ovalle's historical relation of chile. 139 



{land Saint Salvador : he raifed alfo a moft beautiful crofs, which was a declaring war 

 to hell, to make it renounce the poffeilion of that land, which for fo many ages it had 

 tyrannized over. 



' The admiral being rofe up, they all approached, and not only embraced him, but 

 carried him upon their fhoulders in triumph, as having performed the greateft work 

 that ever man attempted, or brought to pafs. Immediately after this, the admiral, in 

 prefence of a notary, took poifeffion of that land in the name of Their Catholic Ma- 

 jefties, and caufed himfelf to be owned as viceroy, and as fuch they began to own him, 

 and obey him in all things. 



This ifland, which we Ihall call Saint Salvador, was about fifteen leagues in length, 

 very woody, and having good water, with a lake of frefh water in the middle of 

 it, and well inhabited by the Indians, who called it in their tongue Guanaani ; and it 

 is one of thofe which fince have been called the Lucaicks. It is nine hundred and fifty 

 leagues from the Canaries. 



CHAP. VI. 



WHEN the Indians faw fuch great bulks in the fea, with great fails, and the whole 

 unlike their canoes, and they were drawn near the fhore, they remained aftonifhed and 

 befide themfelves, becaufe, though by their motion they gueffed them to be living 

 things, yet for their bignefs they took them for fome flrange fea-monfters, never feen 

 before on thofe coafls. The Ihips came to an anchor clofe by the fhore, and the 

 admiration of the Indians increafed ftill fo much the more, feeing white men come out of 

 them with beards and cloaths ; yet they did not run away, but drew near without fear, 

 the rather when they faw that the Spaniards began to prefent them with bells, needles, 

 and other things of Europe, which pleafed them extremely, as being new to them : 

 in return they gave the Spaniards gold, provifions, and other things of their country : 

 they came fome in their canoes, and fome fwimming to the fhips, where it was wonder- 

 ful to fee how they valued every thing, even to the bits of glazed difhes, or broken 

 earthen ware, that lay about the fhips, which they gathered up as jewels which they 

 had never feen. And to fay truth, moft things borrow their value from their rarity ; 

 and for this reafon they had as little value for gold and pearls, which were things very 

 common among them, they exchanging whole ftrings of pearls, and fome of them as 

 big as peafe and fmall nuts, for needles and bells, as happened in the iflands of the 

 Margarita ; fo great is the difference in the eftimation of things common, or rare ones. 

 The admiral having here got an account of fome other iflands, went out to difcover 

 them ; and the fecond he found he named Santa Maria de la Conception, dedicating it 

 to the queen of heaven : the third he called Fernandina, of the King Don Fernando :* 

 the fourth he named Ifabella, in confideration of his miftrefs Queen Ifabella. Of all 

 thefe he took poifeffion in the name of Their Majefties, by fetting up their royal 

 ftandard before a publick notary, with the fame folemnity and ceremonies obferved in 

 the taking pofTeffion of the firfl ifland. 



On a Saturday, the 29th of October, they difcovered the famous ifland of Cuba, 

 where the Havana is : there the Indians, frighted to fee the Spaniards, whom they 

 thought defcended from heaven, went to them kifling their hands and feet. The 

 admiral's laft difcovery was of the ifland called Hifpaniola, where he met with a great 

 ■deal of gold, and fome birds and fifhes, like thofe of Caftile. Here the Cacique 



T a Gua. 



