“I have to ask you again my white Tiba brother” said the fearful indian trying to make the spaniard reconsider his decision. “I have seen many canoes being dragged by the sea, during this time of the year”. During any other moon I would go with you with all my men, but I’m asking you to think again, about going to the open sea during this moon or on the following two, with such fragile ships.
“I am telling you again, don’t worry.”, said the spaniard “God and his Holy Mother will be with us”.
Then, he gathered his men to show them his plans. “I want to get to the island that the indians call Terarequi, where the biggest pearls can be found”, he said,
“Our friend Chief Chape is trying to convince me of not going during this time of the year, because the sea is too dangeous and their canoes are too fragile. I have told them not to worry, because God and “Our Lady of Antigua” will always be with us.” Said the Spaniard.
Vasco Nuñez continued his speech, knowing the mood of his men, after discovering and claiming the Southern Sea. They were so happy that they would do anything for him.
“This is also something that will help the christian religion to keep growing, and also we will find gold and pearls with which the Crown of Castilla will be able to use against the enemies of our faith. Now, I want to know who I can count with.
All of them stood up and said that they would go with him, even those who were injured, he felt admiration for his men's devotion and loyalty
Then, Vasco Nuñez selected eighty men, some of whom had already accompanied him to the Town of Cuquera.
From the native that was always with Vasco, chief Chape knew that his words had fallen into deaf ears, and that the following day, the captain and his men would go into the open sea.
Knowing the dangers that the Spaniards were exposed to, Chape wanted to make them know that they would remain loyal, approached with a show of friendship and admiration, and said to Balboa:
“Great Tiba, I insist on how dangerous this journey will be and I would recommend you, as my best advice, that you shouldn’t procede any further. But if you have decided to keep going, I will go with you, because i’m your loyal friend. All of my Canoes and fellow natives will go at your will, sailing wherever you want.
In the next morning, October 17, the 80 men boarded the canoes and went forward, following the coastlines, on their way to San Lorenzo. When they were near the reefs, they realized that the he navigation was difficult, the sea was growing thick and large volumes of water was breaking into the canoes.
To avoid sinking, the spaniards started to take water off from the boats, and the indians had to do a great effort to keep the canoes up. The waves were hitting the canoes with rage and fury . On more than one ocasion, the canoes were almost sinking.
While they were all wet, the spaniards, full of terror looked at each other with their wet beards, they couldn’t even hide their fear . But what most worried them were the faces of the indians, who could swim like fishes and were experts in the water, but this time, their faces were also worried and fearful.
In a moment of great difficulty, Chape ordered his men, that with their ropes on each canoe, they should stick together in order to not get lost. Then he told them to keep rowing up to the small island that could be seen ahead.
After a great effort, in which the men of Balboa replaced the already tired indian men from the rowing labor, exhausted, they arrived to the small island in which some strange vegetation and sea animals could be seen. All of them fell on the sand, in a state of extreme exhaustion.
The Priest Andres de Vera said in a loud voice:
Let’s say thanks to God and his Holy Mother “Maria de la Antigua”. Let’s pray all together an “Our Father” and 3 “Hail Mary”. But they were so tired that no word would come out from them.
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Only Juan de Beas and Francisco de Valdenebro, together with Vasco Nuñez answered the prayers initiated by the priest who had a fearful look on his face.
Chape could see the fear in the spaniard's face, but he was wise enough to not say anything. It was already getting late when Balboa commanded Francisco Pizarro:
“Tell someone to go and tie the canoes to the trees and small stones in the south of the island."
Together they tied the canoes, but when the night fell they realized that the tide was going up fast, when it was midnight, the small island was already flooded and the water level could reach their knees. Terrorized, the spaniards and the natives decided to tie themselves while holding tight to the trees, which lower parts were already inside the cold waters of the pacific.
Balboa held Leoncico tightly in his arms, and the other dogs of the pack that were accompanying them were held by the other spaniards, they wouldn’t have been able to stay afloat for so many hours.
The curses and swearings were getting mix up with their prayers. The indians started to mumble a sad and rhythmic song as if they were already saying farewell to this world. Chape remained silent, with his friend Vasco.
Three hours passed, it looked like an eternity for the small group of spaniards and indians, with the water up to their tight. They were confronting the death, which seemed closer than ever.
A moment came when their strength was about to fade, and then the thunderous voice of Vasco Nuñez said:
“Don’t worry my friends, the water won’t rise anymore in a couple hours, and the small island will come back up again. “Nuestra Señora de la Antigua” has protected us once and believe me, that she will again. Fortunately, the canoes were well tied and soon the sun will rise and we will go to firm ground where we will be safe.
And so it happened, the waters started to recede as fast as they had gone up, and by morning after spending the night without sleeping, believing that they would die, they realized the seriousness of the situation. This was not a attractive option.
The sea around the island, continued roaring with strong winds, and fortunately they didn’t lose the canoes, which were found but severely damaged.
Most of the Canoes were buried and covered with sand. The helm of these ships constructed with a single tree trunk had cracks and they were wet. Everything left in the canoes was missing, except for the oars that were tied tightly to the canoes.
Vasco Nuñez’s men, were hungry and hadn’t recovered yet, from the fearsome night that was full of dangers, they looked at each other with disbelief
It was Chape who reacted first, by telling his men to collect seaweeds from the shores and the marine trees.
“Don’t worry Tiba, we will repair the canoes and with them we will reach firm ground, as you can see it is not far away from here”, said Chape to Balboa, trying to calm him down.
Then Balboa said to his men “Gentlemen, help the indians and do whatever they say” ordering them to cheer them up. "We will repair the canoes and leave this place soon."
Everybody started to work and by mid-day, the canoes were ready to pick up passengers. They used a strange technique that consisted in putting seaweeds to close the holes. They sticked the canoes together to prevent them from taking additional damage.
The tired Spaniards set sail again. Fortunately for them, this time they were close to the coast, after a few hours, the exhausted men could lay down on the white sand beach of the island.
The tireless indians, went up to the palms and dropped a great amount of coconuts. With their swords, the spaniards started cutting them through the hard surface, and drank the sweet coconut milk, to calm down their thirst.
To satisfy their hunger, using machetes, they broke the fruit and started eating the pulp of the fruit. Once they finished they fell asleep.
The next day, October 18, after sleeping for some hours, they noticed that the sea was calm. Without getting far from the coast, they got to the other side, to the lands of Chief Tumaco.
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“Tiba, this Chief is rich and very powerful, he has been for a long time an enemy of my people. We should attack them by night, and by surprise, so we don’t give him a chance to prepare for battle. My men know this lands fairly well and will take us silently and protected through the darkness of the night to the huts of Tumaco.” Said Chape.
This plan seemed good to Vasco Nuñez, who knew his men's situation, and that some were weakened. That’s why he only chose forty men, the stronger and most prepared, leaving the others by the shores to protect the canoes.
Inmediately, they went with their dogs who were used to walk at night in complete silence.
The spaniards learned from the indians how to walk silently in the darkness in the middle of the wild. They could see white splinters from the trees, glowing in the dark.
The christians followed the indian guide who used one of this splinters in his hat, on his back, this way the others could follow the white glow made by the small piece of wood. This way, none of them got lost, and the glow was so weak that their enemies could not spot them.
In spite of all the precautions, Tumaco’s spies warned their lord about incoming strangers, alerting the indian chief who could await for them with men heavily armed at the entrance of the town. The fight was short.
The Fire weapons and dogs were more than enough. Many indians died and the chief fled with some of his men. Many indians were taken prisoners. Only Cristobal Daza and Francisco of Lucena suffered slight injuries.
Pizarro and Albitez reunited the indian prisoners in town center and put some guards around them, in case the other indians would come back with the intention of releasing them. The others started taking from the huts the gold, pearls and food they could find.
In less than an hour, Vasco Nuñez had everything that the indians had left behind, including the women who didn’t left their houses. The amount of gold they had collected was small, but they had found a lot of pearls of different sizes which were added to the “aljofar”, which is a word used in spanish refering to small pearls of irregular size.
From the Chief’s hut, they brought a great amount of pearl oysters.
For food they could find Oysters, which were closed and protected by their hard shell. Tumaco’s men had fished them the previous day, on a coast not far away from Tumaco’s hut.
In some of the indian towns, the food was provided by these mollusks could be considered as the most delicious food, and it was also one of the main sources of proteins for them.
“My captain, did you notice that all these pearls do not have the white color of the ones we find in Spain? Asked Diego de Albitez to Vasco, who also came from Jerez de los Caballeros.
Balboa did not know what to answer, and through the indian translator, he asked Chape who was always by his side ready to help.
“The answer is easy, we cook them. Their meat is much more tasty when it has been cooked than when it is raw, and it also opens easier. For us, this meat is a blessing of the Gods, we prefer it more than the pearls, that’s why when the oysters are in the fire, the pearls inside get a black color and start losing their natural color” said the Indian Chief.
“Look chief, how do I open these oysters, without putting them into the fire” said Diego de Albitez, while he was holding one oyster in his hands.
Then he inserted a knife in the thickest part where the shell of the clam joined, then with a little pressure he split the ends with rather ease. Chape and Tumaco’s men saw the action, and learned that they had to take the pearls before cooking and eating the tender meat from the clam.
While being in the town, Vasco Nuñez asked his friend Chape to send some of his men to look for Tumaco, who had managed to run away. Then half dozen of Chape’s men went out to look for Chief Tumaco.
On the next day, the six men came back and spole to their chief. Then Chape inmediately went to Vasco, who was with Pizarro, Albitez and Andres de Vera, and then told them:
“Tiba, my men have found Tumaco, who is badly hurt, it is not severe. They tried to tell him that you came peacefully and with good will, and that if he befriended you, not only nothing would happen to him and his people, but with your strength he would be protected from all of his enemies.
“How difficult it is for a native to understand that, and on top of that if he is hurt” answered Albitez, who couldn’t remain silent.
Turning a blind eye on the comment, Chief Chape said:
“And in that same way, if he didn’t surrender to you, all would end dead, and his linage would be exterminated and all his domains would be devastated. But none of this convinced Tumaco, who was hiding the in the deepest part of the mountains.
Vasco, seeing his three friends were angry at this report, recommended them to have a little patience, because a Chief that is hurt and with many of his men dead is not easy to convince at first.
Then knowing that suggestions are commands, Vasco told Chape: “Make 9 of your men go into the mountains and find Tumaco, but this time take 2 or 3 of the men we just made prisoners, so they can tell him that we have treated them well and with dignity.
Chape’s men returned to the mountains, and when they found Tumaco again, who was constantly moving in different hiding places, they told him to show up if he wanted to keep his domain. The prisoners confirmed that they were well treated and informed about the friendship between Chief Chape and The Tiba. They insisted so much that he decided to send his elder son to represent him.
When they arrived at the town, Tumaco’s son was well received by Balboa who gave him a linen shirt and some other stuff. Through an indian interpreter, Vasco told the young boy, that they were waiting for his father to sign the peace with his people, but if he remained hidden, he would be pursued everywhere and thrown to the dogs.
Then he told the boy to return to the place where his father was hiding and half a dozen of prisoners went with him.
After three days with no news, during which the Spanish rested peacefully, the guards then said that an indian troop was coming from the north. Then Balboa ordered his men to prepare for battle and to have their weapons and dogs ready.
The weapons were not used. Tumaco, accompanied by his son, who was wearing the shirt given to him by Balboa, and accompanied by many soldiers, arrived to the town peacefully. The chief didn’t bring any gift with him.
Vasco Nuñez greeted him and invited to eat with him, his son, Chape and the other Spanish Captains. The lunch had fish and clams and also some wine that they had found in one of the huts of the town, and it was very joyful. Chape talked with Tumaco moving his arms and head, making gestures that made laughing some of the spanish.
“Are you sure, that they are not praying?” said father Andres de Vera who joined the group. “Vasco, you are lucky to have a friend like Chape, because without his help and his people, we would have had a bad time. I’m still trembling from that night on the island in which the water could reach our waist. I think I have never prayed with so much devotion in my life.”
“What is sure is that the reverend was shitting in his pants”, said Diego de Albitez.
Then all of the spanish laughed together. Then the two natives interrupted the conversation.
Chape was narrating the good will and advantages of being friends with the spanish, but Chief Tumaco whispered some words to his son, and inmediately, he stood up and left the table.
Not even half an hour had passed, when the young native came back accompanied by a group of relatives of the Chief, bringing 614 pounds in Gold Jewelry of good quality, and a large amount of huge pearls. Even if they were darkened, due to being put into the fire, the size of the pearls impressed the spanish.
By watching the indians holding such a great treasure, all of Balboa’s men went around the group of chiefs. Some of them celebrated joyfully the incredible size of the pearls in some baskets. At that moment, everybody forgot the things that the group has suffered since they had left “Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien”, two months before.
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Such was the noise made by the two Malpartida, Francisco Rubio and Francisco Pesado who together with Cristobal Daza and Alvaro de Bolaños couldn’t stop cheering and celebrating.
Then Juan de Portillo, screamed outloud:
“Blessed be the mom, who gave birth to Ponquiaco”, this way remembering the elder son of Chief Comogre who was the first to tell them about the existance of the Southern Sea and the great wealth that was in it’s territory, due to it’s cold waters.
The indians that were with them, laughed while watching that the gold and pearls were the only things that these men were interested in. They were trying to figure out, how something of such little value for them, and was used just as a currency money, was so valuable for the bearded men.
Watching how happy the pearls made the spaniards, Tumaco ordered his men to go and fish for more. Within 4 days, they came back with 12 pounds of pearls with 8 ounces on each pound. Then, they all celebrated the return of the fishers with such bounty.
Chief Tumaco was happy to give this offerings to the outsiders that came from far, but overall he was happy for being allowed to become friend with the white Tiba.
The christians, hugged and congratulated each other, thinking that this was just the start of the wealth that they would get from the recently discovered coasts.
The one who was more than happy, but did not showed any emotion was Chief Chape. Not only because of the wealth gained by the white Tiba and his friends, but for how the strength in the authority of his village increased. They made them think that Tumaco was an ancient enemy of them and more powerful than them, a fearful enemy that they had.
Then Tumaco provided Vasco Nuñez with information of the lands of Chitarraga. Balboa decided to call it the province of San Lucas, because of the day in which they arrived which was the day of that saint, and along with it they also found a Gulf, which they also named after the Saint.
During afternoon, on october 20, a strong tropical storm that lasted a couple hours, looked like the sky was falling into them in the form of water, and the strong winds made the trees look like they were planted on glue, this conditions made the habitants of the town to look for refugee.
After the hurricane passed, in the door of Tumaco’s hut were sitting calmly Vasco Nuñez, Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Albitez, Andres de Vera and Bernardino de Morales who were watching the beautiful sunset, in which it was literarilly falling, into the waters. Everything in the town smelled wet. Then Chape, Tumaco, Tumaco’s son and a Indian translator, approached them.
“Listen, my friend Tiba, what Chief Tumaco is telling me” said Chape while sitting besides Balboa, who by his other side had his friend Leoncico. This is something I have heard from my father and ancestors, but I was never sure of it.
And then saying to the other Chief, who he had to reconcile with, asked through the indian translator that accompanied them to tell the spanishmen what he had just been informed.
Hear me, great and powerful Tiba. If you continue through this coast, you will find a very powerful town with uncountable wealth. They move through the sea on great ships and carry gold over some weird animals that are very strong and can walk with great confidence on high mountains.
“What an story, is the one that the indian is telling us”, said clearly Bernardino de Morales.
“Be quiet, we have already heard this story before in the town of Comogre”, said Pizarro.
“Which type of animals are those?”, said Vasco Nuñez to the Chief.
“Something is like something I will soon show you”, answered the Chief. And picking up some wet ground that was in front of the hut, because even though the storm passed and the sun rose, the ground was still wet, then with that sand, he started to mold a figure of an animal, with a body like the sheeps, but with a neck like the camels.
Then proud with his piece of art, he showed it to the spanishmen.
“I still think they are making this up”, said Morales.
“Well I think it is a camel, like the ones we see in Sevilla, property of the (MOROS)”, said Diego de Albitez who couldn’t remain in silence.
“For me the sculpture looks like a deer without horns that are around Santa Maria”, said the cleric Vera.
While his men had a mess in the discussion which would not take them anywhere. Vasco remembered the story of the town of Comogre.
Then Vasco went away from the conversation and laid back on a trunk accompanied by Leoncico, his mind warped him back to certain events of great intensity that he lived through some years ago.