the point
called Hraga and were a league down the river, but they were exhausted
with hard rowing and the light pirogue of their pursuers gained so rapidly
upon them that their only hope was to take refuge in the thick underbrush
along the shore, where the Indians, being naked, could not penetrate on
account of the thorns. The canoe and the pirogue touched land almost at
the same time and not far from one another. Fray Juan afterwards
recounted to Las Casas how he was overtaken by an Indian and, seeing the
club raised to strike him, he threw himself on his knees, closed his eyes,
and prepared for death; the blow did not fall, and on opening his eyes he
found himself alone, with no Indian in sight. Finding it impossible to
reach the Spaniards in their refuge in the thorny thicket, the Indians
withdrew and the Christians, covered with blood from their many wounds,
managed, though in a truly pitiable plight, to reach some boats which were
loading salt not far off. It was then noticed for the first time that
their captain, Francisco de Soto, was missing and, as some one remembered
having seen him concealed under a great rock in the thicket, a boat was
sent to look for him. After three days' search he was found, dying of
thirst, and on being brought on board and given water, he finished himself
by drinking to excess. Thus the author of all the mischief paid the
penalty of his imprudence and disobedience with his life.

While the colonists were undergoing these sufferings, Las Casas found
himself on board a vessel whose pilots, ignorant of the chart, carried him
eighty leagues beyond the harbour of Hispaniola and wasted two months in
beating against the currents to pass the little island La Beata. Seeing
the hopeless incompetency of these men, he had himself put ashore at the
harbour of Jaquimo some twenty leagues lower down, from whence he could go
on to Jaguana and so across the island to the city of Santo Domingo. The
news of the disaster at Cumana had long since reached Hispaniola and Las
Casas heard of it in the following manner, while journeying on foot across
the island with several companions. One day, while he was taking his
afternoon siesta under a tree, a party of travellers joined his
companions, who enquired what news there was in Santo Domingo or from
Spain. The newcomers answered that the only recent news was that of the
murder of the clerigo Las Casas and all his colony at Cumana by the
Indians. "We