The Voyages Of Pedro Fernandez De Quiros Part 28

CHAPTER x.x.xVIII.

The remainder of the voyage, and how the s.h.i.+p anch.o.r.ed in the port of Acapulco.

We navigated with little wind to the purpose, and with land and sea breezes. For some time there was a current against us, and we were obliged to go in sh.o.r.e until we grounded on the beach of Citala. We touched bottom twice; but at last we came near the port, and a boat under sail and oars came out to know what s.h.i.+p we were. The Captain sent a messenger in the dingey, and ordered the boat to keep off until we anch.o.r.ed in the port of Acapulco, on the 23rd of November, 1606. We had only one death--that of the Father Commissary--and all were in good health. Thanks be to G.o.d for these and all His other mercies shown to us during the voyage!

It is to be noted that when from the bay the S.E. wind rushed upon us, it was not settled to come to New Spain, for which reason we did not come, as we might have done, to E.N.E. To cross the line 400 leagues further east than we crossed it, would have made a shorter pa.s.sage. If the N.W. wind we had when we went from Taumaco to the bay is constant, it would be much shorter.

The following day was the Feast of St. Catherine the Martyr. The Captain left the s.h.i.+p with all his crew, following the royal standard, accompanied by many of the townspeople, and proceeded from the beach to the church. They brought Pedro and Pablo, both dressed in new clothes, to the font. Having said Ma.s.s, the Vicar gave them the oil and chrism, what they had not received before, because the s.h.i.+p was rolling so much when they were baptized. They returned to the s.h.i.+p in the same order.

A few days after our arrival, a s.h.i.+p came from the Philippines with the news that Don Pedro de Acuna, the Governor of them, had taken the island of Ternate with little loss. This was very joyful news, and was celebrated here by ringing of bells and rejoicing of the people. In Mexico they made high festival, worthy of so desirable a victory. I say this, and hope there will be greater festivities for the discovery of so many islands it pleased G.o.d to show me. All is under one master, and it will be very just that they should be known to the world for the greater glory of G.o.d and honour of our Spain. Another s.h.i.+p also arrived, on board of which sixty-nine persons died at sea, of a great sickness that broke out during the voyage. I was told that, during the voyage, a fowl was bought for 2,400 reals and another for 3,200, yet the owners did not wish to sell.

Account of the solemnity with which the cross of orange wood was landed and received, that had been raised in the bay of St. Philip and St. James.

Fray Juan de Mendoza, Guardian of the Convent of Barefoot Franciscans in this port, with much endearment, asked the Captain for the cross of orange wood, being envious of the veneration with which it had been received by the two monks of his order on the day that it was set up in the bay of St. Philip and St. James. He said he wanted to receive it on the beach, and carry it in procession to his convent. Over this there was a very honourable and holy discussion, for the Vicar of the town wanted to receive it with the same reverence, to put it into the parish church. The question was argued by both sides; and, finally, owing to certain prayers, the Vicar gave up his claim, and the Captain gave it to the Guardian, to remain in his power.

On the day of the Conception of the Mother of G.o.d, the Captain, with the greatest solemnity possible, took the cross from the s.h.i.+p to the sea sh.o.r.e, and delivered it to the said Father Guardians, with six other monks. They received it on their knees with much devotion, then forming in procession. On each side of the cross were Pedro and Pablo, with lighted torches. Behind were all the people of the town, carrying banner and box. So we marched to the convent. At the door of the church there was a Father in vestments. The Captain, who arrived first, was acting as mace-bearer until he came to where the Guardian was, who on his knees delivered the cross to him. The Captain gave it to the Father, who took it into the church and fastened it to the high altar, with ringing of bells at both churches, sound of trumpets, and discharge of guns and of arquebuses and muskets by the soldiers. All the people showed their joy; and not less did the Captain, although he had desired to go to Rome and put this cross in the hands of the Pontiff, and tell him that it was the first that had been raised in those new lands in the name of the Catholic Church. He wished to bring the natives as first-fruits, and to ask for all those and other great favours and concessions. It happened that events robbed him of this triumph: but he gave many thanks to G.o.d, through whose goodness he hopes to return the cross to the place whence it came.

CHAPTER x.x.xIX.

What happened to the Captain in Mexico, and in his voyage, until he arrived at the Court of Spain.

No sooner had the crew disembarked, than there were persons who, to gratify their evil pa.s.sions, wrote to the Marquis of Montes Claros, Viceroy of Mexico, and sowed many letters all over the land, trying to misrepresent and discredit the expedition. I did my best to satisfy people through others, proclaiming my truthfulness and zeal. I sent one letter to the Viceroy, asking for orders respecting the disposal of the s.h.i.+p. They were that I was to deliver her to the royal officers at Acapulco, as she belonged to His Majesty. I did this, and left Acapulco on the first day of the year 1607, entering the city of Mexico on St. Anthony's Day. On that of St. Sebastian the Viceroy received me kindly, and by his order I made a report and narrative of all that had happened. Hearing that Don Luis de Velasco, who had been Viceroy of Peru at the time when I first proposed this voyage, was living near Mexico, I went to see him, and gave him an account of all that had happened. He gave me encouragement and showed me much kindness.

Pedro, who was in Mexico, was now very conversant in our language. He made certain very important statements in answer to questions asked of him, respecting his country and the surrounding regions; making known its extent, its food resources and riches, and how there were silver, gold, and pearls in abundance; and describing the idols they wors.h.i.+p, their rites and ceremonies, and how they ordinarily converse with the Devil. Showing him some of our things, he gave the names for them in his language. But in a short time he died, and so did the other native, Pablo, who was a boy with a very beautiful countenance and disposition.

I again spoke with the Viceroy respecting my departure and my necessities. He gave me no remedy for them, but treated me with kindness, and said that he was about to go to Peru, where he had been appointed Viceroy, and that if I should return during his time he would issue good orders which all would obey, and that he felt an interest in my enterprise, which he understood to be a great affair. With this he took leave of me, and the day of my departure arrived without my possessing a single dollar to set me on the road. But G.o.d helped me through the kindness of one Captain Gaspar Mendez de Vera and one Leonardo de Oria, in San Juan de Ulloa, who received me on board his s.h.i.+p. We arrived safely at Cadiz, where I landed. I sold my bed to reach San Lucar, where I p.a.w.ned something else, which enabled me to go on to Seville. There I sold all I had left to sustain me, and with 500 reals given to me by Don Francisco Duarte, and other help from my companion, named Rodrigo Mejia, I arrived at Madrid on the 9th of October, 1607.

CHAPTER XL.

What happened to the Captain during this his last visit to the Court, until he negotiated the issue of an order for his despatch.

During the first eleven days after my arrival at the Court, I could not obtain the convenience for writing my memorials, nor succeed in getting an interview with the Count of Lemos, who was President of the Council of the Indies. At last he saw me, read much of this narrative, and said: "What right have we to these regions?" I replied: "The same right as we had to possess ourselves of the others." I had several other interviews with him, and he ordered me to kiss the hand of His Majesty, and that I should see the Duke of Lerma, which I did. I presented many and very difficult memorials, giving my reasons, and declaring my enterprise and its advantages, and soliciting and urging my despatch.

I had these memorials printed when I had the means; and when I had not, they were copied, presented and distributed among the members of the Councils of State, of War, and of the Indies, and the Ministers. Most of them received the memorials well, and seemed to value them; but not for this did my despatch progress any faster. On the contrary, on the 6th of March, 1608, His Majesty, through the Duke of Lerma, sent a long memorial to the Council of the Indies, by which my affairs were treated carelessly and harshly, because on the first occasion they had been managed by the Council of State. In effect, they told me that I should receive their reply from Don Francisco de Tejada, who was a member of the said Council of the Indies. He told me that I should return to Peru, to the city of the Kings; and that there the Viceroy would give orders as to what was to be done. I answered that it would not be well to send me on so long a voyage, on so serious a business, without knowing what would be done. So I went on sending my memorials, and I had hopes for better success: because, at that time, the Council received a letter, which Juan de Esquirel, Master of the Camp at Ternate, wrote to the Audience of the city of Manilla, in which he said that there had arrived in that port a vessel, whose Captain was one Luis Velez de Torres, said to be one of the three under the command of the Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, with which he left Peru to discover the unknown parts to the south. "He says he parted company 1,500 leagues from here, and had coasted along for 800 leagues of a land. He arrived in want, and I supplied him with what I could. He goes to Manilla, and will send a more particular account to your Highness."

Afterwards, I saw the narrative of the voyage of Luis Vaez, in possession of the Constable of Castille, which gave me great pleasure, and incited me to send in more memorials, praying for my despatch, and for the things that must be conceded with a view to it. But my ill-luck was so great, that I could never get anything settled. All appeared to point to my detention, and at times I was depreciated by the Ministers, and especially by those of the Council of the Indies; for I always found more recognition from those of the Council of State.

Seeing this, I procured another audience of His Majesty, and obtained what I wanted, on Epiphany, in the year 1609, after dinner, being favoured in this, as in other things, by the Marquis of Velada. I showed my papers, maps and sea-charts: explained which were the lands I proposed to seek, and their grandeur; and related the events of the voyages I had already made. Having seen all my demonstrations with interest, he rose; and, asking for my despatch, the Marquis answered that all would be well.

So, on the 7th of February, a decree was issued really treating of this business, and granting me some money in aid. After several consultations, and an order for me to frame an estimate of the expenses of the expedition, another decree came out, pa.s.sing the business on to the Council of the Indies; where I had to begin all over again, and at the end of many months an order was given to me, according to the following tenor:

Royal Order.

The King.--To the Marquis of Montes Claros, my cousin, my Viceroy, Governor, and Captain-General of the provinces of Peru; or to the person or persons in whose charge the government may be. The Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who, as you have been informed, is the person who has undertaken the discovery of the unknown land in the south, has represented to me how that, I having ordered the necessary despatch through my Council of State, for him to make the said discoveries, and that the Viceroys, your predecessors, were to supply him with all that was necessary for the voyage, he sailed with this object from the port of Callao on the 21st of December, of the year 1605, with two s.h.i.+ps and a launch, having on board crews and the rest that was needed, and steered W.S.W. until he reached the lat.i.tude of 26 S., by which course, and by others, he discovered twenty islands--twelve inhabited by various tribes--and three-parts of a land which he conceived to be all one, and suspected to be continental, and a great bay with a good port within it; whence he sailed with the three vessels, with the object of exploring a great and high chain of mountains to the S.W.; and in returning to the said port the Almiranta and the launch anch.o.r.ed. But the Capitana, in which he was, could not, and was driven out; for which cause, and for many others which obliged him, he arrived at the Port of Acupulco, whence he came to Spain to give me an account of the success of the voyage, in the year 1607. He stated that the land he had discovered was pleasant, temperate, and yielding many different kinds of fruits; the people domestic and disposed to receive our Holy Faith; and that what was left to be seen and discovered is much more beyond comparison. With great perseverance he has prayed and supplicated me to consider the importance of this discovery and settlement, and the great service it will be to our Lord that this land should be settled and the Faith planted in it, bringing to the bosom of the Church and to a knowledge of the truth such an infinite number of souls as there are in that new world, where he has taken possession in a good port, and celebrated Ma.s.s; as well as the usefulness and aggrandizement that will result to my crown, and to all my kingdoms. His object and intention is no more than to perform this service to our Lord, and to follow that cause which he had served for so many years, suffering s.h.i.+pwrecks and hards.h.i.+ps; it is now ordered that he be provided with all things necessary again to make that voyage and form a settlement; for which it is necessary that he should have a thousand men of this kingdom, of which twelve to be monks of the Order of St. Francis, or Capuchins, who must be learned, with the necessary powers, and provided with requisites and ornaments; also six Brothers of St. John of G.o.d, medical man, surgeon, barbers, and medicines; and that in these provinces he be given s.h.i.+ps, artillery, muskets, arquebuses, and other weapons and stores that may be necessary; also a quant.i.ty of things for bartering with natives, a good store of iron in sheets, and tools to cultivate the land and work mines. [119]

By reason of my great desire that the said discovery and settlement should take effect, for the good of the souls of those natives, I have ordered the said Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros to return to Peru by the first opportunity; and I charge and order you that as soon as he arrives you are to make arrangements for his despatch, and provide all he requires for the voyage, by account of my royal treasury, so that it may be done with all speed, not offering any obstacle, but giving all the supplies necessary, and orders that he may be obeyed by all who go with him and under his command; and let all else be done that is convenient and usual in making other similar voyages, discoveries, and settlements. I order the officers of my royal revenues to comply in conformity with this decree; and for this compliance this is my command. [120] I again charge you to despatch the Captain Quiros well and speedily; and you advise me that you have done so, for I shall be pleased to know it, honouring, favouring, and treating him well: for in this you will serve me. I, the King. By command of the King our Lord.--Gabriel de Hoa. Witnessed by those of the Council.

Copy of a letter which the Secretary, Gabriel de Hoa, sent to the Viceroy with the Royal Order.

Captain Quiros returns to the kingdom with the enclosed despatch, in pursuance of his discovery:--"I have a.s.sisted here in this cause with much trouble and inconvenience, and with great zeal, for the service of our Lord and of His Majesty. Your Excellency animates, enforces, and helps this enterprise in furtherance of the orders of His Majesty, whose will is that Captain Quiros shall have quick despatch and good treatment, which your Excellency will know how to extend to one whose labours and voyages merit recognition, and who again offers himself for other greater labours. May our Lord guard your Excellency as I desire.--Madrid, December 19th, 1609."

CHAPTER XLI.

Of what the Captain did after he had received this Order, and how he was given another.

I was not satisfied with this Order, because it was confused, and did not give me the power that was necessary to order myself what was necessary for my despatch; and because in effect it left it open for the Viceroy to order from what port in Peru I should sail as he might choose. Remembering how badly the orders and decrees of His Majesty are complied with in distant provinces, even when they are very imperative, I began again to send in more memorials representing these inconveniences, and declaring that 500,000 ducats were required for my undertaking, and for what I had to spend and distribute; and I sent in a detailed account of how I had spent what was given me for the last expedition.

Don Francisco de Tejada told me that there were not wanting those who considered that the despatch they had given me was well enough. I replied that it must have been measured out according to my small merits, not according to the grandeur and necessities of the work. So I went on sending in more and more memorials to His Majesty, his Councils and Councillors, until in the month of May I was sent for by the Secretary, Antonio de Aroztegui, who told me that things had been arranged as I wished, as regards the terms of the Order and the expenses. I answered that the expenses of a cabin boy were enough for me personally if the despatch was good; that I did not put a price on my services. With this object I began new memorials to the Council of State, and when I thought that I was about to secure my desires, the business was again turned over to the Council of the Indies. In this Council, as the feeling was cold towards me and my cause, they turned and twisted much that His Majesty had ordered. On the 1st of November, 1610, they gave me an Order of the following tenor:--

Revised Royal Order.

The King. To the Marquis of Montes Claros, my cousin, my Viceroy and Captain General of the provinces of Peru, or to the person or persons in whose charge their government may be. [121]

Dated at San Lorenzo, the 1st of November, 1610. I the King. By order of the King our Lord, Pedro de Ledesma.