On the morning of November 14, 1493, at “the hour of eating,” they sailed along the north coast of “Ay-Ay.” Columbus renamed the island “Santa Cruz,” and the fleet put into what is now called Salt River Bay, where they saw beautiful green hills rolling down to sapphire water, flocks of pink flamingos wading in the mangroves, and a village surrounded by extensive cultivation. A launch with 30 men rowed to shore, where they ‘rescued’ Taino captives from the Carib village on the west side of the bay; the Carib elders guarding them ran off into the bush. The warriors (men and women) who knew how to navigate the islands were off raiding Puerto Rico (Chanca and de Cuneo).
Thus, the launch was on the beach on the west side, just inside the spit, when the first canoe of Carib warriors returned from Puerto Rico. In it were four men (two of them recently castrated Taino slaves), two women, and a boy. On entering the bay, the Indians saw the fleet of 17 ships inside the bay. Stunned, they sat in place for a half-hour staring (Imagine walking into your backyard and seeing a UFO). While thus paralyzed, the launch came up behind them. Too late, the Caribs tried to flee.
When they realized that the launch must intercept them, the five Caribs attacked, sending a cloud of poisoned arrows through the sailors’ wooden shields and into two men, one of whom would die. Columbus had only wanted to ask for directions; this probably wasn’t what he envisioned happening. The launch rammed the canoe before more sailors could be injured, overturning it.
“One of the women was like a warrior princess. She was firing arrows the fastest and deadliest of all. If the launch had not rammed the canoe, many more of us would have been killed. Even in the water while trying to swim to shore she continued firing until we caught up to her and took her captive… One of the Indians had been speared in his stomach, and we thought him killed. Soon we realized he was still alive and was trying to swim toward shore while holding his intestines, which had spilled out. We quickly caught up with him. He reached for the side of the boat, and we cut his head off.”
-Michelle de Cuneo.
The Second Battle of Salt River Bay was over; there were new pirates in town.
Sometimes in November, the rains clear all dust out of the air and allow for seeing great distances. Tops of hills across the sea to the north were visible on this day, and knowing that he was still south of the latitude he needed for Hispaniola, Columbus ordered the fleet to sail. They had only been at Santa Cruz for seven eventful hours. The “less ferocious” of the Carib women was given to de Cuneo, who found her attractive but a fierce fighter; he whipped her until she agreed to do his bidding. After exploring the other Virgin Islands for several days, the fleet sailed west along the south coast of an island Columbus named San Juan (we know it as Puerto Rico; the names of the island and the main port are swapped, today). While sailing three miles from land, Indian captives allowed on deck for fresh air leaped overboard and swam ashore (Chanca and de Cuneo letters).
