They Had Now No
Other Spanish Provisions Except Bread And Wine, Owing Partly To The Bad
Management Of The Captains
Of the ships, and partly because nothing keeps
so well in that country as in Spain; and though they had
Abundance of the
provisions of the country, yet not being used to that food it did not
agree with them, and many of them were sick. Taking all these
circumstances into consideration, he resolved to send back part of the
people into Spain, retaining only 300 men in the island, which number he
considered as quite sufficient for keeping the country under subjection.
In the mean time, as biscuit began to grow scarce and they had no flour to
make more, though wheat was in plenty, he resolved to construct some mills,
although there was no fall of water fit for the purpose within less than a
league from the town; in this and all other works he was under the
necessity of constantly superintending the workmen, who all endeavoured
to save themselves from any labour or fatigue.
To husband the remaining provisions, Hojeda was sent from Isabella on
Wednesday the 29th of April with 400 men, leaving none in the town who
were in health except handicrafts and artificers. These were ordered to
march about the country in various directions to strike terror into the
Indians, to accustom them to subjection, and to enure the Spaniards to the
food of country. Hojeda was ordered to march in the first place to fort St
Thomas, of which he was to take the command as the first discoverer of the
province of Cibao, which in the Indian language means the stony country.
Don Pedro Marguerite was then to take charge of marching with this little
army about the country.
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