Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-19

part of it's miscellaneous oollec-
ton a document until recently pract1-
cally overlooked by students, which Is
remarkable for it's historical value.
Besides a memorandum or two by Co
lumbus, it is the first original descr1p-
tion of American by an actual OBJ
server. 1t is q letter by DR.. Diego
Alvarez Chanca, physician to the heet
of Columbus on his second voyage OF
discovery to America, dated at the
port of Isabella, Santo Domingo, at
the end of January, 1494. The trans
lation is by DIR. A. M. Fernandez de
Ybarra a member of the New YORK
academy of sciences, who is thorough
ly familiar with the history of Column
bus and his times.
DR.. Chanca, the author of the letter,
had been especially appointed by the
Spanish monarchS to accompany that
expedition not only on account of its
great political and commercial import
ance. but also because among the loVO
persons who came over from Europe
to America in that fleet were several
distinguished court personages and
large number of young gentlemen pc
longing to aristocrattc famllles, rest
less and daring warriors who had done
excellent military service in the war
lust successfully ended against the
Moors of Spain.
"Mingling with men of Spain, says
DR.. Ybarra, "who came over TO amer
lea in that expedition L may mention
the following: Juan Ponce qe Leon,
the future conqueror of Porto Rico ana
later on the discoverer of Florida;
Alfonso de Ojeda, the future discoV-
erer and explorer of the north coast OIL
South America, who with the ltalan'
Amerigo Vespucci, made his hrst TRIP
to the new world. named after MINI
Pietro Margarit the subsequent as
coverer Of the archipelago TO Whlcn ne
gave the name of Marguerite Isles;
Juan de la Cosa, the expert cosmog.
rapher, author of the first map Oh
America in existence, drawn by MIN
in the year 1900, and now in the RoyaI
Naval museum at Madrid, and many
other men whose names are 1nsepar-
ably Connected with the very early MIS-
tory of America"
The letter itself is live narrative
of personal happenings and observa-
tions told with the ready wit and quick
oerception of the humorous SIDE OIL
events characteristic of Andaluslans
or the people of southern Spain. 1t re-
lates. with now and then dett de-
sprictive touch, the experiences OF that
venturesome band in search among
the cannibal islands of the West In
had left the year before.
The expedition set sail from Cadlz
September %, 1893, and the voyage
across consumed between five and SIX
weeks.
The following is from DR.. Chanca's
letter:
"On the first Sunday after All Saints
day, namely, the third of November,
about dawn, a pilot of the ship Capt.
tana cried out: The reward! 1 see
land!'
"The joy of the peole was so great
that ii was wonderful to hear their
exclamations of pleasure; and they
had good reason to be delighted, Tor
they had become so wearied of bad
living and Of working the water out
of the leaky ships that all sighed most
anxiously for land"
DR.. Chanca gives vivid account or
their search for a harbor, of their first
landing upon an unidentified shore,
the new fruits they found, and pic
lures of the towering mountains and
fresh streams. Some of the men, he
says, not very prudently tasted of
some of the wild fruit and upon only
touching them to their tongues their
mouths and cheeks became swollen,
and they suffered such great heat and
pain that they seemed by their ac-
LlOuS DIS IL IliCy "CIC NicHJ' "'AfN 49,
obliged to resort to cooling aplica-
tions to ease the pain and the dis
comfort
They Immediately sailed on in search
of new wonders, which they found in
the form of a new island.
LAS soon as we approached the ISL |
and the admiral ordered a light caraval
to run along the coast to search for |
harbor. The captain of this small
vessel put into land in boat, and see
ing some houses leapt on shore and |
went up to them, the inhabitants flee |
ing at the sight of our men. He then |
entered the houses and found therein |
various household articles that had |
been left unremoVed, from among |
which he took two parrots, very large |
and quite different from the parrots |
we had before seen. He found also a |
great quantity of cotton, both spun
and already prepared for spinning, and |
provisions of food, of all of which he |
brought with him a portion. Besides |
these articles Of food he likewise |
brought away with him four or five |
bones of human arms and legs. When |
we saw those bones We imediately |
suspected that we were among the
Carribhee islands, whose inhabitants |
eat human flesh, because the admiral, |
guided by the information he had re- |
ceived from the Indians he had dis |
covered during his former voyage, |
had directed the course of our ships |
with a view to finding them, both on
account of these Carribbee 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 he returned to Spain. |
Thither, by the gr~ce of God and the !
wise management of the admiral, we
came in as straight a channel as if we |
had sailed by we'll 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 n boy about fourteen |
years Of age, who said he was one of |
the prisoners taken by these people, |
Another detachment brought in a little !
boy whom a man was leading by the |
hand, but he left him and fled. This |
boy was sent on board Immediately |
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 |
paptiVe ones who came yVi1lino olU apd |