That commander, meanwhile, had sailed with his
whole fleet from Panama, on the tenth of April, 1547. The first part of
his voyage was prosperous; but he was soon perplexed by contrary
currents, and the weather became rough and tempestuous. The violence
of the storm continuing day after day, the sea was lashed into fury, and
the fleet was tossed about on the billows, which ran mountain high, as if
emulating the wild character of the region they bounded. The rain
descended in torrents, and the lightning was so incessant, that the
vessels, to quote the lively language of the chronicler, "seemed to be
driving through seas of flame!" 24 The hearts of the stoutest mariners
were filled with dismay. They considered it hopeless to struggle against
the elements, and they loudly demanded to return to the continent, and
postpone the voyage till a more favorable season of the year.
But the president saw in this the ruin of his cause, as well as of the loyal
vassals who had engaged, on his landing, to support it. "I am willing to
die," he said, "but not to return"; and, regardless of the remonstrances of
his more timid followers, he insisted on carrying as much sail as the
ships could possibly bear, at every interval of the storm.25 Meanwhile,
to divert the minds of the seamen from their present danger, Gasca
amused them by explaining some of the strange phenomena exhibited by
the ocean in the tempest, which had filled their superstitious minds with
mysterious dread.
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