Amerigo Vespucci

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"One day we saw a great crowd of savages, all posted in
battle array, to prevent our landing. We fitted out
twenty-six men, well armed, and covered the boats on account
of the arrows which were shot at us and which always
wounded some before we landed. After they had hindered us as
long as they could, we leaped on shore and fought a hard
battle with them. The reason why they had so much courage
and made such great exertion against us was that they did
not know what kind of a weapon the sword was, or how it
cuts! So great was the multitude of people who charged upon
us, discharging at us such a cloud of arrows that we could
not withstand the assault, and, nearly abandoning the hope
of life, we turned our backs and ran for the boats. While
thus disheartened and flying, one of our sailors, a
Portuguese, who had remained to guard the boats, seeing the
danger we were in, leaped on shore and with a loud voice
called out to us: 'Face to the enemy, sons, and God will
give you the victory!' Throwing himself upon his knees, he
made a prayer, then rushed furiously upon the savages, and
we all joined him, wounded as we were. On that they turned
their backs and began to flee; and finally we routed them,
killing more than a hundred and fifty. We burned their
houses also--at least one hundred and eighty in number.
Then, as we were badly wounded and weary, we went into a
harbor to recruit, where we stayed twenty days, solely that
the physician might cure us. All escaped save one, who was
wounded in the left breast and died.

"After we were cured we recommenced our navigation; and
through the same cause we were often obliged to fight with a
great many people, and always had the victory over them.
Thus continuing our voyage, we came to an island fifteen
leagues distant from the main-land. As at our arrival we
saw no collection of people, eleven of us landed. Finding a
path inland, we walked nearly two leagues and came to a
village of about twelve houses, in which were seven women
who were so large that there was not one among them who was
not a span and a half taller than myself. When they saw us
they were very much frightened, and the principal one among
them, who seemed certainly a discreet woman, led us by signs
into a house and had refreshments prepared for us. They were
such large women that we were about determining to carry off
two of the younger ones as a present to our king; but while
we were debating this subject, thirty-six men entered the
hut where we were drinking. They were of such great stature
that each one was taller when upon his knees than I when
standing erect. In fact, they were giants; each of the women
appeared a Penthesilia, and the men Antei. When they came
in, some of our number were so frightened that they did not
consider themselves safe, for they were armed with very
large bows and arrows, besides immense clubs made in the
form of swords. Seeing that we were small of stature they
began to converse with us, in order to learn who we were and
from what parts we came. We gave them fair words, and
answered them, by signs, that we were men of peace and
intent only upon seeing the world. Finally, we held it our
wisest course to part from them without questioning in our
turn; so we returned by the same path in which we had
come--they accompanying us quite to the sea-shore, till we
went aboard the ships.

"Nearly half the trees on this island are of dye-woods, as
good as any from the East. Going from this island to another
in the vicinity, at ten leagues distance, we found a very
large village, the houses of which were built over the sea,
like those of Venice, with much ingenuity. While we were
struck with admiration at this circumstance, we determined
to go to see them; and as we went into their houses the
people owning them attempted to prevent us. They found out
at last the sharpness of our swords, and thought it best to
let us enter. Then we found these houses filled with the
finest cotton, and the beams of their dwellings are made of
dye-woods. In all the parts where we landed we found a great
quantity of cotton, and the country filled with
cotton-trees. All the vessels of the world, in fact, might
be laden in these parts with cotton and dye-wood.

"We sailed three hundred leagues farther along this coast,
constantly finding savage but brave people, and very often
fighting with and vanquishing them. We found seven different
languages among them, each of which was not understood by
those who spoke the others. It is said that there are not
more than seventy-seven languages in the world; but I say
that there are _more than a thousand_, as there are more
than forty which I have heard myself. After having sailed
seven hundred leagues or more our ships became leaky, so
that we could hardly keep them free, with two pumps going.
The men also were much fatigued, and the provisions growing
short. We were then within a hundred and twenty leagues of
the island called Hispaniola, discovered by the Admiral
Columbus six [eight] years before. So we determined to
proceed to it and, as it was inhabited by Christians, to
repair our ships there, allow our men a little repose, and
recruit our stock of provisions; because, from this island
to Castile there are three hundred leagues of ocean, without
any land intervening. In seven days we arrived at this
island, where we stayed two months, refitted our ships, and
obtained a supply of provisions.

"We afterwards sailed through a shoal of islands, more than
a thousand in number. We sailed in this sea nearly two
hundred leagues, directly north, until our people had become
worn with fatigue, through having been already nearly a year
at sea. Their allowance per diem was only six ounces of
bread for eating, and three small measures of water for
drinking. Whereupon we concluded to take some prisoners as
slaves, and loading the ships with them to return at once to
Spain. Going, therefore, to certain islands, we possessed
ourselves by force of two hundred and thirty-two, and then
steered our course for Castile. In sixty-seven days we
crossed the ocean, arriving at the Azores, thence sailed by
way of the Canary Islands and the Madeiras to Cadiz.

"We were absent thirteen months on this voyage, exposing
ourselves to awful dangers, discovering a very large country
of Asia, and a great many islands, the largest of them all
inhabited. According to the calculations I have made with
the compass, we have sailed about five thousand leagues....
We discovered immense regions, saw a vast number of people,
all naked, and speaking various languages, numerous wild
animals, various kinds of birds, and an infinite quantity of
trees, all aromatic. We brought home pearls in their
growing state, and gold in the grain; we brought two stones,
one of emerald color, the other of amethyst, which was very
hard, at least half a span long, and three fingers thick.
The sovereigns esteem them most highly and have preserved
them among their jewels. We brought home also a piece of
crystal, which some jewelers say is beryl, and, according to
what the Indians told us, they had a great quantity of the
same. We brought fourteen flesh-colored pearls, with which
the queen was highly delighted. We brought many other stones
which appeared beautiful to us; but of all these we did not
bring a large number, as we were continually busied in our
investigations and did not tarry long in any place.

"When we arrived at Cadiz we sold many slaves, two hundred
then remaining to us, the others having died at sea. After
deducting the expense of transportation we gained only about
five hundred ducats, which, having to be divided into
fifty-five parts, made the share of each very small.
However, we contented ourselves with life, and rendered
thanks to God that during the whole voyage, out of
fifty-seven Christian men, which was our number, only two
had died, they having been killed by Indians. I have had two
quartan agues since my return; but I hope, by the favor of
God, to be well soon, as they do not continue long now and
are without chills. I have passed over many things worthy of
being remembered, in order not to be more tedious than
necessary, all of which are reserved for the pen, and in the
memory.

"They are fitting out three ships for me here, that I may
go on a new voyage of discovery, and I think they will be
ready by the middle of September. May it please our Lord to
give me health and a good voyage, as I hope again to bring
very great news and discover the island of Trapobana, which
is between the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Ganges.
Afterwards I intend to return to my country and seek repose
in the days of my old age.... I have resolved, most
excellent Lorenzo, that as I have thus given you an account
by letter of what has occurred to me, to send you two plans
and descriptions of the world, made and arranged by my own
hand and skill. There will be a map on a plain surface, and
the other a view of the world in a spherical form, which I
intend to send you by sea, in care of one Francesco Lotti, a
Florentine, who is here. I think you will be pleased with
them, particularly the globe, as I made one, not long since,
for these sovereigns, and they esteem it highly. I could
have wished to come with them personally; but my new
departure for making other discoveries will not permit me
that great pleasure....

"I suppose your excellency has heard the news brought by the
fleet which the King of Portugal sent two years ago to make
discoveries on the coast of Guinea. I do not call such a
voyage as that one of discovery, but only a visit to
discovered lands; because, as you will see by the map, their
navigation was continually within sight of land, and they
sailed round the whole southern part of the continent of
Africa, which is proceeding by a way spoken of by all
cosmographical authors. It is true that the navigation has
been very profitable, which is a matter of great
consideration here in this kingdom, where inordinate
covetousness reigns.

"I understand they passed from the Red Sea and extended
their voyage into the Persian Gulf, to a city called
Calicut, which is situated between the Persian Gulf and the
river Indus. More lately, the King of Portugal has received
from sea twelve ships very richly laden, and he has sent
them again to those parts, where they will certainly do a
profitable business, if they arrive in safety.

"May our Lord preserve and increase the exalted state of
your excellency, as I desire.

"AMERIGO VESPUCCI.

"_July 18th, 1500_."

Respecting the letter in which the so-called first voyage is
described, the same great authority, Mr. Fiske, from whom we have
already quoted, says: "The perplexity surrounding the account of the
first voyage of Vespucius is chiefly due to the lack of intelligence
with which it has been read. There is no reason for imagining
dishonesty in his narrative, and no reason for not admitting it as
evidence on the same terms upon which we admit other contemporary
documents." Perhaps we may be allowed to claim the same privilege for
the foregoing letter; yet another historian, the amiable biographer of
Columbus, Mr. Irving, while freely quoting from it, in his account of
the voyage made with Alonzo de Ojeda, by imputation discredits it, and
loses no occasion to disparage its author.

In order that nothing may be lacking, for the purpose of forming an
accurate estimate of Vespucci's character and doings, Mr. Irving's
account of the Ojeda voyage, somewhat condensed, is presented in the
succeeding chapter. In constructing this story he, to use his own
words, "collated the narratives of Vespucci, Las Casas, Herrera, and
Peter Martyr, and the evidence given in the lawsuit of Diego Columbus,
and has endeavored as much as possible to reconcile them." That he did
not altogether succeed is the opinion of Mr. Fiske, who says, rather
caustically, that "from its mixing the first and second voyages of
Vespucci [the account] is so full of blunders as to be worse than
worthless to the general reader."

However this may be, the story is interesting, and in a sense
valuable, as it corroborates the statements of one to whom Mr. Irving
was not favorably inclined.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] The river was the Orinoco, the currents caused by which set with
great force in the direction given by Vespucci.

VIII

WITH OJEDA THE FIGHTER

1499

Those who have read the _History of Columbus_ will doubtless remember
the character and exploits of Alonzo de Ojeda. He was about twenty-one
years of age when he accompanied Columbus on his second voyage (1493);
he had, however, already distinguished himself by his enterprising
spirit and headlong valor, and his exploits during that voyage
contributed to enhance his reputation. He returned to Spain with the
Admiral, but did not go with him on his third voyage, in 1498. He had
a cousin-german of his own name, Padre Alonzo de Ojeda, a Dominican
friar, who was a great favorite with the Spanish sovereigns, and on
intimate terms with Don Juan Rodriguez Fonseca, who had the chief
management of affairs in the Indies.

Through the good offices of this cousin, young Alonzo was introduced
to Fonseca, to whose especial favor and patronage he was warmly
recommended. While Ojeda was lingering about the court, letters were
received from Columbus giving an account of the events of his third
(1498) voyage, accompanied by charts descriptive of his route,
specimens of pearls, gold, etc., in order to impress the sovereigns
with the great value of his most recent discovery. The Admiral had
good and sufficient reasons for making the most of this discovery, as
his enemies in Spain and in the West Indies were seeking to belittle
his great deeds, hence his indiscretion in placing the proofs of his
achievement in the hands of his implacable foe, Bishop Fonseca. He
could not return at that time, owing to the terrible condition of
affairs in Hispaniola, which demanded his continued presence there--as
narrated in his _Life_.

The tidings he sent caused a great sensation among the maritime
adventurers of Spain; but no one was more excited by them than Alonzo
de Ojeda, who, from his intimacy with Fonseca, had full access to the
charts and correspondence of Columbus, and who immediately conceived
the project of making a voyage in the route thus marked out by the
Admiral, and of seizing upon the first fruits of discovery which he
had left ungathered. This scheme met with ready encouragement from
Fonseca, who, as has heretofore been shown, was opposed to Columbus
and willing to promote any measure that might injure or molest him.
The bishop accordingly granted a commission to Ojeda, authorizing him
to fit out an armament and proceed on a voyage of discovery, with the
proviso merely that he should not visit any territories appertaining
to Portugal, or any of the lands discovered in the name of Spain
previous to the year 1495. The latter part of this provision appears
to have been craftily worded by the bishop, so as to leave the coast
of Paria and its pearl fisheries open to Ojeda, they having been
recently discovered by Columbus in 1498.

The commission was signed by Fonseca alone, in virtue of general
powers vested in him for such purposes; but the signature of the
sovereigns did not appear on the instrument, and it is doubtful
whether their sanction was sought on the occasion. He knew that
Columbus had recently remonstrated against a royal mandate issued in
1495, permitting voyages of discovery by private adventurers, and that
the sovereigns had in consequence revoked that mandate wherever it
might be deemed prejudicial to the stipulated privileges of the
Admiral.... Having thus obtained permission to make the voyage, the
next consideration with Ojeda was to find the means. He was a young
adventurer, a mere soldier of fortune, and destitute of wealth; but he
had a high reputation for courage and enterprise, and hence had no
difficulty in finding moneyed associates among the rich merchants of
Seville, who, in that age of discovery, were ever ready to stake their
property upon the schemes of roving navigators. With such assistance
he soon equipped a squadron of four vessels, at Port St. Mary,
opposite Cadiz.

Among the seamen who engaged with him were several who had just
returned from accompanying Columbus in his voyage to this very coast
of Paria. The principal associate of Ojeda, and one on whom he placed
great reliance, was Juan de la Cosa, who went with him as first mate,
or, as it was termed, chief pilot. This was a bold Biscayan who may be
regarded as a disciple of Columbus, with whom he had sailed on his
second voyage, when he coasted Cuba and Jamaica, and he had also
accompanied Rodrigo de Bastidas, in his expedition along the coast of
Terra Firma. The hardy veteran was looked up to by his contemporaries
as an oracle of the seas, and was pronounced one of the most able
mariners of the day. He may be excused, therefore, if in his harmless
vanity he considered himself on a par even with Columbus.

Another conspicuous associate of Ojeda on this voyage was Amerigo
Vespucci, _a Florentine merchant, induced by broken fortunes and a
rambling disposition to seek adventures in the New World_. Whether he
had any pecuniary interest in the expedition, and in what capacity he
sailed, does not appear. His importance has entirely arisen from
subsequent circumstances--from his having written and published a
narrative of his voyages, and from his name having eventually been
given to the New World.

[Illustration: OJEDA'S FIRST VOYAGE]

Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on May 20, 1499, and, having touched
for supplies at the Canaries, took a departure from Gomera, pursuing
the route of Columbus in his third voyage, being guided by the
chart he had sent home, as well as by the mariners who had accompanied
him on that occasion. At the end of twenty-four days he reached the
continent of the New World, about two hundred leagues farther south
than the part discovered by Columbus, being, as it is supposed, on the
coast of Surinam. Hence he ran along the coast to the Gulf of Paria,
passing the mouths of many rivers, but especially those of the Esquivo
and the Orinoco. These, to the astonishment of the Spaniards,
unaccustomed as yet to the mighty rivers of the New World, poured
forth such a prodigious volume of water as to freshen the sea for a
great extent. They beheld none of the natives until they arrived at
the island of Trinidad, on which island they met with traces of the
recent visit of Columbus. Vespucci, in his letters, gives a long
description of the people of this island and of the coast of Paria,
who were of the Carib race, tall, well-made, and vigorous, and expert
with the bow, the lance, and the buckler. His description in general
resembles those which have frequently been given of the aboriginals of
the New World; there are two or three particulars, however, worthy of
citation. [Here follows the narrative of Vespucci, as given in the
preceding chapters, pages 82-124.]

After touching at various parts of Trinidad and the Gulf of Paria,
Ojeda passed through the strait of the Boca del Drago, or Dragon's
Mouth, which Columbus had found so formidable, and then steered his
course along the coast of Terra Firma, landing occasionally until he
arrived at Curiana, or the Gulf of Pearls. From hence he stood to the
opposite island of Margarita, previously discovered by Columbus, and
since renowned for its pearl fishery. This, as well as several
adjacent islands, he visited and explored, after which he returned to
the main-land, and touched at Cumana and _Maracapana_, where he found
the rivers infested with alligators resembling the crocodiles of the
Nile. Finding a convenient harbor at Maracapana, he unloaded and
careened his vessels there, and built a small brigantine. The natives
came to him in great numbers, bringing abundance of venison, fish, and
cassava bread, and aiding the seamen in their labors. Their
hospitality was not certainly disinterested, for they sought to gain
the protection of the Spaniards, whom they reverenced as superhuman
beings.

When they thought they had sufficiently secured their favor, they
represented to Ojeda that their coast was subject to invasion from a
distant island, the inhabitants of which were cannibals, and carried
their people into captivity, to be devoured at their unnatural
banquets. They besought Ojeda, therefore, to avenge them upon these
ferocious enemies. The request was gratifying to the fighting
propensities of Alonzo de Ojeda, and to his love of adventure, and was
readily granted. Taking seven of the natives on board of his vessels,
therefore, as guides, he set sail in quest of the cannibals. After
sailing for seven days he came to a chain of islands, some of which
were peopled, others uninhabited, and which are supposed to have been
the Caribbee Islands. [Then ensues Vespucci's account of the fight,
with the substitution of Ojeda as captain in command.]

His crew being refreshed, and the wounded sufficiently recovered,
Ojeda made sail and touched at the island of Curacao, which, according
to the accounts of Vespucci, was inhabited by a race of giants, "every
woman appearing a Penthesilia, and every man an Antei." As Vespucci
was a scholar, and as he supposed himself exploring the regions of
the extreme East, the ancient realm of fable, it is probable his
imagination deceived him, and construed the formidable accounts given
by the Indians of their cannibal neighbors of the islands into
something according with his recollections of classic fable. Certain
it is that the reports of subsequent voyagers proved the inhabitants
of the island to be of the ordinary size.

Proceeding along the coast, he arrived at a vast, deep gulf,
resembling a tranquil lake, entering which he beheld, on the eastern
side, a village, the construction of which struck him with surprise.
It consisted of twenty large houses, shaped like bells, and built on
piles driven into the bottom of the lake, which in this part was
limpid and of but little depth. Each house was provided with a
draw-bridge, and with canoes, by which the communication was carried
on. From these resemblances to the Italian city, Ojeda gave to the bay
the name of the Gulf of Venice, and it is called at the present day
Venezuela, or Little Venice. The Indian name was _Coquibacoa_. [In
this connection Irving quotes freely from Vespucci's account of the
Lake Dwellers, and also gives entire his description of the
Spaniards' entertainment by Indians of the interior.]

Continuing to explore this gulf, Ojeda penetrated to a port or harbor,
to which he gave the name of St. Bartholomew, supposed to be the same
at present known by the original Indian name of _Maracaibo_.... The
Spaniards brought away with them several of the beautiful and
hospitable females of this place, one of whom, named by them Isabel,
was much prized by Ojeda, and accompanied him on a subsequent voyage.
Leaving the friendly port of Coquibacoa, Ojeda continued along the
western shores of the Venezuelan gulf, and standing out to sea,
doubling Cape Maracaibo, he pursued his voyage from port to port, and
promontory to promontory, of this unknown continent, until he reached
that long stretching headland called Cape de la Vela, or Cape of the
Sail. There the state of his vessels--and perhaps the disappointment
of his hopes at not meeting with abundant sources of immediate
wealth--induced him to abandon all further voyaging along the coast,
and, changing his course, he stood across the Caribbean Sea for
Hispaniola. The tenor of his commission forbade his visiting that
island; but Ojeda was not a man to stand upon trifles when his
interests or inclinations prompted him to the contrary. He trusted to
excuse the infraction of his orders by the alleged necessity of
touching at the island to calk and refit his vessels and to procure
provisions; but his true object is supposed to have been to cut
dye-wood, which abounds in Hispaniola.

Columbus, at that time, held command of the island, and, hearing of
this unlicensed intrusion, despatched Francesco Roldan, the quondam
rebel, to call Ojeda to account. The contest of stratagem and
management that took place between these two adroit and daring
adventurers has already been detailed. Roldan was eventually
successful, and Ojeda, being obliged to leave Hispaniola, resumed his
rambling voyage. He at length arrived at Cadiz, in June, 1500, his
ships crowded with captives, whom he sold as slaves. So meagre,
however, was the result of this expedition that we are told [by
Vespucci] that when all the expenses were deducted but five hundred
ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five adventurers. What
made this result the more mortifying was that a petty armament, which
had sailed some time after that of Ojeda, had returned two months
before him rich with the spoils of the New World.

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