is the harbour of Matanaos, which is not quite safe. About the middle of the island there is another good port, called del Principe; and almost at the end is the port of Baraca, where good ebony is cut. All along this coast there are good anchorages, though none so large and commodious as those already mentioned.
199
We learn from the history of the conquest of Mexico, by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of the conquerors, that the government of the province of Tierra Firma, in which Darien and Nombre de Dios were situated, was afterwards granted by the court of Spain to Pedro Arias de Avila, in 1514, who gave his daughter in marriage to Vasco Nugnez de Balboa; yet caused him afterwards to be beheaded; on suspicion that he intended to revolt. –E.