A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 03: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 03: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In the meantime it was discovered by means of our interpreter, an Indian
whom we had taken not far off above three months before, and who willingly
went along with us, that Quibio the cacique of Veragua, intended to set
fire to the houses and destroy the Christians, as all the Indians were
averse to the settlement of our people in their country. It was therefore
thought proper, as a punishment to this cacique and a terror and example
to the other Indians, to take him and all his chief men prisoners into
Spain, that his town and tribe might remain subjected to the Christians.
Accordingly, the lieutenant went with a party of seventy-six men towards
Veragua, on the 30th of March, to execute this project. This town or
village is not built close together, but all the houses are built at
considerable distances as in Biscay. When Quibio understood that the
lieutenant was come near, he sent word for him not to come up to his house;
but the lieutenant, that he might not seem any way afraid of these people,
went up notwithstanding this message, accompanied only by five men;
ordering all the rest to halt at the foot of the hill on which the
caciques house was situated, and desiring them to come after him, two and
two together, at some distance from each other; and that when they should
hear a musket fired, they should all run up, and beset the house that none
of them might escape.
When the lieutenant came to the house, Quibio sent another message to
desire that he might not come in, for though wounded by an arrow, he would
come out to receive him, and he acted in this manner to prevent his women
from being seen, these Indians being exceedingly jealous on that score. He
came out accordingly and sat down at the door, requesting that the
lieutenant alone might approach; who did so, ordering the rest to fall on
whenever they saw him seize hold of the cacique by the arm. He asked
Quibio some questions concerning his wound, and the affairs of the country,
by means of the before-mentioned interpreter, who was exceedingly fearful,
as he knew the intentions of the cacique to destroy the Christians, which
he thought might easily be done by the great numbers of people in that
province, as he had as yet no experience of the strength of our people or
the power of their weapons. Pretending to look where the cacique had been
wounded; the lieutenant took hold of his arm, and kept so firm a grasp,
though Quibio was a strong man, that he held him fast till the other five
Christians came up to his assistance, one of whom fired off his musket,
upon which all the rest ran out from their ambush and surrounded the house,
in which there were thirty people old and young; most of whom were taken,
and none wounded, for on seeing their king a prisoner they made no
resistance. Among the prisoners there were some wives and children of the
cacique, and some inferior chiefs, who said they had a great treasure
concealed in the adjoining wood, and offered to give the whole of it for
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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