d himself a ruined man.

If ruined, however, he was yet in the vigour of his years, and his
spirit was undaunted. He still yearned for the gold of Terra Firma. All
he wanted was money to fit out an armament. In this difficulty he was
aided by an old and tried friend. Juan de la Cosa, the hardy pilot of
Columbus, and the companion of Ojeda in his first voyage, and
subsequently of Rodrigo de Bastides, had remained in Hispaniola, and
contrived to fill his purse in subsequent cruises among the islands. The
friends united together, and applied to the crown of Spain for a grant
of territory and command on Terra Firma. A similar application was made
about the same time by Diego de Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier of
noble birth.--

"Nature, education, and habit, seemed to have combined to form
Nicuesa as a complete rival of Ojeda. Like him he was small of
stature, but remarkable for symmetry and compactness of form,
and for bodily strength and activity; like him he was master at
all kinds of weapons, and skilled, not merely in feats of
agility, but in those graceful and chivalrous exercises, which
the Spanish cavaliers of those days had inherited from the
Moors; being noted for his vigour and address in the jousts or
tilting matches after the Moresco fashion. Ojeda himself could
not surpass him in feats of horsemanship, and particular
mention is made of a favourite mare, which he could make caper
and carricol in strict cadence to the sound of a viol; beside
all this, he was versed in the legendary ballads or romances of
his country, and was renowned as a capital performer on the
guitar! Such were the qualifications of this candidate for a
command in the wilderness, as enumerated by the reverend Bishop
Las Casas. It is probable, however, that he had given evidence
of qualities more adapted to the desired post; having already
been out to Hispaniola in the military train of the late
Governor Ovando."

King Ferdinand found some difficulty in deciding between the claims of
candidates whose merits were so singularly balanced; he ultimately
divided that part of the continent lying along the isthmus, and
extending from cape de la Vela to cape Gracias a Dios, into two
provinces, separated by the bay of Uraba, which is at the head of the
gulf of Darien. Of these provinces, the eastern was assigned to Ojeda,
the western to Nicuesa.