^he V O Y 
He ordered, for the Prefent, a fort of a ToWn to be built 
with the Timber of the Ship ,• And at this Time Advice 
came, that the Caravel Pinta was in the River, toward the 
Eaftern Point, and Guacmagari fent to inquire into it. 
The Admiral carefully attended the Building, and the 
more tor that there were daily greater Inducements to it, 
and beCaufe Guacanagari always thewed himfelf fearful of 
the Carihzs\ the more to encourage and to fhew him the 
Effed; of the Spanijh Arms, the Admiral ordered a great 
Gun to be fired againft the Side of the Ship that had been 
caft away, and the Bali palTmg clear-through fell into the 
Water : He thewed him what Harm our Weapons did, 
and told him that with them, thofe he defigned to leave 
behind in his Country thould defend him, becaufe he de- 
figned to return into Spain to bring fome Prefents for him. 
12. The Admiral haftened the building of the Fort j 
and to that purpofe went atliore from the Caravel, aboard 
which he always lay. On the 1 8 th, as he was going into 
the Boat, he thought he had feen Guacanagari^ who went 
into his Houfe perhaps for the more State, lending one of 
his Brothers, who received the Admiral with much Joy, 
and led him by the Hand to one of the Houfes that had 
been given to the Chriftians, being the largeft in the 
Town : In it they had provided for him a raifed Seat, and 
made him fit on a Chair with a low Back the Indians 
ufed, and they were very neatly polifhed, and bright as 
if they had been made of Jet. As foon as the Admiral 
was feated, the Brother fent to acquaint the King, who 
prefently came, and very joyfully hung a great Plate of 
Gold about his Neck, and ftaid with him till it grew late, 
and the Admiral went aboard the Caravel. He had feve- 
ral Motives for leaving a Colony in that Place ; the chief 
whereof were, That when it was known in Spain that 
Men had been left there to fettle, the People might be 
m.ore inclinable to go over thither •, and becaufe all the 
Men left could not build another Vefiel in time, and like- 
wife could not be tranfported in the only Caravel he had j 
as alfo becaufe he found thofe that were to ftay very in- 
clinable to it, encouraged by the Gentlenefs and Affability 
of the People ; and becaufe, tho’ he had defigned to carry 
to their Catholic Majeflies fome Natives of the Country, 
and other mofl; valuable things there were in it, in token 
of the Difeovery, and for the more Reputation of the 
Enterprize, it was convenient it fhould be known that 
Men had ftaid there of their own free Will. 
The Fort had a Ditch round it ; and, tho’ built of 
Wood, was very ftrong againft the Natives. It was 
fiftifiied in ten Days, becaufe a vaft Number of Men 
worked at it ; and he called it the Town of the Nativity^ 
becaufe on that Day he came into the Port. On the 
29th in the Morning a Nephew of the King’s, very 
young and of good Senfe, went aboard the Caravel j and 
the Admiral, being always follicitous to know where the 
Gold was found, learned all that’s poffible by Signs, and 
thought he underftood fome Words. Accordingly he afked 
the Youth about the Mines, and underftood that four 
Days Journey from thence there was an Ifiand to the Eaft- 
Ward, which he called Guarinoex^ and others, Macorix, 
i/layonis^ Fumay^ Cibao^ and Coray, in which there was a 
vaft Quantity of Gold. The Admiral immediately wrote 
down thofe Names : And by this it appeared, that he 
underftood nothing of the Indian Language ; for thefe 
Places were not Blands, but Provinces in that Hand, and 
Lands belonging to feveral Kings or Lords : Guarinoex 
V/as the King of that great Royal Plain before-mentioned ^ 
and the Youth meant to tell him, that in Guarinoex’s 
Country was the Province of Cihao, abounding in Gold. 
Macorix was another Province, which afforded little 
Gold : And the other Names were, as has been faid. Pro- 
vinces ; the Admiral not knowing how to wiite them, 
becaufe he did not underhand them ; and he thought the 
King’s Brother, who was prefent, had reproved his Ne- 
phew for telling him thofe Names. At Night the King 
fent him a great Gold Mafic, defiring he would fend him 
a Bafon and an Ewer, which it is likely were of Brafs or 
Tin; He immediately fent them, and, believed he afked 
for them to have the like made in Gold. 
On the 30th the Admiral went to dine afhore ; and it 
happened to be at the time when five Caziques or Princes, 
A G E S ^ Book L 
fubjedl to Guacanagari, were comey all of them with 
Crowns of Gold on their Heads, and with great State ^ 
and as foon as he landed, Guacanagari came to meet 
him, and led him by the Arm to the fame Houfe where 
he had been before, where the raifed Place and the Chairs 
were. He caufed the Admiral to fit down wdth great 
Courtefy and Refpeft, and then took off the Crown from 
his own Head, and fet it on the Admiral’s ^ who took off 
a Collar he had on of fine Beads of feveral beautiful Co- 
lours, and put it about the King’s Neck, and took off 
an Hood of fine Cloth which he had put on that Day„ 
and put it upon the King, and fent for a Pair of coloured 
Bufkins, which he alfo drew on •, he alfo put a great 
Silver Ring upon his Finger, becaufe the Admiral had 
been told that they had feen one on a Sailor’s Hand, and 
did all they could to get it of him •, for it is certain that 
they put a great Value on any thing made of white Me- 
tal, wKether it were Silver or Tin. With thefe Gifts the 
King thought himfelf much enriched, and was highly 
pleafed. Two of thofe Caziques bore the Admiral com- 
pany to the Place where he took Boat, and each of them 
gave him a great Plate of Gold ; and thefe were not caft, 
but made of many Grains beaten together ; for the Indi- 
ans of this Ifiand had not the Art of calling, but beat the 
Grains of Gold they found between two Stones, and 
by that means fpread them. 
13. When the Admiral returned to lie aboard the Ca- 
ravel, and found that Vincent Tanez the Commander of 
it affirmed he had feen Rhubarb, and knew the Strings of 
it, and the Root, the Admiral fent for fome Rhubarb, 
and they brought one Frail full of it, and no more ; be- 
caufe they had no Spades to dig it up with ; which was 
carried to their Catholic Majefties i but it did not prove 
to be Rhubarb. The Admiral looked upon the Pepper 
of this Bland, which they call Axi or Pimento, as 
good Spice, faying it was better than the Pepper that 
they carried from the Eaftern Parts ; for which reafon 
they fancied there were other Sorts of it. The Fort being 
finiflied, he ordered all to be provided for failing. Wood 
and Water to be taken in, and other Preparations made. 
The King ordered as much as he would have of the Coun- 
try Bread called Cazabi to be given him, as alfo of his 
Spice called Axi, fait Fifh, and what he had befides. 
Tho’ he would not willingly have gone away for Spain 
without coafting all that Country, which he thought exr- 
tended very far towards the Eaft, that he might have dif- 
covered its Secrets, and find the beft Paffage from it to 
Spain, for the fafer bringing over of Beafts and Cattle, he 
durft not then attempt it, as thinking he had but one 
Caravel, and might run himfelf into Danger, and there- 
fore it was not reafonable to venture farther in unknown 
Seas. 
He complained very much of Martin AlonfPs, forfaking 
him, as being the Caufe of thofe Inconveniencies. He, 
made choice of thirty-nine Men to ftay in the Fort, fuch 
as were moft willing, chearful, ftrong, and beft able to 
endure Fatigues. He left with them for their Com- 
mander de Arana, a Native of Cordova, Notary and 
Alguazil, with full Power as he had received it from their 
Majefties •, and in cafe he ffiould die, he appointed for 
his Succeffor in that Poll Peter Autichrez, Groom of the 
Privy-Chamber to the King •, and in cafe he died, the 
Place to go to Roderic de Efcovedo, born Vit Seville-, and alfo 
left with them a Surgeon whofe Name was 'John, to- 
gether with a Ship-carpenter, a Caulker, a Cooper, and a 
good Gunner who was very fkilful for Fireworks. There 
likewife was a Taylor left, the reft were Sailors, whom 
he furnifiied with Bifket and Wine, and the other Provi- 
fions he had, for a ‘Year leaving Seeds to fow, and all 
the Goods and Tilings he had brought to barter, being a 
great Quantity ; as alfo all the great Guns and other 
Arms that were in the Ship, and the Boat that had be- 
longed to it. . 1^ 
When all things were ready, and he upon the pomt or 
departing, he called them together, and fpoke to them 
to this Effeft , “ He bid them offer up their Prayers to 
“ God, and return Thanks to him for havmg carried 
‘‘ them to fuch a Country to plant his holy Faith, and 
‘‘ not to forfake him, but to live like good Chriftians, 
o and 
V 
