an evil hour the worthy bachelor united in the
enterprise of Ojeda, in search of fame and fortune. It was determined
that he should stay at St. Domingo till he could collect a larger store
of provisions and more men; and then follow his partner, who set sail
without delay. The armament of Nicuesa still remained in port; for that
gallant cavalier, notwithstanding his challenge to his rival, had
exhausted all the money he could raise; he was even threatened with a
prison; and it was not till some time after his rival had sailed, that
he was enabled by unexpected assistance to embark.

In the month of November 1509, Ojeda reached the harbour of Cartagena,
in his new province. In addition to Juan de la Cosa, he had as a
companion _Francisco Pizarro_, who afterwards conquered Peru. The
former, knowing from previous voyages the savage character of the
natives, advised Ojeda not to stop there, but to proceed to the bay of
Uraba. Such advice was useless to a proud warrior, who despised a naked
and a savage foe. Having failed to keep his commander from danger, the
faithful Juan could only stand by to aid him. Ojeda, who was a good
Catholic, thought that he performed a pious duty in reducing the savages
to the dominion of the king and the knowledge of the true faith. He
carried as a protecting relic a small painting of the Holy Virgin; he
summoned the Indians in the name of the Pope, and he assured them in
the most solemn terms that they were the lawful subjects of the
sovereigns of Castile.

"On landing, he advanced towards the savages, and ordered the
friars to read aloud a certain formula, which had recently been
digested by profound jurists and divines in Spain. It began in
stately form. 'I, Alonzo de Ojeda, servant of the most high and
mighty sovereigns of Castile and Leon, conquerors of barbarous
nations, their messenger and captain, do notify unto you, and
make you know, in the best way I can, that God our Lord, one
and eternal, created the heaven and the earth, and one man and
one woman, from whom you and we, and all the people of the
earth proceeded, and are descendants, as well as all those who
shall come hereafter.' The formula then went on to declare the
fundamental principles of the Catholic Faith; the supreme power
given to St. Peter over the world and all the human race, and
exercised by his representative the pope; the donation made by
a