At The End Of His Discourse The
Cacique Presented To The Admiral Eight Strings Of Small Beads Made Of
White,
Green, and red stones, a string of gold beads, a royal crown of
gold, and three small calabashes full of
Gold dust, all of which might be
about four marks weight of gold, the mark being half a pound. In return
for all this the admiral gave him abundance of our baubles, which though
not worth three ryals or eighteen-pence, he yet valued exceedingly.
Although Guacanagari was very ill, he insisted upon going, with the
admiral to see the fleet, where he was courteously entertained, and was
much delighted to see the horses, of which he had received an account from
the Christians. And as some of those who had been killed had given him a
very erroneous account of our holy faith, the admiral used his best
endeavours to instruct him, and prevailed with him to wear an image of the
Virgin Mary suspended from his neck, which he had at first refused to
receive.
Reflecting on the disaster of the Christians at Nauidad, and his own
misfortune in that neighbourhood by losing his ship, and considering that
there were other places at no great distance more commodious for the
establishment of a colony, he sailed on Saturday the seventh of December
with the whole fleet to the eastwards, and about evening cast anchor not
far from the islands of Monte Christo. And the next day removed to Monte
Christo, among those seven low islands which were mentioned in the account
of the former voyage. These little islands, although destitute of trees,
are yet extremely pleasant; for in that season of winter they found a
profusion of fine flowers, the nests had many of them eggs, and young
birds in others, and all other things resembled the appearance of summer
in Spain. Removing thence, he went to anchor before an Indian town where
he had resolved to plant his colony, and landed all the men, provisions,
utensils, and animals which had been brought on board the fleet. The place
he now chose was a fine plain near a rock on which a fort might be very
conveniently built for its defence; and here he immediately began to build
a town which he named Isabella, in honour of the queen of Castile. The
port of this place, though exposed to the N.W. was large and convenient,
and had a most delicious river only a bow-shot distant, from which canals
of water might be drawn for the use of the town, to run through the
streets. Immediately beyond that river there lay a vast open plain, from
the extremity of which the Indians said the gold mines of Cibao were not
far remote. For all these reasons the admiral was so extremely intent upon
settling the colony, that what with the fatigues which he had endured at
sea and the labour he now encountered, he not only was unable to write
down from day to day the occurrences as had been his usual custom, but he
fell sick, by which causes his journal was interrupted from the eleventh
of December 1493 till the twelfth of March 1494.
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