South American Fights and Fighters | Page 6

what is known now as Cartagena. It was not a

particularly good place for a settlement. There was no reason on earth
why they should stay there at all. La Cosa, who had been along the
coast several times and knew it thoroughly, warned his youthful
captain--to whom he was blindly and devotedly attached, by the
way--that the place was extremely dangerous; that the inhabitants were
fierce, brave and warlike, and that they had a weapon almost as
effectual as the Spanish guns. That was the poisoned arrow. Ojeda
thought he knew everything and he turned a deaf ear to all
remonstrances. He hoped he might chance upon an opportunity of
surprising an Indian village and capturing a lot of inoffensive
inhabitants for slaves, already a very profitable part of voyaging to the
Indies.
He landed without much difficulty, assembled the natives and read to
them a perfectly absurd manifesto, which had been prepared in Spain
for use in similar contingencies, summoning them to change their
religion and to acknowledge the supremacy of Spain. Not one word of
this did the natives understand and to it they responded with a volley of
poisoned arrows. The Spanish considered this paper a most {11}
valuable document, and always went through the formality of having
the publication of it attested by a notary public.
Ojeda seized some seventy-five captives, male and female, as slaves.
They were sent on board the ships. The Indian warriors, infuriated
beyond measure, now attacked in earnest the shore party, comprising
seventy men, among whom were Ojeda and La Cosa. The latter, unable
to prevent him, had considered it proper to go ashore with the
hot-headed governor to restrain him so far as was possible. Ojeda
impetuously attacked the Indians and, with part of his men, pursued
them several miles inland to their town, of which he took possession.
The savages, in constantly increasing numbers, clustered around the
town and attacked the Spaniards with terrible persistence. Ojeda and his
followers took refuge in huts and enclosures and fought valiantly.
Finally all were killed, or fatally wounded by the envenomed darts
except Ojeda himself and a few men, who retreated to a small palisaded
enclosure. Into this improvised fort the Indians poured a rain of

poisoned arrows which soon struck down every one but the governor
himself. Being small of stature and extremely agile, and being provided
with a large target or shield, he was able successfully to fend off the
deadly arrows from his person. It was only a question of time before
the Indians would get him and he would die in the frightful agony
which his men experienced after being infected with the poison upon
the arrow-points. In his extremity, he was rescued by La Cosa who had
kept in hand a moiety of the shore party.
The advent of La Cosa saved Ojeda. Infuriated at the slaughter of his
men, Ojeda rashly and {12} intemperately threw himself upon the
savages, at once disappearing from the view of La Cosa and his men,
who were soon surrounded and engaged in a desperate battle on their
own account. They, too, took refuge in the building, from which they
were forced to tear away the thatched roof that might have shielded
them from the poisoned arrows, in fear lest the Indians might set it on
fire. And they in turn were also reduced to the direst of straits. One
after another was killed, and finally La Cosa himself, who had been
desperately wounded before, received a mortal hurt; while but one man
remained on his feet.
Possibly thinking that they had killed the whole party, and withdrawing
to turn their attention to Ojeda, furiously ranging the forest alone, the
Indians left the two surviving Spaniards unmolested, whereupon the
dying La Cosa bade his comrade leave him, and if possible get word to
Ojeda of the fate which had overtaken him. This man succeeded in
getting back to the shore and apprised the men there of the frightful
disaster.
The ships cruised along the shore, sending parties into the bay at
different points looking for Ojeda and any others who might have
survived. A day or two after the battle they came across their
unfortunate commander. He was lying on his back in a grove of
mangroves, upheld from the water by the gnarled and twisted roots of
one of the huge trees. He had his naked sword in his hand and his target
on his arm, but he was completely prostrated and speechless. The men
took him to a fire, revived him and finally brought him back to the ship.

Marvelous to relate, he had not a single wound upon him!
{13}
Great was the grief of the little squadron at this dolorous state of affairs.
In the middle of it, the