Which deals with certain persons outstanding for their strength, and matters of this sort concerning the war and conquest of the island of San Juan.

        There was, then, in this conquest a Sebastian Alonso de Niebla, a farmer, who in Spain had never done anything- but dig and plow and other like kinds of farmwork: he was a brave man, tough, swift, but robust, and combined with his robusticity, which was immediately apparent, he was en­dowed with good conversation. This man proved to be a very great leader, and he dared to close in, and he would undertake things from which, though they seemed harsh and difficult, he would emerge victorious. And he was a very swift man, and a great runner; he dared what no others did, because, in addition to what I have said of his person, he was very strong, and whenever he wanted to take an Indian it was just as if he were already tied, once he got his handson him; wherefore, when the Indians understood this and had gained firsthand experience of his person, they were very much afraid of him. But finally, as very few are born during a war, and its natural outcome is death, so death came to this gallant man through his rashness; and in the year 1526 they killed him in a province on the island of San Juan called Luquillo, where this Sebastian Alonso de Niebla had his estate and residence; and his death came from excess of strength and happened in this wise.

       This man had fallen out with and was almost the enemy of a gentleman neighbor of his named Martin de Guiluz, a Viscayan, who now dwells in the city of San Juan de Puerto Rico, and is one of its chief citizens. And as in other times the Carib Indians from neighboring islands were wont to come in their canoes to raid, it happened that they landed and attacked an estate and residence of Martin de Guiluz, and as soon as Sebastian Alonso learned it and heard that the archer Caribs were carrying off the people from Martin de Guiluz's ranch and everything else he had, Sebastian Alonso in great haste ordered one of his Negroes to saddle a horse, and said: "God forbid that they say, because I am not on good terms with Martin de Guiluz, that I allow him to suf­fer and lose what he has, and that, being so near, I fail to go against those who have robbed him."

        So he immediately mounted his horse, and took three or four of his Negroes and a Christian footman with him, and set out in pursuit of the Caribs, and he overtook them, and fought with them, and put them to flight, and took away the cavalcade, and seized four of them; and from horseback he grasped them by their hair and pulled them out from among the others and struck them and handed them over to his Negroes, and went back for more. And one of those he seized in this fashion had a poisoned dart in his hand, and this killed him; because as he dragged him along, feet off the ground, by the hair, the Carib struck him with the dart at close range, and succeeded in wounding him next to the groin, and he afterwards died of that wound; and as he saw himself wounded, he killed that Indian and seven or eight others likewise, and returned with their booty and gave it to its owner Martin de Guiluz.

         And as the poison with which those Indians tip their ar­rows is very pestiferous and evil, he died of that wound; but like a Catholic Christian, and he very well divided all his goods among the poor and needy and in pious works. And in this way he died, causing all Christians and Spaniards on this island much pain and sorrow because they had great need of his person, and he was the kind of man seldom found. Besides being very virile and strong, the Indians were very afraid of him, and he enjoyed great reputation and esteem among them and among the Christians; for, as was said above, he was a great leader and knew a great deal about agriculture and war.

      Another fine fellow traveled with this one, he was the Juan de Leon previously mentioned. This latter was rather like Sebastian Alonso in many respects, because he was very fast and a good interpreter and quite strong and daring. And in the affairs in which he found himself, there were many of them, both on land and sea, he distinguished himself as a man of extraordinary valor and strength; but both these and his services and sufferings were ill-rewarded, because they were not considered in the distribution of Indians, nor as those of good conquistadors should be regarded. And to the one to whom they gave something, it proved to be so in­significant that he could not live on it, because it is usual for some to enjoy the sweat and labor of others and for the one who deserves favors to be forgotten or unsatisfied; and those who should be forgotten—or are not, at least, so worthy of remuneration—those enjoy the lion's share and receive guer­dons not rightfully theirs.

       This is the usual practice of the world, and men act like human beings; but their passions do not permit them to freely do what they ought, so that we may understand that God alone is the just and true giver of reward. And so the passage of time teaches us that neither those who distributed remuneration, nor those to whom they gave it unfairly, enjoyed it more than a few days; and to it and to them came that end which is wont to come to all things temporal. God grant that their souls be not called to account in that other world where most of them now are.

        Another was Juan Lopez, a leader and a great man in knowledge of things of the field but not so much so in spirit. This duty of leader requires more skill and incomparably more knowledge over here than it does in Spain, because the terrain here is very close and full of trees, and not so clear or open as that of Castile and other Christian kingdoms. And since this matter of scouts has come up, I shall speak of one whom I knew, a notable deed and one having to do with this trade.

       There was in Castilla de Oro on Tierra-Firme a gentle­man named Bartolomé de Ocon, who passed just once through a certain very dense and close part of the forests; and thence he went to other lands for more than seven years, to end up with certain companions, very near the place where I have said he was before; and there were five or six men with him who had been on that first trip or entry, and the whole land was so overgrown with brush and thick with trees that one could scarcely see the sky, nor was one scarce able to walk, except by hacking a path with swords and daggers. And all who went there thought they were lost and did not know in what direction they were moving or where they should continue their journey; and when all came together to take counsel as to what they should do, Bartolomé de Ocon said: "Don't fear gentlemen; for less than two hundred paces from here, in such direction there is a stream (pointing with his finger, for they did not see, nor could they see because of the thicket of trees and shrubs) where we stopped to drink seven years ago, when making a similar entry; if you want to see it, two or three of you come with me and I shall show it to you."

        And you should know that they did not have a drop of water to drink, and were in the greatest need in the world of finding water, or they would stand in danger of dying of thirst as they grew weaker. And so some of those who had been there first went; and when they had reached the stream which was all covered and arched with branches, Bartolomé de Ocon sat down on a stone beside the water and said: "Seated on this same stone, I lunched with you seven years ago, and there you see the pear tree from which we picked many pears, and it still has plenty of them." And thus his companions, from the stone which was large and recognizable, as well as from the pear tree and other signs and trees, and from the brook itself, came to realize that this was so, and that some of them had been there before, as I have said; at which they were no little amazed and comforted by the water. All gave many thanks to God, and no little credit for this and like happenings redounded to Bartolomé de Ocon;
because in this case it appeared that he in truth had a special grace over all other men who traveled in those parts, since otherwise he was commonplace and no brighter than the rest; rather he was considered stupid.

         But getting back to the subject of the conquerors of the island of San Juan, I say that Juan Lopez, pathfinder, who was mentioned above, even though he was a great enough pathfinder, was a crude and more clever than valiant warrior against the Indians.

         There was another youth, of dark brown color, who was a servant of the Knight Commander Friar Don Nicolas de Ovando, whom they called Mejia, and a man of good heart and swift and with quick strength, whom the Caribs killed in the Haymanio of Luisa, and it was Luisa herself, a leading chieftainess, who warned him and told him to go away; and he did not wish to do so, not to leave her alone, and so they shot him. And when he was full of arrows and had a lance in his hand, he took aim at one of the chief Caribs and threw the lance and drove it through his body sideways, first having killed two of the hostile Indians and wounded several others. And so he ended his days.

          There was another fine man named Juan Casado, a good person and ordinary farmer, but an outstanding pathfinder and lucky in many of his undertakings and a man of good courage. So it is that these I have mentioned, especially, did many worthwhile things; but aside from them there were other gentlemen and youths who, although they did not have as much experience, did not lack the courage to show themselves just as able and strong as necessary in war.

          One of these was Francisco de Barrionuevo, who is now governor of Castilla de Oro, who was mentioned in connection with the pacification of Don Enrique,* and although during the war on San Juan he was young, he always gave signs of being what he was, as a man of good family.

           There was another gentleman named Pero Lopez de Angulo, and Martin de Guiluz, and others (whom it would be tedious to name) who took part in that conquest, even though their age was not as perfected as their strength and their desires; but they always performed like the men they were, and did not, on account of any difficulty, fail to show themselves as ready for danger as the need and the time required.

           And since they were such brave people, though, as I have said, few in number, the conquest was terminated in favor of our faith in a great victory for the Spanish conquerors who took part in this war, who were aided by some troops from this island of Hispaniola; and more were added at a time when the assistance was greatly needed. And there were also some newly come from Castile: who, however good they may be, need to be in this land a few days before they are ready to suffer the privations and wants with which war is waged over here, because of the great differences in everything, and the air and the temper of the earth, with which one must contend before facing the Indians, because there are very few whom it does not try and make ill. But praise be to God, few are in danger on this account, if well cared for.

    * Oviedo devotes five chapters (iv-ix) of the Fifth Book of his General History to the rebellion on Hispaniola of the Christianized Indian Chief Don Enrique, also known as "Enriquillo." Unable to obtain judicial relief for his mistreatment by a certain Valenzuela, encomendero of San Juan de la Maguana, Enrique fled to the Sierras de Baoruco with a large group of fellow sufferers and remained there for thirteen years, raiding the Spanish settlements and causing general unrest. His band came to include a number of runaway Negro slaves. In 1532, Barrionuevo, according to our chronicler, accomplished by persuasion what other Spaniards were unable to accomplish by force of arms. Enrique and his men were granted an unconditional pardon and allowed to choose their place of residence.
      Oviedo writes that he considered Don Enrique one of the most honorable and fortunate captains ever to be found on the face of the earth down to his own time. He also admits that Enrique's rebellion was fully justified in light of the abuses he received from the Christians. (For another version of this story see Las Casas: Historia de las Indias, Book III, Chapter cxxv.)