﻿ABORIGIlSrES 
  OF 
  HISPANIOLA 
  KRIEGER 
  491 
  

  

  similar 
  to 
  those 
  from 
  Costa 
  Rica. 
  No 
  data 
  exists 
  for 
  comparison 
  

   regarding 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  seats 
  from 
  the 
  Venezuelan 
  coast 
  or 
  

   from 
  Paria. 
  

  

  WEAPONS 
  

  

  Bows 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  Arawak 
  of 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  and 
  of 
  Haiti 
  were 
  

   like 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Carib, 
  in 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  very 
  long 
  and 
  fashioned 
  

   from 
  the 
  heartwood. 
  Their 
  clubs 
  were 
  like 
  those 
  from 
  the 
  Guiana 
  

   coast 
  of 
  South 
  America, 
  having 
  a 
  truncated, 
  bulbous 
  end 
  section, 
  

   while 
  the 
  entire 
  weapon 
  was 
  polished. 
  Their 
  method 
  of 
  fighting 
  

   with 
  ropes 
  resembles 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Velez 
  of 
  Colombia. 
  The 
  custom 
  of 
  

   binding 
  prisoners 
  with 
  ropes 
  was 
  general 
  throughout 
  the 
  island. 
  

  

  When 
  Columbus 
  landed 
  at 
  Guanahani 
  he 
  found 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  

   armed 
  with 
  wooden 
  spears, 
  the 
  tips 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  hardened 
  in 
  the 
  

   fire 
  or 
  tipped 
  mth 
  the 
  spine 
  or 
  tooth 
  of 
  a 
  fish. 
  Similar 
  weapons 
  

   were 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  Haitians. 
  Although 
  bows 
  and 
  arrows 
  w^ere 
  in 
  

   general 
  use 
  throughout 
  aboriginal 
  Haiti 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  discovery, 
  

   no 
  bows 
  were 
  found 
  by 
  the 
  Spanish 
  in 
  Cuba, 
  Jamaica, 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  

   Bahama 
  Islands. 
  Slender 
  reed 
  arrows 
  were 
  fashioned 
  with 
  a 
  hard- 
  

   wood 
  foreshaft 
  tipped 
  with 
  a 
  fishbone 
  or 
  bone 
  splinter. 
  There 
  

   appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  no 
  general 
  use 
  of 
  poison 
  by 
  the 
  natives 
  of 
  Haiti, 
  

   although 
  the 
  Ciguayans 
  of 
  northeastern 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  and 
  the 
  

   natives 
  of 
  Higuey 
  in 
  southeast 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  dipped 
  their 
  arrows 
  

   in 
  a 
  vegetable 
  poison 
  from 
  the 
  sap 
  of 
  the 
  manzanillo 
  tree 
  (Hippo- 
  

   mane 
  mancinella). 
  

  

  Frequent 
  mention 
  is 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  Hterature 
  regarding 
  native 
  use 
  

   of 
  darts 
  with 
  reed 
  shafts 
  and 
  fire-hardened 
  wooden 
  points. 
  No 
  men- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  made, 
  however, 
  of 
  spear 
  or 
  dart 
  throwers. 
  No 
  record 
  exists 
  

   of 
  their 
  recovery 
  through 
  archeological 
  methods. 
  It 
  must 
  therefore 
  

   be 
  assumed 
  that 
  the 
  spear 
  thrower 
  like 
  the 
  blow 
  gun 
  was 
  unknown 
  

   and 
  foreign 
  to 
  the 
  weapon 
  complex 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  Arawak. 
  The 
  

   "dart" 
  and 
  the 
  fire-hardened 
  javelin 
  are 
  apparently 
  one 
  and 
  the 
  

   same 
  weapon 
  although 
  somewhat 
  differently 
  described 
  by 
  different 
  

   Spanish 
  observers. 
  

  

  A 
  variety 
  of 
  the 
  war 
  club 
  was 
  the 
  heavy 
  sword 
  club 
  "macana" 
  

   of 
  the 
  Haitian 
  aborigines. 
  The 
  weapon 
  was 
  of 
  heavy 
  hardwood, 
  

   flat 
  and 
  blunted 
  at 
  the 
  edges. 
  It 
  was 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  than 
  an 
  inch 
  

   in 
  thickness 
  throughout. 
  

  

  No 
  defensive 
  weapons 
  or 
  armor 
  were 
  used 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Venezuelan 
  

   coast. 
  Columbus 
  saw 
  a 
  native 
  canoe 
  off 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Trinidad, 
  the 
  

   crew 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  armed 
  with 
  bows 
  and 
  were 
  in 
  possession 
  of 
  shields. 
  

   Trinidad, 
  however, 
  lies 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  mainland 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  and 
  

   the 
  obvious 
  conclusion 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  shield 
  had 
  not 
  yet 
  advanced 
  

   beyond 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Trinidad, 
  while 
  the 
  Carib 
  had 
  already 
  introduced 
  

   the 
  bow 
  into 
  Porto 
  Rico 
  and 
  eastern 
  Haiti. 
  

  

  