saw Carrera retreat on 1 Oct., and, notwithstanding a heroic defence, had to cut his way through the enemy's lines on 2 Oct., his force of 1.900 being reduced to 3OO. O'Higgins then went to Buenos Ayres, where he resided till the Argentine government appointed him commander of the second division of the expedition that left Mendoza, 21 Jan., 1817. It met the enemy in Chacabuco on 12 Feb., gaining the battle mainly by the courage of O'Higgins. The Spaniards abandoned Santiago, and on 16 Feb. O'Higgins was appointed director of Chili. After a siege of four months he stormed Talcahuano, but he was defeated by Gen. Ordofiez on 6 Dec, 1817. On 18 Jan., 1818, the second expedition under Osorio landed in Talcahuano, and O'Higgins retired to the north, joining San Martin. On 19 March they were surprised at Cancha Rayada and defeated, notwithstanding O'Higgins's desperate resistance. On 23 March O'Higgins arrived in Santiago, where, resuming his authority, he prepared for the defence of the country, and on 4 April the independent army totally defeated the Spaniards at Maipo. In August, 1818, a convoy was on its way from Spain to the aid of Osorio, but O'Higgins organized a naval force under Manuel Blanco Encalada (q. v.) and ended the naval power of Spain in the Pacific. After the establishment of independence, O'Higgins completed the formation of a navy under Cochrane. During his government, O'Higgins, under the title of supreme director, did much for the advancement of his country, but his minister, Rodriguez Aldea, by his continual intrigues, caused a revolution in the southern provinces in December, 1822, under Ramon Freire. He dismissed Aldea on 7 Jan., 1823, but the discontent continued, and on 28 Jan. he was forced to resign. Believing that his absence would contribute toward healing dissensions, he left shortly afterward for Peru, where he passed the rest of his life on the estate of Montalvan, which he bought in the valley of Canete. His remains were transported to Santiago in January, 1869, by order of the government, and in 1872 an equestrian statue of him was erected in the public walk of Las Delicias.
OIOUHATON, Teresa, Indian convert, b. in
1627. She was the daughter of Chiouatenhoua, a
Huron chief, the principal support of the Mission
of the Conception, who was slain by the Iroquois
in 1640. In compliance with the dying wishes of
her father, her uncle, Teondechoren, took her to
the Ursuline convent in Quebec, where she learned
to speak and write French, and acted as interpreter
for the Indians that came to the town. When,
in 1642, her uncle went to Quebec to take her away
in order to marry her to a Huron chief, she refused
to leave the sisters; but the influence of Father
Jogues was invoked, and she finally consented.
Having been provided by the Ursulines with all
she required for her marriage, she set out with
Father Jogues and her uncle in August, 1642. The
party were captured by the Iroquois, and she fell
to the lot of a young warrior, who married her. A
large ransom was offered for her release by the
French governor, but without effect. She
continued a Christian to the end of her life, and
instructed others in the faith. She received the
missionary Le Moyne into her house in 1654.
OJÉDA, Alonso de (o-hay'-dah), Spanish
adventurer, b. in Cuenca in 1465; d. in Hispaniola
in 1515. He accompanied Columbus in his second
voyage to the New World, and after the foundation
of Isabela, the latter sent Ojeda on an expedition to
explore the interior of Hispaniola. With a small
force he advanced to Cibao, and returned after a
successful exploration, during which he discovered
gold-mines. In April, 1494, he commanded an
expedition to La Vega Real against Caonabo (q. v.),
cacique of Maguana, who was besieging the garrison
of Santo Tomas under Pedro Margarit, and,
after relieving the fortress, persuaded the Indians
to return to their villages. In order to subdue
them thoroughly, he planned and successfully
accomplished the bold design of capturing the
cacique, and brought him to Columbus. He afterward
directed the operations against Caonabo's
brothers, and decided, by a timely movement, the
disputed battle of La Vega, in March, 1495, against
the Indian's allies. On his return to Spain in the
following year he obtained permission to explore
the continent that had been discovered by Columbus
on his third voyage, and, arming an expedition,
sailed from Santa Maria on 18 May, 1499. Ojeda was
accompanied by the former pilot of Columbus, Juan
de la Cosa (q. v.), and also by Americo Vespucci
(q. v.), who was one of the merchants that provided
the expenses of the expedition. They were carried
by winds and currents to the southward, touching
the coast of America at latitude 5º S., and, coasting
to the northward, landed in Trinidad. They then
sailed along the coast, making frequent landings
and having repeated fights with the Indians, and
finally reached a country called Coquibacoa by the
natives, which, on account of finding there towns
built on piles in lakes, he named Venezuela, from
a fancied resemblance to Venice. In the interior
of a deep inlet he discovered a city built in the
same manner, which he called San Bartolome, and
which was probably Maracaibo. Resuming his
voyage, the navigator proceeded to Cape Vela,
when the bad condition of his ships forced him to
steer for Hispaniola. He arrived at Yaquima
(Jacmel) on 5 Sept., 1499, but was obliged by Roldan,
a lieutenant of Columbus, to re-embark. He
next tried to organize a mutiny in the garrison of
Jaragua, but was foiled by the arrival of Roldan
and Diego Escobar. He now returned to Spain,
taking with him several hundred Indians from the
Bahamas and selling them as slaves in Cadiz,
where he arrived, 15 June, 1500. Being commissioned
governor of Coquibacoa, he sailed again for
America in January, 1502, and attempted to establish
a colony, which he called Santa Cruz, but, on
account of his despotic measures, he was imprisoned
by his own crew and carried in chains to
Hispaniola in September, 1502. He was set at liberty
ten months later through the influence of Bishop
Fonseca (q. v.). In 1508 he sent his former pilot, Juan de la Cosa, to Madrid to obtain a concession for new conquests on the main-land. The latter obtained for Ojeda the title to the country from Cape Vela to the middle of the Gulf of Darien, under the name of Nueva Andalucia, and sailing with about 200 men in three vessels, rejoined Ojeda in Hispaniola. By the fame of his former exploits the latter easily gathered about 100 more adventurers, among them being Francisco Pizarro, the future conqueror of Peru; and Hernan Cortes (q. v.) was prevented only by a sudden illness from sailing with him. In November, 1509, he left Hispaniola for Caramari (afterward Carthagena), where he was rescued from the natives by the expedition of his competitor, Diego de Nicuesa. He then sailed for the Gulf of Darien, and on the eastern shore founded the colony of San Sebastian, but soon his fort was surrounded by the natives, and when provisions and ammunitions began to fail, Ojeda sailed for Hispaniola in quest of his partner, Martin de Enciso (q. v.), leaving Pizarro in command of San Sebastian. He took passage on a vessel belonging to a trader named Bernardino de
