followers so well, that many of them gave
ear to his messages; and therefore Roldan conceived hopes that many of the
lieutenants people would go over to his side, which encouraged him to
undertake the enterprize upon the Conception, which did not however
succeed according to his wishes and hopes. The lieutenant was a man of
great resolution, and having the best soldiers on his side, resolved to do
that by force of arms which he could not affect by arguments and fair
means. He gathered therefore his men together and marched out of the town
to attack the rebels on the road.

Perceiving that his expectations were disappointed, and that not one man
deserted to him from the lieutenants party, Roldan was afraid to meet him
in the field, and resolved to retire in time to Xaragua as he had first
designed. Yet he talked contemptuously of the lieutenant, and stirred up
the Indians wherever he went to rebel against him, pretending that he had
deserted him because he was a person of a morose and revengeful
disposition both against the Christians and the Indians, and abominably
covetous, as was seen by the great burthens and tributes he imposed on
them; which if they submitted to he would augment every year, though
contrary to the will of their Catholic majesties, who required nothing of
their subjects but obedience, and wished to maintain them in justice,
peace, and liberty. And he declared that he and his friends and followers
would assist them to assert their rights against the lieutenant, and
declared himself the protector and deliverer of the Indians. After this
Roldan forbade the payment of the tribute which had been imposed by the
admiral, by which means it could not be gathered from those who were at
any distance from the residence of the lieutenant, and he was afraid to
collect it from those in his neighbourhood, lest he might provoke them to
join with the rebels. Notwithstanding of this concession, no sooner had
the lieutenant withdrawn from the Conception than Guarionex, the principal
cacique of that province, resolved to besiege that place with the
assistance of Roldan, and to destroy the Christians who defended it.

The better to effectuate this scheme, he called together all the caciques
of his party, and privately agreed with them that every one should kill
such of the Christians as resided in his district. For the territories in
Hispaniola were too small for any of them to maintain a great number of
people, and there