THE LUCAYAN INDIANS. 



95 



late, and the Lucayan race was as if it had never been. The ham- 

 mock, the first gift of the New World to civilization, is their only 

 monument, and the word the sole remnant of their language. 



Columbus says that, on Saturday, October 13th, the second day, 

 " A great crowd came, each bringing something, giving thanks 

 to God, and entreating or beseeching us to land. We understood 

 that they asked us if we had come down from heaven " ; and be- 

 fore the children, who were led to the beach to welcome the celes- 

 tial visitors who had been borne to them on white wings out of 

 the blue dome which bounded their world, had grown to man- 

 hood, they perished, with all their race, in a foreign land. 



Where shall we find a sadder story than this ? The evil was 

 done long ago ; there is now no remedy ; but as the recollection 

 thrills our pulse, and our generous sympathies are awakened, how 

 eagerly do we ask the question : " What manner of men were the 

 Lucayans ? What were they like ? " 



These questions I am now able to answer, at least imperfectly, 



and the skull which is here figured once belonged to a person who 

 may possibly have been among those who welcomed Columbus. 



Like all coral islands, the Bahamas abound in caves, and these 

 were used in some way by the Ceboynas, perhaps as burial-places, 

 possibly as refuges from the blood-hounds of the Spaniards. The 

 floor of these caves consists of red clay, rich in phosphates and of 

 commercial value, and within recent years it has been removed 



