Historical Tales, Vol. III | Page 5

of the wreck, and when he came back in 1493 he hopefully
expected to find its garrison awaiting him, with a rich treasure in the
precious yellow metal. He reached the spot to find the fort a ruin and
the garrison a remembrance only. They had been attacked by the
Indians and massacred during the absence of the admiral.
In fact, the mild, gentle, and friendly Indians whom Columbus had met
with on his first voyage were not the only people of the islands. There
were on some of the West Indies a warlike race called
Caribs,--cannibals, the Spaniards said they were,--who gave the
invaders no small trouble before they were overcome.
It was a band of these fierce Caribs that had attacked La Navidad and

destroyed the fort and its garrison, impelled to this, likely enough, by
some of the ruthless acts which the Spaniards were much too ready to
commit. The leader of these warriors was a bold cacique named
Caonabo, chief of a warlike mountain tribe. It is with this chieftain that
we are at present concerned, as he was the hero, or victim rather, of the
first romantic story known to us in Indian life.
In addition to the forts built by the Spaniards on the coast of Hispaniola,
there was one built far in the interior, called Fort Santo Tomas. This
stood in the mountainous region of Cibao, the reputed land of gold of
the island. Its site lay within the territory of Caonabo, who ruled over a
great district, his capital town or village being on the southern slope of
the Cibao Mountains.
The first conflict between the Spaniards and the natives, after the
massacre of the garrison of La Navidad, was in the district of the Vega,
where a fierce fight took place in the spring of 1495, the natives
suffering a severe defeat. The next was at Fort Santo Tomas, which was
commanded by Alonso de Ojeda, a young man who had come out with
Columbus in his second voyage. He was a man of great courage and
unusual daring, one of the chief among those dauntless spirits who had
to do with the conquest of the New World.
A man of his spirit was needed to command this isolated fort in the
mountains, for the cacique, Caonabo, was not pleased with this
invasion of his territory, and soon marched upon the fort with a strong
force of his warlike race. Santo Tomas was closely invested and
fiercely attacked, Ojeda being reduced to such an extremity that he
owed his escape only to a rescuing force sent by Columbus from Fort
Isabella, on the coast. Driven off by the superior arms of his foes,
Caonabo withdrew sullenly to his stronghold in the mountains. But he
was quickly back again, with a larger force than before. He had never
met his equal among the Indians, but the fire-spouting tubes of the
Spaniards proved too much even for his courage, and he was a second
time forced to withdraw.
It was evident, however, that Ojeda was perilously situated, surrounded
as he was by warlike enemies, led by so bold and persistent a chief. In

the face of this peril he adopted an expedient as daring as any of those
shown by Cortez, Pizarro, or any other of the Spanish caballeros of that
age of conquest, and one whose ingenuity equalled its daring. It is this
striking adventure which it is our purpose to describe.
Choosing from his men a few of the bravest and most trusty, Ojeda set
out on horseback over the mountains, following paths never before
traversed by the Spaniards, until they came to the Carib town of
Maguana, where he found Caonabo surrounded by a throng of armed
warriors. The Spaniards had bearded the lion in his den, and were in a
position of extreme peril should the cacique prove hostile. But Ojeda
was a past-master in craftiness, and by professions of friendship and
other arts of duplicity he persuaded the chief to accompany him alone
into the edge of the forest.
He now took from his pocket a pair of handcuffs, bright and shining
manacles of which the untutored Indian had no conception of the use,
but whose brightness attracted him. Ojeda told him they were bracelets,
which the King of Spain had graciously sent him as a present, in
recognition of his fame as a warrior of skill and courage. The poor
Indian probably understood all this very imperfectly, but he was easily
brought to view the manacles as Turey or a gift from Heaven, and
willingly held out his wrists that his guest might adorn them with those
strange and splendid bracelets.
In a moment his hands were secured, and before he could recover from
his surprise Ojeda, whose small