to believe that it came
from Babeque, which may have been Jamaica and may have been nothing at
all.

But his theory was that it existed on Espanola only in small pieces
because that country was so rich that the natives had no need for it;
an economic theory which one grows dizzy in pondering. At any rate
"the Admiral believed that he was very near the fountainhead, and that
Our Lord was about to show him where the gold originates."

On Tuesday, December 18th, the ships were all dressed in honour of a
religious anniversary, and the cacique, hearing the firing of the
lombards with which the festival was greeted, came down to the shore to
see what was the matter. As Columbus was sitting at dinner on deck
beneath the poop the cacique arrived with all his people; and the account
of his visit is preserved in Columbus's own words.

"As he entered the ship he found that I was eating at the table
below the stern forecastle, and he came quickly to seat himself
beside me, and would not allow me to go to meet him or get up from
the table, but only that I should eat. I thought that he would like
to eat some of our viands and I then ordered that things should be
brought him to eat. And when he entered under the forecastle, he
signed with his hand that all his people should remain without, and
they did so with the greatest haste and respect in the world, and
all seated themselves on the deck, except two men of mature age whom
I took to be his counsellors and governors, and who came and seated
themselves at his feet: and of the viands which I placed before him
he took of each one as much as may be taken for a salutation, and
then he sent the rest to his people and they all ate some of it, and
he did the same with the drink, which he only touched to his mouth,
and then gave it to the others in the same way, and it was all done
in wonderful state and with very few words, and whatever he said,
according to what I was able to understand, was very formal and
prudent, and those two looked in his face and spoke for him and with
him, and with great respect.

"After eating, a page brought a belt which is like those of Castile
in shape, but of a different make, which he took and gave me, and
also two wrought pieces of gold, which were very thin, as I believe
they obtain very little of it here, although I consider they are