Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/235

 by the Spaniards. The other smaller Ilands haue bene inhabited by the Indians, and haue had good store of gold, pearles, and emeraldes; but the Spaniards haue destroyed most of those Indians from off the earth, and in many of those Ilands there is nothing of any value, wherefore I haue small cause to intreate any further of them.

But Hispaniola is an Iland of great bignesse, and hath bene very full of people, and abounded with mines of golde and with pearles, but now all is wasted away. It was at the Spaniards first coming thither, as full of inhabitants as any place of that bignesse in the whole world, yet now there are none left:

for they were men of so hard a heart, that they murthered themselues rather then they would serue the Spaniards: for being men vnder so small ciuill gouernment as they were, neuer was there any people knowen of so resolute and desperate mindes: for oftentimes a great number of them being together ouer night, they should be found all dead before the morning: such extreme hate did this brutish people beare against the Spaniards, that they chose rather to die the death, then to indure their insolencies. It happened on a time, that a Spaniard calling certaine Indians to worke in the mines (which labour of all others did most grieue them) they, rather then they would goe, offered to lay violent hands on themselues: which the Spaniard perceiuing sayd vnto them:

seeing you will hang your selues rather then goe and worke, I likewise will hang my selfe and will beare you company, because I will make you worke in an other world: but the Indians hearing this, replied, we will willingly worke with you here, to the intent you may not goe with vs into another world: so vnwilling were they of the Spaniards companie. So that of all the inhabitantes of this Iland there were none that escaped death, saue onely these fewe, which came to passe by the meanes of this one Spaniarde, otherwise they would haue hanged themselues also. Some of these people are yet liuing, but very few. This Iland of Hispaniola is for the most part called The Ile of Sant Domingo, because the chiefe citie thereof is so called, which was the first citie in all the West Indies that was inhabited.

There are in this citie aboue eight hundred fire-houses of good building inhabited by Gentlemen of great wealth. This Iland is vnhealthfull, for it raineth here the most part of the yeere. The