Part 6 (1/2)
preparations as four strong young braves came in sight, carrying a palanquin down to the river edge, from which a young woman alighted, and gracefully stepped into the gaudily decked canoe.
”The Princess! It can be no other!” exclaimed an excited and susceptible dragoon, and all eyes were at once centred on the slight, lithe figure seated now in the canoe. She was followed by eight Indian women, who also seated themselves in the boat with their Queen and took up the paddles, making the little craft cut swiftly through the water by the power of their deft strokes, while the men followed in another canoe.
The sh.o.r.e was reached. Gracefully, quietly the princess stepped from her barge, and ascended the bank, her women following in an impressive procession, until they stood before the army of expectant Spaniards. De Soto, after one glance into the l.u.s.trous dark eyes of the girlish princess, rose and placed the throne chair by his own side, and with a swift and gracious acknowledgment of his courtesy, the princess took it, and began to speak rapidly in a low melodious voice.
”My chiefs tell me you ask for provisions and shelter while pa.s.sing through my provinces,” she said.
De Soto asked his interpreter what her words meant and inclined his head in affirmation, while his soldiers watched the mobile face of the princess, fascinated by her beauty, as she spoke again.
”We give you and your men a hearty welcome and will protect your interests as if they were our own while you remain with us,” she said.
”But for provisions, my chiefs told you of the pestilence which has so ravaged our land that the fields have not been planted as usual, but I have two storehouses filled with grain which I have collected for the relief of those whom the pestilence has spared, one of those shall be at your service, sir. As to your accommodation,” this with a graceful wave of her hand as though including De Soto in all that she possessed, ”half of my own house is at your disposal, and your men may make themselves at home in as many of the buildings in the village as are necessary, for barracks.”
Watching De Soto's face, and fancying she saw disapproval there, the princess hastily added, ”But if that is not satisfactory to you, oh, sir, I and my people can retire to a neighbouring village, leaving you in possession of my own.”
Her winning hospitality was not to be resisted. A grave and courtly smile flitted over De Soto's face and he hastily rea.s.sured her that this would not be necessary, then asked if she could provide them with a means of transportation across the river. To this Cofachiqui replied, ”That has already been attended to, and to-morrow morning rafts and canoes will be in readiness for your use.”
While she was speaking, De Soto had fallen under the spell of her musical voice and personal charm and when she finished he rose, and bending over her hand, kissed it in true cavalier fas.h.i.+on, a.s.suring her of his loyalty and good faith, as well as those of his sovereign, and although the vow was as insincere as it was effective, it gave great joy to simple-minded, big-hearted Cofachiqui, who believed that these foreigners were as trustworthy as she was, and were hereafter to be her friends and allies.
Slowly she unwound a long string of pearls as large as hazelnuts that were wound three times around her graceful throat and fell in a long strand to her waist, and handing them to De Soto's interpreter, she asked him to present them to his commander whose eyes gleamed at sight of the magnificent jewels, although he shook his head saying gallantly, ”But Madame, they will be doubly precious if given by your own hand.”
The princess flashed an arch glance at the handsome Spanish general, but showed her reluctance, replying that such an act would lay her open to the charge of immodesty. This being repeated to De Soto by his interpreter, he answered firmly and chivalrously,
”More indeed than the pearls themselves would I value the favour of receiving them from her hand, and in acting so she would not go against modesty, for we are treating of peace and friends.h.i.+p, of all things the most important, most serious between strange people.”
Having heard this apparent declaration of amity the princess allowed herself to be persuaded, then rose, and with her own hands placed the string of costly pearls around the neck of De Soto. He too stood, and taking from his hand a valuable ring, set with a large ruby, which he had doubtless pillaged from the Peruvians, he begged Cofachiqui to accept it.
Won by his magnetism and courtly manner the heart of the princess beat fast, and with evident pleasure she accepted the ring and placed it on her finger. Then with a bewitching smile to De Soto, and another to his men, she turned and retraced her steps to the river, and followed as before by her attendants, she again entered the canoe which under the impelling strokes of the st.u.r.dy Indian women, shot homeward, leaving the ranks of the Spanish army quite demoralised by such a vision of youth and beauty, as well as charmed by a strength of character which made them call the princess then and ever afterwards _La Sanora_, or the lady of Cofachiqui, and both then and ever after did she deserve the t.i.tle, for no truer-hearted, kindlier-mannered aristocrat ever made and kept covenant of faith with a treacherous foe, than did she, this sweet princess of a barbarian race.
So much in love with her already were the susceptible Spaniards that they awaited the morrow with extreme impatience and could only while away the hours with tales of her perfections told to the master of camp and the remainder of the army, but just arrived from the interior.
At the appointed hour of the next day came the promised rafts and canoes to transport them, and soon De Soto and his cavaliers found themselves in the most beautiful spot, and among the most hospitable Indians they had ever yet encountered. They were peaceable and affable in manner and almost as white as the Spaniards themselves, and so intelligent that it was possible to gain much valuable information from them concerning the region and its products. As for the lovely princess herself, daily the strangers became more astonished at her soundness of judgment, and practical grasp of affairs, which would easily have challenged many a white man's mental capacity.
With eager desire to make her guests as comfortable as possible, and also with a touch of personal interest in the handsome cavaliers, Cofachiqui ordered wigwams to be put up for the soldiers under the shading mulberry trees, placed houses at the disposal of the officers and made everything bend to the comfort of the Spaniards to such a degree that the delighted army approached their general with a pet.i.tion to make a permanent settlement there. But De Soto was a man of one controlling pa.s.sion and was impervious to all pleas, reiterating these words, ”Our quest is for gold, not for comfort or for courtesy. We must press on.”
A man of few words but of inflexible purpose, the soldiers knew only too well the uselessness of entreating him further and putting aside their emotional appreciation of Cofachiqui's kindness, even while accepting all that she gave them, set to work and secretly discovered the burial place of her people, and robbed it not only of figures of babies and birds made of iridescent sh.e.l.ls, but also of three hundred and fifty weight of pearls. Then, fired with the l.u.s.t of possession, and having found out that Cofachiqui's widowed mother, who lived in retirement forty miles down the river, was the owner of many fine pearls, De Soto at once began to plan to get her in his power. Of this he gave no hint to the princess, but pretended, in his long daily conversations with her, that he was her loyal friend, and his only aim was peace so long as he and his men should be in her territory. At the same time he suggested casually to Cofachiqui, who was still somewhat under the spell of his magnetic personality, (although now not altogether unconscious of the selfish deeds done to her people in his name) that perhaps her mother would enjoy coming up to Yupaha to meet his people who were unlike any she had ever known, also to see the wonderful animals they rode,--for the fine horses of the Spanish cavalrymen were the greatest admiration of the Indians. To his suggestion Cofachiqui gave a pleasant a.s.sent, and at once De Soto's message was conveyed to the Queen's mother by a young Indian who had been brought up as the elder woman's own son. But the Queen's mother had lived longer, and had a broader knowledge of the world and of the treachery of the white man than had her daughter, and instead of accepting the invitation in the spirit in which it was apparently given, she sent a sharp reproof to Cofachiqui for having allowed strangers about whom she knew nothing to invade her capital.
The news was duly brought to De Soto, who set his firm lips more firmly still, and then ordered one of his officers, Juan de Anasco, to take with him thirty men and start at once for the dwelling-place of the Queen's mother, and force her not only to see them, but also to return with them to the camp. On hearing this, the princess argued with him as to the uselessness of the expedition. ”My mother,” she said, ”is of a firm will and tenacious purpose. Had she been willing to see you, she would have come at once. Do not urge her.”
But De Soto spoke in a tone of firm command, telling her that she must supply a guide for the expedition, and with no further sign of reluctance Cofachiqui again commissioned the young Indian, of whom her mother was so fond, to lead the strangers forth, hoping that the lad's coming would make a stronger appeal to her mother than all the force that could be used.
When the young fellow stood equipped for the journey, receiving his instructions from Cofachiqui, he was so strikingly handsome, both in face and stalwart figure, that even the Spaniards could not but note it.
On his back was strung a magnificent bow as tall as he, and a quiver full of arrows, his mantle was of finest softest deerskin and on his head was set a coronet of rare feathers.
That evening the party set out, and on the following day when the sun was high, stopped to rest under a spreading clump of trees, and as the Spaniards lounged in the refres.h.i.+ngly cool spot, the young guide sat apart, not entering into the gaiety of his comrades, but with his head bent in his hands, in apparently deep and melancholy reverie. Then rousing with a start, he threw himself down beside the others and began to show them the arrows with which his quiver was filled, and the Spaniards examined them with eager interest and surprise, for they were gems of carving and of polish, and each one was different from the other. While the soldiers' attention was thus centred, the young Indian gave a quick glance at them, then suddenly he drew out a dagger-edged flint head, plunged it into his throat and fell at their feet. With cries of horror they bent over him, but it was too late. The cut had severed an artery and life was already gone from the n.o.ble form.
Only too well the young man had known when he started out on this second expedition that the queen's mother whom he so dearly loved, would never be willing to have any acquaintance with these strangers, for she distrusted them. On the other hand he had received a command from his much revered princess to conduct the Spaniards to her mother's home, and if need be to bring her to Yupaha by force. He dared not disobey, but his heart was heavy at the thought. He was unwilling to so treat one who had always been kind to him and he had taken his own life rather than be disloyal. Where in the annals of history can be found a greater proof of devotion than this?
The tragedy brought great consternation to the Spaniards, for without the youth it was impossible to go on to their destination unless some of the other Indians in their party would volunteer to conduct them, but they all swore they did not know where the queen's mother lived, and for some hours the Spaniards still rested in the heart of the forest, talking over their plans. Meanwhile Cofachiqui, alone with her people for the first time since the coming of the strangers, had called together her chiefs, and was with them discussing matters of importance to all her subjects. One old chief spoke bitterly of the expressed desire of the cavaliers for conquest, for gold, and warned his princess that she was in danger of disaster if she harboured the intruders any longer, but Cofachiqui answered with flas.h.i.+ng eyes:
”You ask me to betray those who have given me loyalty and trust? You call these strangers unworthy of confidence because they demand the presence of my mother? How do we know what the white man's code of honour about such matters is? To the very end I shall keep my covenant of good faith with them and you as my people will do as I command!” Her firmness was so evident, and so did she hold her people's hearts in her keeping that the old chiefs never again mentioned that which was making more than one in the community uneasy, but they were no less troubled because Cofachiqui showed no concern about the matter.