310 ISLES OF SUMMER 
“They had remarkable. sweetness of temper, and native good- 
ness of disposition.” ‘‘ All writers agree they were unquestion- 
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 active 
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, interpreted 
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 Inxurious repose and indo- 
lent tranquility—of cool shades and murmuring brooks, abound- 
ing in guavas and other delicious fruits, never scorched by drought 
or desolated by the hurricane. Its chief happiness consisted in 
a re-union, forever indissoluble, with the loved friends and re- 
vered ancestors from whom 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 
