Note 304-2 — LETTER OF DR. CHANCA ON THE SECOND VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

The original reads “cinco o seiscientos labrados de pedreria,” which Major translated “five or six hundred pieces of jewellery,” and Thacher “five or six hundred cut stones.” The dictionaries recognize labrado as a noun only in the plural labrados, “tilled lands.” Turning to Bernaldez, Historia de los Reyes Catolicos, in which Dr. Chanca’s letter was copied almost bodily, we find, II. 27, “cinco ó seis labrados de pedreria,” which presents the same difficulty. The omission of cientos is notable, however. I think the original text of Dr. Chanca’s letter read “cinco 6 seis cintos labrados de pedreria,” i.e., five or six belts worked with jewellery. Cintos being written blindly was copied cientos by Antonio de Aspa, from whom our text of Dr. Chanca’s letter has come down (Navarrete, I. 224), and was omitted perhaps accidentally in Bernaldez’s copy. This conjecture is rendered almost certain by the Historie, where it is recorded that “the Cacique gave the Admiral eight belts worked with small beads made of white, green, and red stones,” p. 148, London ed. of 1867. This passage enables us to correct the text of Las Casas, II. 14, changing “ochocientas cuentas menudas de piedra,” “eight hundred small beads of stone,” to “ocho cintos de cuentas menudas,” etc., “eight belts of small beads,” and again, ciento de oro to cinto de oro. In the Syllacio-Coma letter the gift is balteos duodecim, “twelve belts.” Thacher, Columbus, II. 235. Cf. Las Casas’s description of the girdle or belt that this chief wore when Columbus first saw him, Dec. 22, above, p. 194.