BOOK III. Spaniard, whom he thought fit, such and such Ch. 1. lands, to be worked by such a Cacique and his people—a very different procedure to giving men -a feudal system,* not a system of slavery. Let no one say that the Indians were to be blamed for keeping away from the Spaniards, or that this aversion of theirs to join their invaders, showed any inaptness for civilization. Such arguments were of great force in those days, but cannot be accepted now. These Indians were sufficiently provided with the principal means of living, and even with some of the luxuries of life, before Columbus set foot in their island: and what did the so-called civilization of the Spaniards offer them? What peace, what love, reasonably what beauty or holiness of life, did they see Indians averse to Spaniards. The society of amongst the Spaniards, that should have tempted any sane Indian to take up his abode amongst these new men—especially if his companionship was only to be some form of servitude? civilized man did not then possess those "firewaters" which are now so potent in attracting and clearing off the savages adjacent to the outskirts of civilization. The Indians possessed already what excitement or distraction can be obtained from intoxicating liquors - the produce of certain roots or fruits of their own *"De consiguiente los com- los naturales á la condicion de pañeros de la empresa debian villanos feudatarios."—Muñoz, tener su parte en lo ganado, y Hist. del Nuevo-Mundo, lib. 6, ser establecidos y heredados alli cap. 50. en calidad de señores, reducidos Hatuey's of the and were not obliged to go to the Spaniards for Book III. those dangerous allurements. The implements, Ch. 1. dress, and toys of the new comers may have had some attraction for the Indians, but surely not enough to conquer their reasonable distaste for Spanish bloodhounds. And as for any inducements which the Spanish religion held out to the Indians, we may judge how far these were understood, or estimated, by the story of Hatuey, Cacique of a part of Cuba, who had spies at Hispaniola to keep him informed of the proceedings of the Spaniards there. He was in apprehension that they would come, as they afterwards did, to his Cacique territory; so, calling his people together, and re- opinion counting the cruelties of the Spaniards, he said Spaniards. that they did all these things for a great lord whom they loved much, which lord he would now show them. Accordingly he produced a small basket filled with gold. "Here is the lord whom they serve, and after whom they go, and, as you have heard, already they are longing to pass over to this place, not pretending more than to seek this lord; wherefore, let us make to him here a festival and dances, so that when they come, he may tell them to do us no Christians. harm." The Indians approved this counsel, and danced round the gold, until they were exhausted, when the Cacique turned to them and said, that * "Veis aqui su señor a este mos le aqui fiesta, y bayles, sirven, y tras este andan, y como porque quando vengan, les diga aueys oydo, ya quieren passar que no nos hagan mal."-HERaca, no pretendiendo mas de bus- RERA, Hist. de las Indias, dec. car este señor, y por tanto haga- 1, lib. 9, cap. 3. Idol of the BOOK III. they should not keep the god of the Christians Ch. 1. anywhere, for were it even in their entrails, it would be torn out, but that they should throw it in the river, that the Christians might not know where it was. "And so," says the account, "they threw it." There is something so ironical in this story, that it almost seems as if it had been invented by some good Dominican in the Indies, as a satire on his parishioners; and it may have crept into history without good warrant. We shall not be wrong, however, in concluding that the inducements held out, either by the religion, or the polity, which the Spaniards exhibited in the Indies, were not such as to lead any Indian to give up his freedom willingly, and to come and live in fellowship with them and their dogs. An impartial observer would have thought much more slightly of the mental powers of the Indians if they had shown this willingness; and he would have pronounced those Indians the wisest who betook themselves at once to the remotest and most inaccessible parts of the island, or who, by war or artifice, strove most unremittingly to get rid of their invaders. Before the Catholic Sovereigns had authorized Ovando to give repartimientos of the peaceful Indians of Hispaniola, these monarchs had issued an edict allowing the capture of Cannibals when rebels. In this edict are recounted the steps which had previously been taken on behalf of these Cannibals,-how it had been forbidden to permitted. capture them, how some that had been captured Book III. had been sent back; yet as they still persevered Ch. 1. in their idolatrous and cannibal ways (idolatrando y comiendo los dichos Indios), and also persevered Capture of in attacking her peaceful Indian subjects, it was Cannibals now declared by Isabella that if the Cannibals would not receive her Captains, and listen to them in order to be instructed in the Faith, and to be taken into her service and under her sway, they might be made captives.* As was to be expected, this permission led to great abuse. "Si todavía los dichos Cani- cualesquier partes é logares do bales resistieren, é non quisieren quisieren é por bien tovieren, rescibir é acoger en sus tierras á pagándonos la parte que dellos los Capitanes é gentes que por nos pertenesca, é para que los mi mandado fueren á facer los puedan vender é aprovecharse dichos viages, é oirlos para ser dellos, sin que por ello cayan nin dotrinados en las cosas de nuestra incurran en pena alguna, porque Santa Fe Católica, é estar en mi trayéndose á estas partes é serservicio é so mi obediencia, los viéndose dellos los Cristianos, puedan cautivar é cautiven para podrán ser mas ligeramente conlos llevar á las tierras é Islas vertidos é atraidos á nuestra donde fueren, é para que los Santa Fe Católica."-Apendice, puedan traer é traigan á estos NAVARRETE, Col. Dip., Núm. mis Reinos é Señoríos, é á otras 17. Book III. Ch. 2. Ovando's administration. CHAPTER II. IN OVANDO'S MODE OF MANAGING THE SPANIARDS- BUT UT we must return to Hispaniola, where worse things than capturing Cannibals were about to take place. Before entering, however, upon that part of Ovando's administration, which it is impossible not to condemn, we must premise that in his government of the Spaniards he seems to have been exceedingly successful. He caused many towns to be built; he founded a hospital, dedicated to St. Nicholas, for the poor; he boldly resisted the King's ministers at home, when he thought they were acting prejudicially to the colony; he probably appointed, and certainly maintained in office, one of the best judges that ever was known in the Indies-one who sought, as a good citizen, to compose differences and abridge law proceedings, "avoiding the expense of paper and ink, which with other judges is wont to be more grievous and costly than the blood of those who have their heads broken"-doing these good works in the streets and public places as he |