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Both these men were living in Hispaniola where, as we have already said, the Spaniards had founded a town and colonies, when Alonzo Hojeda first set out, about the ides of December, with about three hundred soldiers under his command.
John de la Cosa got into a house which had no thatch, where he defended himself at the door till all the men who were with him were slain, and himself so sore wounded with poisoned arrows that he could no longer stand. Looking about him in this extremity, he noticed one man who still fought with great valour, whom he advised to go immediately to Hojeda and inform him of what had happened.
Hojeda not only used too much severity to the crew, but behaved haughtily to Talavera, who laid him in irons; but a storm soon arose, and the crew knowing him to be an experienced seaman, set him at liberty, and it was chiefly through his skill that they were enabled to save their lives, by running the ship ashore on the coast of Cuba.
Leaving for a moment these colonists let us return to Nicuesa, who was in command of the great province of Veragua. I have already related how he had overstepped the limits of the jurisdiction of his partner and friend Hojeda, and had sailed with one caravel and two brigantines for Veragua.
Finding no person on the east side of the bay, where they thought to have found either their own men or those belonging to Hojeda, Colmenares suspected they were all dead, or had gone to some other place; but he thought fit to fire off some cannon, that they might hear him if still in the neighbourhood; besides which he made fires at night, and smokes by day on some of the adjacent high rocks.
Much depressed and inclined to abandon the country, the Spaniards returned to their point of departure, where they found the natives had destroyed the blockhouse built by Hojeda, and burned the village of thirty houses as soon as Francisco Pizarro and his companions, deserted by Hojeda, abandoned it.
Being informed of what had happened to his rival, through his own rashness, he sent for him, and said that in such a case they ought to forget their disputes, remembering only that they were gentlemen and Spaniards. He offered at the same time to land with his men, to assist Hojeda in revenging the death of Cosa and the rest.
This was commanded by Bernard de Talavera, no better than a pirate, who, flying from justice, had taken shelter in this place, to him unknown. Hojeda was in too great extremity to be nice in his inquiries into the character of Talavera, but readily bought his cargo, and treated him so well in other respects, that Talavera entered into his service.
After parting from Hojeda, whom he had so generously assisted, Nicuessa met a few days afterwards with as great misfortunes at sea as Hojeda had encountered by land; for he was tossed by a dreadful tempest from without, and betrayed within by Lopez de Olano, who, perceiving the squadron separated by the storm, took one of the largest ships into the river Chagre, and left his patron to shift for himself.
What caused his complete rupture with Columbus remains a mystery; it appears still more inexplicable when we think of the distinguished services that Hojeda had rendered, especially in 1495, at the battle of La Vega, when the Caribbean Confederation was annihilated. All we know is, that on Hojeda's return to Spain he found shelter and protection with Bishop Fonseca.
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