In ages past, these caverns were the dwelling-places, or at least the stopping-places, of Indians, and in many of them are vast quantities of sea-shells, among which one finds stone implements and prehistoric pottery. Here, too, the natives declare, is buried treasure, and while even the imaginative Dominicans do not contend that any has ever been found, yet, if the buccaneers ever did hide loot in Santo Domingo, here among these myriad caves was the ideal spot.
Beyond these hills and opposite Trade Wind Cay is a long, sandy point covered with a vast growth of coconut-palms, self-planted from the cargo of a wrecked vessel which went to pieces in the bay years ago; and along the beach quantities of amber may be found. To be sure, no perfect specimens and no large masses have been secured, but the natives gather it, when they are not too [[209]]lazy to take the trouble, and sell it to the padres, who use it for incense in the churches.
But we upon the Vigilant could spare no time to search for the bits of fossil gum, and so, having made the circuit of the bay, we stood once more to sea and swinging northward heeled to a thrashing wind upon our beam and sped on toward Puerto Plata. [[210]]
CHAPTER XII
THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BUCCANEERS
Sailing along the shores of Santo Domingo, one realizes the aptness of the graphic illustration of the island’s appearance with which, tradition says, Columbus answered Queen Isabella’s queries. The great discoverer, according to the story, seized a sheet of parchment, crumpled it in his hands, and, dropping it on the table before his queen, exclaimed, “That is like Hispaniola!”
And nothing could be more like a crumpled piece of parchment than the tumbled, serrated mass of ridges, hills, mountains, and peaks of this great island. Wild, forest-covered, sublime in their grandeur, the mountains of Santo Domingo rise in endless succession, and one marvels that the old Dons, a mere handful of men, could ever have penetrated its fastnesses and subdued and exterminated the Indians. But the Spaniards with all their faults were made of stern stuff,—real “he men,”—and fired with the zeal of conquest, the fanatical determination to spread their faith among the heathen, [[211]]and an insatiable lust for gold, they accomplished marvels and performed deeds which seem well-nigh impossible. Let anyone to-day, equipped with every device and convenience and in the lightest clothing, step ashore on the coast of Santo Domingo and penetrate to the interior through the unbroken jungle, and he will feel, when he reaches his journey’s end,—if, indeed, he ever does,—that he has performed a mighty feat. Climbing precipitous mountain sides, swimming rivers, fording streams, crawling up dry watercourses, hewing his way an inch at a time through the tangled vegetation; beset by biting insects, drenched with rain, torn by thorns and razor-grass, and exhausted with the steaming heat, he finds such a trip enough to try the stoutest nerves and the strongest muscles. But imagine undertaking such an expedition when clad in armor! Think of attempting the journey weighted down with mail, carrying a clumsy match-lock or a massive cross-bow, a heavy sword, a pike or halberd, and harassed by hostile Indians at every step. But the old Dons did it, did it and won out, though literally living off the country, knowing not what might meet them at their journey’s end, and completely cut off from civilization and their fellows.
Of course they achieved their object at the cost [[212]]of a tremendous loss of life. If one hundred men set forth and a dozen won safely through, it was doing well, and rarely did more than ten per cent. of their number return in safety from their expeditions into the untrod jungles of the New World. But to them the lives of men-at-arms, of the common soldier or adventurer, were nothing; and the more that fell by the way, the more loot there would be to divide among the survivors. We must bear this in mind when thinking of the early days of the West Indies and the Spanish Main, for it was this utter disregard of life that enabled both Dons and buccaneers to perform deeds which, were they not incontrovertible historical facts, we should consider absolutely impossible.
Here, on the northern shores of Hispaniola, the Spaniards landed and marched inland to the vast interior Vega Real or Royal Plain and the Cibao district with its golden sands; and there on the high interior plains they founded and built the cities of La Vega, Moca, and Santiago de los Caballeros, cities which still stand. In these cities are many lineal descendants of the conquistadors, and in their dwellings one may still find weapons and pieces of armor which have been handed down through the centuries. Indeed, in the ruins of La Vega la Antigua, which was destroyed by an earthquake in [[213]]1564, one may yet dig up ancient Spanish coins, old Toledo blades, and other relics; and throughout the island one sees the natives armed with home-made machetes fashioned from old swords they have salvaged from the ruins of this once rich and famous town.