The Admiral Gave It The Name Of La Villa De Navidad, Or
The Town Of The Nativity, Because He Came
To that port on Christmas day.
On the morning of the 29th December, a very young but ingenious lad, who
Was nephew to the cacique, came on board the caravel; and as the admiral
was still eager to know whence the Indians had their gold, he used to ask
this question of every one by signs, and now began to understand some
words of the Indian language. He accordingly inquired of this youth about
the mines, and understood that he informed him, "That at the distance of
four days journey to the eastwards there were certain islands, called
Guarionex, Macorix, Mayous, Fumay, Cibao, and Coray, in which there was
abundance of gold." The admiral wrote down these words immediately; but it
was evident he as yet knew little of the language, for it was known
afterwards that these places, instead of separate islands, were provinces
or districts in Hispaniola, subject to so many different lords or caciques.
Guarionex was chief of the vast royal plain, formerly mentioned under
the name of Vega real, one of the wonders of nature, and the youth meant
to say that Cibao, which abounded in gold, belonged to the dominion of
Guarionex. Macorix was another province, which afforded little gold. The
other names belonged to other provinces, in which the admiral omitted some
letters and added others, not knowing well how to spell them properly:
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