1492

by Mary Johnston

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  FINDING young Sancho upon the _Marigalante_, I kept him beside me forinformation's sake. He, too, had his stories. And he asked me how Pedroand Fernando died.

  In this ship were two sets of captives, animals brought from Spain andIndians from those fiercer islands to the south. The _Monsalvat_ thatwas a freight ship had many animals, said Sancho, cattle and swine andsheep and goats and cocks and hens, and thirty horses. But upon the_Marigalante_, well-penned, the Admiral had a stallion and two mares,a young bull and a couple of heifers, and two dogs--bloodhounds. TheCaribs were yonder, five men in all.

  He took me to see them. They were tall, strong, sullen and desperate inaspect, hardier, fiercer than Indians of these northward lands. But theywere Indians, and their guttural speech could be made out, at least insubstance. They asked with a high, contemptuous look when we meant toslay and eat them.

  "They eat men's flesh, every Caribal of them! We saw horrid things inGuadaloupe!"

  Away from these men sat or stood seven women. "They were captives," saidSancho. "Caribs had ravished them from other islands and they fled inGuadaloupe to us."

  These women, too, seemed more strongly fibred, courageous, high of headthan the Hayti women. There was among them one to whom the others gavedeference, a chieftainess, strong and warlike in mien, not smoothlyyoung nor after their notions beautiful, but with an air of sagacityand pride. A ship boy stood with us. "That is Catalina," he said. "Ho,Catalina!"

  The woman looked at him with disdain and what she said was, "Young foolwith fool-gods!"

  "They came to us for refuge," said Sancho. "We think they are Amazons.There was an island where they fought us like men--great bow-women! DonAlonso de Ojeda first called this one Catalina, so now we all call herCatalina. At first they liked us, but now that they are safe away fromCaribs--all but these five and they can't hurt them--they sit and pine!I call it ungrateful, Catalina!"

  We moved away. There came from the great cabin where they had wine andfine sweet cakes the Admiral and Guacanagari, with them Don Diego andthree or four cavaliers. Guarin was not with the cacique, upon the_Marigalante_. He would not come. I had a vision of him, in the forest,seated motionless, communing with the deepest self to which he couldreach, seeking light with the other light-seekers.

  Christopherus Columbus beckoned me and I went the round of the shipwith him and others and his guest, this far-away son of Great India. So,presently, he was taken to view the horses and the cattle. Whoever hathseen lions brought to a court for show hath seen some shrinking fromtoo-close and heard timorous asking if the bars be really strong. Andthe old, wild beasts at Rome for the games. If one came by chance uponthem in a narrow quarter there might be terror. And the bull that wegoad to madness for a game in Spain--were barriers down would comea-scrambling! This cacique had never seen an animal larger than a foxor a dog, Yet he stood with steadiness, though his glance shot here andthere. The stallion was restless and fiery-eyed; the bull sent forth abellow. "Why do they come? What will they do here? Will you put them inthe forest? The people will be afraid to wander!"

  He looked away to sky and sea and shore. "It grows toward night," hesaid. "I will go back to my town."

  The Admiral said, "I would first show you the Caribs," and took himthere where they were bound. The Haytien regarded them, but the Caribswere as contemptuously silent as might have been Alonso de Ojeda in likecircumstances. Only as Guacanagari turned away, one spoke in a fierce,monotonous voice. "You also, Haytien, one moon!"

  "You lie! Only Caribs!" Guacanagari said back.

  The cacique stood before the woman whom they called Catalina. She brokeinto speech. It was cacique to cacique. She was from Boriquen--she wouldreturn in a canoe if she were free! Better drown than live with theutterly un-understandable--only that they ate and drank and laid holdof women whether these would or would not, and were understandable thatfar! Gods! At first she thought them gods; now she doubted. Theywere magicians. If she were free--if she were free--if she werefree! Home--Boriquen! If not that, at least her own color and theunderstandable!

  Guacanagari stood and listened. She spoke so fast--the Admiral neverbecame quite perfect in Indian tongues, and few upon the _Marigalante_were so at this time. Juan Lepe understood. But just as he was thinkingthat in duty bound he must say to the Admiral, "She is underminingreputation. Best move away!" Guacanagari made a violent gesture asthough he would break a spell. "Where could they come from with all thatthey have except from heaven? Who can plan against gods? It is sin tothink of it! _El Almirante_ will make you happy, Boriquen woman!"

  We left the women. But Guacanagari himself was not happy, as he had beenthat Christmas-tide when first the gods came, when the _Santa Maria_ waswrecked and he gave us hospitality.

  The Admiral did not see that he was unhappy. The Admiral saw always avast main good, and he thought it pearl and gold in every fiber. As yet,he saw no rotted string, no snarl to be untangled. It was his weakness,and maybe, too, his strength.

  The sunset hung over this roadstead and the shore. The mountains glowedin it, the nearer wood fell dark, the beach showed milky white, a knotof palms upon a horn of land caught full gold and shone as though theywere in heaven. Over upon the _Cordera_ they were singing. The longcacique-canoe shot out from the shadow of the _Marigalante_.

  Sun dipped, night cupped hands over the world. The long day ofexcitement was over. Mariners slept, adventurers gentle and simple, thetwelve friars and Father Buil. Seventeen ships, nigh fifteen hundredmen of Europe, swinging with the tide before the land we were to makeSpanish.

  The watch raised a cry. Springing from his bed Juan Lepe came on deckto find there confusion, and under the moon in the clear water, swimmingforms, swimming from us in a kind of desperate haste and strength. Therewas shouting to man the boat. One jostling against me cried that theywere the captive Indians. They had broken bonds, lifted hatch, knockeddown the watch, leaped over side. Another shouted. No, the Caribs weresafe. These were the women--

  The women--seven forms might be made out--werenot far from land. I felt tingling across to me their hope and fear. Outof ship shadow shot after them our boat. Strongly rowed, it seemed togain, but they made speed strongly, strongly. The boat got into troublewith the shallows. The swimmers now stood and ran, now were racers; ina moment they would touch the dry, the shining beach. Out of boat sprangmen running after them, running across low white lines of foam. Thewomen, that strong woman cacique ahead, left water, raced across sandtoward forest. Two men were gaining, they caught at the least swiftwoman. The dark, naked form broke from them, leaped like a hurt deer andrunning at speed passed with all into the ebony band that was forest.

  Alonso de Ojeda burst into a great laugh. "Well done, Catalina!"

  The Admiral's place could ever be told by his head over all. Moreoverhis warm, lifted, powerfully pulsing nature was capable of making aroundhim a sphere that tingled and drew. One not so much saw him as felt him,here, there. Now I stood beside him where he leaned over rail. "Gone,"he said. "They are gone!" He drew a deep breath. I can swear that he,too, felt an inner joy that they had escaped clutching.

  But in the morning he sent ashore a large party under his brother, DonDiego. We received another surprise. No Indians on the beach, nonein the forest, and when they came to the village, only houses, a fewparrots and the gardens, dewy fresh under the sun's first streaming. NoIndians there, nor man nor woman nor child, not Guacanagari, not Guarin,not Catalina and her crew--none! They were gone, and we knew not where,Quisquaya being a huge country, and the paths yet hidden from us or ofdoubtful treading. But the heaped mountains rose before us, and JuanLepe at least could feel assured that they were gone there. Theyvanished and for long we heard nothing of them, not of Guacanagari, norof Guarin who had saved Juan Lepe, not of Catalina, nor any.

  This neighborhood, La Navidad and the shipwreck of the _Santa Maria_,burned Guarico and now this empty village, perpetual reminder that insome part our Indian subjects liked us not so
well as formerly andcould not be made Christian with a breath, grew no longer to ourchoice. Something of melancholy overhung for the Admiral this part ofHispaniola. He was seeking a site for a city, but now he liked it nothere. The seventeen ships put on sail and, a stately flight of birdsgreater than herons, pursued their way, easterly now, along the coast ofHispaniola.

  Between thirty and forty leagues from the ruin of La Navidad opened tous a fair, large harbor where two rivers entered the sea. There wasa great forest and bright protruding rock, and across the south themountains. When we landed and explored we found a small Indian villagethat had only vaguely heard that gods had descended. Forty leaguesacross these forests is a long way. They had heard a rumor that thecacique of Guarico liked the mighty strangers and Caonabo liked themnot, but as yet knew little more. The harbor, the land, the two riverspleased us. "Here we will build," quoth the Viceroy, "a city namedIsabella."