Chapter 14

Our priority was to look for a source of fresh water. Every time we had a chance to reprovision, water was what we looked for first. We also needed fresh meat and fruit if we could possibly find it, but we had a store of dried biscuits, and we were able to catch fish as we sailed, so we could survive on those if necessary. As we were about to venture on to an unknown shore, Sean and I decided that he would remain on board while I went ashore with 4 of the 5 men-at-arms. This was a sensible precaution as we had no means of knowing if there were people living in that place. If there were people, they might be hostile, so the presence of men armed with arquebuses should provide sufficient force to overcome any attack on our party. The remaining man-at-arms would man the small cannon that I had purchased and affixed on the bow, so that we would have an additional support in case of need.

After lowering ourselves from the nao into the shallow water, I led our small party of heavily armed men towards the sandy shore. Cautiously, we waded ashore and, keeping a close watch around, we walked towards the edge of the beach where there was a line of trees that resembled the palm trees that grew in Hispaniola. I knew that these trees might bear a large fruit with a hard shell containing a liquid that looks like cloudy water, and a soft white flesh. This fruit could be stored for a long time without spoiling, so it would be a useful addition to our stores on the return voyage to Spain.

We were in luck as several of the trees bore the fruit that I had hoped to find. However, the trees were tall and we had no means of climbing them easily in order to pick the fruit. On impulse, I ordered one of the men-at-arms to fire his arquebus at the fruit in the hope of dislodging some. Unfortunately, none fell, but the sound of the gun soon brought unforeseen consequences.

As we could not dislodge the fruit and we could not climb the trees, I sent one of the men-at-arms back to the nao with orders to reassure Sean that all was well and to return with a cabin boy and my page boy bearing baskets in which to carry the fruit from the trees. I was sure that these young boys would be able to scale the trees and throw the fruit down to us. Soon, he returned with the two boys I had asked for.

When I told them what I wanted them to do, almost like monkeys the boys grasped the trunks of two trees and commenced their ascent by means of pushing themselves upward by the force of their feet. When they reached the top, they unsheathed their knives and began to harvest the fruit. As these fell to the ground, we rushed to collect them and place them in the baskets.

Because we were so occupied with collecting the fruit, we failed to keep watch. Indeed, the men-at-arms had laid their arquebuses on the ground, the better to gather up the fallen fruit. Therefore, when we suddenly became aware of a body of men approaching us from nearby, it was too late to recover the arms and hold them ready in case of any hostile act by these visitors.

Remembering my initial meeting with the Beothuk, I acted in a similar manner to how I had acted then. I faced the approaching group and held both hands aloft with the palms facing them. I also urged the rest of our party to follow my example. I had no idea if this would demonstrate that we were seeking a peaceful encounter, but under the circumstances I felt that we had no other choice.

The group of men were naked apart from a belt supporting a cloth covering their genitals, but they were armed with wooden clubs, spears and stone knives. As they were almost naked, it was not difficult to see that they were tattooed and some also had their bodies painted red. However, what was more interesting was that one of the group was obviously European. This man was taller than the others and his facial features set him apart from his companions.

When they had advanced to within a few metres of where we stood, they halted and the European man spoke. “Soy Gonzalo Guerrero. Era español, pero ahora soy miembro de este tribu que se llama Maya. De donde han venido ustedes?” (I’m Gonzalo Guerrero. I was Spanish but now I’m a member of this tribe called Maya. Where have you come from?)

We were all astounded at his words, and especially as he was dressed like the others and was equally tattooed as any other member of the group. However, I quickly replied that we were from Gipuzkoa and that we had landed in search of fresh food and water.

Guerrero spoke briefly to his companions and two of them left the group and vanished into the distant trees. It was obvious that he held a position of power in this group, so I asked him how he had come to achieve this position.

The tale that he related was astounding. As a young man, having left his home in Extremadura, he joined a ship bound for the New World in order to seek his fortune. The vessel, Santa María de la Barca, arrived safely on the coast of Darien after crossing the Atlantic Ocean with its complement of 18 men and 2 women. However, the captain decided that it would be better to leave that place on account of not finding any safe harbour. Unfortunately, on its way to Santo Domingo the nao was caught in a violent storm off the coast of Jamaica where it foundered. Guerrero and his 19 companions managed to save themselves in a small boat but without sail or oars they were at the mercy of the winds and the tides for 2 weeks until they finally reached land. By that time, only 12 from the original 20 had survived, the rest having succumbed to thirst and injuries. The place where they landed was home to a Maya tribe and the Spanish group was soon captured by them. To their horror, five of the twelve were immediately slaughtered by their captors and the remaining seven were imprisoned in rude cages. Soon, one of the men died from disease.

As it was obvious to Guerrero and his companions that they would meet the same fate as the others who had been so cruelly killed without mercy, they resolved to escape. Under cover of darkness, the four men including Guerrero and a Franciscan friar named Gerónimo de Aguilar managed to break out of the cage where they were imprisoned and take cover in the thick jungle nearby. The two women did not escape as they had already been separated from the men and put to work as slaves. However, the group did not enjoy their freedom for long as they were soon captured by a different Maya group. Fortunately, this group did not kill anyone but they did make them slaves and forced them to work in the fields under the harsh sun and humidity of that place.

Two of the four died from the treatment of hard labour and meagre food rations, with only Guerrero and the Franciscan friar left alive. By chance, one day Guerrero was tasked with carrying goods belonging to Xamanzana, the king of this Mayan tribe, which were destined to be traded with another Mayan king. As they crossed a river, the king was attacked by a fierce animal that lived under the water. He was almost dragged under the water where he would surely have drowned if Guerrero had not snatched a spear from a man who seemed to be too frightened to attempt to rescue his chief. Using the pointed spear, he stabbed the animal in the eye which made it loosen its grip on the body of the king. Thrashing in pain, the animal abandoned its attempt to eat the chief and Guerrero was able to bring him safely to the river bank.

As a reward for his bravery, the king released Guerrero from slavery and offered to permit him to join the tribe along with his companion, the Franciscan friar. Guerrero accepted the offer, but the friar refused to abandon his old way of life and clung steadfastly to his Christian beliefs. However, Guerrero adopted the Mayan way of life, married a Mayan princess with whom he had 3 sons, and had his body tattooed as a Mayan warrior. He had lived this way for the last 7 years and he had no desire to return to his previous life in Spain.

This story was so incredible that we had no words with which to reply. However, soon the two men who had left the group earlier returned bearing fruit which Guerrero indicated should be given to us. He also pointed to a place where we could obtain fresh water and instructed us to leave that shore as soon as we had replenished our water supply as he could not vouchsafe our lives if we remained longer because we had landed in the territory of a hostile group of Maya. Guerrero and his band had been scouting for signs of this group as they suspected it had been responsible for capturing some slaves from his city. That is when he had heard the shot from the arquebus and recognised it as belonging to someone from Spain, so he had come to investigate who we were.

However, although his recounting of how some of his companions had been slaughtered by people similar to those who accompanied Guerrero had horrified us and made even the battle-tested men-at-arms feel fear, there was something that caught my eye and made me ask to prolong our stay. That was some items in the basket of food that had been given to us.