310 ISLES OF SUMMER 



"They had remarkable sweetness of temper, and native good- 

 ness of disposition." "All writers agree they were unrjuestion- 

 ably the most gentle and benevolent of the human race." 



To their superiors they were submissive and respectful; to 

 their enemies forgiving; while for their ancestors in spirit land 

 they entertained an undying affection. 



Superstition, that old inhabitant of earth, indigenous in all 

 climes, and existing in all ages, was domiciled upon the coral 

 islands at the time of the Spanish discovery, and was as activfe 

 as the indolent character of the climate permitted in forging 

 fetters for the human mind, and holding men in bondage to fear. 

 Priests performed ridiculous rites and ceremonies, inter2)reted 

 the decrees and communicated the messages of deities whose evil 

 designs they sought to placate with prayer. They were also the 

 medical attendants of the sick. The union of the clerical and 

 medical professions is to be expected wherever disease is believed 

 to be the result of diabolical agencies, and not the executed pen- 

 alty for violated physical laws. 



The islanders believed that the heaven which awaited the good 

 after death, was a pleasant valley of luxurious repose and indo- 

 lent tranquility — of cool shades and murmuring brooks, abound- 

 ing in guavas and other delicious fruits, never scorched by drough t 

 or desolated by the hurricane. Its chief hapjjiness consisted in 

 a re-union, forever indissoluble, with the loved friends and re- 

 vered ancestors from Avhoni they had been separated by death. 



They believed in one Supreme Being, and in many lesser 

 divinities, but sought to win the favor of the demons who were 

 permitted to rule and desolate their island world, by worshiping 

 hideous idols which symbolized their unseen presence, and clearly 

 manifested diabolical power. 



The authority of their caziques was hereditary, and it has been 

 claimed that, in determining the succession, the children of a 



