NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 7 



the crocodile and the caiman occur, but we saw neither. Fish, as 

 would be expected, are a very abundant source of food ; a large num- 

 ber of species occur. Sharks of various species are numerous, but 

 do not seem to be as much feared by the natives as are the many 

 barracuda. Mollusca abound, the various whelk and conch species 

 being an important item of island diet, as are the large crayfish. The 

 teeming insect life is probably similar to that of the mainland; the 

 troublesome mosquitoes, sand flies, and bottle flies of the coast have 

 already been mentioned, and horseflies are annoying in the bush. 

 Wherever domestic stock is abundant, the small red ticks or " garra- 

 patas " are a great source of annoyance to man. So much for the 

 natural setting ; the colorful history of the Bay Islands will now be 

 briefly sketched in. 



HISTORICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 



The question as to what white men first " discovered " the Bay 

 Islands and the adjacent mainland of Honduras is one that an archeol- 

 ogist may justly shy away from. According to Fiske, it was the trio, 

 Vincente Yanez Pinzon, Juan Diaz de Solis, and Americus Vespucius, 

 in the years 1497-1498.* This date has been discounted by various 

 other historians, who claim that the evidence of their association 

 and voyage is too tenuous for acceptance. Fortunately, it is a matter 

 of slight importance in the present connection, since neither Pinzon, 

 Solis, nor Vespucius have left any observations that can be referred 

 to the Bay Islands. 



One is on safe ground, however, in regard to the fourth and last 

 voyage of Columbus. The great Admiral sighted the island of Bonacca 

 (Guanaja) on July 30, 1502, and it was from this place that he 

 first gazed upon the Central American mainland, searching in vain 

 for the great cities of Asia that, to the day of his death, seemed just 

 beyond his farthest voyaging. 



Besides the Admiral's, there are some five eye-witness accounts of 

 this voyage.' In addition, the historians, Las Casas, Peter Martyr, 



' 1892, II, chap. 7. Fiske believes that these three, inspired by the second voy- 

 age of Columbus, sailed from Spain to the Bay Islands and the mainland near 

 Cape Gracias a Dios, and thence north up the coast perhaps as far as Chesapeake 

 Bay. This voyage of Pinzon and Solis is usually given the date of 1506, assigned 

 by Herrera (see Conzemius, 1928, p. 59, and Navarrette, 1829, p. 46), but Fiske 

 cites Gomara, Oviedo, and other sources indicating that it was prior to 1500. 



" The letter of Columbus to the Spanish Sovereigns, written from Jamaica 

 in 1503, Hakluyt Society, 1847, pp. 169-203; the letter of Diego de Porras, Na- 

 varette, 1829, I, pp. 283-284; the Testament of Diego Mendez, in 1536, Hakluyt 



