The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-07-14

The first original description of
America ever written has just been
discovered 1t was penned by DR..
Diego Alvarez Chanca, physician to
the second fleet of Columbus, and was
dated at the Port of Isabella, Santo
Domingo. in 1894. 1t throws light on
the habits and customs of the first
families of the land, on cannibalism
there and on other features of life. The
writing physician got all his informa"
ton first hand, and he seems to have
done good bit of work. Ponce de
Leon was one of his companions.
Dr. Fernandez de Ybarra, of the New
York Academy of Sciences, with the
Smithsonian Institute of Washington
4 aiding and abetting, uncovered the doc
y ument. 1t makes one of the most valu-
able pieces of Americana found in
long time. 1t is packed with all sorts
of information.
LAS soon as we approached the
island the letter runs in telling of
the West Indies, the Admiral ordered
a light caravel to run along the coast
to search for a harbor. The Captain
of this small vessel put into land in
a boat, and seeing some houses leapt
on shore and went up to them. the in
habitants fleeing at the sight of our
men.
He then entered the houses and
found therein various household ar
ticles that had been left unremoved.
from among which he took two par
rots. very large and quite different
from the parrots we had before seen,
He found also a great quantity of
cotton, both spun and already pre-
pared for spinning, and provisions of
food, of all of which he brought along
with him portion.
Besides those articles of food, he
likewise brought away with him four
or five bones of human arms and legs.
When we saw those bones we imme-
sdiately suspected that we were among
the Caribbee Islands, whose inhab-
jtants eat human flesh, because the Ad-
mfral guided by the information he
had received from the Indians he had
discovered during his former voyage
had directed the course of our ships
with a view Of finding them, both on
account of these Caribbee Islands be-
ing nearest TO Spain and also in the
direct track to the island of Hispan-
lola, where he had left some of his
,men when ne returned to Spain.
n "Thither by the grace of God and the
wise management of the Admiral, we
came in as straight a channel as if we
had sailed by a well-known and much
frequented route.
IN the morning several detachments
of our men under their respective Cap
tains started in different directions.
One of the parties returned at the din
ner hour with a boy about II years Of
age. who said he was one of the prfs-
-oners taken by these people.
Another detachment brought in
little boy whom a man was leading by
the hand, but he left him and fled.
This boy was sent on board immediate
" with some of our men. Other de-
tachments remained away longer, and
brought along with them several wo-
men. natives of this island together
with other women from among the
captive ones. who came willingly and
of their own accord.
THE Captain of another detachment
of six men, not knowing that we al
ready had information about the in
habitants of this island, advanced
further away into the interior, and all
were lost. They could not find their
way back to the coast until after four
days"
OF the horrible customs among the
natives among whom this party was
lost. DR.. Chanca writes:
'sSuch of their male enemies as they
can take away alive they bring here
TO their homes to make feast OF them
and those who were killed in battle
they eat UP after the fighting is over.
: They claim that the flesh Of man Is
$50 good to eat that nothing like it can
be compared to it in the world; ana
this is pretty evident for of human
bones we found in their houses every
thing that could be gnawed had al
ready been enawed, so that nothing
else remained of them but what was
too hard to be eaten.
In one of the houses we found the
meek OF a man undergoing the process