A.D. 



1572-87. 



The Ik of 

 Margarita. 



Excellent 

 horses and 

 mules. 



More then 70. 

 Hands. 



[III. 783.] 



Hispaniola. 



The Indians 

 killed them- 

 selves^ rather 

 then they 

 would serve 

 the tyrannous 

 Spaniards. 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



this way is travelled very seldome, because the Indians 

 will usually set upon the travellers. More up into the 

 land the countrey lyeth plaine, and there is some golde, 

 and a fewe townes inhabited with Spaniardes, whereof 

 I have had but small notice, and therefore I let them 

 passe. The next place of any account is the Hand of 

 Margarita, where there are but fewe Spaniardes inhabi- 

 tant. This Island of Margarita is very small, and lyeth 

 foure leagues from the maine lande : it hath heretofore 

 bene very rich of golde and pearles, and so would have 

 continued till this present day, had it not beene spoyled 

 by men of warre, because it standeth so farre from the 

 maine land, notwithstanding they yet gather good store of 

 pearles. Upon this Island are bred better horses and 

 mules then in any other part of the Indies, therefore 

 they carry them from hence to Peru, albeit they have 

 great store of horses in Peru, but not so good. And 

 because we have begunne to speake of the Hand of 

 Margarita, you are to understand, that to the North 

 of the foresaid coast of Tierra firma lie above seventie 

 Hands being all very little, except Cuba, Hispaniola, 

 and Boriquen, or Sant Juan de Puerto rico, which He 

 of Boriquen, although it bee not very great, yet is it 

 inhabited by the Spaniards. The other smaller Hands 

 have bene inhabited by the Indians, and have had good 

 store of gold, pearles, and emraldes ; but the Spaniards 

 have destroyed most of those Indians from off the earth, 

 and in many of those Hands there is nothing of any 

 value, wherefore I have small cause to intreate any 

 further of them. But Hispaniola is an Hand of great 

 bignesse, and hath bene very full of people, and abounded 

 with mines of golde and with pearles, but now all is 

 wasted away. It was at the Spaniards first coming 

 thither, as full of inhabitants as any place of that big- 

 nesse in the whole world, yet now there are none left : 

 for they were men of so hard a heart, that they 

 murthered themselves rather then they would serve the 

 Spaniards: for being men under so small civill governe- 



238 



