114
VOYAGES
A N D DISCOVERIES OF
Those murmured no less who were sent in quest of food, which was only to be gained by fatigue and bloodshed ; for whatever they collected they had to transport from great distances, and they were frequently waylaid and assaulted by the Indians. When he could spare men for the purpose, Nicuesa dispatched the caravel for those whom he had left at the river Belen. Many of them had perished, and the survivors had been reduced to such famine at times, as to eat all kinds of reptiles, until a part of an alligator was a banquet to them.
On mustering all his
forces when thus united, Nicuesa found that but one hundred emaciated and dejected wretches remained. He dispatched the caravel to Hispaniola, to bring a quantity of bacon which he had ordered to have prepared there, but it never returned.
He ordered Gonzalo de Badajos, at the head
of twenty men, to scour the country for provisions ; but the Indians had ceased to cultivate : they could do with little food, and could subsist on the roots and wild fruits of the forest.
The
Spaniards, therefore, found deserted villages and barren fields, but lurking enemies at every defile.
So deplorably were they
reduced by their sufferings, that at length there were not left a sufficient number in health and strength to mount guard at night ; and the fortress remained without sentinels.
Such was the des足
perate situation of this once gay and gallant cavalier, and of his brilliant armament, which but a few months before had sailed from San Domingo, flushed with the consciousness of power, and the assurance that they had the means of compelling the favors of fortune. It is necessary to leave them for a while, and turn our atten足 tion to other events which will ultimately be found to bear upon their destinies.