Said the Shadow;
I believe now that the
light I saw was a sign from God. I hauled in all the sails but the
mainsail, and lay still til daylight. At dawn we saw naked people,
and went ashore in the ship's boat, armed, with the other ship'
captains, and unfurled the royal banners. Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia
bore witness and faith that I was taking possession of the island for
the King and Queen.
No sooner than we had
concluded the formalities of taking possession, than people began
coming to the beach, all naked as their mothers bore them. They are a
very well built people, with handsome bodies and fine faces. Many
paint their faces, others their whole bodies. Some are painted black,
others white, some red or different colors. They are a friendly, well
dispositioned people who bare no arms, except small spears.
They ought to make good
and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to
them. I think they can easily be made Christians, for they seem to
have no religion. They brought balls of spun cotton, spears, a kind
of dry leaf they hold in great esteem, and parrots. Other than
parrots, I have seen no other beast on this island. I have been very
attentive and tried to find out if there is any gold here. I have
seen a few natives who wear a little piece of gold hanging from the
nose, and if I interpret them correctly, I have learned that by going
south I may find a king who possesses great containers of it.
I cannot get over how
docile these people are. They have so little to give, but will give
it all. I kept moving so that I may give an account of everything to
Your Highnesses, also I wanted to see if I could find a suitable
place to build a fort, though I do not think this is necessary, as
these people are very unskilled in arms. With 50 men you could
subject everyone and make them do what you wished. Christopher Columbus
Said the Reflection:
I have only one heart,
one tongue. Though you say, Go to another country, my heart is not
that way. I do not wish for any money for my land. I am here, and
here is where I am going to be. I will not part with my lands, and if
you come again, I will say the same thing.
My young men will never
work. Men who work cannot dream, and wisdom comes to us in dreams.
Your wisdom is poor and weak, and of no value to us indians, who must
must learn the highest wisdom from dreams. Each one must seek for
himself the highest wisdom. It cannot be taught. You were given the
wisdom of your race. Be content.
Our work lasts only for
a few weeks. It is natural work and does us no harm, but the work of
the white man hardens the soul and body. Nor is it right to tear up
and mutilate the earth as white men do. We simply take the gifts that
are freely offered. We no more harm the earth than would an infant's
fingers harm its mother's breast, but white man tears up large tracts
of land, runs deep ditches, cuts down forests and changes the face of
the earth. You know very well this is not right. Every honest man
knows in his heart this is wrong.
You ask me to plow the
ground! Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I
die she will not take me to rest. You ask me to dig for stone! Shall
I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I shall not enter her
body to be born again. You ask me to cut grass, make hay, and be rich
like a white man. It is a bad law and we will not obey it. I want my
people to stay with me here. All the dead will come to life again.
Their spirits will come into their bodies again. We must wait here in
the homes of our fathers, and be ready to meet them. Smohalla
No comments:
Post a Comment