NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 1 5 



who, through the power of the idol, had great influence in the com- 

 munity. In addition, the Indians had other idols and adoratios to 

 which they made sacrifices. The idols served to ward off bad luck 

 and bring good fortune to the farms and towns. The priest was 

 called Papa and taught the sons of the upper classes {cahalleros) at 

 the temple. To challenge the power of the idols, Hernando de Saavedra 

 burned the one nearest to Trujillo, and the priest, who had said that 

 the idol would destroy any who profaned it, thereupon cut off his 

 hair and became a Christian. (Herrera, 1726-30, Dec. IV, Lib. I, 

 Cap. VI.) 



The century of quiet, during which Spanish effort had been con- 

 centrated in the richer fields of Mexico and Peru, was brought to a 

 close by the rise of the buccaneers in the Caribbean. These marauders 

 found the Bay Islands a favorable and strategic haven, and the Spanish 

 soon began to look askance at the Indian plantations there which 

 offered food and shelter to their enemies. The raid of Van Home in 

 1639 brought matters to a crisis, and in that year De Avila, Governor 

 of Honduras, was requested by the President of the Audiencia of 

 Guatemala to investigate conditions on the Bay Islands and to define 

 a policy toward them." De Avila reports that there were then about 

 400 Indians on the islands living in four towns, Guanaja, Masa, 

 Roata, and Utila. The people of Guanaja, especially the grandson of 

 the cacique, were conspiring with and aiding the buccaneers, but the 

 Indians of the other islands seemed to be loyal to Spain. The town 

 of Guanaja (Bonacca) had 84 tributaries (i. e., adult men) ; Masa 

 and Roata had barely 14 tributaries, of whom about 9 were encoini- 

 enda to one Gonzalez. Masa was evidently located on Helena Island 

 and Roata about 2 leagues from Barreros (a port on the southern 

 shore of Roatan marked by red barrancas visible from the sea). The 

 people of these two towns, it is said, suffered much from mosquitoes, 

 whereby the population had been reduced. Utila had as many as 22 

 tributaries who were encomienda to another Spaniard. The main 

 port seems to have been East Harbor, and the Indians had their corn- 

 fields inland. All four towns had been burned by the Dutch in that 

 year. 



Although De Avila makes no written recommendation for the 

 removal of the aborigines, this was then being seriously considered. 

 It actually took place in 1650 after the recapture of the islands from 

 the English logwood cutters and illicit traders, who had seized and 

 fortified Port Royal. This affair will be mentioned in another place. 



" This FL-port is published in translation by Squier, 1858, pp. 608-614. 



