De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2) by Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt

T >> Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt >> De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2)

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30

Columbus had meanwhile sent some officers with an escort of men to
effect a reconnaissance farther in the interior; two of the most
conspicuous of these were Hojeda and Corvalano, both young and
courageous noblemen. One of them discovered three rivers, the other
four, all of which had their sources in these same mountains. In the
sands of these rivers gold was found, which the Indians, who acted as
their escort, proceeded in their presence to collect in the following
manner: they dug a hole in the sand about the depth of an arm, merely
scooping the sand out of this trough with the right and left hands.
They extracted the grains of gold, which they afterwards presented to
the Spaniards. Some declared they saw grains as big as peas. I have
seen with my own eyes a shapeless ingot similar to a round river
stone, which was found by Hojeda, and was afterwards brought to Spain;
it weighed nine ounces. Satisfied with this first examination they
returned to report to the Admiral.

Columbus, as I have been told, had forbidden them to do more than
examine and reconnoitre the country. The news spread that the king
of the mountain country, where all these rivers rise, was called the
Cacique Caunaboa, that is to say, the Lord of the Golden House; for in
their language _boa_ is the word for a house, _cauna_ for gold, and
_cacique_ for king, as I have above written. Nowhere are better
fresh-water fish to be found, nor more beautiful nor better in taste,
and less dangerous. The waters of all these rivers are likewise very
wholesome.

Melchior has told me that amongst the cannibals the days of the month
of December are equal to the nights, but knowledge contradicts this
observation. I well know that in this self-same month of December,
some birds made their nests and others already hatched out their
little ones; the heat was also considerable. When I inquired
particularly concerning the elevation of the north star above the
horizon, he answered me that in the land of the cannibals the Great
Bear entirely disappeared beneath the arctic pole. There is nobody who
came back from this second voyage whose testimony one may more safely
accept than his; but had he possessed knowledge of astronomy he would
have limited himself to saying that the day is about as long as the
night. For in no place in the world does the night during the solstice
precisely equal the day; and it is certain that on this voyage the
Spaniards never reached the equator, for they constantly beheld on the
horizon the polar star, which served them as guide. As for Melchior's
companions, they were without knowledge or experience, therefore I
offer you few particulars, and those only casually, as I have been
able to collect them. I hope to narrate to you what I may be able to
learn from others. Moreover Columbus, whose particular friend I am,
has written me that he would recount me fully all that he has been
fortunate enough to discover.[9]

[Note 9: The letter of Columbus here mentioned is not known to exist.]

The Admiral selected an elevation near the port as the site for a
town[10]; and, within a few days, some houses and a church were built,
as well as could be done in so short a time. And there, on the feast
of the Three Kings (for when treating of this country one must speak
of a new world, so distant is it and so devoid of civilisation and
religion) the Holy Sacrifice was celebrated by thirteen priests.[11]

[Note 10: The first Spanish settlement was named Isabella, as was
likewise the cape on which it stood. Long after it was abandoned and
had fallen into ruin, the site was reputed to be haunted. See Las
Casas, _Historia de las Indias_, vol. i., p. 72.]

[Note 11: There were certainly not as many as thirteen priests
with Columbus. The text reads ...._divina nostro ritu sacra sunt
decantata tredecim sacerdotibus ministrantibus_. The number doubtless
includes all laymen who took any part, as acolytes, etc., in the
ceremonies.]

As the time when he had promised to send news to the King and Queen
approached, and as the season was moreover favourable [for sailing],
Columbus decided not to prolong his stay. He therefore ordered the
twelve caravels, whose arrival we have announced, to sail, though he
was much afflicted by the assassination of his comrades; because, but
for their death, we should possess much fuller information concerning
the climate and the products of Hispaniola.

That you may inform your apothecaries, druggists, and perfumers
concerning the products of this country and its high temperature, I
send you some seeds of all kinds, as well as the bark and the pith of
those trees which are believed to be cinnamon trees. If you wish to
taste either the seeds or the pith or the bark, be careful, Most
Illustrious Prince, only to do so with caution; not that they are
harmful, but they are very peppery, and if you leave them a long time
in your mouth, they will sting the tongue. In case you should burn
your tongue a little in tasting them, take some water, and the burning
sensation will be allayed. My messenger will also deliver to Your
Eminence some of those black and white seeds out of which they make
bread. If you cut bits of the wood called aloes, which he brings, you
will scent the delicate perfumes it exhales.

Fare you well.

From the Court of Spain, the third day of the calends of May, 1494.

BOOK III

TO CARDINAL LUDOVICO D'ARAGON

You desire that another skilful Phaeton should drive the car of the
Sun. You seek to draw a sweet potion from a dry stone. A new world, if
I may so express myself, has been discovered under the auspices of the
Catholic sovereigns, your uncle Ferdinand and your aunt Isabella, and
you command me to describe to you this heretofore unknown world; and
to that effect you sent me a letter of your uncle, the illustrious
King Frederick.[1] You will both receive this precious stone, badly
mounted and set in lead. But when you later observe that my beautiful
nereids of the ocean are exposed to the furious attacks of erudite
friends and to the calumnies of detractors, you must frankly confess
to them that you have forced me to send you this news, despite my
pressing occupations and my health. You are not ignorant that I have
taken these accounts from the first reports of the Admiral as rapidly
as your secretary could write under my dictation. You hasten me by
daily announcing your departure for Naples in company of the Queen,
sister of our King and your paternal aunt, whom you had accompanied
to Spain. Thus you have forced me to complete my writings. You will
observe that the first two chapters are dedicated to another, for I
had really begun to write them with a dedication to your unfortunate
relative Ascanio Sforza, Cardinal and Vice-chancellor. When he fell
into disgrace,[2] I felt my interest in writing also decline. It is
owing to you and to the letters sent me by your illustrious uncle,
King Frederick, that my ardour has revived. Enjoy, therefore, this
narrative, which is not a thing of the imagination.

Fare you well. From Granada, the ninth of the calends of May of the
year 1500.

[Note 1: Frederick III., of Aragon, succeeded his nephew Frederick
II., as King of Naples in 1496. Five years later, when dispossessed
by Ferdinand the Catholic, he took refuge in France, where Louis XII.
granted him the duchy of Anjou and a suitable pension. He died in
1504.]

[Note 2: Upon the death of Innocent VIII., four members of the
Sacred College were conspicuous _papabili_: Raffaele Riario and
Giuliano della Rovere, nephews of Sixtus IV., and Roderigo Borgia and
Ascanio Sforza. Borgia was elected and took the title of Alexander VI.
He rewarded Cardinal Sforza for his timely assistance in securing
his elevation, by giving him the Vice-Chancellorship he had himself
occupied as Cardinal, the town of Nepi and the Borgia Palace in Rome.
Dissensions between Alexander and the Sforza family soon became acute;
Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro and sometime husband of Lucrezia
Borgia, was expelled, and his brother, Cardinal Ascanio was included
in the papal disfavour. He sought refuge in Lombardy, where he was
taken prisoner by Louis XII., of France. Peter Martyr had foreseen,
in a measure, the turbulent events of Alexander's pontificate; the
Spanish sovereigns charged him to express to Cardinal Sforza their
disapproval of his action in supporting the Borgia party, that
Cardinal, though a Spaniard, being _persona non grata_ to them; and in
so doing he wrote to his friend the dubious augury, "God grant he may
be grateful to you." Ep. 119.]

I have narrated in a preceding book how the Admiral Columbus, after
having visited the cannibal islands, landed at Hispaniola on the
fourth day of the nones of February, 1493, without having lost a
single vessel. I shall now recount what he discovered while exploring
that island and another neighbouring one, which he believed to be a
continent.

According to Columbus, Hispaniola is the island of Ophir mentioned in
the third book of Kings.[3] Its width covers five degrees of south
latitude, for its north coast extends to the twenty-seventh degree and
the south coast to the twenty-second; its length extends 780 miles,
though some of the companions of Columbus give greater dimensions.[4]
Some declare that it extends to within forty-nine degrees of Cadiz,
and others to an even greater distance. The calculation concerning
this has not been made with precision.

[Note 3: Ortelius, in his _Geographia Sacra_, gives the name of
Ophir to Hayti; and it was a commonly held opinion that Solomon's
mines of Ophir were situated in America. Columbus shared this belief,
and he later wrote of Veragua, when he discovered the coasts of
Darien, that he was positive the gold mines there were those of
Ophir.]

[Note 4: Hayti is 600 kilometres long from east to west, and 230
broad, from north to south, with a superficial area of 74,000 square
kilometres.]

The island is shaped like a chestnut leaf. Columbus decided to found
a town[5] upon an elevated hill on the northern coast, since in
that vicinity there was a mountain with stone-quarries for building
purposes and chalk to make lime. At the foot of this mountain a vast
plain[6] extends for a distance of sixty miles in length, and of
an average of twelve leagues in breadth, varying from six in the
narrowest part to twenty in the broadest. This plain is fertilised by
several rivers of wholesome water, of which the largest is navigable
and empties into a bay situated half a stadium from the town. As the
narrative proceeds you will learn how fruitful this valley is, and how
fertile is its soil. The Spaniards laid out parcels of land on the
river bank, which they intended to make into gardens, and where they
planted all kinds of vegetables, roots, lettuces, cabbages, salads,
and other things. Sixteen days after the sowing, the plants had
everywhere grown; melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, and other similar
products were ripe for picking thirty-six days after they were
planted, and nowhere had our people tasted any of finer flavour.
Throughout the whole year one might thus have fresh vegetables.
Cane-roots, from the juice of which sugar is extracted (but not
crystallised sugar) grew to a height of a cubit within fifteen days
after planting, and the same happened to graftings of vines. Excellent
grapes may be eaten from these vines the second year after planting,
but on account of their exaggerated size, the bunches were not
numerous. A certain peasant planted a foot of wheat about the calends
of February, and wonderful to say, in the sight of everybody he
brought into the town a bunch of ripe grain on the third day of the
calends of April, which fell in that year on the eve of Easter. Two
harvests of vegetables may be counted upon within the year. I have
repeated what is told to me about the fertility of the country by
all those, without exception, who have returned from there. I would
notice, however, that according to some observations wheat does not
grow equally well throughout the whole country.

[Note 5: The town of Santo Domingo, standing at the mouth of the
Ozama river.]

[Note 6: This valley is the actual Vega Real.]

During this time the Admiral despatched some thirty of his men in
different directions to explore the district of Cipangu, which is
still called Cibao. This is a mountainous region covered with rocks
and occupying the centre of the island, where, the natives explained
by signs, gold is obtained in abundance. The Admiral's explorers
brought back marvellous reports of the riches of the country. Four
large rivers rise in these mountains, into which other streams flow,
thus dividing the island by an extraordinary natural arrangement into
four almost equal parts. The first, which the natives call Junua, lies
towards the east; the second, which borders on it and extends to the
west, is called Attibinico; the third lies to the north and is called
Iachi, while the fourth, Naiba, lies to the south.

But let us consider how the town was founded. After having surrounded
the site with ditches and entrenchments for defence against possible
attacks by the natives on the garrison he left there, during his
absence, the Admiral started on the eve of the ides of March
accompanied by all the gentlemen and about four hundred foot-soldiers
for the southern region where the gold was found. Crossing a river,
he traversed the plain and climbed the mountain beyond it. He reached
another valley watered by a river even larger than the former one, and
by others of less importance. Accompanied by his force he crossed this
valley, which was in no place more elevated than the first one, and
thus he reached the third mountain which had never been ascended. He
made the ascent and came down on the other side into a valley where
the province of Cibao begins. This valley is watered by rivers and
streams which flow down from the hills, and gold is also found in
their sands. After penetrating into the interior of the gold region a
distance of some seventy-two miles from the town, Columbus resolved to
establish a fortified post on an eminence commanding the river banks,
from which he might study more closely the mysteries of this region.
He named this place San Tomas.

While he was occupied in building this fortification he was delayed by
the natives, who came to visit him in the hope of getting some bells
or other trifles. Columbus gave them to understand that he was very
willing to give them what they asked, if they would bring him gold.
Upon hearing this promise the natives turned their backs and ran to
the neighbouring river, returning soon afterwards with hands full of
gold. One old man only asked a little bell in return for two grains of
gold weighing an ounce. Seeing that the Spaniards admired the size of
these grains, and quite amazed at their astonishment, he explained to
them by signs that they were of no value; after which, taking in his
hands four stones, of which the smallest was the size of a nut and the
largest as big as an orange, he told them that in his country, which
was half a day's journey distant, one found here and there ingots of
gold quite as large. He added that his neighbours did not even take
the trouble to pick them up. It is now known that the islanders set no
value on gold as such; they only prize it when it has been worked by
a craftsman into some form which pleases them. Who amongst us pays
attention to rough marble or to unworked ebony? Certainly nobody;
but if this marble is transformed by the hand of a Phidias or a
Praxiteles, and if it then presents to our eyes the form of a Nereid
with flowing hair, or a hamadryad with graceful body, buyers will not
be wanting. Besides this old man, a number of natives brought ingots,
weighing ten or twelve drachmas,[7] and they had the effrontery to
say that in the region where they had found them, they sometimes
discovered ingots as big as the head of a child whom they indicated.

[Note 7: The Greek drachma weighed one eighth of an ounce.]

During the days he passed at San Tomas, the Admiral sent a young
nobleman named Luxan, accompanied by an escort, to explore another
region. Luxan told even more extraordinary things, which he had heard
from the natives, but he brought back nothing; it is probable that he
did this in obedience to the Admiral's orders. Spices, but not those
we use, abound in their forests, and these they gather just as they do
gold; that is to say, whenever they wish to trade with the inhabitants
of the neighbouring islands for something which pleases them; for
example, long plates, seats, or other articles manufactured out of a
black wood which does not grow in Hispaniola. On his return journey,
towards the ides of March, Luxan found wild grapes of excellent
flavour, already ripe in the forest, but the islanders take no account
of them. The country, although very stony (for the word Cibao means
in their language _rocky_) is nevertheless covered with trees and
grasses. It is even said that the growth on the mountains, which
strictly speaking is only grass, grows taller than wheat within four
days after it has been mown. The rains being frequent, the rivers and
streams are full of water, and as gold is everywhere found mixed with
the sand of the river-beds, it is conjectured that this metal is
washed down from the mountains by the streams. It is certain that the
natives are extremely lazy, for they shiver with cold among their
mountains in winter, without ever thinking of making clothes for
themselves, although cotton is found in abundance. In the valleys and
lowlands they have nothing to fear from cold.

Having carefully examined the region of Cibao, Columbus returned on
the calends of April, the day after Easter, to Isabella; this being
the name he had given to the new city. Confiding the government
of Isabella and the entire island to his brother[8] and one Pedro
Margarita, an old royal courtier, Columbus made preparations for
exploring the island which lies only seventy miles from Hispaniola,
and which he believed to be a continent. He had not forgotten the
royal instructions, which urged him to visit the new coasts, without
delay, lest some other sovereign might take possession of them. For
the King of Portugal made no secret of his intention also to discover
unknown islands. True it is that the Sovereign Pontiff, Alexander VI.,
had sent to the King and Queen of Spain his bull, sealed with lead, by
which it was forbidden to any other sovereign to visit those unknown
regions.[9] To avoid all conflict, a straight line from north to south
had been drawn, first at one hundred leagues and afterwards by common
accord at three hundred leagues west of the parallel of the isles of
Cape Verde. We believe these islands to be those formerly called
the Hesperides. They belong to the King of Portugal. The Portuguese
mariners have continued their explorations to the east of that line;
following the coast of Africa on their left, they directed their
course to the east, crossing the Ethiopian seas, and up to the present
time none of them has yet sailed to the west of the Hesperides, or
towards the south.

[Note 8: According to the judgment of Las Casas, Bartholomew
Columbus was a man of superior character and well qualified to rule,
had he not been eclipsed by his famous brother. _Hist. Ind_., ii., p.
8.]

[Note 9: Bull granted May 4, 1493: _Ac quibuscumque personis . . .
districtius inhibemus, ne ad insulas et terras firmas inventas, et
inveniendas detectas et detegendas, versus occidentem et meridiem,
fabricando et construendo lineam a Polo Arctico ad Polum antarcticum,
sive terrae firmae, Insulae inventae et inveniendae sint versus aliam
quamcumque partem quae linea distet a qualibet insularum quae vulgariter
appellantur de los Azores el Capo Verde, centum leucis versus
occidentem et meridiem ut praefertur pro mercibus habendis, vel
quavis alia de causa accedere praesumant, absque vestra et haeredum
et subcesorum vestrorum praedictorum licentia spetiali_.... By the
agreement signed at Tordesillas, the distance was increased by common
consent between Spain and Portugal, not as Martyr says, to 300, but to
370 leagues.]

Leaving Hispaniola,[10] the Admiral sailed with three vessels in the
direction of the land he had taken for an island on his first voyage,
and had named Juana. He arrived, after a brief voyage, and named the
first coast he touched Alpha and Omega, because he thought that there
our East ended when the sun set in that island, and our West began
when the sun rose. It is indeed proven that on the west side India
begins beyond the Ganges, and ends on the east side. It is not without
cause that cosmographers have left the boundaries of Ganges India
undetermined.[11] There are not wanting those among them who think
that the coasts of Spain do not lie very distant from the shores of
India.

[Note 10: He left Hispaniola on April 24th.]

[Note 11: This was the general opinion of cosmographers and
navigators at that period; contemporary maps and globes show the
Asiatic continent in the place actually occupied by Florida and
Mexico. See map of Ptolemeus de Ruysch, _Universalior coquiti orbis
tabula ex recentibus confecta observationibus_, Rome, 1508.]

The natives called this country Cuba.[12] Within sight of it, the
Admiral discovered at the extremity of Hispaniola a very commodious
harbour formed by a bend in the island. He called this harbour, which
is barely twenty leagues distant from Cuba, San Nicholas.

[Note 12: Always deeming Cuba to be an extension of Asia, Columbus
was anxious to complete his reconnaissance, and then to proceed to
India and Cathay.]

Columbus covered this distance, and desiring to skirt the south coast
of Cuba, he laid his course to the west; the farther he advanced the
more extensive did the coast become, but bending towards the south, he
first discovered, to the left of Cuba, an island called by the natives
Jamaica,[13] of which he reports that it is longer and broader
than Sicily. It is composed of one sole mountain, which rises in
imperceptible gradations from the coasts to the centre, sloping so
gently that in mounting it, the ascent is scarcely noticeable. Both
the coast country and the interior of Jamaica are extremely fertile
and populous. According to the report of their neighbours, the
natives of this island have a keener intelligence and are cleverer in
mechanical arts, as well as more warlike than others. And indeed, each
time the Admiral sought to land in any place, they assembled in armed
bands, threatening him, and not hesitating to offer battle. As they
were always conquered, they ended by making peace with him. Leaving
Jamaica to one side, the Admiral sailed to the west for seventy days
with favourable winds. He expected to arrive in the part of the world
underneath us just near the Golden Chersonese, which is situated to
the east of Persia. He thought, as a matter of fact, that of the
twelve hours of the sun's course of which we are ignorant he would
have only lost two.

[Note 13: The island is about eighty-five miles from Cuba. The
name Jamaica, which has survived, meant in the native tongue "land of
wood and water." It was really discovered on May 13th, but was not
colonised until 1509.]

It is known that the ancients have only followed the sun during the
half of its course, since they only knew that part of the globe which
lies between Cadiz and the Ganges, or even to the Golden Chersonese.

During this voyage, the Admiral encountered marine currents as
impetuous as torrents, with great waves and undercurrents, to say
nothing of the dangers presented by the immense number of neighbouring
islands; but he was heedless of these perils, and was determined to
advance until he had ascertained whether Cuba was an island or a
continent. He continued, therefore, coasting the shores of the island,
and always towards the west, to a distance, according to his report,
of two hundred and twenty-two leagues, which is equal to about one
thousand three hundred miles. He gave names to seven thousand islands,
and moreover beheld on his left hand more than three thousand others
rising from the waves. But let us return to those matters worthy to be
remembered which he encountered during this voyage.

While the Admiral was carefully examining the character of these
places, coasting along the shore of Cuba, he first discovered, not far
from Alpha (that is from the end of it), a harbour sufficient for many
ships. Its entrance is in the form of a scythe, shut in on the two
sides by promontories that break the waves; and it is large and of
great depth. Following the coast of this harbour, he perceived at a
short distance from the shore two huts, and several fires burning here
and there. A landing was made, but no people were found; nevertheless
there were wooden spits arranged about the fire, on which hung fish,
altogether of about a hundred pounds' weight, and alongside lay two
serpents eight feet long.[14] The Spaniards were astonished, and
looked about for some one with whom to speak, but saw nobody. Indeed,
the owners of the fish had fled to the mountains on seeing them
approach. The Spaniards rested there to eat, and were pleased to find
the fish, which had cost them nothing, much to their taste; but they
did not touch the serpents. They report that these latter were in no
wise different from the crocodiles of the Nile, except in point of
size. According to Pliny, crocodiles as long as eighteen cubits have
been found; while the largest in Cuba do not exceed eight feet. When
their hunger was satisfied, they penetrated into the neighbouring
woods, where they found a number of these serpents tied to the trees
with cords; some were attached by their heads, others had had their
teeth pulled out. While the Spaniards busied themselves in visiting
the neighbourhood of the harbour, they discovered about seventy
natives who had fled at their approach, and who now sought to know
what these unknown people wanted. Our men endeavoured to attract them
by gestures and signs, and gentle words, and one of them, fascinated
by the gifts which they exhibited from a distance, approached, but no
nearer than a neighbouring rock. It was clear that he was afraid.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30