CHAP. I.}            OR   SAINT   DOMINGO.                        15
The French division, though infinitely less ex-
tensive than the Spanish part, and not containing a
third of the whole island, has been considered the
most valuable spot in the western world. The
Spanish division however has greater natural re-
sources, and affords greater facilities for agricultural
operations: but the very extraordinary exertions of
the French planter in the culture of the soil, com-
pensated for the want of those advantages possessed
by their Spanish neighbours, who, more indolently
disposed, relied on the produce of their mines, which
afforded, as they imagined, greater local riches than
those which could be obtained from either agricul-
ture or commerce, forgetting that these alone fur-
nish the wealth which can render any country really
and permanently prosperous and great.
It appears from every authority, that the first
colony established here by the French, was settled
in the sixteenth century, having been attracted
thither by the Buccaneers, who had previously ob-
tained a footing in the island from excursions which
they often made from Tortuga, for the purpose of
hunting the bulls of the Spaniards. These hardy
and predatory warriors attracted the French, who
supplied them with such necessaries as they required,
and even sent them many settlers, with arms and
implements for defence and labour. The extreme
fertility of the country invited them to make some
efforts to gain a permanent footing in it, and by