On Wednesday The 27th, He Came To Anchor Off The
Harbour Of The Nativity, And About Midnight A Canoe Came To The Admirals
Ship, Calling Almirante, Or Admiral.
The Indians were desired to come on
board, but they refused till they saw and knew Columbus.
They then gave
him two well wrought vizor masks and some gold, which, they had brought as
a present from Guacanagari, the cacique. Being asked concerning the
Christians, they said some had died of sickness, and that others had gone
up the country, along with their wives. The admiral much feared that they
were all dead, yet thought it prudent to conceal his fears, and sent back
the Indians with some brass baubles, on which they place great value, and
with other toys as a present for the cacique.
Next day the whole fleet entered the port of the Nativity, where they
found the fort burnt, on which it was concluded that all the Christians
were dead, and the more especially as none of the Indians appeared. Some
things which had belonged to the Spaniards were found scattered about the
place, which gave a melancholy indication of what had actually happened.
Columbus caused a well which had been dug in the fort to be cleared out,
but nothing was found there. All the Indians had fled from their houses,
in which some of the clothes were found which had belonged to the
Spaniards. They discovered seven or eight men buried near the fort, whom
they knew to have been Christians by their clothes. While employed in this
distressing search, a brother of Guacanagari and some other Indians made
their appearance, who spoke a little Spanish, and who were able to name
all the men who were left in the fort: From these men, by the help of one
of the Indians who had been in Spain, called James Columbus, they received
an account of the disaster which had befallen the Christians of the
Nativity. They declared, "That, as soon as the admiral departed, the
Spaniards disagreed among themselves, refusing obedience to their
commander, and went about the country in a disorderly manner, seizing
women and gold from the natives. That Peter Gutierrez, and Roderick de
Escovedo, killed one of the Spaniards, named Jacome; after which they went
off with their women and goods to the district of a cacique named
Caunabo, the lord of the mines, who killed them all. That soon
afterwards Caunabo came with a great number of men to the fort, in which
there were then only James de Arana, and five others. That Caunabo set the
fort on fire during the night; and those few who were in it, in
endeavouring to escape to the sea were drowned. That all the rest of the
Spaniards had dispersed into different parts of the island. That
Guacanagari went out to fight against Caunabo in defence of the Christians,
and was severely wounded, being still ill of his wounds." All this agreed
with the intelligence brought to the admiral by some of the Spaniards, who
had been sent in search of information, and who had seen Guacanagari at
his place of residence, finding him ill of his wounds, which he urged in
excuse for not waiting on the admiral.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 259 of 415
Words from 137198 to 137742
of 219607
