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 therefore the Christians were under the necessity of dividing themselves into small parties of eight or ten in each liberty or district. This gave the Indians hopes that, by surprizing them all at one and the same time, they might have it in their power to extirpate the whole and suffer none to escape. But having no other way of counting time or ordering any thing else which requires counting, except by means of their fingers, they resolved that every one should be ready to destroy the Christians at the next full moon. Guarionex having thus concerted with his caciques, one of the chiefest among them being desirous to acquire reputation, and looking upon the enterprise as a very easy matter, fell on before the time appointed, not being astronomer sufficient to know the exact time of full moon. After a severe conflict, he was forced to fly for assistance and protection to Guarionex, who put him to death as he deserved, for having thus laid open the conspiracy and put the Christians on their guard.

The rebels were not a little mortified at this miscarriage of the Indian plot, for it was reported that it had been concerted with their privacy and consent, and they had therefore waited to see whether Guarionex might bring affairs to such a pass, that by joining with him they might be able to destroy the lieutenant. But perceiving that it failed of success, they considered themselves insecure in the province where they then were, and therefore went away to Xaragua, still proclaiming themselves the protectors of the Indians, whereas they were thieves in their actions and inclinations, having no regard to God or the opinion of the world, but following their own inordinate appetites. Every one stole or took away what he could, and their leader Roldan more than any of the rest, commanding every cacique to entertain him that could; and though he forbade the Indians from paying any tribute to the lieutenant, he exacted much more from them under pretence of acting as their defender, insomuch that from one cacique only, named Monicaotex, he received every three months a calabash full of pure gold, containing three marks or a pound and a half, and to make sure of him he detained his son and nephew as hostages. He who reads this must not wonder that we reduce the marks of gold to the measure of a calabash, which is here done to shew that the Indians dealt in all these cases by measure, as they never had any weights.

The Christians being thus divided, and no supplies coming from Spain, the lieutenant and his brother were unable to keep the people in quiet who still remained with them; for most of them were mean persons, and desirous of leading that life of ease and licentiousness which Roldan offered for their acceptance, by which they became so insolent that it was impossible to keep them in order, or to punish the guilty lest they might be utterly forsaken; neither dared they in these circumstances to attempt reducing the rebels to order, and were necessitated, to bear patiently with their audacious contempt of government.

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