Evening star., 1898-12-24

| off on a cruise by herself her commander,
Pinzon. defying the admirars authority.
When the flagship struck the reef she was
only four or five miles from Guarico, the
| seat of King Guacanagari's court, and since
| ascertained to be near and on the shore of
| the present bay of Cape Haitien. Appeal
| ed to by messenger from Columbus. he
promptly sent out fleet of canoes, and so
Jealous and industrious were his Indian
subjects that every article on the ship was
soon carried ashore. and then the vessel
dismantled and the wreckage also sent to
| Guarico. These details have been preserved
| through the accounts of Columbus and To-
cal traditions and can be relied upon as
| accurate.
Thus 1t came about that Columbus per-
force. celebrated the first Christmas ever
observed in the new world guest Of an
Indian king or cacique. Christmas that
year fell on Tuesday, and It was on Monday
evening, the oath of December, that the i'll
| fated vessel left Acul for Guarico. and
| shortly after midnight that she ran on the
| reef Christmas morn had dawned and the
day was well begun before the wreckage
of the Santa Maria was ashore and Column
| bus could bring himself to leave his de-
voted craft. Then he was carried in n ca
noe to Guarico, where the king received
| him with the deepest sympathy, shedding
| tears at his mishaps and placing all his
| of that Christmas morning shone with
| tropic ferver. the dewy thickets of precious
woods exhaled delicious odors, the birds
| caroled their welcomes to the morn. Yet
these shipwrecked sailors noticed not the
| signs of awakening life about them SO
plunged were they in deep despondency.''
| Christmas Morning.
"And this was Christmas morning. This
was the first recognition of the birth of
| the Christ Child in this new world, then
| but just brought to light And how did
| they pass the day? At first deep gloom en-
wrapped them all-these hundred men, 1000
| miles from home and with but ons frail
caravel to take them back. But the King
was unwearied in his attentions: his grief
at the disaster was sincere and manifest
and his attempts to divert them from their
troubles so delicately proffered that finally
nope returned to cheer them, and they be-
gan to think upon their blessings"
King Guacanagari ordered d great feast
prepared, consisting of native roots. called
aJis, bread known as ''cassava." Indian
corn or maiZe-the Latin name, by the way
since derived from that bestowed by these
very Indians. "ma-is;'' fish from the sea-
small animals from the woods like "utias"
and iguas, captured among the mangroves
along the shore. Columbus and the Span
lardS with him thought these iguanas were
huge serpents, and at first refused to eat
them, but later overcame their repugnance
and devoured the delicate flesh with gusto
After the banquet. at which the visitors
We're served by Indian maidens clad solely
in garments of native modcsty. the cacique
cleanSed his hands by rubbing them with
fragrant herbs, after the manner of King
Montezuma of Mexico, and then washed
them with care
Columbus says of him and his subjects in
the Journal he was writing for his sover-
eignS: $50 loving so tractable so peacea-
bic are these people that | swear to your
maJestieS thee is not in the world a bet
ter nation nor a better land. They love
their neighbors as themselves and their
discourse is ever sweet and gentle and ac-
companied with smile, and, though it is
true that they go naked, yet their manners
are decorous and praiseworthy'
The gentle natives seemed to live for
pleasure only, cultivating merely such
fields of corn and cassava as would suffice
for their simple needs, and spending most
of their time in song and dancing. Some
OF their simple airs have been preserved
TO this day, and little way in the in
terror frC m the place at which Columbus
was entertained a great cave is shown to-
day, from which, it is said, issued the first
Indians from heaven to people the world.
Today, alas! where the gueess and cul-
tured Indians danced and sang held their
feasts and played their games, a race of
darker hue, more brutal and scarcely more
civilized than they, hold possession of the
Sotl. Across the bay, at Cape Haitien, later
took place some of the horrible massacres
that stain the pages of history; there thou
sands of Frenchmen perished while vainly
endeaVoring to perform their impossible
task of subdufng Haiti at the behest of
Bonaparte; there Napoleon's sister lost her
husband, and thence the great Touissant
IOuverture was borne captive, to die an
eSIle III ne WnOle coast mas reek
| ed with blood, the seas have been stained
with human Sore-the seas that wash these
shores-first of Indians, then of Spaniards,
| Frenchmen and Englishmen.
Terrible Sequel.
1t would seem hardly possible that the
| Spaniards should come back to this earth
| ly paradise with murderous intent, after
the treatment met with by this first band
| Of them that ever landed on it's shores. But
| such was the fact, for but a few years
| thereafter not an Indian was to be found
alive! This terrible sequel was brought
about by King Guacanagari's generosity
First he rescued Columbus and his crew
| and saved their property. to the last nail
and bolt in the stranded vessel.
! Then, after feeding the poor wretches
! and giving them shelter, his willing SUBJ
| jects, at his commands. brought all the
gold they could find and gave 1t to the
| Spaniards Finding that the one small car
avel remaining could not carry all the
| men back to Spain, Columbus resolved to
| build fort and leave i garrison, to hold
| the place and seek for gold, while he
should voyage home, and until his return
the following year. With the aid of the
natives a small fort was constructed in
| less than week, and called 'Navidad,' in
honor of the day on which the wreck
| CURED (the day of the nativity and left in
| charge of garrison of some forty men.
Christmas day, 1892, had seen these Span
iardS caStaways and at the mercy of the
indian CdclQue, New L ear Oay, l4J3, 1Ound
them once again themselves and ready for
| departure. So expeditions had been their
work that scarce a week sutficed to con-
| struct, out of the timbers and planks of
| the flagship, a strong fort, with a deep
vault beneath and surrounded by a ditch.
| Its site has been approximately determined,
| and near it not many years ago an authen-
| tic relic of the shipwreck was discovered
| in the shape of an anchor from the Santa
Maria" This ancient anchor was acquired
| by an agent of the Chicago exposition, and
| was placed on exhibition in the convent of
| La Rabida in 1S93-one of the most precious
| relics in that interesting building.
Returning the Compliment.
As Guacanagari had feasted the Span
| iards on Christmas day, in truth every day
| of their sojourn with him, Columbus re-
turned the compliment by inviting the
| cacique to a banquet, which took place,
| according to some accounts, on New Years,
| three days before the time set for his de-
| parture. And, the Indian had surprised
| the strangers with some palatable prepara-
| tions for the table, Columbus had a lit
| tie surprise for Guacanagan. In short, he
| sent aboard ship for a gunner and a Moor