THE SEA. 



sea-water for many miles outside. They afterwards touched at the island of Trinidad, of 

 the inhabitants of which Vespucci gives a number of details. He tells us that they believed 

 in no religious creed, and therefore neither prayed nor offered sacrifice. Their habitations 

 were practically caravanserai, built in the shape of bells (meaning, doubtless, with bell-shaped 

 roofs), each holding from six hundred to over a thousand inhabitants. He adds that every 

 seven or eight years the inhabitants were obliged to change their residences, from the 

 maladies engendered by such close packing. They ornamented themselves with beads and 

 ornaments made from the bones of fishes, with white and green stones strung together 

 as necklaces, and with the feathers of tropical birds. They buried their dead in caverns or 

 sepulchres, always leaving a jar of water and something to eat by the head of the corpse, 

 as do some tribes to-day. 



At Maracapana, on the mainland, tbe natives were friendly, and brought quantities of 

 fish, venison, and cassava bread. They anxiously besought the Spaniards to aid them in 

 punishing their enemies, the cannibals of a distant isle, and Ojeda seems to have rather 

 liked the proposition. Taking seven of the natives on board his vessels to act as guides, 

 he set sail in quest of these cannibal islands, which are believed to have been the Caribbees. 

 After seven days he ran his vessels in near the shore of one which the guides indicated to 

 be the habitation of their cruel foes, and a number of painted and befeathered warriors were 

 seen on the shore, well armed with bows and arrows, darts, lances, and bucklers. " This 

 show of war/' says Irving, " was calculated to rouse the martial spirit of Ojeda. He brought 

 his ships to anchor, ordered out his boats, and provided each with a paterero or small cannon. 

 Besides the oarsmen, each boat contained a number of soldiers, who were told to crouch out 

 of sight in the bottom. The boats then pulled in steadily for the shore. As they approached, 

 the Indians let fly a cloud of arrows, but without much effect. Seeing the boats continue 

 to advance, the savages threw themselves into the sea, and brandished their lances to 

 prevent their landing. Upon this the soldiers sprang up in the boats and discharged the 

 patereroes. At the sound and smoke of these unknown weapons the savages abandoned 

 the water in affright, while Ojeda and his men leaped on shore and pursued them. The 

 Carib warriors rallied on the banks, and fought for a long time with that courage peculiar 

 to their race, but were at length driven to the woods at the edge of the sword, leaving 

 many killed and wounded on the field of battle/' Next day a larger number of the savages 

 gathered on the beach, but, after a desperate fight, were routed, their houses burned, and 

 many taken prisoners, which was probably Ojeda's principal object in attacking them. 

 Many similar experiences followed, but in all cases, as might be expected, the Spaniards 

 came out conquerors, scarcely any of their men being even seriously wounded. At one 

 place over a thousand Indians came off in canoes or swam from shore, so that in a little 

 while the vessel's decks were crowded. While they were gazing in wonder at all they saw 

 on board, Ojeda ordered the cannon to be discharged, at the unaccustomed sound of 

 which they "plunged into the water like so many frogs from a bank." 



Ojeda returned to Cadiz in June, 1500, his ships packed with slaves. But the com- 

 mercial results of the voyage, after allowing for expenses, were so small that only about 

 500 ducats remained to be divided between fifty-five adventurers. Nino, another adventurer, 

 who had once served as pilot with Columbus, made a voyage at the same period in a bark 



