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BooK
VI.
Royal
Commentaries.
he difmill his Souldiers, advifing every man to
fhift
for himfelf, and told them
thac their befi way would
be
to
make
towar~s
the
Sea,
wher~
his
B~other
Pedro
de
ContrerM
would receive them a·board a Ship, and that he
h1mfelf
mtended to
take
that
way,. and
fo
they
difperfed, every
man
iliifting
for himfelf: fome few
days after which, the King's Party going
in
purfuit of them over Mountains;
Boggs
and wet places, they found the Body of
Hermmdo de
ContrerM
drowned
in
a
MorafS; rhe Head they enc off and carried it to
Panama,
and though
it
was very
much disfigured, yet he was known by his Hat, being of a
fingular
fa!hlon, and
by
a Chain
of
Gold which he ufually wore about
his
Neck. His Brother
Pedro
Je C()11trerA1,
hearing this fad fate,
with
the
dellruetion and ruine of
{ohn
tie
Bmnejo
clld
all his Companions, attempted
to
make
his
efcape by Sea ; but rhe Winds
and Waters, and
all
the
Elements confpired againfi him to hinder his Ships from
going out of Port ; wherefore he endeavoured to make his efcape
in
littl~
Boats,
not knowing where to go or fly,
in
regard all the World was become his Enemy.,
But
che lnbabitants
of tbe
Cicy
armed out other Boats in chace of
him,
wich
which chey
recovered their
own, and took
alfo the
Enemy's Ships:
Another
Par–
fy
appointed to follow
chafe
over the Mountains, who had taken their way
by,
Lamd, rook fome of thofe belonging
to
Hnnando:
but as co
Pedro
de
ContrerM,
no
man knew what became of him ; chough
it
was generally believed, that he was
killed
by
che
mdi1t11r,
or devoured
by
Tygers or other wild Beafis, of which there
are great numbers in
that
O>Untrey; for they never received news of him
after–
wards.
This was the end and ilfue of that wicked defign ; of
which
no better fuccelS
could be expetted, having commenced with the Murcher ofa BHhop
}
and though
fome men would excafe this
fact_by
laying~
blame on the Bifhop for bis immode–
rate
language, whereby they were provoked co the performance of chis oucrageous
Aet;
yet
certainly nothing can be alledged
in
excufe of this heinous and abomi–
nable
Murther. Bue at
length they
paid
for
all, as
before related.
CH AP. XIII.
The PrefiJent
recovers the Treafure
he had loft. He puni–
fbe-s the Offenders. He
arrives
in
Spain,
where
he
hap–
pily
ends
his days.
~T
THilft
Lieen&j4fio Gafta
was at
Nomhre
de
Dios
he received news of the arrival
'V V of the
Contrenu,
and of the Robberies and Piracies they had committed
in
Panama,
he was much
affiiet~d
to confider, that fuch a firange turn of forcune
fbould be rererved for him at the conclufion of all
his
affairs
?
and which a certain
Amhour
fays
was the more
ft;rrPri!ing,
in regard
it
was never imagined,
nor
poffibly to be
prevented
by all che care and
diligence
thac
could have been contri–
ved. But now co hinder
che
farther progrefS of
this
evil,
he
fecured
in
the befi
man..
ner he wa able the Treafure which he had with him; and then wich
what
Forces
he had,
and wich che Auxiliaries of the Town, he prepared to return to
Panama
to
recover
his loft Treafure and punilh the Robbers : and though he conceived little
hopes of
fuccel~,
fuppofing chat they had been fo wife as to have carried away
t~eir
prize, and
provided
for their own
fafety:
howfoever, not to
be
wancing co
hlS
duty,
or
to
loofe an opporcuoiry, as he had never .done, when offered ; he mar–
ched out of
N_umbre de Dio.r
wi~h
fuch men
a~d ar~ a~
could be provided on a
fudden: and
~n
the firft days Journey he received mtelhgence of the happy faccefS
at
P
anam11,
\
nh the death of
[ohn
d~
Bermejo,
and
Salguero,
and of the Bight
of
Fkrnando de
ContrertU
~Ver
the Mountams, and of his Brother
by
Sea
7
wich which
the g?od
Prelldeat
bem~
comforted, proceeded on his journey with great alacrity,
rendrmg thanks co Alaughcy God (as
G
wumt
Lai
th ) for
fuch
a cide and
current
of
happy
fortune as would ever
be
recorded in future ages co
his
honour and
fame,
&c.
The Prefident eotred into
Panam11
with greater glory and triumph than
T
t
ct c
z
ever