Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 with funding from Tine Library of Congress littp://www.arcliive.org/details/inWakeofcolumbusOOober IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS ADVENTURES OF THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONER SENT BY THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION TO THE WEST INDIES BY FREDERICK A. OBER Author of "Travels In Mexico," "The Silver City.' "Montezuma's Gold Mines," etc, etc., With above tioo hundred illustrations from photographs by the Author, and sketches by H. B. Blaney BOSTON D. LOTHROP COMPANY 1893 OOPVli/*/^ Copyright, 1893, BY Frederick A. Ober All rights reserved ^ "0 -? ^ s> % l^cgipcctfullg BetiicatEti AS A PERSONAL TRIBUTE TO HARLOW N. HIGINBOTHAM PRESIOENT OF THE WORLD's COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION AND WILLIAM ELEROY CURTIS CHIEF OF THE LATIN-AMERICAN DEPARTMENT AND TO ALL OFFICIALS, NATIONAL AND LOCAL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE GREATEST EXPOSITION OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY BY THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONER TO THE WEST INDIES PREFACE. Sixteen years ago, while sailing between Dominica and Martinique, those verdure-clad islands lying midway the Caribbee chain, I first looked upon land discovered by Columbus. I will not deny that I was strangely thrilled ; nor shall any scoffer put me down as a sentimental voyager because I attached to those islands an importance not implied in the Admiralty charts. In the two succeeding years I had threaded the chain of the Caribbees, explored all the islands discovered by the Admiral in his second and third voyages, hunted in the forests in which he and his men had en- countered the cannibal Caribs, and had lived for months with the de- scendants of those same fierce Indians so graphically described by the pen of the great Discoverer. In 1880 I re-visited the West Indies, and added other islands to those already investigated, my object (as on the previous voyage) being the ornithological exploration of the Lesser Antilles. Birds and woods — the avi-faiina of the islands and the great forests — were the subjects I particularly studied ; but, from being constantly on the trail of the great Genoese, I at last became interested in the story of his voyagings, and began to collect information regarding the places identified with his life and labors. In 1881, on the coast of Yucatan, I was reminded of his last voyage in the year 1502, when he encountered that great canoe laden with cho- colate beans, copper utensils and cotton, and guided by mariners of a higher order of intelligence than any other of these new peoples he had seen. Seven years later, in the Bahamas, I saw that island on which Columbus landed — San Salvador or Guanahani — rising ghost-like from the sea; the first landfall of the eventful voyage of 1492. The south coast of Cuba gave me the emerald " Gardens of the Queen," and the " Bay of the Hundred Fires." PREFACE. Wherever I have wandered, it wiii be seen, I have met with reminders of Columbus ; and, having viewed with so keen an interest these jewels of his gathering, with which he adorned the crown of Spain, was it strange that I was impelled to seek that Mother Country, and that when there I found no more precious relics than those of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea ? Having followed the fortunes of Columbus, in a desultory manner, for nearly fifteen years, it was extremely gratifying to have offered me the opportunity for further investigation afforded in the appointment as Columbian Commissioner to the West Indies. It was purely fortuitous, as I had no previous acquaintance with any of the officials ; but, being specially charged to search out every spot and relic of the discovery, I was thus enabled to carry out my own explorations and complete an exhaustive study of the subject. In this work, which I have called "In the Wake of Columbus," I aim to present what may be termed the environment of the Admiral ; giving scenes with which he was identified, starting with the inception of the enterprise in Spain, carrying the action across the Atlantic to the first landfall, through the Bahamas to Cuba, thence to the scene of the first wreck and the first fort, on the coast of Haiti, the first settlement at Isabella, the initial attempts at discovery in Espanola, showing where the gold was found and the first cities started — in fact, following him through all his voyages, writing every description from personal observa- tion, and using the historical events merely as a golden thread upon which to string the beads of this Columbian rosary. Whether my work has been well done or badly done, such as it is I now offer it — a tribute to our great Exposition ; to the genius that con- ceived, the courage that continued, the energy that executed, and the faith that sustained to a triumphant conclusion, this the grandest work of its kind the world has ever seen ; the crowning event of a century filled with wonders and miracles of man's invention. Washington, April, 1893. CONTENTS. Chapter I. The Bridge that Spanned the World II. At the New World's Portal III. In Guanahani with Columbus IV. Where was the Admiral's Landfall V. Through the Bahama Isles VI. The Commissioner's Mission to Cuba VII. North Coast of Cuba to Haiti . VIII. The Haitian Civilization . IX. The Buccaneers and the Black King X. The First American Christmas . XI. Round about Isabella . XII. Where the First Gold was Found XIII. The Port of the Silver Mountain XIV. Samana and the Bay of Arrows XV. The Holy Hill of Santo Domingo Page I 23 52 85 104 121 148 192 217 23s 259 277 292 ■^02 CONTENTS. XVI. The Earthquake-buried Towns „ » 321 XVII. In Santo Domingo City , . . 338 XVIII. Where is the Tomb of Columbus? , 363 XIX. Puerto Rico and Ponce de Leon . 388 XX. Among the Saints and the Virgins . 413 XXI. An Island quite out of the World . 426 XXII. The Second Voyage to the New World 448 XXIII. Carib Islands and Lake Dwellers . 471 XXIV. Jamaica and the Wreck of Columbus . 492 ILLUSTRATIONS. Columbus received by the Catholic kings after his first voyage . . .Frontis. In the Convent Garden ..... j Dofia Carmen and Carmencita . ' . . . 5 The Atalaya of Arbolote ..... 8 Distant view of the Alhambra .... g The marble head of tJie Moor at Santa Fe . . 11 City gate of Santa Fe ..... 12 The Bridge of Pities . . . . . , zj Sa?ita Fe' across the Vega ..... 75 Entrance to the Bridge of Pines . . . .18 The taking of Moclin ..... ig The crosses of Zubia . . . . . . 21 A corner of my garden at Granada ... 22 Moorish arch at Palos ..... 2^ The Mosque of a Tliousand Columns at Cordova . 2^ Church of St. George, Palos . . . . 2y Seville, with the Tower of Gold in the foreground ji The Convent of La Rabida .... J7 The Mirador of La Rabida .... jp In the Convent Court ...... 4.1 The Columbus Room, Convent of La Rabida . 4^ ILLUSTRATIONS. Alabaster tomb at Burgos . Cross at La Rabida Crossing the Sargasso Sea . Map showing the route of the first voyage of Columbus A salt heap on Fortune Island . Windmill for pumping salt zvater My '"Ttirtler" .... Looking across the lagoons on Watling's Island The landing-place of Columbus . Shill of BaJiama Indian Indian antiquities from the Bahamas Carved seat of lignum-vitce from the Bahamas Map of Watling's Island .... The headland coast of Watling's Island Green's Harbor, Watling's Island The coast of Watling's Island . Map, showing route from Watling's Island to Cuba .... Indian celt, from Cat Island Indian chisel found in the Islands Stone axe, Turk's Island . Natives of Watling's Island Pushing through the canal, Watling's Island Cave on Cat Island On the beach of Watling's Island The silk-cotton tree, Nassau Statue of CohiDibus, front viezv Statue of Columbus, rear view . Guanahani, or Watling's Island — Lady Blake's Aquarelle ...... ^9 51 52 55 58 60 64 66 69 75 JS 82 85 90 93 97 99 102 J03 103 105 106 108 no 114. 116 117 ILLUSTRATIONS. Tablet bust in cathedral at Havana, in meinory 1 of Columbus ..... 121 Palm Avenue ...... 125 Cathedral St. Maria de la Concepcion, Havana Cuba ...... 130 The Morro 133 Les Cabanas ...... 135 Morro Castle, Harbor of Havana 137 At the Market 138 On the Pasco ...... I^I Belem ....... 142 Real Acadamia, Havana .... 144 A bit of old Havana ..... 147 Royal Palms ...... 148 Selling plants in Havana . . 150 Plaza de Armas, Havana .... 152 ^^ Morning mist," Yinnuri Valley from th p Cumbres ...... 155 Yuniuri Valley, from the hill of Guadeloupe 158 Mountains of Zibara .... 160 North coast of Cuba . 163 Baracoa ....... 166 In the Volante, Cuba ..... i6g Frederick Douglas ..... 173 Hyppolite ....... 175 Hyppolite and staff ..... 177 181 D. F. Legitime ...... 183 A view from the residence of the English consul Haiti ...... 186 Tortuga, the pirates' paradise 193 ILLUSTRATIONS. Old Buccarteer zvatch-tower, coast of Haiti Sans Sotcci^ the Black King's palace . Sans Sotici, ruins of the Black King's palace The Black King's castle .... Old mortars in the Black King's castle Broken arch^ the Black Ki7ig's castle . Beauty and the beasts, foiuid at Millet A religiotts procession at Cape Haitien The Santa Maria, the flag- ship of Columbus The zurecked caravel ..... In Petit A use ...... Soldiers of the guard at rest The anchor of Columbus, found at Petit A^ise St. JoJin and the Agnus Dei The old convent ...... Huckster' s shanty, on the river Yaqui The Bajo-Bonico ..... On the bluff at Isabella .... Site of Isabella ...... Map of Isabella . . . . . • . TJie cactus-covered ruins of Isabella . Coco's idol ....... View on the Bajo-Bonico near the Hidalgos' pass The American ferry across the Yaqui In the valley of the Yaqui .... " They built a wooden tozver" . View of Santiago across the Yaqui The site of the tower of Santo Tomas The bed of the river Yaqui Loading a bull cart . Viezv of the Plaza and church at Puerto Plata ILLUSTRATIONS. Girl on bullock's back, Puerto Plata . The typical beast of burden Washerwomen of Haiti .... Coaling station, Saniana Bay Scene of the first encounter with the Indians A typical washerwoman of Samana . The approach to Sanchez .... A relic from Old Vega .... In the Savjznnas of Santo Domingo . The manager's house at Sanchez View of tlie Royal Plain .... Santo Cerro Church and the aged tree The shrine of the Virgin worshiped in the time of Columbus ..... A view of Santo Cerro .... A long the river Yima .... Window in Rosario Chapel, Santo Domingo Ruins of the church built by bequest of Columbus Ruins of Fort Concepcion . . . A precious relic ....... One of the most interesting spots of Jacagua The cemetery at Sajitiago . . , . » Site of the old church at Jacagua Used by the early Spaniards . . .^ , TJie whistling jug ...... A Santo Domingo seaport towjt . , . . Homenage, the oldest castle in A merica The house of Columhis . . . . . The sun-dial to be seen in Santo Domingo , Columbus in chains ..... , The cathedral, western entrance „ . 28J 288 2go 293 295 297 300 302 303 306 309 313 315 317 31S 320 322 324 327 329 333 335 336 337 339 34-1 344 346 349 351 ILLUSTRATIONS. Inscription on an old tombstone . View of the cathedral high altar and retable The portal of the Mint^ Santo Domingo The Homenage ...... Bronze statue of Columbus before the door of the cathedral in Santo Domingo city The Cohtmbiis vaults in Santo Domingo cathedral The Colnmbiis casket, end view . The Columbus casket, front view Facsimile of old baptismal book . 'Facsimile of inscriptions . . . , The tablet and the vault at Santo Domingo Arms of Puerto Rico ..... General Heureaux ..... TJie harbor of San Juan seen from the Casa Blanca, or home of Ponce de Leon A sugar lighter in Puerto Rico waters Native huts and dove cotes A long the river ...... Sentry box and cemetery gate at San Juan . The Casa Blanc a ..... The last of him who sought eternal youth . Arches of San Francisco Convent, Santo Domingo City. .... The harbor from the fort . Old fort at St. Thomas Buccaneer cannon, St. John's The ladder .... Tozvn of Bottom, Island of Saba A tropical sunrise Cacao frjiit .... ILLUSTRATIONS. Bread-fruit ..... St. Patrick's Rock, Saba The island of St. Eustatiiis, seen from St. Kitfs Washerwomen of Nevis Great trees of the high woods Banyan-tree, Guadeloupe The waterfall out of the clouds . Volcano on St. Lucia .... Negro boys of Martinique . The diamond rock off Martinique The pit ons of St. Lucia Kingstown, capital of St. Vhtcent Palms of the leeward coast, St. Vincent The ten little caribs .... Beach near the Boca, Trinidad . The pitch lake, Trinidad , Sunset on the Venezuelan coast . Ploughing under the palms . Washing clothes at Curacao The heart of the cocoa palm Carib carvings on a rock in the island of St John's ..... Don Christopher' s Cove, where Columbus' s car- avels were wrecked, i^oj . The bay of St. Amt's, Jamaica . 443 447 449 452 458 460 463 467 469 472 474 475 477 479 483 4S5 488 490 495 505 511 514 In the Wake of Columbus THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. GARDENS of Granada are famous throughout Spain, and of them all, perhaps none more fasci- nating than the Karrnen del Gran Capitan. The Arabs called them Kar- inenes, those hillside ■ vineyards lying abreast the sun of Spain and Africa, and this particu- lar garden received its name from having belonged to the Great Captain, Gonsalvo de Cordova. It was given him by King Ferdinand for his assistance at the siege of Granada; this ancient vineyard of a luckless Moor. All these particulars were set forth upon a tablet let into the wall above one of the fountains that supplied 1 2 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. water for the household. Centuries old, as was the dwelling attached, yet it did not present an appearance of antiquity, for annual coats of whitewash kept fresh its thick stone walls, while the roofing-tiles were rich in reds and mellow tints of age-imparted browns. Perhaps I may never attain more nearly to an earthly paradise than I did in my residence in this beautiful garden ; and it was by the merest chance that I became aware of its existence, and possessed it during the space of a month. In Seville one day, where I had quarters in the house of a priest, I encountered an English artist whose eccentricities were a constant wonder to the dwellers there. At the time of our meeting he was engaged in kicking his slippers from the pavement of the patio to the roof -tiles of the house, a feat which he performed to his own entire satisfaction and the openly-expressed astonishment of his Spanish specta- tors. As he was going to Granada, it happened we traveled together, and when there he introduced me to the owners of the garden, who consented to take us as dwellers therein for whatever time we might elect to remain. The nominal head of the establishment was Don Nicolas, a small asthmatic gentleman who did business in the city of Granada; the actual and authori- tative Presence was Dona Carmen, his wife : tall, stately, magnificent; but the real ruler, the resident queen of Carmen del Capitan, was little Carmencita, their joint possession and pride. Rosalie, the smiling maid-of-all- work, completed the family circle which, from center to circumference, was so entirely at our service that it seemed as though it must have been specially created THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 3 IN THE CONVENT GAKDEN. for US, and made only to revolve in anticipation of our needs. This, then, was the garden in which I had ensconced myself for an attack upon the outposts of American history. I have chosen it as vantage ground, as a base of operations; for, in our little journeys in and about the world, we all need a starting-point ; a place to keep in mind for retreat, or a deposit for our plunderings. One 4 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. may wander, and gather things new and old, but if one has no home to return to where he may accumulate the products of his toils and contemplate their values, what good, then, his gatherings ? I felt almost as secure in my garden as the old father of Boabdil, who fought Ferdinand so gallantly, must have felt in his mountain fortress in the Alpujarras; and, like him, I made many a foray into the historic fields around me, returning always well-laden with richest spoil. My companion in these adventures was Jose, the gardener, whose duties permitted him a day off whenever he liked, and whose poverty made him gladly accept an oppor- tunity for adding a few dollars to his scant salary. He knew all the country round about and its traditions, and, with the help of Washington Irving's "Conquest," which I carried in my pocket, we visited and identified all the places of interest in the Vega. As I have said, I went to Spain to study the begin- nings of American history, and as the central figure of that history is Christopher Columbus, we shall visit all the most important places connected with his life after he became interesting as the Personage with a purpose. We shall take him at the outset of his career of dis- covery and follow him to the end. And in assuming that Columbus is the hero of America's initial appear- ance upon the stage of history, I do not deny the great Norsemen anj'-fhing; only that the Genoese made his discovery known, while the first visitors did not, and through Columbus the way was opened whereby America was peopled with those who brought the blessings of civilization. THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 5 Leaving this question of honors to the historian, let us inquire a Httle into the conditions prevailing in Spain at the close of the fifteenth century, in the last decade of which her star was in the ascendant. Following the successive invasions of the Phoenicians, the Carthagi- nians, the Vandals and the Goths, came the Moors, at the opening of the eighth century. The power of the Goths terminated with the fall of Roderick, their last king, who was overwhelmed beneath the Arab flood DONA CARMEN AND CAKMENCITA. 6 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. from Africa. For nearly seven hundred years, the Moors possessed the better part of Spain ; they built mosques and palaces, and intended their descendants should own this fair land forever. They gave to Spain a distinctive people, as well as Oriental forms of speech and of archi- tecture. The Moorish invasion had been almost mirac- ulous in its wide-spread conquests ; but finally came the time when they, too, must succumb, and to the prowess of northern arms. Down from the mountains of the North, from the Asturias and the Pyrenees, swept the Castilian armies, wave after wave, until were wrested from the Africans the soil and cities they had won with so much bloodshed, and the conflict of centuries culmi- nated in the fall of Granada, in 1492. Toward the close of the fifteenth century, the only strongholds remaining to the Moors lay in Andalusia, called by the Spaniards the "Land of the most Sacred Virgin, " because of its delightful climate, its fruitful fields, and its natural advantages as a dwelling-place for man. When at last the union of Isabella and Ferdinand joined the forces of Leon and Castile, then appeared possible the long- deferred, long-hoped-for scheme of universal conquest, and the ultimate expulsion of the Moors from their territory. The most fascinating episodes of that final period of warfare occurred in the Vega of Granada, and among the hills surrounding this beautiful plain. Standing conspicuously upon every hill-crest overlook- ing the Vega are the remains of Moorish watch-towers, their atalayas^ from which the watchful sentinels flashed blazing signal-fires at the appearance of an enemy. Even to-day, they may be seen in various places, lone THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 7 and solitary landmarks, though useless now, around the fruitful valleys they were built to guard. Centuries have slipped by since the danger-signals flamed from their summit-platforms, and they are now fast going to ruin and decay. One such atalaya rose above the hill of Elvira, always visible from the Alhambra at sunset, black sentinel 'against the brilliant sky. This tower I took as the objective point of my first foray; and one May morning, guided by Jose, I left the Karmen, passed through the beautiful grove of elms to the Alhambra, and thence down the Darro, through the half-sleeping city of Granada, seeking the distant hills. Fain would I linger by the way to describe the beauties of the palace we left behind, and the elm-grove in which I have heard the nightingales singing at midnight, as well as the golden-sanded Darro, down the right bank of which we strolled. It was delightfully cool in the grove, where the birds were twittering preparatory to their matin music, and until we were well out upon the plain beyond Granada, we did not feel the heat of the sun. Three hours later we were reclining at the foot of the tower, which is locally known as the Atalaya of Arbolote, whence we had a view outspread that well rewarded the long and somewhat dusty walk. Nearly all the Vega lay before us. At our feet were the remains of old Roman Illora, dating from a period near the birth of Christ ; beyond, Granada, dark in the val- ley, with the Hill of the Sun crowned by the Alhambra, above it ; and behind, the shining crests of the Sierra Nevada, broadly breasting the sun ; " Like silver shields new burnished for display." IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. As in the time of Columbus, so now : smiling plain, dark masses of olive-trees, silver threads of streams coursing emerald meadows, frowning battlements cap- ping the Alhambra hills, and glistening snow-peaks lying against the sky. Columbus saw all this, and, though he has left no description of it, its beauty impressed him, for in his voyagings through the island- dotted seas- on which we shall follow him — he con- stantly recurs to the charms of Andalusia. But Gran- ada and the Alhambra we have left be- Before us lies a city seldom visited by strangers ; a city sleeping in the memories of the past, and with no tie connecting it with the present. Four centuries agone — and three years more — the armies of Isabella and Ferdinand had advanced their line of conquest to the mountain wall around the Vega. One after another the Moorish towns and cities had fallen before the implacable Ferdinand: Zahara, Antequera, Alhama, Loxa, Illora, Moclin; until, in 1490, Granada stood alone ; isolate, crippled, yet proudly defiant. In April, 1491, the Spanish arm.y, horse and foot, fifty thousand strong, poured over the hills and into the Vega, intrenching themselves upon the site of Santa Fe, hind. THE ATALAYA OF AKBOLOTE. THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 9 as a situation strategically important, in the center of the plain. Granada lay full in sight before them. Where to-day rise the towers of its great cathedral, the minaret of a Moslem mosque towered skyward, and from its summit the muezzin called the faithful to prayers: '■'■Allah il Allah! Great God! great God! Come to prayer ! come to prayer! It is better to pray than to sleep!" So near were the soldiers of Ferdinand to the object of their desires, that they could almost hear the summon- ing cry of the muezzin. Upon the site of the fortified camp, which was first of tents, then huts of wood and stone, was founded, in the year 1492, the town of Santa ^^ mw ^^ Fe, or the City of the Holy Faith. It may now be seen as I saw it that hot day in May, scarcely lifting itself above and beyond broad fields of barley, wheat and alfalfa. A semi-somnolent city is Santa F6 ; completely walled about, with most picturesque gates facing the cardinal points. If the term "dead-and-alive " may be applied to any place, it certainly may be to this. Yet its history is interesting, and no student of the conquest of Granada can afford to pass it by without at least a peep into its past. DISTANT VIEW OF THE ALHAMBKA. 10 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Although we are dealing with Columbus, yet we may not neglect the historical accessories that make his story worth the telling. A hundred books, at least, will give us the tale of his life and adventures, but they only re- peat what is already familiar ; and since a multitude of writers are even now on the search, hunting the victim from the cradle to the grave, as it were, we ourselves will not join in, but will lie quietly in ambush ; per- chance we may gain glimpses of the great man, una- wares. Hence I will claim the privilege of digressing a while, merely to relate one of those exciting encount- ers that took place while the army was encamped at Santa Fe, and which, while it enlivened the monotony of camp life, kept up the spirits of the men. Among the fiercest of the caballcros in command un- der the Spanish king, as the army lay before Granada, was, the historians tell us, Hernando del Pulgar. Cast- ing about, one day, for an opportunity to distinguish himself, he espied the city gate of Granada but negli- gently guarded. Dashing in, he somehow evaded the Moorish sentinels, and reached to the great mosque in the center of the city. Losing not a moment, he rode his horse against the door, and there, with his poniard, affixed a bit of wood with Ave Maria printed on it. Then he wheeled about and darted through the gateway, with great clatter of hoof and clank of weapon, hurling cries of defiance at the astonished Moors, and escaped with a whole skin to the camp. The Moors at first were puzzled to accotmt for this foray; but when they finally found the Ave Maria pinned against the great door of the mosque, they were THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 11 beside themselves with rage. And the next day an immense Moor, one of the most powerful and renowned of the Moslem warriors, insolently paraded before the Christian host, with the sacred emblem attached to the tail of his horse, and dragging in the dust. At the same THE MARBLE HEAD OF THE MOOR AT SANTA FE. time he defied any one of the cavaliers to meet him in single combat before the assembled armies. Now, Ferdinand had forbidden any of his nobles to engage in this manner with the Moors, because their cavaliers were better horsemen, more skilled in the feats of the tourney, and generally came off victorious, thus greatly weakening the esprit de corps. But this 12 m THt~"WinCE OF COLUMBUS. insult to the Christian religion could not be borne, and the cavaliers all burned to avenge it. A fiery young Castil- ian, Garcilasso de la Vega, rushed before Isabella, and importuned her to allow him to defend the holy faith against this pa- gan Moor. Her permission re- luctantly grant- ed, he armed himself com- pletely and went to meet the Mos- lem, who was almost twice his size, and mount- ed in a superior manner. And yet, notwithstanding the apparent odds against him, young Garcilasso came out of the terrible combat tri- umphant. He killed the boastful Moor, rescued the emblem, and laid the head of his adversary at the feet of Isabella. The site of this memorable encounter, and the spot where Isabella sat to witness it, is marked by a great stone cross, protected by an artistic canopy. Subse- quently, a church was erected in Santa Fe, in which to- day the sacristan can show you a silver lamp presented by Isabella; but the most striking thing about this church stands between its two great towers : the marble head of the vanquished Moor, of heroic size, lies there placidly, and above him rises the lance which was used CITY GATE OF SANTA FE. THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 15 to slay him, flanked with palm leaves, across which is the emblem of the faith. Thus, everywhere in Spain, are we reminded of the days of chivalry and their romances, and the scenes of the distant past brought vividly before us. At the door of Isabella's silken tent another hero stands awaiting royal favor. He asks no boon of her, but only aid to carry out his schemes of conquest; he craves permission, like Garcilasso, to enter the lists against the infidel. The Moors are conquered, but mayhap there are other Pagans, in the world unknown beyond the sea. He, Columbus, with his sovereigns' aid, and by the =>f^2L Jf^ Si\T\ FK ACI OSS THF \ ItG V. grace of God, would go forth single-handed to battle for the Crown. It is the month of January, 1492. Briefly, the story of Granada's downfall may be told. That month Gra- nada capitulated, and the last stronghold of the Moors in Europe passed from them forever. The year that saw the star of Spain in the ascendant, was the birth- 16 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. year also of the history of civihzation in America. The two great events are coeval, for, as the star of the Orient sank toward Africa, the star of the Occident rose upon the horizon. And this era of exploration and discovery was to be opened through the genius of an obscure, almost unknown individual, waiting hum- bly his sovereigns' pleasure in their camp at Santa Fe. Spain's victories hitherto had been on land; for cent- uries she had been engaged in wresting from the in- fidel her own lost territory, foot by foot, city by city, until at last the great work was accomplished. Now, before their wearied soldiers had recovered breath, while their arms were yet tired with wielding the sword, and the blood of the slain was still fresh upon their weapons, the Spanish rulers were again importuned by that Genoese adventurer. He had gone away at last, disheartened, but had returned again at the solicitations of the queen's old confessor and at the instance of Isa- bella herself. He had returned as persistent, as calmly confident of ultimate aid from some quarter, as before. He abated no jot or particle of his ridiculous demands: he wanted ships and caravels, sailors, provisions, muni- tions, articles for barter. He demanded that he be made Admiral of the Ocean Sea; Viceroy over the re- gions discovered ; the privileges of the aristocracy, and one tenth the revenue of that undiscovered country; in truth, there seemed no limit to his demands. And this from an unknown man whose only claims were to pos- sessions yet to be possessed : nothing more or less than veritable "Castles in Spain." Perhaps, if the serious queen ever did take a humorous view of a situation, she THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 17 may have seen the funny side of this one, and have yielded at last out of sheer weariness. At first, however, notwithstanding the urgent solici- tations of her respected confessor, she could not bring herself to accept the terms of Columbus, and he de- parted again, this time fully resolved to abandon the country. This, however, he was not allowed to do, for he had not accomplished more than two leagues of his journey back to the Convent of La Rabida, before he was overtakened by a courier from Isabella promising acquiescence to his demands. Whether or not the queen did this of her own voli- tion, whether her treasurer offered to find the requisite money for the outlay, or whether she proffered the pledge of her jewels, are matters for the historians to settle. The chances are, that Isabel did not offer to pledge her jewels, since they were, probably, already pledged to aid in furnishing the sinews of war for the siege of Granada. But let it suffice that she promised assistance, and, once embarked in the enterprise, gave the future admiral both pecuniary and moral support. All the more creditable is this to Isabella, since it was done at a time when the royal treasury had been com- pletely exhausted by the drafts upon it for the Moorish wars, and when she might have been supposed to be already sated with the glory of conquest and not anxious for further exploits. The place at which the royal courier overtook Colum- bus has been preserved in tradition ever since, and is pointed out to-day with unerring finger. He had reached a river flowing through the Vega, spanned then, as 18 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. now, by the "Bridge of Pines." It is locally known as Pinos Piiente, and was the object of another little jour- ney by Jose and myself, after we had visited, and I had photographed, Santa Fe. We had noted it from our atalaya tower, and one day, through seas of scarlet and crimson poppies, had descended to the valley. Although the discussion was carried on in Santa Fe, still this spot may be looked upon as that at which the ca- reer of Colum- bus really began; the turn of the tide in his fortunes, and the turning-point in his journey. For this reason, and in view of the far-reaching consequences of this departure, I have taken the liberty of calling this Pinos Puente the " Bridge that Spanned the World. " It is a structure of stone and masonry, creditable to its designers, with a gateway and a turret, spanning the stream with two high arches, and is nearly always a scene of busy life. I rambled with my guide along the banks, and climbed the hill above, where are the remains of an ancient Moorish fort, finally resting at a meson, where the sim- ple folk cheerfully served us with the best they had. ENTRANCE TO THE BRIDGE OF PINES. THE BRIDGE THAT SPANNED THE WORLD. 21 Another trip, on another day, was to Modin, on the outer verge of the Vega, where the Moorish fortifica- tions are exactly as left after being battered to pieces by the cannon of King Ferdinand, the year previous to the fall of Granada. Amongst the wood-carvings around the silleria^ or choir-stalls, of Toledo cathedral, is one depicting the taking of Moclin ; all the incidents of the siege of Granada, in fact, are there illustrated. Again, we visited successively Loxa, Illora and Zubia, at which last place Isabella narrowly escaped capture by the Moors, and where a group of great stone crosses marks a religious shrine. Granada and its environs yet present a field for exploita- tion to the enthusiastic student of his- tory, whether he be specially interested in the closing scenes of Moorish domi- nation, the lives of Ferdi- nand and Isabella, or the dawn of discovery in America. Around Columbus, however, cluster the associations of Santa Fe and the Bridge of Pines, at the opening of this drama of the siege of Granada; thence, he followed the court as the army advanced to take possession of the city, and tradition relates, with an air of authenticity, THE CROSSES OF ZUBIA. 22 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. that in the Alhambra itself Columbus was a visitor a while, pacing gloomily its columned corridors while the issue of his voyage was pending. Here, it is re- lated, took place a memorable interview between the high contracting parties, in the beautiful " Hall of Jus- tice," the Sala del Tribunal^ which bounds one side of the famous "Court of Lions," and is a dream of beauty. Here, where the swart Moors r.eclined and dreamed away the noontide hours, and the stern caliphs sat, in days departed, the queen received Columbus. During a month of most delightful days, I myself dwelt within the Alhambra walls, sallying forth upon excursions, as narrated ; wandering through the palace by daylight and by moonlight, and weaving about the departed Moors, the Christian conquerors and the great Navigator, the tissue of a fabric I have herein attempted to unfold. A CORNER OF MY GARDEN AT GRANADA. II. AT THE NEW WORLD S PORTAL. A S we have seen, Colum- MOORISH AKCH AT PALOS. success, departed for Palos, invested with all the rights and privileges he for years had been so anxious to obtain. But two months after the surrender of Boabdil to Fer- dinand and Isabella, the same hands that had received the emblems of their triumph over the Moors affixed the royal sign-manual to a paper confirming Colum- bus in titles in a yet undiscovered country beyond' the unknown sea. A commemorative chapel on the bank of the Xenil marks the spot made famous by the surrender of the Moor; in the royal chapel attached to the cathedral of Granada the alabaster tombs of the king and queen are sacred shrines, to which pilgrims by thousands annually wend their way; but no monument rises above the spot where the great Navigator en- gaged to barter a world for prospective emolument and titular honors. 23 24 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. We know with what tenacity he clung to the scheme he had formulated for the enrichment and ennobling of himself and his family, preferring to abandon the coun- try rather than to abate one iota of his project. And it was with doubtful pace that he followed the messenger from Isabella who had overtaken him at the Bridge of Pines, with the promise of her consent. But at last he was on his way to Palos, triumphant. And while he is pursuing his way toward the coast, let us briefly review his history hitherto. He was born in Genoa, the historians tell us, in the year 1435 — this may not be the exact date; and re- :garding his youth and early manhood there is the same obscurity; but about the year 1470, we find him resid- ing in Portugal, the birthplace of his wife, and some- what later engaged in correspondence with Toscanelli. According to his son's statement, in 1477 he " navigated one hundred leagues beyond Thule; " but in 1482 he is in the South of Spain, having vainly endeavored to enlist the king of Portugal in his plans, and is sent to Isabella by the Duke of Medina Cell, at the court in Cordova. He follows the court to Salamanca in i486, and there has audience with the queen. In 1487 he is before the Council in the Dominican Convent ; he returns to Cordova the same year in the train of Isabella, whence he is summoned to the military camp at Malaga. The year 1489 finds him before the walls of Baza, where he witnessed the surrender of the Moors under Boabdil the Elder, and doubtless conversed with the two monks who there came to the queen from Jerusalem. 1490 sees him in Seville and Cordova, whence he finally AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 25 departs in disgust for the port of Huelva, on his way stopping at the Convent of La Rabida, where he attracts the attention of the prior, and subsequently has the THE MOSQUE OF A THOUSAND COLUMNS AT CORDOVA, famous conference with the friar, the village doctor of Palos, and Martin Alonzo Pinzon of Moguer. This conference in the convent took place in the latter part of the year 1491; as the result, a messenger was dispatched to Isabella, then in camp at Santa Fe, who returned after fourteen days with royal orders for the prior to go to Granada ; he departs in haste, and eventu- ally returns with the queen's command for Columbus to appear before the court, and with the necessary money for the trip. 26 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Columbus arrives at Santa Fe the first week in Janu- ary, 1492, in good time (as we have seen) to witness the surrender of Granada. He has audience with his sover- eigns, but cannot agree upon terms, so prepares to depart from Spain. He is overtaken by the queen's courier at the Bridge of Pines, returns, and is finally made happy with the royal consent. The "Capitulation" for conquest and exploration is signed April 17, 1492, and the twelfth of May he sets out for Palos. Ten days later — the twenty-third — the royal command for the people of Palos to furnish men for the voyage is read in the church of St. George, and the Pinzon family come to his assistance. Prepara- tions are hurried forward, and by the first of August the vessels drop down the Rio Tinto to the Domingo Rubio, where the final departure is taken at the Con- vent of La Rabida. This much for a chronological statement of events. We will now retrace our steps, and visit in person the scenes of the great Discoverer's weary wanderings and his final gladsome trip through Andalusia. Memorials of Columbus are scattered throughout Spain, to-day; in Madrid, the royal armory contains his armor, the naval museum one of his charts ; at Valla- dolid, in 1506, he died, and the house is still pointed out in which he drew his last breath ; the convent, also, in which his remains were first deposited. But though we may trace the wanderings of our hero over a great portion of Spain, it is in the South that the most interesting events occurred. Vastly rich is Seville, the queen city of the Guadalquivir, in Columbian AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 27 memories; for here we find that valuable library, the Colombina, bequeathed the city by his son Fernando, containing twenty thousand volumes, among them some that once pertained to the great man himself; one with marginal notes by his own hand, and one of his charts. Those very islands of the Bahamas, which I myself have seen, dim and shadowy, and shining in the sun, «:<,.or=.<.7i\ol CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE, PALOS. are here outlined by the great Discoverer himself, upon paper discolored and stained by sea-salt, as though it had accompanied him on all his voyages. That, however, which oftenest drew me and longest held me was the marble slab in the pavement of the great cathedral' that formerly covered the remains of Columbus, and now marks the resting-place of his son Pernando, with its world-famous inscription : A Castilla 28 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. y d Leon, Mundo Niievo dio Colon; ' ' To Castile and to Leon, a New World gave Columbus." Thus, although the remains of Columbus himself are now in the New World, many glorious memorials of him are to be seen in Spain, and mainly in Seville. In the Lonja, containing the royal archives of the Indies, in the city of Seville, is a mass of material per- taining to the conquest of the West Indies and Mexico that has never been exploited. Inaccessible to the ordinary tourist, great bundles and packages of letters and documents lie securely intrenched behind glass doors. But affixed against the walls, at intervals, are certain letters that bear their history on their faces;: they are open and can be read by every passer-by. They are well-nigh priceless; unique, at all events, for most of them are from the great conquistador es them- selves. The first of these, in point of age, is one from Magellanes, dated at Seville, October 24, 15 18. Another, date October 12, 1519, is from Diego Velas- quez, written from La Isla Fernandina (Cuba), giving notice of the disobedience of Cortez, who had taken possession of the ships and armament Velasquez himself had collected, and sailed away to what (as we now know) resulted in the conquest of Mexico. Less than three years later, a letter is written by the indomitable Cortez himself to Charles V., announcing his great discoveries and acquisitions. It was written from Coyoacan (near the city of Mexico) May 15, 1522; one of those veritable Cartas de Cortes that have proved so valuable to historians. Bearing date December 13, 1520, is a letter from AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 29 Diego Colon, son of Columbus, then in Santo Domingo as viceroy. Another, the same year, addressed to the king, Charles I. (Charles V. of Germany), is from that fiery- hearted monk, Bartholomew de las Casas. Long before that letter was written, had the wrongs of the down- trodden Indians begun to cry for redress, through the good Bishop of Chiapas. Next in sequence comes a letter from Juan Ponce de Leon, "Puerto Rico, February lo, 1521." He had then, doubtless, given up his search for the "Fountain of Youth," and was preparing for that last venture in which he lost his life. A confirmation of the statement by historians, that Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, could not write his name, is found here ; for the letter purporting to be his bears his sign-mark only. With date 1526, there is a royal gediila of Charles I. ; and another from the same king to Don Louis Colon, in 1537; another, by Phillip IL, in 1560. A letter written in July, 1539, from Hernando de Soto, touches Americans, surely, for it comes from the Puerto del Espiritu Santo, coast of Florida; Tampa Bay, it is called now; and De Soto was then disembark- ing his forces, preparatory to that terrible march through the Floridian wilderness that ended at the Mississippi, and brought him to his grave. In 1556, that stout soldier and truthful historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who fought all through the Mexican wars under Cortez, writes a letter to his sover- eign. He was then governor of Guatemala, and his letter comes thence: "Guatemala, 10 de Mayo, 1556." 30 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. In these documents we have a history epitomized, and romance condensed, with suggestions enough to keep an elaborator busy for a lifetime. But one more name, that of Columbus, is necessary to bring before us the conquest and discoveries of that period so rich in barbaric treasure, so red with Indian blood misspilt : " No J my olla sin tociiio, Ni sermon sin Agiistino." "No olla without its pork, no sermon without its saint," says the Spanish proverb. The saint in my ser- mon, these days, when the quadri-centennial lends an interest to everything American and Columbian, is Saint Colon; and it was to obtain information regarding his voyages, that I visited the Lonja and Columbian Library at vSeville, and later the port of Palos and Convent of La Rabida. At Seville, I dwelt in the house of a cleric, and my friend gave me a letter of introduction to the cu?'a of Moguer, the town nearest to Palos. It was a bright morning in April when I left the city for a trip to Palos, and the valley of the Guadalquivir was bright in green- est fields of grain and of olive orchards. Seville is, in truth, of queenly aspect, sitting in the midst of the fer- tile plain, her towering Giralda rising far above the out- line of distant hills. For two thirds the distance the railroad runs through a fertile and highly-cultivated plain, but the rest was mainly barren, though covered with sheets and beds of purple flowers in beautiful AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 31 "bloom. We passed the ruins of a Roman fortification of times most ancient, and then crossed a river flowing over iron-colored rocks, most curiously worn. The char- acter of the soil was shown in its color, which was yel- low and deep red ; noting which I inferred, and rightly, that we had seen at last the historic Rio Tinto — the SEVILLE, WITH THE TOWER OF GOLD IN THE FOREGROUND. Wine- colored River, from which Columbus sailed four hundred years ago. Just sixty years before me, in the spring of 1828, a man more famous than I traversed this same route, and with the same intent: gentle and genial Washington Irving. But there was no railroad in those days, and he was obliged to make the journey on horseback, tak- ing as many days, perhaps, as I did hours; but enjoying it, every mile. 32 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Leaving the railway at the station of San Juan del Puerto, I took the diligencia^ an old carriage, for the town of Moguer, a league distant on a hill, where I found, contrary to my expectations, good accommoda- tions : a fonda^ or house of entertainment, with clean beds and an excellent table. I was soon served with a good breakfast, and "mine host " took quite a fancy to me; insisting on taking me to the places of interest, and telling me all the local news. But he was lamentably ignorant respecting things Columbian, though intelligent and inquisitive. When I inquired about the scenes of interest to one studying Columbus, he excused himself, saying he was from another province, and not posted regarding the affairs of Palos. " But this man, Columbus, when did he sail, Seiior ? and are you sure he sailed from Palos ? No ship of any size has left there this many a year ; the village, even, is half a mile from the river. " But I'll find thee a boy to act as a guide to Palos; also a burro. It makes me impatient to have such a man about me." The boy he secured must have been the surliest speci- men in Spain ; but the poor little fellow had lost an arm early in life, and I suppose that must have soured him ; at any rate, he probably had a hard time of it in his struggle for bread. He led up a donkey, hooked my valise on to his arm- stump, seized the rope attached to the donkey's nose, and then strode ahead without a glance at me. Don Pedro sent an emphatic Spanish word flying after him, AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 33 that halted him instanter ; at least long- enough to allow me to scramble upon the burro's back ; then he marched on again, pursued by the maledictions of my friend. " What a beast of a boy, to be sure; and to think that I, Pedro Val Verde, a respected householder of Moguer, should have been the means of putting a distinguished American traveler in his charge — one who has come all the way from America, too, just to see our little port of Palos. Bien^ Vaya con Dios, Sefior — God be with thee. You have a stick, let the burro feel the force of your arm." Palos and Moguer are at least three miles apart. The road between them is broad and smooth, but traversed by carts only in the vintage season, when the wines are carried to the port of Palos. There was no saddle on the beast I rode, and I sat astride an enormous pack of old bags, using my cudgel as a balancing-pole; but was frequently obliged to bring it down upon the donkey's resounding sides, at which, much pleased, apparently, he would wag his ears and gently amble onward. The boy was abstracted, and the donkey absorbed in meditation, so I gained little from their companionship ; but after an hour I sighted the hamlet. Palos, the ancient port whence Columbus sailed on his first v®yage to America, to-day consists of a few mean houses, scat- tered along a hillside, and one long straggling street. It is nearly half a mile from the river, but it was a port in the time of Columbus, and is called so now. There may be some eight hundred inhabitants, all told. and not one of them, that I could find, was aware that the hamlet had a history known to the world beyond its 34 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. limits. Some of them had heard of Columbus; some remembered that it was said he had sailed hence, once upon a time, to a country called America ; but no one could tell me anything, and I must see the ciira — the parish priest — to know more. After an hour of wait- ing I found that he knew no more than the others, but the sacristan of the church, fortunately, was also the schoolmaster, and took an interest in my mission. He took me to the church of St. George, the veritable one in which Columbus read the royal commands to the terrified sailors of Palos, and I found it as it doubtless stood then : a simple church of stone, guarding the en- trance to the town. I photographed its eastern front, and also its rear, where there is a Moorish doorway (now walled up) draped in vines. The interior of the church is very plain, the chief ornament being an enor- mous wooden image of St. George, the patron saint of the church, slaying a terrible dragon. As St. George stood in a corner so dark that I could not obtain a. photograph of his cheerful countenance, the sacristan and his boy obligingly trundled him out into the sun- light, where he was visible. Sixty years ago, "Washington Irving saw this same saint in the act of slaying this same dragon, and he par- ticularly mentions that both had been recently repainted, and that the nose of the saint was as rosy-hued as the sunset. It is, even now, as gorgeous as ever, and the nose almost bright enough to guide the dragon in strik- ing at his tormentor in the dark. It was with great reluctance that I left the church and turned my face again toward Moguer; but the day AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 35 was nearly ended, there was no accommodation of any sort for a traveler at Palos, and the boy and the burro were anxious to be away. Don Pedro of the inn re- ceived me cordially, spreading a table with fruit of his garden and wine of his vineyard, and afterward invited me to come forth and view the town. He first con- ducted me to the church, and then to the house of the Pinzon family, still in possession of a descendant of the great Pinzon who sailed with Columbus. Over the doorway is their coat-of-arms. I was delighted to learn that the present representative of the family is prosperous, and holds a position in the Spanish navy. It was not my good fortune to be entertained, as Irv- ing was, by a descendant of the great Pinzon, though I should have valued that attention more highly than any other in Spain; for it was to the two brothers Pinzon that Columbus was indebted for success. When he came here, penniless and without authority, they were prosperous citizens, men of influence over their neigh- bors, and we all know the part they took in that first voyage, furnishing money, men and vessels. Even the royal proclamation read in the church of St. George, was of less avail than their brave example. Badly treated, they were, by Columbus and by Ferdinand, yet posterity will not refuse them their meed of honor. In truth, the deeds of the Genoese pale before their steady glow of sturdy independence. The needy adventurer whom they befriended, and who treated them so basely, forgetting their noble friendship after his success was won, has left no direct descendants; but the sturdy 36 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Pinzon stock still flourishes in the birthplace of its progenitors. Our next visit was to the convent church of Santa Clara, where Columbus and his sailors fulfilled their vows after their return from the first voyage. You will recall, perhaps, that they promised their saints that if they were saved from a dreadful storm that threatened, they would spend their first night ashore in prayer. And it was in this very church that they performed their vows; Columbus, at least, kneeling here all night on the cold marbles, and before the altar. As the church was then, it is now : with a magnificent altar-piece, fine statues and rich paintings. It was erected by the Puertocarreros, whose tombs and marble effigies lie in niches on either side. They were a noble family ; and it was a Puertocarrero, you will remember, who was intrusted with the first vessel sent from Mexico to Spain, in 15 19, bearing from New to Old Spain a portion of the rich treasure of Montezuma. The day following, returning to Palos, a sturdy don- key boy attended me, not the one-armed brute of the day before, and we made the distance merrily, halting at the town only for a lunch. As the place came into view, I drew up my donkey on the brow of the hill and looked long at the white-walled Palos, so silent before me, so lifeless, so sad. I need not put on paper the thoughts that possessed me as I gazed, nor the pictures that arose before my mental vision, for I am an American, and have a share in that common heritage left us by Columbus. Four hundred years only have passed since the great Genoese came AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 37 here, to this very port of Palos, and sailed away with its sailor- citizens to the discovery of a continent, and though since then the cynosure of all eyes, little Palos has slumbered on, unmindful of its fame. One by one its prosperous men were gathered out of sight, one by one its houses fell to ruins, one by one its fleets were THE CONVENT OF LA EABIDA. depleted of its vessels, and to-day naught remains save the memory of its greatness. About three miles beyond Palos, passing through scenery unattractive and sad, some clumps of trees appear and a hill rises against the sky. Then, slowly climbing, you bring the roofs and cupolas of a lone white building into view, which are found to pertain to a convent structure of the olden style. It is rambling, 38 IJNT THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. yet compactly inclosed within a high wall, and is ex- tremely picturesque. I was very, fortunate, later on, in securing a fine photograph of it, as clouds lay massed beyond, and a flock of sheep slowly grazed before it. And it was thus I found it, this Convent of La Rabida, at the gate of which Columbus halted to request refresh- ment for his son. How he came to such a secluded place as La Rabida no one has explained ; but he prob- ably made for the coast of Spain, thinking, perhaps, to obtain a vessel at Huelva, then, as now, a shipping port for copper ore to foreign parts. Indeed, this very spot is the ancient Tarshish of the Bible, and the Phoenicians came here more than two thousand years ago: those men of Tyre, who discovered a passage between the Pillars of Hercules. But Columbus came here, halted at the gate (the arched entrance at the right), and the prior of the convent, the good Marchena, chanced to see and to enter into conversation with him. Struck by his dignified appearance, and also by his evident learning, the prior invited him to tarry a while, and soon he had his visitor's story: of long-deferred plans, of wearisome waiting and crushing defeat. That very night he caused his mule to be saddled, and started for Granada, pursuing the same weary road through Palos and Moguer that I have traversed (only he was not favored by steam or stage) to the camp, perhaps two hundred miles away. Meanwhile, Columbus waited, resting in the cool cor- ridors, walking meditatively along the shore, and gazing wistfully out upon the scene from the arched and shel- tered jnirador. AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 39 The convent to-day is in excellent preservation, hav- ing been carefully restored and placed in the care of a faithful old soldier. I found the family in possession so simple, and so kindly disposed, that I craved permission to pass the day and night there, which they readily THE MIEADOE OF LA EABIDA, [Looking out upon the stream down which Columbus sailed from Palos to the sea.) granted. So, paying my donkey boy double wages, and sending him back to Moguer with a kind message for the friendly landlord, I was soon placed in control of the con- vent, isolate from all the world. Not even Fray Perez could have possessed it more completely. I wandered at will through its corridors, its cloisters and vacant refectory, rambled over the hills back and beyond the 40 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. convent ; hills covered with artemisia and stunted pines, and indulged in solitary reverie to my heart's content. Climbing- the winding stairway to the viirador^ I had before me broad vistas, through the arched openings, of the river and the sea. Directly beneath, the hills sloped rapidly to the half- submerged lands of the river and sound. Half-way down its slope was a date-palm, said to have been here in the time of Columbus ; perhaps equally old are the gnarled and twisted fig-trees and two gray-green olives that keep it company. Extending southward, even to the mouth of the Guadalquivir, are the Arenas Gordas, or the great sands, that make this coast a solitary waste. Truly, it is a lonesome spot, this upon which the building is perched, and the soul of Columbus must have been aweary as he drew near the convent portal. The Domingo Rubio, a sluggish stream tributary to the Tinto, separates from Rabida a sandy island, where there is an ancient watch-tower and a camp of carbi- neers on the watch for contrabandistas. A little to the west the Domingo Rubio meets with, and is lost in, the Rio Tinto, and the two join with the Odiel and flow tranquilly on to the ocean, where the foaming breakers roar with a sound that reaches even to La Rabida. Be- yond their united waters again, is another sandy island, and another distant watch-tower, till the low coast fades away in the distance. Down this channel sailed, or floated, Columbus, bringing his boats from Palos, on his way to the sea. The landscape is of a dreary kind, flat, with distant woods, and farther on a hint of purple hills. Opposite, across the broad bay, lies Huelva, like AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 41 a snowdrift, white upon a tongue of land between cop- per-colored hills and the sea. A dreary landscape, yet a bright sun in its setting might make it transiently glorious. The old soldier in charge of the convent, Don Cristo- bal Garcia, the concerge, was evidently straitened in cir- cumstances, yet he was cheerful, and his hospital ity shone forth re splendently. He laughingly in- formed me that he rejoiced in the same name as Columbus — Cris t o b a 1 ; but, he added, he had IN THE CONVENT COURT. never done any- thing to make it illustrious. He and his family lived in a primitive and even pitiful state, at meal times gather- ing around a common platter ; but my own meals they served me on snowy linen at a table apart. There were six of them : the old man, his wife, a little girl named Isabel, some twelve years old, and three boys. Isabel, poor child, pattered about the stone pavement with bare feet, but they were pretty feet, and with little brown ankles neatly turned. There was another member of the family, evidently an intruder, a little chap clad solely in a short shirt, who had squint eyes and a great shock of bristly black hair. Don Cristobal told me that 42 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. he was a descendant of one of the Indians brought to Spain from America on the first voyage; and as the child's face was certainly that of an Indian, I was more than half-inclined to believe the story. The little people were delighted with the peeps I gave them through my camera, and capered about with delight at the sight of the court and its flowers spread out before them in miniature, and nearly jumping out of their clothes at the inverted image of the grave old concerge standing on his head, exclaiming, "Mira! Mira!" and gazing at me with awe and wonder. They gave me a bed in one of the cloister-cells, the very one, Don Cristobal assured me, that Columbus occupied, and I slept well through the night. It was a disappointment to me that I did not dream, and receive a visitation from some steel-clad hidalgo, or from a girdled monk or two ; but of dreams I had none worth preserving, and at six in the morning was awakened by the good concerge^ who inquired if Don Federico would not like a little refreshment. Don Federico would, and well he did, for it was three or four hours before he received a hint of breakfast. The eldest boy had gone to Palos for twenty cents' worth of meat and two eggs, making apparent the poverty of my host. He did not return until ten, and then we had breakfast; and there were the two eggs, which the mistress could not have regarded more proudly had they been golden, for they were very scarce at that time in Palos, and it was waiting on a hen's pleasure that caused the boy's delay. He had been told to bring back two eggs, and if two hens had AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 43 not have happened along quite opportunely, I might have been waiting that boy's return to this day. There were meat and bread and golden wine. And that wine ! The product of Don Cristobal's own vine- yard, true vino de Palos, sweet and yet sparkling. This wine is of a golden color, with fine bouquet, and cele- brated at Seville. This rich, ocherous earth seems to have bestowed its fatness upon the wine-vat, for not on the plains of Xeres is wine produced of so rare a flavor as this made on the banks of the Rio Tinto. The rain had fallen all the forenoon and had made the convent cold and cheerless, so a fire was built in the fireplace of the ancient monks, and as it crackled and leaped up the huge chimney-throat we were warmed to our very hearts. Then the old soldier told me bits of his past history and legends of the place, while the chubby children gathered around, chins on their hands, stretched before the fire like kittens, regarding us with wide-open, wondering eyes. I said we had meat; it was not flesh of lamb or sheep, but of goat; and it was old, and it was tough. Don Cristobal remarked my desperate effort to carve it, vainly exerted, and observed that the market of Palos was never supplied with other than goat-meat, and that he doubted not that it was very old. Now Don Cristobal had a way of ascribing everj^thing ancient to the time of Columbus. " Is this old? " I would inquire. And he would re- ply, " Si Sefior, es tienipo de Colon: " " Yes, sir, surely, of the time of Columbus. " 44 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. So I said, pointing to the goat-meat, " This is very old, is it not? " " Yes, sir," he replied; " I think so." "Very, very old?" "Yes, sir." "Well, then, do yon think it is of the time of Columbus? " The old man was slow at digesting this query at first, but when he did he nearly exploded with laughter, and hobbled outside to tell the Americano's joke to some old cronies who were sunning theinselves at the door. After the rain had ceased, and while the sun was struggling fiercely with the clouds, we ate our dinner in the corridor, which ran around a court, or patio ^ open to the sky. This court was filled with flowers, vines crept up the pillars, figs and oranges had possessed them- selves of space enough for luxuriant growth, and al- together it was an attractive spot. From this court opened out many cloisters, but there was another, farther in, where the chamber-cells of the monks were very numerous. Vacant now, with doors ajar, and with no one to inhale the fragrance of oranges and roses in this inner court. Off at one side is the chapel where it is said Columbus knelt in prayer, and on the opposite side a passage leads to the refectory, the stone benches on which the good monks sat empty and chill. Climbing a narrow stairway, you come to a corner room overlooking the Rio Tinto, a large square room, with floor of earthen tiles and ceiling of cedar, with dark beams overhead. This is the Columbus Room, where the great Admiral, the prior and the learned doctor held the famous consultation which resulted in the monk's intercession with Isabella. Many a painting has represented this historic scene, perhaps none more '.'I AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 47 faithfully than the one hung in the room itself. An immense table, old but sturdy still, and around which the great men are said to have gathered, occupies the center of the room, and on it is the tintero^ or inkstand, said to have been used by them. Around the wall are hung several excellent pictures; one representing the discovery of land, one showing Columbus at the convent gate, another the consultation, the embarkation at Palos, the publication of the king's commands in the church, and the final departure from La Rabida. I had often thought that to be a monk, cloistered in cool corridors, would be an ambition it were well to gratify, and I must confess to a feeling of pity for the poor frailes who were turned loose from these quiet retreats and set adrift on an unfeeling world. I wonder if they enjoyed, as I did, the seclusion of the place and the sunset view from the mirador? In pleasant weather, when the hot sun shines, it must be supremely attract- ive, to one sitting in the shade and looking forth upon the sea. Drowsy insects hum outside, the half-sup- pressed noises of maritime life float in on the breeze, and lively swallows fly in and out, twittering to one another as they seek their nests. Ah ! pleasant mira- dor^ overlooking the historic Rio Tinto and the sea! The view afforded here comprises the scenes attendant upon the momentous departure; right before us, on the banks of the Domingo Rubio, it was, that Columbus careened his vessels and took aboard his stores, just before setting sail ; somewhere near the mole he took his final farewell of the good prior, the last, best friend he had in Spain; and beyond the sand-spits glimmer 48 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. the breakers on the Bar of Saltes. Down the stream, beyond the Tinto, glide lateen sails toward the bar the sailors crossed in 1492. Don Cristobal went down to engage passage for me in a mystick, or little sloop, that was lading with ballast at the river bank, and soon I followed him to the mole, where a carabinero rowed me across the inlet. Once there, I found that the mystick would not leave till night; but the men were cheerful and chatty, and so I staid a while. It was on or near this very spot that Columbus cleared for his voyage; and what thoughts filled my mind as I tarried here ! But not a thought had the men for aught save their sand, which they would take to Huelva and sell for ballast. If I would wait, I was welcome to a passage; but they thought that by crossing the sands I could hail a fisherman in the main channel as he came in from sea. The carabinero thought so, too, and took me to an ancient tower where his companions were, two of whom rowed me in a boat to mid-channel, where I had the good luck to catch a fisherman bound for Huelva. He took me willingly, and we sailed away with a spank- ing breeze, arriving there in half an hour. Two men and a boy comprised the crew, and an immense fish the catch ; and as we drew near the quay a boy drove down a mule-cart into the water, backed it up to the boat, and loaded us all into it, cargo and crew. Once on shore, a little urchin, with wide-extended mouth, seized my camera and valise and led the way to the railway station, where I spent the forty minutes till train-time in gazing wistfully at Palos and La Rabida. ALABASTEK TOMB AT BUKGOS. (Alabaster Tomb in the Cartuja, Convent of Miraflores, in Burgos, the high, altar of which convent church was gilded with the first gold brought from America by Columbus.) AT THE NEW WORLD'S PORTAL. 51 The convent lay against a bank of clouds, shining out like silver; Palos also and Moguer gleaming white against the hills. Two leagues away lay the sea ; and I had just ploughed the channel crossed by the world- seeking caravels four hundred years ago. And so I left this historic triad of towns, which had evoked for me so many memories of the great century that joined the Old World with the New, left them shining against the barren hills, as they have shone in memory ever since. CPOSS AT LA EABTDA. III. IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 1 W 'E cannot but re- gard the first voyage of Co- Itinibus as a combination of favorable and fortunate events; for, barring a slight accident to the Pijita, nothing occurred to baffle his plans until the first land was in sight. The final departure may be said to have been taken from Gomera in the Canary Islands, and the last sight of land was off the Island of Ferro. CROSSING THK SARGASSO SEA. {So named by the Spanish.) IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 53 Two days after land was lost to sight, or on the eleventh of September, a floating mast was seen, and on the thirteenth, the most important discovery was made by Columbus. We may say, quoting a distin- guished author, that Columbus made several discoveries before he discovered land. The first of these was the variation of the compass, the second the Sargasso Sea and the third the trade-winds of the tropics. The variation of the magnetic needle of course dis- turbed him greatly ; but he had the wisdom to keep his discovery to himself, until the change became so great that the pilots noticed it ; then he gave them a plausible explanation. It was about the first of October that they approached the region of the trade-winds, and noticed the peculiari- ties of that vast weedy expanse known as the Sargasso Sea. This seaweed, found floating on the surface of the ocean, bears globules like small grapes in shape. The Spanish sailors, fancying a resemblance between them and the grape grown in Portugal, called the sea- plant the sargasso, and the name was also given to that portion of the ocean where the weed is found. We know that his astronomical knowledge was imper- fect, and the nautical instruments very crude. He had a compass, and a rude instrument called the astrolabe, by which he determined his latitude; but he could only guess at his longitude, and he measured time by an hour-glass. " It has been said that he probably had no means for accurately calculating the speed of his ves- sels, as there is no mention of the log-and-line before 15 19; and as to the telescope, it was first used in the 54 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. year 1610. Having such a slight equipment, the sailors of that day, of course, were very timid about venturing far from land. The task that Columbus set himself was simply to go to the Canary Islands, in about latitude twenty-eight degrees north, and sail due west until he struck land." He was diverted from his course by the advice of the pilots and by the flight of birds to the southward, otherwise he might have landed on the coast of Florida, near the Indian River. "When I think," said a celebrated writer, "of Co- lumbus in his little bark, his only instruments an imper- fect compass and a rude astrolabe, sailing forth upon an unknown sea, I must award to him the credit of being the boldest seaman that ever sailed the salt ocean." After they had been a month at sea, the pilots reck- oned they had sailed about five hundred and eighty leagues west of the Canaries ; but by the true, though suppressed, figures of Columbus, they had made really over seven hundred leagues. It was about that time, or October 10, that the crew became mutinous; but later, signs of land, such as a branch with berries, and a piece of carved wood, changed gloom to hope, and strict watch was kept throughout the night. They were then on the verge of the great discovery. All seemed to have felt that some great event was pending; and on the night of October 11, Columbus claimed to have seen a wavering light. The next day, early in the morning, or that is about two o'clock of October 12, land was first sighted by a sailor on the Pinta. A landing was made the same day, and possession taken in the name of the Spanish sovereigns. 54 ye of fa; sii tw sti ad SOI of lui fee un th( OIK lea suj OVf Oc sig pie wa on ha-^ the a w or firs ma thel K r •-i^O IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 55 All these events, of course, we are familiar with in the works of many authors, notably in the history by Washington Irving, who first made the English-speak- ing world acquainted with the voyages of Columbus. But, although it is only four hundred years since these events took place, yet there is a great difference of opinion as to the island which may claim to have been the first land sighted on that memorable date, October 12, 1492. One thing is certain: the first landfall of Columbus was an island in the Bahamas, although opinions vary as to which one, claimants having arisen for several others besides those mentioned. But although the islands claimed extend over a distance of some three hundred miles, yet, we may be justified in going a little farther, and saying that not only was the first island one of the Bahama group, but situate somewhere about midway in the chain. Since the time of Irving and Humboldt, several writers of distinction have given attention to this question, and though not all coming to the same conclusions, most of them agree upon Watling's Island, as the place where the Europeans first set foot upon soil of the New World. Unfortunately for investigators, the journal of Colum- bus, which, as he informed the queen, at the setting out of the voyage, he should write day by day, has disap- peared, and we have only a portion of it, alleged d have been transcribed by a Spanish historian. Las Casas. And again, it is unfortunate that this tran- scription has apparently many discrepancies. Since, however, the greater number of writers recog- 56 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. nized as authorities are in favor of Watling's Island, it will be as well to grant that one the honor. Whichever island it may have been, I myself can claim that I have seen it, as I have traversed the entire chain, from Turk's to Cat, and have studied them all carefully, with a view to giving an opinion on this vexed question. Years ago, it was my good fortune to bisect the group on my way to the south coast of Cuba, when I saw this island rising like a cloud, or rather a blue mound, above the horizon. But it was not until July, 1892, that I had the opportunity for visiting it. Being then in the West Indies as Commissioner for the World's Columbian Exposition, I received orders from the exec- utives to investigate this question of the Landfall, and visit the islands in person. I was then in Haiti, the Black Republic, and the first opportunity did not occur until a month after receiving my commands. Leaving the port of Cape Haitien early one morning on a steamer of the Clyde Line, called the Ozama^ in a few hours we sighted the Island of Tortuga. The day before, from another port on the Haitian coast, we had scanned the leeward shore of this famous haunt of the buccaneers in times gone by, and now were on the bleak, iron-bound coast of the inward side. Finally, the turtle-back Tortuga faded out of sight, and the next land, or rather indication of land, was the southwest point of Inagua, merely a shadowy semb- lance of terra firvia, emphasized a few hours later by the flashing out of its revolving light from a high white tower. Its capital, Matthewstown, may be a prosaic place enough in broad daylight, but by the glamor of a IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 57 summer's night it was transformed into a thing of ex- ceeding beauty, as we lay a mile or so off shore, await- ing a little freight of Sisal hemp, mahogany logs that had floated over from Santo Domingo, in the last great storm, and some bags of smuggled coffee. It had been my intention to land here, and take a chance vessel (should by good luck any such occur) for Watling's, in the center of the Bahama chain; but the agents of the steamer advised me not to risk it, as noth- ing promised for that island within a month. They assured me I would stand a better chance from Fortune Island, and if I could only reach it, be a hundred miles nearer my desired destination. As the steamer never touched at Fortune, and indeed at none of the Bahamas except occasionally, I felt myself in a predicament until gallant Capt. Rockwell, the master of the Ozaina, came to my assistance, and promised that if I would take the chances he would drop me off the island, if the people there ashore would answer his signals and send out a boat. Next morning at daylight we passed the light of Cas- tle Island, and at ten o'clock were abreast the flashing surf of Long Cay, and could see the little settlement there that formed the only one on Fortune Island. Sig- nals were set: "Passengers aboard; send off a boat," and shortly after we could &ee a movement on the beach about a mile away, where a boat was being launched. In a little while it came alongside, our engines having stopped, and after an interchange of salutations my luggage was quickly transferred to the boat below, and I left the comfortable Osama and launched out into 58 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. another unknown adventure. The steamer steered off, my friends waved me a last farewell, and by the time we reached the beach objects on board were indistinguishable. I found myself a stranger in a strange land, but for- tunately had my usual good luck, and obtained board and lodging at a house near the beach. Fortune Island, or Long Cay, is about eight miles in length and a mile or so in breadth, some eight hun- dred acres in area, with a population of seven hundred people, mostly black and col- ored. The chief production of the island is salt, which is raked out of the vast shallow salt ponds formed just over the sand-banks behind the reefs. The process of salt gathering is a primitive one; the ponds are divided into sections containing salt in various stages of crystal- lization, and the water is sometimes pumped from one to the other by means of a curious windmill. The great heaps of salt, containing many thousands bushels, are pyramidal in shape, white as snow, and glisten like silver in the sun. Formerly this island was a great rendezvous for the wreckers, and in yet earlier times A SALT HEAP OX FORTUNE ISLAND. IN GUANAHANl WITH COLUMBUS. 59 perhaps for the buccaneers ; but latterly their occupa- tion has departed, owing to the erection of lighthouses and the substitution of steamers for the principal traffic to and through the islands instead of sailing vessels. Now and then a steamer touches here going from New York to Jamaica and Central America, picks up a crew of laborers for the voyage, and drops them again at their homes on its return. It is a barren island as compared with the islands of the West Indies proper ; and yet it is not unattractive, with its white sand beaches, its glistening salt heaps, and its half-tropical vegetation. It was thought that I could readily get a vessel here to take me to Watling's Island, but it will show you how infrequently these islands are visited, even by coasting craft, when I tell you that it was nine days before I could secure a boat to take me over, a distance of only one hundred miles. Even then, although that day there happened four or five craft in port, the master of the dirty little " turtler " asked six pounds for a run_ of merely a night. The old wrecker instinct is still strong in the resi- dents of these coral islands, and when they get hold of a stranger they make him pay for long months of deprivation. This was well illustrated by the treat- ment I myself received at the hands of the man who» had taken me from the steamer. He gave me accom- modation in a large vacant house he had on the beach, but, although he is the accredited Commercial Agent of our Government at Fortune Island, and at least should have helped on my exploration, coming to him as I did, 60 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. with letters from the Department of State, yet he did nothing for which I did not pay him the highest value. More than this ; knowing well the urgent nature of my mission, he yet kept me practically a prisoner on For- tune, when he could easily have sent me over to Wat- ling's, only one hundred miles away. For, lying at anchor inside the reef, during all my stay, was his fast schooner, the Jane, and a crew was at hand only too eager to earn a few dollars by a run. To be sure he did WINDMILL FOR PUJrpiXG SALT WATEK. {Fortune Island.) offer to take me over at a most preposterous price — one hundred dollars — for the night's run, but that, as he well knew, was out of the question. Days wore away without the desired sail appearing ; day by day I would pace the beach and climb the highest elevation, scan- ning vainly the horizon for a sign of rescuing sail in sight. To pass the time I made a boat excursion to Crooked Island, and thereby added to my increasing store of information respecting the conjectural isles first IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 61 found by Columbus; for, in many respects, this one answers to the description given in his journal. It was the Fourth of July when I arrived at Fortune, but the heat, I afterward learned, was not so oppressive as it was at the same time in our Northern States. The sun's rays may have been stronger, but all day long a refreshing breeze was blowing, which at night increased to a gale, and the only inconvenience during the day was from the terrific glare on the snow-white sands of the shore, and the unchanging blue of the sky. Soli- tude here reigned supreme, the few inhabitants being either within doors, at work on the salt pans, or with the steamers on distant coasts. The beauty of the moonlight on the pearly sands was something surpass- ing; but I had it all to myself, and finally tired of solitary strolls. My most refreshing diversion was sea- bathing, which I indulged in every morning before the sun got high, reveling to my heart's content in the sparkling brine, and under the shadow of the great black rocks stretching myself out in quiet enjoyment. But the delightful sense of security was one day rudely dispelled when, just as I was emerging from the water, I saw a shapeless something prowling warily among the coral ledges — a great gray ghost of a thing, which finally came near enough for me to see it was a shark. After that, when I went for a sea-dip, I took along a small boy to stand watch while I sported in the surf. The islanders had told me that no sharks ever came within the barrier-reefs of coral, which cropped out from some twenty yards to the distance of a quarter of a mile away; but the very day I saw the first shark 62 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. two others came tip directly in front of the house, im- mense fellows, each one over ten feet in length. Some fishermen had left fish-garbage on the sand, and in the death-like quiet of the burning noon these monsters stole boldly in, one after the other, and rolled over quite on the beach, their gray bodies entirely out of water in their efforts to snatch the refuse. This they repeated several times, even after the alarm was given and the people came flocking to the beach, and for several days after they followed the fishermen in from the sea. It is, even amongst the dwellers in these islands, a mooted question whether sharks will attack and kill a human being in water near the shore, and it is universally acknowledged that they will not snap at a black man if there is a white one near at the same time. Unlike the alligator, which likes nothing so well as a succulent negro, unless it may be a juicy porker, the discriminat- ing shark always prefers white meat to dark ; but what- ever the fish's predilection, I for one shall give him as wide a berth as possible in his native element. The name of the settlement at Long Cay, as the port of Fortune is locally called, is Albert's Town, a ram- bling collection of huts and houses, with a population composed mainly of negroes, there being but one per- son of undoubted white lineage in the place. This was the Collector and Resident Justice, a very jolly Irishman, with a brogue as rich as the island itself is poor ; a man extremely well-informed, with whom it was my delight to spend much of my spare time. He lived in a little house among the palms, all alone except for a small black boy whom he had in a way adopted. IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 63 having found him, some years before, abandoned by his mother in a hut in a lonely place. Wherever the Col- lector went, little Joe went too, and the petting he got made him the envy of all the boys of the village. He was, I fancy, the only one of his kind on that island in danger of being spoiled by petting, and I have in mind two others particularly ill-treated. They were in the employ of my host, and the lashings he gave them were about his only diversion. Poor little chaps ! Without the slightest provocation their master would lash them unmercifully with a stinging whip, and the sight of him set them to trembling so it was no wonder that they let things fall occasionally and broke the dishes. They were both of them orphans, and this brute had them entirely at his mercy. I often told him that it seemed to me burden enough for one to be black, and that he ought not to add to their misery. One would have thought that having himself a trace of black blood in his veins, he would have been more compassionate to those of his race ; but it is strange, though true, that these are the ones who treat the negro worst. Once having risen in the world, they forget and despise their parents, and are harsh to their neighbors. Although I regretted the loss of time in that island, yet I am thankful that I was not indebted to this man for any favors, and that he did nothing for which he was not fully compensated. At last came the day of deliverance ; the long-watched- for sails came in, three in one day, and in one of these unwashed " turtlers " I engaged a passage to the island of my desires. Captain and crew were black, 64 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. and they lived on the windward coast of Crooked Island.. We left Long Cay at dark, and in a few hours we were off the flashing light on Bird Rock, whence we took our departure for Watling's, and at daylight next morning I saw a long low line of land against the sky. It was the island we were seeking. But the wind failed us for a while, and it was full noon before we could reach the roadstead of Riding-Rocks and the shelter of the island's only settlement of Cockburn Town. Having my consular flag with me, I had the captain hoist it, and we entered the harbor with the stars and stripes displayed in all their glory. This unexpected arrival at this quiet port, flying a flag that rarely was seen here, threw all the town into consternation; but no ob- jection was offered to my landing, as the boat was mine for the time being, having been chartered by me, and I was entitled to fly the flag I liked best, of course. This was the view taken also by the Collector, a handsome Englishman, a retired officer of Her Majesty's navy, who was serving in this retired spot temporarily, in order to secure a "good-service" pension. He welcomed me most cordially, for strangers and news were equally scarce, and placed his s-ervices at my commands. My arrival was most opportune, for "the whole island was suffering from a drought, and many people were on MY " TURTLEE." IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 05 the point of starvation. Fortunately, I had learned of their condition before leaving Fortune, and had brought a supply of provisions sufficient for a month. It proved in such deinand that I had hardly any remaining at the end of the week. There was absolutely nothing to be had, not even milk or eggs, those last resorts of these needy people. I had been recommended to the Resident Justice of the island. Captain Maxwell Nairn, as one who would attend to my wants; but recent and dangerous illness had rendered him unable to extend me the hospitality he would surely otherwise have done, and I could not obtain even a room in which to sleep. He and his family, however, were ufgent in their endeavors to find me quarters, and finally secured a room in the thatched hut of an old black woman, who agreed to cook my meals. The stone walls of the apartment were white and clean, and the thatch overhead was neatly fastened to the rafters, while the old lady's cooking was at least endurable. Captain Nairn's was the only white family on the island, the other six hundred inhabitants being black and colored. The town consisted of a few score huts and houses, an English church, and a Baptist chapel. One road ran across to a central lagoon, a mile away, and a trail around the island ; but the great high- way is the ocean, their conveyances, boats and canoes. Watling's Island is egg-shaped ; it is about twelve miles long, and from five to seven miles broad, with great salt-water lagoons in the center, and entirely surrounded with dangerous reefs. Once, it is believed, the coral rock, of which it is entirely composed, supported a 66 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. fertile soil, but at present the rock is entirely denuded, and the only soil is found in pockets and depressions in the surface. A Bahama farm, in fact, whether it be found in Nas- sau or Turk's Island, is always a surprise to one from the American States, because of its poverty. When the scant vegetation that covers the coral rock is removed, LOOKING ACROSS THE LAGOONS ON WATLING'S ISLAND. (" One road ran across to the central lagoon") there remains only the white, glistening rock itself, gleaming out as bare and as devoid of plant life as a marble monument. But these naked rocks, so pitifully suggestive of pov- erty, the natives regard with affectionate interest and speak of them as their "farms." The great drought of the past two years had deprived the farms of even the scant moisture of ordinary years, and induced a general failure of crops throughout the island. IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 67 Although the island lies just on the verge of the Tropics, in latitude twenty-four, yet its vegetation is by no means tropical in character, conveying rather a hint of nearness to the mid-zone than actual fertility. I am writing of the vegetation presumably natural to the island, as seen in the woods and in the fields, and not of the cultivated plants ; for, indeed, all the fruits and vegetables of the Tropics can be raised here. But we no longer note the luxuriant vegetation de- scribed by Columbus, who speaks of the orchards of trees, and of great forest giants, such as the present day does not produce. All the vegetal covering is now of the second growth, though there are evidences of the forest primeval in old stumps, long submerged, that still exist, showing that Columbus was probably correct in his descriptions. It was my desire to examine every evidence that should help to establish the character of the people resi- dent here at the coming of the Spaniards, and bring to light all the existing proofs of their residence; hence I devoted all my time to that end. The very morning after my arrival, the Collector accompanied me on a short exploring trip across the lagoon, where there was said to be a cave that had never been explored. He placed the entire police force at my disposal, said police "force" consisting of one man, who, with his two sons, managed our boat and carried us over the shallow places in the lagoon. There were many shal- low places, and also a small canal, so that their labor as carriers was somewhat arduous ; yet the police force was equal to the demands upon him, and, all told, he 68 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. " backed " the Collector and myself from the boat to the shore, and vice versa, eight times that day, and without apparent fatigue. As the Collector was a very large man, weighing at least two hundred pounds, this per- formance was very creditable to the "force." After great difficulty, mainly experienced in cutting our way through the thorny and matted growth that everywhere covers the surface in all the Bahamas, we reached the cave in which tradition averred the ancient Indians used to dwell. It was merely a large opening in the limestone, forming a room of goodly proportions, the roof perforated in many places, and the floor cov- ered with bat guano. It had not been investigated, the islanders told us, but we found nothing to reward our search, and so, late in the afternoon, we returned to the lagoon and the town. The heat had been so intense that day, that the next I was unable to leave my hut, but the day after I went on the real exploring trip of the voyage, across the lagoon and up its entire length, to the north end of the island, where lies the conjectural landing-place of Columbus. I had with me the two sons of the policeman, who ably managed the boat, and by noon we were at the head of the lagoon, where we left the craft in the mud, and trudged over land, or rather rock, to the lighthouse, which rose before us a mile or so away. Arriving there, heated and exhausted, I received a warm welcome from the head keeper, who placed a comfortable house at my service, and took me to the top of the tower for the view. Built as it is, upon the highest elevation in the IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 69 island, this tower commanded the surrounding country and the sea adjacent, the whole of Watling's being visi- ble, shaped like a pear, with its stem to the south. There is little doubt in my mind that I was then look- ing upon the very spot at which Columbus landed just THE LANDING-PLACE OF COLUMBUS. (Watling's Iskmd.) four hundred years before. The reefs off shore threw up their sheets of foam as at the time of the discovery: the bright lagoons in the center of the island lay directly at my feet ; the low hills scarce rising above the general level, the green trees, the sparkling beaches — all were spread before me, and the prospect was pleasing and beautiful in the extreme. Half a mile distant from the YO IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. tower stretched a long continuo^is beach of silver sands terminated by promonotories, some two miles apart, breasting which the water is calm as in a pond, though broken by innumerable jagged reefs of coral. Beyond this calm space of -water that encircles the island all around, lies a chain of barrier-reefs, that prevent the tumultuous waves from reaching to the shore, and where all is quiet and secure. Bordering this beach, along its entire length, is a low growth of sea-grapes, dwarf palmetto, and sweet shrubs, just such as one may see on the southern coast of Florida. Scattered over its silvery surface are shells of every hue, and innumerable sprays of the Sargasso weed, such as the first sailors saw, coming here in 1492. Sea-bird* hover over it, fleecy clouds fleck it with their shadows; but, other than the distant murmur of the breakers, no sound disturbs the eternal silence here. It was at the southeast extremity of this beach, where a jutting promontory of honey-combed coral rock runs out toward the barrier-reefs, that we assume the first landing took place, in a beautiful bay, with an open en- trance from the ocean. On the beach, the fierce sun beats relentlessly, but there are deep hollows in the rock, where, in the morning, we can find shelter from the heat; and, availing ourselves of one of these cool retreats, let us rest a while, and read what Columbus wrote respecting his landing on the sands before us. Says that quaint old chronicler, Herrera: " It pleased God in his mercy, at the time when Don Christopher Columbus could no longer withstand so much mutter- ing, contradiction and contempt, that on Thursday, the IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 71 eleventh of October, of the aforesaid year, 1492, in the evening, he received some comfort by the tokens they perceived of their being near the land." And the following, from the journal of the Admiral : ' ' Two hours after midnight the land appeared, about two leagues off. They lowered all the sails, and lay to until Friday, when they reached a small island of the Lucayos, called Guanahani by the natives. They soon saw people naked ; and the Admiral went on shore in the armed boat, also Martin Alonzo and Vincente Yanez Pinzon, commanders of the Pmta and Nifia. The Admiral took the royal standard, and the two captains the two banners of the Green Cross, hav- ing an ' F ' and a ' Y ' at each arm of the cross, sur- mounted by its crown. As soon as they landed, they saw trees of a brilliant green, abundance of water, and fruits of various kinds. The Admiral called the two captains and the rest, as well as the notary of the fleet, to certify that he, in presence of them all, took posses- sion of said island for the king and queen, his masters. Soon after a large crowd of natives congregated there. And what follows are the Admiral's own words, in his book on the first voyage and discovery of these Indies. ' I presented some of these people with red caps and strings of beads, and other trifles, by which we have got a wonderful hold on their affections. They afterward came to the boats of the vessels, swimming, bringing us parrots, cotton thread in balls, and such trifles, which they bartered for glass beads and little bells. All of them go about naked as they came into the world, their forms are graceful, their features good, their 72 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. hair as coarse as that of a horse's tail, cut short in front and worn long behind. They are dark, like the Canary Islanders, and paint themselves in various col- ors. They do not carry arms, and have no knowledge of them, for when I showed them the swords, they took them by the edges, and through ignorance cut them- selves. They have no iron, their spears consisting of staffs tipped with a fish's tooth and other things. . . . At dawn, of Saturday, October 13, many of the men came to the ships in canoes made out of the trunks of trees, each of one piece and wonderfully built, som.e containing forty men, and others but a single one. They paddle with a peel like that of a baker, and make great speed, and if a canoe capsizes, all swim about and bail out the water with calabashes. I examined them closely, to ascertain if there was any gold, noticing that some of them wore small pieces in their noses, and by signs I was able to understand that by going to the sou'-h, or going around the island to the southward, I would find a king who had large gold vessels, and also gold in abundance. At this moment it is dark, and all have gone ashore in their canoes. I have determined to lose no time, . . . but to wait till to-morrow even- ing, and then sail for the southwest, ... . to try if I can find the Island of Cipango. ' " To this first land of the first voyage, Columbus gave the name San Salvador. By the Indians it was called Guanahani. By the "Indians," I say, for thus were termed these people found in possession, and who were here for the first time seen by Europeans. In the first day of their stay on shore, the Spaniards had added sev- IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 78 eral new things to their discoveries : to the discovery of the variation of the compass, the Trades, the Sargasso Sea and weed, they now added the new people termed by their commander "Indians," the craft called by the Indians themselves canoes {canoas), new species of parrots, implements of bone and stone, and, later on, hammocks. We would like to know what kind of people these were, who welcomed the first Europeans to America, and if any of their kind exist to-day. What they were we have seen ; brown and bare, shapely, athletic, doing no harm, but gentle and loving. "I swear to Your Majesties, " wrote Columbus, ' ' there are no better people on earth; they are gentle, and without knowing what evil is, neither killing nor stealing." And yet, what was their fate ? We know, and it is true, that their lovable qualities availed them not, but rather hastened their extinction. That very year, in the closing decade of the fifteenth century, "was begun that historical tapestry, woven by the Spanish artisan- conquerors in the loom of the New World, the warp whereof was blood and tears, the woof the sighs and groans of a dying people. " One cannot but wonder why it was. We may find the key-note of the acts of Columbus in a quaint ex- pression regarding him by Bernal Diaz, one of the conquerors who followed him: "He took his life in his hand that he might give light to them who sit in darkness, and satisfy the thirst for gold which all men feel." This thirst for gold was overpowering, it con- trolled all his actions, and caused him to inaugurate a 74 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. system of slavery that eventually caused the extmction of all the Indians of the West Indies. Yes; it is a melancholy truth that of all the aborigines discovered by Columbus, in the Bahamas, Cuba and the larger islands, not a descendant lives to-day. In fact, hardly one remained alive fifty years after the discovery. In the year 1508, Haiti having been depopulated of its Indians, the cruel Spaniards came to the Bahamas and deported the Lucayans to wear their lives away in the mines. They enticed them aboard their ves- sels under pretext of taking them to see their friends who had died. " For it is certain," says the historian Herrera, "that all the Indian nations believe in the immortality of the soul, and that when the body was dead the spirit- went to certain places of delight." By these allurements above forty thousand were trans- ported, never to return ; and a few years later the islands, found teeming with inhabitants, were deserted and soli- tary. In Cuba were found other Indians, but a little better supplied with' articles of adornment and subsist- ence, who had hammocks {Jiainacas)^ made fire by rub- bing together two pieces of wood, raised maize, or Indian corn, and spun cotton, which grew everywhere in their fields. The only domesticated quadruped was found in Cuba, the iitia or dumb dog ; while in the Bahamas the people had domesticated only the parrot, from the wild life around them. Having been so long extinct, let us say for three hun- dred years at least, little remains from which we may re- construct their lives as led at the period of discovery. What little there is, I have seen it all, and will describe IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 75 it. From the disjecta membra found at intervals in various places, we will try to evolve the Indian of the fifteenth century. In the first place, we have bones and skeletons, particularly crania, which undoubtedly per- tained to the Lucayan, or Ceboyan, as he has been called. These have mostly been found in caves, and generally be- neath the cave earth, or bat guano; and not one island alone has pro- duced them, but many, throughout the Bahamas. I myself se- cured two, for exhibition at the Exposition, which illustrate the peculiar features of the Lucayan cranium. These have been described by Prof. W. K. Brooks, of the Johns Hopkins University, who says : "The skulls are extremely broad in proportion to their length, and are among the most brachycephalic (round-headed), of all human skulls, the greatest breadth being more than nine tenths of the greatest length. The brain was large, and the capacity of the cranium is about equal to that of an average Caucasian skull. The Ceboyans flattened their heads artificially in infancy, so that the vertical part of the forehead is completely SKULL OF BAHABIA INDIAN. 76 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. obliterated in all adult skulls, and the head slopes back- ward immediately above the eyes. " * When I was in Cuba, in 189 1, I saw and photographed, in the rooms of the Royal Academy, a couple of Indian skulls imbedded in lime-rock that had been found in a cave at Cape Maysi, the eastern point of Cuba. Their origin and their antiquity are undoubted, al- though, knowing, as we do, the rapidity of stalagmitic formation in limestone caves, we need not argue the extreme antiquity their surroundings might, at first glance, imply. Again, in Santo Domingo I found two crania, f in possession of a learned physician of Puerto Plata, which were undoubtedly of the native Ciguyans — the Indians living here at the arrival of Columbus. The keeper of the Watling's Island light, Captain Thompson, kindly procured me trusty men for my in- vestigation, and himself guided me to the nearest cave in which human bones had been found. It is only in the caves and hollows in the rocks that we now find human bones and skeletons; the deposition of Xh.Q humus being so scanty that nothing extraneous deposited there has been preserved. To the caves, then, we went, for those of Watling's Island had already yielded valuable results. In 1886, the United States ^\.q2cc[iqx Albatross visited the island, and found many antiquities of value ; and since then Sir H. Blake, while Governor of the Bahamas, * Popular Science Monthly, November, 18S9. t These three different types of the characteristic natives of these distinct groups of islands — Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti — I have had carefully drawn from my own photo- graphs, and from them the Ethnologist may be able to deduce something of value to science. IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 77 thoroughly explored every island of his extensive pro- vince. Thus it will be seen that I myself could enter- tain but little hope of finding anything of importance, following in their wake. And, in truth, I do not make any claims that I did ; but every contribution to science is welcomed by the earnest investigator, and the little I can add, together with a grouping of all the "finds," here for the first time given, cannot be otherwise than acceptable. We groped for hours, on that and succeed- ing days, in the dark and dismal caves, finding many disjected fragments of skeletons and moldering bones, but no skeleton in its entirety — as its owner left it when he shuffled off this mortal coil. If Columbus only could have known — if the Indians themselves could — what a value would now attach to an aboriginal skeleton in this quadri-centennial of their discovery, perhaps some of them might have kindly bequeathed their bones to the investigators of posterity. But the "Admiral" cared more for gold than for bones, and as for the poor abori- gines, though many of them were eventually skeleton- ized by the Spaniards, it was not done in the interests of scientific investigation, but out of revenge; in the spirit of avarice, or lust. At all events, the three skulls I secured later, at Nassau, for the Exposition, and possi- bly one or two more, constitute all we have to work from. The caves themselves are interesting, but as I had already made the "grand round" of our own Mam- mouth Cave, there was little here to attract, more than could be found in other limestone formations. Subsequently, in Cat Island, I found other bones, and. 78 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. as these were added to those obtained here, and the whole given in charge of Prof. Putnam, of the Depart- ment of Ethnology, something of interest may eventu- ate. Yes, I must confess to grievous disappointment, and I really felt quite incensed at Columbus and the aborigines that they should have been so inconsiderately forgetful as to leave no vestige of their remains. I did get on the trail of one (alleged) aboriginal skull ; and though the recollection of the misadventure is by no means pleasant; still, a good story shall never be omitted because it reflects on me, and I will give it without comment, if only to illustrate a certain phase INDIAN ANTIQUITIES, FROM THE BAHAJIAS. of negro character. It must be remembered that the people of Watling's Island were on the verge of starva- tion, and that my provisions and silver were, to say the least, very acceptable. It goes without saying, then, that if anything could have been obtained for money it was available then, at the time of my visit. More "guides " and laborers flocked around me than I could possibly employ, and more were really engaged than I had any use for. They were honest enough, and faithful, especially ^ IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 79 when the provision hampers were opened and the silver disbursed; but they didn't like work. I have a fellow- feeling for them there, but in view of the fact that they were in sore need of money, and that I offered to give them good prices for all the antiquities they could guide me to, it seemed to me they might have exerted them- selves a little more to our mutual advantage. At last one of the negroes recollected that a boy had told him of a skull he had seen, deep down in a cave, only a few days before. Of course, I dispatched him for that boy, instantly. The boy came; yes, he had seen the skull, and more than that, " dey was heaps ob bones, too, sah." I was afire at once; but as the hour was then late for the trip, I arranged for him to return next morning, which he promised faithfully to do. Morning came, but no boy. I sent one of the assistants in waiting to look him up, and as he did not return, another, until at last all the men had temporarily intermitted their entomologi- cal labors, and were scouring the fields for that boy. Night came, at last, but without the desired scientist, though the father of the delinquent came and told me a very doleful story of the disappearance of the skull. " De head-bone, Massa, him done gone ' tirely, sah; when ma boy done go look fo' 'em, sah, dey wan' no head-bone dah. I spec some Jumbie gos' gut 'em, sah." I looked at the man severely, and told him that was not true, which he admitted; but at the same time he •said his son had cleared out, and that I had to admit. Finally the truth came out. It seems that some months previously the American artist, Bierstadt, had sojourned 80 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. here while painting, or rather making, the sketches for his famous picture of the Landing-place of Columbus. All unconsciously, he had been the cause of my discom- fiture. One of the negroes had brought him a skull, for which he had paid him a liberal price. But after the artist had departed, the officers of the chapel to which the negro belonged had hauled him over the coals, on the alleged offense of desecrating a grave. I do not suppose they for a moment entertained any scruples on the subject, but there was one thing they were unan- imous on: and that was, that the quondam owner of those bones would sometime appear, in ghostly shape, and demand satisfaction. The poor fellow was fright- ened, as they intended he should be, but as he had already spent the money received he could not make a division with the chapel — which the unregenerate declared was the real object of the discipline — and he was put on probation. This was the state of affairs when I entered into my negotiation, and it shows what a strong hold superstition still has upon those folk when, though in dire distress, they will not venture to relieve themselves at the risk of incensing the ghosts, or Jumbies. The boy did not appear during my stay, and I came away without the coveted cranium. As the black men themselves ex- pressed it, "Dat was 'one' on the Buckra;" but I here- with respectfully submit : the "Buckra" did not suffer so much by it as they did. But the bones are not the only remains the aborigines have left us by which to determine their status, for other objects are scattered throughout the West Indies.. i IN GUANAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 81 Their houses, having been of perishable materials, such as reeds and palm-leaves, nothing remains to show us what they were; but some of the implements they used, and even some of their household furniture, have been found. The most numerous articles that have been re- covered are those small stones carved and chipped in the shape of chisels, gouges, spear-heads, and even hoes and knives, known to collectors as "celts," and these have been found everywhere. And here again comes in the superstition and ignorance of the native, who, every- where in the West Indies, calls these artificially-shaped stones "thunderbolts." The belief that they are of celestial origin is firmly planted and ineradicable, and I have even seen some men who declare they themselves have seen the " t'underbolts " descend from the skies. In Fortune Island I met one old negro who affirmed that he had seen the identical stone I bought of him drop out of the clouds during a thunder-storm. " Don' yo' mek no mistek," he said, "me see him drap wiv my own eye. One time da come t'under-storm an' da tree in da front ma house he done 'truck ba de t'under, an' ma wife he say, 'I 'clar I b'leve t'underbol' done drap in yander tree ; ' an' sho nuff, when me go look an' zamine da he be right in de crack ob de lightnum. Me mus' b'leve um ef me see um. " The name is universal; in the interior of Santo Do- mingo I found they go by the name of '■'■ Piedras de Ray as,'' which is the equivalent in Spanish of ' ' Thunder- bolt. " One that I have in my possession, a beautiful green stone, of perfect shape, I obtained of an old gold- smith, in the historic region of gold where Columbus 82 IN THE A¥AKE OF COLUMBUS. first found the precious metal. He employed it as a touch-stone, to indicate the purity of the gold brought him by the natives, by the streak left upon it after being rubbed with the gold. In color and texture, shape and workmanship, the celts of the Bahamas are exactly the same as those of the larger island far to the south ; and, as there is no stone similar to that of which they were made throughout the whole Bahama chain, the natural CARVED SEAT OF LIGNUM-VIT^, FROM THE BAHAMAS. inference is that the implements were imported, the In- dians living in the southern islands bringing them here for barter. This is highly probable, for the Caribs of the southern isles are known to have made long journeys in their canoes, as well as the dwellers in the Bahamas. ■ The kinds of implements found here indicate that the aborigines were peaceful and agricultural, exactly what Columbus described them, and not warlike, for few war- weapons have been found. In addition to these celts we note mortars and pestles; the latter with carved IN GUA'NAHANI WITH COLUMBUS. 83 heads that have been taken for idols; beads of stone and oyster shell and fragments of pottery. The Indians, it is believed, made fairly good pottery, and cooked their food by heating stones and throwing them into the water till it boiled. Not alone the pottery, but all the articles 3^et discovered, indicate that these Indians were in a very low state of civilization, not far removed from bar- barism, and it must have required a painful stretch of the imagination for Columbus to perceive in these simple people the rich and civilized inhabitants of Cathay, of whom he had dreamed of discovering. There yet remain other articles to mention, which show that these barbarians did have among them, or were in communication with, skillful artisans who carved wonderful things in wood and stone, the like of which have not been found elsewhere. Historian Herrera wrote that when the Indies were discovered, all the common people sat on the ground in the pres- ence of strangers, but that their chiefs made use of low seats, of stone or wood, carved in the shape of a beast or reptile, with very short legs, its head and tail erect, and with golden eyes. We believe this to have been the truth, because several such strange seats have been discovered, notably in the Caicos, and island of Grand Turk, in the southern Bahamas, where they may still be seen in the Public Library there. The Spanish Consul at Grand Turk also has a very rare thing in the shape of an Indian axe, of stone, the head and handle being of one piece; and another axe is there shown: the head of stone, and fitted into a wooden handle; an object of extreme rarity. Few of the many thousand •84 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. implements hitherto found, of the ancient peoples of America, have possessed the interest that attaches to this, because of its completeness. These, then, are about all that remain to us of the people discovered by Columbus, whose extinction he himself hastened by recommending and initiating their enslavement. Simple folk, without thought of harm, they early felt the evil effects of Spanish domination. Having no gold to tempt the cupidity of the conquerors, they for a time escaped their attention, but when slaves were needed for the mines of Haiti, then the Spaniards returned and snatched them from their homes. Even the very people whom Columbus praises as the most loving and gentle on earth, and who welcomed him and his crews as heaven-descended men, giving them all their possessions, were carried by these same men into a slavery worse than death. Ah, well ! We know not why it was that the strong should ever have oppressed the weak, and have stained their swords with innocent blood, in those first fierce days of America's beginnings. They are gone, now, all of them. We know the Spaniards' fate; but no one can tell when and where and how perished the last of Guanahani's gentle tribe. IV. 'HERE WAS THE ADMIRAL's LANDFALL ? w 'HO can tell where it lies — that first land sighted by Columbus and his crew, after their weary voyage across the Atlantic ? We will ignore the light the Admiral claimed to have seen because it has not been proved that he saw one; there are those who think it was but in keeping with his character to affirm a light that never shone, in order to defraud that poor sailor, Rodrigo de Triana, of his reward. Let us ig- nore the light, and land with Columbus on the coast MAP OF WATLING'S ISLAND. 86 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. approached that memorable Friday, the twelfth of October, 1492. He landed, that is admitted; and he landed somewhere in the Bahamas; in all probability, as has already been stated, midway the chain. This much conceded, we turn to special investigators to ascer- tain upon which particular island of the group. Nearly every writer on the subject has a different theory; but fortunately there are a few who have given it exhaus- tive study, who have been over the ground in person, and who have received their impressions from actual observations. It happens also that those whose opinions are entitled to consideration, have received their training in the naval service, either of this country or of England, and are qualified to write of the voyage as brother mariners. The recognized authorities on the subject are Capt. A. B. Becher, of the English Navy, and Capt. G. V. Fox, of the United States Navy. I am aware that others have written, and have written well; but all we need may be found in the pages of the two writers above named. It was not until Capt. Becher's work, " The Landfall of Columbus," appeared, in 1856, that the question was agitated. Up to that time the conclusion of Wash- ington Irving, that the landfall was Cat Island, had been generally accepted. The routes had been care- fully worked out for Irving by an officer of the United States Navy, and had received the sanction and ap- proval of so high an authority as Humboldt. Navar- rete, from whom Irving drew much of the material for his history, assumed that Turk's Island coincided with WHERE WAS THE ADMIRAL'S LANDFALL? 87 that described by Colum- bus; and in the year 1846 the late George Gibbs, for many years a resident of Grand Turk, ably sup- ported this theory, in a paper before the New York Historical Society. Capt. Fox wrote in sup- port of Samana, or Atwood Cay; but his work, so thor- ough in its investigations, and honest in its conclu- sions, rather re-enforces the statements of Becher, who claims Watling's Isl- and as the landfall. Capt. Becher is supported by Lieut. Murdock, who began on the coast of Cuba and traced the track of Colum- bus back to the island first sighted. A summary of their con- clusions, not only as to the conjectural landfall, but in regard to the islands sub- sequently discovered by Columbus, is herewith presented : It will be noted that no On u-i .^ OJ N r Islas Arenas Cuban Coast S. Salvador en P cr ST ro p S 5' p OiCOQ P 3 p' :i. 3 cr c ^ V. Q n> P -! Z ?. P n" < P *5" 3 ^ H •-1 (D P p c »-i OQ CPQ — : fn C n ?r r-f- P p rt ^ g p Q p 3 1! P P CTQ p l-H CO w 1-1 P n g' < 5' c 2' ^ Oft? p O^?0 Q r ^ C (D •-! "-! ^ 03 P 3 p Crq ^_ t3d ?r rt- ft fC (W^ re c p C/l •-1 0^ ?0 T] r- ?3 5: orLi agg bar uba i ^ § •7^ ^ ri' G4 p crq 0- ^ vT n OTl'pi ►rj t-^ c« c p ■-{ P p op C 3 ::; -do p CI. Fd 13 z^ X nJ n r n c P P tT p -1 9. l-H S P l-H 3 p H cr • m 03 •-t w c ^T" p p 88 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. two investigators agree as to the first landfall without disagreeing as to the second; and if they happen to coincide on the third, it is only to fall out over the fourth. And the difference between the extremes, as represented by Cat Island in the north, and Grand Turk in the south, is something like three hundred miles. But this is not material ; each writer had his own opin- ion, and perhaps a preconceived one, and by extracting a little truth here and a little there, we may approxi- mate a correct result. There is a consensus of opinion decidedly in favor of Watling's as the first landfall, and so eminent an authority as Judge Daly, of the American Geographical Society, holds to this theory. Says Major: " While agreeing with Capt. Becher in the identification of Guanahani with Watling's, I find that officer entirely at issue with the diary of Columbus in making him anchor near the northeast end of the island, and then sailing around its northern point. The first anchorage of Columbus in the New World was off the southeast point of Watling's Island, a position which entirely tallies with all his movements as mentioned in his diary." This is the opinion of a man who has never seen the island, but who has studied the subject so deeply that he thinks he knows all about it. His conclusions bear out the general statement, however, and are accept- able to the seeker after truth. Let us turn once more to the "Journal of Columbus," and question him again regarding his movements after he had landed. I shall assume Watling's to be the island, having found no conclusive evidence to the contrary. We WHERE WAS THE ADMIRAL'S LANDFALL? 89 ;£.ccept the courses of Columbus across the ocean (as worked out by the eminent navigators previously men- tioned) which brought him, at least approximately, to the center of the Bahama group. Hear, then, the evidence, presumably in his own words. I say presumably, because we have only an abstract from his journal, and not the original. The only evidence we have is in a manuscript copy of the " Diary of Colon, " found by Seiior Navarretein Spain, in 1825 ; it is an abridgment of the "Journal of the First Voyage of Colon," made by the Bishop Las Casas, his famous contemporary, "the genuineness and authen- ticity of which copy have yet to be impeached." According to the journal of Columbus, then; first, as his vessels approached the island, they " lay to," outside the reefs, and after the landing: "This island is large and very level, has a very large lagoon in the middle, is without any mountain, and is all covered with verdure most pleasing to the •eye; " all which is applicable to Watling's, and particu- larly the " lagoon in the center," which does not exist in Cat ; a similar feature is found only in Crooked. It was inhabited : ' ' The people are remarkably gentle, have no iron, do not carry arms, and have no knowledge of them; are well-formed, of good size, and intelligent " — facts borne out by the remains discovered in modern times, such as crania, celts, agricultural implements and pottery. They had canoes, "made out of the trunks of trees, all in one piece." A canoe, or portion of one, was found in a cave near Riding-Rocks, the chief road- stead of Watling's Island. "They came to the boats, 90 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. swimming, bringing us parrots, cotton " (which grows in the island), etc. Cotton is indigenous here; parrots have been here within the memory of man, and are now found in flocks on Ackhn Island, one hundred miles to the southeast; the second growth of forest on Watling's Island is not high enough to afford them shelter. "I have seen here no beasts whatever, but parrots only." There are nO' THE HEADLAND COAST OF WATLING'S ISLAND. indigenous quadrupeds larger than a rat, and few rep- tiles, the largest being the iguana, which he mentions later, as seen in another island. After two days on the island — Sunday, October 14: "At dawn I ordered the boats of the ship and of the caravels to be got ready, and went along the island. I was afraid of a reef of rocks which entirely surrounds that island, although there is within it depth enough and ample harbor for all the vessels of Christen- dom ; but the entrance is very narrow. It is true that WHERE WAS THE ADMIRAL'S LANDFALL? 91 the interior of that belt contains some rocks, but the sea is there as still as a well. " No more accurate de- scription could be written of the great barrier-reef that surrounds this island, nor of the aspect of its inclosed waters. In looking for a place to fortify, he found " a piece of land like an island, only it is not one, which in two days could be cut off and converted into an island." This was near the harbor, which in every particular answers to the sheltered Graham's Harbor, at the ex- treme end of the island; it is secure, though shallow, and ample for small vessels of the light draught of Columbus's time. As to the "piece of land like an island," this is found in "Cut Point," the eastern arm that protects Graham's Harbor from the open sea ; it is a long neck of land cut in two by the erosion of wave- action ; an island at high water, and part of the main- land at low tide. Thus far, there is no discrepancy whatever, and it is only as the Spaniards leave the island that an apparent variance is noted. " I observed all that harbor, and afterward I returned to the ship and set sail, and saw so many islands that I could not decide to which one to go first. ... In consequence, I looked for the largest one, and deter- mined to make for it, and am so doing, and it is probably distant five leagues from this of San Salvador, the others some more or less." This is the one weak link in the chain of evidence in favor of Watling's. There are no large islands visible from this one; but the objection is equally applicable to 92 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Cat, though not to Grand Turk. It is possible that the mariners may have been deceived, and mistook eleva- tions and depressions of the same island for different cays. I myself, in approaching Watling's from Fortune, noted that the detached portions of the island gradually coalesced, until what appeared to be several islets were merged into one. But again : one island is visible from Watling's; this is Rum Cay, which, in clear weather, may be discerned from the extreme southern point. It is twenty miles distant ; this agrees nearly with Colum- bus's estimate, for later he enters in his journal: " As the island was five leagues distant, rather seven, and tide detained me, it was about noon when I reached the said island, and I found that that side which is toward San Salvador runs North and South, and is five leagues in length, and the other, which I followed, ran East and West and contains over ten leagues." The description applies exactly to Rum Cay, both as to situation with respect to the other and as to shape; but the same allowance must be made for errors of measure- ment as before, since the estimates of Columbus were made from his vessel's deck, and by the eye, and can by no means be regarded as accurate. Reckoning the Spanish league at two and one half miles, we must in nearly every case deduct at least one third from the estimates of Columbus, as due to unconscious exaggera- tion. Imperfect as the transcription of the journal may be, there is not one single feature of its description that is not applicable to Watling's. Having landed on its northeast shore, Columbus sailed around the north end, coasted the west shore its entire length and departed I WHERE WAS THE ADMH^AL'S LANDFALL? 95 from the southern point, making Rum Cay, as related. His course was southwest to Rum Cay, thence due west to another island visible in the distance. This was Long Island, and is accurately given, with the distance from the second island, or Rum Cay, the general trend of its shores, and configuration. ' ' And from this island of Santa Maria to the other are nine leagues, east and west, and all this portion of it runs northwest and southeast. . . . And being in the gulf midway between these two islands, I found a man in a canoe, who was going from Santa Maria to Fernan- dina " (the large island), " who had a small piece of his bread " (probably cassava), " a calabash of water, a small string of beads, and two blancas" (small coins), "by which I knew that he came from the island San Salvador, had passed to Santa Maria, and was now going to Fernan- dina. " This incident illustrates the boldness of these Indians, in venturing so far from land in their frail canoes, and explains the occurrence in these islands of articles that could only have been obtained from a great distance. This Indian also had "some dry leaves, highly prized, no doubt, among them, for those of San Salvador offered some to me as a present. " This was, presumably, tobacco, which was afterward found in use in Cuba. The Admiral took the Indian aboard and treated him kindly; not because of any liking for the poor fellow, but that his friends "may give us of all that they have." In Fernandina, in addition to things already seen, they first saw the hammock ; ' ' their beds and coverings looked like cotton nets," which they called Jiaviacas. 96 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. No one who has seen Long Island, can doubt that it was- the third one visited by Columbus, for the reasons above stated ; in addition, his description of Clarence Harbor, "the very marvelous port with narrow entrance, " is- entirely confirmatory. After cruising two or three days up and down the- coast, detained and baffled by adverse winds, the Span- iards finally set sail for the southeast, and in three hours saw an island to the east, reaching its northern, extremity before midday. Here the vessels anchored at a little islet, which, without doubt, was Bird Rock, at the northwest extremity of Crooked Island. There is a light on it now, and it is the point of departure for Watling's, Rum Cay, and Long Island, on the course from Crooked and Fortune. As already intimated, I have been over the course, and have cruised along the shores of both Fortune and Crooked. And I can understand the enthusiasm of the Admiral, writing in his journal, with the scene before him at Crooked Island as I have had it: "If the other islands are beautiful, this is still more so: it has many trees, very green and very large, gentle hills enhance with their contrasts the beauty of the plains, . . . and this cape where I have anchored I have called Cape Beautiful, because it is so. I an- chored here because I saw this cape so green and beautiful, as are all the things and lands of these islands, so that I do not know to which to go first, nor do my eyes grow tired with looking at such beautiful verdure, so different from our own. . . . Here are some large lagoons, and around them are the trees, so- WHERE WAS THE ADMIRAL'S LANDFALL? 97 that it is a marvel, and the grass is as green as in Andalusia in April. And the songs of the little birds are such that it seems as if a man could never leave here." Ah, yes! I, too, like the great Admiral, have heard those "songs of little birds," and have felt it was a joy to listen to them. Now, even as then, the mocking-bird pours out his melody for all to hear. The great forests are gone; THE COAST OF WATLING'S ISLAND. their human occupants have passed away, a different race dwells here ; but the odorous thickets remain, from which "the odors came so good and sweet, from flowers and trees on land, that it was the sweetest thing in the world; " and the mocking-birds dwell herein, gladden- ing the heart of man with their music. I remember, 98 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. one was my neighbor at Watling's, living in an orange- tree near the eastern window of my hut, and his notes began at dawn, even before, continuing at intervals all the day. At hottest noon, when everything else was hushed and lifeless, he would mount to the topmost twig of his tree, and pant forth a gush of liquid melody. Without them, else, these thickets are silent and without sign of life. The fauna of a country changes little, even in the lapse of centuries, and probably the bird-life was simi- lar to what it is to-day. There may have been some changes, but mainly wrought through the agency of man; for instance: bird- collectors have nearly exter- minated the song-birds of some islands, merely for the small sums they receive for the skins. Not only are they collected for the adornment of women's hats and bonnets, but there are men whose sole ambition is to pos- sess the largest collection of birds of any given locality ; these send out hordes of boys, who murder for money the choicest feathered friends of man. Were the inhabi- tants of the islands more enlightened, they would send these collectors to jail as soon as they began their nefarious work. The sailors killed an iguana here, which they called a serpent; they found aloes, loading the ships with a quantity; they filled the water-casks, at a spot now called " Frenchman's Wells," and in this same island of Fortune first heard of "an island which the natives call Cuba, but which I think must beCipango. " The twenty-fourth of October they sailed, leaving with re- gret this island that had so entranced them. 2V 23 •?-' 75 " "VN6US CoNcePTi CSi. (V\/V(^iA. i^^ J^ N. ToCuSA, / '^ \ 7£ WHERE WAS THE ADMIRAL'S LANDFALL? 101 "At midnight I weighed anchor from the Island of Isabella and the cape of the Rocky Islet (Bird Rock), in order to go to the island of Cuba, which these people tell me is very large, with much trade, and yielding gold and spices ; and by their signs I understand it to be the island of Cipango, of which marvelous things are related, and which, on the globes and maps I have seen, is in this region ; and they told me I should sail to reach it west-southwest, as I now am sailing." The next night, the southern cape of Fernandina bore northwest, and the next islands were sighted, called by the Admiral las Islas de Arenas (Sand Islands). Departing from these, leaving them on the north, at sunrise, two days later, October 28, he saw the island of Cuba. With the discovery of Cuba, the voyage through the Bahamas terminates. After the first landing-place on the Cuban coast has been defined, the journal is less ambiguous, and we can follow the explorers step by step. Before we leave the subject, however, I desire one more word as to the latest conclusions regarding the landfall and the islands subsequently visited by Columbus. I have given a summary of opinions up to the time of my own investigation. But, since I was sent out specially commissioned by the Executives of the Columbian Exposition to ascertain the truth, if possi- ble, and devoted much time and study to the question, it would only be fair to those gentlemen of the Exposi- tion, as well as to myself, to present my own conclusions. They are fully borne out by the results of the expedition sent out in 1891 by the Chicago Herald, whose chief, 102 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Mr. Wellman, made an able and exhaustive report at the time, and erected on or near the conjectural landing- place on Watling's Island, a handsome commemorative monument. Our investigations were entirely independent, as I was in the Southern West Indies at the time of the Herald expedi- tion and came up to Wat- ling's from the island of Haiti, while Mr. Well- man went there from Nassau. Our visits were exactly a year apart, but together we have surveyed the entire field of controversy, and the following emended table is given, as approximating a correct result : c«i-rs)»,n\\, 'V^.^/«;: THE WRECKED CAEAVEL. provisions lost, not a spar nor a nail detachable that was not safely landed with them ; yet in the words of Robinson Crusoe, "what an awful deliverance" was theirs! The rising sun of that Christmas morning shone with tropic fervor, the dewy thickets of precious 224 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. woods exhaled delicious odors, the birds caroled their welcomes to the morn; yet these men noticed not the signs of awakening life around them, so plunged were they in deep despondency. And this was Christmas morning. This was the first recognition of the birth of the Christ-child in this New World then just brought to light. And how did they pass the day? At first, deep gloom enwrapped them all — these hundred men, two thousand miles from home, and with but one frail caravel to take them back. But the Cacique was unwearied in his attentions ; his grief at the disaster was so manifest, and his attempts to divert them from their trouble so delicately proffered, that finally hope returned to cheer them, and they thought upon their blessings. The little Nifia lay anchored off the village of Guarico, and at sunrise of the day after Christmas, the Cacique paid a visit of state to the Admiral, when Columbus was so pleased with his frank and manly bearing that he repeats his encomiums, declaring him preeminent in virtue. While the king was on board, his Indian sub- jects swarmed in canoes around the caravel, holding out pieces of gold, and crying out, "Chug, chug! " intimat- ing that they wished to barter the nuggets for hawks- bells, over which they went wild with joy. Seeing that such trifle-s brought in exchange great pieces of gold, Columbus was delighted, and at the sight of the pleas- ure expressed in his countenance, Guacanagari, quick to note the change, assured him that if gold was the object of his desires, he would direct him to a region where the very stones were golden, and where it was in THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. 225 such abundance that the people dwelhng there held it in light esteem. This region he called Cibao, which Columbus construed to mean Cipango, so long the goal before him in his voyagings. He found it later, on his second voyage, and thence drew millions of treasure. After breakfasting, the Cacique took the Admiral ashore, and spread a banquet, at which several sub- chiefs were present, probably coming from the interior, each one wearing a coronet of gold. Two of them presented their coronets to Columbus, and confirmed the story of the abundance of the precious metal in the mountains of the Cibao. Guacanagari also wore a golden crown, but nothing else save a shirt and a pair of gloves, given him by Co- lumbus, and of which he seemed prouder than of his coronet. The repast consisted of ajcs^ or nutritive roots, shrimp, and native bread called cassavi^ which is in use there to-day. After it was over, he rubbed his hands with fragrant herbs and washed them carefully. More than a thousand Indians are said to have been present, and the Admiral, wishing to impress them with his strength, sent for a Moorish bowman, who astonished the natives with his skill. Afterward a lombard was fired, the report of which so frightened the Indians that they all fell flat on the ground. From the wreckage of the Santa Maria, from its strong timbers and planks, a fort was constructed near the village of Guarico, and in it a garrison was left ; for the remaining vessel was not large enough to carry them all, and many of them desired to stay. Work on the fort proceeded so rapidly that it was completed within 226 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. ten days. It was in the form of a tower, protected on every side by a broad and deep ditch. Thus was founded the Fortress of Navidad, the first structure raised by Europeans in America. Small cannon, called lombards, were mounted on its walls, the garrison of forty men were supplied with biscuit for a year, as well as wine, besides all the merchandise that remained, that they might exchange it for gold. And Columbus, in his letter apprising his sovereigns of what had been done, wrote that he trusted in Providence that he should return here from Castile and find at least a ton of gold collected, as well as spices in great quantity. Then he sailed away, leaving here this handful of men in a land of savages, not one of whom would he ever again behold alive. Where did the flag-ship founder, and where was the first fort built? These have been vexed questions with the historians, ever since Columbus became an interest- ing subject of study; it was to attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding those important events, that the writer was dispatched to Haiti, in 1891 and 1892. And it was my good fortune to unearth a chain of evidence that brought to light many important facts, and placed in the possession of our own Columbian Exposition an invaluable relic of the Santa Maria. In brief: the reef on which the flag-ship grounded lies off the city of Cape Haitien, an important port in the island of Haiti ; a mile or so distant is Point Picolet, called by Columbus, Punta Santa. Rounding Point Picolet, that m.emorable Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was forced by the current upon the first of a line THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. 227 of reefs that stretches in front of Cape Haitien, from three to five miles distant, and a little farther from the Indian village. This Indian settlement of Guarico has been located at the present bourg of Petit Anse, two miles from Cape Haitien; it is now partly in ruins, and occupied by fisher-folk. There is a small chapel here IN PETIT ANSE. rudely furnished, and a few small huts and houses, while beyond and around are extensive salines, or salt- flats, and the coast in every direction is low, and bor- dered with mangrove swamps. We know that everything pertaining to the wrecked vessel was brought here, and that the fort was built near Guacanagari's village for mutual protection; hence we must look for its site not far away. This site I have found on the summit of a small hill, called San Michel, 228 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. isolate in the saline and near the beach, with slopes so nearly perpendicular as to appear artificial. I found no relic there; but its position, so near the ancient Guarico, the only elevation within two miles or more, and its strategic advantages over every other situation, marks it, without much doubt, as the spot where Navidad was founded. Passing over the subsequent events of the first voyage of Columbus, let us have recourse to the journal of the second, and learn at once the fate of Navidad, The Niria had sailed for Spain, leaving the little garrison alone in the fort. Eleven months later the Admiral returned, as he had promised he would, with a large fleet, to receive the ton or two of gold he confidently ex- pected. They arrived in front of the fort, but it was night, and as a vessel had been lost here the year before on these same reefs, no communication was established with the shore, but the ships lay to till morning. Two cannon were fired, but there was no response from the shore, which lay enwrapped in darkness, without sign of light or life. Great uneasiness prevailed throughout the night, and in the morning early a boat was sent to land, when the fort was found dismantled, not one of the garrison being encountered alive. It was learned finally that a few of the garrison had died of disease, a dozen had been killed in an expedition into the mountain region, and all the rest had been massacred by the fierce Caonabo, the Ca- cique of the Golden Mountains, who had secretly marched upon the fortress in the night. He had also killed many of the subjects of the friendly Guacanagari, who was THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. 229 found by the Spaniards reclining in a cotton hammock, suffering- from a wound received in personal encounter with Caonabo himself. We cannot believe that the Cacique had any part in the massacre, except in defense of the garrison, and even the suspicions of Columbus were allayed at sight of his wounds and his tearful protestations. Columbus had come here with the intention of estab- lishing a settlement, but, although Guacanagari would have welcomed him, notwithstanding his village had been burned, and his people ruined by the coming of the Spaniards, yet the Admiral was too much oppressed by what had occurred to entertain the thought of founding a city upon the ruins of Navidad. The situation was ex- cellent, the scenery magnificent ; but a pall of gloom now overshadowed this fair land, which he had discovered only a few months previously rejoicing in plenty and peace. So he sent a caravel along the coast to search for a site. The founding of Navidad is the most interesting inci- dent of the first voyage of Columbus, after the first dis- covery of land. Hence, anything throwing light upon that exciting episode should be welcomed by the world as an important contribution to the stores of history. Such contribution I have made, and its authenticity established beyond a doubt. Arrived at Haiti, I landed in the port of Cape Haitien, on the northern coast of the island. I had an important clew to a most valuable " find," and at once sought out our Consul, who because of my official position as Commissioner of the Columbian Exposition, put me in communication with the head of 230 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. the Government. This gentleman was General Nord Alexis. He was the actual president in the North, hav- ing rendered invaluable aid to President Hyppolite in his struggle for power. It so happened that the brother-in-law of the general owned the estate upon which was the article I sought, and he took me out to view it. This relic was nothing more nor less than an anchor of the Santa Maria. A learned friend in Santo Domingo had told me of it, and I was most anxious to obtain a view of it, and, if it SOLDIERS OF THE GUARD AT REST proved a genuine relic of the past, to purchase it. My friend had investigated the subject, and had determined that it could be regarded as authentic. It is a very natural question: How can you prove the genuineness of an anchor lost four hundred years ago, and trace it back to the very ship from which it was taken? This THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. 231 would seem difficult, on its face, but if I had the space I could give all the links in the chain of circumstantial evidence which leads directly back to the time and -.iCiii?;^ ^*^ THE ANCHOR OF COLUMBUS — FOUND AT PETIT ANSE. scene of the wreck. However, I think I can make out a case without wearying- my readers. Following the main features of the historical narra- tive, we recall : that the fortress was entirely destroyed ; that all the men were killed ; that some of the plunder was found scattered about in the huts of the natives, and amongst these articles recovered, "an anchor of the caravel, which had been wrecked." We know that the spot at which the wreckage was deposited was Guarico, now Petit Anse; that near this point a fort 232 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. ^=-*-<-fr«ry'<3' was built, and stocked with everything necessary, and that on the return of Columbus in the latter part of the year 1493, everything- was destroyed or dispersed. Fol- lowing out the clews afforded him by unvarying tradi- tions and the histori- cal evidence, my friend then discovered two an- cient anchors, one about two, and the other three miles from Guarico, and bearing every evidence of extreme antiquity. Each is of forged and hammered iron, about nine feet in length, and with a great ring over a foot in diameter. Sketches and photo- graphs have been sent to Paris and Madrid, and these have been pronounced types of the anchors in use at the end of the fifteenth century. At the time he re-discovered these anchors, my friend was living at the Cape, and from the proprietor of the estate on which one of them was found he received it as a present. But he did not take it away, and when I met him in Santo Domingo, he very kindly gave me permission to take it for exhibition at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Armed, as I have already stated, with a letter of introduction to the proprietor, I went in quest of the relic. General Nord's brother-in-law was also a "gen- ST. JOHN AND THE AGNUS DEI. (Caning at Petit Anse.) \ THE FIRST AMERICAN CHRISTMAS. 233 eral," but, unlike the legion of black gentlemen at the Cape who bear this title without a distinction, he had seen actual service. Together we rode over the salines, and then through scattered gardens and the remains of ruined estates, to the ruins of the old "great house," about three miles distant from the city. The estate is one of the many wrecked plantations left abandoned at the time of the massacre of the French, a hundred years ago. The general, my companion, is descended from one of the black liberators, to whom, as a portion of his share of the spoil, fell this once beautiful estate, now in a condition of abandonment. We rode through the re- mains of a great avenue of tall trees, and hitched our mules at the corner post of a dilapidated dwelling. , A few yards distant stood the anchor, leaning against the stone pillars of an old well-curb, across which it had once been placed as an attachment for a rope and pulley. A single glance convinced me of its genuineness, and that, if not the veritable anchor of Columbus, it belonged to the times in which he lived. If it should be asked how came it so far from the shore, and a mile away from its conjectural landing-place, at Guariao? I should say, first, that it may have been brought here for the very purpose which it so evidently served. Again, it may have been carried a distance inland by the Indians, after the attack on Navidad. Either the mountain chieftain, Caonabo, undertook to transport it to his interior province, and, finding it a burden, dropped it on the way, or else, in their igno- rance, reasoning blindly that the anchor was an engine -of destruction, or essential to the working of the caravels 234 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. on the sea, the simple savages had intended removing it as far as possible from the coast. No mention is. made of any plunder of importance carried away by Columbus on his second visit, and not only the anchors may have been left, but also the lombards of the fort; which, likewise, may have been taken by the Indians to a distance, or to their strongholds in the mountains. But there it was before me at last, and I lost no time in negotiating for this precious relic, with the result that -next day it was on board the Clyde steamer, the Osama, and on its way to Chicago, via New York and Washington, XI. ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. I THE OLD CONVENT. T was after having com- pleted the for- tress of Navidad that Columbus took his final de- parture from the coast of Haiti, on the fourth of January, 1493. Passing the reefs that had wrecked the Santa Maria, their largest vessel, the Spaniards sailed toward the east, and anchored at the base of a high, tent-shaped mountain, which Columbus called Monte-Cristi, a name it bears to-day. About a league distant from Monte-Cristi they watered their boats at a river, the sands of which glistened with particles of gold. Many of these precious particles clung to the hoops of the water-casks, and, for this reason, Columbus gave the stream the name of Rio del Oro, or the River of Gold. He did not, however, stop 235 236 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. to explore its sands, but left that for the garrison at Navidad to do, as they were but eight leagues distant. Here, also, the Admiral saw those wonderful mermaids, three in number, standing high out of the water, and which have since been shown to be manatees, abundant in this River Yaqui, the name by which the Rio del Oro is known to-day. Columbus avers that he had seen huckster's shanty, on the river yaqui. such mermaids before, in Guinea and on the Pepper coast; but he says these American mermaids, though they had the faces of human beings, did not appear so handsome as represented. Any one who has seen the only American mermaid — the manatee, I mean — will agree with the Admiral that its face is not attractive. ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 237 A little more than a year later, Columbus sought out the source of those golden sands, and I, who followed in his wake four hundred years after, have a half-ounce nug- get, from the head-waters of the River of Gold. I did not see the mermaids he describes, but I have seen the great gray sharks that infest the harbor of Monte-Cristi, the shooting of which from the steamers' decks, is about the only diversion afforded a passenger on the coast-line vessels. It was at Monte-Cristi that they met with the derelict Pinta, their companion across the Atlantic. The Pinta had run away from them when off the coast of Cuba, and had made an independent voyage to the east- ward. Martin Alonzo Pinzon was her captain, and his brother, Vicente, was master of ^Q.Nina^ so that Colum- bus, being in a measure at their mercy, could not repri- mand Don Martin Alonzo as he wished. That he nursed his wrath, however, and took revenge when once back in Spain, is a matter of history. But the two little vessels were now together again, and they remained in company till a storm separated them off the coast of Spain. Setting sail from Monte-Cristi at midnight, on the ninth of January, they cruised in company along the coast of what the Indians had told them was Babeque, or the Land of Gold. Its shores, eastwardly from their port of departure,- were very attractive, and Columbus went into raptures over "the country beyond them; level and beautiful, with tall mountains in the interior reminding me of the Sierras of Cordova, and the whole abounding in streams, and offering views of such variety, that the thousandth part cannot be described. " 238 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. And in truth, as I myself can testif}^ there was no exaggeration in this enthusiastic language, for the north coast of Santo Domingo presents the grandest combina- tions of natural attractions the voyager could desire. The discoverers were then coasting off the locality in which, one year later, the initiatory attempt was made at a settlement, and to which Columbus returned on his second voyage. Abundance of sea-turtle were found along the shoals, many of them as "big as a buckler," and the second day they sighted a most magnificent mountain, with its feet in the sea and its head in the clouds. This moun- tain Columbus named Monte de Plata, or the Silver Mountain, because its crest is usually cloud-capped and wears a silver turban. Hence the name, and that of the town subsequently founded here, called Puerto Plata, to-day the most enterprising and the prettiest settle- ment on the coast of Santo Domingo. An excellent harbor was noted here, with a depth' of fourteen fathoms at the mouth ; and with the knowledge of its many advantages, it is a matter of wonder that Colum- bus did not return here, instead of passing it by to found the city subsequently started a year later at Isabella. Once having left the coast of Santo Domingo (or Espaiiola, as Columbus named it), the Spaniards sail be- yond the bounds of this volume. We know, however, that the home-voyage was tempestuous; that Columbus believing the vessels would sink, prepared a statement of his discoveries, inclosed it in a cake of wax, and cast it into the sea; that they made first land at the Azores, ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 239 and were driven by a storm, to the mouth of the Tagus; that they gave an account of the voyage to the king of Portugal, and that the Nina finally anchored in the harbor of Palos, on the fifteenth of March, 1493, after an absence of seven months and a half. The court was then at Barcelona, and going from Palos to Seville, Columbus made thence a triumphal journey across the entire peninsula of Spain. Of his enthusiastic reception, of the honors heaped upon him, when he was dignified with the title of "Don" and confirmed in his claim to be styled the "Admiral of the Ocean Sea," we can make no mention here, merely not- ing that which concerns the land we are describing. But it was at the court at Barcelona, as shown in Balaca's spirited painting which has been selected as the fitting frontispiece for this volume, that were first displayed the Indians, the parrots, the golden orna- ments, the rare plants supposed to possess medicinal virtues, and many another thing the Spanish sovereigns wondered at and admired. Soon after the Admiral's arrival at court, royal orders went forth for the preparation of a fleet of seventeen vessels, to be well manned with most experienced sea- men and pilots, and also to carry miners, carpenters, husbandmen and mechanics — such persons, in fact, as would be of the greatest service in colonizing. Besides the crews and mechanics, great numbers of adventtirers desired to embark, including in their num- ber many hidalgos of high rank, lured by the stories of gold and silver to be had for the seeking in that far-oflf land. 240 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. These "gentlemen of Spain " proved the most worth- less of all recruits for colonizing ; they mainly committed the murders ; they brought disaster to Columbus. They were brave; many had fought in the Moorish wars, and carrying out their schemes of plunder they carried fire and the sword amongst a peaceful people who had never lifted their hands against another except in self-defense. At last the fleet of carracks and caravels — seventeen sail in all — left the harbor of Cadiz, on the twenty- fifth of September, 1.493. On the third of November, land was sighted, in the Caribbees,or Southern West Indies, but it was not till the twenty-fifth of that month, after leisurely sailing through that golden chain of islands, that Columbus arrived at the site of Navidad. As we know, he found the fortress destroyed and the garrison massacred; and, whatever may have been his original intention as to fixing here the settlement he had been commissioned to found in the New World, the circumstances attendant upon his return thither prevented, if he had ever contemplated, the consummation of such a scheme. The aspect of brightness worn by the country less than a year ago, was now changed to one of gloom. Confi- dence in the Indians was impaired, suspicion and dis- trust had taken its place. The occupants of the vessels were anxious to disembark, even suffering for a change of environment ; but no settlers could be induced to fix their abode here, with the fate of their predecessors ever in mind. The fleet weighed anchor, and stood eastward from Monte-Cristi, and Fate, in the shape of an adverse ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 241 wind, threw in their way what they had been so anp- iously seeking — a secure harbor, with an advantageous site for settlement. It was not far from a cape seen and named by Columbus on the previous voyage, in January. Within a line of frothing coral reefs is a deep basin, spacious enough for many ships the size of those in use in the time of which we write, and a great breastwork of coral rock, with a beautiful beach on one side and a river on the other, gave promise of an excellent site for the city that was to be. The ships were brought within the line of reefs, and the weary passengers, together with the live-stock and provisions, were landed on a little beach. It was on the seventh of^^ecember, 1493, that they arrived here, and they went to work with sucH'diligence that soon houses were built, and at least four buildings erected of stone, the remains of which have endured till the present time. Two months from the day of landing, a church was dedicated, and the new city, which Colum- bus had named " Isabella," presented a very creditable appearance. But it was not long occupied. Because of the insalubrity of the climate and the recklessness of the settlers, many deaths occurred, and in a few years it was abandoned. Ever since, or from the beginning of the fifteenth century, it has lain in desolation, no one living in it, and as it lies out of the track of travel, its very site was forgotten, and re-discovered only recently. For nearly four hundred years it remained buried in ob- scurity, and almost forgotten until the year 1891, when it became my duty to search it out. 242 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. The nearest port is Puerto Plata, about sixty miles away, and at this place I disembarked, one day in May, 1 89 1. Two days after my arrival, I found a small coast- ing vessel, called a goleta, the captain of which promised to drop me at Isabella, as he passed on his way to the mahogany district. The American Consul secured me letters of introduction to residents in the country, and THE BAJO-BONICO. ( The River on which Isabella was founded.) the manager of an estate situated near Isabella gave me orders on his mayor-domo for shelter and assistance. From Puerto Plata down the coast the scenery is ex- tremely picturesque; near Cape Isabella great gray cliffs of limestone stand boldly out, like battlements of ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 243 vast fortifications, with a sea of verdure behind and crescentic beaches of snow-white sand intervening. The ancient city itself was situated on a plain which terminates in a bluff of coral conglomerate twenty to thirty feet high, facing the west and the ocean. A line of foaming breakers seems to forbid approach, but be- yond them is a shallow harbor, off the mouth of a river which is known as the .Bajo-Bonico. The goleta was called the Olivia^ a pretty name for a very filthy vessel, and she was manned by four black men. The blackest of whom was the "cap- tain." The heavy seas and the nauseous odors made me very ill, and I had to endure six hours of condensed misery before the breakers off Isabella were weathered and the little harbor gained. As we anchored half a mile from shore, the rain came down in torrents, and for an hour we were huddled together in the sweltering hole they called the "cabin." After awhile the rain ceased, my effects were loaded into the small boat, and we made for the river. We could see no en- trance, but we finally ran the breakers, and after bumping on the sands several times were well in- side. We then found ourselves in the dreariest river I had seen for many a month. It was a swift-flowing stream of yellow water between banks of mangroves, the only sign of life some blue-and-white herons, plovers, and black-neck stilts. Our boys pulled hard against a four-mile current, and half a mile up landed us opposite a collection of small houses on a bluff. We were met at the landing by a young man who had once lived in Florida; and, though we were in a Spanish- 244 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. speaking country, all the men then in our employ spoke English, the sailors having come from Grand Turk, in the Bahamas. The young man, Washington Banks, had been recommended by our Consul, so he was at once in- stalled as factotum and general purveyor. He took us to the house on the bank, which we found to be a very /i p' *''L m ■3s;: h ' ■^.V-'^Sf.! ^ ms)£>^ 'J1 ^i\ IJI ^^'A. I ON THE BLUFF AT ISABELLA. comfortable dwelling; here we swung our hammocks, and we were well housed against the rain, which fell the whole night through. At daybreak, next morning, the mocking-birds awoke us, and crawling out from under our mosquiteros^ we shook the fleas from our blankets and were assailed by myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies. At six o'clock or ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 245 SO, after the morning coffee, Washington or "Wash," as he was called, guided us along the steep river bank and through a dense forest growth in the direction of the lost city. The morning was cool and fresh, the bushes wet with rain, the trees above filled with birds — cooing doves, moaning pigeons, chattering parrots, with now and then a darting humming-bird, crossing our path like a sun- beam. Beyond the woods we passed through a man- grove swamp, with the river on one side and steep coral rocks on the other, reaching after that a bluff headland, covered with densest vegetation of cactus and almost impenetrable thickets of spiny plants. This bluff faces the west, and is composed of coral conglomerate, evidently upheaved, containing branches and sections of coral, beautiful in shape and infinite in variety of form. This is the plain upon which unvary- ing tradition, as well as ancient ruins and environment, locate the city founded by Columbus and called by him Isabella, after the Queen of Spain. It is not large, con- taining perhaps two acres. It slopes gradually upward toward steep and densely-wooded hills, on either side a half-submerged basin covered with mangroves. The soil, in no places deep, becomes thinner and thinner to- ward the hills, where there is none at all except in holes in the white coral rocks ; and yet, these rocks are covered with a dense growth of such hard woods as lignum- vitse, and such a mass of thorny bushes and vines as to be well- nigh impenetrable. The bluff faces the ocean, west; the forest- covered hills lie to the east, while north and south are the mangrove swamps. The northern one is 246 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. sometimes filled with water and looks like a lagoon, and when the water comes down from the hills, as it does in the rainy season, through a picturesque Canada, and as it did when Columbus landed here, it must appear like the " lake," as he called it. It was around this lake that the first settlement was located, and directly in front of it is a beautiful beach of yellow sand, where, without doubt, Columbus landed, as a channel admitting small vessels through the reefs comes directly up to the sands. This beach is two hundred and seventy-five feet in length, with a coral bluff at either end, and a border of sea-grapes behind and between it and the mangroves of the lagoon. Here, four hundred years ago, the caravels and carracks dis- einbarked their living freight of sea-worn sailors and Spanish cavaliers, the horses the cattle and the sheep. Here were accumulated the munitions of war, the pro- visions, plants, articles for trade and barter, and the little beach piled high with the freightage of the ships. Even to-day the sands sometimes disclose most interest- ing relics of that far-away time when first the products of Europe were landed on American soil. I have had in my hands a fragment of chain armor and a stone ball, which were found here, and I possess pieces of the tiles that covered the houses erected by the Spaniards, and of the crucibles in which the first gold was smelted. The morning sun lay aslant the beautiful beach, and cool shadows lurked in the hollows of the rocks, tempt- ing us to strip and plunge into the limpid waves that lazily lapped the sands. "Wash " was dubious about this experiment, because the water inside the reefs is ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 247 sometimes alive with barracudas, more dreaded by the natives than the sharks ; but we paddled about in great glee, and emerged refreshed and unharmed. After that, and during the week that we were there, a bath on the beach in the cool of early morning was our regu- lar "refresher." I used to take a big stick in with me, plant it firmly in the sand beneath the water, and with the stick always within reach swim about to my heart's content. And so gentle was the movement of the water that the stick would sometimes remain where I had placed it till our return, next morning. Many a tropic bath have I enjoyed, in river and sea, but the sea-baths are the best, and taken at early morning are delightful preparatives for the labors of the heated day. The morning is always cool, no matter what the day may be, and it is a luxury merely to lie on the beach listen- ing to the songs of the birds. No less delightful was the exhilaration of the plunge, the freedom of a vigor- ous swim, and the abandonment of floating listlessly on the breast of the wave, looking up skyward into the fleecy clouds. Lying on my back, and watching the clouds as they floated over, I tried to bring back those departed days when this solitary beach was populous with soldiery, and I imagined the men-at-arms coming here to bathe. The clang of metal as they divested themselves of their heavy armor, the sigh of relief as they at last stood free from the galling steel, and the pleasure that possessed them as their brawny arms parted the waves. Yes; even the " Great Admiral " must have bathed here, and have found at least temporary relief from the thousand 248 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. 4 cares that harassed him, as the waters closed around him. His serious nature could not find pleasure in the bath as a diversion — but history would record fewer sins against him to-day, if his taciturnity had been pene- trated by these simple delights, and he had allowed himself to become as a little child, at one with Nature. Nature's children, the Indians, would have suffered less at his hands, and letters of gold might to-day record his deeds, instead of letters of blood. Overlooking the beach, at its southern point, once stood, according to tradition and the evidence of visitors of fifty years ago, a pillar of masonry, or a monument, which formed a conspicuous landmark, visible some dis- tance at sea. Local tradition states that this pillar was destroyed about fifteen years ago, and the marble tablet it bore carried away. It is supposed that it was erected by Columbus, to indicate the site of the city to passing vessels, and its destruction is attributed to treasure- seekers, who blew up its foundations hoping to find it cov- ered hidden gold.* It was seen by Mr. Gibbs,of Grand Turk Island, in the Bahamas, who, some fifty years ago, came here for the purpose of comparing it with two similar ones that then existed in the Bahamas, at Grand Turk and at Sand Key. He thought that these monu- ments were built to commemorate some great and similar event, extrinsically connected with the places themselves. Be that as it may, the only indication of the Isabella monument now, is a hollow in the earth sur- rounded by heaps of loose stones. * Paper read before the New York Historical Society, sixth of October, 1846, by the Hon. George Gibbs, in support of Turk's Island as the Landfall of Columbus. ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 249 Fifty years ago, much, of the original city was visible, and in the midst of the forest the traveler saw all the remains of the structures erected by Columbus: the pillars of the church; remains of the king's storehouse; part of the residence of Columbus; the small fortress, and a circular battlemented tower. When Mr. Gibbs fr SITE OF ISABELLA, [The first city of the New World.) was here he saw the ruins of the church, fifty feet wide by one hundred feet long ; now nothing can be seen but the faintest outline. Nothing remains here as a struct- ure, or of great importance as a ruin : shapeless heaps, only, or montones, of stone and brick, with here and there a hewn rock, occasional shards of pottery and 250 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. . fragments of tiles. From the northern point of the bluff, where the pillar stood, following along the shore, there is a semi-lunar-shaped heap of debris about a. hundred feet long. A little farther on, at about the center, a quadrilateral depression in the soil, where the church once stood, and near there are some traces of what may have been a fortified wall, and scattered stones. At the southern bluff, overlooking the river, and perhaps five hundred feet from the pillar-site, is the most conspicuous. inonton^ or heap of stones, mixed together with tiles. This is conjectured to have been the "king's house" or the smelting works, where the gold was assayed that the explorers brought from the mountains. I found several hewn stones here, as well as heaps of tiles, and what we think were the fragments of crucibles. This is the most commanding point of the bluff, and it ap- pears possible that the river, though now some distance away, once laved the base of the cliff. Not far away, buried in the woods, is another large heap of stones and bricks near a hole some ten feet deep. This is sup- posed to have been the powder-magazine, and has often been searched for treasure. The week previous to my visit, a party of naval offi- cers, from the United States steamer Enterprise^ made a hasty examination of the plateau, and their excellent report substantially verifies my own. They concur with me that the place was well intended for defense, locally advantageous as the site for a small settlement, but illy- adapted to the requirements of a large and permanent population. The entire plateau is now covered with dense thickets of thorny and spiny plants, chiefly cacti,, I ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 251 very difficult to penetrate, but presenting strange and beautiful shapes, and through them most entrancing glimpses of the bay, the river, and the sea. It is a beautiful site for a camp, and notwithstanding the dif- ficulties of penetrating the undergrowth, I wandered about in great delight, visiting the bluff at sunrise, at sunset, and at heated noon. The beauty of the place was not the motive that in- duced Columbus to settle here, but probably its con- tiguity to the gold region of the Cibao; for, by passing up the Bajo Bonico, and then crossing the plain beyond, the mountain-pass could be reached that gave entrance into this region. It is difficult to account for the total disappearance of all the buildings in the comparatively short space of four hundred years, unless the stories are true that many of the best buildings of Puerto Plata are built out of the rocks taken from Isabella. Time alone would not cause this marvelously rapid dis- appearance, and the hand of the vandal has been more destructive than the tooth of time. Founded as Isabella was, in order to give access to the interior mines, as soon as the line of forts was estab- lished, in 1494 and 1495, t^® tide turned thence, and toward Santo Domingo City in 1496, and it was soon after abandoned. We know that after the men and cargoes were landed and the settlement well begun, Columbus cast about for means of communication with the gold-country, and selecting a small body of adventu- rous men, he sent them out to explore. They broke through the mountain wall beyond the plain and fol- lowed an Indian trail throueh its defiles to the beautiful 252 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. I valley beyond. Before them then lay the valley of the Yaqui, and along its banks they marched far into the interior region of the Cibao, where they discovered a great deal of gold, in nuggets and grains, the sands of the rivers glistening with it. This was the first Span- ish expedition into the interior, and the gold brought MAP OF ISABELLA. out was sent to Spain in the fleet that returned in f February, 1494. It did not take long to ascertain the little that re- mained of Isabella — a day or two did that — but the remainder of a week was consumed in proving what was not there. This is always the task of the explorer. He must investigate and search out, not alone the actuali- ties, but the fallacies and distorted statements. What ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 253 I refer to is this: there was a tradition current that the original church built by Columbus was not at the bluff, but deep in the forest. Furthermore, it was said that it remained even now, only partially in ruins and retaining much of its ornamentation. This, of course, fired my imagination and stimulated my desire for research, and I at once made careful inquiry. "Wash" Banks de- clared that he himself had seen it; but when I had dis- patched him on an exploring expedition all by himself, the result was that there was no result, though he declared the ruins existed nine years ago, and that he believed they had been removed bodily, possibly by the spirits, which, as everybody knew, haunted the site of dead Isabella. He then bethought himself of a native who had seen it within a year, while out in the woods hunting wild hogs. This man was a mahogany- cutter, who was drifting some mahogany logs down the river, and wouldn't reach us until the next day. When he arrived, he was not very prepossessing; he was stark naked and the color of the mahogany logs he had brought along ; for he had been two days wading and swimming the river, pushing the logs ahead of him. He rolled the timbers upon the bank and left them there, in just the place where another lot had been left, which had been carried out to sea and lost, the last time the river came down in a freshet. This mahogany- cutter had been working several days to earn a dollar and twenty-five cents, which he did not get after he had earned it. He received only an order on a merchant at Puerto Plata for that amount, and for this he would have to travel one hundred miles. Even then, 254 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. he would find that one dollar and twenty-five cents cash was a euphemism for "goods," to the value of perhaps sixty cents. It was hard for the poor fellow ; but I had little sympathy for him, because, when asked what he would take to g"uide us to the ruins, he replied very THE CACTUS-COVEKED RUINS OP ISABELLA. promptly, "Twenty-five dollars." He claimed to pos- sess an exclusive right in the ruins and meant to make me pay for it; but as I made a point of "no ruins no pay," we did not conclude a negotiation. It so happened that an old woman in the kitchen had overheard the man describe the place to a friend, as he stepped in to light his pipe, and when he had gone she offered to guide us. So one morning we started out — ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 255 or at least we essayed a start, for it always takes these people a long while to be about to begin. Arrived at the bluff, I separated my party, placing- them within hail of each other, and covering the entire plateau as well as the hillside. We worked carefully, traversing the woods in every direction, but without result. We crawled through thickets and briers, sweltering in the terrible heat, pestered with mosquitoes and sand-flies, but meeting with no noxious insects. The bushes were thickly hung with spider-webs, occupied by bad-looking owners ; but we did not encounter, fortunately, the very poisonous ground spider, whose sting is death, though it is abun- dant there. After some hours, we all met, by appoint- ment, in the Canada at the head of the lagoon, and after refreshing ourselves started again, probing the woods in every direction, but without any reward. The old lady had worked as hard as an}^ of the party, and seemed as little fatigued. They called her La Vieja, or the old woman. When La Vieja saw that we had exhausted our endeavors, she came to the rescue with a proposition to invoke the powers that hide in darkness, with which she professed to be familiar. In order to humor her, I assented, and she led us back to the fort at the bluff, and then to the poso, or the well, in the woods. Here she halted at the foot of a tree. Pro- ducing from her ragged garments a candle made by her •own hands, of the brown wax of native bees, she lighted it, and commanded us all to keep silence. Then, care- fully protecting the flames from the wind, she mumbled something over it, watching anxiously the direction of 256 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. the smoke, and then said, pointing east, "Go there; that way is the capilla.''' So I started my men off east, La Vieja with them, ranging toward the hillside. But they soon came back exhausted, every one, and cast themselves down upon the sands beneath the sea-grapes where I was awaiting them. La Vieja was not at all downcast at the failure of her incantation, but was ex- ceedingly chipper, and walked home with us through the terrible heat without showing the least fatigue. And so our hunt for the ruin ended. In the Smithsonian Museum, at Washington, are two idols of carved wood, from the island of Santo Domingo, grotesque in appearance and of unknown antiquity. No- one knew where they were found, or their history, un- til I stumbled upon the information here at Isabella. " Wash " brought an old negro, with bushy brows, and. mounted on a jackass all too small, to the door, one day, and explained that he was the man who had found them, and that he would conduct me to the cave in which they were taken. We walked an hour through the woods on the hill, over the narrow trails made by the wood-cutters, to a slope where, half-hidden in the thickets, was the yawning mouth of the cavern. Old " Coco," the bushy-browed negro, showed me the shelf of rock upon which the idols were sitting when he discovered them. He came upon them suddenly, as he was cutting lignum- vitas, some fifteen years ago, having had no previous warning of the cave's existence. He was so frightened that he was completely paralyzed, and dropped on a rock, unable to move his eyes from those hideous and grotesque beings which grinned at ROUND ABOUT ISABELLA. 257 him from the cave's mouth. He, of course, thought them alive; but as they did not offer to get down, he recovered confidence, and advanced to examine them. Then he saw their character, took them down, and carried them home with him. Poor old idols ! they had been sitting there, proba- bly, for nearly or quite four hundred years, waiting pa- tiently for some enchanter to come along and remove the spell that held them there. Theyhad been placed there, in all probability, by the last of the Indians who once resided here, either to save them from falling into the hands of the Spaniards, or to be worshiped in secret, guarded by their priests. "Coco" thought they were there as guardians of treas- ure buried in the cave, though he found no other articles at the time of the discovery. We penetrated the cavern perhaps sixty feet, and then could get no farther, owing to the masses of rock in the way, probably dis- lodged by an earthquake. No living thing was observed there except small crabs and numerous cockroaches. Having investigated everything that had been the object of the journey, after a week's residence here I coco's IDOL. (Now in the Smithsonian Institution.) 258 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. concluded it was time to go. But I was loath to leave this pleasant place, and at night strolled up the hill and into the woods to a point that must have been a favorite ■outlook with the early settlers — those poor unfortunates who perished here so far from home and friends. Little wonder that Columbus was execrated, but great wonder that he was not killed, by these dupes of his ambition. They died so rapidly that consternation seized them, and sickly Isabella was abandoned as soon as the in- terior was opened to adventure. They were fine hidalgos, these victims of Isabella, whose ghosts yet retain the traditions of departed great- ness and high-bred courtesy, for they yet haunt these same woods, it is said, lingering in the ruins. They can be distinguished from ordinary and common spirits by their invariable politeness to a stranger; for some of them, it is declared, have been encountered here, and, though wrapped in gloomy meditation, they courteously returned the salutes, which indicates innate refinement in ghosts that have been running wild in the woods four hundred years. I waited late, hoping to get a glimpse of one, and much regretted that there was no moon ; but the sun descended, the shadows grew to shades, and the woods became black long before I left them ; and I cannot say that I saw an Isabella ghost. The night before our departure, the horses were sent over by Don Ricardo; their fodder of Guinea-grass was piled before them, and they themselves were tethered to the fence. There they remained through the night, and we took an early departure for Puerto Plata on the morrow. XII. WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. I "N what spot and at ^vhat time was found the first American gold? ^ ^."-^ We know that the yellow metal /^r^iiv was first seen by Columbus in posses- sion of the natives of Guanahani, in the Bahamas, but only rarely and in minute particles. As the Spaniards progressed through the islands, and reached the coast of Cuba, evidences of a golden country to the south grew stronger; but it was not until the coast of Haiti was reached that indubitable proof was obtained that the region of riches was not far away. Just before the shipwreck of the Santa Maria, golden ornaments were brought them by the natives, in such quantity that even the most skeptical were convinced. The Indian chieftain, Guacanagari, gave Columbus some gold and told him of Cibao, in the mountains, which Columbus was certain must be the Oriental Cipango, or Japan, so long and vainly sought. 259 260 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS, It is to this veritable Cibao, which yet retains its In- dian name, the similarity of which to Cipango deceived Columbus, and which yet yields nuggets of purest gold, that I shall conduct my readers in this foray into fields historic. The first voyage accomplished and the first settlement effected, Columbus next turned his attention to the development of the interior of the island, and the discovery of the gold region. Isabella, the first city founded in the New World, was- an unfortunate selection as the site for a settlement. Its immediate environment of mangrove swamps was inimical to health ; its harbor was not a secure one for large ships ; its soil was scant and poor, and added to these it was so crowded upon by the rocky hills, and hemmed in by river and lagoon, as not to permit of ex- pansion. In fact, it was a fairly good situation for a camp or a village, but not ample enough for a city. It had been planted by Columbus solely with a view to its contiguity to the gold region, and unless gold in abun- dance could be found in the hills and mountains within reach of the sea, the enemies of the Admiral could prove that he had committed a blunder in his initial settlement, which would surely injure his cause at the court of Spain. A preliminary expedition had brought back sufficient gold to warrant the belief that it existed in quantity, and could be found in abundance by systematic exploration. This gold was sent home by the return fleet to Spain,, together with a most flattering account of the country. Then, anxious to bring to light the hidden treasure in the mountains, and at the same time to pacify the WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 2(51 haughty spirits of his insubordinate cavaliers, Columbus organized a second expedition into the Cibao region, and assumed personal command. The previous one had been merely a reconnoissance ; this one was to have for its object the founding of a fort. It was also in- tended that the warlike equipment and display should be such that the Indians would be impressed with the strength and resources of the strangers, and perceive the futility of subsequent attack upon the isolated out- post then projected. The total population of Isabella at this time was about one thousand men, and of this number Columbus selected four hundred of the choicest spirits to accom- pany him on this expedition. They marched up the main river bank, rejoicing to escape their irksome con- finement on the plain between the mangrove swamps. Flags were flying, drums beating, and trumpets send- ing forth their inspiring sounds, while in the semi- obscurity of the forest glittered helm and corselet, lance and arquebuse. The first day's march took them across the plain be- tween the sea and mountain range, at the foot of which the weary soldiers encamped for the night. Next day they began the ascent of the range ; and as the tortuous Indian trail would not suffice for the passage of this body of men, with cavalry and munitions of war, it was neces- sary to open a road. Then it was that the galliard young cavaliers volunteered their services, burning with an enthusiasm hitherto repressed amid the dismal sur- roundings of Isabella. By their energy and example a road was opened through the mountain gorge. It is 262 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. the only trail to-day at this point, and it still bears the name given to it — El Puerto de los Cahallcros^ the " Hidalgos' Pass," in token of their achievement. Among the many photographs that I have taken of, the scenes identified with the voyages of Columbus, none has the peculiar interest attaching to it possessed VIEW ON THE BAJO-BONICO NEAR THE HIDALGOS' PASS. by one I secured when at Isabella from the right bank of its river, the Bajo-Bonico, showing the trail of the cavaliers across the plain, and the Monte-Cristi mount- ains with the Puerto de los Hidalgos. The scene is almost as wild of aspect as at that time, now four hun- dred years past, when the forest stirred with martial life. Life here is more listless than at that time, also,. WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 263' for the wheels of the chariot have sped by it never to return, and the few people here are inert and dead to passing events. The Spaniards who marched through the defile cleared by the cavaliers, saw before them the mag- nificent valley of the Yaqui, where verdant plain and luxuriant forest alternated, strung upon a noble river's silver chain. They did not know it then, but it was the same river seen by Columbus just a year before, in Jan- uary, 1493, and named by him the Rio del Oro, or the River of Gold, from the particles of gold that clung to the hoops of the water-casks, and which gave promise of a rich country in the interior. This hope they were nov/ about to realize, and with elastic step they marched forward, up the valley and into the mountains. For two days they continued their march, meeting everywhere with the most hospitable treatment from the natives, who dwelt here in idyllic ease and content- ment. The Indians were at first afraid of the horses, and of the men clad in shining armor; but, when once their confidence was won, they were only too anxious to serve the invading strangers, and place before them all their little wealth. This was, in all probability, the first expedition in which horses were used in the New World. On the evening of the second day, the Span- iards came to a different country, where the mountains not only reached down into the valley, but rose before, impeding progress. Beyond this point, next day, the army entered upon the veritable Cibao — the stony region, rugged and mountainous — the streams of which indeed ran over sands glistening with gold. 264 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Convinced that he was now at the portal to the hills of gold, Columbus concluded to penetrate no farther, but to erect here a fortress to serve as an outpost, and THE AMERICAN FEKRY ACROSS THE YAQUI. leave a garrison to guard this region, conjecturally so rich in the precious ore and sands. He chose a head- land, half-surrounded by a crystal river, in the bed of which jasper, porphyry and golden grains were found. On this spot he caused to be erected a wooden tower, protected on the land side by a ditch, and with the clear- running stream in front. This fortress was soon com- pleted, and as it was built on the bank of the river Yanique, it was given the name by which .it is still \inorwn — Saiito Tomas de Yanico. Fifty years ago the site was seen by an English gen- tleman, who found the ditch in good condition, as well WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 267 as the entrance and covert ways for descending to the river. This was the first outpost established away from the coast, and, if we include Navidad, the third attempt at planting a settlement; it took place about the middle of January, 1494. While the fortress was being built, active exploration of the country adjacent was going on, and glowing reports brought in of its richness. When the Indians residing along the banks of the river learned of the desire of the strangers to obtain gold, they ran to the streams and sifted the sands in their primitive way, one of them bringing a nugget of virgin gold of an ounce in weight, and which he gladly ex- changed for a paltry hawk's bell. To-day, as at the time of the Indians, the inhabitants here gather a golden harvest from the streams. When they need a little money they go to the streams and wash it out of the sands. I secured for the Exposition one of their prim- itive washers , it is merely a shallow dish whittled out of a slab, but with it the owner had washed large sums out of the earth and sand of the stream flowing past her door. The Spaniards found much gold in the sands and in pockets, nearly all surface indications, but they never touched the real treasure-vault. That lies deep-buried in the ail-but inaccessible hills, and, as the great Hum- boldt has declared, what the Spaniards got was the sur- face accumulation of centuries, and the first Europeans gathered it all in a comparatively short time. But the real source of supply has never been touched; and whereas what has been found is like the scattered flakes of snow before a storm, what remains may be 268 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. 1 compared to the boreal snow fields that have never lost their stores. ' ^ Santo Tomas lies about six hours' distant, by horse, from Santiago de los Caballeros, one of the oldest towns in the island. Santiago itself is difficult to reach, being only accessible from the coast by a trail horrible in its pitfalls and mud- holes, requiring a day and a night to traverse. From Santiago my com- panion was Senor Don Juan J. Hun- gria, editor of the leading paper of Santiago, the £co del Pueblo, and he took along a friend from the country, who rode the most magnificent gray stallion I have seen in the island. We left Santiago on a beautiful day in May, 1892, well-mounted, and with a peon riding atop a small mountain of provender, car- ried by a stout mule. Riding down to the river Yaqui, which is here a broad and swift-flowing stream, muddy and turbulent, we crossed its raging flood in a ferry- boat of unique construction, owned and operated by the only American in this region. He had drifted here in search of gold, but had met with the customary fortune of gold seekers in general, and had finally "THEY BUILT A WOODEN TOWEE. ii WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 269 settled down to a legitimate and profitable occupation as ferryman. Leaving the river, and turning our backs upon the beautiful city, we entered upon the country trail with good heart and in high spirits. The scenery was grand but solitary, there being but few houses or huts along the trail, and the woods were silent and sad. After an hour or so, we crossed a small stream, with which we were destined to become well acquainted before the journey was over, as we crossed it, my friends said, above one hundred times. It was the same stream the first Spaniards had found and followed in their search for gold, so many years before, and I viewed its every feature with exceeding attention. I am sure my readers will appreciate my interest in this region, which had such a share in the beginnings of American history, and will understand my enthusiasm. Climbing some steep hills, we finally sighted the little hamlet of Santo Tomas, lying in a hollow. Arrived at the fort ale za^ we at first saw nothing to indicate ruins, or even remains ; but a peon living here guided us through the fields to a bluff headland, covered with low trees, and there we saw that of which we had come in search — the outlines of an earthwork and a deep ditch, all that remained of the fortress of Santo Tomas, erected by Columbus four hundred years ago. Excavations were then being made to obtain articles for the Centenary at Madrid, and for our own Exposi- tion. But where was the river — the Yanico, with its golden sands, which was the reason for the building of the fort ? A low murmur of running water fell upon I 270 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. our ears, and following the sound we came to that verit- able stream, deep hidden between steep banks, and purl- ing- over rounded pebbles. It was inclosed between walls of rose-apple-trees, then in blossom, and was of itself 'rj'fr>/'t' 'J VIEW OF SA:NTIAG0, across the YAQUl. so attractive that it needed not the tradition of gold to enhance its attractiveness. Here was the spot where the first military post was established, away from the coast, and isolated from all human intercourse. When it was completed, this fortress was placed in charge of one of the bravest soldiers in the service of Columbus: Pedro Margarite, a noble Catalonian, and Knight of the Order of Santiago, in command of fifty-six men. WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 271 This done, Columbus returned leisurely to Isabella, lingering at the Indian villages and cultivating friendly relations with the aborigines. The hospitality of the latter was excessive, and their kindness to the strangers greatly in excess of the deserts of these cruel invaders, who were overwhelmed with everything these simple people possessed. Leaving these happy dwellers in this vale of indolence and plenty, Columbus at last withdrew his troops through the pass of the Hidalgos. But no sooner had Columbus reached Isabella, than a messenger from Margarite was at his heels, with the startling news that the Indians were manifesting un- friendly feelings and withdrawing from the vicinity of the fort. The fate of Navidad, it seems, whose garrison was massacred the year previous, by Caonabo, must have been forgotten, for the soldiers of Santo Tomas gave themselves over to the same passions that wrought the destruction of their compatriots. Columbus sent back a re-enforcement of fifty men, and this served tem- porarily to check the advance of the mountain Indians under Caonabo; but the fire kindled by Spanish atro- cities was smoldering, and the fierce cacique was mass- ing his warriors for a descent upon the fort. He had preserved an ominous silence since the massacre at Navidad, even holding aloof when his territory was invaded ; but the Spaniards were to hear from him — they were to learn that not all the caciques were like Guacanagari, and that one at least had the spirit to resent their dastardly affronts. In order to relieve the congested condition of Isa- bella, and give scope for the enterprise of his chafing 272 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. cavaliers, Columbus decided to dispose the bulk of his troops in the interior, where they could obtain needed exercise, live on the country without charge, and make a protracted search for gold. He sent Alonzo de Ojeda to relieve Margariteat Santo Tomas, and the latter took charge of the main army of some five hundred men and explored the Cibao. Having thus dispatched the main body of the army into the interior, Columbus placed the affairs of Isabella in the hands of a junta^ presided over by his brother, Don Diego Columbus, and set out upon another voyage of discovery along the south coast of Cuba. Before his return great changes were wrought in the condition of affairs; the storm burst upon the garrison of Santo Tomas, and the commander was kept penned within the fort a long while before he could sally out and disperse the Indians. This denuded piece of ground, surrounded now with the forest, and without a trace of the structure erected here by the Spaniards, is all there is to remind us of those stirring times and those valorous deeds. It was a place to dream in a while ; but we had no time to lose, and after photographing the salient features of fort and river, and obtaining from the family residing here some relics of the Indian times, we set out to depart. We were among the pines, and in fact Santo Tomas '■< is in the region of pines, where the air is delicious and pure. We rode over the hills and through deep gulches till it became so dark that we could not see before us ; then appeared signs of the village of San Jose de las Matas, WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 273 No one expected us there, for visitors rarely troubled the place, but Don Juan knew the parish priest and felt sure of a welcome. A welcome we did get and a hearty one; but the poor padre had neither provender for us nor the wherewithal to buy it. We were dripping- with THE SITE OF THE TOWER OF SANTO TOMAS. water, for it had rained upon us as the village was reached, and our poor beasts were shivering with cold. Shelter was at once forthcoming, and some of the peo- 'ple were aroused to open the only shop, where I bought some eggs, ham and drinkables, returning with them to the priest's house, where we soon feasted merrily. The padre was thin and emaciated, but though an ascetic he was hearty withal, and loved good cheer with 274 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. the rest of us. He had a little garden behind his house with a papaw in it, some sparse shrubbery, and various things that indicated a liking for the grotesque — such as a little man of bronze perched on a pillar, and weather- vanes of queer shapes. He gave us hammocks to sleep in, and in the morning took me to the church and the goldsmith's shop, where I found specimens of gold from the nearest rivers. The goldsmith lived in a hut with a mud floor and a roof of thatch, his shop being merely a corner with a bench in it. His instruments and tools were of the simplest kind, and to try the gold that was brought him he rubbed it upon a curious black stone; this I found to be an In- dian celt, and after much bargaining bought it of him. This celt is beautifully polished and of perfect shape, of a dark-green color, and may have been used by the Indians as a chisel or knife. I bought also some dust and flakes of gold, which I still have, and some more gold-dust of the neighbors. For this is the center of the operations carried on by the first gold-seekers after Santo Tomas was founded. But still, although gold has been found here for so long a time, and is still found, all the dwellers here are very poor. They are extremely lazy and improvident; and when they need anything they merely run over to one of the streams and wash out enough gold to last them a while, and then live on it so long as it will last, repeat- ing this operation next time their necessities get oppres- sive. Thus they live, from hand to mouth, and so their ancestors lived before them. In the church the padre had a small bell which, he WHERE THE FIRST GOLD WAS FOUND. 275 told me, had been taken out of the ruins of the first city founded in this region — the old Jacagua, near Santiago. He ofEered it to mS, and I accepted it for the Exposi- tion, promising in exchange a new one. I had done the same for the church of Santo Cerro, not far away, the year before, and even then they were calling the people ,,,-^.'1 THE BED OF THE RIVER YANICO. (" The River of the Golden Sands.") to worship with the bell I had sent them. The church at San Jose is very old and massive, and has stood at least three hundred years. After the padre hsid performed the functions at morn- ing mass, he went with us about the town, and when we < 276 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. left accompanied us a good bit on our journey. The ride back was delightful, most of the way through forests of tropical trees, in the branches of which the pigeons and doves cooed contentedly, and parrots innu- merable chattered noisily. We were loaded down with our plunderings, and our little mule groaned desper- ately at the load the peon put upon her, for the bell the padre had given us weighed well, and there were cutlasses and swords of the time of the conquistador es^ pottery, iron spurs, and similar "finds" of times most ancient. Through the fragrant woods, that were as dense, as delicious, and as new as at the time Columbus saw them, we rode happily, the hoof-beats of our horses beating rhythmic time upon the stony ground, and the bell of the padre ever and anon sending its metallic note out into the woods that it had traversed centuries before. And should you come across an ancient bell from Santo Domingo, at our great Exposition, labeled from ''' Jaca- gua. Ancient Santiago, " you will know that is our old relic of the woods of Santo Tomas, and is the same one that, probably, called religious men together years and years before our country had a name. XIII. THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. A DIFFERENT coast character greeted me as I went on deck the morning after leaving Cape Haitien. It was more open and less gloomy, yet not so rankly lux- uriant. This, too, is the difference between the people of the respective republics of Haiti and Santo Domingo : in the one they are lapsing into the tropical savagery of their own rank forests; in the other, while yet buried in the gloom of their sad heritage of woe, they are still struggling toward the light. They are open and frank, yet suspicious of the motives of strangers ; but, at least on the surface, are hospitably inclined and disposed to grant to every one his face value. The town of Puerto Plata, lying at the foot of its silver-capped mountain, is brighter, more cleanly, and in general appearance more progressive, than the coast towns of Haiti, about which hangs ever an air of deso- lation and decay. This town has the most attractive situation of any I have seen in Santo Domingo, with its small, land-locked bay, its green slopes covered with tropical gardens, and the adjacent valleys filled with sugar-cane. The most conspicuous object is the old 277 278 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. fort on the point that makes the harbor. Two or three great guns are mounted here; and they point toward the town — ^not out at sea — as the island's only enemies are of her own people. The customs officials who came off to meet us, seemed to partake of the general neatness and thrift, for they were well-dressed, courteous and alert. With an air of honesty and good intent, the boatman with whom I bar- gained for passage to the shore, "took me in and did forme," and caused the milk of human kindness that had surged around my heart, to curdle at his perfidy. After many encounters with boatmen and hackmen the world over, this is my advice : treat with them as if arranging terms with an enemy; stand up squarely and tell them that you know their rates are exorbitant, no matter what their rates may be, and do not relax your rigidity till well out of their reach. If you meet them afterward, give them whatever you like, but purely as a gratuity; then they will respect you as a man of sense, for the grit that is in you, and not for your money. But I was taken at a disadvantage. My feeling of gratitude at my escape from Haiti, and the softening in- fluences of the beautiful landscape, rendered me an easy victim to the wiles of the boatman. I made what I thought was a very good bargain for the transportation of myself and effects to the shore; but I paid the ras- cal in advance, and there is where the trouble came in. Under the plea that the boat was overloaded, he pushed off with my luggage, promising to return shortly for me. When he got about half-way to shore, I saw, to^ my horror, an ox-cart draw up alongside the boat, and THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 279 all my effects transferred to the hands of a stranger whom I had never seen, and might never see again. Then I knew I was in the hands of the Philistines, for I had not even the semblance of a " capitulation " with that ox-cart man, and he had my goods. Of what avail to stamp upon the deck; to vow that you would have the life and blood of that boatman, that LOADING A BULL CART. you would not have your luggage go by that route; and that the authorities should hear of this outrage, when the man was out of ear-shot, and the luggage already in possession of a villain with murderous visage and a knife in his belt? What, indeed? It seemed a long half-hour before the pirate returned, but when he did. 280 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. he had the most energetic Castilian that my acquaint- ance with the Spanish language permitted me to express. It did not matter, as I knew it would not ; but I had the happiness of restoring, in a measure, my outraged equi- librium, and of causing a temporary flutter in the morn- ing calm. And the worst of it was that, as I was rowed ashore, I met the consular barge, pulled by six oars and with the American flag at the stern, coming out to con- vey me to the shore. It all came of arriving too early in the morning, for if it had been later, the Consul would have been on hand to receive me. Arrived at the customs, I found the grinning villain of the ox-cart awaiting me — for all luggage must be examined before entry — and I then expected another " row " with these officials. But, whatever the charac- ter of the boatmen, I knew the officials were gentlemen — and there was no trouble about the effects. In truth, I have never allowed the customs offlcials of any island to examine my luggage, for, traveling as the accredited representative of my Government, I always held it to be an insult to that Government to permit the effects of its agent to be disturbed. If I were not worthy of trust, I should not have held the position; holding that position, I merely demanded the recognition due me, not as an individual, but as the representative of a powerful and friendly government. To their credit be it said, the insular customs always recognized the jus- tice of my position, and I am sure were only too glad to extend a courtesy that cost them nothing. The cartman did not wait to hear my opinion on dip- lomatic amenities, but hastened off, and was out of sight THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 281 before the officials and myself had half-performed the ceremony of assuring each other of the love borne and the respect entertained for our mutual and respective governments. After that, a cigarette or two, a for- mal and then an effusive shaking of hands, a ceremoni- ous lifting of hats, a parting salutation and renewed expressions of mutual good-will, esteem, admiration even, and I tore myself away, followed by the adieus of my new friends. And I found the cartman awaiting my coming. He had stowed away the trunks in a room assigned me at the hotel, and was only waiting to present his little bill, that was all ! It was not the bill that concerned me ; it was the attitude of the man — his evident intention to take me by the throat and cram that bill into my system. So, with inward trepidation, though I flatter myself out- wardly calm, I demanded his price. " Four dollars." *' Ciianto f " I thundered. Firmly, but respectfully, the man replied, '•^ Ciiatro.'' I drew forth two dollars and extended it to him. He spurned it with a glance of scorn that I couldn't have duplicated for the life of me. He also t03"ed quietly with the huge knife and revolver in his belt. Then, though, I will confess, with a creeping sensation along my spine, I turned my back upon him, and shut the door in his face. I busied myself with opening my trunks, at the same time wondering at which point the door would be perforated by the bad man's bullets. A little later, hearing the ox-cart move off, I peeped out and saw him going away. But he came back, and he kept 282 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. coming, during two days. Our conversation at these interviews consisted of: ' ' Ciianto ? " " Cuatro pesos." " And you won't take two? " "Senor, I'll perish first." " Then perish." Exit cartman. I might have complained to the police and had him arrested; but the farce was rather amusing, and I liked to keep it up. Finally, he came up with a broad grin on his dirty face, and said he would take two dollars. And as soon as it was safely in his possession, he asked me humbly if I would give him one dollar (the regular price, by the way), to take the same things back to the boat. His change of demeanor had been brought about by a lecture he and \ns> confreres had received from the alcalde, who, hearing of the affair, had assembled them all, and as- sured them that at the first intimation of another attempt at fraud, he would revoke their licenses, and send the whole lot to the calaboose. The Hotel Cibao is the best in the place, and the landlady made me as comfortable as possible, though the mosquitoes of Puerto Plata are the most active and utterly depraved of any I have ever encountered. The servants at the "Cibao" smoked at all times, even while waiting on the table and making up the beds. And they smoked such rank, evil-looking and foul- smelling cigars that my feelings almost overcome me at the reminiscence. Although depraved in their tastes, yet they were THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 283 assiduoiis in their efforts to please, while our talented landlady could converse in any one of the four leading languages of the world, or all at once — depending upon whether she was discoursing with a boarder, or rating a servant for disobedience to orders. I found that the generally bright and active appear- ance of the town was due to the residence here of some very intelligent foreigners, mainly Americans, who had initiated enterprises of public benefit and utility. I met the best of these, and they exerted themselves to for- ward the aims of my mission, and make my stay so- cially agreeable. Our Consul, an American long resident here, introduced me at the Club del Coniercio^ and to the dignitaries of the place, who gave me letters of introduction to other influential men in the country, which were especially available in the exploration of Isabella, already described, and my acquaintance with the President of the republic. After my return from Isabella, having a week to wait for the next coast steamer, I settled down to the busi- ness of the Exposition, the British Consul kindly giving me the use of the consulate as an office. Over the door was the customary shield, with the coat of arms of Great Britain. One day, as I was within, busily writing, I noticed a small boy at the door, evidently lost in rapt admiration of the numerous and ferocious lions that adorned the shield. They evidently struck his fancy, for he began to count them; and it was fortunate for that boy that the occupant of the office did not happen to be a "Brit- isher," for this is what he said. Regarding the lions 284 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. aforementioned very intently, he counted them slowly as follows: ^'- Dos perros^ tres perros^ ciiatro perros grandes — y cinco perritos. " " Two dogs, three dogs — four big dogs, and five pups! " I dashed out to chastise the little wretch; but he looked so innocent and happy that I refrained, and to this day that insult to the British crown goes unavenged. VIEW OF THE PLAZA AND CHURCH AT PUERTO PLATA. The greatest curiosity here is the Sereno, the night- watchman, of the real Spanish type, who wears a long cape, carries a pike, and swings a lantern. Every half- hour through the night he cries out the time, first blow- ing a shrill whistle, and ending up with the state of the weather. First you hear a click, then a whistle, and THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 285 then he lets loose his lungs, at concert pitch. ^'- Las nuei'c" (or whatever the hour) " ticinpo screno. Noo-oo- oo-oo-ay-ay-ay-vay-vay ^ tee-ce-ee-eni-emin-po-oo say-ay-ay- ray-ay-ay-no-o-o." It always frightens the strangers, and is an excellent thing for the evil-doers, because they can always locate the police. It happened that the President of Santo Domingo arrived at Puerto Plata during my stay, and I soon had the pleasure of an introduction, and an opportunity to informally present my papers. He expressed himself as desirous to "assist" at our Exposition, but said he would have to consult with his cabinet at Santo Domingo City, before replying oiificially to the invitation of my Government. He was a very able and intelligent man, of medium height, slight build, dark mahogany com- plexion and close-curled hair, quiet in manner, and not given to dress. He spoke English imperfectly, but French and Spanish with facility. At the time of our meeting he was on his way to "pacificate" the Cibao country, this being done by the distribution of money to those whom he considered worth placating, and the imprisonment of those not having that importance. With him was his Secretary of War, whose attachment to his person and elevation to office illustrates the sagacity of this pacificator of Santo Domingo. This secretary formerly held the position of collector of the port at the capital ; but the President found he was collecting too much for himself and too little for the country, so he pondered a while, and then promoted him. Nanita, the. collector, had aspirations for the presidency, and a strong following, so it would 286 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. not be politic to antagonize his friends, hence the ' ' pro- motion " to the portfolio of war. At the time of our visit there were a good many Dutch and French engineers engaged in locating the line of the railroad from Puerto Plata to Santiago. This is an enterprise which, if ever completed, will be a disastrous speculation for its promoters, or at least its stockholders, as it (the line) connects only the two towns of Puerto Plata and Santiago, and has a very rough and mountainous country to traverse. This port has long been the outlet of the tobacco country in the interior, of which Santiago is the center, and in the season thousands of horses and mules come groaning down the horrible roads, each with a load of two hundred and fifty pounds on its back. Their backs are raw and bleeding, their tails caked and draggled with clay, their legs masses of mud, and their whole aspect woe-begone. They travel in droves, without rope or bridle, are trained to push on and over all obstacles, and have only scant fodder of grass to eat at the end of the long and dangerous journey. All the tobacco raised here is sent to Germany, as it is too poor for the Ameri- can market, and all business is controlled by two or three firms. This monopoly of affairs extends even to the sale of postage and revenue stamps, which can be obtained of but one firm. The same system prevails all over the country, making a few big concerns very rich, and keeping the bulk of the population very poor. It is in Puerto Plata that one sees the bullocks and cows pressed into the service of transportation ; not only harnessed into carts and drays, but ridden with saddles. THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 287 No more interesting objects present themselves than these beasts of burden, with huge aparejos on their backs, sometimes covered all over with stalks of sugar- cane, and again with bales of tobacco. Boys and girls ride them in from the country, leading or guiding each beast by means of a great ring through the nose, to GIKL ON BULLOCK-BACK. — PUERTO PLATA, which a rope is attached. These rings remain in the noses permanently, and sometimes have caused the breaking away of the cartilage and have been inserted afresh — giving the noses of the patient animals a ragged appearance. The Dominicans have inherited all the cruel traits of the Spanish character, including the barbarous treatment 288 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. of the lower animals, and have them all under subjec- tion. At first glance it seems very cruel, and one's sympathies go out to the dumb beasts; but as the Domi- nicans look at it, if they think of it at all, the choice lies between an unruly beast and danger to human life, and a tractable animal in complete subjection, and to be THE TYPICAL BEAST OF BURDEN. handled without harm. Indeed I can hardly recall in my years of travel amongst Spanish and Spanish- Ameri- can peoples, a dangerous dog in the streets, a refractory horse, a kicking mule, or badly-balking donkey. After my return from Isabella, I wrote a short article for the local paper, the Porvenir, about my visit, and an interest was excited that bore fruit the following year THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 289 in an expedition to the ruins, by some of the best people of the place. They discovered several relics of the early times, including a fragment of a coat of mail, which they kindly loaned me for the Exposition, and also defined the exact site of the first church erected here. Following upon their discoveries and my reports to the Department at Washington, an association of gentle- men was organized in Massachusetts, having for its ob- ject the erection at Isabella of a monument to commem- orate the event of the founding of this church, at the head of which were the Rev. Father O'Brien, of Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, and Capt. Nathan Appleton of Boston. Their plans were subsequently changed, the monu- ment erected in Boston, and the original scheme en- larged to include a church, or chapel, on the site of the first Catholic church in America. The necessary permission was obtained from the Dominican Govern- ment, and a large tract of land most generously do- nated by the owner of Isabella, Mr. Passailaigue, to whom I myself was indebted for favors during my visit. The American Consul secured the clearing of a space sufficient for the purpose, and at the time of my last call at Puerto Plata — in the midsummer of 1892 — all was in readiness for the foundations to be laid. For the cultivation of a spirit of research, and the keeping alive of an interest in history and tradition, the people of Santo Domingo are indebted to a resident of Puerto Plata, Doctor A. Llenas, who has written 290 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. much, and published in the local papers valuable arti- cles upon the aborigines, the antiquities, and the first settlements. It was to him that I was indebted for the information that led to the recovery of the long-lost anchor of WASHERWOMEN OF HAITI. Columbus's caravel, in Haiti, and from him I was prom- ised the loan of a small but valuable collection of anti- quities for the Exposition. Would that the island held more of his type, and less of the paltry politicians ; for men like him keep alive the spark of civilization, and bring the country in touch with the thought and pro- gress of the world. I left him, and all my good friends of Puerto Plata, THE PORT OF THE SILVER MOUNTAIN. 291 with regret, as the Clyde steamer bore me away toward Samana, late one evening. The same cartman who had charged me four dollars for the transportation of my effects, took them back willingly for a dollar, and I had my revenge in photo- graphing his bull -team — the cart piled high with the Commissioner's luggage — as it stood by the boat, half- submerged in the sea. XIV. SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. A NIGHT'S run from Puerto Plata, on the slow- going, but comfortable Clyde steamer, took me to Samana Bay. At daylight we rounded Balandra Head, the great commanding headland of the bay. This grand promontory is the fore-foot of Morne Diablo, the mountain rising behind it, and rests at the water's edge like a New World Sphinx. With its great granite face looking seaward, and draped in a flowing garb of tropic tapestry, Balandra Head guards the most magnificent bay, or gulf, in America. I rarely deal in superlatives, but in this case, even superlatives cannot adequately express one's admiration. From this head- land, with its terraced coast line, and its upward sweep of forest-growth backward into the clouds, there is a con- stant succession of alternate beach and bluff. Beaches are palm-bordered, bluffs are forest-crowned, white sand glistens in crescentic spaces, deep hollows lie amongst the hills, which themselves are cultivable, and frequently cultivated, to their very tops. The only entrance to the great bay lies well in toward the black cliffs, and the steamer glides past the beauti- 292 SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. 293 ful beaches, almost within hail of the cabins behind them, and the black men fishing on the shore. Half a dozen times since my first acquaintance with Samana, I have looked upon this range of hills rising above the blue-and-silver shore, and every time my enjoyment of the glorious scene has been intense. I have seen many other fair places in the world, and do not lack the mate- COALIMG STATION. — SAMANA BAY. rial for comparison; but this is indeed beyond compare, and unique in its own aboriginal beauty. Interwoven with its picturesqueness of superficial aspect is its fascinating thread of history, leading us back to that very first voyage to the New World, when •Columbus came here. Coasting easterly from Puerto 294 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Plata, on the twelfth of January, 1493, he passed several capes, the loftiest and boldest of which, round, and all of rock, reminded him of Cape St. Vincent in Portugal, the same that is now called Balandra Head. Behind this promontory, he found a large bay of at least three leagues' breadth, with little islets near the middle. Landing in a sheltered bay, he remained some time, and discovered here a naked Indian, differing from the others in the West, and probably a Carib, who gave him much information regarding the unknown islands in the East. Later, at another little cove in the woods behind it, the Spaniards ran across " a body of fifty Indians, all naked, with coarse hair as long as the women wear it in Castile, the backs of their heads adorned with parrots' feathers, and in their hands big bows and arrows." At first appearing friendly, these Indians suddenly changed front, assumed a hostile attitude, and attacked the Spaniards. This, at least, is the story of the Span- iards themselves; the other side has not yet been published. The Indians were of course repulsed, and fled, leaving several wounded, and their bows and arrows scattered on the ground. This was the first encounter in the New World between the Indians and Europeans, and here the first blood of the voyage was shed. From this encounter, and from the numerous arrows pic1?;ed up after it was over, Columbus named the body of water the Golfo de las Flee has, or the Bay of Arrows. He remained here several days, eventually treating with the cacique of the Samana tribe, from whom he received a golden crown; and hence he virtually took his depart- SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. 295 lire, from this same Bay of Sainana, for Spain and the triumphs that awaited him at the Spanish court. Taking on board a few of the Indians as guides, he sailed in search of the Isles of Madanino, where the alleged Amazons were said to dwell. It may be re- marked in passing, that the Admiral held these Ama- SCENE OF THE FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE INDIANS. {Bay of Las Flechus.) zons in mind all through his second voyage, and thought he identified their island, Madanino, with Montserrate, in the Caribbee chain. But after sailing about rather aimlessly for a while, he gave up the search for the Amazons and the Caribs, and headed the vessels' home- ward for Spain. Thus, as we have seen, he took his 296 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. last land view at the Bay of Samana, and from the headland at its mouth commenced the home voyage that eventually brought him to Lisbon and to Palos. I took, one day, a boat trip to the veritable Las Flechas, which is now, as in the days of Columbus, lonely and unvisited. Two or three huts occupy the lands adjacent, and a few negroes find an easy existence on its shore. The beach is of firm white sand, o'er- topped by cocoa palms, and a small islet breaks the force of the waves from the sea. The real harbor of Samana lies some five or six miles within the gulf, and is called, from the town there, Santa Barbara. It is a perfect acl-dc-sac, with deep water close up to the cays that lie opposite, and a most desir- able place of anchorage for even the largest vessels. It is protected by a line of reefs and connected islets that render it almost landlocked, with a narrow entrance open to the east. The hills on the land side are rather steep, but are cultivated to their tops, and offer fine sites for houses ; the valleys are fertile for tropical pro- ducts; the beaches, with their beautiful fringes of palms, are delightful for bathing ; the bay for boating, and the reefs for fishing. The entrance to the Bay of Samana, and the harbor of Santa Barbara in particular, has long been in the eyes of different nations as the best of all points for a West Indian coaling station. Its advantages are so numerous and patent that no doubt at all exists as to its desirability ; but for various reasons^ fortune has thus far passed it by. The name will recall to the reader the great "annexation scheme " of President Grant, and the SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. 297 commission of experts and scientists sent down, during- his administration, to spy out and report upon the re- sources of the island. Samana at that time narrowly escaped the great good fortune of being brought under the folds of the American flag, the benefits of which would have been lasting and undoubted. As to the ad- vantages likely to accrue to us from such an acquisi- tion, there exists a greater doubt, for we have not yet arrived at the point of national growth that will warrant us in ac- quiring and holding extraneous posses- sions. The "holding of it" would be the difficult matter, for the Dominicans are born to strife; they are all ambitious and brave, and every man in the peninsula would feel that he, and he alone, should be elected to the presidency. Our lit- tle army, that now ^ typical washerwoman of samana. suffices to awe the Indians on the border, would be totally inadequate to keep in subjection these residents of Santo Domingo with the presidential " bees "in their bonnets. Below the town, in the direction of the head of the 298 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. gulf, the vegetation on the hills is very varied, from the bright cocoa palms along the shore, with their gray stems and golden crowns, to the somber forest leaves, and all intermixed with black rocks and red spaces of earth, giving variety of color. Some ten miles down, there is a large plantation owned by a Boston company, devoted to the culture of bananas; but owing to lack of transportation facilities it has not as yet yielded much. Two hours' steaming takes us to Sanchez, at the bot- tom of the bay, with the same beautiful hills on the right as greeted us at the entrance. Sanchez itself is merely a gray streak of buildings against dark hills, all covered with woods. There are few bright beaches, but there are many palms and fine headlands, with attractive retreats snviggled in amongst the hills, but with a general aspect of depression. This is not owing to the lack of business — for it is the busiest town on the north coast — but to its situation. So shallow is the bay at this point, that the steamer anchors some two miles from shore, a landing being effected in a little tug belonging to the railroad company. This railroad is the only one in active operation in the island, and is under the management of Mr. Thomas McLelland, a Scotch gentleman of tried discretion and ability, who has resided here many years. The first concession for a road into the interior of Santo Domingo was granted to an American, about 1882. It was to connect the Bay of Samana with the city of Santiago, and open the rich and vast valley lying between the two mountain ranges that traverse this part of the island. This valley, or rather succession of valleys, has a varying SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. 299 width of thirty to fifty miles, running in a northwesterly direction from the Bay of Samana at Sanchez, to Man- zanillo Bay on the extreme north coast, near the Haitian boundary; the distance in a straight line is about one hundred and twenty miles. Scattered along the course are several populous towns : as Moca, Macoris, La Vega, and Santiago. The concession passed into the hands of a Scotchman, Mr. Alexander Baird, in 1883, who, alone and unaided, pushed the work to the town of La Vega, the present terminus. Formidable difficulties were en- countered at the* outset, the first being a nine-mile swamp, with a depth of filling necessary, at times, of fifteen to twenty feet. A port had to be created, and this was done at Las Canitas, since christened Sanchez; big buildings were erected, and tugs and lighters provided for the steamers that came here for cargo. An induce- ment held out by the Dominican Government toward construction, was the offer of every alternate section of land along the line; but upon investigation, after the work had been well begun, it was found that the Government did not own any land at all ; and not alone this, but all the settlers in the valley put in heavy claims for damages and right of way. All obstacles were finally overcome, and, in 1887, the line was opened to La Vega, sixty-two miles inland. The hitherto un- known Canitas soon became an important point; where before were only palm-tree and guava bush, a thriving town sprang up, with regular steamers calling there, and Sanchez is now a place of about one thousand inhabitants. The railroad, owing to the enormous expense of 300 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. location and the scarcity of skilled labor, has cost about two and a half millions of dollars ; but it is owned and operated by one man, and no one but himself has been a sufferer. It has never paid, as an investment, and it may be some years before it will ; but it is carefully, intelligently and economically managed, and if there is any chance whatever for its development and exten- sion, the present manager, Mr. McLelland, will avail I THE APPROACH TO SANCHEZ. himself of it. The company owns six locomotives,, two passenger and forty freight cars, with large and well-equipped machinery shops at the port, where also there are steam tugs and a fleet of lighters. Regarded as an investment merely, this enterprise may not appear a profitable one; but as an evidence of what pluck, energy, and British capital can do, it is an object lesson of the greatest value. To be sure, having no stock in the enterprise, we can view with equanimity these heroic efforts to plant the banner of civilization on the outer works; but I believe they will be successful, and that the SAMANA AND THE BAY OF ARROWS. 301 manager's endeavors to turn the tide to his employer's advantage will be crowned with success. The change that has been wrought in the customs of the natives is wonderful. Here we find, at the port, a colony, the nucleus and animating principle of which is Scotch virtue and thrift. One lesson Mr. McLelland has taught the natives is punctuality. Until the rail- road was opened, they knew it not, neither did they regard the time-tables when they were posted. If the train was advertised to start at nine o'clock, they read it ten ; they rode leisurely up to the station, hitched their horses to the nearest tree, saluted all their acquaint- ances within ear-shot, smoked cigarettes innumerable, and lounged about aimlessly, not regarding the warn- ing whistle, believing the train would surely await the motions of distinguished caballeros like themselves; and the consequence was that they were left in the station, gazing hopelessly at the retreating train. A few reminders of this kind taught them that they could not dally with the new manager, and if they really wanted to go to another station on the. line they must be on hand, and in the car when the whistle sounded. From the delightful hospitality of Mr. McLelland at Sanchez, I tore myself away with difficulty, and under his guidance made the trip to La Vega and the Cibao. The manager's house at La Vega was placed at my dis- position, and thence I made preliminary trips to the places of interest, always, thanks to my friends, return- ing heavily laden with historic spoils for the Exposition. XV. THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. M A RELIC FROM OLD VEGxV Y first visit to Sanchez was in June, 189 1 ; my second in May, 1892 ; the third was in July of the same year. As I had all the islands of the West Indies to include in my province as Commissioner, and as inter-insular communica- tion is desultory and unrelia- ble, I could not always arrive at the most desirable points at the time desired. It so happened that every visit to Santo Domingo was during or at the commencement of the rainy season. This was peculiarly unfortunate, since in this island of Santo Domingo more than in any other, I had before me the labor of exploration in a comparatively unknown field, where the roads were poor or non-existent, and the forests difficult to penetrate. At the time of my first arrival, a great flood had carried away the railroad bridges between Sanchez and Vega, and by the advice 302 THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 305 of the manager, I continued on to Santo Domingo City, returning after the rains had abated a little. La Vega, the terminus of rail communication, is a straggling town of mean houses set down in the midst of scenery perfectly beautiful. A great deal of business is transacted here, as it is the market town and railroad center for a vast region; but in the rainy season the roads are horrible, being merely broad mud-holes filled with filth, in which pigs are rolling and dirty children disporting themselves. The population is mainly col- ored, and the trade is controlled by a few shopkeepers. Designed by a beneficent Deity for the abode of man, given a delicious climate, most delightful scenery and fertile soil — how man has abused these glorious gifts of the Almighty ! Around the valley, which is level, and in the bend of the river Camu, is a range of pine-covered hills, the vegetation of two zones thus meeting and blending between the pine and the palm. From the President of Santo Domingo and his minis- ters, I bore letters of introduction to the Governor of the province and to the Government Delegate, recom- mending me to their good offices and requesting their aid in my explorations. I gained a side glimpse of the peculiarities of Dominican politics in these letters, for I soon perceived that though the Governor was nomi- nally the head of the civil body, yet the Government Delegate was really the man in power. In other words, the Governor had been appointed to please the people, and as a figurehead ; but the real representative of the Government was the Delegate, who had been placed in position to watch the Governor. 306 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. My letters were received with the respect to which they were entitled, and with many assurances of an overpowering desire on the part of the recipients to serve me to the full extent of their powers. It was arranged that a body of gentlemen should meet next day at Mr. McLelland's house, and escort me to the hill THE MANAGER'S HOUSE AT SANCHEZ, of Santo Cerro, where the real work of investigation was to begin. They were to meet at seven, sharp ; but I gave myself the benefit of my previous acquaintance with Dominican character to defer my preparations till nine, and about ten the caballeros came straggling along. There were ten of them, a gallant cavalcade, mounted on horses that, if not spirited, were made to THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 307 appear so by application of the cruel bit and spur. We rode through the hall with great eclat, the horses of the Governor and the Delegate in friendly rivalry for the leadership, and cutting mucJias figtwas (curveting about) to the openly- expressed admiration of the fair ones in the doorways, as we swept along. The roads were deep and muddy, but that didn't matter; the horses must prance just the same, and we dashed on, re- gardless of the splashing mud, and forded the broad river at a run. Some four miles more of mud-holes lay before us, but we kept well together all the way, and at last reached the base of the Santo Cerro, or Holy Hill. It is a stiff climb up the hill, even on foot, but our prancing steeds made nothing of it, and the black charger of the Gov- ernor dashed showily up, snorting, and pawing the slip- pery clay, and awaited us panting at the top. Some of our party were indignant, either because of the strain put upon a beautiful piece of horse flesh, or else because His Excellency had got ahead of them. However, we formed at the church, and then all dashed down the narrow street like a party of cowboys, only without their whoopings, making a brave appearance, I fancy, as we suddenly halted in front of the priest's house, throwing our horses upon their haunches directly in front of the padre and his pretty sister — for whose benefit, I doubt not, all this display was intended. We flocked into the house, a dozen of us, at least — for such is the good old hospitable way they have in the island — and sat expectant while the ladies of the household prepared coffee for us. After an hour or two of friendly 308 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. chat, during- which the objects of my mission were duly set out, and hearty co-operation was promised, we wan- dered over to the church, and then into a tienda^ where the old woman in charge promised to prepare a. san-coche for us when my companions returned. For they were to return in a week or so and escort me back to Vega,j with all the honors. After half an hour of affecting leave-takings, niA friends departed, and I was left in the hands of the priest, who was a young man of twenty-six, living in a little house with numerous relations, including his mother and an exceedingly pretty sister. They were kind, sympathetic, and hospitable, taking me, a perfect stranger, into their already crowded household, and making it evident that I was welcome. There was no room at the parsonage for me to sleep, but I was given the use of a hut adjoining, in which my things were placed and my hammock swung. It had a mud floor, to be sure, and a roof of yagna^ or palm bark, and the hens, the cats, the dogs, and the pigs, walked in and out at will ; but it was the best to be had, and if it had been a palace at their disposal, instead of a hut, I am sure it would have been mine. Santo Cerro, or the Holy Hill of Santo Domingo, is one of the most remarkable of the natural attractions of the island. It rises some six hundred feet above the magnificent and extensive valley called the Vega Real, the Royal Plain, which extends almost across the island. It was in 1494 that, breaking through the mountain- walls of the Yaqui River, coming up from the coast of Isabella, Columbus gave this name to the glorious plain THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 311 before him, lying- there like a vale of Paradise, shining- with rivers, dotted with palms, above which floated the smoke from populous Indian villages, and over which spread a sky of purest ether. At the present day, the name is applied more particularly to the elcA^ated plateau between the towns of Santiago and La Vega, and as viewed from this holy hill of Santo Cerro. At the time of discovery, the island of Haiti — Ba- heqiie or Qiiisqiieya as it was variously called by the natives, and Espafwla, as Columbus termed it — was divided under the dominion of five caciques or chiefs. They held their office by hereditary right, and were ab- solute within their own territory. The first cacique to be encountered by the Spaniards was Guacanagari, who held sway in the northeast, over what is now Haiti proper, and on whose shore the flag-ship of Columbus was wrecked. His territory extended east to the Yaqui River, where began the possessions of Guarionex, which embraced all the valley of the Yaqui, and all the Royal Vega, probably as far as the Gulf of Samana. The third caciquedom was in the interior mountains, and comprised the Cibao (or stony) region, where the rich gold finds were. It was ruled by Caonabo, a chieftain of Carib descent, the fiercest and bravest of these Indians. This province was known as Maguana, and the seat of Caonabo, on the southern slope of the Cibao range of mountains, is to-day called San Juan de la Maguana. The fourth province was Higuey, including all the eastern portion of the island south of the river Yuna and Samana Bay, and was ruled over by Cacique Cotubanama. The fifth province, Xaragua, took in the 312 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. southwestern and western part of the island, was very populous, and under the sway of Behechio, whose sister, Anacaona, was the wife of Caonabo, and celebrated for her beauty. The subjection of the Indians began with that of Guacanagari, who was soon a fugitive ; then Caonabo was captured, in 1494, and the Spaniards moved upon the rich cacique, Guarionex, in 1495. It was in March, 1495, that Columbus set out from Isabella to punish the Indians of the Vega for alleged outrages provoked by lawless , Spaniards. The army marched up the valley of the Yaqui to a point near the present city of Santiago, and there encountered the savages assembled, it is said, to the number of one hundred thousand. But, whatever the number, they stood no chance with the Spaniards; with their naked bodies and primitive weapons, they were almost defenseless against mail-clad soldiers armed with swords and pikes, cross-bows and arquebuses, and hav- ing the aid of horses that seemed to the Indians devour- ing beasts, and of fierce bloodhounds that tore them in pieces with growls of rage. They soon fled, of course, and the monsters that came here in the garb of civ- ilization pursued them till they were weary with the slaughter. The province of Guarionex came under the hoof, and Columbus imposed exacting tribute that soon crushed out of these peaceful people the little life remaining. Gold was what he wanted, and gold he got, until the streams and superficial deposits were exhausted, and the Indians borne down into their graves. The cacique offered to sow the entire Vega with corn. THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 313 and furnish supplies enough for the army for years ; but Columbus would not hear to this proposition, and soon was experiencing the rewards of his short-sighted pol- icy; for the Indians fled to the mountains, and famine spread over the land. Then Columbus sent home to Spain as slaves, five hundred Indians, thus not only initiating the system of SANTO CEKEO CHURCH AND THE AGED TREE. tribute that hastened their extinction, but laying the foundation for slavery in America. After the battle, the Spaniards prowled through the Vega, plundering the natives, and shortly came to the hill now known as Santo Cerro. From its summit Columbus saw the magnificence of the country he had 314 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. conquered, and by some historians it is told that the great battle was watched by him from this very spot. He was here, at all events; and an aged tree is still pointed out near the church, beneath which he stood and looked out over the plain, and which is called the '"'■ Nispero de Colon." The padre gave me fragments of it to take home ; though I attach no importance to such relics as do not carry their value on the face. Beneath, or near, this tree, Columbus erected a cross; and it is from a miracle said to have been performed anent this very cross, that the hill received its name of Santo Cerro — the Holy Hill. It seems that after the Spaniards had departed, the Indians espied this cross, and approached to revile it. As they did so, they saw a woman descend from the clouds and alight upon the cross. It was the Holy Virgin, but the savages did not know her, and proceeded to stone her away. She did not move ; then they let fly their arrows at her, but the sharp barbs passed through her, and did not seem to affect her determination to remain and protect the cross. Seeing this the Indians recognized her saintliness, and fell down, and were converted on the spot. Ever since, the hill has been a sacred spot; and the handsome chapel now erected there is the result of con- tributions from those who believe the tradition, and have faith in the efficacy of the saintly patron's charms. The people come from many miles around to pay their devotions here and perform their vows, and the little hamlet is entirely supported by the contributions of the faithful. It is a scant living they get, these dwellers on the Holy Hill, but there is a silversmith here who THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 315 makes charms, a baker or two, and many hangers-on in general, who live in the yag-na-coYeved huts, on the brink of the hill and of poverty. The image of the Virgin contained within the chapel is a very beautiful one, and is said to date from the time of Columbus. The padre, one day, raised the curtain ^i SiKi" .' ..S^".L..J THE SHRINE OF THE VIRGIN WORSHIPED IN THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. that hid her from vulgar gaze except on certain feast- days, and granted me the privilege of photographing her in all her beauty of gold and tinsel, paint, silks and artificial flowers. Although this island and this shrine are in the pos- session of colored and black people, yet they have gen- erally white saints and virgins in their churches, and 316 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. I mostly white priests at the altars. The padre (to be exact, perhaps I should say the euro) is descended from white ancestors from Spain, and is a typical Span- iard. He and his family were goodness and hospitality personified — seeking ways to promote the success of my enterprise, and to enhance the pleasure of my stay. I doubt if the ecclesiastical revenues were vast, judg- ing from the poverty-stricken people that congregated here ; but there seemed no limit to his generosity and kindness. Looking about for articles of interest for the Exposi- tion, I espied in the church an old bell, dated 1777, cracked and useless, but of quaint pattern, and this I begged of the cura^ who at once gave it to me. He gave it freely ; but I noticed that in the belfry there was a small bell missing, and I resolved to supply its place. So, in the report to vsiy chief, I recommended that another, and a good bell, be sent in exchange for this the ciira had given us. And, a year later, coming back to Santo Cerro, I had the pleasure of assisting at the hanging of it. My dear padre had been transferred to another station, but another good man was in his place, and it was with heartfelt thanks to the execu- tives of the Exposition, who had sent him this beauti- ful bell, that he received me. Miguel, the sacristan, took me up to the tower, and I had the satisfaction of ringing it. Another, and yet more interesting relic of earliest times, I begged of the ciira as a loan: this was an iron cross that had been dug up on the church site of the oldest city in this region, and had hung in the THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 317 chapels here from time immemorial. It is of quaint and intricate pattern, and very old, probably coming to this country from Spain with the conquistador es. Still another relic was found in the shape of an old cannon, a small howitzer, or lombard, from the first fort erected by Columbus in this region. It had been burst in firing at some religious fete, but was still good for a noise, although the one that touched it off took his life in his hand. I promised a gun in exchange for this, also, and an amusing mistake at the War Department caused the A VIEW OF SANTO CEKRO. sending to Santo Domingo of a fine bronze field-piece,, though of an obsolete pattern, instead of the small yacht gun I had intended. When I reached Sanchez a year later, it lay in the warehouse of the railroad company, being so large and fine, and so altogether desirable for revolutionary purposes, that the manager hesitated to send it into the interior. In fact, rumor had it that several revolutionary leaders were anxiously 318 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. awaiting its arrival, and the President was beginning to inquire about it. So it did not go in; but I saw the President afterward, and he promised me an ancient gun for it, from the arsenal at the capital. Near the Cerro is an arroyo through which runs the stream Chancleta, the water of which has the peculiar -.U-'. -*!' ALONG THE KIVKK YUNA. property of incrusting objects placed in it with a crys- talline deposit. Bottles and other objects are sold at the Cerro covered with this deposit, which is fer- ruginous in color and vitreous in appearance. Within the chapel a sacred well is shown, from which at times gushes out a spring of water possessing wonderful effi- cacy when blessed by the priest; and half-way down the hill is another, supposed to have connection with THE HOLY HILL OF SANTO DOMINGO. 319 this. The hill itself is half-covered with tropical forest- growth, and the path ascending is divided into stations for the devotees, indicated by crosses, while a group of wooden crosses adorns the crown of the hill. As to the view from the church, I confess myself unable to do it justice in words, merely. It surpasses the view of the Yumuri Valley from Guadeloupe, in Cuba, and in some respects the outlook over Granada from the Alhambra Palace — both of which I have en- joyed,but each has a different charm. From a height of six hundred feet and more, one looks directly down upon tropical gardens occupied by palm-covered huts and flaming with the vivid crimson of the flamboyant trees, and beyond, over forests of palms, groves of cacao, cof- fee, plantains and bananas : a vast plain, bounded only by the hills of the Monte-Cristi range; populous, yet silent; fertile, yet half-cultivated; beautiful, yet with its beauties unenjoyed. Looking upon these visible charms which so moved the Admiral that he called it the Royal Vega, and recalling the immortal events of his^ tory that have transpired here, the heart swells with emotions difficult to express. With the witchery of the moon upon it all, it was inexpressibly beautiful, and I would that all who love the divine in nature could at least look once upon it. The rainy season had caught me here; my plans were frustrated, and the work I had contemplated retarded. But I made excursions to the ruins of the earthquake- ruined city in the plain, in the intervals of the rains, and a journey to Santiago, returning with pleasure to my quarters with my good friend the padre. 320 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. When the day came at last to depart, half the vil- lagers descended to the plain to see me on my way. The padre was the last to leave me, and he sent along- Miguel, in charge of a sturdy donkey groaning beneath the "plunder" I had collected for the Exposition — the bell, the lombard, and the cross, as well as numerous " curios " yet unmentioned. WINDOW IN ROSARIO CHAPEL, SANTO DOMINGO. {The oldest chapel in America.) -V t I XVI. THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. MY chief reason for establishing- myself at Santo Cerro, was to be within working distance of the ancient Vega Vieja, Old Vega, which was one of the towns destroyed by the great earthquake of 1564. It has long been a tradition that beneath the walls a great deal of treasure lies buried. But what was of even more importance to me was that many relics of the times of the conquistador es were yet to be found by search. After the subjugation of the Indians, Columbus erected a line of forts across the upland plain, the first being near the pass through the mountains at the entrance to the Yaqui Valley; the sec- ond farther up; the third at or near the present city of Santiago, and the last and most important near the hill now known as Santo Cerro. This was called Con- cepcion de la Vega, and being in a most fertile district, and also quite near the residence of Guarionex, the cacique of the Vega, it soon became the nucleus for a thriving settlement. A large town eventually sur- rounded it, and the ruins to-day indicate its extent, being scattered over a great area. 321 322 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. I The most conspicuous ruins are those of the church, the fortress, and a large convent, the latter supposed to have been built by the bequest of Columbus. Owing to the richness of the country adjacent, in gold and agricultural resources, the town had the reputation of KUINS UF THE CHURCH BUILT liY BEQUEST OF CULUMBUS. being wealthy, at the time of its destruction, which occurred the twentieth of April, 1564, during the cele- bration of the morning mass. This was some seventy years after the founding of the fort, and when the town had become the chief settlement of this region. Miguel, the sacristan, who had assumed charge of me at Santo Cerro, and whose hammock hung in the only other THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 323 room the hut contained, called me at six in the morning, and at seven we were descending the steep hill toward Old Vega. The path was filled with people coming to the Saturday mass, which is the mass of the Virgin, and is attended from far and near. About two miles from the hill, we found four peons awaiting us, and at eight o'clock we were at work clean- ing out the angle of the fort. This old fort is the veri- table "Fort Concepcion" erectedby order of Columbus, in 1495. There are yet remains enough to show its origi- nal plan, though it is entirely in ruins except the north- east angle, where its circular bastion is nearly perfect. Here, the walls are about ten feet high, six feet thick, with a space of sixteen- feet inside. As near as one may judge from the remains, the fort was about two hundred feet square, with the circular bastions at the four corners, built mainly of brick, and in the thorough manner of the old Spanish architects. For years and years, the residents of the Vega have been digging out the bricks, until nearly the whole structure has been taken away, except the northeast angle. The site is nearly overgrown with large trees, and the surroundings are attractive — the fields adjacent slope to the hills, and through the trees is a fine view of the Cerro. The site does not appear to have been com- manding, some of the ruins of houses being higher up, but the surface features may have changed in the lapse of four hundred years. After having given the peons another spot to exca- vate, I retired to the thatched tobacco shed on the crown of a low hill, and there superintended operations. 324 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. I It is a most beautiful spot, in the midst of a clean-kept garden. Tall palms rise above the shed, a papaw-tree stands in front, sug-ar-cane, bananas, plantains, maize, tobacco, yucca, cassava, melons, and peppers, grow lux- uriantly all around, while cahuiles, plums, cocoa palms, and calabashes, are sprinkled all about the garden. KUINS OF FORT CONCEPCION. Such a garden, with almost all these fruits and vege- tables, might have had Guarionex, the cacique of the Vega, before the Spaniards came; and this spot was very near, if not on the site of his village. The hills of the Cerro range rise near, and across the valley above Moca, others rise blue against the sky. Cool breezes sweep through, as I swing there in my THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 325 hammock, and the simple people crowd around with bits of old iron and brass, from the ruins, to sell, and occasionally something better — as for instance, an ori- ginal "hawk's bell," or cainpafitta, which the first Span- iards brought here for traffic with the Indians, and which the natives treasured above all other things, bar- tering for these bells their most valued possessions, and giving in exchange great lumps of gold. With what I bought and what I dug out of the ruins, I brought away some hundreds of objects for the Exposition; most of them were small, but many of them were valuable for the confirmatory evidence they give on the early history of this region. The most valuable of all my "finds," perhaps, is a small bell, which, we have every reason to believe, was the first that ever was brought to America for religious purposes. The only ruins of any importance whatever, are those of the fort and the old church. The latter are near the highway, and consist of great crumbling blocks of ma- sonry, hung with vines and overgrown with the para- sitic " fig-tree." This church was the first to be built after that of Isabella, and when, toward the last of the fifteenth century, that settlement was abandoned, all the ecclesiastical furniture of the first church was brought to the more recent settlement of the Vega — then a promising town around the fort called Concepcion. It is believed that amongst other things this bell was taken here and hung in the belfry of the church, and there seems little doubt that this was the first brought to America by Columbus as the gift of Isabella, placed in the chapel there, and later taken to the Vega. It hung 326 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. in the tower till the great earthquake of 1564, when the church was tumbled to the ground. The tower re- mained almost intact, though cracked and shattered, but the bell was lost to sight. The dwellers of the city hastened to the site of the present Vega, and there set- tled, and the site of Concepcion was neglected and well-nigh forgotten. Some years ago, a man observed a strange object in the branches of a "fig-tree " that had grown around the tower and penetrated the belfry. These "figs" are parasitic, and wrap themselves around any object within their reach, whether it be tree, wall or post. I have seen some with large trees of another species growing from their hearts, apparently, so thoroughly had they enmeshed them. They form a perfect net- work around the object enclosed, through which it can be seen ; and their strength is so great that they some- times lift stones and plants from the ground. This "fig" around the tower had entered the belfry, and emerged with the long-hidden bell in its ligneous arms, bringing it to the light of day, after the lapse of at least three centuries. Perceiving this, the simple people looked upon this re-appearance as nothing short of miraculous, and the "bell of the fig-tree" became fa- mous throughout the island. It finally came into the possession of Father Bellini, a priest now deceased, whose good works are manifest in many things he did for the people of Santo Domingo. Father Bellini took it to the capital, where it hung for several years in the school he founded there, and where I first saw it. Through the good offices of Senor Galvan, at that time I THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 327 in Washington as plenipotentiary from the government of Santo Domingo to negotiate a treaty with the United States, this bell was obtained for the Exposition. At the request of the Chief of the Latin-American Depart- ment of the Exposition, Mr. W. E. Curtis, a letter was sent to the heirs of Father Bellini, requesting them to deliver to me, as Commissioner of the Exposition, this pre- cious relic. After the customary felicita- tions, the letter goes on to say : " Mr. Curtis, interested in the welfare of our Republic, desires that this bell occupy the distinguished place in the Exposition which properly be- longs to it from its .- historic importance, and has applied to me to assist in pro- curing as a loan the bell in question. I participate in his desire, and transmit it to you, begging you to associate your name and that of our Reverend Father Bellini (whom God guard) with this honorable exhibit of what our country once signified in the colonization of the American world — as also in the estimation of the catholic sovereign (Ferdinand) whose A PKEOIOUS KELIC. 328 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. monogram is engraved upon the bell itself. Mr. Ober, Special Commissioner of the Exposition to the Antilles, will place this letter in your hands, and I recommend him warmly to your attentions, doubting not that you will confide to his care the bell referred to, for which he will give a receipt, with a promise to return it at the close of the Exposition; and this you can do with all confidence, in view of the official and personal character of the gentleman named." Armed with this letter, when at the capital I called upon General Bellini, nephew of the deceased priest, in whose charge the bell then remained, and, after a long interview, during which it seemed extremely doubtful if the bell could be secured, I was taken out to see it. I anxiously awaited the movements of the General, and was not happy until he finally placed it in the carriage we had in waiting, and drove with me to the American Consulate, where I put it in the safe. Next morning, bright and early, I took it on board the Clyde steamer, got a receipt from the purser, who placed it in the specie tank, and then had the satisfaction of seeing the steamer sail away. I say satisfaction, because I knew that the relic was not safe until well beyond the reach of any one who might wish to prevent its deportation to the States. It was held as such a sacred relic that the whole public felt they had an interest in it, and were it known that it was to be taken away, there would be trouble. Indeed, I had barely finished my breakfast, before a messenger from the General desired me to return the bell at once- as his friends strenuously objected to its THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 329 exportation. Happily, I could say that it was then im- possible, since the bell was already on board the depart- ing steamer, and beyond my reach. The General took the defeat good-naturedly, but was not satisfied until I had given, not only my personal receipt, but had insured the bell itself for a thousand dollars. This was done; ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING SPOTS OF JACAGUA. and that is the manner in which I obtained one of the most precious of American relics for our great Exposition. The house I was excavating at Old Vega was said to be about the only one that had not been opened since the earthquake, and I hoped to find something worthy of the undertaking; but an all-day search revealed very 830 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. little. I suppose that there was little, if any, wealth] at the time of its destruction, though the gold from the] mountain mines was brought here to be refined before] being sent to Spain. The bright day came to an end at last, my men gave up the search, and we departed for the Cerro. It was^ my intention to spend several days in excavating ; but that night the rains began, and as the downpour con- tinued all the week following, I was unable to return. A year passed before I could again visit Old Vega, and the rains were falling as before. Since the first attempt, however, excavations had been made, with little result, and my only object was to obtain a photo- graph of the ruined church, which I had not secured at my first visit. The same earthquake that destroyed Old Vega laid waste another settlement, lying near the present city of Santiago. I intended to excavate on both sites, and, after waiting a few days in vain for the rain to hold up, I started for the other locality. Miguel engaged a peon and two horses, and after breakfast one morning we started. It rained from the very start, and I had six long hours of misery on the road. The first hour was along and down the ridge of the Cerro, amidst lovely scenery, with a broad view of the Vega, and after descending the hill we crossed the three channels of the Rio Verde, a broad and beau- tiful stream overhung with great trees. Beyond the Verde we encountered a stretch of road where the horses merely plumped from one deep hole into another. These holes extended as far as the eye THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 331 could reach, and made the road one vast sea of mud crossed by regular ridges, like deep furrows across a ploughed field of richest soil. Through these mud holes women and children were struggling, from, one slippery hummock to another, though just where mud left off and biped began, it would puzzle an expert to decide, so plastered and bespattered were all with the rich red earth. This road was opened nearly four hundred years ago, and not a dollar has been expended in improvements since the first mail-clad conquistador rode through the forests between La Vega and Santiago, seeking a trail to connect the recently-erected fortresses. During all this time mules and horses, men and cattle, have set their feet in the self -same holes, until now they can hardly reach the solid earth beneath. Rank and rich is the whole country between Vega and Santiago, yet it is not made to yield a thousandth part of its richness to the hand of man. It has the most fertile soil and the most beautiful forms of vege- table life, so enticingly luxuriant, so rankly regal, that it made my heart ache to think upon the waste of it all. Not one appreciative glance is ever cast upon this wealth of vegetation, not one effort is made at adorn- ment, or any attempt to entice forth the dormant life that only needs encouragement to leap into grateful recognition. There is not a house or hut, in all the twenty miles between Vega and Santiago, worth forty dollars ; and around the doorways of these miserable hovels are crouched most miserable natives, the color of the mud 332 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. that so plentifully bedaubs them. In the midst of plenty they are poor, and always on the verge of star- vation. I was overtaken on the road by a boy who really looked half-starved, and who whiningly begged for a small coin. Not having one about me, I told him to await my return ; and three days later, coming back, he was there in wait for me, looking hungrier than ever. Reaching Santiago late in the afternoon, I paddled through its dismal streets in search of a hotel, drenched, and muddy to the chin, and after having been rained upon during the entire trip of over six hours. The regular hostelry was full, and I found shelter in an unfinished building on the plaza. Santiago de los Caballeros,the chief city of the Cibao, or interior of Santo Domingo, was founded in 1504, by thirty caballej'os, who obtained from the king of Spain permission to use the term above cited as the distin- guishing appellation. Although it has been several times destroyed — first by the buccaneers, then by the Haitiens, and lastly by revolutionists — and has suffered from earthquakes, yet it is to-day a bright and flourish- ing city, the head of the province, which contains some forty thousand inhabitants. It has three churches, a fine plaza, a large cemetery, and is situated directly above the river Yaqui, on a commanding bluff. As the center of trade for all the Cibao, Santiago con- trols all this vast interior traffic, the only outlet to the coast being by the way of La Vega and Puerto Plata. Two railroads are trending hither from the coast: one starting at Puerto Plata, and the other the road from Samana Bay, with its present terminus at La Vega, THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 333 about twenty miles away. There is not traffic enough, either present or prospective, for more than one road,, though it is quite certain that at least one is necessary,, and will eventually reach this important place. My arrival had been heralded, and the evening paper, El Dia^ announced that the Commissioner for the THE CEMETERY AT SANTIAGO. Exposition had arrived, and that a party of gentlemen, the chief citizens of the place, would meet him that evening, at the house of Sehor Jesus Mercado. We met and discussed the prospects for an exhibit from the Cibao, and, after the discussion, we were enter- tained delightfully by the noble host. That was in July 334 TN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. of 1 89 1. Upon my return the next summer, I was grieved to learn that Senor Mercado had been sus- pected of conspiring against the Government, and was then languishing in the castle at the capital. Several other distinguished citizens were also keeping him com- pany, and a feeling of great uneasiness prevailed, for it was not known who would be the next victim of the Dictator's suspicions. But I received the assurances of these gentlemen that I possessed their sympathies, and that all possible would be done to give the region a representation. The one most interested in the work, and the one who gave substantial proofs of his interest, was Senor Hun- gria, the editor of the largest paper. El Eco del Pueblo. He not only presented me with articles of historic in- terest for the Exposition, but accompanied me, on my second visit, to the site of the second fortress erected in the gold region. I was also introduced to a strange character, a gentle- man of leisure, Senor Don Antonio Alix, known through- out the Cibao as the " Poet of the Sierras." He had a family of charming daughters, a wife devoted to him, and a muse who was always ready for a romp or a frolic in the fields of poesy; so what more could the heart of man desire? Mounting his horse, the poet insisted on going with me to visit the ruins of old Jacagua, a league or two distant from the city. This town was destroyed by an earth- quake in the year 1564. It was a lovely morning on which we made the trip, and we found a warm welcome at the hands of the proprietor of Jacagua, Seiior Don THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 335 Ricardo Ovies, who spoke English fluently, and who placed the whole estate at my disposition. He had accumulated several articles of value, and these he gave me for the Exposition, while he promised to have the ruins excavated for our benefit. This promise I assisted him to fulfill, and on my return, a year later, left a sum SITE OF THE OLD CHURCH AT JACAGUA. of money for the purpose, by means of which many valuable relics were brought to light, and were sent to the head of the Department at Washington. Jacagua was a flourishing settlement up to the time of the earthquake, when the people removed to the site of the present Santiago. It was founded soon after the 336 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. great battle that decided the fate of the Indians of the^ Vega, and a fort was built here. There was a church, the ruins of which are visible, and the fine spring-j which is still flowing was the reason, probably, for the* founding of the settlement here. I obtained a great number of relics of those ancient times, and through the good offices of Senor O vies, the collections from Santo Domingo were largely augmQnted. Our host gave us a delightful dinner, including delicious wine of native fruits, and preserves of his good wife's making; he has since re- peatedly proven the sin- cerity of his proffers by giving us the results of the excavations. The poet, found and USED BY THE EARLY SPANIARDS. (I. Domhiican Cxitlass. 2. Old Toledo icith Dominican hilt. 3. " Toledo " as brought over by a conquistador.) gave me an ancient spur, called an acicate^ and also an old Indian jug, with a whistle in its nose, while I purchased sev- eral of the old Toledo blades for which the section is famous. I do not mean, of course, that they are manu- factured here, but that veritable Toledos are still in the possession of some of the old families, having de- THE EARTHQUAKE-BURIED TOWNS. 337 scended to them from the conquistadores. As I have mentioned, the settlement was made by gentlemen of birth and breeding, the city receiving permission from the king of Spain to be known as the City of the Gentlemen ; and to-day there are more people of white extraction here than in any other town in the island ; the female types of pure and graded blood being quite pretty. I have in my possession one of these old Toledos, which has all the flexibility for which the blades were noted in the time of the Moors, and which has been reset into a very quaint and effective hilt. Some of those I obtained went to Chicago, and doubtless many of my readers will have seen those veritable blades with which the half-barbaric Spaniards pricked and prodded the inoffensive Indians. There is no more interesting spot in Santiago than the cemetery, where the system of rental of graves still prevails, the remains being turned out after the expira- tion of time of lease. I saw here a most picturesque tomb that had been opened for that purpose, and the skull and coffin exposed. Below the city runs the swift and turbulent Yaqui, which is crossed by a ferry owned and operated by an American. The citadel overlooks the cit}" and river, and a glorious view of the country around is spread out before the observer. THE WHISTLING JUG. XVII. IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. RETURNING from the interior of Santo Domingo, I resumed my voyage around the island, taking a Clyde steamer, and making the run from Samana to the capital in twenty- four hours. Santo Domingo City lies west of south from the head of Samana Bay. It can be reached from that point either by an overland journey on horseback of two or three days, depending upon the state of the trails, or by the steamer sailing around the entire eastern end of the island. Santo Domingo is the oldest city of European founda- tion in America. It possesses, doubtless, more attrac- tions than any other on the continent, having within its walls so many relics of those early years of our history. The town was founded in 1496, by Bartholomew Columbus, the intrepid brother of the Admiral ; roman- tic interest and historic associations thickly cluster around it, and it is intimately identified with the career of Columbus himself. Miguel Diaz, a Spanish soldier, fleeing from the pun- ishment he had incurred by wounding a companion, 338 IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 339 wandered through the woods and over the mountains from Isabella to the south coast, where he formed an attachment for an Indian caciquess, who governed the tribe then resident along the banks of the river Ozama. The native queen retained him with her for a time, but seeing that he longed for the companionship of his fel- low Spaniards, and learning that he was afraid to return to them without something with which to propitiate his commander, and that nothing would be so acceptable as gold, she informed him that within her own territory A SANTO DOMINGO SEAPOKl' TOWN. was an abundance of the precious metal. Diaz was con- ducted to the banks of the river Hayna, not far distant, and found such fine specimens that he ventured to return to Isabella, where the commander, Bartholomew Columbus, not only pardoned him, but gave him offices of trust, and soon after went with him to test the new deposits. They were found to be so rich that a fortress was at once erected on the bank of the river, and soon the 340 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Adelantado went around by sea to the nearest point on the south coast, and there founded the city that still bears the name he gave it. He called it Santo Do- mingo, and also after his father, Dominico Columbus, the weaver of Genoa. The soldier's romance did not end here, so rumor tells us, for Miguel Diaz remained faithful to his Indian wife. The mines, though rich at first, became worked out at last, though even at the present time gold is mined there, by means of improved processes. From that region some immense nuggets were obtained; they were famous even in those days of rich findings, one of them being so large that the lucky discoverers used it as a table, serving upon it a roast -pig, entire, and boasting that never yet had any king of any land so rich a service of plate. The actual finder of the nug- get was a poor Indian girl, but her masters, of course, appropriated it, and neither pig nor gold did she get. In fact, no one appears to have eventually profited by its discovery, for the great nugget went to the bottom of the sea, in the sinking of the fleet of Bobadilla, when twenty sail went down with all on board, off Santo Domingo in a hurricane. On the eastern bank of the beautiful Ozama, Don Bartholomew erected his fort, and here first a settle- ment was commenced. It flourished a while, but was destroyed by a hurricane in the year 1502. Seeing then the superior advantages of the west bank of the river, the settlers removed thither, and the present city was begun, walls being built around it later, and about IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 343 the year 1509 the great tower, or castle, called the " Homenage. " This fine castle, the oldest in America, and one of the best specimens extant of the architecture of those times, stands in a commanding position at the mouth of the river, upon the right bank, rising grandly above a high cliff of coralline rock, wave-worn and cavernous. Extremely picturesque in itself, its position greatly en- hances the effect, and it is well worth a journey thither to study. Around it, too, tradition and history have woven a tissue of fascinating stories, for it leads us back to those times when European civilization was wrestling with American barbarism, and the red Indians, now extinct, were in possession of the West Indian islands. The story oftenest repeated, however, that Columbus was once confined a prisoner within its walls, has no foundation in fact. The event of his imprisonment took place in the year 1500, when the settlement was on the east bank of the river, and he was confined in a small tower called afterward, from this event, the Torrecilla de Colon. This tower was situated at the extreme point of the eastern bank of the river as it reaches the ocean. I myself have investigated this statement and the location, and have the support of the local authorities and historians. A few bricks and stones are the only remains of the torrecilla; but the chapel, at the entrance of which the usurper, Bobadilla, read the proclamation that announced the downfall of Columbus and his own elevation to power, is still standing, though in a half- ruined state, on the east bank. It is known as Rosario, and pertains to a large sugar estate on the side of the 344 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. river opposite from the city, a conspicuous and beautiful plantation, with immense cuisine^ and all the equipment of a first-class " plant " for sugar refining. It is well attested that the great tower, the Homenage, was not built until, or near, 1509, eight or nine years THE HOUSE OF COLUJIBUS. after the imprisonment of the distinguished explorer, and consequently could not have held him. The most noteworthy object that attracts the atten- tion of one entering the Ozama on the steamer, lies a little beyond the castle and on the same side of the river; this is the Casa de Colon, as it is called, or the House of Columbus. It has, like the castle, no connec- tion with the great possessor of the name, except through his son Diego, who, succeeding to the titles and powers granted by the sovereigns of Spain to his distinguished I' J IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 345 father, came to Santo Domingo in the year 1509, and began the erection of a palace. Having achieved distinction by his marriage with Dona Maria de Toledo, niece to the famous Duke of Alva, and arrogating the title of Viceroy of the colonies in America, Don Diego began his career in great splen- dor, and surrounded himself with all the dignities of a royal court. He erected on the bank of the Ozama a magnificent palace, fortified and defended with walls and cannon, and carried his pretensions to such an ex- tent that the king became alarmed and recalled him to Spain to give account of his proceedings. Beneath the bank, a short distance from the castle, the Syndic of the Ayuniamiento, or city council, once pointed out to me an old cannon, half-embedded in the sands, which tradition indicated as one that the city fathers of the time of Diego's reign had mounted and trained upon the palace, to bring the viceroy to terms. Upon investigation, this story was found to have sup- port in local history, and, through the kind -assistance of the Syndic, I secured this ancient piece of ordnance for exhibition at Chicago, where it was sent. It was a very heavy cannon, and one of the river barges was sunk in the attempt to ship it on the steamer. The fortified residence built by Don Diego rises directly above the wharf at which the steamer lands its passengers. It is a grand and gloomy pile of gray stone, roofless, and falling to decay ; its pillared corri- dors are destroyed ; its lower rooms are now occupied as stables for horses, goats and donkeys ; squalid huts of palm-wood lean against its walls, and filth almost 346 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. indescribable prevents the visitor from an investigation of the interior. The city of Santo Domingo is walled, and still retains intact many fortified battlements, which were erected three hundred and eighty years ago, with numerous fine sentry- boxes, and fortalezas, especially such as those of " San Anton ' ' and "Santa Barbara, " directly behind the churches of the same name. A walk around the walls will well re- pay the exertion; for though they have stood nearly four hun- dred years, they are yet firm and strong, THE SUN-DIAL TO BE SEEN IN SANTO DOMINGO. thOUgh mmanyplaCCS they are now being torn down to allow the city to spread out and beyond, as in Havana. The present city is crouched beneath the walls and within the ruins of the past. Against the massive walls of neglected convents, that once sheltered learned and holy men, lean the worthless shanties of a despicable people, who even huddle in holes hollowed out of the walls themselves. Entering the city through a great gateway in the walls, you are brought face to face with IN SANTO DOMIX'GO CITY. 347 the dirt and squalor of the place; with its horrible streets, its broken and dangerous sidewalks, and its languid inhabitants. You will find a shoemaker, or tailor, or vender of groceries, occupying a small room in a building originally intended for a palace, the re- mainder of which is vacant and falling to pieces. In •every imaginable corner and crevice, under the arches by the city gate, and lurking in the corridors of once great mansions, the people dwell by day and sleep by night. Not all the structures of the city are of the mean character of those around the walls, for several of the streets are lined with buildings that will compare favor- ably with some in Cuba, and are of the same Spanish style of architecture. Around the central plaza are the Government buildings, the city hall, and the cathe- dral. These are all excellent structures, and there are some scattered through the city that show evidences of wealth and attempts at adornment. As the ancient buildings show us the architecture of Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, so the modern houses are modeled after Spanish struct- ures of the present time. Not so many have the inner courts, or patios^ as in Mexico and Cuba, but all are massively built, with thick stone walls, heavy beams supporting tiled roofs and floors, grated windows, ornate halconies in the second stories, and long flaring water- spouts at the eaves, like batteries of guns; while heavy doors protect the entrances to the lower floors. In fact, viewing the houses along the streets of the city, and noting the unmistakably Spanish air of mingled decay 348 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. and smartness about them, one might imagine himself in certain towns in Southern Spain. Of the twelve or thirteen thousand inhabitants of this city, a very small number are white, most of them hav- ing African blood in their veins in greater or less pro- portion. The people are pleasant, alert, courteous, with all the Spanish and tropical vivacity of speech and gest- ure, as well as the indolence and love of pleasures. Visiting the capital as the accredited representative of the Exposition, and having met the President at Puerto Plata some weeks earlier I was at once in- troduced to the best the city held, and every facility afforded for an examination of whatever of interest it contained. Our consular representative, Mr. Durham, was then absent on leave, but the courteous vice-consul, Mr. Juan Reed, a resident of the capital, but who spoke English like a native of the States, gave me the consular residence for occupation, and arranged with a small restaurant for my meals, so that I was at once installed and ready for business. The consulate was one of the old houses with thick walls and a balcony, one room on the ground floor and two above, that lined the principal street. I had complete possession, and at night no one but myself occupied the house — a small boy coming every morning to open the office, and a colored woman to take care of the rooms. Living quietly in the consulate, in sole occupancy, I had time and opportunity to study the history of the island in the intervals of my official duties, and of becoming acquainted with the ruined structures within the city walls. Morning and evening, sallying out in IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 349 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. search of information, I gathered up the scattered threads of history, and found out just how much had been lost during the various revolutions and invasions through the past three centuries. Of manuscripts and minor objects of antiquity, there are hardly any remaining, and their loss is ascribed to the invasions of the Haitians, and to the ravages of the buccaneers of the seventeenth century. Sir Francis Drake (whom they style '■'■ el pirata Draakcc'') comes in 350 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. for the chief share of the blame, for he sacked the city and destroyed everything he could lay his piratical hands upon. After vigilant search, I could find nothing more ancient in manuscripts than the Baptismal Book in the cathedral, dated 159 1. But few traditions did I discover that had not already been given to the world in general or in local histories. Not even of the great Las Casas, who once resided here, nor of Alonzo de Ojeda, nor Diego Colon. I tried everywhere to procure antiquities, as well of the Indian days as of the early Spanish times; but I had not much success ; an old cannon or two, an Indian drum, an ancient "Toledo," a few clay figulines, a. canoe and other articles of this class, were the best I could do. The best collection of Indian antiquities is in the pos- session of the archbishop, Monseilor Merino; but there is no local museum, nor any scientific society interested in the fascinating field for study afforded here at their very doors. No one appreciates the relics of the abori- gines at their full value, but when any attempt is made to procure them for study or exhibition, the owners at once attach a fictitious and prohibitory value, as always happens where ignorance prevails regarding objects of ethnical or archaeological interest. Santo Domingo's chief claim to distinction lies in its. connection with Columbus and the conquistadores^ and the principal reminders of their times are the few struct- ures remaining of their construction. The center of attraction is, of course, the cathedral, but besides this there are at least ten churches and IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 353 convents of account in the city. The largest pile of ruins is that of the ancient convent, San Francisco, which stands conspicuous upon a hill behind the Casa de Colon, and about which cling all the traditions that fascinate the student of the times when the first missionaries came here to preach and to convert the Indians to the Catholic faith. But a small portion of the convent is habitable now, and that is used as an asylum for the insane. About thirty locos are now immured there, in a wing of the vast edifice walled off from the ruins. Entrance is freely granted to visitors, and one may wander at will through the deserted corridors, explore the labyrinthine mazes of the roofless cells, and seek for the burial-place of Ojeda, the lion-hearted soldier who lies interred at the walled-up entrance, and of Don Bartholomew Columbus, who is said to have been buried at the foot of the great altar. Arches, vine-draped and of magnificent proportions, towering walls with a forest of trees and vines growing on them and out of their crevices, deep holes where the treasure-seekers have dug for many years in vain — all these you may see in the ruins of San Francisco; but of the devoted mission- aries who dwelt here, and who built the immense struct- ure of which the crumbling stones alone remain, not a trace is to be found. Oblivion has claimed them all, save for their brief biographies in the annals of the order to which they belonged. There is said to exist a subterranean connection with another house of the order a long distance away, now used as a hotel, and known as the Casa del Cordon. 354 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. One of the oldest ruins here is that of San Nicolas, a convent church founded in 1509, the groined canopy of which, above the presbytery, is very beautiful, but destined soon to fall to pieces from decay. The most famous of the convent churches is that of Santo Domingo; to it are attached the walls of the first university founded in America, and in which the celebrated Las Casas min- istered. Deserted, ruined, and now in a disgraceful state of neglect and filth, the walls of this first of America's institutions of learning are a standing reproach to the people possessing this island. The interior of the church is most interesting, having been at some time care- fully restored, and one should by all means ex- amine its attractions. The pulpit is supported upon a serpent carved of wood, the high altar is simple but chaste in the carving of its retable, and the quaint old tombstones in the pavement have interesting inscrip- tions. One, I recall, attracted my attention particularly from having carved upon it, besides an inscription with Scriptural reference, the escudo, or coat of arms, of the family to which it pertained — a shield containing thir- teen stars. There was, of course, no connection between INSCRIPTION ON AN OLD TOMBSTONE. (Convent Church.) IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 355 this heraldic device and the symbols we sometimes em- blazon upon our country's flag; but it brought to mind the thirteen original States of our Union, which were probably first grouped about the time the remains beneath this stone were here interred. A very beautiful church is Santa Barbara, near the river walls; it is old, simple in decoration inside, but with an exterior quaint and original. Another church, San Miguel on the hill, was built, it is said, by the king's treasurer, three hundred and fifty years ago; it is attractive, though small. La Merced is large and gloomy, and resembles Santo Domingo, while Santa Clara is quite handsome, having been restored, and a favorite with the ladies. This may be said also of the Regina, attached to which is a flourishing school, which was the care of the lamented Father Bellini. San Anton stands alone, and is only a shell of what was once a splendid church with fine arches. Thus I might go on at further length enumerating the attractions here for the artist and the antiquarian, and especially the ecclesiologist ; but I may, perhaps, have indicated enough to show that the old city is not devoid of fascinations, aside from its interest to the historian. Although I do not intend to make this volume a guide- book, and certainly cannot follow my inclination to thread the paths of history that are constantly tempting one to diverge from the main track of explorations, yet I cannot refrain from indicating to one who may follow in my footsteps, the principal attractions here. Within the walls one may find numerous bits that will recall old Spain, Algiers, and the coast of Africa at Tangiers 356 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. and Oran. One of the finest doorways is that of the old Mint, an excellent work in stucco, with fine and forcible medallions on the doorposts and lintels, and a beautiful window may be seen in an old house near the archbishop's palace. The most famous structure in the capital is the cath- edral, a long, low rambling- edifice occupying one side VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL HIGH ALTAR AND RETABLE. of the plaza; it is of a style of architecture that may be called composite, but peculiarly its own. Externally it is not particularly attractive, but its interior is worthy of detailed description, and I am going to ask my readers' attention while I make a tour of the chapels. Entering by the great west doorway, before you lies IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 357 a nave of grand proportions, with high massive pillars supporting a groined ceiling. Walking down to the high altar, we find it apparently insignificant; faced with plates of silver of modern and poor workmanship, and with the customary adornments. Back of the altar is a splendid retable of richly carved and gilded wood, but temporarily hidden by an immense silla from the old coro, which was taken away some time ago. In front of the retable, and at the right of the altar (facing the nave), are the two vaults from which the two " re- mains " of Columbus were taken. The first side-altar at the right is that of the Santa Reliquia; so called because in its sanctuary, closed by three locks, it contains a fragment of the cross of La Vega (mentioned in the chapter on Santo Cerro). This precious relic is set in gold and inclosed in a silver casket, and is shown only once a year. Here is a fine retable, richly gilded, and fortunately unrestored. The first chapel at the right is called Las Animas. It con- tains a fine painting of the Sanctissima Trinidad, and it has a privilegio from Benedicto XIV. , of the year 1729, granting to anyone here celebrating a mass, on any day of the year, the privilege of rescuing a soul from purgatory. Next to this is the chapel of La Virgen de Dolores, with the tomb of an archbishop who died in 1858. Next beyond is the Puerta de Perdojt, or Door of Pardon, so called because an escaping criminal who reached this doorway would be safe. Over the door is a tablet informing us ttiat the cathedral was finished to this point in the year 1527, and through the doorway is 358 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. a good view of the plaza, and the statue of Columbus standing there. The chapel next beyond the door has a tomb in it of the date 1524, a gory efhgy of Christ, with real skull and cross-bones beneath it, and a. privi- legio dated 1727. Two unimportant chapels come next; the sixth one contains a painting and the bones of a saint. The ca- pilla alia gracia has a retable of mahogany and two modern tombs of Dominican patriots; opposite this chapel, beneath the nave, lies buried the celebrated his- torian Oviedo. The last chapel is known as that of Jesus Predicador, and beyond it is the great west door called the Puerta de San Pedro, with a statue of San Jose on the right and one of San Miguel on the left. Turning back toward the altar mayor, we find first the capilla de Jesus en la Columna, in which is an image of lii Se flora de Biien Sucesos. The chapel next in sequence contains a painting said to have been brought here by Columbus, and presented by Isabella and Ferdinand. It is called la Virgen de Colon, and is very old, cracked and disfigured. There is also here a painting ascribed to a pupil of Murillo. The chapel that the people regard with peculiar ven- eration is the next in order. It is called San Francisco de Paula, and contains the first cross erected in Santo Domingo, in the year 15 14. This was on the site of the cathedral, which was begun at that time, but not finished until 1540. The cross is about nine feet high, and across its arms is an inscription setting forth the fact that it was planted here by the first religious men, and the date: ^' Esta es la insignia primera que se plant en IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 359 el centra de esta cavipo para dar principio a este magnifico templo, el aiio de MDXIV. " Wishing- to secure a repre- sentation of such an important relic at the Exposition, and not caring to ask the loan of the cross itself, I had THE PORTAL OF THK MliNT. — SANTO DOMINGO. a duplicate made by a local carpenter, which could not be distinguished from the original. Fortunately, at that time an old building attached to the castle was being renovated, and the governor of the castle, through the intercession of our Vice-Consul, gave me two old beams of mahogany, of the exact color of that composing the 360 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. cross. These beams were over three hundred years old, and, as mahogany grows darker with age, they had the same rich hue as the cross. The carpenter worked most faithfully, and did credit to his profession, so that the duplicate was pronounced by the admiring natives to be the equal in every respect of the original. A native artist painted the inscription across the arms, and when dry, the cross was carefully wrapped in bagging and shipped to Washington, where it safely arrived and was sent on to the convent of La Rabida at the Exposition. This, the first cross erected in the city, has been con- founded with another and more famous one, which was planted on the hill of Santo Cerro, in the interior, and fragments of which are preserved as holy souvenirs in the cathedral and all the chief churches of the island. The latter cross, however, was set up about the year 1494 or 1495, nearly twenty years previous to this of the cathedral, and is venerated on account of its connection with an apparition of the Holy Virgin — as related in the description of Santo Cerro. The eleventh chapel, in the order in which we have taken them, is that of the Sanctissima Sacramento^ and in it are portraits of the twelve apostles, ascribed to the great Spanish artist Velasquez. High above the altar is a Virgin, said to be by Murillo, but perhaps a copy, and if so a good one. Regarding the authenticity of these pictures, the Archbishop expressed some doubt, but said that there was much in favor of their genuine- ness. But I present them without comment, at the same time believing it very probable that they are genuine, for there is no motive for deceit, and they have all the IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. 361 appearance of the pictures by the same artist, which I myself have seen in the museums and churches of Spain, The sagrario of this chapel is of silver, and contains a figure of Christ, well carved from the horn of a deer. In the pavement is a tombstone over ten feet long, with a magnificent esciido : casque and helm with flowino- plumes; date 155 1. Adjoining, is the Puerta de Baii- tismo [Door of Baptism), with beautiful figures above it modeled in plaster. The capilla de Baiitisino succeeds, with a fine retable and paintings, but the last and largest is the capilla del Adelantado Rodrigo de Bastides, who, a one-time commander in Santo Domingo, now lies in- terred here, with his wife and child, as attested by a quaint inscription on the wall. This chapel is extremely fine and old, with domed ceiling, and the aziilejos, or Moorish tiles, are the most beautiful I have seen here. There is a tomb of an early archbishop here, with his figure, Jacent, sculptured in marble. Back of this tomb is a small cell, in which at present are held the alleged remains of Columbus. The two-leaved door of this cell is so fine that I had it reproduced in plaster and sent to the Exposition as an example of the wood-carving of the time it was made. At the left of the chapel is the altar "Ave Maria," facing the nave, with a gilded retable and excellent painting of Ave Maria, flanked by the kneeling figures of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, similar to those in the royal chapel at Granada, in Spain. Back of this altar is the vault from which the remains of Don Luis Colon were taken, on the side of the chan- cel opposite to that from which the ashes of the great Admiral were removed. # f 362 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. Thus having again reached the presbytery, we have made the tour of the cathedral and have noted every- thing in it, nearly, except the remains of the immortal Colon, which I shall reserve for another chapter. I trust it will appear that the cathedral is worthy the minute description I have given, and that the long journey has not been wearisome. XHK UoaiENAJE. XVIII. WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS ? IN the center of the plaza of Santo Domingo City, opposite the great door of the cathedral, stands a heroic figure in bronze of Christopher Columbus. It is dignified, commanding, impressive, and points with one extended hand toward the West, as though indicating to Europe the region of his discoveries. At the feet of the statue crouches the Indian Anaca- ona, an aboriginal queen, whose subjects were massacred by the companions of this same Columbus, and who was burned at the stake by one of his Spanish successors. Yet, with an irony born of ignorance of historical facts, the artist has represented this unfortunate princess as tracing an inscription in praise of one who, more than all others, aided in bringing about the extinction of her race. The irony of truth, indeed ; at one stroke presenting the character of one whose exalted sentiments were often at variance with his deeds. The life of Columbus shows him to have had a dual nature: two towns claim the honor of his birthplace; two nations hold the luster of his deeds in reverence ; two continents unite in laudation of his greatness ; after 363 364 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. his death two convents in Spain held his remains in charge, and now two islands lay claim to the absolute possession of his ashes. One of the features of my mission to the West Indies, as Commissioner of the Columbian Exposition, was to resolve this doubt concerning the present burial-place of Columbus. The great Admiral died on the twentieth of May, 1506, in the city of Valladolid, in Spain, and his mortal remains were deposited in the convent church of the Franciscans. The last rites were celebrated with great pomp and ceremony in the church of Santa Maria la Antigua. But a few years later the body was given sepulture in the Carhija of Santa Maria de las Cuevas, in the city of Seville. ' ' It would seem, " says the Spanish academician who investigated the subject, "that the interment at Valladolid was an act of piety, merely, accorded at the time; but that in las Cuevas was in accordance with the expressed wish of the Admiral or his relatives." In the same convent, some years later, were deposited the remains of Diego, his son. The second removal of the body of Columbus had for its object the perpetual sepulture of his remains in the island of Espaiiola and the city of Santo Domingo. It was made in accordance with the petition of Dona Maria de Toledo, widow of Don Diego, who stated that it was the expressed desire of the Admiral himself ; and in con- sequence a royal gediila to that effect was issued by the Emperor, Charles V. , giving the requisite authority to the grandson of Columbus, Don Luis Colon. Permission ONE OF THE DISPUTED BIRTHPLACES. {Bouse in Cogoletto in which it is claimed Columbus was born.) WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS? 367 was given to the family of Colon to occupy forever the great chapel {capilla mayor) of the cathedral of Santo Domingo; and this donation by Charles V. of the chapel as a place of interment, converted that part of the pres- bytery into private property, and no one unauthorized by them had any right to remove or efface even an inscription. There is no record of the transfer of the remains from Seville to Santo Domingo ; but the probable date was about 1540, as the first gediila giving the use of the chapel was issued in 1537 ; a second, confirming the first, was issued in 1539, and a third, confirming the second, in 1540. It is thought that there was some delay in grant- ing sepulture in the cathedral, after the arrival of the remams; but that they were deposited there finally, concurrent evidence proves. In 1549, for instance, the first archbishop of that diocese writes : "The tomb of Don Cristobal Colon, where are his bones, is much ven- erated in this cathedral." The historian Herrera says: " From the Cuevas of Seville the bones of Columbus were removed to the city of Santo Domingo, and are in the great chapel of the cathedral; " and agreeing with him are the historians Alcedo, Navarette, and Washing- ton Irving. But although it would seem probable that some record should exist in the archives of the cathedral itself, it is not known that any has ever been discovered. The total absence of all early manuscript is attributed to the ravages of the pirate Drake, who was such a ter- ror to the Spanish West Indies, and who sacked the 'city; embedded in the roof of the cathedral to-day is a 368 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. cannon-ball, half -protruding from the masonry, which is said to have been fired from a gun on board one of Drake's vessels. Nor is there any tradition of records preserved by the oldest inhabitants of the city, derived from their ancestors, or from people who lived in the latter part of the last century. It cannot be shown, either, that there was ever a stone, tablet, or monument, to mark the place of interment; and this seems the more strange as there are magnificent memorials of the early archbishops, of the military governor, Rodrigo de Bastides, who died in 1527, of his wife, who died in 1552, and others of that century, several of them contemporaries of Columbus. But that Columbus was interred in the gVeat chapel of the cathedral, there is no room for doubt, as it has been proven by tradition and by contemporary evidence. Aside from the testimony already cited, we have also the record of over a hundred years later, that when the English invaded the island the archbishop ordered the tombs to be covered with earth, to prevent their dese- cration, "especially that of the old Admiral, which is in the evange Ho oim.y h.o\y church, and chapel." And when the church was nearly ruined by an earthquake, the archbishop mentioned among other reasons for re- storing the temple, that "in the capilla mayor is interred the illustrious Don Cristoval Colon." Again, in 1683, the diocesan synod of Santo Domingo states : " The bones of C. Colon are there in a leaden case, in the presbytery according to the tradition of the old inhabitants of the island." Just a hundred years later, the historian Moreau de ■ ■ a* r! BRONZE STATUE OB' COLUMBUS BEFORE THE DOOR OF THE CATHEDRAL IN SANTO DOMINGO CITY. WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS? 371 St. Mery, states that the dean of the cathedral affirmed that there was a box of lead, inclosed in one of stone, which tradition, constant and unvarying, pointed to as containing the bones of Columbus. Thus through two hundred years we have accumulative evidence that the last mortal remains of the great Admiral rested in the cathedral of Santo Domingo, and it might be as- sumed that in the course of human events they would be likely to remain there to the end of time, had not an event occurred that necessitated, the Spaniards thought, their removal. In 1795, by the treaty of Basle, Spain ceded to France "the cradle of her greatness in the New World;" but there were those who remembered that the ashes of Columbus were yet in Santo Domingo, and felt that it would be unworthy the greatness of Spain to allow these relics of the man who had made her first among nations to pass under another flag. The delivery of the colony into French possession was not accomplished until 1801, but the project of transferring the ashes of America's discoverer was exe- cuted in 1795. As already remarked, there was neither tombstone nor inscription, nor any indication whatever as to the resting-place of the remains; there was not a native of the country who remembered having seen such, nor any tradition extant directly derived from their ancestors. Therefore the Spaniards, in proceed- ing to the examination, had to be guided solely by tra- ditions of the ecclesiastical authorities of the cathedral, and residents of the capital. And what did these tell them ? Simply what has 372 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. been quoted for generations : that the relics of Colum- bus had been deposited in the cathedral, on the gospel side of the altar, at the place where the canopy of the archbishop used to stand. On the twentieth of Decem- ber, 1795, a group of distinguished gentlemen, including commissioners deputed by the Duke of Veragua, the lineal descendant of the Admiral, opened a vault above the presbytery on the gospel side of the altar, which was a yard in depth and breadth. According to the report signed by the clerk of the Royal Court of Justice of Santo Domingo, there were found therein some plates of lead about a foot long, bearing evidence of having been part of a box or casket of that metal, and some fragments of bones and dust. These were gathered to- gether on a plate, and afterward placed in a leaden box, and with great solemnity taken on board the man-of- war Salt Lorenzo, on which they were transported to Cuba. Arrived at Havana, the revered relics were borne in procession to the cathedral, and there deposited in a niche opened in the wall of the presbytery, on the evangelist side, and the spot designated by a marble slab, with a bust and elegant Latin inscription, bearing date 1796. Thus far I have followed the Infonne of the Royal Academy of Spain, which exhaustively investigated the subject of the last resting-place in 1879, and the mem- bers of which were of the opinion that the remains of five members, at least, of the Columbus family were interred in the presbytery of the cathedral, namely: Christopher, Diego his son, Bartholomew his brother, Luis his grandson, and Cristobal the second grandson. WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS? 373 In the year 1877, while repairs were being made in the chancel of the cathedral of Santo Domingo, a vault was discovered on the left side (facing the nave) contain- ing a small box of lead that fell to pieces on removal, ■-«I!I1 THE COLUMBUS VAULTS IN SANTO DOMINGO CATHEDRAL. (/. Vault from which ashes were removed, 1795. //. Vault opened in 1877.) but which had an inscription that read: '■^ El Alviirante, D. Luis Colon, Duque de Veragua, Marques de" — (pre- sumably of Jamaica). It was not known that the grandson of Columbus had been interred here — but this was indubitable evidence; it revived the tradition that his grandfather was buried on the opposite side, and it was decided by the bishop 374 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. I to search the alleged resting-place of the bones of the Admiral while the repairs were progressing. After a preliminary excavation, the investigators opened the spot indicated by tradition as that from which the remains transported to Havana had been taken; a small vault was brought to light, which was entirely empty. This, without doubt, was the vault from which the ashes taken away in 1795 had been removed, and Canon Bellini, in charge of the investigation, believed ' that this would only tend to prove the truth of the Spanish account. But the next day the space between |j this empty vault and the wall of the cathedral was * sounded, and some indications of another tomb were discovered. A piece of a large stone slab that had been partly revealed, was broken off, and through this opening it was seen that there was indeed a vault, and that it contained an object which appeared like a square box. M Instantly all was excitement. The chief vestryman hastened at once to inform the archbishop of what had occurred, while the foreign consuls, notably the Italian, M. Cambiaso, were notified, and came to the cathedral/ where the canon was awaiting them with the workmen. ^_ The men were working under the direction of Sr. J. ^ M. Castillo, a civil engineer who had charge of all im- portant works in the island, and with whom I myself have frequently conversed. Sr. Castillo died in 1892, and his loss has been severely felt in Santo Domingo, wM where his distinguished talents as an engineer and his genial presence were highly esteemed. The canon and the engineer guarded the vault until I WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS? 375 the arrival of the civic and ecclesiastical dignitaries, when in their presence the opening was enlarged, and the object inside revealed to be a box of lead, resting upon two bricks. The top was covered with dust and small pieces of stone, but it was apparent that there was an inscription on it. Everything was then left as found, the cathe- dral doors locked, and a guard placed around them, the keys being left in the possession of Canon Bellini. On the tenth of September the box was taken out, in the presence of the civil, ecclesiastical and military author- ities of the capital, of the consular corps, and a great number of natives and foreigners. Only a superficial examination of the bones could be made at that time, but it seemed pat- ent to everybody present that at last the veritable re- mains of Columbus had been brought to light, and no one there doubted. The enthusiasm manifested by the people bordered THE C'OLUMBl.S CASKET. (^End View.) 376 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. cn delirium, and so, says the local historian, "If it be permitted to those who have left this vale of tears to enjoy what afterward occurs on earth, then Columbus must have felt unbounded satisfaction, almost equal to that when his eyes for the first time contemplated the shores of America, in seeing that the discovery of his THK COLUMBUS CASKET. {Front View.) remains, forgotten during so many centuries, caused such deep emotion in the hearts of so many people." An examination of the contents of the lead case re- vealed human bones crumbling and fragmentary, and only a few parts of the skeleton complete, the skull entirely reduced to dust; even those bones appearing entire at the discovery were found to have rapidly :m WHERE IS THE TOMB OF COLUMBUS? 377 decomposed at an examination some six months later. Besides the bones and dust, a bullet was found in the case, and a silver plate. The box in which the remains were found is entirely of lead, and when closed is twenty-three centimeters high, forty-four long, and twenty-one wide. The lid is forty-four centimeters long and twenty-one wide, with an overlapping edge in front and on the sides, and like the box is made of a single sheet of lead. The box is in a good state of preservation, and it is impossible to state whether it had been buried one, two, or three hundred years, as it is well known that lead after long exposure becomes covered with a thin coating of pro- toxide, which preserves it for centuries without other alteration. The color is dark gray, or of oxide of lead, such as would naturally result from the exposure. As to its preservation : the vault in which it was found is entirely of stone and brick, very dry, and without wood or any other substance that could affect the metal. On the outside of the lid was this inscription: D. de la A. Per Ate ^'^ which was interpreted to mean, "Dis- coverer of America, First Admiral." It has been ad- vanced, as an argument against the authenticity of these remains, that the term "America" was not in use at the time the remains of Columbus were brought to Santo Domingo, and hence the inscription must be spurious, and fraud was implied, if not alleged. Re- garding the "fraud," no one acquainted with the cir- cumstances of discovery and the high character of the people concerned, will for a moment admit it; and it has been satisfactorily shown that the term America 378 IN THE WAKE OF COLUMBUS. was in iise as early as 1520, or sixteen years at least be- fore the translation of the remains. On the inside of the lid were the words, ^'' I litre y Edo Varon^ Dn Cristoval Colon.'' On the right end of the case was the letter A^ on the left end and on the front, C. The silver plate found in the case also had inscribed on it the name and pa£l*<^ ^-^ tosinoian \si i una. TicifX 3/ttxefoote. ^^^ '" I, -.1 Uo^ 6»,a»t Ct.Ji}C