breaks them;and when water invades the mines,the most arduous task of all is to dry the mines by scooping up pansful of water and throwing it up outside.... After each six or eight months'work in the mines,which was the time required of each crew to dig enough gold for melting,up to a third of the men died. While the men were sent many miles away to the mines,the wives remained to work the soil,forced into the excruciating job of digging and making thousands of hills for cassava plants. Thus husbands and wives were together only once every eight or ten months and when they met they were so exhausted and depressed on both sides...they ceased to procreate. As for the newly born,they died early because their mothers,overworked and famished, had no milk to nurse them,and for this reason,while I was in Cuba,7000 children died in three months.Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer desperation....hi this way,husbands died in the mines,wives died at work,and children died from lack of milk ..and in a short time this land which was so great,so powerful and fertile...was depopulated....My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature,and now I tremble as I write.... 人 When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508,Las Casas says,"there were 60,000 people living on this island,including the Indians;so that from 1494 01508,over three million people had perished from war,slavery,and the mines.Who in future generations will believe this?I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it...." Thus began the history,five hundred years ago,othe European invasion of the Indian settlements in the Americas.That beginning,when you read Las Casas-even if his figures are exaggerations(were there 3 million Idians to begin with,as he says,or less than a million.as some historians have calculated.or 8 million as others now believe?)-is conquest,slavery,death.When we read the history books given to children in the United States,it all starts with heroic adventyre-there is no bloodshed-and Columbus Day is a celebration. Past the elementary and higlrschools,there are only occasional hints of something else.Samuel Eliot Morison,the Parvard historian,was the most distinguished writer on Columbus,the author of a mulivolume biography,and was himself a sailor who retraced Columbus's route across the Atlantic.In his popular book Christopher Columbus, Mariner,written in,he tells about the enslavement and the killing:"The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide." That is on one page,buried halfway into the telling of a grand romance.In the book's last paragraph,Morison sums up his view of Columbus: He had his faults and his defects,but they were largely the defects of the qualities that made him great-his indomitable will,his superb faith in God and in his own mission as the Christ-bearer to lands beyond the seas,his stubborn persistence despite neglect, poverty and discouragement.But there was no flaw,no dark side to the most outstanding and essential of all his qualities-his seamanship. One can lie outright about the past.Or one can omit facts which might lead to unacceptable conclusions.Morison does neither.He refuses to lie about Columbus.He does not omit the story of mass murder:indeed he describes it with the harshest word one can use:genocide. But he does something else-he mentions the truth quickly and goes on to other things more important to him.Outright lying or quiet omission takes the risk of discoverybreaks them; and when water invades the mines, the most arduous task of all is to dry the mines by scooping up pansful of water and throwing it up outside.... After each six or eight months' work in the mines, which was the time required of each crew to dig enough gold for melting, up to a third of the men died. While the men were sent many miles away to the mines, the wives remained to work the soil, forced into the excruciating job of digging and making thousands of hills for cassava plants. Thus husbands and wives were together only once every eight or ten months and when they met they were so exhausted and depressed on both sides ... they ceased to procreate. As for the newly born, they died early because their mothers, overworked and famished, had no milk to nurse them, and for this reason, while I was in Cuba, 7000 children died in three months. Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer desperation.... hi this way, husbands died in the mines, wives died at work, and children died from lack of milk . .. and in a short time this land which was so great, so powerful and fertile ... was depopulated. ... My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write. ... When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508, Las Casas says, "there were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it...." Thus began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian settlements in the Americas. That beginning, when you read Las Casas-even if his figures are exaggerations (were there 3 million Indians to begin with, as he says, or less than a million, as some historians have calculated, or 8 million as others now believe?)-is conquest, slavery, death. When we read the history books given to children in the United States, it all starts with heroic adventure-there is no bloodshed-and Columbus Day is a celebration. Past the elementary and high schools, there are only occasional hints of something else. Samuel Eliot Morison, the Harvard historian, was the most distinguished writer on Columbus, the author of a multivolume biography, and was himself a sailor who retraced Columbus's route across the Atlantic. In his popular book Christopher Columbus, Mariner, written in 1954, he tells about the enslavement and the killing: "The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide." That is on one page, buried halfway into the telling of a grand romance. In the book's last paragraph, Morison sums up his view of Columbus: He had his faults and his defects, but they were largely the defects of the qualities that made him great-his indomitable will, his superb faith in God and in his own mission as the Christ-bearer to lands beyond the seas, his stubborn persistence despite neglect, poverty and discouragement. But there was no flaw, no dark side to the most outstanding and essential of all his qualities-his seamanship. One can lie outright about the past. Or one can omit facts which might lead to unacceptable conclusions. Morison does neither. He refuses to lie about Columbus. He does not omit the story of mass murder; indeed he describes it with the harshest word one can use: genocide. But he does something else-he mentions the truth quickly and goes on to other things more important to him. Outright lying or quiet omission takes the risk of discovery No Profit Use Only