For the white men were no longer regarded as good beings
that had come from heaven, but as ruthless destroyers, who,
invulnerable to the assaults of the Indians, were borne along on
the backs of fierce animals, swifter than the wind, with weapons
in their hands, that scattered fire and desolation as they went.
Such were the stories now circulated of the invaders, which,
preceding them everywhere on their march, closed the hearts, if
not the doors, of the natives against them. Exhausted by the
fatigue of travel and by disease, and grievously disappointed at
the poverty of the land, which now offered no compensation for
their toils, the soldiers of Pizarro cursed the hour in which
they had enlisted under his standard, and the men of Nicaragua,
in particular, says the old chronicler, calling to mind their
pleasant quarters in their luxurious land, sighed only to return
to their Mahometan paradise. *23
[Footnote 23: Aunque ellos no ninguno por aver venido, porque
como avian dexado el paraiso de mahoma que hera Nicaragua y
hallaron la isla alzada y falta de comidas y la mayor parte de la
gente enfferma y no oro ni plata como atras avian hallado,
algunos y todos se holgaran de volver de adonde avian venido."
Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms.]
At this juncture the army was gladdened by the sight of a vessel
from Panama, which brought some supplies, together with the royal
treasurer, the veedor or inspector, the comptroller, and other
high officers appointed by the Crown to attend the expedition.
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