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opposite the island of Cubagua. These religious communities had
established the most peaceful relations with all the Indians in their
neighbourhood and the friars came and went with perfect freedom, being
welcomed in all the villages. All went quietly until the arrival of one
Alonzo de Ojeda, who came from Cubagua, engaged ostensibly in the pearl
trade, but likewise in raiding for slaves. Pearl diving was as perilous
and fatal an occupation for the Indians as the work in the mines of
Hispaniola and Cuba, and such numbers had perished in Cubagua that it was
necessary to replenish the vacancies by bringing others from the
neighbouring mainland. When Ojeda landed at Chiribichi he repaired to the
convent, where he found but one priest and a lay-brother, all the others
being absent, preaching to the Spaniards in Cubagua. As he expressed a
wish to see the cacique, Maraguey, the priest, thinking no evil, sent to
invite the Indian to come to the monastery; on his arrival, Ojeda began to
question him as to whether cannibalism was practised by any tribes in the
neighbourhood, his answers being taken down on paper by a notary. The
cacique declared that there were no cannibals thereabouts and, being
displeased by the questions and alarmed by the formalities of ink and
paper, he quickly withdrew. Ojeda next went to the convent at Maracapana,
where the cacique, called Gil Gonzalez, came to meet him with every
demonstration of friendship. Ojeda declared he had come to trade and
wished to buy maize, and on the day following his arrival he left with
fifteen of his men to go inland in search of the grain. Fifty Indians
transported the loads from the interior to the coast, and while these
bearers were resting, the Spaniards suddenly drew their weapons, killing
some who tried to escape and forcing all the others on board their
caravel. The effect of this act of unprovoked treachery in a peaceful
settlement, where the Indians had received the newcomers with every
hospitality as guests, may be easily imagined, and as was natural, Gil
Gonzalez planned vengeance for the outrage. The scene at the convent
whither the cacique of Chiribichi had been summoned by his friend the
priest, and the impressive formality of the writing with pen and paper
furnished by the priest, unfortunately identified the monks in the minds
of the Indians with Ojeda and his exploits. The alarm was passed all
along the coast, and the Indians bided the moment