Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-09-17
CHAPTER VIM.
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While awaiting the return Of his en-
bassadors the admiral ordered the ships
to be careened and repaired, and employ
ed himself i'll collecting information con-
corning the country. On the day after
their departure he ascended the river in
boats for the distance Of two leagues I'M
til he came to fresh water Here land
ing, he climbed q hill TO obtain view of
the interior. His view, however, was
shut in by thick and lofty forests Of wild
but beautiful luxuriance Among the
trees were some which he considered
inaloes; many were odoriferous, and
he doubted not possessed valuable aro-
matte qualities. There was a general
eagerness among the voyagers to find
the precious articles Of commerce which
grow in the favored clilnes of the east.
and their i1naginations were continually
deceived By their hopes
For two or three days the admiral was
excited by reports of cinnamon trees and
nutmegs and rhubarb: but oh examina-
ton they all proved fallacious. He
showed the natives specimens Of those
and various other spices ard drugs, and
understood from them that those arti-
cles abounded to the southeast He
showed them gold and pearls, also, and
several old Indians spoke of a country
where the natives wore ornaments Of
them round their necks, arms and an
kles They repeatedly mentioned the
word Bohio, which Columbus supposed
to be the name Of the place III question,
and that it was some rich district or
island. They mingled, however, great
extravagancies with their imperfect ac-
counts, describing nations at a distance
who had but one eye; others who had
the heads Of dogs and who were canni-
bals-cutting the throats of their prison
ers and sucking their blood
All these reports Of gold and pearls
and spices, many Of which were prob
ably fabrications to please the admiral,
tended to keep mp the persuasion that he
was among the valuable coasts and is
lands Of the east On making q fire to
heat the tar for careening the ships the
seamen found that the wood they burned
sent forth powerful odor, and, on ex-
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The wood abounded in the neighboring
forests, insomuch that Columbus flatter-
ed himself thousand quintals Of this
precious gum might be collected every
year, and more abundant supply pro-
cured than that furnished by Scios and
other islands Of the Archipelago In the
course Of their researches i'll the vegetable
&c
merce, they met with the potato, hum
BILE root, little valued at the time, but a
more precious acquisition to man than
all the spices Of the east.
On the 9th Of November the two em-
bassadors returned, and every one
crowded to hear tidings Of the interior
Of the country, and Of the prince to
whose capital they had been sent. After
penetrating twelve leagues they had
come to a village Of fifty houses, built
similarly To those Of the coast, but
larger, the whole village containing at
least thousand inhabitants The ma
tives received them with great solem-
nifty, conducted them to the best house
and placed them in what appeared to be
intended for chairs of state, being
wrought out Of single pieces of wood,
into forms of quadrupeds. They then
offered them fruits and vegetables.
Having complied with the laws Of saw
age courtesy and hospitality, they seated
themselves on the ground around their
visitors, and waited to hear what they
had 10 communicates
The Israeiite. Luis de Torres, found
his Hebrew, Chaldaic and Arabic of no
avail, and the Lucayen interpreter had
to be the orator He made regular
speech after the Indian manner, in which
he extolled the power. the wealth and
munificence Of the white man. When
he had finished, She Indians crowded
round these wonderful beings, whom, as
usual, they considered more than human.
Some touched them examining their
skin and raiment, Others kissed their
hands and feet in token Of submission or
alteration In little while the men
withdrew and were succeeded by the
women, and the same ceremonies were
repeated Some Of the women had a
E1lE LII COfCllHS Va tfftttA COttOn c4Ob4AA
the middle, but IN general both sexes
were entirely naked There seemed to
be ranks and orders Of society among
them, and a chieftain of some authority,
whereas among all the natives they had
previously met with complete equality
seemed to prevail
There was no appearance of gold or
other precious articles, and when they
showed specimens 0f cinnamon, pepper
and other spices, the inhabitants told
them they were not to be found in that
neighborhood. but far off to the south
west.
The envoys determined, therefore, to
return to the ships. The natives would
fain have indnced them to remain for