Maldonado

“ The gentleman gave me his name, Julian Maldonado, and that of his daughter, Felicita Maldonado. He was a well-to-do merchant of elderly years. I learned that his wife was dead and that their home was in Lima. The servants made me a bed in the room adjacent to my host. The next morning I was aroused by one of them who said his master wanted to see me. ”

“ On arriving at the place, where matters having been arranged as had been agreed upon between Maldonado—the betrayer’s appropriate name—and the officers of justice, Marcelino and his band were surprised. He endeavored to escape, but Maldonado spurring his horse toward the unsuspecting bandit, pierced him with his sword. Without delaying he then pushed on, followed by the hateros, to the camp where the unfortunate lady was still a captive. They found her surrounded by a train of red skin dames of honor, all of whom were afterward distributed as servants among the families of their conquerors. ”

“ Maldonado would stand watching! “I’m doing my duty, señor.”
“If you are so busy, Señor Maldonado,” suggested Rickard, “I can help you. I’ll send down a few men to help search. How many would you like?”
He expected a minute’s hesitation, but there was none. Oh, it was not necessary. Later, maybe, he would call on señor but it chanced that next week, or the next, a squad of rurales was to be there for that very purpose sent for by Maldonado. Oh, he was awake to his duty! The señor would be satisfied. There would be no more drunken Indians. ”

“ MALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. It is a most quiet, forlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with the streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the scantiness of the population more evident. It possesses scarcely any trade; the exports being confined to a few hides and living cattle. ”

“ A few days after Maldonado’s departure a captured Indian so beguiled Soto with tales of gold to be found far to the northeast of Apalachee, where he then was, that banishing all thoughts of Puerta d’ Anchusi from his mind, he began that circuitous march which carried him into South Carolina, northern Georgia, and Alabama, where he wandered in search of treasure until disappointment, wasted forces, and needed supplies again turned his march southward, and his thoughts to his rendezvous with Maldonado. ”

“ On the road from Maldonado’s, Rickard had met several Indians swaying from their saddles; a half-breed lurching unsteadily toward Yuma. He had made note of that. Who was selling liquor to those Indians, those half-breeds? Maldonado could have told him, Maldonado who wore the dirty unrecognizable uniform of a rurale. Rickard was going to use Indian labor; must depend, he knew, for steady work, the brush clearing and [135] the mattress weaving, on the natives. If any one was selling mescal and tequila within a day’s ride of the Heading, it was his place to find out. ”

“ And the drink makes the men crazy, or stupid. Afterward, he does not remember where he got the tequila. Maldonado whips him, the Indian does not know it is the same hand, and when he is turned loose, he would kiss his feet— Or perhaps, Maldonado sends him to Ensenada—who believes him when he swears the rurale who arrested him made him drunk, señor? Twice, three times, Maldonado’s life was in danger—but the law made quick work of an Indian who tried to kill a rurale. He would kill me, señor—would Maldonado.”
“Go on,” drove Rickard. ”

“ As Gonzalo Pizarro had taken all the horses, Diego Maldonado ordered all the mares to be{124} brought. There is no fortress for resisting the fury of the Indians equal to Spaniards on horseback. The Indians, robbing and desolating as they approached, came within six leagues of Cuzco, but they did not dare to advance, fearing the force of the Spaniards, their own bodies being unarmoured and unprotected. The captain Diego Maldonado ordered all the Spaniards, including the clergy, to muster in the great square on their mares, with their lances in their hands. ”

“ He brought her to our home, there, Lupe, the wife of Felipe, the Deguino. Felipe had found a wife in Nogales, had brought her down to the river, a mile below the oleander. She found the desert dull; she had the city’s foolishness in her head. Felipe was gone a good deal. Maldonado sent him to Ensenada with some poor wretches. Maldonado was never at home then; I told him not to fool with Felipe; the Indian was dangerous; he had hot blood. Maldonado struck me—he kicked me—he said I was jealous—and hit me again.” Rickard saw jealousy in the unveiled eyes of hate. ”

“ Alonso de Maldonado was elected its first president [XVII‐21] through the recommendation of Las Casas, the remaining oidores being the licentiates Diego de Herrera, of whom mention has been made in connection with the province of Nicaragua, Pedro Ramirez de Quiñones, and Juan Rogel. Maldonado was directed to establish the seat of government at Comayagua, which was thenceforth to be known as Nueva Villa de Valladolid, but finding that location unsuitable he selected as a more favorable site Gracias á Dios, where in 1545 the first session of the tribunal was held. ”

“ Ramon devoted himself to the service of Esperanza, and she allowed him to wait on her with a placid smile which turned his head with joy. The reason of her condescension was that, by his aunt's particular desire, Pepe Castro had not joined the party. The matrimonial overtures, made under the greatest secrecy, required the utmost prudence. As Maldonado was so intimate with the lord of her heart, Esperanza felt a certain pleasure in keeping him at her side; at the same time she avoided comment by talking to the Conde de Agreda or to Cobo. Poor Ramon! ”

“ Maldonado, a man of good family, not altogether devoid of fortune, and recently elected member of the Chamber, had for some time been paying his addresses to Esperanza de Calderón. It was in the opinion of their friends a very suitable match. Esperanza would be richer than Ramoncito, since Don Julian's business was soundly established on an extensive scale; still, the young man, who was by no means a beggar, had begun his political career with credit. ”

“ The upper courses of this river are known as the Madre de Dios, upon which Port Maldonado is situated, and whose lower course is the enormous Madera Biver, which runs into the Amazon in Brazil in latitude 59°, more than one thousand miles below Iquitos. At Port Maldonado is the confluence of the Tambopata Biver with the Madre de Dios, and farther upstream is the Inambari Biver. The whole of this region is rich in rubber forests, and several companies are engaged in rubber gathering, including British, American, Bolivian, and Peruvian. ”

“ The licentiate Alonso Maldonado, whom his majesty appointed president and governor of the provinces of Guatimala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, likewise possessed every good quality, and was subsequently appointed governor of Yucatan jointly with his father-in-law Don Francisco de Montejo.
The licentiate Quiroga also possessed similar virtues, and was afterwards made bishop of Mechoacan. Thus were these excellent men rewarded for their virtues; while Delgadillo and Matienzo returned poor and despised to Spain, where they died a couple of years after in obscurity. ”

“ On Sunday, the twenty-eighth of December, Juan de Añasco arrived; and the Governor directed Francisco Maldonado, captain of infantry, to run the coast to the westward with fifty men, and look for an entrance; proposing to go himself in that direction by land on discoveries. The same day, eight men rode two leagues about the town in pursuit of Indians, who had become so bold that they would venture up within two crossbow-shot of the camp to kill our people. ”

“ Maldonado complains of the companies formed from Filipinos in whom he sees grave danger. The soldiers of the fort are ill paid, and inasmuch as they are permanently in the fort and make no raids, as do the other soldiers, they suffer considerably. Consequently, Maldonado asks that they be paid first, and that their pay of six reals be raised. Arms are needed, especially arquebuses and muskets. ”

“ And because the Governor hoped to find a good country forward, he was very well contented. And he sent Maldonado for victuals to Havana, with order that he should tarry for him at the port of Ochus, which he had discovered, for he would go seek it by land; and if he should chance to stay, and not come thither that summer, that then he should return to Havana, and should come again the next summer after, and tarry for him at that port; for he said he would do none other thing but go to seek Ochus. ”

“ These men, who were secretly armed, having gained admission, stabbed the sentry and seized the person of Bobadilla, whilst Maldonado, with other of his people, took possession of the castle itself. The inmates of the Alcazar, hearing the uproar, fled to the Homenaje Tower, taking with them the Infanta, who was five years of age at the time. Fortified in this, they defied Maldonado when he attacked it. Finding it impregnable, the rebel ordered Bobadilla to be brought forward, and threatened the besieged that unless they admitted him he would put the prisoner to death. ”

“ A party of five or six young girls, and among them Esperancita, were talking with a group of the younger men. Two of these were Cobo Ramirez and our intelligent friend Ramon Maldonado. It would be difficult to reduce to writing the ideas exchanged by these youthful talkers. They must have been subtle, amusing, and pointed, if we may judge by the mirth they gave rise to. At the same time the keen observer would have detected the fact that the young ladies' gestures, appealing eyes, saucy glances, and insinuating graces, even their shouts of laughter, had no direct connection with what was said. ”

“ During the war with Portugal the Catholic Sovereigns had entrusted their eldest daughter, the Princess Isabella, to the care of Andrés de Cabrera, the Seneschal 61 of the Castle of Segovia, and his wife, Beatriz de Bobadilla.
Cabrera, a man of stern and rigid equity, had occasion to depose his lieutenant, Alonso Maldonado, from his office, conferring this upon his own brother-in-law, Pedro de Bobadilla. Maldonado conspired to avenge himself. ”

“ Behind him, to be sure, were Pepe Castro and Lola, talking with the greatest animation; but of this the young civilian was not aware.
When Leon moved, Ramon led him aside, and in a low tone made his plaint. Leon was to know that he, Ramon Maldonado, was also paying attentions to Esperancita, and was, in fact, hopelessly in love with her. It was a blow he could not bear, that so intimate a friend should come in his way. He pathetically reminded him of their childhood; their sports together, their school-life ”

“ They came out to the Christians with a great yelling, astonished at seeing them on horses, and took them for immortals, some of them thinking that horse and man were one animal. Diego Maldonado had been left with the baggage, and Felipe Gutiérrez waited at a place that seemed to secure the best supply of food. Felipe Gutiérrez felt sore that Francisco de Mendoza should occupy the position he held, and sought to deprive him of it. He sent to him to claim the stores and provisions which had been collected when Diego de Rojas died. ”

“ Every class of foreigners seems the better for being thus mixed with others. All are equally industrious, all seem happy and content.{24}
I remained only three weeks at the Cape. I was again embarked in an expedition against South America, under Sir Samuel Achmuty and Brigadier-General Lumley. We arrived in the River La Plata in October 1806, when we were informed that the Spaniards had retaken Buenos Ayres, and that our troops only possessed Maldonado, a small space on the side of the river, about five or six miles farther up than Monte Video. ”

“ From here a force went down the river to the seacoast to find the harbor and to find out about the ships. Don Rodrigo Maldonado, who was captain of those who went in search of the ships, did not find them, but he brought back with him an Indian so large and tall that the best man in the army reached only to his chest. It was said that other Indians were even taller on that coast. After the rains ceased the army went on to where the town of Señora was afterward located, because there were provisions in that region, so that they were able to wait there for orders from the general. ”

“ July 24th, 1833.—The Beagle sailed from Maldonado, and on August the 3rd she arrived off the mouth of the Rio Negro. ”

“ There were no less than thirty ships and twenty-five hundred persons comprising the expedition. Of the company were Alonso Maldonado, newly appointed alcalde mayor, [V-1] and twelve Franciscans, with a prelate, Antonio de Espinal. Las Casas was present; and Hernan Cortés would have been there but for an illness which prevented him. There were seventy-three respectable married women, who had come with their husbands and children, and who were to salt society at their several points of distribution. ”

“ These horsemen were not regular soldiers, but the inhabitants of the country, who had{25} turned out to defend their homes from the enemy.
Soon after our arrival at Maldonado, the Spaniards advanced out of Monte Video to attack us. They were about 600, and had, besides, a number of great guns with them. They came upon us in two columns, the right consisting of Cavalry, the left of infantry, and bore so hard upon our out-picquet of 400 men, that Colonel Brown, who commanded our left, ordered Major Campbell, with three companies of the 40th regiment, to its support. ”