The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, vol 2 | Page 6

the
chief of which, on being baptized, took the name of Juan Mateo. The
conversion of the cacique Guarionex, however, was their main object.
The extent of his possessions made his conversion of great importance
to the interests of the colony, and was considered by the zealous fathers
a means of bringing his numerous subjects under the dominion of the
church. For some time he lent a willing ear; he learnt the Pater Noster,
the Ave Maria, and the Creed, and made his whole family repeat them
daily. The other caciques of the Vega and of the provinces of Cibao,
however, scoffed at him for meanly conforming to the laws and
customs of strangers, usurpers of his domains, and oppressors of his
nation. The friars complained that, in consequence of these evil
communications, their convert suddenly relapsed into infidelity; but
another and more grievous cause is assigned for his recantation. His
favorite wife was seduced or treated with outrage by a Spaniard of
authority; and the cacique renounced all faith in a religion which, as he
supposed, admitted of such atrocities. Losing all hope of effecting his
conversion, the missionaries removed to the territories of another
cacique, taking with them Juan Mateo, their Indian convert. Before
their departure, they erected a small chapel, and furnished it with an
altar, crucifix, and images, for the use of the family of Mateo.
Scarcely had they departed, when several Indians entered the chapel,
broke the images in pieces, trampled them under foot, and buried them
in a neighboring field. This, it was said, was done by order of
Guarionex, in contempt of the religion from which he had apostatized.
A complaint of this enormity was carried to the Adelantado, who
ordered a suit to be immediately instituted, and those who were found
culpable, to be punished according to law. It was a period of great rigor

in ecclesiastical law, especially among the Spaniards. In Spain, all
heresies in religion, all recantations from the faith, and all acts of
sacrilege, either by Moor or Jew, were punished with fire and fagot.
Such was the fate of the poor ignorant Indians, convicted of this
outrage on the church. It is questionable whether Guarionex had any
hand in this offence, and it is probable that the whole affair was
exaggerated. A proof of the credit due to the evidence brought forward
may be judged by one of the facts recorded by Roman Pane, "the poor
hermit." The field in which the holy images were buried, was planted,
he says, with certain roots shaped like a turnip, or radish, several of
which coming up in the neighborhood of the images, were found to
have grown most miraculously in the form of a cross. [10]
The cruel punishment inflicted on these Indians, instead of daunting
their countrymen, filled them with horror and indignation.
Unaccustomed to such stern rule and vindictive justice, and having no
clear ideas nor powerful sentiments with respect to religion of any kind,
they could not comprehend the nature nor extent of the crime
committed. Even Guarionex, a man naturally moderate and pacific, was
highly incensed with the assumption of power within his territories, and
the inhuman death inflicted on his subjects. The other caciques
perceived his irritation, and endeavored to induce him to unite in a
sudden insurrection, that by one vigorous and general effort they might
break the yoke of their oppressors. Guarionex wavered for some time.
He knew the martial skill and prowess of the Spaniards; he stood in
awe of their cavalry, and he had before him the disastrous fate of
Caonabo; but he was rendered bold by despair, and he beheld in the
domination of these strangers the assured ruin of his race. The early
writers speak of a tradition current among the inhabitants of the island,
respecting this Guarionex. He was of an ancient line of hereditary
caciques. His father, in times long preceding the discovery, having
fasted for five days, according to their superstitious observances,
applied to his zemi, or household deity, for information of things to
come. He received for answer, that within a few years there should
come to the island a nation covered with clothing, which should destroy
all their customs and ceremonies, and slay their children or reduce them
to painful servitude. [11] The tradition was probably invented by the

Butios, or priests, after the Spaniards had begun to exercise their
severities. Whether their prediction had an effect in disposing the mind
of Guarionex to hostilities is uncertain. Some have asserted that he was
compelled to take up arms by his subjects, who threatened, in case of
his refusal, to choose some other chieftain; others have alleged the
outrage committed upon his favorite wife, as the principal cause of his
irritation. [12] It was probably these