[17] Cuba, die Perle der Antillen, p. 72. (Leipzig, 1831.) The vocabulary contains 33 words, “aus dem Cubanischen.” Many are incorrect both in spelling and pronunciation.
[18] When Columbus returned from his first voyage, he brought with him ten natives from the Bay of Samana in Haiti, and a few from Guanahani.
[19] See the remarks of Richardo in the Prologo to his Diccionario Provincial.
[20] The remarks of Peter Martyr are; “posse omnium illarum linguam nostris literis Latinis, sine ullo discrimine, scribi compertum est,” (De Rebus Oceanicis et Novo Orbe, Decades Tres, p. 9.) “Advertendum est, nullam inesse adspirationem vocabulis corum, quae non habeat effectum literae consonantis; immo gravius adspirationem proferunt, quam nos f consonantem. Proferendumque est quicquid est adspiratum eodum halitu quo f, sed minime admoto ad superiores dentes inferiore labello, ore aut aperto ha, he hi, ho, hu, et concusso pectore. Hebraeos et Arabicos eodem modo suas proferre adspirationes vides,” (id. pp. 285, 286.)
[21] There was a ball-ground in every village. It was “tres veces mas luenga que ancha, cercada de unos lomillos de un palmo o dos de alto.” The ball was “como las de viento nuestras mas no cuanto al salto, que era mayor que seis de las de viento.” (Las Casas, Historia Apologetica, caps. 46, 204.) Perhaps the ball was of India rubber.
[22] “Gue ou Gui, signal de vocativo, mas so empregado pelos homems.” Dias Diccionario da Lingua Tupy chamada Lingua Geral dos Indigenas do Brazil, p. 60 (Lipsia, 1858).
[23] De Rebus Oceanicis, p. 303.
[24] Hist. de las Indias, lib. xvii. cap. 4, Las Casas denies the story, and says Oviedo told it in order to prejudice people against the natives (Hist. Gen. de las Indias, lib. iii. cap. xxiv). It is, however, probably true.
[25] Historia Apologetica, cap. 198.
[26] He compares the signification of ita in Haytian to ita in Latin, and translates the former ita by no se; this is plainly an error of the transcriber for yo se (Hist. Apologetica, cap. 241).