■WILLIAM TIIE TIHRD.

267

name, spoke Spanish, and affected the grave deportment chap.of a Spanish don. The Scotch propitiated Andreas, as he TaJTwas called, by a present of a new hat blazing with goldlace, and assured him that, if he would trade with them,they would treat him better than the Castilians had done.

A few hours later the chiefs of the expedition went onshore, took formal possession of the country, and named itCaledonia. They were pleased with the aspect of a smallpeninsula about three miles in length and a quarter of amile in breadth, and determined to fix here the city of NewEdinburgh, destined, as they hoped, to be the great em-porium of both Indies. The peninsula terminated in a lowpromontory of about thirty acres, which might easily beturned into an island by digging a trench. The trench wasdug; and on the ground thus separated from the main landa fort was constructed: fifty guns were placed on the ram-parts ; and within the enclosure houses -were speedily builtand thatched with palm leaves.

Negotiations were opened with the chieftains, as theywere called, who governed the neighbouring tribes. Amongthese savage rulers were found as insatiable a cupidity, aswatchful a jealousy, and as punctilious a pride, as amongthe potentates whose disputes had seemed likely to makethe Congress of Ityswick eternal. One prince hated theSpaniards because a fine rifle had been taken away fromhim by the Governor of Portobello on the plea that such aweapon was too good for a red man. Another loved theSpaniards because they had given him a stick tipped with