28 



consequence of an altercation on their religious 

 rites, the Confachite-Caribbees were driven from 

 Florida. They went first to the Yucayas or 

 Lucayes islands (to Cigateo and the neighbour- 

 ing islands) ; thence to Ayay (Hayhay, now 

 Santa Cruz), and to the little Caribbee islands ; 

 and lastly to the continent of South America *. 

 It is believed, that this event took place toward 

 the year 1 100 of our sera ; but in this estimation 

 it is supposed, as in certain fables of the east, 

 " that the sobriety and innocent manners of 

 savages" augment the mean term of a gene- 

 ration to one hundred and eighty or two hun- 

 dred years, which renders the indication of a 

 fixed epoch altogether imaginary. In the course 

 of this long migration, the Caribbees had not 

 touched at the larger islands ; the inhabitants 

 of which however, believed also, that they came 

 originally from Florida -J~. The islanders of 

 Cuba, Haiti, and Boriken (Portorico), were, 

 according to the uniform testimony of the first 

 conquist adores, entirely different from the Ca- 

 ribbees ; and at the period of the discovery of 



* Rochefort, Hist, des Antilles, vol. i, p. 326—353 ; Gar- 

 cia, p. 322 ; Robertson, Book iii, note 69. The conjecture 

 of father Gili, that the Caribbees of the continent may have 

 come from the islands at the time of the first conquest of the 

 Spaniards (Saggio, vol. iii, p. 204), is contrary to all that the 

 first historians relate. 



+ Herera, Dec. 1, p. 235 , Dec, 2, p. 163. 



